The Alexa series — One room; Two Alexa devices

April 15, 2021April 15, 2021 | run-sew-read

For someone with limited communication and accessibility abilities, two different Alexa devices in one room can help. My mom now has two Alexa devices in her room at the assisted living center: The Echo Show and the Echo Dot (3rd gen.). Here’s why, and how she uses them.

Customize the ‘Wake Words’. The Show is set to respond to the name ‘Alexa’, and the Dot is set to respond to the name ‘Echo’, so the devices don’t get confused and both try to respond. This is called changing the device ‘Wake Word’. There are four different wake words to choose from. To make the change, go to the Alexa App > Devices tab > [the device] > Wake Word. See the screenshot below.

The Echo Show

Image from Amazon

When people ‘drop-in’ on Mom, they show up on the Echo Show device. She sees and hears the person dropping in, and that person can see and hear her.

From the Show, she can also stream a TV show or movie from the Prime selection, see news and weather updates, and when dormant, it displays a slide show of the photos in her Amazon photo cloud.

She can also use the touch screen on the Show if she’s having trouble speaking on a particular day.

Echo Dot (3rd gen.)

Image from Amazon

The Echo Dot device was added because the Dot mic understands her better. It’s good for when she wants to call someone in her contacts, listen to music, get the news or weather report, or listen to an audio book.

Drop-in setting: This is the other important setting on the ‘Dot’. The Dot is set to allow drop-ins only from ‘My Household’. The ‘My Household’ setting includes only the Alexa devices that share her wifi network. In other words, the only device that can drop in on the Dot is her own Echo Show. Her contacts in other locations can drop in only on her Show. Here’s how we use the ‘My Household’ drop in set up on the Dot:

Enabling her two devices to drop-in on each other, allows them to be used as walkie talkies. This helps her communicate with in-person visitors. She can barely speak above a whisper. Social distancing and mask requirements make it nearly impossible to hear her from the required 8-10 feet away. She can speak into the Dot, and the person sitting at a distance with the Echo Show can hear her well. Sometimes our visits were outdoors, where we had to contend with lawn mowing crews. Other times we we’ve been separated by a glass barrier. The walkie-talkie set up is the only way we could hear each other.

When I drop in on her Echo Show, and our conversation is finished, I can speak through the Echo Show to her Echo Dot, and start an audio book, or music, or a news or weather briefing.
- “Echo, read my book.”
- “Echo, what’s my news briefing?”
- “Echo, what’s the weather forecast for this evening?”
- “Echo, what time do the Kansas Jayhawks play?”

Continue reading →

Alexa, the Show-Me Edition (about the Echo Show) — Part 2 in the Alexa series

February 9, 2021April 15, 2021 | run-sew-read

Last July I wrote about how an Alexa device has enabled us to communicate easily with our mom who is wheelchair-bound with advanced Parkinson’s disease, and has been an ‘inmate’ in a locked-down care home since the pandemic began. Back then, I wrote about the Echo Dot, which is a speaker the size of a hockey puck, that sits on the desk or table.

We’ve since upgraded to the Echo Show 5, which enables video conversations. It’s been well worth the upgrade.

**This is my unsolicited, uncompensated review and recommendation of the Echo Show device, but the links to Amazon are 'affiliate' links, meaning if you click and buy through one of them, I may receive a few cents in commission, at no additional cost to you. The identity of anyone who clicks on an affiliate link will be completely anonymous to me.**

At regular intervals Amazon has the Echo Show 5 promo-priced as low as $45 (regular list price is $89). The Echo Show 5 screen is comparable in size to a smartphone screen.

A few details about our experience with the Echo Show 5:

Mic–The online customer reviews of the Echo Show 5, reveal a recurring complaint that mic is not as sensitive as on the other Echo devices such as the Dot. I agree. It’s not so bad that it keeps me from recommending the Echo Show; far from that. But the Show mic is not as good, which is frustrating at times. I can be sitting inches from the Echo Show on my desk and give it an Alexa command, and the device does not respond, but the Echo Dot in the next room hears me and does what I asked.

The optional adjustable Stand:

Amazon sells a little matching adjustable stand for the Echo Show 5. Many of the online customer reviews express my reaction on seeing the item: Really, $20 for a little piece of plastic? Yes. And for our mom, it has been worth it. She needed a different angle for the mic and camera, and we couldn’t figure out another way to prop the Show at a good angle for her. So, we caved and bought the little piece of plastic, and it did the trick. It is secure and easy to adjust. I don’t need one for my own Echo Show, but for her, it was worth the $20.

Click here or on the picture below, to go to the stand on Amazon.

Gradually, quite a few of our family members have acquired their own Echo Show 5s to be able to visit Mom and each other.

Zoom:

One of my brothers has gotten the Echo Show 8, which is apparently the only Echo device that works with Zoom. (Here’s an article from Zoom on how it works: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/360053161571-Getting-Started-with-Zoom-on-Echo-Show )

Changing the Settings on the Echo Show:

With the Echo Show, there are a plethora of settings available to personalize the device and maximize the usefulness of the video screen. Examples:

Display a slide show of your photos (uploaded to Amazon Photos, which provides free cloud storage)
Play movies and TV shows
See your local weather conditions and forecast
See curated news updates
See Alexa tips and tricks
You can also limit promos from being displayed.

Some of the Echo Show and Echo Dot settings can be made on the device screen itself. To see the Settings options, swipe down from the top of the screen. But you’ll also want to install both the Alexa desktop browser app and the mobile app. Some settings can only be made on the desktop, and some only on the mobile app. That’s a complaint I have. Figuring out where to find a specific setting is unnecessarily complicated by Amazon having put them in two or three different places.

If you simply want to do an action or a task, speak it to Alexa. Or, to see available actions that you may have recently used, or that Alexa recommends, swipe the Echo screen from right to left.

Selfies (and video):

Just say “Alexa, take my picture.” Take a plain picture, or first swipe through the sticker selection.

There’s so much more. I haven’t even mentioned the Alexa Skills and Routines which enable your Echo do specific useful tasks. It will read your Kindle books to you. And then there are the ‘smart plug’ accessories for turning on the lights, vacuum, etc. Stay tuned…

Alexa can get cheeky on occasion:

“Alexa, what time is the K-State basketball game?”

Continue reading →

Painting smock made from a man’s shirt

January 5, 2021January 5, 2021 | run-sew-read

This was a Christmas gift for my mom, who’s wheelchair-bound, with advanced Parkinson’s. She can no longer sew, and wants to try painting. So I made her a painting smock, upcycled from a man’s shirt.

The pockets and other add-ons are made with fabrics from my stash.

Here are some of the details.

The front pockets can hold supplies.
The ties go around the shoulders; not across the back, so she can get the apron on from the front, without being lifted out of the chair.

To protect her sleeves, I made these coordinating sleeve gaiters from chambray in my stash. You can also see the shape/template of the apron as it was cut from the front of the shirt.

And another smock!

After finishing the smock and then looking at the leftovers, I realized there was another smock in the back of the shirt, so I made her a second one, too.

How are the aprons working out? Well, she hasn’t shared any feedback (or paintings) with me yet, so I can’t assess the success. But I got a big smile from her when giving her the smocks, so I know they are appreciated and will be used.

Is there a tutorial? I didn’t take progress pictures to make into a tutorial. But if you do an internet search (like this) for images of aprons from upcycled men’s shirts, you’ll see a bunch of inspiring examples like I did before starting my project. The examples were all I needed, but the search will lead you to tutorials if needed.

“Alexa, drop in on Mom.” (There’s an Echo in here.)

July 26, 2020April 15, 2021 | run-sew-read

My wheelchair-bound mom with advanced Parkinson’s, is in a care home, locked down for the pandemic. My last ‘normal’ visit with her in her room was back in February. Then came the lockdown. Earlier this month they started allowing limited visits, so my brother and I gave the required 24-hour notice of our visit, drove 5 hours each way, to talk to her outside, for 30 minutes, from behind a strip of tape that kept us 10 feet apart, with lawnmowers working all around us. She can only talk in a whisper volume, and has trouble verbalizing her thoughts and enunciating, so we could hardly make out anything she was trying to say. After 5 months, and 5 hours of driving, and all of us wearing masks, not even a hug was allowed. But we did get to see her, and take her a bottle of Coke and some homemade cookies, and that gave us all a boost.

The other thing we took to her was an Amazon Echo Dot device for her room. It has been an unbelievably helpful communication facilitator.

This post is a recommendation and review of the Echo Dot device. It is not solicited or compensated. The device has been a Godsend for us in our situation with our mom, and I want to share the information for anyone who may find themselves and a family member similarly situated.

From the moment Amazon introduced Alexa, ‘she’ was banned from my devices and my home. A device listening in my house all the time was not okay. Then I began reading about Amazon’s Echo Dot, and realized it can help my mom, who can no longer dial her phone, check messages, text, use email, etc. We got the Dot to her, and programmed it with a handful of close family members and trusted friends as her contacts. The Echo Dot picks up her whisper voice, and can understand her voice commands. She can talk to her contacts simply by saying, “Alexa, call _____.”

So, where Alexa was once banned from my house, ‘she’ is now listening day and night in the form of an Echo Dot on my front room table.

The Drop In

Not only can the Echo Dot call your contacts’ phones; it can also ‘drop in’ on other Echo Dots or Alexa-enabled devices. It works like an intercom. I say, “Alexa, drop in on Mom.” I’m instantly talking to her through the Echo Dot in her room, and the sound is loud and clear, as if she’s here in my house.

The first time I ‘Dropped In’ on Mom, it went perfectly. I dropped in, started talking, she heard me and we had a brief conversation, as if she were here in the next room, rather than another state. We ended that drop in with agreement to do another one soon.

Then I started getting ready for bed, and let Myrtle-the-dog out one last time. I happened to glance toward the Echo, and realized it was glowing green, which meant someone had Dropped In and could hear me. It was Mom, trying the Drop In for herself. I frantically thought back through the last few minutes, trying to remember if I’d said any cuss words or something else I wouldn’t want Mom to hear. It was a flashback to being a busted teenager. I now watch my language even in my own house, because you-know-who might be listening.

It’s been a couple of weeks, and the Echo has been amazing for her. She can make a shopping list of things she needs someone to bring or send to her. She can call her friends and family, and Drop In on those of us with Alexa devices. Her voice is loud and clear. I can assist remotely by adding to her contacts, and reading her shopping list, etc., from the Alexa app.

Shopping List. She can say, “Alexa, put socks on the shopping list.” And we know she needs socks.

Routines. We’ve set up a couple of Alexa ‘routines’ for her. One is for morning. She can say, “Alexa, good morning.” It will tell her the day, time, weather, and a news briefing from the Kansas City Star. There’s a ‘good news’ briefing, that will give her a good news report. There is an evening routine with tomorrow’s forecast and a news briefing.

Music. She tells Alexa to play 50s music, Elvis songs, classic country, and more. Alexa does what she requests.

Meanwhile, here at my place, I’ve now gotten a Smart Plug, that allows me to say, “Alexa, turn on/off the light.” Each morning Alexa reads me my calendar for the day, the weather report, and a news briefing when I say, “Alexa, good morning.” Alexa is now maintaining my grocery list. And now that the MLB season is underway, I can ask, “Alexa, what time is the Royals game?”

Wrapping this up…, if you are like the pre-Alexa me, you’ll want to keep banning her from your home and devices. It’s a privacy thing. I don’t blame you. But if you have a need to stay in touch with a vulnerable family member or friend, even temporarily, the Echo Dot works, and works well. All it requires is a plugin and a wifi connection. It has restored our ability to have a daily conversation with our mom, and she can contact and talk to us and her other close friends and family at will, even though she can no longer operate her phone.