A closing radio parts mall in Akihabara

I have heard a radio parts mall in Akihabara, a downtown famous for electrical items, would be closeed tomorrow. I wanted to go there before it was closed. I left for Tokyo late this morning.

 

The radio parts mall, under the reailroad, is composed of three divisions. I knew only one of them would be closed. The photo shows the entire mall on the opposite side of the street over the pedistrian crossing. The history says it was constructed 64 years ago. One of the three divisions named the Radio Store was closed.

 

 

The mall was not very crowded. Several people were taking photo of the closing mall. Along a narrow passage, where just a couple of people could go through, there were small shops located on each side. Each shop was about 2m wide and 1.5m deep in size. There were always one or two personnel in the back of a shop as this photo shows. Every shop had its speciality. This shop seemed to sell mainly tiny parts of resistor or capacitor etc. Since my teenage days, this outlook has not been changed at all. Most of the items sold there have been changed. I used to attend there once a month grasping small amount of money in a hand. What thrill I have felt looking around for the parts I needed those days!

 

 

There were some foreign people enjoying shopping there. It was the same as in old days. All I have bought were a coil of solder, a soldering iron and a microphone for FT2000. The mic replaced an old one with a trouble and is used for PTT on CW! I should say I got a new stand by switch in stead.  

 

 

It was a fine beautiful day. I have walked from Akihabara up to Ueno. Since my mother school was near there, I used to walk this street in my student days. Gingko trees along the street looked beautifully shining.

 

 

It is a lake in Ueno, named Shinobazunoike, located the western side of Ueno Park. It was at a restaurant close to this lake, where a reception for my elmer, Ralph, WB6BFR, and his wife was held in late '60s.  I and my wife have walked around there as well. A lot of memories. It took me an hour to walk there. I was happy my feet did not complain of such a long walk yet.

 

I was pleased to know all the mall won't disappear. It seems, however, such shops won't go on for too long time since there would be less necessity for such radio parts and the internet shopping might replace it. Anyway, I wish them good luck in their business. It is still a place of my fond memory.

The State Secret Protection bill against The Tshwane Principles

I am rading The Tshwane Principles published at a meeting in S Afr in June this year. It was drafted by 22 organizations and academic centers in consultation with more than 500 experts from more than 70 countries.  The theme is regarding national security and the right to information. It warns that the authority could withold informations from the public for its own interests.

Our government is going to enact the state secret protection bill at present. It is clearly against the above mentioned Principles with respect to the following points;

1)The bill won't specify what would be the secrets to be protected. The head of the administrative organs could designate them without letting the public know of even the existence of designation.

2)The range of secrets is too diverse covering all aspects of the lives of the public. It could influence on us in serious manner. There is not any law effective to publish informations in the administrative organs yet.

3)The government says they will make effort to establish an oversight center independent of the administrative authorities. But it is just an empty promise. The entire course of enacting this bill means they won't place any such center which would tie their freedom in enforcement of this law.

4)The secrets the heads of the administrative organs designate won't be published in the future if the authority wishes. The secrets won't be critisized by the history. It would make a moral hazard of the administrative authorities.

I am sure this law could determine what shape of the country Japan would take in the future. It is as important as our constitution. The present government, which had been established with approval to the LDPJ by only 20% of votes in the election last year doesn't have the right to enact such a law. 

It is a great disappointment the public is almost indifferent to this problem. They seem to be occupied with the apparent picking up buisiness situation, which has been resulted only from the accidental drop of our currency. In addition to it, the public was given the freedom in life without any efforts. That may be the reason why they could be indifferent to it.

"Die zwei blauen Augen von meinem Schatz"

This is the last song in "Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen" by Mahler. Mahler has composed not only the music but also the words. The theme is a heartrending lost love, which he has experienced by himself.

 

I used to play this music as a member of orchestra twice. Firstly, at the med school orchestra. It was a very tough music for a beginner cellist due to the changing tonality as well as the swinging rhythm. The next chance came to me when I came back with cello in my early fifties. I have enjoyed the music as well as the words very much.

 

This last music was especially impressive to me. It seems Mahler has compromised with his fortune in this music. In the middle portion, the music sounds bright and warm in major tonality. Basically, however, it is a funeral march. In the very end, there sounds a deeply dark and pessimistic chord. The basic motif slowed down as if the travellor had breathed the last.

 

Dieskau in his young days sings dramatically in this recording. One of the best performances for this music.  

 

 

Comparison of the Status Agreements in different countries.

Since I have questioned about the fairness in the Japan US Status Agreement, a friend of mine in the US asked me to compare it with the same kind of the agreement of the US with the other countries. I understood he meant the agreement of the military status of the US with the other countries. So far as I know, here are the comparisons.

In Germany, which is also one of the defeated nations in WWII, the flights of the US military aircrafts are under the control of the German domestic law, which determines the areas being prohibitted the low altitude flights. In Japan, the flights of the US military aircrafts are out of the control of the domestic law. They could fly at any altitude in any place whatever dangerous it might be.  There have been sue cases against such flights at many places in Japan. The court decision has been for the plaintiff of the people suffering the hazard and strain from the flights. But our courts deny to judge if the presence of the US military is against the huma rights defined by our constitution. Those cases always end with payment of some money to the plaintiff by our government.

In Italy, another defeated nation, the US military stationed there should get permission from the Italian government and/or Italian military when the US military makes any military training operation. The US military is supposed to inform about their operation prior to its execution. The low altitude flights are actually prohibitted. The US military flights in Japan, as described in the previous paragraph, are not regulated by our domestic law. According to the Japan US Status Agreement, the US military aircrafts could fly and execute any training operations as the inter-base flights anywhere in Japan.

In Korea, the regional government has the right to investigate on the pollution by some toxic substances to the land/property of the US military base . In case that any pollution was found, the US military is responsible for the decontamination. In Japan, the regional government is not capable of investigation the possible pollution. Even in case that pollution becomes evident, the US military won't be responsible for the normalization. In Korea, the government knows how many personnel of the US military are located in the country. It has not been grasped by our government. The US military personel are free at entering and exiting our country. No immigration nor emmigration for them in Japan.

In Iraq, the US military has already withdrawn from the country. The Iraq US Status Agreement says
1)The date of the withdrawal of the US military was definitely determined.
2)Though the escape clause for crime is almost the same as with our agreement, Iraqi authority had the right to sue any private company from the US.
3)It is prohibitted for the uS military to attack the neighbor countries from the bases in Iraq.
4)Iraqi authority had the right to investigate any cargo etc on ships belonging to the US.
Our system is almost totally opposite to this content of the Iraq US Status Agreement. The Iraqi officials are told to have investigated about the Japan US Status Agreement before they concluded theirs with the US. What an irony!

In Phillipines, after the political change by Aquino, they have founded the new constitution, which realized the withdrawal of the US military from Phillipines. Phillipines has not got any disadvantage in the territorial issues even after the US military withdrawal. Phillipines has concluded a mutual defence treaty with the US and has been in good relationship with the latter.

~~~

I believe the US military should withdraw from our country. Afterward, they should conclude another treaty in fairness. I know some of our politicians and bureaucrats are getting profits or advantages from the present suboridanating relationship. We should be aware of that and speak against to the present system. In addition, hopefully, American people pay a bit of attention to this issue and would know what is going on here. I believe it will straighten our relationship for now.

At present, a law to protect from espionage is going to be made in the congress here. I believe it will work to hide things disadvantageous to the authorities here like this problem. It might fix the problem as stated here. The problem must go underground or get hidden with the new law. I hope as many people as possible will be concerned about it.

Anisakis

Anisakis is a parasite which could be found in raw seafood like squid or salmon. I thought its infection or infestation had been a rare event. But, when talking about it with my wife a few days ago, I have heard from her that a lady who used to prepare our dinner told her that she had found that parasite from time to time in raw squid.

This story may mean the case of anisakis infestation is not a rare problem but it could occur around myself. Anisakis could be killed by freezing the food. Chewing when eating certain food is also helpful to kill it. The gastric acid might be also a barrier to have Anisakis reach the gastric wall. But some could reach the gastric wall and infest it causing very bad stomachache. In the case of stomachache by Anisakis, you should undergo an endoscopic procedure and take it away from the stomache.

It is quite problematic that fresh raw seafood could cause this problem more easily. I have had raw seafood for thousands of times without any stomachache. There could be some genetic vulnerability for this infestation. I should study about that. But no one could assure I won't have the problem tomorrow.  So Dennis' comment on the risk of parasite infection is not negligible. And Don's belief Kirin would pasteurize the parasite doesn't seem practical either.

PS:After uploading this article, I found this review abstract. It won't mention about the genetic diversity in host defence against this parasite. There seem to be two pathophysiological causing problems in human being. One is the direct infestation. The other is an anaphylaxis via specific IgE. The immunogenetic factor must be involved in the latter. The severer allergological symptoms should occur only in selected cases determined by the immunogenetic trait.

Eur Ann Allergy Clin Immunol. 2012 Aug;44(4):150-6.

Anisakis simplex: current knowledge.

Pravettoni V, Primavesi L, Piantanida M.

Source

Clinical Allergy and Immunology Unit, Foundation IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, via Pace, 9, 20122 Milan, Italy. v.pravettoni@policinico.mi.it

Abstract

Anisakiasis, firstly described in 1960s in the Netherlands, is a fish-borne parasitic disease caused by the consumption of raw or undercooked fish or cephalopods contaminated by third stage (13) larvae of the Anisakidae family, in particular Anisakis simplex (As), A. pegreffii and Pseudoterranova decipiens. Every year, approximately 20,000 cases of anisakiasis were reported worldwide, over 90% are from Japan and most others in Spain, the Netherlands and Germany, depending on the habits of fish consuming. Live As larvae can elicit i) a parasitic infection of the digestive tract or, occasionally, other organs, causing erosive and/or haemorrhagic lesions, ascites, perforations until granulomas and masses, if larva is not removed, and ii) allergic reactions, as anaphylaxis, acute/chronic urticaria and angioedema. Like other parasite infestations, As larva induces an immune adaptive response characterised by T-lymphocyte proliferation with polyclonal and monoclonal (responsible for As allergic symptoms) IgE production, eosinophilia and mastocytosis. Several As allergens, many of which thermostable, were described In particular the major allergen Ani s 1 and Ani s 7 could characterized a past or a recent infection. There is a general agreement that an active infection is required to initiate allergic sensitivity to Anisakis. Until now, the only effective treatment for anisakiasis is the endoscopic removal of live larvae and the best protection against anisakiasis is to educate consumers about the dangers of eating raw fish and to recommend avoiding the consumption of raw or inadequately thermally treated marine fish or cephalopods. 

A fancy dinner

It was the special dinner day yesterday. We went to a French restaurant near by. Not so many people there even though it was a week end. We have had a course of French cuisine. Very good. An elegant and delicate outlook. Complicated tastes in a dish. But we won't return there for a while. Too heavy for our stomach!

 

 

 

We have talked of our wedding ceremony 35 years ago. I noticed how much we owed to our parents. It was a ceremony for ourselves but not for the others, we concluded. It took us so many years until we noticed that.

For the remaining years in our lives, we should go on by ourselves. While taking oily foie gras and beef steak there, we stressed how necessary it was for us to take good amount of vegetables.

I wish we would come back here together for the celebration of the wedding anniversary next year.

The Japan US Status Agreement

Recently, I have noticed since I started working in the garden almost every day that there were many helicopters and cargo airplanes were flying over in this area. Almost no interval between those flights in the daytime. They are not at the low altitude, so that they won' t be so noisy as that disturbing our lives. But I wondered where they came from and went to. I haven't reached any conclusion about that yet. It seemed not a private planes or helicopters, but, most likelily, those belonging to the Air Self Defence Force, ADSF, or the US Military. There are still a couple of air force bases 20 or 30 miles away in the both directions they have flown to and from. 

From a book regarding the Japan US Status Agreement based on the Japan US Security Treaty, I have learned that there are 7 training routes of the US Military airplanes or helicopters. They extend
all over our country except for the big city areas. It seemed a route in Tohoku area could be involved those flights in this area. The Status Agreement says that the US Military aireplanes or helicopters could fly anywhere in Japan as the inter-base flights. In the training route, they are told to fly as low as 200 ft even in the residential areas like in Okinawa.  It is against our domestic law which prohibits flight below 500 ft anywhere. Of course, so is it in the US. The flights of US Military are out of the control by the law of either country.

A number of the Ospreys, the cargo hellicopter famous for a number of serious accidents and called as the widow maker, have been stationed in Japan. According to the Status Agreement, they must be in the training on those routes above mentioned. I have heard, with the citizens' protests, the flights of this hellicopter were given up or postponed in such as New Mexico or Hawaii. On the other hand, despite of a powerful protests against its flights in Okinawa, those hellicopters are still stationed and are in the training. The people are living just next to the air force bases. They also have experienced a crash accident at a university several years ago.  Okinawa has 74% of the US Military bases in Japan despite of its small size of land, 0.6% of the whole land in Japan. It would be too late if we are aware of the risk the flight gives to them at ceratin crash accident in the future. Something is wrong.

The Japan US Status Agreement and its related secret agreement have a number of rules one sided to the US Military. For examle, in addition to the above mentioned free flight by the US Military anywhere in Japan, any suspect of a crime are supposed not to be accused so far as the crime is not serious. Even serious crime cases are accused at lower rate than that committed by  japanese suspects. The suspects of the US Military and of the service personnel/families are not arrested by our police until they are accused. And there are many more examples of the one sided rules. It was a real surprise to me. Even compared with the US Status Agreements with the other countries like Korea, germany, Italy or Iraq, this Agreement is too one sided in a variety of fields. Not fair.
   
A friend of mine, a US citizen, told me in an SNS that the US military has been working for the security of Japan for years. Yes, it is a right insight. But the Japan US Security law says we, Japanese, should do with any friction with the other country by ourselves for the first place.  It is a common sense in the international society. We won't claim the US Military should do more than this. It has been almost 70 years since the end of the war and 61 years since the San Francisco Peace Treaty was concluded. Those unfair rules may not be related with the aim of the security treaty now. 

Of course, it is not due to the indifference of the US Military but also to the unwillingness or indifference of our politicians and the officials, especially, in the Minstry of Foreign Affairs. They should negotiate and reform the Status Agreement as that suitable for a independent nation. It seems there are, in this Agreement, a culture to regard the relationship to a certain country more important than the right of the people, or, I suspect, rather something profitable to them. The relationship with the US is distorted and giving rise to much defect in our society.   

The relationship with the US still remains one of the most important ones in the world for Japan. Personally, I have so many good friends in the US. I felt, however, it is the time for us to straighten our relationship at present. Hopefully, my friends will be interested in this issue.

The 35th wedding anniversary

It is our 35th wedding anniversary today.

We were class mates at a med shcool and got married on this day in a year 35 years ago. Serving residency at the same hospital, having children, building own home here and my retirement. Surely, a lot of water has flowed under the bridge. I feel I have owed much to my wife. It is the time for me to support her. I am feeling thankful to be blessed with such a chance to live closer each other again. May our health be blessed for a while.

We are going to have a fancy dinner tomorrow.

My wife before use 35 years ago. It was in a short honey moon in Izu peninsula.

An improper fight of TSS against JARL

TSS seems to fight against JARL. TSS is a private company which the ministry of telecom in Japan has commissioned the right to guarantee the ham radio gear to each licensee. The guarantee process is done just on document basis. Their paper work guarantees each equipment as legitimate. I have described about this guarantee sysytem here.

Well, what fight is going on? JARL has paid half a million USD equivalent to TSS for the cost of maintaining the membership redord system. Since JARL has been in financial difficulties for the past 2 decades or even longer, the new committee of JARL has decided to end the contract with TSS. Twenty % of our annual fee has been spent for the maintenance of the membership record by TSS. They announced cancelling the contract to TSS one year prior to the date according to the contract provided. But TSS has not easily agreed with that cancellation. TSS insisited to continue the relationship or that JARL should pay 1.2 million USD for the data base. TSS dared to have the web site of JARL frozen and to have made the data base inaccessible by anyone.

No definite action from JARL has not been published yet. But this seems a case that TSS shoud be sued for their behaviour against the contract and for the compensation for the loss JARL has suffered from.

TSS is rumored to have been in close relationship with the former president of JARL. This company is also suspected to have some retired people from the related administrative agencies as its personnel. What a corruption and disgrace if they are true! 

TSS is not appropriate for outsourcing the paper work of "guranteeing" ham radio gear. Moreover, the guarantee process is not necessary for ham radio. The licensing system should be comprehensive, that is, permitting all bands/modes/power to a certain class of licensee. This guarantee system should be totally deregulated at once.

The Watarase Valley and the Kasuo Pass

I went for a drive to a mountain area. It is named The Watarase Valley, which runs north to south between the northern area of Gunma and the north western part of Tochigi Prefecture. The Watarase River runs on the bottom of the valley. There is a famous railway named The Watarase Vally Railway running along the river.

 

A news told that the foliage getting colorful in the valley. It has brought me to this area. As it is often told, it attracts me a lot that those colorful leaves are shining in the last moment of their lives. Not only the beauty but the fact they complete their lives in this way could not help fascinating me. It was a lonely drive again but I believed there was W6CYX, Bob Warmke, on the side seat. He has always given me generous comments on my travel stories in the blog or in face book. When I complained of my solitude during drives, he kindly told me he was always with me on the side seat. 

 

Before leaving home, a snap shot for our garden. A few trees such as a kind of azalea or a kind of maple had leaves turned colorful.. Not very brilliant but still shining its last lives in the sunray.

 

 

There was an artificial lake on the way. It was born by a dam keeping back the water of the river. There was a souvenir shop and a restaurant beside this lake. I took late lunch there. I won't recommend you to have any meal at the restaurant  if you should have a chance to visit there. Even the souvenir items were a kind of cheating. Bob may shout to me loudly that there shold be competition in the market, or the businesses would get lousy and inefficient. Reluctantly, I am for his saying in this situation.

 

 

Further north of the dam lake, there was a town, Ashio, famous for the cupper mining which continued its operation until immediately after WWII. The industry has polluted the river with cupper containing toxic compounds. It has caused intoxication of farming products downstream in the farming area. It was in the era of Meiji.

 

A politician, named Shozo Tanaka, has fought against the nation and the mining company to get rid of the pollution and even appealed directly to the Emperor. It was a tough movement which no other politicians than Tanaka participated. By the government in those days, a village downstream was forced to  be turned to a big reservoir downstream. It meant the village had to disappear. Tanaka has lived in that village until the end of his life resisting that political action. He has dedicated himself and all of his own fortune to this movement. They say all he had at the end of his life was a new testament and a constitution book. All his fortune was donated to the movement resisiting the government and the company. Even though his action has not pulled off, his words and life have been regarded a pioneer in the anti environental pollution. It was a firm base for the same kind of social movements against environmental pollution in the following age.

 

Ashio town was quiet. Seemingly no industry. A few old ladies were slowly walking along the street. No much traffic. The railway station building was a tiny wooden one without any personnel there. The old building reminded me of those in '60s. It had the wall made of darkened woods with the tile-roof. No passengers were in there. I forgot taking a photo. There must be some tourists coming to this station on holidays.  

 

Off the trunk road, I came up on s small road at an skirt of a mountain in Ashio. In the left side on this photo, there was a river where this road was running along. Maples were still beautifully shining in yellow reflecting the sunray. I have met only very few people walking there. Almost no traffic.

 

 

 

 

The trunk road would lead me to Nikko, anther famous national park, in 30 minutes or so. I decided, however, to go over a ridge toward east, the way to my home. This pass, named Kashio Tohge, was only 4000 feet high. But, since the both sides were quite low in altitude, the slope was pretty steep. The road was winding so much that I felt almost a bit nauseous on the way. Some twenty five years ago, I have taken my wife and our 2nd son up here. There was a ranch on the ridge, where a couple of my ham friends, JH1TVZ and JH1HDX, used to operate a contest there over a night. We have visited them. They served us cooked food there, a little bit less salty than ideal. JH1TVZ was really serious at contesting while Mamo JH1HDX was just playing with it. We have become good friends since those days. Unfortunately, Mamo has died from leukemia a few years ago. Remembering of him, I stayed at a peak for a while. I could see the other ridge of mountains through colorful leaves and half naked trees. 

 

 

On the way heading back home, there was a river along the road. Another fall scenery there. There were very few people around there. Very quiet. It was quite near to the plain area. My wife used to work at a big hospital several miles east of this place. Don't imagine auch a quiet place as this around that hospital. It was surely in a messy downtown there. I was happy to see that this countryside had been preserved as it used to be a couple f decades ago.

 

 

 

A fine gingko tree along the river. Very beautiful. The leaves were really burning in golden yellow. Isn't is wonderful to have ourselves burning quietly as well as brightly like this tree in our last days of life? Trees are destined to live in a given place. They won't have any free will like human beings. Really, it is not their last days. The tree itself might survive and ressurect next spring. The leaves are still finishing their lives. Can I go on living my last years of life like this gingko tree?

 

 

On the way back home, there was the med school hospital I was working some 30 years ago. The roads were renewed and the surrounding was greatly changed. I was almost lost even with the navigation device on the car. Smiling bitterly, I ran around and finally found the right route back home.

Crysanthemum in full bloom

Chrysanthemum, called as Kiku in Japan, is fully blooming. There are a few clusters of this flower in the garden. My father used to grow them years ago. Maybe 20 or even 30 years ago. It is a gift from my father. I wondered what I could leave for our children. Fortune if there is any? No, it is of no use for them to live. Any thing more than that? I was asking myself about this when I watched those beautiful flowers.

Prefer writing a mail in calmness to blurting in high speed

Round table QSOs with QRQ/QSK are kind of fascinating to us in a sense. Just like yakking around a table on this mode, they enjoy free conversation. I fully understand what they would like to do. In my biginner days, I yearned for such QSOs made by Ed, K6NB, Trevor, VK2NS and their group on 40m every evening here in our time. Steve or Jack, WA7HJV, are yakking around a morning coffee table on 40m lately. I just listen them for a min or two and then leave there.

For the past years, my view has changed greatly regarding this problem of operation style. In my view, CW communication is comparable to writing/reading a letter. In the previous post, I have quoted some articles of neuroscience which revealed that the brain areas responsible for reading and writing are activated when the examinees are trained for CW. I believe CW communication gives us, or at least, to me, the same pleasure as writing and reading text. Expressing watching the others' QSO as "reading a mail" is really hitting the mark. It is of no much meaning for me to pursue faster QSOs.  But, whatever we may talk about in CW conversation, it is better for us to consider for a while what and how to tell about our idea or feeling to the other on this mode. Then we do send them with a keyer or any key. Then it will be our turn to listen to what the other thinks or feels. This way of conversation may take more time than QRQ/QSK style but give us, in my view, a calm and deeper pleasure.  

Actually, my gear is not working smoothly with full QSK. And I am not good at witty conversation in a round table QSO. There are some practical issues or barriers for me to join such a QSO. But, even with these issues solved, I won't join such a QSO on regular basis. The reason is what I wrote in the previous paragraph. I would pursue something meaningful in CW conversation. It may be a QSO which leaves me a calm pleasure. It is not an issue of better choice but just a problem of liking.

We may take a cell phone if we would like to yak with friends.

A gamble

Tokyo Electric Power Co.(TEPCO) announced they would start transferring the nuclear fuel, used and unused, from the cooling pool on the 5th story of the 4th reactor building to the new pool on the ground.

The 4th reactor building has been destroyed by the hydrogen explosion at the accident and could be easily fallen down by further earthquake or another natural disaster. The pool contains over 1500 nucelar fuels, mostly used ones which could be highly radioactive and could harm people once they get out of the water. The other reactors also have a cooling pool, respectively, which still contains hundreds of nuclear fuels. Those pools are not easily accessible due to the high radioactivity. These are the reasons why they are starting the process of transfer at the 4the reactor.

A new crane was built at the 4th reactor building. It will take out each fuel into a cask weighing 100 tons. There could be debris or the other materials in the pool. Some fuels could be destroyed by them as well. It is not so easy for them to do this process due to those uncertain factors.

The pulled out fuels would be transferred from the 5th floor to the ground by the crane. The height is 30m. They insist that the doubled wires would safely hang down casks. But what safety coefficient have they taken for the crane against jolting due to such as a strong earthquake? Is it safe enough? They stated that they had done a drop test of the cask. But the height in the test is only 17m. Why not 30m? These informations mean they have hastened to transfer the fuels there.

The head at the nuclear power plant told they would escape from the nuclear plant as soon as a cask is destroyed falling down on the ground in this process. In such a situation, no wonder, they should inevitably run away there. But it means the nuclear plant is abandoned at that time. It is estimated more than ten times of the radioactive substances in Chernobyl would be spread into the surroundings. Then, they forecast, the contamination would make it impossible to reside in the Eastern Japan including Tokyo. It means the country won't exist as it has been at that time.

Yes, it is a unavoidable gamble. The government is eager to establish a NSC like organization in japan. But our security is jeopardized in this way from the inner aspect of the country, not from foreign countries. The government seems indifferent to the real crisis.

Cabbage roll

My favorite. The longer they be cooked, the more tasty they would become. Two of us have had 8 of cabbage roll in 3 days!

Is it a smart way of operation?

When someone calls me, he/she often gives me only his/her call. DE , K or even my call is omitted. It makes me puzzled from time to time. With a filter of 400Hz on as always, their frequency could be a bit off from mine. There could be a delay in timing they start calling me. In both situation, I am not sure if I am called by him/her. When they are not loud enough, it is even more perplexing to me.

Omitting such as DE, K or my call in calling me could spare time for him/her. I could hardly believe so. If I could not be sure I was called, we should spend some long time to confirm that. Or do they believe that omitting that way is a kind of smart and modern operation? They should be disciplined to send message in most understandable way in communication of this mode.

Sometimes, I am inclined not to respond to them at all. Could I cope with such callers in that way?

Giving my call and DE, K etc when calling me is an orthodoxical method. There are reasons for that. It enables me to recognize you calling me easily. Your signal might not be so loud as you hear me. Or your rig is offsetting the grequency from me a bit.

In addition, I hope them not to end their message in transmission with BK without any identification. They do that all of sudden. I am sometimes frightened listening them in relaxation with my feet on the operaating table. In such a case, I should rush sitting back on my chair with back straight again. Apart from that my move in the shack, I should get ready for next transmission abruptly. This kind of operator always starts with the above mentioned style. To those BK senders, I would finish the QSO as soon as possible.

Sending identifications in the beginning and ending of transmission is necessary for the audience to recognize you and me and for me to get ready for my turn.

There is time enough.

It was an earthquake that made my amp out of work.

The amp won't be turned on. After it has worked trouble free for almost 15 years, was it finally acting up? ......I should bring this heavy box for repair to a dealer....sighing.....To make it sure, I have looked at its power line code beneath the table.

The plug was out of the socket! There was a plaque for the JIDXC lying next to the plug on the floor. It had been hung on the wall. Some time ago, this afternoon, we have had a pretty big earthquake of Richter scale 4 here. It has made the plaque fallen, which hit the plug to be pulled out. No other things fallen on the floor.

Inserting the plug into the socket, I found the amp working OK. And, recalling there have been a couple of contests going on now, one in Eu and the other in USA, I smiled bitterly to myself. I won't need turnig on the gear today. The high bands were full of contesters with very strong signal. Looking at the plaque on the wall, I told myself it was a way of enjoyment for them. Nothing to be blamed.

We have had much more earthquakes for the past years. They forecast there could be another big one hitting western Japan or Tokyo. It could be a real big disaster for us again. It is not a matter of fallen plaque or something like that. Hundreds thousand people are expected to be killed by the quake as well as the accompanying tsunami. Are we ready for that? I don't believe we have any room in badget to spend for the Olympic games in 2020.

Squid with Japanese radish

Squid is boiled with soy sauce, sake and so forth. It should be for not longer than 5 or 6 min. Or squid could become firm. In the same seasoning, Japanese radish with a bit of ginger is cooked for some 10 min. Then, both of materials are mixed on a dish. Very simple. We love it very much.

 

I could hear some friends in foreign countries claim they won't try such as squid. They won't know one of the good things in the world throughout their lives. Sorry for that.

 

 

Punishment won't solve the problem

I stayed up very late last night. I was watching a video clip which showed discussions at a committee in the congress held in the daytime yesterday. The Ministry of  Justice would enact a law to punish severer to those who give rise to traffic accidents. The authority told they would take the symptoms as the important thing, but not the diagnoses themselves. But it is related with the punishment by criminal law, so that the factors composing the crime should be clearly defined, that is, they would regard each illness as the factor.

A couple of witnesses, who represent certain academic societies related with this matter, have told clearly against the authority in this way.

There is no evidence that those with epilepsy or psychiatric illnesses cause more traffic accidents than the other normal population. Nevertheless, millions of people will be badly affected by this law.

The article that defines those with illnesses being excluded from application of this law actually requires that a ceratin driver is illness free. It contradicts itself.

There are already prejudice worsened against those with the illnesses in the society. It is clearly related with the move toward this law. If the psychiatric illnesses should be related with any traffic accident, the relationship is the same as that in the other kinds of illnesses.

It seems that the authority has hastened to enact this law by "the public opinion" . There have been a few serious traffic accident cases reported by the mass media. They attracted public attention because they had been caused by alcoholics or an epilepsy patient without medication. They should have listened to what the professional doctors would comment on that before they proposed the draft.

They should withdraw the draft and go on discussing how to prevent such accidents. Punishment won't solve the problem.

A drive up to the mountains

 

I have made a drive to a high land marsh north west of here. It is named Senjyogahara, which means a battole field in japanese. An old legend tells there have been battles among the gods in the mountains over there. It seems what the name came from. It belongs to a national park.

 

I used to drive up there a few times in the past. Years ago when I was driving to my office, I often looked up there and, leaving all the duties behind, I would go for driving over there. Of course, it has never come true. It was the chance for me to do that now. It was not, however, so exciting as I had imagined since I quit my work for now. The more duties I had those days, the more fascinated I felt by the scenery in the mountain. That may be the truth.

 

I used to come this area once a month for work. I stayed at a hospital for all day from Sunnday morning to Monday morning. My duty was to care for all the outpatients as well as the inpatients. It could be a real burden to a young pediatrician. But I didn't feel that way those days. The hospital was still there on the way to the mountain area. It used to be a private hospital and has become a municipal one for now. Early in Monday morning, I used to buy some bread at a store on the opposite side of the street and rushed to the dorm house in a med school where my wife and our elder son were waiting for me. The bakery was already closed there.

 

Travelling in woods this time in a year is called as "hunting for the colorful foliage" here in Japan. The fall has been deepened there. The colorful leaves have welcome me. Some of them have already fallen on the ground. I went up steep slopes to a lake near to the marsh.

 

 

 

There is a big lake named Chuzenjiko at almost 3000ft of altitude. It was quiet on the lake even though the traffic was still terrible around it. There were a number of souvenir shops at a shore. Being off kinda season right now, some of them were closed. In summer, there should be many people enjoying boating on this lake.

 

 

A famous hotel restaurant along the beach. I gave up taking lunch there since it was full of people. The bakery I used to buy bread on the way home from the work at the hospital belonged to the same hotel.

 

 

Finally, I arrived at Senjyogahara. It is a marsh born by the activity of a volcano stopping flow of a river. It is about 3500 ft in altitude and has 400 ha of land in it. It was covered by dead plants of low height. Again, very quiet. It was late fall there. But the breeze over the marsh was a bit warm.

 

 

There were a number of trees standing in the marsh. The marsh was surrounded by high mountains. A river was running in the center, which ended as a big fall on the south eastern corner of the marsh.

 

 

White birch trees were beautiful there. There were clusters of the other kind of trees as well. There were groups of pupils taking lunch under them. A peaceful scenery.

 

Having gone up a mountain on a winding road, I got through to village on the opposite side of the ridge. There were much less tourists. It was much more favorable. I forgot taking photos. When I asked a girl at a souvenir shop if it was always so quiet without many tourists, she answered there would be more people when it got late fall. Uttering that it has been already late enough, I bought some apples there for a souvenir to my wife. I would bring her there next time.