Japan 2023 Last Noteworthy

 

One noteworthy observation—there is almost NO litter in Japan. It was so rare that I was tempted to photograph the little bit I saw.

Besides the noticeable cleanliness and the computerized restaurant meal ordering, the “no-touch” payment option for cash was impressive. Likewise, the cleanliness of the trains and public areas highlighted their high standards. Though restaurant meal prices were pretty similar to the USA, the fruit prices were shockingly high. The houses are nice, but the lot sizes are quite small and every house I can recall had spaces for more than one auto, mostly covered.

I was impressed that there were few fat Japanese. I saw only one obese person who appeared to be Japanese in 2 weeks. The food seems generally highly nutritious, but everything seemed to have much less sugar. Even the ice cream seemed more creamy and less sugary.

The neighborhood organization is taken seriously and is quite complex. Not volunteering for helping with the community operation and celebrations is a serious faux pas. Everyone in the neighborhood knows everyone else, except those who don’t volunteer are shunned.

Now, I am biased, but in truth David’s two daughters, ages 9 and 6, are terrific. They play extremely well with each other, they are quiet, and obedient. In two weeks, I only heard David raise his voice to them about three times and never heard Rie call them down. The youngest loves to cook and can cook eggs and pancakes at age 6!

I noted above that my Fitbit recorded less than 4 hours sleep the first night back. BUT, the second night back (night of 9 August) I set a personal record I think with almost 14 hours in bed and 12 hours 42 min of actual sleep!

Most noteworthy were the many prayers offered up for us. This trip went extremely smooth from start to finish. As I write this I am unsure of our recovery from jet lag. In retrospect, our jet lag in Japan was hardly noticeable. Thanks be to G^d for his mercy and grace, and thanks to Him for a great trip, and thanks to you for your prayers.

Thanks.

This is elusive Mt. Fuji that is mostly obscured by some clouds.

Japan 2023 Part 7

 

Our trip home involved almost 27 hours of travel. A bit after 10AM, David carried us to the bullet train station, about 20 minutes. Bre had one last rice ball, and we only had about a 15 min wait to board our train for Shinagawa. I tracked our movements on my GPS, and we got off the train right on sched. Fortunately, our baggage was much less on our return home, having dropped off a lot of USA-items at Davey’s. The walk to the exit of the Shinagawa train station was pretty long. We saw the queue for the taxi and took about a 20-min trip to Terminal 3 for 5.6k yen. We had a little trouble checking our 19-Kg suitcase, but we got it checked and had a leisurely trip through security to our gate. We spent our last few yen on a sandwich and 4 donuts and a soft serve ice cream. Once again, the service on ANA was excellent and the trip time passed unusually quickly as we slept some unknown amount.

Customs was pretty relaxed in Seattle, with no forms to fill out and not even a question about what we were bringing in. We flew Seattle to Denver, and had a long walk from Gate B6 to B67. We landed about 10 min early in BHM and Bre’s carry-on, which we checked in Seattle, along with mine, was the second bag delivered. Our other two came promptly and we had only a short wait before Andrew picked us up.

We made it into bed a bit after 11PM (1 PM Thursday in Japan). We “slept” until 1030AM Wed.—later than we can recall sleeping. My fitbit recorded less than 4 hours of total sleep from the plane and our bed combined. But, we are thrilled at the success of our trip. Thanks again for praying.

(This photo of us on the Shinkansen--bullet train is from our trip to David's, but is the only one we got.)

Japan 2023 Part 6

 

On Saturday, one of the guys who had invented a tea processing unit invited us to come to his home on Sunday for me to drive a tea harvesting machine. So, at 0930 in the AM, we trekked just under a half mile to his home. After a warm welcome and some iced coffee, he let both Davey and me drive the harvester down a row. It was interesting and extremely sensitive in the steering. Afterwards we picked some of the tender tea shoots—it is harvested 4 times per year. The friend’s wife fried up the tea leaves in tempura and served them along with cookies made of green tea. The tea processor has several acres of tea bushes—that last about 100 years. He also grows rice and strawberries. The wife served us up a sweet dessert composed of shredded frozen strawberries mixed with a little sugared milk. The farmer had eaten so many strawberries as a boy that he no longer eats them. He also showed me the very elaborate shrine to his ancestors inside his home.

For Sunday lunch we went to Jolly Pasta, a very popular local Italian restaurant. It is Nene’s choice for her birthday celebration. The cheese fondue with little toasted pieces of bread was very good. For dessert I ordered us a banana pizza with chocolate sauce and a small scoop of ice cream. It was good, but not quite as good as it sounded.

For 4 adults (Bre and I shared a meal) and 2 kids the bill was 8360 Y= just over $60! When I checked the median household income to be a bit over $39k, it shocks me what food costs.

Japan 2023 Part 5

 

Saturday was a special day in Davey’s local community. He and his young colleagues spent a few hours cleaning up their highly decorated and sophisticated cart. This was immediately followed by an all-day cook-out. Though it was pretty hot, we spent the day eating a variety of grilled foods:

Sweet garlic roasted.

Scallions dipped in miso.

Barbeque diaphragm—very good.

Chicken wings

Chicken on wooden skewers with onions between

Barbeque tongue—a bit tough, but tasty.

A variety of beverages are drunk, a few of which were non-alcoholic. The drinks included potato wine, plum wine, sake, and a variety of beers.

Especially noteworthy was that most of these young men- all under 40, mostly smoked or vaped. They were very hospitable and most of them made a point of spending some time chatting with me. Another noteworthy experience was how highly esteemed my son Davey is in this culture. More than one of these guys made a point of telling me what a fine fellow he is and how highly he is respected.

The mothers and school children were all at the Nagoya Aquarium on a field trip. They had between 4 children and two.

Japan Trip 2023 part 4

 

At 2:50 sharp we put Anna on the bus for Terminal 3 of Haneda Airport in Tokyo. As we stood waiting on the bus, I heard clear English and struck up a conversation with a young man from San Bernadino, CA who moved to his native country of Japan to teach English, just like David.

Anna’s return trip was stressful. Her bus encountered heavy traffic, which was built into the schedule, but Anna had no way to know that. Her plane was late taking off and her layover in Seattle for clearing customs was only a little under 2 hours. Her checked bag never appeared, but she, along with about 10 others were allowed to board their Denver flight despite the doors being already closed. In Denver she made a long walk to her BHM gate, but was able to grab some food, which she needed.

Bre and I and David’s family returned to Kakegawa, and the girls mourned the loss of Anna to return home. We did too!

Japan 2023 Part 3

 

It was HOT in Japan in July and early August—one of the key reason David runs at 0400. After sunset, it cooled nicely. Later, When we went up near Mt. Fuji the weather there was much more pleasant, though still sunny and warm.

On Saturday we went to the Kakegawa Castle and did a wonderful, albeit hot, tour. We followed that up with a visit to a “conveyor-belt sushi” restaurant. Here you ordered off an I-pad menu at your table. You order, the food arrives via conveyor belt and you get billed. As you empty dishes, most of these fit into a slot where they are whisked away. This technique of ordering food via computer at your table seems very efficient. Noteworthy too, no one tips in Japan.

On Sunday we three visitors led a worship service in David’s home featuring 1 Jn 5:1-12 and “Jesus Loves me.” It was sweet and I kept it very short. The lack of Christian visible presence here is again remarkable.

On Monday, 31 we drove up to near Mount Fuji. Even the drive up was interesting for us visitors. The drivers “pull-off” we stopped in was entertaining with an elaborate sales center. We bought soft-serve ice cream, which was tasty. It seemed not as sugary as ours, and was a bit pricey.

We spent some time in a tourist area reminiscent of Gatlinburg, Oshino Hakkai. It had Fuji-supplied cold clear water with lots of trout spread out in 8 ponds. One of the treats was a shop filled with deer-leather goods. That aspect got real when we saw some spotted deer on our drive to the wonderful resort, Sanctuary Villa which had a wonderful view of Mt. Fuji. We had the clearest view we have ever had, and David took a photo showing lights on the mountain as people climbed towards the top at night.

Monday, 31 July we also got to visit the Yamanashi Prefectural Fuji-Spring Fed Village Aquarium—whew! It was great. They had hundreds of fish and some very neat displays.

We boarded two paddle boats, one shaped like a duck and the other shaped like a swan (—sort of). The lake there, Yamanaka-ko, made a beautiful display at the bottom of Mt. Fuji. This was definitely a popular tourist area.

Japan 2023 Part 2

 

On Thursday AM (we left on Tues, 25 Jul but lost a day at the date line), we took a taxi from right outside the hotel, and for 7k (1.38.39 Yen/$=$50.58) Yen we 3 made it to the Shinagawa bullet-train station in good fashion despite much traffic. From there we took the bullet train to Kakegawa. The trains are very clean and run on time. Our 10:04 train arrived in Kakegawa at 11:34. Finding the train took some help from friendly Japanese travelers, but wasn’t tooooo hard. The trains don’t tarry long, so you have to be ready when the doors open. Wrestling our 9 bags wasn’t too hard, and fortunately there was only one small suitcase already on our train. Cost from Shinagawa to Kakegawa was a bit over 14,000 yen for Bre and I (=$102). Davey, Rie, Nene and Juno met us at the Kakegawa train station in a van and coupe to hold all of us and our baggage. It was about a 25 min drive to Davey’s house.

The first morning, Friday, at Davey’s house we made a 5-mile (6mile on my Fitbit) run at 0400. The area is suburban and there is a long hill at the 1KM mark. We did not encounter a single auto until the last KM of the run. We did see two people out walking for exercise. At about 0830 we were headed to the beach. The sand is dark, similar to Galveston beaches. We only paid about $4 to park. We left there after about 45 min due to the strong currents. Parking at the second beach was free. Neither beach was crowded.

Friday night dinner was at Sawayaka. For 7 of us, total was about $71 for dinner (no tipping here). Their specialty was ground beef cooked rare with a salad and some vegetables. The meal was delicious and their sweet potatoes were especially good.

The first night of sleep at the hotel was 6:49 hours with a score of 73—which was good for being jet-lagged and getting no sleep on the trip out. On Friday night (2^nd night in Japan) my sleep score was 83 on 7:31 hours of sleep. This was an increase from the 7.0 hours of sleep and 71 score of the first night at David’s. All these traveling mercies I attribute to G^d’s blessings.

Japan trip 2023 Part 1

 

Japan Trip Report 25 Jul-8 Aug, 2023

Had a very smooth trip from the USA to Tokyo—thanks to the prayers of our friends and the provision of G^d. The plane to Chicago landed right on time, which only gave us about 20 minutes to travel to and wait at the gate. Nice.

The 12.5-hour flight to Tokyo on ANA-All Nippon Airlines—was probably the nicest ever (remember this!). The food was good and the service excellent. I did NOT want to sleep due to the time zone change, and the discomfort of trying to sleep in an airline seat. The trip went by quickly, which surprised even me. It took a while to work our way through Tokyo customs at Haneda Airport, but it was only a short and convenient walk with our 3 bags each to get to Villa Fontaine Airport Hotel. Our rooms were small (Anna Grace traveled with us and id’ed the hotel so we could make reservations.) but functional. We got into the hotel at about 10 PM. You are automatically booked into your room and given a key by a machine similar to the modern airport kiosks. There was no breakfast or room snacks, but they did have pour-over coffee available when we checked in. It was very easy to use and tasty.

Reflecting on AI

My Initial Reflections on AI

Most of us can remember when the FIRST word-processors came into general use. I have spent most of my professional life writing scientific papers. My earliest papers were typed on a typewriter with the typist committing her novel errors in addition to my own. I was among the first graduate students to type my own dissertation, with my wife's help, on to an Apple IIe computer with tractor-feed paper. Thus, having already experienced the many, many advantages of word-processors, I was frustrated that my research university was slow in adopting it. I know well that word-processing made my career so very much more productive and enjoyable than it would have been with typewriters.

We are now so accustomed to word-processors that few of us have seen a typewriter in many years. One aspect of the word-processor is that all programs now have “Spelling and Grammar” checking options. As a University professor, I do NOT recall anyone having ethical reservations about using spell-checkers on word-processors.

With AI generation of written work, we see word-processing “on steroids”. Now we have much, much more than spell-checking. But, hopefully we having learned a bit from the popular adoption of word-processing, I would suggest:

1. AI text generation is here to stay.

2. AI use in writing is extremely difficult, though not impossible, to detect.

3. It is an amoral tool—though my friend, Dr. Richard Edlin, does point out that AI creators do have moral & ethical positions and it would be impossible for those not to manifest in AI products.

4. AI is a tool, like word-processing, and it, like the computer itself, like electricity, like most technology, has good and bad aspects. E.g. The World Wide Web has made it possible to minister the Gospel worldwide in seconds, it has also make internet pornography a very convenient means for serious sin.

5. AI is a tool, and it should be utilized for the good of mankind, with acknowledgment that it will also be abused to the detriment of mankind.

6. The only ethical restriction I can envision, is that like plagiarism, we must not use AI's words without rightfully acknowledging them. (Note that we did not require that of word-processing use, but it was adopted so fully that everyone knew it was being used—perhaps AI will be the same and only when it is NOT used would that be noted.)

AI is a tool that is here to stay. Let us explore ways to ethically use AI to help us all. As Ecclesiastes 1:9 tells us, “There is nothing new under the sun!.” G^d is not surprised by AI. Mankind is clearly fallen. I predict, with certainty, that AI will be used for evil, and for good. AI may contribute to the end of the world, but G^d is omniscient, omnipotent and still interested in mankind, and in charge. We don't put our faith in technology but in the G^d who created man, and everything in the cosmos (Gen 1:1).

For a deeper, fuller discussion of these issues see, Edlin, Richard (June 2023). It’s a matter of the heart: Thinking Christianly about ChatGPT & AI. It can be found at,

All of Life Redeemed. https://www.allofliferedeemed.co.uk/RJE2023ChatGPT.pdf

Mother's Day Tribute 2023

 

Dearest Brendy,

I love you so much, and this Mother's Day I wanted to remind you of what a GREAT mother you are.

Here are a few examples that come to mind:

1. You birthed five wonderful babies and only one was colicky and one had to get emergency treatment at birth!

2. You home-schooled them very successfully producing 2 National Merit Scholars and 5 college grads with two having advanced degrees!

3. You moved successfully to: Lexington, VA; Athens, GA; Houston, TX, Highland Falls, NY; Ostersund, SW; Gaborone, BW; and from East Sunrise to Main St. to Milledge Circle to Valley View to Bellwood to Allums, to Lakeside Pl. Whew, you've moved a LOT!

4. You raised 5 kids to adulthood with no deaths or life-threatening injuries.

5. None of our kids have felony convictions...yet!

6. You have put up with me and my wild ideas for over 50 years of marriage plus 2 years of courtship!

I could go on, but I want to point out that you are GREATLY loved! Your children rise up and call you “Blessed”. See verse 28 below:

Proverbs 31 (KJV)

10 Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.

11 The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil.

12 She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life.

13 She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands.

14 She is like the merchants' ships; she bringeth her food from afar.

15 She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens.

16 She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.

17 She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms.

18 She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out by night.

19 She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff.

20 She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.

21 She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet.

22 She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple.

23 Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land.

24 She maketh fine linen, and selleth it; and delivereth girdles unto the merchant.

25 Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come.

26 She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.

27 She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness.

28 Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.

29 Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all.

30Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised.

31Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates.

You are the BEST mother I know—and I know a few!

Thanks for your love and excellent care for our family for these many years. You have weathered the storms, withstood the trials, and excelled as a wife and mother.

This is hardly adequate, but THANK YOU for being you!!

I lvoe you beyond these words.

All my love,

Philly

The Humor of Jesus

 The Humor of Jesus

I recently mentioned to a friend that Jesus cracked some great jokes.  here are a couple of examples.

In the middle of the sermon on the Mount, Matt 6:27 " 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?"  this is a mistranslation.  It actually says, "... which of you by being anxious can add a single CUBIT to his span of life?"   So why deliberately mistranslate "cubit"?  We torture the word because we FAIL to see the humor that Jesus' audience likely clearly heard.  It's a joke just like the carpenter who pulls out his tape measure and says, "How 'long' have we been here?"  In our ear it might sound a bit corny but not in the time of Jesus.

Here's another example. In Matt 7:4 Jesus says, "4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and look, the log is in your own eye?" I am betting his audience giggled at this one too, as we often use ridiculous exaggeration for humor still today.

A third example would have been a lot more subtle at the time---until a few days later. In Luke 16, Jesus tells this parable (cited here just in part). "‘Then I request of you, father, that you send him to my father’s house— 28 for I have five brothers—in order that he may warn them, so that they will not come to this place of torment as well.’ 29 But Abraham *said, ‘They have [x]Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ 30 But he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!’ 31 But he said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.’”  Did you get that last gag?  Jesus, who will be rising from the dead soon, is pointing out, in sad humor that many will still reject Him. Though those listening didn't get the gag at the time, in just a few weeks, they, at least those speaking to Luke, knew the joke here.

Is it possible I am wrong?  of course. Is it possible that you and i have missed several other examples of the humor of Jesus? Of course.

Deer Reflections

 As we near the end of another season of Deer hunting, it is nice to think back to the many years in the woods. This was not one of my best seasons, only killing one doe. In fact, even in places where I typically see lots of deer, the numbers have been much lower.

But I can recall the day, Dec. 10, 2010 when I killed the best dear rack ever from one of my favorite spots in Hale County, AL. I just saw a photo of Andrew when he took his best buck, and recall the excitement when I spotted him with his antlers stuck in the ground and his nose pointing almost straight up. 

I have greatly enjoyed hunting with many friends over the years. I started hunting with Bill Rogers in MD. Then I hunted almost 30 years with Bobby Mc. Over those same years, Mark S and I enjoyed hunting in several different locales including VA. My recent and favorite hunting buddy has been my youngest son, Andrew. Once when he was home for only a couple of weeks, we killed 8 deer in 2 weeks of hunting.

There was that 28 F morning in Jan, 2016 in Hale County when I heard from G^d directly about "loving" things but not "marrying" them. I have written a couple of books in the deer stand and revised my text book. I have read more books there than anywhere, rivaled only by time at the beach. Plus some good thinking an praying have happened right there on the deer stand.

I have had some great times in the woods, and have changed how I hunt and handle venison over these many years--dating back to about 1974. I still recall the buck I killed on Ft. AP Hill in VA, and the two does I harvested at West Point, NY.

Sweet memories!

Memories

Speaking to Responsive Audience

I’m guessing that I have written about this before, but for speakers, the audience can make or break the experience. Recently I had the joy of speaking 6 times to a good, reactive audience. They made eye contact with me, they smiled, they laughed at the jokes. I may have mentioned this, but I once had 52 Professors from the University of Herat, western Afghanistan in an audience for several lectures. I was shocked at their responsiveness. Likewise I was surprised, pleasantly so, at this latest group.

I taught undergraduates for many years at UA. In most every class (except one) there were a couple of responders, but it was rare to have a whole class. In fact, I only recall one such group in 33 years of professing.

Zoom seems much worse than live speaking. In Zoom, even the normally responsive folks are subdued. So, if you are in a ZOOM audience, give a big smile—bigger than usual—and gives a thumbs-up or other indications. Be a friend to the Zoom speaker—respond!

So, the next time you are in an audience—respond! Smile, nod, clap if appropriate. Respond!