Euro2012 qualification

It's always busy in schedule when I watch football games. I thought the Wcup 2010 South Africa ended the other day, but the Euro 2012 qualification already started!
At this moment, Portugal seems to have hard time ( 0 win, 1 draw (against Cyprus), 1 lost ( against Norway). Italy seems to go alright though they lost the Wcup 2010 at the Group League.
In Europe, Wcup and Euro come every 2 year ( Wcup: 2006,2010,2014.... Euro:2008,2012...) but in Asia, it goes different. Both are scheduled very close. Must be tight and hard for players.

Hayaokidori website

Cyclon vacuum cleaner

Cyclon vacuum cleaners have been getting popular maybe since last year. I am not clever enough about mechanic but like new stuff, so I bought 2 cyclon vacuum cleaners as an old vacuum cleaners did not work good.
　They said cyclon vacuum cleaners swallow better than old ones, so I expected how they worked. But they need me to clean inside almost every after I use them. This is kinda tiresome!!!! (^^;;;　
　They are powerful enough to swallow dust as I always clean the inside. It's like I always use a new dust pack for an old vacuum cleaner.
I wonder if anyone could tell me how I can make it easier to clean the inside of cyclon vacuum cleaners.

Actually one of old vacuum cleaners which I bought more than 20 years ago when I began this innkeeping work still works for us! Its ability to swallow dust seems a lot less than newer ones but I feel it as powerful as newer ones. Also, I feel products made in 1980's are steady enough to use for long. Is it only I who feels products nowadays are not steady enough to use?

Hayaokidori website

Ooito line Kiha52 DMU final running March 2010

Took some pictures and movie clips of Kiha52 DMU at Minami-Otari station somewhen in this previous March 2010.


　When I checked an wep page to find which one came then, it said the red color one did. But the former JNR (Japan National Railways ) original 2 colors one did!!!
Box seats, rustic but steady handles in the control room and description that tells which factory built the car and when, its weight etc - everything tells this DMU was built in former JNR days.
　
　When I was young, there were many local lines which were not electified yet. The main railroad cars there to bring passengers were DMUs that had 1 or 2 DMH 17 series engines which this Kiha52 also had. I found this noise and step at the doorways of those DMUs wherever I went. Once when I got in the DMUs, the atomosphere there was pretty different from the 101 series electric cars I always got in at my hometown. I enjoyed the difference very much.

　As well as other railroad cars, this Kiha52 met the time to retire. I went to the station as I would have liked to take some pics and noise of this DMH17 series engine, Hopefully I would have made it to ride, but no luck because of my work.
I was just able to see the arrival and departure, I hope you also enjoyed the DMH17 noise!

Hayaokidori website

Pumpkin pudding

It seems that some pumpkins are now growing in our tiny farm, I thought it's just one or two, so I asked my mom to harvest them. But...actually it seems there are more... :o

I am not ready to eat only boiled pumpkins, so I cooked some pumpkin puddings. We have some mint as well, so many of the ingredients are from our own :)

Hayaokidori website

Making a layout #45 -- maintainance : lake

My HO gauge model train layout has a tiny lake in it. I used some "Realistic water" ( by Kato ) to represent water. It's anyway a kind of varnish, so it seems that it gets thinner and thinner by the time going.
So, I tried to fill some realistic water into the lake again to make it look fresh.

Tried to take kayaks in the lake, but it was as if they were glued to the lake! I was very careful to take them but see, the surface of the lake water was taken away :(





A vacuum cleaner was at work!






Painted some broken part to fill some realistic water. You have to fill the water slowly little by little.





Making it flat by a piece of wood.





Fresh water!!





Have to cover the lake all over not to get it dusty. It needs probably around 24 hours to make it dry. It's not like we need to wait for 3 minutes to get something to eat nowadays :o

I will take the cover away tomorrow.

Hayaokidori website