Katherine Montero

Have you heard about concrete with shells?

Katherine Montero — Mon, 27 Apr 2026 14:00:31 +0000

Concrete production has so many filters for quality assurance purposes.
Every material that is a part of the equation for producing concrete has its own ASTM: cement, coarse aggregate, fine aggregate, water. All of these materials need to be clean.
And if that concrete has not an ideal stage, then additives are used to control the production and its outcome. And also outer elements are controlled, like temperature, time to pour, transportation period, vibrations, etc.
In some cases, the days and its climate influence so much in the pouring, that it’s done at night, so the temperature of the chemical reaction of the concrete at a certain period of time after being poured, can be better controlled in the curing time.
And, let’s not forget that the specific place and the location of the concrete element inside of a project, also have a lot of influence. And last, but not least, since concrete represents a large percentage of the total cost of the project, it’s imperative to take care of it, control it, measure it, cure it, let it get strength and damp it for at least a week on site.
After all of this, the quality assurance purposes are not over, now there are specimens going to the lab so we can obtain the resistance of the concrete, and we’re always waiting for the resistance to be according to the project design.

For all of this, it’s complicated to use additives that are not on the book. Because the amount of quality assurance that goes through the production of concrete is intense. And the first question that appears with the shell concrete is definitely about how clean is the material to go inside of the concrete.

Do shells have salt in them, that could potentially ruin the concrete?
There are seashells but also river ones. So not all shells have salt in them, river ones don’t. The seashells obviously have, but it’s not inside of their molecules, it’s on them, so after washing them, there should be no salt problem with shells to be used in the concrete.

Is the composition of shells similar to any material of concrete?
Yes. Actually, when shells are cooked in an oven at high temperatures for long periods, the result is a cementitious material.

Does it make sense economically speaking to use shells for concrete?
1. To create non-structural permeable concrete, normally sand is taken out of the equation. But to create the shell concrete, shells would need to be washed, crushed and added as a portion of the aggregates.
2. To create normal concrete, normally rocks are calcined in high temperatures in ovens to create cement, these ovens are built next to the quarry. To create the shell concrete, shells would need to be transported, washed and calcined, and added as a portion of the cementitious material.
It seems that, under normal circumstances, producing shell concrete is not economically viable.

When does it make sense to produce shell concrete?
1. When the shells are considered as waste on another industry and a company wants to get rid of them, or even wants to pay to get rid of them. In that case, it is considered free material and it needs to be used somehow.
2. When the shells are near the place of construction and are a waste in another industry. In that case, there’s no transportation cost and no acquisition cost.
3. When the shells are near the place of construction and the cost of transportation for normal materials is high. In that case, it makes sense to take advantage of the shells in place to produce shell concrete.
4. When the shells are near the quarry ovens and a company wants to get rid of them. In that case, it makes sense to just take the shells to the oven and transform them into a portion of the cementitious material.

Maybe there are other cases when it makes sense. But at this moment, these are the only ones who made sense at my current understanding. Otherwise, I’d try to keep going with the concrete produced under controlled and normal circumstances.

Best wishes.

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A worthy celebration.

Katherine Montero — Mon, 20 Apr 2026 14:01:08 +0000

A few weeks ago, my timeline was filled with people becoming Catholic on Glory Saturday, so they could welcome Jesus at the resurrection.

Their stories and origins were so different, but they all received the call to be a part of the Catholic church and felt home.

And just after that, Elon told Grok to auto-translate every tweet to a language you can read, and suddenly, people who’s language is not based in the latin alphabet, was also praying in, with and for the Catholic church.

This is so beautiful to see, how God can call everybody from different places, languages, and cultures, and give them the Catholic Church they can call home.

It has be so many years since He was walking as one of us, here. But the promises He made then, are still current.

Something along with the words "I’m telling you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I’m building my Church, and gates of the netherworld will not prevail against it" were written in Matthew 16, 18.

Best wishes.
K.

Will you go beyond your own thoughts?

Katherine Montero — Mon, 13 Apr 2026 14:01:27 +0000

It’s so important to be able to think for yourself and have conclusions of your own. But it’s also important to test those conclusions as hypothesis and confirm or deny them.

In a very logical way of thinking, most of the smart people in the world had been doing research about several topics that could help you grow your own thoughts in a matter of minutes.

And, if what you’re thinking is an universal truth, meaning it will have the same reaction every time there’s an action, then your thoughts/hypothesis will be confirmed.

Just in case your thoughts are not being discussed before, maybe there is a certain prior knowledge that could help you go further in your conversation, investigation, and give you a more rich train of thought.

Don’t be afraid of asking questions and testing your own personal rules.

Best wishes.
K.

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Is producing/being productive aligned with God?

Katherine Montero — Mon, 06 Apr 2026 14:00:38 +0000

Yes.

Even though God created our whole world for us to enjoy his creations, and even though we are a creation of his own, we are also meant to produce, especially if it is for His Kingdom. See, He placed us here but He also gave us talents. Those talents are expected to grow. And you don’t even have to double your talents, as little as 30% is good enough for Him. He knows there are people who will produce +30%, others will produce +60%, and others +100%. But all of us are called to multiply what He gave us in order to further His Kingdom.

You can find more about this in Mt 13, 8, where it is written "finally, other seeds were placed in good soil and they gave fruit: 1 grain gave 100, another 60 and another 30". Make sure you are one of those good seeds in this world.

I hope you had a great Holy Week.

Best wishes.
K.

How to win at everything.

Katherine Montero — Mon, 30 Mar 2026 14:00:32 +0000

A beautiful way to beat the odds every single time is to enjoy the craft so much that the outcome, good or bad, is just statistically insignificant.

Quadrobics appeared as a exercise sensation a few years ago, where the main goal was to move like an animal using your 4 limbs. But when you dig enough, you find tutorials from a decade ago, meaning it’s not a new trend, it’s a type of exercise a niche enjoys.

It developed so much that it became the favorite way of exercise for the group called theryan. If you look for quadrobics you mostly going to find therians doing it.

And this is where it gets interesting for me. Therians were an overnight sensation for like 1.5 days in February of 2026. After that we haven’t heard of them again. But that doesn’t mean they don’t exist. They did before the news and they do after the news.

But chasing the clout wasn’t the goal. Enjoying their activities was. They were creating their exercises and rules and costumes and going with it for years. And they were in the spotlight for a few hours. And now they keep doing their stuff.

That’s how you beat the odds in everything. Nobody bet they were going to be in the news, but when they were, it didn’t changed what they did. They just kept enjoying their quadrobics.

I really hope that you keep enjoying what you do, whatever the outcome. If you truly enjoy your craft, you have won, already.

Best wishes.
K.

Is greeting aligned with God?

Katherine Montero — Thu, 26 Mar 2026 14:01:48 +0000

Yes! According to Matthew 10, 12, "once you go inside the house, you need to say hi". It’s not just about manners, it’s the Word of God. Let’s start to greet in every place we have the opportunity to get in.

Best wishes.
K.

Are you exchanging your most valuable asset for your most desired outcome?

Katherine Montero — Wed, 25 Mar 2026 14:01:27 +0000

Time is the most important asset you have.
It’s abundant when you have the most energy and it’s scarce when you build all your safety net.
When you’re building something it matters to you, it supposed to take a lot of time, because that’s your most valuable asset in exchange of what you think it would be best for you.
But also, while you’re building it, you notice that the time you invested, brought you memories that will last you a lifetime.
And you win thrice. The journey, the excitement of building something you value enough to invest your most valuable asset, and the possible outcome.
What really matters it’s supposed to take time. You’re supposed to invest time in what really matters to you.

Best wishes.
K.

Is having a purpose aligned with God?

Katherine Montero — Tue, 24 Mar 2026 14:00:55 +0000

Yes!
Once you recognized yourself as created by God, you understand you’re His creation, one of His masterpieces. And according to Eclo 39, 33 "all work from the Lord is good work, and they accomplish their purpose diligently".

You’re His masterpiece.
You’re good work from Him.
Go after your purpose.
Accomplish it diligently.

Best wishes.
K.

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OUTSIDE

Katherine Montero — Mon, 23 Mar 2026 14:01:03 +0000

Whenever you go this weekend, if you go outside, whether it’s the volcano, beach, mountain, garden, patio, street, etc., and as long as you are cautious about not giving away your exact location (no mailboxes, no door numbers, no home street, etc.), you should record 1 minute of footage of OUTSIDE and maybe share it in your personal favorite video platform.

It’s noticeable how the only people sharing content are extroverted people, introverted making podcasts, companies, influencers. And if the trend goes on, it would happen the same thing as Instagram. It’s all that produced that we’re not posting anymore. In fact, there is a lot of people that closed their accounts already.

And maybe, if we all share what’s OUTSIDE, just 1min of it, we have the opportunity to admire your OUTSIDE and appreciate our OUTSIDE at the same time.

No need to talk, it’s not a vlog, just a 1min vid of what OUTSIDE is so beautiful for you that you wanted to share it. Or you can talk, I mean, it’s not my video. But you get what I mean.

Best wishes.
K.

Is your grocery list aligned with God?

Katherine Montero — Wed, 18 Mar 2026 14:00:30 +0000

According to Eclo 39, 26, these are the must-haves for your life: water, fire, iron, salt, wheat flour, milk, honey, new wine, oil and dress.

Best wishes.
K.