10:43 p.m. Happy New Year, everyone!

This year's first big event for me would be the Kinpai, as usual. But the thing is, JRA does not announce the competitors until January 4th, the day before the race.

Currently, only the names of the registered horses are announced, resulting in two long lists of 20 to 30 horse names. I just can't bring myself to start calling the race as the lists of names are so long. Why don't they draw the barriers earlier and announce them right after the draw? It's New Year! Everyone would surely be expecting such arrangements?

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Caterpillar

3:53 p.m. The oldest grade winner seems to be appearing in Manyo Stakes on January 6th.

12-year-old Tokai Trick is a rare horse to be active considering his age. I still remember the G3 race he's won when he was 5 years old. What's remarkable is that he still wins occasionally, even in a grade race.

There once was a horse named Mr. Tohjin, that also ran in races until he was 15 years old, but he didn't win in his last days as a race horse. Perhaps Tokai Trick might owe a lot to the cares and treatments for race horses, that have improved over the years. Yet it's even miraculous that the horse could still win. I'll keep in mind to check out this Manyo Stakes.

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Caterpillar

6:24 p.m. Can't believe it. I've been to this famous bookstore in Shinjuku to get a copy of Tolkien, because JoOusama who'd been out fiddling yesterday has told me that they were having a foreign books sale until today. However, they didn't have a single copy of Tolkien, except for The Hobbit. Are they serious? I'm not asking for some unknown writer, it's Tolkien I'm looking for, an all time favorite classics, and they don't have a single copy when they're loudly advertising for a foreign books sale?

Grudgingly, I settled for a new release by Jeffery Deaver, which probably cost twice as much as the book I wanted. The one on the shelf had a bend on th cover, so I went to the cashing counter and asked NICELY for a new clean copy, as there weren't anybody around out on the floor. But the woman at the counter says, the bended one is the only copy they have in stock. She asked me if I wanted to order a new copy. I paid train fares to come and get a copy of Tolkien because I thought I could buy foreign books 20 percent off the usual price, and you're not only out of stock of one of the world's most read books, but give me a bended book and ask me if I'd want to wait for a brand new copy and pay the usual price for it? Are you kidding?

Humph. Am determined never to go to that bookstore again. Don't they ever realize why people buy books at Amazon these days?

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Caterpillar

5:03 p.m. Have gone out to have lunch with some old friends.

We all live different lives now, and it's not easy to see each other often. But once in several years, we get together to learn about how they've been, talk about what happened, and just laugh out loud. It's great to still have friends to share old memories and I enjoy the gathering every time. It's one of those small moments that I feel happiness.

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Caterpillar

7:34 p.m. I've been out to buy the Nakayama and Kyoto Kinpai.

I've keyed 8, Decipher for 1st and 2nd place on my trifecta, with 4, Caldo Brezza and 3, Ocean Blue but the winner was Ocean Blue. I should've bought a trio. As for Kyoto, this time I bought a trio of 2, Extra End, 5, Tosen Reve, 7, Shiny Prince, and 10, Garbo and it turns out to be 2, Extra End, 6, OsumiNine, and 10, Garbo.

Almost depressed, I dropped by a BookOff. Whoa. There's the Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien that I've been looking for! Moreover, they were having a 20 percent off sale until today! Needless to say I bought five paperbacks including Tolkien for less than 1,400 yen. Cheaper than the new Jeffery Deaver book with the bended cover I got at Shinjuku.

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Caterpillar

3:02 p.m. Work started today and I've been gradually freezing in the office. God, I wish we had floor heating system.

Is he too bored? Cow has been searching bite-Japan as a query on Google. So far, he's found that our nature page has been referred to as test preperation, answers for Yahoo! Answers, as translation examples at Linguee. We're ranked 3,621,061 in the United States, 29,940,504 worldwide, and estimated worth $828.24, according to URLmetrics.

I'm flattered that someone thinks this website is worth something.

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Caterpillar

2:29 p.m. I forgot to check the Manyo Stakes yesterday, so I've been to the JRA website to see how Tokai Trick, the remarkable 12-year-old thoroughbred has performed. Manyo Stakes

Looks like he came in fourth. Pretty good, I guess, considering the heaviest weight he had to carry in this handicap race. There was a 7kg gap in weight between Tokai Trick and the horses that came in 2nd and 3rd place, while the virtual gap between the 3rd and 4th place was only by a neck. Thus, the 12-year-old takes home the prize money of 33,000 Yen.

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Caterpillar

2:07 p.m. I was writing about Tokai Trick, when our friend Ogi came to visit us to say the New Year greetings.

I wanted his opinion about updating the iOS of my iPad mini as he is an Apple user, so I asked a few questions and the conversation moved on to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. I've been concerned about the infrastructure involving public wifi network, as my iPad mini is a wifi version, and I'm relying on public wifi signals whenever I need to access the Internet outside. We all agreed that there must be some kind of development going on, because the inconvenience of public wifi service in Japan has been one of the hot topics among foreign visitors. However, none of us had any information on what's actually being done. So I decided to do a little search on my own.

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Caterpillar

4:32 p.m. I've Googled for some time, and learned that the government has announced its commitment to developing public wifi service by the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, still I couldn't find any specific answers to how they're going to carry that out, or what they are doing right now, in order to develop a better wifi environment.

It only seems to point out that I might as well get a mobile router, if I wanted to access the Internet when I want to.

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Caterpillar

4:03 p.m. Cold. I'd better be grateful though, as the temperature is still above zero. There are places in the world experiencing an unimaginable coldness of about 40 degrees BELOW zero. Brrrrr.

I was thinking of doing some searching on mobile routers, but I got stuck here: Bald Eagle Walking. The way this eagle walks looks vaguely familiar... like that old man who lives up the block.

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Caterpillar

2:16 p.m. I've finally got the chance to carry out my task of searching about mobile wifi routers, and it seems that Aterm MR02LN with OCN mobile one sim card is the best buy. Well, at least, for now.

They're selling the device in a package with a sim card for 22,950 yen which is 1,750 yen cheaper than the price at Yahoo! or Rakuten shopping. Though it might not include the cradle which makes a big difference, because this cradle works as a LAN access point when connected to a LAN port or a modem by a cable.

As for the sim card OCN offers, you can use docomo's LTE or 3G network for 980 per month up to the limit of 30 MB per day. The limit will be reset every day, and you can upgrade your plans if you want to raise the limit. The first month after starting the service would be free of charge, according to their web page. NTT Com Store

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Caterpillar

7:37 p.m. I might have to wait for another few years until the public wifi environment in Tokyo improves. My guess is that things starrt moving a year ot two before the Olympics, so that'll be around 2018. Still 4 years to go.

My SoftBank wifi spots ID would expire much earlier, which means I'll either have to get myself a mobile wifi router or, bear the incovenience of picking up free wifi signals until the circumstances develop. All things considered, I figured it best to get a mobile wifi router.

Not yet, though. Thanks to the Kinpai, I haven't got the money.

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Caterpillar

9:32 p.m. As I've been convinced that the new iOS doesn't do much harm, I decided to upadate my iPad mini.

I just started updating via iTunes but it says it's going to take 38 more minutes. Whoa.

10:14 p.m. Updating has been finished successfully. However, somehow I cannot access the Internet. What went wrong?

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Caterpillar

2:15 p.m. Eventually, I managed to succeed in updating the OS and the Apps on my iPad mini, though it took me until 3 AM this morning, including the interruption from JoOusama to show her how to print out a document.

At first, I thought there must be something wrong because I couldn't access the Internet and some of my Apps couldn't be updated no matter how many times I tried. But it all turned out well in the end, so now I have the newest version of them both, good, good.

In my personal opinion, though, the launching and shutting speed slowed down a bit, but otherwise I don't see any trouble. The graphics seem to have improved. I actually marvelled at the photo I took for a test. The designs of icons generally have become cheaper in my impression, but that doesn't bother me much. Still, the new big apple mark seems a bit nerdy.

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Caterpillar

4:03 p.m. Since I've updated my iOS to the latest version, does that mean I can download Apps like iPhoto, iMovie, GarageBand, Pages, Numbers, Keynote for FREE?

Don't think I'll need Keynote because I don't do any presentations, but Pages would probably be useful as I make a lot of documents on Word or Open Office Writer. Perhaps Numbers, too, might come in handy. GarageBand sounds really exciting. You can almost say that the TV add of GrageBand that I'd glimpsed, was one of the reasons I chose an Apple device. What fun it would be to be able to make music on your own with such simple steps!

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Caterpillar

4:28 p.m. Oh, gee, I should've taken a picture. We had Yaki-imo for snack today. Yaki-imo is cooked sweet potato, with the most popular ones being cooked burried in heated stones.

Sweet potatoes contain enzyme called amylase, and this amylase breaks down starch into glucose sugar when heated. Cooking in heat of 60 to 80 degrees Celsius for thirty minutes is said to maximize this process, which as a result makes the sweet potato even sweeter.

Anything hot is a treat in this cooooold weather, having Yaki-imo really lifts you up a bit.

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Caterpillar

1:45 p.m. I've come across a hilarious dog in a while so am posting a link here. Not all dogs are good at Catching.

I can imagine how this dog might be feeling as I am not good at catching frisbees myself. Maybe he just got the sun in his eyes, and I hope he won't be discouraged by this one miss. You don't have to be good at catching just because you're a dog. We're all different, and that's what makes us wonderful.

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Caterpillar

1:48 p.m. The UTCE(University Testing Center Examination) has started today. It will be one of the most important events in their life for the examinees, and I hope all the best for them.

For those who have prepared for this examination, please bellieve in all that you've done up until now. You must have learned and parcticed how to find the correct answers to questions over and over. Be confident that you have done what you can. All you have to do now, is to sit in that seat and do the same thing you've done until yesterday. Think of it not as an exam, but one of the many practice you've experienced.

For those who have not prepared, there is no need to feel intimidated or worried because you haven't done any preparation. It's too late to worry or regret at this point anyway. Here's what you're going to think and do. You will just show your present strength, which is one's pure strength. Be confident in yourself. You might not have a smart tick up your sleeve to earn some extra points, but you've had a lifetime of learning. Stay calm and make use of every knowledge you hage gained in your life.

There must be places expecting snowfall, so eat well, rest early and well tonight, and leave early tomorrow, to avoid getting mixed up in transportation delays. Finally, good luck to you all!

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Caterpillar

10:17 p.m. Have searched a bit about the iOS app, GarageBand. It's tempting. It could eat up a lot of memory, though. And I wouldn't want my iPad mini to slow down or anything. Besides, if I get it on my iPad mini, I have a feeling that I'd be in to it too much that I won't be able to do anything else.

What to do...

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Caterpillar

2:53 p.m. Hmm... Maybe I should download and install the app and see what it's like. I can always uninstall it and get rid of it, if I wanted to.

Wait, wait, wait. Once I get it on my iPad, I might not be able to stay away from it. Oh, but I wouldn't fall into that trap if I just have it on the home screen and didn't touch it.

Have been debating like this since yesterday. Would someone stop me? Please?

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Caterpillar

4:26 p.m. Cow is infuriated because Papa Cow has heated canned food in the microwave. Cow has been telling him over and over, not to put food in metal containers when heating it with microwave. Even I've heard him scolding the old man several times. Yet Papa Cow never seems to learn.

As I heard why Cow was so raged, my mind has made an automatic jump from A to B to X, and came up with the word, psychopath. The word "psychopath" is often regarded as some insane criminal though the definition on the Cambridge Online Dictionary for American English says, "psychopath; a person who has no feeling for other people, does not think about the future, and does not feel bad about anything they have done in the past." In psychology, the term is used for people who desires to take control over other people regardless of how they do it, even if the action is illegal or harmful to other people, and have no sense of guilt of their behavior.

I have been familiar with the term since I read The Sociopath Next Door by Martha Stout, and realized that I was living together with one, JoOusama. 1 in 25, Martha says, about how often you can bump into a psychopath in the US, but it seems that is not only in the US.

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Caterpillar

2:44 p.m. I found some interesting comments posted to a question; What's the luckiest thing that ever happened to you? I've put a link to it in case you might want to take a look at it too. Hmm... there are many kinds of different happiness, I see.

Have been thinking what was the luckiest thing in my life, but I jut can't come up with one. Maybe it's meant to happen later.

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Caterpillar

5:13 p.m. One of my new clients has complained that our office smells of cigarette somke. Well, I'm not surprised as Cow and I both smoke. We do have an air refreshner, though apparently, it doesn't seem to do the work that some non-smokers expect.

So I've made a mixture of water and vinegar with a few drops of aroma oil, and put it in a spray bottle I bought at a 100 yen shop. I'd learned after some searching, that what causes the cigarette smell are generally alkaline, and thought that vinegar might meutralize it, eventually taking away the smell too.

Have tried spraying the mixture this afternoon, and it seemed to work. There still might be a slight scent left to be honest of course, but I think it worked well enough. Only, it smelled a bit like a sushi bar. The vinegar was too strong, I guess. Let's try adding some grapefruits oil tomorrow and see what happens.

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Caterpillar

1:59 p.m. I couldn't find any grapefruits oil, so am thinking of getting some on my way home today, though why I'm paying for a proper essencial oil particularly for that client, I don't know.

Well, maybe it's good chance to learn to freshen this place up a bit, so that both smokers and non-smokers can stay here and feel comfortable. It's a small world we share after all.

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Caterpillar

2:22 p.m. It was October 30th, the day before Halloween last year, when I bought The Fellowship of the Ring and opened the first page, and I'm finally coming to the end.

I'm about halfway through The Return of the King, and Gimli and Legolas has just left the fellowship to wander in the woods of Fangorn, leaving the hobbits and Gandalf on their ride back to the Shire. That means the remaining half of this book is used for appendix... there may be a good 200 pages left, I'm afraid.

I've been reading only on the subway to and from work, so it took me a long time, as long as two months, but I've enjoyed every step of the way. However, in order to read the appendix and finish the book properly, I might have to get back to the first book and start all over again. Though I think that could wait a little longer. Thankfully, I've got other books waiting to be read.

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Caterpillar

I've worn a hole into my jeans so I patched it up during New Year holidays, but as I scrimped the denim to use for the patch, it came off in about two weeks and now I have to undo the patch and do it all over again.

It took me all day to finish this up and I'm drained good night.

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Caterpillar

3:16 p.m. Cow is cooking Oden for supper. I've just been asked how he should cut Suji (one of the various contents of Oden), and was stuck for an answer. Why, Suji comes skewered with bammboo sticks, what does he mean by "cut"?

Many of you might already know, but here's another difference between Kansai and Kanto. When you say Suji in the Kansai area, it usually means beef gristle on a stick whereas in the Kanto area, it means fish cake made of white fish meat and gristle.

I've just googled and hit some pictures of Oden containing Suji in Kanto style, and showed them to Cow. Looks like you only have to slice them.

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Caterpillar

3:39 p.m. Since I've bought the grapefruit essential oil last weekend, have prepared spray bottle with a mixture of water, half-a-teaspoon of vinegar, and six drops of essential oil.

After leaving the office door completely opened for about 5 minutes and fanned some air out, I shook the bottle well and sprayed it in the room. Then, after another five minutes, I sprayed again.

The smell of vinegar still seemed a bit strong, but with a hint of grapefruit, I think it turned out better than the last time, though Cow complained the room smelled of vinegar. But then, I doubt if he could tell the difference between the smell of vinegar and grapefruit, especially when the grapefruit is faint.

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Caterpillar

3:25 p.m. There was a notice put up on the bulletinboard on the corner that our neighbor's dog has been hit by a car, a few days before Christmas last year. No wonder I hadn't seen the dog for weeks now. Cow told me that he'd heard people talking about the dog being hospitalized over the year-end.

According to the notice, it was a white sedan driven by a woman, and the driver had fled after the accident. Since our neighbor loved the old dog dearly, he was seeking further information about the car and the driver. Well, the owner of the dog mustn't be sleeping well, as it is a hit-and-run.

It's true that the dog is always walking around without a leash, so I wouldn't say there wasn't any fault on the owner's part, but I believe that doesn't mean the driver can get away with severely hurting a living creature whether it's man or animal.

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Caterpillar

4:41 p.m. On my way to work, I saw a foreign couple standing near the station, frowning at a map in the middle of the sidewalk. I thought I might be able to offer some help, and drew closer to them.

But before I reached them, the man approached a Japanese man distributing small packets of tissue paper, probably to ask for directions. I rushed to their side, thinking "that's where I come in."

To my surprise, the Japanese distributing tissue paper had given the directions without anyone's help, saying "Yamanote Line," and pointing in the right direction. So no one needed my help after all. I also might have to apologize for having biased thoughts against tissue paper distributors.

I wish I had the courage to give him a thumbs-up for the good job he'd performed.

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Caterpillar

2:16 p.m. Ouch. I've been away from the technology news for a while, and have just learned that NEC is releasing the updated version of the mobile wifi router MR-02LN. Associated to this new release, they're giving away the cradles for free to those who have signed up for the device at certain retailers.

Calm down, calm down. Inhale, exhale. Okay. So NEC is releasing a new mobile wifi router, MR-03LN on February 1st, that's tomorrow, and they're offering customers pre-ordering the device at AEON retail shops, free cradles to suit the device. Of course, the cradles have an Ethernet connection port just like the former model MR-02LN, so you can set up your own wifi access point wherever there's a wired local network. And, the new MR-03LN is mounted with functions such as bluetooth tethering, wifi antenna supporting the 5GHz band, also supporting 4G LTE quadband, 3G, GSM. Moreover, it's sim-free.

Very tempting. But the deadline is TODAY. Aaaaarrrrgh!

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Caterpillar