CRAZY CART SHIFT

Thanks to RAZOR for sending ageekdaddy.com a CRAZY CART SHIFT to try out.

My son has been pretty bummed out about not being able to play with his friends because of the social distancing requirements put in place combating the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. His spirits really brightened up though when this CRAZY CART SHIFT battery powered go kart was delivered to our doorstep courtesy of RAZOR. These go karts are specifically designed to spin and swerve around to give riders between the ages of 6 and 14 years old a thrill. Once it arrived he couldn't wait to take the CRAZY CART SHIFT out for a spin.

I've been taking my son and daughter over to a nearby elementary school to ride their RAZOR electric scooters that Santa brought them for Christmas and play around with this new CRAZY CART SHIFT we just received. The teachers' parking lot is in a secluded spot behind the building making for a nice place to have fun while staying away from other people during the school coronavirus shutdown. My kids have so much fun they want to go out there everyday whether it is sunny or cloudy outside.

Controlling the go-kart with a combination of steering wheel motions while accelerating and decelerating allows riders to drift which creates a variety of exciting skidding action. The CRAZY CART SHIFT utilizes a simplified drift system which automatically engages allowing riders to keep both hands on the wheel while focusing on steering and throttle control, just like professional drivers racing around a track!

Kids can turn a parking lot into their very own skid pad like the hot rods drift on at Roadkill Nights. Just with a little bit less horsepower. CRAZY CART SHIFT has a maximum speed of 8 mph and is recommended for ages 6 and up. So you don't need a driver's license to take a CRAZY CART SHIFT for a ride. Though the skills learned driving this go-kart could lead to a kid one day being one of the pro drivers who took this dad blogger for a spin at Dodge's Roadkill Nights event that takes place around the annual Woodward Dream Cruise here in Michigan.



A speed control switch hidden under the seat allows parents to select the appropriate maximum speed for a rider: 2.5 mph for young drivers or 8 mph for the full CRAZY CART SHIFT experience. Tweens like my son and daughter can have a blast at the regular setting while it is recommended riders between the age of 6 and 8 stick with the slower speed being locked in with the control switch.

Because the switch is hidden parents don't even need to tell kids their CRAZY CART SHIFT can go faster until they are ready. Because you know any child that realizes their go kart has a faster speed setting is going to constantly beg you to up the speed. Note the 8 mph speed setting is default so if you want to start off with the young driver mode that needs to be manually done when you first take the CRAZY CART SHIFT out of its box. Because my kids are older and have some experience riding Razor electric scooters they just took off from the get go in fast mode.

The CRAZY CART SHIFT is powered by Razor’s patented Power Core™ hub motor technology – a maintenance-free drivetrain system that is both powerful and efficient. Plus it has a durable frame constructed of a new high-impact polymer which makes the go kart both sturdy and lightweight. Your family will get a lot of use out of this toy without having to worry about maintenance and repairs. Plus it has a durable frame constructed of a new high-impact polymer which makes the go kart both sturdy and lightweight.

I was impressed that there is no assembly required when it comes to the CRAZY CART SHIFT. Pulled it out of the box, charged the battery and it was ready to go! For a first use the battery needs to be charged a full 12 hours. After that it takes a couple of hours to get a recharge. You just plug it into a regular wall outlet to power up. In regular mode the CRAZY CART SHIFT will give you 40 minutes of uninterrupted fun per charge and 80 minutes in little kid mode.

Because of the joy CRAZY CART SHIFT has brought to my family as well as that we've had a problem free experience this RAZOR toy absolutely gets A Geek Daddy nod of approval. It provides an easy to use thrilling experience that is sure to delight any kid. With my children out of school due to the pandemic I haven't wanted them sitting around the house playing video games and watching television all day. Problem solved with the CRAZY CART SHIFT! They've been wanting to go outside everyday to play with this Razor toy.



Can't get to an amusement park? Bring a thrill ride home to you with a CRAZY CART SHIFT from RAZOR. For more information go to razor.com

INDOOR FUN PLAYTIME IDEAS

One of my kids favorite activities is riding their Razor scooters around the block. They've gone outside a few times to ride them since the coronavirus pandemic shutdown their school to burn off some energy. It is easy to go stir-crazy when you are eleven years old and there is no place to go. So my son and daughter have really enjoyed getting outside to ride their Razor scooters.

Unfortunately, Spring isn't here just yet and we've had a lot of cold and wet weather to contend with. So what do you do when you have kids stranded at home and you can't get them outdoors to play? Here are some ideas courtesy of Razor scooters and ride-ons for energetic activities that kids can do inside rather than spending all their time watching television or playing video when they can't get outdoors.

Simon Says – This classic game gets an indoor twist with commands like “Simon says hop to your pillow and back,” “Simon Says run up the stairs and back,” and “Simon Says bring me a spoon”

Dance Party – Nothing gets kids going like a dance party! Pick a favorite playlist and crank up the jams! Learn a new move on YouTube or try a round of freeze dance, pausing your music and holding statue-still til it starts up again (Alexa is a great freeze dance partner!)

Tape Shapes – Clear some space on a non-carpeted floor and use painter’s tape to make large triangles, rectangles, squares, and circles on the floor. Assign each child a starting space, then call moves like “crab walk to the circle,” “crawl to the square,” or “jump backwards to the rectangle.”

Balloon Ball – Blow up some balloons, toss a sheet over two chairs to make a “net”, and serve up a round of indoor balloon volleyball – just don’t let that balloon touch the floor!

Laundry Basketball – If your kids are bonkers for basketball, empty out a laundry basket and take turns tossing a Nerf ball into the basket, backing up two steps each time you score. See who can shoot from the farthest distance!

Soda Bottle Bowling – Dig some empty soda or water bottles out of the recycling and set up an indoor bowling alley in your hallway. Roll a soft ball toward your targets and see who can knock down the most “pins” and reset them the fastest.

Long Jump – Using painter’s tape, lay six 2-foot strips, each about a foot apart. Assign a starting spot and see who can jump the farthest!

Potato Pass – Kids waddle their way toward a bucket or bowl – with a potato between their knees – and see who can drop it in first in this half-baked indoor game! Make it tricky by placing the bucket in another room, forcing turns or steps along the way.

Be My Mirror – Pair up your kids and assign a starter to make a series of moves while their partner tries to mirror what they’re doing. Get through the series and switch roles – miss one and begin again!

Hula Hoop Marathon – Grab a hoop and set the timer to see who can last the longest. Expert “hoopers” can try swiveling their hula hoops on their necks, arms, and ankles.

Just because kids may be playing inside doesn’t mean they have to be couch potatoes. Get creative and your kids will follow suit. Plus all these games can all be played outside as well when the weather is nice enough to get out of the house!

Stay healthy everyone!

Battlestar Galactica returns to SyFy Channel

For years SciFi Friday was a fixture in my life as I always made an effort to watch or tape (wow talking about VCRs just sounds so out dated now) Ronald Moore's BATTLESTAR GALACTICA series on the SciFi Channel (now SyFy Channel).  The show started with a three-hour miniseries in 2003 and was than picked up for a four season run wrapping up in 2009.  The premise is that humans had fought a previous war with their  robotic servants, known as Cylons, who had rebelled against them.  The war ended with a truce where the robots were exiled to their own area of space and the humans kept control of their home planets known as the "Twelve Colonies."  The show, which is based on Glen Larson's 1978 television series of the same name, begins with the Cylons breaking their truce with a devastating ambush that wipes out most of the humans except for a ragtag fleet of survivors led by their last warship, the Battlestar Galactica, under the control of Commander William Adama, that flees the carnage and looks for the original home of their ancestors, Earth.

Since BattleStar Galactica concluded its run on the SyFy Channel many of us fans had been hoping for a sequel television series that would bring back the excitement of the futuristic robotic villains and sleek starfighters that put the show on TIME MAGAZINE'S "100 Best TV Shows of ALL-TIME" list.  Well guess what folks, BattleStar Galactica is coming back to the SyFy Channel ... not as a sequel but rather as a prequel.   The SyFy Channel will broadcast a pilot it developed, Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome, as a two-hour movie on Sunday, February 10, 2013 @ 9 pm E.T.

According to the SyFy Channel:

Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome (a prequel to the critically acclaimed hit series, Battlestar Galactica) takes place in the midst of the First Cylon war. As the battle between humans and their creation, the sentient robotic Cylons, rages across the 12 colonial worlds, a young, talented fighter pilot, William Adama (Luke Pasqualino), finds himself assigned to one of the most powerful battlestars in the Colonial fleet: the Galactica. Full of ambition and in pursuit of the intense action that the Cylon war promises, Adama quickly finds himself at odds with his co-pilot, the battle-weary officer Coker (Ben Cotton). With only 47 days left in his tour of duty, Coker desires an end to battle just as much as Adama craves the start of it. Though they clash at first, the two men forge an unlikely bond when a routine escort mission with an enigmatic passenger (Lili Bordan) turns dangerous and becomes a pivotal one for the desperate fleet.

Can't wait until February 10th to catch Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome on the SyFy Channel well guess what you are in luck because the pilot has also been posted on youtube as ten mini-episodes! 

Episode 1: Ensign William Adama finds himself assigned to the newest Battlestar in the colonial fleet

Episode 2: William Adama's rookie mission aboard the Galactica quickly turns lethal as his small crew pilots their Raptor through Cylon territory

Episodes 3&4: Adama, Coker, and Dr. Kelly battle enemy Raiders and make a shocking discovery deep in Cylon space

Episodes 5&6: Adama dogfights Raiders while the Battlestar Osiris tries to hold off a Cylon Basestar.

Episodes 7&8: Adama, Coker, and Becca take shelter on a snow planet, but they aren't alone as Cylons attack their defenses.

Episodes 9&10: Secrets are revealed! 

Unfortunately, as of now it looks as if the two-hour pilot may be the end of the line for Blood & Chrome and there won't be an ongoing tv or web series following it ... but you never know if the rating are good enough on February 10 who knows if it might get picked up for a series or they could make another straight to DVD movie like they did with Battlestar Galactica: Razor. So if you want to see more Battlestar Galactica on TV it wouldn't hurt to tune in to the SyFy Channel broadcast!

In addition to Blood & Chrome being broadcast on cable and via the Internet, an unrated version of the film will also be sold on DVD & Bluray starting on February 19, 2013.  You can pre-order the video at the SyFy online store or Amazon.com. 

I really enjoyed watching the web-series of Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome.  It has some great space battles and close-up portrayals of Cylons that any science fiction aficionado will appreciate.  The best part for me though was how the story delved into the transformation of Cylons from their creation in the short-lived tv drama Caprica (which was more soap opera than space opera) to the battle machines and organic human duplicates they transform into in the 2003 mini-series and the following TV seasons.  Seeing the Cylons experimenting to create cyborg monsters was a stunning insight and story arc.  Than seeing Cylon Centuarians that look like in-between models of the ones we are familiar with from classic 1978 show and the ones from the rebooted television series was exciting.  I was really geeked though to be given a glimpse of one the first Cylon/Human duplicate that was not perfect but rather a first try of attempting to evolve from a sentient machine to an organic-based life form.  I really felt that Blood & Chrome did a better job of going into the transformation of Cylons in the Battlestar Galactica tv show than the series itself had done itself with its goofy story line of survivors from another timeline joining with them to promote their evolution.

While the special effects were tremendous, the only down side of the film was its over reliance on green screens.  There are a lot of flashes and light effects that distract from the sequences on the screen.  I believe these are meant to enhance the illusion of there being real things before your eyes because otherwise it would be more obvious that so much of the scenery is computer generated.  The original sets from Battlestar Galactica were dismantled and essentially the whole world of Blood & Chrome is portrayed via actors in front of green screens.  While this isn't a fatal flaw, the film would have been nicer if some more funds had been invested in set designs and modeling. I also didn't like the co-pilot Coker character who I felt was just a little too whiny for a military guy.

All in all though I though Blood & Chrome was GREAT and would really like to see it expanded on in the future whether that be through a cable television series, web-broadcasts, DVDs, or maybe even video games.