Kristianna Thomas comments

If Xi Jinping was truly sincere about this he would have sent aid and assistance to Japan in the rescue efforts. Deeds sound louder and words. Humanitarian aid should transcend politics.

All throughout human society rape and sexual assault is all to common a crime committed by men, but why do men believe that they have the right to commit such crimes of assault. Society want to blame the victim, women, for the crimes that men do. "You should have known better than to enter the elevator with this man." Nobody ever said, "How dare you believe that you have the right to assault any woman you see." The focus should be on the attitudes that men have, and why they believe they have the right to sexually assault or molest anyone. "You don't have the right to touch me." The victim should ask to be escorted to their homes by a companion (male) onto the elevator? Maybe they feel that women would be safe is they don't walk alone, and only leave their homes whey they are escorted by a male family member. We talk about the safety of society against terrorists, but men terrorize women on a daily basis, and they get away with this assault on a day to day basis. Women should not have to live in fear every time they leave their homes. Men and boys, have to be taught that such things are not permitted in society, and that there are consequences to these actions.

Ever since the earthquake/tsunami that occurred in 2011, the nature of earthquakes have changed in Japan. Having an earthquake of this magnitude has never been felt in this region before, and building constructed to withstand such tremors, have failed to meet up to those standards. All of this is occurring in an active volcanic area. The bigger question is what is happening to the island of Japan?

The Love Shack, baby. Come on and groove in my love shack. A dedicated "love room"? Now you have a living room a kitchen, a bathroom, a bedroom, and now introducing, for you enjoyment, the dedicated LOVE ROOM. I should be totally sound proof, designed for maximum "love making". Maybe it should have a trampoline, and entertainment center, for viewing porn. Maybe mirrors on the ceiling for ones own narcissistic tendencies, "I love how I love you." "Great! I did not notice that bump there before. Oh. Did you say something?" This could go down in history as one of the greatest inventions of the twenty-first century.

Japan, has a long legacy of earthquakes and tsunamis throughout recorded history. The 2011 tsunami that struck Japan is just one of the many that struck Japan in the last two thousand years, raining death and destruction throughout the region. The question is not if there will be another tsunami/earthquake, but when and what magnitude will strike with? The quake/tsunami pulled the islands of Japan one foot closer to the subduction zone, but is Japan ready for the next one that will strike the island? Most likely not. It seems that Japan has returned to the "business as usual" attitude. It seems that for each tsunami that strike the region, it kills an average of 10,000 inhabitants. Japan is also part of the ring of fire, so there is always the possibility of volcanos erupting. Wow. Shake and bake. How do you protect yourself against something like this?

In one of the "wonders of the future", one thing that was promised was video phones; although we have cellphones that connect us globally it is not the same as video phones. One way that landline phones could evolve is the introduction of video to landlines. Maybe they can kill the elevator music when you are put on hold for a long time. Maybe it could connect to iTunes or Media Player for a better waiting experience? Maybe you can check on you e-mail while your waiting? The Landline needs to change before it dies a horrific death.

We are in the midst of a technological revolution that is changing the very fabric of society, how we interact with each other via technology is at the cornerstone of the global change. Unfortunately, technology is not the only thing that is changing in the world we live in. We still have the rising threat of Climate Change and the ongoing issue of war in regions of the world, technology is not going to be the silver bullet that cures all of our ills. In the things that we (humanity) has control of, VR and AR may prove to give us insight into possible solutions to its remedy.

In this ever changing world in which we live in. Augmented reality, Virtual Reality, or a combination of the two is the newly evolving tech of today. Although, can all applications be done in AR or VR? Do you want to constantly slip into a pair of glasses just to watch the late night news, or read todays newspaper? I can see many practical applications for these Reality Tech gadgets, but to totally erase monitors just to give yourself a self induced migraine; is stupid. I want to read my e-mail and do I want to put on my Oculus. Making the simple complex; rather than making the complex simple. I was hoping for multi-functionality; I got one size fits all. In order to run all this Reality hardware do we need faster processors and larger graphic cards. Whose cow is going to be fattened; whose cow is going to be put to the slaughter?

Now that there is a Black Barbie, will there ever be a Latina Barbie? Will they ever have a Native Barbie? How about a transgendered Barbie? What about an Asian Barbie?

There have been many stories about "robots" in science fiction, but it seems that fiction and reality have nada in common. The robot "industry" and the pc market are two different animals. When the PC market erupted in the nineties it filled a need that was dormant in society, but the robotic industry has yet to determine if it has a place at the table; at all. A robot that can help little old ladies across the street; would be nice if they were an army of cub scouts. The robots could help get cats out of trees, and aid you in tying your shoe laces. You could have a robot that would sound an alarm when it time for you to get out of bed. Oh. That's an alarm clock. It seems that there is no practical use for robots, outside the geriatric unit of your local nursing home, that is in the foreseeable future. Maybe we can get a robot to play with its self, that would be totally useful. I can not see any useful robots coming into being in the next fifty years; or more. Maybe I can turn my PC into a robot, and mass market builder kits like apple did in its early days.

With all of the talk of the ageing population of Japan; there seems to be a bigger issue at hand. That is the future of Japanese people as a whole. Is the Japanese becoming an extinct ethnic grouping, that is dying off as the population declines? What will Japan look like in the next one hundred years? Will japan look barren of its native inhabitants? Will the Japanese be a people we will read about in history books, or are they the canary in the coal mine? In the human race heading towards its swan song as a species, and can't see its own demise because it can't see beyond the simple dollars and cents. Money can bring you riches beyond the dream of avarice, but can't keep you from heading into extinction. Our money; or our lives. When does it all begin?

Cardboard? Be still my beating heart. I would rather pay the $300 for something that is more significant than something I would purchase at a home depot store, jut so that they can sell you an android phone; which will cost you $300 anyway.

Does the stack of ten yen coins act as a heat sink, drawing the heat away from the computer's core? What are the coins made of? If the ten yen coins are acting as a thermal heat sink, could you design a external heat sink for a lapdog (laptop)?

The problem with newsprint is it has not caught up with the changed reality of technology. In an social environment that is becoming more conscious of the impact of deforestation and climate change, the news relies on paper and ink for its daily dose of news. Fundamentally, newspapers have not changed since its invention of over one hundred years, and for newspapers to grow it needs to develop a replacement for paper that has in it the same scope as the early pc's. Newspapers needs a new medium to plant itself that carries all the traits of the internet and the portability of an E-Reader that would be in the format of a newspaper; one that is not disposable and has a sense of permanence A display medium that is the size of a regular newspaper, but has the reliability of a tablet with streaming video and static updating news articles..

As a person who lives in the Urban world I find most of these models are not geared towards people who don't live in single family homes. I live in an apartment building with many apartments, how does this system fit in this environment? How do I set myself up for solar when my landlord does not permit such installations? What incentives are there for landlords to install solar systems, and what of city ordinances that may hinder solar development in the cities?

In this time of climate change and the tendency for ocean-quakes to happen in the seduction zone is highly predictable; it is not if but when the next tsunami will strike. Tsunamis have struck for countless generations in Japan and Asia, killing tens of thousands in its wake. Will Japan bury more of its dead in order to have the right to have "pristine" beaches uncluttered with ugly man-made structures? Will having every one move inland; till there is no more land to into, be the solution? This movement inland would be itself catastrophic; more people occupying less land. Less land to grow food; more imports to feed an aging population. Will the country be ready for the next tsunami; or will the cost be to high of a price to pay? One way or the other, you dance the tune; you pay the piper.

I have not heard if EA, Blizzard, WOW and other major players besides Steam have joined in on the development for the new VR technologies, and will these devices be able to run on PC's and Mack's? The new operating systems for windows is Windows 10, will it be compatible for the new system? What are the specs for the new systems in relations to memory and graphics. If I am running a NVidia, Radeon or other high end cards; would I need to upgrade? Not every one runs an X-box or a Play station

Facebook could be the newest family heirloom that can be handed down from generation to generation. Just think that your Facebook page could be around for the next 100 generations, your future gens could be writing on your Facebook account in the year 5022.

Japan is investing heavy into consumer robotics that will pay dividends into the future of average humans, but why do we fear the reaper? Robots that learn. In the future would you be sending your child and its robot off to school, Pre k or higher? Could they graduate from High School and go on to study on the university level? Could they make the deans list and give the commencement address for their graduation? A Rhodes scholar? How would you rate a robot's IQ? We spend a lot of time discussing how to make a brighter robot, but we spend very little time discussing how to make a smarter homo sapiens sapien. Can humans and robots coexist in mutual respect? I would love to have a robot as I get older, for I don't have any fears of relating to humanoids. Humanoids are people, too.

When I first read this article I thought of how stupid it was, and the uselessness of it. On the other hand, having robots learn to communicate with other robots could be the path to creating smarter, intelligent robots. We rate our intelligence on our ability to communicate with other humans; via language, customs and traditions, religion, and sexual/social intercourse. Maybe we should develop better communications skills among robots, so that they may be able to communicate better with us. How robots interact with other robots can't be the same as they communicate with us. Robots need to develop their own language; by letting them interact with other robots freely they can develop intellectually and higher sense of maturity. I would not buy a robot that just talks to other robots though; it seems more like R&D than consumerism. It would be interesting to see a bunch of robots interacting with one another over a given period of time; just to see how they change in conversationally and intellectually.

In the sci fi world robots were supposed to have Positronic brains, and not just Ai (artificial intelligence). The robots that are being talked about are neither intelligent or smart, they are just following presets of operations; no thinking required. We look to movies and the destruction they inflict upon the world, and we cringe at the possible social intercourse that may come out of this encounter. Alas, in the real world there are no terminators, no Data's, and all our fears are self inflicted gun shot wounds to the ego. As Churchill said, "there is nothing to fear, but fear itself." I would love to have a humanoid robot that could carry on a decent conversation and do more that mindless dribble, we have humans to do these trivial things, and are very good at it. What is the criteria for Ai? Where is the intelligence in Artificial intelligence?

I live in the Big Apple and there are very few public toilets, and once you get away from Mid-Town in Manhattan; there are no such things as Public toilets. The most used "Public Toilet" is the city itself; especially the Transit System where, traditionally, the train stations has been used as such for both urination and defecation. The city has a large homeless population that have no place to go, so they go in the streets and anywhere else they can find. New York tried to install public facilities some years ago, but that did not go very far; so public toilets is out of the question. The only semi-public toilets are in restaurants, and you have to be a customer to use their facilities. In the past there used to be paid toilets, but there were banned in the sixties.

The US; unlike Japan, is solely based on immigration, due to its colonial origins needed a vibrant immigration from different parts of, mainly, Western Europe. The Native population had been relegated to the outcrop of the most destitute of lands, the reservations (Bantustans) systems of containment of the Native Indian communities. If Japan opens itself to immigration; how does one define what it means to be Japanese? In "America" anyone can become an American. A person can be born in England and immigrate to New York and instantly change their national identity and become an American. Would opening up the gates of Immigration make Japanese a minority in Japan? I don't know what it feels like to be an immigrant; my family was brought to America as slaves. I can't say that I am African because I have been here for over one hundred years. When someone choses to immigrate to another country; does that automatically make him (her) that nationality? Why does the powers that be in Japan see humans as just workers, and why don't they see their own people as human. "...highlighting concerns over an ever-dwindling workforce supporting a growing number of pensioners." Are Japanese a dying people? There are 14 million people in New York, but 99% are from immigrate stock.

In the race for robotics it used to be pushed by the big three auto makers, but now it is the US military that is the motor force behind the upsurge in robotics. In the day to day lives of most Americans robots plays absolutely no role in peoples consciousness. Robots may play a role in the surgical arena in some hospitals, who are able to afford it, but the day to day patient care is still handled by humans. I think that it would be several generations till we reach the epoch of Star Wars, where robots a as common as autos; unless t hey are able to mass produce them like computers. So far no company has the ability to mass produce robots; or even buy a robot as a kit as in the early days of computers. What the robot industry need is a Steve Jobs of robots.

Nestle, like many companies are replacing their human workforce with robotics as a way of getting the short term gain in super-profits. They see robots as better than human workers as they don't call in sick, and don't join unions, and are on call 24/7. These companies want to cattier to the needs of the more richer and more affluent of the upper class. Workers, like our earlier ancestors who worked in the beginning of the Industrial Age, were landless peasants who were displace off the land and drove to the urban areas into manufacturing and poverty. Now we are being displaced by robots and driven back into poverty in the Robotic Age.

The peasants are revolting I know. I can't stand them either. No. I said the peasants are in revolt..

The use of motor driven carriages could have multiple uses in offices, for the disabled who may be wheelchair bound and need a shopping cart that is more mobile and holds more items. Some look at only the negative and not the positive. In manufacturing parts are moved from one section to another via a fork lift and driver, but if getting parts, in terms of auto, can get to where it is needed autonomously, it would save time and speed up the process of manufacturing. It could be a way of making better wheelchairs that are more mobile and less bulky.

The events on Ontake is very tragic, but since this had occurred before there should have been better monitoring for such a reoccurrence. Now that there have been more deaths on this volcano will things settle back to "normal"; until there is another eruption and more deaths for the sake of tourist dollars? Furthermore, I find it interesting that Krakatoa was mentioned in the article. Krakatoa, a volcanic island in the Straits of Sumatra that exploded in the late 1800's that was visible seen from the west coast of the US, and a tsunami that swept thousands to their deaths when the population was less than what it is today. Although, the island had fragmented into smaller islands, the island has been reformulating itself into a whole again, so how long will it be till the island is made whole and the island of Krakatoa turns into a megaton bomb racking havoc on that part of the globe; or around the world. Are we prepared for such a devastation, and are we entering a new phrase of Vulcanization of our own Mother Earth?

With the rise of right-wing Islamist Jihadists that have spread out ever since the Soviet-Afghanistan war, a new movement is in the offing; that of the Neo-Nationalist movements around the globe. The Tea Party in the US states that its objective is to push the Republican Party to the Right; the Far Right consists of the Aryan Nation, the National Socialist Parties, the KKK, and the Sons and Daughters of the Confederacy. In the Ukraine, as well as in Japan, there is the National Socialist parties that is mirrored after the German National Socialist Party, which Adolf Hitler was the prime spokesperson for the party. In many political circles Hitler is held in high esteem and immortalized for his hatred for Jews, Communists, Liberals, race mixers, unionists and non-white people in general. Japan is in support of a Ukraine whose senate has members of the National Socialists in it, as the Regan Administration worked with Bin Laden in the Mujahedeen when we called them "Freedom Fighters", arming and training them; now we call them Terrorists. With the support of the Ukraine we call them "Freedom Fighters; what will we be calling them tomorrow? On the other hand, there are National Socialists in Japan. What a tangled web we weave; when we succeed to deceive.

The say that history repeats itself once as Tragedy, once as comedy and lastly as farce. The Crisis in the Crimea is nothing new and this is the second war in the conflict between Russia and the Western World (Eastern Europe and the US). In the first war it was to support the Ottoman Empire against the Russian intrusion into the Ukraine; now we want to support an independent Ukraine and aid in the total break up of the old Soviet Empire. In the recently forgotten Soviet-Afghan war were we supported the Mujahedeen (the great Freedom Fighters), in which Bin Laden was a major commander, and we defeated the Soviets and fought for Freedom. Now that the Freedom fighters have become world enemy number 1, ahead of the evil soviets; what will the Ukraine Freedom Fighters, headed by the National Socialist, become in the near future. I am no fan of Putin. I am less of a fan of a government that has an organization that prides itself as a reincarnation of the National Socialist Party of Germany as its role model.

Coming to a Microsoft store near you; Windows 8.2, the new and improved 8.1. Many people are getting very pissed at Microsoft's new Operating System; with an updated version to correct the first messed up version (Windows 8 that morphed into 8.1; Vista that morphed into Windows 7). How long will it be till people completely jump off the Microsoft merry-go-round?