I'm trying to learn about Atoms and really small stuff.
An atom is made of 3 things: First, the positi_ely charged protons, and neutral neutrons that clump together to make the nucleus. Then, there are negati_e electrons that orbit the nucleus, just like planets orbit the sun in outer space.
The number of protons in an atom determine which element it is. If there is 1 proton in the atom, it is a Hydrogen atom. If there are 6 protons, it is a Carbon atom. If there are 26 protons, it's Iron, and so on. The top left corner of a box in the periodic table (the atomic number) indicates how many protons there are in that type of atom.
For it to be considered an atom, there must be an equal amount of electrons as protons to cancel out an o_erall electric charge. If it is missing an electron, it does not change what element it is (bc the number of protons has not changed) but it will be called an ion, since it now has an electric charge.
On the Bill Nye episode, he demonstrated how much space there is between a nucleus and the electrons that surround it. Remember those 'bumble balls' we had in the 90's? It's a battery powered, shaky ball, about the size of a grapefruit. Anyway, he strapped that to a pole, and ran 500 meters away. Then, he showed a dot about the size of a pencil eraser at that distance. So atoms, are mostly a bunch of nothing. We don't squish into things, because the electrons are mo_ing around the nucleus so fast, it's as if the whole atom is solid.
If you're looking at an element on the periodic table, you can find out how many protons, electrons, and neutrons there are in that atom. The number in the top left corner is the amount of protons, which I said before. For it to be considered an atom, there must be an equal amount of electrons.
The number on the bottom of the element box helps you find out the amount of neutrons.
If you look at the bottom number of atomic number 28 (which happens to be nickel) you will see 58.6934. Round it up to 59, and subtract 28 (the number of protons). There you ha_e it: 31 neutrons.
If that atom actually has a different number of neutrons, it is called an isotope. It is still an atom, but it is a lighter or hea_ier _ersion of it.
I found some great sources for the abo_e. Here they are:
I watched the Bill Nye episode 'Atoms', and also talked to my Dad.
Then there is this great song on YouTube by 'They Might Be Giants' at this link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-wf8S9vRvo
It's called 'Meet the Elements'.
Found a 'dynamic' periodic table at this site: http://www.ptable.com/
How to read a periodic table:
http://www.ehow.com/how_4716922_read-periodic-table-elements.html
Using the table to determine how many protons, electrons, & neutrons in an atom:
http://education.jlab.org/qa/pen_number.html
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Tuco
We're dog-sitting Tuco this weekend. He's a snuggly pug.
I'm amazed at how much he can go to the bathroom. He poops just about e_ery time I take him out, which is 5-6 times a day. But he only eats twice a day. When I bring him in after a decent walk, he acts kind of weird, like he thinks something bad is about to happen. Afterward, he settles down on my lap if I'm sitting.
He's only been here 2 days, but we could figure out his routine from the start. He always waits until we are almost done eating before he eats. He will poop outside after walking for 5 minutes. He also seems to nap once in the morning, and once in the e_ening. For the rest of the time, he just sits.
Since his Mom speaks Spanish, he responds more if I pronouce 'Tuco' in Spanish (duco). If I say 'tew ko' like an American, he just flinches his ears. If I say something he does not understand, he stares at me with his big black eyes and cocks his head to the side. It's cute, so alot of times I gi_e commands to him that he doesn't know. ("Go shine my shoes!")
I'm glad we had a chance to watch him here. It doesn't really make me want a dog, but we had fun nontheless.
I'm amazed at how much he can go to the bathroom. He poops just about e_ery time I take him out, which is 5-6 times a day. But he only eats twice a day. When I bring him in after a decent walk, he acts kind of weird, like he thinks something bad is about to happen. Afterward, he settles down on my lap if I'm sitting.
He's only been here 2 days, but we could figure out his routine from the start. He always waits until we are almost done eating before he eats. He will poop outside after walking for 5 minutes. He also seems to nap once in the morning, and once in the e_ening. For the rest of the time, he just sits.
Since his Mom speaks Spanish, he responds more if I pronouce 'Tuco' in Spanish (duco). If I say 'tew ko' like an American, he just flinches his ears. If I say something he does not understand, he stares at me with his big black eyes and cocks his head to the side. It's cute, so alot of times I gi_e commands to him that he doesn't know. ("Go shine my shoes!")
I'm glad we had a chance to watch him here. It doesn't really make me want a dog, but we had fun nontheless.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Circles
Circles are round, the earth, and our time
I trod on ahead, I cannot rewind
Pictures and memories look back to the past
They bring some comfort, and I will be back
I'll walk 'round the circle, drawn with a straight line
You left my body, your mother, your kind
In hopes that some strangers would help you survive
You did come back, a box full of ash
You drew a cruel circle around
A year is round, I left you behind
In rainy October of 2009
What can I do, but to keep on my path?
Keep on remembering you in my past
When I hold you again, I'll walk a straight line
We'll draw a kind circle around.
I trod on ahead, I cannot rewind
Pictures and memories look back to the past
They bring some comfort, and I will be back
I'll walk 'round the circle, drawn with a straight line
You left my body, your mother, your kind
In hopes that some strangers would help you survive
You did come back, a box full of ash
You drew a cruel circle around
A year is round, I left you behind
In rainy October of 2009
What can I do, but to keep on my path?
Keep on remembering you in my past
When I hold you again, I'll walk a straight line
We'll draw a kind circle around.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Monday, October 19, 2009
Memorial Brochure Inside
Baby Silas came into this world on a Sunday. He was born the same minute the Harvest Moon rose at 6:26 am, October 4, 2009. He lived until Thursday 12:45am, a little longer than 90 hours.
The majority of the 90 hours, he spent in his own home with his family. He was born in Filip’s playroom. With my midwife Liz, and her assistant Melissa in attendance, his father caught him, and gave him to me, his mother. I held him in my arms while JR cut his cord. Then we woke Filip up to meet his new baby brother.
Silas’ Mom Mom, Pop Pop, Aunt Jae and Cousin Tyler arrived and met him a half-hour later. He was laying in bed with me. Then, his Grandma and Grandpa arrived. Everyone got to hold him.
Later, Silas got to meet more friends. The next days Leeza with Morgan came. Leeza held him for many hours. Rebecca also visited, and held him.
Since he seemed to be uncomfortable, we took him to Dr. Staley, our chiropractor. He examined him, and gave him an adjustment. It seemed to help, he calmed down immediately. Noemi, the receptionist, held him and rocked him. That also seemed to soothe him.
So in 90 hours, Silas got to meet 16 people who were friends, family, and loved ones. This baby had the opportunity to be loved, cuddled and held by many people we knew. For those who know JR personally, would you expect his son to know any fewer people than that?
At this point, we don’t know exactly what caused his death. It was a mystery to the doctors at Children’s Hospital where he died. The events surrounding his death gave us the opportunity to rely completely on our Creator.
Psalms 16:8 says “I have placed Jehovah in front of me constantly. Because he is at my right hand, I shall not be made to totter.”
It was quite apparent that our God was holding our right hand during this hard time, as we navigated through medical decisions to make a choice that would keep our consciences clear.
Revelation 21:5 says “Look! I am making all things new.”
Looking at our baby boy, I see something Jehovah created. If he was able to make something as beautiful as Silas now, how much easier it will be for him to make Silas again, when those words in Revelation are fulfilled.
That is when He will call, and my baby Silas will answer. May we all be there to hear those voices.
The majority of the 90 hours, he spent in his own home with his family. He was born in Filip’s playroom. With my midwife Liz, and her assistant Melissa in attendance, his father caught him, and gave him to me, his mother. I held him in my arms while JR cut his cord. Then we woke Filip up to meet his new baby brother.
Silas’ Mom Mom, Pop Pop, Aunt Jae and Cousin Tyler arrived and met him a half-hour later. He was laying in bed with me. Then, his Grandma and Grandpa arrived. Everyone got to hold him.
Later, Silas got to meet more friends. The next days Leeza with Morgan came. Leeza held him for many hours. Rebecca also visited, and held him.
Since he seemed to be uncomfortable, we took him to Dr. Staley, our chiropractor. He examined him, and gave him an adjustment. It seemed to help, he calmed down immediately. Noemi, the receptionist, held him and rocked him. That also seemed to soothe him.
So in 90 hours, Silas got to meet 16 people who were friends, family, and loved ones. This baby had the opportunity to be loved, cuddled and held by many people we knew. For those who know JR personally, would you expect his son to know any fewer people than that?
At this point, we don’t know exactly what caused his death. It was a mystery to the doctors at Children’s Hospital where he died. The events surrounding his death gave us the opportunity to rely completely on our Creator.
Psalms 16:8 says “I have placed Jehovah in front of me constantly. Because he is at my right hand, I shall not be made to totter.”
It was quite apparent that our God was holding our right hand during this hard time, as we navigated through medical decisions to make a choice that would keep our consciences clear.
Revelation 21:5 says “Look! I am making all things new.”
Looking at our baby boy, I see something Jehovah created. If he was able to make something as beautiful as Silas now, how much easier it will be for him to make Silas again, when those words in Revelation are fulfilled.
That is when He will call, and my baby Silas will answer. May we all be there to hear those voices.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
More cookies?
Let's say you only want one box of Girl Scout cookies, when a Girl Scout comes to your door. She offers to sell you 5 boxes. You tell her you will purchase one box. She says 'how about 3?'. You concede, because it's not the 5 boxes she was expecting to sell you.
It was a simple marketing tactic that even a child can perform. She caused you to purchase 3 times the amount that you wanted to buy in the first place. Your motivation? Perhaps guilt, a sense of 'doing the right thing', or just wanting to get this transaction over with. There are many possible reasons.
Her motivation? To sell as many cookies as possible.
The media has always pushed getting your flu shot every year. This year, pharmaceutical companies expect to triple their sales (by a very conservative estimate) of 'pandemic' flu shots for the Swine Flu. (see http://edition.cnn.com/2009/TRAVEL/07/22/swine.flu.drugs/index.html )
Whether someone gets these shots or not is a personal decision. Smart marketing tends to get on the personal level though. Some people are great supporters of vaccines, and others are quite the opposite. Say you're an average person who got all your shots as a kid, and would get the flu shot if something you wanted to be a part of (a new job perhaps) required it. You're not the type though, to run out to get an unrequired shot on your own.
The media/government/pharmaceutical companies work together to 'educate' us as to what's available to 'protect' yourself. In effect, it's someone coming to your door offering to sell you this experimental*** vaccine for each member of your family. Children should get two, one in each arm. Also, they offer the regular vaccine that you, your spouse and kids should get as well for the 'normal' flu that actually kills more people than the pandemic flu.
'Whoa, that's alot of shots' you may say. "I don't trust all that N1H1 stuff, I'll just take the normal flu shot, and whatever is mandated for the kids, so they don't get kicked out of school.''
Sound's reasonable.
Ask yourself, if you never heard of N1H1, and did not have to worry about required shots for school, would you be even getting that 'reasonable' amount of vaccinations? With that decision you made, you probably purchased 3 times or more shots than you would have not being exposed to marketing. Isn't that much the same as a girl scout overshooting how many boxes of cookies you should buy?
When our friends or people we know say something about our personal health care decisions, it's easier to get our back up about it. This is justified, because this is a personal decision . It's generally not the business of anyone else.
However, we cannot allow clever (or even basic) marketing make this decision for us. Just because it's not a person telling you what you should do, does not mean it's not overstepping it's proper place.
Please, do research on how the immune system works. Look at test results from an actual study, not just the cliff notes from a magazine article. Learn about the risks of dying, and treatment for someone who actually contracts the disease.
We all need to avoid the tendency to make this decision the same way we make the decision to buy a $5 foot-long, or insurance from a lizard. It's more important than making a consumer purchase.
*** The N1H1 vaccine has been tested on many volunteers. However, no one can know the long term affects of this, since it's a new shot. It would be very difficult, if not impossible, to know if any vaccination is the cause of a chronic disease that took years to develop in a person's system.
It was a simple marketing tactic that even a child can perform. She caused you to purchase 3 times the amount that you wanted to buy in the first place. Your motivation? Perhaps guilt, a sense of 'doing the right thing', or just wanting to get this transaction over with. There are many possible reasons.
Her motivation? To sell as many cookies as possible.
The media has always pushed getting your flu shot every year. This year, pharmaceutical companies expect to triple their sales (by a very conservative estimate) of 'pandemic' flu shots for the Swine Flu. (see http://edition.cnn.com/2009/TRAVEL/07/22/swine.flu.drugs/index.html )
Whether someone gets these shots or not is a personal decision. Smart marketing tends to get on the personal level though. Some people are great supporters of vaccines, and others are quite the opposite. Say you're an average person who got all your shots as a kid, and would get the flu shot if something you wanted to be a part of (a new job perhaps) required it. You're not the type though, to run out to get an unrequired shot on your own.
The media/government/pharmaceutical companies work together to 'educate' us as to what's available to 'protect' yourself. In effect, it's someone coming to your door offering to sell you this experimental*** vaccine for each member of your family. Children should get two, one in each arm. Also, they offer the regular vaccine that you, your spouse and kids should get as well for the 'normal' flu that actually kills more people than the pandemic flu.
'Whoa, that's alot of shots' you may say. "I don't trust all that N1H1 stuff, I'll just take the normal flu shot, and whatever is mandated for the kids, so they don't get kicked out of school.''
Sound's reasonable.
Ask yourself, if you never heard of N1H1, and did not have to worry about required shots for school, would you be even getting that 'reasonable' amount of vaccinations? With that decision you made, you probably purchased 3 times or more shots than you would have not being exposed to marketing. Isn't that much the same as a girl scout overshooting how many boxes of cookies you should buy?
When our friends or people we know say something about our personal health care decisions, it's easier to get our back up about it. This is justified, because this is a personal decision . It's generally not the business of anyone else.
However, we cannot allow clever (or even basic) marketing make this decision for us. Just because it's not a person telling you what you should do, does not mean it's not overstepping it's proper place.
Please, do research on how the immune system works. Look at test results from an actual study, not just the cliff notes from a magazine article. Learn about the risks of dying, and treatment for someone who actually contracts the disease.
We all need to avoid the tendency to make this decision the same way we make the decision to buy a $5 foot-long, or insurance from a lizard. It's more important than making a consumer purchase.
*** The N1H1 vaccine has been tested on many volunteers. However, no one can know the long term affects of this, since it's a new shot. It would be very difficult, if not impossible, to know if any vaccination is the cause of a chronic disease that took years to develop in a person's system.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Memorial Service
The Memorial Service for Baby Silas Andrews is this Saturday, October 17 at 3:30pm
It is open to everyone, and is held at FSK Holiday Inn Conference Center.
It's located in Frederick, Md on 5400 Holiday Drive. This is right behind the FSK mall.
We are expecting a sizable attendance. Please come early to make time for parking and finding a seat.
It is open to everyone, and is held at FSK Holiday Inn Conference Center.
It's located in Frederick, Md on 5400 Holiday Drive. This is right behind the FSK mall.
We are expecting a sizable attendance. Please come early to make time for parking and finding a seat.
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