Cars, Ships and Submarines For Father’s Day 

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We had the perfect Father’s Day. Whitney and Fredrick took us to one of their favorite Hell’s Kitchen restaurants for brunch. Friends Steve and Williams joined us. The t-shirts on the waiters said it all, “Heaven In Hell.”  The comfort food was absolutely delicious.


Next stop, a car wash on the westside highway with a donut shop. Eliot loves donuts and Whitney wanted him to have a fresh baked one. 



After donuts, we walked across the Westside Highway to the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum. A Miami friend, Kent Karosen, a museum trustee, arranged a VIP tour for us. It was a perfect activity for Father’s Day.  The legendary aircraft carrier houses the space shuttle Enterprise, the world’s fastest jets, and a guided missile submarine.  We were blessed with Gordon as our guide..

 

Our tour guide, Gordon.

After the Intrepid, the men in our group, went onboard The USS Growler submarine.

Last stop was Starbucks for some sweet drinks. The sugar made us silly.


Happy Father’s Day to all.

Baby Alexa

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For those of you who were thinking about buying an Alexa, here is a more affordable option. It’s the new portable Bluetooth and Wi-Fi enabled speaker. It’s only $99.00, compared to $139 for the full size unit. The beauty of this new model is that it’s completely portable. Now you can carry Alexa from room to room in your home. 


Amazon describes the unit as a portable Bluetooth and Wi-Fi enabled speaker. All you have to do is tap the microphone button and  start gabbing  Alexa will respond even though she is still a baby. 

Seventh Amazon Book Store  

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The seventh Amazon book store is located at the Time Warner Center in Columbus Circle. If you think about it, the company that managed to put countless bookstores out of business across the country, is now building a bookstore chain.  

By the way, their bookstores are always busy. Curious folks want to see what Amazon is doing that is different from what the former bookstores did. You can tell right away. They laid out the book store just like the Amazon website.

It’s very exciting to see sections for: Goodreads picks, most read,  most wished for, if you liked that—you will like this, hotly-debated, and highly -rated children’s books. There were plenty other categories that I just didn’t take picture of. 

Check out is so much fun. If you are a Prime Member you get a deep discount. All transactions are done on the app. No more waiting in lines to buy a book. Just click and check out. You feel like you are stealing the book, but you’re not.

You heard Amazon bought Whole Foods today for $13 billion dollars. Now, this is going to get interesting.

Memos From Friends 

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From my friend, Ted Seifman.

“Lois, I wanted to share this with your DigiDame readers.” 

Patricia Morison (only one) was the original Kate in Kiss Me Kate on Broadway. She turned 102 in March. I love having lunch with her and hearing all about the good old days which she has full and detailed memories of.
“One cute conversation from a couple of months ago. I related a story of meeting her friend Norman Lloyd at her 100th birthday party two years ago. He’s a year older then she is. At the time 101, he told me his shoulder was sore from playing tennis earlier in the day. When I told Pat about what he said, she said “Oh I used to watch Norman and Charlie play tennis on Saturdays”. I said “Charlie who”…..her response “Chaplin”.

I figure that’s not going to be a conversation I will ever hear from anyone else in my life!

Pat with her roommate Bruce

Pat with her assistant


From Andrew Nahmias 

A Dozen Years Later  

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Uncle Ruby, Aunt Dotty, My Mother and Father

This morning my brother Steve sent me an email.

Lois

Today is the 12th anniversary of the day Mom died.

Steve

While I was grateful for the email, June 14th is a date I can’t easily forget. From the minute I was born, I had a terrible fear of my parents dying and leaving me alone. I worried about it all the time. I should have been on a psychiatrist’s  couch for many years, but I was afraid to face my fears. 

My father died when I was 31, he 61. I had a melt down. I couldn’t accept his death and drove myself so crazy that I contracted essential hypertension. I still have it. 

I am a carbon copy of my mother. The only difference is that I had the benefit of watching the way she conducted her life and then I decided to make some changes. I am pretty sure that is the way we are all supposed to mature.

I watch the relationship of many parents with their adult children and I truly believe my folks gave my brother and I a gift many others don’t know how to provide,  They had great respect for our judgement and never tried to control us for their benefit. I’m not saying that I didn’t fight like cats and dogs with my mother, but it was always about small, stupid stuff.

My parents felt my brother and I long surpassed them in life achievements (whatever that means) so who were they to advise us. Allowing us to follow our dreams was a great blessing,

The truth is that we really didn’t surpass them. We just had more opportunities. I find myself sometimes pretending I am one of them and making decisions based on what they stood for.

It’s difficult to believe that my mother is gone 12 years. It’s also difficult to believe that my next birthday is a big one. I better grow up soon. 

That Awful Feeling When You Lost Something 

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It doesn’t get any easier as we get older. I don’t know about you, but I go into an out-of-body, full panic zone when I misplace something. Just the other day, I couldn’t find a small jewelry pouch. I searched for it for about a half hour until I realized I put the bag in a safe drawer. 

I really don’t want to go through these panic periods again. It might happen more and more in the coming years. I’m going to buy Pixie this week and attach these little tags to all my important accessories: keys, calendars, meds, makeup, cell phone, glasses, etc.

Follow the pictorial essay to see how it works. I think it’s certainly worth a try. Do you have a better idea? 

Document The Story Of Your Life 

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Eliot and I went to a tech trade show in Miami Beach today called eMerge. We came across a company many DigiDame readers could possibly be interested in.  Instead of someone else describing you at your funeral, why don’t you do it yourself.


Called The Story Of Your Life,  the company helps folks preserve memories for future generations. One of the co-founders of the company, told me the whole purpose of his firm  is to keep family histories alive. The press  material claims, “If you can listen to [their] stories and record them… your children can learn a lot about life and make a better life for themselves.”

TSOLife offers personal historian services to help make life story recordings as enjoyable as possible. They conduct in-person interview sessions to capture life stories. They record interviews, transcribe stories, then add audio narration, and supporting photos and videos.  All stories are approved by clients and new material can be added at any time,

Price, you ask? $1,500. This is very affordable. Have fun. 

Three Blog Posts Today 

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Congratulations Whitney. 


Texts From Theater Teddy 

Artificial Intelligence 

We had a lot of worries about our careers when we were growing up, but nothing like what our children and grandchildren are about to face. Artificial intelligence is changing the world everyday and, in many cases, doing a better job than humans. I just read in Business Insider that experts believe that there is a 50 percent chance that AI will be better than humans, at more or less, everything in about 45 years.

It was one thing to compete against some smarty pants in a conference room. I can’t imagine competing against a machine. I was always comforted thinking my competition would eventually screw up. What can you wish for about a machine? Someone pulls the plug? That’s if it has a plug. 

Industry experts warn that in the next 10 years AI will takeover translating languages (by 2024), writing high school essays (by 2026), and driving trucks (by 2027).

Click here for the complete Business Insider story 

Atomic Beam Lantern 

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When it comes to the world of gadgets, there is always a solution to every problem.

Eliot and I tend to frequent hip hotels for younger guests. We love the energy and the vibes. The hotel rates are usually more affordable and the bar areas are fun meeting places. 

There is, however, one major drawback. The rooms are usually dark, and the bathrooms are even darker. I guess young folks don’t like too much light. I was okay with it for a few years, but lately the darkness is getting on my nerves.

Surprise, surprise. My pal, Steve Greenberg, the Innovation Insider, just featured the Atomic Beam Lantern on his TV gadget tour around the country. This is exactly the gadget I need to see what I am doing in the bathroom, especially for applying my makeup and brushing my hair.

All for $20. 

Memo to Steve: Can you spare one next week when we arrive at the Hudson Hotel? I would love to try it out.

The military-grade lantern is an ultra-bright 360-degree LED portable unit that is waterproof, provides 12 hours of light with 30 bright white LEDs on 3 AA batteries. Pull it up to turn it on. A great advantage is that it stands on a base or it hangs from a built-in handle

Watch Steve demonstrate the lantern on ABC TV in New York..


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Beach Gadgets 

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One gadget helps you hide your valuables on the beach, the other protects your grandchild, and the third one can save your life. I don’t know if you should truly depend on these gadgets, but I wanted to tell you about them if you are a beach lover.

I live on Miami Beach. While I don’t sit on the sand to bake myself in the sun, I do watch others. Everyone is focused on having fun. Please have a safe and happy summer,