Yes, very similar to that, except that my house has an Aga - much better.

In three separate rooms, I have an Aga, a wood-burning stove and an open, coal fire. I've just come back in the house from chopping oak logs into manageable sizes for the stove. There's still snow on the ground throughout my garden, but it was warm work. I really don't see Alexa being up to it.

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"Only connect!"

https://youtu.be/ezbWVysJAOY
https://tapm.bandcamp.com/

Perhaps, but the Rayburn heats the water and drives the radiators so it is way more practical for heating the rooms that aren't the kitchen.

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My brain hurts

True. My place can be chilly. The Aga heats the water - there's an almost limitless supply of really hot water, which I love having - but there's just one radiator, in the hall, by the stairway, that gets to just lukewarm.

_________________
"Only connect!"

https://youtu.be/ezbWVysJAOY
https://tapm.bandcamp.com/

Yeah, my Reyburn doesn't do that.

Oh... Rayburn.

That's why I suggested robotics. The stove itself is pretty much at its limit, but you could have C3PO tending it while you kick back with your tea (also prepared by your housebot of course, and to digital perfection).


I imagine there must actually be someone proposing a rationale for that.


Do so quickly and save us from ourselves. Please.

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"Time is the wisest counselor of all." - Pericles

"I remain not entirely convinced of it." - Nano

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Phill

Press any key to continue, any other key to exit.......

Those are some pretty high expectations.

It had to happen...


The baton is now in your hand. Strike a blow for the war against ridiculousness! We have every faith in you.

_________________
"Time is the wisest counselor of all." - Pericles

"I remain not entirely convinced of it." - Nano

It's feasible with the HomePod that you could have motion sensors connected to your home devices. For example you could easily tell it "if Front door camera is on, play X playlist; turn on Y an Z lights." In other words, if somebody approaches the house, lights come on and music plays. Or you could have it turn on a recording of a snarling dog. Basically any outlet could be triggered re motley. You could use it to tell your thermostat to turn up the heat when you're twenty minutes from home. If you wanted. Not sure it would be worth it, but it was kind of fun monitoring the house lights from 2000 miles away. I guess I could have cameras installed and have a live feed on my phone of whether or not the kind next door was really feeding the cat or not, which just seems kind of creepy.

I'm not sure it poses a larger security risk than a computer in the internet though.

I'm sure you're right. The problem, though, is that I have had security incidents - only two or three in all these years, to be sure, but that's enough for me to keep it confined to my computer and out of the rest of my home. Oh, and I forgot to mention bank card and phone. I've had those hacked, too. Only once or twice, true, but...no. I'm not going to give some e-cowboy the chance to remotely unlock my doors or spy on me through my own cameras. Toys aren't worth weak links of that scale. AaronFW introduced us to the idea of digitally keeping tabs on your cattle; that is a different matter, and I could see going all Internet on 'em as a necessary evil at worst, and certainly a boon at best. But Internet connection remains a risk all the same.

While I have a soft spot for the old ways, it's not that I'm a Luddite; far from it. The fact that I'm typing this should be proof enough of that. I could definitely see having a housebot so long as it was self-contained, where connecting itself to the Web was simply an option should the need arise. But Cortana and that ilk? Not so much.

_________________
"Time is the wisest counselor of all." - Pericles

"I remain not entirely convinced of it." - Nano

_________________
Phill

Press any key to continue, any other key to exit.......

_________________
Phill

Press any key to continue, any other key to exit.......

I certainly hope that paper will still be in use, reliable, as that water stream designed elsewhere doesn't quite get it done.

And since when were bad manners a new idea? Even before the Web I had that down pat, just like every lout before me. Technology changes nothing on that front, but I suppose new window dressing might be an attraction for the bored. So in short: No.


The article is too cute and poorly written for more than a cursory sense of the scum rising to the top of its pot of simmering blather. Contrary to the author's chummy assumptions, I'm not a mind reader, nor do I make quantum leaps from A to hamburger. But I get the wobbly gist of it, and find that when it comes to my toilet, I am content to let sleeping dogs lie, thank you all the same. So again: No.

Yes, I'm in a mood.


Ah, I take it you've had the opportunity to acquaint yourself with the bidet. Haven't worked up the nerve yet, myself; I'm too worried that I'll leave a residual wet streak down the back of my trousers. Plus I really don't like the idea of someone else's backwash.

_________________
"Time is the wisest counselor of all." - Pericles

"I remain not entirely convinced of it." - Nano