Techstination, your destination for gadgets and gear. I’m Fred Fishkin. How do you come up with a new way to communicate. After working for years with the likes of NASA and Apple, Mark Drummond has created an app called Pixi Garden…on iOS initially…that uses AI and augmented reality to enable some fun new communication…

“Say that you want to want to send Elsa from Frozen to your 12 year old niece and your niece’s name was Jennifer. You could on your iPhone configure Elsa to sing happy birthday dear Jennifer, hit go, arrives on Jennifer’s phone, she hits play and there on her desktop is Elsa dancing and singing happy birthday dear Jennifer. Now to be clear, we don’t have the rights to Elsa or Disney.”

Find PixiGarden in the app store and there’s more to come. Learn more at SendPixi.com.

You can find us at Techstination.com. I’m Fred Fishkin.

A vehicle theft every 48 seconds in the U.S.? What can you do? GM Vehicle Security Lead George Baker has some tips in this interview with Techstination's Fred Fishkin.

Techstination, your destination for gadgets and gear. I’m Fred Fishkin. In the midst of summer…more smart cooling power is always welcome. The folks at Rowan Home Appliances have a variety of both portable and window air conditioners under the Zafro brand that are smart and efficient. We’ve had a look at a U-Shaped 10 thousand BTU model designed to be quiet and powerful enough to cool up to 450 square feet. The U-shaped description may be a bit off…it is actually N -shaped with it sitting like a saddle on top of the window sill. That design simplifies installation and helps to make it secure. There’s a remote for control…but it also works with an app or by voice with Alexa or Google. We’re impressed with all of that and we’ve seen the price at about five hundred dollars. Learn more at ZafroShop.com.

You can find us at Techstination.com. I’m Fred Fishkin.

Techstination, your destination for gadgets and gear.  I’m Fred Fishkin.  Best selling author Richard Louv is back with  … Noticing: Intimate Encounters with the Natural World.    Louv is the author of Last Child in the Woods and other books and coined the phrase “nature deficit disorder.”  And he says scientific studies have caught up with our instincts.  And now there is focus on the senses…many more than we learned about in school…

“Just in the last fifteen years or so scientists have discovered that we don’t have five senses, we’ve got conservatively 9 or 10 . Some people see music in colors.  But we have more senses than we know we have. We know more than we think we do.”

I’ve enjoyed the read and think you will too.  The title again is Noticing: Intimate Encounters with the Natural World by Richard Louv.

You can find us at Techstination.com.   I’m Fred Fishkin.

Techstination, your destination for gadgets and gear.  I’m Fred Fishkin.  Using examples from his own backyard…best selling author Richard Louv is taking readers on another journey … Noticing: Intimate Encounters with the Natural World.    It is beautifully written…using examples from Louv’s own life experiences and those of others. For instance…he writes about early memories…

“I spent most of my boyhood in the woods near our house, and I spent much of it with my dog, it was a collie, his name was Banner and my parents often did not know where I was but Banner always knew where I was.   And I immersed myself in those woods.   I remember climbing trees and maybe you did this Fred, and looking at the grooves in the bark and noticing that there were iridescent spiders.”

There was life…just waiting to be noticed.  More with Richard Louv in my next report.

You can find us at Techstination.com.   I’m Fred Fishkin.

Techstination, your destination for gadgets and gear.  I’m Fred Fishkin.    It’s a toaster that you won’t be hiding on the kitchen counter.   The Revolution R180 Connect Plus Smart Toaster….has a beautiful touch screen that can display time, date and weather or act as a digital photo frame.   And when you want to toast…select from dozens of bread options and select the precise doneness you want from images.  And it is fast.  CEO Tom Klaff says it is called InstaGlo Technology..

“Well it starts with better heat.  Our tag line really is better heat makes a better appliance, which makes better food.”

    We’re really impressed….the toast is perfect every time.  Butt the technology, as you might expect, doesn’t come cheap.  The R180 Connect Plus Smart Toaster sells for about 450 dollars at RevCook.com.

You can find us at Techstination.com.   I’m Fred Fishkin.

The plug-in or balcony solar movement is growing in the U.S. with some help from non-profit Bright Saver. How can you join in and save money on your electric bill? Bright Saver co-founder Rupert Mayer chats with Techstination's Fred Fishkin.

Techstination, your destination for gadgets and gear.  I’m Fred Fishkin.    Are you ready for a personal EVTOL?   That an electric vertical take off and landing vehicle…in other words…a flying car.   Doroni Aerospace has designed the H1-X…which it is taking pre-orders for now.   It hopes to begin deliveries in 2028.   It is a two seater that can be charged with an EV charger.   CEO Doron Merdinger  saysit is designed to be easy and safe…and when it comes to range..

“About a hundred miles.  Bear in mind these are direct miles.  In terms of speed, it’s about 120 maximum miles per hour.  Probably cruising about 90 to 100, cruising.”

You will need a light sport aircraft certification to fly and about 400 thousand dollars.  Learn more at Doroni.io

You can find us at Techstination.com.   I’m Fred Fishkin.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundcation is urging state and federal officials to address climate fueled disasters. How? RWJ Foundation Chief Science Officer, Dr. Alonzo Plough, chats with Techstination's Fred Fishkin.

Help for those people caring for others with dementia. A digital therapy platform and app developed by researchers at the University of East Anglia has been effective according to a new study. Lead Researcher Dr. Naoko Kishita chats with Techstination's Fred Fishkin.