Blogs

Exciting, isn't it?

Forward this page to a friend

Your Personal Message: *

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word on Senior Planet.

NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address.

Your Email: *

Your Name: *

Send To: *

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas. You can only email up to 35 recipients

Message Subject: (Your Name) has forwarded a page to you from Senior Planet

Message Body: (Your Name) thought you would like to see this page from the Senior Planet web site.

testing new blogging functionality on the production server.

Forward this page to a friend

Your Personal Message: *

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word on Senior Planet.

NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address.

Your Email: *

Your Name: *

Send To: *

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas. You can only email up to 35 recipients

Message Subject: (Your Name) has forwarded a page to you from Senior Planet

Message Body: (Your Name) thought you would like to see this page from the Senior Planet web site.

I’m having one of those days when I feel just great about technology, so I thought I’d share before my phone or computer goes on the glitch and my goodwill evaporates!

The first reason it’s “Technology Appreciation Day” for me has to do with my recently ended vacation, which I spent sailing my creaky thirty-year-old sailboat around Long Island Sound. I typically sail alone, and am not a particularly experienced or talented sailor, but the trip was lovely, largely due to several extremely useful technology devices that made things safer, more fun, and less stressful.

I use a cheap Garmin GPS for navigation, depth readings, tides and currents, and even as a fish-finder that tells me when to drop a hook in the water for dinner. I get weather and news on my iPhone, including real-time radar maps that show the movement of thunderstorms in my area. I have a VHF radio for emergencies, and of course use the cell phone as a back-up. When my wife and kids came to spend a few days on the boat, we watched movies on my laptop before bedtime.

All of these devices have limitations and occasional glitches, but together they enable me to spend weeks at a time out on the water, with a much higher level of safety and comfort than would have been possible even ten years ago. They’re not luxury items (my boat is a lot closer to a vintage floating RV than a racing yacht), and for less than the cost of a plane ticket to Florida I can feel reasonable well equipped for cruising around Long Island waters.

Incidentally, I’m meeting quite a lot of older sailors out on the water, and it occurs to me that emerging technologies are making sailing much more accessible for older individuals than it used to be. With all the mechanical winches, electronics, and automated furling systems that come on most boats today, it’s a hobby that is increasingly an option for people with limited strength and agility. And if you use the Internet to search for used boats, you can get some pretty good deals out there!

Secondly, I just found this excellent video of Brooklyn-based author Clay Shirky explaining how many people who used to be couch-potato television addicts are now putting their time into more cognitively stimulating Web-based activities, like editing Wikipedia pages.

I’m already reading Shirky’s book, Here Comes Everybody, and I haven’t had a TV in my house for many years, so maybe he’s preaching to the converted in my case. But I suspect he’s right that the Web is more engaging and interactive than traditional TV, and I have read some research that suggests cognitive stimulation can help older individuals keep their minds sharp and reduce late-life memory loss.

If Shirky is right, then the Web might be a tremendous boon to older computer users, especially if it leads to less TV watching and more engagement with online collaborations like Wikipedia and blogs.

Forward this page to a friend

Your Personal Message: *

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word on Senior Planet.

NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address.

Your Email: *

Your Name: *

Send To: *

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas. You can only email up to 35 recipients

Message Subject: (Your Name) has forwarded a page to you from Senior Planet

Message Body: (Your Name) thought you would like to see this page from the Senior Planet web site.

Hello everyone, over the next few days we will be taking SeniorPlanet on tour; hosting seminars in different senior centers and community labs across NYC. We hope you can attend at least one of the seminars which will focus on signing up for an account, creating a blog and commenting on other senior blogs. Keep checking the Events Calendar for more information on times and locations. Hope to see you all there.

Forward this page to a friend

Your Personal Message: *

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word on Senior Planet.

NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address.

Your Email: *

Your Name: *

Send To: *

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas. You can only email up to 35 recipients

Message Subject: (Your Name) has forwarded a page to you from Senior Planet

Message Body: (Your Name) thought you would like to see this page from the Senior Planet web site.

What a joy this past week has been viewing the Olympic Games every single evening - and even some early mornings at 5 a.m. when I couldn't sleep. So, instead of pacing around my apartment until my leg cramps were gone, I simply punched in the Olympic Games from that exotic sounding place called Beijing. It didn't matter whether it was wrestling, baseball, track and field or a wonderful game of volleyball being slammed out on a wet, sandy court in a pouring rain by those astounding ladies from the USA (they won!) - it was exhilarating entertainment and I have loved every single minute of it.

And how can I write about the 2008 Olympics and not speak of Michael Phelps? By winning eight gold medals, this astonishing young man has become not only the champion Olympian of all the ages but the sweetheart/hero of the world which is greatly in need of Olympians in all shapes, sizes and ages. And Sasha Artemev - who? you are asking. Sasha was the second alternate on the injury-plagued USA men's gymnastic squad and it was his sizzling, leg-scissoring performance on the pommel horse that boosted the United States into a Bronze Medal - this, when the US team was not even expected to reach the finals. His performance took my breath away. And then we have those young, young USA lady gymnasts waltzing away with the gold and the silver. How proud I am of them. And then the icing on the cake: Nastia Liukin won the gold all-around and the silver on the balance beam with Shawn Johnson winning the gold on this event. WOW!

I could go on - there are countless stories of wins and heartbreaks - I found myself deeply involved no matter the country. These (mostly) young folks had trained for years and this was their moment on the world stage and I applauded every single one of them. As I said before, for me, it has been a joyous week and I don't care a wit that I have let some things slide as I indulged in viewing the wondrous events in far off Beijing.

In closing, I would like to remind all those seniors who have trained with OATS and whose lives have been changed for the better by the Internet, that they are also Olympians. One of the definitions of an Olympian given by Webster's is having "superior attainments" and you all have those just by being a contributing senior member of society. You also qualify because you have braved the Internet with OATS and finished a winner. So congratulations, shake out those legs, polish those canes, oil up the wheel chairs and start preparing for the 2012 Olympics to be held in London. See you there.

Forward this page to a friend

Your Personal Message: *

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word on Senior Planet.

NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address.

Your Email: *

Your Name: *

Send To: *

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas. You can only email up to 35 recipients

Message Subject: (Your Name) has forwarded a page to you from Senior Planet

Message Body: (Your Name) thought you would like to see this page from the Senior Planet web site.

Return to video clips of Commissioner Mendez-Santiago

Forward this page to a friend

Your Personal Message: *

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word on Senior Planet.

NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address.

Your Email: *

Your Name: *

Send To: *

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas. You can only email up to 35 recipients

Message Subject: (Your Name) has forwarded a page to you from Senior Planet

Message Body: (Your Name) thought you would like to see this page from the Senior Planet web site.

Return to video clips of Commissioner Mendez-Santiago

Forward this page to a friend

Your Personal Message: *

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word on Senior Planet.

NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address.

Your Email: *

Your Name: *

Send To: *

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas. You can only email up to 35 recipients

Message Subject: (Your Name) has forwarded a page to you from Senior Planet

Message Body: (Your Name) thought you would like to see this page from the Senior Planet web site.

Return to video clips of Commissioner Mendez-Santiago

Forward this page to a friend

Your Personal Message: *

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word on Senior Planet.

NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address.

Your Email: *

Your Name: *

Send To: *

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas. You can only email up to 35 recipients

Message Subject: (Your Name) has forwarded a page to you from Senior Planet

Message Body: (Your Name) thought you would like to see this page from the Senior Planet web site.

Return to video clips of Commissioner Mendez-Santiago

Forward this page to a friend

Your Personal Message: *

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word on Senior Planet.

NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address.

Your Email: *

Your Name: *

Send To: *

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas. You can only email up to 35 recipients

Message Subject: (Your Name) has forwarded a page to you from Senior Planet

Message Body: (Your Name) thought you would like to see this page from the Senior Planet web site.

Return to video clips of Commissioner Mendez-Santiago

Forward this page to a friend

Your Personal Message: *

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word on Senior Planet.

NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address.

Your Email: *

Your Name: *

Send To: *

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas. You can only email up to 35 recipients

Message Subject: (Your Name) has forwarded a page to you from Senior Planet

Message Body: (Your Name) thought you would like to see this page from the Senior Planet web site.