Housing Solutions for Social Isolation.

The idea for this workshop came from "Tech-enhanced life" and I have talked of this before in earlier posts, but I think it is still relevant as we move into a year of perfect vision.

Some exceptional opportunities in housing can help fight isolation and loneliness among seniors.  Particularly as grow older, housing options affect our physical and our mental wellbeing.

Some of the options being explored in some jurisdictions may have hope for those who are on their own. Some of these are:

All-age residential hotels.  The idea of ‘all-age’ living facilities, compared to more age-segregated communities is a good idea for seniors.  More specifically, there is an atmosphere of more powerful energy, as well as the increased opportunities to connect with different ages and learn new things than in a segregated community.    

Accessory unit rentals.  As our family situations change, because of age, our current house could become too big us.  Accessory units (or ‘granny units’) on the property can be rented out, or maybe separate living quarters can be made of current house space.  Housing rental could also be exchanged for home maintenance, help, and companionship.  Graduate students would be good candidates for this option. This would require cities to approve zoning changes and there might have to be some screening set up to protect seniors, but it might work and keep people in their homes longer.

Co-housing.  is where residents (old and young) share living facilities.  The benefits for older adults are shared help, companionship and contact with younger generations.  However, such facilities are few in a number of areas, and efforts need to be made to ensure residents are harmonious with each other.

Dancing and Ageism

Every two weeks, on a Saturday night, we go out with another couple for dinner, and then we usually go for a special coffee. We have fun and enjoy their company and we laugh and we always find things to talk about. Every time we go, my wife wonders what we will talk about but we always find something to talk about, sometimes we talk of family, sometimes we talk of music, sometimes the talk drifts to grandchildren. 

We have a nice routine, so we were surprised when the other couple suggested that we not go for special coffee, but go to the local Legion. We thought it would be a great idea, so we went. The Legion has a different band play every Saturday. The band was very good and it played the kind of music that made everyone want to get up and dance.

Now my wife and I have taken dance lessons and when we were younger we were pretty good dancers, or so I thought. As we sat having our special coffee, the dance floor filled and we were amazed at the skill level of the dancers. I said to my wife, they all look like they are professionals, or at least have just come from a dance class. Needless to say, I was intimidated and decided that I would watch and my wife and the other couple had the same idea.

We were very impressed by the level of the dancers. Now they were not young, I am in my early 70's and all of the dancers looked older than me. The dance floor rocked and the dancers were having a great time when the bandleader said it was time for a line dance number. Within one minute ever dancer was in line and the line performed like a well-rehearsed chorus line. As the dance continued, this lady moved to the front of the line and it was very evident within a few minutes that all of the other dancers were taking their cues from her. She had energy and spirit and was a delight to watch. When the song was over, she went and sat down, and the people at the next table said to us, she is doing pretty good for a 96-year-old. 

We all looked at each other and nodded, and I realized that I was shocked at how old she was and how well she did on the dance floor. As I thought about my reaction, I realized that I was being ageist. I had judged this woman on her age and because she was older than I thought I wondered how she did it. 

I should not have let my ideas about how a 90+ person should act, influence my ideas about how well she danced. She was doing what I hope I will be doing at 90+ having fun and not caring what others think. 

Jan 2, time to laugh

I've got old age figured out. It is when you still have something on the ball but you are just too tired to bounce it.

Everyone has a photographic memory; some just don't have film.

My retired friend of mine applied for a job as an insurance salesman. Where the form requested "prior experience," he wrote "lifeguard." That was it. Nothing else.

"We're looking for someone who can not only sell insurance but who can sell himself as well," said the hiring manager. "How does working as a lifeguard pertain to salesmanship?"

My pal replied, "I couldn't swim."

He got the job.

You know you're getting old when your dreams are dry and your farts are

wet.

Consciousness is that annoying time between naps.

One day at the watering hole, an elephant looked around and carefully surveyed the turtles in view. After a few seconds thought, he walked over to one turtle, raised his foot, and kicked the turtle as far as he could. 

A watching hyena asked the elephant why he did it. "Well, about 30 years ago I was walking through a stream and a turtle bit my foot. Finally, I found the S.O.B and repaid him for what he had done to me." "30 years!!! And you remembered ...But how???"

"I have turtle recall."

A conscience is what hurts when all your other parts feel so good.

For my Aussie friends, My aunt's beloved cat Ginger had grown seriously overweight, so she decided to take him to the vet to find out if there was anything wrong with him - and more to the point, whether anything could be done about it. 

So, she put him into the kit- ty-carry box and drove to the surgery. The doc prescribed a course of pills, and my aunt

left, happy in the knowledge that Ginger would soon be his slim old self again. But after a few weeks of taking the pills, there was no change: Ginger was as fat as ever. Soon months had gone by, and still, there was no difference. In fact, if anything, it was getting worse. 

The other problem was the invoices from the vet - these pills were costing a fortune. It soon became clear to us all that Ginger had become a doc-billed fatty-puss.  :o)

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Paul Wallbank decided to ponder what might the biggest tech trends in business might look like in 2020. So, as we start 2020 let's look at some of his ideas for fun. HAPPY NEW YEAR

Now we’re in the second decade of the Twenty-First Century, business is accelerating as a combination of changes in technology and society come together.

Many of these trends have been predicted for some time. It’s the availability of the cheap (almost free!) computing power that’s delivering many of the promises made by technology over the last thirty years. These are worth examining more closely.

The top business trends in 2020 might be

1) Robots taking our jobs

Probably the biggest change that is affecting our businesses is how machines are taking over tasks ranging from window cleaning to inventory management. Anyone with a transaction-based job or business will be having a forced career change before the end of the decade.

2) The Internet of machines

Those robots and computers are talking to each other which speeds up business decisions and will strip layers of management from organizations.

3) Flatter organizations

A consequence of those faster decisions is the need for less management. Organizations need to be flatter in order to process information faster unless they want to risk nimble competitors seizing business opportunities.

4) 3D printing

One of the most exciting, and business changing, technologies is 3D printing which allows you to print a coffee cup at your desk, help robots construct new buildings and a give a little boy a set of fingers.

5) Nano-technology

3D printing is happening alongside biological engineering. By the end of the decade, we’ll be able to print our own skin. By 2030, we’ll be printing replacement body parts like heart valves.

6) Mobile apps redefining service industries

The mobile phone app is currently booming but the real effects of these mobile services will be felt on industries as diverse as the taxi industry to the mining and agricultural sectors.

7) The fight for control of the mobile payments system

An upshot of the app economy is the question of who processes, and makes money, from online payments. The battle between banks, credit card companies, telcos and software companies is going to be a major business story of the decade.

8) Reinventing entertainment

Apps and connected machines are going to change consumer behaviour and nowhere is this more notable in the entertainment industries which are being revolutionized by tools like Google Glasses and social media.

9) The fall and rise of social media

Like many innovations social media was greatly hyped and now we’re seeing the backlash of it being oversold. Over the rest of the decade, organizations are going to figure out how to use social media services effectively and profitably without hype.

10) Newspapers cease to exist

One of the effects of social media, mobile phone apps and the pervasive internet is the end of newspapers by 2020 as futurist Ross Dawson has predicted.