Hi Laura. You're correct. Gilgamesh does say it there, but: 1) Siduri repeats the quote back to Gilgamesh in Tablet X, and what threw me off as the teacher (and what probably threw my son off as I explained the assignment and gave examples from the teacher's edition) is that the sample progymnasmata in the teacher's edition is written from the perspective of Enkidu having died already, which hasn't happened in Tablet V, and he had already read the whole book by the time of the assignment. I spoke to a guy at VP who mentioned the location of the first quote, but agreed with me that the perspective of the essay in the teacher's edition doesn't really match up with where that is in the story. Bottom line: Extra Credit for my 7th grade boy for finding the quote in Tablet X, and respectfully asking if the book was wrong. Yeah, Cole!!! Thanks for your help.

On the Optional Assignment (progymnasmata) for Session 3 under Epic of Gilgamesh, Omnibus quotes Gilgamesh, and attributes the quote to Gilgamesh himself. It seems that the quote is really from Siduri, the female tavern-keeper. Am I missing something? The quote:"Who is the mortal able to enter heaven..." The teacher's edition goes forward under this assumption, but it seems wrong. Any help? I already put this question on the VP forum, but it doesn't look very active.

Jeff Buckley's "Hallelujah" is THE most listened to song on my iTunes by a mile. First fell in love with it during an episode of the West Wing, when Simon got shot. BTW: Number 2: Lucky Man by The Verve Number 3: In the Air Tonight by Phil Collins (some Phil Collins or Genesis song has been in my Top 5 since 1984) Number 4: Bittersweet Symphony by The Verve Number 5: My Own Prison, by Creed

is just dealing with - ahem - a girl. (Got 6 of them - plus a wife) My suggestion. 1) Truly try to understand. 2) Let your own behavior speak for itself, and remind her of it - in a loving way, but definitely be confident in that. "I'm sorry you're hurting. I love you and care for you, and you know that I love you and care for you. A lot of times talking helps you just process whatever's going on. I'm here if and when you want to talk about it, but you're big, and I'll let you determine when that is. I've always warned that if I ask "how you're doing?" then that's just me being a concerned parent and I do it because I care. Forces her to own it a little, and be an adult about it. At least as far as her interaction with you goes. DON'T do #3 This is my opinion - not a fact.

Michael Jackson Thriller also Billie Jean and Smooth Criminal Several others from the 80's come to mind, but let's just say that their appeal to me as a teenage boy probably was not entirely because of the "story" that they told.

Yep. Split the project into manageable pieces that you can accomplish in a relatively short amount of time. But, truly... teenagers are excellent rock movers...

If you know of any animal that mauls any other living thing, shoot it. Then shoot it again.

for sewing machines last Christmas time. Spreadsheets, interviews, the whole deal. I'm sure there are some here who know more than I do, but here's what I found out. I was looking for one for a 15 yo (serious sewer, clothes mostly, not quilts), and my 8 yo, who is a pretty smart cookie, and had shown a propensity to really stick with it. The search started because my 15yo was using a 15yo Singer, and it kept breaking with heavy fabric. The Sewing machine store snob (I mean salesperson/repairperson) told me that I really needed a good one to keep this from happening. After looking a lot online, here are some basics of what I learned, and what I ended up buying. 1) First, I was SHOCKED at the prices. 2) More recently(last 15 yrs or so), the internal workings of most sewing machines have been made with plastic parts. If working with thinner fabrics, that's probably not a big deal, but my daughter (excuse, me "DD" - I'm still a larvae, you know) was breaking hers while trying to sew tri-folded denim. So, you have to get a nicer brand(more $), in order to get the metal innards. 3) Bernina and Pfaff were the two finalist brands - for their quality, and the fact that each brand had a distributorship in Charlotte, so we could get everything from tech support to lessons to accessories at an actual store with real people. In the end, we ended up going with Bernina, because their store was 30 miles closer. If the store that sold the Pfaff was closer, I probably would have bought those. 4) I wanted to get one for 15yo DD that would last her for years and years to come. So, I bought a Bernina Aurora Anniversary Edition. With additional feet (I added a walking foot - that seemed to be a big deal), I think the total was about $3500. She has already made several dresses of her own, and other projects. So, I feel good about the purchase. The store offered 8 free classes to new owners, which were very helpful. 4) For 8yo DD, I bought her a (Bernina) Bernette 66, which was about $300. In just a few yrs, our 15 yo will be out of the house(along with her very nice machine), and this machine is a good basic one for mending, etc. This has been a good machine for her to learn on, and it works very well. She got to go to several of the classes with her older sister. That was neat. But, its a good adult, very cabable sewing machine. Bottom line, though, is that if your 10 yo already loves to sew, then I would get her a good adult machine. Toy or kid machines are just that.

No question about that. But, agreed - model home furnished, not homeschool family furnished. ;) But, hard to sell anything now, furnished or not.

It is only a bad thing to have around your lawn. Spreading it around with the topsoil will only take away from the good properties of the soil. Won't help anything grow, isn't even that pretty to look at (nor very effective)as a mulch, and is very attractive to pests. Reviving a lawn can be costly, in terms of fertilizer, so if you're limited in funds, I would make your natural area larger, so you don't have to buy more than one bag of fertilizer, and just get rid of some of your lawn. I would take advantage of the rocks. That's a really neat product to use, and there are a variety of ways to use them. But, you gotta get rid of the sawdust from the stumps...

Have you tried using "twitter" to promote your blog? Once you've gotten several good posts out there, and then you think you have a really good one, tweet about it with a catchy intro and then link it in the tweet. Tag it so that folks following what you're writing about will see. Getting to know the twitter lingo is not hard, but I've attracted some readers to my faith and politics blog with it.

going ahead and participating. You're right, though, about no obligation to do so. I have some years. Some years, I haven't, and one year I sent in the card, but forgot to send the stuff at the end of the year. Never heard from DNPE one way or the other. Our school has been in operation since 2000.

Don't let the landlord's immorality of the unjust and vague request for $3100 affect your morality of having to pay for what you legitimately owe. Stay on the up and up along the way. Protect yourself, legally, to be sure, but still do the right thing. The fact that she made you move out within 30 days was, I assume, within the terms of the lease. So, that's just irritating to you, but not illegal. My suggestion: Go ahead and send a letter as soon as possible stating that: 1) You received her letter requesting $3100 in damages. 2) As you know, your letter does not comply with TX law for documenting renter damages. (No reason to go into detail into what does comply - that's her bag.) 3) That said, you want to leave on amiable terms, and that you certainly understand wanting to avoid the level of effort and expense required to send a fully compliant damage statement. And, barring the fully compliant damage statement within 30 days, you do understand that we are entitled to our entire security deposit back. 4) So, in your own estimation(and, be really honest here), you owe approximately $750 for the following things: a)... b)... c)... 5) Please return the remainder of $250 to us within 15 days(or 30 days, whatever the law is there). Then, wait for the 30 day clock to run out, and it should just drop, and you shouldn't expect to get the $250 back. Bottom line: Don't be stupid, but pay what you owe. If you've ever decried situational ethics or moral relativism, here's your chance to stand up for doing the right thing... And don't let dollar signs sway you from doing that.

Just tell them that YOU don't feel comfortable having that many folks in your cramped quarters. And, that you'd love to see them, but they'd have to stay at a hotel while in town. Be nice, but let THEM own the problem and stress of it, not you. No one gets to invite themselves into your house. But, only if you actually don't let them. If you let them, then you're telling them that its OK, and all the hints won't matter.

Go to the website of MathCounts. Read their statement, and read HSLDAs(an organization I trust), as well. There does not seem to be an anti-homeschooler theme, but a pro fairness theme. I'm all for a "call to arms" when necessary. But, I am also for a deep breath when necessary, as well. We can do harm to the perception of what homeschoolers (and homeschooling parents) are if we bring the hammer without taking the time of effort to see things from MathCounts point of view. From their point of view, it seems that some homeschoolers(and others "posing as homeschoolers") were taking advantage of rule loopholes in order to gain an unfair advantage, and made several attempts at rule modifications in order to keep things fair. Their response to HSLDA is seemingly a positive one, and focused on finding a fair minded solution. I don't have any children involved in MathCounts, but I am interested in preserving a positive name/reputation for the homeschooling community.