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Enjoying a nice evening at home Thursday, I commenced to ask Google’s Gemini a burning question.

“Gemini,” I asked, or rather typed because I didn’t want to make Siri jealous, “What can 83 cents a month buy these days.”

It was a serious question considering my nefarious plot to drain the Roanoke Valley’s wallets and purses of said amount of coinage with a subscription plan.

It didn’t take long for Gemini to come up with an answer.

“Eighty-three cents a month isn't a lot, but it can still buy you a few things.”

Here’s said list:

Streaming services: Some streaming platforms offer discounted plans for students or low-income individuals that might be within this price range.  

Data plans: If you have a basic phone, you might be able to find a very limited data plan for this price.

Magazine subscriptions: Many magazines offer digital or print subscriptions for around this price point.

Cloud storage: Some cloud storage services offer small storage plans for a minimal monthly fee.

Small subscriptions: There are many subscription services for things like coffee, snacks, or books that might have a plan for this price.

The ever mindful Gemini added, “Remember to check for any additional fees or taxes that might increase the final cost.”

Hmm. Being the courteous person I am, I thanked Gemini for his or her time although it never occurred to me to ask Gemini if Gemini was a he or if Gemini was a she. It just didn’t seem important in the grand scheme of things considering the day I had Wednesday with the rollout, my battles with Facebook Business Suite and the realization that I haven’t logged into X — the artist formerly known as Twitter — for so long that I’m now permanently suspended.

We won’t even mention the struggles I had with returning the shopping cart at the store to its storage area because I got too close to that invisible zone that locks the wheels.

Oy! What a week. Yes, I’m one of those people who likes to return the cart to the cart dock after I’m done shopping although for several seconds I was thinking of leaving it right in the middle of the parking lot. It’s a pretty good workout lugging a locked shopping cart back to its home base.

At any rate, now knowing what 83 cents a month could buy you these days I reckoned that ol’ Gemini ain’t that smart because He/She/Man/Woman/Machine didn’t happen to mention that in the Roanoke Valley 83 cents a month could buy you a fake news-free website that still practices journalism the old-fashioned way.

As you might have guessed from the lead, this is of course a shameless plug for my website subscription plan after I got my feathers ruffled from the frustration of Wednesday’s rollout and the pushback I received from some, those who accused me for being out for a dollar — no it’s actually 83 cents a month that I’m after and that’s a pretty thrifty price to support a local business which is what rrspin is.

I was also the recipient of a cheap shot later Wednesday from the administrator of a Facebook page who slapped me in the face while boasting that their Facebook page was free news for you.

I saw red for a bit and hastily wrote a very ugly column that while truthful would have made this person cry when I diced their argument to shreds that the page they administer is anything close to a news website, despite my more Benedict Arnold readers shouting the rallying cry for others to abandon what they perceive to be the sinking vessel known as rrspin.com.

Copy and pasting law enforcement press releases verbatim is not news. Nor is screenshotting press releases.

All this reminded me of the great coach Herm Edwards, who always admonished young players in the NFL to not press send. I didn’t press send, however, I am referencing the extremely cheap shot in this missive today.

Those rallying cries of betrayal, however, got to me thinking of what 83 cents a month will buy you.

Here’s said list:

Followup questions on the press releases law enforcement submits, looking at previous convictions, checking other pending court cases, checking jail records, looking through search warrants and trying to clear up sometimes muddy waters. 

Sometimes asking for further details or photos on press releases not related to crime.

Nearly breaking your bank to give you comprehensive coverage on federal court cases because the service I have to use isn’t free — this quarter’s bill which came in today was $134.40 and that’s nearly 14 subscriptions to cover that fee — and during my Operation Rockfish coverage that bill swelled to nearly $300 if I recall — all for the sake of journalism.

Sitting in or watching via YouTube sometimes quite long and tedious city and county government meetings because journalism is more than crime coverage. Afterward you have to use your critical thinking skills to determine what topic from these meetings will be most important for your readers.

Accuracy. Our correction rate typically averages one a year. I have gone to using the voice memo feature on my phone to avoid any allegations of misquotations.

Spending an entire day going through complex lawsuits just to write one story.

Ethics. Not doing stories for personal gain, never accepting or paying money for news tips, videos, or stories, trying hard to not even create the perception of a conflict, respecting the off the record condition because it’s good to know background, never publishing the names of juveniles charged in crimes unless they end up going through the adult court system, never letting my opinion on a matter get in the story, and trying my best to understand both sides of a story.

Those are just a few of the things that 83 cents a month can buy. 

We appreciate those who respect those values and thanks Gemini for the comparisons — Lance Martin