07/11/24 - The term “birth control pill” is a red flag.
A compilation of how plants can understand human speech:
“Oh, I can speak on this! There’s a little cactus plant at work that only flowers twice a year. But I keep praising it, that it’s so cute and pretty. Every time it flowers, I praise it. Now it flowers every 2 months and gets prettier every time.”
“I keep a couple of China roses and tell them all day long how pretty they are, and they’re actually super beautiful.”
“I ate an apricot when I was a kit and tossed the seed out my door, and the next year, we had an apricot tree. It bore fruit every year. But one year, there were a lot of cottonwood seeds floating in the air, and when someone passed my door and tossed their cigarette butt, it set fire to our duck shed and burned my apricot tree down too. I held that tree and cried all afternoon, and the next year, a new sprout appeared on the tree. Now it’s thicker than my arm and makes the biggest and sweetest apricots.”
“I threatened my lotus that I was going to pull them all up if they don’t bloom soon, and after two days, they died on their own.”
“We have a tree in our yard, I have no idea when it’s supposed to bloom, but for a while in there, I was super depressed and used to cry under the tree all the time. And every time, a little flower would drop on me. Is it trying to make me feel better? Every time, the flower drops right onto my head, and every time, it’s exactly one flower. One time, I complained that it was so stingy, only giving me one flower at a time, and a branch randomly hit me in the head. After that, I’ve never received another flower.”
“Our peach tree hasn’t had any peaches for 5 years. I got mad this year and told him if he keeps not having any fruit, I’m going to chop him down. And this year, we got a whole tree full of peaches, and then it died with all its peaches.”
“My mom complained while feeding out chicken that, “This chicken is just like you, eats a ton and never gets any fatter. It’s such a waste feeding it.” And the next day, that chicken died for no reason. I told my mom it died of guilt.”
“I always tell mine that I want a flower, and it really gave me a bouquet of flowers.”
“I’ve kept a lemon tree for two years, no flowers, no fruit. I take great care of it every day, and it still just shrivelled. I’ve never kept plants before, so I told it that even if it only gave me one fruit, I wouldn’t have minded that last two years. And there you go, precisely one fruit for me.”
“It’s not just fruits. It’s also electronics. As soon as you say out loud you want a new one, it’ll break.”
“We had a peppercorn tree in our yard that produces a ton of peppercorn every year. We can eat all the peppercorn we want without having to buy any, and even have enough left over to gift to friends. One year, the tree was covered in peppercorns, but before we could go pick them, some neighbour stole all of them. And the next year, that tree didn’t produce a single peppercorn. I was like, “This tree’s got a temper. It’s still angry.” So every time I go water it, I’d tell it, “Let them steal. What does it matter who eats it in the end? We’re all neighbours. No outsiders come through here. You don’t have to be that mad.” And after that, it went right back to making peppercorn.”
#Bathrooms in big cities are so progressive. “This is the first time I’ve seen an all-gender bathroom in Beijing!”
Comments say, “All bathrooms should be built like this, especially in tourist spots.”
“I went to one last time and when I opened up a stall, a guy was pooping in there. I don’t understand why he didn’t lock the door. I was so shocked.”
“Does anyone actually use it, though? I feel like you’d get photo’d in secret or something.”
#Driverless taxis are a very small percentage of the market. “Lately, Wuhan’s “Luobo Kuaipao” [Carrots Run—a driverless taxi company]’s traffic accident has drawn a lot of discussion. The opinion that “driverless cars is taking the jobs of uber and taxi drivers” has also been voiced a lot. In response, Wuhan’s Traffic and Transportation Bureau worker responds, “Wuhan’s taxi industry is fairly stable. There’s just a lot of rumours on the internet.” According to him, Luobo Kuaipao” has put 400 cars in operation in Wuhan, not the 1000 rumoured on the internet. For specific numbers, you’ll have to go to the Wuhan City Economics and Information Bureau.
Internet commentator Ding Daoshi believes that in the short term, compared to uber and taxis, driverless taxis are only a very small part of the market. But the unspoken impact they make on the market is a big psychological shock for transportation workers.
“After all these driverless taxis came online, it’s going to lower the costs of operating a taxi company and increase the efficiency of travel. In this process, although new innovations are going to affect some people’s employment, as cars become more intelligent, it’s going to create a lot of job opportunities too.” Ding Daoshi spoke.”
Comments say, “Let Li Miaohong [CEO of Luobo Kuaipao] get rich first, and his wealth will trickle down.”
“Automated machinery is always eating away at the unemployment opportunities of the bottom class. Be careful that it’s going to create a lot more unstable elements in society.”
“They have to promise they’re not going to raise their prices in the future.”
Video of the “art” a tidal wave leaves behind on the sand as it recedes:
Comments say, “Wow, nature is magical!”
“”It’s beautiful!”
“The Qiantang River tidal wave knows poetry.”
“Why are 2000s babies so rare in the workplace?
The last couple of years, I always feel like I’m a little kid working with a bunch of adults. The oldest of the 2000s kids should be 25 now, but everyone around me still seems to think I’m super young. I’ve switched 3-4 jobs in the last few years, and I’m always the youngest person in my office, and I never run into anyone my age.
What industry is everyone in my generation working?”
Comments say, “2000’s kids aren’t int he workplace at all. Ask around. Which company is willing to rain 2000’s kids?”
“We have a ton of 2000’s kids. Honestly, even someone born in 2000 would be pretty old in my office.”
“It’s true, where are the 2000’s kids? I’m almost thirty, and I still get called “kiddo” every day.”
“My patient was 15-years old.
Three days ago, her mom came into the office on her behalf to get a prescription.
Her mom told me, “Doctor, my daughter’s 15-years-old. She’s currently in boarding school but she’ll be on break in another two days. Her periods are in utter chaos. I’m just coming in to see if she needs to make an appointment to get some tests.”
Me: “How old was she when she got her first period? Have they been regular after that?”
Mom: “11 years old. Her periods have always been normal before.”
Me: “They’re very regular? How often does she get them?”
Mom: “Yeah, pretty regular. They come every 26 days roughly, but in the last two months, she’s been getting her period every 2 weeks. She had one in the start of May, then again in the middle of May, and then again at the start of June, and now she’s getting her period again. She’s calling me all like, Mom, I’m about to pass out. What am I supposed to ?”
I ordered an ultrasound and her mom said she’d bring her in once she’s on break.
Afterwards, they came back to my office, “Doctor, I got a number, and a different doctor called for my number. Can I keep coming to you anyways?”
Me: “Oh, show me the report.”
I looked at the ultrasound, and she’s got a very thin uterine lining, but in her ovaries, two eggs were developing on the left and right side, of different sizes.
For normal women, every month, only one side of their ovary should be producing one egg. And usually, eggs only get this big 3-4 days before ovulation, about 2-3 days after the end of her period. But she had just finished her 4-day-long period, and she’s already ovulating again? Her hormones must be in complete chaos. Her hormone emission is completely out of whack with her uterine lining.
I think this chaos is caused by her young age and underdeveloped hypothalamus. Probably something to do with how much stress she’s been under studying for her exams.
I told her mom, “Look, her uterine lining and her ovulation is completely out of sync. Her hormones are all messed up. Although the bleeding has stopped, I still think she should start taking birth control, just in a slightly different dose than normally.
I have to explain to you here that although this medicine is called “birth control pills”, and that’s what the instruction booklet is going to be labelled as, it’s actually just normal oestrogen. She can just take it for 1-2 months before stopping. The whole point is just to reset her hormone system, like restarting a computer that’s acting up. We’re putting her hormone emission back on track. This is the best medicine we have right now that’s the most suitable to this case.”
(As I am speaking, I can see the mom starting to frown. I know how scared people are of “birth control pills”, but this is an educated mom. She didn’t try to argue back right away.)
“If you don’t want her to take these meds, you can try to lower her stress to see if that improves her periods. Based on what this ultrasound shows, in another 10-14 days, she’s going to have another period. Her body might not be able to take bleeding this much.
Her: “Is there any other treatment for this?”
Me: “Nothing that works nearly as well. And I’m giving her the minimal dosage for her age. This is the most convenient drug with the least side effects I can offer you.”
Her mom didn’t say anything and just kept frowning at the ultrasound results.
There was about a 10 second silence between us.
I understood right away. I’ve seen this sort of thing before.
Me: “Maybe you should go see a Chinese Medicine Doctor? If it doesn’t get better after a month, you can come back to me. Should I prescribe some iron supplements for her? She looks a little pale.”
Mom: “Okay, thanks doctor, it’s alright. I’ll get the Chinese Medicine Doctor to prescribe me something that recharges blood. Bye.”
Right…
Conclusion: Guess they’ll only trust Chinese Medicine doctors…
(Is it possible that Chinese Medicine doctors think we’re all idiots who only know how to use hormones? But there really isn’t a better drug than birth control pills when it comes to treating “abnormal uterine bleeding”. When I first became a doctor, my old professor told me that back in their day and age, there were even cases of people who needed to be hospitalised because of severe bleeding during puberty that couldn’t be stopped. Now that parents are paying more attention to their kids, we can give birth control pills early on and prevent excessive bleeding.
Every gynaecologist has their own philosophy when it comes to using hormone treatments. When TCM doctors can’t help with the bleeding, we still have to rely on hormones.
Of course, when I say hormones here, I mean oestrogen, not the Glucocorticoid people think of that make you gain weight if you eat them. Oestrogen is something your body produces naturally anyways, and it’s pretty normal for gynaecologists to make pretty extensive use of them.
There’s a lot of science between how it’s used and how much of it is used.
When I was a postgrad student, I copied a lot of prescriptions from my advisor and learned a lot in this area.
All I can say is, hormones are such a misunderstood thing.)”
Comments say, “Just don’t tell the patient they’re taking birth control pills. Just tell them you’re prescribing oestrogen.”
“The term “birth control pill” is a red flag. (If your classmates find out, you won’t have the courage to keep going to school). Why can’t the pharma companies come up with a different name?”
“You might prescribe some compound traditional Chinese medicine that contains actually effective active ingredients. People who have no choice like this is so pitiful.”
“Why do interior designers these days make kitchens so small? I don’t have anywhere to put all my stuff. I miss all the houses with big kitchens back in the day.”
Comments say, “I don’t understand why someone would take a 98 square metre apartment (only 70 square metres if you take out shared space) and turn it into a three bedroom. Of course everything is going to be tiny.”
“Bathrooms are tiny too, and so are bedrooms. Only living rooms and entrances are big.”
“I love big bedrooms and big kitchens, but all the houses these days make kitchens and bedrooms super tiny and leave a huge living room.”
“It’s so annoying! Nobody cares about the feelings of the person cooking. They’ll make a 10 square metre kitchen in a 180 square meter apartment. What’s the point of such a huge living room?”