New House

I am so excited! We had our "pre-drywall" meeting yesterday for our new house. That is a meeting where they take you through the whole house after all the wiring and plumbing is done but before they put up the drywall. It is so hard to believe how fast this house is going. Now if we could only sell this one....

Nora Ephron on Crazy Clinton

I have heard a fair amount about the Crazy Clinton encounter on Fox News Sunday this week. (I have this on TiVo but haven't seen it yet) It seems that the normal parties are on the predictable sides of the discussions. Conservatives say how crazy Clinton was about a simple question and the Dem's just revel in Clinton's, well best described as, Clinton-ness. You know, he is Bill Clinton so nothing but truth and beauty come from his mouth (yuck!). Well, Nora Ephron has surprised me by saying he was wrong. She even agrees that this is typical Bill Clinton:

How does it happen? How does one of the smartest men ever elected president end up sandbagged by Chris Wallace? Is this what one docudrama does to the guy? I don't think so. I'm afraid this is classic Clinton, Clinton the monologist, Clinton the guy who used to keep his White House houseguests up until 4 a.m. while he went on and on about what the press was doing to him. What a waste.

While we disagree about what the true answer was to Chris Wallace's question should be, we agree that he should have just answered the question. Her proposed answer?

He should have said that he went after Bin Laden and that if Al Gore had been elected (which he was) we probably would have killed him and 9/11 would never have happened.

Whereas I think he should have just admitted he was a bad president;). This just proves that it is all about Bill. It doesn't matter what cause he is trying to promote, it will always come second to his ego. That is the state of Bill Clinton's legacy.

Homeschooling Carnival

The Homeschooling Carnival is up over at PalmTree Pundit. Go check it out. I like Karin Kydland's post on School Hours and the Upside Down world's Itch to Scratch. Go check them out for yourself!

Life Skills as Curriculum

One of the great arguements for homeschooling is that learning is always happening. We put done shopping time where we have kids help with prices as math and other similar things. But why should we try so hard to make life experience fit into conventional subjects? Because traditional school doesn't value life skills. Now I am not just talking about keeping a home and cleaning up after yourself, but broader. I was reading Why Homeschool and how college grads can't even write a decent resume. We need to equip our children/students with the tools that will make them successful adults but the traditional school system isn't built that way. Life is our lab class for most real subjects. Let me illustrate...

I had nutrition class in elementary school were they said how many servings of fruits and veggies we need but, I was never taught how to make that kind of food. I was told to dream of the job I wanted but wasn't taught how to interview for it or write a resume. I was told to plan on going to college but not how to budget my money to live at college.

Why don't we make life skills a graded section of our curriculum? In high school it is acceptable to have a class on food but other than that we don't do it as a practice. We launch these kids into life to move out (hopefully;), get married and have kids. NerdDad says it is because we let traditional school tell us what we should be teaching our kids as part of school. We step out to homeschool but still conceed what "valid" subjects are. Let's rebel! Not just for "keeping the home" for girls (as some do) but life skills that are as we see needed for every student to live a successful life. Join me? Have I lost it? Let me know what you all think!

No Boil Spinach Lasagna

This recipe has been moved over to my new food blog, NerdFamily Food. Go check it out!

The Art of Language

The kids and I watch Iron Chef America and last week the Secret Ingredient was tofu. The NerdPie very loudly announces that she doesn't like tofu. When asked why she replied, "I don't eat toes!".

Working Code Example Search

If you have many tech books, you probably have at least one O'Reilly Book. Now they have a searchable database of code examples. To quote them:

Enter search terms to find relevant sample code from nearly 700 O'Reilly books.
The database currently contains over 123,000 individual examples, composed of 2.6 million lines of code — all edited and ready to use.

I think this is very cool and very nerdy. In addition to all of us adults trying to learn, it has other applications. I think this is a great tool for homeschooling parents who want their kids to learn programming.

(HT: Boing Boing)

Pregnancy Carnival

Welcome to the Pregnancy Carnival! First up is this cute film I found on YouTube. It is only 20 seconds so check it out.



Now on to the submissions!

First up Dana at Principled Discovery has a Joyous Announcement. Let me just say congrats and prayers for you new little one on the way. Rdoctor asks High Blood pressure in pregnancy, what's to worry about? Looking further into science, BioTech talks about Genetic Markers For Predicting Premature Childbirth. Then for those of us who have ever needed to be on bedrest, Let's Talk Babies has the answers for When You are Stuck on Bed Rest. Then a little wisdom for when that blessing gets here. Frugal Wisdom From Wenchypoo's Warehouse takes on De-Bunking of Baby Food as Necessity.

That wraps up this Carnival! Please go to BlogCarnival to submit an article for our next Carnival on October 5th. Then come back here and read it!

Related Tags: Carnival, Pregnancy, Motherhood, Babies, Expecting Mothers

White and Nerdy

Weird Al has done it again! Another hilarious video. I love the cameos from Seth Green and Donny Osmond.



Oh, by there really was a Start Wars Holiday Special (according to NerdDad;) and there is nothing wrong with Earl Grey Tea.

Ahoy MeHearties

According to Double 3 and GOP Vixen (ok, they didn't just make it up;) it is Talk Like a Pirate Day. In that spirit:

My pirate name is:

Captain Grace Rackham

Even though there's no legal rank on a pirate ship, everyone recognizes you're the one in charge. You have the good fortune of having a good name, since Rackham (pronounced RACKem, not rack-ham) is one of the coolest sounding surnames for a pirate. Arr!

Get your own pirate name from piratequiz.com.
part of the fidius.org network

Tucker Carlson and Dancing with the Stars

I heard that Tucker Carlson was going to be on Dancing with the Stars a while ago and being a political junkie, I was looking forward to it. It was bad, very bad. It doesn't shock me that he was the first off this year. But a question. Do you think he was set up? While his dancing wouldn't win any awards, the worst part was him just sitting there. In one of my moments of naivete (I still have them on occasion;), it took NerdDad pointing out that the "story line" was a man watching a stripper. So was he set up to suck? If he would have shuffled (somewhat awkwardly) through the whole number, would he still be on the show?

Tagged!

April over at 10:15 on a Saturday Night tagged me with a word association meme. So here it goes (and yes, I know I am a little touched;).

Guitar - String
Paper - Cut
Laundry - Shute
Shoe - String
Slap - Stick

Here are my words:

Math
School
Parent
Chocolate
Steak

Oh, who to tag..... Tangee at Expressions of Me and Pat at Two Blonde Boys. Anyone else want to play? Just let us know in the comments.

National Museum Day

One of the expensive things about homeschooling is that we don't get good group rates for many of our outings. So I always on the lookout for a good deal on activities. So September 30th is National Museum Day. What does that mean? Many museums around the country will have free entry on that day. I am so excited because our own Fresno Metropolitan Museum is listed! You must print out a Museum Day "Card" that will give admission for 2 people.

One of the added benefits? While researching my local museums participation, I found out that they have free admission the first Thursday of every month from 5pm -8pm!

*A note for Fresnans: The Met has a temporary location at Tulare and Van Ness while they are doing renovations.

Related Tags: Museum Day

Periodic Table Table

Theodore Gray who co-founded Wolfram Research (makers of Mathematica) has made a cool Wooden Periodic Table Table. Go check it out and if you love it, you can order a neat poster.

Where were You?

Both Family Jules and Two Babes and a Brain have asked where everyone was the morning of September 11, 2001 so I decided to add my own experience.

The NerdFamily was then residing in San Jose with only 1 Nerdling, who was then only 2 months old. I was getting us ready to go out shopping with a friend and NerdDad was in the shower getting ready for work. I turned on the TV to Fox News and I was very puzzled about was going on. I called out to NerdDad and said, "It looks like someone flew into the World Trade Center". He told me that I needed to make sure I was on Fox News and not on a movie channel (we had Dish back then). Then he said it was probably some hoax they were reporting on. Then he came down stairs and we were glued to the TV for about a half hour. I admit it, then I turned off the TV for a few hours. I have lived through the OJ Simpson chase, the first Gulf war, the Oakland/SF earthquake in '89 and then Northridge. I learned a long time ago that watching everything doesn't really mean more truth or reporting. I waited until someone actually knew what was happening. I must admit that I was numb and emotional at the same time.

Now looking back I still am sad but looking at the television and all the misinformation out there, I still don't watch much of the coverage. I wish and hope that everyone will learn the lessons that history has given us. Also, what if you had been in the towers? Do you know where you would be now? I am sure that all those people felt that there was plenty of time to determine their salvation and relationship with God but in a moment it was all gone. Take this time to get right with God and know where you will spen eternity. All you need to do is have faith that Christ came and died for your sins.

Related Tags: 9/11

Kitchen Gadgets

I have been inspired to post my favorite kitchen gadget so here it goes.... It is the Pampered Chef Probe Thermometer. I (and NerdDad) love it for so many reasons. First, it is a standard timer. It will also tell you how much over the time is (let us say that you don't get to it right away). But my favorite thing about it is the probe. It can be placed in the meat raw, then placed in the oven. You set the timer to go off when it hits the desired temperature (that you set). This makes absolute perfect meat.

A sidenote: Pampered Chef is not selling this right now but have seen other such thermometers in stores.

Related Tags: Favourite Kitchen Gadgets, Favorite Kitchen Gadgets

Carnival of Homeschooling Week 36

Check out Carnival of Homeschooling Week 36 over at Why Homeschool. There are a lot of great posts all within a Labor Day theme!

Grandparent's Day Unit

Grandparent's Day is on September 10th this year and it is a great opportunity for a unit study! Here are some resources for you to use.

Before you jump into all the fun crafts and activities, you need to learn all the history and a family tree to see how we got here. Then we can do a little language games with a word search and crossword puzzle. Then you can so a simple poem using a form all about the greatness of grandparents (older children would not need a form). Then you can go to foreign language and geography. Here is a great list of ways to say Grandma and Grandpa. Pull out a map and have your kids match them up!

* Poland -- Babcia and Dziadek,
* Germany -- Oma and Opa,
* India -- Nana-ji and Nani-ji,
* Korea -- Halmonee and Halabujee,
* Greece -- Ya-ya and Pa-pu,
* Japan -- Oba-chan and Oji-chan,
* China -- Popo and Gong-gong,
* Italy -- Nonna and Nonno,
* Israel -- Savta and Saba,
* Cuba -- Abuelita and Abuelito.

Then we get to the crafts and the presents! First up is this great Grandparents Survival Kit that is thoughtful and adorable. Apples 4 the Teacher has great printable cards and pictures that are perfect for little ones to use. Then Crayola has great crafts, card, activities and even full lesson plans all listed on one page just waiting to be used.

Go, learn and enjoy!