Visiting The Center Of The World

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Look at us. It’s Howard, me, Rene, and Eliot at the Equator. We really had a lot of fun experiencing this milestone. Tomorrow we are leaving for the Galapagos. We may not have Internet on the boat starting tomorrow, through Monday morning. It will probably be very spotty. If anyone can manage to get on, it will be me. This might be the first time in almost six years that you will not be getting a daily DigiDame. Enjoy your vacation.

This is the Intiñan Museum in Quito. The museum studies the equatorial zone from a scientific point of view. It explores the sociological, political, cultural and communal aspects of the people living in what is often referred to as the Center of the World. The Intiñan Museum has developed into an attraction that is both entertaining and educational.

The museum features a number of interactive exhibits demonstrating events that occur only on the equator. These include the complex Coriolis Effect, as well as simple, but effective and entertaining, demonstrations such as water going down a drain with no whirlpool,

Watch my video which demonstrates the water pouring straight down on the equator, clockwise on the Northern Hemisphere and counterclockwise on the Southern Hemisphere.

Watch us try to walk down on a straight line directly on the equator. It was impossible. Each hemisphere was pulling us at the same time.

We got our passports stamped in the center of the world. That was very special.

Till next time.

Debbie Nigro Show

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Click here to hear my girl friend, Debbie Nigro, interview Marion Ross on her Internet and radio show. It’s a remarkable piece. Thank you Debbie for allowing me to share this with DigiDame readers. Debbie has quite a following. You will soon see why.

Arrived in Quito, Ecuador

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We are traveling with Rene and Howard. They arranged the entire trip. We opted in. First stop Quito, then the Galapagos. This trip is going to be very adventurous. We are at 9,000 feet above sea level in Quito, and the four of us don’t feel a thing. So far, so good. We hope we do as well on the boat taking us from island to island, in the Galapagos, which we fly to on Thursday.

Today was a fun day. We did what every tourist does on the first day in a new city, eat, shop, and take photos. I did a little damage at the market at Otavalo. These are the vendors I made rich.

The following photos are dedicated to my friend Bob Risse who taught me to appreciate the entrances (doors) to homes, offices and retail shops around the world. Rich or poor. many folks place emphasis on curb appeal. The following are the doors I found in Otavalo.

The view from our room in Quito.

Peacocks in love

This Airplane Is on Steroids

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Stratolaunch’s First Taxi Test

I just heard about the largest airplane ever to be built. They say it will be ready later this year, but I don’t know that for a fact. You can ask Paul Allen, the co-founder of Microsoft who is financing it, or Google its name, the mighty “Stratolaunch.” You might find out more information than I know.

I asked several tech friends for information and did some Googling myself. I was astonished to find out that the aircraft is so big that it requires two cockpits and six jet engines to fly.

This big bird is probably being designed for commercial use because its wingspan is longer than a football field. It measures 385 feet and reportedly will be used to transport rockets carrying satellites and astronauts into Earth’s upper atmosphere.

Last summer, billionaire Allen revealed the visionary firm’s ambitious plans for the giant record-breaking aircraft.

Allen told the Washington Post, “I would love to see us have a full reusable system and have weekly, if not more often, airport-style, repeatable operations going.”

When asked about the possibility of manned missions, Allen added: “If you caught the bug back in the Mercury era, of course, it’s in the back of your mind.

“But I think you’re seeing right now, other than [space station] resupply missions, most spaceflights are about launching satellites. That’s the reality.”

As well as sending cargo to space, the plane could be used to launch a secretive shuttle-size rocket codenamed “Black Ice.”

Right now the Stratolaunch is being tested in every conceivable way.

Allen plans to release more details about the functions and services in the near future.

For more information, read The Independent.”

Amazon Wants It All

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This morning, I received a text from my friends who are meeting Eliot and I in Quito, Ecuador tomorrow. They are in the mountains and visited the Amazon today.

I decided to look up exactly where they were so I googled “Amazon.” I actually had to scroll way down to find the Amazon “jungle” or the Amazon “rain forest”. I finally had to resort to inserting the words “jungle” and “rain forest” in search to get what I was looking for.

The other Amazon, the Jeff Bezos kind, is not only overtaking Google, but the world as well. It has become our everything. It has taken over cloud services, voice assistants, publishing, and self-serving brick-and-mortar stores.

Now I hear that Amazon is getting into fashion. They want to change our whole approach to buying clothes. To some extent they already have. Now they want their own brands. They already own other fashion companies including Zappos, but that’s not good enough.

Coresight Research claims 14 per cent of what Amazon sells is their own product. Amazon now is going after the remaining 86 per cent dominated by third parties. They are going to spice things up with major fashion concepts and trends. It’s not good enough to be the largest apparel retailer. Amazon wants their own designed clothes on the cover of Vogue, Elle, and Marie Claire.

In case you are wondering, the Amazon “rainforest” is located in nine different countries with 60 per cent in Brazil. The balance is Peru, Columbia, Ecuador. Bolivia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana.

Read more about Amazon moving into fine apparel in Tech Crunch.

https://techcrunch.com/2018/04/22/amazons-next-conquest-will-be-apparel/

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Using Twitter to Predict Presidential Popularity

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My brilliant tech friend from Washington DC, Gary Arlen, shared this story with me from the Tech Policy Institute. I thought you would find it very interesting.

Is it possible to gauge American’s sentiment towards President Trump through the number of “likes” of his tweets?

Washington, DC – Can the number of “likes” of President Trump’s tweets offer any insight into his overall approval rating?

TPI’s President and Senior Fellow Scott Wallsten recently analyzed this topic in detail. The results show a distinct and meaningful correlation between the number of “likes” of President Trump’s tweets and his poll numbers.

Dr. Wallsten’s research and its implications mean that determining the number of “likes” might serve as an accurate, real-time snapshot of how Americans feel about President Trump.

According to the research, “every thousand “likes” correlates to about 0.02 percent decrease in his disapproval ratings and 0.015 percent increase in his approval ratings. These are meaningful magnitudes given that 87,000 likes per tweet on average.” A full copy of the report can be found here: http://bit.ly/TPITrumpTweets

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We spotted Venus tonight from our balcony in Miami Beach. Bright and bold, staring right at us. Eliot wanted a better look so he open his SkyView App and zeroed right in.

SkyView

Smartphones Are The New Lie Detectors.

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It may not be so easy to tell a little white lie in the future. Computer scientists at the University of Copenhagen are working on turning the smartphone into a lie detector.

I don’t think the technology is totally accurate yet, but scientists are working diligently to get the new algorithm to identify honesty and dishonesty. The results are determined by analyzing how you swipe or tap a smartphone. “Dishonest interactions often take longer and involve more hand movement than honest ones,” according to a research paper from the University of Copenhagen

The algorithm is called Veritaps. The university claims a green check mark is flashed when truthful statements are entered into a smartphone and notes doubtful information with a red question mark.

Will this replace the polygraph? I guess we will find out when it becomes a reality. Read more about this in CNET.

Click here. https://www.cnet.com/news/your-phone-could-become-a-tool-for-detecting-lies-with-veritaps/

A Check Up From The Neck Up—A Must

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Image: Jonathan Harvey, New York Post

Pictured here: Jake Carlin, Alex Fisherman, Josh Chostaka and Ian Langan of the Cavallini Middle School in New Jersey created Head Safe.

In the last few years, I keep hearing stories about senior friends who have suffered head injuries and don’t seek medical help. Some slipped in the snow while others fell off ladders. If these folks didn’t experience bleeding, or lose consciousness, they assumed they were just fine and continued their normal activities.

Fast forward a few months later. Several friends experienced vertigo, headaches, double vision, and severe neck pain. Thankfully, no one died. Actress Natasha Richardson was not as lucky. She died in 2008, after a severe head injury in a skiing accident in Montreal. She refused immediate medical help.

The lesson here is that you must get checked out immediately. At least student football players all over the United States are becoming increasingly aware of the dangers of head injuries. That’s why four New Jersey eighth-graders developed a device that can immediately detect serious brain injuries.

Samsung, headquartered close to the Cavallini Middle School, awarded $150,000 to the students as part of a technology contest.

Called Head Safe, a sensor is inserted inside a football helmet and “uses an accelerometer that detects a possible concussion based on the force of the impact. The data is then sent via Bluetooth to an app which alerts coaches, and other team members, that a serious injury might have taken place. The sensor calculates linear acceleration and also records vibration and shock.”

That is so amazing. The goal is to bring Head Safe to market. I’m available to help.

The New York Post was the first to report about Head Safe. Read it here.

Stop Telemarketing Calls

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After reading the above headline, I bet you are all paying close attention to what I have to say. We all hate the endless telemarketing calls we get each day.

Just when you think the calls are going to stop, the phone starts ringing again.I’m just about to become your best friend.

I’m enclosing a story by David Cogen of Digital Trends who is going to give you a step by step plan to get rid of the calls. You must watch the video to get the true essence of what you need to do.

Click here.

https://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/how-to-stop-telemarketing-calls/?utm_source=sendgrid&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily-brief..