Potassium Nitrate

Brainstorm and Bitfiddle

So I found out that Potassium Nitrate or more commonly known as saltpeter hastens the decomposition of organic matter. So I thought it would be interesting to try to put some in my compost to make it turn into compost more quickly. I asked the local seed store guy to order me some Potassium Nitrate and he ordered Bat Poop. But it turns out that Bat Poop is chemically almost the same thing so I'm trying it in my compost. Next time though I'll try "real" Potassium Nitrate,

The Visual Basic Team : Awesome VB9 Blog Series by Bart De Smet (Amanda Silver)

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The Visual Basic Team : Awesome VB9 Blog Series by Bart De Smet (Amanda Silver)

Brainstorm and Bitfiddle

VB.Net blog I'm checking out

Brainstorm and Bitfiddle

Sodium - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sodium - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Brainstorm and Bitfiddle

Sodium is an essential element for all animal life and for some plant species. In animals, sodium ions are used in opposition to potassium ions, to allow the organism to build up an electrostatic charge on cell membranes, and thus allow transmission of nerve impulses when the charge is allowed to dissipate by a moving wave of voltage change.

Isotope - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Isotope - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Brainstorm and Bitfiddle

I just want to remember what an Isotope is, not that it would interest you, but it interests me.

Isotopes of an element have nuclei with the same number of protons (the same atomic number) but different numbers of neutrons. Therefore, isotopes of the same element have different mass numbers (number of nucleons).

Community bacteria

I recently posted about an amoeba that communicated via ultraviolet frequencies. Researchers have found only recently the most of bacterial life is collective, that is, 99% live in biofilms, according to Discover Magazine, July/August 2009. The strange think is that bacteria communicate by using streams of chemicals that they spew out of their cells and membranes and that they "talk" incessantly among their own species and even to unrelated bacteria living nearby. So bottom line is that (1) they live collectively, which is one thing that makes them hard to kill by antibiotics, and (2) they too, like the Paramecium that I posted about a few days ago, communicate with each other.

Brainstorm and Bitfiddle

Magnetic beads used to remove pathogens

Brainstorm and Bit-fiddle

"Scientific American", June 2009, page 22 reports on the use of tiny magnets for the cure of sepsis, a dangerous blood infection. The idea is to use beads coated with an antibody that binds to sepsis-causing bacteria with blood drawn from a patient. When the antibody-coated magnets have bound with the pathogens, they are pulled by a magnetic field into a saline solution the flows alongside the blood. The filtered blood goes back into the patient. They were able to remove 80% percent of the little germs. The theory is that it is not necessary to remove all the germs, but with them removed, antibiotics and fungicides will work more efficiently.

Amoebic communication

Brainstorm and Bitfiddle

Certain one-celled creatures, Paramecium caudatum, are able to communicate with each other "wirelessly". Researchers separated them in clear tubes which prevented the cells from communicating by passing chemical messages to each other. They were placed in total darkness and separated by the clear tubes. They were still able to communicate, as they are still able to influence the feeding behavior and growth rates of neighbors in other tube. This suggest that electromagnetic signals were involved. These one-celled creatures seemed to use at least two frequencies to communicate, one of which was in the ultraviolet (UV) range. This was discovered by running the experiment using glass for the clear tube, and then also by using a glass that blocks UV light. The blocked UV tubes seemed to inhibits communication. Scientific American - June 2009 page 32.

Swine Flu: Second hand info, but believable

Here is something to consider. My friends from Mexico travel there often. They say that the story on the street about Swine flu is not about Swine flu at all, but to divert attention away from the drug crime wars recently dominating the news. Have you heard much about all the killings close to be border in drug related killing in recent years. I have not, and practically had forgotten about it. Could it be that we are being politically manipulated. I am naturally skeptical but this Swine flu story has seemed over-reported considering what has actually happened. This would only be noteworthy if a pandemic really occurred. Were the medical authorities really that prescient? Or were they being politically manipulated also.

This is merely an observation and opinion and I have no idea how things will ultimately turn out.

Loss of blood, in the hospital

Just to document this event, on last Friday morning about 3:00 AM I went to the bathroom and could not get back to bed without my wife's help. The next day after pressure from my wife and neighbors I consented to go to the emergency room. I was suprised to learn that my blood count was down to about 4. something. Since I would not accept a blood transfusion I was taken by ambulance to Methodist Hospital in the Medical Center, Houston, TX where I was encouraged to take a blood transfusion. Again I refusted based on the Bible command to abstain from blood, which is well backed up throught the scriptures. I'll explain that perhaps later, but the bottom line is I spent a week in the hospital, with several dismal outcomes from the Dr. Things such a why check your blood count, if it goes down you'll die and if it goes up you will improve. While that is true it didn't do much for my confidence. I'll admit I was extremely stressed about this and while I'm not afraid of death, I am afraid to leave my family behind, especially my adopted special needs son who is 26 years old and is my best buddy. He would suffer at my loss and probably not come to terms with it for some time. Even though I believe in the resurrection right here on earth, that may not occur for some years, so loved one still suffer being apart. "Faith is the assured expectation of things hoped, the evident demonstration of realitites though not beheld." Hebrews 11:1 Some think that faith in the resurrection means not having fear or anxiety. That scripture quoted above says nothing about that. Facing the doubtful future with fear and anxiety without capitualating to fear and pressure from the world that Satan controls requires faith, but not fearlessness. I admit I was afraid, even for myself, but now that I have been through this I have a better understanding. I am weak and insignificant but I hope I can stay strong and united to the creator Jehovah.

Pew Forum: The Religious Dimensions of the Torture Debate

Pew Forum: The Religious Dimensions of the Torture Debate

Pew Research recently provided some interesting, paradoxical (depending on your point of view), about American's viewpoint on torture. How do mainline American religions professing to be Christian feel about use of torture on suspected terrorists. Those who supported torture on an often or sometimes basis, basically boils down to this:


US overall - 49%
White Evangelical Protestants - 62%
White non-hispanic Catholics - 51%
White mainline protestants - 46%
Unaffilliated -40%


Now, just in case you think that these beliefs are just cultural, i.e. Evangelical, Mainline Protestants, Catholics all a more-or-less homogenious group, among themselves, because of their cultural religious upbringing, the survey further broke down these beliefs further by how often a person attends religious services.

Attend weekly - 54%
Attend montly or occassionally - 51%
Attend seldom or never - 42%



So while most run-of-the-mill Americans (in the religious sense) may be horrified at the teaching of hate and justifying of violence against Americans by some Islamic teachers, it appears that some of this same hate is being spread by some religions claiming to follow the Prince of Peace. I find that any religious organization that positively influences active violence or torture, or causes its members to be more accepting of such, against any other group, secular or religious, is reprehensible, and certainly non-Christian.

It would be interesting to run the same survey among other mainstream religious groups not claiming to be Christian.

InformIT: .NET Reference Guide > Markov Models

InformIT: .NET Reference Guide > Markov Models

I want to capture this important (to me) info about Markov models

this subject of Markov Models is right down my alley, and hopefully yours. As I learn more I'll edit this post or add new ones