By the time I was 20, I was completely financially independent and had been living a long way away from my parents for years. I still didn't "feel" like a grownup until I was about 40 or so.

I'm proud as punch that my personal site is there, too, just below Neatorama (though much smaller)!

Yes, more of a bouncy henge, though, the kind that kids bounce on, like you see in the picture.

observer: I'm not at all upset.

Delta: No worries, I just wish Neatorama had helped as much as you expected.

A lot of people, at least on the internet, think that rich and poor both get what they deserve. But "self-made" wealthy people hardly ever get there completely under their own steam. If they aren't born with advantages, they get help from others along the way. John Scalzi wrote a great essay on that just recently. http://whatever.scalzi.com/2012/07/23/a-self-made-man-looks-at-how-he-made-it/

And for sure some poor people are there because they made poor decisions. But does being born with an IQ of 85 instead of 115 mean you "deserve" to pay higher interest rates, go without health care, and live in dangerous buildings? What if you made poor decisions years ago and are still paying for it, even though you've "learned your lesson"? Many single moms are in that position -they wouldn't marry that guy again, they wouldn't have children that young again, etc -but they still pay for those decisions for a very long time. And yes, some single fathers are in that position, too. And some ex-cons. You can "wise up" and do everything right, but one bad decision many years ago can ruin your life.

There are plenty of people who work hard, sometimes at multiple jobs, don't use drugs, obey the law, and still never get caught up, much less get ahead. But they don't have the time or the means to hang around the internet and argue about it. They are too busy working too many hours at minimum wage, or taking care of their disabled parents, spouses, children, or grandchildren, or are in poor health themselves, or trying to combine school with supporting a family, or just trying their best to get along. http://whatever.scalzi.com/2005/09/03/being-poor/

Delta, did you miss this?

http://www.neatorama.com/2012/07/18/the-orpheus-septych/

I don't recall you begging, however.

observer, I said "I wasn’t that impressed with it in 1968." I was ten years old. Seeing it a few years later, I appreciated it more.

A) It's probably for showing off.
B) Oil.
C) Me too!

Yeah, no matter that he doesn't have a committee or a flag, we know who he stands for.

My kids switched from private school to public school a couple of years ago, and even though I had heard about the cult of testing, it shocked me to see it up close.

The private school gave the state tests, as required, but the teachers could get no bonuses, so it was not a big deal.

In the public schools, most teachers never get excited about anything until test time. The kids, throughout the school, believed that the world would end if they didn't do good on the tests. The teachers instilled that fear. Actually, the tests had no effect whatsoever on the children's grades, just the teachers bonuses. And they spent WEEKS getting ready for the tests.

Now that the kids are older and know that they needn't get all anxious about such testing, they have lost faith in the teaching profession.

That's the first story in this post:

http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/135551

Yes? That's where the link goes.

Tariq -it was! But that's not all it was.

I didn't change my last name when I got married three years ago. So my last name is neither my father's nor my current husband's, but it is my children's last name.

I didn't want my kids to be the odds ones out.

Twelve pages ...which is about twelve printed pages. And the linked site is not Neatorama, so the advertising remark is in the wrong place.