I remember getting an encyclopedia as a kid – it was a big deal.  We couldn’t afford an Encyclopedia Encyclopaedia Britannica and got Grolier’s instead (I guess it’s the difference between Harvard and a state school).  My dad’s first job in America was selling encyclopedias door-to-door, and I wondered whether the industry would survive the internet.  Wikipedia was the potential stake in the heart, except it’s not a true authority.  You know that the facts are right in an Encyclopedia Encyclopaedia Britannica.
EB wised up and has unveiled Britannica Webshare – …

My pet project for 2008 has been building a virtual community website for unschoolers. I wanted something that allowed people to make their own groups and forums, and that let them decide whether things should be public or private. Someone might want to make a public group for unschoolers in their area while someone else might want to make a private lounge to discuss relevant topics.
In a week, I’m going to need some brave souls to become the first community members and to test the site before it’s …

We just got a subscription to the Tico Times, a popular English weekly newspaper in Costa Rica. Being aware of what’s going on in our prospective home is important. Our scouting trip was successful because we learned as much as we could, and had a good grasp of what to expect – the good and the bad. The grass isn’t perfectly greener, and being realistic helps. I’ve used a number of resources to learn about Costa Rica and to become aware of the important issues.

The Tico …

I just found Earth & Sky Kids while perusing various NPR podcasts.  It’s a nice kid-oriented science site, and I can see it being pretty useful for answering the inevitable questions about how things work in nature.  I’ve got my fingers crossed that we have a cloud-free night for the lunar eclipse this week

I tried 3 podcasts today – Notes in Spanish: Inspired Beginnners, Spanish Para Todos and SpanishPod. I have to say that I was disappointed in all three of them. I’m can’t say whether they are really poor or not, but after Coffee Break Spanish, they seem to lack organization and verve. It may well be that Coffee Break Spanish works for me, so perhaps these podcasts shouldn’t be counted out unless you try them yourself.