Historic Perspective on Armor

A great read on the various types of European armor.

Learning Italian

We are starting a study of Italian. We know a bit of Mandarin Chinese, and some phrases in French and German, but in starting our foreign language course we decided on Italian.

I came across this site - not a comprehensive course by any means, but a neat little site with audio examples of pronunciation. Worth a look - and the links to music sung by Pavarotti and Bocelli are well worth the time to enjoy.

1911 Edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica

OK, this is a real treat. It is not as good as the print version, which of course has many fine images and maps, but this web site has the entire 1911 Edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica on line, searchable by subject or alphabetically.

The 11th Edition is considered by many to be the finest encyclopedia (to use the American spelling) ever published. Having it available in this format is a boon to students of all ages.

Dihydrogen Monoxide - an environmental disaster

The study of Dihydrogen Monoxide is vital for a solid understanding of the environmental disaster that awaits planet Earth. All home schooled kids should take some time to study this chemical, its effects on the environment, and the political ramifications of its continued use.

I first heard of this problem when three University of California students outlined the danger of this pernicious chemical, and it gained a wide national audience 'in 1997 when Nathan Zohner, a 14-year-old student, gathered petitions to ban "DHMO" as the basis of his science project, titled "How Gullible Are We?"'

Yes, the study of Dihydrogen Monoxide (H2O, or water in the vernacular) gives our students an excellent picture of how environmental sciences have been perverted for political gain, how the most benign substance can be portrayed as dangerous, in other words, how modern advocacy works.