3:02 p.m. It took me hours, eventually, but have finished the recording, too.

So that's done, good, good. It seems that even JoOusama felt a twinge of guilt of not doing anything (all she's done so far is to cash in the payment) when it's her new computer that's causing all the trouble. So I gave her the task of going down to the convenience store to pick up a delivery form and fill it out, referring to the address of the disposal company that I'd dug out and written down.

Meanwhile, my task today, is to rummage through the racks at Yodobashi Camera to buy a power cable (white, 3m length, with on/off switches), and a LAN cable (flat type, white, 20m length).

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4:18 p.m. Had to take the long way around all the way to Akihabara, to find the cables that I needed. Was exhausted by the time I reached home, but I got what I needed so that was okay. It's a great relief to not have to go through any more trouble before Sunday, when I'll probably have to set up the computer to get it ready for practical use.

There's nothing more to do ntil the new computer arrives, except for, well, maybe to buy some cable holders to guide the LAN cable. Might as well start moving on getting a tablet I've been checking out for months.

Wonder why I always have to take care of other people's tasks before my own.

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3:16 p.m. Afternoon meeting has been cancelled so haven't done a streak of work. I'll start in a couple of minutes.

By the way, Orfevre who had scrached off from Takaraduka Kinen due to lung hemorrhage, has been reported to start his training from around mid July. The horse has been sent out for refreshment on the 15th last month, and adjusting his condition using the treadmill, according to netkeiba.com news.

I wonder what the outcome of Takaraduka might have been, if Orfevre had been there.

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6:03 p.m. Have been working my head off. There are times like this, you know, though it's rare.

But am not complaining, not today, because have took a huge risk to have domestic Unagi-no-kabayaki (grilled eel) for lunch today. It's been years since have had it the last time and I thought it was now or never since I had some extra income, thanks to the Takaraduka Kinen, and JoOusama won't buy any after the Unagi prices have sky-rocketed.

Mmmmm, that was deliccciiioussss!

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4:03 p.m. Super humid today. The humidity feels like 80 to 90 percent, and I almost thought I was in Malaysia or something.

Have just been to check the delivery date for JoOuama's computer and it turns out, that the date has been delayed to next Monday. Why? What happened? A couple of days ago, it was supposed to be delivered on Saturday. How come the date's suddenly pushed back two days?

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2:22 p.m. The temperature is pushing ninety-three degrees Fahrenheit. It's suddenly HOT, and the JMA (Japan Meteorological Agency) has announced the end of Tsuyu (the rainy season) whic was 15 days earlier than normal.

Oh, brother. That means we have to suffer from the heat two weeks longer than usual.

As for JoOusama's new pc, it's still displayed as "being shipped to domestic delivery center from overseas," the delivery date unchanged.

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12:20 p.m. It is HOT. Extremely HOT. How could I have slept so late in this heat?

2:43 p.m. Wind blows in from the window but it feels as though I'm blasted with hot air with a huge hair dryer.

5:24 p.m. Thunder rumbling. Looks like we might have Yuudachi (early evening downpour typical in Japanese summer). Struggle to fix the derailed sliding screen door in a hurry, before the rain starts falling.

5:30 p.m. Aaaaaarrrrrgh! It's rainig cats and dogs!

5:50 p.m. The rain is lighter now so can open the window again. Aaah, light breeze coming in from the window is cool like air from an air conditioner. The power of nature. Sometimes am amazed by what they can do.

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4:22 p.m. I hear rolling thunder and it's getting dark again. It's coming.

By the way, Andy Murray finally seems to have won the Wimbledon Championship. I was secretly cheering Jokovic, but Murray has powered up his forehand strokes and serves apparently, since the last time I'd seen him in Wimbledon last year (against Federrer). He deserves the win.

4:29 p.m. Here it comes! Raining cats and dogs now.

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4:35 p.m. The new computer is finally arriving.

I was beginning to worry how they could possibly deliver it today when the computer was still on its way to domestic delivery center yesterday, but as I went to check the deliverry tracking service a short time ago, the status had been changed to "on delivery from domestic delivery center."

So I'll be seeing my new computer when I get home. Ooops, not mine, JoOusama's.

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2:40 p.m. Again, we're going over ninety-five degrees.

Well, Tokyo definitely isn't the hottest place in the world. There are other places even hotter like Death Valley. Fry an egg Death Valley style.

Is there anyone interested in trying this on the streets of Tokyo, Kumagaya, Koufu, Kyoto, Nagoya or Osaka? I'd love to know how it turns out.

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2:04 p.m. Okay, pushing ninety-eight today. We'd be having a slight fever if it was body tempaerature. How many days has it been since we last gone below eighty-six?

Isn't there any way to make use of this heat and solar energy besides just frying eggs? Please, science engineers, let me know if you come up with a good idea.

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3:07 p.m. It seems that the tempaerature of yesterday has been wrong. I picked it up from a graphic that popped up on the search engine, but I didn't check the date. It must have been from a nother time.

Incidentally, the correct temperature was ninety-five degrees F. Not that it makes much difference.

Oh, and I read on the netkeiba.com news, that Orfevre is going to run in Prix de l'Arc after all. Well, why else would he scratch off from Takaraduka Kinen?

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12:25 p.m. I've been helping someone put together a paper all morning. It's been a while since I've worked my brain so hard, trying to come up with suitable academic English phrases and am pretty tired. Think I can feel the steam coming up from my head.

The task also made me realize that I not only lack English vocabulary, but would be completely lost in the field of academic writing, if I were to put together a paper on my own. I hadn't stayed in the States long enough to experience such assignments in school.

I recall writing a graduation thesis some decades ago here in Japan, but even that, which I'd written in my native language has been a nightmare.

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7:25 p.m. Spent all afternoon connecting cables and setting up JoOusama's new pc.

Confirm the spec of pc via Direct X diagnosis, check, stop unnecessary application from launching at start via Microsoft System Configuration, check, make recovery discs, check, see if can access the Internet properly, check.

I still have to install Microsoft Office tomorrow, though. Oh, give me a break. I've been crouching all the time while I organized the LAN cable all the way to the modem downstairs, that my leg muscles are crying out for mercy. Will definitely suffer sore muscles, but not tomorrow. It comes two, three days later when you get old.

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9:36 p.m. I read the news last night that Cory Montieth known as Fin Hudson to Glee fans have been found dead in a hotel room in Canada. Oh, gosh. Don't know what to say.

I'm an easily influenced person, and a lot of pepuple laugh at me when I say I was inspired by this book, or that movie. Some of them frown at me and keep a distance when I start ranting about the drama episode I saw last night. But who cares. Laugh at me if you want. But Glee was sensational to me. Glee reminded me how singing could free my mind. And I realize now, that Cory had played a big part in it. I'm really sorry this had to happen.

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4:23 p.m. It transpired that one of my favorite authors, J. K. Rowling was actually Robert Galbraith.

According to news sources, a crime novel titled "The Cuckoo's Calling" that came out in April and won praise from critics, was in fact written by J. K. Rowling, the world famous author of the Harry Potter series.

"Being Robert Galbraith has been such a liberating experience. It has been wonderful to publish without hype and expectation and pure pleasure to get feedback under a different name," sayas Rowling to The Independent.

I'd better put that book on my wish list. See, I told you she'd make a good crime novelist.

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2:43 p.m. Huffingtonpost has reported today, that Cory Monteath's cause of death has been confirmed by the British Columbia Coroners Service as "a toxic mix of heroin and alcohol."

He must have been under a lot of pressure, I imagine. And I also imagine that he was a very sensitive person. So sensitive that he feels the tiny things most other people don't even notice it's there. This sensitivity is the sides of the same coin. It could be the seeds of artistic talent, but it could bring lots of pain on the other hand.

Sounds like a familiar story.

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Caterpillar

4:09 p.m. The sun is beating down fiercely. The heat is back after only 4 days of less hot days.

Since it's getting sweltering again, here's some tips from MAYO Clinic to prevent heat strokes. Hope this information would be of some help, especially to foreign tourists who might not know yet, how murderous this heat could get.

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Caterpillar

2:21 p.m. "JK Rowling directs anger at lawyers after secret identity revealed" says the headline on The Guardian.

In the article under this headline, it says that Rowling's lawyer had told his wife's best friend about her being Robert Galbraith. Other sources say that the friend had tweeted this information which spread like wildfire, eventually resulting in a scoop. Rowling herself has expressed her anger in the article saying, "To say that I am disappointed is an understatement. I had assumed that I could expect total confidentiality from Russells, a reputable professional firm, and I feel very angry that my trust turned out to be misplaced."

I can hardly blame her for the incident wouldn't have occurred if the lawyer hadn't violated the confidentiality of his client's personal information. I'm worried though, that I might have become an accomplice in spreading the secret.

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2:23 p.m. Cow was thinking of having Unagi for Monday lunch, but he just announced that the idea was to be dismissed after coming back from the supermarket. Awww. The reason for his sudden change of mind, not to mention, was because they were priced much higher than he'd expected.

It's been in the news lately, major supermarkets are temporarily lowering the prices of Unagi for Doyo-no Ushi-no-hi (literally, midsummer day, eating char-grilled eels dipped in sauce to nourish oneself for the summer heat on this day has become common tradition since the Edo era). Well, looks like our local supermarket couldn't live up to Cow's expectations.

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5:57 p.m. Finally, after all this time, I bought myself an iPad mini.

It's been over a year since I'd started thinking about getting a tablet, and I've been swaying between sim lock free Google Nexus 7, Asus Fonepad. But once I realized that free public wireless access points were increasing and it didn't necessarily have to be a sim free device to access to the Internet outside, it brought me back to where I'd started, iPad mini.

Though I selected the wifi version. I want to keep the running cost as close to zero as can possibly be. Cow must be dismayed since he doesn't like the idea of spending money on mobile devices. Well, I'll let him play with Siri a while. That might cheer him up.

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2:33 p.m. Must set up my iPad mini. Have done the initial setup of Apple ID through iTunes in my computer, but haven't set the wifi yet.

I thought I could do that if I activated the virtual wifi miniport adapter on my lap-top, though it didn't turn out that easy. As I tapped in "netsh wlan start hotednetwork" via command prompt, it spitted out an error log claiming to activate the adapter before commanding. The icon of my virtual wifi miniport adapter is grayed out. And I've been stuck there.

Cow's trying out the process to see how it goes on his lap-top, because he has the same model. It doesn't look good do far.

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3:15 p.m. Cheers for the British Royal Family. The news of Princess Katherine giving birth to a baby boy was delivered this morning, Japan time, while I was crawling into my cotton blanket to get some sleep before going to work.

My virtual wifi access miniport situation hasn't made any progress whatsoever. Might as well call someone for help. But who? Where?

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2:06 p.m. It looks like we're back in Tusyu(the rainy season) again. The temperature isn't as high as last week, but it's sticky and unpleasant.

I like to use Japanese fans such as Uchiwa or Sensu at a time like this. Uchiwa is a round shaped paper fan. There must be one of these in every Japanese home. You also might have seen them with ads printed and distributed near train stations as part of some promotion campaigns.

Sensu is a folding type of paper fan. Many of us carry one because they're usually folded into a compact size, almost equivalent to that of a pair of chopsticks. What's good about them are that both Uchiwa and Sensu need nothing else except manpower to generate wind.

Today, the efficiency of Japanese fans seemed to have expanded to as far as the U.K. As a matter of fact, I was both surprised and happy to see blossoms of Sensu and Uchiwa among the spectators at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships. Clean energy Banzai!

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1:48 p.m. As for my wireless connection situation at home, it hasn't seen any progress since Tuesday, because I hadn't had time to indicate what really is the problem.

So far, I've tried making my lap-top to work as a wireless accesspoint by enabling the ICS (Internet Connection Sharing) function of Windows 7 to which I've failed, and then made a network bridge in a vain attempt to connect my new iPad mini via wifi. I've succeeded in setting up the bridge as adhoc network which seems to be "awaiting access," but my iPad keeps returning a "access failed" message, though it recognizes the network itself.

One thing I learned is that I can access the Internet via public wireless access points, so there must be something wrong with the network I'd set up with Windows 7. Currently, am suspecting the firewall blocking access. Well, I'll see about that this weekend.

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4:34 p.m. I've just been to see this website: What's your current reason for being unhappy?

Well, we all have our problems whether big or small. I actually sympathize with some of the unhappiness posted in the site above, I really do, since my situation isn't that different from their's. Especially financial problems.

There was a time in my life that I considered giving up my life to get away from the hardship I have to face every day. But then I realized, that I had a choice to make. Die or live. I also realized that sometimes you're not in a circumstance to be able to choose. If so, isn't it a blessing to be able to choose?

From then on, I try to be responsible for my life that I've been given. I try to live out the best I can. When the going gets tough, I try to think it's the time for Wasabi (green horseradish paste). As Sushi without Wasabi don't taste as good, life without hardships is probably dull and boring.

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1:42 p.m. We're having the annual Sumida-gawa fireworks display event this evening.

I've checked out the animation movement of the rainclouds for this afternoon. The weather might hold along the coast, although it seems very likely to rain on the west side of Tokyo.

There's going to be a lot of people out there today. Must get on subway while they're still shooting up fireworks, because it's going to be packed when all those people start moving for home. Uh-oh. I've got a terrible feeling that I'd written exactly the same thing a year ago.

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11:57 p.m. The fireworks display yesterday seems to have been cut short because of the downpour. I was lucky enough to notice a cold gust of wind blowing in, and left the place where I ususally watch the fireworks free at once, since I knew it was one of the first signe of terrible downpours. As I acted fast, I was safe from getting hit by it.

As for my wifi situation, though, I have tried everything I could to no avail. What is wrong? What? Whaaattt?

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2:25 p.m. I found a video of an emu hatching from its egg. Interesting how its cramped in the shell like that. EMU WEEK Day 3 - Egg 2 hatches!

The egg shell seems pretty thick and hard, guessingfrom the sound it makes when it bumps into the styrofoam wall. Can easily assume it must be an extremely tiring, energy consuming task to break out of that shell. No wonder the emu chick is exhausted by the time it's completely out of the egg.

Sort of inspires me not to give up even if something doesn't work out so well.

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4:37 p.m. Currently, parts of Japan such as Hagi, Yamaguchi prefecture, Niigata or Ishikawa prefecture are suffering from extremely heavy rain, often seen at the end of the rainy season. I wish there was a way to transfer all that rain to our main water resource in Gunma, as the storage dams are drying up.

Meanwhile, it seems to be snowing on the other side of the globe. Let's see how Brazilians are enjoying their first snow in thirty years. Meanwhile in Brazil(42 pics).

It cheers us up a bit, doesn't it? I really think there should be a "Happy Speech Map" instead of Hate Speech Maps.

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3:24 p.m. It's the last day of July. Some of you might be having a hard time sleeping in this heat. Most of you'd probably be running the air conditioner, while I'm surviving on a fan. Still my beloved fan has a timer (thank God) unlike the old one we used to have when I was a kid, so I usually set the timer before I go to sleep.

Well, here are some tips from the Loyola University Health System. Sleep Tips for Summer Nights. Some of these aren't so practical in Japan, considering the small space in our homes, but thought it won't hurt to look around and start from trying out the things we can do.

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Caterpillar