You don't have to have a "perfect" diet in order to lose weight! You just need to eat fewer calories than you burn! If there's something *real* that you can't live without, fit it into your diet in moderate quantities. I've found that if I try to deny myself *everything* that's "bad for me", I end up not eating it for about a month and then binging. (ie 3 dozen cookies at once or something) I also agree that you'd be far better off with a few tablespoons of real cream rather than 6 of fake cream.

This depends totally on the school. Some accept AP/CLEP classes in full, some require replacement with a higher course, and some decline them completely. It isn't a difference between AP/CLEP so much as it is a difference between schools.

I eat them ... and this happens to me a lot, because somehow I always crack one.

Is jousting a sport? :P Can you link medieval combat to modern sports such as fencing and archery? Or is he only interested in team sports?

There should be some way to appeal. When I was admitted (not to MIT, but to a different well-endowed school), my financial aid offer included the family farm as an asset. When I appealed and wrote that we couldn't just sell off part of the farm as someone else might be able to sell off part of their stock portfolio, they increased the offer to a reasonable amount.

I am very sorry -- this must be scary. I hate to make you even more paranoid ... but if you're still driving a vehicle that he might recognize, you should check your lug nuts every. single. time. you get in. A psychotic woman who was stalking my brother found his car and loosened his lug nuts, more than once. Once his wheel came off while he was driving it, and once the hub cap came off and he noticed and checked and sure enough they were loose. He had no proof, so there was nothing he could do at that point. Stay safe. I wouldn't alarm you further, except that it's obvious this guy is not in his right mind.

I don't have any recommendations for a non-calculus statistics book that I've actually used, unfortunately. However, if you check the sample of LOF Statistics which is available on his website, he does say that the book can easily be done without Calculus if you omit one half-chapter. He lists the prerequisites that you need -- none of them are particularly overwhelming. For computers, I like the looks of the books from www.motherboardbooks.com, and they have good reviews, but again I haven't used them. However, they're specifically designed for homeschoolers. The Logo Adventures course is labelled for grades 3-7 and the main course for grade 5+. By high school, I would expect that computers will have changed enough that any recommendation now would be outdated by then.

With regards specifically to math: There is a lot of really fascinating math which isn't covered in the standard high school classes simply because there isn't time. You don't have to go straight to Calculus. Post-Algebra options for accelerated learners could include, but certainly are not limited to: Number Theory/Counting and Probability/Problem Solving from the Art of Problem Solving people. They offer texts and also offer online classes if you're unsure of your ability to teach them. Statistics, but make sure that you're choosing an Algebra-based instead of Calculus-based textbook. Another one I've heard mentioned is Jacobs Mathematics: a Human Endeavor. This would probably have some overlap with the Discrete texts mentioned before, but would be different problems and still be interesting. An introduction to computer programming would be another possible rabbit trail. By the time your DD gets past Algebra I, there may be more options available, and there are undoubtedly many I didn't list. :)

I've had pretty good luck using www.mypyramidtracker.gov to track food. I also increased my exercise at the same time. For me, the real key was finding exercise that I loved enough that I want to go not because it's good for me but because I love doing it. I do Aikido 3-4x a week now for 2 hours. It's been wonderfully good for me, both physically and mentally. :)

Our first beef calf was named Hamburger King. We also had Steak, Ribsy, T-bone and YumYum. :)

I thought a limit was one of the concepts you learned about in calculus. Are you telling us it doesn't exist after all? :(:(

Just a question -- if he's 'kinda dumb', does his mother have sufficient access to selenium? We've found that a lot of times the 'dumb' calves are selenium deficient. We don't see many anymore since we treat all the cows with a selenium injection in the last month of pregnancy. Of course, some of them still are just dumb ;)

The man who mistook his wife for a hat, by Sacks. It's summer reading for some AP Psych courses ... it's a series of case studies of people with odd mental illnesses. I don't recall anything graphic in there. I found it fascinating. Check the reviews on Amazon or something to see if it's what you are looking for.

Pasting from the wikipedia page here: Trigonometry (from Greek trigōnon "triangle" + metron "measure")[1] is a branch of mathematics that deals with triangles, particularly those plane triangles in which one angle has 90 degrees (right triangles). Trigonometry deals with relationships between the sides and the angles of triangles and with the trigonometric functions, which describe those relationships. Calculus (Latin, calculus, a small stone used for counting) is a branch of mathematics that includes the study of limits, derivatives, integrals, and infinite series, and constitutes a major part of modern university education. Historically, it has been referred to as "the calculus of infinitesimals", or "infinitesimal calculus". Most basically, calculus is the study of change, in the same way that geometry is the study of space. Generally, trigonometry comes before calculus because you can do calculus *with* trigonometric functions. If your children are doing a precalculus with trig course, a separate study of trigonometry is unnecessary. For pre-med and physical therapy, they should take mathematics every year of high school, and possibly retake it at university for a good grade record. It depends on the medical school, but your best bet is to take at least two semesters of calculus and one of stats if you're planning pre-med.

I found what I was looking for in a Lutheran church. I understand that some can be more conservative than others, but the general atmosphere in the one which I attend is that all who believe in Christ are welcome. There are college students who show up having obviously dragged themselves out of bed at the last minute, and the welcome is 'glad you could make it!'

I love goats, but having known a child who suffered serious eye damage from a horned goat, I disagree on the necessity. Child bent over to hug the goat, goat pulled head up for some reason and the horn went right to the eye. It is true that they will not intentionally try to gore you. If done very young with a disbudding iron, there is pain for a few minutes, then they drink a bottle of milk and appear quite happy. Dehorning an older goat is much more painful. You can use artificial insemination, but far easier is to find a nearby person with a buck, and when yours are in heat (it is usually fairly obvious), transport them to the male. The back end of a minivan works reasonably well for this, if you put down a tarp first. You can also lease a male for a few weeks during the season. I wouldn't carry him in your minivan though, the smell is awful. If you keep a male with dairy goats, all the milk will smell like buck.

My friend (who's grading English at a university) says definately instead of definitely can lead to some amusing mistakes. The first word spellcheck suggests is 'defiantly' which results in papers where a student asserts 'I defiantly believe that ...' And yeah, a lot of people I know were never taught the rules for when to use I/me, but just had 'and I' thumped into their heads so much at school that everything wants to go that way now.

It is more that the university classes (in my experience) don't really assume that you remember anything from high school, or even that you took the subject, unless there's a stated prerequisite or placement test. So classes like "US History I/II" will not usually have "High school US history" as a prerequisite, nor will they assume that you know much about it already. They will (usually) cover the subject matter faster and/or deeper than a high school course, but they cover the same subject matter. A student who is able to handle the accelerated pace should be fine, but a student who isn't yet ready at 16 might need the time in high school level courses. At some of the better universities, the background knowledge expected is much higher -- I'm thinking more of average community college/state universities.

Are you looking for an actual program, or some explanations? There are several questions linked off this page: http://mathforum.org/library/drmath/sets/select/dm_add_sub_fract.html You could also try here: http://www.mathsisfun.com/fractions.html Alternatively, you could try sneaking your kid's book away from him and working through it yourself, before he gets there. Then you'd be familiar with the way they are going to teach fractions.

The whites make a super angel food cake.

Calvert has a Civics in America course that they list as an enrichment course for 6-8 grades -- maybe someone who has used it can review it?

You don't know what'll set some kids off ... I read the little house books, including the scene where Grandpa gets chased through the big woods by a panther ... and there was a big tree right outside my window ... I was *terrified* (at age 6)

Ditto on Rifles for Watie.

I never touch it unless I'm out to dinner and it's served. I'm not quite sure why ... the texture has always bothered me. I do eat plenty of vegetables from other sources, just not salads!

My mother's OBGYN was named Dr. Ovary.