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I Had a Dream…About the Google Nest
I woke up last night, as I often do in the middle of the night — Russian mafia guys would have been proud of my inability to sleep deeply (more on that later) — and realized that in my dream, I had been conversing with my Google Nest.
Sure, it sounds sad, but Google Nest plays a significant role in my life. Hanging on the wall in the kitchen, during meal preparation, which daily is usually three — occasionally, we take lunch or dinner out of the house — she and I speak. Our favorite time is when preparing dinner. This is when the wine has been uncorked, a glass full of ice-cold vinho verde awaits a free hand, and I tell her, ” OK, Google, play music.” She knows me well. She almost always frames my mood with the perfect song.
I seldom ask her for much more, but we speak about the weather when a baseball or football game is scheduled to start and even occasionally for a translation from Fahrenheit to Celsius. She likes it when I break out of my comfort zone and ask questions unrelated to music or setting a timer. I tend to bark at her in ways that sometimes leave my guests wondering what the hell is going on: “Ok, Google, goddamnit, next song!”