With Swine flu on the rise and evolving daily, parents across the United States and beyond are not only looking after their own health but also after the health of their children. I’ll help sort the good information from the […]
THE FATHER LIFE Goes to Disney World
The good folks over at Hanes (Well, we assume they’re good folks. They’re sending us to Disney World, so they must be good. See how that works?) have invited THE FATHER LIFE to be a part of their newly-formed Comfort […]
[NFL] Draft Winners & Losers
The 2009 NFL Draft is now in the books. It should only be a couple more days before Mel Kiper Jr. and Todd McShay return to their relative anonymity until next fall or winter when we come calling for their […]
PODCAST #12: The Art of Manliness & Socket-Lockits
It’s Episode # 12! The latest “Father Life with Mike Austin” podcast is about “Dad-preneuers.” Our first segment is with Patrick White who invented the “Socket-Lockits.” These are a revolution in wall socket covers. A quick mention of a very […]
Forgiveness
This past weekend I found myself angry at my dad because my chainsaw quit working. Yep, angry at a 69 year old man who lives 5 hours away because I couldn’t get a power tool to work. A few weeks […]
Art vs. Pop: Who is The-Dream and What Has He Done for Music?
He’s written tracks for Madonna, Mariah, and Mary J. He’s also written for Janet (Jackson), Jamie (Foxx), and Jesse (McCartney). With longtime friend and collaborator C. “Tricky” Stewart, he produced Rihanna’s “Umbrella” and Beyonce’s “Single Ladies (Put a Ring On […]
To Exercise or Not to Exercise… There is No Question
America is losing the war against obesity. Healthy food is expensive; junk food is cheap. In a highly technological environment, sedentary lifestyles have become the norm. Busy-ness is at an all time high. An information-drenched society uses its mind so […]
The Key To a Smooth and Successful Youth Baseball Season

It’s a common scene that happens in youth baseball leagues in towns across the country. A parent is unhappy that his or her child is not in the starting lineup, batting in a certain spot in the order, playing a […]
[A FATHER’S VOICE]Best Part of My Life, Daddy
On Sunday we went to the mall with my Okapis. While Elijah, my 3-year old son, got a haircut with Mommy and Abuelita, I got Jordyn, his twin sister, all to myself. And it was lovely. One of the biggest […]
[A FATHER’S VOICE] Why Two Okapis?

Originally Posted on Tuesday 31 January 2006 at jgs.net. Many people ask where we came up with the term Okapis. Within a couple of weeks of finding out my wife was pregnant, we went to the Bronx Zoo with her […]
PODCAST #11: Exteme Freestyle BMX & Hold On To Your N.U.T.S.
THE FATHER LIFE Podcast with Radio Dad Mike Austin Episode # 11: – Interviews with Broc & Ryan Raiford, “Extreme Freestyle BMX” bike rider and his dad… PLUS… Wayne Lavine fromo (Hold On To Your N.U.T.S.). LISTEN & DOWNLOAD: PODCAST […]
Health Hazard: Skipping Lunch
Do you hectically work through lunch, rushing around with no time to refuel? Do you think you are fine because you don’t feel miserable? What people don’t realize is that they need to give their system more energy every four to […]
Letters to Josh: A Real Man Steps Up to the Plate
Dear Josh, I remember the first real baseball game my dad ever saw me play. I was 14 and he had come in from Las Vegas to visit. I was the leadoff batter and we were the visiting team, so […]
[SINGLE DAD] Moving On After Divorce
The process of starting over after divorce is at a minimum difficult for most of us. For some of us, it can be downright impossible. I know this feeling first hand. While working through my own divorce, I struggled to […]
[COMMENTARY] Being Grown Up
Something about spring seems to turn my mind towards writing these editorials. It’s a good time of year to take stock before the games start flying in. Again I find myself starting a new season of thoughts, ideas and observations about family gaming. Having spent some time today reading through the last couple of seasons, I realised that although some wide ranging themes were covered