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. 

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.

https://www.nbcnews.com/business/economy/trump-orders-firing-bls-commissioner-weak-jobs-report-rcna222531

Midsummer

It has cooled down a bit today after hectic heat wave for a few weeks. It has even rained even though only very little amount. I am still making much effort to keep the garden neat pulling out vigorously growing weeds. I should confess that I am sometimes caught by an idea to use a heribicide. Except for spots I could hardly do with weeds such as the cracks of the entrance road, I won't spray that chemical. When I finish the work sitting for an hour or two, I stand up and look around the place neatly cleaned with a kind of self satisfaction, which won't last too long.  　

Summer vegetables are growing. This is a tiny pumpkin. I have harvested the very first one today, different from this one. It will be on the table after being matured for a few weeks. Maybe, I have planted too many pumpkin seedlings. Most of the pumpkins shoud be cooked in a few months. No storage possible as you know. I must find some people who would get one or two.  

Several water melons are being ripened. Whenever seeing these water melons, I always remember of Glen NN6T, who used to grow water melon in the desert area. He always boasted what big fruits he and his wife Susan had got. Ever since those days, he got multiple cancers and passed away. Life is too short. I wonder how Susan is doing, a very affectionate and loyal wife to Glen. In several weeks, these fruits would become ripe as well. 

Whenever this crape myrtle blooms, I feel summer was going away. Looking back the album in the PC, I realize it flowers exactly in this season. Not late summer but in the height of summer every year. I just wondered why I had had such a fixed image of midsummer with this flower. Maybe, something ushering in early fall could be perceived with it. Anyway, this crape myrtle goes on flowering for some time. 

This summer has been too harsh for such flowers as this Marie Gold. They are not flourishing this year. In a few weeks, it feels the sign of early all and starts to vividly come out.

The magnolia tree is freely spreading its branches into the sky. Zelkova and Japanese Judas Tree cut down, this tree is the biggest one at our home. A home tree. As our parents used to enjoy it gorgeously blooming early in spring, we might be able to see it, even if not so many times.