unicorn

China, not densely populated? Just when I thought you couldn't make a more ridiculous statement. Are you trying to kill me by having me laugh myself to death over your posts (don't answer that)? Well, I guess they do have the large and uninhabitable Gobi Desert, but you've either never done any serious traveling in China, or pulling some pretty incredible BS out of one of your orifices. And to compare it to the UK and Israel, which are tiny and densely-inhabited countries? Why not compare the population density with Monaco?

This episode reminds me also of the murderous Menendez brothers. I remember at the time, oh so long ago, thinking "They're so hot! Too bad they're cold-blooded killers." Andrew Cunanan, Versace's murderer, could have made better use of his good looks as well: The buzz in the internet says Luigi's bisexual. Oh, how I would have liked to have the opportunity to buy some of his sexual! Luigi's case is different in that his victim was earning an obscene $10 million a year in a rather nefarious manner. That doesn't make murder OK, but does decrease the sympathy for the victim.

Wow. Thanks--that thread is super-hot! It looks as though his back problems threw him over the edge. I guess that some really hot men think they're above the law, like that dude who killed Gianni Versace. Too bad I missed his OnlyFans page, which has been taken down. Almost wants me want to get incarcerated along with him! 😍 https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/crime/luigi-mangione-spondylolisthesis-surgery-missing-unitedhealthcare-ceo-b2661804.html

I trust that you mean overthrown democratically, not a la Trump. It seems almost axiomatic that the economy will be in a shambles, particularly with respect to inflation, given the insane tariff wars which appear to be coming up. I'm not sure if the big change in Congress will be in 2 years or 4, but it seems inevitable. In the meantime, I've been moving funds from stocks to bonds.

Yes, a loved one's claim was denied. That CEO, who earned $10 million a year, hasn't exactly generated an enormous amount of sympathy. I suppose that one can never condone murder, but hot damn, that man is incredibly handsome... 😍

Have you guys seen photos of the suspect in the killing of the UHC insurance company CEO. Luigi Mangione? Jesus Fukin' Christ! What a 10!

I've haven't heard any media reporting this as a victory for democracy. Indeed, many report that things may get even worse for the citizens of Syria (especially the Kurds and the non-Sunni). There is no denying that this shows Putin in an embarrassing light, since he was unable to support his own puppet, who was providing Russia with its only naval base in the Mediterranean. This new regime may prove to be a disaster for many. Only a fool can deny this is an embarrassment for the Russian Federation, though. The only good that could come of this for the US is if Russia loses its military bases to Turkey. Syria has been a thorn in the side of the US for decades, and might continue to be so. At least hopefully it won't be so aligned with Russia and Iran. Time will tell.

Assad brutally murdered tens of thousands with chemical agents, and EK turns this string into a pro-Trump post. Pretty disgusting. I heard on the news that Turkey helped the rebels. Maybe the Russian bases could be turned over to Turkey?

I suspect it's going to be a dictatorship again, but the developments over the coming weeks will be fascinating. I wonder if the new government will allow the Russians to keep their military bases, for example.

But they can tell if you're a Putin ass-licker... 😁

The statistics obviously are entirely irrelevant to the fact of whether or not the boy is a terrorist--no more relevant than the price of eggs in Malawi. Deaths at the hands of police in the US is a complex issue, much of it revolving around issues of mental health and/or substance abuse. These days most cops wear body cameras, so any deaths at the hands of police can be easily investigated, and the police officers involved punished if they went too far. In some cases, the cops do go too far, such as George Floyd, but in others, disturbed and/or drugged individuals physically threatened the public and/or police officers, and their deaths can be considered "suicide by cop." Not following instructions given by a cop and being aggressive often leads to fatal consequences. This is more of an indictment on the US mental health care approach than an indictment of the police per se. Just recently, manslaughter charges were dismissed against a police officer who killed a violent, mentally disturbed, and drugged man who was threatening subway passengers in New York. Negligent homicide charges are still pending. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/jury-daniel-penny-trial-tells-judge-cant-reach-agreement-manslaughter-rcna183185 "...Neely [the victim], a former Michael Jackson impersonator, threw his jacket to the ground and loudly ranted about being hungry, thirsty and not caring about whether he died or went back to jail when he boarded the train, witnesses have testified. Penny put him in a chokehold that prosecutors said lasted six minutes. It continued after the uptown F train arrived at its next stop, the Broadway-Lafayette station, bystander video showed. Neely, 30, was homeless and had a history of mental illness. At the time of his death, he had synthetic marijuana — known as K2 — in his system...". This is a complex issue. The kid's is not. He was certainly not a terrorist, nor was he afforded a jury trial, as he would be guaranteed if he were in the US.

Wow. You post a lot of stupid shit on this board, but this has got to be one of the most stupid. Even if it were true that police in the US go around shooting hundreds of people on the streets in the US for no reason, which we all know it isn't, it would still be completely irrelevant to the question of whether this boy is a terrorist, which he most certainly is not. It's pathetic that Putin is such a pussy that he feels threatened by a harmless 16 year-old.

Yes, this seems like the most appropriate time! 😀

Thank God the doctor was not your normal doctor. Cephalexin is the name of the medication, and Keflex is the original brand (rarely dispensed these days). Cephalexin would probably kill most bugs if it's a simple bladder infection, though it's definitely not the drug of choice. It will not get rid of chlamydia, and has about a 50% chance of getting rid of GC, so not really an option for any STD. Cephalexin isn't even considered a 3rd-line antibiotic for cystitis. The one inaccuracy in this table is the price for nitrofurantoin, which costs only about $12 per treatment in the US (cheaper elsewhere): https://www.aafp.org/pubs/afp/issues/2011/1001/p771.html https://www.goodrx.com/nitrofurantoin-mono-macro?label_override=nitrofurantoin-mono-macro&dosage=100mg&form=capsule&quantity=10 Please bear in mind that cephalexin isn't an appropriate treatment for any infection in the urinary tract. Given that these infections are among the most common medical issues facing a primary care physician, it's a bit horrifying that the fill-in doctor didn't know this. I'd be curious to know if he has any reports in his medical board public file. Hopefully, when your regular physician comes in, he'll be as shocked as I am. If it were me, I'd inform the medical board of his behavior, especially his unwillingness to discuss your lab findings with you. I suspect they would issue a letter of reprimand (which would go on his public file), and might make him take courses in professionalism and/or treatments of urinary tract infections.

Texting can become somewhat of a mess when they accumulate for hours and hours. If the communication isn't urgent, I prefer an e-mail. Sometimes a text can be something important and time-sensitive. For example, one of my credit cards texted me last Tuesday to ask if I OK'd a charge by the Almar Resort, where I'll be staying in Puerto Vallarta next week. I didn't answer because I was watching that Wicked movie, and had silenced the phone. Once I got back, I had to e-mail the resort and have them put the charge through the next day, because the credit card cancelled the charge. Not a big deal, but I try to attend to my texts if I'm not having a meal, watching a movie or play, or otherwise indisposed. While there are people who text when they should really be e-mailing, I try to give people the benefit of the doubt (also could be a friend who's in trouble and needs my help).

Cephalexin is not the preferred treatment for any infection of the urinary tract, so that's rather weird also. Your post doesn't make sense, since in your original post you said you had no symptoms, but now you're saying you have a burning sensation when urinating, and bladder pain, and maybe pain in your testicle??? That changes things completely. Now that you mention testicular pain, that is a 5th infection of the urinary tract which I didn't even mention in my first response on this string. If you had epididymitis (pain around the testicle), then your treatment is way, way off, since that involves three antibiotics: an injection of ceftriaxone, AND ten days of doxycycline, AND ten days of levofloxacin (and definitely not cephalexin). I hate to say this, but you need a referral to someone who knows what he's doing. Start by getting the results of your tests. Foul-smelling urine, especially with bladder pain, strongly suggests a simple bladder infection, which can usually be treated with a few days of nitrofurantoin. You need to find out if your urine grew out bacteria, or whether you tested positive for chlamydia or GC, because the implications (including treatment) are vastly different. If you have an STD complicated by epididymitis, treatment gets rather involved (IM means an injection into the buttocks muscle). https://www.cdc.gov/std/treatment-guidelines/epididymitis.htm Recommended Regimens for Epididymitis For acute epididymitis most likely caused by chlamydia or gonorrhea: Ceftriaxone 500 mg* IM in a single dose PLUS Doxycycline 100 mg orally 2 times/day for 10 days For acute epididymitis most likely caused by chlamydia, gonorrhea, or enteric organisms (men who practice insertive anal sex): Ceftriaxone 500 mg* IM in a single dose PLUS Levofloxacin 500 mg orally once daily for 10 days For acute epididymitis most likely caused by enteric organisms only: Levofloxacin 500 mg orally once daily for 10 days * For persons weighing ≥150 kg, 1 g of ceftriaxone should be administered. You really should get this looked at by someone else, a urologist if necessary (though it shouldn't be necessary--this should be in the purview of a competent primary care physician).

Ooh. Those social media platforms are even worse than the texted wishes. I had my real birthday on Facebook, and received tons of messages on my FB page, so I changed the birthday to January 1st, and received all of these messages on New Year's now. At least those who text me know when my birthday is. Of course, I have my phone silenced during the Thanksgiving meal itself, but there is some time before the meal, preparing and entertaining. I guess I should ignore those as well, or at least wait until the guests have left. A message sent before 5 PM my time is understandable, but why text someone when one can surmise he's likely to be at a function?

Well, "urinary tract infection" is extremely vague, as it could be referring to the urethra, prostate, bladder, or kidneys. Your doctor was certainly not professional, as he should have told you what the infection was. Being "in a hurry" is certainly not an excuse. If your infection was sexually transmitted, as most urethral infections are, he should have offered another prescription for any identifiable sexual partner(s). If you're willing to share the name of the antibiotic and for how long you took it, I can "reverse engineer" (or surmise) where and maybe what the infection was. If you were asymptomatic, and your doctor knows what he's doing, he was probably treating a urethral infection, since asymptomatic bladder infections should not be treated, and diagnosing prostate infections do require a digital examination of the prostate (and kidney infections almost always have symptoms). Chlamydia is the most common infection to have no symptoms, although gonorrhea and other urethral infections can also be asymptomatic. Since you didn't receive an injection, one can guess (assuming the physician knew what he was doing) that you didn't have gonorrhea (GC), since GC treatment does require an injection. If the test for Chlamydia is positive, and GC negative, it's OK to treat for Chlamydia only, though if the Chlamydia is negative and GC positive, one should treat for both, and some physicians will treat for both regardless. The most common treatment for chlamydia is a week of doxycycline, although azithromycin is OK, especially if the patient is unreliable and one wants to treat with a single dose. Levofloxacin can also be prescribed, and this would also kill any bacteria in the bladder, although the correct treatment for chlamydia is 7 days and for a bladder infection would be 3 days. The blood tests would presumably be for syphilis and HIV. Hepatitis B can also be sexually transmitted (and detected via blood tests), but hopefully we're all vaccinated against Hepatitis B. I would call your doctor back and insist that you be given your actual test results. Even his nurse should be able to give you the results if he can't be bothered.

Thanksgiving.

Do any of you get bombarded by texts on holidays and on your birthday? These often come from longstanding but not frequently communicative friends, and often at times (evening) when one might be expected to be entertaining family or close friends. I understand the birthday texts more than the holiday ones, which I'd hope would at least come earlier in the day. I feel obligated to provide at least a brief response, but I would really prefer they send e-mails (or a holiday/birthday card).

What's that supposed to mean? Are there ways to detect this? If not, this "advice" does not seem helpful.