The Robots Are Taking Over

Circa 2004, a bunch of scientists got together and held a conference to determine the greatest threats to humankind. Takeover by robots was #2 on their list.*

I *love* robots. I'm also more than a little freaked out by them.

An article in today's New York Times, "Mars Rover Disoriented Somewhat After Glitch," reveals a new step toward robot consciousness and an entirely different relationship between humans and robots.

Even my rotund and pushy little Roomba conjures a hint of sentience as it algorithmically roves my floor. We are beginning to perceive robots as entities rather than objects, and our descriptions of their behavior are following suit.

The Times reports that the Mars Rover, whose name is Spirit, "behaved oddly on Sunday...(it) acknowledged receiving its driving directions from Earth, but it did not move...More strangely, the Spirit had no memory of what it had done."

Clearly, Spirit was drunk.


*This is so embarrassing: I have totally searched for this article, more than once (but admittedly, not super-duper hard). I remember, five or so years ago, thinking, "I'll probably wish I had a copy of this article in the future... Nah!" As a researcher, I feel like I should be able to find it. And I will. And I will post it here.

Two Four Nice Sites*

Whether you've got a celebrity crush, or are a researcher seeking a head shot, facesaerch may be of assistance. It's a search engine that returns only head shots. Facesaerch is built on Google's image search, and features a nice Apple-style photo flow.

I was pondering whether to post about facesaerch, since it got a fair amount of attention back in the summer and fall. I checked its stats at Quantcast, and saw that it gets around 30,000 visitors a month. So, it seemed worth mentioning again.

Speaking of Quantcast, it's an interesting look at web demographics, breaking down website traffic by gender, race, devotion to the site in question, location and more. My favorite feature is the "Audience Also Visits" and "Audience Also Searches For" lists.

Not too surprisingly, visitors to the Willamette Week are also likely to visit the Tribune, Mercury, and Oregonian sites. Other top sites include the Oregon Humane Society, McMenamins, Trimet, and in a sign of the times, Jobdango.

I would take Quantcast's data with a hefty grain of salt -- some of their claims seem a bit dubious. (Just check out their list of "Audience Also Visits" for the Mercury. I'll buy a lot of them, but at least one NSFW site on the list seems unlikely to be such a giant hit among Portlanders. It's devoted to a fairly specific subject, and I would be a bit surprised if so many of my fellow citizens shared the same proclivities.)

I was going to explain how Quantcast works, but Jason Falls of Social Media Explorer just posted about it this very day, and explained in much more detail than I was planning. What a nice burp of the collective unconscious.

These are two nice sites that don't quite earn "favorite site" status, but are definitely worth a look.

*My brain is drained of creative title energy tonight. I'm posting anyway. I've got to make my goal of 150 posts during 2009. Don't break the chain. (Thanks Lifehacker, which is one of my favorite sites.)

Promises Kept: 5; Only 507 More to Go

Thanks to hot tipper Brad in Spokane for passing on The Obameter, a site from the St. Petersburg Times that tracks the status of Obama's campaign promises. (The current tally -- promises kept: 5; compromises: 1; in the works: 14; stalled: 1; no action: 488.)

Regular readers of this site know that I love charts (I'm planning to borrow the fun meter format in my report designs) and Obama. And I also love government accountability. This is a creative effort by the Times, and I'm eager to track the administration's successes.

I'm also interested in seeing where something's gotta give. Fulfilling over 500 campaign promises would be difficult in any times, but will be particularly daunting in the next few years.

Finally, Government Websites May Stop Sucking

Reversing the torturous abuse of information that had been standard practice in the Bush/Cheney era was one of Obama's first official presidential acts today.

“Starting today, every agency and department should know that this administration stands on the side not of those who seek to withhold information, but those who seek to make it known.”

The words "seek to make it known" are key -- it's not just that President Obama would like you to have information if you ask for it. It goes much further than that -- he is actively requiring government agencies to improve the way they communicate information via the internet.

Hallelujah!

Government websites are a researcher's El Dorado. So much data; if you squint, you can see it shiny and golden just on the horizon. But you never reach it, due to bad interfaces and poor page hierarchy design.

I can't tell you how many times I have cursed census.gov for being clunky, unintuitive, and just plain sucky. Most government sites I have encountered are similarly terrible.

This is bad news for those database vendors who make money by taking the government's terribly-presented free data and repackaging it so that's it's accessible and pretty -- but it's great news for researchers and other curious seekers.

How Will You Serve?

Tonight: champagne a plenty. Tomorrow: sleeve-rolling-up time.

As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us today, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages. We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment -- a moment that will define a generation -- it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.

These were President Obama's words, spoken as he assumed the mantle of the presidency on this mind-blowing day.

And, in true generational form, his call to "find meaning in something greater than (myself)" prompts fresh navel-gazing: Where can I best apply my mind and heart to bring change to our nation and world?

I have always volunteered my time, but my true sense of service as a potent force for good was jettisoned some time between 5th grade and the "W" years, hardened by a self-protective layer of cynicism. I am meditating on how to reclaim the enthusiasm of the nine year old who once wrote to Bush the Elder with a surefire proposition to retire the national debt. (I was certain that it was easy -- all adults just needed to pay a bit more in taxes. I was proud of my mathematical abilities.)

And most importantly -- where shall I apply my time and talent to reap the greatest good? There is so much need. Of what am I uniquely capable? Of all the pressing issues, from the homeless guy sleeping outside my door to global environmental catastrophe, where do I start? I feel overwhelmed by options and possibility. One thing I know: I want my service to pry me from my comfort zone, and to result in tangible connections with other humans.

In my (short, because I am ready to get on to the business of thinking bigger than myself) search for my path of service, I am going to ask a simple question of my friends and acquaintances, hoping that their insights may help point the way:

How will you serve?

TuneUp: Software Friend

Track 7 by Unknown Artist.

That's pretty much what a lot of my music collection looks like. Thank god for TuneUp, a utility designed for the ubiquitous iTunes.

TuneUp decompresses each song to create a "uniquely identifiable acoustic fingerprint" and then uses Gracenote's database to find a match. Then it downloads information like the artist's name, song and album info, and even album covers. So. Awesome.

Frankly, the program's a sensitive system hog. But totally worth the trouble.

(And: full disclosure -- my music's on an external hard drive. Quel slow! It's much faster for folks with music collections on internal drives.)

And, it's rather cute. And smart. TuneUp is the software equivalent of an awesome friend who sometimes flakes out on you. But you love them anyway, because they are so fabulous. Even if their adorable interface is a bit confusing.

p.s. I just re-visited the TuneUp website, where they say "TuneUp is your music collection's new best friend." I swear I did not read that before making the above friend analogy.

Free Coffee

I'm not usually one to rep Starbucks, but they've teamed up with the Hands On Network to offer a free tall drip coffee between January 21 and 25 to anyone who commits to just five hours of community service in 2009.

Fabulous. This is a well-deserved treat for those of us who already give back, and may spur some new volunteerism.

And, in a smart move, they are asking people to make a written pledge. The authors of Yes! (recently reviewed on this blog) would point out that asking someone to commit in writing makes it more likely that they will follow through on a promise.

p.s. I apologize for my infrequent posting during this last week. It's my goal to log at least 150 posts in 2009, so I'd better get busy.

Chart Madness!

I love charts -- a lot. Here are some of my favorite chart-related sites:

Indexed -- Pure genius. Jessica Hagy creates a daily chart on topics ranging from politics to "booze" to the Easter bunny on an index card. The observations she expresses through her charts are wry, hilarious and often poignant. It's hard to describe, and really awesome -- check it out.

Pointy Haired Dilbert -- Fabulous Excel blog, including tips about charts and all things Excel. Check out Chandoo's tips on creating sparklines in Excel. These are an easy way to communicate information (and look brilliant while doing it).

Pop Lyric Charts -- Ha! Ha.

Winter Break Book Report

Happy New Year! We made it.

I hope you had a fabulous winter holiday. I had a great time in the California sun, and found a few hours to do some reading.

My winter break book report:




Yes! 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Persuasive, by Noah J. Goldstein, Steve J. Martin, and Robert B. Cialdini

Asking people who dislike you to do a favor for you creates a greater likelihood that they will feel positively inclined to cooperate with you in the future. Why is this? The cognitive dissonance they feel: they have inconvenienced themselves on your behalf, yet they don't like you. So that their thoughts will match their deeds, they warm up to you.

This book is a quick read, organized into fifty pithy chapters that provide ethical examples of various techniques to build consensus or help new ideas be well-received. The authors also point out how these techniques can be used unethically -- useful to know the next time you are shopping for a big purchase.

A lot of it boils down to manners, relationship-building, and a flair for linguistics and body language. In other words: fabulous fund-raising skills.

This book is a must-read for fund-raisers and highly recommended for all.