バス旅行「秋のかやぶき音楽堂コンサート」２ (Bus Trip, "Autumn Concert at Straw Thatched Music Hall" 2)

　兵庫陶芸美術館での見学後、篠山市の「お菓子の里丹波」の本館で昼食。ここには旧・神戸市警垂水署を移築改装したミオール館その他の施設もあるが、雨が降り出したので、本館から見える庭園の一部の写真を撮ることが出来ただけだった。

　2枚目の写真の手前に写っている「つくばい（蹲踞）」には、「吾唯足知」（われ、ただ足るを知る）の4字が、中央の口を共有した形で刻まれている。これは京都・龍安寺のつくばいにある文字と同じである。

After seeing the exhibition at the Museum of Ceramic Art, Hyogo, we had lunch at the main building of "Okashi-no-sato Tamba (Tamba Sweets Village)"in Sasayama. "Okashi-no-sato Tamba" is a tourist attraction and has Mior House (former Kobe-Tarumi Police Station reconstructed and renovated) and other facilities. However, it became raining, and I was able to take photos of part of the garden seen from the main building.

At the bottom of the second photo, we see a stone basin with four Chinese characters. Each of these characters shares the central bowl representing 口 as its part. The four characters together (吾唯足知) make a poem to mean "what one has is all one needs," which is the basic anti-materialistic teachings of Buddhism [1]. We also see the same poem on the basin of Ryoan-ji Temple in Kyoto.

1. "Tsukubai," Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (2 January 2010 at 10:14).

From tweets of yesterday (edited by rephrasing, adding words, etc.)

About Astrophysics

"The post-singularity future of astronomy," Technology Review physics arXiv blog (October 4, 2010). —"Astronomy could be the first discipline in which the rate of discovery by machines outpaces humans' ability to interpret it."

About Mathematics

[Retweet of republicofmath's words] "What is a triangle? The role of definition," Blog site Republic of Mathematics (October 2, 2010).

Wrote a comment on the above blog post: I get 1+α, not 0, for αx+1 with x=1. Am I wrong?

[From republicofmath in reply to my comment] Tatsuo, thanks for your blog comment. I made your correction.

[To republicofmath] You're welcome. The corrected figure for the triangle became less like a triangle in appearance.

About Physicists

"Fred Hoyle: the scientist whose rudeness cost him a Nobel prize," Observer (October 3, 2010). —"As the winners of this year's Nobel science prizes are about to be announced, Robin McKie looks back at the controversial life of groundbreaking scientist Fred Hoyle." (Retweeted by republicofmath)

バス旅行「秋のかやぶき音楽堂コンサート」１ (Bus Trip, "Autumn Concert at Straw Thatched Music Hall" 1)

　昨日、妻とバス旅行「秋のかやぶき音楽堂コンサート」に参加した。バスは午前9時に JR 大阪駅前を出発した。まず、兵庫県篠山市にある兵庫陶芸美術館へ寄った。ここは、2005年に出来た新しい美術館で、敷地面積は 49,000 平方メートルある。特別展「型が生み出す、やきものの美—柿右衛門・三田—」を見学した。写真は、同美術館の庭園と建物のごく一部である。

Yesterday, my wife and I joined a bus trip titled, "Autumn Concert at Straw Thatched Music Hall." The buses started at 9:00 a.m. from JR Osaka Station. We first dropped at the Museum of Ceramic Art, Hyogo, located at Sasayama, Hyogo. The museum is a new one completed in 2005 and has the site area of 49,000 square meters. There, we appreciated the exhibition, "The Beauty of Pottery Created by Molds: Kakiemon and Sanda." The photos show only part of the gardens and the buildings of the museum.

From tweets of yesterday (edited by rephrasing, adding words, etc.)

About Peace and Politics

[Retweet of PeaceMusicFesta's words]【声明文】政府の辺野古決定は残念に思いますが、私たち Peace Music は決して諦めません。今こそ再び辺野古の浜で野外音楽フェスを開催し、希望の歌をかき鳴らしたいと思います。実現に向け、皆様力を貸して下さい。Peace Music 知花竜海・伊丹英子 (via someone else; retreated by more than 100 persons)

[Retweet of NS_keitai's words] 1960年代の後半、日本政府が、核兵器の保有について極秘裏に検討を進めていたことが、NHK の入手した機密資料からわかりました。 (Retweeted by 13 persons including me)

タマスダレ (Fairy Lily)

　タマスダレ（玉簾、ヒガンバナ科）。2010年9月27日、わが家の庭で撮影。

Fairy lily or white rain lily; botanical name, Zephyranthes candida; family, Amaryllidaceae. The photo was taken at our yard on September 27, 2010.

From tweets of yesterday (edited by rephrasing, adding words, etc.)

About Astrophysics

"Neutron star formation could awaken the vacuum," Physical Review Focus (October 1, 2010). —"A theory predicts that under some circumstances, the energy of the empty space around a neutron star (bright spot at center, surrounded by supernova remnant) could exceed the energy of the star's mass. [. . .] 'It's an invitation for some further research.' " (Retweeted by ColinPeters)

About Language

[Retweet of utadahikaru's words] The Japanese [word for] thank you[,] "Arigato[,]" literally means "hard to find." The opposite of taking something for granted. Beautiful language, isn't it? (via someone else; retweeted by more than 100 persons)

[Retweet of newscientist's words] "Cosmic accidents: Inventing language, the easy way," (October 2, 2010). —How language was born and helped humans.

About Life

Am going to join a bus trip for a concert at a straw thatched music hall in Goma, Kyoto, tomorrow.

About Mathematics

"Math DL: MAA Writing Awards," —We can view past winning pieces by name or subject listing (via Internet Scout). ("Math DL" means "The MAA Mathematical Sciences Digital Library;" and "MAA," "the Mathematical Association of America.")

About Peace and Politics

[Retweet of PeacePhilosophy's words] "So-called 'Sympathy Budget' is only 28% of the total expenses Japan is paying for US bases 「思いやり予算」は在日米軍関連経費のたった２８％である," Peace Philosophy Centre blog (October 1, 2010) When governments and media talk about "sympathy budget," we tend to think that's all Japanese taxpayers are paying . . ."

About Physics

[Retweet of grahamfarmelo's words] "Quanta, symmetry & topology." —Video of richly insightful talk by Frank Wilczek (September 24, 2010).

"Information Physics: The New Frontier," Kevin H. Knuth, arXiv:1009.5161v1.

Quotations

[Retweet of sciencewisdom's words] To my mind to kill in war is not a whit better than to commit ordinary murder. —A.Einstein http://iwise.com/XUlgt.

ハナトラノオ (Obedient Plant)

　ハナトラノオ（花虎の尾、シソ科）。2010年9月17日、わが家の庭で撮影。

Obedient plant or false dragonhead; botanical name, Physostegia virginiana; family, Lamiaceae. The photo was taken at our yard on September 17, 2010.

From tweets of yesterday (edited by rephrasing, adding words, etc.)

About Arts

"Vote for your favourite accelerator photos," physicsworld, Blog (September 28, 2010). —Participating laboratories are CERN, DESY, Fermilab, KEK & TRIUMF. (Retweeted by ColinPeters)

About Astrophysics

"A dance of extrasolar planets," Science Vol. 330. No. 6000, p. 47 (2010). —Two Saturn-size planets show time variations in transiting their star. (Retweeted by gtsouza)

"Lost rover found on moon with retroreflector still intact," Technology Review arXiv blog (October 1, 2010). —"The Russian Lunokhod-1 rover, lost for over 30 years, is surprisingly well-preserved, say astronomers who have worked out its position to within a few centimeters."

About Physicists

"Georges Charpak: 1924–2010," physicsworld (September 30, 2010). —Particle physicist who had won 1992 Nobel prize "for his invention and development of particle detectors, in particular the multiwire proportional chamber" died on September 29 at the age of 86.

About Science

"Annual Ig Nobel awards presented for the most 'improbable' research," Telegraph (October 1, 2010). —"Roller-coaster rides can relieve symptoms of asthma, beards are a health hazard and randomly promoting workers creates more efficient companies are among a host of 'improbable' scientific findings to win a spoof Nobel Prize this year."

Exchange of Words with Friends

[To ColinPeters] Oh, it's your wedding anniversary today. Congratulations!

[From ColinPeters] どうも

遅咲きアサガオ (Late Blooming Morning Glory)

　写真は遅咲きアサガオ。アサガオはヒルガオ科に属する。9月17日、わが家の庭で撮影。

Late blooming morning glory. The botanical name of morning glory, Ipomoea nil; family, Convolvulaceae. The photo was taken at our yard on September 17, 2010.

From tweets of yesterday (edited by rephrasing, adding words, etc.)

About Astrophysics

"Gliese 581g: the most Earth like planet yet discovered," Telegraph (September 29, 2010). See also: "New planet may be able to nurture organisms," New York Times (September 29, 2010); the related paper, S. S. Vogt et al., "The Lick-Carnegie Exoplanet Survey: A 3.1 M⊕ Planet in the Habitable Zone of the Nearby M3V Star Gliese 581" (via ExoplanetApp).

About Books

"Policy: Towards nuclear zero," Nature Vol. 467, p. 528 (September 30, 2010). —Joseph Cirincione reviews Richard Rhodes's book "The Twilight of the Bombs: Recent Challenges, New Dangers, and the Prospects for a World without Nuclear Weapons" (Random House, 2010), writing, "Fact-packed final volume of a quartet on nuclear security is required reading."

About Peace and Politics

[Retweet of minakopengin's words] 「政党助成金09年報告 総選挙 税金頼み：宣伝費 民主57億、自民61億円」しんぶん赤旗 (2010年9月30日). —政党助成金の実体がこの記事で明らかに。こんな制度は今すぐやめよう。

[Retweet of lhoaglund's words] 先月映画 "ANPO" の森美術館での上映後、石内都さん、中村宏さんと3人でトークしました。映画 "ANPO" についてもっと知りたい人にとって、きっと面白いと思います。このリンクお勧め。

学習会「核兵器、戦争はなくせるか？ Yes. We Can!!」成功 ：皆さんのご協力により、先のブログ記事でお知らせしました表記の学習会には59名の参加があり、成功裏に終了しました。ありがとうございました。署名とカンパにも多数ご協力いただき、厚くお礼申し上げます。… 福泉・鳳 憲法９条の会ブログ (2010年9月30日). —写真入り報告。

[From itadori3 about the above tweet] 早速すばらしい記事の掲載をありがとうございました。聞きましたら、この学習会に感動されて1万円カンパをしていただいた人や、感動の気持ちを俳句にしたためて送って下さった人もおられたとか。ご苦労様でした。…

About Physics

"Physicists convert information into energy," Technology Review arXiv blog (september 30, 2010).—"Build a tiny staircase and place a small polystyrene bead on the bottom step (a staircase is fairly straightforward to construct using electric fields). [. . .] Keep a close eye on the bead using a video camera and every time you see it go up a step, change the electric field so that it cannot drop back down again. This is like placing a barrier behind the bead. As you repeat this process, the bead will move up the staircase, driven by Brownian motion."

The changing of electric field mentioned above supply energy to the system from the outside, so that I wondered if this could be an "information heat engine." However, the authors, S. Toyabe et al., of the related paper (arXiv:1009.5287v2) write, "Under real-time feedback control, the particle climbs up a spiral-stairs-like potential exerted by an electric field and obtains free energy larger than the amount of work performed on it."

Quotations

「経験」とは、自身の内的な成熟のために「心の平衡を失うこと」を厭わずに「身を開いて」生きることなのである。そしてまた読書という営みも、「開かれた」姿勢でなされなければ、「経験」にはなり得ないものなのだ。——泉谷閑示「読書する怠け者、読書しない怠け者」図書 No. 740, p. 11 (2010年10月号); "Experience" comes from living for one's own inner maturity by "opening oneself" without hesitating "to lose mental balance." The deed of reading also requires an "open" attitude to become "experience." - Kanji Izumiya, "The lazy person who reads and the lazy person who does not," Tosho No. 740, p. 11 (2010). (translated from Japanese by T. T.)