Category Archives: digital

The Art Of Eating And Drinking 

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Everyone who knows me, knows I do not cook. I eat a lot, but I do not cook. I have no idea why I find  “the top 15 food apps” on Mashable so fascinating, but I do.  I think I find it very comforting to know that there are apps that could teach me a lot about cooking and good foods if I really wanted to learn. I find myself checking out each of the apps from time to time to see how difficult they would be to follow. None of them are.

1. Tinder for Food.  Tender curates food photos and corresponding recipes from all over the world. 

2. Off The Menu. Secret menu items from bars, cafes and restaurants in 16 cities across the U.S. and Canada. 

   

 3. Kitchenbowl. The app allows users to share their recipes and bookmark favorites. Create collections to share for later use. 
4. Vivino Wine Scanner. Take a photo of a wine bottle or wine list to get the drink’s rating, and build a portfolio of favorite wines. 

5. Next Glass. Next Glass allows you to take a picture of the bottle or barcode in order to search for a specific drink. 

6. Happy Cow. Happy Cow app finds vegan and vegetarian restaurants around the world.

7. Mixology Drink & Cocktail Recipe. The Mixology Liquor Cabinet allows users to input the alcohol and mixers they have on hand in order to find a recipe. 

8. Roaming Hunger. The Roaming Hunger app allows users to locate food trucks nearby and find favorites with ease. Roaming Hunger tracks over 7,500 food truck vendors across the U.S. and Canada.

9. ChefsFeedChefsFeed is a popular food app that provides restaurant recommendations from top chefs around the country

Click here to learn about the balance of the apps.

  

Make A Commitment To Your “Uniqueness” For The Rest Of Your Life

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If you only have one more hour left to your life, listen to this podcast. It will clear up a lot of questions you have had about your journey. If you want to really make a commitment to your “uniqueness”‘for the rest of your life, listen to this interview. There are overwhelming surprises sprinkled throughout.

Whitney was featured on the Unmistakable Creative podcast this week. Designing a More Self Aware Life.

 http://bit.ly/1OlEqkM

There is a two minute commercial before the interview begins.

 

I Would Fall Asleep Immediately

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I have seen a lot of strange workstations in my career, but this is too much to believe. This is not a joke. I just can’t imagine having a professional conversation with someone literally lying down. What a hoot.

Altwork, a Sonoma Valley, Calif. startup, wants the workforce to be completely comfortable. The company has designed a workstation for “high-intensity” computer users: programmers, writers, etc. I first read about this on Mashable.

The Altwork Station features customized positions, all controllable by using buttons on the desk surface. Standing and sitting normally are the expected positions. Focus allows you to recline the chair to be completely horizontal. Altwork equipped the desk with magnets to keep the keyboard, mouse and other accessories in place.

Altwork’s website says, “The ability to seamlessly work in a variety of different positions will increase efficiency for those so-called  ‘high-intensity’ computer users.”

For those who love this concept, get ready to spend $3,900. That’s the  “early adopter” price, so act fast.

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Heads Up

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Image: Hudway

Here’s a sneak preview of what you might be looking at in the future. A glass company called Hudway, Marina Del Rey, California, hopes to be marketing a piece of glass that will turn your smartphone into a heads-up display on the front of your car. Let’s  hope you have a flat surface.

The reason why this is getting so much attention is because the display is placed exactly where your eyes actually meet the road. Common sense tell us that this is a much safer alternative than looking down to see your cell phone when driving.

The Hudway Kickstarter campaign explains that the device “beams information from your phone to a thin layer of curved glass mounted to the front of any dashboard for turn-by-turn navigation and phone message.” 

Hudway’s phone app supposedly lets you do things like text, tweet and even watch videos while behind the wheel. Yikes, videos? Please don’t do that

Hudway is trying to launch at $49. Hudway has raised almost $500,000 so it’s well on its way to becoming a reality. Click here to see the campaign. 

It’s Important For Someone To Get It Right

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Click here to hear, Ctrl-Walt-Delete, the podcast I am talking about below.

I just finished listening to a podcast about Steve Jobs that perhaps was more personal and more interesting than anything I ever read about him in a book or saw on a screen. I stumbled upon “Ctrl-Walt -Delete” on Twitter and just spent the most enjoyable 49-minutes hearing Walt Mossberg, Founder of Re/code (recently acquired by VOX Media) and Nilay Patel, editor-in-chief of The Verge, (also owned by Vox Media) detail why Jobs really changed culture, technology, retail, and entertainment, in ways few of us truly realize.

The focus of the podcast was their reaction to the movie, “Steve Jobs,” by Aaron Sorkin. Both journalists have great respect for Sorkin but say the movie did not represent the Jobs they knew. Jobs was close to Mossberg for years, and often called upon him for his opinion about new product introductions. That relationship morphed into a personal one, even though Mossberg knew and understood why Jobs befriended him in the first place. “I’m not a dope,” Mossberg stated during the podcast.

Mossberg believes if Sorkin wanted to write a fictionalize version of Walter Isaacson’s book, Steve Jobs, he should have given the movie a different title. He refers to what Orson Wells did with Citizen Kane (1941) which took artistic liberties with the life of William Randolph Hearst.    

For Mossberg and Patel, the real injustice of the movie was that it didn’t really focus on the 14 years when Jobs came back to Apple. These are the years they refer to as “The maturing of Steve Jobs.” These are the most important years where he redefined the cell phone, the music player, the tablet, and the Mac computer. He did all this while he ran one of the most successful movie studios, Pixar, and created The Apple stores.

I could go on forever about this podcast but the best read blogs are the short ones. I really encourage you to listen to it because what they have to say about John Sculley, Bill Gates, Steven Balmer, Sorkin’s career, Jobs’ wife and children. They also describe the personal side of Jobs who they claim had the most magnetic personality on stage. It is truly a life lesson for all people starting their careers and for those who want to stay in the game.
 

Amazing Odds And Ends 

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I just wanted to share a different type of  editorial hit that we (HWH PR) achieved on Good Morning America today for Waterpik’s Water Flosser. It didn’t cost our client a thing. It looks  like an advertisement but it’s strictly editorial. The segment is called Deals and Steals. I’m not allowed to tell you the exact number but Waterpik sold more units than anticipated across all time zones. I just wanted to share this amazing exposure with you.  

Oldest Synagogue In America

I met Erica Goldberg on our River Cruise a few years ago on the Douro River, Portugal.  Of course, we are Facebook friends ever since. I loved one of her recent posts because many of you have been there. 

 
A Broadway Debut

Here I go again. I met Victoria Lang at the beginning of my career when she was a producer for “Live with Regis and Kathie Lee.” I used to pitch her editorial concepts all the time. She has had a fantastic TV career, and for the last two decades, has been producing Broadway Shows. This is the latest.

  

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DiedinHouse.com

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Image: Journal 930.com 

  

With Halloween a few days away, I have a question for you. Would it bother you if you found out that someone died in your apt/house before you moved in? I have some good friends who always check this fact each and every time they move. As they laughingly joke, “We are afraid of ghosts.” 

 The truth is that some people are just uncomfortable knowing that life ended in the space they call home. When Eliot and I bought the apartment next door to us in New York, we knew that our dentist neighbor was dead in the bedroom for a few days before his wife called the authorities. She didn’t want to give him up. The truth is another couple rented the apartment before we bought it, so it was kind of a second-hand death purchase.

In New York City you can’t be picky. Space is a premium and for the most part, death is not a deal breaker. The website, DiedinHouse.com, was founded in 2013 by a software development company based in Chapin, SC. They built a database that contains all the information you need to conduct a search.

I have no personal experience with the website, but I know a few satisfied customers. Mashable recently wrote a story about the company.

 

I’m Going To Try To Put Seniors Back To Work  

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I spend a lot of time talking to people my age about their desire to go back to work. “If I can only find something for 20 hours a week where I can use my brain,” said a friend of mine who has been retired a few years. For fifteen years, he was Vice-President of a pharmaceutical company.

His desire to work is not uncommon. Many retired business people and educators miss the action of their occupation. They don’t necessarily want to work full time, but they want to find a position where they are useful and appreciated. They are not interested in being a Walmart greeter or a Uber driver (even though there is nothing wrong with that).

While my contacts want to be involved with the decision makers, they can’t even get their job request phone calls returned. They send out resumes, go to networking parties, and even attend job fairs. Nothing ever materializes. 

Huffington Post just issued a story, “Where Are All The Old People In Silicon Valley?  It covers the fact that once older folks lose their job in the Bay Area, there is no chance of getting back in. The  article quotes Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook who once offended 50-plus crowd when he said, “Young people are just smarter.”

I’m announcing today, that I am going to try to prove Zuckerberg wrong. I’m in the midst of contacting Facebook, Google,  Proctor & Gamble,  Amazon,  Pfizer, etc about starting a program where they hire seniors to find solutions to major challenges. The qualified seniors can work flexible hours just as long as they meet deadlines and make significant contributions to the company.

When I outlined my intent on Facebook recently, the response was overwhelming. Lots of friends wanted more information. My job has just begun. I feel that I can start a trend where major companies take a chance on seniors. Now I just have to find the right senior candidate, for the right meaningful project. 

   
   
 

Hazel Is Going To Chicago

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This is the musical we are involved in. We were sworn to secrecy until the media announced that Hazel, the musical, will  open next March 31th at the Drury Lane Theater in Oakbrook, IL. Both Chicago newspapers ran the story today. Official opening is April 6th. We are thrilled for our friends Chuck Steffan, Ron Abel, Klea Blackhurst, and Lissa Levin. All this would not have been possible without the help of Lucie Arnaz Luckinbill. 

 
  
  
  
  

Something As Simple As This            

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Images: Mobstub and Amazon

Something as simple as this can save your life, and keep you warm at the same time. I personally like wearables that light up at night so moving vehicles can easily see  you. As we get older, precautionary steps like this should be considered.

I’m not sure how long these types of knit caps have been around, but they are gaining in popularity this year. In fact, several friends have told me they are back ordered on Amazon. Mobstub, and Walmart. 

I think I want one for myself even though I don’t plan to be in cold weather that much. This type of cap can come in handy anywhere, at anytime. The LED light on a tightly knit hat is perfect for airplanes whose ambient temperature is freezing. Have you noticed how cold some cabins are these days? 

Friends who ride bikes first alerted me about these caps. Then I saw online advertisements for them. While there are a few different brands, most of them feature:
On/Off switch controls 4 LED lights
Knitted acrylic material, no itchy wool.

One size fits all.

Replaceable batteries.

Directional lighting 

Price: Around $20. 

If you find a store selling them, let me know.