Well, today I hit the big 35. Not as big a milestone as the cornerstones of 30 or 40, but, as someone who, as a teen was filled with the fatalistic vision that I wouldn't make it to 30, I view these years as bonus years. I didn't think I'd have them when I was younger (and heart problems in my mid-20's only served to reinforce that thought), but I enjoy every year I've had since...and hope I'm only halfway done inflicting my opinion on others...lol.

As a veteran homeschooler, I am repeatedly questioned about "socialization" where my children are concerned. Age and experience have caused me to be far more tactful than my initial gut response to a canned answer that is composed without a moment's thought on the part of the questioner. I saw a news clip (more on this later) that mentioned "socialization" in a less than admirable fashion, and decided it would be good article material. So, I turned to the easy to use, trusty google definition...

For those who don't know, after years of slaving away for jobs with ZERO job security, I have been working quite diligently at being self employed. It seems to suit me, and, I'm not likely to "downsize" myself. The paper route has been the "meat" of our income. Collecting cans and various other scavenging (which will probably improve once we can afford to purchase a metal detector) have been the chief second source of income. I have been trying to get together the tools to do lawn service as ...

I love the Internet. I can't say, however, that I'm always overly enthused with the results the Internet gives us. Take, for instance, my family. I have blogged previously on why it is in my own best interests to keep my family at an arm's length; specifically my mental health as regards a family that has always been quite adept at putting me down and helping run my self perception to ridiculously low depths. The more I am away from my family, the more I grow in my own sense of self and self ...

 After reading this very funny story from our own SPC nobody special ( Link ), who got the idea after reading this very funny story from our own hunter of lobsters ( Link ) (which are really just "cockroaches of the sea" anyway, but I digress), I thought I'd relay one of my own slum stories. After moving out of an air conditioned slum in one part of town (air conditioned because of a 2 inch crack in the corner of the kitchen), which, despite being a slum, had no backed up sewage pipe b...

Well, now that we have a computer again (internet hookup scheduled for next Thursday), I put myself to writing this morning. I have quite a few "projects" running through my head, but chose to focus on the one in which I have the greatest amount of experience and thus, has the greatest chance for faster publication: homeschooling (I have worked as a homeschool lobbyist and paid public speaker for 8 years, and have served as the head of a local group of 175 homeschool families as well as board me...

OK, so we're past the "I hope" stage, and to the point where we can actually start designing and preparing for our greenhouse. The problem is,I have a short list of sources for ideas, and none of those ideas involve blueprints for cost estimating.Anyone with experience and/or knowledge in this area is welcome to reply (my last article sunk like a stone). What I am designing is an 8x16 leanto greenhouse against the back side of our house. the west wall will be opaque, decisions about the roof ...

Well, we are still, sorta. We don't have internet access. But anyhoo... My neighbor decided it was time to get satellite TV. As his antenna was no longer needed, he said we could have it, so we uprooted it from the ground around his house, taking down the guy wires one at a time and removing the antenna, which had a little bit of damage from years of use. So, I climbed up on top of the house (lostintexas or Texaswahine, if you're reading this, I am IMMENSELY grateful the addition was we...

Dr.Guy posted a recent comment by actress Jada Pinkett Smith that started me to thinking in light of the recent Oscars (Pinkett Smith and husband Will Smith being in the field and all). Hollywood family men and women boast about their "having it all"; being career actors and parents as well, but does their boast have merit to it? When the children wake up with a nightmare,who do they turn to? Mommy or daddy who are on a film shoot in Australia, or the ever present nanny, upon whose parenting ...

Well, folks, I have to say, I've been pretty hard at work, and am feeling an early dose of spring fever even though we probably have a winter storm left in the year. I went out and bought a copy of this year's "Writer's Market". Once our taxes get in, I intend to get a computer and start writing seriously. I've identified a few magazines that are strong potential markets for my work, and now have given myself the confidence (through blogging) that I CAN stick with my longer projects long enou...

I love my darling children. I especially loved them today when our power bill showed we had used 122 fewer kilowatt hours in February than in January...and thus saved almost ten bucks (our primary heat source is gas, so it can't entirely be attributed to a warmer month). Now, we're gonna try to chop it down a little further over the next few months, but....it's great to have kids that help save money. Here's how we accomplish that, for those who are asking (hehe): The children's allowan...

So, I went down to the Post Office today and, though dismayed not to find large sums of cash randomly inserted into my box, was pleased to see that one of my requested catalogs had come in. It was a catalog for farm supply items (can we say "Green Acres", anyone?) and, most importantly, had the information I needed on the chicks I want to purchase. My wife and I had agreed that if the chicks we want to purchase were unavailable (Delaware chicks), or too expensive, we would buy the cheapest ch...

Well, I was having a conversation regarding our vehicle situation as we are hopefully within a couple of days of restoring our "pimped out ride" to the streets. The individual in question mentioned that I would be better off applying our tax money to a new car purchase than buying another used car. That all works well. In theory. The truth is, we're busting our humps just to maintain our current standard of living. We're collecting cans off the highway, we're running as many paper routes a...

For anyone whose ever constructed a greenhouse, I have a question. I'm looking at exhaust fans for the structure; the greenhouse catalog advises 1 CFM displacement per cubic foot of greenhouse space, meaning I would need about 1000 CFM displacement (8x16x8). I am looking at DC fans, however, as I could power them with wind power with no loss for inversion to AC, as well as providing the house with backup power in the event of a power failure. The DC fans I have found are much smaller, however...

I came home today to a pile of dog crap right behind our house that was not ours or our neighbor's dog's crap (I can tell by the size). It infuriated me because it obviously belonged to one of the plethora of strays that populate this small community. We are, of course, in the midst of working to homestead our property, and the prospect of a yard full of potential chicken killers is not an enticing one. I am hoping we can achieve some level of effectiveness with an electric fence, but even th...