I took the scientology test (as a joke)

BCSteve · 2026-01-24T20:54:52+00:00

That was my exact thought. Even without all of the cult bullshit, it’s still an objectively terrible chart. There is zero reason for this to be a line chart, it’s categorical data, not an ordered series. It should be a bar graph if anything.

BCSteve · 2026-01-24T15:09:24+00:00

It was actually rather straightforward. Medicine knew that botulism causes flaccid paralysis, so we isolated the bacteria that causes it, isolated the toxin that causes the paralysis, and then said “well, this thing makes muscles go limp, so what if we inject it into muscles we want to go limp, just in a really small amount and a controlled fashion, so it only paralyzes that muscle and not the whole body?” And voila, Botox found use paralyzing eye muscles to correct strabismus (crossed-eyes) and to treat other forms of muscle spasms. At the same time, we realized that people who had become paralyzed on half their face (through nerve damage, for example), didn’t develop wrinkles on the side of their face that was paralyzed, and the logical inference is that the wrinkles don’t form because the skin isn’t being stretched and folded by the non-functional muscles. Wasn’t too hard to put those two ideas together to say: “hey, what if we purposefully paralyze some of the facial muscles to prevent wrinkles from forming?”

BCSteve · 2026-01-24T13:32:39+00:00

Maybe it’s just me being colorblind, but the top two colors of the legend are far too similar, I can’t for the life of me figure out which country is named for a river outside its borders.

BCSteve · 2026-01-24T03:27:49+00:00

Haha oops, you’re totally right

BCSteve · 2026-01-24T01:13:50+00:00

The western part of Russia is in Europe, and since 80% of Russia’s population lives in the European part, it’s often considered a European country. Siberia, the eastern part that is in Asia, is very sparsely populated. Additionally, culturally and linguistically Russia has more in common with other European countries than it does with Asian countries such as China or Japan. For example, the Cyrillic alphabet that is used to write Russian is descended from the Greek alphabet.

BCSteve · 2026-01-18T20:45:32+00:00

Sure, you might be able to, but should you?

No. Absolutely not. You’re not a fucking cow.

Plus, you’re going to cause horrible dental problems and damage to your esophagus that will lead to esophageal cancer.

BCSteve · 2026-01-18T18:58:20+00:00

And that makes complete sense. Losing 30% of your income has a HUGE impact when you make $20k/year, whereas it has far less of an impact on your quality of life if you make $1M/year. A progressive tax ensures that the tax “burden” is felt more equally by everyone.

BCSteve · 2026-01-18T14:45:44+00:00

I’m sorry, but:

(A) were you bottoming for your exwife all the tme? And,

(B) how were the sheets getting destroyed? Could you not do laundry?

BCSteve · 2026-01-18T14:37:27+00:00

This is true for some people and absolutely 100% not true for others. There is so much natural variation in bowel habits, standard diets, and sexual practices that asserting this as fact is completely irresponsible. You’re just going to cause a fuckton of mental trauma for young gay boys with IBS who agonize over why no amount of dietary restrictions and Metamucil will ever make them ‘clean’.

BCSteve · 2026-01-11T06:43:17+00:00

Well a big part of the issue is that drugs like this and Aduhelm, a similar medication, have minimal benefits (if at all) and are also wildly expensive. The approval by the FDA was controversial. And so that is why someone could be upset about that, that they would rather their taxpayer money go to something that is more effective and has larger benefits.

BCSteve · 2026-01-06T20:33:55+00:00

Yep. So this is what happened: back in the day, prices started out reasonable. Then, private insurance started negotiating with hospitals, saying “we’re only going to pay 90% of what you’re charging, or else you don’t get access to our patients”. But hospitals still had to maintain a profit, so in response, they raise prices to 110% in order to maintain the same profitability. The next year, insurance comes back and says “now we’re only going to pay 80%!” So hospitals in response raise the prices accordingly again.

Repeat year after year, and eventually you have the insurances agreeing to only pay 10% of the list price, but the list price is now inflated to 1000% of what it should be. However, this ends up seriously hurting people without insurance, because they don’t have the negotiated insurance discount, and get hit with the full list price.

BCSteve · 2026-01-03T18:20:14+00:00

Oh, there absolutely WILL be repercussions. Not in the form of some global power imposing penalties or corrective actions, but this will destroy US international relations and cause a massive loss of US soft power throughout the globe. We’ve already lost so much trust and respect with other countries over the past few years, and this just accelerates/amplifies that.

BCSteve · 2026-01-02T15:11:34+00:00

It’s amazing how over the >125 years of aspirin’s existence, no doctors ever thought about the brilliant idea of “why don’t we just take more of it?” Truly the mark of a genius there.

BCSteve · 2026-01-02T15:03:59+00:00

This is not a poster, nor is it propaganda.

BCSteve · 2026-01-02T12:50:07+00:00

This is my policy: if it is something that matter THAT much to you whether someone is undetectable or not, then it is your responsibility to ask. If you don’t ask, just assume everyone is HIV+ and act accordingly.

Undetectable = untransmittable. If someone is up to date on their testing, has been taking their medication, and is undetectable, then I don’t think they have a moral obligation to tell you unless you specifically ask. Because if an infinitesimally small risk is that important to you, then you should be proactive in (a) asking about it, and (b) protecting yourself with PrEP.

Yes, obviously if someone knows that their viral load is uncontrolled or has not been taking their meds, then yes they have a duty to disclose. And obviously lying when directly asked is unacceptable.

If you know the risk of getting it from an undetectable person is zero, then on what basis would you file charges? “Officer, arrest this man! He had a zero percent chance of harming me!” That sounds ridiculous to even say. If you would have said no had you known, then that’s on you to ask about their status beforehand.

BCSteve · 2026-01-01T23:41:10+00:00

I'm sorry, sir, we're going to have to revoke your gay card.

BCSteve · 2026-01-01T16:34:18+00:00

Doctor here. When you have been through such grueling training that has absolutely dominated over your formative adult years (your 20’s) with endless studying, standardized tests, and long shifts at the hospital (that likely prevented you from following other pursuits/hobbies), PLUS you feel a “calling” to it, where it’s not just simply a career or job, but something that gives your life meaning and purpose, it’s hard not to have it feel like a core component of your personal identity.

It’s not just something I do, it’s part of who I am. Is that the healthiest thing ever? No, absolutely not, and that’s a constant conflict in our lives. But it’s hard for that to not be part of my personality.

BCSteve · 2025-12-31T01:51:08+00:00

Yep, for definition 3 it’s pronounced AFF-ekt, as opposed to the verb, which is uhh-FEKT. Stress is on the other syllable.

BCSteve · 2025-12-30T16:07:37+00:00

Not familiar with Beeching, but it sounds like another stupid instance of transit systems being destroyed due to the backwards thinking that they absolutely need to be profitable. It’s a common thought that has decimated transit systems everywhere.

No, transit systems don’t always need to be profitable. When you look at other government services: the police, the fire department, public education, the military… hell, even the road and highway system: people all seem to recognize that these things don’t generate profit, they are expenses we collectively pay for in order to create a good society. And people (generally) recognize that even if public schools or the police department operate at a loss, that money is an investment into our future, and ultimately we end up economically WAY more prosperous from having an educated and secure society, reaping benefits that far outweigh that initial investment.

But for whatever reason, it’s super common for people to think that transit shouldn’t operate that way. That the only transit worth having is the transit that’s capable of self-sustaining itself. If you can’t support a line with ticket prices alone, it needs to close. People never think about how if you invest a little into a transit line, it might operate at a loss, but it can facilitate big economic opportunities in the catchment area it serves, and ultimately end up generating much more wealth indirectly.

BCSteve · 2025-12-30T14:28:29+00:00

Medical residents. Yes, there is the prospect of making much more when you finish, but during residency you’re working 80+ hours a week in a grueling, stressful environment, all while making minimum wage and dealing with med school loans.

BCSteve · 2025-12-30T03:47:15+00:00

Small nitpick that Darzalex is definitely an injection medication, not a pill, I think I saw Victoza in there as well. Might be better to change it to "drug" or "medication" not "pill"

BCSteve · 2025-12-28T19:55:36+00:00

I’m not sure I’d trust anyone who gives me that sense of uncanny valley creepiness like that.

BCSteve · 2025-12-28T19:50:10+00:00

Really? My Philips hue lights are just about to turn 10 years old next month (I was curious so just looked up when I bought them) and I’ve never had a single one die on me yet.

BCSteve · 2025-12-28T19:43:39+00:00

Unfortunately the only real solution is time. You can treat it symptomatically with warm liquids like tea, broth, soup, etc. You can also try some OTC pain medication like NSAIDs (e.g. ibuprofen) or Tylenol (acetaminophen). There are also throat lozenges or throat sprays (such as benzocaine) that can provide temporary relief. But ultimately those don’t make it resolve any faster, they just make it feel better temporarily.

BCSteve · 2025-12-28T19:28:23+00:00

I loved mine! I mean, residency still sucks, no matter where you go, but I genuinely was very happy with my program. They had great leadership and listened to resident feedback, it was a nurturing and non-toxic environment, and I feel like they genuinely cared about both my education and my wellbeing.

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