Wow, speaking of stress, I just heard from my cousin that her 7th grade niece is staying with her (across the country from the niece's mother, also my cousin), and that she's homeschooling her, outside of her regular full-time job! I have no idea what precipitated any of that, but I have the feeling there's a story there. Of course, around 7th grade is when all of those cousins started getting into Trouble (don't tell your wife, Gud), so maybe the girl's mother was trying to head it off at the pass.

She is even concerned about things like anti-drug programs even introducing the subject.

Frankly, this is a valid concern. The official slogan of the DARE program when I was in elementary and middle school was "DARE to keep kids off drugs!" but all the students knew it as "DARE to teach kids how and where to buy drugs!"

Granted, that may have been specific to the program as it was run at that time in the DC area, but still -- we weren't so much frightened away from using drugs as we were helpfully shown exactly what an ounce of cocaine looked like.

Hmmm... Maybe the DARE concern is a bigger concern that I thought. My anti-drug program was more along the lines of how drugs did really bad things to your bodies and people trying to get you to use them are not your friends.

They just sent me the full cover PDF. The subtitle was changed to: True Adventures in Cult Fandom.

I'm sad about that in the way that my diamond shoes are giving me a blister.

This is such a surreal experience. I still can't believe this is happening to me.

The publisher is printing up mousepads with the cover for giveaways. Vroman's party will be in September.

This shit totally happens to other people.

(ETA: My book likes carrots.)

DARE's numbers show higher drug rates use than kids not exposed to DARE. It's not just you.

Cult Fandom

...what does that even mean? (Not to diminish your joy in your diamond shoes.)

DARE's numbers show higher drug rates use than kids not exposed to DARE. It's not just you.

Well, are all kids everywhere equally exposed to DARE? Or is DARE primarily used for kids who are already at a higher risk of drug use?

Here's one DARE study, Gud: [link]

Feh on the subtitle change, but still. This is all so exciting.

Getting your own line of mousepads is definitely a sign of coolness.

My wife points out that her brother started drinking while at school and experimenting with some drugs which led indirectly to a brain injury that has been a tremendous burden on him and the family. She also likes to point out stories in the news about bad things that happen in schools.

I know that many home-schooled kids have done really well, but I think she really needs more experience dealing with other people.

Also, staying at home? Not that safe.

Staying at home may be more dangerous than you think, according to a recent survey. Over 2.8 million people attended accident and emergency departments last year [1998] as a result of accidents in the home.

The survey by the Department of Trade and Industry showed that falls, slips, and trips were the most common cause of household injuries. However, a surprisingly large number of accidents happened while people were involved in no particular activity at all.

Eating and drinking claimed 42 000 casualties. Seemingly innocent household items also resulted in trips to hospital. Slippers accounted for over 37 000 injuries, flower pots for 3500, and tissue paper injured over 1500 people.