Morrill Memorial Library: Borrow a Karaoke Kit or a Companion Cat

Morrill Memorial Library: Borrow a Karaoke Kit or a Companion Cat

When people think of the public library, I’m fairly certain that books come to mind before all else. Of course libraries have lots of programs and events, and lend a multitude of other materials such as movies, museum passes, and even video games. Nowadays tech-savvy folks also take advantage of “virtual” collections of e-books, audiobooks and streaming video. Over the years the Morrill Memorial Library started thinking outside the box and lending puzzles, knitting needles, cake pans and electronics including Wi-Fi hotspots and GoPro video cameras. Whether we realized it or not at the time, we created, in library parlance, a “Library of Things.”
TechnoBuffalo: Best Electronic Pets in 2019

TechnoBuffalo: Best Electronic Pets in 2019

Having a living, breathing pet as a member of your family that needs food, water, and playtime can be expensive and time-consuming. Electronic pets offer all the fun and absolutely none of the commitment of a four-legged friend that needs walks regularly. We’ve tested them all and here’s how our favorite electronic pets rank.

Argentum: Ageless Innovation Leadership Recognized as Change Agents in the Adult Care Market

Argentum: Ageless Innovation Leadership Recognized as Change Agents in the Adult Care Market

Pawtucket, R.I. – Ageless Innovation LLC, a global company devoted to developing fun and engaging products for older adults, proudly announces that key members of its leadership team have been recognized as visionaries in the senior living market. Ted Fischer, chief executive officer, was the recipient of the Leadership Longevity Award at the 16th annual What’s Next Boomer Business Summit, the nation’s leading conference for the longevity market. Tom Canterino, vice president, was named to the Senior Living Leaders Under 40 List at the 2019 Argentum Senior Living Executive Conference, hosted by the leading national trade association for the industry serving professionally managed senior living communities in the United States.
Being Patient: Robotic Pets To The Rescue? Dementia Care Gets Innovative

Being Patient: Robotic Pets To The Rescue? Dementia Care Gets Innovative

Tom Stevens pets his golden retriever Jennie. The dog squints her brown eyes.

“How are you?” Tom says.

Jennie barks in response.

This encounter, documented on YouTube, seems typical except for one important detail: Jennie is 100-percent robotic. Her bark sounds from a built-in speaker and her features are the handiwork of Jim Henson’s creature shop.

Wall Street Journal: New Hopes for Dementia Care

Wall Street Journal: New Hopes for Dementia Care

A colleague called the other day, asking for help finding care for her brother, who was recently diagnosed with dementia. That’s a common enough request, but this colleague is a doctor, and she had already taken her brother to an elite academic medical center that did lots of tests and offered to enroll him in research studies. That wasn’t the help her brother was looking for, however, or at least not all of it. He wanted to know how long he could keep working, how he should organize his finances, and how long he could live at home as his illness progressed. His physician couldn’t answer those questions and didn’t really know who could.

WTEN: Stratton VA helps veterans with robot pets

WTEN: Stratton VA helps veterans with robot pets

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) — They are used in nursing homes across the nation, and now the Stratton VA issues them to veterans suffering from dementia. 

What are they?  They are robot cats and dogs.  Each veteran gets their own companion robot, and they get to keep them forever.