It is important, if one believes in anti-trust, to take whatever small personal actions one may take, as a consumer. For example, migrating off the large monopoly platforms when possible. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter -> Mastodon ($10/year donation) Gmail, etc., email -> Fastmail ($50/year fee) (referral code), may switch to mailbox.org, roughly the same price, but ... Read more
Fluency and automaticity Building fluency in math and language is significantly (though not exclusively) building automaticity in recognizing and recalling math facts, and the sounds, spelling, and meaning of words, respectively. Foundationally, building automaticity must in fact be based on tasks which do so. This seems obvious but isn't so, as an incisive article reveals: ... Read more
Ketchup is a bit expensive and full of not-so-nice ingredients (or super expensive and organic). We make ours in about 10 minutes using tomato paste, water, salt, sugar, and vinegar. One can always add more ingredients (garlic, onion, etc.), but it is not necessary. Ingredients One small can tomato paste 1/2 cup water 1 TBSP ... Read more
The main reason of my interest in Roman cement is the self-healing properties, especially in marine environments, and consequent waterproof ability, and adhesive strength. It seems to have many features which make it superior for stone pointing, stucco, tiling, and roofing uses, as well as for repair and restoration. > From a material perspective, Roman ... Read more
Printing is easy but making a nice binding is not as simple or easy. Many people use comb binding / spiral bound, which also make it easier to lay the book pages flat and to turn them. Useful when using the book as a reference, or simply having multiple readers. Lumbeck Bookbinding Lumbeck bookbinding is ... Read more
Science of Math has taken cues from the Science of Reading. Though it is seen as lagging by a few years, there is already a solid body of research regarding how children learn math and how to best teach it. As with the Science of Reading, the focus is on proven explicit, direct, systematic instruction, ... Read more
Collagen - Harvard school of public health I thought it was a scam -- can collagen really turn back the clock? - The Guardian 24-Week study on the use of collagen hydrolysate as a dietary supplement in athletes with activity-related joint pain
MuseScore is a free and open source music notation application. Is MuseScore 4 a Sibelius killer? Installing MuseScore on Linux MuseScore 3 is available through standard software channels such as apt in Debian. MuseScore 4 (a substantial upgrade) is distributed as an appimage (as of March 2023, and may be available in Debian Sid). Not ... Read more
Learning Piano app (Simply Piano) My seven year old started to learn the piano at age 6, at first it was messing around with an app (Simply Piano), though he committed to 15 minutes per day. We did that for about six months, but using an app has many drawbacks. My children like this, but ... Read more
Reasons for homeschooling Homeschooling is a way for parents to take on the primary responsibility for educating their children. By primary I mean as the sole guiding source of instruction. While in many cases, state or third party curricula is used, as well as shared resources or even online courses and enrollment in distance education ... Read more