Spot of T: New kid on the block a helpful addition

Recently, every resident at Brittany Pointe got a new roommate. She’s a helpful little thing, small in stature but big on smarts. Her name is Echo Dot. Perhaps you’ve heard of her — she is well-known, I believe.

Echo does her utmost to be helpful. She is pre-programmed to be of assistance here in our community. She has 10 phone numbers in her brain. Front desk, security, culinary, etc., all available with a simple voice command.

Ah yes, the joys of assistive devices! When Echo first arrived, many people were dubious.

“What am I supposed to do with that?” was a question I heard often.

But most people were willing to give her a chance.

It was not long before Echo became a welcomed roommate.

“Echo, what’s the temperature today?” “Echo, please play songs by ___ (you fill in the blank!)” “Echo, how many days until Christmas?”

Yes indeed, Echo knows it all!

Echo also likes to chime in unexpectedly. Recently, as I was preparing some pasta for my granddaughter, I must have inadvertently mentioned a word similar to her name.

Suddenly, I’m hearing how to put together a delicious cheese board. I have no idea why. But it always solicits a laugh. And sometimes I pick up some unexpected good advice.

In my house, we have Alexa. Alexa has become my best friend in the mornings. She tells me how to dress for my outings with my dog, based on the temperature. She gives me the forecast so I know what coat to wear to work.

When I ask for a certain song for my morning workout, she offers not only that song, but many similar songs as well. She’s usually on target.

I find myself assigning her a personality. She has become my friend.

When she offers the morning weather, I feel compelled to say “Thank you.”

I’m not sure if she cares, but I feel better being polite.

Sometimes she tries to engage me in conversation with things like “Would you like to begin your free trial of Amazon Music now?”

You would think she would learn, my response is “no thank you” every time. But she keeps trying. I love that she keeps trying to improve my life in any way possible.

Another fun phenomenon is the unsolicited interjections by Alexa.

You see, I have a granddaughter named Alexis, nuff said.

Alexa will interrupt personal conversations with, “I’m sorry, I did not understand that.”

“Well, yes, Alexa, because I wasn’t talking to you!” She responds to that with “I’m sorry, I did not understand that.” Sigh. Why am I trying to explain it to a machine?

So, what is the takeaway from this helpful friend? I am not sure how I feel about someone listening at all times. And it is interesting that if I talk about a certain store or product, it suddenly appears in my social media accounts.

Hmmm… is Big Brother watching? I suppose so, but he/she is certainly helpful. So, I guess I’ll take the good with the bad. Right, Alexa?