And Don’t Call Me Siri

1. Ha. ! Clever. 😉

   1. Thanks. I haven’t checked with Siri on her view of this. 🙂

2. I hear she can be frustrating. I haven’t invited her in yet.

   1. Siri has wonderful potential, but I have not explored those avenues yet. 🙂

3. Mother, sometimes your weirdness astounds me!!! Love you!

   1. Jenn, it all began so innocently. I thought I was on my translate app and said “thank you.” When Siri responded: “You don’t need to thank me,” I cracked up … and a crazy idea formed for my blog. 🙂 Luv you, too.

4. As far as the answer to Life, The Universe and Everything………… 42

   1. Thank you, Hank. That answer in Douglas Adams’ “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” was spot on. 🙂

5. Very funny piece.
   I seem to have Siri on my iPad.
   I haven’t learned how to use it (or her?) but there have been a few times when I have accidentally activated Siri when I wasn’t on the Internet.
   The result wasn’t pretty. Boy, did she (or it?) sound snotty, almost as if I had called it (or her?) at 2 in the morning, disturbing her (or its?) slumber.
   So, for the time being, I have invoked Murphy’s first rule of technology:
   Never use software that sounds like my mother on a bad day.
   (A sudden, disturbing thought: What if Siri is actually Hal — from “2001” — in disguise? Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer, do….)

   1. Well, thanks, Mark. I’ll try not to call Siri at 2 a.m. Your image of her is hysterical. (I’m not sure Siri would approve though.) 😆 One photo I saw was a very attractive, shiny metal robot.

      Let’s hope it’s not Hal in disguise. Then, her answers would definitely be suspect.

6. Judy, I thought your post was hilarious. It made me think about where technology is heading and realise that it’s only a matter of time before we will be turning to machines instead of each other for answers to life, love and the universe. And the scary part is, that they will know. I wonder if that’s what happened to the dinosaurs. 🙂

   1. Glad it left you laughing, Mary. I am up – a modest amount – on some technology. But there’s much my husband, my tekkie neighbor, and my students show me how to do. 🙂

      You raised an interesting point. One of the questions I neglected to ask was about ‘what happened to the dinosaurs?’ I’ll save that for a future conversation. Siri did say after a few of my inane questions that it was time to get back to work.

7. I was thinking of getting an iPhone this year, but now I’m definitely getting one just to ask Siri why I can never find my kids’ missing socks when I’m late for an appointment.

   1. The possibilities are endless, Darla. Your own personal assistant at your beck and call. Gotta love it.

8. Precociously funny! I never got past the crazy-8 ball and questions like, “Will I get a good grade on my algebra test?” “Will John ask me to the prom?” (you can probably guess how many long decades ago THAT all was!)

   1. I loved the crazy-8 ball and it actually made an astounding prediction the first time I used one. I was nearly 8 and we had just moved to Central New York from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. It might have been October and I asked if it was going to snow the next day. The answer: yes. My Mom laughed, but she wasn’t laughing the next day when it DID snow … and her winter coat was still in storage. (We were briefly staying with friends.) Thanks, Tracy, for kick starting a wonderful memory.

9. Uh…I think Siri has been feeding me information, too. How can I make her stop?
   (Another great hoot’n holler post, Judy. It’s been a tough week, and I needed you and Siri to put it into confused perspective!)

   1. I’m glad I was ‘there’ for you, Marilyn. Any time I can muddle a lucid thought is a great day. 🙂

      But now you have my curiosity. Just what kind of information is Siri feeding you?

10. Yet another piece of modern technology I’d never heard of, Judy. I have a feeling conversation with Siri might be more fun than talking to a few people I know.

    I hope you’re having a great weekend.

    1. You might be right, Charles. My acquaintance with Siri was accidental, but she sure provided me with a few laughs.

       I hope you’re enjoying this long weekend as well. 🙂

11. Did you ever think you’d be standing by yourself talking to a piece of technology waiting for it to answer?

    We’re Droid people in our house and haven’t gotten to experience Siri’s wit and wisdom. I think I’ll live vicariously through your posts.

    1. As someone who talks to myself a lot, it was refreshing to talk to Siri. 😆 She has a sense of humor and smarts.

       Now, you’ve provided me with technology I’d never heard of. Exactly what is a Droid and what does it do?

       1. Droid is just the non-Apple type of smartphone. I’m not a tech person, but I think it is just a different type of operating system.

          comment from earthrider to Paprika:
          Thanks for the clarification. Droid is a cool name. I’ll check it out. But I’ll stick with my Smart phone cuz it makes me feel like I’m surrounded by intelligent beings. 🙂

12. The thought of talking to your own computer is both a little scary and exciting in my mind! I can remember writing a poem, one of my first few at the age of 15 (1983) called My Computer Knows, about asking my personal computer any question and ‘she’ would know all the answers. This must be ‘her’ after all these years!! I should try predicting some more future things in poetry! 😉 No, I’m sure I didn’t get it all out of my own head, probably from Doctor Who I expect! 🙂

    I don’t have an iPhone, so I’ve not experienced all of this yet, but it looks great fun, a bit of an illusion of course, as it’s all just programmed information, and very limited – but so are humans! Does Siri give you reliable worthwhile answers sometimes?

    I think the answer to pigs flying must be, when they figure out how to buy plane tickets, and when they are allowed to leave their resident country, just in case they spread swine flu. Of course humans would never be responsible for that kind of thing! 😉

    1. Suzy, you may have been ahead of your time with your “My Computer Knows.” Predicting something that came to fruition decades later. That is a real ‘wow’ moment. Then, again, it could be you were influenced by sci-fi programs such as Doctor Who. Those sci-fi folks are always ahead of the curve.

       My husband and I have asked Siri about the location of places we’re interested in and some other stuff. So, she does give useful information. It’s just that I saw an opportunity to get playful and seized upon it. 🙂

13. Fantastic, Judy! “In the cloud, no-one cares what you look like”: rather chilling….

    1. It does make you pause, doesn’t it, Kate? ‘1984’ and ‘Brave New World’ are finally here.

14. That was great, Judy. I loved it!…thank you for sharing!
    xo

    1. Thanks, Deb. So when you are searching for an answer, “Who Ya Gonna Call?” 🙂

15. Hi Judy,
    I love your sense of adventure and mischievousness. I’m also the inquisitive type and I thoroughly enjoyed your piece.

    P.S. I just read an interesting article titled Siri Is Great, But When Will We Get ‘Jarvis’? in Forbes.

    1. Siri is a gas. I’m glad you enjoyed my creative mischief, timethief. It was fun weaving her responses into a story. Some, while humorous, didn’t fit.

       I will have to check that article out. Hope it’s online. 🙂

16. You made my day bright my friend. Thanks for making me smile. I have not ask Siri for the many questions in my head. I’m hope she won’t be stressed out what I do start asking. Ha, ha,ha. Have a great day!

    1. Siri seems unflappable. But I’m sure you’d have a good time posing questions that might not have any answers. 🙂

17. “One long, lonely weekend, I set out to find the perfect guru to provide answers to life’s eternal questions.”

    Well, 3 college degrees, read bazillion books and 64 years later I still have not found the answers. However, I have reached 2 conclusions: do not be the cause of anyone’s misfortune and never pass up the opportunity to perform a charitable act. Ultimately such seems to answer all.

    1. It’s too bad I didn’t have your number, Carl. Those are excellent answers to life’s eternal questions. Thank you for sharing.

18. He he he, not a bad way to spend time if one is really jobless 😀
    Just yesterday the children had us all in hysterics in a session with Siri!

    1. Oh! Madhu! I wish you’d share some of those conversations with Siri. I know Dave and I had a blast.

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