Why so many build problems?

Reacently, I read e-mail posted to Geronimo-dev ML. One of the most frequent topics is build problem amid Geronimo developers. Why does a build problem occur so often?

The larger the program grows, the more developers updates individually, frequently. Getting caught up the totally newest Geronimo might be a hard job for the developers. Geronimo-dev ML readers would know developers' frustration. Probably, version control software for large scale software would be expected.

Is your answer yes or no?

The answer for Yes/No questions sometimes puzzle me a lot because the answer for a negative question is opposite to Japanese one. I mean Japanese answer is like this "Yes, I didn't do that." I always try to avoid mistaking, but I have answered in Japanese style many times. Therefore, I often confuse other people and in some case, I'm misunderstood. Recently, I stay away saying just "yes" or "no", instead, I make long answer. Probably, this leads less misunderstanding.

When is it?

If you got message, "Let's meet in the evening," what time do you think it is? According to LONGMAN ADVANCED AMERICAN DICTIONARY, the word "evening" means the late part of the day between about 6:00 and the time when most people go to bed. However, most Japanese think that evening is between about 4:00pm and 6:00pm, and after 7:00pm is the night. Also, the idea about the morning is different. In Japan, morning is about 6:00am through 8:00am, then the day is going to be before noon. Therefore, if Japanese people got message, "let's meet in the morning," they would be surprised. This is only one example of cultural gaps. If foreigners are puzzled to react, it often means that they have troubles caused by a different idea not from English itself.

What do they do?

What do they do? This quesition has come into my mind so many times. I live in a suburb of Detroit with my family. All of my family member are naturally Japanese. Once I come back to my house, there is Japan even if I live in the U.S. Besides, I don't have any American friends. Therefore, sometime, I do something different. Yesterday was February 7th. I went to a fitness club as usual. The fitness club was almost empty! I know sunday night isn't busy, but last night was special. What did they do?
Maybe, the reason was super bowl, but I didn't think it was such a remarkable event, so I was very surprised. In today's ESL class, teacher asked students whether we watched super bowl. To my relief, everybody answered "no." It seems to be difficult for foreigners to understand how super bowl is important.

What's this blog for?

My life in the U.S. started accidentally on the end of March, 2005. I wasn't a person who were willing to come to the U.S. I have studeid English for my job, so I could speak English a little when I arrived here. However, everthing is different from Tokyo where I have lived for about ten years. I have had so many troubles and questions.
Now, I learn English as a ESL(English as a Second Lanugage) student, so I decided to write my blog in English for a practice.