danwiz.com
This is Page 1 of 1 - the best of October 2013!
posted: October 31st, 2013

This page begins with October 2nd and ends with October 14th. There is not very much here this month. We had typhoon after typhoon pass through the area this month and it rained so often that it was just crazy. And, then, for the final Sunday of the month, when the weather was beautiful, I had a terribly bad cold. Not a great month! Click on any thumbnail to begin.

Begin October 2nd
  On October 2nd I had 2 back-to-back classes at Takeshiba. After the end of the second class, at 4:40 PM one of the students happened to look out the window and saw this rainbow. As we were on the 10th floor, it was pretty nice. The first shot was taken from the window of the classroom on the 10th floor. Then I went outdoors at ground level and the rainbow was still visible, so I took the 2nd shot - at ground level. In both of these shots you can see a very faint double rainbow to the left of the main one.
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End October 2nd, Begin October 7th
  Some of you know that I was doing a bunch of testing and trials with a new INDEX PAGE style. After around a year of trying to figure it out. I finally found some truly useful code which will not allow the main image to be more than 95% of the browser window width. So, the left portion of this image shows what the new style index page will look like with a very narrow browser window - the photo only fills 95% of the window width! The right portion of the image shows what the old style index page looked like with a narrow browser window - the picture was cut off, as well as the text. It seems that Smartphone browsers are smarter than computer versions of browsers though, as even with the old style index page I never had any trouble with my iPhone, i.e., the entire photo always showed. Want to play with it? It's kind of fun to have the index page open in a window and then play with adjusting the width of the window and watching the photo change size virtually instantaneously. You can do so HERE (new window or tab). The image is 1,000 pixels in width, so of course there will be no effect until you size the window at less than 1,000 pixels wide.
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End October 7th, Begin October 10th
  On October 9th when I bicycled to the station to head for work I noticed that in one small park near our apartment the Osmanthus fragrans var. aurantiacus flowers were lying on the ground in an amazing pattern of GOLD. The wind had been very strong that morning, due to a passing typhoon, so these golden flowers were piled up and drifted into amazing shapes and patterns. I didn't get home until after 10:00 PM that evening so I could not go out and take any photos, but I went out the next morning. By then it was not nearly as good as it had been the previous afternoon, but it was still gold/orange. If you want to see this tree with lots of flowers still in the tree please go HERE (new window or tab).
Oct10_01_Jindaiji_Kinmokusei_Osmanthus_fragrans_var_aurantiacusFixedRC
Oct10_01_Jindaiji_Kinmokusei_Osmanthus
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  Here are 2 closer shots of the Osmanthus fragrans var. aurantiacus flowers lying on the ground. In these 2 shots you can see that there are many brown ones now. Yesterday they were all gold!
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Oct10_07_Jindaiji_Kinmokusei_Osmanthus
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End October 10th, Begin October 14th
  On Monday, October 14th, it was a National Holiday, but Kazuya had to work. I went out to Mt. Takao (599 M = 1,965 ft) and climbed it for the 96th time. I went specifically to try and catch a beautiful sunset, but it was mostly cloudy and the sunset was disappointing. I found the very first autumn colors, as shown in these 2 photos.
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  The first shot in this row shows a scene from the summit showing a pretty good, but not terrible size, crowd of people. The 2nd shot shows some pretty good sun rays and the 3rd shot is zoomed in to that area of sun rays.
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End October 14th, Begin Miscellaneous
  The first shot in this row shows a product with a very strange name. Could this be a product for those people who are SO VERY BEAUTIFUL that they must fight their beauty? And - it's a drink.

  The 2nd shot shows Fukuppy - a strange little mascot - keep reading for an extract from the news release. (The corect pronunciation is foo-KOO-pee.)
     TOKYO — Fukushima Industries said Tuesday [(October 15th)] it was rethinking its “Fukuppy” mascot, after the Internet erupted in sniggers over a name that recalls the catalogue of mishandling at the Fukushima nuclear plant.
      The Osaka-based refrigerator maker, whose name derives from its founder and has nothing to do with the area hit by an atomic catastrophe, has been ridiculed on social networking sites for the name it gave its egg-like mascot, which has blue wings and red feet.
      “I’m Fukuppy. Nice to meet you,” the smiling character with a human face tells visitors to the company’s website. “I think I’m kind with a strong sense of justice but people say I’m a little bit scatterbrained.”
      Fukushima Industries unveiled “Fukuppy” in April, blending the first part of the company name—Fuku—and the end of the English word “happy”, saying it represented the corporate philosophy of being a happiness-creating company.

      But the striking moniker was mistaken for “an inappropriate word among people in English-speaking places or its meaning was misunderstood on the Internet,” the company said in a statement.
      “We sincerely apologize for worrying many people and creating misunderstanding among them,” the company said, adding: “We will look into the name, including a rethink of it.”
      The firm, which makes industrial cooling systems and has offices in China, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Taiwan, said the name was nothing to do with the battered Fukushima power station.
      It is common for companies and organizations in Japan to have a cuddly mascot character that they use as part of branding. Many are brought to life by adults in full-size costumes who wander around sponsored events posing for photographs with children.


      Fukushima Industries home page is HERE (new window or tab) if you want to take a look at it.

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  We bought a new Steamless Rice Cooker this month. It's an amazing appliance - truly! Here is an excerpt from the news release (back in 2009).

      “This product was realized by developing and installing a 'water-cooled steam collection system,' which collects the steam generated in the process of rice cooking inside the main body. The cooker can be used in a wider variety of locations because it does not generate moisture, heat or odor. In addition, it can maintain high heat and improve the umami (savoriness) and sweetness of rice, (according to the company).
      The product is equipped with a water tank in the front side of the main body and a cartridge inside the lid for collecting the steam. The steam passes through the cartridge and a pipe and reaches the water tank, where it is condensed to water.
      This system eliminates the need for a stream outlet as is found on the top of traditional rice cookers. Because the steam remains inside the cooker, it does not mess up, heat up or moisten its surroundings.
      Traditional rice cookers have some shortcomings such as making shelves and walls dirty, decreasing walking space by a sliding shelf pulled out for rice cooking and posing a risk of being burned by the steam. With the new product, these problems are solved by keeping the steam inside the cooker.
      Furthermore, the heating power is maintained at high level after the boiling process because the steam does not escape. Traditional rice cookers are intermittently heated up at 850W to prevent the steam from boiling out of the steam outlet. In contrast, uninterrupted heating at 900W is possible for the new product, resulting in a 16% increase in the heat quantity during the main cooking process.


      The convection generated in this heating process increases the amount of reducing sugar by about 40% and the swelling of rice by about 11%. Therefore, the rice cooked by the new product is sweeter and more delicious.
      The steam is separated from the umami components (sugars, amino acid) while passing through the cartridge, and only the umami components are kept inside. Specifically, the umami components are condensed and the steam is stored in the tank when passing through a dam. The collected umami components are returned to rice in the steaming process, increasing its umami by twofold compared with that of rice cooked by traditional rice cookers."



In the lightbox image you still cannot see details, so I have included a larger size image of this and you can find it HERE (new window or tab) if you want to take a look at it. I'm purposely not telling you how much we paid for it because you'd think we are crazy to pay so much for a rice cooker. But, if you do research the price of this model, please be aware that we got it for more than 40% off the normal retail price. And -- yes, the rice truly is better tasting. The current products page at Mitsubishi is HERE (new window or tab). And - we bought the black colored model, it only comes in red and black and the red colored model is so popular that it sells for about US$40 more than the black colored model.

Our New Steamless Rice Cooker - a Mitsubishi Model NJ-XW104J
Our New Steamless Rice Cooker
a Mitsubishi Model NJ-XW104J
End Page 1, End October 2013's Photos
  Here are links to separate web pages - all of them will open in a new window (or new tab). The first link shows some photos of our DVD Collection, an AVI Movie of our Home Theater System and 9 photos of our Sharp Aquos TV. The 2nd link shows our entire DVD collection in DVD Profiler (if you're asking yourself what might be good to rent for the weekend). The DVD's will be sorted by date purchased. You can click on the "Title" Column to sort that way if you desire. The 3rd link shows our entire DVD collection in php DVD Profiler, which is much more sophisticated than the plain vanilla DVD Profiler just above it. The 4th link takes you to a set of pages which show you the FRONT cover-art of our entire DVD collection.

January 1, 2013 - DVD Collection & Home Theater System





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Here is a small hint to let you know that we'd be thrilled to have you buy one of our books. For additional information regarding any title please click the "General Information" tab on the "Our Books" button down at the bottom of this page. Click on any thumbnail to go to its Amazon.com webpage.
Climbing a Few of Japan's 100 Famous Mountains - Volume 1: Mt. Daisetsu (Mt. Asahidake Climbing a Few of Japan's 100 Famous Mountains - Volume 2: Mt. Chokai (Choukai) Climbing a Few of Japan's 100 Famous Mountains - Volume 3: Mt. Gassan Climbing a Few of Japan's 100 Famous Mountains - Volume 4: Mt. Hakkoda & Mt. Zao
Climbing a Few of Japan's 100 Famous Mountains - Volume 5: Mt. Kumotori Climbing a Few of Japan's 100 Famous Mountains - Volume 6: Mt. Shirane (Kusatsu) Climbing a Few of Japan's 100 Famous Mountains - Volume 7: Mt. Shibutsu Climbing a Few of Japan's 100 Famous Mountains - Volume 8: Mt. Kiso-Komagatake
Climbing a Few of Japan's 100 Famous Mountains - Volume 9: Mt. Kitadake Climbing a Few of Japan's 100 Famous Mountains - Volume 10: Mt. Mizugaki Climbing a Few of Japan's 100 Famous Mountains - Volume 11: Mt. Shiroumadake (includes Mt. Shakushidake & Mt. Yarigatake Climbing a Few of Japan's 100 Famous Mountains - Volume 12: Mt. Tate (Tateyama)
Climbing a Few of Japan's 100 Famous Mountains - Volume 13: Mt. Yatsugatake (Mt. Akadake) Outdoor Photography of Japan: Through the Seasons Outdoor Photography of Japan: Through the Seasons - Volume 1 of 3 (Winter & Spring) Outdoor Photography of Japan: Through the Seasons - Volume 2 of 3 (Summer)
Outdoor Photography of Japan: Through the Seasons - Volume 3 of 3 (Autumn) Some Violets of Eastern Japan - 2nd Edition English - Ilokano AND Ilokano - English Dictionary English - Ilokano and Ilokano - English Dictionary - With Some Notes on Ilokano Culture
A Book of Anagrams - An Ancient Word Game A Book of Anagrams - An Ancient Word Game: Volume #2 Forest Resource & Allowable Cut - Fairbanks Working Circle (Alaska) Samurai Seasons Exposed: Nipponese Outdoor Rhapsodies
Heaven and Hell in the Philippines: Journal of a Peace Corps Volunteer All Calendars Wildflowers_of_Interior_Alaska Twelvemile: Summit to Summit



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An animated gif of our
Climbing a Few of Japan's
100 Famous Mountains
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An animated gif of our
Climbing a Few of Japan's
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Thanks so much for taking the time to look at the website this month. Please come back again next month - there should be some great shots of autumn colors next month - if the typhoons give us a break!


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