Bloghorn

It’s good to be back on campus. Here’s some shots of what the new room looks like (mostly for Dobbs’ benefit), and a picture for Juli to show Mr. Rubins:

[EDIT]: Updated with better pictures

This entire last week I’ve been trying to learn ASP so i can build a frontend to the database that the call center guys at work use to answer questions. Right now, they’re working directly from the console of what appears to be an old mainframe computer, and I can’t make heads or tails from the display. So I’ve come up with a better way of doing it, started coding in PHP, then realized that I’m in a Windows shop, and started learning ASP. The syntax is similar to PHP, but the finer details are annoying. Like how an ODBC connection has to exist on the server for the page to be able to access the SQL database. Also, as a long-time PHP lover, the lack of a character to note the end of a line is slightly disturbing.

I’ve been rescued from banging my head against the wall a couple times this week. Yesterday, I went out to Woodside to help train the drivers for the accessible dispatch system. The idea is that people in wheelchairs can call 311, then have a yellow taxi dispatched to their location and capable of handling their needs. TLC is using Blackberries with a special Java app to handle the dispatching, and we spent about 4 of the 6 hours of class teaching the cabbies how to use it. Some of the guys got the idea immediately, others took some hand-holding to get the concept, but eventually everyone understood. And while the slower of the group were recieving extra instruction, the others decided it was a good time to vent their frustration with TLC’s rules and taxis in general, complaining about everything from the lack of weight restrictions to the dispatchers at JFK. We told them we’d look into it, but I’m not sure there’s much we can do.

The other interesting thing going on is that the PR department at Penn State has gotten wind of my upcoming HOPE presentation and wants to advertise it on the website and elsewhere. Heung Xu and Gerry Santoro also expressed interest in booking me to do the presentation in their classes this Fall. I’m doing a phone interview with someone on Wednesday, and I sincerely hope I can get the presentation cleared by the end of next week. One week after that I’ll be on stage, and I can’t wait.

Cat and I have reservations at Virgil’s BBQ at 6:30, but otherwise no plans for the 4th.

The new constitution was approved last night, and most of the changes I wanted to make were shoehorned in without much ado. Among the changes were:

• Making the Fair Elections Committee (yep, stolen from JSA) a standing committee and integrating them into the system more.
• Allowing for the membership to remove an officer, making the exec board no longer an “old boy’s club”.
• Requiring the house as a whole to be consulted when amending the constitution, and allowing the house to repeal amendments.
• Updating the election system to allow for better polling.

And with that, the foghornization* of the constitution is complete. I’ve linked to it at the bottom of this post. And while my presidency wasn’t the shining star I hoped it would be, at least I’m leaving the floor with a functioning constitution and CSE accreditation.

*Foghornization: Antican term meaning “to make insanely more bureaucratic and harder to understand. Usually applies to legal documents or constitutions.”

IST Interest House Constitution rev. 2.2 RTM

Found out on Tuesday that Bear Stearns isn’t honoring all the commitments after all. Well, they’re trying to find alternate placement for all the interns, but I don’t think I’ll come close to the job I had at BSC anywhere they offer. So I’m back to looking for an internship, and if I can get into the network security group over at Mt. Sinai, it won’t be a total loss.

In other news, I lost the IST Interest House elections. By 10 votes. To a boy (“man” is reserved for those who deserve some semblance of respect) whose campaign was essentially “vote for me because Foghorn sucked and here’s what he did wrong,” then proceeded to interrupt my campaign speech multiple times. I don’t care what your qualifications are, if you can’t even show your opponent the common courtesy of being quiet and listening to his speech, you don’t deserve the office. I was considering accepting Vice President, but the thought of working with that arrogant, condescending liar is way too unpleasant.

After talking with a few friends, I’ve decided to try to start that debate club at Penn State, a chapter of the CSA. No, not “thuh South will rise again!” CSA, the Collegiate Society of America, JSA’s answer to bored college debaters. With a little work, I’m sure it’ll be a hit.

WordPress 2.5 is pretty, by the way.

This year has, admittedly, been a mess. A mess that every executive board member this year shares equally. And while I don’t see this mess getting much better by the end of the year, I can guarantee a better future.

I am running for re-election not because I did a good job this past year and deserve it, but rather because I am the best qualified person to bring the sense of unity that was once felt in this interest House back again. I have already served as President for one year. I know the minutiae of the housing process, understand the workings of the Housing and Food Services department, work for ResCom (which gives us the ability to ask for better network conditions), re-wrote the Constitution essentially from scratch, and have the dedication necessary to ensure that our goals are met.

This last point is very important. Two Vice Presidents this year have either resigned, or come close to it, because they didn’t have the time or energy to devote to the Interest House. In fact, I was the only Executive Board member in attendance at two of the most important meetings: when the Housing process was sprung on us at the last second, and when we had to revise our Constitution or risk being in violation of University policies. The fact is that these important meetings were missed because the Vice Presidents, and in some cases other members of the board, deemed other endeavors more important than that of the betterment of the IST Interest House. And when making a decision as to who will lead this Interest House, it is important to take note of who has repeatedly shown the most interest and dedication.

For the tl;dr crowd, I will now attempt to summarize the main points of my platform in bullet point form.

This past year, I have:

• Attended every IST Interest House meeting, more point events than the remainder of the Executive Board, and devoted more time to it than any other person.
• Fought to include provisions in the constitution that would give the members more say in what the Executive Board does.
• Created the Events Advising Committee to provide a means for the members to suggest events to the Executive Board.
• Delivered on my campaign promise of last year by having more video game events and movie nights, that were discontinued only when the feedback we were receiving indicated that those events were undesirable.

This coming year, I have a few ideas that will enhance the quality of life on the floor:

•  Instead of uniting the whole floor, as we tried and failed to do this year, encouraging the diversity of the various areas of the floor is a far better approach. I believe pitting the 4 main sections of the floor against each other in IST and non-IST related challenges for points will foster smaller communities, hopefully eventually leading to the strengthening of the larger community.
• A weekly open forum meeting for all of the members to air their grievances and give the Executive Board feedback on events and policies, as well as suggest new ones.
• More casual events, not for points, but purely for fun.
• Create a calendar at the beginning of the year, instead of the “fly by the seat of your pants” method we have been using thus far.

These are only a handful of the ideas I have for the coming year. As your current and (hopefully) future President, I feel that I am the best choice to bring this floor back together, and mold it into the wonderful place to live that it has been in the past. If anyone has any questions about my ideas, platform, or any other issues, as always, I invite you to stop by my room, share a Coke, and have a chat.