The Mask

[Mike Oxlong]

[Kanchou]

I can't bring myself to wear a mask simply out of spite for such a pointless, naiive custom...

[Coligny]

I can't bring myself to wear a mask simply out of spite for such a pointless, naiive custom...

Sumbody knowz where to get those in bulk ?

[BigInJapan]

Sumbody knowz where to get those in bulk ?

Go here, turn on your printer, and away you go...

[wuchan]

Sumbody knowz where to get those in bulk ?

if all of us FGs wore them none of the locals would notice...

[Mike Oxlong]

Is it just in my little local area, or are more and more people wearing masks seemingly all the time? I wonder if people like the extra layer of anonymity...a lot of police officers seem to wear them on duty, municipal office workers, basically anyone who has a public face seems to be covering up.

[gaijinpunch]

I only wear masks when I have a sore throat. They are a good filter for all the funk one can breathe in. Other than that, they remind me to never trust Japanese medical common "sense".

[Coligny]

I only wear masks when I have a sore throat. They are a good filter for all the funk one can breathe in. Other than that, they remind me to never trust Japanese medical ANYTHING.

fixed that for you...

the vets are ok though...

[matsuki]

I'm surprised more people here don't pass out from breathing their own coffee stank breath...

BTW, haven't there been a bunch of studies that show the masks are hardly effective, if at all, as far as being a firewall for all the nasties?

[Mike Oxlong]

I still think they are a good idea in terms of their original purpose - your dentist wears one so that he doesn't drop shit into your gaping maw as he hovers over you to work, same as the surgeon for that matter - they keep shit from falling onto the working area and possibly infecting it.

Here, no one turns their head, covers with a tissue, hankerchief or sleeve. They just cough and sneeze. Best keep that shit in the mask.

A healthy person hoping to keep safe from the flu will likely not boost their chances for continued health much by wearing a mask, but a sick person hell-bent on going into work and school will at least spread a little less crud to the rest of us.

These days, the main purpose seems to be the extra layer of anonymity.

[IparryU]

I'm surprised more people here don't pass out from breathing their own coffee stank breath...

BTW, haven't there been a bunch of studies that show the masks are hardly effective, if at all, as far as being a firewall for all the nasties?

there have also been many studies on "advanced" medication but that doesn't mean shit for the god-like Japanese as none of the tests were performed on Them.

I still think they are a good idea in terms of their original purpose - your dentist wears one so that he doesn't drop shit into your gaping maw as he hovers over you to work, same as the surgeon for that matter - they keep shit from falling onto the working area and possibly infecting it.

Here, no one turns their head, covers with a tissue, hankerchief or sleeve. They just cough and sneeze. Best keep that shit in the mask.

A healthy person hoping to keep safe from the flu will likely not boost their chances for continued health much by wearing a mask, but a sick person hell-bent on going into work and school will at least spread a little less crud to the rest of us.

These days, the main purpose seems to be the extra layer of anonymity.

very true... gets really annoying when you got the sniffer that refuses to wipe/blow his/her nose.

pet peeve to the max there... that and talking with their mouth full... pig nation with obesity going up.

[Kanchou]

A girl asked me on Mixi about whether Americans and Europeans think masks are weird the other day...

They're for keeping sick people from getting dead. They're not for keeping well people well. That and for keeping breath out of peoples face when doctors get very close since it's unpleasant.

But you never hear about Japan having lower rates of sickness then Europe and the US.

[Samurai_Jerk]

But you never hear about Japan having lower rates of sickness then Europe and the US.

They do live longer though. I do get that one thrown at me when I point out some of the ridiculous medical practices here. It's hard to argue with.

[Mike Oxlong]

They do live longer though. I do get that one thrown at me when I point out some of the ridiculous medical practices here. It's hard to argue with.

Just very slightly longer than the other top three or four countries. Also the rules here about DNR orders and such are slanted pretty much to keep on respirator until even that can't keep the vegetable alive. Living longer while in pain, unable to take care of oneself, or just plain brain dead is small consolation for holding the number one spot. I think any hard look into the reality behind that statistic would knock the shine off it PDQ. YMMV.

The website I just checked says that they live fewer years in ill health when elderly than the world average. So, who knows?

Let's look at consultations with doctors: http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/hea_con_wit_doc-health-consultation-with-doctors (Japan #1 by a wide margin)

vs.

Life expectancy at birth: http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/hea_lif_exp_at_bir_tot_pop-life-expectancy-birth-total-population (Japan #5 and barely half a year longer than #10)

[Coligny]

They do live longer though. I do get that one thrown at me when I point out some of the ridiculous medical practices here. It's hard to argue with.

FFSake, most of their record old people are in fact mummified and just declared still alive as pension benefit claim scam. You'd think they'd have updated the stats by now...

[Greji]

FFSake, most of their record old people are in fact mummified and just declared still alive as pension benefit claim scam. You'd think they'd have updated the stats by now...

Leave me out of this de Gaulle-chan! I just got a face lift for my next koseinenkin kakute.

[Coligny]

Leave me out of this de Gaulle-chan! I just got a face lift for my next koseinenkin kakute.

Iz ok, I knew...

Dead people don't need viagra to have bonerz... (tzing!*)

(I saw a movie and stuff...)
(no, really... (aboot the movie anyway))


(*yeah, I'm an asshole)

[Mike Oxlong]

FFSake, most of their record old people are in fact mummified and just declared still alive as pension benefit claim scam. You'd think they'd have updated the stats by now...

Yeah, I drink with one of the authors of The Okinawa Diet on occasion, and he mentioned how a lot of claims of gramps and gramms being 100+ turn out to be unverifiable. When they do manage to track down the family registries the claims are more-often-than-not exaggerated, in many cases by a decade.

[Kanchou]

Japanese food is healthier and generally smaller people live longer.

The mask and GUGAI certainly isn't helping them live longer.

[cstaylor]

They're not for keeping well people well.

Same with the overpriced but worthless ugai medicine. You can just use warm salt water and get better results, double if you use a neti pot too.

[Coligny]

Same with the overpriced but worthless ugai medicine. You can just use warm salt water and get better results, double if you use a neti pot too.

Do beejs count as gargling ?

(just trying to make winter less depressing)

[sublight]

I'm surprised more people here don't pass out from breathing their own coffee stank breath...

BTW, haven't there been a bunch of studies that show the masks are hardly effective, if at all, as far as being a firewall for all the nasties?

Yeah, for keeping yourself healthy, they're pretty much useless. For keeping your germs to yourself, however, they do a decent job.

Which makes sense, since that's what they were meant for in the first place: keeping doctors from spraying their snot into the patient they've just opened up.

[IparryU]

FFSake, most of their record old people are in fact mummified and just declared still alive as pension benefit claim scam. You'd think they'd actually go into all the registries and check everyone over the age of 80 by now...

FTFY

[matsuki]

They do live longer though. I do get that one thrown at me when I point out some of the ridiculous medical practices here. It's hard to argue with.

Like the others said, that's all relying on Japanese statistics.

FFSake, most of their record old people are in fact mummified and just declared still alive as pension benefit claim scam. You'd think they'd actually go into all the registries and check everyone over the age of 80 by now...

Silly FG, such an obvious idea that would not only save the country money but pay for the jobs it creates simply cannot work in Japan. Because Japan.

[Mike Oxlong]

FFSake, most of their record old people are in fact mummified and just declared still alive as pension benefit claim scam. You'd think they'd have updated the stats by now...

I just remembered another gem from my drinking buddy. Okinawans like to claim that the dead oldies pension scam could never happen here, as the local culture has a special reverence for their ancestors. When he works backwards and goes to the registries first to look for candidates to interview regarding their habits and longevity, he invariably finds heaps of candidates he'd like to talk to, only to find they passed on when going to try and meet them - of course after getting the runaround from the families...evil gaijin trying to invade their privacy asking if he can have a chat with obaachan.