As for use of the artificial sweetners

Artificial sweetners are widely used in various foods or beverages. The manufacturers insist that the sweetners are of help to reduce the caloric intake. They are actually very powerful to flavor foods and beneficial for the manufacturers. 

However, there have been a variety of questions regarding use of this kind of ingredients. Artificial sweetners won't give sufficient feeling of fullness, so that it won't be of much use for dieting. 

There have been debates on its carcinogenicity for years. WHO used to appeal against its use due to probable carcinogenicity, even if it is not concluded yet. 

The following article says it has adverse effect on developing dementia based on a large scale and long duration epidemiological study. It is only an observatory one not controlled. There could be confounding factors influencing the result between high and low intake groups. It still seems highly likely that the artificial sweetners are related with development o dementia. 

Last year, our administration office determined a guideline on the description on food items as for the artificial sweetners use. It has not forbidden to use the artificial sweetners but forbade describing that "the item contains no artificial sweetners". The reason is that such items with the description shown above could look of high quality. What a non sense!

The administration is inclined to behave in capitalistic logic, that is, to priotize people's health over the benefit of the artificial sweetner manufacturing industries. We should be rational and intelligent by ourselves as for such as this artificial sweetner issue. 

Development of dementia is a long lasting and multiactorial process. We should avoid any factors responsible for that in daily life. At least, I have been careful not taking any foods containing artificial sweetners.

Gonçalves NG, et al. Association Between Consumption of Low- and No-Calorie Artificial Sweeteners and Cognitive Decline: An 8-Year Prospective Study．Neurology. 2025;105:e214023．doi.org/10.1212/WNL.0000000000214023

Peacefulness in the farm

Again too far apart from the last renewal of this blog. Getting cooler or even more chilly day by day, it has been the best season for me to seed or plant vegetables for the coming winter. It has kept me busy in addition to pulling the weeds in the lawn etc. 

This is another spontaneously grown white radish. There have been several radishes grown to bear seeds, which were spontaneously seedled this spring , I guess. I was surprised to see this one grown so big without any care. It will be a material for Oden later.

This splendid growth of this radish made me convinced that seeds from certain kind of vegetable grown at a place would do so well at the very same place as I wrote in a previous post. No sign of disturbed repetition of cultivation.  

Onion seedles planted in grass mulch. Onion seeded by myself are not growing well enough to seedle yet. These seedles were purchased at a shop last month and temporarily planted at another place. More than 100 seedles were planted. Even though this kind would last long possibly until the winter in 2026, who would consume them?

Tiny young pea plants are budding from the seeds harvested this spring.

Spinach is also budding successfully. This lot has been seeded a week ago when it was pretty cool. Covered with non woven fabric and watered enough, these tiny buds came out. I was suspicious that they might not come out in this prewinter weather. But they sure did. You may laugh at me being moved at these tiny plants coming on the soil in the farm.

Marie gold is fully blooming. It has not bloomed in the hottest season but has come out when it got this cool. Lovely flowers. It has been planted to prevent a kind of nematode which disturbes growth of tomatoes. This year, unfortunately, tomatoes were not successful due to a kind of bug aspirating the fruits and leading to decay. It is another question how to avoid it without using insectcides. 

 

When I sit on the soil of the farm, a kind of peacefulness difficult to express by words sometimes overwhelms my mind. A famous farmer of natural farming told we could sense ourselves as a part of the flow of lives when working in the farm. That peacefulness might be related with such an internal perception even if we feel it as it is or not. In that sense, we could be totally free from any attributes given by the others or even our wish or demand for any thing in the world. When convinced with this peacefulness or relief, we might overcome the problem of our death. We just live in the flow of lives and would return to the other phase of life in nature when dying.   

Being a psychiatrist

Recently, I have been corresponding with my brother quite often. We share the same memories in our young days. A lot of things to talk about. Such as on our parents, the training days as doctor, present socioeconomical issues, the prospect on the coming elderly days and so on.

He is now 72 years old and is working at a prefectural hospital  as a psychiatrist in Iwate Prefecture a few hundred km north of here. He has been the only brother whom I have been proud of since his young days. Intellectual, affectionate to family members, others and possibly to his patients as well.

He repeatedly complained that he had felt deeply tired while working at the hospital of late. At first, I thought he had been stressed at his plan of retirement in next September. Yes, he has finally decided to retire. I asked him if I guessed it right. He answered no. He has been burdened with the patients' worries and anxieties. Psychiatric patients are often in hardship in life and poverty in the community in addition to the problems pertinent to their illnesses like delusions and/or illusions etc. Psychiatrists try to understand what they think of and to keep distance from it as well at the same time. 

In my brother's case, since he has been too compassionate others including his patients, he could not stop being devoted to them wholeheartedly. It is a kind of drawback as a psychiatrist. He should do with it, a natural character for him. Even an ordinary person may experience to the same kind of being burdened by those psychiatric patients.  

      

I would have majored in psychiatry when I decided to become a doctor. One reason was that I was influenced by works of V.E. Frankle, Karl Jaspers and so forth those days. I have acquainted with a family with several psychiatric patients as well and innocence of youth has made me feel I would be of help to those people. But in the faculty, the bed side training in pediatrics has lured me to working as a pediatrician as the patients were so lovely and a lot of them could recover quickly when given proper treatments. 

I don't really know what has lead my brother to his profession. Since he has not changed his speciality and is going to end his career as a psychiatrist, he might have felt it was worth working for those patients. If I am allowed to say, he has been crucified with his profession while he felt that worthiness. 

It won't last forever but will end in next September. I hope he will get it through by any means. I thought I could have been in his position if I chose psychiatry. Hearty gratitude and cheers to psychiatrists struggling in their profession indispensible in the society! 

Renovation of my room

It has been a project, candidly a reluctant one, for me to renovate my radio shack into a den. The big study table which I used at the former office and was left unused for sometime. Bringing it to my room here was the main thing of this project.

It has been done yesterday. Exactly speaking, the move of the table was successfully done.

The table used since 2011, a humble dinning table, used to replace the older one  which had been destroyed by the big earthquake in 2011. The broken table has let the radio gears slipped down on the floor. I became apathic and it took a week or so to things recovered again. 

Having been attached to that old dining table, I still wanted to remodel the room with the radio gears taken away. I still would like to come back on the radio with smaller set up. But it might take me a bit more time. I wanted to get the table tidy without a lot of radio apparatus and cable wires on it.

First, I packed my lovely keys into a box. A vibroplex bug made in 1949. a gift from Don WB6BBC, another Vibroplex purchased recently, a Begali paddle, a gift from Bill W6QR, a straight key named HK3 by Hi-mound, the only radio item I still keep since my teen age days. Other than these, there are Schurr paddle, a gift from Joe DL4CF and a Mercury paddle. The keyer is MM3 by AEA I got in '80s, which I loved its shape of Morse codes so much I have never used the other keyers, internal or external. My lovely companion in ham radio life. Hopefully, I would reopen it and place everything at right place soon. Of course, I have put cushioning material between the items in the box.

 

Even if I renew the station license, it would be quite difficult for me to satisfy the requirement. I have lost any will to do with the bureaucratic system. The amplifier should be given to someone who could utilize it. In case of coming back, I would keep FT2000, at first, a book end.

And my study table looks like this. You may laugh at the cables coming in the room. I would get them disposed of very soon. A few plaques of the JIDXC I got decades ago and a plaque of FOC may be saved from being trashed so far. At first when I saw this table set here after a long time, I felt impressed a bit. But in a few hours, everything looks same as before. 

 It was a kind of end of life planning for me. There are a lot more to do for that. One of them is whom my cello is taken over to. It was a most important thing for me in my forties through sixties. I should look for someone who would play it as a life companion. 

One of the unexpected result from this renovation is that I could reach the audio system much easier. I may listen to a lot of music from now on. I have found several QSL card requests from overseas at shaded area. I should reply to them as well. Wondering if those senders are still enjoying radio.

So one of the projects is almost completed. 

Spontaneously growing carrots

At a corner of my small farm, there are a number of carrots growing completely spontaneously. There were carrots grown there last year, which flowered this spring, have shed seeds and have sowed them around themselves. These carrots are from those seeds.

Those spontaneously grown plants are told to grow well at the place. I don't know how it occurs. It is still well known "mycorrhizial fungi" around the plants are working together with the plants, transferring nutrients from the plants to the fungi while the former accepting such as phosphorus from the latter. That synbiosis is essential for the plants. 

The fungi invades the plants in a way and its genetic information is let in tha latter. They say the genome could be contained in the seeds. That may be why the newly grown plants from those seeds are adapted well to the soil. I was excited to read about this mechanism. Mother nature has provided such a deliberate system.

Hopefully, they will grow and would become materials for dishes this winter. 

If the real world is provided with the same synbiosis for human beings, I wonder if we are living on it or ostracizing, killing each other. 

 

Autumn days

Fall seems to be changing its position to winter very soon. It will get below 10 degrees C early in the morning here in a few days. I am hurried up sowing the seeds of winter/spring vegetables now. In next month, onion seedlings will be planted. Then I will be free from farming for a while.

A couple of days ago, hearing from my brother that they are not very well, I have visited an old couple in a town of 30 minutes drive. The husband, 85 years of age, used to get married to our cousin decades ago, who passed away all of sudden at her pretty young age. She was kind to us and used to often help us for chores starting our residency at a med school almost hal a century ago. When she got serious intracranial bleeding, she was referred to a med school hospital I was working. Being only a pediatrician, I could not do anything for her but just watched how she was tried to be rescued at the ER. It turned out in vain. They have had 3 daughters by then. I recently heard one of their granddaughter had become a med student.

Years have passed when he got remarried with another lady, his present wife. She, a woman of good will and kindness, used to help us with my parents and our kids for years. Since both of us were working busily as doctors, her aid for my old parents and for house chores was really appreciated. 

The husband told he had had complete AV block which urged him to be equipped with heart pacemaker a couple of years ago. He was smiling to tell me it would work for a decade. The wife was more serious with congestive heart failure. She looked rather pale. She said the heart output had been only a fraction of normal. She seemed to get tired easily while doing something. She told me, with faint smile, it won't be too long before she would be called to heaven. 

Both of them have been christians since their young days. It has become difficult for them to attend to a church due to health issues. They have not asked for any help by the local  administration, which I could hardly believe. They have a daughter working a nurse not too far away. It seemed she had been visiting them for help, even though not too often. 

Handed them my cell phone number and mail address, telling them to call me when they need any urgent help, I quit their home, which was beautifully cared for with grass and flowers. I promised them to bring vegetables grown in my garden farm sometime in the near future.

I regretted not having tried to get in touch with this old couple for such a long time. We had been helped so much by them when we needed their help. It is our turn to do so for them. 

And at the same time, I felt both of us were getting into the same chapter of life as they did. Warm autumn days in life won't last too long.

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.

She noted that the goal of totalitarian education was never to instill belief, but to destroy the very capacity for belief. When people no longer know what to trust, when facts become interchangeable with fiction, the ground of moral judgment collapses.

Arendt wrote:

“This constant lying is not aimed at making the people believe a lie, but at ensuring that no one believes anything anymore. A people that can no longer distinguish between truth and lies cannot distinguish between right and wrong. And such a people, deprived of the power to think and judge, is, without knowing and willing it, completely subjected to the rule of lies. With such a people, you can do whatever you want.”

Her insight remains unsettlingly relevant. When truth is corroded, it is not replaced by another belief—it is replaced by confusion. And confusion, left unchecked, becomes the perfect soil for control.

Hannah Arendt (1906–1975), a German-born historian and philosopher, spent her life examining how freedom is undone not just by violence, but by the quiet decay of truth itself.

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. 

Fall potatoes

Potatoes are grown twice in a year. Spring and fall. The fall seed potatoes should have shorter resting period than the spring ones. If the resting period is too long, it would take weeks to have them sprouted. They won't grow before it gets frosty.

This year, I have forgotten purchasing the short resting potatoes. Reluctantly, I have planted some potatoes harvested this spring. They are told to have intermediate range of the resting period. I have chosen those already budding on the surface.

In a couple of weeks, even though I was doubtful it would happen, some of them are sprouting out. Much grass compost around them. Hopefully, they may bear new potatoes by November. I am moved to see new lives are being born as expected.

 

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.

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.

 

 

Barenboim has left remarkable achievements in music. I always admire, in addition to a lot of marvellous performances as a pianist as well as a conductor, his efforts with West Eastern Divan Orchestra to unite Israeli musicians with Palestanians. He has suffered from Parkinsonism himself and is slowly taking his exit from his career as a musician now. What is he thinking of this requiem now?

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. 

 Aron L, et al. Lithium deficiency and the onset of Alzheimer’s disease. Nature. 2025. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09335-x

If lithium med is proved to be of use, hasten to publish it in the market. Millions of people must be waiting for it. John AC4CA should have been one of them since he had his wife Jackie suffering from Alzheimer's disease and was always concerned about any new treatment.

     

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.  

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! 

Heat wave and grass mulching

As already told, the heat wave and drought have been quite harsh this year. The highest temp in a day has been over 35 deg C for a few weeks. They say even summer vegetables won't grow if the highest temp goes over 35 deg C. All the green beans have been withered. So did from 30 to 40% of sweet melons. Others have also been weakened despite of some watering once a day or so. Some professional farmers are watering their vegetables with continuous irrigation system. It is not a pratical idea for an amateur like me. 

I have tried grass mulching again. Carrots need much water until budding when sowed on soil. Home grown carrot seeds were sowed once with total failure even watered twice in a day. Then I put some grass mulch on it while watering in the same way. They were successfully germinated as this photo shows. Of course, the mulching has been taken off when buds were recognized.

The seeds of carrot are well known for being photophilic. I was afraid the mulching would have disturbed germination hiding light reaching the seeds. But it didn't matter. Seems the sunray in summer was strong enough to get through the mulching. I am happy those home grown seeds would grow to be harvested in several weeks. It is a step toward self contained farming. 

 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.

A pleasant encounter 4 years ago

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

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

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

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

I just wonder if she has started playing violin again.

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

  

 

Grass mulching

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

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

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

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

In order to overcome populism

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

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

Quote;

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

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

Tariffs in effect

It is only the beginning of the inflation.

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

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

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

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

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

Two mottos

 Two mottos in my ham radio life.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The conspiracy theorists are terminating mRNA research in the US

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

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

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

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

Tom K5RC passed away

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

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

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

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

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

 

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.

Brahms violin sonatas and his pessimism

The 3 violin sonatas by Brahms have been my favorite since the university days. Recently,

I have been listening to a CD of those sonatas at night again. It takes almost an hour. But whenever I do it, I feel it is worth spending time with it.

They are a real achievement in that genre in the late romantic era. The duo of violin and piano go side by side. One of the most prominent characteristics of this work is that Brahms comes up to us and whispers an intimate idea inward to our ears. I am moved by that close feeling brought about in mind. This might be a common characteristic in his chamber music.

Those sonatas were composed in the mid to late term of his life. It's still hued with the lonliness or even the desolation. Just listen to the 3rd movement of the 1st sonata or whole the 3rd sonata, which I believe this character is most clearly demonstrated. Resisting to it with passion even though it is destined to fail. It won't give us any resolution but sure sounds like companion whispering to me in my ear.

The CD is a rendition by Hetzel, the violinist, and Deutsche, the pianist, recorded in 1992. Hetzel was the concert master of Vienna Philharmonic, one of the most famous and prestigious orchestra in the world. Unfortunately, however, in a few months after this recording, he has died due to an accident while climbing mountains. He was only 52 years of age, too young to die. This tragedy has made this recording even more precious to me. Has he guarded his hands while falling off a cliff?

The desolated feeling is able to be heard in the other music composed by Brahms throughout his life. Most remarkable in the latest years of his life like the famous clarinet quintet. However, he seemed to be liable to that kind of pessimism from his young days. The last movement of his 3rd piano quartet is such an example. When I listened to his 1st violin sonata named Riegenlied sonata after his lied, I was reminded of that piano quartet.

I have enjoyed playing that particular movement with friends in the university days. An old upright piano was set at a classroom in tiers exposed to the western sunlght through the window. Around the pianist, there were 3 string players. At that time, the melody in the beginning accompanied with same figure sounded a kind of pessimism to me. I remembered of that when I started to listen the 3rd movement of the 1st sonata, all after half a century interval.  I could not help wondering how those friends are doing now.

So that is the story of remembrance of Brahms and re-encounter to the same music.

Chicken seasoned with miso and salted rice malt

As we get older, we are apt to have the problem of sarcopenia, gradual muscle loss, which could lead to frail and fracture with falling. We need high quality meat. Processed food is handy but not very healthy. It is thought to be related with carcinogenesis.

At our home, this menu comes in handy. Chicken breast seasoned with miso and salted rice malt. It could be preserved in refrigerator for a few days. Not boring with mildly salty taste. If you are concerned about salt intake, you may use less salted rice malt.

　

 

A memory of the orchestra camp half a century ago

Maybe, I have reiterated about the university orchestra camp in this blog. It was held in the end of this month. Over half a century ago. At the valley of Shinshu surrounded with high mountains named Northern Japan Alps. 

As the season coming closer every year, I could not help remembering of that event even though it has passed a long time since that. Description and a few photos of that event just for my memoir in youth...even though I know I have done the same thing in the past.

This lake named Aokiko was close to the camp site. In the free time of the camp, some of us have made excursion there. Rowing boat and even swimming. No one was swimming other than us. As written before, until we finished swimming across the lake, we didn't know it had been so dangerous to swim there due to its big change of water temerature for a possibility that it had been forbidden to swim there.  

This place used to be commercialized with a lot of advertisements or accomodations  when the winter Olympic games were held in Nagano. After its enthusiasm was gone, it turned back to the usual tranquility. I have visited there with my wife in our honey moon period and then alone by myself for a lot of times. The photos shown in this post were taken about 10 years ago.

After swimming in the lake, we walked down to the camp place on this road. It took us an hour or so on foot. We must be pretty tired but could not be even more energitic and vivid. A lot of laughter and talks among the young fellows, some of them in swim suites. I was happy to find the area in the same way as half a century ago. Was it an illusion at taking this photo as if I could see that herd of young people were walking to the lodge?

This is the lodge we often held the camp. Despite of some modifications, the lodge remained almost the same as the orchestral camping days in '70s. Hidden by trees on the left in this photo is the hall we made rehearsal. A range of high moutains not seen by the fog on this photo is risen behind the hills  in front. In the end of this month, cool breeze ushering in early fall was blowing down from the mountains. The railway in front is named Ohito line running along the valley, the most western side of the great rit valley in Japan dividing our country east to west. Unfortunately, there are less and less passengers on it and the rail line could be abolished in the near future, I am afraid. These accomodations may undergo a change then.

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.

                                                                                            

It was only a few years since I started learning cello. I could play only some parts of pieces the orchestra was practising. The pieces I used to play in the orchestra have left me precious and irreplaceable memories. One of such pieces is this; Petit Suite by Debussy. A lovely and impressionistic expression of the scene. It sure brings me back to the memory of the camping site and the lake mentioned above.

I am so grateful to have had such memories related with such a beautiful music.

I am still sometimes fascinated to drive to this area by myself. It has become, howeveer, too adventurous for me to do that any more. I would devote myself to the old memories listening to this piece.

 

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.