Nearly Free $1.00 @Amazon #EchoDot Score! @AmazonMusic Unlimited #Promotion

A few days ago Amazon ran a promotion (that ended quickly once folks ahem started abusing it, which allowed one to get an Amazon Echo Dot 3rd Generation (i.e., the latest model) as a $1.00 add-on to any Amazon Music Unlimited subscription. One could choose to purchase a 1-month Single ($7.99) or Family Plan ($14.99) and qualify for a $48.99 account credit that would be applied to the purchase of an Echo Dot [MSRP $49.99] thus making the item $1.00.

A person could score an Echo Dot for a mere $8.99, if choosing the low-end Amazon Music Unlimited plan (one month term). But the deal got sweeter once folk discovered that Amazon Music Unlimited Trial Plans (which offer 30 days free service for new users) also qualified for the Echo Dot account credit. Thus, if you possessed an account that was offered an Amazon Music Unlimited Trial (if you were a new user) you could score an Echo Dot for only $1.00 including free shipping!

Needless to say, I splurged and got an Echo Dot 3rd Gen (Heather Grey) for $1.00, even though I already have an Echo 1st Gen (the Big Guy). I used Gift Card funds that I keep on my account to pay for it, so was pretty much a freebie. I always have Amazon Money just for such purposes and because this makes shopping simpler. (I am an old-timer Amazon customer.) I earn GCs from all manner of online surveys and rewards programs to keep my family's accounts funded. (I don't think I've ever in the life of my family's accounts added money out of pocket and the oldest account is like 15 years or so.) Heck my pup even has her own Amazon account with a replenishing GC balance to cover her various treats and medicines subscriptions. She's got it like that LOL! Pretty certain that she recognizes the Amazon Delivery guy and definitely expects that any Amazon package is for her. Some spoiled pup, huh?

But I digress. Of course once word got out about the (true) $1.00 Echo Dot promotion, in another sordid tale as old as time of "there is always someone to spoil a promotion for the honest and ethical folks," reports quickly surfaced that greedy people were making new Amazon accounts left and right to stock up on $1.00 Echo Dots (presumably for resell). Of course, Amazon got wind of this and/or noticed all the new accounts being generated by a handful of IPs and pulled the promotion early stated that all promotional supplies had been exhausted.

Hope you scored an Echo Dot for only $1.00, if this was on your holiday list and that you got in on the deal before the Grinch spoiled it. I just happened to catch the deal myself. It went dead like 30 minutes after I placed an order. But I guess, this is the true spirit of the consumer holidays, you have to keep an eye out to catch the limited-time deals bubbling up.

#AmazonEcho Fun: Avenger's #InfinityWar Trivia Game #AlexaSkills

Marvel Studios: Avengers Tweet (Screenshot)

Do you have an Amazon Alexa-enabled device? Or at least have an Alexa-enabled Amazon app on your smartphone/s? Alexa is so darn ubiquitous, which was rather Amazon's point in order to gain access to more consumer data, that I'm betting you do. I mean, I have an Amazon Echo (1st Gen), an Amazon Fire Tablet (originally called Kindle Fire, 3rd Gen) and various Alexa-enabled apps installed on several smartphones --- and this is all without actually trying --- merely because I've been an Amazon customer for better than a decade and I also happen to be a natural born geek.

So do you use your Alexa-enabled whatever to play games? There are some fun Alexa Skills out there. (There are quite a few useful ones, also.) I noticed a tweet from Marvel Studios this morning about a new Avenger's Infinity War Trivia Game (Alexa Skill). I haven't played it yet, but it might be fun. I like Marvel. I read the comics, watch the movies and play the games (each at varying levels).

ASIDE: Apparently, today is also Thor's (Chris Hemsworth's) birthday as I saw a tweet to this effect while scrolling through my feed this morning. I do enjoy his portrayal of the character in the Marvel movies (MCU). I've always had a soft spot for Thor, as a both a Viking and a Mythology devotee (since childhood). Happy Birthday to him!

Have you found any must-have Alexa Skills? Di mi, cara. Do Tell.

Well, the pup is stomping her paw ready to go out for second walk. Adieu!

Thanks eBay for the $10.00 #Free #Coupon!

Yesterday, eBay ran a very short-lived Facebook promotion which offered a free $10.00 coupon (Save $10.00 Off any purchase of $10.01+) for watching a simple video advertising the service and clicking a link to "Get your offer." The promotion was limited to the first 50,000 redemptions, but luckily, I was able to get in on the deal before it expired.

Keurig Hot 2.0 My K-Cup (eBay Vendor Image)

I was able to get a NIB Keurig Hot 2.0 My K-Cup ($7.99) and a miniature white 18" Doll Scale toy iPad ($2.49). The order total was $10.48 as both items included free shipping. The coupon brought this down to $0.48. Also, I happened to have $1.17 left on an old eBay eGC that I'd earned via another promotion long ago. (I don't shop on eBay very often, so this poor e-gift certificate was merely sitting in the cloud idly holding its balance.) So I used this eGC to pay the $0.48 balance. I got two nifty items totally free! This little interlude made for a fun lunchtime.

I originally purchased some cheap plastic, made in China, My K-Cup knock-offs --- also on eBay --- so that I could brew my own coffee in my Keurig 2.0 machine, but unfortunately, as is generally the case with cheap shit, these lasted barely a few months. I drink a lot of coffee. So I decided to buy the official Keurig item and had been looking for a good deal on one. Deal done!

The 18" Doll iPad was just a fun filler item to reach the $10.01 threshold needed to use the promotional coupon, as the 2.0 My K-Cup turned out to be on sale (from the vendor I purchased it). The iPad is only a cute little toy, so the fact that it's cheap plastic, made in Hong Kong, won't matter much.

What did you do for lunch yesterday?

BTW, Alexa, enable the Rock 100.5 Skill. I'm rocking out today! (I'm actually listening to the radio right now as I type this.)

Get over Hump Day...
-- Θεα

Amazon #EchoShow: Now #Alexa Can Show You the #Video or Watch You... #AlwaysOn #HomeSecurity #VideoCalls #SmartDevices #MsgSvc #Device2Device

Fresh on the heels of debuting the Echo Look (see here), Amazon has announced the Echo Show, basically an Echo device with a built-in touchscreen monitor and camera, so now you can ask Alexa to show you video clips or display song lyrics when music plays. (The addition of a camera also adds more potential for unauthorized surveillance, so be aware and be safe. Remember, Always On comes with an [Off] button --- you can always turn off or unplug the device when not in use. Regardless, make certain to setup security measures to prevent hacker hijacking.) It's still an Amazon Echo, only now with "webTV." Big whoop. (I'm being a bit facetious here. Obviously, there ARE uses for a Smart Assistant with a camera and video screen built-in, like the ability to pair it with a doorbell camera --- Alexa, show me who's at the door? But this, can be accomplished with the old Echo and your own monitor. Adding a touchscreen to the Echo and re-christening it as "Echo Show" is mainly a convenience factor upgrade.)

Amazon Echo Show

In my opinion, the biggest gimme in this product debut, however, is the announcement of a new feature that will be made available across all compatible Alexa-enabled devices --- the ability to make free calls and send free messages device to device or D2D! (Folks with camera enabled Echo devices like the new Echo Show can make video calls.) Have the Alexa app on your smartphone "dial" your home Echo device for a nice chat...

Considering the field of Smart Assistants is becoming ever crowded, Amazon is obviously seeking to continue the dominance it gained from being an early, well functioning entry into the marketplace. Will it work?

#EchoLook: It's #Amazon #Alexa #AI #HandsFree #Camera + #StyleAssistant #NewProducts #SmartDevices #Selfies

Got an email from Amazon yesterday introducing the new Echo Look, which is billed as a "Hands-Free Camera and Style Assistant" or in other words, a glorified automatic selfie camera. You can take full-length photos and short videos with the Echo Look. (It has Alexa built-in, so it's voice controlled.) It also has "built-in LED lighting, a depth-sensing camera and computer vision-based background blur" along with a companion app that allows you to check out your photos and build personal lookbooks.

Amazon Echo Look

The listed price is $199.99, free shipping included. This product can be purchased "by invitation only." You can request an invitation to purchase the Echo Look on its product page. (If selected, you will receive an email with an invitation to purchase.) So of course, I requested my invite immediately. Immediately, I tell you.

ROFLMAO!

NOTE: There is nothing wrong with taking pictures of yourself --- if that's what you want to do. There is also absolutely nothing wrong with an AI controlled camera. In fact, I can think of myriad uses for this thing that would NOT involve selfies in any way, shape or form. It's merely that for all the data Amazon supposedly collects on its customers, looks like somebody would have recognized that a person who HATES having her picture taken is likely NOT the market demographic for this product (as it's billed). But Big Data is only as good as its mining... And don't get me started on the marketing gimmick of something only being available to PURCHASE "by invitation." I could rant about this for days... Days!

My Future #ShoppingList (#NewProducts on My Radar) #Alexa #ProductTrials #ProductLaunches

Several new products have launched in the last year or so which have piqued my interest. I plan to test and try these out once I locate the products in stores and have a need for them. (I abhor waste, so I try to only buy new products when they fulfill a need --- or there's a deal that's too good to pass up --- versus grabbing anything new I encounter the moment I see it.)

Until then I keep a future shopping list, in alphabetical order, of products to locate and test, which is updated as necessary. The fun part (other than finding and trying the products) is that I can use my Amazon Echo in order to verbally instruct Alexa to manage this shopping list for me, which has greatly lessened my reliance on sticky notes these days. (Saves paper. I transitioned to a paperless office years ago, and now I'm working on becoming a paperless household. Having Smart Assistants helps.)

My Future Shopping List (Grocery)
Beyond Burger
Brazi Bites (free product coupon)
Cheerwine Holiday Punch (also a recipe available)
Cheerwine Kreme
Cheerwine Squeeze
Green Giant Riced Veggies
Green Giant Veggie Fries
Just Mayo
Veggie Fries Tots

NOTE: I keep future shopping lists for household items (where I keep tabs on not necessarily new products, like appliances, that I think will fulfill a need or desire in my quest to create an "efficient household"), for health care aids and for clothing, jewelry & fashion accessories that catch my eye. This is merely my grocery list.

Two Months #Free #Audible Membership -- Two Free #Audiobooks

Although I'm not good with audiobooks, I'm trying to get better... as I genuinely like the idea of listening to a book (specifically, having Alexa read an audiobook to me) while working on other things. I'm having to retrain my brain, which expects books to be self-read. I've started slowly, listening to free audio shorts that I've found online. And I've reached a point where I can generally make it through a few audio snippets at a time without losing focus. (I actually enjoy the New York Times Audio Digest, but then again, I'm an information junkie and it's not a book, so this may not count.)

Recently, one of the group deal sites (I believe 'twas Groupon) put up a totally free offer: a voucher granting Two Months Free Audible Membership which includes a free audiobook purchase credit each month. And while I have no idea what to use said credits to purchase, I thought this would make a good opportunity to expand my digital library of audiobooks (without risk) and provide more fodder for my "learning to listen to stories told" experiment.

It's odd really, when one thinks about it, because I love radio. I can listen to music, news and even talk radio all day, without issue, but try a true audiobook and my mind wanders. I'm certain it's only psychosomatic and once I replace my negative childhood associations of "being read to" with enough positive experiences, all will be well. We'll see, however, as the brain is a quirky organ. Tiny steps...

It's on! @Quaker #OvernightOats -- #Oatmeal #Nutrition "Cooked" While You Sleep! #oats #milk #fruitarian

I absolutely love oatmeal! I should probably own Quaker Oats stock at this point as I practically grew up inhaling the stuff.

Oats are low cost yet nutritious, can been eaten cold or hot and can be added as an ingredient in many other dishes. Oats are also shelf stable, with a long shelf life, and are easy to store. In other words, oats make a perfect staple for poor folks, as we were, or anyone for that matter.

The most awesome part about oatmeal is that it actually tastes good! So it wasn't a chore to eat, and I looked forward to it as a child. So good is oatmeal that it can be made with either water or milk and it's still edible, though, of course, making oatmeal with milk is preferred. (And it needn't be cow milk either. Oatmeal is very versatile.)

Lately, in many of the magazines to which I subscribe, I've been seeing a bunch of Quaker Oats advertising featuring Overnight Oats recipes, it's basically a cold oatmeal "parfait" wherein uncooked while rolled oats + milk form a base (as opposed to the ice cream used in a traditional parfait, meaning "perfect" in French) which is then layered with other add-ins like yogurt, fruit --- I'm secretly a fruitarian masquerading as a vegetarian --- and nuts. Afterward, the whole concoction is put in the fridge overnight to set. I've been salivating at the thought of making myself some, saving any recipes I came across and jotting down my own ideas, excited to try my own variations. In preparation, I made a verbal note for Alexa to "add oats or oatmeal to my shopping list."

The next morning, as I was browsing via AmazonSmile looking for doggie stuff and checking on pup's Subscribe & Save subscriptions --- by the way pup often gets more mail and shipments than I do --- I noticed an Amazon on-site ad that stated Quaker Oats products had a 30% Off coupon available. Needless to say, it worked, I surfed over to the Grocery department and found a bulk box (128oz) of Old Fashioned Quaker Oats that was only $6.56 after the coupon. Click! And just like that, oats are on the way.

This happened yesterday morning and I've been gathering other ingredients to get ready ever since, because (to quote Donkey from Shrek, which happens to be one of my favorite animated films) "You know what else everybody likes? Parfaits! ...Parfaits are delicious! ...Parfaits may be the most delicious thing on the whole damn planet!" You got me, Donkey. I'm so there. I can almost taste the oatmeal layered goodness... Yum!

Adult Story Time? Being Read to vs. #Reading. #Audiobooks #SmartAssistants #DigitalLibrary

I am an inveterate reader. I was lucky enough to obtain a public library card at a young age and I made extensive use of it. As I have mentioned previously, I grew up materially poor (in poverty) but educationally enriched. Obviously, periodically lacking basic necessities like food, water and shelter made an impact on me. Poor childhood health care made an impact. But excepting daily sustenance requirements, the only thing I have sought my entire life is Knowledge.

To be honest, I didn't realize I was "poor" until I went to school and first encountered "rich kids". Prior to enrolling in kindergarten, I'd assumed with the naivety of childhood that being "working poor" was the standard, as it was all I'd known beforehand. I can't say I was much impressed with "the other side." Not being materialistic, the lack of having random things didn't matter to me, but "ownership" certainly seemed to be the end all and be all for many of my neighbors. (Don't get me wrong, I enjoy creature comforts and like having my toys, but at the end of the day it's just stuff and will never outweigh what truly matters.)

The other children with whom I went to school would often ask me silly questions. How'd I get so smart? (DNA and curiosity leads me to read.) Did my parents pay me for getting good grades? (As if.) Did I go home and read the encyclopedia for fun? (Sometimes.) Learning is fun. Not school, but the ability to learn. School is an often unpleasant institution. The majority of my learning occurred away from school immersed in books, often at the local library. Being self-taught also made me an oddity, as I would often know more about a subject than the person who was supposed to teach it to us in school. I'm not boasting, my expertise on specific subjects often resulted in my teachers turning over a class to me. For instance, I taught a mini-course on Greek Mythology in high school.

I guess it was difficult for other schoolchildren (not to mention the teachers and administrators) to understand me. According to what had been ingrained in them by a segregated, conservative, and patriarchal society, I was an anomaly or perhaps worse, an aberration --- a female child "from the other side of the tracks" who effortlessly outperformed everyone else by leaps & bounds. If since birth, you've been given to believe that you're special, that you're superior to others and that certain privileges are your God-given right (think Divine Right of Kings), then I suppose meeting someone like me is a rude awakening. Welcome to the real world, lad.

I did not apologize then, and I do not apologize now for being myself. My very existence does not require justification, regardless of what others were told. The very thought of which is ludicrous. And so went school. I ate the fruits of the Tree of Knowledge while surrounded by Philistines (Education is indeed a great leveler. It is not a perfect pill nor a magic wand, for our world is no meritocracy, though I wish it were, but Education is a boost that can make things more equitable.) In league with Descartes, I embodied Cogito ergo sum (I think, therefore, I am).

I might have been born and raised in a small (and often small-minded) town, but I knew that the world was not flat. No, the world was pregnant with wonder, for I had read it. The existence of books and the Knowledge contained within their pages sustained me, kept me sane. Trapped in a society that could not give me succor, I chose to inhabit a world of my own creation inside my head. Reading became such an integral part of my personal development, I could not imagine my "self" without it. This is still true today.

As a result, it is difficult for me to accept being read to. As a wee child, attending story time in school or at the local library meant that I would fidget. Impatient, my mind would wander. I wanted to hold the book myself, to turn its pages, to see the words. Where was the excitement in having someone else tell you a story when I could very well read it for myself? This mentality has carried over into my adulthood.

In spite of the popularity of audiobooks, I can feel no warmth toward them. The voice inside my head is a much better narrator than those people speaking various books aloud. I have tried to adjust my abhorrence of audiobooks through logic mentally chiding myself with statements like "Think of the multitasking advantage, listening to an audiobook means your hands are free to do other things." It hasn't exactly worked. I usually give up on listening to an audiobook within 10 minutes.

The only audiobooks I have ever been able to get through is the Harry Potter series, and I believe this is for two reasons: 1) I already knew and loved the stories before I attempted to listen to them and 2) Jim Dale's (the narrator of the American editions) retelling of them is very similar to the narrator inside my own head. Thus, I am able to suspend my knee-jerk reactions at having a story read to me. (I know this second part is true because I could not, in turn, cotton to the British editions of Harry Potter audiobooks. You'd think the British editions would be more authentic, considering it's Harry Potter, but I prefer the way Dale does them.)

I'm trying to embrace audiobooks more than I have in the past. Audiobooks will never supplant books in my heart, and I wouldn't wish them to do so, but I hope to use them as a supplement for times when I have other things going. Ever the geek, I do like the idea of asking a Smart Assistant like Alexa to read to me while I tinker in my lab or experiment in my kitchen. But this will take some doing. Right now it feels like ripping a part of myself away, giving up the privilege of reading in order to be read to. It flies in the face of my mile-wide independent streak. I keep repeating that doing this will allow me to be augmented in other ways. But so far I'm not buying it.

(Re)Emergence of #InternetRadio: Hey @VTechPhones What happened to... #VTechIS9181? #GadgetGeek #GlobalNews #Trends #WorldMusic

Was flipping through the January/February 2017 issue of Men's Journal magazine (Liam Neeson!) yesterday, when I hit the Style & Design Notebook section and paused to check out the page of products being touted as "What's New". Under the heading "Tune in to the World" there's a blurb about a $300 standalone WiFi-connected Internet Radio player that allows one to "tune in to radio from all over the globe." The (unknown) authors go on to crow, "Reggae from France? It's our new favorite preset."

This, of course, immediately made me think of the standalone VTech IS9181 WiFi Internet Radio [See vtechphones.com/internet-radio/internet-radio] that I won in some random contest back in November 2010 and have been enjoying ever since. (Sadly, it seems VTech gave up on the product. I don't believe that it's still in production --- when one clicks [Buy Now] on the product page above it returns a "product not found" error --- but I absolutely love mine.)

For an information junkie and music maniac like me, it's nothing short of amazing to have access to 11,000 odd radio channels streamed on demand from around the world, particularly ones featuring my favorite genres Talk Radio, News, Opera, Early Music, Classical and Rai. I'm that geek who would tune in to obscure channels from around the world using my lowly desktop computer back in the day, so it's a treat to have a standalone player with good sound that can handle the same task, retrieve basic weather data, and function as an alarm clock, if needed. There's also a little remote which allows me to change settings on the fly.

Winning a VTech IS9181 WiFi Internet Radio as a contest prize back in 2010 was definitely a score! Nice to see that standalone internet radios are seemingly making a comeback and being touted as cool gadgets. I concur.

In what could certainly be viewed as a serendipitous move, I picked up the December 12-25, 2016 issue of New York magazine after finishing Men's Journal. Its "The Urbanist" column examines "The Globalization of Local Radio" through a lens which focuses on the local radio station as truly endemic of its surrounding community (formerly its broadcast area), i.e, what defines the culture, what makes the place unique. Of course, the beauty here --- as the column author aptly points out --- is that in modernity anyone with an internet connection and the appropriate hardware & software can eavesdrop on these "vignettes of local life", because so many local radio stations are now streamed online. The Internet morphed limited broadcast area local radio into Global Internet Radio. And we all can benefit.

The meat of the column is several pages --- which I scanned to compact PDF in order to save as a reference --- of interesting local radio stations from around the world, complete with show highlights, broadcast URLs and airtime. In other words, myriad new stations to tune in to using my VTech IS9181.

My listening future is so bright, I've gotta wear... Hey Alexa, close the shades. Ha! Ha! Welcome to the New Age of the Wireless!

No Need to Reinvent the Wheel #AlexaDev #AlexaSkills

Of course, now that I have an Amazon Echo (and the Alexa app on my Fire Tablet), I can't go two seconds without coming across an Alexa Skill. People send them to me, often unsolicited.

Alexa Can Learn: Skills are add-on code snippets that allow Alexa to do new things. Amazon opened the Alexa platform to third-party developers, so there have been a lot of skills created. As with any newly emerging tech, people play around with it. Some skills are mundane, some silly, and others are dead useful. Browse the Alexa app to see what's available. No need to reinvent the wheel. If you need Alexa to do a specific thing/s, chances are someone else might have needed that same ability and there may be a skill for it already in existence. Users can rate Alexa Skills that have been accepted to the platform, so check ratings to find out what others think. Be aware that using a third-party service could mean that Amazon will share your basic user data with said third-party. ALWAYS read privacy policies and terms of use and be aware to which conditions you're agreeing. No commercial entity is entirely altruistic despite catchy mottoes like "Don't Be Evil", so YOU must be the safeguard of your own data. Weigh the trade-offs and limit sharing, when necessary. (This includes what you share with Amazon.com.) Turn off the mic. It's hysterical that the idea of "Always On" is used as a selling point. 1984, much?

The other day I received an eNewsletter from some Purina brand that offered an Alexa Skill to determine "What dog breed is right for you?" My girl (a Rhodesian Ridgeback mix and former stray who rules the roost) looked at me and cocked her head to say, "As if." Guess we're not getting a puppy for Christmas!

Between skills and IFTTT triggers, Alexa will be able to help me run my household quite efficiently once I've configured everything to my liking. I'm still playing around with the litany of things I'll be able to do with Alexa, testing this and that and having a loads of fun in the process. Oh, the Places We'll Go....