I managed to get my US news back on my Amazon Alexa. I bought one of these tiny pocket routers/hubs, plugged it in, uploaded a small zip file which I downloaded via my VPN, which contained al the OpenVPN details for the account I use. Minutes later, Iād connected my Alexa to it and was back with news on tap. The only downside is that my every interaction with Alexa bounces across the Atlantic, meaning thereās a lag of about one or two seconds more than if I was using UK servers.
Yet now Iām back using Alexa, I also find myself swearing at it more than Iāve done recently. Iām not sure if there is a setting Iāve changed but the damn machine keeping wishing me a good day. Not sure what the US servers will make of my northern accent telling Alexa to āpiss offā but thereās something particularly annoying about an automated service saying things like āhope youāre having a good Mondayā when youāre not.
So far today, Iāve been up to my ears with phone calls, arrangements, and other things today and really donāt need to hear āhave a good dayā from a machine thatās never had to endure being put on hold. First, itās entirely meaningless coming from a machine, and, second, itās filled with the kind of optimism that might be prevalent among Amazon engineers on their oodles per year, with healthcare, pensions, and supermodel waiting for them at home, probably in a beachside house with a Labrador and white furniture made from organic pine and recycled polar bears.
My other purchase from Amazon (and, yes, I know how evil it is to use Amazon but I donāt have the luxury of the kind of income where I can buy morally) was a 1.5 litre water bottle which Iāve now emptied for two days running. After recent events, I realised I should probably be hydrating more myself. I bought the bottle thinking it would be impossible to hit the governmentās recommended 1.2 litre a day target (in the U.S. itās 1.8l). Fact is, I tend to finish it by about 3pm, which is either good going or foolish given the number of interruptions I find myself having…
Tricky business this hydration.
Ok. I’m going to ask what I know is a stupid question: how does watching tv on an Alexa work??
Not a stupid question at all and perhaps I hadn’t explained it well. A few of the big US news networks also broadcast their channels audio only (most carried, I think, on TuneIn which is available on Amazon devices). Unlike UK news channels, US cable news tends to be more commentary and discussion rather than news reports. I like listening to them rather than actually looking at them. They’re like one huge never-ending political podcast.
Well that sounds hellish to me but if it makes you happy I’m glad you got it back. š Seriously though I may look into that for election night.
I consider it work and I also know there’s far worse work I could be doing. Plus I genuinely enjoy listening to political arguments around big subjects. Of course, it also helps that I’m often listening when drawing or playing a game.