Physiological Shout-outs

Just got back from school and I am in a very appreciative mood.

I want to thank the cells in my SA node for 'heading things up'. Way to be the leaders. Oh, and I must say that the Starling Effect is pretty darn cool =)

I want to thank the relationship that my parasympathetic and sympathetic system have with each other. Relationships are about compromise - you win some, you lose some.

I want to thank my muscus barrier, specifically for the two special cells in surface mucous and mucous neck cells. Great job trying to keep things neutral on the surface!

I also want to acknowledge the hardwork and busy body transporters of the distal and proximal tubules. I love how you regulate things..heh.

Oh, and ofcourse I can't forget my pancreas and all the hardwork you do in protecting the other guys by keeping things inactive..until the right moment that is. Way to never miss a step! Loving the zymogens =)

Thank you liver for keeping my lipids (sorta) in check. I really appreciate it.

And finally a special shout out to my loop of Henle and it's partner in crime, the vasa recta. I love you guys for establishing and maintaining the medullary osmotic gradient (respectively). I don't know where I would be without you guys! You've been long underrated due to your complex structure but I think you're my favorite (don't tell the others). You can be hard to grasp at times but definitly one of the key players.

Above all, none of this can be possible without the Genius behind all these intelligent designs. YOU ARE AMAZING! Thank you for thinking of every little detail, so that all things can work out in such coordination and perfection. Your creation will never cease to amaze me.

I apologize for now mentioning the respiratory system at the moment. It's not that I don't like you. It's just that I haven't had time to study you in detail yet (hopefully tomorrow).
I'm sure you're doing a good job and keeping things flowing =)

2 more days.

Wait wait, I LOVE YOU HEMOGLOBIN! and Bicarbonate...and H2PO4-.. um...i love you all!

Sustainable drinking

No, this is not a post about how to mix drinks so you don't get wasted- sorry.

I'm studying for my 9am exam tomorrow morning. This course is about the impacts that humans have on the environment simply from our eating habits. It's amazing and heartbreaking to find out about how much our eating habits and living styles hurt the environment. Now, I love coffee...and I also really like the environment and nature. So
in the process of researching my semi-essay question, I came upon this website, http://www.shadecoffee.org/shade-coffee.cfm. It talks about why it's important to buy to shade grown coffee.

Most commercially sold coffee is sun grown..which means monoculture..which mens heavy use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides...which means it will cause soil erosion, chemical run off, contaminating ground and surface waters and eutrophication.

NB. top soil takes thousands of years to form...it's slowly made from rocks through primary succession. So once it's gone, it's gone. The rate at which it's replenish is FAR slower than the rate that it's made.

The alternative to this industrial way of farming and the way nature intended is shade grown..which means that coffee is grown in a polyculture environment, mimicking the natural rainforest. This will not only prevent soil erosion and less dependency on fertilizers/pesticides (organically grown) but ALSO creates a habitat for migratory birds. They're also fair trade!

The website also has a link for shade coffee distributors in your local area. For those friends from the GTA, it's here, http://www.birdsandbeans.ca/

Anyone want to get together for some coffee? =)

as Oasis people would say, PTL!

Please pray for April 28 and 29.

Any Hamilton people willing to take me in for the night?