For some reason, the technologists at MIT, do not think it’s natural for human beings to be speaking out loud to voice assistants.
Instead they want everyone to get what they want by just thinking about it.
MIT is working on a nonverbal device that communicates your demands. I know this sounds like voodoo, but MIT has invented a jaw-mounted device that reads your neuromuscular signals through built-in electrodes.
Now this is scary. The hardware called AlterEgo, can read “words in your head.”
The idea is to meld human and machine.
The IA device, intelligence-augmentation, was trained by 10 techies to read their neurophysiology. A school news release stated,”Once calibrated, the research team was able to get about 92 percent accuracy for commands.”
It’s very possible that one day you will be able to order a pizza from the comfort of your couch without saying a word. You will be surprising the whole family when the doorbell rings.
I guess we are all in for a bunch of surprises in the not so distant future.
Since its inception in 2009, the Miami Beach Gay Pride has grown from a neighborhood event to a global celebration. Eliot and I volunteered to walk alongside the Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce float in the annual parade. There were so many young people who showed up to give out promotional materials to the crowds, we were able to actually sit down and watch the show.
We are proud to be involved in any activity that demonstrates love for others.
Photos by Eliot Hess, except the one he is in. Marcia Grand took that one.
I’ve always been attracted to tall men.
Everyone wanted to participate in photo ops.
Our jobs were to give out bubble bottles.
Marcia Grand took this photo. She should have been in it. We just weren’t complete.
The Miami Beach Chamber Of Commerce float.
Interesting choices.
It was so good to see young people getting involved.
This is one time when you really want cold feet. After walking through the muck in the Everglades National Park for a few hours, the continuous flow of cold water was truly appreciated. It was hot outside. Eleven of us met early this morning to walk through the secret gardens of the Everglades to see what inspired artist Christina Pettersson to create her intricate and life-like nature drawings. Christina is on the top row, far left.
I’m pictured here with Kathryn Mikesell, founder of Fountainhead Studios and the events organizer for the day. Christina is a Fountainhead artist who has been working in the Everglades for several months and is having an exhibition in conjunction with AIRIE (Artists in Residence in Everglades) www.airie.org at Ernest Coe Visitor Center https://www.nps.gov/ever/planyourvisit/coedirections.htm.
Kathryn invited some of her residency artists and members of her foundation (that’s us) to visit the gardens that inspired Christina. It was an amazing expedition because we walked through slog up to our knees. We used walking sticks and stayed pretty close together to lend a helping hand.
John DeFaro, a Miami multidisciplinary artist, is a close friend of ours from New York. His parents lived on our floor in our Manhattan Co-op for over 30 years. His work is collected by many.
I wasn’t really concerned about walking through the muck. Look at the bottom of my pants. I was anxious to do something different. The Everglades were peaceful, fascinating to look at, and timeless. We can all use a little of that.
If you always wanted to drive a motorcycle, say hello to the Arcimoto, the first fun utility vehicle. It was recently introduced at the New York International Auto Show. Many of the tech publications gave the Arcimoto a good review.
It garnered most of the attention at the show.The Arcimoto is a three-wheeled electric car priced at $12,000. It’s set up like a motorcycle, but can be driven with a regular driver’s license in most states.
Take a close look. Handlebars replace the steering wheel, the front brake is on the right handlebar, and a rear brake on the floor. The Arcimoto has a single windshield wiper, a defroster, a hand parking brake, and seat heaters. The base-level battery has a range of 70 miles.
That’s enough to go from NYC to the beginning of the Hamptons. I wonder how many Arcimotos we will see on the road.
I’m getting a Cozy Desk this week. We ordered it today and it should be here by Friday. I’m very excited because my work environment is not what you think it should be.
I start working very early every day on my bed, then move to my club chair, then the terrace, and then back to bed. It works for me. Not having a desk gives me the freedom to relax in many different spots.
The Cozy Desk is engineered with venting holes so my laptop will not overheat and it is adjustable for desired heights.
You can buy this new portable desk around $70 on Amazon.
I just finished reading an essay about how to feel good about your age in your senior years. Jane Brody, the long-term writer of Personal Health, in the New York Times, wrote the piece. It’s very worth your time.
She talks about two books she recently read and then said, “I have a new way of looking at myself: as a ‘good-enough aging adult who continues to pursue and enjoy a variety of activities commensurate with the limitations imposed by inevitable changes in body and mind that accrue with advancing years.” It’s a must read. Click here.
President Jimmy Carter lives life to the fullest at 94. This interview with Stephen Colbert shows us attitude is so important. Fabulous.
Isabella Rossellini details how it was to lose her Lancôme contract at 43, and then regain it at 65. Great inspiration.
I could never do a blog post without showing off Lyn.
I have several friends who spend a great deal of their time raising funds for houses of worship. They recently told me their efforts are now completely digital. No more pass the plate. It’s now, pass the smartphone.
Boy have things changed.
There is a growing list of online donation sites and apps right across the United States.Those in the lead are NYCharities.org, PushPay, Venmo and Network for Good, FaithStreet.and Tithe.ly.
The New York Post recently ran a story that said, “Americans gave $122.9 billion to religious institutions in 2016. These sites are reportedly boosting donations around 30 percent.”
Mobile payments overall in the US soared 72 percent, to $187.8 billion, in 2017, according to Juniper Research.
A well-known audio enthusiast/tech writer friend of mine, Steve Guttenberg, (not the actor), told me not to miss the “David Bowie Is” exhibit currently at the Brooklyn Museum, March 2 to July 15th. I plan to see it in May when I’m in New York for an extensive period of time.
Steve just wrote about the exhibit for CNET where it caught my eye because he usually writes audio reviews. He wanted to do the Bowie piece because the entertainer was one of the most talented performers of his time. He was a musician, writer, dancer, actor, painter and a mime.
Steve said when you see the exhibit you realize that Bowie was always full of surprises. He led a free-spirited life that allowed him to explore many different paths. For folks who have had lots of aspirations, but never acted on them, Bowie’s exhibit is a reminder of what could have been.
Everyone who visits the exhibit gets a state-of-the-art headphone by Sennheiser, which provides what the Brooklyn Museum calls a “total immersive audio experience through the theatrical scene-settings and animation videos. There is quite a lot to see from stage costumes and portrait photographs to Bowie’s handwritten lyrics and even his coke spoon.”
Steve said what makes this exhibit so different is that the visitor receives the audio presentation automatically through the Sennheiser headphones when he or she stands in front of each showcase. They do not have to keep changing exhibit numbers. It’s one -of-a-kind.
Steve Guttenberg is another free spirit who refers to himself as the Audiophiliac. You can see Steve explain his love for music and the world of audio in the above video. For many years Steve was a movie theater projectionist, a high-end audio salesman and a record producer. He now reviews audio products for CNET, and freelancers for Home Theater, Inner Fidelity, Tone Audio and Stereophile.
Steve is a character. Be sure to watch all of his videos on YouTube. He certainly takes you behind the scenes in the world of music.
Photography and filming are not allowed in the exhibition.
Organized with unprecedented access to David Bowie’s personal archive, this exhibition explores the creative process of an artist whose sustained reinventions, innovative collaborations, and bold characterizations revolutionized the way we see music, inspiring people to shape their own identities while challenging social traditions. David Bowie is has been touring globally for the past five years and is taking its final bow at the Brooklyn Museum, providing an opportunity to view this one-of-a-kind material.
David Bowie is presents approximately 400 objects drawn primarily from the David Bowie Archive, including the artist’s original costumes, handwritten lyric sheets from famous songs, original album art, photographs, and videos, all tracing Bowie’s creative process from his teenage years in England through his last twenty years, when he resided in New York City. The archive is presented within an immersive, multimedia installation that includes continuous audio along with projected animation and video.
Highlights of the exhibition include more than 60 custom-made performance costumes, including six designed by Freddie Burretti for Ziggy Stardust / 1980 Floor Show and seven designed by Kansai Yamamoto for Aladdin Sane. There are 85 handwritten lyric sheets, including those from “Fame” and “Fashion”; drawings, including a sketch for the Young Americans album cover; and oil paintings, including two of musician Iggy Pop, all by Bowie.
There are also more than 40 pioneering music videos, television clips, and filmed roles as well as a multimedia presentation of international tour footage with rare scenes from the legendary Diamond Dogs tour, filmed in Philadelphia. A custom audio mix made up of snippets of Bowie’s songs—produced by longtime collaborator Tony Visconti—is also featured.
David Bowie is is organized by the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
DigiDame 