Fancy Vinegar Flask ! ——- ? ? ?
Week ago I’ve bought rather fancy item from Lidl shop.
I don’t know the name which the receipt said Geschenkset. = Anyhow
this is a Glass Flask to serve Vinegar and Olive-oil on the dining table.
They were sold as a gift set (for a Xmas ?) —– Olive-oil and a Vinegar
together with a glass flask for £7.99 !
In fact, I was not interested in to
buy Olive-oil nor Vinegar, but
fascinated by the design of
glass which I can use it to
design strange sculpture kind.
Though, watching this many
days, I still couldn’t figure out
“How to make this” —– how a
Glass Craftsman made this !
Simplified description is, “Small glass flask inside of larger flask”
though, it is an utter puzzle to me = How it was made ? —— through a
hole of large flask, inserts a glass pipe with melted glass on the tip-end
and blow it up to make a small flask inside, and weld two together on
the edge of the hole —– though, as the photo above showed, the neck of
the small flask is not an one-piece straight pipe = inside small flask was
made separately and the outside pipe was welded later. But how ? ? ?
= If anybody who is reading this knows about the way to make,
please put a comment “How it was done” !
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Looks false image ! ?
They are the Photos from Greenwich London though, as you may feel,
somewhat all fishy image. 😀 —– Fishy if not irritating.
It’s definitely wrong —– isn’t it ?
M m m m m ?
Ha ha ha, you got to be joking.
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On the River Thames
Photo session in Greenwich naturally came down to the river side.
I saw swans on the Thames before, but this time there were quite few
Cormorants = may be Thames got enough number of fish now. 🙂
The Seagull I saw this time were rather small kind and doesn’t show much
dramatic flight ! —– (By the way, the photos in this post were all taken by
Tamron SP 500 mm F8 / Canon 5D Mk-III and on the AV mode)
Of cause the Greenwich is a place on the Thames River. (southern side of it,
in more accurate term) and used to be the centre of the Global Navigation Technology.
In order to make a sea journey accurate and safe, Sea Chart / World Map has to have
exact positioning to the giography, hence the angular grid to define the Global position
was invented and made the imaginaly line running North to South, and a line running
on the Royal Observatory in Greenwich was made as the original point = 0 degree !
Since the Sun goes round, “If you found the Sun in Exact south at 1:00 Pm Exact, you are
on the Longitude of 15 degree west”. And on the Equinox Day, the hight of the Sun on
the 12:00 Noon Exact, tells you where you are on the Latitude. (If the Sun was 90 degree
on top of your head mean, you are on the 0 degree (Equator) or If the Sun was just on
the horizon (0 degree) , you are on the North or South Pole ! = How lucky you are 🙂 )
—– It’s mean, to have an exact measurement was crucial = not only an instrument to
measure the angle but also a watch, which can tell exact time. (Hence, Briton and other
Nautical Giant (= other colonialist) Dutch were competing to invent accurate clock. )
Anyhow, it was a time when British Empire was ruling all the 7 seas.
Not much activities these days but the remains became good show-piece for tourism.
Basically, Photography is the response to the MOMENT,
but to capture a flying bird is a bit physically demanding task.
Ha~ he~, —– once I was a young man. Ha ha ha 😀
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Autumn Color
I popped out to the Greenwich with my friend who just bought DSLR this week
for a sort of photo session. He has been watching YouTube Tuitorial viz kind of
“How to make a good photo” and “How to use DSLR”, though, they are still a
theory or knowledge. = Same as a Buddhist’s idea, it takes enough practice to
sink into a level of spontaneity. = Look into view-finder and see the Matter is
such as That “Depth of Field” what a viz told him. —– Anticipate, if the depth
changed what would be looks like then. —– Then own control starts.
Anyone can learn good composition / framing from the sample “To make Post Card
like scene to Post Card like Picture” though, to make “Nothing Special image to
Interesting Photo” need to have a good photographic talent. —– Exaggerate or
enhance the color would make a photo something looks nice though, its saturated
color gives irritation to the eyes too. = Here is the “Middle way” = the level of
saturation which our brain thinks !!! is always too much to our subconscious, since
our subconscious follow what is natural. (Photos here are over saturated 🙂 )
Are you convinced ? —– Take Middle way.
(Looks unusual doesn’t necessary mean Special.
= in most of the case, it is just odd. 🙂
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Halloween ? —– Yah, it’s coming !
Nothing special, I just came across the girls who seemed to have a rehearsal kind
for a tomorrow’s event. (I guess 🙂 )
The color has been a bit over saturated. —– It wouldn’t harm anyone. 🙂
Have a funful Halloween.
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Cat’s Story / Haori-chan
When the time to give a birth came, the pregnant Mother-cat come and rub her head and body
against my leg. That is their expression of “I beg you” —– I spread a bath towel on the sofa
and lightly give a massage to her tummy. Then she start to push out the kitten next by next.
So, I take each kitten to her face for her to lick the new-born.
But some time (1 in 5~6), a still-born kitten came out. Once, there was a very hard deliver of
over-grown kitten. Only the head came out, I knew the trouble, and I pulled it hard.
When the whole body came out, the Mother-cat screamed.
That kitten was pretty big —- may be over 400g but I couldn’t save him.
Among the 3rd litter, Haori (of cause, named later) was the most miserable kitten.
In fact, she was yet another (almost) still born. I just took minuscule odds and revived her.
= As in the most of the case, kitten seemed to have drowned by the amniotic fluid, I shook
the body, head down to drain the water, and insert a small paper stick made out of toilet
tissue to the nose of kitten, for sucking out the water further. And massage the body in
a warm water while blowing the air into the nose several times. —– in minute or two, three,
the kitten started to move. = Voila’ one life was saved.
(— Sound, and looks may awful treatment though, I’m not intended to play “Tender Buddhist
posture”, —– if the matter was to drain the water, I needed to use centrifugal force, hence
shake the kitten’s body in Karate speed —– To drain the water from a drowned human by
putting the hand into the throat, it neither be a nice picture, nor revive a person in hypothermia
in the mountain, it is more of the battle field operation than a “hart warming tender story” =
What-so-ever, my practice was very effective and altogether 4 out of 6 kittens has been saved =
this is the fact.
Life is not for talking an imaginary sweet story, but just go through hard act. Just Do.
Revived though, Haori was still the smallest and weakest, hence couldn’t compete with other
5 kittens on the milk-sucking battle. I’ve tried as many times as possible, by taking other
stronger kittens off from tits and gave it to Haori, still, it was not enough, and needed to give
her supplement but, ordinary cow’s milk caused her diarrhoea and needed to buy special
“Kitten formulated Milk”.
On top of those trouble her eyes had infection and having eye-glue stacked on her eye lids.
When Mother-cat try to clean her eyes, she chew-off the dried eye-glue, but in the same time
her whiskers had been chewed-off as well.
(Poor Haori-chan, photo left ! / Photo right, Haori and Pino)
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A month past, when all the kittens started to change to the solid food, I trained Haori to eat
Kitten-milk-powder mixed with cream-cheese. Then cheese mixed with cat’s food but Haori
refused to eat cat’s food. —– (One theory said, that the baby (kitten) acquired the taste
(= what to eat) through the minute chemical in the Mother’s milk —– like Haori, who couldn’t
have enough milk from the Mother, hadn’t developed the taste for cat’s food.) Therefore, I
had to feed her frozen Coley Fish (lightly boiled) mixed with cheese. —– sound very special
treatment though, nothing special to Haori herself. It was her norm and she just grown-up
to an ordinary cat. (She didn’t grow Golden Fleece. 🙂 )
She behaved more or less the same to other cat but not so interactive, just sitting and
watching out of window or me. = only not ordinary was what she was eating.
And because of her expensive diet, she couldn’t be adapted by others.
In addition, another cat, once adapted by other family had came back, because she, Pino was
a too clever trouble-maker. Such as to jump to a door handle and open it etc. she was the
expert to open and sneak into anywhere, hence made a lots of mischievous. (= get inside but
couldn’t open it from the inside then shit there, kind of trouble. 🙂 )
(— Though, I could anticipate what she is going to do, hence such as to make the things on the
shelf to fall easily, she instantly learn and never attempt it again.
So, those two, Haori and Pino were the cats lived with me longest, and left many wired stories.
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Cat’s Story / Cat with Moustache / Cat’s Mind
Animal’s body-color or their pattern of fur never change —– that was what I believed too,
until I saw one of my kitten had grown his Moustache. 😀
Kitten here (photo, left ) was in his 3rd days in this world, and as a very very young boy, he
didn’t show his Moustache yet. —– then less than a week, a faint sign of it started to appear.
I thought he licked something black and got his nose smeared but it wasn’t. (photo, right)
—– And a month later, he was a well grown young cat with well trimmed Moustache.
He was one of kittens born with other 5 (though, one was stillborn and 3 were adapted by
the friends) and only a kitten remained in the family, he was given a name “Den-suke”
(a famouse Japanese comedian with his trade-mark Moustache = Japanese equivalent
of Chary Chaplin) and became an apple in my eye.
Though, I might have given too much attention, he seemed to become mother’s boy.
Unlike his father, “Kaka” who was quite an out-venturing Macho type —– but Den-suke
prefer to stay with somebody and playing / disturbing each other if not sleeping or
cosmetic-licking. 🙂
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As I wrote in the other Cat’s Story(s) before, I don’t believe common stereo-typical cat’s
character. —– If a cat became to a rather solitary animal, it was the reflection of how that cat
was grown-up in its environment. If a cat was left only as an animal in a house and having
only the social interaction, fed twice a day —– what else other than a solitary animal he (she)
could became. In contrast, if a cat was grown-up with a lots of interaction from the Mother cats
and the owner who behave (in certain extents 😀 ) like another Dominant cat, naturally the cat
become like a “Social animal”. Remember, even in the feline family, Lion lives in a group and
having quite complex “Social” activity with Rules and Psychological games etc. —– so, we can’t
tell what genetic trait a particular cat got. At least I can say, all of my cats were more or less
behaved like a dog = respond to each name and come and play (or disturb me 🙂 ) by their will.
Nurture play a big role in the cat’s character and behavioural pattern !
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But to grown-up with those social environment while acquiring behavioural pattern like a
pecking-order imprinted into the brain, if a situation change, such as when new kittens were
born, and not only the Mother’s nursing care but also my attention has to go those helpless
small creatures. That was the situation what the Father, who used to be the Star, could not
comprehend at all. —– It was the same situation, when a human male and female couple got
new arrival of their baby. (Husband who used to receive whole attention of the wife, was
suddenly abandoned alone in a middle of nowhere, without having any idea what to do. 🙂 )
[]
To the Tom-cat, those new born kittens were nothing but the other small animals, no different
from mice = therefore, he started to handle (or play) with kittens as if they were the mice.
And neither had a notion of Fatherhood or Recognition of “His baby” he couldn’t understand
why he was smacked when he tried to play with kittens. = To his eyes, I just became a tyrant
who blandish a terror. —– Cats can understand each phenomenon only on its apparence but
not able to connect it to a secondary implication behind, therefore he only thought that he
was smacked because the Boss got bad day, not because he did wrong.
[]
So, he took a strongest weapon he could use against the Tyrant —— spread his diarrhoea
all over my pillow ! ! ! —– ( I was so impressed with his ingenuity. A brain which couldn’t
process secondary implication, still able to have such creativity. I wondered
how he managed to make a connection, “Shit on the Pillow will best annoy the Boss !”
—– Amazing isn’t it ? ! —— Ha ha ha. 😀 )
So I say, I’ve learned enough and greatly deepened my understanding toward the
simple, emotion-based mind, while living with cats. 😀
—– And three months later Den-suke had to face the same situation as
next litter of kittens were born. (So, he became to rotten / fallen Apple ! )
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Flower of Fig-titiosa
With a request of HM Bente, a servant,
Plant Hunter, Yoshizen took an expedition
to find an elusive legendary flower of Fig.
After a great journey and the hard work,
he discovered it and brought back a flower
for the world to see it, first ever the time
in the history of mankind.
(though, this photograph was too
over-saturated, hence the color is not
very faithful representation of its nature.
—— you are better advised to refer to the next photo. 🙂 )
The formal name of this plant is [Ficus. Figtitiosa var Brag] !
Yes, honest, this is nothing other than the Flower of the Fig.
You got open your mind and the eyes. —– Convinced ?
(A wise advice is, eat this with a pinch of salt.) 😉
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Figs
Before Marks and Spenser started to sell more civilized products like a Wonder Bra etc.
the Figs said to be widely utilized though, I haven’t seen any of them in use, other than on
a very decent ancient sculpture wearing it. —– Anyhow I’m not a very fashion conscious
person, I’m more interested in its edible part.
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Fig is a very peculiar plant. Apparently it doesn’t have a flower still makes a fruits.
So that, in Japan they are called “Ichijiku” but to write its name in the Chinese character it is
[無花果] which mean “The Flowerless Fruits” though, its reading makes no “Ichijiku” at all.
Because of this, long since I’ve been wondering where this name “Ichijiku” derived from ?
Then, one day on a street market, I saw a fruits vendor selling the Figs.
And I knew a man working there was a Kurdish. I asked him, how they call Figs in their
country ? He taught me it is “Injee” —– With flash of light, I realized, this must be the
origin of the Japanese name “Ichijiku”.
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Fig is one of the biblical ancient fruits together with Grape, and originated from middle east.
Hence all over the Orient, Turkey to Persia, Egypt, Fig was commonly called Injee.
And it must came to China and to Japan through Central Asia = via Silk-road. So, I refer to a
Chinese Dictionary to see what is the Chinese name of Fig —– it was [映日果], which reading
in Mandarin is In-lee-quo, but local pronunciation is more like In-jee-quo which was a direct
copy of the original sound to Chinese character, and an additional letter, [果] quo, to indicate
a fruits. (Like the name of Japan / [日本], which reading in Mandarin is Lee-pen though, other
locals read it Jee-peng = So that, Marko Paolo wrote it down as Jipang hence Japan !)
From here it’s easy to see, a Chinese pronunciation “Injee-quo” has been changed to “Ichijiku”
= One long standing question was solved !
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But, without having a flower, how Fig can reproduce themselves ? —– As a matter of fact,
they are not flowerless plant at all, far from it, the fruits we are eating is nothing but a
compacted pile of tiny flowers. Hence, you can see numerous tiny seeds inside of Fig.
The seed was produced by the individual tiny flowers even more numerous than the seeds.
Those flowers were individually pollinated by also tiny Fig-wasp who came inside of a Fig
through small hole in the centre of fruits. —– Of cause, Fig-wasp was not come to a Fig to
pollinate but to mate and lay the eggs. (There are many different wasps which got different
life cycle —– some stay inside waiting the male wasp to come and fertilize her, and she lay
eggs there, and larvae grow in the Fig and male dies there. Some other wasps are came
and lay the eggs and their larvae are carnivorous and eat other wasp’s larvae. —– so on.)
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—– therefore, when we eat Figs, whether fresh or such as a Fig Roll, we are inevitably
eating the Fig-wasps as well. (In effect, it supply the Essential Amino-acid to the strict
vegetarian people = that is why they don’t die with rack of “Essential nutrition”.
Though, you don’t need to become nervous, since this situation is quite normal and common
= can you expect any mass-produced food such as Jam, Marmalade, Ketchup, what so ever =
which track-load of ingredients thrown-into a belt-conveyor, and is there anybody removing
the small insect and their tiny larvae comes with ? ) (Unlike Bottle-fly or Cockroach kind, who
is dealing with human derivative, the insects living with fruits are less likely carries the
germ related to the human diseases, hence they are much safer.)
There are many warning of food allergy, Nuts, Eggs, certain Protein etc etc. though I never
heard anybody got ill because of accidentally eat an insect —– may be without knowing,
we are eating them quite regularly, our body may not recognize them as foreign substance.
This is what “living with nature” mean, in its reality. 😀
This link may give you the idea, what is the situation.
http://www.rodalenews.com/bugs-food
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PS : Incidentally, the Boddhi-tree [Ficus, religiosa]
of which Shakya-Muni Buddha said to have reached
his Enlightenment, known locally as Peepal or
Pippal tree also belong to the same family / genus.
(Photo Right from Wiki media)
So, the Boddhi-tree is a small fruits version of Fig tree
hence has no flower. Despite the tree can reach up to
30 m, their fruits is not larger than a tip of finger.
( I do yet know how small the Fig-Wasp for this tree. —– Nearly 100 million years of
co-evolution, each species of Fig has their own gang of the Wasp species, otherwise
both of them would have had extinct long ago ! )
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