Category Archives: senior lifestyle

Details on Hyperloop Revealed

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Elon Musk and possible Hyperloop renderings

Every major publication that covers tech technology jumped on this story yesterday. Elon Musk, co-founder of PayPal and chairman of Tesla Motors, tweeted that he will publish the Hyperloop alpha design by August 12th.

Here’s his tweet:

Elon Musk (@elonmusk)
7/15/13, 10:06 AM
Will publish Hyperloop alpha design by Aug 12. Critical feedback for improvements would be much appreciated.

Musk is referring to his new type of train that he claims can travel like “a puck does on an air hockey table.” I talked about the hybrid train in an earlier DigiDame post when I profiled Musk.

The Hyperloop, Musk claims, is a hybrid between a train and a plane. The mission is to make the trip between San Francisco and Los Angeles in 30 minutes, which is an average speed of approximately 800 miles per hour. It takes six hours by car and one-hour-and-15 minutes by airplane.

In a recent interview with AllthingsD, Musk said that the proposed costs of his Hyperloop are $6 billion. Right now, the state of California has plans to build a much slower train for $60 billion.

Many California residents are rooting for Musk, while industry members question his sanity over this project. I’ll bet on Musk, even though it may take another five years plus to put the first shovel in the ground.

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The Next Best Thing to Having Yourself Fanned

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Someone up there must like me. I have often dreamed of having someone read me news and magazine stories for years. I always envisioned myself sitting in a bathtub listening to the New York Times. I thought it would be so great to get two things done at the same time.

Okay, sometimes that doesn’t work, but I can’t be too far off base because three ex-Google guys just developed an app called Umano that reads news and magazine articles to you while you are driving, working out, running, walking, sunbathing, and yes, taking a bath.

As we get older and our eyes get tired we might want to consider sitting back and letting the Umano voice actors (not robots) read to us. Umano covers must-know news, entertainment, tech, entrepreneurs, inspirational items, and science. More topics and actors are being added all the time.

So far, seven million people have listened to stories over the last few months, and that number is increasing every day. Umano has noticed that users listen several times a week during the same time period. The app is available on Android and iPhone.

I downloaded the app and have listened to many stories over the last few days. I love it! I am learning about things I wouldn’t normally read. That is a very good thing.

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You Heard About Her Here First

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Ron Abel, Rachel Ann Weiss, Eliot Hess, and Chuck Steffan

I felt like I was the late Hollywood publicist Sue Mengers last night when she first spotted Barbra Streisand singing in a small New York club at the beginning of both their careers. Mengers knew immediately that Streisand was going to be a legend, so she did what she had to do to sign her on. The same thing happened to me last night when Eliot and I went to see 25-year-old Rachel Ann Weiss at The Cutting Room, a NYC nightclub on East 32nd Street. I may be in the Golden Age of my career, but when I see something extraordinary, I feel ageless, ready to take on an exciting challenge that could last decades.

This time I don’t want the role of publicist. I want to be her manager. Rachel has all the makings of the next Adele or Amy Winehouse, maybe even greater because of her confidence and ease with the audience. Her voice is mesmerizing. She writes her own words and composes her own music. She has been performing since she was seven, strumming her guitar on stage along with her father’s band, “The Suits.” Dad Jay Weiss, a successful realtor, is a rocker. And mom Kathleen Turner is one of the best, well-known actresses in the world to appear in movies, television, and on stage. Jay has been a quasi client of HWH PR over the years, so that’s our connection.

Rachel’s parents were in the audience last night, but no one gave them a second look the minute the young singer-songwriter-guitarist took the stage. Our good friends Chuck Steffan, a lyricist for many popular singers today, and his partner Ron Abel, one of the leading music arrangers and composers in the country, were with us last night and immediately proclaimed Rachel as the next Laura Nyro. They were so excited about her that the four of us (Eliot, Chuck, Ron, and I) moved on to Joe Allen’s to discuss Rachel’s future. That is what happens when people who are so passionate about what they do discover a new something. We get drunk on euphoria. We were so high that even Joan Rivers, sitting right next to us, didn’t draw our attention.

Eliot and I have seen Rachel perform a number of times before. We always felt she had a strong and amazing voice with a totally unique style. It is quite remarkable that some major record label has not signed her up. That is where I come in. Chuck and Ron insist that I take her on. They said I’m a natural for it since I have networked so many of my clients into major deals that many thought were unattainable. I still have the fire in my belly.

Chuck and Ron’s last words to me last night as we were about to part were, “Wouldn’t it be great to finally rep a talent you can be so passionate about?” Tell that to my clients Samsung, 17 years; Helen of Troy (Revlon, BedHead, Vidal Sassoon, Toni & Guy hair appliances), 15 years; HBO Video, 12 years; Random House, DuPont, the list goes on.

The wonders of the Internet (another great love) allows me to share Rachel with you here and now. Check out Rachel’s website for her upcoming shows, her original songs, and social media links. Below are her YouTube links.

Presenting a Virtual Choir

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Eric Whitacre

We are all learning that technology is connecting us in ways we never thought possible. Today, I present a virtual choir of 8,000 voices, ages 6 to 98, from 101 countries, on one stage.

Whitacre realized that if enough singers recorded their respective parts (Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass), he could put them together to create a virtual singing experience. This is the second virtual choir project for Grammy Award-winning composer and conductor Eric Whitacre. Whitacre’s first project featured 250 YouTube submissions from a dozen countries. He now has a lot of experience taking singers of all ages and backgrounds from around world and digitally synchronizing them.

Whitacre, 43, comes from Reno, Nevada. He signed a long-term recording deal with Decca in 2010.

I have included both projects for you to enjoy.

Play Chopsticks for Me

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The tablet is really becoming one of the most versatile musical instruments ever. Every day something musical is being introduced for it.

A San Francisco company called Miselu has developed an iPad case with a built-in wireless keyboard so that users can make music on the go. Miselu is the first one to introduce a two-octave wireless keyboard that replaces the traditional keyboard with piano keys. The case sends MIDI input to your iPad wirelessly and will work with any music app you have installed on the tablet.

A strip of buttons above the piano keys lets you control things such as what octave the keyboard will play in and add effects like tone modulation.

All this is getting to technical for me. I suggest you watch the video.

Read My Lips, You Can Finally Hear Me

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Admit it, you are one of the 300 million people worldwide who have a hearing problem. And, like me, you don’t want to do a damn thing about it at this point in your life. I can live with mistaking words like cake for steak, cash for rash, or schmear for smear. I’m not about to wear hearing aids for the occasional mumble by my husband, friends, co-workers, business associates, or just about anyone I meet in the course of the day.

Leave it to digital technology, Bluetooth to be exact, to come up with a solution that allows us to hear every word and look so cool doing it. We are so lucky that this development happened at this time in our lives.

Sound World Solutions has developed a device that costs far less than hearing aids ($299.00 on Amazon) and can be easily adjusted on the spot. No more long, drawn out visits to the audiologist. According to the company:

The Sound World Solutions’ earpiece looks like a small Bluetooth phone receiver in your ear but has the flexibility of being adjustable through a smartphone app or manually. Called the CS10, the device goes through a sequence of customizing for more clarity, increases in the trebles, or more bass. The device also has presets that can be turned on and off without a smartphone.

Watch the videos below to see full explanations about hearing loss and the actual functionality of the CS10.

iPhone Lens Gets More Intimate

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I can’t wait to try the new zoom lens that is just being introduced for the iPhone by Olloclip. This is the same company that makes the three-in-one lens for the iPhone that combines wide-angle, macro, and fish-eye into one. It simply slides on and off.

Now Olloclip has a combo 2x telephoto and circular polarizer lens. It too just slips on and off. Tech reviewers say that while the zoom feature is not as good as dedicated digital cameras, it sure does the trick. Nothing wrong with that.

I keep my Olloclip lens in my handbag at all times, but I rarely use it. I have little interest in wide-angle, macro, or fish-eye shots. I do love zooming in on subjects, so the minute the new lens comes on the market, I will be first on line. $99.00 to get a little closer.

Hanging Out on the Corner of Oy and Vey

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David Steven Simon

Only my client David Steven Simon could come up with a phrase like “the corner of oy and vey.” Whether he actually coined it or not, it fits the journey he is on to produce movie and TV content for our age group. Filled with decades of Hollywood experience, he was one of the leading head writers for The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Mad About You, and Full House.

His new project is totally cutting edge and a new wild ride using CGI. David has asked me to get the word out about a 20-minute comedy short called “That’s News To Me.” It stars funny lady Caroline Rhea and funny man Jay Potter. The short features refugees from the worlds of Woody Allen, Stephen Sondheim, Newsies, Spamalot, The Onion Newscast, Blue Sky Studios, and Hornet Animation, a director-oriented studio that goes for the jugular of Me-TV‘s favorite classics.

I wanted DigiDame readers to be the first to see this movie so you can let me know what you think of it. This film and others yet to be produced are part of David’s brand new Manhattan-based TV and film company, The Wit Protection Program.

The press release we are using says:

“The production company pledges to protect and defend the kind of intelligent and well-crafted comedy that millions, ages 40 to dead, grew up on, but are now being totally ignored by Hollywood. The miracle of the film is that while budgeted at well over $150,000, the project wound up costing the company exactly zero. (*Partner and TV commercial graphic artist, legend David Zung, did shell out for a few props, craft services and a hooker named Debris).”

How did they pull such an elaborate stunt off? With a brilliant scam: they mined for gold at NYU, enlisting the crème de la crème of undergraduate geniuses from The Tisch School of the Arts to crew the film. The savvy veterans were smart enough to confer with and often defer to their fledgling crew members who brought an inherent vitality to the already unbridled, break all the rules, off the wall, project.

The goal of the film was to cram in as much entertainment value as possible in the least amount of time, so get ready to buckle up for a joke a second feast! There are more gags than “Lovelace!”

The film can be seen at:

Vimeo.com/davidworld/thatsnewstome.

Password: Oldmenbosoms (*case sensitive!)

It’s all about the buzz, so help us get buzzy!

Tweets from Samsung Exec, SF Plane Crash Survivor

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David Eun

Maybe now you will have a whole new respect for Twitter. Many times before, I have written about the virtues of Twitter, never Facebook. They have two different purposes, though they get different bad raps.

Simply put, if you use Twitter correctly you will read news first on this information feed and you will have the opportunity to talk to the news makers themselves. No other communications vehicle can offer you the genius of this short-form blogging.

One of the biggest values of Twitter is the fact that it is live. The minute an event occurs, someone in the world posts information about it.

Such is the case of David Eun, the Samsung executive who was one of the passengers on Asiana Airlines Flight 214 when it crash-landed at the airport in San Francisco. (A little side note. Eliot and I had a bird’s eye view of that runway from our Marriott Hotel room, 1122, on our monthly trips to our Redwood City office a decade ago. Eliot was so fascinated by the drama of watching the takeoffs and landings, he often stayed up to the wee hours of the morning).

The Wall Street Journal quickly pointed out today that Eun’s tweets were the first signs that most people survived despite TV images of flames engulfing the fuselage of the wrecked Boeing 777.

All of Eun’s tweets have been posted below so you can see the story unfold. He has been quiet today other than the last tweet. Eun is well known in Silicon Valley because he previously worked at Google and at AOL.

So far today, he has not granted any conventional interviews. A special message to David Eun from DigiDame and all of our readers: “We are glad you are safe and thank you for your remarkable effort to report the news.”

Anyone who wants to learn Twitter, call me.

David Eun (@Eunner)
7/6/13, 3:13 PM
I just crash landed at SFO. Tail ripped off. Most everyone seems fine. I’m ok. Surreal… (at @flySFO)

David Eun (@Eunner)
7/6/13, 3:23 PM
Fire and rescue people all over the place. They’re evacuating the injured. Haven’t felt this way since 9/11. Trying to help people stay calm. Deep breaths…

David Eun (@Eunner)
7/6/13, 3:33 PM
Lots of activity here. Friends, pls don’t call right now. I’m fine. Most people are totally calm and trying to let the fire and rescue do their jobs. Just like during 9/11, most people are great and try to be helpful in crisis…

David Eun (@Eunner)
7/6/13, 3:55 PM
@kccnn I don’t want to divert attention away from crash. Posted updates to let everyone know that majority of passengers seem ok.

David Eun (@Eunner)
7/6/13, 4:36 PM
At Terminal now. Very grateful I’m ok. Thanks for all your best wishes but please do not call me right now. Will keep everyone posted.

David Eun (@Eunner)
7/6/13, 5:15 PM
Just went through customs. Adrenaline rush is subsiding. Just trying to process all this. Really glad that most everyone I saw seemed ok, with just a few minor injuries. Thinking a lot about family and friends right now. . .

David Eun (@Eunner)
7/6/13, 8:14 PM
LOTS of officials with badges and uniforms but no updates. No communications. Waiting…

David Eun (@Eunner) 7/6/13, 9:31 PM
Just left SFO. Thanks everyone for your support and good wishes! Wishing the best for those who were

David Eun (@Eunner)
7/7/13, 9:33 AM
Feeling a little shaky from yesterday’s experience but strengthened by outpouring of support from all over. Reminded of how connected we all are. Mourning those who died or were injured. Thinking of two little boys who [were] with their mom. Hoping they weren’t too traumatized.

If You Are 45+, Consider Yourself Old

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Old folks in the digital world.

I will never forget the first time I truly realized my age group was no longer considered important. Forget important, how about non-existent?

I was sitting at a client meeting at Briggs & Riley, the premium luggage company in Hauppauge, Long Island, when the young marketing managers started talking about their target audience. I wanted to slip under the conference room table and hide there until the meeting was over. I didn’t want anyone around the table to see that the person they relied on to pitch their luggage was no longer relevant.

The age group these young whippersnappers identified as the prime market for their luggage was 18 to 45. I was 58 at the time. Maybe I am crazy (don’t answer that), but I felt like someone had slapped me silly. One minute I was significant with a voice, the next I was on the outside looking in. Let’s not forget that folks 55-plus are the ones today who are doing the serious traveling and have the money to spend on quality luggage. What do those empty suits know anyway?

I really try not to focus on my age in business anymore because, as far as I am concerned, I have more energy and ambition than most youngsters today. I recently learned of a Business Insider survey conducted by Survey Monkey that compared the habits of older people who use smartphones to those of younger ones. I couldn’t believe my eyes. Business Insider has declared the age group 45-to-60 “old” compared to the age group below those numbers.

I wonder how it feels to be 45 and categorized as older America. Look at the questions asked and see the results. It’s amazing how the digital world is so divided. Maybe this is a metaphor for the rest of our lives as well.

Here are some of the topics in the survey. I think you will find the answers interesting.

Is it slightly acceptable to answer a phone call at dinner?

Are business calls slightly acceptable at dinner?

Is Facebook acceptable at dinner?

Is texting acceptable at dinner?

Do you leave voice mails?

Do you start your day with emails vs. Facebook?

Do you post a picture of people on Facebook without getting their permission?