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MoviePass (https://www.moviepass.com/) is making some news today. In a nutshell, pay a flat monthly fee and you can see a movie a day. Of course nobody's going to do that in the real world, but as noted by TechCrunch:
By subscribing to the company’s service, moviegoers can watch one movie a day — up to 30 movies in a month. While few movie buffs have the time to watch a movie a day, the service, which clocks in at roughly $30 a month, is a pretty great deal for even the casual fan. In New York, tickets are about $15, so after two trips to the movies in a month, the subscription would pay for itself.
That works for me. I don't live in a $15 zone, but three movies a month would break this even for me at the quoted price of $35/month.
The only problem, I think, is that I'd hit a movie every weekend if I could - I find them great entertainment; a good way to relax the brain for a couple hours - but my family doesn't enjoy them quite as much as I do. I think a movie-a-month is about my wife's speed. So that's the only reason I'm not buying right now.
Now if they also could do a flat fee on the terribly overpriced popcorn and dessicated hot dogs, I'd jump.
When I order coffee in the morning, the place is usually packed, and the odds of there being another order for "Chris" are pretty decent. So when they ask my name, I say, "Spartacus."
Every now and again, when my order is called, I'm not the only one who stands up and says, in a loud and clear voice, "I Am Spartacus!"
It sets the tone for a great day ;)
Anyone else have any usual morning silliness?
I've wanted a personal assistant for quite some time, now. Someone who can keep my schedule, help with travel, and generally have my back in terms of logistics. Experience and intelligence is a must, of course. I'm pretty good with travel, and an assistant who can't do a better job than I can isn't really a value-add in terms of paying for service. Someone with enough insight into my personality and work schedule is also a necessity, as I'd expect, in a reasonable amount of time, they could know my workload and limits and help schedule commitments. Someone who could say, "I'm sorry, but I know that this won't fit in Chris's workload until at least October" would be incredible.
Someone with these skills would surely be very expensive to hire. Part-time is likely not an option for such high-end service, so I'd be looking at a full-time salary plus benefits. Let's face it, I'm pretty good at what I do, but I only make the medium bucks. Until my startup is bought out for some obscene valuation, such an assistant just isn't in the works for me.
For now.
It occurs to me that as soon as we cross the real artificial intelligence barrier, such an assistant will be a simple install and configuration. We're not there yet, but it's a clear milestone, and I can't help but think that we could be five or ten years away. Sure, I'm optimistic. I believe if I can live to 65, I can live forever, as I think medical science is very close to stopping the aging process (and, I hope, reversing it so I can live forever in the body of a 30 year-old). I think AI is that close as well, especially looking at the advancements in quantum computing over the past year.
I hold out hope that one day I'll have my personal assistant. I won't name him HAL, however - that's cliche.
I just invented a new term:
MicroRevenge: The act of clicking on the ads of companies you don't like, knowing it'll cost them half-a-dollar.
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