10 Amazing Father-Son Bonding Activities

We live in a busy world. Devoted parents spend a lot of time working to provide the best they can for their children. It might seem different from the little ones, but most parents would rather spend time with them than go to work every day. However, since it is the way it is, here is a couple of father-son bonding activities, without going too far out of your way.

Teach Them to Use Tools

Share the traditional image of having a man around the house. Include your son in your next DIY project. It can be anything from fixing a leaking tap, to building a piece of furniture. Teach them to use the basic tools. Regardless of what some may believe, being handy is still a valuable set of skills. The best thing is that this type of creative work is something your son will enjoy a lot.

Build Toys Together

This is another opportunity to bond over a DIY project. This time you can create something that has a value to your child. Start with a simple project of making a slingshot, or bow and arrows. You can gradually move to something more elaborate such as making cars, boats, or model rockets.

Teach Them a Skill

It’s like riding a bike! There are some essential skills which are never forgotten, once learned. Be the one to teach them those skills. You will have a blast reaching milestones while teaching your child how to ride a bike. He will be incredibly excited once he finally manages to ride it independently. Be there for them when they learn how to swim or drive a car.

Take Him on a Camping Trip

Well, take him on many camping trips. You do not have to go far or stay for too long. It could be just the two of you or the entire family. The girls will make the trip even more fun, and they will not diminish your bonding in any way. As a father, you can teach him how to get firewood, how to start a fire, put up a tent, explore nature etc.

Go Hunting or Fishing

These are perhaps two of the most traditional father-son activities. It involves a day spent in nature working on a mutual goal. The beauty of it is that while you are trying to reach that goal, you have a lot of time for just the two of you. You can fill it with conversation. Share your relevant experiences and ask him about his expectations. These activities create a perfect setting for spontaneous sharing.

Play Golf

You could play any sport, but golf has special connotation. You can watch golf lesson videos together, and get your son involved in the game early. It will help him later in life as it has proven therapeutic effects. He will stay active while spending time socializing. It could be used as a business lunch in form of a game and a place to form connections. For now, it will allow the two of you to connect.

Visit a Sporting Event

It is well-known that sons support their fathers’ favorite teams. Don’t take this away from your child. You could watch a game at home, and you should. However, watching it live is a completely different experience. Share this amazing energy and have something to remember and talk about later.

Enjoy Music Together

You can have fun bridging the generation gap. Ask your son about his favourite bands and take interest in them. Share what you think are classics, but do not insist on anything. Your child is looking for role models for everything in life. Your music is very likely to stick with him and shape his taste. Listening to the music your son enjoys can tell you a lot about his state of mind. If you play an instrument, this is another skill your child shouldn’t miss out on.

Play Games

Play games his way, and play games your way. Anything from board games, to video games, whatever makes your child happy. It is true that life-shaping moments are the most important, but the fun ones also matter.

Find time to enjoy your son’s company. Do not wait to become a grandfather to be a role model and loving support. Let your son know you do not care for him only in a practical way, but also in an emotional way. Find occasions to tell him you love him.

 

Ways to Moderate Your Anger at Work

Should you be being affected by sensations of rage in the office and believe that your job could be in jeopardy as a result you should take an online course in anger management. You definitely shouldn’t lose your career over an emotion that can be addressed easily. The choice is yours of whether you want to take the risk of losing your career or whether you are willing to step up to the plate and handle the issue.

Anger Management

Anger management classes are not merely for people that react violently to situations and find themselves in legal trouble. There are a lot of regular folks taking these programs to help them handle their children. You’ll find executives taking an online course in anger management in order to relate more effectively with their employees. A typical employee could be taking anger classes in order that they can complete a more professional job with out letting their reactions to get in their way.

Almost anyone you talk to has some type of problem in the work environment. In some cases it could be a nasty manager that calls for too much in not enough time. Sometimes there’s a problem with customers that are irritating and arrogant. You need to deal with these people with a smile on your face while inside you feel like smacking them. Now and then, anger may come about by working in a tight space for hours on end. Feeling cramped and enclosed for days at a time will definitely be bad for you.

Anger management classes can help you work through the anger you feel within the office and help save your career. Amanda’ the senior stress management writer at best essay writing service says, it is easy to subscribe to an internet based course and get started right now. You won’t need to let anyone realize you are taking a course, unless you’ve been told to do so by your manager, because everything is kept completely private.

Don’t Lose Your Job

Many find it difficult facing this problem and wind up without a job to report to every morning. Things can even escalate uncontrollably when the anger reaches a new height and other people’s reactions get aggressive. Prior to things reach this stage it is time to handle the issue.

Try walking away from the situation when feasible. Sometimes it may not be possible, particularly when you are handling an hostile customer. When that happens you’ll need to use all of your strength and just breathe deeply. Focus on your breathing and select your words slowly and wisely.

Simply speaking many more people consider an online course to help them take care of their anger issues. It was once that anger management classes were only presented inside a class room setting. This might be a source of shame for most people, and that’s why some avoid it no matter what. Times have improved, however, and you can take these classes while in the ease and comfort of your own home and it may remain as a private matter, just how it ought to be.

Types of Lockpicks

Types of Lockpicks: 4 Basic Essential Types

 

Types of Lockpicks: 4 Basic Essential TypesIn this post my locksport subject matter expert talks about the different types of kockpicks and the 4 basic essential picks and how they are used.  We were using the picks found in a basic beginner lockpick kit.

In order of use Julian suggests:

  • Skyline pick
  • Snake
  • Diamond
  • Feeler pick

I tend to not use a skyline pick, mostly I just use a snake and a feeler.

A skyline pick is named because the wavy top edge looks similar to a city skyline.  It’s suggested method of use is to see-saw it up and down to move the pins up and down.

If that fails to open the lock, then a snake (aka worm) is used to wiggle around in the lock.  Now, in my lesser degree of skill, I normally just push the snake pick in and out of the lock until a cheap master-lock gives way.  This does not tend to work well on higher quality locks.

Next, a diamond shaped pick is used to zip all the pins.  It is pressed all the way into the lock and then ripped streight out of the lock lifting all the pins quickly one at a time.

Lastly, a feeler pick is used to  individually manipulate each pin.  For those with the touch and enough practice, this one is probably the most useful.  However, I don’t practice enough to use this one all that often.

 

 

How Long Does it Take to Learn Lockpicking

How Long Does it Take to Learn Lockpicking

 

How Long Does it Take to Learn Lockpicking?  Well, it depends.  I learned with a very cheap set of picks.  A small brochure called “easy pickings” came with them.  I did not have any practice locks other than an old padlock.

It took me a few hours to get the lock open.  It also took a few days to be able to do it consistently.  I never bothered to really perfect my skill, so I can’t get higher quality locks open.

My friend Julian was taught by a person and not just a book, he practices more than I do, and had higher quality tools.  He is able to open harder locks, and can open all locks faster and more consistently than I do.

If you take the time to watch a few youtube videos, get a good basic set of tools from a reputable supplier like lockpickworld and devote some time to practice, you should be able to get a basic master-lock open in under an hour.

You don’t need a huge kit.   I normally only use the four basic picks Julian describes in my post on the basics of lock picks.

The main thing I learned from him that helped me was the amount of pressure to use on the tension wrench.  I had been using too much pressure and binding my pins up.

How Lockpicks Work

How Lockpicks Work: Why Preppers Should Learn Lockpicking

 

Lockpicks are a good tool for a prepper to have.  I enjoy the locksport hobby because I enjoy puzzles and seeing how things work.

While, I have no tolerance for crime, and I hate a thief more than anything.  Lockpicking does have non-criminal uses.

Inside prison, specially trained key control officers understand how locks work so that they can repair and maintain the locks.  Locksmiths on the outside have to have the lock picking skill as well.

For preppers, imagine a large scale collapse – like what Selco describes during the Yugoslav wars.  During that time, people spent a large portion of their time scavenging for food.  Being able to open locks without obvious signs of entry or damage would be highly useful in that situation.

Additionally, while a bolt cutter and a 12 gauge shotgun can get past almost any normal lock, you can’t relock it after you are done.  People will know you were there.

How Lockpicking Works

Lock picking is the art of unlocking a lock by manipulating the components of the lock device using picks instead of the key.

The main components in the pin-and-tumbler design are a series of small pins of varying length.

The pins are paired up with two pins and a spring in each shaft.

There are multiple shafts lined up and running through a central cylinder plug and into the housing around the plug.

The springs at the top of the shafts keep the pin pairs in position in the plug.

The bottom pin in each pair is rests inside the plug, while the upper pin is halfway in the plug and halfway in the housing.

The top pin keeps the cylinder from turning because the pins bind the plug to the housing.

When you insert a key, the series of notches in the key push the pin pairs up to different levels. A correct key will line up the “shear line” between each pin pair at the gap between the cylinder and the housing.  This allows the cylinder to turn.

An incorrect key will push the pins so that most of the top pins are still partly in the plug and partly in the housing.

This simple design is very effective.

Since the pins are hidden inside the lock, it is difficult to move the plug without the correct key.  However, with a lot of practice, it is possible to open the lock by picking.

Two Main Tools Used to Pick Locks:

  • Picks – lockpicks are long, thin pieces of metal that curve up at the end. They are used to reach into the lock and push the pins up
  • Tension wrench – Tension wrenches put pressure on the pins by slightly turning the cylinder so that as a pin set reaches the shear line it is held in place.

Pin_and_tumbler_lock_pickingThe first step in picking a lock is to insert the tension wrench into the keyhole and turn it in the same direction that you would turn the key.

This turns the plug so that it is slightly offset from the housing around it.

While applying pressure on the plug, you insert a pick into the keyhole and begin lifting pin.

The object is to lift each pin pair so that the top pin moves into the housing while the lower pin remains in the cylinder.  Just as it does when it is pushed by a key.

When you do this while applying pressure with the tension wrench, you feel or hear a slight click when the pin falls into position.

The process is to lift each pin pair into the correct position until all of the upper pins are pushed completely into the housing and all of the lower pins rest inside the plug.  When you get that done, the plug rotates freely and you can open the lock.

Conceptually, the lock-picking process is quite simple, but it is a can be a difficult skill to master.

Lock Picking and the Law

Although lock picking is usually associated with crime, it is an essential skill for the legitimate profession of locksmithing.  Additionally is a hobby called locksport.

In the United States, laws concerning possession of lock picks vary from state to state.

Generally, possession and use of lockpicks is considered equivalent to the possession of a crowbar or any tool that can be used for burglary.

Possession of lock picks with an intent for their unlawful use is generally prosecuted as a misdemeanor under the category of possession of burglary tools or similar statutes.

In many states, simple possession of lock picks is legal, as the statutes only prohibit the possession of lock picks or the activity of lock picking when there is a malicious intent. This is the case in Arizona,California, Utah, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Washington D.C., Washington State, and New York.

Some states, such as California and New York, impose restrictions on businesses, such as prohibiting the operation of a locksmithing business without a license and imposing requirements to keep records about sales of lock picking devices.

Where To Buy Lockpicks

Amazon does not allow lockpicking tools to be sold.  While some can skirt the rules for a while before getting caught, its not the best place to find tools.

I found a great online site called lockpickworld.com.  They sell a variety of kits, tools, and books to get you started.  There prices and quality are hard to beat.  I fully recommend you visiting them.