babies.

In the movie Gattaca parents were allowed to pick the traits of their babies, should we be able to do this? Why or why not?

I believe that we should not be able to pick the traits of our babies. There are many personal/ religious reasons why I believe this. I think that if we had the ability to make our babies look the way we wanted to, life would be in a sense, more boring. There is something about looking around and seeing a pretty person catch your eye. This would never happen, if we were able to pick the way our children looked. Everyone we know including ourselves would all be beautiful, making it a lot harder for anyone to catch your eye. I also  believe that after a certain point, everyone would start looking the same. Everyone might start having "blonde hair and blue eyes" or something that people would consider beautiful. This would get extremely boring, having everyone look the same. Another reason for my opinion, is that I believe that God makes us the way he wants us to. If we were able to pick our childrens traits, we would be taking over Gods job, which cant be good.

Homemade pickles: a delicious fermented foods recipe

Well, pickling cucumbers are ON at the farm where we get our vegetables, so I thought it would be fun to share a fermented foods pickle recipe.
We choose to make fermented pickles instead of vinegar pickles because not only do we love the way they taste, we love the health benefits of eating fermented foods. It's one of our favorite fermented foods recipes.
The process of fermentation not only helps to preserve food, it breaks food nutrients down into more digestible forms, improves the bioavailability of minerals, and creates new nutrients including B vitamins (folic acid, riboflavin, niacin, thiamin, and biotin). Fermented foods are also live foods, full of beneficial bacteria.
We are trained in our culture to think of bacteria as bad, but what John and I have learned is that many bacteria actually live symbiotically within our bodies and a healthy population of these beneficial bacteria is vital to good health.
Eating our pickles in fermented form carries these beneficial bacteria directly to our digestive systems where they greatly aid digestion. Our sauerkraut recipe on this site is another fermented foods recipe.
So, how do you make fermented pickles?
For this fermented foods pickle recipe, you will need:

• 2-one gallon crocks or glass jars
• 4 lbs. of cucumbers

• 3⁄4 cup kosher salt
• 1 bunch dill weed
• 1 head of garlic, peeled
• 1 onion, sliced
• pinch of black peppercorns (optional)

• 10 grape leaves
• 1 gallon boiling water

First, wash your cucumbers and remove any remaining blossoms. Poke them with a bamboo skewer, inserting it a few inches into one end, but not going all the way through.

Slice the onions, peel the garlic and rinse the grape leaves.

Boil the water and dissolve the salt in it and set aside to use later.

Place 2 or 3 grape leaves in the bottom of the jar(s). Place as many cucumbers as will fit in a single layer on the grape leaves. Add 5-6 cloves of garlic, a handful of onion slices, a handful of dill weed, and a pinch of black peppercorns. Put another layer of grape leaves on top.



Continue layering in this way until the jar is full. Finish with grape leaves.


Pour the hot brine into the jar(s) until full. Use a chopstick or knife to poke down into the jar (around the sides) to remove air bubbles.

Find a plastic lid (called a follower) that you can fit into the jar by bending it, and that will expand to mostly cover the grape leaves on top.

Place a weight on top of the follower (We use a mason jar filled with rocks and water) to keep the pickles under the brine. They should be covered by at least one inch of brine once the weight is in place.
Let sit at room temperature for 3-7 days, checking daily for desired taste.
When they taste right to you, cut them into slices and store them in jars covered with brine and with lids on top, in your refrigerator. You've made fermented foods!

Refrigerating will stop the fermentation process and allow you to store your pickles for a year or more.

http://www.learningherbs.com/fermented_foods.html

blog #9 (military and diseases)

I think that the goverment should be involved, but only to a certain extent. I think that they should quarantine the people that have the highest symptoms of the infectious disease. But I dont think that they should quarantine everyone who has only one or two symptoms  of the disease, they should only quarantine the poeple that show multiple symptoms of the disease. As far as the military getting involved, I talked to my dad who served in the military, and he said that when he was in the military he and his other colleagues had to take an oath that said that they would protect our country from both domestic and foreign parties who were a threat to our nation. Which means that he would protect this country even from someone within our country. So I guess I'd understand why the military would get involved, it's their job to protect from threats.

blog #8

when entering a biocontainment facility hot zone, you must wear a hazmat suit, and a have a self contained oxygen supply. before entering and exiting the hot zone, there are numerous rooms you must go through depending on the level. If it is a level 4, you must go through a vaccume room, go under ultra-violet rays, and take special showers designed to kill the biohazarderous diease. Before entering a hot zone, you must have exstensive training. Not anyone can put on a hazmat suit and walk into a biohazerdous facility.

IM blog

kelly: Hav u herd bout that 1 contagious flu thats been going around?
rick: u mean swine flu? :o
kelly: yeaa, its been killing so many ppl! D:
rick: oh man, :o i didnt evn no it was that bad.
kelly: oh, well yea its terrble :/ wht did u think it was like?
rick: well idk, i just thot it was like a regular flu. :b
kelly: ohhh, well nahh its not. it can actually kill u ! >:(
rick: why, wat r the symptoms?
kelly: well the bad part is, the symptoms are just like a regular flu. D:
rick: so like runny nose, coughing, and all that? D:
kelly: exactly :/
rick: ohh man, im kinda scared now !
kelly: noo dont be, lik jus remember to wash ur hands nd all that(:
rick: well, alright,
kelly: dont worry.  :D
rick: well if u find out anythin else , tel me. :o
kelly: mm, okay then.
rick. thx
kelly. mhmm, well byee :b
rick: byeeee >.<

blog #6 (poem)

It is something they must face,
and they must fight
whether they ein or lose,
its there, inside of them
hard to see

They're truly scared of what can be,
of what lurks beneath their skin.

They dont know where to go next,
or if they will win the battle,
But we're here to keep them strong,
and forever help them with their disease.

blog #5 (bacteria)

                      Lactobacilli:

lactobacilli is a benefitcial bacteria found in foods such as buttermilk, yoghurt,  sour cream, and some frozen desserts. the purpose of  this bacteria is to turn carbohydrates and sugars into lactic acid. The bacteria lowers the pH and lowers the risk of other harmful bacteria growing on that food. This is good for people who are trying to lower their risk of gastrointestinal infections. http://www.buzzle.com/articles/beneficial-bacteria.html

 

                         E. coli :

E. coli is a deadly bacteria that thrive in the intestines of humans and animals. E. coli can be spread through food, making it a food born illness. Some of the symtoms of this food illness is diarrhea, hermorrhagic colitis ( bloody diarrhea), and food poisoning like symptoms. If not treated properly , eating a conaminated food 

with E.coli, can lead to death. 

http://www.about-ecoli.com/