Archive for September, 2008
September 29, 2008 at 3:52 pm · Filed under rants
Seriously. Not to sound like a broken record, but you need to make sure you’re registered to vote! You also need to know that there are some things that may preclude you from voting - like a recent change of address - and there are apparently some folks who are actually trying to prohibit people from voting.
This is important. Take the time to make sure you’re registered!
Update: Inspired by Heather to add this link which brings the claim in the aforementioned link into question. Of course, now it’s clear as mud! 
September 25, 2008 at 5:28 am · Filed under home education
How many can you or your student guess? I only got 28 out of 100!
Blog Nod: Larramie
September 24, 2008 at 5:17 am · Filed under home education
Cory Doctorow has a review of John Holt’s books, How Children Learn and How Children Fail up on the high traffic blog, Boing Boing. He seems utterly smitten with the idea of unschooling, giving a positive review of both the books and the concept of child-led learning. Tons of comments, too.
Blog Nod: COD
September 23, 2008 at 5:57 am · Filed under home education
It’s a bit disconcerting to have your 15 year old start conversations that are peppered with words like Communism and Socialism. Of course, with the election running full steam ahead, I suppose it would be difficult to NOT be talking politics.
My son is a black and white sort of guy (It’s a character flaw that we’re working on - together), so many of our conversations start out with him stating that something is wrong. He’s adamant that attack ads, lies, and false promises by our presidential candidates are just wrong. He visits factcheck.org and realclearpolitics daily, and shares with me his opinions. It’s been interesting to hear his take on right, wrong, and unfair. Daily, he plops onto my bed to talk to me while I’m working (trying, anyway).
- Where does the money come from for these buy-outs?
- What exactly is the vice president’s job?
- How does the Senate work?
With these questions we’re able to start a dialog that ultimately leads to learning, often for both of us. We’ll pull up web pages, dig out books, and discuss our thoughts. It’s been really interesting to see how caught up he is in this election and how he is seeking the facts he needs to make an informed decision - even though he’s far from voting age. He is designing his own education, daily, digging what he needs out of the heaps and heaps of information out there.
So, what about Communism and Socialism? How does that fit into the picture?
One of the books he’s recently read is in my sidebar. Are You Liberal, Conservative, or Confused is a very interesting look at political labels and the original American philosophy. I highly recommend this, as well as the other books by Uncle Eric, which make American government and economics accessible and understandable to the average person.
September 22, 2008 at 2:12 pm · Filed under Uncategorized
Be still my heart. Jed Bartlett’s back, even if momentarily and in print. And he’s talking to presidential hopeful Barack Obama. Very funny.
September 22, 2008 at 4:02 am · Filed under Writing
I’ve got an essay up online (and in today’s print issue) at the Christian Science Monitor about paring down. The last three grafs are a surprise addition and were not part of the original essay. They must have needed to fill a gap!
September 17, 2008 at 1:19 pm · Filed under home education
Kaleidoscopes have got to be the coolest toy ever. Maybe I’m showing my age, but long before the Internet and Wii, I could while away an afternoon looking at all of the pretty patterns I could create with just a turn of my hand. But now, courtesy of the Internet, we have this. Where I made this:
Take a closer look; that’s the photo of me zip lining! Can you believe how beautiful that is?
Edited to add: How to make a hand-held kaleidoscope.
September 16, 2008 at 11:13 am · Filed under medieval, books
It’s here! Well, at least at my house. The major online booksellers still have it listed as a pre-order, but I suspect that could change at any time.
It looks great and I am utterly, totally excited about the fact that the book is printed on 100% post consumer recycled paper. How’s THAT?
September 15, 2008 at 6:06 am · Filed under Uncategorized
Cross-posted from my Great Solutions blog:
Today, I’m sharing a story about how people - relative strangers - can work together across miles, belief systems, and yes, even politics to make a difference.
My fellow freelancer Lori Hall Steele has been diagnosed with Lyme’s disease and ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease). Lori is a single mother of a 7 year old son. Due to insurance costs, the bank has threatened foreclosure on her home while she is bedridden and unable to work.
Enter cooperation. Participants of two writing organizations to which Lori belongs - Freelance Success and the American Society of Journalists and Authors - put out a challenge to their members: Send $25 to help Lori. But that was too easy. Members of these organizations started twittering and adding How to Help Lori updates to their Facebook pages. Interest grew, and the checks started pouring in. Musician Ben Lee added his voice to the cause, silent auctions and raffles were organized, and Lori is now able to focus on her health, rather than the impending doom of losing her home. This, in less than two weeks!
On Wednesday, there will be a combined effort to change Facebook and LinkedIn pages to reflect the Save Lori’s House effort. I invite you to join us. If you use Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn, chat it up. If you blog, feel free to share this post. And, if your bank account can handle it, I encourage you to donate $25 to help Lori today.
Together, we CAN make a difference.
September 10, 2008 at 6:17 am · Filed under Uncategorized
In case you didn’t believe that I really, truly zip lined:
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