I am working on this employee evaluation web application at work. It is my least favorite project since I have been here because I do not have control over the database ;( I mean it has some fun parts but a lot of it is trying to figure out what these 26, 3-4 page paper forms intended in the first place.

I don't like that no one normalized any of the data on the paper forms. Lots of the stuff on the forms is redundant or doesn't make sense anymore when the system is moved to an online one.

I really think it would have been much better if someone in Human Resources had written these forms from the perspective that they are no longer on paper.

Examine the following instructions:

Select the rating which most accurately describes the employee's performance on each factor, and check the appropriate box. If the employee's performance is not exactly described by one of the definitions under a factor, select from all ratings, the one which best describes the employee's performance.

In this case the user is only provided with 5 check boxes (Outstanding->Needs Improvement) on both the paper and electronic form versions. So "select the rating" and "check the appropriate box" are kind of redundant. Then sentence two basically re-iterates sentence one.

This is my 4th journal in 24 hours. Sorry but I am trying to make up for last week. My journal gave me a guilt trip. It is so nice sitting by the fire on a cold day and just playing with my internet.

First of all I really wanted to touch on why "inner city" is used like a swear word. I heard someone refer to inner city youth yesterday but I don't think they meant from the inner city, they just meant poor with a not so good education system.

What about the east coast cities makes the inner city such a bad place? Okay, I know the answer to that but can you even refer to inner city in a newer city like phoenix? Is the inner city a bad place in older cities like Paris? Have people just adopted the term inner city to refer to anything ghetto? Where is the inner city of Buffalo? The map below is all the city of Buffalo. I am even missing some fringe areas.



I thought the red part was the city before. It is the area from Niagara st to the 33 on an east to west plane, and from downtown to Kenmore on a North to south plane. When I asked (e:terry) to point out Buffalo on the map he also said, the area in the ring. In fact I never even realized it continued past their until we really looked at it at a party at (e:lilho) 's house last year when someone who was from south buffalo commented that my view of the city was missing all of south buffalo and most of the east side. I guess I should have known as my Dad grew up in Love Joy but I always though Love Joy was more like Kenmore, not in culture but in the fact I thought it was an independently governed area.

It seems like if Buffalo is really that whole map, then if you were to pick out the inner city you would pick out the part in the ring. But that area doesn't really live up to the term 'inner city'. In fact, most of the wealthiest parts of the city are right in the center of that.

So at some point was saying you are from the inner city a good thing to day. Or maybe what I think of as the inner city was the country back then. Where is the inner city of buffalo?

Imagine if everything changed and all the middle class fled the suburbs and moved into the entire city. Do you think the term inner city could ever be something positive to say about a place, or does it have to much baggage. Will anyone move on up to Buffalo's inner city of the future.

I have decided to start journaling obsessively again. I have nothing better to do with my time.

First breasts: Today Nameless Bitch and (e:lilho) went to go get their breasts measured so that they get proper sized bras. Nameless Bitch said she thinks she may have never had the right size.

Namesless Bitch: 12:45 lets get drunk and get measured!

I was thinking about how weird it would be if me and any of my guy friends went to go our junk measured to wear the proper sized underwear. It just seems like something you should know. I could be tottaly wrong about this. I mean I guess there is more to a bra, but is there?

Well according to size survey.com I just google "penis size measurement" it seems there is an exact science to this. That is lots of good information here - like, "Is the size of a flaccid penis a good indicator of erection size." Here are the results of the survery At the bottom of the page there is a scrolling marquee. Is this a theme in my life.

As for the mice, their population has been severely reduced. You can tell because there is no mice damage and residuals have gone away. There are a few momma-less baby straglers. They are so slow and baby like that you can catch them with your hands. So two more micecycles in the chamber of death. I am really considering buying a snake. Does anyone have one and want some mice if I catch anymore?

That is so hard to believe. I mean pumping billions of gallons of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere can't hurt right? It's just those crazy left wing, nut job scientists trying to ruin business for the good companies of america, right?

According to time.com

According to drafts and participants, the document says it is "very likely" - which means at least 90% certain - that climate change is caused by humans burning fossil fuels, and will result in a temperature increase of between 2.5 and 10.4 Fahrenheit by the year 2100.

Some participants apparently want to change that wording to "virtually certain," which connotes a 99% likelihood. "People seem to be feeling, let's make sure that the text actually means something and makes sense to the people it's intended for," Catherine Pearce of Friends of the Earth, who is observing the talks, said Wednesday night. "Some are saying there's no point in having texts that ... don't say anything, that are so watered down," she said.

On a side note I think it is ridiculous that the French turned off the Eifel tower lights for five minutes to call attention to energy conservation. I think it is way past the time when symbolic gesture liek that even matter. Five minutes, couldn't it at least have been an hour, a day or a week. Five minutes almost seems like a joke. Okay, now back to the story.

So what do all you nah-sayers have to say about humans causing global warming now (e:ejtower,31)or (e:joshua,1717)

Sir Nicholas Stern, author of a major report on the economic impact of global warming, says the latest review of the scientific evidence by United Nations' experts has demolished the chief argument of so-called climate sceptics. . . You can read the whole article here .http://www.smh.com.au/news/environment/we've-wrecked-the-weather/2007/02/03/1169919583022.html

At this point a huge majority of the worlds climate scientists agree. Humans are greatly accelerating global warming and unfortunately, we are waiting too long to really do much about it. In fact they stated, "Global warming is "unequivocal" and "very likely" - to a 90 percent or more certainty - caused by human activity. "

I tend to believe them. I grabbed this data from an article about the summit

According to an article,

The United States emits the most greenhouse gases of any country - more than 6.5 billion tons per year, or about 22 percent of the world's total. But it will be surpassed in coming decades by fast-growing China, which is now building on average one coal power plant per week. India isn't far behind; like China, its population has surpassed 1 billion and keeps rising at a fast clip.

The scientists suggest the US develop environmentally energy production methods as soon as possible and share those technologies with developing nations. I would liek to see something along the lines of Open Source energy production technologies but you know it will most likely not be like that and devloping nations will not be able to afford the technology resulting in more coal burnig power plants.

FInding in the report
The cause
Global warming is "unequivocal" and "very likely" - to a 90 percent or more certainty - caused by human activity. Fossil fuel consumption has generated much of the global rise in temperatures over the past half-century.

Temperature changes
Average global temperatures could increase by 2 to 11.5 degrees Fahrenheit by 2100. By comparison, temperatures have risen 1.5 degrees over the past century.

Sea levels
Ocean levels are projected to rise 7 to 23 inches by 2100, and will continue to rise for 1,000 years or more. Projections do not include contributions from melting polar ice.

Water shortages
Heat waves, droughts and other kinds of extreme weather will become more frequent. In California, warmer weather will shrink spring snowpacks in the Sierra, reducing a major source of water in the summer and fall.

We should start making making greenhouse gas emission laws stricter. Liek who the fuck needs an escalade. Maybe we should just illegalize huge SUVs, non-energy efficient light bulbs, and promote forms of cleaners energy. It seems to me like cars must be a huge part of it. All it takes is one visit to LA to see what cars do to the atmosphere.

Imagine how much worse it will get when everywhere is as capable of being as wasteful as we are.

According to fox news

Present Bush has acknowledged concerns about global warming but strongly opposes mandatory caps of greenhouse gas emissions, arguing that approach would be too costly.

I ask too costly for who?

It seems after years of daily dedication to my journal I am at some weird point in my life where I have nothing to say. Okay that is not true as I am still writing. I used to write in my journal multiple time every day for years but really who wants to see more pictures of inside roswell or at my house. Don't worry there are pictures at the end of this.

The truth is I never go anywhere or do anything interesting much anymore. I don't barely leave the 5 minute radius around my house. As soon as the weather gets warmer I am sure things will change so drastically. I remember what it was like occupying my life with housing building tasks. There is lots of stripping and building to do. I am sure I can occupy much of my time with making my house sweeter.

In the mean time everything exciting seems kind of at a standstill. I think I just might have settled or something. I have everything I ever wanted now and I am bored with it a bit. Who complains about that? I should really look on the bright side. Maybe it is just season disorder or the fact that I worked way too many hours this week. Maybe if I owned a projector. That's what I keep telling myself. I really need a projector to expand my horizons.

On the programming front I am bored too. I think I am burned out with content management. I am more interested in data mining, social networking and visualization. I am tired of other people making web design/programming decisions based on bullshit. Someone actually, I am not joking, asked me for a website with a scrolling marquee today. It felt so 1997.

I hope I am not at one of the moments where I change career paths again. I doubt it only because I am so comfortable and complacent doing what I do, I am well compensated and I have little interest in leaving the city.

Unlike everyone else, I am definately not trying to escape to a bigger city with more to do. I mean even if there were more exciting things to do, like in another larger, warmer city - I would not do them. I don't even like going out much. I frankly, just want to feel like I am part of something slightly more exiciting content management, even if it is for a good cause. I suppose working with (e:enknot) makes content management seem fun.

So here are some things going on.

1. I miss twisted. I just wish we lived together. think I might be going back to San Francisco in march for another conference. Let's hope that works out. Next time it is her turn to come here. PErhaps on the way back from italy?

2. I love linux. I am never going back to windows ever on my personal computers and seeing as they will be on vista for the next 20 years or so, it won't be that hard to just say no, if I make it past this month.

3. Tomorrow, Josephine Anstey and some students are coming by to talk about web programming and online pervasive games. This is something I am very interested in. Sometimes I am still angry that I did not become a professor. I guess there is always the future and there are many other careers I would rather have.

4. Speaking of which I miss jesse, jesse.org jesse. What ever happend to him. Did he get eaten by China? Maybe Josephine will know.

5. On closing, here are some pictures from my phone, I was cleaning it out in hopes of starting to take new pictures and going back to journaling.

Mike getting hammered, lol


Eating haddock today at Roswell. I have eaten so much fish recently, this one almost killed me. I had three isnatnces of almsot swalling a bone followed by one really sharp one stabbing through my gums. That is a really unpleasant feeling. I wonder if the fish are trying to just say no.


Here is one left over pic from the ice storm. It is not the pretty kindwith the fancy camera but the low res kind with the cell phone. It still was pretty neat.


The mice that were makign us all crazy and doing things like this seems to be gone. The "humane" traps worked really good to trap them so we could kill them. Ironic as it may be, it beats having to spray or put poison everywhere. I would rather die from the mice and the poison.


Like at this place on elmwood. Are they going to knock it down soon. It seems liek such a health hazzard and it is on some of the most prime real estate in the city. I just don't get how it exists there empty and abondoned.


Salmon tastes really good. I like it.


The wig is still out there. I saw it the other day.