Am I Being Slowly Seduced By Alexa? (Other Machines Are Available)

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

So I wake up in the morning. In a zombie like state I'm making a cup of tea and some croissants (get me!) and what am I then doing? Going on my Amazon Fire Kindle  and asking for a "Flash Briefing".

No that's not some rude short story. It's Amazon's way of compiling the news headlines, the local weather, a short snippet from the Daily Show and TV Choice suggestions in a few minutes (all my chosen subjects). That's it. I can then ask it for my calendar (rarely above one item in that day) and ask it to turn on a classical music radio station from anywhere in the world.

The day begins.

Later I'd ask it for a traffic update on my route to work before I go. My specific route you understand not those around Wales/the UK on the off chance it's mentioned on the radio.

I can also play something bought on Prime Music or video should I desire it in the evening.

The thing is I've barely touched the surface. There are literally hundreds perhaps thousands of "skills" which could be added if I had the time to work my brain round them.

What it does is to throw your thoughts and tasks into one place without thousands of bits of paper to confuse you. There are issues though. We don't live in a land yet where people walk around supermarkets with tablets with a shopping list on them. So I write down on a piece of paper. Luddite of me I know but at least I've marshalled it all in one place beforehand.

But the biggest issue is speaking to Alexa. Anything slightly different to the norm confuses it. Yesterday I asked for the French classical radio station France Musique.

"I'm sorry there's no France music"

"No France music"

"Sorry there's no France music"

And this continues. I have to go all Inspector Clouseau like

"France musique" with as much emphasis as I could muster before it brought me to the radio station I desired.

I am balking though at the idea of Alexa connecting to machines. For example I'm not interested in an Alexa  controlled microwave unless it's able to stop during cooking a microwave meal, stirs that meal and then starts again.

Not against communicating with others through it. Though for the moment it seems simpler just picking up the phone.

Still as a sort of personal assistant it is growing on me. Whether too much time will tell.

One final story about the voice commands. Asked wife on Sunday whether she wanted anything when I went to the supermarket the next day.

"Loo rolls" came the response which I duly asked Alexa to put on the shopping list. This it announced.

On the screen however it said I asked for Lou Rawls.

Now if Lidls sells seventies R&B singers. Then I'd be very impressed.

Until the next time.

The Insomniac Meanderings Post: Wife's Birthday Special Midweek Edition

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Well, though it's too early in the morning, is the wife's birthday. She's asleep. As is daughter. Nothing to do until either of them wake up (or if I did do anything it would be likely I'd wake that I might wake them up). So here I am tapping away.

We are, both of us, not of an age to go out in the evenings normally. So the plan is for us (plus daughter) to have lunch in one of the pleasant pubs in the Vale of Glamorgan countryside. It is dull I'd admit but it is a plan. And let's face it Tuesdays is not the best day for your birthday to fall on.

Yesterday I wrote about the oncoming possibility of a dark hard Brexit making me seriously consider stockpiling food. I mentioned that if there were food shortages there might be civil unrest. Well let's be clearer about it. I see three possible sources of civil unrest. From the hungry, from the far right and from those angered that Brexit has not turned out to be what the Leave campaign promised. To those high profile Brexiteers I say this. Hire security guards. Because trust me you will be hated. I'm not advocating violence. But when you see the possibility of something happening you should not avoid mentioning it either.

Mind you I have a plan for Boris Johnson. Perhaps he should have straight swap with Iran for Nazarin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, the journalist imprisoned there whose case he bungled. Win win I'd say. He wouldn't be missed.

By the way with regard to Boris Johnson and David Cameron shouldn't Eton apologise for their education of them given how rubbish to the United Kingdom they've turned out to be?

And according to an article in the Daily Mirror the world's Most Wanted could slip into Britain in the event of a no-deal Brexit. Economic turmoil, food shortages and criminal gangs. Brexit seems to get better and better and better!

For Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales the option of independence is there. Something not available for England. Which is why if a hard Brexit occurs England will be the country at most risk of takeover from the far right.

Listening to France Musique at the moment. Make that what you will Brexiteers. Yesterday whilst of the nation was watching Love Island I was listening to (amongst others) a song called "Reggae Cymraeg" on  Radio Cymru. Make that what you will.

This is the week of the Royal Welsh Show. A few weeks time it'll be the Eisteddford in Cardiff (I'll be going to that). Aside from the Welsh element what's the connection? That they will have a lot of coverage on the Welsh language channel S4C. Now I'm not saying they shouldn't have this coverage but that it illustrates again the need for S4C to have another channel. If you're not interested in agricultural shows (two thumbs pointed at this guy) there is no Welsh language alternative on TV. You have to go on demand instead.

Remember the posts I wrote about the dumping of radioactive mud from the Hinckley Point nuclear power station to Cardiff Bay? Well apparently the Welsh Labour government has offered to take in any nuclear waste from anywhere in the disunited kingdom. Leaving aside the implications of yet again Welsh Labour has allowed bad things to happen to Wales the first real question is Where will this waste go to? We should be told. And I tell you what. I'll be in any demonstration against it (for what my presence is worth).

Well wife's awake now....here we go..."Happy Birthday to you....Happy.." Well you know the tune.

Until the next time.