コルチカム (Autumn Crocus)

　コルチカム（コルヒカム、コルキカムとも、イヌサフラン科）。2010年10月22日、わが家の庭で撮影。

Autumn crocus, meadow saffron or naked lady; botanical name, Colchicum autumnale; family, Colchicaceae. The photo was taken on October 22, 2010, at our yard.

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

About Anthropology

[Retweet of Guardian Science's words] "Language and toolmaking evolved together, say researchers." Evolutionary advance saw stone-age humans master the art of hand-toolmaking and paved the way for language to develop. Guardian (November 3, 2010).

About Astrophysics

"Cosmic blasts hint at inner magnetars." A twist in the plot for the Universe's most powerful explosions suggests a detour en route to forming a black hole. Nature Vol. 468, p. 15 (2010).

"Galactic GPS put through its paces." For the first time, astronomers have reconstructed Earth's trajectory through the cosmos using pulsar signals. Tech Rev (November 3, 2010). Reference: "Pulsars as celestial beacons to detect the motion of the earth," arxiv.org/abs/1011.0065.

About Fundamental Physics

"Gravity's weight on unification." Much research in theoretical physics is inspired at least in part by the idea of unifying all of the fundamental forces of nature. An analysis of how gravity affects other forces at subnuclear scales has major implications for that idea. Nature (November 3, 2010). —Reference: David J. Toms, "Quantum gravitational contributions to quantum electrodynamics," Nature Vol. 468, p. 56 (November 2010). See also "Quantum gravity corrects QED," physicsworld (November 3, 2010).

About Materials Science

[Retweet of Nature News's words] "Star Wars-style holograms: a new hope?" Novel plastic could enable real-time 3D holographic projections. Nature, News (November 3, 2010).

About Scenery

今年、桜の季節に訪れた場所で、懐かしい。 [Retweet of asahi's words] YouTube Video: 朝霧に浮かぶ「天空の城」、近畿でこの秋一番の冷え込み

ハギ (Bush Clover)

　ハギ（萩、マメ科ハギ属約30種の総称）。2010年10月20日、堺市・鳳公園で撮影。

Bush clover or Japanese clover; botanical name, Lespedeza; a genus of about 30 species; family, Fabaceae. The photo was taken on October 20, 2010, at Ōtori Park, Sakai.

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

About Astrophysics

"Google Sky gains galaxy cluster data." A new way to study the depths of the universe could herald a revolution in astronomy. Technology Review, Blogs (November 2, 2010). [Retweeted by Glaucio Souza]

About Cognition and Brain Sciences

"Take the ultimate intelligence test," New Scientist (October 27, 2010). —I tried the test and got the average score of top 61% (worse than medium)!

About Medical Technology

"Eye implant allows the blind to see again." An eye implant which has returned partial sight to three blind patients has been developed by scientists. Telegraph (November 3, 2010).

About Peace and Politics

ニュースレター九条科学者 No. 5 (2010.10.30). —「新たな時代の安全保障と防衛力に関する懇談会」の提言に断固反対する（事務局長談話）、第３回九条カフェのご案内、憲法問題研究会主催「九条カフェ」報告、など。

About Psychology

"Study of Facebook users connects narcissism and low self-esteem." If your status update was "I'm so glamorous," you might not really think much of yourself. Scientific American (November 2, 2010). [Retweeted by Fermin Aceves]

軽井沢で４ (In Karuizawa 4)

　「菫台時報会」同窓会の2日目の昼、離山通りに面してウッドデッキのテラスを持つ軽井沢・川上庵（写真）で、豊かなソバのコース料理を食した（当日は雨天のため、テラスでなく屋内で）。ホテルへ荷物を取りに戻ったあと、明年は郷里・金沢で再会することを期して、午後2時頃、軽井沢駅で解散した。

Around noon on the second day of the reunion, we had a sumptuous meal of buckwheat course at Karuizawa-Kawakamian (the above photo), which had a terrace of wooden deck and facing Hanareyama Street (we ate not on the terrace but inside the building because of rainfall). After picking up luggage at the hotel, we departed at Karuizawa Station around 2:00 p. m. by hoping that all of us should be able to attend the next year's reunion to be held in our home town, Kanazawa.

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

About Arts

『図書』11月号、80歳の方々の文が味わい深い。「無茶苦茶濫読の文学作品の記憶が、一人暮らしの楽しさを支えている。」——岩佐美代子「晴天に有明月の朝ぼらけ」。「［『坊つちゃん』末尾の］文章から受ける深い哀切感だけは動かしがたいのではないか…」——平岡敏夫「『坊つちゃん』のことなど」。

[English translation of the above] The November issue of "Tosho" includes 80-year old persons' appealing essays: "The memories of quite desultory reading of literature support the joys of my living alone." —Miyoko Iwasa, "Seiten ni ariakezuki no asaborake."* "I firmly believe that the last sentence [of Soseki's "Bocchan"] gives one the feeling of deep sorrow . . ."** - Toshio Hiraoka, "About 'Bocchan,' etc."
* In the clear sky, I see a wan morning moon, this dawn. (Taken from Kyorai's poem)
** "Bocchan" is generally considered to be a comical novel.

武満徹が『フィネガンズ・ウェイク』に触発されて作った曲『リヴァラン』について記した言葉、「曲は、一つの源流から派生する音楽的支流が、夜の風景を辿って、調性の海を目指して進んで行く。…」——大江健三郎が「ジョイスと武満」（『図書』2010年11月号 p. 35）に引用している。

About Life Science

[Retweet of BBC News's words] "Brain imaging pinpoints deception," BBC News (November 1, 2010).

About Mathematics

[Retweet of Republic of Math's words] James (@jamestanton), I added your video "Point Nine Forever" to my blog post "The moving pointer and 0.999…. A useful cognitive root."

About Physicists

"Obituary: Aage Niels Bohr," Physics Today November 2010, page 59. —'[. . .] Aage grew up amid the remarkable circle of scientists—"Uncle Kramers," "Uncle Klein," "Uncle Nishina," "Uncle Heisenberg," "Uncle Pauli," and so forth—who came to work with his father.'

About Physics

"Antarctic balloon sees particles with a million times more energy than the LHC," Guardian (October 29, 2010). —"The ANITA experiment is designed to look for neutrinos, but saw 16 ultra-high-energy cosmic rays by mistake." [Retweeted by skullsinthestars, P. F. Anderson and Gregory A. Good]

November-2010 issue of Physics Today includes articles "A time-symmetric formulation of quantum mechanics" and "String theory and the real world."

"At CERN, trillions of reasons to be excited about Large Hadron Collider," New York Times (November 1, 2010). —Dennis Overbye reports . . .

About Technology

[Retweet of P. F. Anderson's words] Very mixed feelings >> "Japanese nurse robot (Actroid-F) 2010" (Video).—A robot created by Kokoro Co. Ltd. and ATR.

軽井沢で３ (In Karuizawa 3)

　2日目午前の美術館訪問としては、メルシャン軽井沢美術館で開催していた「小さなルーヴル美術館」展が好評で会期が延長になった、と幹事が話すので、てっきりそこへ行くのかと思った。しかし、展示替えのため、10月25日から29日までは、残念ながら休館中との報告だった。それならば、セゾン現代美術館がよいと考えたとの幹事の話に、それはよさそうだと思うと、木曜日は休館日で、これもだめだという。実際に赴いたのは田崎美術館だった。開館時刻の少し前にホテルのマイクロバスで到着したが、時刻を過ぎてもなぜか閉まったままである。休館日は前日の水曜日だったはずだが。仕方なく、一同は「軽井沢絵本の森美術館」を訪れ、そこを見学した。

　絵本の森美術館は、もう一つの施設「エルツおもちゃ博物館・軽井沢」とともに、「ムーゼの森」と呼ばれる広い公園の中にあり、第1展示館ベルク（ドイツ語で「山」を表す）、第2展示館トゥルム（「塔」）、絵本図書館ヒューゲル（「丘」；上掲の写真）などの棟から成る。第1展示館では、特別展「動物えほん展：擬人化された動物ファンタジー」が行なわれていた。大人も子どもも楽しめるすてきな美術館で、私の住む大阪府下にもこういう所があればよいと思った。われわれが買った入館券は、おもちゃ博物館とセットになったものだったが、そちらを見る時間はなく、昼食の場所へ向った。

On the first day of the reunion, the organizer said, "For the museum visit of tomorrow, I chose 'Petit Louvre' Exhibition at Musee d'art Mercian Karuizawa. The exhibition has been well received, and the period in which it is held has been extended." So we thought that we would certainly go there. However, he added, "It's a pity that the museum is closed from October 25 to 29 in order to change the works for exhibition." He continued, "In Karuizawa, there is another excellent museum, the Sezon Museum of Modern Art." Hearing this, we thought it was also a smart plan to visit there. However, he said, "The museum is closed on Thursdays." Thus, we actually went to the Tasaki Museum of Art by the small bus of the hotel, arriving there shortly before the opening time. But alas! The museum remained closed after the opening time in spite of the information that it was closed on Wednesdays. Reluctantly, we took the bus again to go to the Karuizawa Museum of Picture Books.

The Museum of Picture Books is located in a large park, Muze Forest, together with another facility, the Erzgebirge Toy Museum of Karuizawa, and consists of separate buildings of the First Exhibition Hall "Berg," the second Exhibition Hall "Turm," Picture Book Library "Hügel" (the photo above), and so on. At the First Exhibition Hall, a special exhibition, "Animal picture books: The fantasy of anthropomorphic animals" was being held. It was such a lovely museum for both children and adults to appreciate that I wished to have a similar one in Osaka Prefecture where I live. The tickets we bought were also valid for the Toy Museum. However, we did not have time to see that museum and went to the place for lunch.

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

About Astrophysics

"Neutron star is most massive yet," physicsworld (October 30, 2010). —Find rules out many exotic theories of neutron-star composition.

About Physics

" 'Best evidence yet' for dark matter comes from Milky Way centre," physicsworld (October 29, 2010). —Questions remain whether the signal has other origins.

Exchange of Words with Friends

[From J. Tanaka to tajihi, thoton and me] 前回のブログご覧くださり有難うございました。縦書き横書きと鏡像問題の2回目を掲載しました。今回は視差の問題を提起しています。

[To J. Tanaka]「縦書き及び横書きの機能性の差異と鏡像問題 その2」と、そこに引用されていた「鏡像問題と『虚像問題』」を拝読しました。さらなる展開を期待しています。

[From J. Tanaka] お言葉に勇気づけられます。

軽井沢で２ (In Karuizawa 2)

　菫台時報会の集まりの2日目は、各人の好みに応じて、サイクリングと美術館見学の2組に分かれて行動する予定だった。しかし、低気温・雨天のため、サイクリングは取りやめとなった。朝食前にはまだ雨が降り始めていなくて、私はホテルの庭園で風景写真を撮り、何とか軽井沢らしい写真を持ち帰ることが出来た（上掲の写真はホテルの裏の庭園）。

The original schedule for the second day of the reunion of Kindaijihō-kai was that we would enjoy cycling or visiting museums in two separate groups by preference of each person. Because of a low temperature and rainfall, however, cycling was canceled. Before breakfast, it did not yet begin to rain, so that I could manage to take some pictures of the typical scenery of Karuizawa in the hotel garden (the photos above show the back garden of the hotel).

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

Exchange of Words with Friends

[From tomyi, about my water color "水都の一景 (A Landscape of the City of Water)" to be presented at Bikōten] 観に行けないのが残念です。川面に空の青さが映って、とても素敵ですね！

[To tomyi]「水都の一景」の水彩画のイメージをご覧になり、ご感想もいただき、ありがとうございます。