Our tour group went to a workshop today which is dedicated to preserving the living art of Gokayama Washi paper making. We learned how the paper is made and then we created our very own post cards. I posted various stages of us hand making the paper, then decorating them.
One of the instructors was a young gal from Rhode Island. I did a short interview with her to find out how she liked living in Japan, especially in a small town.
A new client of mine, who happens to be 70 years old, is starting a new business in the world of licensing. He used to have the biggest name in the business. Those days have been gone for awhile. Now, he’s back trying to see if he can build a new, powerful company all over again.
He asked me if I saw the Warren Buffet documentary? He wants to run his new company the same way Buffet ran his, lean and mean. I was amazed that there was a documentary on one of the richest guy in America and I never saw it.
Forbes says he is worth about $74 billion. Buffet is now 86 years old. He is giving most of his money away to charitable causes. How beautiful is that? Watch the documentary to witness a simple, but remarkable life.
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Eliot and I went to hear Senator Bernie Sanders and Democratic National Committee Chair Tom Perez speak tonight at the James L. Knight Center in downtown Miami. For the first time since January, I felt I was among my people.
The big takeaway from Bernie is that it’s not good enough to complain, you have to participate in some political group. “We must come together and fight back. Donald Trump didn’t win the election, the Democrats lost.”
For people like me, who don’t feel we know enough to get involved in politics, Bernie said “You’ll be in good company. The folks in the Senate and House of Representatives don’t know anything either.”
Read more about tonight in the Miami Herald. Click here.
Senator Bernie Sanders
Democratic National Committee chair Tom Perez
Miami City Commissioner Ken Russell
Unless you are ready for life altering facts, don’t send your saliva to 23andMe. The personal genomics and biotech company in Mountain View, CA, has become so proficient in examining DNA, people I know are discovering information about themselves that are forever changing their lives.
In the last two months, a friend of mine found out that his father was not his father. Another friend’s father, who was adopted 60-plus years ago, finally met his real brothers and sisters, and a business associate just told me someone called him a week ago to say she was his daughter.
Just in case you are wondering, all parties I just told you about agreed to be contacted if their names became associated with other connections.
The company is named for the 23 pairs of chromosomes in a normal human cell.
When 23andMe was first created about nine years ago, my computer knowledgeable daughter, made the three of us (Eliot, Whitney and me) spit into individual little bottles so the company could tell us if we were related. Within a few weeks, we found out that we were related (no surprise) and other interesting facts about our heritage.
Since then, 23andMe has become so advanced that it can now give you information about how your genetics can influence your risk for certain diseases, discover where your DNA is from out of 31 populations worldwide, and learn how your genes play a role in your well-being and lifestyle choices.
The company website also reminds folks if they are starting a family, they can find out if they are carrying an inherited condition that could affect their children. Also, learn how your DNA influences your facial features, taste, smell and other traits.
I have to warn you that 23andMe is the real deal. If you are not ready for the facts, don’t participate in its services. The people I reported about earlier are all dealing with their new lives the best way they can. It’s all very surreal and they are just at the beginning of their new journeys. I will report their progress as I learn them.
I think I will print this list that I found on Instagram and tape it to my refrigerator. I wonder how much of this list you can really depend on? I guess it doesn’t matter. The simple truth is that you have to start somewhere.
I’m not sure why, but there has been a lot of activity on the waters outside my window this year. This is what I saw today.
I love watching this Coast Guard Cutter boat. One day, I have to visit the Coast Guard which is steps away from where I live. It’s a whole other world that I know very little about.
Another great yacht sighting today. Couldn’t believe my eyes. The Luna, at 377 ft long, is the world’s second largest expedition yacht at an estimated cost of $545 million.
The Luna features 10 VIP guest cabins over 100 square metres each, a 20 metre outdoor swimming pool, 9 decks, a large outdoor entertaining area, 8 tenders, 1 mini-submarine and a crew of 50 persons.
Luna is owned by a Russian businessman.
Luna has a multipurpose custom made Lifeboats/Limousines at a cost of over $4m each. They are capable of acting as VIP transport and being lifeboats at the same time. Fitted with an anti-missile system like its sister ship, Eclipse (yacht). All windows are bulletproof to B7+ levels. The steel hull is over 17.5 cm thick. LRAD guns, bomb-proof doors, FLIR. Anti drone system. 2 helipads rated over 7.5 tons capacity, which host Akhmedov’s Eurocopter EC155 B1 and EC145 simultaneously. cruise of over 9,000 nm at economical speeds of 16-18 knots.
DigiDame readers comments on your mail being photographed………..
Eliot waits for the mail each day with great anticipation. This has been going on for years. It comes from having your own business. You pray that the mail will bring checks so you know you will be in business another 30 days.
Life is going to be very different from this day forward. Eliot will no longer have to wait for the mail to be delivered to know his fate. He can now sign up on the USPS website to see his mail before it arrives. It called USPS’s New Informed Delivery Service. .
Informed Delivery is a free service. The post office actually emails you pictures of the mail you received, or soon to be received. How wild is that? All the photos of your mail will be available for seven days through an online dashboard.
One of the major reasons why the post office is taking photos of your mail is because too many letters are getting lost. This will be one great tracking system. We hope this will put an end to other people snatching your mail.
The digital world is really taking away the daily element of surprise. All good things must come to an end,
Watch the video for further explanations
Just in case you didn’t catch the news, Apple 🍎 wants to turn the iPhone into a sensor that will “noninvasively and continuously monitor blood sugar levels to better treat diabetes.”
I heard this report tonight on NBC TV News with Lester Holt. I couldn’t believe my ears, so I googled it. Sure enough, there were a number of stories from different news outlets that said Apple was secretly working on a feature that can track glucose levels accurately without piercing the skin. It’s reportedly an optical sensor that shines a light through the skin to measure indications of glucose.
This is great news for the 29 million Americans who have diabetes. Apple is not sure when the monitor will be available. It has been in development for five years and still needs more work.
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I am pretty sure I wrote about the Texture app before because I love it so much. For $14.95 a month, I get 200 magazines electronically delivered to me.
I cringe when I hear people our age say they don’t want to read their magazines on a digital device like as if they are being cheated. Do you know how wonderful it is to pay so little for all those magazines?
Unless you have Texture, you don’t know how beautiful the magazines appear on your smartphone or tablet. Yes, there are times I actually read magazines on my iPhone. Anything for convenience.
Whoever thought I would be able to carry around 200 magazines in my pocket. At any given time, I can read the publication of my choice. Yesteryear, I would have had to carry around 50 pounds of paper in order to accomplish the same thing.
For those who tell me they would never digitally read magazines or newspapers because they like the feel of paper, I say you are reading old news. Every digital publication is constantly being updated with new content. In this world, things change so fast that after a few hours, it’s dated information.
There are many advantages to Texture, but the one you will love the best is the summary that tells you which magazines have the best monthly stories. You won’t miss a thing.
Watch the Texture’s tv commercial above, it’s fascinating.
Today (April 12th) is my brother’s birthday. Many ask if he’s older or younger than me. I’ll let you figure it out. There’s a four and a half year spread. In any case, there he is below (standing) with his beautiful family. Picture perfect. Happy birthday Steve. Love, Lois and Eliot
DigiDame readers loved the dinette set blog post. Here are some of the comments.
Dedicated to DigiDame readers.
Concerts aimed at old guys are big business. Click here for the story.
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