Hey Siri

Sam was pissing around with his $30 computer, that looks like a reject Meccano set creation, his second computer screen and an old keyboard from my old desk top, I think. That funny little $30 computer, bigger than a normal matchbox, about the same size as one of those over-sized match boxes you get from the supermarket, the type I buy to light the open fire in winter.

I thought he was doing work, as I could see the black programming box up on his screen. He works at home sometimes. Occasionally, if he has a tough programing job he wants to get finished.

Then he started talking to Siri. “Hey Siri,” was what I was constantly hearing from then on.

The fire burned. I got sleepy lying on the couch, having tried, but not really succeeded in updating my blog. Milo lay asleep across my legs.

Then Sam was very excited, well, pleased with himself, would be the better expression.

“Hey Siri, turn off the living room lights.” And the lights went off.

“Hey, look at that,” he said.

“Did Siri just do that?” I asked.

“Sure did,” he said. He couldn’t quite get the smile off his face.

To get to the point, we now have a voice activated house.

“It’s on your phone too.”

“Oh… gosh.” Thinking about the big TV incident, where I was less than enthused, I thought I’d better sound enthusiastic.

“Ask Siri something?” said Sam.

I picked up my phone. “Siri, turn off the TV.”

And the TV turned off.

“How cool is that,” exclaimed Sam. He was grinning from ear to ear.

“Oh, wow,” I said. Truthfully, we have remote controls of varying types that can do that, but be enthusiastic, I told myself. “That’s, that’s…”

“Oh come on,” said Sam.

“That is great, honey. Saves me picking up the remote control.”

“The lights in our room can be turned on from down here, before we go to bed, so you never have to walk into the dark bedroom again.”

Never be in the dark again, so many people have promised such things, I thought. I wanted to laugh. “That’s great.” I didn’t laugh.

“You could at least pretend to be impressed.”

“I am impressed,” I said. “I never have to flick a light switch again, how can I not be impressed”

Sam looked at me with “that look.” “I think it is cool,” he said.

I laughed. “It is.”