Christmas is a couple weeks away and the holy-days are becoming lost among the holidays. (Try to keep a bit of each, OK?)

Be kind to someone (in addition to yourself). Drive a bit slower (yes, I’m talking to myself on that one), and don’t eat too much! Common stories suggest that people gain five to seven pounds over the holidays (from Thanksgiving to New Year’s) however, research* indicates that all we really gain is 3/4 of a pound!! Eat away!

“Currently, in Brentwood (Northern CA), it’s 101° and sunny! ” That’s my Google Assistant talking. I’m sitting in my home office surrounded by three Amazon Echo™s, two Oontz Angle 3™ wireless speakers (GREAT sound, ridiculously low price), and a small, white Maltese named Danny. It occurred to me that I haven’t written for a couple months and that’s NOT OK!

So, what am I going to espouse today? More tech for Seniors? Sure! How about VFI (voice first interface). I have seen the future and it’s here NOW! (Well, I haven’t just seen it – I’ve talked to it and it’s talking back to me!) Amazon Echo (Alexa) now has a “chat” mode that is initiated by saying “Alexa, let’s chat.” Amazon is sponsoring a University competition to create “chat” for Alexa and, even at this early stage, it’s fascinating and engaging.

Alexa will acknowledge your request to chat and then get a chat bot for you. The chat bot asks what you’d like to chat about and then begins casual conversation about any number of topics. It’s very real, give and take, conversation. Gone are the one-off interactions of a few months ago when Alexa couldn’t string together two requests, one after the other and only responded to the request at the moment. Now, she’s chatting!

Give her a try: “Alexa, let’s chat” nad be prepared to be blown away!

Next up: Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR) and the differences between them!

It’s been busy these last four months … (and, if you buy that, I’ve a bridge to sell you!)

Truth is: I find it more challenging than I expected to keep my pages “fresh” … and, I realize that’s my bad. During normal days, I fill my time searching for “new” technology. Specifically, new tech that might have an impact on the lives of my peers: Baby Boomers.

I have discovered, much to my dismay, a number of my cohort are digitally illiterate. They can use their devices – to some extent – however, they are woefully unaware of some of the most fundamental operations necessary to keep the device running. Case in point: a neighbor showed me his tablet that had “stopped” working. No matter what he “tapped”, the device was unresponsive. Looking closely, I noticed DOZENS of app running in the background. So many, in fact, that the device had simply “locked up” and had no available memory. Unfortunately, it did NOT provide any, on screen, notification of the problem, hence he had no way of knowing that what was needed was closing some (all?) of the open apps. Once he did this, the device was working normally and he was a happy camper!

It’s scenarios like that I enjoy most: Being able to help someone understand the technology just enough to be able to troubleshoot everyday “challenges” using the device!

Another example of a similar situation with an iPhone. An app would NOT “open” and the user was quite upset. He knew how to open apps and use them and he was NOT instructed how to “close” them (double tap on the home button to display all open apps, then swipe up to close them). Once he learned this little (necessary) function, he was able to keep his device working and his enjoyment more complete!

So, this type information is what I gather and disperse during the normal weekday: this is the type information I’ll begin sharing here! Perhaps that’ll keep me focused and you informed and “on the saddle” of your digital horse!

What a GREAT time to be alive! Enjoy the tech and learn a little more about it every day!!

Here I go again … it’s January (already?!) … another New Year. Another opportunity to accomplish something noteworthy (not just me, you too!)

What’s “noteworthy” in today’s world? ALmost anything being reported from the West Wing, eh?! (Can’t go there…)

How about something innocuous like picking up someone’s trash from some parking lot?

I’ll NEVER do that! It strikes me as “enabling” the litterbug. It’s like saying “Oh, you’re too good to put your trash in a trashcan, so I’ll take care of it for you!” (Bullshit) Or, you pay taxes to pay for other people to pick up your trash WHERE EVER you decide to toss it (more Bullshit: you probably don’t pay taxes … that’s why you feel so entitled to just discard your crap anywhere you choose.)

Can you guess I have a pet peeve? People who litter really piss me off. Who the hell do they think they are that they can just drop shit on the ground, where ever they are to leave for someone else to clean up. That’s attitude – and NOT a good one! (IMHO)

OK, off the soapbox for now. Happy New Year. Be nice. Be considerate. Don’t litter. Pick up after yourself.

(It’s worth the effort to ask, isn’t it?)

‘Twas the week before Christmas … (Holy Smokies! Already??!!)

Another year passes quicker than a commuter on Hwy 4 @ 6:00 A.M. (For those of you who don’t know about Hwy 4; it’s a commuter route used by po’ fo’ who live OUTSIDE the high rent district[s] and must commute to work. Although traffic usually crawls along @ ~ 15 mph, when it moves, traffic FLIES in excess of 80mph.  No kidding’! I have been rolling along @ 70mph and PASSED like I was standing still. THAT’S SCARY!)

As I was saying, another year passes and we’re all a bit wiser. (Well, most of us are … there are always a few dummies who will never be wiser;  they’ll simply get older and we’ll continue to tolerate them.)

I was recently invited to my high school graduation reunion. It was the 50th anniversary of my graduation (give you an idea of my age?). I live in Northern California. The reunion was being held at the school – in Chicago – during November. I LEFT Chicago because I HATE cold weather. Am I going to attend a reunion during November? Heck no! I wouldn’t attend a family funeral in Chicago during November (or any other Fall/Winter month!). My point? I graduated from high school 50 years ago. That’s a long damn time ago.

I don’t feel THAT old.

Now, at this point I could reminise about the good old high school days but why?! I don’t want to go back 50 years: I want to celebrate another day TODAY!! (Sly & the Family Stone: “I just want to celebrate another day of livin’  – I just want to celebrate another day of … life …!” Get the tune in your head and you’ll be treated to an ear worm for hours!

Celebrate today – everyday! Going back in time is a waste thereof (IMHO) and may be an indication that you’re NOT too pleased with “today” and, if that’s true, why? Inhale! Embrace today! L I V E it!

Merry Christmas! Happy New Year! (And remember: keep Christ in Christmas!)