Halfway There
When I first shared my idea for the Q-500 Experiment (fill my Netflix Queue to the top and watch all 500 films in a year), people either looked at me in disbelief or in jealousy. Some people thought it was mathematically impossible. “But there are only 365 days in a year,” they informed me. Yes, I know, it’s more than a movie a day. “I could totally do that,” other people said. Nothing is stopping anyone. Nothing but the US Mail.
Why is there no mail on Sundays? There are still some small communities around the country that shut down on a Sunday, since everyone is at church, don’t you know? But that’s a very Eisenhower Era ideal, isn’t it? I’m not saying that people should work more than five days a week, I’m saying that this would create more jobs in the federal government. While we’re de-industrializing the country, why don’t we increase the amount of federal employees with decent pay and good health plans, and an extra day of mail for me. It always comes back to me in the end. Part of me is concerned about the plight of the American workforce, the other part of me wants my Netflix on time.
I mean, the real trick to this project is keeping the rhythm right with the U.S. Mail and Netflix. So long as I return movies on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, I usually get them replaced by the weekend so I can watch more than eight a week. Then along comes some Sunday followed by, worse yet, a national holiday and the whole delicate balancing act goes right out the window!
There was a big to-do made over the issue of “throttling.” Netflix supposedly has a method to determine who gets DVDs first. The newer, fewer-at-a-time customers get first dibs, and on down the line. Many people were incensed over this. I was told I would be throttled for sure, but to my knowledge, it hasn’t happened. Every few weeks, one of the more obscure movies in my queue will ship from a hub outside of my local area. These take longer to receive, but for the most part, I can see no evidence of throttling, at least not to the extent I was warned. More hype than truth, it seems.
I started the Q-500 Experiment on January 1. Sunday was the middle of the year. Today is the first day of the second half of 2006. Remember those resolutions? Dust ’em off and get back on it. Can you still remember what they were? I’ve almost kept up with mine. I’m a tiny bit behind where I wanted to be, but otherwise I’m good.