Greetings for Wednesday

Today is the second day of Kwanzaa and the principle of the day is self-determination.

My favorite family story today is about Virtual Family Dinners. This is a fascinating idea that goes beyond videoconferencing. The system is designed for elderly family members who all-too-often eat alone. It would detect when they sit down to dinner and alert a family member who's available to chat with them. They'd be able to see each other and chat.

According to a doctor interviewed in the story, there are health benefits to eating with others. Potentially, this could increase the health of elderly family members and postpone hospitalization or the need for out of home care.

We're still about two years from seeing this on the shelves, but it's cost is estimated at between $500 and $1,000 per household.

This week, we're talking about family resolutions and other ways to celebrate the New Year as a family. This will be slightly hypocritical of me, as I plan to celebrate with friends after dropping Little Bit off at Grandmas. But before then and New Year's Day, I figure there will be plenty of opportunities for a family celebration.

Stay tuned...
Technorati | Family in the News | Elderly | Family Dinner