When your radio isn't working... chat with Gemini!

The last few weekends have involved a lot of driving. Back-to-back day trips on Saturday and Sunday, both days getting home at 11pm or later (and having to get up early the next day for church or work), and then again this past Saturday (but we got back a little earlier from that one, around 5pm). The Sunday trip involved picking up a vehicle from my late Aunt's home, and the following Saturday (yesterday) involved taking it up to my daughter and son-in-law's home for delivery.

The radio in that car isn't working, so I did what any normal person would do: I put my phone on the dash and fired up Amazon Music (I just use the "free" version included with my Prime subscription.) I also had Google Maps up showing navigation. And then... magic happened.

I asked, "Hey, Google..." and started a conversation with Gemini. What'd we chat about? Cars, mostly. Like, what kind of power the 2010 Mazda6 I was driving had with the V6, how did it compare with the 2009 Mazda6 4cyl that we had for my youngest son years ago (that was a fun ride, with the 6-speed manual; the V6 model/automatic sure had plenty of power, though!). Both days discussing various "quirky but fun" rides I could add to my "stable" (and, if you don't recall, I have a full list of all the vehicles I've owned in my Google Sheets, and Gemini had access to that and could cross-reference my vehicular history against newer, quirky but fun vehicles). Costs, "most Tony-like," etc.

Yesterday we delved into the realm of "quirky but fun EVs" - from the Chevy Spark EV (the more-than-Ferrari 400 lb-ft of torque EV monster) to the (original) Fiat 500e to the BMW i3 (my youngest brother has one of those; he also had a Volt) to the (current) Fiat 500e, and everything else thrown in for good measure: the Kona EV, Niro EV, Golf EV, Focus EV, Soul EV, Mini EV, etc. Discussing range (from my "medical trips" to my primary care physician to my cardiologist) - both original and "likely current degraded" range - and whether the vehicle would fit "my daily use" among other things (and carving out "round trip range from my house" to both places). Discussing the BMW's odd tire fitments and the benefits and drawbacks of the REX version ("Range EXtended" - sort of like the Volt we had for several years, but even more so).

And I realized - not having a radio isn't all that bad, even driving solo, especially when you have Gemini as a companion to discuss various oddball topics for hours on end.