Senior Sleuth Guides

Using the Internet to promote a book about why Seniors should use the Internet (and other technologies) is a bit tricky. If they are already online, they probably won’t be the book’s target audience. If they are NOT online, then they’ll never see the online ads or videos.

So the reality is that I’ll probably need to use more traditional forms of advertising to reach the primary audience of this book. However, I can still use the Internet to market to online audiences looking to buy a gift for their parents, grandparents, or older friends.

With that in mind, here are two sample video commercials for the book, “The Senior Sleuth’s Guide to Technology for Seniors.” One of the videos targets a younger consumer looking for a gift for his parent or grandparent. The other video targets the older consumer who might be looking for a gift for a friend or relative. Can you tell which video targets which consumer?

Video #1.

Video #2.

I just returned from an author event in Milwaukee, where I discussed my book, “The Senior Sleuth’s Guide to Technology for Seniors.” I gave my talk highlighting some of the cool technologies available to seniors including computers, the Internet, medication management devices, tech for independent living, communication, travel and fun.  And then I opened up the floor for questions and comments. Here are a few questions/comments that I received.

Q. Do the “life line” emergency call products work outside of your home?

A. The question was referring to those panic button products that you press when you’ve “fallen and can’t get up.” These have gotten more sophisticated and some now feature automatic fall detection. If you fall, an emergency call (or text) is sent to a monitoring service and/or friends. Unfortunately, these gadgets are currently all tethered to a receiver in your home. If you go beyond the receiver range and then fall, you are on your own. However, I’ve chatted informally with a couple of companies about whether they will offer a mobile solution, which will detect falls and send for help via a cell phone (or similar transmitting device), and most have hinted that they are currently working on some such solution.

(If anyone knows of a company that currently offers fall monitoring and alerts through a cell phone, please let me know.)

Q. Is your book already out of date?

A. Not yet. We published in late 2009 and we expect to remain relevant for at least 24 months. This book covers a broad range of technology types and then provides references for learning more about each. For example, the digital video cameras chapter features different types of cameras (from budget consumer to professional models) and then provides a couple of example models (from 2009). The sample models may go out of date quickly, but the “types” will be more persistent.

With that said, technology does change fast and so we’ll have to publish a new edition approximately every 24 months to keep up.

Q. What’s the “neatest” technology for seniors?

A. There are a lot of cool gadgets out there, but the thing I’m most excited about is robotics–especially robotics to improve mobility. Imagine an exoskeleton worn around your legs to improve your balance and supplement strength. Now imagine those leg supplements controlled by simple thought through a brain interface. This sounds like crazy sci-fi, but researchers are getting close.

On another note, I think the most *useful* and underutilized gadget out there is the automatic pill reminder/dispenser. If you take 5 or more pills a day (as 20% of Americans 60+ do), this could be the gadget for you.

I have another event coming up in early June. I’ll make sure to post the interesting questions/comments from that session as well.

Looking for a book that features senior citizens gallivanting across the universe, battling alien species and having lots of sex? Of course you are! Well, you’re in luck.

The book, “Old Man’s War,” by John Scalzi has all of these things and more.

This insanely fun sci-fi novel takes place on a future Earth, which has figured out space travel and has engaged in a intergalactic land battle. Here’s the twist–the soldiers aren’t the 18-25 year old kids that we send to battle today; rather, the army is manned by senior citizens. When you hit your 75th birthday, you have the option to enlist, at which time you get a body upgrade. I won’t give you any more details than this–let’s just say, I would love one of these bodies.

The main character learns the ins and outs of galactic battle and then begins to struggle with the apparent purpose of the war.

This book has everything. If you like action and battles, you’ll like this book. If you oppose nation building, you’ll like this book. If you like aliens, you’ll like this book. If you like humanity (which I hope you do), you’ll like this book.

This book was published in 2007. Your library probably has it, but I recommend buying it and passing it around among your friends. Better yet–you should all buy a copy for your next book club. You’ll get countless hours enjoyment discussing the future as presented in this book.

(Note: I have no relation to the author or any stake in his financial success. I just really like this book.)

Another 10-year prediction—in 10 years the “Seniors are afraid of technology” theme will disappear from public discussion.  Why? Because in 10 years, the entire U.S. Baby Boomer population will officially be “Seniors.” That’s a huge chunk of people who not only lived and operated in the technology workplace, these people also INVENTED high tech.

Here are a few famous Senior (55+) technologists you may have heard of.

* Bill Gates (a.k.a. that nerdy Microsoft billionaire guy) turns 55 in October 2010.
* Steve Jobs (a.k.a. iSteve, the CEO of Apple) turned 55 in February 2010.
* Richard Branson (a.k.a. the cheesy handsome British industrialist and owner of Virgin Atlantic Airways and promoter of private space exploration) turns 60 in July 2010.
* Francis Collins (a.k.a. head of the human genome project) turns 60 in April 2010.

So what?

More and more Baby Boomers are going to shift into senior-dom with the above technology celebrities. These people will not fear technology because:

1. They’ve been using it for decades.
2. More and more products will be developed specifically for their demographic. (How could industry NOT address this gigantic Senior market?)

And as the Baby Boomers fill the marketplace, they’ll likely buy senior products for their still-living parents and siblings. Sure, the 90+ consumer might still be a little hesitant around technology, but I’ll be they give it a try when their sprite 60-something kid is telling them to try it.

The “old dog, new tricks” argument simply won’t apply anymore, because the next generation of old dogs will have created and embraced the tricks. They invented high tech, and you can bet your ass they are going to embrace it in their golden years.

Here’s a prediction. In just 10 years, you will know a dozen people who are living with their retired or elderly parents in some sort of a multigenerational house. I just heard an NPR program on Boomerang kids (i.e. college grads that move back in with their parents) that discussed how more and more kids are moving back in with mom and dad. The story also mentioned how the older folks are also moving in with their kids (i.e. mom and dad). In fact, the story cited a statistic that something like 16% of the population is currently living in multigenerational houses. (I assume this statistic is for multigenerational households excluding those houses with minors.) That’s a huge number! And it’s just going to get bigger.

Here’s why:

1. The 2008 recession seriously depleted retirement savings, and so soon-to-be retirees are considering alternate retirement housing options. One of these options is moving back in with their kids.
2. We’re living longer and we didn’t necessarily budget for that extra little blessing. Consequently, we might run out of money before we croak.
3. We like each other (usually). I like my parents. I like my kids. And I’m pretty sure they like me. This is a generalization (and I can’t back it up, so take it at face value) but families are communicating better and are creating more friendship-like relationships.
4. Multigenerational cohabitation is quite common just about everywhere else in the world. The influx of other cultural attitudes and our exposure to the rest of the world makes this seem less exotic.

So nearly 1/5th of America is living in multigenerational homes and a big chunk of that will be retired folks moving in with their middle-aged kids. That’s a huge number of people sharing a living space. And yet I don’t see any good comprehensive books on the in-law suite. I want a book that talks about the ins and outs of living with another generation. I want a book that discusses easy home renovations for multigenerational homes (e.g. accessibility ramps for the elderly and soundproofing for the recent college grad). I want a book that talks about financial arrangements, tax breaks, house rules, and awkward situations related to bringing home a girl/boyfriend.

Does anyone else want this type of book?

Note that there is already a good book on kids moving back in with their parents (Boomerang Generation by Elina Furman). I recommend it. But I would like to see a book that discusses cohabitation from the opposite side—seniors moving back in with their kids.

I actually came close to writing this book when my parents moved into an in-law suite that we built for them. But it didn’t work out—mostly due to declining health and mobility issues—so I thought I wouldn’t be the best guy to write it. Who wants to read a how-to book from a guy who couldn’t do it?

Did you have a better experience? Want to write a book about it?

I’ve been thinking about an upcoming author event, where I’ll be discussing Technology for Seniors. First, some details. If you’re in the area, stop by.

David Peterka: Technology for Seniors
Open Book in Shorewood, WI
Saturday, April 24, 1pm – 2pm

I’ll cover the basic background first:

* What is Senior Technology?
* Why are companies drooling at the growing (and changing) Senior demographic?
* What types of products (or categories) are included in the “Senior Technology” product group? (Hint: There are lots.)

That’s the easy stuff. Now I need to figure out which products/technologies I’m going to demonstrate. Here are a few ideas:

* Online chat and video chat. A quick demo on how you can chat with your kid or grandkid online.

* Fall detection device. A demo on how these devices automatically detect a fall and then send a message (text or phone call) to either a monitoring service or trusted contact.  (Note: I’m a little nervous about demonstrating this due to a bruised tail bone. I’m not as good of an ice skater as I thought.)

* Electronic pill dispenser. I think this would be really good for people to see. Taking incorrect medications at incorrect times is a serious problem among seniors. Many haven’t heard about these devices. The price tag at first seems a little steep, but not when compared to a trip to the ER.

* iPhone. Maybe I would just demonstrate how to send a text. This is much easier on the iPhone and would demystify what those kids are always typing on their phones.

That’s all I have so far. If you have a suggestion for a Senior product or service I should talk about, let me know and I’ll see if I can work it in.

Over the last few weeks there have been a number of news articles on seniors in the workforce. Whether they are retiring later, looking for a second career, or just want a part time gig to pay for their golf addition, seniors (at least according to the newspapers) are looking.

Here are two stories posted today that illustrate what I’m talking about.

Myrtle Beach area seniors flock to job fair (http://www.thesunnews.com/2010/02/25/1334992/seniors-flock-to-fair.html)

More Seniors Coming Out of Retirement to Make Ends Meet (http://www.kfbb.com/news/local/85122717.html)

And there are more such articles posted every day around the country. **Side tip—create your own News channel using keywords at Google News (news.google.com).**

So, where should the savvy Senior Sleuth look for a job in today’s marketplace? The Internet, of course!

Here are a few job searching tips and sites that I think you’ll find useful.

www.indeed.com

Indeed is a job search engine that checks a bunch of other job websites and brings you back local results matching your search parameters. I love this site. This is the easiest way to check for jobs in your area. In fact, this site even pics up job listings from craigslist (detailed below).

Here’s a picture of a quick (free) search for “golf” jobs on the www.indeed.com job page.

Simple job search using indeed.com.

www.craigslist.org

Craigslist is a popular community-based website where you can search for or post classified items for sale, personals, job opportunities, and other services. Craigslist.org is available in most metro areas in the US and in several other large cities internationally.

Here’s a picture of a quick (free) search for “golf” jobs on Orlando’s craigslist job page.

Simple job search on craigslist.org.

Online Classifieds

Maybe you already skim the classifieds in your local paper, but there are probably another one or two papers in your metro area that you don’t get regularly. Don’t rush out and buy every paper on stand, just visit the papers’ websites. Most—if not all—newspapers have some sort of online presence where you can read the top stories and search through their classified ads.

Here’s a quick (free) search for “golf” jobs from the Orlando Sentinel paper’s website.

Simple online job search using a newspaper's classifieds section.

Happy hunting!

I just bought an iPhone, and it is AWESOME. I can now check email from anywhere, use Google maps to find nearby shops and restaurants while walking in an unfamiliar neighborhood,  play a quick game of Euchre when I’m bored, and email  a picture or video (taken on the phone) in 20 seconds. I’ve had the phone for a little over a week and am unsure how I survived life before it.

The first thing a new iPhone user does is search for new Apps (iPhone software applications) for the phone. These can be games, office apps, or any other sort of distracting (but fantastic) application for your iPhone. There are a bunch of free apps, but most cost a few dollars. Still–pretty inexpensive for a software program on your phone.

I was thinking about what Apps would be good for seniors and so performed a quick Google search. I hit the following interesting article, which highlights different apps that can be particularly interesting/useful to seniors. Check it out.

http://www.eldergadget.com/products/more-great-iphone-apps-for-seniors

After reading this post, I was left wanting. Shouldn’t there be more Apps specifically for seniors? Wouldn’t that entice more seniors to buy the iPhone? Maybe. Here’s my quick wish list for Senior Apps. I’m not even sure they are all technologically feasible. But if they are, I hope someone builds them.

1. Fall detection. This fact may freak you out: roughly one-third of seniors fall each year. Some of these falls only bruise your body and ego—others can lead to serious problems. There are companies that sell automatic fall detection devices (like MyHalo). These devices are worn on your person and send an alert when they detect a fall. Why not use the accelerometer inside the iPhone to detect a fall and then send a text message or phone call to family and friend. It seems like you could get the same coverage (as long as you are within AT&T service) without having to pay for the monitoring service. (There is probably a technical reason we don’t have this, but maybe Apple will consider modifying their accelerometer in the future to take advantage of this opportunity.)

2. Simplified interface. The iPhone interface is already easy to navigate, but what if you only wanted to use the phone, email, and one or two apps? I would like to see an App that sits on top of the normal welcome screen. Or maybe it could allow you to designate the Phone keypad as the default welcome screen. This would be similar to the simplifying Qualilife software that sits on top of a Windows Operating System for your PC or Laptop.

3. iPhone App to Track Medicare Expenses and Contacts. Medicare is confusing. I would love to have an application that would keep track of every interaction with them–what did they pay for, what did they not pay for, who did I talk to, what is my yearly summary, etc.?

4. Senior Saver App. Wouldn’t it be cool if your iPhone could tell you which senior discounts are within, say, three blocks of your current location? I think so. Maybe someone can integrate a senior discounts database with the Google mapping technology.

That’s all for now. If you’re an iPhone programmer, get to work. I want those apps pronto!

iPhone users–suggest an App (in the Comments) that you think serves the senior community.

I’m just going to get the obvious low-tech advice out of the way first–

If you want to stay warm, put on more clothes. Wear multiple layers to trap insulating air in and keep you nice and toasty.

You probably didn’t need a blog to tell you this, but it is an important preface to the rest of this post. There are plenty of nifty heating gadgets that you can plug into this, that, and the other thing to keep you comfortable on a cold winter’s day, but really the cheapest (and most effective) thing you can do it put more clothes on.

But what fun is that?!? Let’s get to the gadgets!

Electrically Heated Clothing

Yes–you can stick a battery in your pants and warm up. Although marketed mostly to outdoors enthusiasts, there’s no reason you can’t enjoy these battery-powered thermal clothing items. They sell electrically-heated vests, socks, insoles, pants, jackets, and gloves. Most of these come with a rechargeable battery that can last anywhere from 2 to 9 hours.  Google “battery powered clothing” to see all the options available.

Space Heaters

I only include space heaters in the gadget list to try to talk you out of using them. You’ll see infomercials toting how some space heaters are “designed by NASA,” and “ultra efficient,” but these are just marketing tricks to get you to spend a lot of money on your electric bill. Yes–space heaters will warm your room and make the temperature more comfortable. But electricity ain’t cheap.

Every space heater comes with a power output in Watts. If you must get a space heater, get one that operates with a lower wattage. This is what will determine your electric bill–not the physical design of the heater. Heaters work by pushing electricity through a resistant material, causing the material to heat up. Heaters only produce heat because they are by definition NOT efficient–losing a lot of energy to heat.

With that said, there are some instances where space heaters can make sense. If you spend 90% of your time in one or two small-ish rooms and can let the rest of your house go cold, then you’ll probably save some money by using a space heater. But if you plan on continuing to heat your whole house AND use a space heater, expect a significant bump in your heating bill.

Chair Heaters.

Instead of heating an entire room with a space heater, why not just heat your seat? You can buy an electric pad that rests on your chair or couch. Just turn it on when you’re watching TV or reading a book and that little bit of extra heat will make you feel delightfully warm. Note that these things use much, much less power than space heaters.

Electric Mattress Pads.

Lower your overall heating/electric bill by turning DOWN the nighttime temperature in your house and turning UP the temperature on your bed. You can buy an electric mattress pad that essentially works the same as an electric blanket–except that it’s underneath you.

I like these better than electric blankets because less heat is lost to the air (i.e. more heat transfers to the mattress), making it warm beneath you. As the heat rises from the mattress, you are warmed and some of the heat is retained by your blanket.

TIP: Turn this on 5 minutes before bedtime and you can crawl into a delightfully warm bed. This is what I do.

Remote Car Start.

It’s cold outside—the kind of cold that sinks into your bones and won’t be warmed by a hot cup of Joe. The only thing colder than the temperature outside is the temperature inside your car. Brrrr! Imagine grabbing hold of that five-degree-below-zero steering wheel. Imagine the icy cold of the driver’s seat pushing into your once warm flesh. Yuck!

There is a way to avoid getting into a cold car—the remote start.

You can install a device in your car that will allow you to start it from several hundred feet away. These devices are usually integrated with an electric keychain that will also unlock doors and pop the trunk. Some fancy models even allow you to control the temperature inside the car.

These devices range in price from less than $50 to more than $200. Oh… you should also pay for installation, which will run another one to two-hundred bucks. Do you need this? No. Do you want this? Probably—especially if you have cold winters.

Search for “remote car start” on any search engine to begin your investigation.

Travel Websites.

Sometimes the only way to deal with the cold is to go somewhere warm. Luckily, there are a bunch of travel websites that offer great deals on trips to warm-weather destinations. You can book a 5 night all-inclusive trip to Mexico right from your own computer for less than $700 (including airfare). And you can stay state-side by going to Florida or Southern California for much less than that. Check out www.kayak.com for cheap flights. Check out www.travelzoo.com for a list of great vacation deals.

Home Improvements (for those of you with gobs of cash lying around).

There are a few energy-related home improvements that can increase your physical comfort while lowering your operating cost (i.e. power bills). But they aren’t cheap.  Sure, the cost is usually offset by energy savings, but it usually takes around 10-15 years to fully pay back the investment. Like I said, if you have gobs of cash lying around and don’t care about your return on investment, you might consider one of these.

* Upgrade windows and insulation.

If your house is anything like mine, your windows are drafty and you your attic is under insulated. Our house was built in the 1980’s, when energy prices were so low that builders didn’t really care about insulation. It was cheaper to heat your house for 10 years than to pay for better windows. Well, times have changed. Energy prices are up, so now my inefficient house is costing me. I’m saving up for some energy upgrades:

Windows–will probably cost me around 15,000 total parts and labor. Yikes!

Insulation upgrade–will probably cost me a few thousand to have someone come and blow extra insulation into the walls. We tripled our attic insulation depth two years ago and have notices a big change. If you do nothing else, I would encourage you to check your attic for proper insulation. Heat rises, so you want to make sure it doesn’t all escape through your ceiling.

* Retrofit Radiant Floors (with optional Solar Thermal)

Radiant floors are awesome. With very little power, you can pump water beneath your floors to heat your house. If you couple this with a solar thermal installation (i.e. solar panels that heat up water for your radiant system) then it uses even less power. Radiant heat is comfortable and affordable to run. To install, however, is another issue. To retrofit radiant heat into your house, you basically need to rip up all of your floors, run the radiant tubes, and replace the floor. This is a BIG job, and BIG jobs are expensive. (Not a problem if you have gobs of cash.)

A note on solar thermal systems. Solar thermal systems are much cheaper than solar electric systems and have a quicker return on investment, often less than 7 years. This is because the technology is simpler. It’s basic plumbing. A solar collector consisting of copper pipes collects heat from the sun, transfers the heat to some fluid, which then transfers the heat to your floors.  The solar collectors is the cheap part of the system. The expensive part is ripping up and reinstalling your floors.

Lots of ways to keep warm this winter. Remember, though, that it’s hard to beat a good pair of long underwear and a sweater.

There’s no getting around it. You’re going to have to file your taxes… again. Don’t panic, Senior Sleuth. Let’s investigate a few great options for filing your taxes this year.

Option 1. Pay Someone to do it.

For a hundred bucks or so you can pay someone to do this for you. This can be someone from a giant firm like H&R Block or it can be your nephew’s reasonably smart friend who is *probably* going to graduate with an accounting degree next year (if he can get his head straight). This will cost you around a hundred bucks. This isn’t a bad option–especially if your taxes are complicated. Say, for instance, you have some extra income from a few rental properties and some inheritance trickiness. Best to let the pros (or your nephew’s promising friend) handle the complex stuff. Note that really anyone can fill out your taxes for you. This is not a highly regulated discipline–yet. There has been a lot of recent talk about stepping up the regulation for these guys. This might be the last year you can get a regular guy to fill out your taxes. But buyer beware. Without the aid of regulation, you need to make sure that your guy is up to the challenge.

Option 2. Do it yourself.

This is what I do. My tax situation is fairly straight forward, and although this is going to sound a little strange, I like experiencing taxes. If I owe taxes, I feel like plugging in the numbers gives me the right to feel indignant; if I get a refund, then I feel I’ve earned the right to gloat. You can fill out your taxes by hand using the forms you find at the post office or library, or you can go high-tech and use one of the tax preparation software applications. These save you time and reduce human error, which is precisely why I use the software–because I love my free time and make a lot of mistakes.

There are a number of tax preparation software applications on the market. Here’s a quick rundown on two of the most popular: TurboTax and TaxCut.

The advantage to TaxCut is price. You can currently get the latest TaxCut on Amazon for around $30. TurboTax runs about $54 (or more for a more complex package that will handle additional income, such as rental properties). The advantage to TurboTax is automatic downloads of W2s and other information from your financial institutions. TurboTax prompts you for the names of your employer and financial institutions and then downloads all of the information needed to fill out the income portions of your tax form. This saves time and reduces errors resulting from data entry mistakes.

Here’s my recommendation: If you’re pressed for time and hate typing, choose TurboTax. If, however, you want to save $20 and love data entry, try TaxCut.

Option 3. Have someone fill out your taxes for free.

Yep–you heard right. There are some organizations out there that will do your taxes for FREE. But be warned that these volunteers will likely only crunch your numbers if you have a relatively straight-forward tax situation. No crazy offshore accounts. No billion dollar inheritance from your old Aunt Mildred. (And if this latter point is the case, you should definitely pay for tax advice AND you should take me out to lunch. I’m hungry.)

Look up “AARP Tax-Aide” to see if there is anyone in your area providing free tax service. You can use their locator to find volunteers in your area by plugging your zip code into the following page:

https://locator.aarp.org/vmis/sites/taxaide_locator.jsp

You’ve still got a few months before you must file. Hopefully you’ll get something back from Uncle Sam this year. You can use all of your extra cash to buy a new book. I heard that “The Senior Sleuth Guide to Technology for Seniors” is a great read!