links: parenting, terror, Palin, sabotage, compost, plasma econ, silly

[mindstalk]

* Is overparenting peaking?
* For all the helicopter parenting, sex talks tend to be too little, too late.
* Outrage over teaching masturbation in Spain; article mentions what other sex-ed programs do. Makes the USA sound stuck in the Dark Ages.

* The anti-statism obsession in America
* Cake vs. screamers: increasing marginal utility of 'reliever' goods and the persistence of poverty.

* Obama aims to shrink the war on terror from "terrorism" to "Al-Qaeda", on the grounds that only A-Q is targetting us, plus movements like Hamas and Hezbollah and even the Taliban have nationalistic roots in the people, and can't simply be stomped.
* Palin's fake bus tour, call for the US to dedicate itself to God, and flirtation with the Birthers
* Manual for GOP obstructionism.


*composting toilets progress.
* Christmas defined
* Blood plasma from border Mexicans. US is one of the only countries to allow paying for blood and plasma, and a massive exporter of plasma since other countries don't collect enough. I smell a causal connection, there...

* Ada Lovelace: the Origin
* Evolution of Nintendo controllers

Comments

[oniugnip.livejournal.com]

That "Cake vs. screamers" article is pretty great.

Thanks for sharing the link!

[mlc23.livejournal.com]

From the overparenting article:

"Payne says. The average child has 150 toys. "When you cut the toys and clothes back ... the kids really like it." He aims for a cut of roughly 75%: he tosses out the broken toys and gives away the outgrown ones and the busy, noisy, blinking ones that do the playing for you."

I'm glad to see my toy minimalism is vindicated. Though kind of shocking that the average kid has 150 toys! Wonder if they are counting every action figure and Matchbox car separately. Though I've seen some crazy playrooms so maybe that is close to the norm.

A good rule of thumb I've heard is to aim for 10 toys. We probably come close if you count things in sets: blocks, basket of cars, dress up box, etc.