Stupid Is as Stupid Is, or SIRI

Some friends and I are planning on doing something stupid soon -- we're going to join the LA Marathon Crash Ride.

The Crash Ride is an unofficial bike ride along the route of the LA Marathon in the wee hours before the race begins. The Marathon organizers start closing off the streets at midnight or so the morning of, and by 1:00 or 2:00am, there are 26.2 miles of Los Angeles urban roadways that are effectively car-free. It's a good start.

A long while back someone noticed this and started biking the route in the middle of the night. It's become so popular that the LAPD now rides escort, just on the off-chance that a driver out at 3:00am on Sunday morning might not be the most considerate or level-headed person when faced with being stuck at an intersection while hundreds of bicyclists roll past.

I rode last year, and it was fun -- there were boom boxes and people had art-bikes and there was the kind of crazy energy that you only get as you ride down the center of Sunset Boulevard three hours before dawn.

The first step in riding the Crash is figuring out when the Marathon actually is, and that should be easy, right? Right?

"Hey, Siri, when is the LA Marathon?"



On Friday, Apple spokesperson Jacqueline Roy, in a statement on the apparently year-long delay in the delivery of better Siri personalization and accuracy, said:


Siri helps our users find what they need and get things done quickly.


In fairness, I asked Alexa the same thing and it said:


Los Angeles Marathon was created in 1986.


At least my friends and I aren't the only ones being stupid.


 




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