Today was a first day of school unlike any other at our house. That is because today I drove our son to school for the first time. He started high school and I ended our 17-year homeschooling career. Blogging has been thin here as we went through the decision-making process. I will continue to comment on statewide education issues as they come up but apart from that this is it. Blogging has been a blast and I appreciate every one who has read my posts and participated in some lively commenting. Many, many thanks!

Thomas Sowell uses homeschooling as an illustration of how experts are not always all they are cracked up to be.

For some good basic info here’s a terrific graphic from the Washington Post. Most noticeably missing is the effect that prohibitions on domestic drilling offshore and in ANWR have on price.

H/T The Big Picture via Sound Mind Investing Weblog

Here’s the nitty-gritty on how we elect the President of the United States from Commoncraft.

The last Saturday in June we spent the day at Arctic Thunder, the air show at Elmendorf Air Force Base. It was a fantastic time! Lots of aerial displays by military and civilian aircraft. Plenty of static displays to walk through.

The most impressive demonstration was the F-22. It was amazing to see the things that aircraft can do. The F-22 show concluded with a tribute to veterans in a fly-by with a P-51 Mustang, the WWII fighter plane. It was a very emotional moment.

This from the Wall Street Journal:

NASA now begrudgingly confirms that the hottest year on record in the continental 48 was not 1998, as previously believed, but 1934, and that six of the 10 hottest years since 1880 antedate 1954. Data from 3,000 scientific robots in the world’s oceans show there has been slight cooling in the past five years

Yet here’s what Barack Obama says:

All across the world, in every kind of environment and region known to man, increasingly dangerous weather patterns and devastating storms are abruptly putting an end to the long-running debate over whether or not climate change is real. Not only is it real, it’s here, and its effects are giving rise to a frighteningly new global phenomenon: the man-made natural disaster.

And Arnold Schwarzenegger:

We simply must do everything we can in our power to slow down global warming before it is too late. The science is clear. The global warming debate is over.

So, which is it? If the hottest year on record was 1934 and the oceans are cooling over the past five years how is it that political leaders cling to global warming? And if I don’t believe in a climate change crisis then I am a conspiracy theorist, industry parrot, puzzle-maker, scientist for hire and I just can’t let go of my flat-earth ways.

From Bob Compton and the folks who brought you Two Million Minutes now comes the Third World Challenge, a simplified version of a multi-day proficiency test that must be passed by 10th graders in India to proceed to 11th grade.

I did OK, not flying colors. I admit I know next to nothing about the United Nations and really don’t care about it so I didn’t do well on the history exam which is UN intensive. Math wasn’t bad, but I think trigonometry is fun. Why is the anatomy of the eye on a Physics exam? All in all the exam is pretty rigorous. Could I have passed it after 10th grade? I don’t know. I learned different stuff in different sequence.

Nevertheless, the point is taken. Indian kids learn a lot of stuff to get through 10th grade. Take it yourself and see how you do.

49th Star: Alaska Statehood, New Flag Official 5th January 1959

June 30th marks the date the Senate voted to admit Alaska into statehood 50 years ago. The celebration begins tonight with activities downtown and ALASKA’S OPERATION GRATITUDE, a tribute to Alaska’s military personnel. Wynonna Judd will perform at Elmendorf Air Force Base  in a concert that will be webcast worldwide by AT&T and locally on KTUU. Following the concert will be a bonfire on the flightline to commemorate the bonfire of 50 years ago.

Alaska officially became the 49th state on January 1, 1959. What’s cool is is so many of those who were there are still around. Folks who were part of territorial government, part of the constitutional convention, who had flags with 48 stars and pinned on a 49th.

Festivities continue tomorrow. We’ll be heading to Arctic Thunder at Elmendorf tomorrow to see the Thunderbirds.

If one listens to Congress and many other public voices debate high energy costs one would think that the oil and gas industry is evil. We’re pretty friendly towards oil companies at our house. I’ve worked for a major producer and sat on the other side of the table on the Alaska Royalty Oil and Gas Board. What stands out to me is the poor understanding of economics by many Americans. If we don’t have a good understanding of economics and supply and demand and speculation how can we make effective policy to ensure affordable energy?

So in the interest of improving economic understanding I recommend two resources. The first is the website Energy Tomorrow. On this site the oil industry presents its case and I guarantee it will be very different from what is heard on any mainstream headline news.

Second, check out a new book by Richard McKenzie, Why Popcorn Costs so Much at the Movies. I can still hear my Economics prof saying that "prices contain lots of information." It’s true and we can learn a lot about why things cost what they do in Dr. McKenzie’s book.