
Re-engineering the Billy Bass Alexa API Integration
Like most people, I saw the Billy Bass Alexa integration video and I was instantly infatuated. I think most 90's kids remember that annoying Billy Bass wall toy that sang "Don't Worry Be Happy" anytime someone walked by it. Hearing Alexa's voice come out of its mouth and having her syllables synced with the fish's mouth was priceless. First off let me say awesome idea. The original project was the brainchild of Brian Kane of Cambridge, an IoT hacker and digital artists. I hav

Setting up AlexaPi via Alexa Voice Services (AVS)
This really is not that difficult, even if you are new to the Raspberry Pi. I originally followed the step-by-step instructions from Lifehacker.com. However, I recently came across a headless boot version of Alexa Voice Services (AVS) on the Raspberry Pi written by Rene Kliment and decided to change over to a totally headless setup. You can find a link to the code repository and Rene's fantastic ReadMe file, installation instructions, and code repository here. The objectives


Adding Alexa API into a MOSHI Talking Alarm Clock
Most of the time I'm frustrated by my mother's need to save EVERYTHING, but today I was pleasantly surprised when she asked me if I wanted this old MOSHI talking alarm clock from eight years ago. Obviously I said yes! I remember this thing being so AWESOME when it first came out, and annoying, but mostly awesome. Now that Amazon has released it's Alexa API, I want to try to integrate Alexa into this little alarm clock and see what comes of it! Now, I'm just beginning this pro