A Meditation on Respiration

Birds have the most highly efficient respiratory system amongst the terrestrial animal kingdom. Air passes through their lungs twice, during the inhalation AND the exhalation. That’s where gas exchange (oxygen and carbon dioxide) takes place. The excess air that doesn’t fit in their lungs is held in their 9 (!!!) air sacs. 

Show-offs.

And, like, this is totally unnecessary.

Bats prove this. They’re mammals like we are, and they are able to traverse migratory distances using the same simple air-in-and-out lungs that we have.

One theory for why birds have such a complex system is that proto-dinosaurs evolved that adaptation back during one of those major extinction events when oxygen levels dropped and killed 96% of all marine life. So this was just an evolutionary vestige that later turned out to be super useful for creatures that fly long distances. (Bird feathers similarly seem to have had a different original purpose - thermal insulation, and courtship. But turns out feathers also helped with gliding, and eventually flight.)

Birds emerged from a complicated world and then utilized the gifts they acquired there to adapt to a new one. We could all strive to similarly transmute ourselves to achieve new capacities.

Why I’m a Bird Nerd

 I’ve always been envious of people who go deep down rabbit holes, attend fandom conventions in costumes of their own making, paint their faces for every game of the season, devote years to mastering their craft, resiliently fight the good fight for a cause…

I wish I cared enough to do shit like this. They look like they’re having so much fun!

I’m more of a dabbler who gets excited about something for ~15 seconds before losing interest and moving on to the next shiny object. 

Until I discovered birds, a topic that interests me enough for me to start a weekly Bird Facts blog. 

Why birds? Hell if I know. Perhaps it’s because the large wading birds of southern Florida are such highly charismatic megafauna? Or because the tame boobies and finches of the Galapagos inspire within me a vision of what a peaceful world could look like? Maybe it’s just the sheer mathematical beauty of a pulsing and undulating murmuration. Maybe it’s because looking at shoebill storks and pelicans feels like being in Jurassic Park. Or maybe it’s because no other class of creature has so successfully been able to thrive on land, in the sea, and up in the air.

Or perhaps rationally trying to justify my fascination is emotionally dishonest. Maybe I just inexplicably love birds.

Thoughts on "female Viagra" from a feminist in the pharma industry

Earlier this week, the FDA approved Addyi, a drug by Sprout Pharmaceuticals that the media is calling "the female Viagra" or the "little pink pill." It's the world's first drug to boost female libido. As a feminist and pharma industry professional, I am very upset about this decision, for many reasons:

It's not practical.

Addyi is approved to treat women with hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD) - a loss of libido that can't be attributed to relationship problems, mental health issues, medication, or illness. Addyi is a daily pill that the woman needs to take for the rest of her life (or however long she wants to remain sexually active). Side effects include fainting and low blood pressure - which wouldn't be that big of a deal in and of themselves (every drug has side effects, after all), but apparently these are exacerbated by birth control and alcohol.

How many women in the real world have mysteriously lost their libido completely out of the blue, don't enjoy alcohol, and aren't interested in controlling their fertility? If I had to hazard a guess, I'd say literally zero.

It doesn't work.

In clinical trials, women on Addyi reported 0.5 more "sexually satisfying" events per month than those on a placebo. 

First of all, "satisfying" is a completely subjective term. Second, the FDA analysis concluded that only 8-13% of women who take the drug will experience any effect. So we're going to ask women to take a pill every day, go off birth control, and abstain from alcohol...all so that less than 15% of them can have LESS THAN ONE additional "satisfying" sexual event a month!

The clinical trials were poorly conducted.

One study only had 25 participants, 23 of whom were male.

The company I work for sometimes runs clinical trials with fewer than 10 participants. However, that's because we develop drugs for extremely rare diseases that affect less than 120 Americans (I'm not sure about the rest of the world). Sprout, on the other hand, claims that "1 in 10" women suffer from HSDD. If that's the case, it would've been easier to recruit trial participants. The tiny sample size and inclusion of men confound the results.

It makes feminists look bad.

The drug was rejected by the FDA twice due to its poor safety profile and questionable efficacy. The FDA caved this time around due to the advocacy efforts of a group funded by Sprout called "Even the Score." They claimed that we have dozens of drugs to fix erectile dysfunction, but none for female sexual health.

First of all, this isn't even true. My company, for example, manufactures a hormone-replacement therapy to treat uncomfortable vaginal changes during menopause.

Second, the score is already even - there aren't any drugs out there to improve male libido, either. Viagra doesn't make men horny, it just enables them to get an erection once they're already in the mood.

Third, the FDA's prior refusal to approve any of the dozens of experimental HSDD meds out there isn't because the agency is full of misogynists who don't want women to have great sex lives (they've approved birth control, right?). It's because the agency is full of scientists who know how to read clinical trial data and conclude that the risks associated with a treatment outweigh it's benefits.

And most importantly...It pathologizes women.

There is nothing medically wrong with women who have low desire. Maybe we as a society need to be more accepting of women who are asexual instead of trying to "fix" them. Maybe we need to move beyond the abstinence-only fear campaigns that associate sex with pregnancy and disease but not with intimacy and pleasure. Maybe we need to stop photo-shopping the already-skinny models on magazine covers and billboards. Maybe partners need to do more laundry and pick up the kids from school so women can get out of  'mommy' mode and into a 'sexy minx' mindset.

Maybe we should treat the cause, instead of looking for quick fixes to address the symptoms.

I've been reading the testimonials of women who swear this drug is a godsend, and don't want to discredit the sincerity of their enthusiasm. But I fear that for every one woman genuinely helped by Addyi, dozens more will be physically harmed or emotionally left feeling "broken." Sprout currently doesn't have clearance to market Addyi directly to consumers. But once you start seeing their ads on TV or magazines, I hope you take their claims with a grain of salt.

The Thrifty Traveler

Save on airfare by traveling via vine.

“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” - St. Augustine

A guy asked me the other day how someone so young could afford to travel so much, as I’ve been to 18 countries thus far and plan on hitting up three more before the year ends. "Do your parents pay for all of it?"

I replied, "I got a scholarship to study in Guatemala for two weeks, and during that time we hit up the pyramids if Tikal in Nicaragua. My friend and his family live in Hong Kong, so I stayed with them when I went to visit. The airline miles from that trip helped pay for my flight to Costa Rica, where we did farm chores for four hours a day in exchange for room and board. I worked for a school with connections to the Turkish tourism board, and they sponsored a spring break trip over there. I had a job in Singapore, and it's such a small island that if you go 40 minutes in any direction using any mode of transit you'll end up in another country. So no, my parents don't bankroll my adventures."

I understand not everyone’s stars align as well as mine have, though, so I’ve put together a list of travel hacks that will help you rack up the passport stamps without breaking the bank.

*Disclaimer: Most of the tips below are ones I've gathered from my time in India, Southeast Asia, Central America, and Europe; so they may or may not be as applicable if you're going to the Middle East, Africa, etc.

Transportation
1) Getting to and from a country is most often the most expensive part of traveling, and unfortunately may require years of planning and saving. However, there are awesome travel hacks to get around this barrier. My favorite blog is Not Rich or Retired, in which my friends Jenny and Dave explain how they scored $5000 worth of flight tickets for less than $200!

2) Do a little research on the domestic airlines within your destination country. Ex: flights from Shanghai to Los Angeles  were cheaper through Cathy Pacific than through American Airlines, for example.

3) Consider multiple modes of transit. Ex: it might be cheaper to fly to Singapore and take a 40-minute bus ride to Malaysia than to land in Kuala Lumpur directly.

4) Use Kayak.con's multi-city option if you're leaving from a different country than the one you're flying into. Ex: I'm flying into Sydney in November and out of New Zealand. The multi-city itinerary was $600 cheaper than two one-way flights would've been.

5) I've been told to always search for flights on private browsing mode, or delete cookies before starting a new search. The logic is that travel sites remember what you searched for, and are going to quote a higher price next time to pressure you to make the purchase quickly. I haven't verified this tip, but there's no harm in trying it, right?

6) Tip from my friend Kristen: "If you're not in a hurry or have a set itinerary, check to see if your flight is over booked. The last trip I took, I gave up my assigned seat for a two hundred dollar voucher. I got put on an earlier direct flight instead of one with a layover, and I got bumped to first class! A friend of mine got $1000 worth of vouchers bc they kept giving up their over booked seats. and the airline put them up in a hotel for the extra day or two they had to stay bc of the flight! Basically they got another trip paid for in vouchers and had their stay extended for free."

7) Learn to drive a scooter beforehand. Motos are MUCH cheaper to rent than cars, consume less gas, and are more fun. Renting a scooter affords you the mobility to explore your surroundings at your leisure, as opposed to being at the mercy of a cab. Furthermore, taxi drivers abroad will often try to rip you off by either charging exorbitant rates, agreeing to one price but then demanding another once you arrive at your destination, or taking you to the more expensive locales because they've worked out agreements with the owners and get paid to bring tourists there. You can only realize the benefits of a scooter, though, if you're an expert driver. I've seen locals in other countries weave in and out of traffic with no regard for lanes, traffic lights, or crossing pedestrians. Tourists have broken bones and even died in scooter accidents. If you do opt to rent a scooter, be sure to spend a few hours practicing in a low-traffic area early in the morning before heading out for the day. Become intimately familiar with how the controls on the rental are different from the one you practiced on in the States. Set up an obstacle course using trash cans or plastic bottles. Simulate swerving to avoid pedestrian and oncoming traffic. Access how comfortable you are driving on the left side of the road. And, for the love of God, PLEASE wear a frickin’ helmet!

Or just be Laos-y and bum a ride.

8) If, after practicing scooting around, you decide it’s too risky and unsafe then fear not - you can still get around on the cheap! I recommend striking up a deal with a cab driver, agreeing to use his service exclusively in return for a better rate. Agreeing on a set price ahead of time is often cheaper than going by the meter.

Accommodations
Stay with a local! Not only is it cost-effective, it's an integrative part of your cultural experience. I've found safe and welcoming hosts through two websites, but there are more:

1) Couchsurfing.com - I only have great things to say about my CS experiences. My hosts have been gracious, welcoming, and generous. I need to stress that this website should NOT be viewed as a free hotel service. Most hosts will want to hang out with their surfers, show them around town, and so forth. They're looking to make a real and meaningful connection with fellow travelers, not just used for their futon.

2) WWOOF.org - Spend a few hours working on an organic farm in exchange for room and board! The tasks and length-of-stay expectations vary from farm to farm. When my friends and I stayed at the Barking Horse Ranch in Costa Rica, we paid less than $5/day for a bed and all three meals but had to wake up at 6am for morning chores and report back at the house at 6pm for evening chores. In another farm we paid $10/day for a bed and all three meals, but had the weekends off.

Helping Polly in Goatsa Rica

3) If you'd prefer to be free of obligations to hosts, you might still be able to experience the life of a local by renting a room from one who's out of town. Airbnb.com is often a more expensive option than a hostel, but a cheaper alternative to hotel rooms. I've never used this service, though, so I can't vouch for it.

Money and Shopping 
1) Choose paper over plastic. First of all, very few places even accept credit cards to begin with. And when you use your card abroad you’ll not only get charged for your purchase, but also a 2-3% foreign transaction fee (although some Capital One cards waive this). If a merchant offers to let you pay for a product on your credit card with US dollars, s/he can charge as much as a 7% conversion fee. If you withdraw money from a foreign ATM you could get charged up to about $5 from your bank, $5 from the foreign bank, and a 3% exchange fee. Ouch! If you want to carry around plastic, buy a preloaded gift card from your bank instead of carrying around your regular credit card. My Chase gift card cost $3.50 and I could put up to $500 on it. Like regular credit cards, these don’t work at ATMs and you’ll still get charged the 3% transaction fee. I like them, though, because they keep me accountable – if I only put $200 on the card, for example, I’m holding myself to not spending any more than that. Furthermore, if I get pickpocketed and don’t notice for a while, the thief can do a lot less damage with my prepaid card containing no personal information than one that actually links to my accounts.

2) Don’t convert US dollars to local currency at the numerous exchange kiosks littering cities until you check what the spot rate is as well. Usually banks will give you a much better rate than the booths, although some foreign banks won’t change your money unless you already have an account with them. I recommend just converting all your USD into foreign currency in the States itself, but if you’re going to be travelling for more than a week you may be uncomfortable carrying that much paper money around with you.

3) Resist the temptation to convert everything back to USD while shopping. If you keep saying to yourself, “Oh wow – this is only ten US dollars,” you’ll probably end up spending way more money than if you say to yourself, “This costs more than twenty plates of food at the restaurant I went to last night. It’s therefore probably overpriced.”

4) Throughout India, southeast Asia, Turkey, and central America, it is customary to barter with the merchants. Don’t feel bad for low-balling a vendor – I’ve discovered that they’ll often quote a FIVE HUNDRED PERCENT premium for a tourist over a local, so even if you pay $10 USD for an item that the vendor claims is worth $25, s/he will still be walking away from the deal with a hefty profit.

*Side note: Haggling is exhausting and frustrating, and most westerners feel guilty doing it. After all, is it worth trying to get the shoeless shopkeeper to reduce the price of an item by 200 rupees when that only amounts to $3 USD? Of course this is a decision you'll have to make for yourself, but I strongly advise everyone traveling through the regions mentioned above to haggle. Paying 400 rupees for a 200 rupee item might seem like charity, but on the macro level it exerts inflationary pressure on the local economy and thus ends up hurting the shopkeeper in the long run.

Guat a beautiful marketplace!

5) If you’re staying with a local, ask him/her what one should reasonably expect to pay for something. If you know what the price of an item should be, vendors are more likely to give it to you at that price with limited hassle.

6) If you fall in love with a souvenir and the merchant refuses to sell it for a fair price, keep walking and you’ll more than likely find the exact same item being sold elsewhere by a more reasonable vendor.

Partying 
1) Ask the bartender if s/he needs any help. If you offer to hand out promotional fliers or something for an hour, they’ll often waive any cover charge and let you drink for free.

2) See if your destination has a CouchSurfing group. When I was in Florence, the local hosts organized a free picnic and beach trip to Tuscany for their surfers. The Singapore group holds weekly mixers and occasionally throws massive parties with great drink specials.

Communication 
1) Unlock your cell phone ahead of time and purchase a cheap sim card once you arrive. Or just buy a cheap plastic phone there for about $20.

2) If you're near a hostel, you might be able to pick up their wireless signal for free since quite a few don't password-protect it.

Eating 
1) As in the States, restaurants outside of the touristy squares are cheap relative to those on the main strips. You don't need to take a taxi to a neighboring town for an economical meal, though - just wander for about ten minutes outside the central area and watch the prices dramatically drop.

2) Don't underestimate street food! It's often delicious and half the cost of restaurant meals. (Some say it's also less hygienic, but I've never gotten sick from it.)

3) It is almost always cheaper to chose vegetarian options. And, I would argue, yummier.

Soft-serve cannabis ice cream will make you feel eu(ro)phoric. 

I believe little excites the mind, rejuvenates the spirit, or makes one appreciate the miracles of the mundane more than a backpack and a passport. I hope this list helps get you started on your international journey. 

See you off the beaten path,
Wiggles