(506) Let’s invite Japanese politicians to Toastmasters Clubs!

 
   “Matsuyama Toastmasters Club is a non-profit, international organization for improving communication and leadership skills.” What should Toastmasters Clubs do under the situation of this corona virus pandemic. I’m thinking about this.

  The other day, our district director of Toasmasters mailed us a letter. He mentioned about leadership in it.

He wrote,

“Right now. Who are the leaders who are given good reviews in this crisis?”
 
“I would say that those make quick decisions and communicate well to the public.”

And he continued,

 “But, what about Japan? Do you feel that speeches by current politicians are clear? Are they easy to understand? Do they give you confidence? I would sadly say no.”

My answer is also “No”.

  He wrote, “in this time of crisis, communication skills are more important than ever. The people who can turn this crisis around will be the ones who can communicate their ideas, persuade them of their vision, and inspire the people to a brighter future beyond coronavirus.”

  Yes, yes, I absolutely agree with him!

Then he asked, “Where can we learn this skill?” And he proudly answered, “It is at Toastmasters.”

  I’m not so confident like him yet, but if this is true all we should do now in the crisis is one thing. Let’s invite Japanese politicians to Toastmasters and learn better communication and leadership skills together.

  I really hope Toastmasters experience would make us and our politicians much better communicators and leaders. Then our next steps would be clear. Things would be more confidently in the right direction.

  Once again, “Let’s invite Japanese politicians to Toastmasters, where we can learn better communication and leadership skills.”
Thank you for listening.
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(505) Handmade puzzles at home

  This puzzle was invented by the American Sam Loyd in 1898. It was printed on two pieces of card and sold more than 10 million copies.

You'll find when the discs are set one way there are 13 characters, but when they move, one of the people disappears!
http://www.murderousmaths.co.uk/games/getofftheearth.htm 

Ⅰ. There are 13 Chinese Swordsmen in this picture around the earth.

Ⅱ. A small disk and a large disk can rotate separately.
The earth (a small disk) rotates anti-clockwise a litter, so each character’s parts are separated.    

Ⅲ. The earth disk stops at 30 degrees rotated position.
Each swordsman’s parts meet together and we can see 12 complete swordsmen. Wow! One swordsman disappears.

I found this picture on the internet. Then I made “Get off the earth” puzzles myself by using several rotating mechanisms.

http://www.tokyomagic.jp/labyrinth/kiga/tanoshii-zukei-puzzle-01.htm
SAM LOYD the famous inventor of puzzles, often referred to as the most expert mechanic living, is the author of this wonderful “Get Off the Earth “ Puzzle. In a recent letter to the press Mr. Loyd says: “This puzzle may strike the average mortal1) as being a “bland2) and childlike” toy. Nevertheless, just for my own satisfaction, I offer six first class Bicycles to such as3) send the best answers to the mystery during the present year. I select the Columbia Bicycles, because from a mechanical and engineering stand point I consider them superior to all other.
Sam Loyd, P.O.Box 1821, New York.
The Sam Loyd Get Off The Earth Puzzle

1) mortal : a human being　人間
2) bland : tasteless 平凡な
3) such as : 〜してくれる人達

此人時常到佢要来収銀　（This person often comes to collect cash.）
此人出去了佢係欠你銀　（This person went out to owe you money.） 

Here are my handmade “Get Off The Earth” puzzles.

By using a shallow, round and disposable lunchbox of sushi.

By using music CDs and its case.

By using a music CD case.

By using laminated sheets.

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(504) Pasta at home

My Farfalle Cacio e Pepe

Canestri1) Cacio e Pepe2) Recipe

1) canestri : canestri : a traditional Italian pasta shape that sort of looks like a little basket. 

anestri basil garlic tomato

2) cacio e pepe : "cheese and pepper" in Italian

 (serve 4 as a ,main course. 6 as an appetizer)
Tools: a large pan wide enough to hold the pasta, a small pan, and tongs3)
3) tongs : grasping device of 2 joined or hinged pieces 

Ingredients

1 lb4) dried canestri or lumache5) pasta
(feel free to substitute shells, bowties6), or other short pasta shapes in you pantry7))

1 1/3 table spoon freshly ground black pepper – not too fine!

10 tablespoon unsalted butter, split in half evenly

2 cups freshly ground grana padano8) or high quality parmesan9) cheese

3 cups pasta water10)

4) lb : 0.45 kilograms
5) lumache : Lumac(h)oni are a type of snail-shaped Italian pasta. Larger than pipe (brand: Panzani). 

6) bowties pasta : farfalle / farfalle are a type of ribbon-cut, folded pasta

7) pantry : storage room for food and dishes, 食料品室、食器室
8) grana padano : Grana Padano is a cheese originating in the Po river Valley in northern Italy, hard, crumbly-textured cheese.
9) parmesan : parmesan cheese / Parmesan産の味が濃い固いチーズ
10) pasta water : パスタのゆで汁

Method

Bring 4 quarts11) water to a boil12). Season with salt; add pasta and cook stirring occasionally, until about 1 minute before tender. Drain, reserving 3 cups pasta cooking water. You don’t want to pull13) the pasta water too early! Wait until the pasta is ready, as it will ensure the water’s maximum starchiness14). The starches in the pasta water will ultimately stabilize the emulsification15) between the cheese and butter, which creates magic.

11) quarts : 0.95 liters
12) boil : bring water to a boil / 水を沸騰させる
13) pull : to come into possession of
14) starchiness : nourishing carbohydrate from plants also used in adhesives and laundering / デンプン
15) emulsification : converting into an emulsion / 乳化 

Meanwhile, toast black pepper in a large heavy DRY skillet16) over medium heat. Swirl17) pan frequently, until pepper is toasted, about 45 seconds to 1 minute. You will know the pepper is sufficiently toasted when the aroma of black pepper fills your kitchen. Watch out for the sneezes!

16) skillet : pan for frying
17) swirl : to move swiftly in circles, eddies, or undulations

Add 5 tablespoons of butter to the pan with the pepper. It will quickly melt. Working fast to avoid burning the butter, add 2.5 cups reserved pasta water to skillet and bring to a rapid simmer18). Please be careful when you add the pasta water to the pan, as it may splatter a bit – it will burn you! Reduce volume by almost half (this will take a couple of minutes), then add pasta. Cook pasta for the remaining minute, reduce heat to very low and quickly add remaining 5 tablespoons of butter and the cheese, stirring and tossing19) vigorously with tongs until cheese is melted.

18) simmer : 煮詰め /bring to a rapid simmer急速に煮る
19) tossing : toss/ move to and fro or up and down 

Remove pan from heat and continue tossing until the sauce is smooth, emulsified, and coats the pasta. (Add some of the remaining 0.5 cups pasta water if sauce seems dry.) Transfer to a large bowl, garnish20) with more cheese if desired and enjoy.

20) garnish : add decoration to (as food) /＜料理＞に[・・・を]添える[with]
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(503) 原文Rebus / The Hunter and The Squirrel.

 I happened to know of Sam Loyd (1841 – 1911) from a book named Encyclopedia of mathematical Magic数学マジック辞典. He is well know for Chess, puzzles, mathematical games. Here is one of his puzzles on the internet. This is a rebus, a riddle representing syllables or words with pictures. I redraw this picture from his original one.

http://www.jwstelly.org/CyclopediaOfPuzzles/PuzzlePage.php?puzzleid=Pz61.2#Pz61.2

 

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The Hunter and The Squirrel.

Here is the old problem of the hunter who saw a squirrel on a tree and tries to get a good shot at it, but the squirrel cleverly manages to keep always on the opposite side. The hunter, as shown by the tracks in the snow, has gone around the tree so as to make a complete circle, but the squirrel has also gone around the tree, keeping on the opposite side, and we wish to know has the hunter walked around the squirrel? I give the problem because puzzlists1) from all parts of the world have asked me to give my answer to the problem.
(1) puzzlist / One who enjoys creating or solving puzzles

A thousand and one2) subtle arguments have been offered to prove that the man does not go around the squirrel, principally based upon Webster’s definition that around is, on all sides of; encircling, encompassing.
2) a thousand and one / A great many; numerous.

I claim that the man has most positively gone around the squirrel, just as the rim of a wheel goes around the hub which turns on the axle; just as the earth goes around the sun, which has a lesser orbit proportional to their difference in weight.

I remember going all around a field once, but a cross dog faced me all the time so I could not reach the apple tree; but I went all around that field and all that3) was in it. I wished at the time that I was big enough to take that dog by the tail and swing him around, but perhaps some philosopher would tell me that the dog was not being swung around, because he always had the same end toward me.
3) and all that /…やら何やら, (および)…など.

One of the same professors who maintain4) it is impossible to go around the earth unless the earth stops turning, places implicit5) faith in the old snake story. He says a snake can always swallow a snake of its same size; he once placed two four foot snakes together in a cage, and each seized the others tail and began to swallow it at the same time, so they both disappeared simultaneously. He asked Sammy to illustrate it upon the blackboard, and Sammy, who was quite a little artist, drew the following picture:

4) maintain / to uphold as true, right, proper, or acceptable often in the face of challenge or indifference
5) implicit / complete and unquestioning

Answer

Sammy’s Rebus in the story of the hunter and the squirrel say: “No body believes a liar.”

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(502) 和訳Rebus / The Hunter and The Squirrel.

  I happened to know of Sam Loyd (1841 – 1911) from a book named Encyclopedia of mathematical Magic数学マジック辞典. He is well know for Chess, puzzles, mathematical games. Here is one of his puzzles on the internet. This is a rebus, a riddle representing syllables or words with pictures. I redraw this picture from his original one.

http://www.jwstelly.org/CyclopediaOfPuzzles/PuzzlePage.php?puzzleid=Pz61.2#Pz61.2

猟師とリス　（Rebus / 判じ絵）
（translated by Haruma Kinoshita 2020/05/08）
古いクイズ問題にこのようなものがあります。木に留ったリスを見つけて上手に狙おうとした猟師でしたが、リスは巧みに常に反対側に留まっています。雪の上に残った足跡が示すように、猟師は完全な円を描くように木の周りを回りました、がしかし、リスも反対側を保ちながら木の幹の周りを回りました。ここで、私たちが解明したい問題は、この猟師はリスのまわりを回りをほんとうに回ったか？と言う事です。　今私がこのクイズ問題をここに提示した理由は、世界のすべての地域のパズル愛好家から、この問題への私の回答えを求められているからです。

男がリスのまわりを回っていないことを証明するために、非常に多くの微妙で理解しにくい議論がなされました。主にこれらは、ウエブスター英語辞典のaround「・・・の周りを」の定義、「on all sides of／全ての側面を」、「encircling／取り囲んで」、「encompassing／取り囲んで」に基づいています。（※注：つまりリスは猟師に対していつも同じ側を向けていて、猟師はリスの全ての側面を見ていないので、aroundの定義からしてgo around the squirrelとは言えないという主張！）

わたしの主張は、きわめて明快で、その男はリスのまわりを回ったというものです。例えるなら、ちょうど車輪の外輪がその中心の周りをまわり、中心は車軸と共に回転している、これはまさに地球が太陽の周りを公転しているのと同じで、車輪の場合は地球との重量の違いに伴って、その回転軌道が小さくなっているだけです。

私は畑を一周したことを覚えていますが、いつも一匹の雑種の犬が現れて、りんごの木にたどり着けませんでした、それでも私は、その畑やその他の、なかにあるなにやかやの周りを回った。そのとき、その犬の尻尾をつかんで振り回せるくらい自分の体が大きければなあーと思った、でも、おそらく一部の哲学者は、犬は振り回されていなかったと私に言うでしょう、なぜなら、その犬はいつも私に対して同じ側を向けていたからです。

地球が回転を停止しない限り、地球を回ることは不可能であると主張する同じような考えの教授達の一人は、古いヘビの物語を盲目的に固く信じています。彼は、ヘビは常に同じサイズのヘビを飲み込むことができると言います。 かつて彼はケージに2匹の4フィート（１２２cm）のヘビを一緒に入れていました、すると、それぞれの蛇が他の尾に食いつき、いっせいに飲み込み始め、そのため、両方の蛇が同時に消えてしまったと言います。彼はサミーに黒板にそれを図示するように頼みました、すると、ちょっとした芸術家であったサミーは次の絵を描きました： 

答え
サミーの猟師とリスの物語の判じ絵は”No body believes a liar.”「誰も嘘つきを信じない」
胴のない人の絵(No body → Nobody)
蜜蜂(Bee→be)＋葉っぱ(leaves → lieves)= believes
古代ギリシャの竪琴 a lyre → a liar
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(501) Machine Translation 2

RAKUTEN GLOBAL MARKET

プランタン　ヌーボー　桜満開モンブラン　ロール
Printemps nouveau & cherry tree full bloom Mont Blanc roll

Original RAKUTEN’S Japanese description
ふわふわだけじゃないしっとりさもある食べ応えのあるロール生地は国産小麦を使い当店のオリジナルの焼成法でしっかりと焼き上げております。

My English translation with a help of Google Translation
The sponge cake that is not only fluffy but also moist, is made using domestic wheat and baked firmly using our original baking method.

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RAKUTEN’S Display language / Japanese
フルーツを限界まで巻いたハッピーな気持ちにさせてくれる ロールケーキです。シンプルかつ奥深い美味しさをぜひ味わってみてください。 ふわふわだけじゃないしっとりさもある食べ応えのあるロール生地は国産小麦を使い当店のオリジナルの焼成法でしっかりと焼き上げております。北海道産の生クリームをロールケーキの外にもしっかり塗り、 苺・キウイ、洋ナシ、ゴールデンピーチを限界まで生クリームの中に 閉じ込めました。

RAKUTEN’S Display language / English
It is the roll which surrounded fruit to the limit. Please taste a simple and profound taste. I do not get restless and really bake the cloth for a certain roll worth eating by the original burning method of our store using domestic wheat well with moisture. I painted with fresh cream from Hokkaido outside the roll well and shut in strawberry, kiwi, pear, Golden peach in fresh cream to the limit.
*********************************************************************

  I think「ふわふわだけじゃない」doesn’t mean “I do not get restless”. I guess RAKUTEN’S English description about these cakes are translated automatically by Machine Translation. So I'd like to correct this English sentence.
  First I put the Japanese sentence in blue into Google translation.
Google translation gave me the following English sentence.

The roll dough that is not only fluffy but also moist, is made using domestic wheat and baked firmly using our original baking method

  This sentence sounds a little bit better, but 「ロール生地」here is not exactly the same as “The roll dough”. So I changed ‘roll dough’ to ‘sponge cake’.
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(500) Machine Translation

  Machine translation is very convenient these days. I found today that Google translation can translate a little bit strange English sentences to more natural and correct Japanese. When the Japanese sentences are translated into English reversely, the English sentences don’t return to original ones, but they are changed into grammatically correct ones.

*******************************************************  

  I got a small paper napkin on which several articles about sweets were printed as design.

(Some articles of “International Sweets Weekly”are printed on the paper napkin)

  It just looked easy English to read, so I started reading but I got stuck at several phrases and words.

One of them is here.
This is about “BrandNew RollCake.”

[1] The cloth3) which kneaded4) a fresh flour full of maple syrup of California, and was crowded5) is elastic, and very delicious.

(3) cloth ？？？→dough
(4) kneaded　こねる
(5) crowded　詰め込まれた

  I spent much time to search for the meaning of “cloth”. I could imagine the meaning of this sentence. But I really wanted to know wheather “cloth” has a meaning of “dough” or not. Unfortunately I failed to get a good result. Finally an idea popped in mind.
Google translation! A Machine Translation!
The result is here. Very natural Japanese!

カリフォルニアのメープルシロップたっぷりの新鮮な小麦粉を練り込んだ生地は伸縮性があり、とても美味しいです。

Wow, Google translation is much smarter than I! But still I’m doubtful about the original English sentence!

Then I reversed the translation, from Japanese to English.
Its result is next.

The dough kneaded with fresh flour with plenty of California maple syrup is elastic and very delicious.

Now I can understand this English sentence. “Dough” is suitable here for 生地!

The other strange sentence for me is next in “THE OTHER SIDE”.

[2] a child is also eaten11) with good appetite,

(11) eaten ？？？

Again Google translation put this into Japanese for me.

子供も食欲が旺盛です

Google translation can accept this grammatically wrong sentence? Or my knowledge is wrong? I let Google translation put this Japanese to English again. The result is next.

Children also have a strong appetite.

Good translation! I agree this sentence is grammatically right.

 

Another strange sentence on the paper napkin is next in “Holiday season”.

[3] It is drilling24). A rule is easy. A ball is rolled and as ten pins are pushed down.

(24) drilling　？？？？→bowling

Now I’m quite sure. This English is wrongly translated from Japanese to English.
From ボウリング bouringu  to Boring, then changed into Drilling.
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(499) Word / aspire

 Peco-chan wearing a face mask in a Matsuyama shopping mall.

  Andrew Cuomo知事はニューヨーク州にアメリカ全土から寄贈されてくる、沢山のマスクに対してtweeted as follows;
Our politicians should aspire to be at least half as good as the American people.
2020/4/30 2:00 am Japan time

  Governor Cuomo’s tweets can reach me better than Prime minister Abe’s, though English is the second language for me. I really feel that most of Japan’s politicians don’t work properly against this corona virus crisis.

aspire / to have a strong desire to achieve something [+to]
students aspire to a career in law.
(LONGMAN Active Study Dictionary)

aspire / aspire to sth/to do sth;
She aspired to become president of the company.
(NOVA OXFORD DICTIONARY)
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(498) Word / distance

I often hear “distance” is mentioned in the Corona virus crisis.

・Nova Oxford Dictionary of English defines;
   distance / noun[C,U] the amount of space between two places or points;
　◯ We have some distance to go.

  There are few "distances" I saw these days.
1. Social distance
Andrew Cuomo tweeted on Apr. 29, 2020
This sign says it all. Keep your face covered when you're in public and can't maintain social distance.

OUTSIDE WITH
NO MASK?
FUHGEDDABOUTIT (forget about it)

2. Physical distancing, social distancing
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-52412171
The Scottish government is considering if it is feasible for children to carry out physical distancing in schools once the lockdown is over. So how can you social distance in a school?

 It has published a new document outlining the basis of an exit strategy from the UK-wide lockdown that has been in place since 23 March.

A move away from the current restrictions would include the continuation of social distancing.
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