Tree flowers, vegetables and Bonhoeffer

A few days later than the last post of this magnolia, it became fully bloomed. I love it most. When I sent this photo to my brother, he told me our mother used to say it was the time to go picking parsley, possibly naturally grown at a bank of a river nearby. 

Japanese plum is also full blown now. Both the couple of the trees have a lot of blossoms. Good harvest of plum might be expected. 

View in close up. 

Camelia is also in full bloom. 

I love this flower in gentle pink.

Burdock has a seedling. I have sown its seeds at various places. They have budded for some time. But, in some time as getting colder, they have gone. I thought they had been killed by the coldness. They were alive and revived in this warmth of spring. It is always moving me a lot. Working with those plants, I feel I am let to live together with them. What a lovely being!  

Other than this, green pea and potato are budding as well. I am going to plant the other vegetables in the coming few weeks. When it is forcasted to get frosty, I should keep them guarded from it. Frost could come on for another month.

Besides these farm works, I am reading the bio of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. I might mention of him, a theologist as well as a pastor, who used to be killed by Nazis a month prior to the end of the WWII in Germany due to his commitment in assasination plan for Hitler. In this time when totaltareanism seems to rule the world, his life and works have come in my mind. I used to read his "Nachfolge" when I was a student at a reading club lead by an evangelist. He was a really excellent theologist as well, who used to study and get the PhD in theology in Germany not too long after the end of WWII. I have never imagined recalling of that reading club and Bonhoeffer so long after. There are a lot of differences in the situation between the Nazis era and present days. Now the super rich is trying to rule the world and there are people following those oligarch. A kind of quasi religion which is quite similar to Nazis era. I may mention about it in relation with the life of Bonhoeffer later.  

 

Magnolia starting blooming

The magnolia in the garden has started blooming. It is only an event repeated every spring, not dramatic nor exciting, for others. It still means special to me. 

It reminds me of my parents who have planted it here and have enjoyed its growth and blooming every spring. I could not see it without remembering of my parents.

They have lived the hard time in WWII and the postwar period in poverty. They have struggled raisin us, 3 kids, in Tokyo. Eventually, they have been settled down at this place where they started own family. Looking at this tree or the other flower trees, they might have felt relieved at the end of their journey of life. 

The other thought is a question how many times I could see it blooming. At my age, it is an earnest question. The more earnest the question is, the more I should cherish it, I believe.  

 

When a nation hides or discards its administrative data

Federa Economic Statistic Advisory Committee, FESAC, has put an end to its activity. It is a committee composed of economic statistics researchers, who have joined almost in volunteer. They have advised the related administration organizations on statistical methodology and other technical matters related to the collection, tabulation, and analysis of federal economic statistics.

https://apps.bea.gov/fesac/

The Trump administration has started discarding or hiding the statistics data which are incompatible with their policy and/or the result of the policy. Historically, those countries which have hidden the administration data have always perished sooner or later. The most recent example is USSR.

When the administration discards or hides the related statistics, they won't be able to evaluate a certain policy. The politics and administration stray into a mess. Without proper evaluation of certain policy, how could they make the next move? It is quite doubtful if the administration could be run appropriately. 

The US seems to be in a real peril at present, I am afraid.

An unforgettable ham radio friend Ken K6HPX

There are a few friends whom I have met in certain interval for decades, not very frequent, only 2 or 3 times in a year. It is exciting and joyful to meet someone so frequently. But they often leave me soon. The former type friends always relieve me if not ardent relationship it is. One of them is Ken K6HPX. I started seeing him since '80s, probably when I was operating radio with barefoot and a vertical on the roof of dormitory. He often called me on 40m with fairly slow CW. Sometimes from mobile. I knew he had been with the business of antenna manuacturing and related items. As the president of CAL LAB, Inc. He scarcely talked about the products of his company, though. Not so many topics. But I always felt relieved, as told above, to hear him after some absence.

In several months after I closed down, he gave me an e mail asking how I was doing. He could not find me in the cluster and wondered how I was getting along. I explained what had made me decide to quit radio. He answered he could understand me and would wait for me to come back on the radio any time. Not urging me to do so. I felt it was the way he had been doing with me for the past decades.   

He must be in late 80s of his age. He told me he would close his business in a year or two. He is enjoying SOTA, Summit On the Air, with his wife, Kay, KE7BGM. The photo shown below sent to me in 2016 is him and Kay operating radio together on a mountain. What a close couple they are! I loved it so much. Recent mail told me he had still been enjoying SOTA with her. His page in QRZ.com gives us his bio, his unique antenna invention and SOTA activity with Kay. 

https://www.qrz.com/db/k6hpx

It is a bit pain for me not to be able to hear him on the air. However, we could get in touch with by e mail. I wish him and Kay good health and pleasant retirement ahead. 

 

Consequence of the tariff war

How come the US president has started the tariff war? I am afraid it will have the economy of the US plummeted sooner or later. This tariff war is totally against the spirit of GATT and, later, of WTO. If they have any problem in the trade, they could sue it to WTO. As I told before, this tariff war could lead to another Great Recession.

All I could guess is that Trump has started it in the vibes of "You are fired!".  It is causing too much turmoil and even victims. The US could lose the key currency status for USD in the world market, which has enabled to attract investments from all over the world.

Don't they have any specialists of economy and/or international trade who could give the administration proper advice? 

It seems to, at least, for Musk of Tesla to be defeated in this war. The consumers are the next victim of this war.

Here.

https://news.usstareveryday.com/thanhhtv/bad-news-for-tesla-musk-finally-gets-what-he-deserves-htt/?fbclid=IwY2xjawJD9aFleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHQ49-yHvnqtd_MsztDO2w7T-hiNYgRpdXklHazH4gDHF4QPaYTdiy_P_gg_aem_VfBIV41jNIf-DdiEhM3few

Climate change and crop foreseen

This interesting article shows how the upstick temperature changes the diversity and the cropland suitable for particular vegetables. Even 2 degrees C increase would cause drastic changes. The temperate areas may increase crop harvest. But the total harvest may drastically drop with that climate changein the world. The developing countries, mostly located in the tropics, may undergo food shortage and could become politically unstable. There could be more refugees to the developing countries due to food shortage as well as commotion and conflict.

 

This study tells us to make efforts to rewind the climate change. If it is inevitable, we should prepare for the food shortage. Maybe, both actions are required for now. 

Here. 

https://www.carbonbrief.org/half-of-global-croplands-could-see-a-drop-in-suitable-crops-at-2c-of-warming/?utm_content=buffer789f2&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Last fall, the hot wave has lasted long here. Vegetables, mainly leaf ones, have not grown as usual. At grodery stores the prices of leaf vegetables were even 3 times higher than usual year. Other kinds of vegetables were also more or less expensive compared with them before.

Even at my tiny farm, due to hot spell with drought, leaf vegetables were almost no crop this winter. I have learned how plants were vulnerable to a climate change. This change may not be temporary but go on long time. It should lead to food deficit. Those in big cities who are not involved with farming may not feel this sense of crisis coming in the near future. They falsely believe they could get vegetables or crops with money any time. 

I have replanted green onions, divided from grown ones, in a corner of the farm. Only with a shovel, I could do with vegetables in this size. It's good enough for us to have this coming summer. Dozens of potatoes have been planted as well. Imagining whom I would give them to when harvested enough, I planted carefully one potato to another on the soil mixed with home brew compost. Trying to grow seedlings like broccoli indoor, I find again a green house and warming system necessary. I should purchase those seedlings of summer vegetables next month. The only success to grow seedling is of sweet potato. It has started rooting in water. I may plant it in soil in a few weeks. It may given a lot o stalks which would be buried in soil. Anyway, it will be a busy season for a farmer for the coming few months. 

 　  

Red blossom ume is out

Following white blossome ume, red one is coming out. 

I thought this order of flowering had been dependent on the color of the flowers. Looking it up, I knew it was not the case. The ume species are divided to 14 kinds. Each kind has own flowering period. I am also impressed to know ume belongs to Sakura family Rosaceae. Does this taxonomy mean ume is akin to cherry in rose species? Since genetic study has probably contributed to classification of plants, these plants must be evoluted from the same origin. Two family members are living in our garden.

My brother told me, when I had let him know these ume had been out, he remembered our mother doing house chores on the side of these trees. The scene is clearly coming up in my mind as well. This is the remembrance we, only family members, could share. Even however trivial thing it might be. 

Our lives, including those trees, are being existing at the same time and at the same place for a while. In some time, we get separated and will be eternally away each other. We should cherish each moment being and crossing each other at the same time. 

 

The 14th anniversary of East Japan Great Earthquake and consequent nuclear power plant accident in Fukushima

 It is the 14th anniversary of East Japan Great Earthquake and consequent nuclear power plant accident in Fukushima. Almost 20,000 people were killed by the earthquake while the nuclear power accident related victims are counted up to 3800. Due to the nuclear power plant accident, 160,000 people were forced to evacuate at maximum. Still 20,000 evacuees are scattered away from their homeland. 

On this day 14 years ago, I was consulting to an ophthalmologist and was given a diagnosis of cataracts. Going out of the clinic, the earth was starting quaking so much as I have never experienced. Low pitched roaring all around, the power line poles were bending. Some damages at my office and our home but no one was injured. The radio equipments were fallen on the floor at home. In a day, the power line was restored. A lot of inquiries and encouragements have been in the mail box of the internet. Literally, from all over the world. Of course, they were friends whom I had known through ham radio. As written in another post before, an old retired physician Dick W0FBI told me he would visit here with his wife to help people. He used to stay in our country after WWII. I thanked him a lot for his proposal but told him the damaged areas had not been prepared to accept such a volunteer as him and not to visit here at that time. His words have moved me a lot. After an apathic period for 11 days or so, I came back on the air. There were a lot of old friends waiting for me. K5BGB, W6CYX, N3JT and so forth. They have encouraged me a lot. I could never forget them giving me such encouraging words then.

A few days later since the earthquake, the melt down of the fuel has started at 3 reactors of the nuclear power plant. The news of on going melt down has come here every moment. I felt the ground I stood up had been collapsing little by little. With worst scenario, my place about 120km south west of the plant could have been badly polluted by plume from exploded reactors. Fortunately, it was not realized. But, worrying about that worst scenario, I was eagerly doing farm work trying to forget it. In the area where polluted air plumed into, that is, the inland area northwest of the plant as well as along the coast area, there were a lot of people being forced to evacuate. What burden they have had at that time! They have lost the homeland and the community. I believe we should never forget them and what a disaster a nuclear power plant accident could be.  

It has been a peaceful countryside around the nuclear power plant. I have been there a few times. Once with my parents to visit their old friend almost 30 years ago. As wrote in another post, the area the person, a retired noncommissioned officer of salvation army, used to live was totally destroyed with the tsunami. There must be a lot of fallout covering the area. When several years ago I visited there alone again, nothing was left at the place her house used to be present.

Anyway, it is the day of requiem for them. I would spend it as the most others do.

In next monthe, it will be my mother's 14th anniversary. She was at a nursing facility where the life line had been off for a few days. Possibly, due to the stress she had then, she got sick and died next month.

It may take the Trump administration years to recover distrust by the allies

It seems the Trump administration won't hide itself as an ally to Putin Russia. 

Losing the countermeasure of the main fighter of Ukraine may mean delivering the air superiority over Ukraine to Russia. Russia could air bomb to Ukraine as much as they want.

https://news.online.ua/en/the-us-is-ending-support-for-ukrainian-f-16s-but-there-is-a-way-out-891472/?fbclid=IwY2xjawI6vB9leHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHZpO-Y-PsdTiW8FTYPtmk9N4kF4rOA_Ao8OiXobQLX0V4JRLiMlvZ1TE_Q_aem_XrXyB0Oe1jaTrBM_uuSK2g

French government seems to offer their Mirage 2000, a fighter equivalent or superior to F16, to Ukraine equipped with the same kind of countermeasure. But, I am afraid, it will take them sometime to send the fighters to Ukraine.

The other disappontment is that Musk is going to cease the Starlink service in Ukraine, which is prerequisite for Ukrainean forces in operation. France seems to propose to cover it with their satellite communication system. Hopefully, the latter would work on behalf of Starlink.

The Trump administration dares not to disguise being on the side of Russia. They may pretend that those maneuvers are to cease the fire. It is just a pretext. Trump seems to rule the world with the other authoritarean dictators like Putin, I am afraid. It is the worst scenario.

However, I don't believe this trial of reign would last long. In this mutually dependent world where people know what democracy is, such dictatorship won't go on at all. I am afraid the US would realize what it means that they lose the faith and respect the US has achieved after WWII in the world.  

While writing down this post, I heard Trump would "reconsider" giving the intelligence to Ukraine. What unstable as well as unreliable administration! He seems to disregard the faith and respect to the US from the other countries. The old allies won't trust what the Trump administration says any longer, I am afraid. It may take years to recover that distrust by all old allies.  

An unforgettable ham radio friend Mike WB4ZKA

I have been keeping a blog in Japanese for the past 19 years. When I started that blog, as a doctor starting own practice, I might feel separated from the society and have had a lot of problems with the administration or the medical system. That blog has been a place where I could utter whatever I thought or felt. 

Now, it has turned full of political propaganda. I have been trying to be as accurate as possible regarding the data or the information source, since I would review it as a data resource if not perfect. I am also trying to post on music or our daily lives as well.

Among those political posts, I still often mention of memorable QSOs or unforgettable ham friends there. In the genre of "People in Ham Radio", there have been more than 500 posts. I have repeatedly told about the same good old friends like Ellen W1YL and stories on them have been reiterated. Since I quit ham radio 2 years ago, not many more addition to it any longer. 

I just would describe a few old friends on the air. That is the purpose of the posts titled "An unforgettable ham radio friend". It is to renew my memories, which have been badly rusted these years. I still have a lot of friends to be written. It is only a private memoir but, secretly, I hope it serves to advocate the enjoyment of conversational CW to younger people.  

There are a few people whom I have met only a few times and they are not necessarily big guns or famous ham operators at all. They still left me a vivid and impressive memories despite of few occasions to talk to.

One of them is Mike WB4ZKA. I have met him only twice or three times. It was around 2010. He was living on a trailor house in Arizona. Putting up a windom several meters above the ground, he was running 4 watts with an Elecrat K1. He said he had been keeping the radio on throughout nights. He told he had prefered to set it on 7026KHz, where I and other gangs were hanging out late at night or early in morning there. There were guys who started ragchewing always across the Pacific Ocean. Lending ear to them, he might be falling asleep. Maybe, when the conditions were so good, he gave me a call. That was that few occasion we could converse. 

When I heard it from Mike, I was deeply impressed and felt we had been connected each other even if not conversing directly. Around that time, I heard from KA7YRL, that his motto was "Tell me your story". I thought Mike was the ham who lived that motto by himself. Ever since this episode, I have tried to do my best to live the same motto on the air, even though I am not sure if I could do that or not. John, WA9AQN, used to tell me Mike had been writing an essay on US CQ magazine and had mentioned this way of listening there.

On his page of QRZ.com, Mike wrote as follows;

IF YOU AND I ARE MEETING ON HF CW RIGHT NOW

I'd like to connect with you on more than a "drive-by" QSO level. I prefer to ragchew, but I can do an abbreviated contact, if you prefer.

I'm more interested in hearing about you than talking about myself. Where will we take the conversation?

Send any speed you like up to about 35 wpm.  I can head-copy just fine, but my old hands can't send so fast.  So, gallop along!  I enjoy it!

I wonder if he is still listening the band throughout a night somewhere in a desert of Arizona. Does CW still sound like a lullaby to him?

Horrible incarnation of greedy capitalism

At first, it sounded like a joke that Trump would annex Canada. It seems, however, he is still serious at that desire as this news tells;

 https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/trump-vs-canada-51st-state-wildest-threats.html

Isn't Canada the closest ally for the US in diplomacy as well as economy? Could you do with friends in Canada while approving Trump's idea or being indifferent to this mess? Trump is greedy enough to obtain the natural resource in Canada. Isn't it a terrible imperalism, which we have overcome long time ago? 

His desire to make the Palestinians emigrated somewhere from Gaza and to own their land to build a resort was not a joke but a realty, either.

In addition, he would ally with or has already been an asset of Putin Russia. They would share authoritarean dictatorship in their countries. Now, I am pretty sure the scheme is already drawn in his mind.

If the US people let him go in this way, the international relationship especially in the free western side would be ruined. I don't think his desire would come true. But if they should resort to the military power incomparable with the other countries, there could be another era of authoritarean dictatorship in the world.

I wonder if the American people would overlook the present situation messed up by your president. I am sure demolition of democracy in the society would come on to you with much pain soon. He would materialize the dictatorship anywhere whether it might be oversea or domestic. Of course, it should be accompanied with recession of the economy.

Horrible incarnation of greedy capitalism is in the White House for now. 

Sagan's prediction

A renowned astronomer as well as a novelist, Carl Sagan, predicted the future of the US in his 1995 book "The Demon-Haunted World", warning of a time when critical thinking declines, misinformation spreads, and technological power is concentrated in the hands of a few. It is amazing how accurately he has foreseen what occurred in the US in 3 decades interval.

Quote~~~

I have a foreboding of an America in my children's or grandchildren's time — when the United States is a service and information economy; when nearly all the manufacturing industries have slipped away to other countries; when awesome technological powers are in the hands of a very few, and no one representing the public interest can even grasp the issues; when the people have lost the ability to set their own agendas or knowledgeably question those in authority; when, clutching our crystals and nervously consulting our horoscopes, our critical faculties in decline, unable to distinguish between what feels good and what's true, we slide, almost without noticing, back into superstition and darkness.

~~~unquote

If I am allowed to add a few words to his excellent prediction. I would emphasize the class in the society who supports Trump and his administration. They have lost critical thinking about politics and society as Sagan predicted. I believe it is due to neoliberalism which lets them think only for themselves and for their profit at the moment. Thinking for themselves, they don't care for it it is a misinformation or not. They would disperse sayings whether they may be fake or not. Fakes and lies are so common. So far as it gives them any profit from their conducts, it is accepted. In that behaviour, whether it is true or not won't matter. They often deny even scientific truth. They are akin to conspiracy theories.

Oligarchies established from neoliberalism may acquire political power and try to dictate those enthusiastically following the oligarchies. It looks like a cult. The cultists are often exploited by the oligarchy guru. The oligarchies would look for their target in overseas and soon they would start exploiting domestically. The target would be their cultists who have been already exploited by the greedy capitalists.

History tells us politics always is often driven by religion or religious motivation. In this case, it is combined with greedy capitalism. The more poverty people are put into, the more enthusiastic they are for the guru. What an irony it is! Has Sagan imagined such a psychosocial dynamics would work in the present world when he wrote his predictory book? Needless to say, such cultist movement is easily propagated through the internet, which Sagan has never seen in his life.

Ume in full bloom Hot summer is expected

Ume is fully out. The 1st blooming this year. The winter has been rather cold and the flowers are slow coming out. This long chilly winter may be the reverse of extreme hot wave in the coming summer in this age of climate change. We might have cruelly hot and burning summer this year.

At another house in this property, my parents used to look at them from the dining room over the table. They have planted 4 of them around their house. Ume is a very viable tree without much illness etc. Ume fruits could be harvested later. That was the reason why my father had planted them. He was seriously considering of food crisisin the future, even though ume fruits could never be staple food. Planting a lot of fruit trees, he might be feeling less worried about hunger he has experienced during the war.

These ume trees have lived for more than 4 decades. I wonder who would appreciate this blooming in this season a few decades later.

I have started planting potatoes. A bit earlier than usual expecting that heat upcoming soon. We might have poorer harvest of vegetables this summer. We should get ready for that. 

 

An unforgettable ham radio friend Steve KW7Q

A few days ago, I received a short note from Steve KW7Q. It was an update on himself and inquiry about me. It's been a couple of years since he retired from Colo State Univ. As I wrote about it somewhere before, we used to enjoy chatting on 40m CW in early '80s. He was finishing the postgraduate school majoring in atmospheric science in Seattle while I was starting career as a pediatrician. My old log says we have had a lot of QSOs those days. His call was WA0UIR/7 then. When we met again after a long hiatus several years ago, I could not recognize him at once. Knowing of his previous call, memories of QSOs with him vividly came back. His "rushing" and smooth CW. I could not help smiling hearing his keying in the same manner as those days.

He has got a position at the university mentioned above. In the field of his profession, he seemed to have achieved a great sucess in research. He was awarded for honor of American Meteorogical Society. I didn't know Colo State University was the mecca of that science field in the world.   

https://www.atmos.colostate.edu/2021/09/american-meteorological-society-honors-steven-rutledge-melissa-burt-and-richard-johnson/

I am sure he had ground away at his research. Or he might have enjoyed all his career as a researcher judging from his enthusiasm in ham radio. He might have spent the same energy for his research as for ham radio. At retirement, as he told, he got a beam at home at last, which he had never had in his ham radio journey. He was always running a small set up with some wire antenna wherever he might be. A couple of years ago, he has joined FOC while I quit it almost at the same time. It was a shame we could not enjoy its membership together. But I am sure he will do credit the club for his enthusiasm and activity. 

Recalling of my own life, I wonder what achievement I have done in my life. Maybe, nothing comparable to his achievement. If I had to choose, the kids I have cared for and their smiles must be the only reward for me. Again, I am deeply impressed at how long time has flown for us. I wish him fruitful and healthy retirement from now on. Don't forget riding bicycle as he used to. As they say, "Exerecise may be the single most potent medical intervention ever known."