You cannot be...Siri-us?

No pet for us, then (apologies to all my pet-owning friends whom I have probably alienated forever with last night's post).

However, it seems that Siri is fast becoming a fifth member of our family.  She now gets included in most of our deliberations, and responds with varying degrees of usefulness, eg on a hike yesterday when we spotted a red squirrel:

Man:  What can you tell me about red squirrels?
Siri:  I'm sorry. I can find no information about red square rolls.

She can be waggish:

Girl:  When is Christmas Day?
Siri:  Christmas Day is Sunday, December 25, 2011.  I hope you get the day off.
Girl:  When is Valentine's Day?
Siri:  Valentine's Day is Tuesday, February 14, 2012.  I hope I get the day off.

And then there was this little exchange:

Man:  What gift should I get my wife for Christmas?
Siri:  Here is a list of nearby gift stores.
Man: Thank you!
Siri:  I'm just doing my job...

And this:

Girl: Why do we have to go on a hike?
Siri:  I don't know.  Frankly, I was wondering that myself.

Siri's delivery is deadpan, downbeat even, in a way that seems oddly familiar.  We keep expecting a reference to "Brain the size of a planet".  For it could just be possible, couldn't it...that the sort of folks who'd have ended up programming Siri might also have read The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.