# (Old) Alexa, start the MMP **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Tags:** mmp\ **Created:** [January 20, 2025, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-alexa-start-the-mmp/1013150 "2025-01-20T12:09:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2025, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-alexa-start-the-mmp/1013150/81 "2025-01-20T20:01:49Z")
My mother had the gold butterflies, and it was closer to 50 years ago than 40 (she had those as far back as I can recall, definitely when I was in grade school, and I started kindergarten in 1974). ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stainless_steel_rat/32/5727_2.png) [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stainless_Steel_Rat)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2025, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-alexa-start-the-mmp/1013150/82 "2025-01-20T20:02:54Z")
Afternoon all. Was a fairly productive morning, started out with the garage door not working; turns out when I tried to open it last night (in case the power outage lasted too long), I did manage to disconnect it so I needed to get on a ladder and re-attach things. Fortunately it is pretty idiot-proof (when it comes to stuff like that, it had better be that way for me) so made it out of my garage. Picked up the two prescriptions but doubt I will use them, no pain or nausea detected to date. Them went to the gym and they put my personal trainer stuff on hold until 10 March, so no worries about paying bucks for nothing. Then gassed up car and picked up my Jimmy John’s #3 regular for lunch. Inside now, it’s all the way to 21F now and we have a beautiful blue sky, but think I have labored enough for a guy 48 hours out of a hospital bed, so sloth and nappage will be the order of the rest of the day. > [@dogbutler](#): > > This gets you the Butlerian Jihad, then we have to spend the next 14,000 years eating worm poop. The spice must flow. **BBBoo** , glad to see that you are up and about, be careful out there in the glare. Stay warm and enjoy your time with the kiddos. **FCM** , enjoy the kids and the spud soup. And yes, that is a big plant. Just don’t name it Audrey… And glad you can tote away. > [@susan](#): > > I’m not going to join a group walk today, because 5 miles at 32 degrees seems like a good way to be sure I won’t be able to type or write afterward. You are a wise woman. > [@scareyfaerie](#): > > I had to sit in on a 2hr dept meeting (minutes are my job there). Ah, work, where the minutes are kept and the hours are lost… **nellie** , just waiting to hear the complaints from your neighbors as they get booted out. And you got mentioned in a book! I realize that it is not a huge thing these days, but as a bookaholic I’m impressed! > [@nelliebly](#): > > > [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](#): > > > > stop by the gym to delay my exercise training with a staff member, > > How long are you supposed to refrain? That…is a good question. From what I have read I shouldn’t be doing any stress/heavy lifting for about 30 days. I see the surgeon in about 2 weeks for an exam so I’ll probably know more by then. A delay until 10 March works out well for me and the gym assures me I can start earlier than that if I get the go-ahead. **Oopsie** , as another live-alone with few visitors, I may have to look into that Google Nest/Echo Pop or things like it, that would be something I would find of value. And the X-wing looks nice. > [@Misnomer](#): > > not to be confused with Legolas; I may be short, but I’m no blonde elf So more like Gimli? 😉 **Cookie** , sounds like a good time was had. And time to check the other sections of the SDMB and see about the Inauguration…but first I need to get in the mood for it…[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ph1GU1qQ1zQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ph1GU1qQ1zQ) ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2025, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-alexa-start-the-mmp/1013150/83 "2025-01-20T20:10:04Z")
> [@susan](#): > > **BBBoo** , be aware that polarized sunglasses don’t work well in the car because the windows cut down the part of light that makes them darken Thank you for timely warning, saving me not only shekels but frustration. I’ll do a light tint if I do anything. Thanks **👓 🚫 🕶**! ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2025, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-alexa-start-the-mmp/1013150/84 "2025-01-20T20:17:10Z")
Thanks for the song! I really enjoyed it~Ringo is my lifetime favorite drummer ever and still. Stashed that one on my favorite YouTube playlist-very nice. ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2025, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-alexa-start-the-mmp/1013150/85 "2025-01-20T20:19:28Z")
The sun is out. Its 10 degrees. I took a short nap and am eating extra cheezy pizza flavored goldfish. I am craving chicken noodle soup from down the street but even if it were warm enough to walk there, its 4.50 for a pint. Have 2 library books and a Rolling Stone to read til I go out on Thurs. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2025, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-alexa-start-the-mmp/1013150/86 "2025-01-20T20:30:23Z")
> [@BippityBoppityBoo](#): > > Stashed that one on my favorite YouTube play Me too! I loved seeing the international artists on various instruments, just bustin’ out & doin’ their groovy thang. That was quite the mood uplifter. Thanks, **mouse.** ---
**Author:** ![teelabrown](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/teelabrown/32/8412_2.png) [@teelabrown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teelabrown)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2025, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-alexa-start-the-mmp/1013150/87 "2025-01-20T20:31:22Z")
I don’t have Alexa, but I do talk to Sirius on my iPhone. I found I could pick the gender and the accent for the Sirius voice, so I chose a male voice and an English accent. I was hoping the accent would sound like Patrick Stewart or Benedict Cumberbatch, but instead it sounds like the Geico gecko. But I still like it better than a female voice. However, Mr. brown hates it. When we’re out driving, I like to ask Sirius for “driving directions to \_\_\_\_\_\_”, and it starts up the spoken driving directions. Mr. brown calls him “that fucking toffee-nosed bastard” and resents being given directions by a male voice. But it’s my phone, and if I want a male English voice, that’s what I’m going to have. ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2025, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-alexa-start-the-mmp/1013150/88 "2025-01-20T20:35:18Z")
Sounds like debates my husband and I have about Waze voices. He says he can hear a female more easily, but tends to pick one I find a bit ear-irritating. I prefer the British male with street names, who goes by Thomas. When he’s riding with me, DH says he can’t hear Thomas. Oh well, I can, and I find him a lot more pleasant to listen to than the one he uses (I think it’s Jane). ---
**Author:** ![JaneDoe42](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janedoe42/32/14104_2.png) [@JaneDoe42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JaneDoe42)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2025, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-alexa-start-the-mmp/1013150/89 "2025-01-20T21:16:41Z")
The issue with smart houses and such is that they will be unusable after an ElectroMagnetic Pulse. Hubs talks to his phone, or should I say he argues with it. I’m finding myself wondering if I even need a smartphone nowadays. > [@LSLGuy](#): > > NWS tells me it’s 60/16 out there. Sounds like its time for you to break out the down jacket! Back when we lived in AZ, we could always tell the Snowbirds because they would be running around in shorts and flip-flops when it was 60F. It was 8F with another inch of snow when I go up this morning. I went outside. It was cold. It’s up to 12F now but the bright sun is still melting the snow. The roads are going to be nasty tomorrow morning. I had a doctor appointment tomorrow but the office will be closed. It wasn’t anything critical, he likes to monitor my thyroid on a regular basis. I got the blood work done last week so that’s all taken care of. No swimming for a few days, the road to the rec center isn’t one of the first to get plowed and they have learned to not trust people on the road (I think I shared the story of the one truck going off the side of the road and the other truck winching a tree down on top of both vehicles), so chained it closed when the first snow flakes fell. It is a shady, windy up and down road, it makes sense to close it but I still get a little “this is why we can’t have nice things” feeling about it. > [@rocking\_chair](#): > > mine is set to “computer” as the wake word, because star trek. 🖖 > [@BippityBoppityBoo](#): > > Welp, I found out that driving into a morning sunrise 4 days post cataract surgery is very tricky. I agree, very scary. I’m fairly sure it will get better as your eyes adjust. I read forward about your other things going on, I’ve heard of those things as well during the recovery process. Not an eye doctor, just worked for one in a surgery center. > [@susan](#): > > It does seem that my doc started me on the wrong dose of Mounjaro I’m so sorry, I hope the proper dose gets figured out soon. Puking is never fun. > [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Diesel is not reliable enough in this cold, can turn to a jelly, apparently. TIL, thank you. > [@nelliebly](#): > > A friend sent me a book he recently got published. I critiqued an early draft for him, and he incorporated some of my memories, so my name is in the acknowledgements. What a lovely thing for both of you. I also hope it is successful. > [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > Well, apparently, non-sober me not only baked that quiche (the leftovers of which are quite tasty) she also washed a buncha dishes AND took the bin to the curb after all! And some people say day drinkin’ isn’t good for you! > [@FairyChatMom](#): > > Turns out Corelle breaks if dropped on ceramic tile. Yours only broke? Mine shattered into a billion little pieces that went all over the place. ---
**Author:** ![Kitten\_Mitten](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b782af/32.png) [@Kitten\_Mitten](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kitten_Mitten)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2025, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-alexa-start-the-mmp/1013150/90 "2025-01-20T21:23:24Z")
> [@(Old) Halfway through the month - Midway in the MMP](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-halfway-through-the-month-midway-in-the-mmp/1012910/409): > > > [@(Old) Halfway through the month - Midway in the MMP](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-halfway-through-the-month-midway-in-the-mmp/1012910/400): > > > > Speaking of Spartan basketball games, the young lads beat the Illini 80-78 today. > > Was that in East Lansing? Yes > [@SCAdian](#): > > Still ninety posts to go before I catch up with last week’s posts. Holy heck, it’s 4:20 ET and there’s already 89 posts and I’m only on post 6. Scrolling back up to see if I can get through most of them. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2025, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-alexa-start-the-mmp/1013150/91 "2025-01-20T21:49:22Z")
> [@JaneDoe42](#): > > I’m so sorry, I hope the proper dose gets figured out soon. Puking is never fun. Thank you. I generally feel good (much less moment-to-moment nausea than on Ozempic), but at the moment, I am, shall I say, merely a conduit for liquid in all directions. Therefore, I’ve eaten a banana, am currently making applesauce, and will have rice for dinner. ---
**Author:** ![peedin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peedin/32/14095_2.png) [@peedin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peedin)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2025, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-alexa-start-the-mmp/1013150/92 "2025-01-20T22:00:05Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > News item: school buses aren’t running today. Diesel is not reliable enough in this cold, can turn to a jelly, apparently. Schools are still open for any student who snowshoes in. N.P., abouts where do you live? Scotland? ---
**Author:** ![peedin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peedin/32/14095_2.png) [@peedin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peedin)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2025, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-alexa-start-the-mmp/1013150/93 "2025-01-20T22:07:04Z")
> [@FairyChatMom](#): > > Turns out Corelle breaks if dropped on ceramic tile. Tobias was bringing the bowl up for refills and, well, there ya go. I swept it up and vacuumed the bits that flew on to the carpet tiles. Then I filled an unbreakable bowl with more turtle crackers. I should ask them if they want sammiches. They had a late breakfast but I bet they’re hungry now. > > And, alas, I only have 12 matching bowls now, plus 4 that don’t match the set. Were I seriously OCD, I’d be breaking a dinner plate and a dessert plate. But I’m not, so I won’t. > > OK, back to the basement to see if they want food. Corelle doesn’t just break. It shatters into thousands of shards which my sister found out when she dropped a plate on the ceramic kitchen floor. She was picking out shreds of Corellevfrom her calf the rest of the evening. I went to a pizza lunch put on by a card writing group. The group targets LGBTQ+ people who feel marginalized. I just joined the group, but apparently it’s been doing this for at least five years. There were 100 people at the lunch. Pizza was excellent, each table wrote cards and I had a good time meeting new people. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2025, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-alexa-start-the-mmp/1013150/94 "2025-01-20T22:14:37Z")
Corelle is glass, not clay, so yeah, it splinters rather than breaking into chunks. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2025, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-alexa-start-the-mmp/1013150/95 "2025-01-20T22:44:22Z")
A bit of sad news today. There used to be a couple who lived in the apartment above us, Marge and Paul. They were a very elderly couple but in good shape for people in their 90s. Every morning would find them walking down the two floors to where the exercises are done, and seated themselves in the front row. Always greeted everyone with smiles on their faces. Paul was a WWII veteran, although he never had to go into combat. Then Paul took a fall. He had to temporarily go into a facility that provided full-time care to recover from a broken bone. After some time, he returned to our building looking pretty frail, but still game for exercise, if not the stairs. Then he fell again while getting out of bed. Off to the rehab center, but this time his wife moved out for good to be with him. This morning we read his obituary. Paul was 97 and lived a very full life. We’re sad that he’s gone, but he sure had a good run. ---
**Author:** ![Bob\_Blaylock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_blaylock/32/3235_2.png) [@Bob\_Blaylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bob_Blaylock)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2025, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-alexa-start-the-mmp/1013150/96 "2025-01-20T22:50:58Z")
  My ears generally find lower-pitched sounds more comfortable, but I seem to do more poorly than most trying to listen to anything where the signal-to-noise ratio is poor.  As road noise is generally low-pitched, I tend to have a more difficult time understanding low-pitched _“male”_ voices from my navigation, than higher-pitched _“female”_ voices.   many years ago, Waze had a different _“female”_ voice, that worked well enough for me.  One morning in 2014, as I was driving to the trade school I was attending at the time, it seemed to me that Waze suddenly started slurring, mumbling, and generally sounding drunk.  It turns out that the voice I was using was one that Waze/Google was paying a third party to license for this use, and this was the moment when they discontinued the use of that voice, replacing it with one of their own named _“Jane”_.  I don’t remember what the name was of the previous voice that they stopped using at that time.   There was a lot of negative feedback on Waze’s forum about the new voice; with Waze itself boasting and proclaiming the virtues of its employee, proudly not a professional voice actress, whose voice they had used as the model for _“Jane”_.   I continued using _“Jane”_ because it was still the voice among those that Waze offered that I could best hear over road noise.  They quickly tweaked the voice model so that it could speak more clearly and understandably; but it’s always had a harshness to it that I never really liked, and which @Seanette utterly hates.   Some time, very recently, I happened to be looking at settings and see there is a new voice, named _“Lisa”_, that wasn’t there before.  I can hear andf understand it about as well over road noise as I could _“Jane”_, but it is much more pleasant sounding, and I don’t think it bothers @Seanette nearly as much as _“Jane”_ did. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2025, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-alexa-start-the-mmp/1013150/97 "2025-01-20T23:00:25Z")
Saskatchewan. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2025, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-alexa-start-the-mmp/1013150/98 "2025-01-20T23:41:53Z")
Ate more quiche, and part of the kielbasa/green pea soup. Took lengthy followup nap, while healthy veg-based food assimilated. Awoke to find Monkey curled up in my arms. So the only sensible course of action was to … snuggle my nose in his fur, and drift back off for awhile. Mom sent me a meme, thus indicating her online satus, so I did our usual Monday call. Neither of us had much to say (“It’s cold.” “Yeah, colder here.”) so we exchanged some basic pleasantries and now that’s done. All quiet on the **Shoe** front. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2025, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-alexa-start-the-mmp/1013150/99 "2025-01-20T23:47:45Z")
> [@JaneDoe42](#): > > The issue with smart houses and such is that they will be unusable after an ElectroMagnetic Pulse. It’s not that hard to unplug the smart plug and turn on the lights old school.😉 Altho with everything computerized in one way or another, I guess I’ll have to forsake my washer and find a rock somewhere to beat my clothes against… > [@JaneDoe42](#): > > Mine shattered into a billion little pieces that went all over the place. Oh yeah, it shattered and splintered and scared the $#!+ out of the Tobester. I swept up the bigger hunks, then roll-sucked the rest. I’m hoping none of the slivers shot any farther into the basement, but I’m pretty sure I got them all. Glad the boy wasn’t barefoot. I remember more than half a century ago when my mom dropped a corelle plate and it not only shattered, but the shards vibrated on the floor for many seconds after. It was fascinating and a bit scary at the same time. And today has wound down. I’m about to go ride the bike while watching the next episode of _Death in Paradise_. Then I’ll come up and review my list for tomorrow. We’re going to leave by 9:30, so no real rush tonight. We can pack in the morning, I can water the plants and scoop the cat box and make sure she has food and water. _Sooooooo_ ready for this break. ---
**Author:** ![missred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/missred/32/14096_2.png) [@missred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missred)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2025, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-alexa-start-the-mmp/1013150/100 "2025-01-21T00:33:18Z")
> [@FairyChatMom](#): > > I’m not sure why I feel compelled to have a list for a 3-day getaway, but I do. Guess I don’t trust my brain. I make a list any time I’m going to be gone overnight, especially if it involves driving 100+ miles or flying. Otherwise, something can / will be missing when I reach my destination. > [@FairyChatMom](#): > > Not all of our lights are automated - just the bedroom, the guestroom, and the living room. I could see me using Alexa or Google to turn on my porch light when I come home after dark. Otherwise, it would serve as one of those _I’ve fallen and I can’t get up_ devices, given that I live in 560 square feet. I’m sorry about your aunt, **taters**. 🫂 > [@FairyChatMom](#): > > And, alas, I only have 12 matching bowls now, plus 4 that don’t match the set. Were I seriously OCD, I’d be breaking a dinner plate and a dessert plate. But I’m not, so I won’t. No worries! Give the grands some time. 😛 > [@peedin](#): > > I went to a pizza lunch put on by a card writing group. The group targets LGBTQ+ people who feel marginalized. I just joined the group, but apparently it’s been doing this for at least five years. There were 100 people at the lunch. Pizza was excellent, each table wrote cards and I had a good time meeting new people. This sounds like something I’d like to do. I’m going to check to see if there’s something like this locally. > [@Chefguy](#): > > This morning we read his obituary. Paul was 97 and lived a very full life. We’re sad that he’s gone, but he sure had a good run. I’m sorry. It does sound like Paul lived a good life. Oy, y’all are chatty today! My irkmate was out today and it wouldn’t surprise me if she’s out tomorrow, so I may have to pick up some of her stuff to get mine done. I also have to figure out where the cart of phones that were dropped off in my area go because the don’t go to me. It was a frigid 9 ferrets when I got up this morning and didn’t get warmer than 23F. Dangit! I live in the mid-south; we’re not prepared for this kind of cold. Stay safe and healthy y’all! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-alexa-start-the-mmp/1013150.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-alexa-start-the-mmp/1013150.md?page=6)