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Grizzly Mama

There's a Grizzly who has escaped the City of Brotherly Love..(and she's going back to homeschooling!!)

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Location: Out of Philly, Pennsylvania, United States

"All who have meditated on the art of governing mankind have been convinced that the fate of empires depends on the education of youth." Aristotle - Greek Philosopher.

Saturday, December 30, 2006

'Celebrating Justice' in Iraq

Saddam is gone. I am glad. The Brothers in Baghdad share their view of it - click the title and you will be transported to their most recent entry.

If you would like to see the leaked video of Saddam being hung, check out the panda video link right here: Video of Saddam Being Hung. Apparently someone with a cellphone who was present at the hanging took the video. It's crappy but you can see what's happening.

Capital Punishment is no fun, but it is sometimes necessary in my opinion.

I pray that Iraq will move forward with strength and unity, defeat the mohammedan terrorists in their midst, and create a free and vibrant country.

God bless America. God bless Iraq.

Link

Friday, December 29, 2006

Aesop's Fable Friday

The Bear and the Fox


A Bear was boasting one day of his great love for mankind, saying that he had such a respect for humans that he would not even touch a dead body.

A Fox nearby said smiling, "I would think more of your love if you never ate them alive."

Moral of the story: Kindness is better given to the living than to the dead.

Wednesday, December 27, 2006

One Of My Favorite Gifts This Christmas.



The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (And the Crusades), by Robert Spencer.

Actually, I received a Borders gift card. (Love getting gift cards!) The girlies got gift cards, too. We went to the diner for a bite to eat and off to the bookstore we went.

The 10 year old got a little painting kit called OptiArt. She has learned the hard way that she must paint words backward and finish the foreground before the background on these little glass pebbles. The 6 year old got a field guide to edible plants. Just last week she asked if there was such a thing as a book that could tell a person about edible plants with pictures in it. Voila! She is very, very happy with it!

And Lucky Me got the P.I.G. to Islam! I have been skimming through it and I can hardly wait to get into it. Right now I'm finishing up The Honourable Schoolboy - that has not been an easy read. I have been enjoying it but it's not a book that one can just blow through. Westerby may just get out of this little pickle yet. I'm rooting for him and the girl and I never stop rooting for Smiley.

I hope that you received some nice presents, too!

Monday, December 25, 2006

Merry Christmas!



The fire in the fireplace is burning, all the Christmas lights are lit, I said, 'To hell with the sweet dough!' and almost forgot to bake the pie that I am to bring to dinner later on. The piles from Santa are out, the stockings stuffed. (I will not do another load of laundry until Christmas is over!) Mom-mom made marinade with shrimp for dinner - - she just whips it right up! We ate too many cookies and a lovely antipasto, and lots of shrimp cocktail. Whatever can't get done WON'T get done! That is more than okay.

God bless you and Merry Christmas. God bless America.

Friday, December 22, 2006

Aesop's Fable Friday

The Work Donkey and the Wild Donkey


A Wild Donkey, who was wandering idly about, one day came upon a Work Donkey lying at full length in a sunny spot and thoroughly enjoying himself.

Going up to him, he said, "What a lucky beast you are! Your sleek coat shows how well you live: how I envy you!"

Not long after the Wild Donkey saw his acquaintance again, but this time he was carrying a heavy load, and his driver was following behind and beating him with a thick stick.

"Ah, my friend," said the Wild Donkey, "I don't envy you any more: for I see you pay dear for your comforts."

Moral of the story: Advantages that are dearly bought are doubtful blessings.

Oh alright. I guess that's an okay moral. Somehow it doesn't quite fit to a 'T' for me again. I can't think of anything better. Maybe something about the choice between comfort and freedom. Oh heck - maybe that's what that moral is saying. I'm BEAT!!

I've got some more cookies to bake and the sweet dough to get going. Bathroom to clean and presents to wrap and - oh gosh. All kinds of stuff!

Tuesday, December 19, 2006

The Essay

Global Warming
5th Grade Grizzly Cub
12/19/06

Greenhouse gasses trap heat in our atmosphere. Here is how greenhouse gasses are broken down on Earth:

Water Vapor - 95%
CO2 - 3.618%
Methane - 0.368%
Nitrous Oxide - 0.95%
Misc. - 0.072%

NASA's Mars orbiter shows that Mars may be going through global warming. The sun has been at its strongest for the past 60 years and may be affecting global temperatures. The brightening started relatively recently, 100 to 150 years ago. The global temperature increased about 0.2 degrees C over the past 20 years. To determine the sun's role in global warming, scientists measured magnetic zones on the sun's surface. They are sunspots. They are believed to intensify the sun's energy. Going back several hundred years they found that a dearth* of sunspots meant that a cold period could last as long as 50 years, but over the past century the number increased as the Earth's climate changed. The sun's brightness increased over the past 2 decades. Cosmic rays accelerate the formation of clouds in our atmosphere. Clouds have a cooling effect on Earth. Recently the sun's magnetic field doubled, reducing the influx of cosmic rays. This resulted in a reduction of cloudiness, which would be a factor in warming the Earth.

450 million years ago, CO2 levels were over 10 times higher than they are now and the planet was experiencing the coldest period in the last 1/2 billion years. The belief of worldwide warming is contradicted by the fact that massive areas are in fact cooling, such as N. & S. Pacific, the Amazon Valley, N. coast of South America, and many other places. When considered overall, warming and cooling are almost in balance. New studies also show that living plants emit a considerable amount of Methane in the presence of air.

In 1999, Michael Mann published a graph of past temperatures in which the Medieval Warming Period was not taken into account. The MWP occured starting about 1,000 B.C. and was followed by a little ice age in the 14th century. Mann and his team chose to get rid of the MWP so that their results showed what they wanted to show. Their work was accepted without criticism even though their results were not supported by the full facts.

Professor Bob Carter of the Marine Geophysical Laboratory at James Cook University in Australia, in response to Gore's movie 'An Inconvenient Truth', said, "The man is an embarrasment to U.S. science and its many fine practitioners, alot of whom know (but feel unable to state publicly) that his propaganda crusade is mostly based on junk science." Dr. Wibjorn Karlen, Department of Physical Geography and Quaternary Geology, Stockholm University, Sweden says, "The 'mass balance' of Antarctica is positive - more snow is accumulating than melting off. As a result, there is an increase in the 'calving' of icebergs as the ice dome of Antarctica is growing and flowing to the oceans."

* Dearth - scarcity or lack. Her new favorite word. It had to be looked up, of course, but she is now (successfully) attempting to use it in everyday conversation. My mother used this word a lot.

So - there it is. Not perfect, but not bad for a kid. It took several days and many hours of complaining because of all of that horrible writing that had to be done. I told her, "Be glad you are expected to write - - in some countries they would hang you if they knew you were trying. Or possibly whip you or bury and stone you." (A little tough - but it's true.)

Many interesting conversations have been spawned by the research that we had to do for the essay. One had to do with why scientists would be afraid to speak up for disagreeing with Gore's vision of global catastrophe. It is a hard thing to explain to a 10 year old how science can be politicized. How funding can be cut off. How one can be barred from submitting scientific evidence to journals. How a person's reputation can be smeared and how that can be devastating. It is a hard thing to explain.

This was a hard essay for her to complete. The writing of it was only part of the difficulty. Challenging her to read data and then write in her own words what it meant to her - man. I was constantly reeling myself in and forcing myself to keep my mouth shut. Interestingly enough, we found many sources that didn't even list water vapor as a greenhouse gas. I asked her, 'Why do you think they would ignore water vapor?' She couldn't answer but I hope that it got her thinking. She struggled, but she did it. I think she did good.

Friday, December 15, 2006

Aesop's Fable Friday

The Arab and the Camel


An Arab loaded his Camel, and then asked him whether he preferred to go up or down hill.

"Why do you ask, Master?" said the Camel dryly. "Is the level way across the desert closed?"

Moral of the story: Of what use is it to pretend there is a choice when there is none?

Thursday, December 14, 2006

O...M...G...




Two and one half hours to write one and one half paragraphs.

I mentioned that the 10 y/old really, really, REALLY hates writing, didn't I?

Painting 'The Scream' (or The Cry) by Edvard Munch.

Tuesday, December 12, 2006

New 2008 GOP Primary Straw Poll - GOP Bloggers

Like our last poll, you get to pick which candidates you find acceptable andwhich ones you don't and it will tally who has the largest net positive ornet negative support, and you can choose which candidate is your firstchoice for the GOP nomination in 2008... You can indicate what state you arein. New in this poll, you can give your gender and your age bracket.

The results are pretty interesting and I saw atleast one new name there.


Link

Friday, December 08, 2006

Aesop's Fable Friday

The Tortoise and the Eagle


A Tortoise, discontented with his lowly life, and envious of the birds he saw disporting themselves in the air, begged an Eagle to teach him to fly.

The Eagle protested that it was idle for him to try, as nature had not provided him with wings; but the Tortoise pressed him with entreaties and promises of treasure, insisting that it could only be a question of learning the tricks of the air.

At length the Eagle consented to do the best he could for him, and picked him up in his talons. Soaring with him to a great height in the sky, he then let him go, and the wretched Tortoise fell headlong and was dashed to pieces on a rock.

Moral of the story: It is better to keep both your feet on the ground.

That is, if you are not a bird.

Thursday, December 07, 2006

New Sunspot and a Ferocious Radiation Storm



I found, courtesy Drudge, a really cool site. It is named 'SpaceWeather' and it is worth a visit. The image of the sun that you see was taken by a man named Gary Palmer.

Enjoy!

Link

Monday, December 04, 2006

PHAT Mommy, homeschooling mom, on BlogTalkRadio


She will be a guest on BlogTalkRadio this Tuesday night (December 5th) to discuss homeschooling. The show description is as follows:

PHAT Mommy's segment will begin around 10:30 p.m. Her 'opposition' is Joanne from PunditMom, who will be speaking in favor of private schooling.

The web site to listen is here: BlogTalkRadio.

PHAT Mommy would love it if you could call in between 10:30 and 11:00 p.m. to support her and homeschooling by posing thoughtful questions to PunditMom.

Even if you can't call in it would be great for you to listen. If you can't listen on Tuesday night, you can listen to it at a later time.

PHAT Mommy blogs @ PHAT Mommy dot com.

It all depends on how bedtime goes for me. If things go well (things are getting interesting in 'The Secret Garden' bedtime story!) I will definitely listen in. I hope that you can, too!

Saturday, December 02, 2006

Can you tell...



I'm totally into maps?

This one here's a beaut! Courtesy of USGS. (U.S. Geological Survey)

Friday, December 01, 2006

Aesop's Fable Friday

The Horse and the Stag


A Horse used to graze in a meadow which he had all to himself. But one day a Stag came into the meadow, and said he had as good a right to feed there as the Horse, and moreover chose all the best places for himself.

The Horse, wishing to be revenged upon his unwelcome visitor, went and asked a man if he would help him to turn out the Stag.

"Yes," said the man, "I will , but only if you let me put a bridle in your mouth and mount on your back."

The Horse agreed to this, and the two together very soon turned the Stag out of the pasture: but when that was done, the Horse found to his dismay that in the man he had got a master forever.

Moral of the story: Vengeance may be worse than the deed that provoked it.

My alternative moral: You're better off taking care of these kind of things yourself!!

Another alternative moral: Don't obligate yourself to anything distasteful even in times of need.