Look back to 2017 (2)

Monday, July 3, 2017
Koike's Tokyo First won the election

Koike's party met a miserable defeat in the latest general election. It was surprising. I hope Koike will focus on the tasks as the Tokyo governor.


Friday, July 21, 2017
Renho under fire in the issue of dual citizenship

Finally, Renho left the Democratic Party of Japan, to join Constitutional Democratic Party established in recent. I neither support or criticize her decision. Anyway, politicians should talk about policy, not their own competition.


Tuesday, August 22, 2017
Tunnels & Trolls Adventures released

This app is now available also in Japan. I enjoy it. Some scenarios are sold at a discounted price in the holiday season.

Wednesday, September 13, 2017
iPhone X is released


Interestingly, the value of iPhone X is not stable. Some media appraise it, but others ignore it. Nobody bought it around me. And I wouldn't.

Wednesday, October 11, 2017
The independence of Catalonia

This issue has not been fixed. The local congress is continuing a discussion, but it is unlikely there will be a conclusion.


Wednesday, October 18, 2017
IS' capital fallen

It was a historic event. However, IS' terror will not end because members have been spread all over the world, unfortunately.

Look back to 2017 (1)

Sunday, January 1, 2017
My goal in 2017: Temperate

To be honest, I have forgotten the goal of this year. And I have failed to be temperate. Shameful!


Friday, January 6, 2017
Fluctuating Bitcoin

Remembering this article, it seems to be a joke. The price of Bitcoin was increased by a tenth from the beginning of this year. Tne its fragility is much more than in the past.


Wednesday, January 18, 2017
Theresa May mentioned hard Brexit

May keeps her stance regarding hard Brexit. Her political attitude deserves to be respected, I believe. However, British people seems not to support her. It is unclear where the UK to go in the next year.


Saturday, January 21, 2017
Donald Trump, the 45th US President

It is a nightmare for liberal people to have this year with President Trump. I am a little surprised that Trump has survived this year as the leader. Fortunately, the confusion of the US is not so critical as some people predicted.


Sunday, January 29, 2017
The influence of fake news on the Presidential vote is limited: A study suggests

So-called Russian Gate case is still under investigation. President Donald Trump is also suspected to have been involved.


Wednesday, February 8, 2017
Overlearning is beneficial

This article is very persuasive for me. I have wondered for several years why patients with rather severe dementia do not cause traffic accident so often. It may be a result of overlearning. They drive a car as a routine so that their impaired cognition do not lower the driving skills as we predicted.


Monday, March 20, 2017
The US and North Korea are approaching the war

The situation is getting worse gradually. The possibility that the US begins a war is not so high, I expect because there is little merit for the US to do so. I truly hope Trump and Kim keep their rationality.


Monday, May 1, 2017
Alitalia's insolvency

Who will possess Alitalia is still uncertain. Several companies are willing to buy the whole or partial rights of administrating this airline company. But the negotiation seems to be tough.


Wednesday, May 10, 2017
Moon Jae-in will be the president of South Korea

After Moon's administration is born, the relationship between Korea and Japan became worse. It was predicted because Korean politicians often utilize the hatred of citizens against Japan for their vote. But it is a very superficial policy. The prosperity of Korea, as well as Japan, depends on friendship with neighbor nations. I expect Moon will change his policy incrementally.


Tuesday, June 20, 2017
Grenfell Tower fire accident

It was a terrible accident. On the other hand, this case represents old infrastructure of London city. I am afraid similar cases will occur.

Sequels in December 2017

Friday, December 22, 2017
Bitcoin break

The price of Bitcoin is still fluctuating. In Japan, March is the end of a fiscal year. Therefore, it is predicted many people will sell Bitcoins to prepare for paying income tax. There is a risk of falling Bitcoin on the next March.


Thursday, December 21, 2017
JAL tricked 3.8 million USD by a fraud email


This incident is categorized as Business E-mail Compromise. BECs have been spread in the US and some other nations. Other companies are also suspected to have been victimized unconsciously. E-mail is a convenient tool. But we should be aware of such risks, especially in a business transaction.


Friday, December 15, 2017
XBox One S has come

My XBox One S is well working. I enjoyed some 3D blue-ray videos. It also can play 4K High Definition movies. Unfortunately, its interface is confusing compared to that of PlayStation series.


Saturday, December 9, 2017
New Star Wars is coming

I will see this historic film tonight, expecting to spend exciting time.

The conditions of happiness

There are only a few days before this year is exhausted. How do you feel about your next year?

Everyone wants to be happy and healthy. And, there are some rules to gain happiness shared by many cultures. For example, this article below suggests nine important things to pursue happiness.

- Intense and regular physical activity.
- Reduction of stress.
- Do eat until we are 80% full.
- Having reasons for being.
- Prioritising a diet that is rich in plant-based products.
- Moderate consumption of alcoholic beverages.
- Being part of social groups that promote healthy habits.
- Interacting with religious communities.
- Building and maintaining solid relationships with family.

Hindustan Times: Here’s how to be happy in 2018: These 9 habits will help you live a long, healthy life

I agree with all of the things above basically. While meat eaters are also praised in recent years, having rich vegetable is essential for your body.

One of a psychiatrist I respect told me about this issue the other day. He said that the three conditions of happiness are:

- Having works.
- Having colleagues.
- Control your desires.

These are also persuasive. Connection with the community is indispensable for a satisfied life. But, if you are indulged in unlimited desire, you will despair at last.

To be honest, I have no absolute ideology for pursuing my happiness. In each time, I consider which choice is the best for me. During wondering, I will be progressive forever. It is my own happiness.

Single exercise protects you from heart attack

It is a well-known fact that regular exercise is beneficial to maintain your health. It includes not only prevention of heart attack and cerebral infarction but also that of depression and dementia.

Therefore, most physicians recommend you to take an exercise regularly. But, it is difficult for people who have no habits of exercise to take a time for exercise every day, or even once a week.

One of the reasons regular exercise can hardly be maintained is that the effect of exercise is unlikely to be visible. You will feel exhausted after 1km running, but you never believe this experience directly improves your body function.

According to a recent study, however, the effect of exercise appear almost immediately. It is suggested that taking an exercise can reduce the damage of a heart attack. This effect emerges immediately after the act and lasts for some days.

The Conversation: A single workout could save your life

This experiment was conducted using rats. Thus, it is unclear whether the result can apply to the humans. In the case the researchers' hypothesis is correct, a physical session once a week may reduce the risk of critical heart failure constantly.

On the other hand, people who are fearful of an ischemic heart attack are likely to avoid exercise, while others are rather obsessive to take exercise. Based on the result of this study, keeping your body calm is no good for prevention of disease. I will encourage some patients with health anxiety to take a small exercise.

Interspecies sex behaviors

I read a shocking article below. Sex between monkey and deer has become common in a particular area.

Independent: Sex between monkey and deer may be a new 'behavioural tradition', scientists say

Sexual interaction between different species is deemed as a taboo in every traditional culture as far as I know. It is called bestiality and considered as an inappropriate act. In recent years, bestiality is also deemed as abuse against animals. Even in abnormal sex lovers, bestiality as a play is uncommon.

Therefore, I was so surprised to know animals are also attempting interspecies sex. More surprised, this is not the first case of such behaviors, according to the article above. Between king penguins and fur seals, as well as cats and dolphins, similar behaviors are observed.

Intriguingly, monkeys and deer are mutually enjoying the sexual intercourse, different from other species. Thus, young female monkeys are fond of experiencing sexual acts with deer. Researchers have found there are some advantages in this odd behavior such as alternative glooming. In this sense, these two species are in a symbiotic relationship. We should not deem their acts as immoral based on ethics in humans.

Neapolitan pizza becomes world heritage

Neapolitan pizza was listed up to the world heritage.

UNESCO accepted the art of Neapolitan “pizzaiuoli” as a member of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. It means the world has admitted that Neapolitan pizza deserves to be recorded as an outcome of the human creativity.

Reuters: Neapolitan pizza making wins world heritage status

Also in Japan, pizza is very popular, especially in youth. But they tend to love American style pizza rather than Neapolitan. American pizza has thick cloth, and often decorated with various kind of food. In addition to sausages and shrimps which are loved in Chicago, mayonnaise, corns, seaweeds, and sometimes avocados are used in Japan. Not only Neapolitan but also Chicago people may not be familiar with such pizza.

Thus, Japanese do not enjoy Neapolitan pizza, in real. I was surprised to the deliciousness of the Neapolitan pizza when I visited Napoli for the first time. It was far different from Japanese one, either from
one I ate in Germany.

Japanese cuisine has also been listed in the intangible cultural heritage recently. And I seldom find Japanese food restaurants in abroad. I think the situation similar to Neapolitan pizza in the sense many people misunderstand the real figure of the taste.

Nonetheless, I am delightful that Japanese cuisine and Neapolitan pizza are listed. The more people love them, the more the quality will be improved.

Jerusalem as a capital, Trump's commitment

Just recently, Donald Trump admitted that Jerusalem was the capital of Israel. His historic decision ignited a broad criticism internationally.

Previously, the US had an opinion that the stance of Jerusalem was under discussion. But, in 1995, an act regarding Jerusalem embassy was established. It demanded the government to move the embassy to Jerusalem.

However, considering a complicated situation around Jerusalem, each administration in the US delayed enforcing this act. Clinton,
Bush, and Obama decided to postpone the movement of the embassy. As a result, this act has been negated for over 20 years.

Donald Trump had declared to enforce this act since he was a candidate for the Presidential vote. Thus, his commitment is consistent with his original policy.

However, it is not sure why Trump began to move in this moment. Some people believe Trump attempts to deflect criticism from his domestic policy by attracting public attention to the international relationship.

But, I do not agree with this idea. Trump might predict that his decision would ignite a serious argument. Indeed, the UN committed that the US' declaration was null and void by the vote of 128-9. Trump had threatened the nations which were supportive of the UN's commitment. If he had utilized this issue as a smokescreen to domestic criticism, he would not have been conflictive so seriously. I guess he is motivated by his own ideology.

Independent: UN Jerusalem vote: Donald Trump's threat to cut foreign aid akin to 'diplomatic prostitution'

Anyway, Trump's decision will make the situation worse, I am afraid. The current situation around the Middle East is so delicate that any particular nation cannot fix the issue.

Apple sued due to update program

Apple was sued on the intentional slowdown of old iPhones.

The Guardian: Apple faces lawsuits over its intentional slowing of older iPhones

According to the media, Apple has installed a program to all old type of iPhones. It makes the machine’s performance lowered. Apple claims its purpose is protecting the machine from a shutdown. But the plaintiffs believe that Apple is attempting to force the users to buy a new iPhone by crippling the old one.

I guess this lawsuit will be confusing. It seems that Apple’s claim is reasonable because old smartphones are often exhausted. On the other hand, it is certain Apple is willing to make users replace the iPhone. It is difficult to prove the real intention of the program provider.

Bitcoin break

Today, the price of Bitcoin is fructurating more than ever before.

The price had been decreasing for some days. Dealers seem to sense that Bitcoin had enter a weak phase. Today, its price was reduced by more than 20%. Many players might suffer critical damages, I guess.

I still do not believe Bitcoin as a currency. It is no more than a tool of gamble, unfortunetely.

JAL tricked 3.8 million USD by a fraud email

Japan Airline (JAL), a leading Japanese airway company, was tricked by unknown criminals. The amount of money JAL lost is up to 3.8 million USD.

Recently, an employee engaging in purchasing new aircrafts received an email. The sender suggested that JAL had not paid the fee for new products and the bank account to send the money had been amended. The person believed the email, to take the action of paying the fee. However, the sender was mimicking the seller.

Japan Times: Japan Airlines bilked out of ¥384 million after getting bogus emails seeking lease fees

A similar incident occurred concurrently in another division in JAL. As a result, a total of 3.8 million USD was stolen by the tricker.

This kind of fraud frequently occurs. I see several emails requesting sending money for several reasons. I ignore them at all. Usually, the employee must have done the same. I wonder why the trick was successful in this case.

It should be mentioned that there is no exception for potential victims of fraud. The bigger the company is, the more the amount of damage increased. Clever persons are likely to notice the trick. On the contrary, they are likely to be tricked by their excessive ability.

Best workplace in the UK

Previously, I referred an article describing the worst place to work in the UK.

My past entry: The worst place for work in the UK?

Then, what is the best workplace? Not surprisingly, it is Google, according to the article below.

International Business Times: These are the best companies to work for in the UK

This result was released by Glassdoor, a famous job site in the UK. The subjects contained at least 1,000 employees. A total of 700,000 reviewers were involved in the evaluation. Google was followed by Anglian Water, Bromford Group, Facebook, and Salesforce.

Glassdoor: 2018 Best Places to work

The list includes several other popular companies such as Microsoft, Expedia, and  J.P.Morgan. But, Amazon.co.uk was not listed in the top 50 companies. Amazon has been harshly criticized for its severe working environment in recent years. It seems to do damage to its reputation.

This kind of list is inevitably biased, I believe. Major companies are excessively praised as well as blamed. Therefore, you should be cautious when referring the list for considering an application. The value of a company for a particular employee cannot be measured in a simple way.

iPhoneX cannot identify minority faces?

Apple's iPhoneX has "Face ID," a face recognition architecture for the security lock. Thus, the user can log in with a glance at the incamera of the iPhone. It is a replacement of fingerprint certification equipped with conventional iPhones. Since iPhoneX has no Home Button, Apple has introduced this innovative solution.

However, it does not work occasionally. Misidentification occurs in several situations, as the media report.

A Chinese woman's colleague could unlock the lock with her own face. This case was introduced as "racial bias" by a blogger. And it ignited controversy.

International Business Times: Is the iPhone facial recognition feature racist?

In my sense, Apple has no intention to discriminate Asian or other people. In an objective view, some Asian people including Chinese and Japanese have a lower nose and relatively flat face. This fact can be associated with increased misrecognition rate of face ID. Indeed, some foreigners say they can hardly distinguish a particular Japanese from others.

Therefore, the criticism against Apple as racial discrimination is not valid, I think.

But, there is another issue around this case. I remember Google AI misidentified a black person as a gorilla. This issue cannot be fixed with enhanced quality of facial recognition. Naming a human as a gorilla is bad regardless of their figures. The AI lacks such common sense.

My past entry: Microsoft made a Hitler-lover AI, mistakenly?

The current issue contains less ethical elements than gorilla misidentification. Nonetheless, we will face a similar situation on this topic. For example, A Brother of the user is tricking to unlock the iPhoneX. In this case, will this AI let the brother open the lock? Or does it sense "something bad" on the cheater? Try it.

Bitcoin mining maliciously conducted in a Starbucks

The price of Bitcoin is rocketing marvelously ever before.

The usage of Bitcoin is supported by miners. Bitcoin miners run their computer to extend the blockchain for the reward. The more people use Bitcoin, the more tasks are required to confirm the transaction. Therefore, miners are eager to get fast CPUs as many as possible.

Just recently, an incident occurred in a Starbucks store in Argentina. It was ten seconds delay of internet connection to the free Wi-fi provided by the store. It seemed a tiny event. But, one of the customers did not miss the meaning of this phenomenon.

Noah Dinkin, Stensul CEO, found that his own PC could be utilized to mining secretly. He identified a suspicious code on his machine which also ran mining program. It suggested that someone had cracked his PC to enhance the speed of mining.

International Business Times: 'Nothing is free': Starbucks' WiFi hijacked customers' laptops to secretly mine cryptocurrency

Following the alert of Dinkin, Starbucks fixed this issue immediately, to declare the safety use of the internet in all Starbucks store. However, it is not clarified who had conducted such a trick.

To be honest, I prospected this kind of the issue. The blockchain is one of the architectures of distributed computing. In distributed computing, massively many owners of computers are collaboratively sharing the task of calculation. It leads to a successful calculation of extremely complicated formula. In this situation, if a person throws a malware to control the PCs connected to the internet, he can utilize the whole ability of the PC network. It is unlikely the victims notice the suspicious movement of their PC because each PC are not burdened so much during the shared task.

I guess similar crimes will be conducted everywhere. I am afraid Bitcoin will lose the reliability due to such silly crimes.

Will alcohol perish?

Alcohol is one of the oldest substances the human invented. It has been loved by many many people through every generation.

However, it also brings harms to people. Alcohol toxication can lead humans to death. Moreover, alcohol has a biochemical dependency. Many people are suffering from alcohol use disorders.

Therefore, some people consider that alcohol should be regulated. Historically, alcohol has been exposed to serious taxation. In the US, alcohol producing and offering has been legally prohibited in the early 20th century. But, it resulted in a miserable failure.

Now, David Nutt, a former government drugs adviser in the UK, expects alcohol use will be minimized, or even perished within the next a few decades. He suggests "alcosynth" will replace alcohol completely as a healthy alternative to alcohol.

International Business Times: 'Western societies will give up alcohol,' says top drugs scientist

The idea of David Nutt seems optimistic as well as aggressive, in my opinion. First, the figure of alcosynth is unclear. Second, it is unlikely that an alternative will completely the conventional one. The rise of e-cigarette has changed the behavior of some tobacco lovers. But there are still many tobaccos consumed. Third, the pleasure of alcohol drinking is inevitably connected with its dependency.

Nonetheless, I agree with Nutt's opinion partially. Alcohol consumption is gradually decreasing year by year. I hope many alternatives will be invented.

Amphetamine-laced cake case

In New Zealand, a man who gave amphetamine to his colleagues was arrested. But the way was strange.

International Business Times: Man 'hospitalises colleagues with amphetamine-laced cake at Christmas party'

According to the article above, the criminal secretly contaminated the cake served at a Christmas party with amphetamine. As a result, a total of eight persons had to be hospitalized for the antidote.

The man is said to have been cultivating cannabis. It seems that the man had been heavily indulged in illegal drugs.

In the comedy film "The Hangover," a person secretly takes illegal drugs into the alcohol which were drunken by him and his friends. It leads to great confusion on them. But, in reality, such an act may cause critical accidents.

XBox One S has come

After my PlayStation3 was crippled, I decided to buy a new Blue-ray player.

My past entry: The end of my PlayStation3

I considered buying one which can play Ultra high definition Blue-ray discs. Unfortunately, PlayStation4 Pro is not suitable for this purpose despite it supports 4K games.

Therefore, I chose XBox One S. Just at the Cyber Monday sale at Amazon.co.jp, I got it for only 20,000 JPY.

Now, I am watching X-Men: Apocalypse, with 4K resolution. It is splendid.

To be honest, XBox One is not the best gear to play Ultra high definition Blue-ray discs. But, other players are more expensive. I am satisfied.

Women's seat is legalized in Columbia

Columbia legally introduced the women's seat on the city buses.

International Business Times: Colombia is introducing women-only sections on buses to stop men sexually harassing them

It was established through the vote in the Council of Bogota. Bogota is infamously said to be the city in which women are threatened most frequently to groping and other sexual harassment in public transportation.

There are some disputes regarding this issue, not surprisingly. Some politicians voted against the decision as it would be discriminatory against men.

Also in Japan, there are affirmations for women in public transportation. Some cars in the train are used exclusively for women during rush hour. But it is merely a railway company's policy. Passengers have no duty to obey it.

I am not supporting women's exclusive seats. It will not fix the original issue. Also, men are often victimized as well. However, in a realistic point of view, protection of women should be addressed with a concrete solution. I hope the community will not need women's seats.

Considering buying a GalaxyS8

I am considering renewing my smartphone. The current one is Google Nexus 5, released some years ago. It is still well working. But its battery is expiring. And also, the connection range of the service provider I have a contract is not so good. Therefore, I am planning to change the provider as well as buying a new smartphone.

The first candidate is Samsung's Galaxy S8. It looks a splendid one. The spec and the figure are amazing.

I have been an Android user for several years. I have not considered possessing an iPhone but rare excepting moments.

My past entry: A case of failing to get an iPhone

In addition, some say Galaxy S8 is far better than iPhoneX.

International Business Times: Five reasons the iPhone X is already years behind the Samsung Galaxy

According to the article above, there are some advantages in Galaxy S8 compared to iPhoneX. I agree the author's claim to some extent. Samsung has excellent technique and rich experience in utilizing organic EL display. Limited in just recent years, Apple has released inferior products than Samsung, I think.

Samsung adopted "follower strategy" to catch up Apple. It seems successful. They are competing for each other, including legal battles. I hope creative competition will make more attractive products in the future.

The end of my PlayStation3

Tragic event repeats itself.

Very recently, I tried to play Legion, a TV series describing a son of Professor X from X-Men series, on PlayStation3. However, it did not work. The DVD never began to play.

Furthermore, the disc was not ejected when I touched the button. I tried it several times. But there was a noise which suggested that the disc is rotating in the machine.

As following the instruction of the trouble shooting page, I rebooted the PlayStation3. And I touched the eject button for several seconds. But it was in vain.

Finally, I got the disc ejected from the machine. I do not know how I could do. I decided never to insert any disc into my PlayStation3.

Recently, I had utilized my PlayStation3 only as a Blue Ray Disc player. I have some 3D movie discs. And I enjoyed watching the 3D movies on my TV. But, the last usage of my PlayStation3 was perished.

Just watching the Cyber Monday Sale on Amazon.co.jp, I decided to purchase an XBOX One S for a Blue Ray Disc player. It will be also working to play 4K BDs.

Dignity death legalized in South Korea

South Korean government is planning to enforce the legislation of dignity death. And it will meet the need of critically ill patients there.

National Assembly passed the law for terminating treatment to prolong their lives against patient's will. It will come into force until the next February. According to the enactment of the law, hospitals received many requests for dignity death program from patients in a terminal stage. More than 3,000 people seem to have applied for the program.

Independent: More than 3,000 sign up to die in South Korean palliative care trial

Confucianism is traditional thoughts in South Korea. There is no dominant religious ideology to prohibit suicide. And as same as Japan, Korea is suffering from the high suicide rate. Therefore, dignity death will be relatively well accepted in the Korean society, in my opinion.

It should be avoided that physicians who had aided patient's will for dignity death are sued afterward. In Japan, premature legislation caused some legal troubles in this issue. It has led the delay of the establishment of dignity death scheme. I hope Korean people will make a choice based on their sincere thoughts regarding the end of the life and physicians will properly support them.

Justice League, poor visual and concept

I saw Justice League, the latest DC comics movie.

It is juxtaposed with Avengers in Marvel Comics. Thus, several heroes are together fighting with an arch-enemy in Justice League. The members are Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Flash, Cyborg, and Superman.

In the beginning, a mysterious flying creature attacks Batman. He notices that some great things are threatening the earth. Actually, Steppenwolf, an ancient doom-bringer, has awakened to gather three Motherboxes each of which is possessed by Amazon, Atlantis, and the human to ruin the world.

Batman considers forming a team composed of superheroes. He recruits Aquaman and Flash. Accepting his request, Wonder Woman encourages Cyborg to join the team. Cyborg is a form of a man resurrected with the power of Motherbox.

Firstly, many of them refused to cooperate. But after the trampling of
Steppenwolf, they begin to be collaborative. Finally, Batman proposes to resuscitate Superman using the power of Motherbox.

Revived Superman assaults the heroes with confusion. But Lois Lane, his lover, calms him down. At the same time, the last Motherbox is robbed by Steppenwolf. The final countdown to the world destruction is approaching.

I expected a great experience to see the movie because this work is the masterpiece of DC comics. However, the performance was far from satisfaction, unfortunately. Firstly, the scenes were not so attracting. Compared to Avengers, no impressive expression was adopted. The last battle was conducted at a ruined village in Russia. The regions of enemy, para-demons, like an insect, were not cool at all.

The conflict of the heroes was not described successfully. It is because most of them appear on cinema for the first time. Flash is a fresh guy suffering from his father who is sentenced to imprisonment. But he always behaves cheerfully, and his shadow in mind is not adequately described.

The heroes save Superman's life with Motherbox. It is an irony considering the fact that the jointed three Motherbox will ruin the world. To begin with, the shape and concept of Motherbox are mimicking the Cosmic Cube and Infinity Stones in Avengers.

Among the members of Justice League, Superman has supreme power overwhelming other ones. He is mightier than Batman and even faster than Flash. He would be able to defeat Steppenwolf alone. Thus, other members are not necessary to save the world. It is a substantial fault of the concept of this work.

Finally, IMAX 3D was not attractive at all. I recommend you to see this film on usual 2D cinema, if you want.

Personal Rating: 2 (poor)

New Star Wars is coming

The latest work of the Star Wars films, "The Last Jedi," will be broadcasted within a week.

This film is the second story in the new trilogy. Many fans are expecting this film will be successful.

However, the new heroes in the saga are not so loved by the audience, according to a new survey.

International Business Times: Star Wars survey reveals people hate main characters in The Last Jedi more than Jar Jar Binks

According to the article above, the new heroine Rey gained only 38% of positive votes whereas Princess Leia in the old saga attracted 73% of the voters.

This result is disappointing at a glance. But, it should be mentioned that many Star Wars lovers have worship to the original trilogy. Moreover, there were few competing entertainments in the era of the original trilogy. We have to discount the difference in impression for each character among the ages. I hope the coming film is also splendid.

Factors to be prioritized for your job

What do you want to your job? It is a deep and perpetual issue for everyone.

Recently, I wrote an experience of attending a conference whose theme is the life-work balance. In this stage, a Finlander speaker told that their priority at workplace was replaced from money to self-development just recently.

My past entry: Conference regarding Life-Work Balance

But it highly depends on your financial status. If you are struggling for money to live, you may have no room to choose the jobs.

In a recent research conducted by LondonOffice.com, passion, location, opportunities for development, and work-life balance were deemed as more important than salary. It seems applicable to many partially skilled workers in developed countries.

International Business Times: Better than money? The top ten things we look for in a new job

But, it should be mentioned that self-development in young workers is closely associated with the raised salary in the future. Elder workers may tend to pursue stability and respect from colleagues since they can calculate the amount of pension they will receive soon.

Location and workplace are quite concrete factors. It means that they can hardly be compensated for other factors. If you have to spend three hours on a business day for the commute, how do you feel? Usually spending time for transportation is useless in your life. Some Japanese writers recommend single poor workers to move to Tokyo even if it is costly. Thousands of workers go work every day from a suberb area to Tokyo.

In my opinion, the quality of your colleagues is a crucial factor in your life at work. If you cannot find any colleagues around you worthy of respect, I recommend you to quit soon. The outcome performed by people not respected will also be not respectful.

Bali volcano eruption

Mount Agung in Bali is erupting.

Since this September 22, some authorities had made a warning of seismic activity of Mount Agung. But the caution level was fluctuating.

On Nov 23, thousands of people living there had to evacuate. The exclusion zone was extended up to 7.5km round. On Nov 27, the alert level was raised to stage four again.

Express: Bali volcano ERUPTS: Latest eruption updates as Mount Agung SPEWS volcanic ash cloud

Not only local citizens but also tourists were seriously influenced due to the eruption. Airports on Bali island was completely closed for a while. It is said that 120,000 travelers were stranded. Now, almost all flights have become normally operating. But many tourists canceled the trip.

EveningStandard: Bali volcano live: Latest as Mount Agung eruption remains at highest alert level while tourist flights across the island resume

Now, many authorities are worrying about the stronger seismic activity. It is for the first time since 1963 when more than a thousand people were victimized to expect a disastrous volcanic event.

I visited Bali several years ago. People looked happy and joyful there. Bali economy depends on tourism. I am afraid this event will cause serious damage.

Russia banned from Olympic

International Olympic Committee (IOC) has decided to ban Russian athletes from participating the winter games in 2018. IOC also ordered Russia to pay 15 million USD for the compensation for damage due to organizational doping scandal occurred in the last Olympic games. The Russian government denied organizational concern of doping there.

The Guardian: Russia banned from Winter Olympics over state-sponsored doping

Russian athletes were also banned from the previous Rio Olympic. Thus, this issue has not been fixed yet despite years of negotiation.

My past entry: Rio Olympic endangered by Russian doping issue

According to the article above, the Russian whistleblower's confession seems to be trustworthy. The National or organizational concern of doping is not so fantastic conspiracy, I think.

However, this issue has entered the new stage, in my opinion, of political power game. The decision of IOC might be interpreted as the declined presence of Russia in recent. I am concerned with he next move of Putin.

The next election in the UK

A general election is approaching in the UK in the next year. There are some scenarios coming after the election.

Theresa May, the Prime Minister of the UK is unfortunately infamous now. She has failed to take a leadership for the integration of the parties forward Brexit. The UK is still in chaos and citizens are fearful about the uncertainty after Brexit.

Therefore, the regime change is like to occur in the next year. It means Jeremy Corbyn will get the post of the Prime Minister.

However, he is also not so popular. For example, Morgan Stanley says his administration will be worse than Brexit itself.

International Business Times: Jeremy Corbyn becoming PM 'would be worse than Brexit' warns banking giant

The main members of bank giants such as Morgan Stanley are rather libertarians. Thus, it seems quite natural that they criticize the policy of Labour party.

On the other hand, last administration led by Labour Party remains serious shortcoming of the national budget. If Labour Party grabs the control again, UK's fiscal status will become worse further. Brexit will accelerate it. I wonder what UK citizens will decide in the next election.

Online app changes the game of healthcare provider

The UK is one of the countries which have introduced the most numbers of the digital solution in providing official services. When I planned to stay in London, and while living, I submitted several documents not at the office but by sending electrically.

The crucial reason for rising of the digital government is cost-cutting. Many local offices were closed followed by the online submitting system. And this tide is spread into the region of healthcare.

Recently, GP at Hand, an app-based primary care service was introduced in the UK. Citizens are able to access some physicians online with this app. This service is open 24hours. The provider, Babylon Health, says that this scheme is the world-first AI-driven healthcare service.

On the other hand, GP at Hand is criticized by some people, especially general physicians. They claim that this app will get rid of their work by leading patients to an easy usage of the app.

The Guardian: Tech revolution is coming to healthcare - GPs must be part of it

As the author of this article above mentioned, a new technology is often accused by conventional stakeholders. It is an inevitable issue.

But, the core of this topic is that an AI solution will change the game of healthcare revolutionarily. So far, British people are demanded to fix their physician in charge. This scheme has been advantageous regarding reducing local cost such as transportation. However, an online counseling is not bound to a specific area. Many doctors will be able to recruit their own patients after the introduction of online counseling. The performance of each doctor will be published and compared. It will lead a serious competition.

The competition itself is preferable in improving the quality of the service. But, when the market fails to optimize the total profit, many stakeholders will be damaged. We have to be aware of the risk, especially in the healthcare area.

Emperor Akihito resigns in 2019

Akihito, the emperor of Japan, will resign in April 2019, according to the media reporting the decision of Imperial Household Council.

Independent: Japan's Emperor Akihito says he will abdicate on 30 April 2019

In recent years, the emperor expressed the will of abdicating the throne considering his health status. The government examined the process of abdication. However, there is no previous case, neither legislation for this issue. Therefore, a broad argument emerged between the Imperial Household Agency and Prime Minister's office.

The date of abdication seems to be determined as the last day of April in 2019. In Japan, the fiscal year begins in April. Therefore, people are busy at the last week of March. On the other hand, April 20th is the birthday of the ex-emperor Hirohito and a national holiday. The first week of May is called "golden week" because 3rd, 4th, and 5th are sequential holidays. Also, it is warm in Japan, and cherry blossoms are open in this term.

But this decision making was troubled, according to some media. There are always dispute between the government and the Prime Minister's office. Lawmakers are eager to take a leadership in such a great decision. But, the issue regarding emperor is untouchable and should not be utilized in political context, according to the Constitution. Officials were also exhausted to set the negotiation, I guess.

I am affirmative to this decision. What should be prioritized is the will of the emperor. I hope the emperor will be relaxed and enjoy the life calmly after this historic event.

The list of harmful substances

There are many substances we become dependent easily. Some of them are legally prohibited. Each substance differs from each other in its characteristics and the level of harm to body and mind.

Independent: The 5 most addictive substances on the planet

According to the article above, the worst addictive substances are heroin, cocaine, nicotine, barbiturates, and alcohol.

This list makes sense, in my clinical experience, although I have never met patients with heroin dependence. Previously, Japanese psychiatrists frequently prescribed barbiturates as a narcoleptics. It is quite rational that they were replaced with benzodiazepines since their development. Nonetheless, I sometimes see patients using barbiturates even recently.

I remember that alcohol showed stronger dependence than nicotine in an experiment with monkeys. In this experiment, monkeys were encouraged to press a button to take more alcohol. But finally, they were completely drunken, to be disabled to continue the experiment.

This article is based on a study published in 2007. In the original article, several factors were considered to calculate the dependency. As well, the levels of physical and social harm are evaluated. About social cost, the top of the list is heroin, followed by alcohol.

Conference regarding Life-Work Balance

I attended an academic conference in Tokyo. Its theme is work science.

I listened to several speakers all of which were leading researchers in this region. I learned how Finland had maximized the working performance without any sacrifice or risk in the health. It was only some years ago self-development became more important than salary in the majority of workers even Finland. On the other hand, some young people in Japan do not expect much salary due to prolonged economic depression. The poverty rate and low level of social security are also associated with this issue.

In Japan, stress screening in each company has been mandated since two years ago. This scheme was criticized by some researchers for its lack of evidence to reduce stress-related damages. One speaker showed the data of recent attempts, suggesting that stress-checking is effective to detect the risk of onset of mental disorders to some extent. But proper intervention to workers at high risk is not adequately provided Japan.

In Japan, many people believe women are likely not to be engaged in work so seriously. But according to a speaker, it is a myth, and most women are willing to be responsible for important works. The most important factor for Japanese women to quit jobs is not becoming pregnant, as many Japanese men believe, but complaints at work.

I have learned many things in this conference. They will be a great help for my further research.

Sequels in November 2017

Wednesday, November 29, 2017
Miyakojima

Unfortunately, I was attacked by serious nausea and vomiting after this trip. Maybe I was a little tired in the sequential travels in this month.


Tuesday, November 28, 2017
The end of MacBook, again!

Now, I consider buying a Surface Pro or Surface Book. Both are excellent machines, but differ from each other in their usability.


Monday, November 6, 2017
Trump visit Japan

Trump's visiting Japan to meet Abe seems to result in his diplomatic triumph. Japan promised to buy many weapons made in the US.

On the other hand, Trump's priority in this journey was visiting China, I believe. Soon after meeting with Xi Jinping, he named North Korea as a sponsor of terrorism again. Following this, North Korea launched an ICBM class missile. The tension around Korean peninsula has become higher than ever before.

Miyakojima

Last weekend, I visited Miyakojima.

Miyakojima is located in Okinawa prefecture. It is smaller than Okinawa island.

There are some popular hotels in Miyakojima. I stayed at Alamanda. It was quite luxury. Some big turtles were swimming in a swamp.

Unfortunately, the weather was bad. It was not so cold, but not warm to swim.

The winter is not good for visiting Miyakojima. Nonetheless, I enjoyed the stay.

The end of MacBook, again!

Recently, I mentioned a failure of my MacBook.

My past entry: The end of Macbook

After replacing the cable connecting to AC adapter, the blinking display was fixed. But I was doubtful that the cable was crippled because it was a little expensive and looked solid.
ful
The story did not end. A few days ago, the MacOS notified me about the upgraded OS, High Sierra. Following the instruction, I requested the OS updating.

Then, after several munites, the OS said the update was unsuccessful. The machine automatically rebooted.

And now, the MacOS disappears!

Now, my MacBook is a Windows machine. I can no more access the partition in which MacOS is installed by any means.

I did only follow the instruction of the MacOS. But, the OS destroyed the machine completely.

I believe it is the time to farewell to Mac, eternally.

Liv ing with a dog makes you healthier?

If you live alone and want for healthy life, you should own a dog, according to Tove Fall, a professor of epidemiology at Uppsala University.

Her recent study subjected a total of 3.4 million people lived in Sweden. After a follow-up up to 12 years, single dog owners had reduced risk of cardiovascular diseases by 36%.

The Guardian: Owning a dog cuts risk of heart attacks and other fatal diseases, study shows

There are some potential explanations for this outcome. It has been widely said that living alone increases the risk of premature death. Dogs may substitute a human partner. Also, they let the owner take regular exercise. Dog owners are likely to be free from indulgement to unhealthy habits such as drugs and sleepless.

However, there is still a possibility of selection bias in this study. People potentially ill may tend to avoid owning pets, even unconsciously. People disliking physical activities seem not to be fond of the life with dogs.

After all, if you are alone and want to be together with a dog, I recommend you to do so. If you dare not, I am not sure.

Is pilotless flight feasible?

Airbus, a famous aircraft provider, is planning to offer pilotless planes.

According to the article below, aircraft manufacturers are eager to develop an innovational AI program that can drive an airplane without any human control.

Independent: Airbus is looking towards a future of pilotless planes

This idea looks fantastic but is unrealistic at present. Several technological challenges should be overcome. Today, the stable flight on the sky has been already automated. But, taking off and landing are still complicated tasks for the computer.

In addition, if an airplane can fly by itself, it is unsure if people are fond of riding on it.

On the other hand, an excellent AI will enable single-person operation of the airplane. Currently, both chief pilot and co-pilot are necessary for an aircraft. If only one skilled pilot is needed for a flight, airline companies will be able to offer more flight plans. Furthermore, the cost for training pilots will be reduced.

China bans Skype

Chinese government led by Communist Party banned Skype from Apple's app store, according to the media.

South China morning Post: Goodbye Skype. China’s internet censorship juggernaut rolls on without its former cyber tsar

China has forbidden the use of Google service so far. Twitter is also unavailable in China. This time, it enhanced the range of censorship to Microsoft's landmark face chat.

In addition to expelling apps, the Chinese government is watching the contents on the internet. It hires many officials to delete the entries deemed unfriendly to the government such as affirmative to Japanese.

I think these attempts by China are no more effective to maintain its monarchy. Poor citizens might be controlled by limiting information. But wealthy people are going to exit from China if it strengthens the regulation. And there are many apps and systems uncontrollable by a single government.

List of dangerous toys

World Against Toys Causing Harm, or WATCH, released a list of 10 potentially dangerous toys.

International Business Times: Consumer safety group unveils world's 'worst toys' list

The list includes Wonder Woman's blade, Spiderman's drone, and some other popular goods for children. WATCH is continuing lobby activity for expelling such toys for children's safety.

Referring the list, there seem several points of discussion. Small parts of a toy can be swallowed by a toddler, to cause a chocking. To prevent the accident, most providers address fail-safe, such as making a hole at the center of each part. I have heard Nintendo put bitter-flavored coats on any game cards of Switch so that children would not eat them.

On the other hand, rotating blades are inevitably equipped with a drone. WATCH warns that the blades can do damage to children's body. The limit setting of the age of users is a realistic solution for this issue. Parents should not give their toddlers a drone.

The claim of WATCH that Wonder Woman's sword is dangerous does not make sense. There are no imitation swords made of metal or plastic free from the risk of harm. People can blow others with a mini-car, or X-BOX One. It is an issue of usage, not the product. I guess Wonder Woman was utilized as a scapegoat.

Of course, toy companies are responsible for making their products safe as much as possible. The activity of WATCH is worthy of the society. But, I think the list itself is not sophisticated.



 

Germany is going to the next election

Angela Merkel, the Chancellor of Germany, failed to form a political coalition. It is for the first time in her administration.

Although the Merkel-led Christian Democratic Union is the largest party, some partners are needed to form the majority in the parliament. However, FDP and Greens which were expected to be counterparts rejected to join to the ruling coalition. Center-left SPD is the main opponent, and far right AfD, which is the third largest party now, is the last party to be an ally for Merkel.

International Business Times: Crisis for Angela Merkel: Germany plunged into political chaos as snap elections expected

She will have no choice to make a snap election. It is an extraordinary event for Germany to meet the second general election. Furthermore, it is still unsure whether the next election will be decisive for citizens to choose the ruling parties.

The current situation is more complicated than that I expected. But, it is rather typical in the modern society in which we have difficulty to clarify which ideology is the best.

My past entry: Germany general election

On the other hand, it suggests conventional election system is no more useful. Some researchers claim that usual election has several disadvantages and should be evolved. For example, we will be able to vote for any bills in each convention instead of a particular lawmaker only once in four years.

Twitter bans hate speech

Twitter announced to strengthen its monitoring and intervention to inappropriate tweets of users.

According to the new policy, accounts connected to extremist organizations will be suspended. It declared never supporting violence against civilians. In addition, hateful images and symbols will no more be permitted as an icon of users.

Independent: Twitter gives neo-Nazis and extremists a deadline to quit hate groups or risk being barred

So far, social media are criticized for they have been utilized by extremists and other antisocial organizations. ISIS and relevant groups are recruiting members via the social network. Facebook, Twitter, and other media were demanded to decide the attitude toward this issue.

In general, responsible persons of the social media seem to respect the freedom of report and expression as much as possible. They tend to oppose to official censorship. However, it does not mean users are allowed to write any kind of things. It is well known that Google censors gmail and photo drives of each user to detect illegal things such as child porn. Similar movement has emerged in other companies.

My past entry: Banning of Google account due to instant upload

I support Twitter's new policy. Freedom of expression is not an unlimited right. However, the border between discriminating expression and severe but acceptable dispute among ideologies is vague. In each case, we have to judge how to treat aggressive behaviors.

Australia is prepared to legalize same-sex marriage

A poll conducted recently suggests that Australians accept same-sex marriage.

This poll was administered by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. More than three-quarters of citizens participated in this poll. The result was that more than 60% of the voters support same-sex marriage whereas about 40% are opposing.

Reuters: Australians support same-sex marriage in survey, paving way for legislation

Following this result, the government encouraged the parliament to establish a new legislation for permitting same-sex marriage.

It is unsure the attempt at legalizing same-sex marriage will be successful. There may be a considerable amount of lawmakers who are conservative on this issue. There have been several disputes regarding multiculturalism so far in Australia. The sexual minority is not an exception to the point of argument.

In my opinion, there are no reasons not permit same-sex marriage as long as the couple is accepting each other. By the way, the scheme of marriage itself will be terminated in the near future, I guess.

The relationship between schizophrenia and autism

I mentioned that I attended an academic conference last weekend. At the stage, I saw some representative researchers presenting novel finding regarding psychiatry.

One of the things which attracted my attention was an attempt to distinguish autism from schizophrenia. These mental disorders are frequently misdiagnosed. Furthermore, not a few psychiatrists still believe these are the same disorder.

Autism was founded by Kanner in 1943. It is believed to be originated from subtle brain damage before the birth. Thus, patients with autism must present psychopathology in their childhood. In contrast, schizophrenia usually emerges at their adolescent. Recent studies claim there is a prodromal state for years before the definitive onset. Nonetheless, the idea that schizophrenia is a congenital disease is not supported by most psychiatrists.

The presenter was an AI researcher. And he reviewed massive brain images of the patients either schizophrenic, autistic, or normally developed control. He believed there were some mechanical differences found in brain MRI images between schizophrenia and autism.

Not surprisingly, his first study resulted in a complete failure. Interpersonal, and interinstitutional, differences were more magnificent than difference among diseases in the human brain images.

However, he never abandoned. He improved the algorithm of the image reading AI to eliminate such artifacts. After all, he could show three clusters on a two-dimensional graph. Thus, schizophrenic tendency and autistic tendency are distinguishable to some extent.

At least, he proved that these two mental disorders are different, albeit sharing some abnormalities, from the point of brain anatomy. It is a remarkable work, in my opinion.

Psychiatry has many rooms for further research. It is why it fascinates me.

Kurobe Kyokoku

I visited Toyama prefecture for attending an academic conference last weekend. After participating it, I visited Kurobe Kyokoku.

I planned to walk through Alpen Route which is a famous highland in Toyama prefecture. But the bus was out of service due to heavy snow. Therefore I visited Kurobe Kyokoku instead.

It snowed for the first time this year according to a tour guide.

I rode a trolley from Unazuki onsen for more than one hour. The scene was fantastic.

It was very cold. The view was cover with full of snow.