At 12:13 AM 1/15/99 -0500, you wrote:
>Well, in grades 6-8 I was playing with exolosives. My friend and I
>were interested in rockets, but we couldn't afford the Estes kits.
[...]
>a couple of burns, so did my partner, we were lucky because we didn't
>always follow the rules that well -- making rocket fuel out of sugar
When I was a kid (back before I learned that detectives didn't always
escape to catch the bad guys like in the Hardy Boys) I had a book about a
texas P.I. named (iirc) J.J.Armes. He was ironically named because as a
boy he lost both hands while playing with dynamite.
While I definitely understand the benefits of first-hand experience, I
don't think I'd want any kids I know to have eyesight like mine just so
they can learn for themselves. Part of the value of intelligence is that
past experiences can be shared.
Your 8-year-old doesn't need to get a soldering iron scar -- you can show
her yours, and hopefully, that will be good enough for her.
btw, something I find amusing is the idea that some folks have here that if
it ain't the way it was done when they were kids, then by gummit, it just
ain't no good. In some cases, that may very well be true. You won't find
a vehicle available on the market today that can compare with my 40 year
old Land Rover. But on the other hand, it's not stock either. It's got
GPS, onboard laptop, wireless internet connection, dual batteries, chevy
engine, overdrive, etc.
Similarly, there's nothing wrong with books, but to say that's the only way
to learn to read is like saying that newsletters should be hand-typed and
reproduced on (what was it?) spiritusumdruckers! That guy on TV that
builds things with only homemade tools is interesting, but I don't see too
many contractors working that way.
>(But I nowadays know enough first principals to get or make many of
>the raw materials we used to buy at the drugstore, potassium nitrate
>and several of its chemical cousins being among the main things our
Why does this frighten me, Ward? 8^)
--------------------------------------------------------------------- O-
Uncle Roger "There is pleasure pure in being mad
roger_at_sinasohn.com that none but madmen know."
Roger Louis Sinasohn & Associates
San Francisco, California
http://www.sinasohn.com/
Received on Fri Jan 15 1999 - 17:16:44 GMT