Apparently Acts of Volition was discussed along with Reinvented.net on this afternoon’s edition of Mainstreet on CBC Radio.
Unfortunately, some kind of Olympic conspiracy seems to be preventing RealAudio archiving of CBC radio content, so we can’t link to it (you can always amuse yourself listening to the last time Acts of Volition was on the CBC).
If any of you heard the piece, let us know about it.
I use either my credit card or debit card for almost everything purchase I make (curse Tim Horton’s for their cash-only policy!). It follows that somewhere, a robot (also known by its more innocuous name, ‘computer’) knows what I’ve bought, when and where I’ve bought it, and how much it cost.
This is all the information I need to really understand where my money goes every month. However, the format I get it in isn’t much use to me. Every month I get a few out-of-date account information mailings from my bank and credit card provider listing my purchases in chronological order. I could sit down with a calculator and figure out how much of my money goes to food, entertainment, utilities, etc.
Sure, I could do that, but this isn’t people work, its robot work.
Here’s what I want, a simple new feature on my web-banking. I want to be able to create categories of spending (and maybe even sub-categories) that I can use to label each of my purchases. For example, I would create a category called Groceries which I might break up into subcategories (Real Food, Junk Food, Other Stuff). Other categories would include Utilities (phone, electric, etc.), Insurance (car, other insurance I should have, etc.), Rent, Car (gas, repairs, racing stripes, etc.), Entertainment (movies, games, clowns, etc.).
I would be able to run through my purchases, labeling each of them as one of my categories. Then, I could get a simple breakdown of my monthly spending by category. Wouldn’t you love to know how much you spend a year at the Quick-E-Mart!
I could do this myself with a spreadsheet and some free time, but it would be such a simple addition for existing web-banking systems (see a simple mockup). Perhaps some already have something like this? If only the banks would compete for my petty accounts.
For more dreamy web-banking, see 37signals’ 37FAKEBANK.
Rob and I have been toying around with an idea on and off for the past year (read: we’ve written a few emails). The idea, which would be called the Open Music Project, if the name wasn’t already taken, is basically open source music.
The raw, isolated tracks of a recording can be compared to the un-compiled source code of software. The mixed-down and mastered final track that you’d actually get on a CD is analogous to the complied binary code you run on your computer.
In the same way that compiled code can’t really be edited or modified, it is difficult to work with mixed down finished music. It is difficult/impossible to isolate the individual tracks and do anything useful with them (not really an issue, since most music is copyrighted anyway).
Our idea is to have willing musicians and engineers producing music that is open and available for others to use, modify, and redistribute. The music would available in its raw individual tracks, so any or all of it could be used by other.
I’ve been amazed at how the open source software initiative has mammoth corporations, independent developers, non-profit organizations, and small businesses all working to their mutual advantage. It’s not a perfect system. Open source software, since it is developed by developers, usually for their own benefit, is often weaker in the consumer application area and stronger in development software. I’m not sure how these tendencies would manifest themselves in terms of music and musicians (what do you get when you have a bunch of musicians producing music for themselves rather than for an audience – good music, perhaps?).
This idea hasn’t been in the over for very long. One of the big issues would be file formats. There are good and widely supported formats for straight stereo audio (MP3, Ogg Vorbis, Windows Media, etc.). However, it would be idea to have some good standard multi-track formats that were widely supported (perhaps there are? ProTools, Cakewalk, Cool Edit Pro, etc.). Worse case scenario, individual tracks could be distributed in isolated files (MP3, for example) and be re-assembled in a particular musician’s multi-track software of choice.
Is this a good idea? Is it a stupid idea? Would it work? Why? Why not? Has it already been done? Let us know what you think.
I’m really hoping we can call it the Muzilla project. Maybe someone else should name it.
My clearest memories my high school days have little to do with high school itself. I remember the days we skipped school, driving in my parents Saturn and listening to Poor Old Lu.
That’s not to say I didn’t leave high school having learned some valuable lessons. I had a few fantastic teachers. Still, the lessons I will really take with me through life came not from my teachers, but from my fellow students.
Today, I share a few of those timeless lessons that I can still remember from high school:
This astute observation came to be from the guy who sat next to me in French class. He wasn’t really a friend of mine, just some guy. It was that dreadful time of year when we all had to give two minute oral presentations to the class (two minutes – in French). Like most of my unfortunate classmates, I hadn’t yet had enough life experience to put the gravity of an event like this in its proper context. As far as I was concerned, it would be the end of my little world.
My fear must have been apparent to those around me, because the guy next to me leaned over and said something like “easy buddy – nobody gives a shit about your speech”.
He wasn’t trying to reassure me. On the contrary, his tone was so condescending and detached that it was clear he had little concern for my wellbeing. It was also clear that he sincerely believed this. He went on to explain, ‘Do you care about anyone else’s speech?’ No, I didn’t – not in the least. My nervous young mind slowly followed the logical steps to the inevitable conclusion: No one cared about my speech either – I was one a large group of insignificant nobodies – so relax.
This advice wasn’t given directly to me. Rather, I overhead a guy in my class explaining his brilliant discovery to an eager and attentive audience from the surrounding desks.
His logic went something like this: You can’t lick your fingers; it’s considered rude (apparently a big concern of this particular fellow) nor can you wipe them on your (visible) closing, as it would leave a big chemical-orange perma-stain.
The solution was so elegantly simple that it had escaped all of us. Pull up your pants a bit, and wipe your hands on your socks. No one is the wiser.
I’ve done this.
I’ll always remember that day years ago in high school math class. The class was quiet; everyone was working on their assignments. Then, suddenly, a horrible crash and clang of metal on metal came hurtling down the hall towards us. My friend ffoeg, always able to bend a moment to his liking to the amusement of his audience, gave out a yell: “ROBOTS!“.
It turned out to be a malfunctioning ventilation system, that time. But robots are going to get us sooner or later. I’m only kind of joking. Scientists (you know – scientists) are at the World Economic Forum this week warning the all the rich people about a future that includes a “possible takeover of humans by robots.” (see the related discussion at slashdot)
The end is neigh. I can’t say much more, because robots are already browsing this very website and others like it (see the shot of my web stats to the right). In the meantime, let us at least enjoy some amusing comic strip foreshadowing of our dark future.
I’ve already confessed to being a web stats junkie. There has been no improvement in this area since my confession. Rather, as the statistics get more interesting, my addiction grows ever worse. In fact, my web stats have become one of my primary means of finding new and interesting websites. I let them find me. And, naturally, sites linking to aov tend to be cool and interesting.
Every few weeks over the last year, a few oddities gave crept into our referrer logs here at aov. Most peculiar, by far, is http://www.iaea.org or the International Atomic Energy Agency. To be clear, as far as I can tell, the IAEA has never actually had a link to Acts of Volition from their website. It appears, as is sometimes the case, that our web stats have been fooled into thinking that a website is sending visitors our way.
This happens occasionally (some javascript forwarding functions can cause it), but usually from sites that an aov reader visits regularly. Are any of you members of the International Atomic Energy Agency?
The International Atomic Energy Agency is apparently a wing of the United Nations that “serves as the global focal point for nuclear cooperation”. Acts of Volition is all about cooperation, but not so much about atomic energy. We prefer more photogenic energy sources in the hopes that we’ll end up better off than these guys.
If you’re interested in finding others who find us in some way notable, see this list of some of the most common referring pages to actsofvolition.com.
While at the local grocery store this evening I was struck by a peculiar sound. It was the sound of an old fashioned mechanical cash register. However, it did not ring out with the authenticity and high fidelity that only actual reality can provide (I’m afraid you have to specify which reality now). Rather, the cash register sound squawked out of tinny little computer speakers – dozens of them.
This particular grocery store has replaced its cash registers with computers and every time an item is scanned, they play this annoying cash register sound.
I understand the need for physical metaphors when dealing with software, but wouldn’t some other visual or less intrusive audio cue work just as well? I would think that one of the main advantages of computers over cash registers would be silent operation.
The only thing worst than ten cash registers banging away is ten computer speakers doing a poor job of reproducing the sound of ten cash registers banging away.
As I listened to CBC Radio on my drive in to work this morning, there was a lively and joyful discussion of the greatness and quirks of CBC veteran Peter Gzowski.
I had heard that he was seriously ill and was encouraged to hear them having such a pleasant discussion of his life and work. Then my co-worker who was riding with me to work informed me that Peter had died.
It was nice to hear such a joyful wake on the public radio. This is how mourning should take place.
Peter Gzowski is remembered at Reinvented.net.
Note the spelling of ‘honour’, after all, it is the Best Canadian Weblog category. Acts of Volition, so far humble by necessity, not by design, has been graced with a nomination for The Bloggies.
Nikolai Nolan’s 2002 Weblog Awards are a great way to discover new sites. I had never seen Loobylu before – beautiful. I was also glad to see DollarShort.org in the best-designed category (although I think Sylloge should be in there too).
If we win, I’m not going to tell Rob or Matt (they’ll never find out), and I’m going to use the prize money to buy another copy of Sam Brown’s Exploding Dog book. The best part about the Canadian category of the Bloggies is that the prize money ($20.02) which is intended simply as a token of appreciation, takes on significantly more value when converted to Canadian Funds. Thank you, internation industrial complex.
To the ‘little people’, you can expect to be thanked if we win. If not, better luck next year.
My first AOV post ever was concerning how I wished I was an engineer so I could take my monstrous robot onto television and beat on other robots. Nothing has changed, except for now people out there are living the dream.
There are now about three shows that deal with his, and I want to tell you why they suck and how they can be improved.
First I’ll deal with Robotica. I have many issues with this. But I’ll start with the positive. I like the short history of each competitor showing the construction process. Even though they all say “My robot will win because it’s powerful enough to pull my minivan in neutral”.
The problem is that people are treating this new type of competition as a novelty and have whacky commentators, flashy high-tech lights, and stat-screens that are useless. That Zappa guy bugs me, he’s too “Whacky and off the wall”. I’ve watched Robotica a few times and I’ve learned that there are a few reoccuring factors. There is maybe 10-15 minutes of moving robots. Maybe less. What there is no shortage of is awkward robots beached, stuck, or otherwise motionless. Wabbling or bumping awkwardly and jerkily about. Then the announcer always says “Whack! That robots seems to have a tran-tran- transmission problem! That’s noooooo good!” in a whacky and off the wall voice. It’s frustrating to watch toasters jiggle all that time in their little post-apocalyptic-esque gauntlets.
Just when I was about to give up on fighting robots for a few more months, I caught two or three episodes of Battlebots. That was more entertaining, but still has some rough edges. For example, there are no little cutesy competitions because they never work. It’s all robots beating eachother. I saw an amazing robot that did suck as far as what a BattleBot should do, but made up for all that by not looking remotely like any other robot. I can’t find a picture of it, but it was a 2 meter robotic snake. It was cool. The other robots actually worked. I saw strategy instead of wounded manatees. The commenting people were less whacky, they have BILL NYE as a scientific consultant. And Jay Leno competes with his robot too. I’m not saying you need celebrities to have a good show, but, in this case it works.
I’ve caught an episode of Robot Wars once. It was like 3am on PBS. It seemed like a less-exciting BattleBots. It had the Red Dwarf guy as host. I don’t know much more about it other than it was better than that Robotica crap with the sleeping robots.
Thank you for your attention.