If you are going to be in New York City between now and June 27th why not grab yourselves and your kids your own keys to the city. For a limited time you can get your very own key without even having to do anything spectacular or remotely heroic.

A public art project in New York is currently bestowing keys to the city that open 24 different locks in all 5 of the boroughs. The keys are available from a kiosk at Times Square, Broadway between 43rd and 44th streets.  The keys come with a guide book to help lead you to the locks.  Some keys unlock hidden doors in museums, while others open boxes attached to lampposts.  All force you to take a more careful look at your surroundings.

Upon exiting the commons, you will be equipped with your guidebook containing directions to, and pictures of, all 24 Key to the City sites located across the five boroughs. Your key will open a lock at each site. As many of the sites are quite far, you will need to plan your visits in advance. To get your Key to the City adventure started, you can walk over to Bryant Park and use your key to turn a public street lamp on and off.

The project is the brain child of artist Paul Ramirez Jonas.

What  a great way to learn more about such a wonderful city.  This seems like a terrific adventure to embark on with your kids.

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Issac Kubas, of Austin Minnesota, decided to aim high with his 4H project this year.  How high? Some 60,000 feet above the ground to be precise. The 9-year old built himself a weather balloon complete with a camera and GPS tracking and managed to take some photos of the curvature of the Earth.

Isaac used a small Styrofoam cooler to keep the phone and camera safe. He cut a hole in the side where the camera lens could fit. The camera was set to snap a photo once every minute on its journey.

The balloon flew all the way to Southwest Wisconsin.  His Dad was so excited to retrieve the balloon he got a speeding ticket in Iowa. Go Dad!  It's great to see the whole family getting into the spirit of the project.

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YouTube Link

LaMar Queen, a Los Angeles Academy math teacher, is using rap to get his students to learn math.  It all started because his students told him he was boring, looked like Kayne West, and challenged him to rap for them.  So he went home and made up some math raps. Turns out his rhymes were not only catchy but a great way to help kids learn algebra.

None of his raps are in the Top 40, but "Mean, Median, Mode and Range," "Polynomials," and "Quadratic Formulove Song" are chartbusters here.

"Some kids who aren't even in Mr. Queen's class go around singing his songs," says Kejon Closure, 13, who went from a C-average to an A.

I wish my math teachers in school had been this fun.

Christina Hoag of AP has more: Link

Campbell's has recalled some of its SpaghettiOs products due to under-processing.

Campbell Soup Company is voluntarily recalling three varieties of "SpaghettiOs" with Meatballs due to possible under-processing. The products subject to the recall are:

* "SpaghettiOs" with Meatballs in 14.75-ounce cans;
* "SpaghettiOs" A to Z with Meatballs in 14.75-ounce cans; and
* "SpaghettiOs" Fun Shapes with Meatballs (Cars) in 14.75-ounce cans.

Any of these products bearing a "Use By" date between June 2010 and December 2011 with the plant code EST4K are affected by this recall.

http://investor.campbellsoupcompany.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=88650&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1439624

Have you ever been invited to a wedding during the final weeks of your last trimester? I have, and it's a nightmare trying to find a decent looking affordable dress.  I have no idea why, but maternity clothes are just insanely expensive. Plus, who wants to spend a small fortune on an outfit they will never wear again.  I, for one, have better things to spend my money on.  Can we say designer diapers.

Rent Maternity Wear is an online company that is now renting new or slightly worn designer maternity clothes.  It's the kind of concept that makes you say, "Seriously, why didn't I think of that."   Oh, wait. I have no fashion sense so that's probably why I didn't think of it, but still it's a brilliant concept. It almost makes me want to have another child. OK, not really.

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Some say the video is real.  Some say it's doctored. I say let's dance.

YouTube Link

How did you celebrate your last birthday?

Jack Singer celebrated his 10th birthday by putting on 215 pairs of underwear.  With the aid of his family he was able to beat the previous record of 200.

The boy used his record to raise money for a local marine who was wounded in Iraq.

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Nevasic, a UK company, has an iPhone application for morning sickness.

Nevasic delivers precisely engineered stabilising audio pulses and frequencies, presented in a jacket of music, to make consumption easy.

Further proof that there is basically an app for everything.

Link

The National Transportation Safety Board has issued a new safety alert.  If you are traveling on an aircraft with a child, under the age of 2-years, they want you to make sure they are restrained.  This means that they are recommending that you buy them their own seat on the plane and not let them travel as a lap-child.

Despite the safety alert Children under 2 are, however, still allowed by the FAA to be held on a parents lap and fly unrestrained.

Are you planning on buying your baby a seat on an airplane this summer or taking them as a lap-child?

http://www.ntsb.gov/alerts/SA_015.pdf

Photo: Clipart

Ronak Vitha, a 4-year old from India, set a new record by doing 1,500 push-ups in 40 minutes.

I think he is in better shape then some of the personal trainers at my gym.

YouTube Link

Now you can turn your blurry and crazy looking sonogram photos into keepsake cufflinks.  I'm thinking the really early one where you can still see the tail or maybe the one that shows the gender super clearly.

OK, I do love them, but I am kind of thinking that guys aren't the real target market for this item.

http://www.cufflinks.com/sonogram-photo-screen-cufflinks.html

A New Jersey woman has been charged with child endangerment after she left her 12-year old daughter home alone for 6 days.

It is alleged that Sarah Haines left her daughter a note and $10 and then took off to Washington State and then to Idaho to marry her boyfriend. The little girl was instructed that someone would periodically come to check on her.  The girl took care of herself and the 3 family dogs over the course of the 6 days. The girl was, however, fearful of showering because she believed the front door was capable of unlocking itself.

On June 14th the Mother's bail was reduced from $100,000 to $10,000 largely because of no prior record.

“This is a defendant who recklessly abandoned her child and abdicated her parental responsibility,” said Rodriguez, noting there also were “prior incidents where this defendant left the child home with other people (to care for the girl) and left the area for long periods of time."

However, Rodriguez said Haines has no prior criminal record, and there was no prior involvement by the state Division of Youth and Family Services with Haines.

Do you think the courts should have been so lenient at the bail hearing?

Link

Photo: John O'Boyle/ The Star-Ledger

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but I think an awkward family portrait is worth so much more.  Seriously, this photo is at least worth a short story. Maybe even a novel. Possibly something in the horror genre.

Are you feeling the family love in this picture?

This photo is from Awkward Family Photos hall of fame.

http://awkwardfamilyphotos.com/2010/03/31/batter-up/

Are you looking for some fashion forward maternity wear?  How about an anti-radiation maternity dress from China.  It's perfect for those worried about radiation from things like cell phones and computers.  Supposedly they are all the rage.

Leyun Anti-Radiation Maternity Dress uses the most advanced materials of metal and fiber blended with Nano-silver ion fabrics. Tested by the Shanghai Testing Centre, the screening result of these fabrics could achieve above 99.9% screening effect. Its screening frequency ranges from 50HZ-12GHZ.The expected screening effects are: Main frequency ≥ 30 DB, shortwave ≥ 35 DB, FM ≥ 30 DB and far-infrared radiation rate of ≥ 80%.

Leyun Anti-Radiation Maternity Dress is elegant and graceful. It fits particularly for office lady who enjoy beauty and aspire life quality. With its special features such as antibacterial, anti-static, wash-resistant, soft-to-touch, air-penetratable and comfortable to wear, it is the ideal clothing for pregnant women in terms of protection and fitness. It keeps you from the harm of computer radiation and provides you a healthy office and living environment.

Link

Brian Hines, a Michigan based plumber, had to help his wife deliver their second child in their home bathroom.  Now that's what I call a jack of all trades.

He and his wife thought they had plenty of time when the contractions started, because their first child took hours to arrive. Not so with their newborn son Daniel. Hines had to help his wife deliver in their bathroom!

http://abclocal.go.com/wtvg/story?section=news/state&id=7492704