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.

Isn't it great to get more than you expected?

Just put a pile of money into my '83 Toyota Land Cruiser. This is one ugly truck - dented, rusted - in fact I bought it that way. I figured if I'm taking this up where I might bounce it off a rock or rub up against a tree, I would rather not be the first to dent it! That said, it runs, runs well, and gets me through deep snow and up mountain trails. My courage fails before it reaches it's limits. And it is fun to drive (my wife points out that opinions vary).

But you know politicians and bureaucrats. Vehicles with carburetors are bad, evil, planet destroying monsters. Never mind that I drive it fewer than 3000 miles per year, or that from an ecological standpoint it has a far smaller carbon footprint (factoring manufacturing costs, life of the vehicle, and ultimate disposal costs) than a Prius hybrid. No, old is bad, new is good. Easier to make blanket statements than to allow common sense or freedom to run amok in this country.

So, it is getting tougher to pass any carbureted vehicle through the local emissions test. Hence the rather substantial repair bill.

Now, the plus. The fellow who repairs my FJ-60 runs an independent shop here in Denver. I have never been disappointed in his work. After all the emissions work was taken care of and paid for, I find the extras: he's adjusted the clutch, lubed the door, even replaced my broken aerial. The truck runs better than it has in a long time. I find this even when I take it in for an oil change - the truck runs better than before. I appreciate the work he does, and the fact that he takes care of the small points as well as the big problems.

So, it may be a small chance that someone reading this blog is in the Denver area and owns a Toyota, but if you do, call Greg at The Toy Shop.

Superdogs

We attended the National Western Stock Show last night, and sat in on the Superdogs show. Tremendous fun, especially for our oldest, as she is helping her Grampa run his Golden Retriever through agility training. A highly recommended show, lots of fun for the family.

Volcano!

This image gallery is titled "Death by Volcano", and while not gory, may not be for the tenderhearted. For those kids interested in the natural sciences, and for those fascinated by the destruction that can be unleashed upon man, this is a nice tour of four volcano-caused disasters, and of the world-wide implications of the larger explosions.

My kids have two experiences with volcanoes. First and most direct, our family cabin is in Island Park, Idaho, which sits in a gigantic caldera, approximately 23 miles long and 18 miles wide. This is the Henry's Fork Caldera, which then sits inside an older and larger caldera that extends to Yellowstone. Each time we visit, we drive up the side of the caldera coming east from Ashton. Very impressive.

The second is our recollection of cleaning ash from Mt. Saint Helens' eruption. Yes, over 1000 miles away, we got a significant amount of ash. Pretty cool, when you aren't near the blast zone.