I have no proof, but I can swear there is some sort of a mechanism on social media platforms that can tell people that I am snooping on them. From time to time, I like to check out the whereabouts of people I no longer speak to. This can be an old boyfriend, a former client, an ex-friend, or someone on the other side of the political aisle.

I usually just want to see if they are still alive. I check them out once a year, or every other. I’m not in the habit of thinking about them, but when I do, I take a quick trip to their page to see if their status changed.

The other day I went to the Facebook page of a boyfriend from high school. I haven’t visited this particular guy on Facebook in a few years. I quickly saw he retired from his law practice, had a few new grandchildren, and was living two hours north of me. Whew, I probably will never see him again. I really should close the door on that relationship forever.

Not so fast. A few days after I was doing my snooping, I got a notice from LinkedIn asking me if I wanted to see who was checking me out. I freaked. If LinkedIn can track my visitors, so can Facebook. Social media platforms all have the same technology. In theory, if a career networking site can reveal who clicked on my page, so can Facebook. That means that my boyfriend from high school could possibly think I am still pining for him.

“What a revoltin’ development this is”

Be careful where you snoop. The Internet knows your every move.

Are you REALLY ready for CES? One of the ways to know for sure is to listen to this week’s “Lying on the Beach” podcast by Steve Greenberg and Lois Whitman-Hess.

Are You Ready For CES 2018?

Both are industry veterans who have been attending CES longer than most attendees.

Steve is a monthly tech contributor to NBC’s Today Show and morning TV newscasts around the country. He has attended CES for 25 years. Lois Whitman-Hess is a co-owner of one of the leading PR agencies in the tech business. She has attended CES since the beginning. No one beats her 51 year record.

Together they give a detailed description of what it’s like to attend CES, what they look for, how they deal with the size, and what showgoers should expect to see.

Feel free to use this podcast for your editorial content— if you want to interview one, or both of them for their take on CES in print or on Skype— contact them ASAP.

Here is the podcast.

Are You Ready For CES 2018?

Please do not Google or check this with Snopes. Trust me! They will lie to you.

In ancient Israel, it came to pass that a trader by the name of Abraham Com did take unto himself a healthy young wife by the name of Dorothy.

Dot Com was a comely woman, large of breast, broad of shoulder, long of leg, and she was often called Amazon Dot Com.

She said unto Abraham, her husband, “Why dost thou travel so far from town to town with thy goods when thou canst trade without ever leaving thy tent?”

Abraham did look at her as though she were several saddle bags short of a full camel load, but simply said, “How, dear?”

Dot replied, “I will place drums in all the towns and drums in between to send messages saying what you have for sale, and they will reply telling you who hath the best price. The sale can be made on the drums and delivery made by Uriah’s Pony Stable (UPS).”

After thinking long and hard, Abraham decided he would let Dot have her way with the drums. The drums rang out, were an immediate success, and Abraham sold all the goods he had at top price without ever having to move from his tent.

In order to prevent neighboring countries from overhearing what the drums were saying, Dot devised a system that only she and the drummers knew. It was known as Must Send Drum Over Sound (MSDOS). She also developed a language to transmit ideas and pictures – Hebrew to the People (HTTP).

Young men did take to Dot Com’s trading as doth the greedy horsefly take to camel dung, and they were called Nomadic Ecclesiastical Rich Dominican Sybarites, or NERDS.

Lo, the land was so feverish with joy at the new riches and the deafening sound of drums, that no one noticed that the real riches were going to that enterprising drum dealer, Brother William of Gates, who bought off every drum maker in the land. Indeed, he did insist on drums to be made that would work only with Brother Gates’ drum heads and drumsticks.

Dot did say, “Oh, Abraham, what we have started is being taken over by others.”

Abraham looked out over the Bay of Ezekiel, or eBay as it came to be known and said, “We need a name that reflects what we are.”

Dot replied, “Young Ambitious Hebrew Owner Operators.”

“YAHOO,” said Abraham, and because it was Dot’s idea, they named it YAHOO Dot Com.

Abraham’s cousin, Joshua, being the young Gregarious Energetic Educated Kid (GEEK) that he was, soon started using Dot’s drums to locate things around the countryside.

It soon became known as God’s Own Official Guide to Locating Everything (GOOGLE).

That is how it all began. And that’s the truth.

I would not make up this stuff.

HOW THE INTERNET STARTED, ACCORDING TO THE BIBLE

Written by Walter Salm, a senior tech writer.

Thank you Walter

Happy New Year

Photos by Eliot Hess

Wishing all of our family and friends a Happy New Year. We ended 2017 with a great day at sea thanks to Ruth and Howard Greenberg. All of the Greenberg children were there too. The special guest was Whiskey, the Greenberg pooch.

We spent the day on a 40-foot catamaran cruising Biscayne Bay and then visiting Stiltsville, a group of wood stilt houses located one mile south of cape Florida on the edge of Biscayne Bay in Miami-Dade County, Florida.

It’s weird to have such a gorgeous day here when most of the country is freezing. It wasn’t that long ago that we were struggling through a hurricane called Irma. Every area of the country has its good and bad.

We hope 2018 is a healthy and happy one for everyone. Lots of good stuff coming up in the days ahead. I leave for CES January 7th so I should be showing you many innovative products. I have to get these old bones ready for miles of walking to see all of the exhibits. See you next year.

q

And For The Living….