Right now !! Or whenever you can, LOL. I was envisioning "waves" of people going through the novels. Just post something in the group whenever you want to discuss something, or join in on a previous thread.

I've heard other people say this, but I don't really understand it. I was wondering if you might be able to elaborate a little. What do you need faith "in" to be an atheist? How is that more demanding than having faith in Christ?

If I won the lottery, I would go back to school and get a PhD in political science and/or history. Then I'd become a professor and spend the summer / winter breaks traveling. I like my job, its very interesting, and well paying ... but too stressful for me to do without needing the money! I would have to *do* something though, otherwise I would just sleep/eat all day long.

The social group is open to the public so anyone can read the discussion when its convenient for them. I was also planning a separate social group for each book, that way there could be several "waves" of people reading through the books. And if you don't want to read Don Quixote ... skip it!! Even SWB admits to have never completed Moby Dick.

TWEM recommends the Penguin Classics, translated by John Rutherford. This also is available on kindle/ibooks if you don't want to lug around the 1,000 page book!

It never accrued to me that your personality type might influence whether you have faith or not. That's really interesting!! By its definition, I don't think you can have "certainty" in faith. At least, not what you are looking for. You choose your faith, or you are given your faith, or you accept your faith. So, no real help, but some questions for you to consider: Why do you want to believe? What happens if you come to the conclusion that you don't believe?

:lurk5: I posted this pretty late last night, so bumping for everyone that is not a night-owl.

In the US we have a LEED certification program for green building. Its completely voluntary, but I believe most states and federal government offer tax breaks for the achieving the various levels of certification offered. Plus, the owner's get bragging rights. Essentially, LEED is a long list of items of "green building;" the more you include in your building, the more points you get. Off the top of my head, here are some things that get you LEED points: Installing bicycle racks to promote bicycling to work (yep, that gets you points) Using geothermal wells to heat/cool the building Installing solar panels Installing dual-flush toilets, low-flow sinks, etc. Using green roofs (reduces heating costs and stormwater runoff) Managing stormwater is a big issue. We use to store the first inch-of rain during a storm event in large ponds; anything else would immediately flow into a nearby stream, wetland, etc; and the pond would slowly empty over a couple of days. Turns out, this is really bad for the environment. Stormwater runoff is really dirty (think of all the oil and grime on parking lots and all the chemicals used to maintain lawns). Stormwater runoff is also hotter than groundwater (only a couple of degrees, but enough to make a difference.) Then you also have all of the erosion problems associated with releasing a lot of water in one location. Now, we try to keep stormwater "on-site" and mimic nature as much as possible. Infiltration basins are really popular; they put the water back into the ground similar to what happened pre-construction, and they filter the water. But there are lots of other things: bioswales, rain gardens, reducing pavement area, planting trees, restoring wetland areas, etc. For the homeowner, there are many things you can do. For example: Install a tankless water heater Use low-voc paint, carpet, etc. Use recycled building materials (i.e. recycled glass counter tops) Replace old windows with energy-efficient windows Maintain calking around windows/doors to prevent heat/cooling loss Use black-out curtains to block the sun during the summer Turn-off lights when you leave a room !!! (this is a big pet-peeve of mine :tongue_smilie:) Hope that helps !

A couple of us are going to start working through The Well Educated Mind. First up is Don Quixote. I've created a social group if anyone is interested in joining our discussion.

I created a social group "TWEM - Don Quixote" for anyone that wants to join in (or just follow along) with the conversation. Looking forward to reading everyone's opinions on such a monumental work of literature. :D

Have you seen the Real Life Math series. Working on these every once in a while might make things more interesting for him.

I'm in the middle of a book now, but hope to finish it this weekend. So I should be able to start on Don Q next week :)

This use to always be the case, but now automatics typically get a higher MPG, especially when looking at continuously-variable transmissions. (These are mostly found on hybrid cars but some car makers are using them in non-hybrids.)

:seeya: Me ... me ... me .. pick me LOL I'm in the same/similar boat as you. Stumbled upon these boards after finding The Well Educated Mind. No kids yet, but love the idea of a classical education. I keep getting sidetracked onto other projects, but if I had someone to discuss the books with, I would definitely put a priority on TWEM. When do you plan on staring? How fast (how many pages per week) do you think you might read? Maybe we could start a social group for on-going discussions? Maybe one for each book so people could jump in at any time???

As a computer programmer, he would certainly have to understand and use math, but by no means does he have to be a math "genious." For what it's worth ... I remembering hating math in 6th and 7th grade; mostly because I was bored. When I got into algebra it finally started to get interesting and math quickly moved up to my favorite class. If he is serious about computer programming, you might want to expose him to some math topics outside of the typical high school math track, i.e. number theory, linear algebra, etc. These concepts may become more important as he progresses through college, although he will still need to take and know calculus, LOL. At this point I would not worry. Just because you have to work harder to understand something doesn't mean you can't become good at that thing.

I learned to drive manual when I was 21. I wanted a new car after I graduated college and the only thing in my price range was the manual. The car after that was also manual ... it's fun to drive as long as you aren't in stop-and-fo traffic. I just bought a new car this month and its automatic. It's almost near impossible to find manual transmissions these days!!! Automatics get better gas mileage and most people prefer automatic, so the car companies are moving away from manual transmissions.

I'm going to have to respectably disagree with this statement. Part of the problem is that the term "STEM" covers such a wide range of topics. But at least for engineering, geometry is just as important as algebra.

If he is thinking computer science/programming, drafting really isn't necessary. If he is thinking more like electrical/mechanical engineering than it would be useful, but not necessary. (There are plenty of engineering students in college that have never taken drafting.) You might want to consider an elective in Logic ... this would be beneficial for engineering, computer science and law. For AP courses, I would recommend Physics, Chemistry, and an English course. (Do NOT underestimate how important good communication skills are for engineers!!!!! <---- sorry, a pet peeve of mine :tongue_smilie:) AP Biology if he is really interested in it. Economics would also be a good choice (some undergrad programs in engineering require it). Along with a mock trial team, you might want to look and see if there is a robotics team he could participate in. BTW, I know several people that got bachelors degrees in engineering and then went on to become lawyers. If a building collapses, its really helpful to have a lawyer that understands how engineering "works."

You may want to consider taking a third year of Latin in 11th grade. From what I've read, colleges really want to see three years of one language. Two years of Latin plus two years of Spanish may put your daughter at a disadvantage. In contrast, three years of Latin plus two years of Spanish might put her ahead of the curve.

These may not all be appropriate for your DD16 due to some graphic violence/sex, but here are some "contemporary" novels I have enjoyed: The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho Atonement, Ian McEwan Freedom, Jonathan Franzen The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini Life of Pi, Yann Martel A Prayer for Own Meany, John Irving The Road, Cormac McCarthy White Teeth, Zadie Smith

How about trying to think of things that are original to your region of the country, even if they now distribute internationally. For me that would mean: Tastykakes from Philadelphia Salt Water Taffy from the Jersey Shore Pretzels from Pennsylvania Dutch Campbell's Tomato Soup from Camden (with Pepperidge Farms Goldfish and/or instructions on how to make a grilled-cheese sandwich) Hershey's Kisses from Central PA Apple Butter from a local Orchard

Not sure if this is what you are looking for, but here are some books that are on my reading list that examine atheism/agnosticism: Society without God: What the Least Religious Nations Can Tell Us About Contentment Faith No More: Why People Reject Religion Faitheist: How an Atheist Found Common Ground with the Religious Good Without God: What a Billion Nonreligious People Do Believe

West Point Bridge Design Contest :thumbup:

How about "The Well-Educated Mind" by SWB? She gives an overview of five "genres" of literature: Novels, Biographies, History, Drama, and Poetry. Included with this is a recommended method of reading, a "history" of the genre, a list of questions to discuss as you read, and recommended reading lists. I think she even gives recommendations for improving vocabulary. The book itself is about 400 pages long, but at least two-thirds of that consists of brief summaries of the books on the reading lists, so its actually a pretty quick read. I've also found "Essential Literary Terms" by Sharon Hamilton to be a useful supplement.

I've decided to go back to the basics this summer, and try to improve my English language skills ... I'm looking for a thorough review of English Grammar. I like the looks of Analytical Grammar, but the cost is a bit more than what I was hoping to spend. Does anyone have any recommendations for similar, but less expensive (and maybe a bit more advanced), products? In other words, does a college-level grammar workbook exist? On a similar note, I'm also looking for a "phonics for adults" type of book. I love, love, love the looks of All About Spelling (would have been perfect for me when I was a kid!), but there is no way I can afford to purchase all seven levels. And it is a bit too juvenile for me. I would also really like to find something that has an audio component. I'm beginning to think the reason I've always been such a horrible speller is that I never really learned to "hear" words correctly. Thanks!