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HSDCY

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Everything posted by HSDCY

  1. Sorry I've been away from home and didn't get online for a couple of days. For those who wanted to know which brand of rice cooker I switch it to, you can find it here. It is the type I grew up with. Although it looks very "primitive", meaning there is no fancy timer or settings allowing you to cook different grains, this baby can cook rice, beans, porridge, stew meat, steam buns, bake cakes, and reheat leftovers. The inner pan is stainless steel. It sticks only if I am cooking white rice, and it can be taken care of with just a bit of soaking. For some reason it does not stick if I cook brown rice or other kind of whole grain in it. For those who did not grow up with this kind of cooker (that means most of you), it take some getting used to. But once you learn how to use it, it will become one of the most versatile cookware in your kitchen.
  2. I had a Zojirushi for 9 years but decided to switch to another rice cooker because of Zojirushi's non-stick inner pan. In all 9 years we owned it, we've had it changed 3 times because the inner pan would start to peel after a while. We certainly did not abuse our inner pan, in fact, we took really good care of it but still ran into peeling problem. Each replacement for inner pan costs more than $50, not to mention the health effect of cooking with a peeling pan. Other than that, Zojirushi is a very good brand, we own their hot water dispenser for 8 years and never had problems with it. If you do decide on Zojirushi, and want the bean option, make sure you buy one that has brown rice function. You just need to soak your beans overnight and use the brown rice button to cook your beans. If you plan to use it daily, a 6-cup capacity for a family of 4 is enough. Hope this help.
  3. This is what my family takes. We've been using it for years without any side effect (we take one capsule every other day). We used to take this. Another very good brand, but it requires refrigeration so it's not convenient for travel.
  4. How about rooibos teas? They are caffeine-free and good for health. Here is where to order them.
  5. I got mine from Costco as well. I am very happy with it. I use it about 2-3 times a week for over a year now, and it still looks and works like a new machine. I see that you have 3 kids so I imagine you would probably make bigger batch of bread, cookies, and cakes. In that case, buy the biggest bowl and the highest watts you can afford. It will be more expensive, but it will be so much easier and convenient to use.
  6. I haven't made any tofu myself, but I make soy bean milk all the time. Here is a link to another way of making tofu without using the press. The result is silky, custard like tofu. http://www.seriouseats.com/2011/08/how-to-make-fresh-silken-tofu-from-home.html The steps of making tofu is not on that page, but if you scroll down half way, there is the slideshow in red that will take you to a slideshow which shows you the step-by-step process of making silky tofu.
  7. My son is enjoying the GC course, but he has only watched 1/3 of it. If you are just looking for something to enhance the knowledge, I recommend The Instant Economist: Everything You Need to Know About How Economy Works by the same author of the course. The book has more of less the same topics covered in the DVDs, and ds likes the book better than the DVDs because it's portable and well written, and he is not required to stare at his face for 30 minutes. :laugh:
  8. Studying Mandarin Chinese is not for the faint of heart, and this is especially true if parents are not native speakers. It can be done and I've heard of success stories, but it's very very difficult. I've known countless kids who have gone through weekend Chinese schools from k-8th only to give it up for easier languages once they are in high school. I am not saying this to put those kids down, but to show you how frustrating it is to learn the language well. Currently my son is chugging through Better Chinese (with much pain), we are able to do so because I am a native speaker. I can not even begin to imagine how someone can possibly learn the material without the help of a teacher, tutor, or parent who speaks the language. And even with a native speaker as teacher/tutor, it requires motivation, dedication, and grit to learn the language well. I am sorry this post is not too encouraging, but I just want to paint a real picture for you. If you think it's unlikely for you to be working with a tutor long term, Mandarin is not a good choice of language for your children. Hope this helps.
  9. No experience here, but we are doing physics next year with the intention of taking SAT II as well. Bumping this for you and hoping to hear from someone with experience.
  10. We are doing it right now. Here is how we do it: Chapters 1-6 (assuming your student's algebra 1 is solid), this part is basically review from algebra 1 One lesson a day, assign odd problems; one day for chapter test. Depending on how your student does on chapter test, spend 0-2 days on chapter review exercise. Chapters 7-10, this part has some review from algebra 1 and some new material Spend 1-2 days on each lesson, assign odd problems; one day for chapter test. Again, whether to do chapter review exercise depends on the chapter test. Chapters 11-12, completely new material Spend 2 days on each lesson, assign all problems, spend 2 days on chapter review exercise, then one day for chapter test. We did a lesson a day until we hit chapter 11, but I do see some students needing more time on each lesson from chapter 7- chapter 10. Adjust according to your student's need, I see spending 1-5 days on a lesson to be reasonable. I think chapter review exercises and cumulative review exercises are for extra practice, if you don't think your student grasp a chapter's concept firmly, assign those, if he does fine, just move on. Do leave more time for chapter 11 and 12. My math able son who has never found math difficult says they are challenging. We still only spend 2 days on a lesson for these chapters, but I see spending anywhere from 2-5 days reasonable. We are almost done with the book, but I plan to have ds go back and do the cumulative exercises for chapters 9-12 to see if there are any holes I need to patch up.
  11. We are very happy with ours. We have one with mp3, CD, radio capability, but no iPod dock. The sound quality is great.
  12. I love Trader Joe's pie crust, but I can't compare it with Pillsbury's though because I never had them before. I don't buy Pillsbury because I tried their biscuit dough once and dislike it so much that I never tried their product again. BTW, Trader Joe's pie crust is made with natural ingredients and tastes natural like grandma's recipe. I also use it alone to make "pie crust cookies"--simply cut them in different shapes and bake them, it's delicious!!
  13. My boy read the first book and the second book in succession when he was 11, and they stayed on his "top 20 books" list for a while. He liked the second book more than the first. He then read the third one and decided he did not want to read the rest:D
  14. Ds is taking Modern History from a co-op in the fall, the required books are: The Birth of the Modern, and Modern Times, both by Paul Johnson. I have not read them yet though.
  15. The Wiki page on Chinese zodiac is pretty thorough, and you can get a lot out of it. But I agree that there is not that much else out there. If you want more information, your best bet would be the library.
  16. We did one lesson a day (both set one and set two). Some lessons are longer than others but it's not unreasonable to finish a lesson a day, IMO. Set three is optional, I'll assign if I find it interesting or challenging.
  17. Does DNC list apply to charities asking for donations? I get those calls all the time. Of course we get telemarketers too, but I am just wondering about those calls asking for money.
  18. I've used both Dr. Bronner's and Desert Essence brands, I honestly can't tell the difference. I have not used Dr. Woods castile soap, but I love their Pure Black Soap. I use it as hand soap and shower gel, it smells heavenly!
  19. We also use Jacobs (2nd ed.) this year successfully, ds just finished the last chapter before Easter break. We like that each lesson is short and written clearly. Each lesson has three sets of exercises, and set 3 is usually a challenge question or a problem for you to look and think deeper into the concept of that lesson. The only thing I don't like about the book is the chapter on non-Euclidean geometry. I honestly don't see the point of including that chapter in the book except to expose students to the existence of it. Otherwise, I'd say it's a solid geometry textbook.
  20. I also recommend Alcumus. If you want material in book form, then I would recommend this, published by AoPS for math competition preparation. It's a perfect book for summer.
  21. I didn't see the thread you mentioned, but these are what we use: Laundry: ECOS liquid laundry detergent from Costco Hand soap: Dr. Bronner's Pure Castile Liquid Soap, see here. Household Cleaner: LifeTree All-Purpose Home Soap, see here.
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