Got kids? Or have nieces and nephews? Check out this site, Free Range Kids, it's full of interesting columns and is devoted to teaching kids to be self-reliant and responsible through a particular freedom we enjoyed as kids ourselves. 

Be sure to read the columns, as I see a lot of truth is this particular one about the dumbing down of America.

This fantastic site, Rules of Thumb.org boasts having "Every Rule of Thumb in One Place!" From money and travel, to pets, shopping, and college...the site is huge.

A rule of thumb is a homemade recipe for making a guess. It is an easy-to-remember guide that falls somewhere between a mathematical formula and a shot in the dark...

...A hundred years ago, people used rules of thumb to make up for a lack of facts. Modern­ day rule of thumbing is rooted in an overabun­dance of facts...

...There are times when you don't need to know the best way to do something. These are times for ballpark figures, for knowing what you probably can get away with.

In particular; when shopping for healthy food, "The healthiest foods are located around the perimeter of the grocery store- vegetables, meats, breads. The center aisles are used for low nutrition, high profit junk foods." When getting to know someone always remember; "People do not change as they get older. They just become more of what they already are."

Touché!