Stifling our teenagers?

Are we wrecking our teenagers by over-protecting them? That is the conclusion of Dr. Joe Allen. Newsweek sums up his book as follows:

Allen has concluded that our urge to protect teenagers from real life – because we don’t think they’re ready yet – has tragically backfired. By insulating them from adult-like work, adult social relationships, and adult consequences, we have only delayed their development. We have made it harder for them to grow up. Maybe even made it impossible to grow up on time.

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New Smithsonian human origins exhibit

A new $20 million 15,000 square foot exhibit has been built around a central question: "What does it mean to be human?" says paleoanthropologist Rick Potts, director of the Smithsonian's Human Origins Program and curator of the project. It all makes good sense, which means that it is about to be attacked by a huge numbers of people who dread the idea that they are human animals. If only these anti-science types would learn to take deep breaths to follow the evidence wherever it leads. They would find that we humans are part of an immense and intricate tree of life. what possible concocted story could be more amazing than that?

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Tell me about my house

I recently learned about a data-rich site focusing on real estate: zillow.com Would you like to know about your own house, for instance, would you like to know what it's worth? Then type your own address into the home page field. You'll also find lots of information about your neighbors' homes. Looking for a home? Zillow will help you with that too

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Serious about the environment? If so, build an earthship

If you're really serious about preserving the earth's resources, you can build and live in an "earthship." Each type of earthship is defined by the following set of principles: * Thermal/Solar Heating & Cooling * Solar & Wind Electricity * Contained Sewage Treatment * Building with Natural & Recycled Materials * Water Harvesting * Food Production For instance, with regard to electricity,

Earthships produce their own electricity with a prepackaged photovoltaic / wind power system. This energy is stored in batteries and supplied to your electrical outlets. Earthships can have multiple sources of power, all automated, including grid-intertie.

Lots of photos and details regarding earthships can be viewed at this website. There are many varieties, including retrofitted pre-existing housing, described here, this section serving as another review of the basic principles. Here is a video introduction:

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Pick your plot

A friend sent me the this youtube, "The Time Machine," which allows you to chose your path through a time travel adventure. I hadn't seen this sort of thing before, and can't quite decide whether the choice points are entertaining or annoying, as a general principle. It's obvious that the authors of this particular video had a fund time creating it.

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