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.

The price of iPhone X revealed

iPhone X deserves only 357.5 USD while it is sold for 999 USD, according to recent reports.

International Business Times: True cost of the iPhone X revealed

Soon after launching of a new model of iPhone, some experts are eager to calculate the material cost of the new product. According to them, the seller's margin of iPhone X is higher than that of iPhone 8 by about 25%.

But it is not surprising. It is usually seen that luxury goods cost more than its true value. One of the reasons is advertisement fee, and another is investment paid by the developer.

Most providers reduce the price of a gaming console as low as possible. The initial price of PlayStation series was said to lower than its material cost. It is because providers have to make their products spread to many users for selling software afterward. In contrast, iPhone is already common. Although iPhone is recognized as a gaming device by many users, Apple has no need to discount it.

Forced naked walk

This is another scandal in which a woman coercively did a sexual service in high society.

The unidentified brunette strutted down the isle of a call centre in Warsaw, Poland, with suited salesmen line up on either side of the office cheering her on.

An unidentified woman was forced to walk without any clothes at an office building in Warsaw, Poland. Her performance was observed by many salespersons wearing a business suit.

This female Polish employee was rewarded for her act, according to the media. And the purpose was to elevate the morale of salespersons.

International Business Times: Female employee forced to parade naked in office to boost morale of salesmen in Wolf of Wall Street-style stunt

After the video of the scene became spread through social media, this woman quitted the job.

Several opinions are possible to judge this event. Some claim it was conducted based on her own will. But others guess some kind of coercion might work to persuade her to such a shameful task.

In my opinion, the decision maker is quite stupid for his idea that a strip show could raise the motivation of salespersons. Indeed, some men are fond of seeing a strip show. They can enjoy it in some particular spaces. However, even professional strippers do not allow viewers to record their performance to broadcast it on the social media.

I am not a strict feminist. But, seeing such news, I have to consider there is still widespread discrimination against women's right and dignity on business field.

Korean nurses are forced to perform sexy dance

A Korean hospital is under fire scandal for its outdated performance.

In the Sacred Heart Hospital of Hallym University, several nurses were forced to make a dance wearing a seductive costume in front of many officials. They were requested to make a sexy face while performing, according to a whistleblower.

International Business Times: 'Humiliated' nurses forced to perform erotic dance for top officials by South Korea hospital

After a series of video footage was uploaded to Facebook, broad criticism emerged on the governance of the hospital. Korean Nurses Association called for an investigation into the hospital. And the Ministry of Employment and Labor confirmed an inquiry. It is possible responsible persons are summoned to the court.

I do not believe this kind of humiliating customs is usually conducted in South Korea. On the other hand, also in Japan, similar events were often performed until late 20th century. I myself have never met such an event, fortunately. It is obviously outdated and reminding gender inequality.

I do not care about some ladies fond of performing sexy dance. But once forced, it is nothing than violation of the human right.

The end of Macbook

I bought a MacBook last year, as I mentioned in this blog. It was very cute and fascinating.

My past entry: MacBook early 2016 has come
My past entry: Second impression on MacBook 2016 model

However, it became bad recently. Now, I am seriously considering to drop it.

A few months ago, I encountered a trouble with battery charging. It occurred in a foreign country. Therefore, It was very annoying to fix it. Finally, SMC reset resolved the problem.

My past entry: Mac battery charge troubled

Today, similar trouble began again. I inputted the command of SMC reset (Control+Shift+Option+Powe switch) repeatedly. But it took a long time before the system recovered. Even now, battery charging temporarily stops at random.

At the same time, the luminance of the display changes autonomously with a very rapid interval. I disabled the option of the automatic modification of the luminance. But it did not work. Perhaps, the machine misrecognized as the power supply is unstable.

Furthermore, the mouse pointer disappears all at sudden on the Windows. Windows on Bootcamp had been properly working so far. But now, it attempts to update the system coercively despite the fact of the exhausting battery.

These troubles occurred at the same time this week. Of course, I lose some documents I was writing when the trouble emerged.

Enough is enough. This Mac is no more reliable as a business tool.

It is truly disappointing the Mac became crippled only one year after purchasing. Although I loved this device, I should decide to scrap it and replace it with another machine.

Psychopathology of mass murderers

Every day, mass murder cases occur in the US, according to the media, although most of them were not reported. From the sense of ordinary people, such criminals look insane. In reality, however, only one-fourth of mass murderers are diagnosed as psychotic or other severe mental disorders.

Independent: Are mass murderers always insane? Researchers don't think so

The prevalence rate of schizophrenia, a representative psychotic disorder, is approximately one percent. Statistics about mood disorders is under broad discussion. Some researchers claim soft bipolar spectrum is seen in one person in every ten. Nonetheless, the vast majority of citizens have no particular mental disorders.

Dr. Michael Stone, a forensic psychiatrist at Columbia University, showed the data of 350 mass murderers. Among them, two-thirds of subjects had no severe mental disorders, while 22 percent had psychoses. Others are categorized to mood disorders or other psychiatric dysfunction.

This proportion seems reliable for my knowledge and experience. The majority of mass murderers are not psychotic. In contrast, patients with serious psychotic symptoms are often difficult to conduct deadly crimes.

On the other hand, many mass murderers have biased thought, distorted cognition, or difficulty of regulating their emotion. Such phenomena can be called as psychiatric symptoms. But, it is another issue whether they should be treated as mentally disordered. Anders Behring Breivik who committed a mass shooting in Norway was suspected of delusional disorder for his extreme ideology. But this possibility was denied by psychiatric examination. And Breivik himself did not want to be treated like a delusional disorder.

The broad definition of mental disorder makes this issue complicated. DSM-5, the newest diagnostic manual includes antisocial personality disorder, conduct disorder, and kleptomania. Many psychiatrists are doubtful for these disorders to be treated as a psychiatric disease. Indeed, the majority of all criminals matches the criteria for antisocial personality disorder, since they have broken the law.

In my sense, it is good that only severe mental disorders are discussed in this context. Different from personality trait, they are well known among psychiatrists as mental disorders which are treatable. We should be deliberate to discuss other diagnoses than them in the context of the cause of the crime and criminal responsibility of the suspect.

Grim Reaper, a simple game of worker placement

Last weekend, I enjoyed an analog game convention in Tokyo. I played many board games and card games there. Any of them were very good.

Among them, "Grim Reaper," which I brought to the event, was splendid.

Amazon.co.jp: Grim Reaper (in Japanese)

Grim Reaper was originally developed as "Langfinger." It was a simple board game of worker placement. The players play a role of the boss of a thieves guild. You send a thief to an art gallery to gain some artifacts. Robbing an artifact requires some tools such as lockpick and hummer. You can get them at a blackmarket. After getting artifacts, you carry them to a port for manetizing them. The victory depends on the continuous and effective management of workers.

Board Game Geek: Langfinger

In Grim Reaper, you are a wizard with some strong magic spells to defeat grim reaper and other monsters. Spells are available in a magician's academy. You hunt fallen angels, demons, and other monsters with your spells, to get treasures for sending to the king's castle.

Thus, Grim Reaper shares most of the rules with the original Langfinger. However, there are some other places for visiting added in each game. You may get grand magic scrolls, or simply earn some golds there. Which place appears is randomly determined in each game. Therefore, you can play it repeatedly.

Grim Reaper is relatively for beginners. It takes only 30 minutes for a play. The rule is simple but it demands you a tactical thinking. I love it.

My first home VR

I bought a head-mount display.

A smartphone can be attached to this display. I can 3D virtual reality movies through it.

The structure of the display is very simple. VR movies are recorded with two screens each of them corresponds to the right and the left eye. The two images are combined with the display into dynamic vision. 3D movies can be recorded easily with newly developed smartphones.

I was surprised to watch some movies such as Star Wars and roller coaster.

Star Wars: Hunting the fallen

VR Roller Coaster - Best 3D SBS VR Roller Coaster for Google Cardboard

In VR vision, you can turn your eyes vertically and horizontally. According to your move, the vision will tremor.

An ordinal smartphone and an attachment which cost only 20 USD  can make such a vivid VR. It is fantastic. In contrast, providers of expensive VR gadgets such as PlayStation VR will suffer from the difficulty to gain the share of consumers.

Two finger test still alive in India

Rape is the evilest crime, I believe. It damages not only victim's body but also their dignity seriously. Victims often suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder which long continues to restrict their joyful life.

In some countries, rape very frequently occurs. India is one of such nations to be mentioned.

And it is shocking that Indian doctors sometimes take a "two-finger test" to the victim. With this terrible method, the examiner inserts two fingers into the woman's vagina to investigate the state of her hymen and relevant tissues.

To be honest, I have not heard the name of this test. And, without any learning, I notice this test is never scientifically valid. Furthermore, such a way may cause trauma to the examinee. Especially, rape survivors sense this investigation as invasive and discriminative, I believe. It is nothing other than "second rape."

International Business Times: Indian doctors still use banned 'two-finger test' to check if rape survivors are lying

The Indian government has banned the implementation of the two-finger test. But there are many doctors still conducting this test, according to the article above.

In Japan, I believe rape victims are treated sincerely. But, care for crime victims is not adequately adapted also in Japan. Most victims become exhausted by the investigation by the police for a long time. Some people blame the victims as if victimization is a fault of the victims themselves. Compensation scheme for victimization is not enough established. I have some opportunities to treat offenders rather than victims. But there are much needs for victim treatment.

Dogs are trying to communicate with us

In a recent study, the possibility that dogs showed facial expression to the human.

Independent: Dogs are trying to communicate with us, even if we don't know it, new study suggests

In this study, researchers examine how the dogs react when a person looks at them. They showed particular emotions with making faces. Their actions were different from those when they find foods.

I am not familiar with this academic region. And I have not read the original article. Therefore, I cannot evaluate the validity of this hypothesis that dogs have facial expressions to tell their emotion to human. But, it is not surprising if they do, I think. Dogs are sharing several genes with humans. Also, I often sense some cats expressing their emotions according to each situation.

It is another issue whether dogs have each emotion we always feel. It is known some mammals play games with their friends. Also, apes are said to have the sense of equality. It seems that animals have emotions of joyfulness for entertainment and rage when being discriminated. They are quite human-like emotions.

On the other hand, how much are we understand their emotions? If we can share some emotions with dogs, new technologies will enable us to bridge each thought in the future.

One year of President Trump

One year has passed since Donald Trump grabbed the throne of the US President. This year may be a nightmare for some people not only in the US but also all of the world.

Some major media say he has not achieved any remarkable performance in this year. Previously, Trump promised "America First" to attract voters' affirmation. He planned radical change of conventional schemes to make the US great again. However, most of his ideas have not been realized. The cancellation of Obamacare and drastic reform of tax legislation are still under discussion in the Congress.

Independent: 2,470 tweets and 0 major legislative achievements: A year of Trump in numbers

However, there has passed only one year. Trump will continue to struggle for his ideology. In my opinion, it is too early to judge Trump administration is a failure.

Nonetheless, I do not support Trump, and I do not expect he will lead the US towards the better place. Many people are sharing this idea, waiting for the next Presidential vote with endurance. While the poorness of the US is having chosen Trump, the greatness of the US is that several alternatives will rise when Trump falls.

Bitcoin is independent but not independent

Recently, the price of Bitcoin is extremely fragile. Its value touched ten thousand USD momentarily. The rumor of Segwit2 hard fork may influence the rising of its price. But it is uncertain this hard fork will be beneficial for miners and users.

Personal finance such as Bitcoin or other solutions for saving money without interventions of the government will benefit much to citizens in some countries. They always feel fearful of the government which develops restriction scheme of bank money. As well, the risk of hyper-inflation makes them anxious to protect their estate. Bitcoin is at least invulnerable to the interference of any government because of the absence of the central controller. For whom distrusting domestic currency, Bitcoin is equal to an omnipotent estate.

However, governments can intervene Bitcoin's value in another way. Some month ago, the Chinese government began to prohibit the way of gathering money using cryptocurrency. The decision smashed the price of Bitcoin immediately. Although Chinese were dominant as Bitcoin dealer until some years ago, it has been shifted to Japnese. It is because the Chinese government restricted the deal of cryptocurrency. Japan has now established relatively tolerant regulation of Bitcoin dealing.

Mentioned above, even if Bitcoin is an uncentralized scheme, its value is influenced by the situations conducted by each nation. It is an issue of the market. We cannot become completely independent of our country because we are human.

I prospect Bitcoin will survive for years. But it will not solve many problems in our society so easily.

Do not make an apology

In my sense, many Japanese people do not understand the meaning of the apology.

An apology is an act when you admit your fault. It means that you recognize your act should be corrected. Thus, you should not make an apology unless you believe your act was improper or mistaken.

There are many people who make an apology too easily. In many cases, they do not believe their act was wrong. Instead, they sense the atmosphere is against them. Then they make an apology to terminate this situation as quick as possible. It is no use to solute the true issue.

On the other hand, many Japanese demand an apology to persons who made an error. I cannot understand their idea. Making an apology is meaningless unless the person properly understand cause and effect of the error. I do not need superficial apology of any person. Important is to fix the problem, not an apology.

Trump visit Japan

Donald Trump, the President of the US, arrived at Japan last weekend to meet Shinzo Abe, the Prime Minister of Japan. He is in the process of two weeks trip in Asia.

CNN Politics: Trump arrives in Japan, first in five-country Asian tour

Although Obama ate Sushi in Tokyo, Trump seems to dislike Japanese cuisine. Trump requested Japan to play golf with Abe. In the last meeting, the two leaders enjoyed together the golf course in the US. Trump might feel this experience joyful.

After the meeting, Abe declared to strengthen the sanction to North Korea. He mentioned the plan to freeze the estates of relevant organizations in Japan.

It is relatively aggressive policy considering the previous attitude of Japan to North Korea. It is obvious Abe was influenced by Trump. On the other hand, there are almost no merits to behave unfriendly to Trump at present. This result may be prospected by the government.

Trump is going to meet Putin in Russia. Perhaps, this meeting is the most interesting event for Trump during this journey. Anyway, I hope he will return to the US without any accidents.

Thor: Ragnarok, Star Wars in Marvel

I saw Thor: Ragnarok on cinema.

Thor: Ragnarok is the third film of Thor series. At last in the previous one, "Thor: The Dark World," Loki, the younger brother of Thor, mimicked Odin, father of Thor. I guessed Loki killed or kidnaped Odin to impersonate him. My prospect was correct.

Thor saw a prophetic dream of Ragnarok in which the world is destroyed. And he noticed Loki's incognito. Odin was concealed in a facility on the earth by Loki.

Guided by Dr. Strange, Thor and Loki met Odin again. But soon, Odin died, and his first child, Hela the Goddess of Death, revived to eradicate all of the worlds.

Thor and Loki fought against Hela. But she was too strong to be defeated. Thor got lost the way to return to Asgard. He was sent to a strange planet, to be captured by an ex-valkyrie. And he is forced to make a battle in the Colosseum.

The storyline is not so interesting. The rise of Hela and the death of Odin are not so persuasive. The reason Hela acts so aggressive and has deadly power is not adequately explained.

On the other hand, the relationship between Thor and Loki is well described. Loki often acts haphazardly. He is a bit arrogant and hostile to Thor. He is always jealous to Thor. In reality, he feels sorrow and suffering from the inferiority complex. He needs someone respects him to compensate his agony.

The scenes are obviously influenced by Star Wars series. Not only the scenes of battleship chase, but also the battle royale itself reminded me the pod race in Star Wars: Phantom Menace.

In this film, many scenes are optimized to be enjoyed with 4D function. Especially the scene of interstellar travel was fantastic. I strongly recommend you to buy a ticket of MX4D.

Personal Rating: 3 (fair)

Calorie consumption in sports

Exercise is one of the best ways to maintain your health. It benefits not only your physical ability but also mental status.

But there are many programs of exercise from running to physical sports. You have to choose some menus according to your need and favor.

In the aspect of calorie consumption, running with rapid speed is the most favorable. It costs 861 calories for women and 1,074 calories for men when running at 13kms per hour. According to the article below, swimming is better than tennis or basketball for the purpose of burning fat.

Executive Style: 10 of the best exercises to burn the most calories in an hour

However, it is unclear whether this calculation is based on the activity by inexperienced people. I have heard that a professional basket player consume energy as double as an amateur while playing the game. In contrast, I guess calorie consumption in the running is not so different between athletes and ordinary people.

There are some ways to rapid calorie consumption invented recently, such as Tabata method. These modern strategies are far advantageous than conventional sports.

Wikipedia: High-intensity interval training

Therefore, you can choose the most joyful sports for your daily activity.

Snoring is dangerous also in children

In a recent medical report, it is said that children who frequently snore are likely to show low IQ.

International Business Times: Children who snore may have lower IQs

It is a shocking report. But the etiology is not so complicated. People snore when their airway is obstructed. Such condition is burdening not only for the circular system but also the brain.

In the adult, sleep apnea syndrome is a common but underrecognized disease.  They tend to snore, stop breathing a while during sleeping. Sleep apnea syndrome can cause hypertension and lowered concentration in daily activity. The situation is the same in children.

Now it is to be considered when snoring children should take treatment. In the childhood, the body shape is rapidly changing. Day by day, their body is growing. Medication, operational intervention, and mechanical support may not be necessary for all child patients. On the other hand, longitudinal effects of sleep apnea are obvious. Pediatrists should be aware of the sleep status of children visiting the clinic even if they and their parents never spontaneously mentioned it.

Drunk vehicles were banned from Amsterdam

The judge in Amsterdam ruled to exile beer bikes, vehicles offering alcohol to customers, from the city.

International Business Times: Amsterdam introduces beer bike ban after residents complain about drunk tourists

Beer bike had been a symbol of Amsterdam. Many people including tourists enjoyed drinking on the bike. However, some tourists’ rude behaviors were focused on citizens. Loud voice, chaotic trample, and even urination in public by drunk people annoyed citizens. At last, the judge accepts the request of banning beer bikes submitted by thousands of citizens.

Amsterdam has encouraged to invite foreign tourists. Its attempt is successful, but the rapid increase of tourists brought adverse effects. In recent years, the city is struggling to control entry of tourists rather than welcoming them.

Since I do not drink, I have no idea of beer bike. I wonder the banning of beer bike could reduce the nuisance of the city. Few tourists will abandon drinking due to lack of beer bike. On the other hand, outdoor drinking space would make us bold.

The conflict between citizens and tourists is more serious. It is an essential issue named as “innocent tourist.” More or less, we make troubles while traveling. Citizens have to endure some rude behaviors by foreign tourists in exchange for public income.

Of course, every citizen has the right to enjoy their calm life, though. I believe the decision by citizens' request is acceptable.

200 people killed in North Korea by accident followed by a nuclear experiment

In North Korea, a magnificent collapse of a mine occurred, according to the media. Due to this incident, at least 200 people seemed to have been victimized.

The Telegraph: Collapse at North Korea nuclear test site 'leaves 200 dead'

The collapsed tunnel was near to the place where North Korea conducted a nuclear experiment recently. Although the exact date and time this collapse occurred were yet to be cleared, it is likely that the experiment brought the collapse directly or indirectly.

It is a tragedy that over 200 people were killed by accident. I pray for the victims.

On the other hand, it is interesting whether North Korea had predicted the possibility of this accident before the experiment. If not, it should be mentioned that North Korea's knowledge and technology to deal with nuclear reaction are limited. Thus, similar incidents are likely to recur as far as North Korea continues nuclear experiments.

By the way, I am curious about the source of the news. The Telegraph says that North Korean told it to Asahi TV. Asahi TV is Japanese media whose ideology is left-winged. It is possible that Asahi TV has ways to access sensitive information in North Korean. I do not believe leaders in North Korea dared to reveal the figure of this accident to foreign media.