You may (or may not) have noticed that I haven’t posted on this blog in some time. Partly that’s because awhile back I set up a new home page where I can post little updates that really don’t require a full blog post. So I have done some updates there without actually having to update the blog.
The more important reason, though, I think is because I’ve been working on some projects. And generally when I’m working on projects, I see posting on the blog as taking time away from the projects. Writing about a project doesn’t get it done. Actually working on the project gets it done.
Interestingly, just the other day as I was (again) thinking about this, I came across a quote from Walt Disney that backed me up:
“I found the way to get started was to quit talking and begin doing it.”
If old Walt had had a blog in the 1950s, he’d have said, “I can’t post on my blog now, I’ve got too many projects going on.”
So why am I posting now, you ask? Well, I’ll tell you…
It’s been bugging me for awhile that I owe everyone a blog post here. But, as noted, I’ve been working on projects, so I devote time to them instead of posting.
I finally decided that the way to go was to make the blog itself a project, at least for a day or so, so I could devote time to it guilt-free. So here we are. 🙂 The blog is a project, and now I’m working on it.
And the reason I’ve been wanting to post on the blog is to let you know about the projects I’m working on. (Please keep in mind that these may or may not ever come to fruition….)
I’m working on three (possibly four) music projects.
One brings me kind of full-circle back to my teenage roots first getting into music. I’m going to write about this one in more detail, possibly in the next few days (while the blog is still a “project”), just because it’s kind of interesting. Also, it’s the one that’s closest to actually being finished and coming into the world.
One is a video project featuring just me, an acoustic guitar, and a love seat. Sounds easy, but how I want to do it adds complexity.
And one is a classical music-based project. (What??! Me and classical music??! Sure, why not?)
The “possibly fourth” project has to do with some little bits and pieces of music I’ve written here and there, then sort of abandoned in the corner. Scraps, vignettes, ideas. I’ve pulled some of them out from the dust and discovered they indeed have some potential. So they may (or may not) develop into a full-fledged project in the future.
A separate project has to do with AI. I am trying to set up OpenClaw, an “AI agent” that can actually go out and do things for you: respond to emails, research flights or purchases, etc. It can even actually buy the tickets or the products, if you let it. Transfer money into or out of your bank account. Post on social media. All kinds of stuff, way beyond the standard “chatbot” AI. OpenClaw doesn’t just chat with you. It does things. Walt Disney probably would have liked it.
I’ve been telling Vicky for years that we have too many things to do and “we need people.” (And if you’re my age, you know that makes us the luckiest people in the world…. 😉 Young’uns, go look it up.) But maybe we don’t really need people after all. Maybe what we need are “AI agents” instead.
AI agents are certainly cheaper than people. And I’d say they don’t argue with you, but I’ve already experienced the opposite of that. And those that don’t argue are so sycophantic it makes you sick. So if I do get this set up, I’ll certainly have to try to mold the agent’s personality to not go too far in either direction.
Of course, just a couple of weeks ago, I re-watched 2001: A Space Odyssey, for the specific reason of comparing that speculative AI (HAL9000, envisioned by Arthur C. Clarke in 1968!) to the actual AI that’s happening today. The resemblance is uncanny, down to the characters’ speculating whether HAL really thinks or simply recognizes patterns. But HAL, as we all know, kind of went off the deep end when he felt threatened. And guess what: AI really does that today as well!
Unfortunately, my own AI project took a step backward when I spilled some wine onto the computer I was using for it. Everyone knows that computers really can’t hold their wine very well, and in this case — well, let’s just say the funeral will be private, family only, flowers unnecessary. I’m wondering if the Universe is trying to tell me something…