Japanese Surgeon's Daily Life

Usual Matter

　　You might be wondering why you're seeing 4 cell phones in the picture, but it's a big problem for me. The one on the left is the one that I have used for more than 5 years in everyday life. As I wrote an entry about it before, this one is very useful at least in Japan. Now, I have to decide which one I will take to Canada. The far right which is a Motorola has a good record with its usage in Canada and Germany in the past 4 years, but it's a little heavy and old-fashioned. The second cell phone from the right is a Taiwan-made smart phone and the replacement of the Motorola. It's thinner, lighter and better than the former one in every aspect of the functions, but I don't know whether it would be able to work well in Canada. Additionally, these cell phones get e-mails, or other data automatically via the wireless telephone system. I'm afraid that it leads to a high charge from the telephone company. I'd like to set phones to get e-mails only via free WiFi, not via the telephone system. This was a problem that I couldn't solve myself, and so I took them to a cell phone shop and asked a clerk to set the phones as I wanted.

　　Finally, the second one from the left was set for connecting internet via WiFi, and the second one from the right was set only for voice and speech. It's perfect for reducing the cost of communication.

(Vocabulary)
far right 　一番右
have a good record with 　 ～に関しては実績がある
voice and speech  音声会話

(For Review)
http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2006/03/rental-cell-pho.html
http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2008/03/last-minute-pre.html

Spring Just Around The Corner

　　It's getting warm and bright even in the early morning day by day. While I was commuting by train for these four months, it was dark outside, but today the sun was shining and the sky was blue. The sea through the window was very beautiful and serene. I took a snapshot of the fishing port on the way to my office. However, to tell the truth, my mind is far away in the land of Canada. I'm visiting Whistler next Sunday. I'll report about lots of things with pictures after coming back to Japan. Wait for it with expectation.

Closure

　　My wife's original house is in another Prefecture and is located in a little sparsely-settled town. One of today's news items features the closure of an elementary school, which sits near my wife's birthplace. According to the news item, the elementary school was founded in 1873. In due course, as the number of pupils increased, additional schoolhouses were built. One of those schoolhouses, which was constructed in 1909, has been used as the elementary school until today which put an end to the role of the school. On March 20th in 2012, both of the graduation and closing ceremonies were held. This schoolhouse is the oldest wooden schoolhouse in Japan. The area is known as one of the places which have heavy snow every year. This schoolhouse has survived a century span of tough climate. I'll upload two pictures of the schoolhouse. Enjoy them.

最古の木造小学校で卒業式・閉校式
２０１２年３月２０日

   現役の木造校舎として国内最古とされる吹屋小学校（県指定重要文化財）。　明治６年（１８７３）に開校し、同３２年（１８９９）に吹屋尋常高等小学校と改称して、現在の場所に移転、同３３年(１９００)には木造平屋建の東校舎・西校舎が落成。同４２年（１９０９）に建てられた木造２階建の校舎本館は、現在まで小学校として使われていた。平成２４年３月２０日、卒業式と閉校式が行われた。

Canada Again

　　I'll visit Vancouver and Whistler again for the first time in 4 years. I could manage to have enough span of vacation this March. My daughters are also lovers of Whistler and I'd like to take them with me, but they have their own respective schedules. My wife doesn't want to visit anywhere which is cold. Several other friends once planned to join us but something came up. Additionally, I'm so sorry that my mentor who taught me English, how to ski and how to get to Whistler, can't join us due to health problems. Consequently, the total number of the group is only 6. However, I'm going to enjoy staying in Canada in a boisterous atmosphere.

　　It was 2008 when I visited Vancouver last time. The streets of downtown Vancouver were closed here and there for construction work of the subway line. I thought that it was due to the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games. In Whistler, the Gondola line connecting the summits of Whistler and Blackcomb Mountains were under construction. It might not be true, but I heard the height from the bottom of the valley between the mountains is apparently the highest in the world. I'm scared of heights, but I'm going to try the gondola at least once.

　　The pictures show the construction site and the model of the gondola, which I took in 2008.

http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2008/03/a-signboard.html

http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2008/03/a-construction.html

http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2008/03/ski-helmet-mar-.html

Unbroken Will

　　Firstly I'd like to write what I thought concerning the accident of Space Shuttle Challenger. While I had my hair cut in a barber shop in 1986, the incident was broadcasted on TV. I remember just like yesterday that I was shocked to watch the videotape of the incident. One of the crews was a Japanese American. I thought that the accident would lead the Space Shuttle Project to an end.

　　After two and a half years of struggle, however, NASA successfully launched another Space Shuttle, Discovery, and this achievement encouraged me to work hard in the midst of surgeon's training course. I deeply admired the persevering spirit of the U.S., feeling the bravery like phoenix in them.

　　According to the official report, the cause of the accident was the deterioration of an O-ring which seals the joint of solid fuel tank, and to my surprise and anger, although this fault was already known by NASA and the maker, they apparently underestimated the risk derived from it and covered up the fact. It's natural that this bureaucratic attitude of NASA which brought malfunction of safety management was accused at that time.

　　Richard Phillips Feynman, who was the leader of the investigation team of the accident, concludes his report as follows; (I re-translated his words from Japanese translation, so what is below is not exactly his words.)

　　The fact has to take precedence over keeping up appearances, because you can never deceive nature.

　　Even though, it may sound condescending and complacent, I think that all of the persons involved in Fukushima Daiichi Plant could learn good lessons from the improvement of the Space Shuttle project team.

　　Lastly, my daughter is going to stay in Toronto for a month this summer for learning English. Under the excuse of visiting her in Toronto, I'm thinking to drop in at Washington D.C. to see Discovery in the National Air and Space Museum.

(Vocabulary)
persevering  [形](ほめて)忍耐強い
deterioration [U] 悪化, 劣化, (質の) 低下
bureaucratic  官僚的な
take/have precedence (over sb/sth) （＜…＞に）優先する
keep up appearances  体面を保つ, 見えを張る
even though, it may sound condescending and complacent, ...
偉そうに、あるいは独善的に思えるかもしれませんが、...
condescending (けなして) 人を見下したような, 偉そうな, 尊大な
complacent 自己満足した, 独りよがりの

E-mail from a Senator

　　I got a kind e-mail from a Senator of Virginia in the U.S. the other day. The story goes like this:

　　Some news of the repetitive questionable lobbying by Koreans who live in Virginia came to me. The Koreans' aim is to revise the maps in the textbooks, changing the Sea of Japan to the East Sea without substantial reasons. I thought that those Koreans were hopeless, while I didn't have any answers against their appeal. I could only watch how it might come out. I couldn't help letting matters take their course.

　　A couple of weeks later, some favorable news arrived. Their bill was killed by a narrow margin, 8 to 7. I was relieved to know the result.

　　Korean people, along with Chinese people, seem to believe that they can get anything by loudly insisting on it, no matter whether their point is right or not. There's another context in Japan just now. The Mayor of Nagoya City, Mr. Kawamura, officially announced that the Massacre of Nanking was fiction fabricated by Chinese Communists. Consequently, the authorities of Nanking City stopped the friendship events between Nagoya City and Nanking City in a unilateral way. The relationship as sister cities is suspended now.

　　Back to Virginia, I sent e-mails to Senators who denied the Koreans' proposal, to express my gratitude and one of them replied to it. I was happy and understood that I have at least one means of voicing my opinion even overseas.

(Vocabulary)
questionable 〈行為・人格などが〉いかがわしい, 不審な;〈決定・結果などが〉疑わしい
the story goes like this: 話はこうだ
substantial  重要な, 価値のある
We need more substantial evidence than this.  これよりももっと確かな証拠が必要だ．
let matters take their course  ことの成り行きに任せる
point 論点
in a unilateral way  一方的に
voice (フォーマル)〈意見・懸念・異議など〉を声に出す
He refused to voice an opinion.  彼は意見を述べるのを拒否した．

(Feb. 5th)