Greys vs. smart homes

[Aidualc]

So.. a situation has risen in our little home inhabited by too-clever-for-their-own-good parrots including one particularly cheeky grey (looking at you Nemo). As many homes are doing at the moment, we have decided to slowly smartify our home.. in our case we decided to start small by acquiring an amazon dot, which can be coupled with your lighting as well as TVs and other things which then makes it voice controled. I guess some of you can already guess where my story is going . Nemos vocabulary has exploded the last year and he is picking up new sounds and new words all the time and only require a couple of repetitions before he has them almost nailed (apart from still having the grey accent of course).
Until now we had only a dot in the bedroom for convenience but two weeks ago we got a dot for the living room.. where all our little darlings live. All well and good. The dot can be accessed from a smart phone and you get a log of when it was activated and what the request was. The other day we noticed Nemo had started saying "Alexa" fairly well, but didn't pay much attention to it because it still had quite a heavy accent to it. You can only imagine our surprise when we looked at the log and found that for some time the other day Nemo had managed to not only activate the dot, but made it play pop music. We have already agreed that the first thing he manages to buy on Amazon he gets to keep !
Another similar incident: We have an xbox that's connected to a kinect.. again for voice control. Again, Nemo has learned to say "Hey Cortana".. he learned this fairly early on, but the complexity of two words and accents mean it hadn't picked it up.. until recently. It started small.. we noticed words that sounded like "Hey" and "Cortana".. then they got connected but still too non-human for the kinect to notice.. but then it started getting activated by Nemo- we were absolutely thrilled.. but the repercussions hadn't dawned on us. This has now expanded further to include the two detrimental words: "Xbox off". Luckily he still hasn't learned the little additional word to the question- "are you sure" -that could change everything: "yes"

 

[Scott]

LOL, so who is really smart? Nemo or Alexa? Putting my money on Nemo, only a matter of time before he learns to perfectly time a "yes!" And a blood curdling call for "help!"

 

[Kiwibird]

Just watched the ads for the 'amazon dot'. Sounds like it would be akin to a Digital foraging toy to me. Tell it what you want, receive desired reward. Can't wait for more stories like this to start filtering out to the internet about parrots learning to control smart homes.

Unfortunately for Kiwi, we are resisting the 'smart home' trend as long as possible. No placing amazon orders for junk food and toys for him!

 

[dhraiden]

Better hope your bird doesn't start ordering things! Or maybe that's the point lol

 

[LeaKP]

I just read an article of a grey making an order on one of those things. Priceless.

 

[SailBoat]

Nerd Attack!

As your home becomes Smarter, the quality of your home's electrical source will become ever more demanding! Not to turn this in to a drawn-out discussion of clean electrical service, so this is the short version.

Dedicated service outlets are becoming ever more a Warranty demand for the new Smart Stuff that we are adding to our homes. Those devised include, Smart and/or/with Micro Computer supported /controlled products:
- All Kitchen and Wash Room equipment - each require their own direct electrical connection from the unit to the power panel. This has risen to a point that the Wash Machine and Dryer cannot be on the same service line - each requires its on direct line.
- Audio Visual equipment - been a background requirement for years
- Smart showers and toilets
- Security System Controller
- Etc...

Since the Power Panel in most all homes are already maxed-out (all circuit breaker spaces uses and/or the Main Disconnect is or will be undersized when the new requirements (additional circuit breakers) are added. The combination of additional wiring to support all the single unit outlets will likely require new, larger Power Panels and lots of new wiring. FYI: It will also mean that the new panel will need to meet current requirements, which will demand upgrading in the type of circuit breakers used and the outlets used in differrent areas of the home.

Also look for Insurance Companies to demand the use of 'Surge Traps' (whole panel surge protection units) and also listed as part of Warranty coverage requirements. Example: EATON CHSPT2MAX, type 2 or better.

General Warning: Security of your Smart home's equipment becomes ever more an issue as those wonderful individuals that are out there hacking into stuff are already targeting Smart Homes, Smart Cars and of course Smart Phones. Next step, is already here with Ultra Smart Routers with blocking technology built in it.

Its a wonderful World with, sadly, too many bad actors.

 

[texsize]

The possibilities are endless with this combination.

 

[AmyMyBlueFront]

OMG that is hilarious! I see lights coming on..the tv/radio playing..the "I" robot going to the fridge for a couple grapes for Nemo..lol...watch your door step for a brand new play top!!
Grey's are amazing!!




Jim

 

[Aidualc]

LOL, so who is really smart? Nemo or Alexa? Putting my money on Nemo, only a matter of time before he learns to perfectly time a "yes!" And a blood curdling call for "help!"

We are already looking up nice recipes for how to cook Greys !

As for amazon purchases.. we have already acknowledged that it will happen it's just a matter of time.. so the first thing he gets to keep.. he had better choose wisely ! Not looking forward to having to cancel all the xboxes tho !

As for lights.. we reckon we can use this to our advantage.. best anti-burglary device ever.. he keeps turning thh lights on and off.. people will never know nobody's home ! As for our sanity? That remains to be seen !

 

[OwnedByGeorge]

omg this thread is hilarious

 

[LeaKP]

I hope the bird underworld doesn't get involved...


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[DRB]

This is awesome

 

[AmyMyBlueFront]

There is a commercial going around in my area where a young couple is out to dinner with their two year old and it switches back to their large colonial home in the evening..and as an older guy is walking by with his dog,all the lights in the house and music is coming on and going off...the old guy grabs his dog and starts to run away saying something about the apocolypes ...then back to the couple having dinner and the young child playing with dads smart phone..and mom telling dad the child was accessing the lights with the phone...insert Nemo for the child lol.





Jim

 

[AmyMyBlueFront]

I hope the bird underworld doesn't get involved...


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Can you just imagine..all the FID'S in the world,who have very good speaking abilities??? We humans would be in BIG trouble!!!




Jim

 

[Billdore]

Thats so funny. I too have an alexa and have had it for awhile and never thought to check the app to see if Timneh has messed with it. Not sure if I did it on accident at some time or if it was Timneh but I got a weather update, a npr update, and a search bing for please, that I do not recall ever hearing. I play audio books on my alexa for Timneh and have come home to it being on a different book or not going at all, hmmmm. Thank you very much for the insight so awesome,

 

[JudynRosie]

That is hilarious. Rosie has the microwave down pat and I'm constantly going to see what's cooking.

 

[Aidualc]

Thats so funny. I too have an alexa and have had it for awhile and never thought to check the app to see if Timneh has messed with it. Not sure if I did it on accident at some time or if it was Timneh but I got a weather update, a npr update, and a search bing for please, that I do not recall ever hearing. I play audio books on my alexa for Timneh and have come home to it being on a different book or not going at all, hmmmm. Thank you very much for the insight so awesome,

Hahahaha.. nope.. not an accident ! Update: My boyfriend was just in the living room playing music.. and Nemo being the.. um.. opinionated (!) little darling he is.. he turned it off again. This is slowly escalating!

 

[Scott]

We are already looking up nice recipes for how to cook Greys !

That's what you think, be careful or you might get cooked! A smart Grey might order "To Serve Man" as fictionalized by the Twilight Zone!
https://www.amazon.com/Twilight-Kan...7796694&sr=8-9&keywords=to+serve+man+cookbook

 

[Aidualc]

Eeek.. He did look at me funny.. or is that just him being good at being a Grey ?