The high education is facing to further difficulty.

In Japan, the Min. of Edcuation and Science has selected 37 universities for Super Global Universities and Global Universities. They would get special subsidy of from 1 to 5 million USD per a year. Those universities have been "relatively" wealthy due to their size, fame and history. This special subsidy won't mean much for their budget size. It also requires them to lead to any visible result in certain period. It would hardly help them bringing up the basic science, which often takes a long time to produce any meaningful result.

On the other hand, the authority has been reducing the subsidy to the universities by 1% every year. The above mentioned special subsidy would be an excuse to reduce further the subsidy to the other universities. I often heard they have been hard up for the finance at the other universities. Less number of the staff, less budget for research and so forth.

In addition, they are told to diminish or convert the fundamental studies like philosophy to any other subjects, that are more pragmatic for profit. What a shortsighted view! In our country, we don't have much natural resources. The only social resource is highly educated people. Real cutting edge as well as unique innovation comes from basic research in subjects like math or philosophy etc. This wrong policy of the administrative organ would make the high education, and eventually our country itself, face to further crisis. 

Couldn't it be other than a bribery?

Planned increment of consumption tax; 3 trillion JPY

Planned decrement of corporation tax; 1 trillion JPY

Proposed political donation to the LDPJ (the dominating party) by the Federation of Economic Organizations in Japan; 1 hundred million JPY

Couldn't the political donation be other than a bribery?

The government won't reduce its debt but rather increase it.

It also announces to reduce the budget for social security expenses.

Is it a social fairness? I doubt it.

Two categories of enjoyment of CW

The true or original W1AW is being heard on 21067.5KHz. 589. It seems to send the message of some QST article for CW reception practice. But otherwise nothing heard on the band. I have repeated calling CQ for over 10 times without any caller. The band sounds as if dead though ionosphere wise it is alive, or rather most active in the last phase of height in solar cycle.

I have experienced the plateau of the solar cycles for 5 times since '60s except in "70s. Unfortunately, the overall activity is steadily dropping so far as the ordinary QSO on CW is concerned. In the next cycle, those enjoying the ordinary QSOs must be the endangered species in the world. No, possibly, they won't survive until the next plateau.

I believe enjoyment of CW is divided into two categories. One is that they enjoy it as a tool of communication. Merely a tool replaceable to any other mode. They would use this mode for its simplicity and handiness. They are concerned about how many QSOs or how many entities they would work. All they do is just exchanging call signs and numbers like report or contest number. It is only exchanges of symbols. No other meaning in their communication.

The other is those enjoying CW for its intrinsic logic or process. Reception of meaning of the message sent on this mode is involved with highly intellectual process if it may be being aware of or not. Ragchewing or reading mails on this mode could give us pleasure so far as this process is concerned with it. It is not related with the attitude to CW stated above. It might be rather contrary to this enjoyment. Those who know this process are inclined to know the other people through the QSOs. They don't care for how many they work. It is the depth of qualitative aspects of QSOs they are concerned about.

The overall decrease in the ordinary QSO activity might be only due to the less number of CW operators. However, I am afraid those belonging to the first category may be overwhelming the latter. The first would never live long in ham radio. They would get bored with it or would face to the limit as any other quantitative extension does in human society. It may result in the overall decrease in CW activity.

And so what? Maybe, there is little room for me to do with this trend. Just enjoying it as I have done with it for decades. The last brilliance before it is lost in the darkness of the history. 

Cluster amaryllis telling what season it is now.

It will be the national holiday of autumnal equinox tomorrow. This season is called Higan, which is the buddhistic anniversary when we should consider of the life after death.

It is the time as well when cluster amaryllis comes out. The flower comes out accurately in this season. On the stem growing quickly, the flower with complicated outlook comes out. This delicate outlook might have reminded the ancient epople of the heaven, where they thought they would spend lives after death.

There are some clusters of this flower in our garden. They were planted by my father almost 20 years ago. The flower tells us it is the equinox season now. He might tell us to consider how to live for good death.

 

A close up.

 

 

Steamed pumpkin

 

A simple recipe. 1/4 cuts of pumpkin. Seasoned with 15ml of soy sauce, 15ml of sweetened sake, 10ml(mg) of sugar and 15ml of udon soup. Wrapped and steamed in microwave for 10 min. Cooled for sometime after steamed. Pretty good. Rich like chestnut.

 

DXpedition

Again, at our sunset today, I was called by a weak DX on 40m. It was PZ5AA operated by a JA ham, JH1ROJ. He and his company seemed to have just started DXpedition there for 5 days. Even though we could hardly converse enough, I knew how much he was excited to hear JA from PZ. I wished him good luck and much fun. This QSO has reminded me of our trip to Cambodia in 1991. I went there with JH0FBH and  JH1OJU, who are not on the radio any longer.

I have written about that trip to XU somewhere. After a hectic night at the transit lobby of Bangkok International airport, a small propellar plane has brought us to Phnom Phen. It was already October but was still burning hot. I remember the heat reflecting from the asphalt on us when we landed there. Sokun, the operator of XU8DX, and some personnel were welcoming us at the small lobby. Our one week stay has started that way. At that time, it was just after the civil war had ended. There was curfew imposed at night. Having operated XU0JA until late at night, we were scared to hurry to the hotel from the PTT where the station was located. No one on the street. Still muggy and quiet. Since XU was not so common as right now, we have had huge pile ups especially from Western Europe and East Coast. A fun to handle the pile ups. For me, that fun won't last longer than an hour. I always got bored. Maybe, I was born to be a ragchewer but not a DXpeditioner.

I was sure Isao JH1ROJ was feeling the same way as we were those days. Though I won't experience that heat and mess again, I could understand what he had felt there.

My DXing days have already gone.

Cooked pumpkin

We have cropped several pumpkins in the garden farm this year. They taste pretty good. They are cooked for boiled vegetables or this cooked pumpkin. The latter is a simple dish of pumpkin simmered with small amount of soy sauce, sake, sweetened sake and sugar.  Pumpkin could taste good or not very good being dependent on the kind, the environmental factors such as fertilizer or sunshine or the timing of harvest. This one was a hit. It tastes sweet and, how should I say, full bodies taste like chestnut. Both of us would take all the pumpkins harvested for the coming week or two.

 

The main dish was yellowtail and radish which I had already uploaded in the past. This was another success. My wife was uttering in spite of herself as "This is delicious!" while eating it.  

 

 

 

The path to UK is fully open

Getting up early in the morning today, I started watching 20m. It has given a great opening to both Eu and NA at the same time. The East Eu which is always a wall for us to go over seemed to be skipping. No worry for their endless calls in breach from those in the East Eu. Longer distance was really good. After talking to an old friend of mine, Al W1FJ and a couple of Eus, I have had a nice QSOs with 3 G guys in a row. One of them was old Ron G3KTZ. He might be around 79 years of age. He has had a steady and proficient fist handling the paddle. 

At first, he compared his antennas, a dipole and an end fed wire. No change with either antenna. His set up is a kind of standard in UK, which makes us thrilled to listen to. Fortunately, since the condition was really stable with less noise than usual, it was easy for me to read him.

As the other UK guys told me, he was anxious about the poll they would make in Scottland tomorrow. He told me it would make a mess if they choose the way of independence. The United Kingdom has already had a history since early 17th century. No wonder there could be complex and strong binding between England and Scotland. They question how to separate the social security or the debt of the UK government etc. Ron was not very serious but was rather curious what would go on there.

He was also chasing Nigel G3TXF oerqating as ZD9XF from Tristan de Cunha. It is amazing he was still active in the DX race with his simple set up.

In the end, he wished the nuclear power plant accident would be controlled very soon. I told him it is far from control. Our prime minister has made a big lie. Anyway, I thanked him for his wishes for us.

New England in the US and the north western Eu are difficult places to reach on the radio from here. I am always feeling thrilled to hear signals from either area. G guys always have modest set up as I told. It is always attractive for me to chat with anyone in UK. Fall has fully arrived on the air for now. I would get up early and look for old friends of mine in those areas.    

Rice cooked with chestnut

Fruit such as perssimon or chestnut is not in a good harvest this year. Each fruit is smaller than usual. It may be due to the long lasted rain in this summer.

It is still the time of harvest. We have a pretty big chestnut tree, which was again planted by my father almost 30 years ago. The main trunk is about 30cm in diameter. It bears so many chestnuts that it is hard for us to do with them every fall. I found many chestnuts fallen on the ground today.

 

I have collected basketfull chestnuts this afternoon. Despite of the small size, each fruit seems well ripened.

 

What shall I do with them? There won't be any other recipe than rice cooked with chestnut, Rice was cooked with soy sauce, sake, sweetened sake and salt. The rest of chestnuts was stored in refrigerator.

 

 

The 3.5th anniversary of the big earth quake and the nuclear power plant accident in Tohoku

There have been over 130K people evacuated from Fukushima due to the nuclear power plant accident . They have planned house construction there. In 3.5 years, only 11% of the planned houses have built. In the other prefectures, ths situation is almost the same. Too slow. The evacuees have socially killed with their houses, jobs, communities and even family members lost. It was 3.5th anniversary of the big earthquake in Tohokuand the TEPCO Fukushima nuclear power plant accident yesterday.

We should never forget them.

The day of the harvest moon

It is the day of the harvest moon here in Japan. We celebrate the arrival of harvest season with bean jam bun on this day.

Without any relationship with it, I have made a dish of chicken with root vegetable and carrot seasoned with balsamic vinegar. Having toasted the day with a glass of beer, I am waiting for my wife coming home.

Beef stewed in red wine seasoned with rosemary

It was a special dinner for our daughter's coming home and my wife's birthday. The latter is a week ahead. Anyway, the reason to cook this one is not important. I could get a bulk of beef.  There was a bottle of red wine which we scarcely take. These are reasons enough to start with this recipe.

Pretty good. Though my wife has praised the cooked potato before mentioning of the beef! Anyway, the beef was so tender that once it was in our mouth, it went melted quickly. Red wine has brought something flavorful in the background.

I wonder if I should replace it to simple steak next time when I could get such bulky beef.

Would you join us for dinner?

Chicken and vegetables cooked with tomato and basil sauce. Fairly good success. Chicken cooked with tomato was one of, or I should say, the only speciality dish for my wife when both of us served residency at a med school hospital. We have invited a few colleague doctors to our small resident dorm there and provided that dish with white wine. It was the days of our honey moon. Possibly listening to the songs for baritone, we have enjoyed tasty chicken at our dining room.

 

 

Recalling that dinner, I have made this one. The background music was the Concert D major by Chausson. pretty good as I wrote. The only problem is that I have made too much like the photo below. I wonder if anyone would come here with a knife and a fork as our guest. A big dish will be served for you.