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Giving Up All My Yesterdays For All My Tomorrows
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| (no subject) |
[Nov. 13th, 2009|03:18 pm] |
Crowdsourcing Congress: A hypothetical blueprint
Citizens are assigned randomly to groups of 10 people. Each year this group is reassigned.
Any citizen can introduce a bill anonymously. This bill will be discussed and voted upon by that citizen’s group of ten. A majority will pass the bill.
If the bill passes it will continue forward anonymously to ten more groups of ten. Those citizens will discuss and vote upon the bill. A majority will pass the bill.
The bill will continue higher up until the entire nation can vote on the bill. A majority will pass the bill.
Bills are open source, at any point during the deliberation process anyone else can post a modified version of the bill to be voted upon the same way.
As normal the supreme court can strike down unconstitutional bills and the president can veto. |
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| (no subject) |
[Nov. 13th, 2009|02:50 pm] |
I'm doing something really cool!
So at work we've got over 100 different reports/alerts that go out each day. They all run on their own on one of two dedicated task PCs. When I got here the whole system was pretty mish mash and when one PC went down horrible things happened.
So I built a new system. I modeled the system on the idea of emergent intelligence, how a number of relatively dumb individuals following an identical set of rules can become something much smarter together. Think of a flock of birds. The birds have no idea what a formation is and don't know that they're in one. They only have simple rules like "Make sure I can see in front of me, make sure I can see another bird out of the corner of my eye and don't be too close or too far away from another bird.
We've got about 60 databases now running our 100+ tasks. They all run different code but it's all build on a core set which can be changed and distributed to each one in about 15 minutes. We can also roll back to any previous version just as quick.
One of the rules is to log any errors in a specific place in a central table. I noticed the other day we were getting lots of sporadic errors, like over 50 a day.
So what I'm doing today (and what is so cool) is I'm monitoring all of the errors coming in on a form in real time. Then I'm making small changes to the core code, distributing that new core out and monitoring the changes to all of the 60 or so small programs all at once!
It's like watching an ant colony and then being able to reprogram each ant mind almost simultaneously and being able to watch the effects.
In a situation like this one I can’t help but feel just a tiny bit like the God of a race of tiny electronic people, who, once given my instructions, go out and do my will.
I also can’t help but feel like an artist who has created and is in the process of continually working on a living piece of art. |
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| (no subject) |
[Nov. 13th, 2009|02:11 pm] |
In which I type a sentence that has been bouncing around in my head for quite some time and hope that it will bounce around in others so that we may have conversations about it:
In the spirit of Thomas Jefferson's 19 year rule, crowdsourcing a constitution. |
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| Are you kidding me? |
[Sep. 25th, 2009|07:13 am] |
So the guy that owns our house right now is in MEXICO.
This wouldn't be a problem except that we need to know TODAY whether or not we can rent the place before the closing.
His realtor has talked to him before and said that he didn't have a problem with it but didn't get his real OK so she needs to talk to him once more and she couldn't get in contact with this ENTIRE WEEK!
NOW, if he says no I don't even think we have time to get a POD to store all of our stuff. Damnit at this point (27 hours from moving) i thought that we'd have an answer one way or another.
Where am I going to be sleeping tomorrow night? WHO THE HELL KNOWS
Also, last day of work before vacation today. You tell me how I'm supposed to get anything done. |
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| (no subject) |
[Sep. 23rd, 2009|09:24 am] |
Issues with the title. We are not closing today. We ARE moving this Saturday regardless, hopefully we'll be moving to the new house.
We found out this Monday that there was a paperwork issue with the original foreclosure done about a year ago the same person signed as both manager and power of attorney which is a no no apparently. My lawyer and the seller's lawyer are trying to get the right paperwork from the lawyer that did the foreclosure. The foreclosure lawyer is dragging his/her feet because they stand to make no money from this.
My Realtor is hopeful that we'll close by the end of the week. My lawyer is hopeful that we'll have an answer at least by the end of this week.
Regardless, a deal is in the works to allow us to live at and rent the new house until the closing goes through. The most likely scenario is that we'll be moving into the new house this Saturday whether or not we own it. The worst case is that we will be moving our things into a pay per month storage and living with our parents for a few weeks to a month or two.
To have our hopes dash this close to closing... it's brutal. I know it will all work out in the end but not knowing where I'll be living 3 days from now is beyond nerve wracking. All the work we were going to do on the house today will have to wait and it's really hard to get up the energy to do anything right now.
Arg. This will all work out in time. This will all work out in time. This will all work out in time. |
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| (no subject) |
[Sep. 15th, 2009|09:33 am] |
Had a mini-breakdown yesterday. The stress involved with buying a house is intense. I'm also highly stressed at work, I'm in one of the most stressful points I've experienced in this job so far.
Being stressed at home and then being able to come into work to unwind (yes, this has happened before) is OK. Being stressed at work and then coming home to unwind is OK. This beings stressed at home and work is bad. I'm going at 100% all of the time and even though I know it will be over in 2-3 weeks it feels like it's going to last forever.
My house is in upheaval. Everything is in constant change because we've been slowly packing and cleaning for a month now. I've told people before that my high level of organization isn't something I do just because, it's a crutch so that I can deal with the world around me.
I've done all of the math and the calculations and I know I can afford everything in any probable situation (discounting zombies, large earthquakes etc.) but there is this panic inside of me that won't go away.
I've resorted to purposeful stress eating which helps out. I'm sure that I've gained a couple pounds in the last month or so but I'm confidant that I can take them off again when everything evens out.
The vacation is going to help tremendously, venting in LJ helps too. It's going to be awesome when this is all done and I've got a feeling that the future me is going to be grateful to the current me for many years to come. |
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| (no subject) |
[Sep. 13th, 2009|01:52 pm] |
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It was staring me in the face the whole time but I realize now that we're living in a time that, in the future, we will refer to as the great Journey revival of the late 2000s |
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| Majestic! |
[Sep. 8th, 2009|10:56 am] |
Just got word that the seller has agreed to all of our demands! The closing date is firm.
Closing 9/23
Moving Day! 9/26 (three weeks away!)
I think everyone that I've helped move has offered to help but if I helped you move and forgot about it I'm pulling my card!
I've taken some things I learned in my short time with the Obama campaign and the move will be highly organized.
And of course there will be beer, gatorade, soda, water, pizza and Amanda brand baked goods! |
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| Favorite thing of the moment |
[Sep. 4th, 2009|12:02 pm] |
Italian Soda:
Big cup full of ice
pour in:
2 Tablespoons of flavoring syrup (the stuff they put in coffee, about 70 calories)
add in:
Tiny bit of cream (I use light cream)
add in:
1 Can of Seltzer
Stir with big spoon and enjoy!
It's like a soda but with half the calories and not too sweet. Quite refreshing and you can make stuff like Hazelnut or butter rum soda. |
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| (no subject) |
[Sep. 3rd, 2009|01:54 pm] |
I was at the eye doctor's yesterday and a question on the form was "what are your hobbies". I hate this question, my first answer in my head is always "doing stuff". The first thing I usually put down is "Adventuring" because what else would you call picking a place on a map and just driving there. Also, I'm pretty much down for any kind of spectacle, rodeo, gallery night, whatever.
Sure I like taking pictures, foursquare, web development, music collecting, board games, D&D etc. I mean, getting down to detail and saying "I do this, this and this" seems like a silly way to do things, right? I had a real "hobby" once and it was urban exploration and it damn near ate my life for two years. I prefer things like they are now.
Still... whenever I'm presented that question I can't help but feel bewildered and boring. I think I might come up with a stock set to answer with from now on to see if anybody is paying attention. Something like "Catfish noodling, harpsicord model building and canary restoration" |
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| (no subject) |
[Aug. 28th, 2009|11:58 am] |
So this Blip.FM thing, posting songs. Is it annoying? Cool? Be honest here, I'll take it off it it's annoying.
Also, got my certificate of eligibility in for the VA loan, appraisal ordered Wednesday. While I was 100% sure I was eligible only a fool trusts the Army to do paperwork properly. There was a small but real chance that my hopes could have been dashed. Obstacle avoided!
Next on my list is the inspection of course, after that appraisal. If all goes well I'm going to try to get the closing moved up a week (or two maybe)
Finally, if anybody wants to buy a house and wants to know how the whole shebang works let me know. It's better to get a feel for the entire process yourself instead of trusting a realtor or someone else. |
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| (no subject) |
[Aug. 26th, 2009|09:15 am] |
Seems like the only people I know buying video games these days are the ones without jobs, agree?
Also, purchase and sales has been signed
Inspection next Monday morning
Going to try to move the closing up to September 25th if possible and have moving day on the 26th of September.
Mulling over house/family history website |
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| House Status |
[Aug. 24th, 2009|11:30 am] |
There is a lot more to buying a house than you'd think, even if you've already bought one before!
Mortgage Stuff
Pick a mortgage company - Done
Prequalify for the mortgage - Done
Pick insurance company - Done
Hook up insurance company with mortgage company - Done
Pick lawyer - Done
Hook up lawyer with insurance company - Done
Get the appraisal done - Work in progress
Sign mortgage application - Done
Get eligibility certificate for VA Loan - in progress
Realtor Stuff
Pick a realtor - Done
Put an offer on the house - Done
Sign purchase and sales - Today
Pick an inspector - Done
Schedule inspection - Work in progress
Close on house - Waiting
Old house stuff
Find tenant for old house - Done
Draw up lease - Waiting for firm closing date
Spackle, patch and paint walls - In progress
Dump run - haven't even started
Prerenting inspection - waiting on firm close date
Pack - 30% done
Switch over utilities - waiting
Moving stuff
Schedule vacation - waiting on firm close date
Schedule move - waiting on firm close date
Schedule day off for closing - waiting on firm closing date
Switch over utilities - waiting
Schedule family housewarming - waiting on firm closing date
schedule friend housewarming - waiting on firm closing date |
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vocodedreality's journal