A New Way To Feel Music 

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I know that people love to feel their music, but how far are they willing to go to experience the sensation?  That’s the question many tech reporters are asking Daniel Büttner, CEO, of a Berlin based company called Lofelt.

Lofelt is the maker of Basslet, a wrist-worn subwoofer that vibrates the user’s forearm in time with the music. A subwoofer is a type of loudspeaker that reproduces a low-pitched audio frequency known as bass.

I personally don’t like subwoofers because the pounding sound hurts my head and it feels like it is vibrating off my chest, similar to  palpitations. Many times over the years,  I have asked Eliot to disconnect the home subwoofer from the stereo system. I just hated the feeling.

Apparently, music lovers love the pounding feeling because it immerses them into the music. Now Büttner wants music lovers to experience the impact of a subwoofer on their forearms. 

I know this may seem weird to the average person, but Büttner came up with the idea when he was playing his stand-up bass. He explains it is a big resonant hollow hunk of wood that does indeed let the player feel the music.

The tech writers who reviewed the Basslet reported that they could feel the music, but only liked it for a short period of time. It just may appeal to audio lovers who appreciate feeling the music within their bodies. All they have to do is shell out $199 for the experience.

Read more about it in Tech Crunch. 

Your Yearly Memory Test !

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  1. (only 4 questions this year)

Image: livescience.com

Yep, it’s that time of year again for us to take our annual senior citizen test. Exercise of the brain is as important as exercise of the muscles.

As we grow older, it’s important to keep mentally alert.

If you don’t use it, you will lose it !!!

Here is a very private way to gauge how your memory compares to your last test.

Some may think it is too easy, but the people with memory problems may have difficulty.

Take this test to determine if you’re losing it or not.

The spaces below are so you don’t see the answers until you’ve answered.

OK, RELAX, clear your mind and begin. 
#1. What do you put in a toaster ?

 

Answer: ‘bread.’ If you said ‘toast’, just give up now and go do something else.
And, try not to hurt yourself. If you said, bread, go to Question #2.

 

# 2. Say ‘silk’ ten times. Now spell ‘silk.’ What do cows drink ?

 

Answer: Cows drink water. If you said ‘milk,’ don’t attempt the next question.

 

Your brain is already over-stressed and may even overheat.

 

Content yourself with reading more appropriate literature such as Women’s Weekly or Auto World.

 

However, if you did say ‘water’, proceed to Question #3.

 

# 3. If a red house is made from red bricks and a blue house is made from blue bricks and a pink house is made from pink bricks and a black house is made from black bricks, what is a green house made from ?

Answer: Greenhouses are made from glass.

 

If you said ‘green bricks’, why are you still reading this ???  PLEASE, go lie down !

But, if you said ‘glass,’ go on to Question #4.

# 4. Please do not use a calculator for this for it would be cheating:
You are driving a bus from New York City to Philadelphia.

In Staten Island, 17 people got on the bus.

 In New Brunswick, 6 people get off the bus and 9 people get on.

In Windsor, 2 people get off and 4 get on.

In Trenton, 11 people get off and 16 people get on.

In Bristol, 3 people get off and 5 people get on.

And, in Camden, 6 people get off and 3 get on.

 

You then arrive at Philadelphia Station.

Without going back to review, how old is the bus driver ?

Answer: Oh, for crying out loud !
 

Don’t you remember your own age?!?! It was YOU driving the bus!

 

If you pass this along to your friends, pray they do better than you.

 

PS: 95% of people fail most of the questions!

 

Sorry for all the spaces. You’d be tempted to cheat otherwise. 

If you had fun with this, send it on; I did. 

Thank you Richard Ekstract for a good chuckle.

 

Madonna Vs. Lady Gaga

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I am working on an assignment for a client. We need your opinion. Please answer the following questions – Yes or No.

We are asking folks over 40 their opinion because we want a more mature view on these two major talents.

Please email your answer to loiswhitman@gmail.com.

 Your name will not be mentioned. All individual information is confidential.

 1) Do you think Lady Gaga is a Madonna imitator?

2) Do you think Lady Gaga is more talented than Madonna?

3) Do you think Lady Gaga will be as popular as Madonna at 50 plus?

 Comments?
Thank you.

A tech industry friend, Brad Stone, just wrote a new book, “The Upstarts,” about how certain new companies like Uber and Airbnb are changing the world. He’s the guy who also wrote “The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon.”  Brad is a senior executive editor at Bloomberg News, based in San Francisco. 

Anyone who is interested in starting a new venture should read this book. I read his Amazon book, which really gave me tremendous insight into how this company evolved.

I plan to start the “Upstarts” this week. I will let you know my thoughts just as soon as I am done.

With Gayle King of CBS This Morning

 

USA Today Flexes Digital Muscle 

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Seconds after Lady Gaga finished her halftime Super Bowl show, USA Today issued spectacular photos of it in an alert to readers. I was amazed that any news organization could get work out like that so fast. Yes, it is the digital age, but this was unusually fast.

I posted some of the photos that I received below. I was thrilled to get them because I was still exhilarated from Lady Gaga’s Tiffany’s TV commercial that appeared before her performance. I included the video here because I was hoping  you all would share Lady Gaga’s message with young women everywhere. She encourages girls growing up to seek individuality and to step outside their comfort zones in order to have happy lives.

Even at my age, I like to think that there is plenty of time for more daring steps. I can always hope.

Never Heard Before Stories About Andy Warhol

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Eliot and I were among many art lovers tonight who had the good fortune of hearing exciting stories about the good old days of Andy Warhol from former master printers for the pop-art icon. They also demonstrated Warhol’s innovative silkscreen process.

This all took place at the Williams McCall Gallery @ Frameworks in Coconut Grove, Florida. I have much of it on video so I am sharing it with you.


It was a tremendous treat to meet artists Debbie Carfagno, Michael Enns, and other associates, who told us what it was like working with Warhol, building the business, and producing the art work. We also learned why it’s impossible today to authenticate Warhol’s work.

The artists worked for Warhol in the late 1970’s until his death in 1987. Anyone who is interested in getting “Warholed” can contact me or the gallery directly.

Dear Evan Hansen, How Do You Do!

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Oops, I forgot you are not allowed to take photos inside the theatre.

Oops, I did it again.

Dear Evan Hansen is a sensational new Broadway Musical that tells the story of just how terrifying social media can be for a teenager with severe social anxiety.  I don’t think other folks would quite describe the musical that way, but that’s exactly how it resonated with me. 

I personally believe that social media has done way more good, than harm, in our society. It has given every American a chance to be heard on every possible issue, and it has opened a line of communications between many people who have never spoken before.

However, no one could have ever predicted the dilemma Evan Hansen got himself into when he told a little fib that got exploded on social media. It makes us all aware that we have to be accountable for what we post and, unfortunately, for what gets posted about us.

I may have just done Dear Even Hansen a major injustice by describing the show this way, because it is one of the best I have ever seen on Broadway. Theatergoers must feel the same way because every seat is sold out for months, and people are paying big bucks to stand in the back of the theatre for both acts.

From the minute Dear Evan Hansen starts, to the last bow the cast takes, the audience is applauding non-stop. The topic may be a little unsettling, but the show will still captivate you in ways that you have never explored before.

My Thoughts About Uber 

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I’m still not convinced that Travis Kalanick, CEO, of Uber, truly understands why a growing number of his customers switched to Lyft. It’s not only that he was on President Donald Trump’s business advisory group, but that he lowered Uber’s prices in an effort to gain new customers when the yellow taxis went on strike for a few hours to protest the administration’s immigration policies. 

Kalanick probably thought it was a cool PR move. Several hundred thousand Americans plus Uber drivers, many of whom are immigrants themselves, did not. They were horrified. Everyone was spreading his or her dismay by posting #DeleteUber on of their social media accounts. Uber has been emailing customers who deleted their accounts to say “the company shares their concerns and will compensate drivers affected by the ban.”

In other words. it was an apology. Read about it in Reuters. Here is an excerpt. “Joining the group was not meant to be an endorsement of the president or his agenda but unfortunately it has been misinterpreted to be exactly that,” Kalanick said he told the president he would not join the economic council.

There is no question about it, Kalanick is running scared. One wrong move may have distroyed the genius of a company he worked so brilliantly to build. I loved Uber. I used it several times a day whether I’m in Miami, New York, or Los Angeles. Many of the drivers know me. 

I can’t help it. I switched to Lyft. I may never go back to Uber. There is very little difference between the two. Many of the drivers are the same. Kalanick opened the way for me to try Lyft. He may regret that for the rest of his life.

Controlling Netflix With Your Mind     

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Netflix engineers demonstrate Mindflix.

Netflix likes their employees to have fun. I just found out that the company conducts “hack days” where employees are given 24 hours to develop crazy and wacky gadgets for the movie company.

Two engineers just invented Mindflix, a special headband that helps you surf Netflix using your mind. All you have to do is move your head to the side to scroll, and then think “play” when you see a title you want to watch. This gadget could replace the remote control.

The Netflix’s engineers achieved this task by customizing a brain-reading headband made by Muse, which is usually used for guiding meditation. Muse measures whether your mind is calm or active. The headband is sensing brain activity and using the feedback to control certain pre-established actions.

Watch the video for a better explanation.

No word if Netflix plans to pursue this idea, but they told the press about it. That always means something.