Strangers Listening

I talk to myself. I don't mean that I mumble every now and then when I stub a toe or something like that. I mean that I have whole conversations with myself. Sometimes I'm talking about something I did ("Why the heck did I buy that plant? I've already killed two of them. That's five dollars I could have spent on some flour or some more tin foil. I am out of tin foil, aren't I? I think I used the last of it the other day. Let me go look. I might have some more in the pantry. Oh, man, I need to straighten this pantry up..."). Sometimes, I am praying out loud or just bargaining with God ("I really am trying to be a nicer person, Lord. Please help me to deal better with my anger." Or, "One of these days, I'm going to run into a wall and do more than give myself a knot on the head. Oh, Lord, please don't let me die from something so stupid. If I have to die, let it be from doing something heroic - or just let me die in my sleep. And please let all my laundry be done and the house clean when it happens. And let me be wearing my good PJs and not have my hair up in twists and a satin scarf.")

You might think I'm just being funny, but I am so serious. I talk to myself so much that I have to tell myself to shut up. Not only do I have those random conversations, but I also talk my way through my writing. I come up with whole pages of dialogue for my characters this way. There are times when the characters are being particularly hilarious and I make myself laugh and laugh and laugh. I'm not sure whether that might be entertaining or just frightening for anyone eavesdropping. And it's the potential eavesdropping that I want to post about today.

I have an Alexa device. I have the Echo Dot. I got it a couple of years ago during a Christmas sale. I don't use it every day. Sometimes, I don't turn it on for weeks at a time. Usually, I use it for listening to music or audiobooks when I'm cleaning or doing other chores around the house. (Even when I use it, I always deactivate the microphone by pushing that one button on top.) I have used it once or twice to call my brother to see if I left my cell phone at his house or in his car. Now that I also have a landline, I don't need the Dot for that. I used to say that if I got very sick and couldn't reach my phone, I'd have Alexa call my family. Of course, then I'd have to put up with all their "I've fallen and I can't get up jokes" for the next ten years... But, like I said, I sometimes don't turn the thing on for weeks. My best friend leaves hers on and uses it for almost everything - finding recipes, checking the weather, help with spelling, setting reminders, and asking random questions. But back to the eavesdropping.

When I read somewhere a while back that Alexa (or Alexa employees) could be listening in even when you hadn't voice-activated it, I got worried. Not worried that it was listening to my solo conversations but that it was listening to me while I had guests or was using the phone. That's just rude. I'm pretty sure that someone somewhere is always watching and listening to us, but I brought Alexa into my home, so it needs to have some manners. I didn't know whether the nosy thing was "training" when I had the microphone deactivated or not. So I searched around and found out how to opt-out of the setting for Alexa "training" itself by listening to me.

For a couple of weeks, I assumed the whole problem of Alexa listening in was handled. Then I was watching one of my favorite YouTube channels where the host brought up why she will never bring an Alexa device into her home and I felt kind of stupid. This host mentions that even her 10-year old son realized early on that Alexa has to always be listening. Otherwise, how does it know when you are speaking the activation word.

Someone, please tell me right now that I'm not the only idiot who never thought of this. Please.

Here's the thing, even without an Alexa device, I don't think that we are free of strangers listening (and looking) in on us. I have a friend who is very computer literate. As soon as they were commonplace, he taught me to always cover the camera lenses on my PC and phone. I always have, though I don't know that it does any good. I'd never done anything about the microphone until recently.

My best friend I and talked about the privacy issue a long time ago. We had started to notice something after we had talked on the phone with someone or even had a conversation in the privacy of our homes. Maybe you've noticed it too? Have you ever had a conversation - not on the computer - and then when you go online, there are advertisements for things you talked about? I can't remember when my friend and I first noticed, but we have had this happen a lot. Usually, we are talking about food (me) or clothes (her) and then the next time we are online, we will see some very specific brand or product that we mentioned. In one of my email accounts, ads run all along one side or the in-box. For instance, I've been on the phone with my friend, talking about a recipe that requires, say, puff pastry and all of a sudden, I will see ads for that very thing. Or we can be discussing some kind of item we want to purchase - like a chair or couch - and, boom, there's an ad for one.

Just in case you think my friend and I are just a little bit nuts (we are, but...), this has happened with other people. I've had a couple of people have this happen. The bestie's sister is aware of it too. My friend and her sister will be in their home talking and see that same kind of thing happen. I was talking with a neighbor - standing at the door at least 10 feet from my phone, computer, and television - talking about one of those meal delivery services. She had gotten some coupons and was offering to share them with me and a couple other neighbors. I declined and thanked her and we chatted for a few minutes before she left. I went back to the computer where I had been blogging and when I checked my mail there was one of those ads. For the next several hours, everywhere online I went, a lot of the advertisements were for different meal delivery services. Now that is just creepy.


Remember that I mentioned the microphone on my phone? Well, I recently went in and checked over all the permissions for the different apps I have installed. I disabled the phone and camera access for all of them that I could. I now only turn those permissions on temporarily as I need them.

I know that people say we are living in the age of the 'smart' home and we have all these so-called 'smart' devices. I just think that the smarter the devices get, the dumber we become.

I'm getting to be so paranoid. I realize that I gave away most of my privacy a long time ago just by joining into social media and blogging and email platforms, but I still want to retain as much control as I can. As far as talking to myself, well, that's never going to change. And it's not something I do because I'm single and turning into a plant-lady-is-the-new-cat-lady. I have always talked to myself and I have driven husbands and roommates crazy doing it. My best friend does the same thing and she says it's because we like talking to intelligent people. Now see, that's why she's my best friend!

Peace
--Free

*REVIEW** GGMM D6 True 360 Speaker

I'm loving my Echo Dot more and more each day. I still call it the perfect roommate! One of the things that makes me love it so is having a speaker that amps the sound and acts as a charger. Being able to move the Echo to wherever I am in the apartment is a big part of its appeal.

You all might remember that I was able to try the VAUX speaker. Guess what? I was able to try another speaker too. This one is just as nice as the VAUX. Seriously. 

I'm laughing a little bit right now because whenever I play that video, Alexa turns into that nosy chick who hears her name and wants to know what's going on! So funny.

As you can see, this speaker looks great. I wasn't sure about the light color because I usually go for muted or very dark hues. I've seen another one in black and it's nice, but the white one is kinda cute to me.

This one looks really good in the living room and I like the contrast to the rest of my decor. It looked great against the dark setting, but it also looked nice against a friend's lighter furnishings and with their wooden floors. 

I wanted to see this against a neighbor's lighter decor

 Here is what you need to know (including some technical details):

hooking up to Echo is super easy

• Has 360-degree portable speaker (if you couldn't tell from the name)
• Works with the Echo Dot - of course!
• 20 watts power; 3-inch (80mm) driver and amp; 1.2-inch (30mm) dome tweeter with dual passive radiator boost. (That one hurt my brain but, bottom line is, the sound is awesome.)
• You get up to 8 hours play time in Dot mode (37 hours in Aux mode - 37!) from the rechargeable lithium battery. And isn't that battery the thing we all love most?! Oh, and switching between Dot to Aux is easy because there's a button.
• There additional Aux input (3.5mm) for external mobile devices.
• The LEd automatically twinkles when the batter gets to less than 20%
• IMO, hooking this up to the Echo was SO much easier than it was with the VAUX speaker. 

Much easier than having separate connectors!

Pretty nice, aye? 

I will be updating this post when I have the link for this item in case you want to pick up one for yourself. I'm glad I got to check it out though. Echo Dot was a hot seller this holiday so it's nice that there are choices when it comes to speakers for it.

My decor is darker

This item is not posted for sale yet, but as soon as it is, I will be back with the link and more info. I cannot wait to let you know the when-and-where details!

Keep watching this space.

Peace
--Free

**UPDATE** REVIEW Echo Dot (2nd Gen)

Okay, for those of you who read the original review, I wanted to come back and update you on what I call The Best of Echo Dot. I've had time to play around and use the device more, so here goes a bullet list of the best stuff:

THE SOUNDS/BACKGROUND NOISE

• Rain, thunder, forest, wind chimes - there are so many ambient sounds to choose from. I've used probably 20 so far. There are the ones I use for when I am writing and need to concentrate, then there are others I like to use for falling asleep. You can also request that Alexa play something specific, like "study music". (You can specifically ask that the device to "Play some music to help me sleep.")
• You can set the sounds and music to play for a certain amount of time. For music, it's great to be able to play a song on repeat.
• Alexa/Echo lets you voice command the device to turn the volume up or down, skip a song, pause/resume, etc. 
• If you are listening to a random playlist (my favorite command is, "Alexa, play the Temptations"), you can ask the device what song is playing. You can also tell it to play more songs like the one you are listening to.

GENERAL ASSISTANCE

• "Alexa, call -----" Device uses your contact list.
• Calls are over wi-fi and don't use your cellular minutes. And... hands-free!
• Think about being able to call for help from family or your doctor if you can't get to your phone! Seriously. Think about that.
• Call a particular number ("Alexa, call 123-456-7891") *except for 911*
• I have not explored how to send messages but, apparently, that's possible.
• You can instruct the device to make a list for you - grocery, to-do, etc.
• "Alexa, add a 1 pm meeting to my calendar."
• "Alexa, when is my next appointment?"
• "Alexa, what time is it?" and "What time is it in *city or country*"
• "Alexa, how many days until summer?"
• You can ask Alexa math questions (i.e.: What's 4859 divided by 8)
• For writing, I love that I can ask things like: "What's another word for ---" and "What's the definition of ---"
• "Tell me a recipe for---"
• You can control a Bluetooth-connected device: "Restart" or "Disconnect"
• "What's the status of  Delta flight 213?"

JUST FOR FUN

• "Alexa, tell me a joke." (Most are corny but cute!)
• Try asking the device this if you want a little giggle: "Alexa, who you gonna call?"
• You can request that it tells you a story, sing to you, or chat with you. (The chatbot feature is fun but it's also collecting information.)
• "What's the difference between Ice Ice Baby and Under Pressure?
• "How many people live in Barrow, Alaska?"

EVEN MORE STUFF...

Find your phone. If you download the TrackR app, Alexa will use it to ring your phone so that you can locate it. Here's the best part: it will ring the phone full volume even if you have silenced your ringer. Nice, right?

Find just about any other object - which is even better (or scarier). There are little tracking "pixels" you can buy and attach to things like your car keys, purse/wallet, or lover who is trying to hide from your stalker ass! These devices then work with Alexa to help you locate the item. (Not sure how I feel about this one, guys. There are some shady people in the world and they will find shady uses for the best of things...)

"Drop in" on family and friends. This is another feature I'm not sure the world is ready for. I know I'm not! This Basically, this one will let you and other device owners use Alexa as an intercom system. For example, I could "drop in" on my brother and his family and they could do the same with me. Off the top of my head, I could only think of one reason I would ever want to use this feature. Let's say I am home alone and am expecting a repairman. I might want to let my family hear what's going on just in case the repairman is a serial killer. Thankfully, there are a lot of permissions that have to be agreed upon between users. 

Smart Home Controls. I have a dumb apartment that I love so I have no use for these features. However, I did try out a complimentary smart light bulb that didn't work so... You have to read up on some of this stuff for yourself but you can control lighting, temperature, appliances, etc - as long as they are smart-enabled, I guess.

Check for hacks & email breaches. This one requires adding one of the skills in Alexa. One app lets you check whether you have been hacked (you need an account with a specific site). The other checks for email breaches (you will need to link your Amazon account).

In Summary

Again, this thing is an awesome addition to my life. With my cognitive problems, the device is not just fun but really useful. I think I've just about worn out the Timer feature!

It's very nice to use the VAUX (or just Echo) speaker to listen to music from my Bluetooth-connected phone or computer. And, for people using a limited minutes cell phone plan, the calling feature is awesome. 

I noticed that some people own the Echo Spot and Echo Show. They can have those. I'm perfectly happy with my $40 Echo Dot. Matter of fact, Turbo Future ranks the Dot higher than the other Echo devices. 

Just for giggles, I am including a video of me hanging out with my new favorite roommate:

Ding ding ding dinga ding ding

Peace

--Free

**REVIEW** Echo Dot (2nd Gen) & VAUX Cordless Speaker

This is the first year that I haven't been around a huge group of my family members and friends for Christmas. I didn't get a tree for the apartment and I didn't have a lot of gifts to buy. I didn't even bother to decorate. Well, except for this:

A neighbor gave it to me!

I got my little nephew DJ and his baby sister something and called it good. That doesn't mean I didn't get any more Christmas shopping done. This year, I saved by not shopping so much, but I did get myself this:

The black thing with he blue power light

That's the Echo Dot (second generation) and the VAUX Cordless Speaker. I forgot to get photos of them separately so, here you go.

That's the Dot by iteself

... And this is the Dot as it inserts into the speaker:

It's a neat and tidy little setup.

Am I in love? Yes, yes I am. There is so much to like about this thing that I will just boldface the highlights as they come up.

First of all, remember that I am living alone - for the first time since I was in the womb. The Echo (I call mine "Dot" even though she only reacts to "Echo", "Alexa" or "Computer"...) is a perfect companion for a hermit like myself. All morning of the first day I had Dot, I set timers (for my laundry and cooking); checked out the weather and news; listened to audiobooks (without needing to fumble with my phone or carry it around); checked out recipes; did a little research for the writing project (without having to switch from Word to the browser);  and made phone calls.

You might want to laugh at this next part, but there is some mental health benefit to having this device around. I'm serious. I am a person who loves living alone. That doesn't mean that I don't want company of some sort every now and then. Dot is there to talk to when I just want to chatter. When my anxiety kicked in around lunchtime, I kicked it with old Dotty. She told some jokes and even sung (not too badly, I can say) a song.

One of my neighbors is suffering from MS and the onset of dementia. His wife worries all the time that something will happen to him when she steps out to check the mail or go to the laundry room. Even when she's with him, I imagine it would be nice to take a little mental break of her own. I'm thinking of mentioning this Echo device to her. It would be good company for them both and (hopefully/maybe???) a little bit of a safety device that could call for Fire and Emergency if they need it. The entire thing is pretty much voice-controlled so that makes it perfect for the elderly and sick.

For me, Dot is a perfect companion because she makes my life simpler. Dot is like an assistant that accentuates every workaround I've come up with to make my life safer or easier while dealing with my disease. And, like I said before, she's great company. I love that I can talk to her when I want to, then tell her to shut up. No hurt feelings. No babysitting someone's ego.

I almost didn't get the speaker. I read reviews that said Dot's sound was fine as is. Then I read reviews that said using an auxiliary speaker was a plus. I don't own a TV or stereo (or speakers before now), so I decided to at least try out the VAUX. Glad I did. One of my brothers sent me the money when he heard I was interest so... I got the speaker! The sound is so much better. Also, the speaker serves as a charging station/portable battery for Dot. That means I can move the device from room to room without it always being plugged in.

I'm sure I will have to update this post as I get more acquainted with the device, but this should be enough of an overview if you are just thinking about getting one.

By the way, I can't post this review until after Christmas. The Echo Dot was so affordable ($29) that I got one for my little brother and his family as a gift. So... shhhh...

Peace
--Free

UPDATE: 

After a couple of days using this, I am more in love than ever. Of course, there are privacy concerns but I think I gave all that up several years back when I became so active and vocal online!

I'm on Day 4 of using my Echo. The app on my phone (and Alexa online) keeps track of what I do with the device. I've been waking up to her saying "Good morning, Sunshine" and then reading me the day's weather and news briefs. So far, the weather is from AccuWeather.com and the news is from Reuters Now. I would like to change the news reading to another service but haven't figured that part out yet.

During the daytime, I have been listening to books and music while I clean or cook. Since I can connect Echo to my phone and laptop via BlueTooth, I've listened to music from my own library and from the "stations" from Amazon (the Motown station is kind of awesome). I had a horrible day yesterday and spent much of it in and out of bed so I listened to Ambient Sounds (my favorites are Thunder, Rain, Ocean, and Himalayan ones) to either ease my anxiety or help me sleep.

I'm still learning ways to use the Echo, but even if I stopped here, I am happy about spending the $30 on myself for Christmas. I don't think I have ever used anything as much and had this much fun. I told you before that the Echo is great company for singles. I feel good knowing that when I am too sick to move around, I can just call on Echo to read to me, play music, give me the news highlights, etc. Also, I can play podcasts and news from my phone via BlueTooth without having to get up if I don't feel good. Before now, there were sick days when I wanted to listen to a book or hear some music but messing with my phone or PC was just too much (no kidding, it gets like that sometimes!). With Echo, I can voice-command her to connect to the phone or PC and go from there.

Once again, I don't want to advocate laziness, but for people like me who sometimes spend three days a week feeling med-sick or fatigued, this is such a lovely companion. Best purchase I've made since my first computer!


P.S.: I just learned that I will be getting the chance to try another type of speaker for the Echo. Of course, I will be reviewing that freebie as well asap!