Celebrating our coffee tasting degree ,San Alberto Plantation, Buena Vista, Colombia.
Coffee Tasting Degree.
The Jeeps we took to get to the plantation.
i have to try this at home sometime.
The pickers weighing the coffee beans. We got lucky catching them in the act.
One of the coffee bean pickers with his iPod.
Our Jeep driver, one arm and one eye.
I’m not embarrassed to admit that sometimes I wish I had the old Polaroid instant print camera when I travel (we are in Bogota, Colombia, on a tour) or when I’m at a party. I love taking pictures of people and immediately handing them a print. I know you probably think this is a nutty thing for me to say, since I’m such a proponent of senior people using the latest and greatest in technology.
The trouble is that most people (youngsters too) take their sweet time responding to digital photos. I can send folks a picture of themselves via email and it can take weeks to hear their reaction. I like immediate gratification. It would be more fun to take a picture, hand it to someone and watch the response.
This morning we went up to Monserrate, a mountain that dominates the city center of Bogota. 10, 341 ft above sea level.
Eliot rarely sees pictures of himself. He is always snapping his own.
It would have been nice to hand a print photo to this group so they could have celebrated the moment.
Meanwhile, a number of friends who attended the IFA conference in Berlin, Germany a few days ago, (a consumer electronics trade show), told me about the new Polaroid’s Snap camera that prints instant photos without ink. They said it was the talk of the show. Targeted to sell for $99, the 10-megapixel Snap camera looks like a toy but the quality of the prints are supposed to be the best yet.
Features include: a big red shutter button and a self-timer button for selfies, a button to switch between modes for color, sepia, and black and white. The prints come out of the right side and the left side has a Micro USB port. I looked online and found a video that explains all of the features.
The camera should be available in a few months. I may be first on line to buy it.
It’s amazing. We’ve been on this earth for so many years and we still mispronounce certain words. People are always correcting me. That why when I read about the 50 most frequently mispronounced words in Ragan’s PR Daily, I decided to share it with you. In the world of digital, you are not suppose to cut and paste an entire story. So all you have to do is click here to see all 51.
Here are the first few ….
1. aegis—The ae in this word is pronounced /ee/. Say EE-JIS/, not /ay-jis/. In mythology the “aegis” is associated especially with the goddess Athene. It is her shield with the Gorgon’s head on.
2. anyway—The problem with this word is not so much pronunciation as the addition of an unnecessary sound. Don’t add an s to make it “anyways.” The word is ANYWAY.
3. archipelago—Because the word is from Greek, the ch is pronounced with a /k/ sound. Say /AR-KI-PEL-A-GO/, not /arch-i-pel-a-go/.
.
If you were worried that your children, or grandchildren, spend too much time playing video games, now you have a whole new couch potato sport to be concerned about. The new pastime is youngsters, watching other youngsters, play video games.
I know it sounds absurd but now kids sit at their computers watching complete strangers play video games. I want to be sure you get the picture. The younger generation is using their computers to zero in on other video gamers playing video games.
Jimmy Kimmel found this so absurd that he joked one night during his monologue that the next big thing would be kids, watching other kids, watching video gamers, play video games.
Apparently, he really upset the community of video game spectators. To understand how ugly it really got, watch the two videos. Bottom line, Jimmy is questioning the role of parents today. Is it funny or pathetic?
Remind me to take you to Little Havana the next time you are in Miami. I really mean Calle Ocho (SW 8th Street/Tamiami Trail). It’s known as the neighborhood for Cuban exiles, perhaps the largest in the world. The street life is filled with restaurants, music and cultural activities.
Tonight, the four of us, Ruth, Howard, Eliot and myself, wanted Cuban Food so we ended up in Exquisito, right in the middle of all of the street action.
After dinner Ruth suggested we stop by Cuba Ocho, a Cuban cultural and research center, which also features great tapas and diversified music.
The minute we arrived at Cuba Ocho, I spotted a desk lamp on top of the bar that I adored. When I asked the price, I was introduced to one of the owners of Cuba Ocho, Yeney Ramos.
Yeney explained that her husband, Roberto Ramos, 44, fled Cuba in 1992 with a boat stuffed with valuable works of his Cuban art. The walls of Cuba Ocho are covered with Ramos’ personal collection of paintings and books from Cuba’s prerevolutionary era. Some of his pieces are being shown in museums all over the U.S. He is also known for creating the coffee table book, “The Great Masters of Cuban Art.”
Yeney Ramos
The table tops are absolutely unique. What a way to experience art.
Center stage for all kinds of musicians. Thursday night is salsa (yes, dancing too) and Fridays are the battle of the rock bands.
The next few slides show this magnificent exhibition center. The place is a gem and it might become our home, away from home. I’m glad we found it.
What took you so long GoPro? You finally created an easier way to use your cameras. For years, you had these sophisticated units that were just too complicated for me to use. You practically had to be a professional digital editor to create a video.
I was one of your first customers. I loved the idea of wearing a camera so I could take a video of everything I saw during the day. I was so loyal. Over the years, I bought several units hoping to master your editing process. To no avail. Now, I hear you finally became user friendly. Bravo!
I’m thrilled that you now have an on-camera trimming feature that produces short clips. I can also edit on the companion mobile app. This is true for the full-size Hero4, the Hero4 Session and the other WiFi-capable GoPros. They can now produce five, 15 or 30-second videos.
This is great news for everyone who loves to take videos. Read more about it in Digital Trends. Watch the above video, too.
Before I get into today’s post, I wanted to show you what tropical storm Erika looked like on MacArthur Causeway today in Miami. No biggie. Thank goodness.
Miley Cyrus hosted the awards in her outrageous, see-all outfits.
Then Kayne West with his very pregnant wife, Kim Kardashian, took center stage.
Nicki Minaj was very much a Kim lookalike.
Britany Spears was tame compared to others. 
Saved the best for last–Kelly Osbourne. Now, that’s a hairdo. 
August 30th. Celebration Day.
I’ve been saving these videos to share with you.
Amy Schumer and Jennifer Lawrence, who are co-writing a screenplay about two sisters, made a surprise appearance during Billy Joel’s Wrigley Field concert in Chicago Thursday.
Are these clouds or balloons in London? Pretty miraculous.
Bill Cunningham, of the New York Times, loves these handbags
Childhood Memories
This video is totally obscene
Photos provided by Arro.
I’m surprised this didn’t happen before. Crain’s New York just reported that yellow and green taxis in the city that never sleeps have a new app that will compete with Uber. Called Arro, the smartphone app promises to be less expensive and more efficient than Uber.
I immediately went to the App Store to download Arro. Oops, I found out it’s not ready yet, but will be a few weeks. Seven thousand cabs will be involved in the initial rollout and then the entire industry will join in. If successful in New York, other cities with a big taxi fleet will be using Arro as well.
The Crain’s story explains that Arro has a good chance of competing against Uber because of its partnership with Creative Mobile Technologies, the tech company that is already working with thousands of NYC taxis.
I combed through all the news on Arro to see what their big appeal will be. I found it. If they want to be successful, they have to let potential riders know that their fares will not fluctuate in peak hours. Current meters will determine the price.
This is going to be interesting.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.”
.
Your creative side just became a bit more organized. Esty, the popular, online craft shop, just announced a major improvement to its mobile app. As of this very moment, the “shop local” feature, has been added to let users know where to find craft products in pop-up neighborhood locations.
The “shop local” feature was always available on Esty’s website, but that wasn’t very convenient for crafts people who are always on-the-go, hunting for new items. The mobile app will be continuously updated so users can even find local retailers who are having special craft specials.
Even though no one would describe me as me as a person who does crafts, I do love checking out local goods and finding unique items. I always feel like I am the last to know about a nearby arts and crafts show. We always seem to stumble upon them.
Now, all I have to do is open my Esty app and get a glimpse of every crafts event in the area. I can also use the app’s built-in map to see what’s happening in other areas of the country. Pretty cool.
I have been shopping Esty online craft products for years. I’m glad they’re progressive enough to promote live events. It just makes sense to have both options.
Thank you
DigiDame 