For the last few years, HWH PR, has been helping a client work on a texting technology that will one day be a major feature in smartphones. Called Satpaq, the accessory connects to satellites in the sky so that you will always be able to communicate with others when cells go down. This is a common occurrence during hurricanes, fires. earthquakes, floods, and mudslides.
We also experience dead zones where there are no cell towers in many parts of the world. There are even many places in Silicon Valley and the Hamptons where cells don’t work. The Satpaq is desperately needed to keep you in communication with loved ones or first responders, if you are in trouble.
The creator of SatPaq, Rob Reis, CEO of Higher Ground, visited me in Miami Beach, last Thursday. We spent the day checking out the Satpaq connection from the balcony of my 36th floor condo to the board walk on the first floor of the side of my building. Rob even checked the communications skills of the Satpaq from inside my living room windows. We scored 100 per cent connectivity.
We just came back from the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fl. We went to see Frankie Valli in concert. At 83, he was amazing. While he definitely looks older and moves a little slower, the voice and spirit was as young as it was in 1962.
He may not hit the high notes as well as he did before, but compared to most of the male singers today, he did very well. It’s astonishing how much energy he exuded for almost two hours on stage. I was a little nervous that he would pass out, but that was my neuroses, not his. He showed no signs of exhaustion, and knew how to pace himself.
It would have been fun to ask Frankie about getting older. How does he maintain his energy and strength. Other men his age are sitting in front of a TV set not moving. He can’t sit still. What gives? The answer is probably pretty simple. If you like what you are doing, you can go on forever.
I promised I would share a few if I lost a bet. I lost the bet.
I’m really not in the mood to write anything special today because of the 17 people who died in the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. This is what I posted on Facebook.
Back to the days when children didn’t have access to guns the way they do today.
I was having dinner with my cousin Irene Monday night, when I saw something flashing from her handbag. “What is that?” I asked. Irene told me that every time she gets a new cell call, her phone flashes. A bright white light appears, and then it starts flashing, on and off.
Wow, this is a great way to find my phone when it’s buried in my handbag. It’s also great when you don’t hear your phone ring. You get a flash alert. I’m pretty sure this is the way you get it to work. Try it and let me know.
This photo was taken of Eliot and me October, 2013 in Cuba. It seems so appropriate for today. We were visiting the home of Jose Rodriguez Fuster, a Cuban artist who produces ceramics, paintings, drawings, engravings, and graphic designs.
I fell in love with his work. Please watch the videos because it will show you what he did to rebuild the fishing town of Jaimanitas, just outside of Havana. He turned the entire town into a huge public art exhibition. He is considered as great as Gaudi.
I would go back to Cuba over and over just to be in the company of Fuster’s work.
My cousin Jeff collects flashlights. We all thought he was eccentric until there was a hurricane in Miami, mudslides and fires in California, and a heavy duty snowstorm in New York.
When the lights went out, and the flashlights that he gave us guided us though the dark, we too fell in love with these handy little gadgets. That’s why I loved learning about the Slughaus Bullet 02. It’s suppose to be the world’s smallest LED flashlight.
It measures just over an inch long, less than half an inch wide, and weighing just .211 ounces. You can take it with you anywhere. You can attach the miniature flashlight to anything you own. It’s super powerful and retails for $9.99.
After you read these little two line stories, you will probably ask yourself what does this have to do with tech, art or travel? Not a damn thing. I thought they were funny and my former boss (42 years ago) sent them to me. Richard Ekstract owned a dozen or so tech publications so there is a connection.
How do court stenographers keep a straight face?
These are from a book called “Disorder in the Court” and are things people actually said in court, word for word, taken down and published by court reporters that had the torment of staying calm while the exchanges were taking place.
__________
ATTORNEY: What gear were you in at the moment of the impact?
WITNESS: Gucci sweats and Reeboks.
__________
ATTORNEY: Are you sexually active?
WITNESS: No, I just lie there.
__________
ATTORNEY: What is your date of birth?
WITNESS: July 18th.
ATTORNEY: What year?
WITNESS: Every year.
__________
ATTORNEY: How old is your son, the one living with you?
WITNESS: Thirty-eight or thirty-five, I can’t remember which.
ATTORNEY: How long has he lived with you?
WITNESS: Forty-five years.
__________
ATTORNEY: Now doctor, isn’t it true that when a person dies in his sleep, he doesn’t know about it until the next morning?
WITNESS: Did you actually pass the bar exam?
__________
ATTORNEY: The youngest son, the 20-year-old, how old is he?
WITNESS: He’s 20, very close to your IQ.
__________
ATTORNEY: Were you present when your picture was taken?
WITNESS: Are you kidding me?
__________
ATTORNEY: So the date of conception (of the baby) was August 8th?
WITNESS: Yes.
ATTORNEY: And what were you doing at that time?
WITNESS: Getting laid.
__________
ATTORNEY: She had three children, right?
WITNESS: Yes.
ATTORNEY: How many were boys?
WITNESS: None
ATTORNEY: Were there any girls?
WITNESS: Your Honor, I need a different attorney. Can I get a new attorney?
ATTORNEY: How was your first marriage terminated?
WITNESS: By death.
ATTORNEY: And by whose death was it terminated?
WITNESS: Take a guess.
__________
ATTORNEY: Can you describe the individual?
WITNESS: He was about medium height and had a beard.
ATTORNEY: Was this a male or a female?
WITNESS: Unless the Circus was in town I’m going with male.
__________
ATTORNEY: Is your appearance here this morning pursuant to a deposition notice which I sent to your attorney?
WITNESS: No, this is how I dress when I go to work.
__________
ATTORNEY: Doctor, how many of your autopsies have you performed on dead people?
WITNESS: All of them. The live ones put up too much of a fight.
__________
ATTORNEY: ALL of your responses MUST be oral, OK? What school did you attend?
WITNESS: Oral.
__________
ATTORNEY: Do you recall the time that you examined the body?
WITNESS: The autopsy started around 8:30 PM.
ATTORNEY: And Mr. Denton was dead at the time?
WITNESS: If not, he was by the time I finished.
__________
ATTORNEY: Doctor, before you performed the autopsy, did you check for a pulse?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: Did you check for blood pressure?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: Did you check for breathing?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: So, then it is possible that the patient was alive when you began the autopsy?
WITNESS: No
ATTORNEY: How can you be so sure, Doctor?
WITNESS: Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar.
ATTORNEY: I see, but could the patient have still been alive, nevertheless?
WITNESS: Yes, it is possible that he could have been alive and practicing law.
Just had to boast that I got this all done in a week.
This is my grandnephew Ari. DigiDame just did an interview with him because he just completed his first theatrical stage debut.
At least once a week, someone asks me to explain Bitcoin. I have been holding on to two documents that answer 90 per cent of the questions I have been getting. My friend Alex emailed these explanations to me in December. They are perfect.
Thank you Alex. You are very generous to share this information with us.
Your entire privacy is about to go out the window, and there is very little you can do about it.
I know several technologists who are working on tracking devices that will be placed in the clothes you will be buying in the future.
What scares me the most is that you may never know exactly which garments are tracing your steps.
L.L. Bean is one is the companies who wants to put sensors inside your clothes and footwear so they can learn just how you use their clothes. From the minute you purchase one of their items, their sensors are tracking your every move. A song comes to mind. “They will know if you have been bad or good, so be good for goodness sake!”
L.L.Bean claims that they will ask you if you want to opt-in when they start selling clothes with sensors. If you don’t want to, the item that caught your eye may not be available without a sensor. Your choices can become very limited. I personally don’t believe any manufacturer will be totally truthful. They may want to be honest, but mistakes will happen.
L.L. Bean has been telling the trade media that all the information collected will be kept confidential. That doesn’t make me any more comfortable.
What if I buy something and don’t wear it for months. Does that mean I get a bad score. and scolded when I go to buy my next item?
What if I buy a larger size? Will I get reprimanded for gaining weight? There is a lot to consider here. I feel like I am being spied on and there is no escape.
There are so many tidbits posted on Twitter each day. You really should join just to peruse. In one easy swipe, you learn things that would take you all day to read in various publications. It’s like reading headlines. Here is a sample from today.
DigiDame 