Are you interested in hi-tech products? Here are some that you might find at the market pretty soon.

Tired of dragging your bag through busy airports? Then you might want to consider CX-1. The smart suitcase uses facial recognizing software to follow its owner as he / she is checking in or heading to the gate. Though CX-1 can only move at a speed of up to seven miles per hour, a tiny tool enables owners to keep track of the suitcase’s location. It is expected to be sold on the market by late 2018.

Sony’s latest version of the Aibo robotic dog is almost as fun as the real thing—but much less work. The pet dog can recognize its owner, obey several commands, and even recall the behavior that pleases its master the most. Aibo can also learn new tricks, take photographs, and over time, develop its own unique personality.

Forpheus, an “athletic” robot developed by Japanese technology company Omron. It teaches users how to play ping-pong. The 10-feet-tall machine uses a camera and artificial intelligence to track the ball’s speed and can predict the ball’s direction correctly. The smart Forpheus can also quickly test its player’s abilities and adjust the playing level, making the game fun.

Though many people determine to go to the gym once a week, few reach their goal. Black Box VR wants to change that by turning hard exercise into fun video games. Using it, gym users will find themselves fighting enemies, including big creatures—all while getting exercise.

Located in the checkroom in Union Station as I am, I see everybody that comes up the stairs.

Harry came in a little over three years ago and waited for the passengers from the 9:05 train.

I remember seeing Harry that first evening. He wasn’t much more than a thin, anxious kid then and I knew he was meeting his girl and that they would be married twenty minutes after she arrived. The passengers came up and I had to get busy. I didn’t look toward the stairs again until it was nearly time for the 9:18 train and I was very surprised to see that the young fellow was still there.

She didn’t come on the 9:18 either, nor on the 9:40, and when the passengers from the 10:02 had all arrived and left, Harry was looking pretty desperate. He showed me the telegram he’d received: ARRIVE THURSDAY. MEET ME STATION. LOVE YOU. MAY.

Harry met every train for the next three or four days, but in vain.

Then came yesterday. I heard a cry and found that it was from Harry. He grabbed a girl who was small and dark. For a while they just hung there to each other laughing and crying and saying things without meaning. She’d say a few words like, “It was the bus station I meant” and he’d kiss her speechless and tell her the many things he had done to find her. What apparently had happened three years before was that May had come by bus, not by train, and in her telegram she meant “bus station,” not “railroad station.” She had waited at the bus station for days and had spent all her money trying to find Harry. Finally she got a job typing.

“What?” said Harry. “Have you been working in town? All the time?”

She nodded.

“Didn’t you ever come down here to the station?” He pointed across to a magazine stand. “I’ve been there all the time. I own it. I’ve watched everybody that came up the stairs.”

She began to look a little pale. Pretty soon she looked over at the stairs and said in a weak voice, “I never came up the stairs before. Harry, for three years, for three solid years, I’ve been right over there working right in this very station, typing, in the office of the stationmaster.”

It should come as no surprise that the more stressed parents are at work, the greater the burden on their family is.     28     After all, the more time parents spend working, the less time and energy they have to plan and prepare healthful meals. Previously, most studies have focused on the role of working mothers while fathers were ignored.     29     It adds a new wrinkle to the relationship between work stress and family nutrition. Mom’s work related stress is still a central factor in how well families eat because they typically do most of the food shopping and cooking.     30    

The study finds that when mom or dad experience high levels of work related stress, their families are eating one-and-a-half fewer family meals per week, and the parents themselves report eating fewer fruits and vegetables, more fast food, and are less likely to eat breakfast regularly.

It’s worth noting that the study looks mainly at low income families who belong to ethnic or minority groups.     31     But the implications are wide-ranging.

    32     Teaching kids, especially teenagers, to help with grocery shopping and to cook actual meals, instead of just putting a frozen pizza in the microwave, could be an important piece of the puzzle in helping families improve their eating habits.

A Commitment to Life

The snow was falling and the roads had become dangerous. The schools were dismissed early, but much to my surprise, my ____ wasn’t canceled. So I went, feeling especially heroic. As far as I could see, I was risking my life to keep my ____. Snow or no snow, I would be on time for my scheduled donation at the local ____ center.

When I got there, I discovered I wasn’t ____. Four more “hero-types” were already lying back in donor chairs with lines ____ to their veins(静脉), and machines quietly pumping away to ____ their lifesaving gifts.

Seeing my fellow donors honoring their own commitments, I realized why I was there. I lay back in my donor chair, ready to make a ____ to the life of someone I would never ____.

To be honest, I’d never really thought about why I donate. I just did it. ____ a few months ago, during one of my ____ donations I learned that my blood was specifically for a cancer patient and for a newborn baby—both patients needed what I would give in order to live. I’ve viewed my visits to the blood center ____ ever since.

My wife Karen is a ____, too. And more importantly, she has been on the bone marrow (骨髓) list for fifteen years, ever since she ____ to provide bone marrow to a kindergartner with leukemia(白血病). That little girl died before Karen’s bone marrow could help her, but Karen was called again recently. Her test results were still on file, and it turned out she was a potential ____ for someone else. The caller asked Karen if she would still be willing to become a bone marrow donor. “Yes,” she said and then immediately began answering questions on the pages of paperwork for further testing. It was a race ____ time.

I wish I could say that this ____ was won. It wasn’t. The caller later thanked Karen for her participation and asked a few more questions—including whether or not she’d ____on the donor list. “Of course,” Karen answered.

Last week Karen gave blood and next week I’ll make my usual donation. I’ll clear an afternoon from my schedule and make an appointment. I don’t know whose life my donation may ____. Most likely it will be a ____, but on any day the person needing blood could be you or me or maybe a loved one. It is worthwhile to ____our time to donate.

I really do feel proud every time I donate. And I like the feeling.