A pleasant encounter 4 years ago

 Looking for any own description on Langsamer Satz by Webern, in my other blog in Japanese, I found a post on a happy meeting with Paula K9IR on 20m CW in 2021. Jim W9VNE seems to have introduced this blog to her. As she said, this blog has inspired her to consider starting violin again in her upcoming retirement. She told me she had played it in her teen age days. Stories on music and cello in this blog has invited, as she said, to do so. It was a delightful surprise to me. I have, as the post says, enthusiastically mentioned about that poignant piece by Webern to her at that time. It has occupied my mind then. Ham radio has been such a pleasant hobby and through such a QSO with her, it was the most brilliant hobby to me. 

I have written about that Webern's piece twice in this blog. It was composed when he met his wife in the future and made hiking with her. He thought he would go with her hand in hand even in rainy days, that is, in the days of hardship in life. He had thought about possible unhappy days at the time of the height of happiness.  

Music such as Bach, some chamber music of Beethoven, Brahms, Faure and many more, always bring me contradictory impressions at the same time. An example is Bach's Suite in h minor. In its ouverture, we hear something joyfully festive and, at the same time, sadness. The latter accentuates the former. This double meaning in some music which sound poignant may be a universal characteristics of music. It is always even mysterious to me. Good music must be resonant to us in the deepest emotion. I might have told this story in another post in the past. Listning to this Langsamer Satz by Webern, I am convinced of this consequence music gives to our mind. I might have mentioned of the same thing in the past. How Webern has composed this piece might correspond to the essential process music elicits.  

It is a bit sad for me not to be able to go on talking about music on CW with her. Someday, I might have a chance to discuss about it on line.

I just wonder if she has started playing violin again.

Listening a few different sources of this piece, I am sure this one by Belcea String Quartet is the best. Most emotional and haunting. Even though I have already posted it on another post.

  

 

Grass mulching

It has been a harsh and blistering summer this year. Before the weather bureau declares it was the hottest summer ever, we knew it had been here. Water melons have half matured but the other half was withered. Some of pumpkins were dried as well. Ocra or paprika was failure as well. Tomatoes were decayed by the heat wave as well as attack of bugs. Egg plants were only exceptions. They have been harvested at regular interval and have been cooked with soy sauce, vinegar and sugar. 

I found this rose was wearied and was almost withered. It is my wife's territory. But I decided to give much grass mulching around it. Then, I have been pouring much water in morning. It has revived as this photo shows. The grass will be decayed and would work as compost for the rose. I realized the egg plants which survived well had been given grass mulching beneath as well. These two cases may prove that grass mulching would really work fine in such a heat wave and drought. 

 I have been practising this grass mulching for several years. This year, I have learned it was really working in the heating drought. In some cases, even live grass, so far as they won't disturb vegetables to grow, could help soil remaining humid. 

Every year, I am learning something from one to another. But I wonder how long I could carry on farming in this way. Farming longa, vita brevis. 

In order to overcome populism

This attitude in education is important. In order to overcome conspiracy which undermine our minds and to eliminate authoritarianism in politics. Both are prevailing in the present world through populism. 

I have not expected to see Bertrand Russel's words shining as a proverb of wisdom after half a century pause since my young days. His works for pacifism, especially anti nuclear arm movement, still remain unforgettable achievement to me.

Quote;

 “Education is conceived more in terms of indoctrination by most school officials than in terms of enlightenment. My own belief is that education must be subversive if it is to be meaningful. By this I mean that it must challenge all the things we take for granted, examine all accepted assumptions, tamper with every sacred cow, and instill a desire to question and doubt. Without this the mere instruction to memorise data is empty. The attempt to enforce conventional mediocrity on the young is criminal.“

— Bertrand Russell, as quoted, in Ronald William Clark, The Life of Bertrand Russell (1976), p. 423

Tariffs in effect

It is only the beginning of the inflation.

The tariffs are paid by the consumer in the importing country. Are there anyone in the US believing the opposite insisted by the president? 

 https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-import-prices-rebound-july-higher-consumer-goods-costs-2025-08-15/?link_source=ta_first_comment&taid=689f7801322c740001753519&utm_campaign=trueAnthem:+Trending+Content&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwY2xjawMO5u1leHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETExeWtqUFk2VzU0REJXeVphAR6R_ov_ayUsarfnHHe-eC7hD5f6WSmSezQ3nsrkSZRJ-ahy6O2trFJ2-pZK7A_aem_kLLrAPNGUw15XGsTpXb5OQ

That huge tariffs will be spent to the tax break for rich people. I hear the government is running austerity which brings about spending cuts for social security like Medicaid. 

Of course, the huge tariffs by the US government would destroy the free trade in the world. It may cause the Great Depression in the world. In that context, the other countries than the US may suffer much from this solitary protectionism. It is, however, still the US people who will be in the greatest difficulty due to this huge tariffs. 

Do you still believe the tariffs would be paid by the exporting countries?

Two mottos

 Two mottos in my ham radio life.

One is "Tell me your story" I got from Steve KF7YRL as follows;

https://nuttycellist-unknown.blogspot.com/2013/12/tell-me-your-story.html

Meaningful conversation would fill our mind. Though it was becoming more and more difficult for me to find our such a conversational QSO, I have tried hard to make each QSO in that way. Steve's operation style was far from what I did. I wonder if he still goes on with a hand key. Already retired from an ER doctor? 

The other is not really a motto but a phrase by Jim W7ZQ which has made my mind warmed whenever I recall it. In the end of every QSO, he used to say that

"It is good to see you today. Because we have been friends since'60s"

I can't remember exactly how he said this but he meant that way. 

His obituary in this blog is here;https://nuttycellist-unknown.blogspot.com/2016/12/jim-w7zq-passed-away.html

I often remember of him with beautiful CW. Of course, it was thanks to his perfect fist. But his Collins radio, S line and 30S1, was also a reason. No click nor distortion of course. Very translucent and mellow tone. I always admired him and his CW. And when he sent the phrase shown above in the end, I always got knock out. I always have made effort to do the same thing in every QSO with others but am not confident at it at all.

If these two mottos were fulfilled in ham radio world, I would have come back to it at once.

The conspiracy theorists are terminating mRNA research in the US

The US government is withdrawing granting the research of mRNA vaccine. The size of grant being terminated is up to 500 million USD. The research on mRNA vaccine has been made since the end of the last century. It is going to bear a lot of fruits in medical science. Whatever unscientific conspiracy might insist, it is definitely a scientific fact that mRNA vaccine against COVID19 virus has saved numerous lives with slightest complication. It is hoped to work in treatments for cancer, autoimmune diseases or inheritec diseases.

This cancellation of mRNA vaccine by the US government would cause delay in medical research resulting in misfortune to the US people and even a big tragedy among them when the next pandemic occurs. The conspiracy theorists won't take any responsibility for those results. 

It is terrifying that such conspiracy theorists, without any background of medicine or related science, are handling such health issues important for the people. The basic problem is that there are some people approving the conspiracy fraud. For what do they believe in such ideas?   

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-02612-9?WT.ec_id=NATURE-20250821&utm_source=nature_etoc&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=CONR_41586_AWA1_GL_DTEC_054CI_TOC-250821&fbclid=IwY2xjawMU0NJleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBicmlkETFFbUp3VHBQNGQ1MVZsanhJAR4ZarOZav2N6jUkp_oJWYGP_6G4amxRkfp6vYFz5rdHkkSdw6Ru32esUWvioA_aem_BZmYutJ3sMPrP8TdHPyn9Q

Tom K5RC passed away

I have already posted it in facebook... Jim N3BB posted a sad news that Tom K5RC had died on Jun 12th. He has closed his station/home in Nevada and has moved to TX close to his family in last winter. I just wondered what had happened to him. Too soon to have this sad news now.

I just would like to add a few words of condolence to him and his family here. It was around late '80s when I became a friend of Tom. He used to be a real big gun in contest and sounded a bit difficult for me to do with then. Having more QSOs with him discussing more about ourselves and such as health issues etc, he has become one of the friendliest guys for me.

In my blog in Japanese, as the earliest post I have mentioned about him, he showed up in Dec 2006. It was regarding a QSO when he was coming home after a long driving trip to Texas on business and then to Tucson seeing his family. He was operating from mobile then. Around that time, the no code license was one of the familiar topics in the US. To my question how it has been brought in the ham radio in the US, he answered two things. One was the demand from the ham radio gear manufacturers which would yield ham radio operators without Morse Code requirement. The other was that there was no requirement of Morse Code for emergency communications. He was laughing telling me not to ask about that topic any more since he had a lot to talk about. He sounded happy having spent good holidays with his child and grandchildren. 

From my point of view, his another contribution to ham radio world was that he had let some friends run his big station, who could not operate much from home. So far as I know, 3 people could run it. Most of all, Ellen W1YL has enjoyed operating it from her apartment in Florida after she had to close down ham radio for several years. When I asked Tom how they divided the operating hours in a day, he answered Ellen was assigned to early morning hours there while the other two were asleep. That was why I often heard her operating 40m with the big Yagi and roared like a ham radio queen in our early evening hours. I always enjoyed chatting with her with a glass of beer. She was so happy being able to talk to her friends all over the world on her beloving mode. Like a real queen or rather a teenage girl so vivid and happy. I have owed much to her those days. Her remote operation has started in 2016 and ended in 2022 when Ellen passed away. Tom sometimes complained how tough it was to keep the station alive but he has made much efforts for Ellen and the others. 

He has made much achievements not only in his profession of risk management and ham radio contesting but also in such philantropic activity in ham radio society. I sure miss such a QSO with him in 2006, one in the good old days. RIP my friend, Tom.