This is so neat! and pretty! I love the Out to Sea colorway, just wish the band was silver instead of gold.

https://ringly.com/

This is both ridiculous and awesome:

http://www.cultbox.co.uk/news/trailers/watch-first-trailer-for-pride-and-prejudice-and-zombies

Seriously Facebook, what the F* is wrong with you?!

http://www.epbot.com/2015/10/banned-from-facebook-over-thanksgiving.html

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-M-6C0TmEKAM/Vh04ZQzEUGI/AAAAAAABp9o/VE5owVJlluo/s640/Screen%2Bshot%2B2015-10-13%2Bat%2B12.49.19%2BPM.jpg

I've been playing Telltales The Walking Dead season 1, but it freaks me out so much that I can't play it for very long. I just finished all of the available episodes of Game of Thrones from them, and dying in GoT is so much less scary! I'm hoping that I will be better at the game play in TWD now. I really like the format, but it seems odd to include tasks that are so hard to complete just because of the controls in a story telling game. If there was an option to make it easier to target for those of us that don't like the whole "it's hard because the controls suck, not because it's actually hard" the games would be much more enjoyable for me, as it's how my decisions affect the story that I find enjoyable.

I must go to London sometime after June 2016!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/article/34612659/first-peek-at-harry-potter-and-the-cursed-child-play

@BigTimmy Fish oil pills give me horrible tasting burps. I just can't do it. When we were living in Spain and consuming tons of EV olive oil, I noticed that my hair was growing thicker and faster.

AoEII is such a great game. We all got AoE3 and tried playing that for the updated graphics, but they changed the game play enough that we just didn't love it the same. I would love it if they made the civs from AoE available in AoEII HD.

Eek! It's definitely better to go with your gut feeling about things like this than to end of robbed or dead. People who won't meet in public are up to no good.

I can't stand softened water. It tastes salty and feels slimy. Lots of people love it, though. More importantly, many people need to have softened water, because their water is so hard that mineral buildup would destroy pipes and appliances.

The first time I went to Scott's parent's house, I could not figure out why the water tasted salty while I was brushing my teeth, and why the coffee always tasted salty. I believe there was actually a problem with the softener at that time that was making the water extra salty, but even with it working perfectly, I can still taste the salt.

If you are also sensitive to salty water, you could get a separate drinking water system, subscribe to a water service, or just buy bottled drinking water.

@Jason So you had to buy a hotel-type remote and now the TV works? or now the manual instructions to unlock it work? It's possible this could come up for someone else and I'm unclear on the solution.

Tee hee hee

@Minion-Queen Sounds like a good system, Danielle. @art_of_shred could give Liesl a lesson on how it works when we are in the area this summer.

Although having digital copies of the health insurance card itself is handy, that's not the critical part for us. We want to have access to our health information and be able to add to it ourselves whenever one of us visits a doctor or has a vaccination. I don't want to have to keep track of a USB stick.

Woot!

PRICE GOUGING PHARMA CEO MARTIN SHKRELI ARRESTED

I don't normally celebrate someone else's misfortune, however, if he's guilty, it's not misfortune, it's justice.

http://secondnexus.com/social-commentary-and-trends/perspectives/price-gauging-pharma-ceo-martin-shkreli-arrested/?ts_pid=934&utm_content=inf_33_1164_2&tse_id=INF_4ef0a975c0994313aa2c23a75fe1b03c

Played Adam's Venture: Episode One last night as a family.

The Sims Medieval

Hoping to be able to make it out for some sightseeing on Crete this weekend, even if it's just a drive. Stupid weak ankle

ViewSonic VX2270SMH-LED 22-Inch SuperClear IPS LED Monitor (Frameless Design, Full HD 1080p, 30M:1 DCR, HDMI/DVI/VGA) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B009F1HUMQ/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_j7S6wbZC9XZ02

It's hard to answer some of the questions that info-seeking potential homeschoolers ask, because I truly believe that the best advice is for them to actually do the research on their own. There is no better way for them to understand what homeschooling is about, and to understand that there are a ton of different ways to go about it.

I always check http://cathyduffyreviews.com/ whenever I am considering new curriculum or materials. I don't buy her book, because I feel that it isn't necessary, but her reviews are very helpful in determining if something is a good fit for us.

Here is a free, secular online curriculum for preK - 12. It has a new parent account that allows you to print reports and closely monitor your children's progress, and it will soon let you choose different grade levels for different subjects. Some of it will not be useful for non Americans, but a bit of it is relevant: http://discoveryk12.com/dk12/

Easy Peasy Homeschool is free and has some good content, but it is heavily indoctrinated with a Christian world view. https://allinonehomeschool.com/

I use http://www.homeschoolbuyersco-op.org/ to get great deals on curriculum. I always check there first before I buy anything.

Here's a link to a good explanation of some of the different approaches to homeschooling: http://thepioneerwoman.com/homeschooling/five-different-approaches-to-homeschooling/

Discovery Education Streaming Plus is an awesome resource for videos on just about any topic, nicely indexed and organized for easy searching. I bought a subscription through the Co-op. http://www.discoveryeducation.com//what-we-offer/streaming-plus-digital-media/index.cfm

I've just recently discovered this free resource for educational videos, but I haven't checked it out extensively yet: http://www.watchknowlearn.org/

Here is the science program we are considering for Liesl for next year:
http://www.superchargedscience.com/

We can get it 30% off through the Homeschool Buyers Co-op (sign up is easy and free, by the way).

We might complete this plan first, though, and add in the MSB science kits, because Liesl is obsessed with the Magic School Bus:
http://cornerstoneconfessions.com/2015/07/magic-school-bus-lesson-plans-free-printable.html