• Travel Planning (was: Tasks where AI might be helpful)

    From Lars Poulsen@21:1/5 to nospam@example.net on Tue Feb 11 19:59:27 2025
    On 2025-02-11, D <nospam@example.net> wrote:
    One of the more boring tasks that I would like to be automated is trip planning. Comparing plane ticket prices, routes, times, finding a good
    hotel, booking that, finding a rental car, comparing all the prices, suggesting sights to see for the wife. It seems to me that this should be entirely possible to automate.

    It would save me probably 10-20 hours a year of boring, repetitive work. I would gladly pay for such a service.

    Today, what I sometimes do, is to pay human beings for this service. But
    it seems as if a computer should be able to do it as well, for less.

    Yes, my wife decided some years ago that we need to pay an old-school
    travel agent to help us book our vacation trips. Beginning with a
    small-ship crusise, then adding hotels and flights around it.

    She knows more about the companies supplying those services than we
    (certainly I) would ever want to learn. And since my wife acknowledges
    that she is the expert, she trusts her to get a good deal, and does not second-guess her like she would me. Worth every penny we pay!

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  • From Lars Poulsen@21:1/5 to rbowman on Tue Feb 11 20:10:05 2025
    On 2025-02-11, rbowman <bowman@montana.com> wrote:
    I haven't flown for personal travel since 2004. My car trips are ad hoc
    and I like it that way. I have a general idea of where I'm going but I
    don't always get there.

    https://www.roadsideamerica.com/

    I like that kind of travel, too. My first wife (back when I lived in
    Denmark) had German cousins, and in the summer we'd drive to visit them
    in the Black Forest / Rhine area, and in Bavaria. We'd head down the
    road, and around 5PM we'd look for a roadside sign with "Zimmer Frei"
    and a local semi-fancy place to eat. Then stroll through the village,
    looking for a "Weinstuberle" after dinner.

    But these days, I live in California, and my siblings and their
    offspring all live near Copenhagen. Can't get there without flying.
    My own daughter lives in Iowa with her husband and two boys, and her
    mother in the "Granny Flat" at the back end of the house.

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  • From D@21:1/5 to Lars Poulsen on Tue Feb 11 22:07:06 2025
    On Tue, 11 Feb 2025, Lars Poulsen wrote:

    On 2025-02-11, D <nospam@example.net> wrote:
    One of the more boring tasks that I would like to be automated is trip
    planning. Comparing plane ticket prices, routes, times, finding a good
    hotel, booking that, finding a rental car, comparing all the prices,
    suggesting sights to see for the wife. It seems to me that this should be
    entirely possible to automate.

    It would save me probably 10-20 hours a year of boring, repetitive work. I >> would gladly pay for such a service.

    Today, what I sometimes do, is to pay human beings for this service. But
    it seems as if a computer should be able to do it as well, for less.

    Yes, my wife decided some years ago that we need to pay an old-school
    travel agent to help us book our vacation trips. Beginning with a
    small-ship crusise, then adding hotels and flights around it.

    She knows more about the companies supplying those services than we (certainly I) would ever want to learn. And since my wife acknowledges
    that she is the expert, she trusts her to get a good deal, and does not second-guess her like she would me. Worth every penny we pay!

    This is the truth! You are a wise man Lars!

    When we traveled to Japan for 2 weeks, we hired some japanese woman,
    living in sweden who specialized on custom trips to japan.

    She was brilliant!

    When we came to pick everything up, there was everything, labeled,
    numbered, sorted by date. Every single little train ticket, pre-booked
    taxi trip, every hotel, guest house, restaurant.

    You just followed the dates and times and all went on automatic. After we
    were back, I went back and gave her a box of chocolate as a thank you. She
    must have saved me weeks of work, since somehow, this work always ends up
    being done by me, who does not enjoy the travel.

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  • From rbowman@21:1/5 to All on Tue Feb 11 22:31:15 2025
    On Tue, 11 Feb 2025 22:07:06 +0100, D wrote:

    You just followed the dates and times and all went on automatic. After
    we were back, I went back and gave her a box of chocolate as a thank
    you. She must have saved me weeks of work, since somehow, this work
    always ends up being done by me, who does not enjoy the travel.

    'If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium'

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  • From rbowman@21:1/5 to Lars Poulsen on Tue Feb 11 22:40:18 2025
    On Tue, 11 Feb 2025 20:10:05 -0000 (UTC), Lars Poulsen wrote:

    I like that kind of travel, too. My first wife (back when I lived in
    Denmark) had German cousins, and in the summer we'd drive to visit them
    in the Black Forest / Rhine area, and in Bavaria. We'd head down the
    road, and around 5PM we'd look for a roadside sign with "Zimmer Frei"
    and a local semi-fancy place to eat. Then stroll through the village,
    looking for a "Weinstuberle" after dinner.

    At this point I'll never do it but I would like to do that. My people are
    from that area. It's not like they had any stories of the old country. For whatever reason they left that was all behind them but it would be fun to
    see the area. I have a suspicion that they settled in a rocky, hilly area
    with marginal growing abilities because it looked like home. About the
    only cash crop was charcoal.

    https://www.hartcluett.org/rensselaer-county-blog/charcoal

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  • From D@21:1/5 to rbowman on Wed Feb 12 11:35:53 2025
    On Tue, 11 Feb 2025, rbowman wrote:

    On Tue, 11 Feb 2025 22:07:06 +0100, D wrote:

    You just followed the dates and times and all went on automatic. After
    we were back, I went back and gave her a box of chocolate as a thank
    you. She must have saved me weeks of work, since somehow, this work
    always ends up being done by me, who does not enjoy the travel.

    'If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium'


    Exactly!

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  • From rbowman@21:1/5 to Lars Poulsen on Wed Feb 12 19:43:06 2025
    On Wed, 12 Feb 2025 19:17:35 -0000 (UTC), Lars Poulsen wrote:

    'If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium'

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/If_It's_Tuesday,_This_Must_Be_Belgium

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  • From Lars Poulsen@21:1/5 to rbowman on Wed Feb 12 19:17:35 2025
    On Tue, 11 Feb 2025 22:07:06 +0100, D wrote:
    You just followed the dates and times and all went on automatic. After
    we were back, I went back and gave her a box of chocolate as a thank
    you. She must have saved me weeks of work, since somehow, this work
    always ends up being done by me, who does not enjoy the travel.

    On 2025-02-11, rbowman <bowman@montana.com> wrote:
    'If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium'

    Art Buchwald ?

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