On a cloudless summer day, 13-year-old Charlie Finlayson was ready for a long hike with his father, David.

    Around noon, David was inching his way across a cliff 800 feet above the valley, searching for a line of cracks that would lead them to the top. Charlie stood on a rock a dozen yards to the right as he fed rope to his dad. Reaching up, David missed his step. In the next moment, he heard a sharp crack from above as something larger broke loose.

    When Charlie saw his father sailing through the air alongside the huge rocks that had struck him, he pulled the rope fiercely.

    “Tell me it's OK,” Charlie begged, struggling to control his fear.

    “I think I broke my leg,” David told him. “And we must get off this mountain.” He proposed a plan: Charlie would lower David half a rope length at a time, then lower himself to the same level, and at a new place, begin again.

    As hours passed, they came to the base of the cliff, and David was shaking with cold and exhaustion.

    Worried that David would die if he fell asleep, Charlie kept the conversation going; they talked about past travels. Eventually Charlie allowed himself to catnap, checking on his father each time he awoke. When the sun rose on their camp, Charlie was relieved to see that his father was awake.

    Just after dawn, Charlie headed off on the trail toward the volunteers' cabin 12 miles away, bringing back a helicopter that would carry his father to safety.

    “Charlie's as strong as anyone I know,” says his father, “I'm so proud of him.”

    Robots make me nervous — especially the ones which seem to think for themselves. I was embarrassed to admit this till I heard that Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft, felt the same way.

Gates said in an interview with the social networking and news website Reddit: "I am in the camp that is concerned about super intelligence. First the machines will do a lot of jobs for us and not be super intelligent. That should be positive if we manage well. A few decades after that though the intelligence is strong enough to be a concern."

    Well, maybe I don't have to worry about my computer and kitchen equipment yet. After I use them I can always pull the plug. But in the future, machines might find a way to prevent us from switching them off. There's a terrible thought!

    Maybe the problem with computers too clever for us is not that they are evil like some we've seen in sci-fi movies. What could put us in danger is that they might be too efficient. That's what philosopher Nick Bostrom from Oxford University believes. He says that machines are indifferent to humans and in pursuit of their own goals, the destruction of people might be just additional damage. Bostrom gives us an example: A machine which might have as its only goal to produce as many paperclips as possible might look at human bodies as extra material for paperclips and go after you. Because it is, well, a machine, it would not take pity on you.

    It's a good thing that American writer Isaac Asimov thought about how far robots can go and left us his three rules of robotics. They state that a robot may not hurt a human being or allow the human being to come to harm.

I'm glad my machines at home are "dumb". All my cleaner wants to take over is the carpet in my living room. Let's hope they don't create an appliance which wants to take over the world!

    Last Saturday on the way to the mall, two children, a boy and a girl, came running towards me with bottles on their hands, asking if I wanted bottled water. It was a surprising gesture. I was wondering if they were doing fund-raising. I knelt and asked them where their parents were and how much a bottle of water cost. Then two adult women came up to me explaining what the children were doing. “We are teaching the children to give without anything in return. We are teaching people to accept without giving in return. ”

    Two mothers had bought bottled water and placed a sticker(小贴纸)on all bottles with five different quotes(引述):

    ⒈Smile at everyone. You'll never know when someone may need it.

    ⒉If Plan A does not work, there are 25 more letters in the alphabets.

    ⒊Have a thirst for life. Every day is filled with possibilities.

    ⒋In your thirst for knowledge, be sure you don't drown in all the information.

    ⒌Dig your well before you're thirsty.

    The bottle I have has quoted No.5. A sudden change of attitude opened up between me, the mothers and the children. We are no longer strangers to each other. We were having such a great time chatting and I ended up helping them give away the rest of the bottled water.

    One young lady was so thankful that she happily accepted the water and said it was the best thing that happened to her all day since she had a bad day at work. A man refused and walked away saying “No, thanks”. A couple kept on bowing to us in gratitude. When it was all done, the children and I were giving each other high-five. It was so much fun. I think I had more fun doing this than the mothers and the children.

    Being able to land safely is a critically important skill for all flying animals. Comparatively speaking, ground living animals face no particular challenge when they need to stop running or crawling, while flying animals move at much higher speed, and they must be careful about how they land. Hitting the ground, or even water, at full flight speed would be quite dangerous. Before touching down, they must decrease their speed in order to land safely. Both bats and birds have mastered the skill of landing, but these two types of flyers go about it quite differently.

    In the past it was believed that, in terms of flying mechanics, there was little difference between bats and birds. This belief was based only on assumption, however, because for years nobody had actually studied in detail how bats move their wings. In recent years, though, researchers have discovered a number of interesting facts about bat flight. Bats are built differently from birds, and their wings are made up of both their front and hind limbs (肢体). This makes coordinating (协调) their limbs more difficult for bats and, as a result, they are not very good at flying over longer distances. However, they are much better at the ability to adjust themselves: a bat can quickly change its direction of flight or completely reverse it, something a bird cannot easily do.

    Another interesting characteristic of bat flight is the way in which bats land-upside down! Unlike birds which touch down on the ground or on tree branches, bats can be observed flying around and then suddenly hanging upside down from an object overhead. One downside to this landing routine is that the bats often land with some force, which probably causes pain. However, not all bats hit their landing spots with the same speed and force; these will vary depending on the area where a bat species makes its home. For example, a cave bat, which regularly lives on a hard stone ceiling, is more careful about its landing preparation than a bat more accustomed to landing in leafy treetops.

    We all are familiar with Android and iOS platforms as both are popular but are quite different when it comes to functionalities.

    If you are making a big move from Android to iPhone, then the first thing that counters your mind is how to get your data on the iPhone.

    Note: You need to turn on Wi-Fi on your Android & iPhone and connect them with the same network.

    So, let's get started and learn how to transfer data from Android to iPhone.

    Note: Please keep in mind that the steps might vary from device to device.

    Install (安装) the "Move to iOS" App on your Android device from the Google play store. This application is developed by Apple and available for free.

    Once you are done with installing the app, you need to grant permissions to the app. Now, follow on-screen instructions to proceed.

    Now, keep your Android aside and start your iPhone. Follow the on-screen instructions to set up your iPhone.

    The transfer might take a bit longer depending upon the size of the content.

    On your iPhone screen, you will see a screen saying," Continue setting up iPhone".

    You can continue setting up your Apple ID on your new iPhone. Once done, you will find all your data such as contacts, messages, bookmarks, pictures etc. on it.

    That's it, now you can dump your old Android phone and enjoy using your iPhone.

    If you frequently travel for business, Staybridge Suites offer you a range of home comforts. Four recent visitors to Staybridge Suites explain why they booked, what they enjoyed and what made them want to return.

Claire Metcalf

    "The concept is great, but the staff are the ones who really make it." she says. "It takes a lot of discipline to always be friendly, but the staff at Staybridge Suites do that. They genuinely care about you. "

Andrew Roberts

    "One of the best things is having my own kitchen. I often end up working late and I don't fancy eating in a restaurant on my own, so cooking for myself is a big drawcard. "

    "The main thing for me is being able to cook and have my own little flat. The staff are amazing. It is great to be recognized by them, "he says.

Pauline Robinson

    "What I love about it is the way that you are treated by the staff," she says. "Some of the staff have been there all that time and they do look after you well. As a woman staying on my own, it is reassuring that they look out for you, and recently when I was poorly depressed they even brought things I needed to my room. "

Ryan Ruckledge

    "The fully-equipped kitchen is great. I always have a one-bed apartment so I have a separate kitchen and dining room and I'm able to relax and cook some meals. Eating out can feel a bit much when you do it day in and day out—it makes you hate what you do—and I don't want that. "