From CNN:
Inventor unveils $7,000 talking sex robot
By Brandon Griggs, CNNFebruary 1, 2010 9:34 a.m. EST
Inventor Douglas Hines with Roxxxy, his computerized sex robot that can carry on a conversation and have a simulated orgasm.STORY HIGHLIGHTS
New Jersey man creates what may be most sophisticated talking female sex robot
Called Roxxxy, life-size computerized figure can answer questions, carry on chats
She costs $7,000 and comes with five "personalities," from Frigid Farrah to Wild Wendy
Engineer Douglas Hines unveiled Roxxxy at porn-industry convention in Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada (CNN) -- To some men, she might seem like the perfect woman: She's a willowy 5 feet 7 and 120 pounds. She'll chat with you endlessly about your interests. And she'll have sex whenever you please -- as long as her battery doesn't run out.
Meet Roxxxy, who may be the world's most sophisticated talking female sex robot. For $7,000, she's all yours.
"She doesn't vacuum or cook, but she does almost everything else," said her inventor, Douglas Hines, who unveiled Roxxxy last month at the Adult Entertainment Expo in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Lifelike dolls, artificial sex organs and sex-chat phone lines have been keeping the lonely company for decades. But Roxxxy takes virtual companionship to a new level.
Powered by a computer under her soft silicone "skin," she employs voice-recognition and speech-synthesis software to answer questions and carry on conversations. She even comes loaded with five distinct "personalities," from Frigid Farrah to Wild Wendy, that can be programmed to suit customers' preferences.
"There's a tremendous need for this kind of product," said Hines, a computer scientist and former Bell Labs engineer.
Roxxxy won't be available for delivery for several months, but Hines is taking pre-orders through his Web site, TrueCompanion.com, where thousands of men have signed up.
"They're like, 'I can't wait to meet her,' " Hines said. "It's almost like the anticipation of a first date."
Women have inquired about ordering a sex robot, too. Hines says a female sex therapist even contacted him about buying one for her patients.
Roxxxy has been like catnip to talk-show hosts since her debut at AEE, the largest porn-industry convention in the country. In a recent monologue, Jay Leno expressed amazement that a sex robot could carry on lifelike conversations and express realistic emotions.
"Luckily, guys," he joked, "there's a button that turns that off."
Curious conventioneers packed Hines' AEE booth last month in Las Vegas, asking questions and stroking Roxxxy's skin as she sat on a couch in a black negligee.
"Roxxxy generated a lot of buzz at AEE," said Grace Lee, spokeswoman for the porn-industry convention. "The prevailing sentiment of everyone I talked to about Roxxxy is 'version 1.0,' but people were fascinated by the concept, and it caused them to rethink the possibilities of 'sex toys.' "
Hines, a self-professed happily married man from Lincoln Park, New Jersey, says he spent more than three years developing the robot after trying to find a marketable application for his artificial-intelligence technology.
Roxxxy's body is made from hypoallergenic silicone -- the kind of stuff in prosthetic limbs -- molded over a rigid skeleton. She cannot move on her own but can be contorted into almost any natural position. To create her shape, a female model spent a week posing for a series of molds.
The robot runs on a self-contained battery that lasts about three hours on one charge, Hines says. Customers can recharge Roxxxy with an electrical cord that plugs into her back.
A motor in her chest pumps heated air through a tube that winds through the robot's body, which Hines says keeps her warm to the touch. Roxxxy also has sensors in her hands and genital areas -- yes, she is anatomically correct -- that will trigger vocal responses from her when touched. She even shudders to simulate orgasm.
When someone speaks to Roxxxy, her computer converts the words to text and then uses pattern-recognition software to match them against a database containing hundreds of appropriate responses. The robot then answers aloud -- her prerecorded "voice" is supplied by an unnamed radio host -- through a loudspeaker hidden under her wig.
"Everything you say to her is processed. It's very near real time, almost without delay," Hines said of the dynamics of human-Roxxxy conversation. "To make it as realistic as possible, she has different dialogue at different times. She talks in her sleep. She even snores." (The snoring feature can be turned off, he says.)
Roxxxy understands and speaks only English for now, but Hines' True Companion company is developing Japanese and Spanish versions. For an extra fee, he'll also record customizable dialogue and phrases for each client, which means Roxxxy could talk to you about NASCAR, say, or the intricacies of politics in the Middle East.
Hines believes that Roxxxy is a step above other love dolls -- the similar but mute RealDoll costs about $5,500 -- because her conversational abilities provide something close to emotional companionship. His customer base? Shy, awkward or older men who "have trouble meeting girls," he says.
In an industry known for pushing the technological envelope, observers are curious about how Roxxxy will fare in the marketplace.
"Is this a viable product? Yes," said Sherri Shaulis, an editor at Adult Video News, a trade magazine for the pornographic industry. "There's a market for it. Granted, it's a very small market."
Maybe not. TrueCompanion claims that more than 4,000 men have placed pre-orders for Roxxxy robots, and another 20,000 or so have requested information about the product.
"There's really nothing like this on the market," said Hines, who speaks of his unique creation with what seems like genuine affection. "Whenever she's out in public, everyone wants to talk to her and pose for pictures. It's so cute."
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From Pravda (Russian News Agency):
Those Who Masturbate Shall Be Cursed?
05.11.2009 Source: Pravda.Ru
If someone told me years ago, when I was a devoted member of the Pioneer organization, that one day I would start reading articles describing the various ways to love my own body and then discuss them with my girlfriends, I would kick their butts.
Good girls have no clue what a man and a woman do when left alone or where kids come from, let alone more complicated issues.
If you are still in the dark and pretend to have no idea where to put a condom, do not read any further. Otherwise, you’ll blush and your moral values will be shattered. Although you probably read in the Biblical Book of Genesis a story of Onan who had sex with the wife of his diseased brother but performed coitus interruptus each time, spilling his "seed" on the ground. The story says that this displeased God, who killed him.
For some reason, this story is often mentioned by priests as an example of God’s punishment for those who masturbate. However, the story only describes coitus interruptus used by many couples, and not masturbation that we will be talking about.
Majority of doctors believe that a lion share of all our issues is caused by the fact that we do not know our own bodies well. Marriages collapse because spouses are not satisfied with their sexual lives. Men cheat on their wives because the wives enjoy TV more than sex.
Michael Perry, a London sexologist, thinks that people first of all have to know their own bodies, sensations and desires.
Contemporary sex education specialists believe that masturbation is healthy, normal, and useful experience. Bernie Zilbergeld, the author of The New Male Sexuality, said that masturbation was a form of relaxation. It is not physically harmful, no matter how frequently it is practiced.
Some women have extremely negative reaction towards masturbation. Avodah Offit, a writer and psychiatrist, the author of Virtual Love, described the following situation in her book. Once she received a late night call. A woman was calling to complain that her husband was having a fit of raving madness. As it turned out, she woke up in the middle of the night to see that her husband was masturbating. The lady was so naïve that she thought her husband was doing it in his sleep. Many women cannot understand that sex can take other forms other than regular sex with a partner. Masturbation, however, is not a replacement for that. Some couples think that mutual masturbation or looking at the masturbating partner can be a pleasant experience.
The difference between coitus and masturbation is physiological. Glands that release pre-ejaculatory secretion during foreplay are not used during masturbation. Different sets of nerve endings are involved during these two acts, which affects the nature and quality of an orgasm. Michael Perelman, a sexologist, believes that women who claim masturbation to be a “mental adultery” underrate the importance of this exercise in keeping their marriages monogamous. Masturbation helps men to have versatility, relax, and be faithful in real life. Women who do not mind “mental adultery” are most likely happier in their marriages. Sexologists also recommend masturbation to those men who suffer from erectile dysfunction and premature ejaculation.
Some specialists suggest that masturbation that does not result in an orgasm an hour before coitus causes a stronger and longer erection. Masturbation is also believed to improve reproductive function.
For women, masturbation is a chance of a stronger orgasm. Masturbation is most frequently practiced at the age of 25-50 years old. Married people masturbate less frequently, and it is especially true for married men. Frequency of masturbation varies from once or twice a year to once or twice a day.
Arguments “pro” masturbation
- You will not hear “I’m too tired.”
- You can masturbate whenever and wherever you want.
- STDs are not an issue.
- No one knows you better than you know yourself.
- No side effects!
- Women can use the following tools: cucumbers, bananas, carrots (a condom should be used to prevent infection), used mascara applicators, plastic toys, shower heads, electric toothbrushes, deodorant containers, and, naturally, hands.
17.8% of women who participated in a poll think that there is nothing wrong in studying their own bodies and satisfying themselves. Men think that masturbation is natural, especially when it helps release stress.
And from Pravda's opinion page:
Moscow Mayor: Satanic Gay Parades Will Be Prohibited
01.02.2010 Source: Pravda.Ru
I commend Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov for calling gay parades “satanic” and for promising to continue prohibiting them.
The primary goal of homosexuals is to acquire a powerful psychological weapon to change society's rejection of homosexual activity and lifestyle into gradual, even if reluctant, acceptance. Many who support homosexual acts tend to recklessly characterize those in society who disagree with them as homophobic - the term "homophobia" itself intended to denote a disorder. In this way they seek to impose their own sinful ways on society under the guise of tolerance.
Bible clearly and unequivocally condemns homosexual acts (Gen 1:27-28; Gen 2:24; Matt 19: 4-6; Rom 1:24-27; 1 Cor 6:10; 1 Tim 1:10 etc.). Men and women with homosexual tendencies must certainly be accepted with respect, compassion and sensitivity. Nonetheless homosexual acts must be considered wrong and intrinsically disordered. They are contrary to the natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved.
Apart from religion, there is also, no scientific evidence to confirm homosexual activity as a normal behavior. The so-called "gay gene" has never been found. The Laumann Report, published in 1994, is today universally recognized as definitive. In summary, its major findings are that homosexuality is not a stable trait and that it tends spontaneously to convert into heterosexuality as an individual gets older; that sexual identity is not fixed at adolescence but continues to change over the course of life and that there is no evidence for homosexuality being innate.
The Western media often portrays the homosexual lifestyle and relationships as happy, healthy, and stable. On the contrary there are very high rates of sexual promiscuity among the homosexual population with short duration of even ‘‘committed’’ relationships. Homosexuals also have very high rates of sexually transmitted infections such as HIV.
Further, many studies show much higher rates of psychiatric illness, such as depression, suicide attempts and drug abuse among homosexuals than among the general population. And statistics - which compare homosexuals with ethnic minorities exposed to racism - indicate this is not due to homophobia. The homosexual lifestyle is also associated with a shortened life expectancy of up to 20 years.
In addition it is of grave concern that there is a disproportionately greater number of homosexuals among pedophiles and an overlap between the gay movement and the movement to make pedophilia acceptable -especially through organizations like NAMBLA. Can children raised by gay couples really be considered safe? Such children are in fact deprived of the experience of either fatherhood or motherhood and hence the opportunity for full human development. Given the overwhelming evidence about homosexuality and it penchant for undermining the foundation of the family, same-sex couples should be given no legal rights. On the contrary it should be vigorously opposed.
Caesar Augustus, a pagan, sought to strengthen Roman society by outlawing adultery and sodomy and by encouraging traditional marriage and procreation He understood that there is such a thing as public morality. Emperor Augustus saw this, but it was too late to overcome the sexual licence of the late Roman Republic. This was the real reason why it collapsed. I pray that Moscow and other cities do not end up suffering the same fate.
St. Paul tells us that the “aberration” of homosexuality is both the proof and the result of the exclusion of God from collective attention and social life. The Christian approach to modern-day homosexuality must distinguish between the respect due to persons and the necessary repudiation of any exalted ideology of homosexuality.
In defending traditional marriage and family and in rejecting erroneous opinions that support homosexuality one does not limit but rather defends personal freedom and dignity realistically and authentically understood.
Paul Kokoski
Canada
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From the Omaha World Herald:
Poisoning trees draws $5,000 fine
LINCOLN (AP) -- A 61-year-old man in south-central Nebraska has been fined $5,000 for poisoning trees that blocked his view of Harlan County Lake from a deck on his home.
U.S. Attorney Deborah Gilg's office says Randall Stinnette of Inland also was ordered to pay more than $7,300 restitution to the federal government.
Stinnette had pleaded guilty last week to malicious mischief to government property. The trees were situated on U.S. Corps of Engineers property at the lake.
Authorities learned in May 2008 that the trees had been poisoned after holes had been drilled into them.
Tests revealed an ingredient of a herbicide, Spike 20P. Stinnette is a state-registered applicator of the restricted-use herbicide. Records show he bought some in 2007.
And in entertainment news...
Cops to Rip Torn: eXamine Your Zipper | TMZ.com
Cops to Rip Torn: eXamine Your Zipper
Posted Feb 1st 2010 2:35PM by TMZ Staff
Rip Torn was shoeless, his zipper was undone, he had a loaded pistol in his pocket and a whole bunch of booze in his system when he was found roaming around a bank Friday night ... this according to the police report.
In the report, cops say they showed up to the Litchfield Bancorp building in Connecticut at around 10 PM and found a wool hat, a pair of brown boots and broken glass next to the back door.
Once inside the bank, cops say they observed a "highly disoriented" Rip wandering around inside -- and that the actor wasn't wearing any shoes, his zipper was down and he had a loaded .22 caliber pistol in his pocket.
Cops say Rip failed a number a field sobriety tests and eventually blew a .203 on his Breathalyzer test -- and the actor kept asking "why we took him out of his house" when he was arrested.
Rip posted bail today and his lawyer says he's going to enter an alcohol treatment facility.
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