The Toxicologist is cooking poison

I am preparing two HUGE articles to be posted pretty soon on The Toxicologist Today. Two articles that
promise excitement, passion, opinionated criticism, critical analysis, appraisal and  possible - yet uncalled for - controversy at points. 

Right now I can only give you a few ideas surrounding these articles I have been taking some time to write:

1 - Is LinkedIn becoming another Facebook?

2 - I am recruiting... an Employer.

I really hope this gets you guys, psyched! Hope I can count on your visit soon.

Cheers.

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How much caffeine is there in decaf coffee

Welcome to QuickFix, the new label from The Toxicologist Today, where you get the answers to the most quotidian questions that youre ashamed to plead ignorance on or even ask your mates about. In the future Ill be covering issues that apparently everyone is an expert on, but only the actual experts can address them properly. 

My wife asked me the other day How much caffeine is there in decaf coffee?

The answer was found in 3 seconds and is posted here from the Nescafe.co.uk website. No hussle! No scientific jargon!, just an immediate QuickFix to save you time.

I want to overdose

Caffeine in decaf coffee, [http://www.nescafe.co.uk/caffeine_in_decaf_coffee_en_com.axcms], last visited on the 5th of April 2014, last update 

I want to overdose redirects you to the article by Ramalakshmi, K. Raghavan, B (1999). "Caffeine in coffee: Its removal. Why and how". Critical reviews in food science and nutrition, 39(5), pp.441-456.

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Is Aquaponics Truly Sustainable

This are the things that had always been in my mind. Is aquaponics truly sustainable and green? There are few critics towards aquaponics that yet has to be answered by us the aquaponics enthusiast:

1. How could aquaponic be considered green provided it is powered by electricity. All of us know, our source of electricity power mostly comes from fossil burning that release carbon to the atmosphere. Thus makes aquaponics indirectly contribute to the release of unnecessary carbon compound into the atmosphere.
2. Most materials used for the construction of aquaponics actually is not truly green and sustainable. We all know, the grow bed is made of plastic, metal or wood (which sacrificed valuable commodity of the environment), PVC pipe, synthetic glue. These products that we used to construct aquaponics produced in factory that releases those unnecessary gases to the environment.
3. Some space required for aquaponic setup. It do consume the "fertile/non fertile" top soil. However being a person with green mind, we all do appreciate the value of the top soil, since we all know there are many ways to revive its usefulness and fertility. Since aquaponics located and covered the top soil with concrete, cement, tank or whatever, then how could it considered to be green, whereby the space used could be utilized to a greater value for the environment. Therefore, optimizing the usefulness of space also becomes an issue.

These are the things that we have to answer. It is not enough for us to justify how green and sustainable aquaponics are. The answer lies on our actions and creativity to make it truly sustainable. Aquaponics still has long way to go. However, I believe with our determination and effort to thinks and think, we definitely someday will find a way for aquaponics to make its way as a green and sustainable endeavor in food production.

I am really optimistic to see aquaponics will become one of the solution to the catastrophic environment that we faced today, "Food Shortage". I want to see my aquaponics set. Maybe I should ask my brother to email me 2 or 3 recent pictures of our aquaponics at our home.

"Peng tolong dulu ba kunun kasi email saya gambar latest aquaponic di rumah kalau ko balik nanti, hihi XD"

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Cloth Nappying

We discovered a lovely surprise on arrival to Mudflower ..... there is no electricity or water pressure in the laundry.

At what point did I discover this you ask? Well it was AFTER the removalists had placed the machine in the laundry and I went to try and wash 4 days worth of nappies.

Could this pregnant belly and Damos broken spine move the machine into the bathroom where there is pressure and electricty? Not likely.

So what did we do? We ran an extension cord into the house and bucketed the water into the machine. Not a great deal of fun and this is how we will have to continue with washing until we get things fixed up.

We have had an electrician out to have a look and he will get to it when he can. I think he may just be the farmer across the paddock who does work for those he knows, our other neighbour recommended him. So we will just sit tight on that one. As for the water, the laundry is gravity fed from a small water tank. We need to look into a water pump and possibly a larger tank to fix the water. Something for when we have some money.

If the river water ever comes back on we will be able to fill the machine up with a hose. Fingers crossed something fixes up soon.

But all I can say is, if I can keep using cloth in these conditions so can you. I will no longer accept the excuse that it is too much hard work.

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Is LinkedIn becoming another Facebook

I have been increasingly worried about the shift in "ideology" that has been transgendering (sorry for the abuse of language) LinkedIn. What for me started as a very useful and capable platform for business making and professional networking, where one would have the chance of joining groups and discussing matters that relate to ones professional moiety, suddenly became, yet on baby steps, a fashionable social network. Not all his lost, obviously; and the problem has only started to emerge. But still is emerging and I am afraid that LinkedIn could do better in reshaping its structure/organics to a more useful and professional platform rather than playing by likes and dislikes, and the endorsing of skills some people never actually saw one putting to practice or even acquiring (just to start with).

We can find nowadays several people who complain from a number of irritating issues endogenous to LinkedIn. 

Like Ron writes in his blog "Rondam Ramblings", "a LinkedIn invitation is no different from any other cold call email unless you are absolutely positively certain that the person you want to link to, know who you are". An anonymous comentator actually very well observes that LinkedIn encourages fake, spammy connections.

It is indeed a reality that, as teriable.wordpress puts it so well, the best connected people dont need LinkedIn and LinkedIn is a lagging indicator of real connectivity, just like any other social network that uses poor filtering in relating one individual to another. But most of those using LinkedIn need networking in a professional level, not in a familiar level.

But the most appalling issues regarding the dynamics of networking through LinkedIn are, as very well explained by Michael Hurst in his H.I.M, LinkedIn notifying us of colleagues work anniversary (Christ, thats ludicrous!! We dont want that and society actually dont want that!!); the endorsing of skills works as a pay-it-forward system and I personally abominate this option. I dont remember a single time I endorsed anyone and I hate when people do endorse me, especially for skills I clearly do not master, actually disregarding some I master and have perfected to an excellent level!

LinkedIn is a powerful tool with more than 225 million members in more than 200 countries [1, 2] and its existence makes perfect sense. But where other services try to improve and correct as time goes by, LinkedIn seems to opt for the mainstream approach of becoming more popular, dumbing down their quality level to a pop-teenage set of tools and selling their soul to merchandise of spammed marketing messaging.

On the other end of the spectrum there are people using LinkedIn that use it for the wrong reasons whilst wearing the clothes of very nice individuals that will boost your career, boost your networking impact factor. I talk about something very well observed by Lib Aubuchon in her Project Eve, the exaggerated self-promotion, the exaggerated stalking of others by the system itself under spam messages that are dressed as good useful information for you to consider purchasing (down the line).

And then theres The Influencers!! Who asked for them? I didnt ask for them, you didnt ask for them, I want to block all of them narcissists. These Gurus just violate our mailboxes with their "Look where I got, read what I did, learn from me, how successful I am, I want to kiss myself in the mouth". We appreciate that there is a lot of learning to do and obtaining guidance from people who walked the walk is good if we actually ask for the talk. Uncalled for his just spamming.

There are numerous indications that LinkedIn is about to strongly irritate some good willing professionals who just want a straightforward platform for brainstorming in their area of expertise and find/offer roles for those with skills and wills in a certain professional area. I summarised them here for your collective thinking and criticism. Hope youve enjoyed.

[1] Jon Jones smArtist, LinkedIn for people who hate LinkedIn, [http://www.jonjones.com/2013/11/06/linkedin-for-people-who-hate-linkedin/], last visit on the 22nd of May 2014, last update on the 6th of November 2011.

[2] Quartz, This is why I deleted my LinkedIn account, [http://qz.com/127797/this-is-why-i-deleted-my-linkedin-account/], last visit on the 22nd of May 2014, last update on the 24th of September 2013.

Image taken from Social Recruiting Blog [http://blog.careercloud.com/post/56970212087/20-things-people-hate-about-linkedin].

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Apples

The variety you get with homegrown organic apples are amazing. Above is our biggest and littlest apple together. Then just the littlest one to give perspective of size.

It was the cutest littlest most sour apple ever.

We have unfortunately lost a lot of our apples to coddling moth and even fruit fly. It is completely heart breaking throwing out kgs of fruit every day.

We need to try and figure out how to manage these issue organically. Hopefully we can and fast. Once we have chooks and ducks free ranging the numbers of these pests should be significantly reduced.

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Spring Is Here

Spring has arrived in all her glory with a multitude of signs, from the light showers to the abundance of eggs  to the bulging bellies and udders of the animals.  The pullets have graduated to hen status, we have been finding little nests here and there.  The latest nest was filled with bright blue eggs from the flighty americauna who refuses to stay with the flock.  

Gingers udder has been forming.  When she runs up and down the hill her udder sways back and forth.  















We have been avidly reading Calving the Cow and Care of the Calf, by Eddie Straiton, which has been said to be the best book on the subject with hundreds of color photos. 
Preparing for a calf in early May has got us scurrying to gather and build last minute necessities.  

There has also been some exciting activity in the apiary.  We have split one of our Warre hives to create an artificial swarm with the hopes that the hive will hatch a new queen.   In anticipation of the Intro to Natural Beekeeping class coming up this weekend we have also built an observation hive.  The lull of winter is certainly over, there is lots going on and so much to do.  Here we go....Happy Spring everyone!

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What is the Difference Between Bio and Non Bio and why does it matter

When two forces in the universe secretively combine to test your scientific brain you learn the incredible value of those lessons covering scientific thinking back in the days. Im not even talking about early uni days, I mean when I was 10 years old and my teacher sent us home with an assignment to describe a simple scientific thinking process. Something simple we observed at home or on our way home. I was confident I was going to be awesome for I was by then an excellent student. I was also a very inventive child that counted on my personal report with electrocution by the age of 8 and a serious bacterial poisoning by the age of 6. Apparently by then two electrical wires attached to a nail do not work as a lamp magnet, and the raw egg mixture Rocky Balboa drank cannot be kept under ones bed for days.

Tough life my bulb-has-no-light-because-its-broken example did not account for the fact that maybe the Power Station was down that day! Tears invaded me as I learned a much valuable lesson: Humility, observation, discussion. These are stepping stones for a proper scientific approach.

This lesson helped me adapt to the inconvenient mysterious and secretive combination of two universe forces that united strengths to make me, for a period of 15 days, a very worried father.

When my son suddenly appeared with plain red patches resembling mild edemas all over his body, my overprotective father software kicked out. My wife started blaming different bacteria, virus, read long pages of "Parenting is for Pros" websites. But by the end of those 15 days we couldnt understand this sudden rash-type plain red edemas that would emerge all over his skin, stay for 10-15 minutes and then vanish like they never were.

It was after bombarding myself with extensive literature on the many stupid things kids tend to catch, and after visiting a GP that reinforced everything was alright and surprisingly no Paracetamol (a GPs best friend) wasnt a necessary therapeutics, that I accepted I could not figure out what that was.

The kid was not getting better but he wasnt complaining of anything either. It was just those red plain edema-like patches surging from nowhere to invade his whole body, stay for a quarter of an hour and then leave like it has never been there at all. Luckily nothing resembling meningitis. We did the classic glass test; he is even vaccinated for the type C strain though.

What could that be if not two mysterious simultaneous forces in the universe that combined to piss me off big time. One had been triggered by myself and the other one by his nursery. WE HAD BOTH CHANGED DETERGENTS AT THE SAME TIME.

I honestly had thought of that before and even tested him with a cotton bud and a sample of the new detergent we had, but seems like these tend to change from brand to brand. Very little changes can trigger allergic reactions, but in fact what happened is that both us and nursery had changed from non-bio to bio detergent. 

I always had in my mind that bio would be better. I mean, bio... ermmmm... biological, isnt that so? Non-bio... ermmm... non-biological, therefore not organic at all. Quite a stupid uneducated consideration have I realised, only after reading the available brand literature on the subject.

(click on images to enlarge)

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Aquaponics Hydroponics Catatonics is the future

The recent [or not so much] economical crisis that forced Portugal to its knees and launched the country into a spiral of discredit has also forced the Portuguese into extra innovation and entrepreneurship. When getting some deserved sun this last June, on the beaches of Monte Gordo, Algarve, in the company of a great friend of mine, also a researcher, the subjects Aquaponics Hydroponics suddenly surfaced. Aquaponics??? I asked my friend, the marine biologist. I could have waited til later on and then ask my wife who has also graduated in Marine Biology, but I was way to curious to let it go just like that - a blur cloud in a sky of vague conversational topics.

He immediately told me that hes trying to start his own business, but still needs to optimize the whole system.

- What system?, I asked.

- What do you know about Aquaponics and Hydroponics?

- Aquaponics, Hydroponics, Catatonics! Not much, just that there is probably a system in it, if it is not the system itself... this ponics thing! I retorted comically.

And appreciating not only my interest on the subject, but also my remarkable humor, my friend started spitting stuff to my hears that I now very briefly reconstruct for you with this post. The answers to the questions I had were provided by five nice scientific articles I found on the web and are hereby listed on the bottom of the post, as usual. Id highlight article five for anyone really wanting to go damn technical on this matter and engineer it in an optimized fashion; and Id also like to emphasize the Aquaponics systems web page for a grandiose collection of amazing information!!!

What is Aquaponics and whats for?

Aquaponics is a bio-integrated system that links recirculating aquaculture with hydroponic vegetable, flower, and/or herb production... Recent advances by researchers and growers alike have turned aquaponics into a working model of sustainable food production. [1]

How does it work?

Aquaponics serves as a model of sustainable food production by following certain principles:

1) The waste products of one biological system serve as nutrients for a second biological system.

2) The integration of fish and plants results in a polyculture that increases diversity and yields multiple products. Water is reused through biological filtration and recirculation.

3) Local food production provides access to healthy foods and enhances the local economy. [1]

What are the typical organisms involved?

Tilapia is a warm-water species that grows well in a recirculating tank culture. [1] Plants grow rapidly with dissolved nutrients that are excreted directly by fish or generated from the microbial breakdown of fish wastes... some aquaponic systems have used channel catfish, largemouth bass, crappies, rainbow trout, pacu, common carp, koi carp, goldfish, Asian sea bass (barramundi) and Murray cod, most commercial systems are used to raise tilapia [5].

Does it really work?

Trials at the Freshwater Institute’s greenhouses showed that nitrogen, phosphorus, and other nutrients in aquaculture effluent can be effectively removed by plants grown in NFT hydroponics or constructed wetland systems. James Rakocy, Ph.D., and associates at the University of the Virgin Islands (UVI) developed a commercial-scale aquaponic system that has run continuously for more than five years [1]. 

Is it sustainable?

Sustainable indoor fish farming is the farming of the new millennium [3]. Aquaponics increase economical efficiency because several key costs, such as nutrients, land and water are substantially reduced and component operating and infrastructural costs are shared. Lower resource requirements extend the geographic range of production to areas that rely heavily on food imports [3].

Utilizing data collected via a case study of an aquaponics operation in Milwaukee, Wisconsin... in temperate climates, tilapia and vegetable sales or, alternatively, yellow perch and vegetable sales are insufficient sources of revenue for this aquaponics system to offset regular costs when grown in small quantities and when operated as a stand-alone for-profit business. However, it is possible to reach economies of scale and to attain profitability with a yellow perch and lettuce system [4].

How to differ aquaponics from hydroponics?

Aquaponics is one method of hydroponics, and hydroponics is one method of greenhouse production [1]. Aquaponics is essentially the combination of aquaculture and hydroponics [3].

Which method is best?

Production of 2.8 kg m^-2 from the first hydroponic crop was similar to the 2.7 kg m^-2 assessed in the high density aquaponic treatment. Conversely the 2.3 kg m^-2 measured in the low density treatment was smaller. For the second trial no differences were noticed between the 6.0 kg m^-2 measured in the hydroponic system and the 5.7 and 5.6 kg m^-2 assessed in the high and low-density aquaponic treatments, respectively. Nevertheless different nutrient concentrations in water affected plant mineral composition. Aquaponic leaves were poorer in phosphorus but richer in calcium, potassium magnesium and sodium. [2]

[5]

[1] Diver, S., Rinehart, L. (2006). "Aquaponics - Integration of Hydroponics with culture".  ATTRA - National Sustainable Agriculture Information, pp. 1-28

[2] Pantanella, E., Cardarelli, M., Colla, G., Rea, E., Marcucci, A. (2010). "Aquaponics VS. Hydroponics: Production and quality of lettuce crop". ISHS ACTA Horticulturae, 927, pp. unknown.

[3] Blidariu, F., Grozea, A. (2011). "Increasing the economical efficiency and sustainability of indoor fish farming by means of aquaponics - review". Animal Science and Biotechnologies, 44(2), pp. 1-7.

[4] Goodman, E. R. (2011). "Aquaponics: community and economic development". MIT Library Archives.

[5] Rakocy, J. E., Masser, M. P.,  Losordo, T. M. (2006). "Recirculating aquaculture tank production systems: Aquaponics - Integrating fish and plant culture". Southern Regional Aquaculture Center, pp. 1-16.

Figure 1 taken from Aquaponics systems, Home aquaponics system diy, [http://aquaponicssystems.landscapeideasandpicture.com/home-aquaponics-systems-diy/], last visited on the 16th of July 2014, last update unknown.

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Poisonous Pufferfish vs Eel when failing is actually winning !

This time I had to borrow some incredible images [1] of an attack perpetrated by an improvident Eel against a Poisonous "Fugu" Puffer fish. Dumb idiot!!!. These are the worlds most toxic group of fish containing tetrodotoxin in their livers, gonads and skin [2]. Since there is no specific treatment for humans that come into contact with this potent neurotoxin the best remedy is prevention. Unless you are really hungry like this Eel.

 

[1] Worlds weirdest: Poisonous Puffer fish vs. Eel, National geographic, [http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/weirdest-pufferfish], last visited on the 22nd of May 2015, last update unknown. 

[2] Ahasan, H. A. M. N., Karim, S. R., Bakar, M. A., Gazi, E. A., Bala, C. S. (2004). "Paralytic complications of Puffer Fish (Tetrodoxin) Poisoning". Singapore Medical Journal, 45(20, pp. 73-74.

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TODAY IS WORLD SJÖGRENS DAY!

TODAY IS

WORLD SJÖGRENS DAY!

World Sjögrens Day commemorates the birthday of Henrik Sjogren, a Swedish opthalmologist who first identified the disease in 1933. Today creates an ideal opportunity for you to talk about Sjogrens with the people in your life and provide much needed awareness for this common yet little known disease. By sharing your story and educating others, you are helping spread the message that Sjögrens is a serious and life-altering disease and it deserves to be recognized. You may also be helping someone who is looking for answers to their problems.

We also encourage you to make a donation today to help further Sjögrens research and awareness. You can donate in honor of Dr. Sjögren, yourself, a loved one. You can also encourage your family and friends to make a donation. Each and every donation will greatly impact the efforts of the SSF.

Thank you for your support. Together we can transform the future of Sjögrens!

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Bibliophilia is my BIG ISSUE

Whats the name given to a complete addiction to books, not for the sake of buying per se, but books that you see from afar, at distance, and ones already checking the pounds and pennies with the tip of ones fingers poking through ones pocket? I am pretty sure Bibliophilia is my issue. A BIG ISSUE so to speak!

I go somewhere and if there are books available at an acceptable price, of subjects that really pick me up to a good read, I get them. My wife says shes driven crazy by my addiction and often argues that I really need to stop buying them. "Do you ever read them?" - she asks me livid with two or three guilty pleasures of mine in her hand. In fact, I do. I honestly do. Not as many as I would love to because time is scarce; kiddo, PhD, start-up, blog, wife, preparing for a future career... my reading times are confined to these 1.7 miles in between home and workplace. 

34 minutes with eyes planted on bright pages of whatever gets to my scope after breakfast, at hands reach, from a dusty pile of reasons Im driving my wife manic with. There I go, successfully avoiding bikes on fast acceleration and anxious passers rapidly pass by for their own professional duties. Never killed a snail, never had a crash, always mind the traffic lights. Thank whoever God you Love. I probably own a sixth sense developed in a Darwinian way from early days of Petzi (my first drug ever)! Who knows? A sat-nav based on the pure pleasure of a good read.

I know now that I suffer from Bibliophilia because whilst looking for the technical/clinical term to niche me "disease" cosy cosy, I found a website with considerations on addiction to books. Signs youre addicted to books, Ive got 5 of them severely entrenched in me blood:

Number 8:

"This is all you think about when you picture your dream home"

Number 9:

"Walking by a closed bookstore is torture"

Number 14:

"TV is OK... sometimes"

Number 19:

"The book is always, always, always better"

Number 24:

"Finishing a book you love is like losing a best friend"

Today, as I walked myself to the nearest ATM in the Queens Medical Centre, I got four new ones. All by James Herriot, all with lovely covers, all 50 pence and all with that lovely old scent that only books spread and that inevitably deepens my Bibliophilia even strongly. And I say to myself...

BIG ISSUEEEEE, BIG ISSUUEEEEE ANYONE?

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The microwave militia is bad for your mental health

A few weeks ago my mum, very customarily, emailed me a compilation of web articles about the dangers associated to the use of microwaves. I read it vertically in a flash, but lacking time for an appropriate evaluation decided to dedicate my time to other posts. Now, on a Saturday morning with my wife on my side and my baby resting asleep, boring Bundesliga highlights showing on TV, Pepe Guardiola distributing autographs in a very safe-mode competition where only one team wins the title, my eyes were incapable of doing more than reading slowly... conditions are perfect to analyse this microwave issue carefully.

The question here is understanding if an appliance used on a daily basis by basically everyone in the modern world is threatening our health or some anal retentive people have been saying more than they actually know.

Many articles widespread in the Internet blatantly state that the Russians banned the microwave back in 1976 following a study that was used to evaluate health hazards. Well, the Internet is flooded constantly with misinformation or really poor sourcing. The microwave was never banned in Russia, and if you need reassurance this page contains plenty references to make you sure of that. Biased? I dont think so, for in the bottom of the page there are article references for you to read through if necessary be. It seems that conspiracy theorists confused financial incapacity to buy a microwave back in the days with a supposed ban elevated on grounds of health and safety research.

The immediate question is then if microwaves do actually present any short or long-term health hazards. Where some crazy heads claim that there are countries that have banned the microwave, truth surfaces and tells you straight away that that is a perfect lie. No country banned the microwave, what happens is that different regions have different regulations in place to control electrical and electronic appliances; but such is a regulation, not a ban altogether.

What about health concerns in using microwave to prepare food? The microwave works by emitting microwave-band electromagnetic radiation of 2.5GHz through food. Molecules with electric dipoles in them (water is the perfect example - see image) vibrate/rotate along this electromagnetic field with friction creating heat (dielectric heating). Molecules that have a more complex structure are not affected at all. Thus, the microwave presents a clean, clear, straightforward way of heating food.

The myth must end immediately until someone really produces scientific-supported information. Until then, there is a great webpage [Skeptoid] deconstructing the myth and doing for us what science should be doing, allowing progress, knowledge and understanding with the least damage possible. So lets look at the facts that Skeptoid analyses:

"ever since microwave ovens came on the market in 1954, not one person has ever exhibited a single symptom of any illness resulting from having eaten microwaved food, or from having used water that had been microwaved.Burns are the exception, but burns are caused by heat from any source; thats not unique to microwaves." [1]

"chain email, and many of these web sites, also state that giving a plant water that has been microwaved will kill it. There is even a series of unsourced photographs of two plants, one of which withers and dies while its sibling flourishes. The awesome web site Snopes.com tested this particular claim. They all did exactly the same." [1]

"Probably the most flagrant error that the Microwave Militia propagates is that microwaved food or water contains what they call "radiolytic compounds" — new chemicals created by the tearing apart of molecules in a microwave. These new chemicals are said to be dangerous, cancerous, radioactive, unnatural, or otherwise harmful. This is a demonstrably false claim. Radiolysis, which is a real process and which the Militia believes creates these radiolytic compounds, is the process by which molecules are dissociated under ionizing radiation. Water can be dissociated under ionizing alpha particle bombardment, which is a natural process. Microwave radiation, as mentioned earlier, is not ionizing radiation. It is thus scientifically incapable of causing radiolysis. The differences between microwave radiation and alpha radiation are huge. With the claim that microwaves cause dissociation of water molecules, the Microwave Militia is either deliberately lying, or they are grossly ignorant of the very subject on which they claim superior expertise." [1]

There are loads of studies available and you can make your own judgement, but facts are facts and it is a fact that the only issue associated to microwaves is using the wrong container for heating food in a microwave, as the wrong vessel can leak toxic substances if not prepared to accept microwave radiation. Apart from that, these stories are just bullocks.

[1] Are microwave ovens safe? - Skeptoid, Critical analysis of Pop Phenomena; [http://skeptoid.com/episodes/4080], last visited on the 07th of December 2013, last update on the 25th of December 2007.

1st image taken from [http://we-are-star-stuff.tumblr.com/post/63702840093/are-microwave-ovens-dangerous-the-typical]

2nd image source unknown

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Perennial Leeks

A few years ago we got some perennial leeks online. Like all plants you get online it is difficult to know if it will survive being posted or survive in our garden. They are meant to grow and taste just like ordinary leeks. Instead of saving seed and raising seedlings they grow numerous tiny leeks from their base.

When we moved here I dug up the leeks and brought them with us. Normally they keep growing as usual but this summer they seemed to die down to bulbs which made moving easier. I planted them out in one of the vegetable gardens. The picture below shows some of the leeks I have planted.

Perennial leeks - very hardy

Having never eaten or grown any other type of leek I can not compare them, but these are easy to grow and are tasty. They are very productive and take heavy frost with no worries. If they die down when stressed they should also be able to take the heat here.

As all leeks apparently do, they grow rather slowly. But these ones multiply fast. I have let some plants flower but they have never produce viable seeds for me. By the time a large leek is ready to be dug up and eaten it will have numerous smaller leeks ready to take its place. If you divide the babies off they all grow large and start to multiply, if you do not divide them they keep growing but are much smaller.

The picture below shows a larger leek in the background, with many smaller leeks in the foreground waiting to be divided. As you can see the lack of viable seed is not a problem whatsoever.

Like all the vegetables that I have got online I had hoped that these would do well and would eventually pay for themselves in one way or another. Some things have paid for themselves by reducing the amount of groceries we have to buy, others such as yacon pay for themselves by being sold. The leeks certainly have been hardy and generous plants and have grown and multiplied well. After seeing the prices for leek in the supermarket I know that they have paid for themselves several times over just from what we have eaten.

Since writing this I have grown some regular leeks and have written a post comparing these with perennial leeks here

 I do sell perennial leek plants as well as some other perennial vegetables, herbs and some vegetable seeds, please see my For Sale page for details.

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