Just got the $3.99 black Angel recorder from Amazon for my son's birthday, and tried it out last night. Surprised at the quality of the thing for the price, and darned if it didn't sound a whole lot better than I remember from elementary school! eta: It didn't occur to me that you might be looking for one for yourself; my suggestion is for your child - and yes, Key of C. As for keyboards, Yamaha puts out a lot of really nice portable units, self-contained (don't need an amp or speakers, etc.). If you're just starting out, I don't really see the need to lay out the cash for weighted keys, but the full 88-key length should probably be a priority. I also don't have all that strong an opinion on synth-format keys vs. full-size piano keys, as I've played both for years and years nad have no problems. Although I would recommend against teeny-tiny miniature keys, yes.

Yep, sounds like "phishing"... You call them and they get your credit card info, then they go on a shopping spree, knowing that you don't use that card and probably won't know about it for a month at least!

I recall things taking a bit of time. Ok, I looked back at my emails: I made the Paypal payment August 20 at 9 a.m. I got the G3 confirmation email with my login info August 23 at 1:30 a.m. I recall that Discovery Streaming takes a few extra days before they'll recognize your login. Hope that helps.

My son turns six on Friday...we're fairly modest money-wise with birthdays so what I got him was: 1. A flutophone and instruction book 2. A new "Orange County Choppers" bike helmet 3. Dr. Seuss' "Happy Birthday To You!" book (a favorite from my own childhood)

No problem, thanks.

Unnecessary drama in what would be a very interesting and insightful thread.

My goodness, is this thread about the economic recovery (or lack thereof), or historical atrocities? ...as BG mentioned, can't we separate good policies from bad, and let them stand on their own merits? What we face in the fairly-near future is pretty serious - in spite of what the media will have us think, printing more money is NOT going to help us.

That's a fact! Hubby and I play in an 80's cover band and we have a rehearsal space set up in the basement. My little guy's been playing drums since he was about 2, and now goes down each day after school to decompress. He's no prodigy but he pulls together some neat drum riffs and has a great feel for rhythm. He also plays the piano in our living room, and we've given him a few throwaway guitars (both electric and acoustic) which are set up with an amp in the living room. I grew up playing piano, then flute and tenor sax, so we're a musical family. When listening to music we "pull out" certain instruments (trying to isolate the sounds with our ear) to listen to them (i.e. "Wow, do you hear the violins/piano/bass drum in that song?") and then we'll imitate along to emphasize that particular part. Also, keep in mind, a beginner doesn't necessarily need a baby grand piano. There are plenty of electronic keyboards that are completely self-contained (yamaha makes some dandy ones, very reasonably priced). That and an "X" stand with a chair is all a child would really need...until you determine she's decided piano is "it!" for her. Then you might look into a "real" piano. They're expensive new, but incredibly cheap used (when we were moving, the best price we were offered on ours was $500, only 10 years old in beautiful shape. It was nearly $6,000 new.) Until then, though, there's a lot of ways to learn how to make music at a young age, that don't take much space! :)

Everyone I know started music on a recorder/flutophone. They can be had on amazon.com for a couple dollars, and there are basic music books to go along with them. My son has been toying with drums, guitar, and piano. For his sixth birthday I did buy a flutophone and instruction book. It's so simple to learn the basics (rhythm, notes sequence, rudimentary music reading, woodwind fingering) using them, that I think it encourages them to pursue music further.

Isn't that the subscription that, along with Brainpop, is included with a G3student subscription? I'm sure the co-op will refund you...right? I mean, if it doesn't work, it doesn't work! They've been very responsive to any of my questions so drop them a line--and if you paid using your visa and they say "no refund" I'd dispute the charge!

I believe we're living in our new reality, for at least the next decade or so. I also believe that it has to get worse one way or the other. 1. We take our medicine and cut back sharply on the things that cost us the most (entitlement programs, "make-work" projects here, overseas nationbuilding). People will suffer badly for this... 2. We keep printing money so people "feel rich" and keep spending. Inflation and eventually, a worthless dollar. Do a little research on Argentina or Zimbabwe. Better yet, the Weimar Republic... We will see worse pain before we see recovery. I fear for the futures of my kids, one of whom is in college, one about to join the Army, and one in first grade. What do they have to look forward to? I feel they're being ripped off. We had the "boom years" when everything was great, and jobs were a-plenty. They will pay for it. So sad. JMHO but I'm not alone in this view. It's why we started a garden, stock up on food when it's on sale, and have chickens and meat rabbits.

This! While I'll admit to being willing to dispatch a venomous snake to discourage a large population from developing around my house, non-venomous snakes are possibly the largest rodent-reduction aids you could possibly hope for! Please get used to the snakes; they truly are your friends. Identify the venomous ones in your area and get a feel for what they look like, and please try to live with the others!

Sorry; I wasn't trying to be critical; since you didn't know about neutering, I thought maybe you were new to having pets around the house.

I would respectfully, vehemently disagree with this; this is a family that's clearly new at the pet thing. Let's not suggest they take on too much. A dog is MUCH more care than a cat (or even 2 cats). I get that you're saying "ultimately" but to the OP, please don't run out and get a dog to protect your cats...your cats will be fine. We have coyotes near our house every night of the week and they've never bothered our wandering cats. Clearly these aren't "pets" since they're outdoors-only working cats. If you're concerned about losing them to coyotes, maybe you want to make them indoor-outdoor cats after all...

Please, please get them neutered. There is absolutely no reason not to... And many important reasons to do it. They may help control thing rodent population but I don't think that cats have any real interest in catching snakes. Leaving the snakes alone, however, will help control your rodent population as well. We let our cats come and go as they please but they spend many a night outdoors. Cats are resourceful creatures and find cozy places outdoors. I've never heard of a "cat house" in this sense of the word. Please get them fixed, for their sake and yours.

He should use the VISA function, NOT the atm function, anytime he makes a purchase. That way at least you have some recourse. As far as the ATM withdrawals go, you're at the mercy of his word/memory. Not to disparage your kid, but he is 19. Isn't it possible he might not remember making the transactions...even though you've asked him a million times? It hardly seems worth the torment you're putting yourselves through. If it's his money, he'll have to count it as a learning experience and be more cautious. If it's your money, maybe you can ask the bank for a lower daily limit to at least limit your exposure. It would seem if someone were going to take a chance on fraud, they'd have taken more than a couple dollars...

Homesteadingtoday.com is a fabulous forum. I'm a member of several forums that deal with homesteading / survivalism / patriotism but that might be more than what you're looking for. Folks there have some strong opinions on their politics...but the homesteading portions of the sites are fantastic. There are some really smart people on the forums who have been working toward self sufficiency for a long time, and have learned a lot along the way.

There's also an alternate method that includes eating all you want of certain foods... And if I recall correctly that list is pretty substantial. Even on the regular plan you can eat all you want of most vegetables...

I was very, very happy with their online membership. I don't have the time or inclination to go to meetings so that worked really well for me. I really should sign back up again... :-/

You'll be pleased with meat rabbits. The meat is spectacular and they're incredibly easy to care for and process. We keep a few chickens, but just for the eggs; the thought of slaughtering and plucking the chickens makes me cringe, compared with how easy rabbits are. We used klubertanz for the cages - very easy to assemble - and hung them from the ceiling in our shed so that they're easy to clean beneath. The chickens scratch around in the rabbits' litter and take anything interesting they find in there; it's really a fabulous, symbiotic relationship they have. We have 1/2 acre in NJ and nobody would know we even have rabbits, much less that we eat them lol... Enjoy -

I can't be a costco member. I have a self-control problem at costco/sam's/bj's. I can't go in there without spending at least $300. It never fails... (eta: Inflation-adjusted, that'd probably be $500 in today's prices!)

If you've got another aldi nearby, give them another chance...ours is lovely. And it's an easy shop; we call it "costco jr." because there's not that much selection, everything's pretty cheap, but unlike costco you don't have to buy things by the case. We've also found very little "product of china" items, if that helps! :)

I've drunk walmart ("great value") and it's drinkable but... I prefer to wait until I see the 33-oz jugs of either folger's or maxwell house go on sale (sale = less than $9 - not very often!). I buy a bunch and keep them in the basement. Colombian coffee, for me, has the best coffee flavor. I find lately that their "standard brew" - whatever that is - tastes very weak and non-hearty. Since prices are still going up, I've started recycling my grinds. After the pot has brewed, I put the basket (with the filter & grinds) in a tupperware in the fridge. When I brew a new pot the next day, I just add about 1/2 of what I'd normally use, to the old grinds. It really doesn't taste bad at all. Next day I start over; I'm not to the point where I'll use twice-recycled grinds. This only saves about 25% I guess, (if my math is right...) but it helps.

I haven't been part of the original convo, although have read your initial post, so this might be a moot point. I raise meat rabbits and my only advice, if you're getting a pet rabbit that you plan to keep in the house, make it a female. Males project their urine out up to 3' of the cage, and the urine stains everything. Rabbits are a difficult animal to enjoy, since unless you're willing to stay on top of them on a daily basis, they really smell badly. Obviously you're not looking for a meat rabbit so your problem would probably be much less intense with the size of the rabbit. I would also consider that terriers are chasers and you may find your bunny being tossed around like a rag doll after the dog chases it down. Anytime one of our rabbits has gotten loose, it's our pit mix that has rooted it out and killed it. p.s. "awkward in the suburbs"...unless it's illegal/forbidden by zoning, I'd get what makes my family happy. I've heard great things about goats, though we don't have any yet. I had a friend as a kid who raised an orphan fawn in his house. Why not? Who cares about "awkward" :) eta: I see it'd be kept outside - good call! I presume you've already gone into the issue of bunnies reproducing like...rabbits, right? You'd have to either keep them isolated, or ensure that you only get multiples of the same gender. Seriously. They breed instantaneously, and without fail. It is the act of intercourse that triggers heat in the female, so she's technically always fertile.

Due to the government subsidizing corn for biofuel instead of food, PLUS bad weather this season, there is a shortage of corn. That means very expensive feed for livestock. Expensive feed for livestock means unless the farmer raises his price at market, the animals are too expensive to breed more and raise to slaughter size. So they're going to be slaughtering livestock they'd have normally bred...which means for a little while, meat will be cheap. But then, there'll be a shortage of meat so it'll rise dramatically in price. At least that's what I'm told on the other forums I frequent.