Back when I was a boy growing up in the 1960’s and into the 1970’s I was the designated family lawnmower.
Once my father decided that he no longer wanted to mow the lawn (Ah. That happened rather quickly; in fact, as soon as we got a lawn that needed weekly mowing) he assigned that chore to me.
The first lawn mower machine was a manual push-mower inherited from an uncle. It was a heavy mechanical piece of shit.
It was huge heavy contraption and a real dog to push. Imagine Sisyphus pushing a bolder forever up a hill.
yeah. It was like that.
A weekly curse.
But I was young, and a boy, and it was my job. After all, as my father repeatedly told me; “You are the oldest, you have to carry the weight of the family”.
*spit on the ground*
Yeah, sure… until the parents die and I get nothing. Because “I am the oldest and all my life I had the privilege of being the oldest boy.”
*second spit*
Anyways, sometime around 1965 or 1966, my father bought a gasoline lawnmower. It had a cord that I had to pull to get it started. It was a great improvement.
Before it would have taken me eight hours to mow our three acres. Now, it only took me five hours.
Eventually it was replaced with a brand new Sears “electric start” lawn mower.
And that was even better.
Oh it still took me five hours every Saturday to mow the lawn, but at least I wasn’t exhausted by pulling that damn cord to fire it up.
Eventually I went off to college and my younger brother Daniel took over.
…
I got married. Things happened.
I got divorced.
But in all that time, I didn’t mow the lawn.
I paid for others to do it for me. I just gave the kids some dollars and they went ahead and took care of it for me.
Go boy… go!
Then, after a while… decades, I had to take care of my mother. She was dying of cancer and I had to quit my job and take care of her, because after all… “I was the oldest boy”.
She lived in a large house; actually the old Manor House of some big-wig from the late 1700’s .
When she and her husband bought it up it was in serious need of repair. But they sunk the money into this black-hole and made it work.
It was on 11 mow-able acres of land. And I would due-fully mow it. It took me a solid eight hours.
But. We had a riding mower.
And I would grab a beer, put on my headphones and mow away.
Now, let it be known, that I kind of liked this routine. I had really a number of routines while at the manor. My favorite was cleaning the pool in the early Spring and Summer air. That was so fresh and relaxing.
And…
Riding that mower and drinking a beer. No one ever bothered me. EVER. E-V-E-R.
All day.
*sigh*
Eventually, we got a super-dooper lawnmower with two lever turning controls instead of a steering wheel. I didn’t like it as much, as I needed both hands to mow, but I lived with it.
Ah. The story of my mother’s demise and death, and the fight over her estate was a sore spot that caused all sort of trouble for me personally. And I will not cover it here.
Let it be well understood that some people are just animals when it comes to money. They transform into some kind of monster.
If you haven’t experienced this yet…
…you will.
It’s a rite of passage.
Anyways…
But this is the evolution of lawn mowing responsibilities for me as a boy into my manhood.
Let it be well understood that I own multiple properties inside of China and I have NEVER mowed a lawn here. And I like it that way.
Unless you are a moron, mowing grass is a noisy and loud waste of your productive time.
The thought of all the time wasted in mowing grass just boggles my mind.
All because I was the oldest son.
Today…
Just goes to show that Noah wasnt the only human to have survived no?
The Chinese did have legends about flooding. However they did not wait for some god to save them. It was a human who thought of damming up the river and got everyone to help. It is a reason why Chinese to this day believe in the power of human beings.
Russia Proposes A Grain Exchange. It should be for a BRICS Exchange
Russia’s proposal is a no brainer but should not be just for grains. It should include oil.
The Greatest Threat to the Global Financial System is the U.S. – the irresponsible printing of the U.S. dollar. The countries of the world today are the net creditors to the U.S., holding trillions of dollars that the U.S. devalues everytime money is printed to live beyond our means.
But the world, in particular China, also knows that it cannot live without the U.S. dollars – its the reserve for the world’s fiat monies for its sheer volume. Try to de-dollarize in a major way and all the other world’s currencies are severely destabilized as well.
BRICS Exchange as the Alternative System. This has to be a SLOW WEANING OFF process with the first step is to stop using the U.S. dollar. And a BRICS Exchange is a ready-made forum for this.
The ideal is for all countries to trade with their own currencies. But this comes with one major problem – currency risk. Prime example, Russia started trading with India buying its oil and found out very very soon that they had much more rupees than they want or needed and exposing themselves to currency risk – I.e., rupee devaluing. And India is not alone, there are extreme cases like Argentina and Venezuela whose currencies nobody wants.
A swap mechanism that China worked out with Argentina and Brazil is ideal. Brazil wants to trade with Argentina but does not want Argentinian pesos. China wants to trade with Argentina as well as have the yuan use as a global trading currency. All these can be accomplished by swap arrangement that the Chinese central bank can set up with both Brazil and Argentina – essentially a revolving credit line denominated in yuans that all three countries can use as settlement accounts for their trade transactions.
This swap arrangement also accomplishes two critical objectives. Countries are directly trading with each other and not use U.S. dollar while China’s does not expose its yuan to uncontrolled external market forces like target speculation attacks by the likes of Soros.
The Exchange is not de-dollarizing because members can settle their transactions if they have dollars to use. Again the Exchange serves another critical function. These are accounts now out of the control of Western banks (cannot be frozen and seized by the U.S.) and not processed through the SWIFT system (effectively blacking out even for the West to monitor – I.e., the U.S. and E.U. will have no idea what and how much trade transactions are flowing through the Exchange).
BRICS Exchange as a ready-made Forum. BRICS has the market makers to serve and moderate the Exchange – the world’s largest exporters and importers for grains and oil.
BRICS will have 10 members by the end of 2024, or even more – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, plus UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Ethiopia, and Iran. They’ have the world largest grain producers in China, India, Russia, Brazil as well as the world top energy producers in Russia, UAE, Saudi Arabia and Iran. And then there’s China and India with 3 billion consumers – 38% of the world’s population.
Incorporating the swap settlement for its members means effectively enabling the countries to trade directly with each other and not have to use the U.S. dollar. This also shields the countries from currency risks and allow latitudes to fix their exchange rates. Of course, it also enables member countries to build up reserve account of whatever currency(ies) they want.
This exchange can also not be limited to state transactions but extended to registered companies of member countries – providing services as as futures options to hedge against grain prices.
Men are RELAXING as it All Collapses
Philippines Girls are the “Gold Standard”.
What do Chinese people think about the First Island Chain that the US and its allies created to restrain and block China’s path to the Pacific Ocean? Is the nine-dash line and the Kra Canal the plan that China came up with to break the seal?
What do the Chinese think? Of course, thanks to the United States and its allies!
In 1960, when Mao Zedong spoke to a Japanese literary delegation, he mentioned, “I spoke to many Japanese friends about this incident, and some of them said that it was not good for Japan to invade China. I said of course the invasion was bad, but we should not look at this bad side alone, on the other hand, Japan has done us a great favour in China. If Japan had not occupied half of China, the Chinese people would not have awakened.”
This is the dialectic of history.
For the same reason, We are very thank for the first island chain created by the United States and its allies to contain and block China’s path to the Pacific Ocean.
Without the first island chain constructed by the United States and its allies to contain and blockade China’s access to the Pacific Ocean, China would not have thought of breaking through the first island chain, and as a traditional “LAND POWER” China would not have taken the initiative to develop an ocean-going navy.
There is an idiom in China called:
Life springs from sorrow and calamity; death comes from ease and pleasure.
It means that a sense of crisis invigorates people to work hard for survival; the absence of crisis makes people lazy, and the downfall of the nation’s endeavors.
It was the blockade and suppression of China by the United States and its allies that objectively had an educational effect on the Chinese people, prompting their awakening, unity and resistance, and reminding them every day of the need to work hard for the rise of China.
If China was still the Republic of China, still ruled by the Kuomintang who fled to Taiwan, and still an ally of the United States, then China would not be so powerful today and would even become a sub-colony of the United States, and China will never have a chance to surpass the United States!
Especially after Trump started the Sino-US trade war, I saw the unity shown by our young people in the face of Sino-US trade friction, their indignation against hegemonic behavior, their care for national enterprises, their reflection on independent innovation, and their concern for the nation. The defense of interests, the persistence of the country’s position, and the clear understanding of one’s own responsibilities are very touching.
They are not xenophobic because of trade frictions, but love their country more; they have not lost their rationality and calmness, but have strengthened their confidence in independence and self-improvement.
This generation of Chinese young people who grew up drinking Coca-Cola may usually like to watch American TV series and love freedom and individuality. Sometimes they are also cynical and have all kinds of dissatisfaction and complaints about reality. But when the United States and its allies want to bully in trade China, harming China’s interests, these young people are absolutely unambiguous, and that spirit of unity will condense into a powerful force.
When the youth is strong, China is strong.
The future of the country lies with the younger generation.
The world is yours, as well as ours, but in the last analysis, it is yours. You young people, full of vigor and vitality, are in the bloom of life, like the sun at eight or nine in the morning. Our hope is placed on you. The world belongs to you. China's future belongs to you.
Some politicians in the United States are provoking economic and trade frictions. What effect do they have in mind?
- They want to create fear in the Chinese people: The United States is so strong and tough, exerting extreme pressure and pressing every step of the way, and China’s key technologies are being choked by the United States, so you surrender!
- They want the Chinese people to fight each other and blame each other: you see, the agreement collapsed, companies were damaged, consumers were affected, and travel abroad was restricted. This is all the fault of the Chinese government.
- They make the Chinese people confused: a trade conflict with the most powerful country in the world, the consequences will be serious!
However, the calculations of these American politicians were wrong.
They underestimated China’s determination to defend its core interests, underestimated China’s psychological tolerance for extreme pressure, and even underestimated the patriotism of the Chinese people.
They should read Chinese history. When have the Chinese been frightened? The greater the pressure from external forces, the more united the Chinese people will be!
In the court of public opinion in China, there is an unprecedented unity of opinion about the United States and an unprecedented unanimity of attitude in criticizing the hegemony of the United States.
The hegemony of the United States is so deep that even those “pro-Americans” who once praised the United States and used the United States to belittle China have begun to hate the United States and have become psychologically alienated from the United States.
In the past, the U.S. was an easy topic to stir up controversy in China’s court of public opinion, and extreme evaluations of the U.S. were often the cause of disputes. The “pro-American camp” used to glorify everything about the U.S., American values, American history and stories, and America’s “universal goodwill. The “pro-American camp” used to glorify everything about the United States, American values, American history and stories, America’s “universal goodwill”, and the United States as the “savior” of China and the world. The remarks of the “pro-American faction” have deceived many Chinese people.
However, as the conflicts between China and the United States intensify, the deceptive remarks made by “pro-Americans” to beautify the United States have been exposed one by one.
We are grateful to American politicians for their hegemonic behavior in the trade war between China and the United States, in total disregard of international rules, and for tearing down the veil that hides realist interests, so that the world can see a real United States.
Again! The Chinese people thank the United States and its allies for their hostility, blockade, and suppression of China!
Crewless
Submitted into Contest #24 in response to: Write a story set in the dark recesses of space where the two main characters are often at odds with each other in humorous and comedic ways.… view prompt
Matthew Boyd
“I…”
“Don’t you dare say I told you so!”
“I wasn’t going to say that,” he said, smirking and doing a tiny fist pump. Angela threw a pen at him. “Ow!”
“Focus Eric! What are we going to do?”
He pondered for a second, biting his nails. “I don’t know. I’m afraid we might have to ask Olive.”
“No, don’t say…”
Hello crew members. Eric. How can I help you?
The tinny sound of the OS’s voice clattered out across the ship. What Angela was going to say, and what Eric had somehow forgotten, was that asking Olive was a fruitless endeavour. Unlike the sophisticated OS models that existed elsewhere in the universe, the flimsy prototype that had been installed on their ship was next to useless. Its knowledge was limited, its voice annoying, and it didn’t understand accents and, since everyone had an accent of some sort, this aspect alone rendered Olive worthless.
“Olive,” Eric began, deciding that anything was worth a shot. “Where are we now?”
The room throbbed with an unsettling orange glow that told the crew Olive was thinking.
Playing ‘Where Are You Now?” by Justin Bieber from planet Earth.
“That was pretty close to be fair,” said Eric, nodding approvingly and tapping his foot in what he thought was the beat of the song.
“Olive, stop!”
Angela. Do you want to play a game?
“Yes!” screamed Eric.
“No!” shouted Angela.
“You’re no fun. I’m bored.”
“We’re in a potential crisis and you’re bored? We need to figure out what the hell this thing is outside the window.”
I have many games to choose from. Stop me when you find one you like. Who Wants to be a Billionaire. The Big Fat Quiz of the Light-year. Escape the Wormhole. Deal or No Deal.
“That’s it!” exclaimed Angela.
“Sweet,” said Eric. “I love Deal or No Deal!”
“No, not that. The wormhole. We’re in a freaking wormhole!”
I’m sorry you didn’t find something you like. Goodbye.
“Thank God!” Angela said with a sigh of relief, and then she remembered. “Eric, we have to get to the control console now.”
“What even happens in a wormhole anyway? Are we going to die?”
“We might. That’s why we need to focus. The co-pilot has shut off because, as far as it’s concerned, it has nowhere to go. No direction brings it any closer to its destination. So we’re going to shut off the auto-pilot and give you control.”
“Why me?” squeaked Eric, suddenly feeling the gravity of the situation.
“Because you’re the pilot. It’s the one thing you’re actually any good at. The one reason I tolerate you.”
“I make a pretty good omelette.”
“No Eric, you make a terrible omelette.”
“Oh.”
“You’ll be fine, trust me. Then while you’re piloting I’m going to transfer power from Comms and give it to the thrusters. We’re going to need a lot of juice to get out of this thing.”
“And where are we going exactly?” asked Eric, settling in the pilot’s chair.
“Straight through.”
“Through! But we don’t even know what’s on the other side.”
“I know, but it’s our best option. So just keep us straight. A turn to either side and the ship will break up. The auto-pilot isn’t going to be able to help you. You’re on your own, and you’ve got this.”
“Thanks.”
Angela punched him on the arm and winked at him before leaving the control deck, reassuring him somehow. She has faith in me, Eric thought. But what Angela was really thinking was Please don’t fuck this up.
She raced down to the Engineering station and Eric took control. There was a slight wobble as the steering wheel unlocked, and he heard a bang and then a rattle come from the left hand side of the ship. It mustn’t be anything major, he thought, because we’re still alive. The ship stabilised, but it was a struggle. Eric felt like someone was trying to wrestle controls from him, and he was very tempted to just let them have it.
“I’m down in Engineering,” said Angela, making the most of the Comms channel while it was still available. “I heard a loud noise on the way down here. What was that?”
“We’re still alive,” replied Eric.
“That’s always a positive, but it doesn’t really answer my question.”
“It might have been a part of the ship,” Eric answered hesitantly. “But I doubt it was important.”
“You should bloody well hope not! Can you try and please keep it together while I work this out?”
“You got it. Over and out.”
Angela winced a little. She hated when he used radio speak, but it wasn’t Eric’s biggest foible. She thought that probably had to be the way he talked while he was eating, or the clamorous way he sneezed, throwing his whole body into it and failing to cover his nose.
No time to list Eric’s deficiencies now though. Angela had to focus on the task at hand. To her the control modules in front of her were gobbledygook: miscellaneous wires, screens, and fiddly knobs. She was aware that they had had an engineer once, but she couldn’t remember where they had got to.
“Angela!” barked Eric.
“Jesus Christ, you scared the hell out of me. What do you want?”
“You know the way we’re in a wormhole?”
“Yes?”
“Where’d the worm come from?”
“What?”
“If there’s a wormhole, surely there has to be a worm,” Eric theorised. “What the hell size must it be? And where is it, for that matter?”
“Eric.”
“Yes?”
“I’m disconnecting the communications now.”
“Right you are.”
Angela let out an exasperated sigh as she pulled out a wire connected to a port with a little speaker icon on it.
“Eric?” she tested just to make sure.
Nothing.
She hoped the rest of it was going to be that easy.
No need to bore you with the details of Angela’s makeshift engineering. She stripped the wire, pulled some others out, lost power to the ship briefly but managed to get it back, fiddled with some knobs, used a tonne of electrical tape, and finally increased the power going to the thrusters.
She hoped.
“Boo!”
“Holy shit!” Eric yelled as he jumped and lost control of the wheel once more, this time initiating a bang and a rattle from the right hand side of the ship.
“Eric, be careful!”
“You made me jump!”
“You see, that’s your problem, Eric,” lectured Angela. “There’s always someone else to blame.”
Eric held one hand to his chest and Angela rolled her eyes, unfazed by his dramatics.
“How’d everything go in engineering anyway?” asked Eric.
“Great, I think. That should be us all sorted. Full steam ahead.”
Eric engaged the thrusters and, sure enough, there was enough power there to pull them free of the wormhole. They cheered, and almost hugged but instead opted for an awkward handshake.
“I can’t believe I’m doing this, but we have to know,” said Angela. “Olive. Assess damage to the ship.”
Dinner tonight will be Roast Turkey and Stuffing. Happy Holidays.
“What’s the damage to the ship?”
There is a refuelling station 2 hours away. Do you want me to set this as your destination?
“That’s not a bad idea actually,” said Angela. “Do that, and I can check the damage myself when we get there.”
Angela and Eric looked at the new galaxy around them, completely unlike the one they had left. There were planets everywhere. Red ones and blue ones, at least one of which was bound to inhabit life. She would ask which one that was at the refuelling station. The sun here was a little too hot for her liking, but she could get used to it. Eric took out his shades and put them on, and Angela refrained from asking him why he even carried them on his person because she knew that’s what he wanted her to do.
“We could settle here, I think,” said Angela. “I mean, it’s not every day you’re sucked through a wormhole. I think we’ve earned a break.”
Eric agreed and they both breathed deeply, content with where they’d ended up.
Their peace was shattered moments later by an almighty and unpleasant crunching sound, like a tin can in a blender, coming from the rear of the ship.
“What the hell was that?!” yelled Angela.
We appear to have been attacked by a space worm. Evasive manoeuvres recommended.
Angela turned to her right to see Eric grinning.
“I knew there had to be a worm,” he said.
Mysterious and Unexplained Events Caught on Camera
Some of the scenes seems to be staged, others are real. Aside from the scary music, the glimpses in reality glitching is worth the time to watch.
What are the major factors preventing China and the Philippines from reaching an agreement to defuse tensions in their territorial dispute over the South China Sea?
The ONLY factor for the SCS tension is: U S A.
PH is just like Ukraine that is pushed by USA to provoke Russia to start a war.
Let us understand the mentality of USA. Former US diplomat Henry Kissinger said: to be US enemy is dangerous. To be US friend is fatal. … USA’s mentality is “America ONLY”. No country will be safe. Neither friend nor enemy.
USA makes China or Russia a US enemy. Then use a US friend eg Ukraine or Philippines to provoke a war against US enemy. After war/use, US friends will become a condom & be discarded by USA. That is how fatal a US friend is: shed blood & lose life for US interest.
After WW2, from 1946-2001, in 55 years, there were 248 wars around the globe. 201 of them ie 82% were instigated by USA. In 240+ years since US independence, there were only 16 years when USA was not in a war.
Before war, USA will instigate countless unrest eg protests, riots & coups in other countries. At least 56 coups in Latin America since WW2.
There is only 1 motive for USA: money & power/dominance. Nothing to do with righteous.
1, money:
Both US military industry (MIC) & FED are private corporations run by capitalist sharks & not by (responsible) government who would focus on the welfare of the country eg economic development.
MIC makes tons of money thru wars & arms sales. They lobby US government to create wars in other countries. US politicians also make $$$ by buying MIC stocks or working as a MIC salesman to other country.
Another capitalist shark, FED, sucks foreign capitals/investments to USA from unstable & war-torn country because there is no war in USA.
See, if there is peace in the world, MIC & FED will create war (military or not) somewhere. This is the way they make money.
Other capitalist sharks eg Wall Street makes $$$ from post-war construction/investment in war-torn country.
US senator L Graham told the truth re Ukraine war: (my word) ROB Ukraine of its rich minerals.
2, power/US dominance
In the Ukraine war, USA uses 1 stone to kill 3 birds: weakens the economy of both US competitor Europe & US enemy Russia, as well as colonises/colonises Ukraine after war.
USA does not let Ukraine reach peace deal with Russia. Nor let Ukraine attack Russian soil (to win the war). Why? To drag the war so as to economically weaken Europe & Russia. And to make Ukraine as ruinous as possible for US post-war investment.
conclusion
How many people suffered in a war? In the Ukraine war, the entire world is affected by the interruption of supply chain eg food resulting in global shortage & inflation. Not yet counting the dead & displaced.
USA wont not let world peace to happen. USA must create unrest/war thru its puppets eg Ukraine & Philippines.
War is in the DNA of USA.
Are capitalist sharks nice to Americans?
US taxpayers pay the interest of the US debts that is created as aids to war-torn country. Annually. Can Americans clear the debt/principal at all?
Capitalist sharks dont maintain infrastructure. There is derailment almost daily. Making USA like a under-developed 3rd world. The list is long.
Party every night in Pattaya. Nightlife July 2024
This is a street walk in Pattaya Thailand. It’s the real deal, yo.
What is the most selfish act you have ever witnessed?
I knew a guy who’d been married three times. He was on his third when this happened. His car had air conditioner issues. Since they lived in Texas and summer with all of it’s heat was coming, that was a big problem. So, he got it fixed. It cost several hundred dollars. Within a couple of weeks the blower went out. They couldn’t afford to get this one fixed so he went into the summer months driving a vehicle with no AC.
His mother passed away unexpectedly at the end of May that year. His wife, who had a new vehicle, was going out of town to Mexico for about a month. Since his car’s AC wasn’t working and he had to make multiple trips back and forth from the DFW area to the Wichita Falls area, he assumed that he would be able to use his wife’s car while she was gone. She said no. He thought she was kidding and kept on making plans.
Until he asked her one day what time she needed him to drive her to the airport and she informed him that he didn’t need to do that as she had long term parking already planned and paid for. That’s when he asked her about getting to use her car for the trips back and forth. She once again flat out said no. That’s when he realized she was serious.
Needless to say, that brand new car with the working air conditioner sat in a parking lot for a solid month while he drove back and forth in the heat of the summer in a vehicle without AC. After that he rarely ever got into her car again. Years later when they sat down for a frank discussion about their marriage and why it went downhill he mentioned that incident as being one of the things that, for him, caused him to not care as much as he had before about the marriage. They are now divorced. The marriage died pretty much from a mutual apathy.
Women Who Forgot Their Husband Installed Cameras At Home
Is the gap between the rich and the poor in China greater than in developed Western countries? If so, does it prove that Chinese socialism is a joke?
Yes
Hu Jintao was not a bad leader but under his period, Chinas development was perhaps one of the most Lopsided it had ever been
The Top 0.1% Chinese earned 115 times what the Median Chinese earned in 2000
By 2015 it was 568 times
Especially due to unchecked, unregulated real estate gambles and value growth
A Chinese with 100,000 RMB could be worth 30 Million RMB in 2 years due to making a lot of real estate deals under the Hu Jintao period
This did show Chinese Socialism as a Joke because it didn’t exist
Hu Jintaos policies were very favorable for Corporates too
He tweaked the Social Development aspects significantly and paper valuation became rampant
China had a lot of Byjus and Oyo and Ola with Billion dollar valuations
You needed a Great Leader like Xi Jinping to have the guts to take on the Billionaires and introduce common prosperity
After 8 years the Top 0.1% earn 382 times what the Median Chinese earn
In the last 8 years (2015–2023) – The Wealthiest 0.1% have seen income growth of 157% while the Median Chinese have seen income growth of 61.80%
It’s the best it’s been for a long time
Now the focus is on the poorer Chinese
If this number can fix at 250, it would be fantastic but that’s a major challenge
Still in the West inequality is much lower
The Top 0.1% earn around 226 times what the Median earns in America but it’s only 48 times in Norway or Denmark and 133 times in Germany
Our Modiji is like Hu Jintao
A Numbers man who likes Paper rather than reality
Inequality has surged under him as never before
In 2003 – the top 0.1% Indians earned 131 times what the Median Indians earned
Today is 491 times
And unlike China it’s rising and rising and rising
I doubt we have a future leader who can be like Xi Jinping
Modi is a Dumbo but I doubt either Rahul or Gadkari can take on the system
Only Yogi has the guts but the man is too religious and is capable of bringing in Nazi like rules
Luckily I am convinced he won’t be PM, maybe he won’t even be CM for long if the rumors are true
Anyway Chinas inequality is around 3 times higher than Europe and 1.5 times that of USA
If Hu had been it charge, it could have gone in the entirely wrong direction
Rome plus yummy
The Chinese React To Trump’s Assassination Attempt | Street Interview
You find out you have cancer and the doctor gives you 2 weeks to live. What do you do in that time?
During a late night dinner with friends, one of them told me that my former-wife had been diagnosed with breast cancer (I wrote about her case before on several occasions). I think it was in 2018.
After our divorce was finalized, there was no contact between us whatsoever — the divide had become too deep after what had happened. So it’s hard to pin down the details, because news about her came in unpredictable waves through common friends, and I had no idea about how bad the diagnosis really was.
One family member told me some time later (in 2020, at the funeral of an uncle) that my former-wife was terminally ill, but since that family member was known to be hysterical (and typically overreacting), I did not know what to think of it (and to be totally honest, it wasn’t of my concern — or so I thought).
Then, in the Summer of 2022, I noticed my former-wife standing at the counter of a coffee shop, ordering a drink. That is to say, I knew it must be her based on how she moved and how she dressed, but she was almost unrecognizable — something had happened to her skin (which was pitted, like the skin of an orange, and yellow), and her hair seemed different.
And it’s then that I realized that the terminal claim of my family member was right after all — the cancer must have spread to the liver (as far as I understood).
Later, I heard that her oncologist had broken the news to her that she had a couple of months left — maybe even a couple of weeks. Which brings me to your question —
You find out you have cancer and the doctor gives you 2 weeks to live. What do you do in that time ?
What I found out later that in the weeks that followed, she was basically on a tour saying goodbye to friends and family, trying to stretch time until the pain got so bad that she needed palliative sedation. The cancer obliterated her every chance.
And what I saw in her eyes on that fateful afternoon in July, is exactly what would happen in the foreseeable future. Because there was nothing left besides despair and the bleakest prostration I had ever seen. The woman who I had known was gone.
That is what happens when there is no time left —
After the goodbyes, you are grimly reaped.
(As if you were never there.)
AI FILM – Chrysalis – AI generated short video #3
What is the most stupid history story ever told?
In 1968, during the height of China’s Mango Cult, villagers in a town called Fulin went to their local dentist with great enthusiasm and reverence to show him one of the worshipped mangos. Dr. Han Guangdi was his name and since he was one of the most well-educated men in the community, they wanted his feedback on the blessed fruit.
“It’s nothing special,” Dr. Han said honestly, “it kind of just looks like a sweet potato to me?”
The crowd went wild. How DARE this man of words, this intellectual, not appreciate the great mango? Did he not know Mao himself had received these mangos from Pakistan’s prime minister? Did he not know they were a gift “to the people of China” and that they were hallowed fruits, not just mere sweet treats?
Dr. Han Guangdi was paraded throughout Fulin, taunted all along the way and ridiculed for his appalling lack of respect and proper reverence for the Holy Mango. He was then summarily executed in the town square before the eyes of his village mates. Mass hysteria is a curious thing, and appeals mostly to those with room temperature IQs.
Can Chinese companies produce computer chips that can compete with those made by American companies, even though China does not have Intel?
Quora Prompt Generator, you’re so, so clueless its pathetic.
Intel? Who’s that? Forget Intel. They’re last year’s news that you’ll never hear from again.
Let’s talk 2023. Biden people like Raimondo were declaring last year that by launching their sanctions to deny access to advanced chips and ASML’s EUV machines they’ll be setting back China by 20 years.
Let’s talk January 2024 this year. Heard of the red hot company called Nvidia that had been skyrocketing through the roof because of its AI chips selling like hotcakes that but banned from China. Well, China doesn’t need these A100s because its Biren AI BR100 chips are even faster.
Let’s talk just this week. China’s SMIC just announced submission of patent on patterning technology to produce 3 nm chips that does not need the EUV machines!
Effectively, it is from 20 years to 9 month! Note – it took U.S. companies more than 5 years to advance from 7 to 5 nm, it took 2 months for Huawei and SMIC to go from 5 to 3 nm.
And who’s leading now?
Latest update is that Apple is likely to reveal its TSMC 2nm chipset for the iPhone 17 series by September 2025.
This is more than a year from now!
Let’s say Huawei and SMIC just focus on integrating its 5.5 G technology using the 3 nm chips, Huawei will have a new release that is just as advanced over the iPhone 17 as its Mate 60 is now over the iPhone 15.
China has outcompeted the U.S. companies – as well as TSMC and ASML. They’re not needed anymore in China. And those fabs TSMC using Biden’s $52 billion subsidies is building in Arizona, they better rethink plans because they’re looking more like “white elephants“.
Ditto for all those fabs that Intel is building.
The Most Mind Blowing Videos You Shouldn’t Watch Alone (July 2024 Edition)
Shorpy
What’s something that you regret doing as a physician?
I’m going to tell you the story of how I killed a patient.
I was in my 3rd year of medical school. I had just started my clinical rotations. I had just come off of my psychiatry rotation and was starting my internal medicine rotation.
In teaching hospitals, you operate as a team. You have an attending who leads a team comprised of residents, interns, medical students and the occasional pharmacist.
I was nervous when I learned of who my attending was, because everyone had warned me that she was the one you didn’t want to get. She was very exacting and brilliant.
It did not take me long to realize that I was actually lucky…BECAUSE she was so exacting and brilliant, and held such high standards for her team.
As a medical student, you get assigned a few patients, or pick up some new ones when you admit them from the ER. Every day, you go see your patients (round on them), perform a physical exam, write a note, and write your orders. Your intern or resident then comes along later and co-signs your note and your orders if they agree with it. Later you all round as a team on each patient and discuss each patient.
This is where a lot of the teaching occurs as the attending teaches the residents or the residents teach the students. As a student, you are asked numerous questions designed to test your knowledge. Generally these questions continue until you stop getting the answers right. Then you know the area you need to study later that evening.
Medical students don’t have a lot of autonomy or authority. A nurse cannot follow the order of a medical student until an actual doctor co-signs it. As a medical student, your primary purpose is to learn and to one day become a good doctor.
My internal medicine rotation was at a VA Hospital. These hospitals are among the only places where beer is regularly served on the dinner trays. We were caring for veterans. Many of them were alcoholics.
One of my first assigned patients was an elderly gentleman who had been hospitalized for over a month when I started my rotation. He had metastatic colon cancer. By the time I was assigned him, he had not been fed in several days. He had a bulky tumor within his bowel, and everyone was afraid it would rupture if he took food.
He was receiving some sustenance in the form of IV nutrition, which is completely unsatisfying. The first few times I saw him, he tolerated my history taking and physical exam. Not long after, however, he had a one track mind.
”Please can I have something to eat??” he’d beg me.
I would apologize profusely. I would explain that the surgeon didn’t want him to eat. I explained that his oncologist didn’t want him to eat. And every day he looked dejected.
One by one, all of the doctors signed off (the surgeon and the oncologist and the radiation oncologist etc.). There was nothing they could do for him.
Finally, we were the only team remaining to care for him.
My resident seemed to be at a loss. He looked at me.
”What do you think we should do?” he asked, and waited for my reply. It was the first time a medical doctor genuinely wanted my opinion.
”I think we should feed him,” I replied without hesitation.
I wrote the order and he cosigned it.
I went into my patient’s room when the dinner trays came in. He looked like a child on Christmas when I told him he could eat. He maintained a huge smile in between bites.
He died that night.
I still regret it.
I regret that I gave him that tray of hospital food instead of finding out his favorite meal and making it for him.
Some of my MM AI-generated art
This theme is Roman gods.
What do you think about the Philippine government’s decision to keep details of the arrangement confidential unless both countries agree to make them public?
China has nothing to hide. Seems PH has things to hide. Below is my post.
Is Philippines leaders hiding things from their people? Are PH leaders trustworthy? On 2024/7/22, China told the world that China & PH has reached a consensus & signed a memorandum. China released the dialogue contents. The next day, PH said it did not agree to 1 point. Which point?
China Foreign Affairs spokeswomen Mao Ning told the world:
1, PH has broken Declaration on Conduct of Parties in SCS (南海各方行为宣言 DOC) that was signed by China & 10 ASEAN countries incl PH on 2002/11/4.
2, PH can resupply humanitarian things to the rusty junk ship at Ren’ai shoal under the watchful eye of China. PH must give notice to China before the resupply.
3. No non-humanitarian stuff eg construction materials is allowed.
On the next day, PH said it has not agreed to give China notice ie point 2.
Mao rebuked : Keep your (PH) action consistent with what you said.
Not the 1st time
In May 2024, China released a 2024/1/3 audio between Chinese military & PH’s WESCOM chief Carlos who agreed to points 2 & 3 above. After the release, PH at first said the audio was fake. Then changed to accuse China of releasing the audio without PH consent. PH said it was a private conversation (I add) that PH does not want its people to know that PH complies with China.
See, PH leaders is hiding things from their people.
Only fools will believe there is no written Memorandum in meetings between 2 countries? Even companies have memos. But Marcos act surprised that Duterte had memo/gentleman agreement with China. It forced China to confirm the existence of a memo with both Deturte & Marcos.
PH then argued it was just a gentlemen agreement. Not a signed treaty.
Remember PH signed DOC (see point 1). Yet Marcos breaks it. Really … if you talk to a person with no credibility or shame, you go nowhere.
Well, China, release everything: memo, recording & video. This is the only way to deal with shameless people. Dont dream that shameless people will change his personality one day.
USA
D. Kritenbrink, Assistant US State Secy for Indo-Pacific, said USA welcomes the China-PH dialogue. Translation: USA has no time (Biden steps down) or ability to fight China. Because US has lost the electromagnetic battle to China & USA is to withdraw its troops from the 1st island chain.
Kritenbrink added that PH itself directed the conflicts. ie USA discards PH like a used condom.
Trump has paired up with JD Vance who said: Ukraine is not a US business. (I add) PH is also not a US business.
PH delusion
PH deludes that PH is protected by the US-PH Defense Treaty. PH sent its special elite soldiers to fight China at Ren’ai shoal on 2024/7/17.
But China only sent coastguards. The US-PH defense treaty cannot be invoked. Not to mention under UN, PH has the problem with the legality of its territory in SCS.
PH is also deluded to take humiliation as bravery by giving a medal to its soldiers who were so badly defeated by China’s coastguard where PH’s rifles were confiscated. Soldiers got detained & required PH coastguard to pick them up.
PH also deludes itself by signing a treaty with Japan. But Japan is not stupid. Japan will not fight China. Japan is only taking this chance to upgrade its military to offensive from defensive as defined in Japanese constitution.
No matter how many PH is to get some kind of military agreement with other countries eg Australia, no country will be so stupid to sacrifice its economy & people for PH. Because PH’s economy is peanuts compared to China. Who hates money? … Marcos is too hype on its importance.