Monthly Archives: March 2016

All About Eve 

Posted on by
1

   
 
I wish there was an Elgato Eve air room monitor when my daughter Whitney was growing up.  I often put her to sleep and checked back every few minutes because I thought her bedroom smelled of smoke or of whatever the upstairs neighbor was cooking for dinner. 

I’m not the only nut. Friends now admit they did the same thing because they were concerned about the possibility of  mold and contaminated air from their own renovation projects. 

We all laughed at each other’s neuroses over the years, but most of us would have paid a few hundred dollars just to get an accurate reading on air qualities.

The Elgato Eve Room air monitor sells for $80 on the company website, Amazon, and Best Buy.

The Elgato Eve Room is Bluetooth enabled, so you can get the readings on your smartphone. 

Click here for CNET’s story on Eve.

 

  

Spell Check

Posted on by
2

   

(Thank you Frayne Rosenfield for sharing)

MESSAGE: 
Hi Bill,

This is Alan next door. I’m sorry buddy, but I have a confession to make to you. I’ve been riddled with guilt these past few months and have been trying to get up the courage to tell you this to your face. I couldn’t, so now I’m telling you all in a text. I can’t live with myself a moment longer without you knowing. 

The truth is, I have been sharing your wife, day and night, when you’re not around. In fact, probably more than you. I haven’t been getting it at home recently, but that’s no excuse I know. The temptation was just too much… I can no longer live with the guilt and I hope you will accept my sincerest apologies and forgive me. I promise that it won’t happen again. Please come up with a fee for usage, and I’ll pay you.

Regards,

Alan.

THE ACTION:
Bill, feeling insulted and betrayed, grabbed his gun, and shot his neighbor dead. He returned home where he poured himself a stiff drink and sat down on the sofa. He took out his phone where he saw he has a subsequent message from his neighbor.

THE SECOND MESSAGE:

Hi Bill, 

This is Alan next door again. Sorry about the slight typo on my last text. I know you probably figured it out already. I’m sure you noticed that my auto correct changed ‘WiFi’ To ‘Wife’. 

Technology hey !?!  Hope you saw the funny side of that.

Regards,

Alan

A Message To Seniors From Author Amy Tan  

  
 

A Reminder From My Friend JC 

   

   

Street Signs 

Posted on by
Reply

  
   
    
    
  Stretv 

Open Camera Roll 

Posted on by
1

  

The world of privacy just got less private. There is a new app called “Shorts” that allows the contents of your camera roll to be shared with others.

Scary? Maybe, but this may become a new popular trend. You get to choose which photos you want to share and who you want to share them with.

When you open Shorts, you get to see the latest camera roll updates from friends and family who gave you permission. The big appeal is that people are going to get closer to each other than ever before. Unlike Facebook and Instagram, you get to see many more photos because you are looking at an album rather than what someone chooses to post. It’s instant access into someone else’s life.

A word to the wise. Be careful what photos you take and keep in your camera roll. Even if you get to pick which photos you want to share, there is now more of a chance to make mistakes. Your life is now an open camera roll.

I searched tech sites for a more in-depth explanation of Shorts. Click here to read the Mashable post.

My YouTube Videos

Posted on by
3

Here are some of my favorite homemade YouTube videos from over the years. I racked up  60,957 views on my Dare Devil Window Washing video and 45, 690 views on my Happy Birthday Sam video.

My Dare Devil video attracted a lot of views because it’s difficult to believe that someone would take a job that requires him to dangle on a small swing 36 stories up. Beware–if you afraid of heights, don’t watch the video.

The reason why Sam’s video scored so high was because we got photo bombed. I couldn’t get rid of the intruder. It’s pretty embarrassing. 

Anne Mark, at 90 Years Old, explains   “What Is Important In Life.” 2,110 views, Nov 17, 2006,  

Dare Devil Window Washing, 60,957 views, Nov 10, 2006

Thirty-six stories high in South Beach, Miami, window washer dangles from ropes doing work most other people would never dare to do.  

Happy Birthday Sam, 45,690 views, March 26, 2011, Kathmandu, Nepal

Whitney Preparing For Thanksgiving, 99 views, Nov 23, 2011. She doesn’t take after me.

Mar 4, 2011, The plane/boat is docked on the Intracoastal in Ft Lauderdale, FL, 685 views.

685 views

Al and Jillian wedding 
699 views, Feb 16, 2013

I Now Pronounce You A Wine Expert 

Posted on by
1

    
 
  

This is good news for people like me who don’t know a thing about wine. We want to know more, but we don’t have the time for a classroom education.

Enter Delectable, a wine app that gives you all the information you would ever need to know about wines.

All you gave to do is take a photo of a wine label and you will instantly get ratings and descriptions. According to the Delectable app, you will now be able to:

1-Keep track of your favorite wines

2- Learn more about wine by following the world’s leading winemakers, sommeliers and wine critics. 

3-Buy wines you love.

4-Buy wine right from your phone and get it delivered to your doorstep

5-Add your own ratings and tasting notes to keep track of your favorites

6-Share recommendations with friends

Want to experience the latest version of Delectable before it gets released? Join the beta program by clicking here.

The Music Box

Posted on by
2

    
 

Photos by Martin Molin

I talk about gadgets all the time. This time I think I came across the king of all gadgets.  

Swedish Musician Martin Molin has built  a massive handmade music box. The wooden device uses 2,000 marbles to create a complex piece of analog dance music.

You must watch the video to understand the genius of what Modin created. It features a kick drum, snare, vibraphone, and electric bass. It’s all powered by a hand crank. 

Molin officially unveiled his “Marble Machine” on Feb. 29 on a YouTube video. All the tech and music publications are writing about it.

It’s being called, The Rube Goldberg-like instrument. Molin plays bass, percussion and a vibraphone. The rolling marbles makes the music. 

Too bad the Marble Machine can’t go on tour. Maybe, someone will figure out a way. 
 

Windows That Transform Into Balconies  

Posted on by
5

  
   

 https://youtu.be/iwguRr6LuAY

This is one step I’m not going to take. There is no way I’m going to trust a window that transforms into a balcony to hold me up. I’m getting vertigo just thinking about out it.

We had better take this innovation seriously. According to the manufacturer, it’s just a matter of time until these type of Bloomframe windows appear on the new buildings in your neighborhood.

The French manufacturer Kawneer, global leader for aluminum facades, windows and doors, is responsible for the development.

Gmail Tricks 

Posted on by
4

  
I don’t know if this ever happened to you, but it certainly happened to me. I sent an email to the wrong person. Lucky for me, it was a harmless email. I fortunately didn’t disclose any private information or  give out any personal records.

I learned a valuable lesson. Don’t be so quick to click the “send” button. Check the name, the subject matter, and the content of the body copy. Focus, pause, then “send.”

That should do the trick. If it doesn’t, use Gmail. It will help safeguard you. Gmail has a feature to “unsend” an email. All you have to do is click the gear at the top right hand corner of your email page. Then go to Settings. There us an “Undo Send” option  under the “general”  tab. Click on it and then choose a cancellation period of 5, 10, 20 or 30 seconds. 

From my experience, pick the longest option. It’s always better to go with the longest possible option. To find out some other really clever  Gmail tricks, click here. Techlicious, a popular tech site, covered the topic recently.

Remember When? 

Posted on by
4

   

 

Remember when you would come home after work, and the first thing you said to your family or roommate was, “Anyone call me?” 

Or if no one was home, the first thing you did after you entered your home was check the answering machine.

Those days are gone forever. The big news now is that smartphone voicemails may become obsolete over time.

Cell phone users in their teens, 20s and 30s, have already written off using leaving  voicemails. They only want to text. If you call them, they won’t even listen to your message. They may call you back if they see your number on their recent call list. Or they just may choose to ignore you. 

Your best bet is to text. You may not have a choice in the future. There’s a new app that many are talking about that’s called “No More Voicemail.” It actually deactivates your  voicemail on your cell. In the past, you had to contact your carrier in order to get this done. 

Now this app uses the “conditional call forwarding feature” right on your phone to send your unanswered calls to a virtual number that will just ring and ring. Once the caller realizes that you will never pick up, he or she will learn to use text. 

If you want to find out how the “No More Voicemail” works, read Tech Crunch.