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Copyright 2006 Julie Shepherd Knapp
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Copyright 2006 Julie Shepherd Knapp.  All rights reserved.
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The Homeschool Diner's Guide to
Science Resources

Science Curriculum Options: Programs, Units,
Modules, and Worktexts

by Julie Shepherd Knapp, copyright 2006, 2007

Both Secular and Christian-focused, ranging from pricey... to free...

Traditional Science Curriculum (K- 8th)

TOPScience -- (K - 12) hands-on science experiments and math activities,
easy to use, good for parents or students with science anxiety, their new
Lentil Science and Get a Grip units are lots of fun.

Noeo Homeschool Science Curriculum -- (K - 6) literature-based
science units with accompanying lab experiment kits, use real books
available from the library (but offered for sale on the website), the kits,
called "
The Young Scientist Club Experiment Kits", come with a parent's
guide and activities correlate with the books, but can be bought and used
separately, aligned with Charlotte Mason philosophy,  the curriculum does
not include Bible verses or Creationist teachings

Building  Foundations of Scientific Understanding by Dr. Bernard J.
Nebel -- uses inquiry-based learning to address all areas of science at a K-
2 grade level, complete curriculum also integrates other subject areas.
There is a Yahoo! Group,
K5science, for parent support.  Also available--
Nebel’s Elementary Education: Creating A Tapestry of Learning which
covers K-5 for all subject areas

Apologia -- Christian-focused high school science program, also offers
several creationist texts for all ages, conversational style text appeals to
those without much science background/interest, choice of books or CD-
Rom text, no tests

Real Science 4 Kids -- (4-12) three levels of chemistry, biology, and
physics units for elementary, middle, and high school, textbooks cover high-
level concepts in a kid-friendly, conversational tone, offers lab manuals for
high-interest experiments that correspond to text (using household
supplies), each experiment concludes with a list of words to be defined,  Mid-
term and end-of-year exams, included

REAL Science -- (grades1-4) a homeschool curriculum designed to be
used  with Classical Education, two volumes, Life and Earth Science, include
a conversational text, hands-on lab activities along with background science
information, reading lists, journaling ideas, not Christian-focused

Castle Heights Press -- elementary and middle school science units
(some Christian-focused, some not), high school science worktexts, lab
science manuals, students can work independently, designed for kids who
like science

Rainbow Science -- this is Christian-focused junior high science program
(7th and 8th grades) that covers physics, chemistry, and biology (covers,
but does not support the theory of evolution), incorporates intelligent design
arguments, this program is often used as part of The Well-Trained Mind
approach, it has been
reviewed by Susan Wise Bauer.

Spectrum Science -- this is Christian-focused high science program that
currently offers only chemistry (physics and biology will follow), incorporates
intelligent design arguments, this program is often used as part of The Well-
Trained Mind approach, from the makers of Rainbow Science (above).

Exploration Education -- hands-on science program for K-3rd and 4-8th

Home Science Adventures -- K - 8 hands-on, discovery-based science
kits, includes equipment and lesson plans

AIMS Education Foundation --  standards-aligned science and math
teaching modules/student activity books for grades K - 6, other books and
hands-on activities for K - 9, includes two LEGO DACTA activity kits, some
activities and be purchased and downloaded separately, free sample
activities  for download, great for individual use or with learning co-ops

Ed Adventures Online -- a subscription program with hands-on science
modules, including two that use Lego's.

Mark Twain Media (a division of Carson-Dellosa Publishing) -- grades 4-
8+ inexpensive science workbooks and work texts, and lab work texts

Alpha Omega LIFEPAC Science --  work text units by subject and grade
level, offers videos of actual science experiments, can be used separately
or as part of the complete Christian curriculum offered by AO

BJU Press K-12 science curriculum--  this is a Christ-centered school-at-
home type curriculum from Bob Jones University, includes teacher's book,
student text, student notebook, and tests, science kits/materials extra  Their
complete homeschool catalog is available online from a
new website set
up just for homeschoolers!

Kendall-Hunt Publishers -- (K-12) standards-alligned learning modules
for all subjects, hands-on activity-based science units, modules available for
purchase individually

Rader's - a subscription website for science tutorials

Illustrated Guide to Home Chemistry Experiments: All Lab, No
Lecture by Robert Thompson. Includes AP Chemistry Labs.  [Chemistry:
The Central Science, Ninth Edition by Theodore L. Brown is a good AP
Chemistry companion text]

Model Chem Lab -- interactive software that simulates lab experiments,
many labs offered -- here is one set, as
an example

Chemistry I - online course using Model Chem Lab virtual lab software,
thru the Florida  Virtual School, other subjects available

Biology Labs Online -- a series of interactive, inquiry-based biology
simulations and exercises designed for college and AP high school biology

Kinetic Books: Physics and AP Physics -- three levels of online physics
texts (geared to classroom use but OK for homeschoolers), plus virtual labs.
Includes animation, activities and games to learn concepts:
Conceptual Physics: Clearly presents the concepts without stressing the
 Principles of Physics: Requires algebra and trigonometry
to apply the equations presented (appropriate for those taking the AP/B
Physics for Scientists and Engineers: Requires an understanding
of calculus (appropriate for those taking the AP/C exam)

Free Online Curriculum and Other Resources

Math/Science Nucleus -- free K-12 science curriculum, includes lesson
plans, online animated storybooks, slide shows

Windows to the Universe -- (K - 12)  free online tutorials, activities,
coloring pages, etc. on Earth and Space science, includes art, poetry and
myths  related to the sun and planets

Middle School Science -- free online resources and lesson plans for
activities, projects and experiments

The Science House -- free online experiments for Middle School science,
designed by NC State University

Pre-University Chemistry Course by the University of Oxford -- includes
free online text and virtual labs
Virtual Chemistry from the University of Oxford -- free online chemistry
labs, webcasts, and video libraries, high school level and up
The Chemistry Collective by Carnegie Mellon University -- free online
collection of virtual labs, scenario-based learning activities, and concept
tests for use as pre-labs, homework, and in-class activities
The World of Chemistry -- free online video series, 26 half-hour
programs, coordinated book and lab manual available for purchase

Basic Concepts in Geology -- a tutorial from NASA

The BGS Geological Time Chart -- click on a time period for more info

Global Stratotype Sections -- lists the geologica time scale and names
specific rock formations that are of that age

Stanford Computer Science Library -- free online tutorials, videos and
applets for learning about computer science

Young Epidemiology Students -- (9-12) free down-loadable teaching
units on epidemiology and other biology topics, also an annual  student

Merlin Science -- offers Chemistry, Astronomy, and Genetics courses on
CD-Rom, high level science materials presented in a way that even young
teens will enjoy. Used by a few schools, too. Samples available to view.

NIH Curriculum Supplement Series -- (K - 12) 2-week modules with
lesson plans and activities,ranging from tooth-brushing to cellular biology

UCMP K - 12  by the University of California Museum of Paleontology --
web-based educational modules and online resources to help students  to
investigate and understand the history of life, the fossil record, evolution,
and the diversity of the Earth's biota

I.Science MaTe by the Math/Science Nucleus -- (K - 10) free online kid-
friendly tutorials on various science topics, short and illustrated with photos

Virtual Text -- (9 - 12) biology web modules and online texts, some free
some subscription

Amazing Space -- free online tutorials and activities from the Space
Telescope Science Institute (the Hubble Space Telescope)

The Physics Classroom -- free online physics tutorials written at high
school level

CoAST -- free modules for studying marine and coastal environments

Scratch -- a free download from MITof a new programming language that
lets you create your own interactive stories, games, music, and art, website
includes kid-friendly tutorials and "facilitorials", aimed at grades 3 - 8

The Official String Theory Website by Patricia Schwarz

Try Engineering -- free lesson plans for ages 8 to 18

Eyes on the Skies -- a children's astronomy tutorial with activities, from

Underwater Archaeology -- visit dive sites around the world

The Lesson Plans Page -- thousands of free lesson plans on all subjects,
including science and computers

Teachnology -- over 25,000 free lesson plans on all subjects, including
science and computers

Rader's Chem4Kids -- free online chemistry tutorials and activities for kids
Rader's Biology4kids -- free online biology tutorials and activities for kids

Food and Nutrition -- an extensive website that discusses all aspects of
food, nutrition, food processing, the food industry, food additives, and
agriculture, from the University of Saskatchewan

High School Biology in Your Home -- an independent research
approach to high school biology, no textbook provided, students find info on
websites, in old textbooks, and using primary sources

The World of Chemistry -- free online video series, 26 half-hour
programs, coordinated book and lab manual available for purchase

National Repository of Online Classes: AP -- free, self-study, online AP
courses in science, math, and history

UCCP Open Access College Prep -- free online AP courses, including
simulated labs for science classes, use as prep for taking AP tests

Connexions by Rice University  --  contains educational materials in all
subjects for all levels, from children to college students to professional.
Information is organized in small modules that stand alone or can be  easily
connected into larger courses.  Connexions is an innovative environment for
collaboratively developing, freely sharing, and rapidly publishing scholarly
content on the Web.  All content is free.
(back to)
science options


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Mardi Gras

We are very lucky to live in a town where so much goes on.  Even though it’s a relatively small town (50,000) they offer so much.  I just always assumed every town did this but I have so many Instagram friends who say their town doesn’t do things.

We go to everything.  Old town tours, 3rd Fridays, Old State Bank tours, Civil War tours, balloon festivals, Civil War reenactments, festivals and art shows and library special events and free events at our free art museum and so much more.

This past weekend was a Mardi Gras parade.  Mardi Gras actually started in Mobile, Alabama not New Orleans like most people think.

This is a huge fundraiser for our Art Museum.  It starts at 10:00 and has a Canine Mardi Gras Parade, then a Children’s Parade at 2:00 and then the actual parade at night.  There are events and a scavenger hunt of sorts where you had to get stamps from 28 small shops located in our downtown area.  We had such fun going into shops we had never visited and meeting the shop owners.  We tasted Cajun cooking at the cook-off and wandered around the children’s activites area.  We spent the entire day there, then ran home and changed to get back for the night parade.

MG dog 2

All the dogs all the time.

Mardi Gras dogs

The dogs in the parade

Dogs MG

Aren’t they adorable? Keilee wants to take Nomad so much but he is so badly behaved on a lease.  We said what we always say, “Next year we are taking him for sure”!

We almost didn’t go to the night parade because it was so cold and my goofy child refuses to wear a coat (“It messes up my outfit”)  But I am so glad we did.  They outdid themselves this year and the floats were spectacular.  My iPhone failed to really capture the beautiful, vibrant colors.

More floats:

floats 2

We stood on the front row and got beamed by beads a couple of times.  Those people throw HARD!!  But Keilee ended up with over 50 necklaces!!  And so many people actually came over and put them on her neck.  She also got some Moon Pies which she had never tried before.  (I know, I know, they are a Southern tradition but I hate them and she has never expressed an interest in trying them)  Her verdict : “I would never specifically ask for them but they are good”.

Keilee Mardi Gras

All in all it was a wonderful day.

Does your town have any cool traditions or festivals?

Homeschooling Rocks!

“We don’t hide the crazy, we parade”.  ~Unknown
Laissez les bons temps rouler! Let The Good Times Roll

5 thoughts on “Mardi Gras”

  1. Looks like so much fun! Did Keilee make her tulle skirt? the flower girls in my daughter’s wedding wore home made tulle and crocheted dresses! Our town is a very tiny, very rural place. We used to have an annual founder’s day celebration, but they stopped doing that a few years ago! We also have Youth Days every year, with a parade, bands, and rides, but that has gone down hill in recent years, too!

  2. We have been scouting out more in our community. We have our beloved dog festival and this year we went to the pumpkin festival but that was truly horrible. This summer I hope to get to blues at the beach, which is supposed to be great. For some many years we just passed opportunities by. Now we get out and do more. This day looks amazing. We don’t have anything Mardi Gras related here, that I know of…..

  3. That looked like so much fun! Loved the dogs all dressed up. Our small town in Utah (where I’m only there for part of each year) has “Black and White Days” every May and it’s said to be “the longest running Holstein cattle show west of the Mississippi”. Last year was its 100th anniversary. It’s fun, especially to watch the competitions. It’s like a mini rodeo and fair. That’s pretty much it, though. You are soooo lucky!

  4. No! We have a Pie in the Park, a couple of hours fundraiser where pies are donated to buy (to raise money) and local musicians play, and a weekend “fair” with a few rides, games, food and a parade to raise money for the fire department. That’s it! Nothing like this sadly.

  5. We live in a city about double your size. Our Mardi gras parade was not nearly as cool as yours. However, we do have lots of festivals and things to do. We are considered the “Paris of the South” after all. I am afraid that with all the micro breweries that are coming to town that we are going to get to much of a beer culture for my taste. We may be at the peak of our glory right now. Time will tell.
    Blessings, Dawn

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Monday, March 05, 2007

Josiah's Check Up

Since I don't have a baby book for this poor child, I need to record this information here...

Josiah had his four year old well visit today. He was 43.25 inches tall (which is very tall for a 4 year old) and weighs 41 pounds. The doctor and the nurse commented on how incredibly tall he is. I guess he is going to be a big one:) He already wears the same size shoe as Grace (size 13) and she is 19 months older than he. He got his first ever vaccination (a tetanus shot) and didn't even cry. He was a very brave boy. He didn't cry when they pricked his finger for the iron test either. He was very proud of himself but not as proud as his Mama. He did have protein in his urine, so I need to take in another sample first thing Thursday morning. I am hoping it was just because he wasn't hydrated, but we'll see. I should have brought the camera, but I forgot. This was his first well visit since he was a baby. I tend not to go every year since we don't vaccinate on the doctor's schedule. I think his last well visit was when he was 18 months.

The basement is looking good. They put the mud on the drywall and started to install one window today. Tomorrow I am assuming they will do the other two windows and put another coat of mud on the drywall. They haven't hung any doors yet. I am guessing they will be done by the end of this week or early next week. Then Olaf will paint and we will have the carpet put down. I bought some slip covers for the old couch and love seat that we will be using down there. We need to buy a new TV, but other than that it will be furnished with odds and ends. Well, we need to buy some storage type stuff/shelving too for toys and the closets. I am just hoping we can keep on budget. I am just thrilled that we will have more room. I mean, my heart does a happy dance when I think of it:)

I updated the baby blog today and posted a photo. Camille took it for me. I feel huge. Face it, I am huge. However, not as huge as this woman.

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Friday, June 23, 2017

21225 Hickory Forest Way Germantown MD 20876 USA

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Home / Mortgages & Finance  / Is this the game changer for prequalifying buyers?

Is this the game changer for prequalifying buyers?

game changer chess resize

Home loan consultants are reported to be “over the moon” about a new online, prequalifying tool that speeds up home loan applications.

While prequalifications are the buzz word in banking circles to try to eliminate bond declines after deeds of sale are presented to them, many banks and mortgage originators already offer such a service.

So how then does this new online tool differ? Its creator, Meyer de Waal, says it not only prequalifies the client but “streamlines the entire home loan application process for the banks themselves”.

My Bond Fitness is an online portal where prospective home buyers can see if they are first credit-worthy before enquiring about the home loan amount they qualify for. Here, the aspiring home buyer can upload his bank statements, employment contract and other supporting documents as well as link his bank account statements to the system. Once on My Bond Fitness, the applicant’s profile and complete supporting documents can be sent directly to bond originators when an offer to purchase is signed.

No more resubmissions – everpile of paperwork

“That’s the first and last time the applicant has to upload any documents,” says de Waal, noting that the system updates income and expenditure information every three months.

The practicing attorney, who is funding the venture with his own resources, is offering the software to banks, mortgage originators and the real estate industry to help clients obtain a fast and accurate home loan estimate “within five minutes”. This before the deed of sale and home loan application are submitted to higher echelons in the banking system.

Meyer de Waal, creator of My Bond Fitness.

Meyer de Waal, creator of My Bond Fitness.

“We studied the industry and found that currently all home loan prequalifications are done through a long, drawn out administrative process,” says de Waal. “Some lending institutions do have a web-based application form but the process behind the prequalification estimate is still a manual process to obtain supporting documents. These delays are further impacted by the chance that the applicant provides incomplete or incorrect information, which could ultimately lead to the loan being declined or approval delayed.

“Working with Limitless, a leader in software and bank integration technology, My Bond Fitness developed an accurate and secure online process that enables an aspiring home buyer to obtain a fast and accurate home loan estimate. Limitless has designed a functionality that is light years ahead of any prequalification home loan estimate as it makes use of real-time credit bureau data, obtained from Compuscan, to begin the credit check process.

“Taking things a step further, the application extracts the last 90 days of transactional activity from selected bank accounts, identifies regular and fixed expenses like debt repayments and debit orders, and identifies and categorises day-to-day expenses. All this is done through Limitless’ partnership with Yodlee, a secure integration system that talks directly to the customer’s bank with all the normal security protocols of a typical online banking interaction.”

Consumers can rest assured the credit check is a “soft” impression and therefore doesn’t negatively impact on the client’s credit scoring.

What the agents sayestate agent

Comments one estate agent and a former private banker: “It sounds like an interesting product and it will be interesting to see how it works in reality. I imagine it will be useful for applicants who are salary employed and have a very basic bank statement, if I understand it correctly.

“My one concern is that the banks are still going to request the applicable financial information such as pay slips, bank statements, lease agreements, proof of bonuses, commission statements or tax returns. So while it will assist you upfront to prequalify, you are still going to have to go through the process with the banks.”

De Waal says this is not the case at all.

“We are aware that the applicant only receives an estimate of an approval – even a bank will also [only] qualify the ‘approval’ as an estimate as the final check and approval will be done only once a home loan is approved.

“Our system allows and then (after receipt of the estimate) requests the customer to upload his important documents onto the system. It is refreshed and updated on a regular basis, which is useful when the buyer takes a long time to find the right property. The full set of supporting documents is then submitted to the bank via a mortgage originator through an API integration as a full home loan pack.”

Jason Shaw, national sales executive for Pam Golding Properties, thinks “any development of technology to help speed up the process of prequalifying clients is to be welcomed by the industry”.

“Through our association with Ooba we have noted that 80% of our clients who go through the prequalification process with us will receive a loan for the prequalified amount through one of the four major banks,” he says. “I would be interested to see how the online tool fares in this regard and the ‘intelligence’ that this software has in order to do the required work.”

My Bond Fitness recently concluded a deal with a niche bank, which also includes qualifying prospective buyers for FLISP applications.

Four-bedroom house in Ranjesfontein, Johannesburg, on the market now for R7,250m. http://bit.ly/1YKJlOs

Four-bedroom house in Ranjesfontein, Johannesburg, on the market now for R7,250m. http://bit.ly/1YKJlOs

Homehunt - Start searching now.

Alison Goldberg is the former property editor of Business Day (1985) and the Financial Mail (1991-99). In 1995 she won the Sanlam Financial Journalist of the Year Award. She has edited such titles as National Constructor and The Miner in Australia and has freelanced for The Star, The South African Jewish Report and The Jerusalem Post.

Review overview


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Thursday, May 31, 2007

Budget and Numbers about Brandywine School District

The Brandywine School District does have information about the referendum on June 4th, but of course the slant is toward getting voters to approve the tax hike. The message certainly heaps on the gloom and doom if the tax hike doesn't go through - staff reductions, school closings, reduction in salaries, stipends, programs, books. Is the school district running on such a shoestring that the moment the funding slips a little everything must be cut? Having programs before they are funded is called "counting your chickens before they are hatched". The brinkmanship tactics also do not inspire confidence. Raising taxes is a highly unpopular thing in these days of rising gas prices and stagnant house prices and wages.

Exploration of the School District website will lead you to the page with all of the budget information on it. The budget reports are available as .pdf files. I find the actual budget to be difficult to read, and the 2007 budget was poorly (unreadably) scanned. At 50 pages or so, I don't feel I have the time to understand to the level required to offer a truly informed opinion on the need for the referendum. What does pop out in the summaries is the fact that the school district appears to run a surplus from year to year.

For even more detailed information on all of the financial goings on in the Brandywine School District I recommend the website sponsored by the Committee to Save Our Schools. There is a wealth of information gathered there about salaries, costs per student and other data gleaned from various Department of Education Documents. I have been unable to duplicate the efforts of those on the website, so I suggest you contact them for confirmation of the data, but some primary data sources that I can find do check out with the Schoolwatch data.

Some interesting data from School Watch:

This is a link to the administrator salaries. 56 administrators with an average salary of $105,000. By the way, Dr. Jim Scanlon, the superintendent, makes $163,000/year.

Or this chart (by Allen Kemp) of the growth of the budget well ahead of the standard of living and flat school enrollment.

The question is what information do you need to have to vote in the June 4th referendum? What will you vote be? I think School Watch says it should be "no".

Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Eastern tent caperpillar on the Shellpot Creek

As part of the continuing exploration of the wildlife refuge that is my backyard I have tried to take good pictures (with my new camera) of the interesting things that inhabit the area. As long as they are not moving too fast I can usually run inside to get the camera and shoot it. This means I can get more slow bugs than fast mammals and birds but I am working on it.

This colorful fuzzy caterpillar seems to be an Eastern Tent Caterpillar as far as I can tell from the web. The Malacosoma americanum is a pest in the east and they are known to defoliate trees like cherry, apple and crab apple. I guess I should have squished it when I saw it. It was only one. I promise to take a picture of the tent and mass if we get one. These guys turn into moths.

Voting History of Brandywine School District Referenda

I thought that it would be appropriate to gather some data on Brandywine School District referenda since they have scheduled another one on June 4th to raise taxes because the April one failed to pass. The voting records can be found at the Delaware Department of Elections starting with April 2007 and they go back to 1987 (follow the links inside for earlier results).

Here is the data in table form. Red means failed and green means passed, before 2007 the last referenda to fail was in March of 1987. There was a second one that year in October that passed. Is the school district trying this strategy again? Will they keep having referenda until they pass?

I have also plotted the results back to 1987 to illustrate some points. None of the votes after 2000 were close until this last one in 2007 that did not pass.

My main issues with the referenda are that they seems to think it is alright to have another vote even though the voters already said no, and that the district doesn't inspire confidence in the voters that they will use the money wisely. I will be voting no.

Monday, May 28, 2007 helps us remember on Memorial Day has digitized 90 Million military service records, registration cards, and enlistment records and put them online. The good news is that they are available, the bad news is that they are available free only until D-day June 6th. From the article:
"After June 6, users can pay $155.40 a year for unlimited access to thousands of U.S. record databases, Sullivan said.
Eek! That is a lot for government records that should probably be free, though then they were much less available. I suppose needs to recoup the cost of digitizing and putting them into a database.

During these free days I went and found registration records for my grandfather, Enrico Pizzico, in World War I and World War II. The cool thing is his own signature on the cards. He fought in World War I, but not in World War II (he was too old by then).

Enrico Pizzico World War I

Enrico Pizzico World War II

For World War II, I also found records for two great uncles, Anthony and Joseph Timbario, and two uncles, Gaetano (Bill) and Thomas Pizzico. At one point during World War II, my grandmother had two brothers and two sons fighting all over the world. Though I have my flag flying for all the soldiers that have ever served our country, my uncles are some of the soldiers that I especially think of on Memorial Day.

The Honest Hypocrite in Alphabet Agates

The Proceedings of the Athanasius Kircher Society points us to alphabet agates. Recently a set went for $11,000. Collectors look for and then very carefully cut agates in order to form the letters in the surface. These sets are very rare.

I took the pictures and created a banner for the Honest Hypocrite.

I am sure some clever programmer could turn these pictures of agate letters into a a webtool that would allow you to write anything you like in alphabet agates. I just used Paint.

Sunday, May 27, 2007

As american as baseball and apple pie

The new house hosted its first game of catch as some guests and I through baseballs back and forth a few times before the chicken was done on the grill. Nothing more American than throwing a baseball back and forth. Memorial Day weekend also signals flag flying season. I was unable to get the apple pie into this picture, though we did have one for dessert.

I picked this picture because apparently I either run funny or was about to fall down (I am the stumbling man on the left). It is an action shot. The truth, justice and the American way picture is harder to compose, since those qualities are so abstract.

Better Gaming Through Chemistry

One slogan the DuPont company used in the 60's was Better things for better living through chemistry, often shortened to "Better Living Through Chemistry". I think we can say the same thing for the Dungeons and Dragons gaming online comic "The Order of the Stick". Or perhaps we should say "Better Gaming Comics Through Chemistry"(tm).

Instead of the stodgy old Earth, Fire, Water, and Air elementals that are used in current fantasy gaming, Rich Burlew has a character that paid attention in chemistry class and suggests the use of element based elementals. In my comments on the titanium elemental he used in an earlier strip, I presciently wondered how scary a chlorine or plutonium elemental might be. In Friday's comic he has the goblin cleric use a chlorine elemental to clear the way during the epic battle that's in progress. Though I had seen the comic that day, Zak3056 kindly pointed out that I guessed right.

I like how the comic artist had a nice periodic table of the elements label on the elemental so we know which one it is. Chlorine's effects are well know, but there are some other nasty elements in pure form, like fluorine, that would kill even faster. Oxygen elementals would cause things to burn fast. Call up a sodium elemental and a water elemental and let them mix for a big boom. Mercury elementals would be cool to look at, all reflecting and liquid, like the Terminator in the second movie.

Some of the effects of elements depend on their valence state, a pure chromium elemental would be shiny or could be used to make your other metal elementals shiny, but chromium at +6 is a strong oxidant and is known to cause cancer, I guess in the gaming world it would have a Touch of Death or some such thing. Can the spellcaster also suggest the isotope of the element that is summoned? Depleted Uranium (low in U235 almost all U238) is good for bullets, but too big a U235 isotropically pure element would go critical and cause a nuclear explosion as soon as it was summoned (no uranium 235 elementals over 52kg). We all know what a polonium 210 elemental would do.

Can we do chemistry with the elementals? If I summon three chlorine, one hydrogen and a carbon elemental, does that make one chloroform elemental that can put everyone to sleep? Enough fluorine and carbon elementals (four F's to every C and some F's for the ends) strung together should give me an untouchable Teflon elemental.

Speaking of carbon elementals, which physical or crystal state do the elementals arrive in (allotropes)? Can I could have a slippery graphite carbon elemental, or a hard diamond carbon elemental? What special properties would a nanotube or fullerene carbon elemental have (everything you could think of according to the scientists that try to get funding for that type of research).

The possibilities for chemistry element based elementals seem to be endless. I guess it is whatever the Dungeon master can think of and the players will let them get away with. In the comic its all up to Rich Burlew.

Friday, May 25, 2007

"Dynamic" baseball Payroll vs. Performance chart

Ben Fry, who can program, has created a dynamic salary vs. performance chart for this baseball season. His chart connects the current standings of each team to its 2007 salary.

We don't learn much more than I realized when I plotted the salaries vs. performance for last year - there is no correlation. You can also delight in the fact that the Yankees are paying a lot of money for a very mediocre team this year.

On his chart you learn these facts with more flash and javascript. I agree his chart dynamically changes the team performance as the teams win and lose games through the season, but I think if he has gone to all this trouble it would be great to see the payroll change as teams add and drop players over the season. Paul would point out that this is still a useless chart since we have beaten to death the idea that performance does not correlate to payroll in baseball (and in many other things). He suggests you read Moneyball.

(via Castro's Favorite Color)

More animal visitors on Shellpot Creek

Finally I have visual evidence that it was probably a raccoon that visited and left footprints over the winter and not a homunculus, as I had previously thought. Here he is trekking across the backyard to go to the neighbors yard where treats are left out for him.

The same day, the duck that lives a little bit upstream passed by us to go swim a little downstream.

Add these sightings to the hawk and the white heron. We have seen the blue heron again, but no pictures yet.

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Thursday, May 24, 2007

Crane Fly closeups on the Shellpot Creek

Is there an entomological expert out there that can tell me exactly what type of crane fly I have flying around Shellpot creek? I always thought these things were mosquito killers, but I have learned that the adults pictured do not kill mosquitoes, and only the larvae of some species eat mosquito larvae.

Here is a top view

And here is a view of its underside as it perched so nicely on a glass door for me.

That pointy part at the end of the fly is not a stinger, it is an ovipositor and is harmless. My best guess of what species they are is derived from looking through the extensive pictures available on the Carnegie Museum of Natural History Crane Fly site (of course the Internet has many sites dedicated to crane flies!), is that these are Tipula (Yamatotipula) caloptera or Tipula (Yamatotipula) furca. My crane fly has the same striped wings and their abdomens have brown stripes.

Beyond that I am a little bugged out by looking through the hundreds of pictures to find my crane fly.

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Are the shirts green?

I think they mean collared golf shirts, unless they are perhaps refering to the color of the shirt. Collard is a cabbage. Collard greens are popular in the South.

Those collared golf shirts are colored collard green.

Found at Feby's Fishery on Lancaster Pike in Wilmington. Great seafood, bad spelling.

Sunday, May 20, 2007

Delaware's GDP equals Ecuador's

shows an interesting map where the GDP's of the various states are equated to countries. In this older map little Delaware has the equivalent GDP of Romania. I feel bad for New Hampshire which has the GDP of Bangladesh (but I change my tune later down this post)

Source: The York Group International, Inc.

I think people in this country still do not understand what a high standard of living we have and what benefits we have. I know I appreciate it. Perhaps the map will help.

A better and perhaps more accurate comparison can be found at wikipedia - Comparison between U.S. states and countries nominal GDP or PPP. There is also the difference between exchange rate actual currency GDP and Purchasing Power Parity. For example the dollar has an exchange rate with some country but that might not be equivalent to its purchasing power.

Source: The Honest Hypocrite, Data from World Bank and US Bureau of Economic Analysis

I have updated the map with data from 2005 using the GDP corrected for purchasing power parity. Now Delaware falls between Ecuador and Guatemala. There are other interesting equivalences. Texas has almost the GDP of Mexico, a country it was once a part of. California has a higher GDP-PPP than Russia, perhaps that state could have won the Cold War all on its own, perhaps it did in the person of Ronald Reagan. The states with the lowest GDP are North Dakota and Vermont, but they still beat countries like Estonia and Lebanon.

I know these comparisons are mostly specious since they are not corrected for population, or land area, but it makes an interesting map, nonetheless.

Saturday, May 19, 2007

Preventing fallen arches

This poor arch at the Cathedral of St. Peter in Wilmington is not living up to its responsibilities of taking the weight above it and distributing it to its legs and down to the foundation.

It seems to be getting some help from a support right in the middle.

I remember from when I studied the ancient Romans that they got pretty good at building these arches. I imagine some engineer from Rome would be upset at needing a post in the middle.

Friday, May 18, 2007

Cyano-kicking donkey derived from "copyrighted" Smithsonian pix

BoingBoing can usually be counted on to get up in arms about overly zealous copyrighting or copyrighting material that might not be. It seems that the Smithsonian institute has some questionable copyright language about pictures on their site which may be government works and thus not subject to copyright.

I can't believe they didn't do the first thing I would do with the kicking donkey sequence from the Edward Muybridge cyanotypes, which is, turn it into an animated gif. Please enjoy a cyano-kicking donkey curtesy of who is trying to free them, Edward Muybridge who took them (around 1886), the Smithsonian that preserved them (and should free them), and Gickr that did the animated gif heavy lifting. I thought this might be a fun addition to the derivative works that Carl Malamud already compiled with these pictures.

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Are you smarter than an 8th Grader?

Remember all that stuff that was taught to us in school? Even I, lover of science and knowledge that I am, must admit that not all of that stuff is useful at all times. So it seems I have forgotten some myself.

Mingle2 Free Online Dating - Science Quiz

I always did work just hard enough to get an A (minus in this case) but no harder. Post your scores in the comments.

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Battlefield Earth, bad movie, great book, Mitt Romney favorite

You probably couldn't buy the publicity for an old book like Battlefield Earth that Republican candidate Mitt Romney gave it by revealing that it is his favorite book.

The best thing to come out of the discussion is some reasoned defense of the book and post-apocalyptic science fiction in general. BoingBoing pointed to the Joshua Glenn of the Boston Globe's defense of the choice. Apparently, just like Mitt Romney, liking post-apocalyptic fiction makes me a "starry-eyed idealist, someone who believes that another world is possible." I'll take that. It is important to note that we are talking about the book here and not the film. As Candleblog points out about the book "it's a decent post-apocalyptic yarn that any nerdy teen will likely get a kick out of. It's way better than that turd of a film."

I remember reading this tome (it is over 1000 pages) in clumsy paperback form when I was a kid. I also remember my mother worried that I might be converted to Scientology by reading the book. My father, another science fiction fan like myself, shrugged off the possibility. (This would be when I tell you that today I am proud to be a Scientologist and Clear, but no, it didn't happen.) The book is definitely pulp fiction, space opera, adventure science fiction and is perfect for an adolescent boy. It certainly isn't deep science fiction, but not everything can be. I do recommend reading it if you never have.

Sunday, May 13, 2007

Would you ever have this license plate in Delaware?

I encountered this ASTRAZ license plate while driving around in northern Delaware. For those of you unfamiliar with the area, ASTRAZ obviously stands for Astra Zeneca, an international pharmaceutical company with its world headquarters in Wilmington.

Unless you are the CEO, wouldn't you avoid this license plate? I don't think it was the CEO driving around in a soccer mom van that has seen better days. It would be like having DUPONT as your personal plate in this state.

Let me give some examples for the out of staters. Would you have a GM personalized plate in Detroit? PNG in Cincinnati (P&G is Proctor and Gamble headquartered there)? How about a MSOFT plate or BOEING plate in Seattle.

Seems to me that while company loyalty is great, some personalized plates are almost community property and it is a little presumptious or sycophantic to use them.

Am I just being to critical?

Irony at the Rent-a-Center

Is it ironic? Coincidence? Apropos? that the Rent-a-center building is for rent itself.

Will I get to rent it for some enormously long time for an exhorbitant amount but then finally own it having paid five times what it is normally worth?

Wednesday, May 09, 2007

Just how many prime ribs or prime numbers are there.

Just how many numbers are prime? Something on inspired me to got to the Prime pages to figure it out. Experimentalist that I am, I just went and grabbed a list of the first thousand primes and then some points along the way to the first 15 million to see what I could see. I divided the number of primes by the prime number I had reached to get the fraction of numbers below that number that are prime. Plotting this yields a suspiciously smooth decreasing curve if you use a log x-axis, which is necessary because we have numbers from 2 to 275 million.

Since we don't have a straight line yet the next plot is of the inverse of the fraction of prime numbers. Bingo! We have a straight line. A quick check of wikipedia (Distribution of Prime Numbers. Know your search terms!) reveals that I have just empirically rediscovered the Prime Number Theorem. Typical engineer.

That theorem defines pi(n) as the number of numbers that are prime below n. The fraction of numbers that are prime that I was trying to figure out is pi(n)/n.

pi(n) ~ n/ln (n)

pi(n)/n ~ 1/ ln(n)

My plot is the inverse of the fraction on a log which gives me my straight line ln(n). The chance of a randomly selected number being prime is 1/ ln(n).

Sunday, May 06, 2007

Team payrolls, last year's results and who is gonna win the pennant this year

We had discussion at work about baseball payrolls. I wondered just how high the Yankees payroll is and who the next place team was. A plot of the 2006 payrolls and the 2007 payrolls vs their rank shows that the Yankee salary is certainly disproportionate vs. the other teams, but they are not twice the next team anymore. The Florida Marlins and Tampa Bay Devil Rays hold the last two spots.

A high salary does not necessarily get you a good winning percentage. There is little correlation between salary and winning. Take that Yankees. Here is an example from 2006, both with and without the Yankees who skew the chart.

They say that past performance does not guarantee future results. That is also true for at least the last three seasons of baseball. I plotted the year's winning percentage vs. the year before and get an even worse correlation than for salaries.

Perhaps it is the quality of players that determines how many baseball games you will win. Team payroll or past performance doesn't seem to correlate.

Friday, May 04, 2007

District of Columbia sells her dish to the Food Network

Eventually the Food Network crews were interviewing each contestant about their recipe. Delaware's neighbor (alphabetically speaking) District of Columbia explained her dish to the camera crews. Noushin Jahanian made "Warm Roasted Potato and Chicken Salad". This recipe was one of the many examples that made me sad that they didn't have the contestants prepare a dish just for us guests to taste. We were just tortured by the great smells.

The 47th Annual National Chicken Contest Concludes

Lynn did not place in the contest but everyone from each of the states that is here is a finalist. Lynn received a really nifty silver bowl engraved with her name and state. I must now fulfill my promise of a trophy case in the kitchen.

Idaho won the $100,000 prize with "Thai-inspired Stuffed Chicken Breast and Slaw". It was one of the best smelling dishes.

Of the contestants that had extra attention from the Food Network, only Ohio placed in 5th place with "Zesty Ginger Beer BBQ Pulled Chicken Sandwiches". I still can't wait to see the whole contest documentary on TV.

Off to build a trophy cabinet for our Delaware finalist.

Dancing attracts the Food Network

Whenever the "Girl from Ipa Nema" is playing, Lynn and I dance a Basa Nova without fail. The band here played a nice version with flute so Lynn and I danced. She had completed her judge entry so the pressure was off.

This attracted the Food Network camera crew. After we finished dancing they Interviewed Lynn about her recipe. They have been making the rounds to talk with everyone but the dancing might have drawn them in. Maybe we'll be on the show.

The Dish is in!

Obvious relief from everyone involved now that Lynn has turned in her delicious chicken recipe.

Let's hope that "Plantain Chip-Crusted Chicken with Mango Sauce" is a winning entry.

Jim Perdue with bodyguard

Jim Perdue is here with a fearsome chicken bodyguard. He looks like he is being a good sport. We got to meet him and make the Delaware connection.

Distractions from Food Network filming?

The Kentucky contestant looks like she doen't mind explaining her dish to the camera.

The contestants with lights at their booths, so I am guessing they are being profiled, are
- Kentucky
- Arizona
- Vermont (had previously been in the burger cookoff)
- Ohio (she is the youngest contestant)

The cameras have been at other booths. I did see them over at California. Perhaps because he was so personable with the announcer and former Alabama football star Bill Kraus.

Let's see who wins.

Contest is underway!

They started around 10am and the contestants are cooking up a storm.

Preparing the Parade of the States

Lynn looks calm cool and collected as the contestants from each state line up to be announced.

50 minutes to the big show!

Thursday, May 03, 2007

Food Network covers the Chicken Cooking Contest

The Food Network is covering the chicken contest and will make a show about it sometime this year. They have chosen some contestants to do more in-depth profiles as part of the show. You can tell from the cameras and extra lights at the booths.

Contestants not chosen for the profiles are wondering what the criteria might be and how they will go back and fill in the human interest story for the final winner. I guess, through the magic of television, they can get the story on winners not already profiled after the fact.

I'll list the ones that I can figure out are being profiled tomorrow. Let's see if one wins.

Beauty contest or Chicken contest?

It isn't really a contest and you're not a contestant if you don't have a sash. Our favorite contestant models her sash in front of the Delaware state flag and the weapon of choice for tomorrow's battle - the stove.

51 contestants vying for chicken contest supremacy

Here are all of the contestants ready to get setup for tomorrow. Our favorite contestant is at the far left of the picture second person in, on the second row from the top.

Orientation at the Chicken Cooking Contest

There are many questions during orientation at the National Chicken Cooking Contest. The rules are reasonably strict - no alterations to the recipe, it must be cooked twice from 10 to 1 tomorrow, no help from outside.

You can definitely sense the nervousness and excitement in the contestants. Whirdly remains cool and ready to cook.

Cutco is demonstrating the knives that are for the contest tomorrow and are one of the prizes to every contestant. Even I am familiar with some of the techniches so I imagine it is simple to the experts here. I guess they don't want anybody to cut themselves tomorrow.

Adventures at the National Chicken Cooking Contest

The Honest Hypocrite is lucky enough to have only the best prepared meals provided by the extremely talented whirdly (of fame).

You don't just have to take my word for it, she was selected as Delaware's finalist in the National Chicken Cooking Contest. We have just arrived in Birmingham where she will compete against her fellow finalists from all 50 states and DC.

She looks excited to begin cooking in this picture with the main component of her recipe. Please join me in wishing her the best of luck. The cooking part of the competition is tomorrow.

Wednesday, May 02, 2007

Jack Chick parody staring Tiki vs. Moai

Humuhumu posts a clever Jack Chick parody tract about the dangers of the Tiki. I am a fan of Jack Chick parody (the cthulhu version is discussed here). I was struck by the similarity of some of the poses of the tikis and some photos I took while we were on Easter Island.

It's almost as if they were there. I should point out that, technically, the statues on Easter Island are called Moai.

More disturbing is that the tract warns against the dangers of delicious tropical drinks. While we were on Easter Island and also in Chile we learned about a liquor made from grapes called pisco. Pisco is really good in the traditional Chilean drink called a pisco sour. (I am sure some Peruvians will claim it is their drink, but we should all have one and get along). I spite of the dangers to my soul (maybe if it is a sour that will save me) I will relate a good recipe that has worked for us.
Pisco Sour
1.5 parts sugar
2 parts lemon juice
3 parts pisco
shake with ice and pour into a champagne glass.
You need more sugar than any recipe will tell you on the bottle. It is very tasty.

(The pictures of the Tiki Jack Chick parody are nicely scanned in here.)

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Monday, July 25, 2016

Pokemon GO useful links

I need not explain the allure and power of the new Pokemon GO game to you all, if you aren't already playing, just google the new stories surrounding it.

My family and I are enjoying playing it.  It gets people out and walking to play the game and it is face to face social, since those wanderers you encounter are playing as well and you can help each other play by pointing out the Pokestops and Gyms and telling where you found your pokemon and finding out where they found theirs.

I am compiling some useful links in this post for my reference and yours.

Firstly, are the servers working:

Down Detector for Pokemon Go in the US.

Is Pokemon Go up or not, for the different regions.

More to come here later.

formatio said...

tubekeeper said...

simple pokemon monster sheet (max cp, rating, etc...)

apkqueen said...

I have played this pokemong go game and it is a wonderful game. So many people are played this in android phones, and computers.
Pokemon Go Apk

Robert F. Crocker said...

I know some people have written in with feedback (and in surveys) that they'd like to be able to come to events like this but cannot afford to make the trip. Especially in times like these, it's nice to be able to help out. Pokemon Go Cebu