Stir fried sour pork and green tea

When I find a good recipe for dinner in the internet, I won't print it out but would write it down on a paper. Writing lets me understand the content of that overall. It helps me to cook it. The hand written recipes have been cumulated to 4 or 5 files for now. Late in the afternoon, I always open one of them and decide what to cook. It is not what I expected to do several years ago. That is still my life.

It was this stir fried sour and sweet pork with vegetables today. I have made it twice and knew it was not an easy menu. I don't know why but wanted to try it out again. The result? ....So so. But it would take me some time to try this one again for sure.

We often have had coffee with meals almost every day. It is indispensable for breakfast. However, I was getting a bit bored with the monotonous bitterness of coffee for the daytime beverage. I tried green tea. It has more variable bitterness. Not straight like coffee. I still like this one. On a common pottery cup of Mashiko ware. Mashiko is a town next to ours here. I won't blame coffee but still love this profound taste of green tea. It is refreshing.

Well Tempered Clavier

It's the famous piano works by Bach. Glen Gould, who plays piano in quite different style from him, used to evaluate Richter playing Bach. Richter plays Bach as only his work would be in the world with himself receding in the background. An interesting evaluation.

I used to have the LP record of this performance in my med student days. A lot of fond memories with it. I still often listen to it before going to bed. It sure soothes my mind.

Medical service should be out of the target of the market fundamentalism

The ultimate form of medical services based on market fundamentalism will be introduced in the US very soon. Here.

It is not "a fire on the opposite shore" for us. Our government always follows what the US is doing. It is always a theme for them how to help the businesses involved in medical service.

As already told in this blog, I am sure medical service belongs to social common capital. It should never be handled as one of the markets where big capitals would pursue only profit.

Let's see what will happen in the US.

Kniazev and Bach Suite Nr2

A famous Russian cellist, A. Kniazev, used to play the concerto by Dvorak at a concert of NHK Symphony Orchestra 6 years ago. A friend of mine has come to listen to him at that time. In a few days, he has taken the seat very close to Kniazev at another concert. Kniazev was one of the audience then. My friend has talked to Kniazev asking for his signature. Praising him for his performance with NHK S.O., my friend heard an unexpected story from him.

Kniazev wanted to get a DVD of his performance but was denied for that request by NHK due to the right of authorship or something. My friend has asked for any record of that concert for him in a SNS. I have been eagerly recording the classical concerts on TV at that time. His Dvorak was one of my DVD collection. I told him I would be pleased to give it to Kniazev. The DVD was successfully delivered to Kniazev through my friend later.

Kniazev has given me a set of unaccompanied suites by Bach of his performance with his signature as a token of his gratitude to my gift. Needless to say I was most thankful for such a gift.

Last night, coming into the livingdining room, on TV, I happened to hear him playing the very last part of Saraband of the 2nd Suite by Bach. It was an encore for a concert of Dvorak concerto with NHK S.O. held in last Oct. Fortunately, it was again recorded in HDD, so that I could listen to the concerto and the encore. His performance was a passionate song through dim background. His cello might be taken as a bit dark in tone. However, his will to express himself with passion was so remarkable. What deep vibrato! I have enjoyed it very much. Here is a video clip of his performance of Suite Nr2 and Nr4.

This Nr2 Suite is covered with the emotion of lamento and melancholy. In an interesting book titled the Cello Suites, Eric Siblin has speculated that this piece might be composed by Bach when he lost his 1st wife. Whether it is historically true or not, this music sure moves us with that tone of sorrow. Kniazev used to lose his wife in an airplane crash years ago, which he was also severely injured. While he was playing this Saraband, I wonder, what has come in his mind.

Anyway, I was glad to encounter him again last night.

A small but good story

I have been joining a BBS for medical doctors for years. The participants make post anonymously. Most posts are craps as those in the other anonymous sites are.

In such a BBS, however, a guy, who suffered from myocardial infarction at young age and are still with heart failure despite of stent therapy, has asked there about any possible therapy he could be benefited. A number of specialists have answered earnestly to him with most advanced knowledge of myocardial infarction management, which were mostly new to me. I was quietly as well as profoundly moved by their willingness to help a colleague doctor, anonymous and unknown to them.

There are so many troubles or evil things in the world. They say it is the days of the post truth. But this correspondence in the BBS showed a real good will to help the others by a number of doctors. I feel satisfied to have spent my life with this profession, even though I am now a professional house husband.

A sketch of my father by myself in teenage days

There was a framed drawing in my parent's home. It is a sketch of my father I used to draw in low teen days. Not an excellent one at all. It seems my father liked it and displayed it in his home. 

I still remember when I drew this one. It was a cold winter day. He was reading a book close to a stove. I don't know why I would draw him in this way. I still remember time was flowing quietly for each of us.

Reading was one of his hobbies. He has bought a lot of books and has read some of them. Not all. It was a reason of quarrel with my mother that he had spent so much money to purchase books despite of poverty. It might be one of his intentions to leave those books to his children. Actually, I have inherited some of them on literature, history and religion. My younger son, a psychiatrist, has done the same way and has taken over the hobby to collect books. In our property, there is a storage house with thousands of his books in it. Having no children himself, I wonder how he would do with those numerous books when he passes away.

While he was alive, I had been pretty critical to him as for his character and his way of living. But, getting so old as I am now, I believe I could be a better son for him. Of course, he is not living any longer.    

A whispering in a morning

Having CW fix before starting daily routine is an indispensable ritual every morning for me. It is like having tea to activate our brain. Actually, I feel CW would work in the working memory which bridges between the long term memory and the short term memory. As already repeatedly written, I think communicating on this mode is comparable to writing/reading. Highly intellectual process. The symbol system of Morse code which exists in working memory also could not help stimulating our brain. The symbol system itself doesn't have any meaning or grammar, so that it only lies between memories, short or long. It is to be elucidated how this symbol system activates our brain.

As complained again and again, I find less and less chances to get good CW fix in the morning here. If I could run across with a guy who work on this mode, he could be a hit and run pattern operator. Yes, more than 70 or 80% are such operators. And, sadly enough, this percentage is increasing more.

Every morning, I still call CQ despite of that desperate situation. It is to get that CW fix. On the other hand, I feel I should get the same morning ritual with the other things. Like playing cello. One or two tunes from the unaccompanied suites by Bach may substitute to it. It won't, however, do as well as CW fix itself. We always need to do with someone else even though Bach or other things are blessing things in the world. Another myself is, however, still telling me I should find something other than CW fix.

I am more and more convinced that we are living in the era when CW is fading away as a communication tool.  

An Osprey fell off coast in Okinawa

An Osprey, a tiltrotor military aircraft, has fallen on shallow water in the ocean only 80 meters away from the beach in Okinawa. Two crews out of 5 were injured. Pentagon says it was "a mishap". But the photo shows it was a complete crash. Here is the news with photo.

If it fell in the city or Uruma where the accident occurred close by, there could have been many people killed. They say, since it started flying in 1991, there have been 7 major crashes and 30 fatalities due to the accidents of Osprey. I am curious to know if this numbers are in the expected range compared with the other helicopters. Osprey is known to make big noise. This fallen one has made a night time training very near to the residential area. I am sorry for the people in Okinawa who are forced to be jeopardized by the risk of accident and to suffer from its terrible noise at night.

I hope the US government will realize there won't be any military base and military presence working well unless the people in the area would approve them. Okinawa has been agonized during the WWII and ever since.

Memory of Fukushima

The 8th symphony of Dvorak has been one of my favorite pieces for a long time since I played it at the university orchestra over 40 years ago. I wanted to play it again somewhere before quitting playing cello. I knew the orchestra of Fukushima University would perform it in this month and had been looking for some extra cellists. Even though they had seemingly intended to gather cellists of university students, on my application, I got a quick response from a student member of the orchestra to be willing to accept me for an extra member.

I have already posted about this music and how I was involved with the Fukushima university orchestra in this post.

While preparing for the rehearsal there, I noticed it would take me over 3 hours to drive door to door to the university. It would seem to be too adventurous for me to drive that long way back home on the high way after hectic practice for hours. In addition, the other program, Czech Suit by the same composer, turned out to be a tough one for cellists. Sadly enough, I had to cancel joining the orchestra. I was sorry for that to the students who prepared things for me.

Dvorak's music generally won't hit me in my mind. But this symphony is exceptional for me as stated in the previous post quoted above. It is full of nostalgic tunes in pretty simple structure. It also brings me back to the days when I played at the med school orchestra.  

While there were other orchestras with this symphony in their programs, why have I chosen the Fukushima University among them? I should return to the days when I decided to change my major from mechanical engineering to medicine. I was studying at a college in Tokyo those days. While having progressed to specialized subjects of mechanical engineering, I felt I would study not mechanical engineering but the other subjects doing directly with human being. A teacher or a medical doctor was in my mind. I was reading those of Jaspers, Frankle or Kamiya, mainly regarding psychiatry. I have known of a girl with a family member of schizophrenia, who was a school teacher and eagerly told me to major in medicine. She also told me that school teachers had been too busy with paper works to do with children directly. It was a reason why i have chosen medicine for my future profession. It was also a challenge for every applicant to university to get through the entrance exam for faculty of medicine those days. That might kick me to turn to medicine also. Finally, I decided to though my parents were not wealthy enough to let me go to another school, they haven't complained of my changing mind at all.

I should had started preparing for the entrance exam for medical school then. It was, however, the political days, probably, the last time for students to have protested against the authority. It has started from a faculty of medicine of Tokyo University. Our college was involved in that policital movements also. Our college had been established by the authority, as the activists insisted, when they needed engineers without any political will or intention after they had experienced the most political year in 1960. The students has moved against the revision of Japan US Security Treaty those days.

In the first half of the my last year at the college, the political movement has reached its peak there. Even though I was not belonging to any sect, I was busy at a lot of political meetings. The class rooms were blocked with barricades in the building. Having felt sympathetic to the political activists, I was aiming to remove the barricades and to normalize the school. When it was settled down, the graduation research has kept me busy again. Anyway, such activities have prevented me from preparing for the entrance exam.

I have taken the entrance exam of medical university without having done any preparation for that. It was the Fukushima Med University which I had applied for. Early in March, I stepped out the station building of Kanayagawa in Fukushima to take the exam. Cold wind was blowing at a pretty pretty large concourse surrounded with a few buildings and vast farms in countryside. With much anxiety for my future as well as a bit of expectation for that, I was standing there for a while.

This is a photo of that railway station in the past taken from the internet. I am not sure if this was from the time when I was there. Not so far if it was not identical to the building I took off the train.

Of course, I failed in the exam that time. Later, I have started medical student at another university in Tokyo. Anyway, this was an unforgettable place for me. Fukushima university is located in this town near to this railway station of Kanayagawa. I wanted to stand at the same place where I had started the 1st step of my life to the career of medical doctor. It was a reason why I wanted to play at the orchestra of Fukushima University.

The other reason was that I had been concerned about the situation of Fukushima after the tragedy of the devastated nuclear power plants. It is located 30 or 40km east of this place. But I was still anxious to know how the things had been going on there. I might write about this story in another post.

I wish the orchestra of Fukushima University will perform this piece successfully at the concert. I would give applaud from here. 

Jim W7ZQ passed away

Through N6XI, John N2NEP let me know of Jim W7ZQ having passed away on Nov 26th. Here is his orbituary.

I used to know Jim as W0HTH in Colorado back in '60s. He was always loud from his 2 element quad on 40m. Later he has changed his call to W0HJ. When he got a position as a professor at Wyoming University, his call has become W7ZQ. I have had numerous enjoyable chats with him in his W0HJ and then W7ZQ days.

His orbituaru told he had made much effort to get Ph D in electrical engineering after having served in the army for a few years. I have never heard of his this service in QSOs with him. It also told he wanted to join Navy in WWII interrupting his study at high school. He was a WWII veteran.

When he was in Colorado, he used to operate mobile in his morning hours commuting from his home in a high land area down to the city of Denver. While driving that way, he often described some people dipping in hot bath tub in freezing morning he could see from his car. The road was slippery as he often told. In the end of such a QSO, I used to tell him not to slip out of the road on the way to the office. Later, when I started working at own practice in '90s, he was already retired and operated from his home in Wyo or in Idaho. In the QSOs with him before I go for work in our morning hours, he used to tell me not to slip into the watered rice paddy on the way. Of course, it was a paraphrase of my joke back in '80s. He has had a good sense of humor.

He has put up a couple of 160ft high towers in Idaho. On one of them, he got another 2 el quad and sent out a big signal into Japan. His signal from Collins linear amplifier was clean and beautiful. I was always admiring it. His CW itself sounded beautiful as well. Rather slow but accurate with ample spacing between words. It sure expressed his sense of beauty on CW, which I rarely hear of nowadays.

His orbituary told me he had lost his 1st wife and 5 chldren. However, I am sure he has spent a happy retirement with his 2nd wife in Idaho. I sure wanted to see him in person before I got this sad news. He will be missed so much. He has been not only one of my good friends but also a hero in ham radio for me.

Another visit to parents in law

I visited parents in law with my wife for the past couple of days. It has been warm and mostly fine throughout the trip. On the day of arrival there, we have had a nice dinner at a restaurant in the hotel we stayed.  Listening to jazz in the background, we have enjoyed nice full course dinner. Our daughter who had received my e mail with this kind of photo replied to me she wished she had been with us there.

At the sunrise there today, I have walked along the pier. When I first came there, there was no bridge between Shikoku Island and the main island. Those days, we had to take a ferry from here to a city near by across the Seto Inland Sea when going to the main island. I remembered, some 40 years ago, when I visited my wife's parents to ask for permit of marriage with her, I could not get a definite affirmative answer from her father. My wife used to say good by to me, being sad without his father's permit of marriage, at the pier the ferry departed to the main land. She looked quite pleasant to me. Later, it turned out that he and mother in law had decided to say yes to me at that time. Anyway, I had to come home with the answer in pending.  It was this place at that time. 

Father in law was doing pretty fine at his age 91 years. He still has some health issues but is able to go for walk for 30 minutes around the nursing home by himself. He plays game with his friends at the home. My wife's elder sister comes to see him once or twice a week bringing items necessary for him and mother in law. The staff seems very kind and helpful to him. His hearing was lost to some extent. It seemed the biggest problem for him. So far, at his age, his circumference seemed to be the best that he could desire. 

Mother in law has been suffering from Levy Body type dementia for years. She is bed ridden and is not able to communicate with the others in most occasions. In our previous visits when she was awake and saw my wife, she opened her eyes widely and looked to want say something to her. She was, however, in deep sleep this time and was not responsive to my wife's words. She is eating meal by herself and seems to be in good condition as well for her age and with the phase of the degenerative disease.　

Father in law, I and my wife were taken to a restaurant nearby by wife's sister. We have had nice lunch there. I could not thank enough to sister in law for her efforts for parents in law. 

It has been already 3 years since they were admitted into this facility. I was sorry I could not do more for them. But I was still pleased to know they were getting along in the most desirable way they could expect. On the way back home, I have read a news on a news paper telling that about 180 of aged people were killed or committed suicide due to care issues in our country for the past 4 years. It would be a problem for us how to spend our old age as well in the future. Wishing parents in law to continue this peaceful life, we left the facility.

Though things seem to go around in the same way

The zelkova tree in front of my parents' home is getting colorful. Some leaves are already fallen. It was planted to make shades on my parents' home in summer. In a few years, it has grown too big and my father used to complain of its size. Now, there is no one living in the home. This tree turns in the same way as if nothing has happened there.

Fallen leaves.

On the other hand, the ume trees already have tiny buds on branches. They are ready to bloom early in the spring.  

Things seem to go around. But no single same moment exists. It only passes fast. 

Invierno porteno by Piazzolla

Piazzolla has become a cosmopolitan with his works starting from Argentine Tango. It is not a work of localized culture but of general human culture. I love this one. Winter from Four Seasons in Buenos Aires.

Neuroscientific understanding of CW reception

This article is interesting to me. It may paraphrase to CW reception mechanism.

It says the neuroscientific research revealed this way of communication is involved with the right hemisphere as well as with the language center in the left hemisphere. Such communicating method might be different as for the process in the brain from the usual verbal communication.

I feel CW reception is unique neuroscience wise. It might be related with the unique function of working memory. This function is known to work in the second language acquisition. From its simplicity, CW reception study may give a clue to our congnitive function.

If I were a bit younger and were in the faculty of medicine, I would start studying it with the modern devices like functional MRI. At least, I will follow the papers published regarding this theme.

It is to understand why CW has attracted me for such a long time. Was it worth spending so much time and energy for CW throughout my life? I would confirm it and would deliver the knowledge to the next generation.

The form of the fist with key

Even though I might mention on this topic in the past, I would repeat it here. Regarding how to handle a paddle or a bug key.

Our hand/fingers should be as if it were grasping something fragile like an egg. The finger joints as well as hand joint should be relaxed in half flexion position. It is in order to have the fist respond promptly to any required movements. If the fist is in tension with extended joints, it won't respond to any requirement quick enough.

This form of fist is the same as that holding a string instrument bow. We need to have the hand and arm move quickly as well as flexibly in string instrument performance. The same form is quite necessary for that purpose.

If you find it difficult to control especially dots, consider of the form of the fist holding a paddle or a bug key. Is it ready to respond to required movements?

Just for an information.

Faure String Quartet OP121

Bringing a cup of coffee into the shack, I have watched around the bands earlier this morning. Ten and 15m were dead except for some Asians. Twenty was pretty good for NA. I felt a bit relieved to hear that even though I won't be on the WW CW contest held this week end. There is still remnant of a contester in myself.

I would spend this week end for reading, listening to music and practising cello. On Monday, I have the rehearsal of the orchestra I am attending to now. The Roman Carnival Ouverture by Berlioz is an obstacle for me depending on the tempo while the 8th symphony by Dvorak and the 38th by Mozart are accessible to me. I need to hustle practicing mainly Berlioz.

I have been reading a book regarding the history of the joint-stock companies and the analysis of the problem in the modern capitalism. It shows the idea of endless economic growth is not possible, so that we need to shift the pradigm from perpetuating pursue for profit to stable as well as sustainable economy. It is really inspiring to me. Very interesting. I would go on studying on this issue.

Well, here is one of my favorite chamber musics. The very last work by Faure. String quartet in e minor OP121. Faure is told to have refused composing a music in this genre until the very last in his life. He seems to have thought he could never overcome the overwhelming quartets by Beethoven. The latter must be like high mountains towering before him. This latest work of him is composed of flows of beautiful melodies. It engenders the atmosphere of cord characteristic for his music. As the late string quartets by Beethoven,  this is free from ostentation or excess. In that respect, this quartet is along the stream of Beethoven's works and even overcame them, I believe.

I used to listen to this music when I was in the dorm at the med school prep course. It was a square shaped room with concrete bare wall all around. There were a couple of speakers set on the sides of the entrance door. I listened to various music with the room mate in the dorm. Both of us have just joined the orchestra. He was a oboist while I chose cello for my instrument. Listening to a variety of music, we chatted until late at night. Only laughter and talking voices in low intensity were sometimes heard. Otherwise quiet and dark. I felt that time would last eternally even though I knew it would pass soon. This music sure brings me back to those days and recall the atmosphere in the room so clearly.

In the latter half of his life, Faure has suffered from hearing abnormality. The higher range of audio was heard lower while the lower range sounded higher to him. What an agony it was to him! Actually, he has refused the proposal by his friends to play this piece. This music has born and developed in his mind. We could never be compared to such a genius as Faure. But this story might mean we could experience and even produce something even in our last chapter of life when we are gradually losing various mental as well as physical functions.

 

38th anniversary

It was 38th anniversary 3 days ago. I have mistaken counting the number and have posted an article saying 38th on the same day last year. My wife has corrected that. It is 38th this year.

No deep emotion for this anniversary yet. I only wonder how we could get along together in good health for such a long time. I have come along to a different way than I expected in young days. But I should thank my wife to live together with me for this length of time. No complaint nor regret for the past.

At our wedding party. I was seduced to play cello there since it would be the only chance for us to force the attendees listen to us. It was "Apres Un Reve" by Faure. I haven't known of the poem Faure composed for. Later, when we knew what it sang, we laughed a lot. But, at this time in life, the content of the poem won't be so far from what I am feeling, honestly speaking.

Anyway, the past is past. We should make new steps ahead together.  

 

A step out of pacifism

JSDF dispatched to Southern Sudan has given a new mission "kaketsuke-keigo". It is to deploy a strategy to help the non military personnel of NPO etc or, though in this case this is still excluded, the military of the other countries upon request. It will be none other than military involvement in the civil war actually getting worsened since this summer. The government and the Ministry of Self Defense are cheating the people with this strange term written in Japanese. JSDF is supposed not to be involved in any battle action as our constitution says. It is the reason for this weird deceptive terminology.

In Southern Sudan, there is a chaotic civil war going on for the profit with oil. Two major factions have agreed ceasing fire but, as told before, it has been thrown into waste basket since this summer. The actual situation is a civil war 63 tribes join. More than one million people have been evacuated to the other countries and are in critical situation for foods and sanitary.

What the developed countries should do is to support those refugees with foods and the infrastructures necessary for them. The other point is to ban the import of arms into this area in conflict. Some sources have traded with them between oil and arms. In UN, the USA has finally lead the discussion to ban that arm import. It should be strictly done as soon as possible. It is surprising that they haven't done it yet.

Our JSDF, dispatched as PKO of UN there, has done construction or road maintenance for a few years. However, the government has turned its mission to involvement in the civil war itself. They say it is to join the Horn of Africa strategy by the USA, which is intended to keep in concession there with military presence against China. Our government is aiming to drive the people into revision of the constitution. Yes, they would like to renascent the nationalistic regime before WWII.

JSDF is recruiting young people into it. The tuition for university is getting more expensive while the students' parents are getting smaller amount of salary. The grant they get during studying should be refunded after starting working. It amounted up to 4 million yen. The percentage of the irregular non full time employment among all employed after graduation is about 30%. This situation makes some of the graduates attracted to JSDF. Isn't it the economical conscription?

Anyway, this change may be a significant step out of a country of pacifism into a ordinary country which makes military battle abroad.

Chicken, Oyster and Vegetables with Tomato Soup baked in Oven

Still cooking almost every day. In this cold season, we have hot pot cooking quite often. Today, I have cooked chicken and oyster with tomato sauce. In addition to this, pumpkin stew will be on the table. 

Fresh salad featuring persimmon will be added. 

I might be too sentimental but could not help wishing my parents had been with us at the table. My mother who enjoyed anything tasty would have smiled at these dishes for sure.

Dinner is ready. Just waiting for my wife from her work.

Flowers coming out

Chrysanthemum is fully out now. Bundles of them have been planted at various places in the garden by my father. It is been so vital for years that it has proliferated and spread all over.   

Another clump of the same flower. It is not showy at all but still lovely. 

Camellia is bloominb as well. It tells me we are in the winter. Four days ago, our traditional calendar said it had been in the winter.   

Beneath the apricot tree in the lawn, a tiny young tree of the same kind, about a foot tall, was growing. I have transplanted it to a bit more sunny corner. Hopefully, it may grow and will bear many fruits in years. Again, I smiled to myself thinking it may outlive myself. Who would enjoy the fruits? Anyway, it was what my father used to do for us.  

I have kept almost everything of my parents at this small house as it used to be when they were alive.  I thought I should dispose things like their dresses etc and eventually clear this tiny house. Or our children may have trouble to do with these things in the near future. 

Flowers are coming out as if the same season were starting. But there is no same season repeated. We should get ready for the final chapter of our trip of life.

Regarding Trump phenomenon

It was a real surprise for me that Trump won in the presidential election in the US. Here is my primitive impression and question about this result.

Trump seemed intentionally to take the tactic of exclusion or elimination of minorities in the campaign. He insisted that political correctness was of no use any longer. It seemed to synchronize with the hidden dark side of the middle income class. This has destroyed the value of the US approving the diversity in the society. How will he, as the president, restore this cleavage in the society from now? I am afraid this cleavage in the society is so profound that it is quite difficult to overcome. 

In the past mass consumption society in the US, they have issued massive USD to import items from oversea. In turn, selling the national bond, they have that funds circulated back to the US. After the failure in Vietnam and Middle East, it was impossible for the US to go on playing the role of the leader in the international society. The financial capitalism since 1990s has experienced collapse at the Lehman shock in 2008. The economy in the virtual reality seems quite unstable. In this circumstance, the globalism has deprived wealth and sense of security of the middle class in the US. Trump seems to support the financial capitalism while he would go on with the policy based on isolationism. I am afraid his economic policy, if it is run as it was announced in the campaign, would rather relegate them to the predicament.

Trump seems to be concerned only about the profit to the nation. Alliance to the countries which the US has shared the same value for decades might be minimized while he would go hand in hand with such as Putin in Russia. It might give rise to the drastic change in the international society. Our nationalistic government would try to arm with nuclear weapon even though it is of no use to pacify the situation in the East Asia. The same thing may occur at many places in the world. I hope it won't lead us to the Apocalypse.

There seem to so many partisans and/or politicians with nationalism, isolationism and hatred toward minorities getting power in various places in the world. What is it bringing about to the world? What is the reason for such trend? Could we survive in such a situation?   

The inflation target is failed

The president of BOJ, Kuroda, will have resigned next year without any success for the inflation target policy he has advocated since taking his position at BOJ 4 years ago. Except for in 2014 when the sales tax was increased, the consumer price index has continued being lowered since he became the president.

This means that the "grand experiment" of the quantum theory of money has been failed in Japan. It was well expected since the global economy would transfer items and money over the bordrs almost freely. The quantum theory of money is valid only in a closed circle without such movement of items/money.

What will result from this massive quantum and qualitative easing will be a bubbled economy. Actually, the asset such as stock or real estate is being increased in our country. The banks are tempted to loan for them at present as BOJ announced several days ago. The asset not reflecting the actual economy would collapse at certain time. It would be another raptured bubble, which would influence the world economy. Since the finance of our government is critical with enormous amount of debts, the government won't be able to support the bank. With the increased interest rate, the government itself won't go it through.

Mr. Kuroda won't mention when they would take off from this quantitative easing. As soon as he mentions about it, the malignant automatic movement of hyperinflation would start. He won't announce of that but could not tell about it.

"Building A House in Santa Barbara"

I have been given a book titled "Building A House in Santa Barbara" by one of my elmers, Merle, K6DC, formerly W8BWC and then W6ULS. I have already told about him in a few posts in this blog such as this one.

He has been one of the elmers for me since my beginner days. He was essentially a DXer but was still enjoying the other aspects of ham radio. As written before, he used to enjoy ragchewing with his friends in Europe or Africa throuth the long path on 40 meters back in '60s. I have been listening to him at our midnight when he was working them with a huge signal. I could not resist breaking in him in such occasions. He was kind enough to let me in such a round table or for a QSO. 

In my first visit to the US on business, as I have again written about this encounter elsewhere in this blog, I happened to have found his house in San Carlos and to know the door of his house. There was him appearing at the door. I have told him on my trip to the Bay Area but have never fixed a schedule to visit him. It was really an encounter by chance. He kindly accepted me there and took me for lunch at an Italian cuisine then. Ever since then, I have visited him and Marjorie, his wife, in Santa Barbara, where they moved in late '80s. Once with Hide JH0FBH and on the other time with Eric W6DU. Each visit was a really fond memory for me. He was not a very talkative person. But a very kind and sometimes humorous person. 

In 1995, he has sent me a book titled above. I was very sorry but have read only a part of this his autobiography when I have lost it somewhere. I accidentally found it in a book shelf several days ago and read it through. The title sounded a bit strange to me at first. But I understand building a house in Santa Barbara was a dream for him and Marjorie who had grown up and spent young days in Michigan icing in winter around the Great Depression. Working hard, they have made it come true. Together with their much effort, it might be possible in the good old days when the USA was in great growth in economy. Along with the story of moving to Santa Barbara and construction of a house there, it is a really nice autobiography of Merle himself. I felt I had been listening to him telling about this story in his living room. 

This is the cover of this book. It shows the house they have built in Santa Barbara. I realized it was shortly after they had built this Nr4 house along Alston Rd Santa Barbara. I have been there twice as told above, once in 1987 ant the latter in 1991, I believe. This was the eastern side of the house. On the opposite side, there was pretty steep slope toward the Pacific Ocean, where he used to set a fixed wire beam of 4 or 5 elements for 40 meters to the west, of course, it was for Europe and Africa via the long path.  

He has kindly given the words of acknowledgement to me in the Forward page. When I found this hand written words saying "To my best long time friend in japan.", you may know how much I was moved at it.

Even though the photo is blurred, this shows them in '90s. How deeply I miss both of them!

Late fall has been here

I accidentally found the leaves of the Katsura tree in our garden, which I had mentioned in the past post, turned yellow. Some of them were already fallen.

In close up.

The fallen leaves on the ground.

When we moved here from the dorm of the med school hospital in 1984, this tree was as small as 3 or 4 meters. It was a naturally grown tree here. It seems to be higher than 15 meters now. It tells us how far we have come from those days. This tree has seen my family growing and some members passing away. It will for sure outlive me. I wonder how it will bear testimony on us living with it.

I have harvested a few tomatoes this morning. They won't hue red but are pink possibly due to the cold atmosphere. In a few days, we might have frost in the morning here. Having cared for them with much enthusiasm, it is tough for me to pull the plants. But in a day or two, I should do that.

   

A friend for half a century

Twenty meters was stunningly open to the states this morning. The signals were loud and stable. The signals from the East Coast were fluttering as they often are. I have had nice ragchews with Alan AC2K and then another Alan KF3B. Both QSOs were really pleasant ones. Especially with KF3B whom I haven't met for months. We were pleased to have our cataract surgeris gone on successfully.

After those impressive QSOs, I was called by a weak signal. He signed as W1ITU, not familiar to me. Not very loud but still steady here. It was John ex K5PKA. He told me, having moved to Cape Cod from PA, I believe, he had come back on the air after 10 years long absence.

I have first worked him as K5PKA in '60s. Of course, I could not remember of the QSO when I again met him in '80s. I talked with him from mobile commuting to the office those days. I still remember his a bit chirpy but fascinating signal from his Drake twin. Then he has moved to PA and got a new call WG3U. We have exchanged greeting cards for several years. But nothing has been heard from him since then. He told me he had retired 12 years ago and had moved to Cape Cod 10 years ago if I read him right.

He was running an old FT890 into a dipole. He sounded a bit excited to see me. This is a photo he used to send to me around 1990, not sure when it was. His daughter is working as a teacher in NC and has two daughters while his son lives in MA and meets him often.

That is all what we have talked on the radio this morning. But isn't it fascinating that we live together for half a century far away and know each other only through radio?  

Slavic Dance by Dvorak

When I was in the 2nd grade of a elementary school, I got fracture on a leg while playing in a woods with friends. With that leg casted rigidly, I could not go for school for a few weeks. I have spent all day alone at home. It was a small and simple home which our parents had built in a suburb of Tokyo after an exodus from the countryside, that is, this place we are living right now.

Late in the afternoon, I was listening to radio at a small room exposed to the afternoon sun. There was a program which always aired the same music. Later, I knew it was a famous tune from the Slavic Dance OP46 by Dvorak. It is a kind of sentimental but still beautiful melody. It might be in '50s or '60s when Szell conducting Cleveland S.O. recorded this piece. It was the time when I used to listen to it everyday waiting for the family members to come home.

This piece will be the encore at a concert of Fukushima University I am going to play with. It would be a memorable concert for me.

A drive to southern Fukushima

Several days ago, when it became very fine after it had been wet for several weeks, I decided to go for a driving tour. At first, I thought to go to the coast area. However, while driving to the coast on a high way, an idea to drive on a route where I used to take my family and mother for driving came up in mind. It was a place I would revisit by any means. Due to its beautiful scenary and the fond memory of that drive with family. It ran from Iwaki to Kooriyama in the southern part of Fukushima prefecture in Abukuma mountains. It might be, however, difficult for those in the overseas to understand what an area it was. Abukuma mountains have ranges of low mountains covering the south eastern corner of Tohoku district. It is about 170km from the north to the south facing to the Pacific Ocean. A few trunk roads run across the area. But only a rail road from south to north. Not much plain area for farming, either. And the old style of lives and towns are still left in the area.

The route I was aiming at was still as it used to be. On a narrow valley, it ran from east to west. It was surrounded with low mountains on the both sides. Of course, since we drove back in '90s, there were some changes there. Most conspicuous thing was the high way almost along this route. Basically, it was still a countryside road with a few houses along it and occasionaly running through old fashioned towns. I forgot taking pictures in this drive, though. Possibly, I indulged myself too much in recalling the drive with family in the past. For substitute, a photo is quoted from Wikipedia here;

The woods have not changed their colors yet. It may take a month or two to have the leaves turn yellow and red. Looking at the beautiful woods, I remembered of a news that told me the soil under the dams around this area had been contaminated with radio active substances due to the nuclear power plant explosion. It reached up to tens thousand of Bq as the news said. They have have been deconaminating the area. It has been done only in the residential area. No way to do with contamination in mountains. The radio active substances are being precipitated in the soil and would go on staying there for decades or even hundreds of years. They would be attenuated only in geometric series fashion. They won't disappear completely forever. The politicians seem to ignore this pollution by themselves which would be delivered to the next generation. Makins excuses, they are restarting the other nuclear power plants. What a shame! I feel not only angry but also sad to recognize this situation.

I still loved the scenes over there. It brings me back to the recent memory of the last drive with family and to something essential to our lives from the old age. On the way back home, I have purchased some apples at a store, which were cropped recently. They said the apples had had some minor scratches on the surface, so that they won't be unsuited for the market. They tasted great, though. Very fragrant and sweet. I liked what they had honestly explained on their products.

It was a solitary drive by myself. Finally, I got soreness on knees while driving. It was still worth going for that area in the very beautiful weather.

The practice of the orchestra at Fukushima university will start in a few weeks. I am looking forward to playing with young students there.

On a beautiful fall day

It became fine and crisp today after it had been very wet for the past several weeks.

 
Cosmos is in full blossom.

While washing clothes and sheets and sunbathing mattresses, I have ventilated the house parents used to live. 

My father used to be a eager reader of books. There are much more books in the storage house here. I find i am reading the same kind of books regarding the modern history of our country, the problem of responsibility of the WWII and so forth. I could not help chuckling at myself knowing that I have got the same interests. It might be a much more serious problem for him since he had been compelled to spend his youth for the war. 

There are a lot of pictures displayed on the wall. My sister used to show them for our old mother suffered from Alzheimer in her last years. Our father passed away in 2004 while mother used to outlive him for 7 years. She has lived in this home alone until 2009 when my brother took her to his home and then to a nursing home in Sendai. A lot of pictures with fond memories. I am cleaning and ventilating the house even though they won't return here of course. 

In a BBS, a certain person asked how we got along with grief losing family members in close relationship. I would have replied to him he should converse with his family members in mind. I don't know if we could see them in person someday. But they are surely living in our mind. Hoping for the day we meet again, even if we are not sure if it comes true or not, we should talk to those we have lost. It will help us to relieve our grief and possibly to maintain our hope to meet them again. 

I am convinced again today I should thank for being alive in this way. 

Checking the fact?

Facebook has been busy with the posts on the 1st presidential candidates debate in the US. It is not my own business but is still of concern to us since the leader in the US will be one of the major leaders in the world.

I was concerned about Trump's saying about the financial support to the US military in Japan. He has repeatedly told Japan had not spent any money for the US military stationed in Japan. It is not clearly true. As the host nation support, our country has been spending over 3600 million USD per a year for the US military. The lease fee of the land and other expenses for the bases included, it will rise to 6000 million USD per a year.

He has also mentioned of the financial burden in NATO. He insisted that 70% of the budget is born by the US. I believe it is not correct, either. So far as the internet told, it is about 22% of the total. The rest is spent by the other 27 countries.

I understand the military alliance is not only a matter of financial burden but of the other important matter as the lives of the personnel etc as well. But his statement was not correct yet. The free ride theory of the Japan US Security Treaty by Japan is not correct. I wonder if he and his team won't check the fact before making such an address.

He also recommends us to be armed with nuclear weapons. Our ultra right politicians ruling our country will be pleased to do what he says. It will cause another nightmare. Won't he foresee such an event in the near future?  

Japanese style Marron Glace

I have made Japanese style Marron Glace. One kg of chestnuts were boild for short time once. The hard shell was peeled. This process was a bit laborious. Then they were boiled "6 times" in order to get rid of the bitter taste. Soda was not used. They were then sweetened with sugar. Bitter inner skin was much preserved. But it won't taste bitter any longer. Rich bodied taste with elegant sweetness. Canned could be stored for several weeks.

Mid fall getting closer to us

It has been rainy for the past several days. As it rained once, fall has advanced here. All the plants in the garden have slowed down their growth. It seems they are getting ready for the arrival of winter.

The garden has been neatly cleaned. The chestnut tree has been flourishing with baskets of the fruits. I have been collecting fallen chestnuts and storing them in refrigerator.

It has been a long time since I last renewed this blog. I would write what I have thought of ham radio as well as this blog in a post coming up soon. We have been getting along well. Time is flowing away fast and uneventfully.

Speaking of fall, it is the time when we should listen to Brahms. His last symphony is suitable for this season. This performance conducted by Kurt Sanderling has been my favorite since school days. Fairly slow tempo and singing every note. Listen to the theme played by violins in the 1st movement. Sanderling keeps the Auftakt tenuto. It really sounds like sighing by music.

Spending the last chapter of life, I feel I could understand and sympathize to this music even more than ever.

Mahler Symphony Nr 9

Mahler's 9th symphony is actually his last completed symphony. It was what he had achieved at his culmination of composing activity. The theme seems to be on death. It has been his main concern that drove him to compose his music works throughout his life, even though it also seemed to belong to the era trend of thought. As I told before, I think Mahler tried to overcome or reconcile with the absurdity of death with the beauty of music.

The last movement is most impressive to me since it sounds like an expression of farewell to the life. Some critics point out this movement was not deliberately orchestrated as the other 3 movements since he had not corrected this movement as he always did. Nevertheless, that might mean his thought and emotion are directly expressed in this movement. It starts with a theme played by 1st and 2nd violin parts in unison. A motif composed of 32nd notes in this theme will be appearing in the extended form throughout this movement. It seems as if a theme of life, more materially, of breathing. The violin solo sings a song of consolation in the background loneliness. The atmosphere throughout the music is separated lonesomeness. The end comes with long diminishend. Viola solo and then cello solo plays a motif of dying made of downward chromatic scale. It ends with the weakest dynamic indication. The last bar has the expression mark of "ersterbend", that means as if dying. Mahler used to use this mark in the other musics like his 2nd symphony but has never put it in the very last bar. This typically shows us what he wanted to express this music.

Claudio Abbado conducted Lucern Festival Orchestra in this video clip. Most famous players were gathering for this performance. It was almost 3 years before Abbado himself passed away. I don't know if he has known of his fatal illness of gastric cancer at this time of performance. His concentration on music may tell us he was already conscious of his own mortality. In some interview or article, he told death was only a phase of existence of life. He seemed to live well through expressing death in this performance. He sometimes smiled at the orchestra performers in the intervals between the movements. In the end, it might be a planned produce, the lighting gradually got dim. He has kept the silence for a couple of minutes. During that silence, he might have wanted the audience to appreciate of the struggle Mahler has made in this symphony. Not shouting something like bravo. It is the most impressive moment in this performance. It is a theme delivered from Mahler to each of us.

 

Tokyo Ham Fair 2016

I have been to this event yesterday. Being prone to be housebody myself, I seldom go out for such an event. But this is a special opportunity for me to see friends, old or new. We were going to have lunch together. Bob MD0CCE has told me to see us there as well.

Bob, a retiree being settled down in the Isle of Man, seemed to have attended a couple of DXers meeting this time. He used to work in Tokyo in '90s and has friends from those days, whom he would see after this event. Having had tutoring by his father, he started ham radio in NY back in 1961.  He had been active on the radio until '70s when the work and family affairs prevented him from enjoying it. Having retired and being settled down in the Isle of Man, he came back on the air in 2004, if I remember it right. Ever since, he has been one of the most active guys in the area. He has become an FOC member several years ago. He loves both contesting/DXing and ragchewing, the typical old timer style operator.

I also enjoyed seeing JA friends. Objectively, we might have got older by one year now. But their passion in ham radio and vivid interests in socioeconomical issues have made them look very young. JE1TRV has got ready for the mountain shack. He would run an amplifier there soon. JA1AGG is goint to stay in Detroit on business for sometime and may get on the air from there. JA7WTH is successful with his 40m long loop and is getting on 20m. Couldn't talk too much about his work. He is another pediatrician. JJ1RZG told he hadn't walked so much lately and got trouble with walking. Still working only in the morning hours as a pediatrician. JA1COR operates with his invented antenna named MU special. JL1GEL could operate only in week end and go on the right way for CW ragchewer. JE1RZR, staying home for summer vacation for 3 weeks, will go back to Uzbekistan in a few days. He told he won't operate so much getting bored with contest style QSO but spent just listening the bands there. JA1KIH, the last but not the least, won't repeat calling CQ for more than 2 or 3 times. He seems to enjoy the life in the countryside. He gets gift of vegetables from neighbor farmers. We have shared the problem of national fiscal discipline. This lunch meeting has been successful thanks to his organization.

We have spent almost 3 hours and a half together taking lunch and tea. How come we could go on talking that long? After I parted them, I went to look around the booths. I have seen some old faces and Masumi JA3AVO whom I have known on the air as well as on line for years but never met in person before. He has had his granddaughter W7AYA there.

It was a hot and active Sunday afternoon. We might meet again next summer.

From left to right, JA1AGG, JA7WTH, JJ1RZG, MD0CCE, JA1COR, JL1GEL, JE1RZR and me. I should diet like Atsu!! Where are JE1TRV and JA1KIH? Taking photo?

Minimal FOC gathering in Tokyo. From left to right, JE1TRV, MD0CCE and me. I have felt I became an old timer. I became a member in 1988. The other two after 2000!!

Abnormal or normal?

Already 3 days ago, when I was working with a good old friend of mine, Curt, N5CW on 20m, I was interrupted by a contest style caller. First, I thought it was a DX caller in a pile up because he did not ask if the frequency was occupied before starting calling on our spot. Curt told me it was CWT. Yes, it was the moment when the nightmare event for ragchewers had started. We were talking about our mutual friend Orville K5VWW who had been sick and hospitalized. The more serious topic we were talking about, the more anger I felt toward such a rude operator as well as CWT itself.

I posted an article on this problem this time in a group of Facebook for CW funs. I honestly expressed my question if such an event would contribute to the development of overall CW activity. And I seriously wondered if they could occupy the bands as with CWT so quite often every Wednesday. As expected, there were a lot of　objections, some of them being too emotional, to my post.

The opponents' points of view as for this issue are as follows;

1) CWT is already a established as well as fixed event. The non participants should avoid the frequency range of each band for CWT or move to the WARC bands.

2) CWT occupies only small amount of time/band width. Someone said it was only 1 or 2 %. Each session lasts only an hour. Only 3 sessions in an event. 

3) CWT participants are asking QRL? before starting calling CQ CWT. 

I have fully argued against these points in the previous posts here.  I hope readers to read what i think about these points in those articles. 

My re-objections to each point are, however, as follows;

1) CWT is a unique contest held on a plain week day. It has disrupted the rule any contest should be held in week ends. It is a factor often making trouble with the others. Anything won't excuse abrupt interruption to the other QSOs going on. Regarding 2), the occupying time/bands are not small in fact. From the standpoint of non contesters, every week end is filled with any contests, mostly, a number of contests being held at the same time. Together with CWT, 3 days in a week are messed by contest activities. It occurs every week. Messing the on going QSOs mostly occurs at the very beginning of CWT session. Three sessions a day are making more interruption to the others than the ordinary single sessioned contests. As for the point 3), I have never met anyone asking QRL? before starting calling CQ CWT or calling another CWT participant. Actually, I have been told by some friends they had been disturbed by CWT participants all of sudden. 

Through the discussion in the Face Book Group, I knew it was a real endless as well as fruitless dispute. The difference between the CWT defendrs and us comes from the point if CWT should be regarded as an intrinsic right for them to operate or as an unacceptable event. CWT defenders quietly force us to move out of their contest range of bands while we could not accept it.

We, either defending CWT or opposing to it, should quietly reconsider if it could be an acceptable event or not. How many hams are involved in it? How to avoid the mess at the beginning of each session? Considering of the numbers of participants for CWT, is it acceptable for them to occupy the bands so frequently?

In my point of view, it should not be concluded the other way than too much and too frequent. Extending the contest to the week day is also a serious defect in the rule of CWT. If aother group would start a contest on plain week day, who could blame them? The bands would be occupied by contesters every day.

Too much conterst activities may suppress the overall CW activities. It is my personal impression without any statistics. But from my career as an exclusive CW operator for decades, I suspect the recent trend of more and more contests is inflating contests themselves. Before and after any big contests, there are less activities on CW. I must say I scarcely meet those CWT defenders on the air for ordinary conversational QSOs with few exceptions. If they seriously consider of the future of CW activities, they should put an insight toward these phenomena as well.

I haven't mentioned on the use of WARC bands. It is a matter of licence system as well as the set ups different from the the problem. The basic problem is if they could force the others to move to elsewhere or not and if such as CWT could be acceptable by all of us.    

Dvorak Symphony Nr 8

I could not listen to this symphony without tearing. It is the only favorite work by Dvorak whose music is not generally my favorite. I used to play this piece in the university orchestra. Lots of lovely melodies for cello part. This symphony expresses the nature, forest blown with wind, birds singing lovely songs, rain fall with beautiful rainbow and so forth. It overlaps with the memory of my young days. Aren't you fascinated with the theme in the beginning of the 1st movement played by cello and horn? I clearly remember of the orchestra days when we practiced this piece.

I am going to join the orchestra of Fukushima University which will perform this piece in the next concert in this coming Dec. Fukushima, yes the place where the people have suffered from the nuclear power plant accident 5 years ago. It is also a place with the personal memories as well. I am really looking forward to playing with the young students there.