Family Video Call: Too Cramped
When my whole family is here, and we want to have an Alexa call with my Aunt who is now in the nursing home, it’s rather cramped sitting around my phone or even my Echo Show
Graceful aging: topic: Living Life
The things that make life fun, and more than just getting by, relating to better quality life as grow older.
TV Always On in Background: Mind Numbing
If you have visited residents' rooms in a nursing home, you will notice that the resident's TV is always on, although the resident is not paying attention. It's mind numbing.
Relaxing Background Videos Instead of Daytime TV
Set up a commercial-free (paid) YouTube account and create some playlists. Some of these videos are 8-12 hours long!
TV Noise Drowns Out Phone Ringing
In my Dad’s nursing home everybody has their TV blasting, including My Dad. Sometimes he can’t even hear me calling on a video chat request on his Alexa Show.
How to Set Up an Amazon Fire TV Cube
In my retirement I spend a great deal of time on an unusual “hobby” — coming up with useful technology-based solutions to problems and annoyances that beset my elderly friends and relations. I have found that many of these older adults spend quite a lot of their time within earshot of a TV — which is … Read more
Alexa Calling Pauses TV When Call Comes In
Enabling Alexa Calling on his Fire TV cube will pause his TV show.
Making TV Useful For My 94-yr-old Aunt
This is about how I took advantage of the ubiquity of TV in the lives of many older adults. By adding various smart integrations, I turned the TV from simply a source of background noise into a useful tool — that helps my 94-yr-old aunt accomplish all sorts of things she previously had trouble with.
Aging Parent Answers Doorbell Without Looking
My Mom jumps up to answer the doorbell every time it rings. I worry about two things. I worry she opens the door to strangers without knowing who they are. I worry she does not always hear the doorbell and might miss out on someone she actually wants to talk to.
Ring Doorbell Announces Visitors via Echo Show or Fire TV Cube
Here are two solutions (plus detailed “how to” instructions).
- The basic version uses an Amazon Echo Show with Ring doorbell, so that when the doorbell rings, your loved one can ask Alexa to view the camera.
- The second solution offers a personalized audible warning to check the screen below, before opening the door. It does this by triggering an “Alexa Routine.”