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Our Filipino community here in Tokyo used to hold bowling tournaments at Ikebukuro Hata Bowling Center so it was a little bit sad to hear that it closed last April 20 after 48 years of operation.  I wonder if the recent earthquake had something to do with its closing. Fortunately there are other bowling centers near our church.  One of these is the Tokyo (AMF) Plaza Bowl which is conveniently located near three different train lines.  We were still able to reserve lanes there last Tuesday even though it was a holiday.

A few inches more and I would have to use both hands.  A smaller size would hardly be a delight to my not so perfect eyesight.  7-inch then, for many people, is just the right size for a portable e-book device, even if Apple's CEO Steve Jobs thinks that " ". For people like me who likes to read books inside Japanese trains, 7-inch is the maximum size for an ebook reader that can be held and operated comfortably with just one hand.  The 9.7-inch iPad and other similarly sized e-book readers are just too big. In Japan where trains get too crowded especially during rush hours, it is highly likely that you have to stand inside trains and use one of your hands to hold on to straps or handrails, leaving you with only one hand available to carry other things.  Even if you can balance yourself and not depend on straps, it is very likely that you won't able to lift a reading material using both arms without elbowing people around you.

It's been a year now since the , the cloud platform offered by Microsoft, became commercially available.  If you develop software and you still don't know how to build an application for Windows Azure, perhaps it's the right time to learn how to do it.  In this article, I will show you how to create a simple ASP.NET application that will run on Azure. To develop Azure applications, your computer must be running either , , , or higher editions.  You also need to have and installed on your system.  The Windows Azure Tools and SDK provides project templates for creating Azure applications.  It also provides tools that let you simulate the cloud environment on your local machine.

Here's a parallel list of holidays in Japan and the Philippines for this year: * Schools only

Unlike in the Philippines where the new year is welcomed literally with a bang using (firecrackers), (toy trumpets), and almost anything that creates noise, new year is greeted silently and peacefully in Japan.  This striking difference is perhaps a reflection of the contrast between the cheerfulness of Filipinos and the silent nature of the Japanese people.

NET25 emerged as the winningest TV station with 22 trophies at the Anak TV Seal awarding ceremonies attended by network executives and media personalities last December 8, 2010.