Japanese Surgeon's Daily Life

Honolulu Half-Marathon 2 (Policemen)

　　While approaching the starting point, which was arranged on Waikiki beach, several police motorcycles caught my eye. In such a case in Japan, motorcycle policemen tend to be tense, but what had happened to them, who looked relaxed. As I spoke to one of them, saying "Good morning, officer!", he sent me a finger sign, in which you extend the thumb and the little finger from your fist. I often saw this finger sign in Hawaii. I'll write about this sign later.

ワイキキビーチに近づくと白バイが数台止まっているのが見えてきた。しかし緊張感は全くない。日本のマラソンだと先導する白バイ隊員はかなり緊張していると思うが、この警察官たちには微塵も感じられない。話しかけてみると親指と小指を突き出す独特のハンドサインを示した。このハンドサインについては後に書く。

Test Drive

　　When I was allowed to test-drive a TESLA, I was requested to show my driver's license to them, which was naturally issued and valid in Japan. To my surprise, a Japanese driver's license was valid in Hawaii too. That might be only for a limited time, but I was able to drive the car without any legal procedure. Next, about the car insurance. They had taken the bodily injury and property damage liability insurance out, but not for motor vehicle insurance. If I damaged the car, I would have to pay compensation. However, they told me that I could use my drive-other-cars-endorsement, if I took the insurance out.
　　I got scared. The price of the test drive car was over 100,000 dollars. I had left all my cars' insurance in my old friend's hands. I hastily sent him an email to ask if I had a drive-other-cars-endorsement. My friend was also intimidated by my question. If I had damaged such a valuable car in Hawaii and asked him to handle the accident, ,,, Mr. N, who would read this article, so sorry to have made you confused.
　　He replied to me that I had already such an endorsement and he would confirm if the endorsement was valid in other countries or not, but before his report came to me, I began to test-drive a TESLA car. I was tense, but both backing the car into the parking spot and parallel parking were totally automatic! I didn't need to be worried about scratching the car. The car which I test-drove was Model X. I got an intense impression from the car. That was the autopilot! It would be in the far future, but I'd like to get one.

(Vocabulary)
take sth out ＜保険など＞に入る, ＜ローンなど＞を組む
The couple took out a $200,000 loan. 夫婦は20万ドルのローンを組んだ．
bodily injury liability insurance 対人賠償責任保険《主に米国で用いられる》
property damage liability insurance 対物賠償責任保険
motor vehicle insurance 車両保険
drive other cars endorsement 他車運転危険担保特約

 試乗させてもらうことになったとき、いくつか条件があった。日本の運転免許を持っていること。国際免許で無くてもＯＫというには驚いた。短期間だけかも知れないが、日本の免許でハワイでは車の運転をしても良いとのこと。次に保険のこと。『試乗車は対人・対物保険に無制限で加入しておりますが車両保険には加入しておりませんので、万が一車両損害が発生した場合は全てお客様負担となります。あらかじめご了承ください。保険加入されている場合は、ご自身の他車運転特約が使用可能です。』とのこと。

ビビったよ。車両価格１０００万円を超える車だから。他車運転特約というのに入っているかと所有する車の保険を一任している友人にメールで尋ねたら、やはり友人も質問の内容にビビっていた。もし僕がこんな高価な車をハワイで擦って、保険での処理を頼んだとしたら、、、この記事を読んでいるだろう、Ｎ君、ハワイからの突然の連絡、許せ！

特約は付けているけど海外で乗る車に適応できるのかどうか調べてみると言ってくれたが、結果が来る前に試乗の時刻となったので用心して乗りましたよ。(^o^)　しか～～し、バックでの駐車も縦列駐車もすべてオートマチック！　擦ったりする心配は無用だった。試乗した車はＳＵＶのＭＯＤＥＬＸで、感想は素晴らしいの一言。加速は凄いし、これこそが自動運転！随分先になるだろうが、本気で購入を考えることにした。

Fireworks

　　After witnessing a traffic accident on Kalakaua Avenue, I was wondering if the autopilot cars like TESLA cars could avoid such accidents. At that time, I found the TESLA dealer's shop at the corner of the International Marketplace on the avenue. I myself was astonished to find that.
　　The twist of the story really surprised me. The TESLA car which was displayed in the room was priced at more than 100,000 dollars, and I was not able to afford one. Naturally I didn't mean to buy one, but they would offer me a chance to test-drive one the next day. I comfortably spent some time in the showroom, but I might overstay my welcome there.
　　Anyway, I was late for the fireworks which were held every Friday night in the Hilton Village. I wasn't able to reach the best point and shot the fireworks on the way under the palm trees. Those fireworks were very gorgeous. I'll show you the pictures below. Today's supper was pop-in Hawaiian burger and Kona coffee.

思わぬ展開に驚きながらテスラのショールームに長居をしてしまった。置かれていたテスラ車は買えるような価格でもなく、買うつもりも無かったのだが、話の流れで試乗させてもらえることになった。ワイキキビーチへの途中で交通事故を目撃し、自動運転だとこんな事故は起こらないのだろうか？などと考えていたときに目の前にテスラのショールームが現れたのだからこの偶然には驚くしかない。お陰で週に５分間だけ打ち上げられる花火を見損ねた。花火はまた来年だな。少し遅れたけれどヤシの森の中から花火を撮影。なかなかみごとなものだった。夜はチンしたハワイアンハンバーガーとコナコーヒーで簡単に。

What I Thought after Witnessing A Traffic Accident

　　I dropped in at the ABC store to get some food for my wife on the way back to my condo. I put them on the kitchen table and immediately went out toward Waikiki beach. I wanted to see the starting point of the Honolulu Half Marathon in advance and also know how long it would take to walk to the point. While walking on Kalakaua Avenue toward Waikiki beach, I encountered a traffic accident. A Mercedes sedan seemed to hit a bicycle. Fortunately, the bicycle man looked like he didn't seriously get hurt. I supposed that the Mercedes' radar wouldn't be so good to detect human bodies.
　　In the driving assistance technique, there seems to be two types of method for detecting humans ahead. One is the millimeter-wave radar and the other is the stereo camera system. My Mercedes has the millimeter-wave radar system, but it seems not so good for detecting humans. After several test drives, I decided "once" to choose a SUBARU SUV with its driving assistance system of "EYESIGHT", but....
　　When I found a TESLA showroom on the way to my condo, I recalled its excellent autopilot system, and I just wanted to chat on the topics of automobiles in English, so I entered the room. Just seeing the TESLA cars was enough for me, but they offered me a chance to test-drive! I'll write about my impression on the TESLA car later.
　　By the way, it was about 15 minutes from my condo to Waikiki beach. It was a really beautiful scene. I understood why lots of people got together there. I took my single-lens camera out of my bag. Pictures were taken without the tripod, but I think they are considerably good.

(Vocabulary)
millimeter-wave radar　ミリ波レーダー

時差ぼけのため寝ているカミさんのための夕食の材料を買い込んで一旦帰宅。そして、ひとりでワイキキビーチ方面へ散歩。マラソンのスタート地点の下見とそこまでうちから歩いてどのくらい掛かるのか確認しておきたかった。そしたらなんと、途中で交通事故を目撃。ベンツのセダンが自転車とぶつかったようだった。大きな事故では無かったが、ベンツのレーダーは人を発見するのは苦手なんだよな～と思いつつ、、、、歩き続けた。
　
前方を監視する方法としてミリ波レーダーとカメラを利用する二つのタイプがあるようなのだが、僕の車にも付いているミリ波レーダーはどうも人を見つけるには能力が落ちるような気がする。いろいろ試乗した結果、我が家の次の車はスバルの運転補助システムであるアイサイトを搭載したＳＵＶにするつもりだった。一度試乗して気に入った、、、のだが。
　
なんと帰り道でテスラのショールームを発見。英語を試してみたくて、また近くで見るだけでもいいと思って入ったところ、、、翌日に試乗させてもらえることに、、、先ほどの事故を見て思っていたことが、現実に、、、(^_^;)　試乗の結果は後ほど。
　
で、結局、コンドミニアムからワイキキビーチまでは１５分ほどだった。そしてビーチは実に美しい風景だった。人がここに集まる理由がわかるような気がした。

Check-in for the Honolulu Half-Marathon

　　A whole day's rest on the arrival day will do me good, but I've had a very hectic day. At first I had to activate my SIM free smartphone. It was my first time to use my SIM free smartphone and I felt slightly uneasy, but the activation process was really smoothly done while waiting for immigration inspection. That enabled me to use Google Map at any time. It was very handy. I bought a two generations old Taiwanese smartphone to save money, and it was right! Its performance was satisfactory.
　　I had asked a Japanese taxi driver in advance to take us to my condo from Honolulu International Airport. I knew him from the last trip. He gave us various information on Hawaii on the way. Leaving my wife at my condo, who suffered from jet lag and wanted to take a good sleep, I stopped by a travel agency of HIS five minutes from my condo to get their running bus (LeaLea Trolley) tickets valid for seven-straight days. With this ticket, I can go around the principal areas on Oahu island.
　　Then I reached the Hawaii Convention Center on foot. The check-in procedure was really easy. There were several booths handling jogging gear and goods for keeping fit. Their explanation was half in English, and it was a good chance to listen to English conversation concerning jogging. I stayed in the check-in site for some time.

ハワイへ着いた日は時差ぼけのためゆっくりしたいが何かと忙しい。まずはＳＩＭフリースマホのアクティベーション。初めてのことなので不安だったが、入国審査を待つ間に完了。これでグーグルマップが利用できるなど便利になる。費用を節約するために２世代前の台湾製のスマホを買ったのだが、機能的に十分満足。

空港からの移動は前回の旅でなじみになった日本人タクシードライバーに日本から前もって依頼していた。彼からハワイ情報などを聞きながらコンドミニアムに到着。旅装を解いた後、うちから５分のところにあるＨＩＳのオフィスへ寄ってトロリーチケットの購入。７日間乗り放題を購入。これがあると買物などに便利で、ダウンタウンからワイキキまで気軽に移動できる。

そして次にハーフマラソンの受付。受付会場のハワイ・コンベンションセンターはうちから徒歩圏内。助かる。受付は簡単に終了。いろいろなブースが出ていたので冷やかして廻る。英語で商品説明をしているのを横で聞いてマラソン関連の英語表現を聞けたのもよかった。

New Sunglasses

　　I got my three pairs of glasses fitted several years ago; two pairs of bifocal glasses and a pair of sunglasses, but recently those glasses became unfit for my eyesight and I decided to order new glasses. Especially this time, I'd like to get jogging-oriented sunglasses, but there was no shop to handle them. I flew to Tokyo. The following pictures show a commercial board in the shop and my sunglasses, which were delivered a month later. My new sunglasses adopt an up-to-date technology of polarizing lens and cut unnecessary light. This feature gives me clear vision. If you put something white on your car's dashboard, its reflection on the windshield will hinder your driving. With these sunglasses on, however, the reflection doesn't occur. It's amazing. Moreover, some devices are added for stabilizing on the back of the nose. It would help the glasses to stay in the proper position during jogging. I presumed that sunglasses are simply for cutting the strong daylight using dark lenses. It was partially correct, but partially wrong. I tried some lenses on. They were for high altitude climbing, skiing, night driving, and so on. When I wore one for high altitude climbing, the three colors of the traffic light were all seen as black. This type of sunglasses are naturally prohibited to wear during driving. In the case of one for night driving, the view was light, whereas the glare of headlights was suppressed. I ordered one for jogging-use.
　　My eyesight was tested and I picked the lenses and frame. It took about one and a half hours for these procedures. I'll report later about my impression from use. The pictures in which a red building is shown is Tokyo Station, which was renovated into its original appearance recently. Lots of tourists were swarming around. Taking advantage of a break in the flow of people, I took some pictures.

数年前にめがねを新調したが度が合わなくなってきたため作り直すことにした。今回はマラソン用にサングラスを作ることに。調べてみると専用の物が売られていた。ただ、地元にはなくて東京まで購入に出かけた。写真は眼鏡屋にあった広告と１ヶ月後に届いたサングラス。偏光レンズを使用しており反射光などの余分な光線がカットされるため非常に見やすい。また眼鏡がずれないような工夫も成されている。この店で知ったのだが、高高度登山用とか、スキー用とか、夜間の運転用とか、いろいろなサングラスが用意されていて驚いた。まずはマラソン用を作ってみて良かったらまた購入したいと思った。

視力を測り、レンズを決定し、フレームを選ぶまで１時間３０分。眼鏡の感想はまた後日。建物の写真は新装成った東京駅。１００年以上前の駅舎の再現。写真を撮っている人が多かった。もちろん自分もその中の一人です。(^_^;)

Coastline On A Winter Day

　　I commute by car every morning. It takes about an hour and I feel drowsy sometimes. When I got sleepy this morning, I pulled up my car and took some snapshots there to shake off my drowsiness. When I had a shooting lecture last month, I learned to think outside the box. I took several pictures that I hadn't ever taken; leafless trees on the roadside, leaves with no features. I think that the picture of an old tree expresses the melancholy of winter and the wintery sunshine at the same time. What do you think? As you see in the last two pictures, I understood how to blur its background, though in these pictures I failed to choose the objects. I should have picked more beautiful leaves. Anyway, shooting is fun!

 (Vocabulary)
think outside the box 　新しい独創的な考え方をする

Workshop with a Professional Photographer in Miyajima

　　I joined a shooting workshop held on Miyajima island today, which is known as one of the three most beautiful scenic spots in Japan. The lecturer was a professional photographer, Mr. Yuji Itsumi. The participants met up at the ferry terminal, and firstly received a briefing on the workshop. I'll show you some memos below. I was told to take pictures in a diaphragm preferentially exposing mode with automatic white balance.
　　The Itsukushima Jinja is on the island. This beautiful shrine is built out over the sea, and the gods of the sea are the object of worship. Lots of visitors visit the shrine, but we didn't drop in at the shrine. While just walking in the town, we sought out suitable objects for the shooting. The lecturer advised us how to cut out the scene, and how to pick the best camera setting in every case. To tell the truth, however, I wondered sometimes what the lecturer saw in the frame, but it would be due to lack of an eye for beauty. As several participants held their cameras in the same direction, most other passersby stopped to look in the same direction, but they also wondered, tilting their head in confusion, and said, "What are you aiming at?"
　　The last picture shows the lecturer, who was shooting confections for tea ceremonies using "kaishi" - a piece of paper used in the ceremony - as a makeshift reflex board. He put the room light out and changed the natural light into softer light with the reflex board. I admired his picture. The ordinary confections looked so nice. I think I understood the exposure correction.

(Vocabulary)
diaphragm (専門) (カメラの) 絞り
passerby 通行人, 通りがかりの人
reflex board レフ板

五海カメラマンのサイト
http://itsumioffice.sakura.ne.jp/index.html

今日は日本を代表する景色の一つ、宮島でプロの写真家によるワークショップがあり、参加した。集合場所は宮島側のフェリーターミナル。全員が揃うのを待うとまずブリーフィング。絞り優先で、ホワイトバランスはオート、など説明を受けた。ブリーフィングの内容は下記に載せておきます。ご参考まで。

宮島は日本三景の一つで美しい神社があるのだが、そこへは寄らず、ただ街中を歩き被写体を探して撮影した。被写体の切り取り方と撮影条件を教えてもらってから撮影するのだが、正直どこが良いのだろうかと不思議に思う構図もあった。５００枚くらい撮った。１０名ほどのグループが撮影しているので、何があるのだろうかと通行人が足を止めてカメラの先を眺めるのだが、皆が首をかしげてみていた。

最後の写真は休憩所で出されたお茶菓子を撮影する講師のカメラマン。懐紙を簡易レフ板として使用し、蛍光灯を消し、外から差し込む自然光を懐紙で柔らかい光として撮影していた。撮れた写真を見せていただいたが、まあ驚いた。撮り方でこのように見えるのかと。このワークショップで露出の補正については理解できたように思う。

Wandering with my camera

　　I dropped my wife near her party site, and started wandering in the city. To tell the truth, this wandering was just my purpose to visit this city. Onomichi City is known for its narrow and winding slopes with the nostalgic atmosphere of pre-modern times. Its terrain is also distinctive and attracts most visitors, so the city has been used as a filming location in several movies. What I wanted to do in this city was the shooting of ordinary streets.
　　Haven't you seen emotional pictures, whose subjects were simply conventional streets or ordinary people, for example in magazines? Common scenes seen in daily life will be shaped into artistic works by professional photographers. I wondered how they cut out common scenes into great pictures. I, who had just got a single lens reflex camera, would never be able to shoot pictures like professional photographers, but I just wanted to try it. I had already applied for a shooting workshop which is scheduled two weeks later. This wandering was, as it were, a self-training of shooting.
　　However, while walking in the town, I was not able to figure out what to shoot. I took pictures of the scenery, plants, paths, folk houses, and shrines, but I didn't get even a single picture for my satisfaction. I'm going to learn at least a few secrets of picking subjects of shooting.

で、カミさんを同窓会の開かれるレストランのそばでおろしてからは尾道散策。実はこれが今回の一番の目的。この町は狭い坂道が多いことで知られる風光明媚な土地。誰もが一度訪れると虜になる。数々の映画の撮影も行われた。この街で何をしたかったか。それは、『街角撮影』。

何でも無い普通の風景がプロの写真家に手に掛かると芸術的な写真になる。風景の切り取り方が素人とは違うのだろう。一眼レフカメラを手にしたばかりの自分に独創的な撮影は無理だが、それでも自分なりに風景を切り取ってみようと思い、軽装で坂道を歩き回った。実は２週間後にプロの指導を受けることになっている。その練習を兼ねて尾道の街を歩いた。

しかし、実際に歩いてみても、どこをどのように撮影したら良いのか全くわからない。カメラの設定を変えながら、風景、植物、街並み、家、神社などを撮ってみたが気に入った物は一枚もなかった。ワークショップで何か一つでもコツを掴みたいと思う。

Disintegration of My PCs

　　My old desktop computer, which was replaced 7, 8 years ago, and another two mobile pcs have been sitting in my study for a long time. In my office, moreover, my broken pc was left in a corner of my room for a few months. I made my mind up to throw them away to make space both in my study and in my office. However, each memory device might still have classified data on patients and I had to delete them fully and completely.
　　It was not difficult to remove the hard disk drives from those pcs, but one mobile pc was equipped with the SSD as a memory device. I've never seen this kind of device and took time to take that out of the pc. I'll show you some pictures taken during disintegration. This procedure was narrowly done because I didn't need to restore it. If I had to, I'd never carry it out.
　　I asked Matsuyama Medical Association to delete data on the disks. They have a disk crusher for members, which destroys hard disk drives by an extremely strong magnet. During the process of deletion, I chatted with a life-long friend since my junior high school days. He was now the top of the administrative officers of the association. The alumni meeting is scheduled this weekend, but I can't attend it due to my job. I asked him to say hello to my other dear friends at the party. By the way, one of the four devices in the last picture is an SSD. I'm going to heat and distort this so that no one can reuse it.

７～８年前に入れ替えた古いデスクトップパソコン、更に２台のノートパソコン、そして先日職場で使っているパソコンが壊れてこれらは放置されていたが、スペースを取るため一気に処分することにした。しかし、どれも職務上のデータが残っている可能性が有り、完全にデータを消すために地元医師会の所有するハードディスククラッシャーを使わせてもらうことにした。処分後は元のPCに収めて廃棄業者に依頼する予定。

今、医師会の事務方トップが中高の同級生。医師会館でハードディスクを処分するしばらくの間、楽しい雑談。今週末には同窓会があるのだが、仕事のため出席できない。残念だ。写真のうち、一つはハードディスクではなくＳＳＤ。これは熱を加えて変形させた上で破壊して処分するつもり。

Replacement of my PC

　　My PC which I use in my office died abruptly in the morning about 10 days ago. I tried some remedies, but in vain. I was able to consult an expert in a PC shop for advice on the matter, but considering the time and effort and that Windows 7, which I use now, is getting old, I decided to buy new one. I chose the cheapest one at DELL's online shop, because my PC in my office didn't need high performance, being enough if I could surf on the net and read and write e-mails. As for data, I utilize the cloud system. It was one consolation that I didn't lose any data in this accident. Until the new one was delivered to me, I had to use my mobile PC, but its screen was small and the work efficiency was not so good, as I usually use two screens at the same time.
　　After its delivery, it took a day to install several applications. The next step was to restore the data. It was not troublesome, but took time to download the data from the net. Though I had already felt the handiness of using the same data from my office, my house, and even outdoors, I surely understood the security of keeping data on the cloud system this time. I've just started my new PC from yesterday.

(Vocabulary)
consolation 慰め
He had the consolation of knowing that he had done his best. 自分では最善を尽くしたという自覚が彼の慰めだった．

New Camera

　　I wrote about my cruise tour in March in this blog, but I forgot to tell you about a few things in those trip memos. Most people who were taking pictures on the deck had their single lens reflex cameras, and actually my small digital camera was not good enough for the magnificent views. Coming back to Japan, I bought one, consulting my camera-freak friends about suitable ones for beginners like me. It's a Canon Eos X9i in the following picture.
　　My wife makes fun of me with smiles, saying that it's an expensive toy for me, seeing me playing with it. Now that I have one, I'm ready to learn how to handle my single lens reflex camera. I tried various setting of the diaphragm and shutter speed, and I found their effects. I had always used cameras before with automatic settings, leaving detailed setting to the camera. From now on, I'm going to study shooting skills.

(Vocabulary)
diaphragm 横隔膜；(避妊用の) ペッサリー；(専門) (電話機・スピーカーなどの) 振動板；(専門) (カメラの) 絞り

The Strait of Malacca Cruising

　　I saw the Strait of Malacca from the hill of St. Paul's Church on my first visit to Malaysia last summer. You can see the same scene here(link). Since then, I'd been eager to see the Malay Peninsula from the sea, though the coastal terrain would have completely changed from that in 15th century when the Straits had appeared in history. I just wanted to view the Malay Peninsula from the Straits just like the sailors in 15th century blown by the breeze on the Straits. After coming back to Japan, while seeking for a means of transport, I found a gorgeous cruising tour. The name of the cruise ship was Diamond Princess! The ship registry was Britain, but it was built in Japan. I applied to go cruising in the Strait of Malacca immediately.
　　I took this opportunity to replace my worn red daypack. I'll move from Japan in the still cold climate to the waters practically right on the equator. I had to take my winter clothes off and put summer ones on at my arrival in Singapore. My new daypack was required to have a big capacity as a carry-on bag. It must also have pockets for mobile PCs, documents, and desirably be waterproof. Even when almost empty, it must keep some space for fragile stuff. My about ten-year-old daypack didn't have any partition and was heavily damaged. I had to use two cases as you see here(link). The daypack in the linked picture was the last dayback but one. Considering these conditions, I chose a silver one in the following picture. It had all the functions which I needed. I would say that this type of daypack should become popular.

http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2016/08/overview-of-malacca.html
http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2008/03/last-minute-pre.html

(Vocabulary)
take the opportunity to do これを機に～する
I would say that~ 私の見るところ～である。

マラッカ海峡クルージング記　　はじまり(^o^)

昨年の夏に初めてマレーシアを訪問した。そして、初めてマラッカ海峡を眺めた。(LINK)この眺めを見て次は海からマラッカ市街を眺めてみたいと思った。この海峡が歴史に登場する１５世紀頃の景色とは随分と違ってはいるだろうが、当時の船乗り達が眺めたであろう山々を眺めてみたかった。帰国後、その手段を探していて、見つけたのがマラッカ海峡クルージングツアーだ。船はあのダイヤモンド・プリンセス。申し分ない。イギリス船籍だが日本で建造された船だ。すぐに申し込んだ。

今回のツアーでデイパックを新調することにした。まだ寒い日本から赤道直下の海上へ行くのだ。ディナー用の服に加えて、季節の違う国へ向かうため夏と冬の両方の季節の普段着を用意せねばならない。機内持ち込み荷物にも十分な容量が必要だ。約１０年以上使ったデイパックは中に仕切りがなく不便な上に、かなり傷んでいた。仕切りが無いため下記に示した箱を入れて使っていた。（LINK)今回は中に何も入れなくてもある程度のスペースを保つもので、パソコンや書類など用のポケットのあるもの。防水なら更に良いという条件で探して写真のものを選んだ。機能的に申し分なくこれから愛用することになるだろう。このタイプのデイパック、流行るだろうな。

Replacement of Fridge

　　On the night of Feb. 10th, the fridge abruptly stopped working. This fridge was the second one for my house and was operating for as long as 18 years, except a couple of shutdowns for moving house.
　　The first one, which had been bought when we got married, broke after 12 years' use. When we chose the second one, we thought that our daughters would grow up and the bigger and more functional it was, the better. It was refined to save electricity and to adopt several cooling methods for various food items, like vegetables, fish, meat, and so on.
　　My wife and I weren't able to conceive of life without fridges and made a beeline for the nearest electric appliance shop at just its opening time on the next day, the 11th. A big and sophisticated fridge, which was equipped with a storage space for even wines, caught my eye, but my wife told me that we wouldn't need such a big one for just the two of us. She was right and I agreed. When I replaced a dead light bulb into a LED bulb the other day, I wondered when and who would replace this bulb. It would never be me! My life was surely approaching to the end. (grin)
　　The picture was shot on 12th. The old one was being taken out of the kitchen in the pictures. I fully left the moving work of both the new and old fridges to the store staff members. Their work was really that of professionals. I admired them.

 

２月１０日の夜、突然冷蔵庫が動かなくなった。この冷蔵庫は我が家の２代目で１８年使っている。この間、引っ越し以外で電源を落としたことはなく、常に我が家の食生活を支えてくれた。
　
結婚時に買った初代の冷蔵庫は１２年あまりで壊れた。そして今の冷蔵庫を買うとき、これから娘たちが成長するからと考え、結婚したときに買った大型の冷蔵庫よりも更に容量の大きいのを買った。２代目の冷蔵庫は冷蔵方法が食品別に設定されていたり、節電できたりと細やかにデザインされていた。
　
冷蔵庫のない生活は考えられないので翌１１日急遽電気屋へ行き、新しい冷蔵庫を購入。これからは夫婦二人の生活で、食も細くなるだろう。あまり容量は大きくなくて良いと考えて選んだ。先日交換したＬＥＤ電球、その寿命を考えると、次にこれを交換するのは誰だろう？少なくとも自分ではないだろうなあと考えた。あ～、人生、終わりに近づいている。(^_^;)

１２日に古い冷蔵庫の引き取り、新しい冷蔵庫の搬入となった。冷蔵庫の移動はプロにお任せした。その巧みなやり方に驚いた。やはりプロはプロである。

 

Royal Selangor and Malaysia Tourism Center

　　The last place we visited was the head factory of Royal Selangor. This company was apparently the biggest one in the world in the field of pewter products. The guide's explanation recalled the fact that Malaysia had developed with the production of tin, but unfortunately it plunged the country into the pit of misery as a colony of Britain at the same time. I walked along the sightseeing route, admiring the skillful work of craftswomen, and reached the souvenir shop. The items on the shelves were great. I wanted some, but I had a long way to go yet. I gave up buying them. When I got back to our hotel, our laundry was delivered as I show you below. The laundry fee of 59 Ringgit (1550 yen) was high or low? It was not dark yet, so we went out for a walk around the hotel.
　　There was the Malaysia Tourism Center behind our hotel. This colonial building was built as a mine operator's residence in 1935, but it was converted to the British Army's Office, then it was used as the Headquarters of the Japanese Imperial Army until 1945, the defeat of Japan. The center was out of service, but I was able to enter the facility and it was bigger than I expected. It had a theater and a restaurant inside. The KL Tower and my hotel were seen from the garden of the center. I didn't climb up the tower, but I would visit KL again. The last picture is the Petronas Twin Tower which was glowing with the setting sun. The area around the tower was swarming with people who were celebrating their Independence.

(Vocabulary)
Royal Selangor　ロイヤル・セランゴール
tin [U] ([化学記号] Sn) スズ, (金属元素) ブリキ

 

マレーシア旅行記：　ロイヤル・セランゴール本社工場　旧日本帝国陸軍本部

最後の訪問地はロイヤル・セランゴールの本社工場。この会社はピューター製品の分野では世界で最も規模が大きい歴史ある老舗だとか。そういえばマレーシアはスズの生産で発展した国だったと思い出した。そのために英国の植民地ともなってしまったのだが。職人の鮮やかな手さばきにほれぼれしながら、最後はお決まりの土産物コーナー。どれもこれも素晴らしく買って帰りたいのだが、残りの行程が長いため我慢した。ホテルへ帰ると洗濯物が届いていた。これだけで５９リンギット（１５５０円）は高いか安いか。きれいに仕上がっていた。まだ十分明るいのでホテル周りを散策した。
　
ホテルの裏手にマレーシアツーリズムセンターがあった。このコロニアル建築は１９３５年にスズ採掘業者の邸宅として建てられたもので、イギリス陸軍オフィス、そして大東亜戦争中は日本陸軍本部として使われた歴史上大きな役割を果たしてきた建物。時間外だったが中に入ることが出来た。シアターやレストランもある大きな施設だった。同センターから宿泊したホテルとＫＬタワーが見えた。結局ＫＬタワーに登る時間は取れなかったが、また来ることもあるだろう。最後の写真は西日に映えるペトロナスツインタワー。独立記念日のためだろうか、大勢の人たちで賑わっていた。

 

KÄRCHER K-5

　　My house has an open terrace, which is called loggia. I wrote about its cleaning here two years ago. Now the stone panels of the loggia got dirty again and need cleaning, but I'm unwilling to clean them, remembering the hard work that I referred to in the blog entry. It must take 3 or 4 hours of the precious holiday. I've reached the point where I just don't care any more. However, I had been pestered to polish the stone panels by my wife.
　　One day I happened to watch a TV commercial of the high pressure water washing machine of KÄRCHER. My intuition urged me to get it for the cleaning of the stone panels. I had the next day off and visited a DIY store showroom. I was able to try it there and ordered it online that night.
　　The effectiveness was so great! The cleaning of all the stone panels were done in 15 minutes and without hard work! Incredible. I'll show you the pictures of before and after the cleaning. The ability of the machine was amazing.
　　As I talked about the machine to my parents, they wanted me to clean their house's fences and the floor of the parking lot. Consequently, I had to work a whole day at the end of the day.

(Vocabulary)
I've reached the point where I just don't care any more.
もうどうでもいいと思うくらいになってしまった．

http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2014/07/cleaning-stone-panels.html

Instinct Habit?

　　I noticed a sign saying the overlook of Mt. Komagatake was along the road. I steered towards the direction which the sign indicated in a reflexive manner. Whenever I find a new forest road, I try to enter the road without hesitation. It might be my instinctive habit. I love driving rally cars on the unpaved road. While driving a few kilometers, the amount of snow was increasing. The administrator would leave the snow on the road and just wait for its melting. My car was equipped with winter tires, but it was rear-wheel drive. Even though it had winter tires, it would be dangerous to climb up to the overlook. I got away from the road. The first picture is shot at the highest point we reached and the last picture shows the exit of the forest road. My car got dirty, but was able to come back without any damage. It was lucky!

(Vocabulary)
overlook 見晴らしのよい所, 見晴らし台

　駒ヶ岳展望台の案内があった。林道を見たら取りあえず入ってみる、、、悪い癖が出てしまった。雪が溶けるに任せている道のようで、除雪されていない。いくらスタッドレスとは言え後輪駆動の車ではちょいときつそうで、１枚目の写真の所までで登るのは諦めた。２枚目はやっと舗装路まで逃げてきた図。車は汚れたが、無傷で降りて来られて良かった、、、(^o^)　

Travel Cooker

　　A friend of mine linked to me on Facebook is working for Japanese people in the U.N. I'm writing about him and his mates exactly in another article, and now I'll tell you about his new gadget.
　　He stays in Geneve and complains of the food being costly. I've been to Basel, though only for a day, and can understand his way of thinking. After due consideration how to save money on food, he bought a travel cooker. Reading his review on the cooker and seeing its picture, I found it attractive and decided to buy the same one. It was only 2700 yen (25 U.S. dollars) and compact. It must be definitely designed for traveling.
　　I tried to cook an instant ramen and boiled eggs with it, and the result was wonderful. It's very handy and will be useful on overseas trips.

Selfie

　　It seems like the idea of a selfie stick was first developed in Japan decades ago. All the same, the concept was too early to be accepted by people. The following picture was shot by my digital camera which was controlled by my smartphone via WiFi. It's my way of napping in my office.
　　When I take a nap, direct air from the air conditioner is uncomfortable. Likewise the electric heater warms a localized part of my body which faces the heater. It's also uncomfortable. Consequently, I figured out this way of napping. The seat heater of my car gave me a cue for this style. As you see, the heater is set behind my back.
　　This outdoor chair can be folded not to take up space and can be reclined, but I use it in the upright position to receive the heat to my back from the heater. You might see it tight, but it's really comfortable. The compact and light seat with electric heater costs only 3000 yen. It's really cost-effective.

(Vocabulary)
selfie; a photograph you take of yourself, usually so that you can put it on a social networking site （ロングマン英和には載っておらず、ロングマン英英から）
All the same,,, それでも、、、

Mercedes-Benz SSK

　　I have a Mercedes-Benz SLK200 and I thought "K" of SLK stands for "convertible" without deliberation, because "C" in English words are often replaced into "K" in German words. If it's translated into French, it's Cabriolet.
　　I knew on strange occasions that the car which Lupin the 3rd, a hero in Japanese manga, uses was Mercedes-Benz SSK and it was also convertible. I'll show you a picture quoting from the net. Seeing the style of his car, I thought "K" of SSK must also stand for "convertible".
　　I investigated several websites concerning cars for confirmation, and found my idea totally wrong. "K" is the abbreviation of "kurz" in German, which means "short" in English. SLK seems to be the short version of SL.

(Vocabulary)
on strange occasions　 ひょんなことで