Fall deepens.

Recent snap shots taken in the garden here.

 

One of the flower garden. Flowers are shining for the last moment in mid fall.

 

 

 

The other flowers and plants. These were planted by my wife while they have been cared for by me. Weeds are growing much slower.



 

 

One of the roses. My wife has been caring for roses. I didn't know it had taken us so much energy to grow. Beautiful things are always to be damaged by illnesses or infestations of bugs.

 

 

Another rose. Visible only to the farmers in the neighborhood.

 

 

My biggest concern is these tomatoes. I wonder if they could ripen before cold snap comes here. I have learned how to grow them. I would be more successful at them next summer, hopefully. 

 

 

An old perssimon tree. Not very rich crop this year.

 

 

Our garden is going through fall in this way. The more they are ripened, the more I have free time. I am spending more time for cello again. In a week, we will have a small private concert in Tokyo. These plants are forced to listen to basso continuo of Bach played by my cello. Is that why they grow slow?  

 

 

 

Gifts from old timers.

This morning, I have run across with Rob N6KIX, who told me he had rescued some materials of old japanese hams like photos and QSLs from a neighbor. Some of them were prewar. J1EE, J1FT or J1FO etc. He got them from the family of W6IU. He wondered how to do with them. I thanked for his effort and told him to get in touch with JARL.

Seventy years since the end of the war will have passed next year. Most old timers are not active or some of them have gone SK. I still have fond memories of such as JA1KFN, JH1WIX or JP1BJR, who used to be pioneer in ham radio before the war. Unfortunately, they were all gone. We should preserve the materials which tell us how they have lived and contributed to ham radio.

Those old timers were real gentlemen without any exception. They have dreamed ham radio could be a window for the world. They have enjoyed it by themselves and have tried to deliver good things to us. I feel we are asked by them if we are making efforts to deliver them to the next generation by ourselves.

The high education is facing to further difficulty.

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

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

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

Couldn't it be other than a bribery?

Planned increment of consumption tax; 3 trillion JPY

Planned decrement of corporation tax; 1 trillion JPY

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

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

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

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

Is it a social fairness? I doubt it.

Two categories of enjoyment of CW

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

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

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

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

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

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

Cluster amaryllis telling what season it is now.

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

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

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

 

A close up.

 

 

Steamed pumpkin

 

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