Author Archives: loiswhitmanhess

Perfect Father’s Day Gift for Eliot

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Eliot’s mother, the late, beautiful, wonderful Rhoda Hess, had him potty trained by nine months. At least that’s the story Eliot tells. Ever since then, Eliot has had great respect for the time he spends on the throne.

He doesn’t understand why everyone is not as disciplined as he is. This is all well and good except his bathroom looks like a magazine store. There are times the magazines are stacked so high that visitors question how many folks really use that room.

From time to time I say, “Time to clean your magazine shelf.” This usually happens when I know we are getting company. I have a new remedy for all this. It is a bathroom stand that replaces a traditional basket of magazines by accommodating both an iPad and a roll of toilet paper.

Available from Hammacher Schlemmer, the iPad Commode Caddy is ideal for browsing one’s digital reading materials while indisposed. The stand places the iPad at the best eye level height if you are sitting down. At 32″ from the floor on top of a flexible 10″ gooseneck, the unit provides the best positioning for reading in either portrait or landscape mode.The paper roll tube snaps/unsnaps easily for replacement.

Let the good times roll for $99.95.

Interns Are Not for Sissies

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If you meet a student in college who tells you he or she has an internship with a company in the digital business, you should have a new, profound respect for this kid. Today’s internships are not about the old grind of filing, reception work, or getting coffee for the staff. Today’s internships bring a whole new meaning to survival of the fittest.

Many digital companies use the internship program as a research lab for discovering new genius talent. Finding the next Bill Gates, Sergey Brin, or Steve Jobs doesn’t happen in a job interview. It is more of a scouting process, similar to sports.

Digital interns are under tremendous scrutiny by those who are responsible for hiring the best of breed. Interns are given daily challenges that only can be compared to the endurance of pledging for a sorority or fraternity. The tasks are so daunting that less than half of the interns last the full semester.

Not every young person is prepared to travel to foreign countries for research, play mind games that test for confidence, or have the skills to lead a new business pursuit.

These kind of skills are usually cultivated after years of experience. However, digital companies look for clues that certain students possess that show signs of what they characterize as unique qualities.

Being a digital intern also comes with major perks: high-end bicycles, free meals from nations around the world, weekend retreats, and premium housing.

I am reminded of all the stories I’ve heard over the years from young friends by the new movie, “The Internship.” Starring Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson, the hilarious duo from “The Wedding Crashers,” this brilliant comedy illustrates the daily, mind-blowing challenges facing interns in the digital industry today. The script was surprisingly written by Vaughn and former New York Post entertainment writer Jared Paul Stern. It was produced by Vaughn and Shawn Levy.

After you see this movie, you will be very happy to be an older person away from the maddening competition.

Tech Support for Older People

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There was a time when children thought their parents were the smartest people on Earth. Thank you technology for changing all of that.

Now we have to beg our adult children to help us when we get stuck trying out new smartphone apps, software programs, and gadgets. On our trip to see Whitney this weekend we brought along our new GoPro Video camera because it was stuck in a position that would only record our feet. Instantly, Fredrick, Whitney’s boyfriend, adjusted it for us. Then I had Whitney show me for the fifth time how to save changes from an Excel chart on my iPad mini, and finally we discussed the value of printing from your iPhone.

I thought it was a very productive trip. Whitney wonders if I was always slow to learn. I find that I am no different than most folks my age even though I am involved in the tech world. Unless we constantly use a piece of technology, we forget how it works.

A group of Google techies has come to the rescue. They launched TeachParentsTech.org, a “tech support care package” that’s meant to teach parents about computer basics. There are 50 basic how-to videos that cover topics from copying-and-pasting to sharing large files.

Click here to see the 50 videos that can help you with tech support.

Thank you Max Kahn for letting me know about this.

Mother’s Day in Key West

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If you ever would have told us that our baby girl would be living in the heart of Key West, we would have told you you’re nuts. My baby, who is now approaching 31, says that she has found paradise. She is also with the man she deeply loves. While they plan to live in many different places, Whitney and Fredrick are committed to stay in Key West until January, 2014 while he becomes certified as a Coast Guard Captain.

Both Whitney and Fredrick lived the corporate life for a few years in high powered jobs. Then, after months of discussions, they decided to sell everything they own and move to where they are surrounded by water and the sun shines all the time. They didn’t want the Internet to be the center of their lives day in, day out.

Whitney can do her UX job anywhere there is cell and Internet coverage. Fredrick bikes to work. They said most weeks they don’t move their cars. Duval Street, the main drag, is one block away.

Their move here is not that unique. Millions came before them. Built in the late 1800s, the house is surround by stunning tropical foliage and looks like a bed and breakfast inside. It is quite large. French doors lead to the backyard which has an in-ground pool. Whitney has a separate room for her office that looks on to the front porch. The setting should provoke great creativity.

And surprise, surprise! Whitney gave Eliot and me a Mother’s Day / Father’s Day double whammy gift tonight. She has enrolled us in the 32nd annual Key West Literary Seminar. At a four-day event that takes place in January 2014, we will attend seminars plus a party with some of the greatest mystery writers in the country. Eliot has already read most of their work, so this is going to be a star-studded event for him. I get to learn about their lives and perhaps pick up interesting writing skills. In any case, we get to live like locals and make a lot of new friends.

We had a very thrilling day. Tomorrow we get up at 5 am and hit the road to Miami. I hope Mother’s Day was a good and healthy one for all.

Sights from Key West

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Happy Mother’s Day, Everyone!

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My girlfriend Laura Foti Cohen just sent me a Mother’s Day present by email. It was a scan of the thank you note I sent her 30-plus years ago for the baby present she gave Whitney when she was born. The note symbolizes a 35-year friendship that has survived the test of time, mostly because of the Internet.

Laura moved from NY to LA almost 20 years ago with her now-ex-husband. Both are in the music business. At the time, Laura wrote for Billboard magazine and then went into the digital music business. Today she writes plays. We recently met up for lunch at Almond, a restaurant in the Flatiron district of Manhattan, where we dished for about two hours. It was a sheer delight.

As I sat across the table from Laura, I realized all the decades that have gone by and she is still the same gal that I knew way back when. If it weren’t for Facebook and email, we would have lost touch. Now when we meet up, it’s relatively easy to have deep conversations because we constantly follow each other online.

Don’t try to figure out what I wrote in the baby thank you note. I was ribbing her about nonsense. I think Whitney still has the stuffed animal Laura gave her.

Speaking of Whitney, Eliot and I are driving from Miami to Key West tomorrow (4 hours) to spend the day — a sleep over. We will leave at 6 am to beat the traffic. We’ll do the same thing on Monday. Yes, our Whitney lives in Key West now with her boyfriend, Fredrick. Whoever thought our city kid, whose first word was “taxi,” would want to move to Hemingway territory. She said she found paradise. That’s how we feel about Miami Beach.

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Laura Foti Cohen

Alec Baldwin Revisited

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My internist Bruce Yaffe, MD is good friends with Alec Baldwin. He insists that the Words With Friends fiasco aboard American Airlines was not a PR stunt. I didn’t want to debate that point because I was naked on the examination table. The only thing between me and him was my paper gown. I was feeling very vulnerable. I didn’t want him to see my extra pounds. I agreed with him immediately.

But I know better. My cousin Harvey Oshinsky bumped into Alec in the Murray Hill section of Manhattan soon after AA threw him off a flight because he wouldn’t turn off his cell while playing Words with Friends. Alec told Harvey the incident was for real. I argued the point with Harvey for an hour. He was relentless. It runs in my family. The day after Alec made headlines, hundreds of thousands of people downloaded the word game. Hmm?

Meanwhile the controversy over whether we should be allowed to use our cell phones and/or other electronics when the doors close on an airplane continues. The New York Times just reported a study released by two industry groups, the Airline Passenger Experience Association and the Consumer Electronics Association that takes a look at the whole situation. Thirty percent of all passengers said they had accidentally left a device on during takeoff or landing. When asked if they turn their devices to “off,” 59 percent of passengers said they do fully turn their electronics off and 21 percent said they just rely on airplane mode.

The Federal Aviation Administration recently said it would begin a review of its policies on electronic devices in all phases of flight. The study also found that four out of ten passengers would like to use their devices during all phases of flight, including takeoff and landing.

To date, there has been no proof that electronic devices interfere with the operation of an aircraft.

Maybe Alec wasn’t working with Words with Friends after all. Rather he was paid by a group of deep-pocketed businessmen who want to see the rules changed. Ever since Alec was almost arrested, the subject has certainly been a topic of discussion.

Perfect Mother’s Day Gift for Me

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I started driving at 16. My sweet, lovable father allowed me to use his car anytime I wanted to even though he relied heavily on it for his business. Thank goodness I was a decent driver so I never did any damage to the family car. Fifty years later I am a very insecure driver. Eliot does all the driving so my time behind the wheel is minimal. When I do drive, I find highway and street signs to be very confusing. I also can’t stand how other people drive, so I spend most of my time looking out for them.

I know that if I spent more time behind the wheel, I would regain my confidence. We bought a new Jeep over a year ago; I have yet to drive it. I was the one who desperately wanted it yet now I’m afraid I can’t maneuver it. It pains me to remember that from the age of 16 to 26 I could have been a truck driver. I was that good.

I am definitely going to start driving a lot. One of the ways I can help myself is with the new Garmin nüvi 3597LMTHD. I understand it is quite different from any other GPS machine on the market because it has voice-activated navigation. If you speak out loud, the Garmin answers you. Your hands can remain safely on the wheel. I don’t have to remove them from where they belong.

The other feature I love so much is the navigation with recognizable landmarks, buildings, and traffic lights. I don’t have to read street signs. Yippee! I swear I can’t understand other GPS systems. Garmin claims there is nothing else like it in the marketplace. You tell me if they are correct. It’s priced at $350. And I’m definitely worth it.

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A Writer’s Burning Desire to Publish

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Susan Schneider and my brother Steve with their grandsons, Ari (center), Ezra, and Max.

For as long as I can remember, my sister-in-law Susan Schneider has wanted to write a novel. She was a high school English teacher for most of her career, so the possibility of writing a book was not that far-fetched.

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YouTube’s Trends Map Provides More In-Depth Information

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YouTube is making it a whole lot easier to spot videos that are currently popular on the site.

The new e-map will offer gender and age profiles, shares and views. A scroll bar shows the number of regions where the video is popular.

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The TED Talks on PBS

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TED, the conference that is tagged “Ideas Worth Spreading,” is testing Public Broadcasting and the New York public WNET for a one-hour special. “TED Talks Education” will air this Tuesday. If all goes well, TED’s famous conferences might get a weekly gig. The first segment will be hosted by the singer John Legend, who taped it in April before an audience at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. The show features teachers, students, and those interested in education reform, like Bill Gates.

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