I am trying to work on more efficient interfaces that give information at command rather than during each load cycle. For example, I used to have the weather box, it just took up more screen space and loaded an uneccessary number of times. Each time you changed pages it would have to load in the XML weather data, that wasn't really changing each time. I could have made it check for its last check and only check once an hour, but in that case it would still have to load into the display on each refresh of the page, which is annoying.

I finally came up witha great idea to combat this problem. At first I thought I could make a command box but then I realized I could integrate the command box with the chat. At this point there are only two commands for non admin users.

[size=m]Chat Commands[/size]
weather - type the word weather into the chat by itself and I will answer with the current weather conditions, temp, humidity, and a link to an extended weather forecast.

peeps - I respond with the number of peeps online and their usernames so that you don't have to click on the link in the top twelve list. This was (e:maidencateyes) idea!

More to come soon . . .

I was working on finding a fast, free weather feed for the site and realized, why not turn to the government." So I found that the government has tons of free information in xml format, which is really convenient.

While perusing through the various weather data, I found a FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions section regarding tropical storms. Mind you this is on a real government site funded by our tax dollars. It just shows what an inappropriate response americans take toward any sort of threat if this qualifies as a frequently asked question.

The Frequently Asked Question is:
Subject: C5C Why don't we try to destroy tropical cyclones by nuking them?

You can find the answer in case you arn't sure.

For those of you that are too lazy, here is an little excerpt, it is mucho entertaining.

. . .for a more rigorous scientific explanation of why this would not be an effective hurricane modification technique. The main difficulty with using explosives to modify hurricanes is the amount of energy required. A fully developed hurricane can release heat energy at a rate of 5 to 20x1013 watts and converts less than 10% of the heat into the mechanical energy of the wind. The heat release is equivalent to a 10-megaton nuclear bomb exploding every 20 minutes. According to the 1993 World Almanac, the entire human race used energy at a rate of 1013 watts in 1990, a rate less than 20% of the power of a hurricane . . .

I decided to realize my dream of enabling further mobile phone functions for the site via the WAP broswers on most cell phones. This all goes back to when I lived in Arizona in 2001. I received my usual computer programming magazine that had a special artilel about WAP and the future of mobile computing. It was my dream to get involved but I never had time, by the time I had the time and skill to work it, the sidekick came out and i moved onto that.

Now I realize that the rest of the world still has WAP browsers and so I would like to allow them to use the site over their phones.

The site is almost 100% functional on the t-mobile sidekick but the extension to WAP browser is a really great addition. Currently, at elmwoodstrip.com/wap you can view who is online, the last 12 entries by user - title, and by clicking on the entries you can read the full entries which are currenly not stripped properly of excess crap like formatting tags. However, Ii only had an hour and a half to work on this and I have to get going. Check it out.

If anyone who is rich and generous would like to support the continued development of the mobile features of elmwoodstrip.com, please donate for the software required for development. The cell phone emulator software that I need for development costs ~ 249 pounds, it can be found here . The software allows me to test the page on various cell-pone models online without having to own the actual phones which would cost a fortune. Feel free to simply buy a license and send me t he software!!

Does anyone know of any grants I could apply for to cover costs like this? I am offering to give up tons of my free time to offer services to the public but having useful ideas is limiting when I don't have the cash flow to make them happen. Alternatively, I could pick up another job but then the site development would would be on the back burner because of lack of time. It's a vicous circle.

In regards to my helium question[inlink]paul,1935[/inlink] I finally got a repsonse from ajay [inlink]ajay,122[/inlink]. I have been asking this question for about 10 years now and just kept hoping I would meet some person who understood physics and could give me an answer.

I am not sure what I want to send up but I am sure that I want to send something up as a promotional gimick for the site. I don't want to send anyone into the atmosphere but I would like to make an airbus that can hold one person and float them down elmwood about 5-15 feet off the ground. Like a parade float but in the air. From there they could give out flyers or candy or something. Do you have any ideas which materials would be best for this? I think it would be the most fun project ever.

The more I think about it, the more I think that it would be best to build it out of many little helium balloons because then if one popped we wouldn't lose the whole thing. Kind of the same idea as a multi chamber blow-up raft. Unfortunately, the extra surface area would add extra weight, right? Any ideas?

I really want an answer to what seems like a simple question. How much helium does it take to lift a hundred pounds? Anyone know?

Who posted this link to our site on slashdot ?

I updated epad to work from the database instead of text files, making it more secure and quicker too. I will continue work on it in the near future but for now it is totally functional as a web notepad and is being offered as a free bonus for being a member of elmwoodstrip.com.

If you want to get to your epadwhen you are not on the site go to elmwoodstrip.com/epad . This will take you directly to the epad interface where you can log in (if not already logged on) and type your notes. Think of it as an internet scratch pad. I hope it saves lots of paper. Maybe I will make a paper saved calculator!

epad is a beta of of my web notepad application that allows users to keep a notepad/clipboard on the web. At any point you can add to your note page, delete it, or email it's contents to any email address.

I got the idea today when I had to transfer some instructions between two computer that could not network together. I just wanted to copy about a paragraphs worth of notes but i didn't want to write it down or post it to me jorunal as a draft. I also wanted to be able to quickly view the notes on my phone without having to wait for the site to load. Basically, I wanted a notepad that I could access from both computers and smartphones, so I made epad. It actually took me only a half hour to make as it is really basic right now and when I was done I plugged it in with the site so that all of you can take advatange of it and test it out.

Mind you that it is really primitive right now but it functions and it is slim and fast to load. To access your epad you need to be signed in with your elmwoodstrip.com username and password. However, in order to sign in, you do not have to visit the main site, you can log in and our right at your epad.

The direct address for your epad is elmwoodstrip.com/epad . You can also get there from your journal by clicking on the new notepaper icon in your control panel.

This will be the first of many e-services which you can access from on or off the site. If you have any questions or comments email or IM me.

I just received the best email from one of our newe users. It really made me realize that people are excited about the site. Maybe these communication will answer some other people questions too. Sorry to post it straight up as it is long, but I have to get to work on the epad beta before I got out at 10:30 with (e:chris) .

Hey Paul,
I took the time to follow your link off craigslist and am glad I did. Jeez, this site has a little bit of everything, doesn't it? I was just curious as to how this all came about. Did it start as a community-building project, your thesis, a little of both? Regardless, this site is well done and I just wanted to let you know how impressed I am.

Take Care,
'jesse

Jesse,
It started out in march of 2003 as a community/hobby programming project and kind of just went from there. I am constantly looking for feedback, so whenever you have any feel free to email me. When I first developed the site, I wanted something that would help people use the internet as a tool to focus on local community.

It occurred to me that many internet users I knew in Buffalo had more intimate communication with people far away but on the same mailing lists. For example, "joe" collects atari video games from the 80s. He joins a mailinglist/forum/site and meets other collectors with similar interests. Many of his social interaction are moved to that forum. As hebecomes more deeply entrentched in that online community, his connection to his local community suffers. I liked the ideas behind the social networking of friendster and the comprehensive recording of history at blogger and wanted to combine into a local tool. I also have similar goals to blogger, that being to allow people with little computer proficiency to publish their thoughts and ideas to the web. The difference here being that you can actually meet your audience and often unknowingly do when out in the city. It often adds a little more legitmacy to the writing - although that is not always true.

I really have a lot to say about this. If you ever want to meet and discuss it over coffee. I have a million more ideas for the site but need to get a grant for most of them to happen. I decided to turn it into my thesis project after it had such a great response. Previously I had been morking with 3D modeling and virtual reality but was very dissatisfied with the void of social and political activism/interaction in the field. I am not very familiar with craig's list. At first I was worried that it would be some sort of corporate competition, especially after hodown wrote " does craig's list in Buffalo spell and end to estrip," but I have realized that our sites have very different purposes. The elmwood sites focus is more about the recording of the people's history of elmwood while craig's list is more as an information dissemination forum. Which actually benefitted us by directing traffic and users such as you to our site. I have considered using the site in other communities but have refrained at this point as I don't want to add to the globalization of communication on the internet that I was originally combatting with the site.

Thanks again,
Paul

P.S. Do you mind if I publish sections of this email to my journal?

Paul,

Thanks for writing back. I see a lot of parallels between how you started this list and how craigslist began - but you're right in saying there are major differences between the two. I don't see one taking over the territory for the other. People use craigslist because they want to get a piece of information out there, or want to retrieve a piece of information. But apart from it's address on the web, I don't see craigslist as a place... There are no user names, no chats, no journals, et
c...

One thing about craigslist is that it
i
s NOT a corporate site (even despite eBay now owning a portion) -- it has been grassroots effort from the get go.

One major component of elmwoodstrip on the other hand is really about building a community -- a person can troll through it, but to really get involved, you need to sign up for an account. People interact with each other both in person AND on the site.

This is stuff you already know... Just wanted to get most of it straight in my own mind.

I do indeed enjoy a good cup of coffee -- the trick for me is having enough time to zip down to elmwood or ANY area that has good coffee for that matter. But yeah man, at some point I wouldn't mind having a sit-down chat with you. You've not only created something that is bleeding brilliant (not just my opinion), but you're also showcasing one of the best areas of Buffalo (and the one least seen by the average passers-by).

Regardless, you are a great example of local talent -- I hope you continue to contribute to the local brain trust and stay local once you're done with UB.

Feel free to use any part of that email in your journal. Don't know if you'd be interested in this being a former 3D modeler: I used to work with Craig Good... Father of particle animation and a man with one freakin' big brain.

Talk to ya later...

'jesse

I have so many stories to tell, I am going to publish them as 5 journal entries throughout the evening. I found this letter I wrote to my grandparents back in 1996. I found it at nonna's today while doing yardwork and learning about tomato canning (next journal.) Everything has changed since 1996. I am not married to Jessica (e:hodown) , I loved germany after that first month of feeling foreign(so much I lived there for two years), my grandfather (nonno) is dead. My toroise died (not basra), I never made it to London, etc

Here is the letter:
Nonno and Nonna,
I miss you very much. Not a day goes by without me whinking of you. I think - made the wrong choice coming here because I realized now that I do not like germany all that much. The people here are unbelievable cold and rude. At least the in the north. No one is helpful at all. I am however having fun traveling. I can't wait to see my cousin jennifer in london and to go to italy.

School is really easy here. There are no tests or homework. It seems ridiculous. I wish I could come home for christmas because I really miss you guys a lot.

The big new is that I got engaged to jessica. I know that it is not practical or possible for us to get married for a few years but we are so in love and decided to just get enaged anyways. I wrote her a letter asking her to get enaged while I was in italy . When I got back she had written me and the answer was yes. I really miss my tortoises too. I have there pictured all over my wall.

Well i'm going to go to bed now. It's strange but sometimes when I think of you before I go to sleep I still hear that song you used to sing to me when I was a kid. Neena ho or something.

Love,
Paul