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00:04

@jlliagre I dunno. Maybe that just means most people don't fully realize they've reached midlife until they're well past it.

2 hours later…

CowperKettle

02:00

> Pogs - (Internet slang, text messaging, Twitch-speak) - A phrase that positively compliments something. Ex. praise. "Pogs in the chat!"

tchrist

02:15

@Vikas Doctors who prescribe antibacterials for viral infections are part of the problem, not part of the solution.

@HippoSawrUs Fear not, for those who know more than you will correct you if you are wrong, just as those who know less than you will correct you if you are right.

@CowperKettle Welcome comrade! At the United Nations, America has now clearly realigned itself with the Axis of Evil. It's hard to wake up in the morning and find that you're playing on Team Bad Guys now.

HippoSawrUs

02:50

@tchrist Yes, I will delete it all. I just wanted the OP to know what ppl might actually say. IDC now.

And you know I was referring to a…horse maybe, pointing in some direction

And that JC Superstar is just cussing in the South

Færd

03:09

currently reading récoltes et semailles by alexander grothendieck

@tchrist that's a harsh judgment

to pass on yourself i mean

salut!

CowperKettle

03:43

@tchrist Don't take it close to heart! Things are always changing.

Xanne

04:42

Connections
Puzzle #625
🟪🟨🟪🟨
🟦🟦🟪🟦
🟦🟦🟦🟦
🟩🟩🟩🟩
🟨🟨🟨🟨
🟪🟪🟪🟪

Xanne

04:52

Strands #359
“Life is like a box of chocolates”
🔵🔵💡🔵
🟡🔵🔵🔵

CowperKettle

05:36

Underwater hockey

Underwater hockey (UWH), also known as Octopush in the United Kingdom, is a globally played limited-contact sport in which two teams compete to manoeuvre a puck across the bottom of a swimming pool into the opposing team's goal by propelling it with a hockey stick (or pusher). A key challenge of the game is that players are not able to use breathing devices such as scuba gear whilst playing, they must hold their breath. The game originated in Portsmouth, England in 1954 when Alan Blake, a founder of the newly formed Southsea Sub-Aqua Club, invented the game he called Octopush as a means of keeping...

Sport of the day

@Færd This is cool!

Alexander Grothendieck

Alexander Grothendieck, later Alexandre Grothendieck in French (; German: [ˌalɛˈksandɐ ˈɡʁoːtn̩ˌdiːk] ; French: [ɡʁɔtɛndik]; 28 March 1928 – 13 November 2014), was a German-born French mathematician who became the leading figure in the creation of modern algebraic geometry. His research extended the scope of the field and added elements of commutative algebra, homological algebra, sheaf theory, and category theory to its foundations, while his so-called "relative" perspective led to revolutionary advances in many areas of pure mathematics. He is considered by many to be the greatest mathematician...

CowperKettle

05:54

Xanne

@Færd Nice to see you again. I hope you are getting along well, whatever it is you have decided you don’t want to do.

1 hour later…

SmokeDetector

07:05

[ SmokeDetector | MS ] Link at beginning of answer (40): What is the origin of the expression "seeing red" in reference to "being angry"?‭ by Harriss Bisby‭ on english.SE

M.A.R.

@Vikas there are two major ways we administer antibiotics: Either we take an infected sample and grow the microbes in it in a lab to determine what the infection is precisely caused by, which is how it's commonly done when you have the available time and resources, or we administer them based on wat we suspect the infection is caused by, based on previous experience, patterns of the infection, symptoms etc. The latter is called empiric antibiotic therapy.

The established consensus is empiric antibiotic therapy for common cold in healthy adults is not recommended, because the significant majority or these infections are caused by half a dozen completely different viruses. Antibiotics (like azithromycin) kill bacteria; they have no effect on viruses.

In other words, the cost of treating otherwise healthy aduls with symptoms of common cold (which is antibiotic resistance) is more than the benefit it would have on the few cases where the infection is bacterial, and not viral.

There is unfortunately no way to definitively tell them apart, a viral and a bacterial 'cold', based on signs and symptoms alone, and sample culture would simply be too expensive and impractical for every case. There are some patterns though. For example, if you're not coughing at all and you have inflamed tonsils or throat, it's more likely to be a bacterial infection than if you do cough.

What this means, practically, is that unless you have a condition that compromises your immune system, you shouldn't take antibiotics (azithromycin, amoxicillin-clavulanate, ceftriaxone, levofloxacin etc.) and let the cold run its course. You can take antihistamines to relieve the symptoms (runny nose, itchy throat, coughing etc.) but there is no magic pill to make it go away.

If, after, say, ten days to two weeks, your cold is getting worse instead of better, you develop new symptoms (like shortness of breath, pain in the ear and so on) then it's more likely to be a bacterial infection, and treatment with antibiotics is reasonable.

Even then, there's a proper antibiotics treatment protocol to follow. Just azithromycin won't be enough.

So, for once, chatGPT regurgitated its stolen feed properly.

OMG @Færd! Long time no chat! What's up? How are you doing these days?

Well let's just pretend my several typos up there aren't there.

New device. My hands aren't comfortable around the keyboard yet.

Oh, and I forgot to mention, in Iran, and I suspect also in India, some doctors will probably prescribe antibiotics anyway, because they don't care about antibiotic resistance or drug side effects @Vikas. It's their diagnosis though, so the best approach, paradoxically, would be to follow their advice as closely as you can, because they have the most oversight over your health.

Deciding not to take the pill the doctor prescribed because of some random dude on the internet is how serious medical errors happen later on.

CowperKettle

08:34

Gloves worn on handlebars are called pogs, according to Criggie.

pogie

Noun: pogie (plural pogies)

Alternative form of pogy (“type of fish”)
pogie (plural pogies)
(rowing, kayaking) A protective hand covering attached to the oars or paddles while rowing, canoeing or kayaking. They insulate the hands from wind and cold while allowing the bare hands inside to contact the paddle shaft or oar and maintain grip and feel.
2000 November 12, Merill Hilf, ‘Tis the Season to Layer, Rowing News, page 4,
Pogies are essential for winter rowing, and I also favor sock liners made of wool, silk, or polypropylene worn under a nice thick pair of wool socks. […] A pogie is basically a mitten worn over your hand with a hole in the side for the oar handle.
(cycling, motorcycling) A protective hand covering, sometimes insulated, attached to handlebars to protect hands from wind and precipitation.

Ah! Pogies really