Masks and oxygen
With all the hysteria over face-masks; those who say masks are starving people of oxygen and those claiming masks can't impede oxygen flow-- and the anger boiling up from both sides-- I decided to do my own experiments.
The argument from the pro-mask cultists is that there is no way the fabric weave of a mask can block the exchange of oxygen or carbon dioxide molecules. They are much too small compared to the weave to be hindered. Which may be true... but I don't believe the flow in and out is instantaneous. This delay does have an effect, which I can feel. The hot, exhaled air lingers long enough to be re-inhaled. Is this a problem?
I bought an oximeter (an over-the-counter unit) right after I was exposed to The Corona. I know wearing a mask causes me to do the face-mask gasp every so often, but is it just due to the heat or due to a lack of oxygen.
I thought I should test this for myself (and for you). So, I did.
Without a face mask, my %SpO2-- oxygen saturation percentage-- runs between 95 and 96 rather regularly. After a few minutes of wearing a mask (an actual face mask and a silk bandana were used separately with the same result), that drops to 93-94. Not a huge difference, but a difference. After a couple of minutes of this I do the face-mask gasp and bring my oxygen back up to maskless levels, but it won't stay there.
Is this really due to the mask? I don't know. Here are some alternative hypotheses...
Maybe I breathe differently while wearing a mask; shallower or less frequent breaths.
Maybe I am too self-conscious of my breathing while wearing a mask.
Maybe the effect is due to the heat build-up.
Maybe this was a fluke and a coincidence that my %SpO2 fell a little just at the time I was wearing the masks.
Maybe my bias skewed the results.
Maybe it was magic, elves, or faeries.
Maybe there's more than one cause.
It seems to me, the claim that masks can't reduce your oxygen levels has been falsified. It's not a big difference, and maybe not enough of a difference to even notice or cause harm. But there was a difference. I now believe all of those saying it can't happen are either lying or are mistaken.
Don't trust me; do your own tests. Listen to your own body.
I feel like a SHTF event is imminent. Notice I don't say I think it is, rather it's just a feeling. Possibly triggered by the upcoming election.
I don't have a crystal ball. I'm almost definitely wrong.
If you can see it coming, it's not going to happen. That's almost a guarantee.
Just like the Coronapocalypse came at us out of nowhere, triggered by unexpected government overreactions to a fairly normal virus, a more serious event will also be a surprise. Consider the Coronapanic a practice run. It should have shown you the holes in your preps if you were paying attention.
I lucked out with the panicdemic because I was ready. Well, maybe it wasn't completely luck; I've prepped for years "just in case", and it finally paid off. I was pretty sure I wouldn't see it coming when it finally happened, and I didn't. But it didn't matter because I stay ready all the time-- and I have done so since well before the Y2K fizzle. I intend to be just as ready, if not more ready, the next time something ...
Sometimes it's good to just listen to people's stories without interrupting, even when you know the stories are nonsense.
My 2nd wife used to tell of a ghost that lived in her house when she was a kid. It was an interesting story even though I didn't believe it. I learned quickly that her family was very prone to believe anything as long as it fit with their magical worldview.
Other people tell me stories about beneficial things political government can do. These stories are no more true-- in the sense of being objective reality-- than ghost stories, but they can still be informative if you want to know which particular superstitions a person is living under.
Interrupt and you'll never hear the whole tale. Listen and you might be entertained by some fantastical tales of magical realms. Just don't bet your life on them being true.
My nature is such that I simply can't see government as a solution to anything. This puts me at odds with most of the rest of my species.
Yes, I think "social media" has become a horror. This doesn't mean I want government to regulate it; it means I think people who don't like it (or are too dumb to know not to take it at face value) should probably stop using it.
The same is true of so many other things I don't like.
Litter/pollution, scammers, sexual predators, abortion, animal cruelty, Hillary Clinton, poverty, drug abuse, pandemics, crime, and all manner of awful things.
I may hate them, but that doesn't mean I want government to step in. Look how often that has the opposite effect anyway; making the original problem worse-- or at least not solving it-- while also creating a host of new problems that never would have existed otherwise (anti-gun legislation being a perfect example).
And even if government intervention doesn't make this specific problem worse this particular ...
