I enjoyed Michael F. Shaughnessy's interview with Charles Barber on his book Comfortably Numb: How Psychiatry Is Medicating a Nation. In the interview Charles Barber says:
"I make it clear in every interview I do that the drugs can be very effective – life-saving – for legitimate psychiatric disorders, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depression.What's happened is that we've generalized the use of the drugs every outward to less and less severe conditions, and to everyday life problems.
As you move into lesser or non-mental illnesses, the cost-benefit ratio of the drugs becomes more dubious, and we overlook some common-sense approaches to everyday problems and milder depression that can be very effective --changes in diet, exercise, cognitive-behavioral and other therapies.
I argue that certainly for everyday problems of living the drugs are not the answer."
It looks like a book worth reading. I have read too much instances of children being giving heavy duty drugs for normal situations.
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Technorati tags: psychiatric, drugs, mental illnesses
Monday, May 12, 2008
Canadian Canadian Home Educators Blog Carnival is up
The 3rd edition of the Canadian Canadian Home Educators Blog Carnival is up.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education
Saturday, May 10, 2008
What should we call schools run by the government?
David W. Kirkpatrick's recent column What Are "Public" Schools? challenges us to reconsider just what label we use when referring to schools run by the government.
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The working definition of words is ultimately whatever is most widely accepted and virtually everyone uses "public schools" to mean the current government owned and operated system. Government owned and operated is, by definition, socialism but to say so upsets the education establishment. A few persons have begun to use the term "government schools" as being more accurate.
To this many in the school establishment vehemently object. Like a character in Alice in Wonderland they want words to mean exactly what they say. They realize that to speak of "public" schools is more effective than to talk about "private" schools, especially when attempting to persuade taxpayers to foot the bill for them.
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I will start using the phrase "government schools" more often in the blog.
He continues with:
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Yet this was not preordained. As Milton Friedman pointed out, government uses tanks, planes and ships but does not own factories that manufacture them. Similarly, it uses private construction companies to build public buildings and highways. Yet somehow it eased into owning and operating an education delivery system even though that required overcoming strong public opposition, a history that has long since been forgotten, if ever recalled at all.. Private institutions which died did not do so because they didn't work but because they couldn't compete with a publicly funded "free" monopoly.
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I like the thought at the end of the column:
"Americans, with our supposed love of freedom and democracy, never question the right of the state to proselytize children. That to me is one of the great affronts to human liberty."
Gore Vidal, p. 44, MM Interview, pp 62-70, Tom Wicker, Modern Maturity, April-May 1994
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Technorati tags: government schools, public school, public education, education
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The working definition of words is ultimately whatever is most widely accepted and virtually everyone uses "public schools" to mean the current government owned and operated system. Government owned and operated is, by definition, socialism but to say so upsets the education establishment. A few persons have begun to use the term "government schools" as being more accurate.
To this many in the school establishment vehemently object. Like a character in Alice in Wonderland they want words to mean exactly what they say. They realize that to speak of "public" schools is more effective than to talk about "private" schools, especially when attempting to persuade taxpayers to foot the bill for them.
-----------
I will start using the phrase "government schools" more often in the blog.
He continues with:
-----------
Yet this was not preordained. As Milton Friedman pointed out, government uses tanks, planes and ships but does not own factories that manufacture them. Similarly, it uses private construction companies to build public buildings and highways. Yet somehow it eased into owning and operating an education delivery system even though that required overcoming strong public opposition, a history that has long since been forgotten, if ever recalled at all.. Private institutions which died did not do so because they didn't work but because they couldn't compete with a publicly funded "free" monopoly.
-----------
I like the thought at the end of the column:
"Americans, with our supposed love of freedom and democracy, never question the right of the state to proselytize children. That to me is one of the great affronts to human liberty."
Gore Vidal, p. 44, MM Interview, pp 62-70, Tom Wicker, Modern Maturity, April-May 1994
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Technorati tags: government schools, public school, public education, education
The cost of public education is more than publicly acknowledged
The cost to educate students in K-12 is high. In the United States the national average is over $9,000 a year. That is per student, each year, $9,000! I've joked once or twice that it would be cheaper to offshore our public education. We could fly our students to India and educate them there, saving thousands of dollars, per student.
Well Richard G. Neal says the reality is the costs are much higher. In Free Public Schools are Far from Free Actual Costs Greatly Exceed Published Costs he explains:
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Unlike businesses in the private sector, public school budgets often exclude many significant costs when computing expenditures, thus giving misleading information to the public. The Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs (OCPA) found this to be the case in its comprehensive study, "Education in Oklahoma: The Real Costs." Based upon my hands-on experience with school budgets around the nation, the findings of this report are generally applicable to other states.
The report says that the state government's "official" per-pupil cost of education in Oklahoma in the 2003-04 school year (latest available figures) was $6,429. This amount was derived by the procedure commonly practiced in school districts nationally, that is, by dividing the (published) school district budget by the number of students in the district. However, when OCPA performed its thorough accounting according to the generally accepted accounting principles as promulgated by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board, it came up with a shocking real per-pupil cost of $11,250.
Why the difference? Unlike private-sector businesses, the government's school accounting systems exclude many significant and legitimate costs. If the CEO and finance division of any publicly held company attempted to influence public opinion with such misstated public financial data, they likely would be subject to criminal and civil prosecution. Remember Enron and WorldCom?
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That is amazing. The true cost of public education may be twice as high as the published numbers.
Richard then goes on to explain some of the hidden costs:
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Unbelievably, the "official" per-pupil cost did not include – according to OCPA accounting procedures – a number of significant expenditures. (1) Oklahoma taxpayers subsidize the retirement benefits of Oklahoma teachers by having part of taxpayers' individual income taxes, sales taxes, and use taxes sent directly to the Teachers Retirement System of Oklahoma, thus bypassing incorporation into local school district budgets. (2) The state's Department of Career and Technology pays for part of middle and high school business and industry programs. Again, not reported in the local district budget. (3) Yearly depreciation of school buildings is not included in district budgets. This unaccounted-for wear and tear amounted to about $2.2 billion in 2000. (4) The Teachers' Retirement System of Oklahoma defined benefit plan annually adds debt that will be paid for by future generations. In 2003, the total unfounded liability of the retirement system was $1.93 billion. This same problem exists in state retirement funds throughout the nation, where 45 states have gaps between assets and promised benefits.
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Unfortunately there are even more hidden costs. Read Richard's column for more details.
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Technorati tags: public school, public education, education
Well Richard G. Neal says the reality is the costs are much higher. In Free Public Schools are Far from Free Actual Costs Greatly Exceed Published Costs he explains:
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Unlike businesses in the private sector, public school budgets often exclude many significant costs when computing expenditures, thus giving misleading information to the public. The Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs (OCPA) found this to be the case in its comprehensive study, "Education in Oklahoma: The Real Costs." Based upon my hands-on experience with school budgets around the nation, the findings of this report are generally applicable to other states.
The report says that the state government's "official" per-pupil cost of education in Oklahoma in the 2003-04 school year (latest available figures) was $6,429. This amount was derived by the procedure commonly practiced in school districts nationally, that is, by dividing the (published) school district budget by the number of students in the district. However, when OCPA performed its thorough accounting according to the generally accepted accounting principles as promulgated by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board, it came up with a shocking real per-pupil cost of $11,250.
Why the difference? Unlike private-sector businesses, the government's school accounting systems exclude many significant and legitimate costs. If the CEO and finance division of any publicly held company attempted to influence public opinion with such misstated public financial data, they likely would be subject to criminal and civil prosecution. Remember Enron and WorldCom?
----------
That is amazing. The true cost of public education may be twice as high as the published numbers.
Richard then goes on to explain some of the hidden costs:
----------
Unbelievably, the "official" per-pupil cost did not include – according to OCPA accounting procedures – a number of significant expenditures. (1) Oklahoma taxpayers subsidize the retirement benefits of Oklahoma teachers by having part of taxpayers' individual income taxes, sales taxes, and use taxes sent directly to the Teachers Retirement System of Oklahoma, thus bypassing incorporation into local school district budgets. (2) The state's Department of Career and Technology pays for part of middle and high school business and industry programs. Again, not reported in the local district budget. (3) Yearly depreciation of school buildings is not included in district budgets. This unaccounted-for wear and tear amounted to about $2.2 billion in 2000. (4) The Teachers' Retirement System of Oklahoma defined benefit plan annually adds debt that will be paid for by future generations. In 2003, the total unfounded liability of the retirement system was $1.93 billion. This same problem exists in state retirement funds throughout the nation, where 45 states have gaps between assets and promised benefits.
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Unfortunately there are even more hidden costs. Read Richard's column for more details.
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Technorati tags: public school, public education, education
Friday, May 09, 2008
Reminder - send in a post for the next Carnival of Homeschooling
The next Carnival of Homeschooling, which will be hosted at Mom Is Teaching.
As always, entries are due Monday evening at 6:00 PM Pacific Standard Time.
Here are the instructions for sending in a submission.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education, Carnival of Homeschooling
As always, entries are due Monday evening at 6:00 PM Pacific Standard Time.
Here are the instructions for sending in a submission.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education, Carnival of Homeschooling
Thursday, May 08, 2008
Maybe we should have our babies born in Canada
Recently I read a column about how some parents in Canada come to the United States for the birth of their children. Parents are not able to get good medical care in Canada in some situations. (I can not remember where I read this column.)
Judy Aron reports on a recent federal law which makes me wonder if now parents will be trying to have their children born in Canada. In Bush Signs Bill To Take All Newborns' DNA Judy explains:
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Last week President Bush signed into law a bill S. 1858, known as The Newborn Screening Saves Lives Act of 2007 which will allow the federal government to begin to screen the DNA of all newborn babies in the U.S. within six months. This is a move by the government to initiate the establishment of a national DNA database. (Wasn't there an episode of X-File like this?) The justification for this law is that it represents preparation for any sort of "public health emergency." The bill states that the federal government should "continue to carry out, coordinate, and expand research in newborn screening" and "maintain a central clearinghouse of current information on newborn screening... ensuring that the clearinghouse is available on the Internet and is updated at least quarterly." Like we want that information on the Internet too right?
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(Update I - 12 May 08)
My brother found a lecture by Mark Steyn which I think may have been what I vaguely remembered: “Is Canada's Economy a Model for America?”
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Technorati tags: baby, DNA
Judy Aron reports on a recent federal law which makes me wonder if now parents will be trying to have their children born in Canada. In Bush Signs Bill To Take All Newborns' DNA Judy explains:
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Last week President Bush signed into law a bill S. 1858, known as The Newborn Screening Saves Lives Act of 2007 which will allow the federal government to begin to screen the DNA of all newborn babies in the U.S. within six months. This is a move by the government to initiate the establishment of a national DNA database. (Wasn't there an episode of X-File like this?) The justification for this law is that it represents preparation for any sort of "public health emergency." The bill states that the federal government should "continue to carry out, coordinate, and expand research in newborn screening" and "maintain a central clearinghouse of current information on newborn screening... ensuring that the clearinghouse is available on the Internet and is updated at least quarterly." Like we want that information on the Internet too right?
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(Update I - 12 May 08)
My brother found a lecture by Mark Steyn which I think may have been what I vaguely remembered: “Is Canada's Economy a Model for America?”
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Technorati tags: baby, DNA
I am glad I'm not the principal at this school
The Philadelphia Inquirer reports:
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For school officials in Haverford Township, the challenge was daunting: What do you do when a 9-year-old student, with the full support of his parents, decides that he is no longer a boy and instead is a girl?
Parents of a third-grade student at Chatham Park Elementary School approached the administration on April 16 to ask for help in making a "social transition" for their child.
The Haverford School District consulted experts on transgender children, then sent letters to parents advising them that the guidance counselor would meet with the school's 100 third-grade students to explain why their classmate would now wear girls' clothes and be called by a girl's name.
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Wow. What a mess.
If the parents really want to go forward with this, it seems like it would have been better for the poor child to quietly withdraw him from one elementary school and enter the student at another school.
(Hat tip: Best of the Web)
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Technorati tags: parenting, children, public school, public education, education
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For school officials in Haverford Township, the challenge was daunting: What do you do when a 9-year-old student, with the full support of his parents, decides that he is no longer a boy and instead is a girl?
Parents of a third-grade student at Chatham Park Elementary School approached the administration on April 16 to ask for help in making a "social transition" for their child.
The Haverford School District consulted experts on transgender children, then sent letters to parents advising them that the guidance counselor would meet with the school's 100 third-grade students to explain why their classmate would now wear girls' clothes and be called by a girl's name.
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Wow. What a mess.
If the parents really want to go forward with this, it seems like it would have been better for the poor child to quietly withdraw him from one elementary school and enter the student at another school.
(Hat tip: Best of the Web)
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Technorati tags: parenting, children, public school, public education, education
Television show attacking fathers
Kathleen Parker has a good column at a planned FOX TV show designed to attack deadbeat fathers. In The Father of All Bad Ideas she explains why this show is a bad idea. There seems to be a trend to bash men, to bash fathers, and to bash males in general. This show will go after fathers who are accused of not supporting their children enough. But Kathleen explains:
"The more accurate picture of a deadbeat dad is an unemployed or underemployed bloke who sees more jail cells than golf courses. A common sequence of events for the poorest deadbeat dads goes something like this: Fall behind in child support, get arrested and put in jail, lose your job, fall further behind in child support."
I was surpised to learn:
"Clearly, some men are sinners and some women are saints. But sometimes the reverse is true. In fact, noncustodial mothers are 20 percent more likely to default on child support than noncustodial fathers, according to U.S. Census data. But we don’t see a reality show aimed at humiliating moms."
Glenn Sacks focuses on the double standard men are held to in the legal system. If a male teacher has sex with a student they can be facing decades in jail. If a female teacher has sex with a student they might only spend a couple months.
Recently he wrote Man Stabbed in Domestic Dispute, Almost Dies--and KABC Morning Hosts Think It's Funny:
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I was dismayed when KABC entertainment reporter Debra Mark (pictured) lightly and semi-laughingly mentioned that one of the film crew had been "stabbed in a domestic dispute."
In fact, according to the UPI article she was reading from (see below), the man almost died. Host Doug McIntyre (pictured below) and co-host Rob Marinko, both normally reasonable men, seemed mildly amused, too.
All together now--"If a wife was stabbed and almost murdered by her husband, would we be amused by it?"
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Glen is also opposing the TV Fox show:
"We oppose Bad Dads because it unfairly depicts divorced fathers as uncaring and selfish, when research clearly shows that most divorced dads pay their child support and remain a part of their children's lives, often under difficult circumstances. It also publicly humiliates children of broken families by depicting their fathers as not loving or caring for them."
You can learn how to voice your concern about attacking fathers by going here.
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Technorati tags: fathers
"The more accurate picture of a deadbeat dad is an unemployed or underemployed bloke who sees more jail cells than golf courses. A common sequence of events for the poorest deadbeat dads goes something like this: Fall behind in child support, get arrested and put in jail, lose your job, fall further behind in child support."
I was surpised to learn:
"Clearly, some men are sinners and some women are saints. But sometimes the reverse is true. In fact, noncustodial mothers are 20 percent more likely to default on child support than noncustodial fathers, according to U.S. Census data. But we don’t see a reality show aimed at humiliating moms."
Glenn Sacks focuses on the double standard men are held to in the legal system. If a male teacher has sex with a student they can be facing decades in jail. If a female teacher has sex with a student they might only spend a couple months.
Recently he wrote Man Stabbed in Domestic Dispute, Almost Dies--and KABC Morning Hosts Think It's Funny:
---------------
I was dismayed when KABC entertainment reporter Debra Mark (pictured) lightly and semi-laughingly mentioned that one of the film crew had been "stabbed in a domestic dispute."
In fact, according to the UPI article she was reading from (see below), the man almost died. Host Doug McIntyre (pictured below) and co-host Rob Marinko, both normally reasonable men, seemed mildly amused, too.
All together now--"If a wife was stabbed and almost murdered by her husband, would we be amused by it?"
---------------
Glen is also opposing the TV Fox show:
"We oppose Bad Dads because it unfairly depicts divorced fathers as uncaring and selfish, when research clearly shows that most divorced dads pay their child support and remain a part of their children's lives, often under difficult circumstances. It also publicly humiliates children of broken families by depicting their fathers as not loving or caring for them."
You can learn how to voice your concern about attacking fathers by going here.
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Technorati tags: fathers
Popping the Higher Education Bubble?
I've written in the past that because for decades the cost of higher education continues to sky rocket twice as fast as inflation, that we may be reaching a point where it doesn't make cents to go to college. Last year I predicted that there would be a revolution in higher education.
Batman at Yeah Right sees similar fundamental changes, but for different reasons. In Popping the Higher Ed Bubble:
"Yesterday, Instapundit linked to an interesting article here about "the next market bubble" being higher education, where government subsidies (obstensibly, to improve access to higher education) have had the unintended (but certainly foreseeable) consequence of inflating the costs of college: "Over the last 10 years, after adjusting for inflation, tuition is up 48% at public schools and 24% at private schools."
There are several important parallels with the recent housing bubble; policy goals of extending participation (in higher education, in home ownership) led to people with serious credit risks borrowing a lot to pay a lot for something that, it turns out, isn't worth what they paid. (Instapundit also linked to a comment by Dean Esmay explaining his regret about ever bothering to pursue a college degree.)
This bubble, like all bubbles, will have its tragic stories, so I don't want to cheer this on. But if there's a silver lining, it's that it may make people rethink the value of those four years that polite society assumes you need."
It may happen sooner, or it may happen in a decade or two, but at some point higher education will have to adjust dramatically, or cease to exist as we know it.
I wonder if there will be a higher education homeschooling movement?
(Hat tip: Instapundit)
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, public school, public education, education
Batman at Yeah Right sees similar fundamental changes, but for different reasons. In Popping the Higher Ed Bubble:
"Yesterday, Instapundit linked to an interesting article here about "the next market bubble" being higher education, where government subsidies (obstensibly, to improve access to higher education) have had the unintended (but certainly foreseeable) consequence of inflating the costs of college: "Over the last 10 years, after adjusting for inflation, tuition is up 48% at public schools and 24% at private schools."
There are several important parallels with the recent housing bubble; policy goals of extending participation (in higher education, in home ownership) led to people with serious credit risks borrowing a lot to pay a lot for something that, it turns out, isn't worth what they paid. (Instapundit also linked to a comment by Dean Esmay explaining his regret about ever bothering to pursue a college degree.)
This bubble, like all bubbles, will have its tragic stories, so I don't want to cheer this on. But if there's a silver lining, it's that it may make people rethink the value of those four years that polite society assumes you need."
It may happen sooner, or it may happen in a decade or two, but at some point higher education will have to adjust dramatically, or cease to exist as we know it.
I wonder if there will be a higher education homeschooling movement?
(Hat tip: Instapundit)
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, public school, public education, education
Good exposure for homeschoolers
Valerie Bonham Moon writes Now THIS is an article about homeschooling:
"Courtesy of Debbie Schwarzer, the legal chair of the HomeSchool Association of California.
What it takes to be a homeschool parent, 1 May 2008, abc7 News, KGO-TV/DT San Francisco, California (video report)"
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education
"Courtesy of Debbie Schwarzer, the legal chair of the HomeSchool Association of California.
What it takes to be a homeschool parent, 1 May 2008, abc7 News, KGO-TV/DT San Francisco, California (video report)"
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
Wake County school board has the right to assign students to year-round schools against parents' wishes
Decisions like this just confirm that public schools believe they are in charge - Court of Appeals gives Wake a win on year-round schools:
"The Wake County school board has the right to assign students to year-round schools against parents' wishes, the state Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday.
The unanimous decision reverses an earlier Superior Court ruling. That opinion said the school board needed to get parents' permission to send students to year-round schools.
The school system has been seeking that consent for the 2008-09 school year in an effort to deal with overcrowded classrooms. Now, though, the Court of Appeals has ruled that such a move isn't necessary."
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Technorati tags: children, public school, public education, education
"The Wake County school board has the right to assign students to year-round schools against parents' wishes, the state Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday.
The unanimous decision reverses an earlier Superior Court ruling. That opinion said the school board needed to get parents' permission to send students to year-round schools.
The school system has been seeking that consent for the 2008-09 school year in an effort to deal with overcrowded classrooms. Now, though, the Court of Appeals has ruled that such a move isn't necessary."
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Technorati tags: children, public school, public education, education
The start of something big: Manufacture and Sell Anything — in Minutes
Manufacture and Sell Anything — in Minutes is about how the design, built, and sell product cycle has shrunk from months and even years down to minutes.
I'll see if my daughters want to try making something out of this for a summer job.
(Hat tip: Instapundit)
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Technorati tags: cool, technology
I'll see if my daughters want to try making something out of this for a summer job.
(Hat tip: Instapundit)
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Technorati tags: cool, technology
How technology may destroy public schools
Robert X. Cringely (A pen name for Mark Stephens) write in War of the Worlds: The Human Side of Moore's Law about how technology affects the education process. I'll pull out a few interesting points, but the whole article is worth reading.
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The real power of Moore's Law lies in what the lady at the bank called "the miracle of compound interest," which has allowed personal computers to increase in performance a millionfold over the past 30 years. There's a similar, if slower, effect that governs the rate at which individuals are empowered by the technology they use. Called Cringely's Nth Law of Computing (because I have forgotten for the moment what law I am up to, whether it is five or six), it says that waves of technological innovation take approximately 30 years - one human generation - to be completely absorbed by our culture. That's 30 years to become an overnight sensation, 30 years to finally settle into the form most useful to society, 30 years to change the game.
The key word here is "empowerment." Technologies allow us to overcome limitations of time, distance, and physical capability, but they only empower us when they can be gracefully used by large, productive segments of our society. The telephone was empowering when we all finally got it. Now it is the Internet and digital communications.
Here, buried in my sixth paragraph, is the most important nugget: we've reached the point in our (disparate) cultural adaptation to computing and communication technology that the younger technical generations are so empowered they are impatient and ready to jettison institutions most of the rest of us tend to think of as essential, central, even immortal. They are ready to dump our schools.
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(I bolded the last line.)
Later he writes:
"These are kids who have never known life without personal computers and cell phones. But far more important, there is emerging a class of students whose PARENTS have never known life without personal computers and cell phones."
Most of the current generation of parents are comfortable with PCs and the internet. Their children are aggressive in their use of technology.
He makes the point that one of the things that keeps public schools going is reputation. When people work out ways to certify that a person has the equivalent of a high school education, public schools will be in real trouble.
Good article.
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Technorati tags: children, public school, public education, education
-------------------
The real power of Moore's Law lies in what the lady at the bank called "the miracle of compound interest," which has allowed personal computers to increase in performance a millionfold over the past 30 years. There's a similar, if slower, effect that governs the rate at which individuals are empowered by the technology they use. Called Cringely's Nth Law of Computing (because I have forgotten for the moment what law I am up to, whether it is five or six), it says that waves of technological innovation take approximately 30 years - one human generation - to be completely absorbed by our culture. That's 30 years to become an overnight sensation, 30 years to finally settle into the form most useful to society, 30 years to change the game.
The key word here is "empowerment." Technologies allow us to overcome limitations of time, distance, and physical capability, but they only empower us when they can be gracefully used by large, productive segments of our society. The telephone was empowering when we all finally got it. Now it is the Internet and digital communications.
Here, buried in my sixth paragraph, is the most important nugget: we've reached the point in our (disparate) cultural adaptation to computing and communication technology that the younger technical generations are so empowered they are impatient and ready to jettison institutions most of the rest of us tend to think of as essential, central, even immortal. They are ready to dump our schools.
-------------------
(I bolded the last line.)
Later he writes:
"These are kids who have never known life without personal computers and cell phones. But far more important, there is emerging a class of students whose PARENTS have never known life without personal computers and cell phones."
Most of the current generation of parents are comfortable with PCs and the internet. Their children are aggressive in their use of technology.
He makes the point that one of the things that keeps public schools going is reputation. When people work out ways to certify that a person has the equivalent of a high school education, public schools will be in real trouble.
Good article.
---------
Technorati tags: children, public school, public education, education
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
Disappearing Japan
Some of the industrialized nations have long term declining populations. Japan is one of the worse. This population trends are slow moving, unstoppable jugernauts. Japan Steadily Becoming a Land Of Few Children explains:
"The number of children has declined for 27 consecutive years, a government report said over the weekend. Japan now has fewer children who are 14 or younger than at any time since 1908.
The proportion of children in the population fell to an all-time low of 13.5 percent. That number has been falling for 34 straight years and is the lowest among 31 major countries, according to the report. In the United States, children account for about 20 percent of the population.
Japan also has a surfeit of the elderly. About 22 percent of the population is 65 or older, the highest proportion in the world. And that number is on the rise. By 2020, the elderly will outnumber children by nearly 3 to 1, the government report predicted. By 2040, they will outnumber them by nearly 4 to 1. "
It is hard to anticipate what this all means, but one things seems to be happening, the Japanese population is slowly diappearing.
(Hat tip: Instapundit)
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Technorati tags: Japan, population
"The number of children has declined for 27 consecutive years, a government report said over the weekend. Japan now has fewer children who are 14 or younger than at any time since 1908.
The proportion of children in the population fell to an all-time low of 13.5 percent. That number has been falling for 34 straight years and is the lowest among 31 major countries, according to the report. In the United States, children account for about 20 percent of the population.
Japan also has a surfeit of the elderly. About 22 percent of the population is 65 or older, the highest proportion in the world. And that number is on the rise. By 2020, the elderly will outnumber children by nearly 3 to 1, the government report predicted. By 2040, they will outnumber them by nearly 4 to 1. "
It is hard to anticipate what this all means, but one things seems to be happening, the Japanese population is slowly diappearing.
(Hat tip: Instapundit)
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Technorati tags: Japan, population
Interesting thought on how to get what we crave most
From a recent A Word A Day:
There is a wonderful mythical law of nature that the three things we crave most in life -- happiness, freedom, and peace of mind -- are always attained by giving them to someone else.
-Peyton C. March, general (1864-1955)
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Technorati tags: happiness, freedom, peace
There is a wonderful mythical law of nature that the three things we crave most in life -- happiness, freedom, and peace of mind -- are always attained by giving them to someone else.
-Peyton C. March, general (1864-1955)
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Technorati tags: happiness, freedom, peace
One of the reasons why it is so hard to improve public schools
In a word: politics.
Joanne Jacobs has two recent posts about how politics messes up any improvement process for public schools.
In Union vetoes extra pay for AP teachers:
"Washington state has rejected a $13.2 million grant from National Math Science Initiative to train Advanced Placement math and science teachers, fund more classes and reward students who pass AP exams and their teachers."
As pointed out in a comment, it would have been wiser on the part of NMSI if they had found a way to work around the contract, but politics has given great power to teacher unions. Unfortunately the unions haven't learn Peter Parker's lesson that with great power comes great responsibility. Teacher unions often block any effort to improve public education.
Joanne's second post has a similar theme: Young teachers save school, lose jobs:
"Jackson Elementary was a low-performing, low-income, all-minority school in San Diego. New, young teachers hired after a round of retirements in 2002 turned it into a “distinguished” school: In 2002, 8 percent of students were proficient or better in math, 10 percent in English; that rose to 53 percent in math and 50.6 percent in English in 2007. But 24 of 26 teachers have received pink slips. San Diego Unified needs to balance the budget; layoffs are based on seniority, not performance."
I imagine some of the teachers are pretty devastated. A few may never go back to public schools. Again the problem is politics. Politicians have choosen to make stupid agreements with teacher unions.
I know of no viable industry which would fire dozens of great performers while keeping average performers.
---------
Technorati tags: children, public school, public education, education
Joanne Jacobs has two recent posts about how politics messes up any improvement process for public schools.
In Union vetoes extra pay for AP teachers:
"Washington state has rejected a $13.2 million grant from National Math Science Initiative to train Advanced Placement math and science teachers, fund more classes and reward students who pass AP exams and their teachers."
As pointed out in a comment, it would have been wiser on the part of NMSI if they had found a way to work around the contract, but politics has given great power to teacher unions. Unfortunately the unions haven't learn Peter Parker's lesson that with great power comes great responsibility. Teacher unions often block any effort to improve public education.
Joanne's second post has a similar theme: Young teachers save school, lose jobs:
"Jackson Elementary was a low-performing, low-income, all-minority school in San Diego. New, young teachers hired after a round of retirements in 2002 turned it into a “distinguished” school: In 2002, 8 percent of students were proficient or better in math, 10 percent in English; that rose to 53 percent in math and 50.6 percent in English in 2007. But 24 of 26 teachers have received pink slips. San Diego Unified needs to balance the budget; layoffs are based on seniority, not performance."
I imagine some of the teachers are pretty devastated. A few may never go back to public schools. Again the problem is politics. Politicians have choosen to make stupid agreements with teacher unions.
I know of no viable industry which would fire dozens of great performers while keeping average performers.
---------
Technorati tags: children, public school, public education, education
The rising percentage of our life which goes to the government
Last month Charmaine in Happy Belated Tax Freedom Day shared this interesting pie chart which shows how many days we have to work for various categories of stuff:
Charmaine found this on The Tax Foundation's Tax Freedom Day.
I left a comment asking if anyone knew of this kind of data over the last hundred years. Charmaine was able to track down the data for what percentage of people's income went to taxes over the last hundred years.
I've pulled the numbers for each ten years:
1900 January 22 22 5.9%
1910 January 19 19 5.0%
1920 February 13 44 12.0%
1930 February 12 43 11.7%
1940 March 7 66 17.9%
1950 March 31 90 24.6%
1960 April 11 101 27.7%
1970 April 19 109 29.6%
1980 April 21 111 30.4%
1990 April 21 111 30.4%
2000 May 3 123 33.6%
...
2008 April 23 113 30.8%
The second column is the day the average person stops working for the government.
The third column (in bold) is how many days the average person is working for the government.
And the last column is what percentage of our income goes to the government.
Sobering.
I would still love to see a comparison of what percentage of our income has gone to various categories over the last hundred years.
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Technorati tags: taxes
Charmaine found this on The Tax Foundation's Tax Freedom Day.
I left a comment asking if anyone knew of this kind of data over the last hundred years. Charmaine was able to track down the data for what percentage of people's income went to taxes over the last hundred years.
I've pulled the numbers for each ten years:
1900 January 22 22 5.9%
1910 January 19 19 5.0%
1920 February 13 44 12.0%
1930 February 12 43 11.7%
1940 March 7 66 17.9%
1950 March 31 90 24.6%
1960 April 11 101 27.7%
1970 April 19 109 29.6%
1980 April 21 111 30.4%
1990 April 21 111 30.4%
2000 May 3 123 33.6%
...
2008 April 23 113 30.8%
The second column is the day the average person stops working for the government.
The third column (in bold) is how many days the average person is working for the government.
And the last column is what percentage of our income goes to the government.
Sobering.
I would still love to see a comparison of what percentage of our income has gone to various categories over the last hundred years.
----------
Technorati tags: taxes
Hans Rosling on The End of Poverty
Last year I watched a video by Hans Rosling about representing data graphically. His tool developed into Gapminder, which I encouraged people to play check out as a fun tool, and an educational tool.
A friend recently encouraged me to check out TED, which had a more recent talk by Hans Rosling. I couldn't get the video from TED to work, but I found the TED director had also posted the talk on YouTube. Here Dr. Rosling explains why he see the end of poverty:
Dr. Rosling has an interesting way to drive home a point.
The main entry point to Gapminder is here, and Dollar Street is here.
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Technorati tags: poverty, Hans Rosling
A friend recently encouraged me to check out TED, which had a more recent talk by Hans Rosling. I couldn't get the video from TED to work, but I found the TED director had also posted the talk on YouTube. Here Dr. Rosling explains why he see the end of poverty:
Dr. Rosling has an interesting way to drive home a point.
The main entry point to Gapminder is here, and Dollar Street is here.
----------
Technorati tags: poverty, Hans Rosling
The Carnival of Homeschooling is up - The Mother's Day edition
This week's Carnival of Homeschooling is at Melissa's Idea Garden.
With Mother's Day being just around the corner, Melissa shares the history of the holiday, and ties in all the posts to the holiday and mothers.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education, Carnival of Homeschooling
With Mother's Day being just around the corner, Melissa shares the history of the holiday, and ties in all the posts to the holiday and mothers.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education, Carnival of Homeschooling
Monday, May 05, 2008
Homeschooling allows you to head for the sea
I love stores like this: A life at sea. A family decides to spend months traveling around the pacific ocean, and of course they homeschool. I love the mother's line:
"Home schooling is a market response to a market failure, ... Once you've home schooled, you don't go back. Why would I check back into a system that is fundamentally broken?"
More and more families are finding that homeschool gives them freedom. It seems about every week or two I'll come across a similar story. Some family loads up on a RV a decides to go to the United States, or head off to Europe for a couple months, or take a ship out to sea.
In the past we've take long trips to various places, like two weeks in Hawaii and a month in Virginia. Next week we'll be taking a short trip down to Legoland. Amusement parks are so much more fun in off seasons. The lines are shorter and the children are happier.
Initially I considered homeschooling because I didn't want my daughters to lose their love for learning. Over time Janine and I have found many other reasons.
One of the more important reasons is homeschooling gives families greater freedom. This freedom allows families can spend more time together. When all is said and done our ties to our relations is one of our greatest treasures.
---------
Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, public school, public education, education
"Home schooling is a market response to a market failure, ... Once you've home schooled, you don't go back. Why would I check back into a system that is fundamentally broken?"
More and more families are finding that homeschool gives them freedom. It seems about every week or two I'll come across a similar story. Some family loads up on a RV a decides to go to the United States, or head off to Europe for a couple months, or take a ship out to sea.
In the past we've take long trips to various places, like two weeks in Hawaii and a month in Virginia. Next week we'll be taking a short trip down to Legoland. Amusement parks are so much more fun in off seasons. The lines are shorter and the children are happier.
Initially I considered homeschooling because I didn't want my daughters to lose their love for learning. Over time Janine and I have found many other reasons.
One of the more important reasons is homeschooling gives families greater freedom. This freedom allows families can spend more time together. When all is said and done our ties to our relations is one of our greatest treasures.
---------
Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, public school, public education, education
Saturday, May 03, 2008
Science Fiction authors who blog
Much of my free time as a teenager was spent with my nose in a book. I use to come home from high school and read till dinner, and then after dinner. I often read a book a day. I was lucky as my father had been collecting science fiction books and magazines for decades.
I was excited to find a list of Science Fiction Authors who blog at SF Signal.
(Hat tip: Newmark's Door)
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Technorati tags: science, fiction
I was excited to find a list of Science Fiction Authors who blog at SF Signal.
(Hat tip: Newmark's Door)
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Technorati tags: science, fiction
Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
My niece, Brynn, recently completed chemotherapy treatment for Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia. She was diagnosed at 19 years old and just a few days before Christmas 2005.
Her ankles swelled up while she was at work one day. Because it was a few days before Christmas and Brynn was worried that her ankles could get worse during the holidays while the doctor's office was closed, she stopped at a clinic on the way home.
The doctor who treated her really needed to work on his bedside manner. After a quick examination and a blood test, he walked back into the room and told her that she had Leukemia, was near death, and needed to drive herself to the emergency room. Brynn called her mother (my sister) in a panic. Brynn spent the next two and half years in and out of the hospital.
She is now participating in a fund raiser for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
This is her campaign video.
You can donate to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society here.
---------------------------------
Tags : Leukemia & Lymphoma Society , Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia
Her ankles swelled up while she was at work one day. Because it was a few days before Christmas and Brynn was worried that her ankles could get worse during the holidays while the doctor's office was closed, she stopped at a clinic on the way home.
The doctor who treated her really needed to work on his bedside manner. After a quick examination and a blood test, he walked back into the room and told her that she had Leukemia, was near death, and needed to drive herself to the emergency room. Brynn called her mother (my sister) in a panic. Brynn spent the next two and half years in and out of the hospital.
She is now participating in a fund raiser for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
This is her campaign video.
You can donate to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society here.
---------------------------------
Tags : Leukemia & Lymphoma Society , Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia
The Kentucky Derby is today
The Kentucky Derby has been described as the "most exciting two minutes in sports." My daughters love to watch the Kentucky Derby every year.
If you or your children love horses, check out the race today.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, children, education, travel, kentucky derby, kentucky, louisville
If you or your children love horses, check out the race today.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, children, education, travel, kentucky derby, kentucky, louisville
Friday, May 02, 2008
Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival is up
This week's Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival is up the Freedom Academy.
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education, Charlotte, Mason, Charlotte Mason
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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education, Charlotte, Mason, Charlotte Mason
Thursday, May 01, 2008
The Carnival of Space - the anniversary edition
Welcome to the Carnival of Space, the anniversary edition. A year ago I launched the first Carnival of Space. It is wonderful, and a bit overwhelming, to see how the carnival has grown.
Fraser Cain of Universe Today has done a wonderful job in keeping the carnival going. I am grateful for the chance to host the first anniversary edition of the carnival.
The theme for this carnival will be space related television shows. These television shows have helped to generate and build interest for going into space.
My Favorite Martian was the story of an alien who lives on earth. From 1963 to 1968 each week we peaked into the life of an "advanced" life form struggling to survive in Los Angeles.
Like TV shows, Jim Plaxco explains how Art helps in the Promotion of Space Exploration at his blog Artsnova Digital Art and Space.
Hawking Science for the Kids at Music of the Spheres shows how Stephen Hawking is doing his part to promote space in a recent book Stephen wrote with his daughter.
Now a Martian would have a harder time getting to Los Angeles, there is much debris orbiting the earth. The Orbiting Frog shows how China has made the problem much worse in China Satellite Debris in Google Earth.
Lost in Space was one of the first television shows to take place in space. This campy show ran from 1965 to 1968. It is one of the few shows with a family in space. It seemed like every episode had the robot yelling "Danger Will Robinson."
Ian O'Neill explains a recent event in our sun: Solar Flare, CME and Tsunami Generated by a “Blank Sun”. Anyone want to say "Danger Will Robinson?"
At the Bad Astronomy Blog is a video explaining What does a nebula look like up close? You could be lost in a nebula and not even see it.
The 1960s had mostly intact families. Many shows today have divorced families. My Dark Sky reviews an ugly divorce in astroNOMY & astroLOGY - The Divorce.
In the late 1960s the groundwork was laid for a collaborative effort between the US and the USSR. David S. F. Portree gives us a great summary in Skylab-Salyut space laboratory (1972) at his blog Altair VI.
Star Trek probably did more than any other show in capturing the imagination and generating interest about space. The original series ran from 1966 to 1969.
The Starship Enterprise zipped around the universe using a warp engine. At the Next Big Future is the low down on two methods being developed now to zip around our solar system in Vasimr 200KW almost flight ready in 2008 and the solar electric sail like a Dandelion seed.
Bigelow Aerospace is working hard to build rockets to get into space. P. J. Blount has a nice Interview with Mike Gold, Corporate Counsel, Bigelow Aerospace at Res Communis, a blog on the legal aspects of human activities using aerospace technologies.
Captain Kirk proclaimed the five year mission as going where no man had gone before. In stars like dust Steinn Sigurdsson, of Dynamics of Cats, uses a telescope to show us the globular cluster Omega Centauri.
Ryan Anderson has the latest on the Opportunity robot on Mars from The Martian Chronicles.
Will Gater is excited about the Hubble’s magnificent mergers which show pictures of galaxies merger. He shares some beautiful pictures.
Bill Dunford of Riding With Robots condenses Two Years of his pictures into a three minute video.
Stuart Atkinson of Cumbrian Sky doesn't just want to look at far away places. He wants to follow in Captain Kirk's footsteps. He wants to go to Mars and explains in "The End of Exile?" (part 1 and part 2) why we need to get off this planet to travel into the great beyond.
A strong scientific background was not requirement for producing television shows about space. For example Space 1999 had a premise of a nuclear explosion knocking the moon out of orbit and sending it through space. Those on the moon base survived for two seasons, from 1975 to 1977.
Our space bloggers are much better grounded in science. Dr. Lemming works through some of the numbers in calculating the age of the earth in 92Nb in meteorite accessory phases at the the Lounge of the Lab Lemming.
On a much grander scale, Dr. Pamela Gay, the Star Stryder, explains the current understanding of the age of clusters and the universe in The Middle Ages: Globular Clusters.
Maybe I shouldn't be so quick to say Space 1999 was based on bad science. Starts with a Bang! reveals that astronomers have found a Black Hole may have been kicked out of a galaxy!
Battlestar Galactica is one of the few franchised space television shows. Humans were chased across the galaxy by the Cylons. The original series ran in 1978 and 1980.
Often Battlestar Galactica would arrive at habitable planets. Scientific Savvy by Missy Frye reminds us that asteroids are also very interesting.
From The Planetary Society Blog Emily Lakdawalla answers the question Where are all the women? explaining why the features of Mercury have so few with names of women.
Amanda Bauer, the Astropixie, shares some fantastic pictures of saturn and iapetus.
At wanderingspace are some cool Wallpaper of Io’s Prometheus Volcano courtesy of Jason Perry from The Gish Bar Times.
Darnell Clayton makes a strong argument to Conquering The Frozen Frontier (Kuiper Belt Objects) at his blog Colony Worlds.
Babylon 5 was another cool show. The space station Babylon 5 was "our last best hope" for peace. The show ran from 1993 to 1998.
One of the cool things about many television shows taking place in space was all the cool aliens. In The ‘Great Filter’ Tackles Fermi at Centauri Dreams is an explanation by Nick Bostrom on why he hopes there is no other life in our galaxy.
The Lunar and Planetary Institute has some more space resources including Moon Trip: A Personal Account of the Apollo Program and its Science.
With all the cool technology we now have to looking into the universe Ian Musgrave explains how and why we should learn to Sketch Stars from his Astroblog.
collectSpace has the latest on Hall of Fame to induct Mir, Hubble, ISS and space shuttle astronauts.
The RLV and Space Transport News has a report on cool possible business in space: Celestis Mission Update.
Titan Launch Pad Tower Blown Up at Cape Canaveral (Gallery) from Universe Today is both cool, and a bit sad.
The cinema has also produced some great stories in space. A Babe In the Universe reminds us that April is the 40th birthday of 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY.
There you have it, the anniversary edition of the Carnival of Space. I hope you have enjoyed the walk through memory lane through some of the space television shows produced over the years.
If you enjoyed the carnival, please help promote it.
If you'd like to see the old carnivals, or learn how to participate in future carnivals, go here.
A great big thanks to all who have helped build the Carnival of Space over the last year.
I am looking forward to another great year.
----------
Technorati tags: carnival, space
Fraser Cain of Universe Today has done a wonderful job in keeping the carnival going. I am grateful for the chance to host the first anniversary edition of the carnival.
The theme for this carnival will be space related television shows. These television shows have helped to generate and build interest for going into space.
My Favorite Martian was the story of an alien who lives on earth. From 1963 to 1968 each week we peaked into the life of an "advanced" life form struggling to survive in Los Angeles.
Like TV shows, Jim Plaxco explains how Art helps in the Promotion of Space Exploration at his blog Artsnova Digital Art and Space.
Hawking Science for the Kids at Music of the Spheres shows how Stephen Hawking is doing his part to promote space in a recent book Stephen wrote with his daughter.
Now a Martian would have a harder time getting to Los Angeles, there is much debris orbiting the earth. The Orbiting Frog shows how China has made the problem much worse in China Satellite Debris in Google Earth.
Lost in Space was one of the first television shows to take place in space. This campy show ran from 1965 to 1968. It is one of the few shows with a family in space. It seemed like every episode had the robot yelling "Danger Will Robinson."
Ian O'Neill explains a recent event in our sun: Solar Flare, CME and Tsunami Generated by a “Blank Sun”. Anyone want to say "Danger Will Robinson?"
At the Bad Astronomy Blog is a video explaining What does a nebula look like up close? You could be lost in a nebula and not even see it.
The 1960s had mostly intact families. Many shows today have divorced families. My Dark Sky reviews an ugly divorce in astroNOMY & astroLOGY - The Divorce.
In the late 1960s the groundwork was laid for a collaborative effort between the US and the USSR. David S. F. Portree gives us a great summary in Skylab-Salyut space laboratory (1972) at his blog Altair VI.
Star Trek probably did more than any other show in capturing the imagination and generating interest about space. The original series ran from 1966 to 1969.
The Starship Enterprise zipped around the universe using a warp engine. At the Next Big Future is the low down on two methods being developed now to zip around our solar system in Vasimr 200KW almost flight ready in 2008 and the solar electric sail like a Dandelion seed.
Bigelow Aerospace is working hard to build rockets to get into space. P. J. Blount has a nice Interview with Mike Gold, Corporate Counsel, Bigelow Aerospace at Res Communis, a blog on the legal aspects of human activities using aerospace technologies.
Captain Kirk proclaimed the five year mission as going where no man had gone before. In stars like dust Steinn Sigurdsson, of Dynamics of Cats, uses a telescope to show us the globular cluster Omega Centauri.
Ryan Anderson has the latest on the Opportunity robot on Mars from The Martian Chronicles.
Will Gater is excited about the Hubble’s magnificent mergers which show pictures of galaxies merger. He shares some beautiful pictures.
Bill Dunford of Riding With Robots condenses Two Years of his pictures into a three minute video.
Stuart Atkinson of Cumbrian Sky doesn't just want to look at far away places. He wants to follow in Captain Kirk's footsteps. He wants to go to Mars and explains in "The End of Exile?" (part 1 and part 2) why we need to get off this planet to travel into the great beyond.
A strong scientific background was not requirement for producing television shows about space. For example Space 1999 had a premise of a nuclear explosion knocking the moon out of orbit and sending it through space. Those on the moon base survived for two seasons, from 1975 to 1977.
Our space bloggers are much better grounded in science. Dr. Lemming works through some of the numbers in calculating the age of the earth in 92Nb in meteorite accessory phases at the the Lounge of the Lab Lemming.
On a much grander scale, Dr. Pamela Gay, the Star Stryder, explains the current understanding of the age of clusters and the universe in The Middle Ages: Globular Clusters.
Maybe I shouldn't be so quick to say Space 1999 was based on bad science. Starts with a Bang! reveals that astronomers have found a Black Hole may have been kicked out of a galaxy!
Battlestar Galactica is one of the few franchised space television shows. Humans were chased across the galaxy by the Cylons. The original series ran in 1978 and 1980.
Often Battlestar Galactica would arrive at habitable planets. Scientific Savvy by Missy Frye reminds us that asteroids are also very interesting.
From The Planetary Society Blog Emily Lakdawalla answers the question Where are all the women? explaining why the features of Mercury have so few with names of women.
Amanda Bauer, the Astropixie, shares some fantastic pictures of saturn and iapetus.
At wanderingspace are some cool Wallpaper of Io’s Prometheus Volcano courtesy of Jason Perry from The Gish Bar Times.
Darnell Clayton makes a strong argument to Conquering The Frozen Frontier (Kuiper Belt Objects) at his blog Colony Worlds.
Babylon 5 was another cool show. The space station Babylon 5 was "our last best hope" for peace. The show ran from 1993 to 1998.
One of the cool things about many television shows taking place in space was all the cool aliens. In The ‘Great Filter’ Tackles Fermi at Centauri Dreams is an explanation by Nick Bostrom on why he hopes there is no other life in our galaxy.
The Lunar and Planetary Institute has some more space resources including Moon Trip: A Personal Account of the Apollo Program and its Science.
With all the cool technology we now have to looking into the universe Ian Musgrave explains how and why we should learn to Sketch Stars from his Astroblog.
collectSpace has the latest on Hall of Fame to induct Mir, Hubble, ISS and space shuttle astronauts.
The RLV and Space Transport News has a report on cool possible business in space: Celestis Mission Update.
Titan Launch Pad Tower Blown Up at Cape Canaveral (Gallery) from Universe Today is both cool, and a bit sad.
The cinema has also produced some great stories in space. A Babe In the Universe reminds us that April is the 40th birthday of 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY.
There you have it, the anniversary edition of the Carnival of Space. I hope you have enjoyed the walk through memory lane through some of the space television shows produced over the years.
If you enjoyed the carnival, please help promote it.
If you'd like to see the old carnivals, or learn how to participate in future carnivals, go here.
A great big thanks to all who have helped build the Carnival of Space over the last year.
I am looking forward to another great year.
----------
Technorati tags: carnival, space
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