The Popcorn Stand: What’s in a name?

The old fuddy, duddy is still somewhat technologically deficient and I remember back in the early 1980s, Tommy Tutone came out with the song “867-5309.” It was somebody’s actual phone number and I remember how that person was caused a great deal of grief because people kept dialing that number.

That’s why when periodically I’ve written about so-called betting experts (if they’re experts why do they have to work for a living) in various forms of this Popcorn Stand, and I’m going to become a betting expert myself with the number 1-800-YU-CHUMP, I always wrote the disclaimer don’t actually dial the number because it could actually be somebody’s number. But I digress.

Now some poor young woman is dealing with the 21st century equivalent of “876-5309” (which is a pretty cool song by the way). She’s a 21-year-old college student and her name is Alexa Seary. Alexa, of course, is the name of the human-like bot on the Amazon Echo device while Siri is the one that goes with Apple devices.

So I’m sure it’s been millions of times by now Alexa Seary has been told Alexa find this or Siri what is that. And I’m sure her response is “yeah, like I’ve never heard that one before.”

But I think Alexa Seary has the chance to make a pretty good chunk of change and could sue Amazon and Apple, claiming basically she had the names first, and she could demand those companies change the names of their devices.

I sympathize with Alexa Seary because with the name Charles, I too, although I’m sure on a much smaller scale, have to deal with a similar inconvenience. Ever heard of the show “Charles in Charge”? I have. Yeah, like I’ve never heard that one before.

Although I do like Peter Griffin when he has sung the “Charles In Charge” theme song (I have to admit it’s a catchy tune) a couple of times in “Family Guy.” I’m still trying to find the one in which he sings the theme song drunk. It’s absolutely hilarious.

My only question is, what happens to Alexa Seary when she’s visiting somebody who has Alexa and Siri devices?

— Charles Whisnand