I was walking here tonight and saw a billboard with an advertisement for a communications company with the strap line: 'Connects 100 devices in your home'. 'Connects 100 devices in your home'. I'm sorry but if you have 100 devices in your home you deserve to get hacked. 'Connects 100 devices ...' and what are these devices? This is my fridge freezer, its connected to the wi-fi, it Tweets me whenever I have the unmitigated audacity to have the door open for more than 3 seconds. This is my washing machine, its connected to the wi-fi, it emails me when its cycle is complete, even if I'm stood next to it doing the washing-up. This is my carriage clock, its connected to the wi-fi, it Tic-Tocs me when it stops. This is my games console, its connected to the wi-fi. This is my television, its connected to the wi-fi. This is my stereo system, its connected to the wi-fi. This is my central heating, its connected to the wi-fi. This is my dog. Its collar is connected to the wi-fi. What next? This is my *** toy, its connected to the wi-fi, it gives me pretty graphs on Facebook.
(To audience: From that reaction I'll conclude that that last bit is already out of date. You naughty naughty people!)
Pagan Paul (April 2022)
A monologue I performed at an open mic nite that I actually wrote in my head on the 15 min walk to the open mic nite.