Category Archives: senior lifestyle

How A Feeding Tube Works 

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I really never thought I would be discussing how a feeding tube works in DigiDame, but here I am showing you a pretty graphic video that leaves nothing to the imagination. It’s hosted by Gunnar Esiason, the 21 year old son of Boomer Esiason, the famous NFL football quarterback and current TV sports commentator. Gunner has had Cystic Fibrosis (CF) since he was two years old.

I met Boomer about 15 years ago when I was working for Samsung. They partnered with the Boomer Esiason Foundation to help raise money for CF. Boomer told many of us at the time what it was like to have a child with CF. He started off everyday pounding the back of his son to clear his lungs. This was no quick process, but you had to do it for the child to survive. 

Today Gunnar is a thriving college student who uses a feeding tube twice a day as part of his CF treatment. Like his dad, Gunnar is very proactive about shedding light on this disease. He made a series of videos talking about the surgical process of inserting the tube and how it works. While it’s difficult to watch, you really need to see how fortunate we are today that such technology exists. I am really amazed. 

Bravo to Gunnar. 

Digital Moments 

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The Gerber Baby All Grown Up 

   I Couldn’t Agree More 

 

   

  
  

Love Your Photo

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It’s rare to find someone who loves the way they look in a photo. All I ever hear are complaints. “My nose is too big,” to “I look so old.”  When did everyone get so egotistic? 

The new thing now is “Facebook approval.” When I take a photo of someone, he or she will ask for approval before I post it. In the age of social media, eveyone is a critic. 

The good news is that something can be done with all those (ugly) photos. Facetune  is a photo editing app that is the next best thing to professional editing. Facetune edits,  enhances, and retouches  photos on a user’s iPhone, iPad, Android or Windows Phone device.   Facetune users can whiten teeth, remove blemishes, smooth skin, reshape, defocus and blur. The app features a variety of filters, lighting, textures, contrast, and frame options.  

People who love to take selfies will adore this app. Watch the video. You can re-create yourself. 

My Mother Is Gone 10 Years

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For a good cry, watch this video after you read my blog post.  You’ll know how I feel today.

Today is 10 years since my mother, Ruth Schneider, died. It was a Tuesday. I am very overwhelmed on this decade old anniversary because I can’t believe how much the world has changed and how much she missed. As far back as I can remember, one of my greatest fears was losing her. When it finally happened. I was relieved that she was no longer in pain. 

I’ve been okay for 10 years, but today I’m very emotional. You can’t tell on the outside but inside I feel wiped out.  Time is moving too fast. I can’t slow it down. I live most days like it’s the last, but that doesn’t give me solace. I want someone to invent a time machine where I can stop the clock. Or I would love to pick a certain date, a precise hour, and relive that moment. I want to see if my reactions would be the same, and if my attitude would be different.

Ten years ago, we didn’t have smartphones, apps, Google, FaceTime. Skype, eBay, Amazon, Audible, Facebook. Twitter, Instagram, Netflix, iPads, digital cameras, and smart watches. 

While my mother would have loved hearing and using all of these inventions, they would have paled in comparison to her wanting to be with her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. I know you can’t come back from the dead. If there was one person who could have managed it, it would have been her. The arrival of Ari, Ezra and Max Schneider, her great grandsons, would have been the force to get her back here. Perhaps one day, there will be an app for that.

Scher Energy 

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If you have anything you want to sell give me a call. My girl friend Marilyn Scher is an expert eBay buyer and seller. She has been doing it for a long time.

There are a lot of people who are eBay users but Marilyn spends hours researching the product category, the competition, comparable sales, timing, pricing, and shipping requirements. She has a head for sales. 

Marilyn recently sold some of my jewelry, stuff that has been stored in my closet for decades. I thought it was worthless, but Marilyn scored a few hundred dollars each. I couldn’t believe it when she handed me a wad of 20s. 

Marilyn sells all kind of items. She has been in sales most of her career. She even sells at various flea markets around the city. Interacting with international customers has been extremely rewarding. She knows what sells and when. 

If you want to sell some merchandise that you know you will never use again, give me a call. You can live anywhere in the United States because all that is needed are digital photos and descriptions. I will introduce you to Marilyn who will work directly with you so you are totally comfortable with the transaction. It’s really a very simple process.  Don’t wait too long to call. Scher Energy wants to do business with you.

Taking The Guess Work Out Of Shooting Pool

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I can barely remember owning a pool table during the 15 years we had a house in Quogue. Many of my guests used it all the time. I didn’t go near the table because it was as foreign to me as speaking Latin.

When we sold the house, the new owners bought the fancy pool table. I haven’t thought much about that table in 20 years until I heard about PoolLiveAid, a project by Luis Sousa, Ricardo Alves, and J.M.F Rodrigues of University of the Algarve, Portugal. 

PoolLiveAid turns everyone into a pool shark. Making use of a ceiling mounted camera, PoolLiveAid reads the borders of the table, location of the cue ball, and the angle of the pool cue. Then it makes a professional-type calculation and projects a path right on the table. 
That doesn’t necessarily turn you into a pro, but it certainly gives you a major advantage. The invention is still in beta form but let’s hope it becomes a reality very soon. Price? To be determined. 

Women Beware

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Talk show host Jon Stewart reminds us that Caitlyn Jenner is now part of a society where women in their 60s are not as prominent and respected as their male counterparts.

“As a woman, Jenner can now look forward to her physical appearance, not her talents or mind, being the object of daily scrutiny.”

Watch the video and give me your reaction. We live in a young people’s world. The digital revolution defined this even more. 

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The Hashtag Is Now A Big Question Mark  

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  Image: Twitter.com
  

Image: zerohedge.com

I have always been fascinated by how the hashtag became so popular on social media, especially Twitter. For most of my life the hashtag was nothing more then a number sign. 

Then someone had the brilliant idea a few years ago of using the # as a metadata tag, a symbol which helps users find content of similar nature on social media sites. If a user places a # in front of a word or phrase, the word(s) becomes searchable. 

As far as I know, the tech industry has been under the impression that the hashtag was the greatest marketing invention ever. Most major brands have been using hashtags for the last year or two to attract new customers.

Now, a story in Re/Code, a leading tech site, claims that the hashtag has not been performing as well as everyone thought. Twitter actually released a report that said certain types of ads featuring hashtags didn’t pull the audience originally expected.
The simple explanation: too many hashtags are becoming a distraction. A Twitter spokesperson said, “If you’re trying to join a conversation, you should absolutely use a hashtag. But if you want to attract customers, the less noise the better.”

Videos I Want To Share With You

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This Is What It Would Look Like If American Pharoah Raced Secretariat  Thank you Wall Street Journal for this fabulous replay 

I’m so proud that I learned to tape, copy and paste videos into DigiDame. Here is a video I taped the other day of some local Miami talent. 

 Cracking an egg under water. Totally awesome.

I Love Your Genes

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When a young friend of mine told me she had to get ready for a date, I thought she meant get dressed, comb her hair, and apply makeup. Boy, was I wrong. Today, dating is much different from what I remember. My friend picked up something that looked like a Q-tip, scraped the inside of her mouth, and then placed the Q-tip inside a folder.

The folder was then mailed to SingldOut. That was the first time I heard of this online dating site that uses genetic testing to form social relationships. The service also uses LinkedIn as well as DNA testing company Instant Chemistry in order to match two people up.  Jana Bayad and Elle France launched the site in July of 2014.

I guess Digidame readers would be welcomed on SingldOut. The trouble is that it would be slim pickings. Not that many people our age are on sites like this. The company credits genetic testing with the ability to “identify up to 40 percent of the chemistry of attraction between two people.”

Gizmodo, the tech site, wrote a major feature on SingldOut. Click here.