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Rhodochrosite is at the top of the list when you think of Colorado minerals. It is the Colorado state mineral. The most beautiful specimens in the world come from the Sweet Home Mine that is located in Alma, Colorado. Now closed, this mine produced large beautiful specimens for about 10 years in the 1990's. While specimens from the Sweet Home are still available, they are increasingly rare and the price continues to rise. For the collector of minerals, the price is well worth it for the Colorado beauties.

Colorado Rhodochrosite

Colorado "rhodo" is the bright red, crystal clear variety unlike all but one other rhodo location in the world. Interestingly, the other location for this sort of clear rhodochrosite is the Pasto Bueno mining district, located in Peru. Like the Sweet Home Mine this district is at timberline, but is a continent away.

A Description

Rhodochrosite is a manganese carbonate mineral. Its chemical composition is MnCO. In its purest form it is a transparent rose red, but this is fairly rare. It can also be formed in stalactites. This form can be sliced revealing circular layers of rose and pink to milky white. These lighter colors are formed when the manganese is replaced by calcium, manganese or zinc. The depth of color from red to pink depends on the amount of substitution.

Mineral Properties

This mineral is fairly soft and shows up on the Mohs harness scale between 3.5 and 4. It has a white streak.

The crystal formation of rhodochrosite is rhombohedral, meaning it is like a cube, but "squished" to form and equal-sided parallogram or rhombus shape on its sides. It cleaves perfectly along each of the three planes that form the rhombohedral shape. It can be transparent to opaque

Formation

Rhodochrosite is formed in hydrothermal veins in low temperature ore deposits.

Locations

Rhodochrosite can be found in Colorado in the USA, Kuruman, South Africa; Romania, Peru, and Argentina

Uses

Rhodochrosite is prized by mineral collectors. It is also popular in jewelry.

Metaphysical Properties

For the metaphysician This mineral attracts love to the wearer, has a positive effect on eyesight, and helps in letting go of psychological baggage.

Find more information on rhodochrosite at http://www.rocksandminerals4u.com/rhodochrosite.html . To see rhodochrosite for Sale visit http://www.fossilicious.com/Rhodochrosite-c-313.html .

posted by qhishjq  # 10:51 PM 0 comments

It's started already.

It just hasn't been that long since you jumped on the Vista bandwagon, eager to experience that cool new graphic interface, when lo and behold, something bad happened. Maybe it was a blue screen of death, perhaps it was a more civil error message, but whatever the specifics, you've come to realize that this move to Vista was going to be just more of the same.

The Windows Vista registry closely resembles earlier versions on Windows in that it is still a place to store all the OS and individual programs' settings and options. It has gone a little further than its predecessors by using the registry to replace .ini files, and by serving as a repository for Group Policy settings (previously unknown in earlier non-networking Windows operating systems).

You can still go into the system and edit the registry (accessing it via "regedit" in the command line), but as Vista is more complicated than XP, so the registry is more complex as well. The Windows Vista registry is a storehouse for information about computer and application configurations. Like a reptile, the registry simply keeps growing for as long as you use Windows. During this unfortunate growth (some call it "bloat"), it attracts obsolete and unnecessary information, and over enough time, becomes cluttered and fragmented. This bloat can be the cause of a large number of software difficulties.

Once you encounter one of these software problems (like any number of .dll errors, or even an explorer.exe error), you may be tempted to run to the registry and start deleting the keys of whichever file is named in the error message. This of course is an amazingly bad idea as the files you could be deleting may be of vital importance to the operating system.

So instead of indulging in DIY (do-it-yourself) Windows Vista registry repair, you might be better off looking for a software solution to fix your registry difficulties.

Use some caution when shopping because many software products out there are designed for earlier versions of Windows and designers might not be completely forthcoming about this, shrugging off concerns because the program should "mostly work" on Vista. Hunt around for established companies that have designed registry repair software before and then see if they are offering new software that works specifically with Vista. One such tool is Paretologic's RegCure.

Remember that the Vista OS is markedly different from the older versions in its control of Group Policy settings and .ini files. A registry repair tool may operate on Windows Vista, but if it was designed for XP, its scans are going to be at least somewhat (if not very) inaccurate. Looking for a legitimate Windows Vista registry repair tool (like RegCure) when you need to fix those registry errors is well worth the time and expense.

Mike Lath is a self-professed geek who actually enjoys fixing his family member's computers! His site, http://InstantFixPC.Com, is geared at helping the novice computer fix their computer problems in no time at all...

posted by qhishjq  # 4:29 PM 0 comments

Ferrets make great pets, but there are some myths about them that prevent people from even considering adopting them. The information below serves to dispel many of the myths concerning ferrets. Hopefully, if you've heard and believed one of these myths, this information will help you to see that a ferret really is a fantastic pet.

Myth #1 - Ferrets are wild animals. Ferrets actually are not wild animals. In fact, ferrets can no longer survive in the wilds as they once could because only domesticated breeds exist now, with the exception of the Black Footed ferret. If a pet ferret is set free, he won't survive for very long.

Myth #2 - Ferrets stink. This is true, unless the owner of the ferret has him or her de-scented. Ferrets have scent glands just like skunks do - and when they are frightened or threatened, those scent glands are released. The scent glands on their back, near the tail can be removed. Ferrets also have scent glands under their eyes, which cannot be removed. As long as the ferret is bathed about once a month, however, he won't smell.

Myth #3 - Ferrets are rodents. This is not true. In fact, ferrets eat rodents. A ferret is actually a member of the weasel family. Weasels are not rodents either. They are Mustelidae.

Myth #4 - Ferrets bite. Yes, ferrets do bite, but it isn't normally to be mean, and they can be trained not to. Think of it like this - A ferrets jaw is strong enough to break all of the bones in your hand. He won't do that though. He may nip you while playing with you, but again, he can be taught not to.

Myth #5 - Ferrets carry rabies. Lots of animals can carry rabies if they are not vaccinated. Ferrets aren't any different.

Myth #6 - Ferrets see well. In fact, ferrets don't see well at all, and on top of that, the only colors they can see are red and blue. Because ferrets don't see well, one must be careful about 'sneaking up' on one.

Myth #7 - Ferrets are dangerous to small children. This isn't true. In fact, children are a danger to ferrets because they play too rough. This is why ferrets should not be around small children - not because the ferret may hurt the child.

Myth #8 - Ferrets cannot be trained. This is absolutely wrong. You can litter train ferrets, train them not to bite, and even train them to do tricks. Try training a cat to do tricks!

Myth #9 - If you are allergic to cats, you should not have a ferret. This is also absolutely wrong. In fact, ferrets are known as the hypo-allergenic pet. They don't produce any pet dander. Ferrets are perfect for anyone who has any type of pet allergy.

Myth #10 - Ferrets must be caged, like hamsters. This isn't true, although many ferret owners will cage their ferrets when they are not at home. This is for the ferret's protection. Ferrets are highly curious, and often get themselves into dangerous situations if they aren't being watched - much like toddlers.

You may also visit our Pets site!

posted by qhishjq  # 10:08 AM 0 comments

It's Friday night, and you've been putting it off for a month. But on Monday, your child's science project is due. And you haven't even started. You need an easy science project that can be done quickly, but it has to be good...

It's not an easy thing to find! Science projects that are easy often don't meet the requirements of the teacher or the science fair. And projects that are fast often aren't enough to teach your child anything. We know. With four boys, our family has waited until the last minute to do a science project more than once. But the good news is that there really are good science experiments that can be done quickly and easily.

Here are some ideas for some easy science experiment projects:

Which brand cereal stays crunchy longest? Weigh different brands of the same cereal, soak in water, and then weigh again to see which one absorbed more water.

Which food is best for yeast? Place yeast and water mixtures into bottles, and give them different foods. Put balloons on top of the bottles, and see which one grows the biggest.

Does salt affect the boiling point of water? Find the boiling point of water, and add salt to see if it changes.

Which citrus juice has the most Vitamin C? Make an indicator solution with iodine and starch (it's EASY to do!), and test samples of citrus fruit or juice to see which one has the most vitamin C.

Here are some demonstration science projects that are easy to do:

Demonstrate how chemical reactions can be sped up. Put alka seltzer into a cup, and watch it fiz. Then do it again with crushed alka seltzer, another time with warm water, and yet another time with TWO alka seltzers.

Demonstrate how an egg can absorb moisture through the membrane by soaking the egg in vinegar until the shell comes off, then placing the egg into a cup of water. Then you can show how the water goes OUT of the egg by placing it into a cup of corn syrup!

These are all cool science projects that really are easy and fast to do. We think you'll like them, and that your teacher will like them, too!

(Note: We've done all of these science projects with our four boys, and they are easy to design on your own. Do an internet search for more information, or visit our website and find out how to purchase step by step instructions for each.)

Kayla Fay and her four boys are the creators of Online Science Project Guides, science projects that are fun, easy, affordable, and teacher pleasing! Find out about these guides, and get a free copy of "The Non-Scientist Parent's Guide to Science Fair Projects" at http://www.onlinescienceprojects.com.

posted by qhishjq  # 3:47 AM 0 comments