Category Archives: senior lifestyle

Get Ready to Throw Out Your Credit Cards

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My wallet is so fat. Not fat with money but with too many credit cards. Every time I have to pay for something I fumble for the right card. It gets so embarrassing. I just learned about a remedy. It’s called Coin.

Coin is a single card replacement for multiple debit, credit, gift, loyalty, rewards, and membership cards. An integrated display right on the Coin card shows you which card you are using by providing the last four digits, along with the expiration data and security number.

The Coin card works with a mobile app for iPhone, Android, and soon Windows. The app manages the physical Coin card. You can load an unlimited number of your cards into the app. Then you can transfer up to eight of them at a time to the Coin card using a supplied dongle (adaptor). You can change that card you’re using with just a press of a button. The Coin card can also be used at an ATM machine.

“We have a concept called a leash,” says [Coin CEO Kanishk] Parashar. “What that means is that if your card is near your phone it’s working, but if a leash breaks, which could happen if you leave it behind or someone steals it, it will lock down and keep your financial information secure.”

More neat security features abound, as they should. If you lose your Coin card you receive an alert and can deactivate it. Coin will also be equipped with an alarm that notes how many times your Coin is being swiped. And if swiping patterns deviate in frequency from your normal use, it alerts you to potential fraudulent activity. You can also lock down one particular card so that friends, waiters, or strangers can’t swap to a different card on their own.

Priced at $100, Coin will be available next year. A 50% discount for pre-orders is available via the website for the next 20 days.

Keep It To Yourself

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I’m hopefully about to start a new trend in health care and I plan to use social media to spread the word. What better way to kick it off than my own blog. You are reading it here first.

There is a new product on the market that we all wished we had but never knew how to get — a personal surgical mask. Say hello to Tutem, individually wrapped single-use masks that help prevent the spread of germs that cause colds and flu. Available in ten different prints, Tutem masks are intended to keep travelers, commuters, co-workers, families, and the rest of us from getting sick this cold and flu season. There are an estimated one billion cases of the common cold in the U.S. per year.

The name Tutem is based on the Latin word tutis, meaning “for our safety.” Tutem is going to be an interesting product to market because, once it catches on, it will be feel like it was here forever.

Tutem founder Jody Vitelli feels the masks fit in perfectly with increasing trends in wellness and public germ prevention. “Keep It To Yourself” is the company slogan.

Tutem custom prints feature a patented breathing chamber that makes long wear easier. The individually wrapped, latex-free masks are sold two per pack and come with all-natural CleanWell sanitizing wipes to clean your hands.

Tutem 2-Packs are $8 (10-Packs are $30) and can be purchased on the website. Let me know what you think of this concept and if you need any.

November 22nd Is My Special Day

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Lois and Eliot, all locked up at the studio of Jose Fuster in Cuba during their October 2013 art trip there.

Long before the Internet, November 22nd became a very important date in my life. Fifty years ago, my Sweet 16 was held on the same day President John Kennedy was shot and killed. What a bummer. Eighty folks, mostly my friends, showed up at the Regency Catering Hall in Jamaica, Queens to support me, even though everyone really wanted to stay glued to the TV tube. Remember when it was called that? Today it’s called a smart flat panel.

Coincidentally, 34 years ago on the same date, Eliot and I were married in my Aunt Esther and Uncle Ef’s condo, Rancho Mirage in Palm Springs. Sixteen people attended our wedding. My mother arranged the impromptu wedding that was decided on two weeks earlier. My father had died exactly a year before, and the anniversary of his death was going to be a very painful experience. Eliot was the one who came up with the idea to get married that day just to pick up the spirits of all family members who would elsewise fall into a funk. It worked. Two cases of champagne put everyone into another orbit.

As I look back to these times, I think it was the quiet period. No cells, no Internet, no Facebook, no video games, no Twitter, no YouTube, and no Google. Everyone communicated by a landline or actually put words on a piece of paper that was mailed to each other.

If we all knew then what we all know now, I wonder if we would have encouraged the digital revolution. It’s kind of nice to dial down the noise every once in a while.

Happy Anniversary, Eliot. I love you.

Tap, Tap, I Am Thinking of You

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Even though most of us are past the dating stage, that doesn’t mean we don’t want to tell someone else that we are thinking of them. That person could be a spouse, a special friend, a child, or even a grandchild.

A company called Woodenshark has developed a sleek silicon slap wristband that will be sold in pairs, so if you tap your bracelet, the other one will vibrate. It’s very comforting to know someone else is thinking of you. TapTap will be available early next year. Like many new startups, the company is making sure it is well funded before going full blast.

The TapTap bands incorporate IFTTT technology for communications. There will be a software-development kit that will allow other capable folks to create other potential uses for TapTap.

TapTap runs up to seven days on one charge. The wristbands are very easy to use. You have to download the TapTap app and connect your smartphone via Bluetooth to that of the person wearing the other wristband. A capacitive sensor on top of the TapTap and an accelerometer sense the taps.

Users can create their own language based on the number of taps. For example, one tap means “I love you,” two means “I miss you.” Maybe three could mean “I am tapped out.” Ouch!

Experience a Brain Orgasm

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The topic of experiencing a brain orgasm has been all over the Internet again. An online community has blossomed around a phenomenon called Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response where a subset of people experience a euphoric feeling in their brains that science has yet to explain.

Even several trade tech sites have covered it recently, so I thought I would share the information. After all, folks over 50 need all the help they can get. Okay, at least a few of us do.

Seriously, ASMR is something I may have felt for years but didn’t know how to explain. It all started when I was a pre-teen. I would be playing “beauty parlor” with friends. One of my pals would be brushing my hair when all of a sudden I would start to feel faint. Then I got an overwhelming sensation like I was losing my equilibrium. This same feeling would happen to me over the years, most recently when I was getting a massage the same time I was receiving a manicure. I had to ask the masseuse to stop because I didn’t want to pass out.

I could be confusing my own feelings with ASMR, but having never found any other explanation for what I felt, I’ve decided I must have experienced ASMR. Be sure to watch the video because some people believe ASMR is good for headaches, insomnia, and panic attacks.

Special Invitation for Art Basel

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I want to invite all DigiDame readers to a very special event during Art Basel at 110 Washington Avenue, CU-3, Miami Beach, Florida, on Saturday night, Dec. 7th, 6pm to 9pm. The exhibit will be open from Dec. 3rd to the 29th.

Our good friends, Gail Williams and Dawn McCall, of the Williams McCall Gallery South of Fifth, along with Gary Marotta Fine Art G-1 Gallery of Provincetown, are presenting the extraordinary late paintings and drawings of New York City artist Manuel Pardo (1952-2012).

Pardo became well known when Marcia Tucker, founder and director of the New Museum in NY, included his work for the groundbreaking exhibition in the 80s, The Other Man: Alternative Representation of Masculinity. Pardo went on to exhibit internationally in solo exhibitions in New York, Paris, Mexico City, Cologne, Havana, and Milan. Corporate commissions and events include The Motherland Series; Murals by Manuel Pardo at the British Airways terminal and JFK International Airport; and Hérmes & Visa for Masaryk: Arte Moda & Visa, curated by Justo Sierra, in México City, México.

Pardo was born on July 4th in Cardenas, Cuba. He died in November 2012 after a short illness while enjoying the success of his show entitled Stardust at California State University Fullerton. The artist’s obituary, written by David Frankel, Senior Editor, Publications Department, Museum Of Modern Art, New York appeared in The Huffington Post on May 16, 2013.

Pardo’s work tells his life story of a ten year old boy emigrating, against his will, to the United States from Cuba on Operaciòn Pedro Pan. In his best known series, Mother And I, the artist pays homage to his mother. Pardo depicts his mother Gladys adorned in couture clothing in lavish surroundings with elaborate patterns, colors, and details often referencing popular culture in the context of the work. Other works like Motherland represent a boy’s last memory of Cuba with a lone palm tree standing in front of a highly stylized mountain range.

Collectors and supporters include Sondra Gilman and Celso Gonzalez-Falla, Henry Luce III, Joan Sonnabend, Mike McGee, and Andrea Harris.

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Caught in Automation Hell

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There are days when I don’t think I will ever talk to a real person again. I go from automated voice to automated voice. I often think, “If I could only talk to a real person, I could get this done so much faster.” Dream on, Lois.

Then today I learned there are ways to reach a live person when you are caught in automation hell. You just have to be willing to play games.

Here are some tips.

1) Hit zero. Some older phone systems will transfer you automatically to an operator. If zero doesn’t work, try the # symbol.

2) Speak softly. This is a surprise. Some phone systems are programmed to connect you to a person if the computer program does not understand you. The same thing will happen if you speak gibberish.

3) Select “Cancel Service.” Operators are instructed to instantly jump on the phone.

4) Say “Get human.” Then just patiently wait.

5) Don’t push any buttons or say anything. Operators may sense the caller is calling from a rotary phone.

6) Curse. My favorite technique! Telephone systems are programmed to detect angry cursing, which often puts you next in line.

Do you have any tips or experiences you can share?

Don’t Miss Google’s Holiday Popup Stores

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Google is finally showing up at retail, even if it is just holiday popup stores. It will be fun to see a little competition for Apple.

The only problem is that “little” is the operative word. Google is only planning a few stores and not one of them is in Miami where I will be spending the holidays. Now I know what it feels like to live in a so-called “Second City.”

Google has earmarked New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Sacramento, Washington, D.C., and Paramus, NJ. Paramus? What was Google thinking? One of the founders must have been born there or is currently dating someone from there.

In any case, Google stores are going to be a big attraction. Called “Winter Wonderlabs,” the stores look like huge snow globes, snow included. Potential customers step inside with their friends and create slow-mo videos to keep and share.

The holiday stores will showcase the Nexus 7, Chromecast, had the latest Chromebooks. Google wanted to feature Google Glasses as a major marvel, but the company decided they wanted to focus on the other products. The popup stores are designed to be adult playgrounds because of all of the interactive demos. If you go, let me know what the experience was like.

Update on Digital Magazines

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Next Issue has become the Netflix of the magazine business. For $14.99 a month, a subscriber can access about 112 digital magazine titles. That means instead of carrying around 15 pounds of magazines that are next on my to-read list, I have them all neatly organized in my Next Issue app on my iPad.

Quite frankly, I am not sure why anyone buys print anymore. Eventually, no one will. Next Issue includes titles from Conde Nast, Hearst, Meredith, and Time Inc. The company is hoping to have 75,000 to 100,000 subscribers over the next few months. Next Issue’s biggest challenge is the same one most apps have. There are 900.000 apps in the Apple store. Too much competition, too much noise.

For that reason, Next Issue is launching a TV campaign in order to rise above the crowd. Two 30-second spots, one geared toward women and the other aimed at men, are running on Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, Lifetime, Bravo, Food Network, and AMC.

The big revelation from Next Issue this week is that it plans to start letting users search magazines for specific topics and to introduce a recommendation engine based on a subscriber’s interests.

That’s something you can’t do in print.

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Vanity Fair on Audio

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My doctor friend Howard Stark said that I have a condition that is known as hypomania. It means that I see everything large. If we both like the same restaurant or movie, I personally view and experience it in a much more exaggerated state. I get emotionally enthusiastic and will relay my feelings to everyone who will listen. He shared this information with me a few years ago. I just want to ask everyone if they are feeling the same thing I do when something good happens.

Today is one of those days I am euphoric because I learned that for the first time I can hear one of my favorite magazines on audio. That means that when my eyes are tired from all the work I do during the day, I can just sit back and listen to editor-in-chief Graydon Carter and all the contributors to Vanity Fair read their editorials and stories into my ready-to-be-entertained ear drums. I am flipping out. I can’t believe that this is happening. I have dreamt about this for so long. I feel like the folks at Vanity Fair heard my plea for this over the years.

I am not going to give up my printed subscriptions, but I do want the option of just listening when I am pooped. By the way, I like to be one of the first to read Vanity Fair among my friends. I just love when someone mentions a story to me and I quickly answer, “read it.” Reading Vanity Fair first is like being a member of the “in” crowd without the social BS effort.

You can buy the audio version of Vanity Fair on Amazon, Audible, or anywhere audio books are sold. Then it is just one click away to download the magazine. I just did it. The first audio issue is free, but if you don’t like the experience, be sure to cancel, otherwise you will be billed handsomely every month. It is starting out at $14.95 each edition, but I believe that price will go down as the audio subscriptions go up.

Tonight I plan to plop down on the couch, cross my legs, put on my headphones, and listen away. Because I am hypomanic, I will be knitting away on my second project of the season. My eyes are not too tired for that.