Reflections on biology!

 I have often opined that if you dont learn something new each day, you are dead.

Guess I will live forever then, for am I sure learning a whole lot of  biology as I age.

That was a subject I hated at school and even now, I can still remember the image of that poor little frog in the lab with his heart pulsating, as he suffered from the long slit down the entire front of his little body.

 He had been dissected while still being alive.😭

I don't recall how old I was when I saw that, but remember clearly  vowing that I would never pursue that subject.

 No sah. Not me.

 As you age and different organs start deteriorating however, you have no choice but to learn as much as you can about how the body operates.

I had first heard the word arrhythmia about 40 years ago, when my doctor mentioned that I signs of it. After asking my educated brother (a doctor) about it, he mentioned that I would probably have to get a pacemaker when I got older.

From that day though, my heart never bothered me and I never thought about it until April 2025 when I blacked out and was rushed to an ER by four young, handsome  men from the fire department.  

The diagnosis was then Afib and SVT, all heart rhythm related problems. 

Now, before that, I thought your heart only raced when you saw a sexy man and had dreams of a wonderful liaison, but thats not how it works with old people.

Since asking questions of the cardiologist, his nurse and google, I  have learned everything there is to know about the heart, its chambers and how they all interact in that crowded space.

And no, thankfully I don't need a pacemaker as science has progressed wonderfully. Instead they will be doing a minor procedure called an ablation to get my rhythms back in sync.

The good news though is that despite hating biology and a skipping every class when I was young, I am now an expert in how the darn heart works.👍

Wonder which internal organ I will be studying next?

These lessons come naturally with old age, so there is no need to crowd your brain when u are young by studying them and experimenting on poor, harmless, little creatures 😊.

Now that's royal!

The royal Gardens near Mihintale,  were an ancient royal park built in the 3rd century BC by King Tissa. 

The structures we see today,  date from the 8th-9th centuries AD. 

These gardens were a place of leisure and recreation for the Sri Lankan royals and even today they remain a marvel  because of their clear opulence and luxurious lifestyle even by modern standards.

This was a spa built like a waterfall. The water came down in channels, the royals stayed in the front and the water poured over them  

The water for the spa ran over granite rocks which warmed the water.

The big pond below was the swimming pool

Sri Lankan kids came to learn about how the royals lived centuries ago.

Kids sit by the pool area to learn a bit about archeology.

Closer picture of what was a kind of sauna.

The channel that brought the water from the lake above to the spa below

Lavish living is by no means a modern phenomenon!

Link

https://joan-myviews.blogspot.com/2025/05/i-love-mihninthale.html?m=1





 

It's Desantis' fault!

 We visited the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago recently and although it was a great learning experience, we had to pay three times the regular adult entrance fee😡.

We three Florida residents got charged far more than anyone else😡.

 

The posted entry fee was $19 but when we showed our id's which revealed that that we are residents of Florida, we were charged a whopping $49.95!

I can think of no other reason for the inequity except for the fact that we live in a state controlled by that obnoxious Ron DeSantis!

For what else could be the cause?

To tell the truth, I too would charge anyone who I suspected may have, directly or inadvertently, caused that idiot to be the Governor of a state so can now be on the nation's stage, double or triple, so I guess I can't complain too loudly.😆  

My friend says it's a 'punishment tax'.☺

Love it.

Link; Joan, my views: Chicago born. (joan-myviews.blogspot.com.

Fascinating beluga whales frolic in their deep pools.

This aquarium,  the third largest in the nation is a great place to visit though, whether you are an adult or child.

We learned a lot after spending hours on end observing the behavior of some animals that we are familiar with and others that had previously been unknown to us.

So much to learn.

Dolphins delight the audience every time.😊 

The world of corals is vividly displayed. I thought corals were plants, but learned they are animals!

The largest lobster I have ever seen!

Important info.

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 Videos of ' life in the deep' as displayed at Shedd Aquarium.

  

Yes, it's expensive for Floridians, but still worthwhile!