Monthly Archives: November 2018

Multi-Dimensional Selfies

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Eliot and Dada Khanyisa. Check out her sweat shirt. Say the words slowly. young and lazy. Couldn’t be further from the truth

One of the best things we did when we moved full time to Miami Beach a few years ago was to join business and cultural groups. Within a short period of time we had big groups of friends with diversified interests.

One group that has been very rewarding is the Fountainhead Residency and Studios. Founded and operated by Kathryn and Dan Mikesell, several artists from around the world are invited/sponsored to Miami to create works of art in a new social environment.

We have met very interesting artists, mostly young folks who have had some success so far. One gal, Shatha Al-deghady, was from Cairo so she really gave us a great overview of Egypt before we left for our trip. She is beautiful and her art is very experimental—belly buttons and scars. More about her later this week. Her work is being showcased at the Miami Art Fair.

The work I wanted to share with you today was created by Dada Khanyisa, a very young female artist from Joburg (Johannesburg). She is now based in Cape Town. The Johannesburg gallery that represents Dada will be featuring her work at Art Basel in the new Miami Convention Center. Look for Stevenson Gallery. She is a graduate from the Michaelis School of Fine Art.

We were amazed when we saw Dada’s work. Her focus is texture and multiple dimensions. She creates sculptural paintings and relate-able objects. The objects include re-interpreted wall units, figurines, reconstructed sneakers, digital illustrations and sometimes a tattoo on someone.

In her own words, “Most of the work I produce is about the black experience; the weight of the content is based on the currency of memories. I enjoy focusing on what people neglect or take for granted- their daily tasks and what was part of their growing experience. The work acts as a social mirror with some distortions which are fueled by the imagination and a particular agenda.”

I’m not sure what that all means but the multi-dimensional work Eliot and I love have a “selfie” photo aspect to it.

A work in progress

Other artists showing off their work at a Fountainhead opening.

Shatha Al-deghady and a friend

An Evening With Annie Leibovitz

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I got chills all over my body tonight when Annie Leibovitz got a standing ovation as she walked on stage at the Adrienne Arsht Center in Miami. It was wonderful being in an audience where like-minded people appreciated the talents of a woman who has captured some of the greatest moments in pop culture history. The legendary photographer was debuting her newest book, “Annie Leibovitz At Work” at the Miami Book Fair.

Leibovitz shared some remarkable tips to anyone who wants to be a serious photographer. Most of what she said seemed like a lot of common sense to me, but I guess it’s always good to get confirmation from a well-respected leader.

Leibovitz said the most important element in picture taking is the content. People should focus on photos that tell a story. One of the most remarkable things about a photo is that it becomes more meaningful as time goes by. The older it gets, the more you see.

Leibovitz is definitely a renaissance woman. Unlike many photographers who had a difficult time giving up film, Leibovitz has embraced the digital age. She believes in change and is willing to learn new photography methods. She wants to experience every opportunity. Very little intimidates Leibovitz her because her main goal is to capture the beauty of the moment.

That’s why she is so enamored with the smartphone. Leibovitz feels we are living in a remarkable time when we can just take out a pocket camera at any time and shoot. The possibilities are endless.

Photos featured in her book.

Friends of Family Discount

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When Emergencies Happen The SatPaq Becomes Your Best Friend

Let Me Know If You Want To Buy A Satpaq. I Will Get DigiDame Readers A Deep Discount. Satpaq Is A HWH PR Client And Is Brand New.

 

Stay in touch with loved ones when outside of cell coverage with no annoying monthly fee.

 

The SatPaq clips to any smartphone, provides real-time information and sends messages from anywhere.

Palo Alto, CA — Higher Ground, a Silicon Valley technology company, introduces the SatPaq®, a lightweight, clip-on, smartphone accessory that enables inexpensive (pay-as-you-go) messaging by satellite.  For the 144 million outdoor enthusiasts in the U.S., the SatPaq directly solves two problems — the anxiety of not ‘being connected’ and the frustration of having to pay monthly fees even if you do not use the service.

 

SatPaq has recently been named a 2019 CES Innovation Award Honoree in the Wireless Devices, Accessories and Services Category. 

 

The SatPaq is the first satellite-messaging product to communicate directly to Geostationary [GEO] satellites for consumer communication.  Other products use Low Earth Orbit [LEO] satellites, which have a number of disadvantages such as:

 

There can often be a 2 to10 minute delay before a LEO satellite is in the right part of the sky and ready to accept a message.  GEO satellites are in a stationary orbit around the Earth and are always in view.

 

Messaging over LEOs is SIGNIFICANTLY more expensive than using our GEO satellites thus requiring an annoying monthly fee.  By communicating with the big GEOs, the SatPaq can provide inexpensive, on-demand messaging service that you only pay for when you need it.

 

Prior to the SatPaq, no company had ever built a credit-card-sized module to communicate to these distant [23,000 mile away] GEO satellites.  This required both a) new technology [26 US patents granted and in process] and b) a new spectrum-sharing concept, first approved by the FCC for Higher Ground and the SatPaq. 

 

The SatPaq provides a number of useful features for owners in addition to two-way text messaging.  With the SatPaq users can access: location-based precision weather services; on-demand, artificial-intelligence-guided first aid advice with Dr. Dex; roadside assistance [January 2019]; tracking; posting to social media; and 24/7 emergency assistance from anywhere.

 

The SatPaq has been extensively tested by National Park rangers, county search and rescue, Homeland Security agents, US Army Special Operations Forces and power hikers since December 2017.  Now this same technology can be used by consumers when hiking, fishing, camping or during natural disasters when no other means of communication is available.

 

George Durkee, author, instructor and a consultant to many National Park Service search and rescue [SAR] teams, says, “SAR teams like Yosemite Search and Rescue (YOSAR) are called in to run some two hundred SAR events every year; many of these lead to injuries and deaths.   For the entire country, there are about 100,000 search and rescues every year.   These require hundreds of man-hours per event – much of it volunteer time.   This is expensive in time, health and money.   We simply need to do better.”

 

“There can be two extremely frustrating situations for SAR responders: not knowing where an overdue hiker is located and/or not knowing the type of injury. An inexpensive-to-use communicator like the SatPaq can solve both of these problems.   Merely checking in once or twice per day with its real-time location report will help us to significantly narrow a search area.   And its ability to send long texts allows us to evaluate the injury and send the most effective and safest response.”

 

Higher Ground LLC is the fourth successful start-up from serial entrepreneur, Rob Reis.    Investment capital for Higher Ground provided by KFI, BergVC, Global Real Estate and Intelsat Corporation.

 

This broad need for very inexpensive, Go Anywhere Messaging® has application beyond consumer uses to long-distance drones, military situational awareness, Internet of Things and third-world learning.  Higher Ground has several, multi-million-dollar contracts with both NASA and Homeland Security to further develop technology in these spaces.

 

The SatPaq is available now for $249.

 

For more information, please visit www.satpaq.com.

 

High Tech Choo Choos

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I really felt like I was looking into the future today. Eliot, my friend Steve Greenberg, and I, took a ride on one of this country’s most high tech, and innovative train lines. Called the Brightline, the train service is a high-speed rail system from Miami to West Palm Beach. The Brightline train stations, and the trains themselves, are so elaborate you feel like you are in the first class section of a luxurious airline.

We had powerful, free Wi-Fi in the train stations and on board. The Internet was one of the best ever. They also had wireless printers for passenger use. We also got to relax in the Brightline lounge which featured complimentary, delicious treats and beverages. Brightline staff offered us a variety of snacks and drinks onboard as well. That was after we received personal wash cloths to refresh up.

You can book your Brightline travel on their app, website or ground-level kiosks. Smart turnstiles read barcode tickets or BrightIDs. They are used as security systems that allow passengers to move from one Brightline section to another. They even reschedule passengers to earlier trains if seats are available.

We took the Brightline to Palm Beach today because our actor friend, Harry Redlich, was appearing in “Barefoot in the Park” at the Lake Worth Playhouse. Instead of making the 90 minute drive in our Jeep, we wanted to experience what it would be like to ride in the train of the future. We were delighted when we arrived in West Palm in a little over an hour.

Richard Branson of the Virgin Group is becoming an active partner in helping the Brightline expand to Orlando. In the coming weeks, Brightline is going to be renamed Virgin Trains USA.

Let’s hope Branson will upgrade, cleanup, and employ state-of-the-art technology in every train system he gets involved in. We heard he is now more interested in trains than airlines.

This could be the start of more Americans returning to train travel.

Kodak’s Point, Shoot and Print Instantly Camera That Also Syncs With Your Smartphone

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I guess we are back to the future in picture taking. Many of the young techies are talking about the KODAK Mini Shot Instant Camera because it is so versatile. It allows you to print color photos from the Kodak unit as well as from your smartphone. That’s a first.

Before you do, make sure you use the color controls, filter effects and Bluetooth™ options. I could go on and on about this new introduction but Amazon created a list to explain the camera.

Key Features:

• 10-megapixel camera

• 1.7” LCD viewfinder

• Auto focus, exposure, white balance and gamma correction

• All-in-one ink and paper cartridge

• 2.1” x 3.4” (credit card size) prints

• Normal and border printing

• High-quality water resistant, fingerprint-resistant photo prints

• Bluetooth connectivity

• KODAK Mini Shot App for adding filters and effects

Bluetooth Connectivity

iOS or Android devices

Send pictures to your device to edit/share.

Send pictures from your device to print instantly.

Use the Free KODAK Mini Shot App for cropping, adding fun filters and effects or even a remote shutter to get in that group shot.

• Use the viewfinder to focus on your perfect shot

• Press the shutter button to capture and view images on the screen

• Print a full color photo in just 50 seconds, with up to 20 prints on a single charge

• Connect to your iOS or Android device to share on social media and edit on the Kodak app!

All this for $119.

The Shower Speaker

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I knew this speaker existed but for some reason I never thought about buying it. Whitney and Fredrick bought it for me because they know I like to listen to 1010 WINS New York radio all the time.

It’s true. Even though I don’t live in NYC anymore, I am still a devoted fan of the all talk, 24-hour news station. There is nothing else like it in the world. The slogan is, “You give us 22 minutes, we’ll give you the world.” Everything you need to know about that world around you, is delivered in 22 minutes.

I downloaded the Radio.com app on my smartphone, and then selected 1010 WINS. It’s the world news, plus New York information, which is always good to have. Now that I have the VicTsing waterproof speaker, I can continue my listening pleasure in the shower as well. I love it. Thank you, Whitney and Fredrick.

VicTsing Shower Speaker Waterproof with 5W Drive, Suction Cup, Built-in Mic

https://youtu.be/WTyIswQBe5M

$17.99 on Amazon.

• Great for Outdoors and Shower.The silicone cases and interface design ensure Shockproof, Dustproof Waterproof,level up to IPX4, can be used under harsh environment (such as, outdoor and shower).

• Support A2DP and and built with a 5W speaker. It can stream incrediable stereo sound with full range output, crystal clear articulate high end.

• It has built-in MIC Bluetooth speaker and hands-free function You can conveniently pick up a call by this mini speaker in car, bathroom, at home or office, anywhere during it is connected to your Smartphone.

• Built in rechargeable battery support up to six hours playing time at the volume to 70% of the maximum volume.