A semiretired pediatrician living in a countryside in Japan will describe what he thinks of his hobbies, life and the events around himself.
10/21/2025
Autumn days
10/20/2025
Lying politicians and fascism
The major political party, LDPJ, in our country has elected Sanae Takaichi for its president. She is a direct lineage of former prime minister, Shinzo Abe, in political vision as well as political ethos. Their expansionary fiscal policy with quontitative easing in "another dimension" has ended in total failure, at least in my view. The debt monetization resulted in over 1000 trillion JPY government debt. Half of it has been imposed to the bank of Japan, which makes it quite difficult to do with the ongoing inflation.
Takaichi is prone to lie in various situations. In politics, they should sometimes keep themseles mute about certain topics which is kind of silent lie. Such lying could be allowable in some cases. In Takaichi's case, she willingly tells lie for her profit.
Since she has run for office in '90s, her culliculum vitae told she had worked as a congressional fellow in the US in her young days. It has been questioned and, recently, it turned out her name was not in the roster of congressional fellows in the past. When she worked as the Minister of Internal Affairs and Communication, she assumed that a paper published from the ministry had been a fake and, telling that in the House, she even told she would resign not only the minister position but also the Member of the House of the Representatives. However, even after the paper turned out authentic, she never did either. There are plenty of such cases with her. I am afraid such politicians prone to lie for their benefits would lead our country to wrong way.
Nowadays, there are a lot of populism politicians in power all around the world. It seems like a historical process that people are accepting and even applauding them. Brexit was an example and so is the ongoing mess in the Trump administration. In such an age, we should appreciate what Hannah Arendt told about lying and fascism as follows;
Hannah Arendt, in The Origins of Totalitarianism, explored how truth can be systematically eroded until people lose the ability to think for themselves. She observed that totalitarianism thrives not through persuasion or conviction, but by breaking the link between words and reality—by turning people into beings for whom truth and falsehood no longer matter.
10/07/2025
Mahler unsuitable for a night cap
Insomnia has been a friend to me. It is told to be a predisposition to be dementia. I could not help worrying about it. Sometimes, sleep pill helps me as already told somewhere in this blog. On the other hand, I am unwilling to take such a med. Then, I listen to some music. Tonight, it was "Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen" by Gustav Mahler. I used to play it twice at different orchestras, once at the university and the other time much later in fifties of age. I always love the last song "Die Zwei blauen Augen". The story of broken heart at the sweetheart's wedding ends with this funeral march. Mahler has composed quite a few funeral marches in various works like this or in the 5th symphony etc. Each is quite impressive. It is well known he has been struggling with own death throughout his life. Through beauty of music, he seems to have pursued the solution of the problem of death.
After "Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen", there was a few Lieders put in the source. One of them was "Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen" after a poem by Rueckert. This piece handles directly the problem of death. It sounds like peace which we might arrive at death. I always wonder if he has found any solution or the way to it when he finished the 9th symphony, the culmination of his music activity as a composer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTqbTP5qy7k
Anyway, it was not a right choice for a night cap.
After taking a pill, I may listen to Bach on headset in the darkness.
10/04/2025
Fall potatoes
Sweet potatoes have been harvested. Pretty big ones. In a week or so of ripening in the oom air, they will get even sweeter.
Other winter/spring vegetables like onion, green onion, radish, broccoli chinese cabbage are being planted. The last session of weeding is also done all around the property.
It is too rainy today and not suitable for farming. I would spend the day listening to Bach's keyboard music. A peaceful fall day.
10/03/2025
Faure's requiem again
Recently, I have been listening to Faure's requiem before going to sleep. The source is a performance by Orchestre de Paris conducted by Daniel Barenboim. It was recorded in 1974. Barenboim was around 32 years of age then.
As always told, this requiem is fairly lyrical. As if not done with the reality of death. Faure's 2nd son has told in his biographpy that Faure was not concerned about distress of death but was taking death as a blessing to get apart from the world full of anguish. It was an expression of the back side of his pessimism.
This Barenboim's performance sounds a bit different from the usual explanation of this requiem to me. Even though it is basically beautiful, I feel, it is oriented to expression of toughness in death. That impression comes from rather slow tempo with exaggeration of bass part, especially of the organ. Solemnity due to such perormance sure betrays our preconception for this music.
I wondered for what young Barenboim had conducted this piece in this way. It was only his 2nd recording with the orchestra. He must have had a definite motivation to choose and perform this requiem in this way. Bringing an innovation to this music?
All of sudden, I realized it was a year later than his wife Jacueline du Pres had turned out to have multiple sclerosis. It is a fatally destined illness. Both of them have enjoyed playing chambermusic a few years earlier with their company like Ithzak Perlman, Pinchas Zuckerman or Zubin Mehta. It has been left as a heavenly pleasant recording somewhere. Through Barenboim getting married with dU Pres, they have spent the happiest time in their lives. But Jacqueline's illness attacked them into abyss of absurdity. It may not be wrong to assume Barenboim has put his thought at that time into this recording.
This is not the recording I listen to. It was a bit later than that. The same orchestra conducted by Barenboim. Around 1980.
9/26/2025
Lithium could be a new treatment for Azheimer's disease
There is no decisive blow of treatment for Alzheimer's disease yet. Monoclonal antibodies against beta amyloid have been used in clinical medicine with limited success, that is, only reducing the progress of the disease to an extent. They could cause pretty serious side effects including cerebral bleeding. So no definite choice of treatment yet.
Here is an article in Nature which could sets off a new horizon for the treatment and/or prevention of Alzheimer's disease. Lithium could be such a medicine as it says from the standpoint of pathophysiological findings in mouse as well as of human pathological data. Lithium carbonate has been a drug for bipolar disorder for a long time. But it has only narrow width of concentration for treatment and could cause serious complication with overdose. Lithium orotate is introduced as a substitute. Lithium won't matter patent and, if lithium is proved clinically effective to prevent and treat Alzheimer's disease with double blind study, the medication of lithium won't cost so expensive as the antibody med or other forms of cutting edge drug. It would be another advantage of lithium med.
9/23/2025
A new variant Nimbus positive
Two or three days later than my wife, I have developed typical symptoms of Nimbus. Runny nose, wet cough and most strikingly severe sore throat as they say like swallowing razor blade in the throat. Yesterday, even it was a national holiday, a friend of ours, Dr. Cho has had his office running for COVID cases. My wife was correctly diagnosed for new variant of COVID by him. My test result was also clearly positive as shown in the photo below. My wife has been prescribed 5 days of Paxlovid. As Dr. Cho told her, med for a day could be diverted to me, not having come to see him today. Of course, I would give it back to her tomorrow when consulting his office.
Ever since the pandemic started in 2020, we have been very cautious not to be infected by the virus. This new strain Nimbus has strong immunity evasion. Fortunately, as WHO says, there are no serious comlications reported in the world.
Through this tiny experience, I have learned a few things;
As an elderly, I have felt weakness. I was not sure if it was due to my age or this contagious illness. I was surprised not to feel feverish. I was just staggering. It might be due to weakness of COVID or feverish condition
The fight against COVID is almost endless even though the newly evolving strains are less pathogenic than the previous ones. WHO observation is encouraging to us. But there could be serious mutated strains prevailing in the future.
The super big nation has withdrawn from WHO. Was it a good decision, I wonder. It would impede the lives of the people not only in the US but also in the world. If the US supports WHO in this settings, I am sure the US will be given credit by people around the world.
PS; I should have remarked with the result that it won't necessarily mean the pathogen was Nimbus. But our symptoms and epidemiological data in this area mean Nimbus as the pathogen.
I am also heartily grateful to Dr. Cho for his enthusiastic service for us. Even though he is not on the air any longer, he was a ham with a call sign of 7N2JZK.
9/15/2025
A thousand of autumns
It is my wife's 73rd birthday today. Soon, It will have been more than half a century we spent our lives together.
My wife's name, Chiaki, stands for a thousand of autumns in Japanese. Her parents have wanted her for a long time, it means. I know how much she has been loved by them.
A couple of years ago, before closing her practice, at the reception room.
She has recovered from the episode of subacute thyroiditis with steroid tapered off for now. So far, she is busy attending a sport gym and caring for flowers in the garden.
We are stepping into the last chapter of our lives. No one knows when our lives are put an end. I would do as much as I can for her in order to tell her parents when we meet in the heaven that I have tried to make her happy.
Until that time, let's grow old together!
9/09/2025
Heat wave and grass mulching
This is the rose with grass mulching I have posted a few days ago. Putting further grass beneath its branches around, the soil has been pretty wet even in the hardest sun shine. There are new leaves grown on branches as well as some new flowers. The grass would become compost in some time and nourish the tree in the future.
On the other hand, global warming which has brought about this heatwave should be handled with as soon as possible. Before we are over the tipping point. I was convinced about it again this summer.
9/04/2025
A pleasant encounter 4 years ago
Looking for any own description on Langsamer Satz by Webern, in my other blog in Japanese, I found a post on a happy meeting with Paula K9IR on 20m CW in 2021. Jim W9VNE seems to have introduced this blog to her. As she said, this blog has inspired her to consider starting violin again in her upcoming retirement. She told me she had played it in her teen age days. Stories on music and cello in this blog has invited, as she said, to do so. It was a delightful surprise to me. I have, as the post says, enthusiastically mentioned about that poignant piece by Webern to her at that time. It has occupied my mind then. Ham radio has been such a pleasant hobby and through such a QSO with her, it was the most brilliant hobby to me.
I have written about that Webern's piece twice in this blog. It was composed when he met his wife in the future and made hiking with her. He thought he would go with her hand in hand even in rainy days, that is, in the days of hardship in life. He had thought about possible unhappy days at the time of the height of happiness.
Music such as Bach, some chamber music of Beethoven, Brahms, Faure and many more, always bring me contradictory impressions at the same time. An example is Bach's Suite in h minor. In its ouverture, we hear something joyfully festive and, at the same time, sadness. The latter accentuates the former. This double meaning in some music which sound poignant may be a universal characteristics of music. It is always even mysterious to me. Good music must be resonant to us in the deepest emotion. I might have told this story in another post in the past. Listning to this Langsamer Satz by Webern, I am convinced of this consequence music gives to our mind. I might have mentioned of the same thing in the past. How Webern has composed this piece might correspond to the essential process music elicits.
It is a bit sad for me not to be able to go on talking about music on CW with her. Someday, I might have a chance to discuss about it on line.
I just wonder if she has started playing violin again.
Listening a few different sources of this piece, I am sure this one by Belcea String Quartet is the best. Most emotional and haunting. Even though I have already posted it on another post.
9/03/2025
Grass mulching
I have been practising this grass mulching for several years. This year, I have learned it was really working in the heating drought. In some cases, even live grass, so far as they won't disturb vegetables to grow, could help soil remaining humid.
9/02/2025
In order to overcome populism
This attitude in education is important. In order to overcome conspiracy which undermine our minds and to eliminate authoritarianism in politics. Both are prevailing in the present world through populism.
I have not expected to see Bertrand Russel's words shining as a proverb of wisdom after half a century pause since my young days. His works for pacifism, especially anti nuclear arm movement, still remain unforgettable achievement to me.
Quote;
“Education is conceived more in terms of indoctrination by most school officials than in terms of enlightenment. My own belief is that education must be subversive if it is to be meaningful. By this I mean that it must challenge all the things we take for granted, examine all accepted assumptions, tamper with every sacred cow, and instill a desire to question and doubt. Without this the mere instruction to memorise data is empty. The attempt to enforce conventional mediocrity on the young is criminal.“
8/27/2025
Tariffs in effect
It is only the beginning of the inflation.
The tariffs are paid by the consumer in the importing country. Are there anyone in the US believing the opposite insisted by the president?
That huge tariffs will be spent to the tax break for rich people. I hear the government is running austerity which brings about spending cuts for social security like Medicaid.
Of course, the huge tariffs by the US government would destroy the free trade in the world. It may cause the Great Depression in the world. In that context, the other countries than the US may suffer much from this solitary protectionism. It is, however, still the US people who will be in the greatest difficulty due to this huge tariffs.
Do you still believe the tariffs would be paid by the exporting countries?
8/26/2025
Two mottos
Two mottos in my ham radio life.
One is "Tell me your story" I got from Steve KF7YRL as follows;
https://nuttycellist-unknown.blogspot.com/2013/12/tell-me-your-story.html
Meaningful conversation would fill our mind. Though it was becoming more and more difficult for me to find our such a conversational QSO, I have tried hard to make each QSO in that way. Steve's operation style was far from what I did. I wonder if he still goes on with a hand key. Already retired from an ER doctor?
The other is not really a motto but a phrase by Jim W7ZQ which has made my mind warmed whenever I recall it. In the end of every QSO, he used to say that
"It is good to see you today. Because we have been friends since'60s"
I can't remember exactly how he said this but he meant that way.
His obituary in this blog is here;https://nuttycellist-unknown.blogspot.com/2016/12/jim-w7zq-passed-away.html
I often remember of him with beautiful CW. Of course, it was thanks to his perfect fist. But his Collins radio, S line and 30S1, was also a reason. No click nor distortion of course. Very translucent and mellow tone. I always admired him and his CW. And when he sent the phrase shown above in the end, I always got knock out. I always have made effort to do the same thing in every QSO with others but am not confident at it at all.
If these two mottos were fulfilled in ham radio world, I would have come back to it at once.
8/24/2025
The conspiracy theorists are terminating mRNA research in the US
The US government is withdrawing granting the research of mRNA vaccine. The size of grant being terminated is up to 500 million USD. The research on mRNA vaccine has been made since the end of the last century. It is going to bear a lot of fruits in medical science. Whatever unscientific conspiracy might insist, it is definitely a scientific fact that mRNA vaccine against COVID19 virus has saved numerous lives with slightest complication. It is hoped to work in treatments for cancer, autoimmune diseases or inheritec diseases.
This cancellation of mRNA vaccine by the US government would cause delay in medical research resulting in misfortune to the US people and even a big tragedy among them when the next pandemic occurs. The conspiracy theorists won't take any responsibility for those results.
It is terrifying that such conspiracy theorists, without any background of medicine or related science, are handling such health issues important for the people. The basic problem is that there are some people approving the conspiracy fraud. For what do they believe in such ideas?
8/23/2025
Tom K5RC passed away
8/21/2025
Mugonkan to be revisited
A musium memorial for the young painters victimized as soldiers during WWII, Mugonkan, that stands for a wordless musium. It is located in Ueda city in Nagano.
I have been there for 3 times since 2018. Three to four hours drive one way. Not an easy drive but still worth visiting it.
https://nuttycellist-unknown.blogspot.com/search?q=MUGONKAN
What does it attract me so much? One reason is that the works exhibited there all silently as well as strongly appeal how they had lived and what they would leave to us. As told in another post, they are overlapped with my father who spent young days as they did and had a hope to be a painter. I also consider of the young people in the wars in Ukraine, Gaza and so forth. Most of them are being killed before realizing their capabilities.
This is a video clip introducing the museum. It was founded in 1997 by Seiichiro Kubota who had collected the paintings for 20 years. Getting old, he has decided to have it succeeded by the educational institution of Ritsumeikan recently.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t43WA-O6fQI
I wonder if I could revisit there some day.
8/20/2025
Brahms violin sonatas and his pessimism
8/12/2025
Chicken seasoned with miso and salted rice malt
8/11/2025
A memory of the orchestra camp half a century ago
This is not a credible memory but I had my cello broken during one of the camps. That might be at a camp other than this place. Anyway, I had to bring the cello to exchange to another back to Tokyo. I was not caring about what to wear etc and was wearing "geta". At the station, my friends were farewelling me singing ”Grandfather's Clock". With a substitute cello, I used to get back to the camp on a night train on the return. Eary in the morning the day after, the train almost arriving at the station of the camping site, the valley has extened in morning mist, so serene and beautiful. I could not forget the scene.
8/10/2025
Tim VK3IM passed away
Last night, I have received an e mail from Dit HS0ZQE telling Tim VK3IM passed away 3 days ago. It was an expected news but still a sad one which brought me a big loss in my mind.
I have met him first in '60s when he was VK3AZY. After a long pause of QRT for 10 years, when I came back on the radio at the dormitory of a med school hospital in 1980, I started talking to him quite often. As I wrote in the other posts regarding him, he was commuting between Mt. Eliza, a suburb of Melbourne, and Melbourne.
On the way back home from his office, he often operated /M on his old Mazda. It was equipped with a home brew whip with a big loading coil and a top hat capacitor. I came back to the dorm after a busy day work. We started chatting on 40m CW. My antenna was only a vertical on the roof. But around or a bit after the sunset, the grey line path enabled us enjoy chatting for some time. Despite of having a kind of introverted character in a sense, he was a sociable experienced ham. He always enjoyed chatting friends world wide. It was amazing he used to work with Europe via long path on 40m or even on 80m from that tiny mobile station. I still remember his fast CW on a bit chirpy signal. That chirp was a kind of fascinating to me.
We shared old friends together such as Harry G3ATH, formerly 9V1MT in '60s, VK4CC, VK3XU and many more. We have not run out topics to talk about especially on good old days. It was an unforgettable QSO when he told me about his mother passing away. When he came home, he found her dead on a locking chair on the veranda. What a shock it was for him! We have talked for more than 3 hours, I believe. On the other time, he told me how he was washing cloths at home. He didn't have a washing machine and washed them in the bath tub. It was a fun to imagine him doing that. He used to visit Ara VK1ARA, one of my old friends in teen age days, in Canberra on a winter holidays. Ara was JA1RHL in the same town as I started radio and, later, managed a Japanese restaurant in Canberra those days. I don't know why but he could not see him in person and came home all alone. I bet he was hesitating to see him in eye ball. What a shy guy!
I might have recorded parts of our chats in the log. I should reopen those old logs.
When he reached home in Mt. Eliza, he often told me to hold on. He used to say " I would bring the radio into the house and, together with a glass of vermouth, go into the shack. Let's carry it on!".
With him passing away now, those good old days have belong to the memories in the past, which I could never reach again any longer. In his latest years, he has suffered from cause unknown illness of pain, which he should use opiates to relieve from. Without his beloving hobby at the nursing home, what days of grief he has had to spend! Now he is free from those agonizing time on the earth. I have lost an irreplaceable companion in the journey of life. I would, however, say "you have lived a good life in your way and take good rest in heaven now".
About 40 years ago, Tim on the bonnet of old Mazda.
8/02/2025
Decoration of the administrative data leads to...
When the administration intentionally sugarcoats, decorates or even hides the administrative data like labor statistics, it means the administration is destroying the country. Such administrative data is important because it is the basis to eavaluate the effects of certain administrative policy. Without the administrative data based on facts, the effects of any policy could never be evaluated. Then, the politics and administration would become a typical autocracy.
An example of such case in the history is the end of USSR. Most autocratic countries are still committing the same mistakes/faults. It is the people who would suffer most from sch administration, I am afraid. It would take a long time to recover credits from losing it with such manipulation.
This news is really shocking to me. The USA has been a country of democracy and righteous as well as fair administration in the past. It seems, however, to undergo a drastic change toward autocracy in this respect.
8/01/2025
Midsummer
7/31/2025
A trivial trouble, still serious one for me
As wrote in the previous post, I tried to listen to Beethoven's last three sonatas in bed last night.
Alas, in the 2nd movement of Arietta of Nr32, the most impressive movement, the CD abruptly ran abnormally. The same phrase has repeated endlessly. I asked myself if this CD had also undergone another aging issue. It is the CD of the last three piano sonatas played by Horzsowsky manufactured in Austria in 1991. A 34 year old one! So far, it is the best rendition of these sonatas for me. The cover triumphantly says it is digitally remastered. Remastering could not do with aging?! It must be no longer in production. I felt to be told to set up music distribution through the internet.
I thought I still could fight with the situation. Watching the disc surface carefully, I found tiny dust ball there. I cleaned it away with a soft cloth. It has worked. The CD has run without any trouble this time.
I have kept the disc within the player for several days. The CD must have got that dust there. The CD case is a much safer place to keep CD, I knew now. And cleaning the surface from time to time may be necessary for uneventful playing and for the player itself as well.
This CD is really a treasure for me. I was much relieved to have it work again with such simple procedure!
7/30/2025
Beethoven's last piano sonatas
The heat wave is so bad that it is almost impossible for me to work while sun is high in the sky. Luckily, the weeds won't grow too fast in this hot season and I won't be hassled with them so much.
Five days ago, it was father's 106th birthday. Working in the farm and garden in morning and early evening, I recalled of him having done the same thing here decades ago. As reiterated in this blog before, he has been deprived of his young days by the war. He was blessed, however, living with family members at this place in stead of that critical life threatening period in his young days.
Comparing to his life, what would happen to me?, I often asked myself. It is unlikely that such as the WWII father used to endure in his young days would happen to me so far. In my young days, it was an uneventful time for myself as well as our country. I have spent such a happy young days with ham radio, music and study in medicine. However, something serious is surely approaching to us without any apparent preceding sign, I feel. With the governmental debt being increased in astronomically large amount, they are still going on military expansion. Certain proportion of mass is approving it. Not too far before it gets bankrupted. A lot of people will suffer from that. Those living on pension including myself may be confronted with difficulties soon.
It might be a never experienced hardship, even qualitatively different, comaprable to father's time in WWII.
Thinking of such a thing and own personal failures in my life, I often could not fall asleep. My wife may say it is due to too much nap in the day time. Anyway, in such a case, I always listen to beloving music. One of them is this latest piano sonata by Beethoven. Horszowsky is weaving a relieving as well as soothing world with his warm touched piano. I often go through the last 3 sonatas at one time. They sure remind me of the last chapter of Jean Christophe by Romain Rolland. The days to be born. In my young days, it was only a time of imagination. It is becoming a reality for me for now.
7/25/2025
Responsibility as a perpetrator to neighbor countries in WWII
The 80th anniversary of defeat in WWII is coming soon. There will be a lot of papers or broadcasting programs against war publicated in mass media. Most of them are based on the experiences of Japanese people as sufferers or victims in WWII. It is worth leaving their words on record for the future generation. It is, however, only one aspect of the war.
Having invaded and perpetrated to the neighbor countries, especially, China, is the other aspect of the war for us. Of course, it has done by the people one or two generations prior to us. In the continuity of history, however, we won't be free from the crime and sin our ancestors have committed in that invading war. That invasion to the neighbor countries were plotted and executed by the military leaders fanaticized in imperialistic autocracy. It is ascribed to the Showa emperor. Still, the people could never be free from the responsibility for the war. There were ten millions of people killed in China by invading Japanese military. That memory won't be vanished among people in China.
I recently learned some Chinese captives had been vivisectioned by Japanese military for training of the newly deployed military doctors as "a normal routine". I knew of the history of horrible human experiments done in China by the Japanese 731st troop, which had been elucidated by several researchers and are well known. I was, however, shocked to know such vivisection executed as "a normal training" in the Japanese military.
When the war was finished as defeat of our country in 1945, hundreds Japanese soldiers including those involved in that war crime have been arrested and accomodated in the camps in China. Several people have testified the communist government treated them like real guests in order to have them become aware of their war crime by themselves. While the communist government has done harsh punishment/treatment to those working for Japanese military betraying Chinese people, they have treated the Japanese prisoners with compassion. Of course, the communist government intended to propagandize their idea to the prisoners as well as to Japanese people in homeland. Japanese prisoners have been released from the camps once the camp personnel acknowledged of their reflection on war crimes. Those captured in China have never sentenced to death or life imprisonment while tens or hundreds were sentenced to death in the other countries.
We should remember what our military has done in WWII and pursue the war crime responsibility in the leaders. Without that, we won't reach the real reflection on the perpetration and war crimes to the other countries during the war. It seems we have not gone through thorough pursue of the responsibility for the war.
This is another aspect of war crime responsibility we should not forget. Without that, there would be ultra right political movements which aim at restoring regime of the imperialistic autocracy.
7/24/2025
Visiting the med school hospital we served residency
Subacute thyroiditis, mostly a disease of grown ups, has been a famous entity since our med student days. Appropriately diagnosed with it by our friend doctor, my wife has undergone a typical course. They say it is caused by respiratory viral infection. In the acute phase, the patient could develop symptoms of hyperthyroidism with excessive thyroid hormone released from the damaged thyroid gland. My wife has experienced tachycardia and premature beat for the symptom ascribed to it. She may experience transient hypothyroidism later soon in the recovery phase. I am almost touched to see a typical course, rather serious one, as we used to learn in the student days, has been observed in her, of course, while I am worried about it. This entity is quite rare in pediatrics and I could not remember any case of this famous disease in my medical doctor days. I remembered that I had learned a lot from various patients regarding different illnesses when I was a resident. I recalled how I had learned as a new doctor.
Just in case of any complication etc, she was referred to the med school where we have served residency even though she feels great at present. She is waiting for the lab exam data at the hospital now. Driving with her to the hospital this morning, we have talked a lot our days of residency. It's almost half a century ago. The hospital buildings have been modified at many places. The resident house where we have spent honey moon days seems to have been demolished for now. Everything has been replaced to new buildings. Almost half a century ago since our resident days. Not dreamed we would attend this hospital as a patient.
It is in a terrible heat wave here. In half an hour, I would head to the hospital to bring her back home. May it be some interal before either of us go there as a patient again. Even if not in half a century from now!
PS; She will be on steroid medication for 3 months. The endocrinologist said her it could recur and medication should be continued and tapered off gradually. It was beyond my expectation.
7/22/2025
My wife's illness
It has kept me so busy for the last week that I had to care for my wife with fever and do house chores in addition to whole garden/farm work.
She has been sick with mild fever and sore throat with tender soft tisssue mass in the front of the neck. A friend doctor, Cho, another ham 7N2JZK, has given her the correct diagnosis of subacute thyroiditis a few days ago. With drip infusion of steroid, she got dramatically better today. We could not be thankful more to him than ever.
She has had arrthythmia which turned out to be supraventricular premature contraction which is confirmed with ECG. The thyroid function was compatible with subacute thyroiditis. The acute phase reactant, CRP, was pretty high over 10.
She has been a stout lady without health issue. With her getting sick, I found how much I debted to her in daily routine. Although I have cooked dinner once a couple of days, she has done it as well and always washed dishes etc every day. Washing clothes is another chore she always has done. Most importantly, it was a big worry and stress for me she could have fallen seriously ill. I have never experienced that for almost half a century in our marriage.
Both of us are getting older. We should cherish every day being together. It is not guaranteed at all this uneventful day will go on tomorrow.
7/13/2025
Reminiscence of Jun JA7SSB
In some ham radio clubs abroad, there seems to be a tradition to memorize old timers in the club who have passed away. Of course, those past hams are destined to be forgotten in some time. However, the recollection of them must help new comers to understand how ham radio has evolved even if they don't know those old timers in person. I believe keeping records of those old hams having passed is worth not only as reminiscence but also a history of this hobby. In our counry, such recording is not very popular so far as I surfed around ham club sites in our country.
There must be only few who know of Jun JA7SSB for now. He was one of the pioneers in ham radio in our country in the post WWII era. He has been active on the air, especially on CW. With extensive experience and knowledge in radio communication, he has often published reviews on new radio equipment in magazines. As the obituary written by me shown below, I knew him through CW communication and FOC membership. Our friendship was never close or long lasting. He is still an unforgettable friend in ham radio. He should be remembered in ham radio.
He has visited me at this place maybe in 1990s. He must be in late 70s of his age then. He has driven the long way from Fukushima by himself. At another occasion, when I was shocked and depressed having had a bad lightning strike to the tower and most equipments were destroyed around the same time in 1990s, he, kindly telling me the probability of direct lightning attack is pretty low, kicked me back into ham radio again. Without his encouragement, I could have gone QRT at that time.
The following is the obituary for him which I was asked to write by FOC in 2008;
Jun was born in China in 1931. When the WWII was over, he came back to Kyoto in Japan with his family, where he was first licensed as JA3CKI in 1955. I used to hear he had been active as a SWL some years before that. He was a real pioneer in the resurrection of ham radio in Japan after WWII. His new own business has brought him up to Fukushima. He got a new call JA7SSB there.
He has been quite active in various aspects of amateur ham radio. He has published a number of articles on reviews of new equipments or on technical issues in various journals here. DXing and contesting were also his interests. He has been translating DX news from overseas into Japanese and has published them on a web site. Later, he has enjoyed leisurely chats on CW with friends all over the world. I should add his contribution to the new comers. He said he had been keeping a net for CW practice for 12 years. It has been held twice a week on VHF for the new comers in the area. He might have shed good seeds who would be good CW operators in the future.
Personally, I have become acquainted with him around 1990 a few years after I had entered the club. He was so experienced in radio communication technology and had ample knowledge of radio equipment. He won’t, however, show off them to me at all but behaved like a real old friend. I am sure he has been doing the same way to the new comers or his friends there. A few years later, he was approved to be a member of the club. Some of you might have heard him on CW with not necessarily fast but steady keying in morning or in evening.
His death came all of sudden due to a heart attack on Dec 2 2008. He has written and published a column in the local club web site on the very same day. In its last part, he said, despite of the confusion in the world, he won’t despair. Enduring the present situation, he would make effort to live better reflecting own mind and would look for a new world.
We are saddened to know we won’t hear his signal again. This great experienced ham who has always run ahead of us in various fields of ham radio will be missed by all of us.