Japan Burns In Hell!

Summer is hot.

Summer in Asia is hot!



Japan is experiencing the hottest summer on record, since the governments started recording meteorological data after WWII in 1946. Every day people in the office complain about how hot it is. When they come back from lunch, everyone talks about how hot it is. I think my elevator is probably over 40C every day. My back is soaked with sweat by the time I get to the office. If I sit on the toilet for more than 2minutes, because there is no air circulation there (i.e. no breeze), I get drenched in sweat (and that is keeping the door open!). Etc. Etc. etc. Actually Fukui was hotter, and the daily temps prove it, compared to Tokyo, so for me, it's not too bad here (except I have to wear these damn work clothes!)



Many MANY people have been taken to the hospital around the country due to heat stroke this year. It is big news.



One of the problems is that traditionally (it has changed in recent years), young people were trained that to be "tough" and get "stronger" you need to learn to overcome your "desires" and "needs" some times. This works for many things, but not when it comes to ignoring the body's need for water and salts. Maybe that is how the samurai made themselves "tough" in the past, but we aren't samurai anymore, and we don't need that kind of "tough". It's just silly. That mentality still sticks with a lot of older people. As an aside, I recall when I studied kendo here 20 years ago, that no matter how hot it was, no matter how thirsty we were, we were not by any means allowed to drink water during the practice. We could drink before, and after, but not during. I ignored that once as I thought I was going to pass out from thirst and loss of water...and boy did they lay into me! Apparently that mentality is no longer in the current dojos, which is a good thing.



Another problem of course, lies in the fact that as we age, our bodies no longer are as good at controlling their core temperatures than when we were younger. This is a big reason why many elderly people succumb to heat exhaustion.



A third reason, I think, may be that air conditioning is viewed differently hear in Japan than it is in North America. Where I grew up we used AC when it got hot. Period. Here they try not to use it as much as possible. The problem is that during the evening and night, most people close their drapes and windows. And that is when the heat builds up in the home. Also, people do not sleep with fans blowing on them because (tradition? old truth whose reason we have forgotten?) they SAY that air blowing over your body when you sleep is bad for you. (A lot of wives tales began in original truths, so who knows? To me it sounds crazy, but to Japanese it is a common belief - just like to North Americans eggs must be kept refrigerated is a common belief, but to Japanese, it is not necessary - and considering all of the salmonella outbreaks in eggs and the egg recalls going on in the USA these days, it's no wonder N.A. think this way: the food chain there is filthy!)



Anyway...



Here is an article from Japan Today giving you the latest update on the statistics of people suffering heat stroke in Japan:



Have a great day, and keep your fluids, and your mineral levels up!



I love you!

Cam



P.S. On the political front, this new battle for the DPJ Leadership Race is a travesty. Japan has a very very poor (weak) political system. Besides, if Ozawa actually wins, we are in big trouble.....

http://www.japantoday.com/category/politics/view/dpj-leadership-race-begins-with-kan-facing-challenge-from-ozawa



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Nearly 47,000 hospitalized due to heatstroke since late May

Wednesday 01st September, 08:00 AM JST



TOKYO —

Nearly 47,000 people were taken by ambulance to hospitals across Japan in about three months since late May, including more than 5,000 last week alone, the Fire and Disaster Management Agency said Tuesday.



A total of 46,728 people were rushed to medical institutions from May 31 to Aug 29, with 5,358 of them transported in the seven-day period through last Sunday, the agency said in a preliminary report. Of the total, 158 people died shortly after arrival at hospitals in 42 prefectures, the agency said.



The agency urged people to continue to take care to avoid heat stroke by consuming water and salt frequently, particularly as there may be increased outdoor events and activities with the start of a new school term.



According to the agency’s report, those diagnosed with mild symptoms upon arrival made up the largest proportion of patients at 57.7%, followed by 35.3% with moderate symptoms and 3.5% with severe symptoms.



By age bracket, 46.6% of the patients were 65 or over, while by prefecture, the figure exceeded 3,000 in Tokyo and Aichi, Osaka and Saitama prefectures.



http://www.japantoday.com/category/national/view/nearly-47000-hospitalized-due-to-heatstroke-since-late-may

Catch The Wave

As I suspected, high-tech cycling socks are AWESOME for working out at the gym, too!

Some of you may recall my "What is Globalized Love?" video I made a few years back. I was sitting on a red camp chair in my back yard with my cycling shoes... when all of a sudden the sole just fell off one of them! Those were NorthWave mountainbiking shoes and I got them in Italy back in 2001. And they were AWESOME shoes. I rode the shitoutof them.

So when I saw these NorthWave red socks in the bike shop on the weekend I had to give them a try. And do they feel good! Faaaar better than ordinary cheap socks, and in so many ways.

If you've never tried cycling or running socks it might be hard to understand, but ust as exercise-specific technical clothing fits, fee. and performs better than streetwear for sports, these socks rock! They breathe. They wick. They don't let the feet heat up in the closed environment of the shoes... they just feel good! So for JPY 1600 I am glad I got them!

Now I can hardly wait to try the JPY 2600 socks I also got! They have a two year warranty on them!

How's that for rocking your socks off, eh?

I love you!

Cam

P.S. Currently JPY 100 is about USD 1.15.

I got on the bike tonight and went out along the river for a night run. It felt soooo good to cycle in the dark and use my atrophying night vision (it's never dark in Tokyo!).

After this week's presentation preparation blitz, today was a bit slow. Busy days are always better than slow days at work because you are challenged, and productive, working to a timeline. Rather than sit around looking for work, I decided to use some of my flex time and come home two hours early. It's nice to get naked, do the laundry, vacuum, clean and basically get all the chores done on a Friday late afternoon while the sun is still out so that the rest of the weekend can be filled up with other enjoyable things!

I gave a stellar, captivating, enjoyoble, humourous and critically important info-packed presentation to the global client today. In my mind anyway...but that is where success is made or broken. It all begins in the mind. As The Universe says, "Thoughts become things. Choose the good ones." And He is so right. What you visualize with all your might, be it good or bad, you get. As Henry Ford said, "Whether you think you can, or think you can't, you're right!" So what is going on in your life right now where you could change your thinking from "can't" to "can"? Do it! Right now. Yes, you can! I love you!

Photos To Previous McBlog

Its too bad I couldnt get these to post in the blog when I accessed it directly throug the keitai web browser. Oh well...

Photos of restaurant I ate at instead of the usual McMondays joint.

If you haven't seen that post ... to sum up... I won't be eating Double Quarter Pounders w/Cheese every Monday for lunch anymore. And I'll only be paying Half of what I'd pay at McDs! But then I'll still go to McDs after a leisurely lunch in a cool, great environment to get good, inexpensive ice (or hot) coffee.

I love you!

No McMore McMonday McDs! McSort of

On the way up the infinite flights of stairs to get out of my station here in Shinjuku I decided to look at the plastic foods on display on two floors on the way up. To my pleasant surprise the lunches all looked edible (with rice) to me and the price is unbeatable.

I have now found a new place to have a full meal with hot tea, Japanese pickles, cabbage, miso soup, (unlimited rice refills) pork cutlets that are VERY crispy in a fantastic environment.

And the price? HALF the price of McDonalds!!! Now I dont have to eat at McDs anymore on Mondays! Yaaaay!!

Here are a few photos of this great restaurant inside the Shinuku Labrynth.

I love you!

Cam

P.S. Lets see how long this lasts because the DQP w/C have more protein. And now I can zip to McDs and get a really cheap coffee for the trip. Rice? One or two bites only...