5 ms·

Just to elaborate for those of us without kids... As a parent in New England, you have to choose between 3 jackets and when you are trying to get socks on two

by bobx11 10y ago

Just to elaborate for those of us without kids... As a parent in New England, you have to choose between 3 jackets and when you are trying to get socks on two kids and can ask "alexa, what's the weather today" and know the answer without having to pause and get a phone and let one of the kids escape, that's really nice.

tluyben2 10y ago
Thank you for that. I was thinking; wait people actually care about the weather but this makes sense. As someone without kids, we have not checked the weather for over 10 years and so using that as an example 'what people talk about' sounded weird to me.
- Normal_gaussian 10y ago
  It is interesting how little we now need to think on the weather. With modern heating systems (specifically thermostatic radiator valves) we no longer need to ensure that the heating is prepared at the right time, so we don't need to know the weather. With the prevalence of tumble driers washing doesn't need to hang out, so we don't need to know the weather. Most modern clothing is suitable for a very large range of temperatures and good waterproofs can be comparatively small and lightweight, allowing them to be brought everywhere without burden, so we don't need to know the weather. Cars and roads have improved significantly, the impact of the weather on a small or long journey is often negligible, so we don't need to know the weather. More jobs are performed indoors now and where they aren't special machines and tooling have been made that make the job easier alongside significantly reducing the risk and discomfort that weather can cause, so we don't need to know the weather. There remain some situations where knowing the weather is very important, but very few of them affect 'the general populace' is a consistent enough manner to cause them to waste time following it.
  - niftich 10y ago
    Conversely, many jobs need to be performed on the schedule that was agreed upon beforehand regardless of the weather. The weather is rarely accepted as a legitimate source of everyday disruption and misery, except in extreme events.
    - freehunter 10y ago
      Case in point, my area got 11" of snow overnight recently and my wife got yelled at for being late to work because subcompact cars don't do too well in the deep snow. So people end up buying SUVs that they drive year-round just for the 1% of the time when they're really needed.
      - Normal_gaussian 10y ago
        So looking at the price difference... I'd buy a smaller car and tell my boss that its not worth it (unless I'm being paid the big bucks). Then again I'm British, and an American I've recently befriended has shown me how different attitudes to the employer employee relationship can be
- nommm-nommm 10y ago
  Idk.. sounds very weird to me because when I was a kid in the Northeast I had one (1) winter jacket. If it was between September and March I left the house with the jacket else I didn't. Simple. I can't imagine my parents ever checking the weather and I can't imagine a child owning several jackets. Very odd. People make things much too complicated.
  - bobx11 10y ago
    This winter so far the temp ranged from 2f to 60f... In 48 hours... So in those cases you know if it is single jacket, double jacket, or sweatshirt. That's one example. Schedules, playing music, guitar tuner, uke tuner, metric conversion when hands are dirty from cooking, and plenty of other examples are abundant in our house
    - nommm-nommm 10y ago
      Yes, I am extremely familiar with that temperature fluctuation. I still owned 1 winter jacket and if I got hot I unzipped it or took it off. We didn't have money for multiple fancy jackets or sweaters or whatever. You'd outgrow your multiple jackets before you even got to wear them.
  - 3131s 10y ago
    > People make things much too complicated. Pretty much the story of modern civilization. Just step outside and check the temperature, and look up at the clouds and guess if it's gonna rain later. Wear a sweat shirt or waterproof windbreaker if in doubt. Or you can just not care about getting mildly cold or wet. I say this as someone who spent 25 years in Minnesota.
    - ThomPete 10y ago
      And then you have a kid who you have to pick up from school, you are going to be at work until you pick them up. It might look fine in the morning but might rain in the afternoon. But sure, you don't need umbrella either and we could all be driving open cars :)
dgacmu 10y ago
+this. You just described every morning at my house (including asking Google home what the weather is), and we only have one kid. It's also very useful that everyone in the room gets to hear the answer. Same for setting timers. "you have five minutes left of play time. " It makes the process very transparent. We have a 20 minute walk to school, rain, snow, or shine, and getting the munchkin dressed appropriately (and willingly) is key. Both Alexa and Google home have been great with a kid.
dublinben 10y ago
People used to have passive displays of the outdoor weather, that could be checked handsfree.[0] No voice-recognition spy machine necessary. [0] http://www.leevalley.com/en/images/item/Gardening/ab804s1.jpg http://www.leevalley.com/en/images/item/Gardening/ab804s1.jp...
- ivm 10y ago
  Or you can buy a bit more advanced but disconnected from IoT botnet: https://www.amazon.com/AcuRite-02027A1-Forecast-Temperature-Humidity/dp/B00GLDQFPY/ https://www.amazon.com/AcuRite-02027A1-Forecast-Temperature-...
- semi-extrinsic 10y ago
  Personally, I devote the upper 1/8th of my phone's homescreen to a widget that shows a weather graph (temp, rain/snow, wind) for the next 36 hours. The forecast updates every 2 hours. But then again, we live a few hours north of the location where they filmed the Battle of Hoth. Asking anyone, let alone a machine, "what is the weather outside" gives you little information about the weather in six hours.
  - ddebernardy 10y ago
    Must be interesting to live that far north. FWIW further south people configure their phones likewise because the question of whether there will be rain is when rather than if - or at least during the rainier season(s).
- ThomPete 10y ago
  Yes good point, my granddad had barometer etc. There is something about the tangibility of information we use a lot. Instead of it being hidden behind login, app launch etc we just access it directly.

by bobx11 10y ago

tluyben2 10y ago

Thank you for that. I was thinking; wait people actually care about the weather but this makes sense. As someone without kids, we have not checked the weather for over 10 years and so using that as an example 'what people talk about' sounded weird to me.

Normal_gaussian 10y ago
It is interesting how little we now need to think on the weather. With modern heating systems (specifically thermostatic radiator valves) we no longer need to ensure that the heating is prepared at the right time, so we don't need to know the weather. With the prevalence of tumble driers washing doesn't need to hang out, so we don't need to know the weather. Most modern clothing is suitable for a very large range of temperatures and good waterproofs can be comparatively small and lightweight, allowing them to be brought everywhere without burden, so we don't need to know the weather. Cars and roads have improved significantly, the impact of the weather on a small or long journey is often negligible, so we don't need to know the weather. More jobs are performed indoors now and where they aren't special machines and tooling have been made that make the job easier alongside significantly reducing the risk and discomfort that weather can cause, so we don't need to know the weather. There remain some situations where knowing the weather is very important, but very few of them affect 'the general populace' is a consistent enough manner to cause them to waste time following it.
- niftich 10y ago
  Conversely, many jobs need to be performed on the schedule that was agreed upon beforehand regardless of the weather. The weather is rarely accepted as a legitimate source of everyday disruption and misery, except in extreme events.
  - freehunter 10y ago
    Case in point, my area got 11" of snow overnight recently and my wife got yelled at for being late to work because subcompact cars don't do too well in the deep snow. So people end up buying SUVs that they drive year-round just for the 1% of the time when they're really needed.
    - Normal_gaussian 10y ago
      So looking at the price difference... I'd buy a smaller car and tell my boss that its not worth it (unless I'm being paid the big bucks). Then again I'm British, and an American I've recently befriended has shown me how different attitudes to the employer employee relationship can be
nommm-nommm 10y ago
Idk.. sounds very weird to me because when I was a kid in the Northeast I had one (1) winter jacket. If it was between September and March I left the house with the jacket else I didn't. Simple. I can't imagine my parents ever checking the weather and I can't imagine a child owning several jackets. Very odd. People make things much too complicated.
- bobx11 10y ago
  This winter so far the temp ranged from 2f to 60f... In 48 hours... So in those cases you know if it is single jacket, double jacket, or sweatshirt. That's one example. Schedules, playing music, guitar tuner, uke tuner, metric conversion when hands are dirty from cooking, and plenty of other examples are abundant in our house
  - nommm-nommm 10y ago
    Yes, I am extremely familiar with that temperature fluctuation. I still owned 1 winter jacket and if I got hot I unzipped it or took it off. We didn't have money for multiple fancy jackets or sweaters or whatever. You'd outgrow your multiple jackets before you even got to wear them.
- 3131s 10y ago
  > People make things much too complicated. Pretty much the story of modern civilization. Just step outside and check the temperature, and look up at the clouds and guess if it's gonna rain later. Wear a sweat shirt or waterproof windbreaker if in doubt. Or you can just not care about getting mildly cold or wet. I say this as someone who spent 25 years in Minnesota.
  - ThomPete 10y ago
    And then you have a kid who you have to pick up from school, you are going to be at work until you pick them up. It might look fine in the morning but might rain in the afternoon. But sure, you don't need umbrella either and we could all be driving open cars :)

dgacmu 10y ago

+this. You just described every morning at my house (including asking Google home what the weather is), and we only have one kid. It's also very useful that everyone in the room gets to hear the answer. Same for setting timers. "you have five minutes left of play time. " It makes the process very transparent. We have a 20 minute walk to school, rain, snow, or shine, and getting the munchkin dressed appropriately (and willingly) is key. Both Alexa and Google home have been great with a kid.

dublinben 10y ago

People used to have passive displays of the outdoor weather, that could be checked handsfree.[0] No voice-recognition spy machine necessary. [0] http://www.leevalley.com/en/images/item/Gardening/ab804s1.jpg http://www.leevalley.com/en/images/item/Gardening/ab804s1.jp...

ivm 10y ago
Or you can buy a bit more advanced but disconnected from IoT botnet: https://www.amazon.com/AcuRite-02027A1-Forecast-Temperature-Humidity/dp/B00GLDQFPY/ https://www.amazon.com/AcuRite-02027A1-Forecast-Temperature-...
semi-extrinsic 10y ago
Personally, I devote the upper 1/8th of my phone's homescreen to a widget that shows a weather graph (temp, rain/snow, wind) for the next 36 hours. The forecast updates every 2 hours. But then again, we live a few hours north of the location where they filmed the Battle of Hoth. Asking anyone, let alone a machine, "what is the weather outside" gives you little information about the weather in six hours.
- ddebernardy 10y ago
  Must be interesting to live that far north. FWIW further south people configure their phones likewise because the question of whether there will be rain is when rather than if - or at least during the rainier season(s).
ThomPete 10y ago
Yes good point, my granddad had barometer etc. There is something about the tangibility of information we use a lot. Instead of it being hidden behind login, app launch etc we just access it directly.