Moving on… 10 May 2008

Well, it’s been interesting. I’ve had fun with this blog, really I have. But it never really took off like I’d hoped, never really got me posting the way I wanted to, and in turn, didn’t get others reading the way I’d hoped. So it’s time to move on.

My new blog, Paradox Machine, is up and running. I’m striking out on my own; still running WordPress, but this time on my own server space, at my own domain name. So set your bookmarks, RSS readers, and whatever else you use, because CaveatScriptor is dead… long live Paradox Machine!

Thanks,

Jason

Blog Review: “Stuff White People Like” 7 March 2008

I decided to glance at the wordpress.com home page when a “featured post” caught my eye. The post was titled “#82: Hating Corporations,” and it was the latest article from a blog called Stuff White People Like. The post was a satirical look at the No Logo / Adbusters segment of anti-globalization armchair activists, and it was pretty funny. Exploring the blog a little more, I found that it was basically a numbered list of various stuff that, supposedly, white people like. It might be more accurate to say it’s a list of stuff that white hipsters like, but not exclusively, and either way, it’s a humorous, satirical example of self-parody (it’s written by a white guy). Other things that white people like include:

• #10 Wes Anderson Movies
• #63 Expensive Sandwiches
• #50 Irony
• #62 Knowing What’s Best for Poor People
• #70 Difficult Breakups
• #41 Indie Music
• #40 Apple Products
• #75 Threatening to Move to Canada
• #81 Graduate School

Anyhow, check out the blog. If you like laughing at white people, it’s definitely worth a read.

Ouch, my face! 7 December 2007

As I draft this entry, I’m sitting in the ER at University of Maryland hospital. I’m here because my chipped tooth became infected, and now the right side of my face is all swollen up.

It’s not pretty.

It’s also intensely painful, and I’m going to have to have two teeth removed. I saw a dentist yesterday at Chase-Brexton Health Services, and they gave me Augmentin and Vicodin and said if it got worse, I should come to this ER (UMMS) because it was the only one with oral surgery residents. The only positive thing about this whole experience so far is that this hospital has free WiFi. So, if you’re looking for an ER where you can get online while you’re waiting for treatment, this is the place to go.

So, here I am, in pain and waiting for treatment. I’ve been here about an hour so far. I think I’m next up, though. I’ll try to post again tonight about what eventually happens.

Two Dead, 11 Injured In Multiple Shootings, Stabbings 23 May 2007

From wbaltv.com (Channel 11 News):

BALTIMORE — Baltimore City police said two people were killed and 11 people were injured in a series of shootings and stabbings throughout Tuesday night into early Wednesday morning.Police said the violence started late Tuesday afternoon with a double shooting on East Fayette Street. They said one man was killed and another was injured by gunfire.

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What. The. Fuck.

Last night was insanely violent, even by Baltimore standards. 11 shootings and stabbings in one night wouldn’t be that jaw-dropping, however, if not for the location of some of these attacks:

In addition, four shooting victims were found along Mount Royal Avenue in two separate areas. Police said two men were discovered at Guilford Avenue and Mount Royal Avenue — one with gunshot wounds to the hip and the other is in critical condition with a gunshot wounds to the groin and head.

That intersection—the corner of Guilford and Mount Royal—is barely a block from my old building. I didn’t have any illusions about the neighborhood I was living in… occasionally we would hear gunshots from over on the other side of Greenmount Ave., and I knew people had been mugged walking to and from the building late at night. But this… well, it would be bad enough, but one could rationalize that that intersection is right next to the bridges that separate the gentrified neighborhoods from the blighted ones. The next one, however…

Police also found two more victims at Mount Royal Avenue and St. Paul Street. One man was shot in the back and the other was shot in the thigh. Both men were taken to Shock Trauma.

This intersection, just north of Mount Vernon, is well-lit, almost always busy, a block from Penn Station, and there’s a 24-hour BP station on the southwest corner. More worrisome (to me), is that it’s exactly one block from my school. Those shootings happened a block from the computer lab where I’m currently typing this post.

Here’s a Google Map of the shootings in relation to my school and former building.

Now, I’m no wuss; I’ve lived in Baltimore a long time, I’ve never been mugged or beaten or anything else, half because I don’t let myself look like an easy mark, and half because I’m just damn lucky. But I have had friends who weren’t so lucky, and I’ve seen the aftermath of shootings (in a city with 300 of them a year, it’d be kinda hard to miss). A block from my school is just a bit too close to home… er, ah… school.

And, to top it all off:

Police also reported a man was shot in the wrist and arm in the 300 block of Eutaw Street around 10:15 p.m. Tuesday.

The 300 block of Eutaw Street is right outside of Candice’s work. Luckily, she got off early that night, and had just left the area when the shooting took place. A few more minutes either way, and who knows…

Like I said, I’m not a wuss about this stuff… but despite the staggering homicide rate, I usually brag to my friends about how safe Baltimore really is (if you’re not involved a black-market economy). This time, though… damn.

Thanks to Baltimore Crime for originally bringing this story to my attention. The Baltimore Crime posting is linked here.

“Social Design” is… 17 May 2007

I’m not someone who wins contests. Games, sure. I can whoop some ass at Trivial Pursuit, make some extra beer money at low-stakes poker, and I even have my good days at a pool table (provided the other folks at the table also suck at pool). But contests… I’m never caller number ten. I’ve never held the winning ticket when it came time to draw the winners of a charity raffle, and I’ve never gotten anything from filling out a sweepstakes form.*

Today, however, I received email confirmation that yes, indeed, I was receiving a prize for being one of the first 25 readers to reply to this entry over at the website of GOOD Magazine:

GOOD readers, our friends at Design 21’s Social Design Network (read about them here) want to pose a challenge to you. They want to know how you define social design. It’s very simple and very broad. Let us know what you think in the comments. The first 25 commenters will get a GOOD t-shirt and a stainless steel Allumonde ring from Design 21. Make sure you’ve included your real email with your GOOD profile, or we won’t be able to contact you to give you your prize.

Define social design. Have a go at it.

So, I did it. I was just dicking around online anyway, and I couldn’t pass up the chance to 1) blather on about something, and 2) participate in the “online community” of my new favorite magazine (if it sounds familiar, that’s because GOOD was the source of this post, as well as being all over my del.icio.us links, and my links sidebar… okay, I’m obsessed). I didn’t really believe it when I counted and figured out that my reply was number 24. Within an hour, the contest was over… 25 replies ahd been made, and although it was pretty cool that people kept posting out of an interest in the topic (rather than the prizes), I was still wondering where my prize was! I hadn’t heard a peep. I checked and double checked, to “[m]ake sure [I'd} included [my] real email with [my] GOOD profile.” Hell yeah, I had. I counted and recounted to make sure I was really in the top 25. Yup. I got so antsy I went back and posted this comment to make sure prizes hadn’t been long ago distributed to the other 24 posters, overlooking me just because I don’t win contests. Of course, just to excuse my whiny prize-seeking, I prattled on about design, technology, open-source, etc. But we all know the real motivation for my post.

Today, though, I sat down in the computer lab, logged in to Gmail, and there it was… an email from Design 21 Promotions, congratulating me on winning, and asking for my t-shirt and ring sizes and shipping address. I haven’t so quickly and deftly composed a (coherent) email in my entire life.

I don’t know what it is about this contest in particular… I would have posted there anyway, eventually. I don’t really wear rings, and I hate wearing t-shirts that advertise for something completely unrelated to t-shirts. But the Allumonde ring is just so cool… and what it represents is such a good idea… Plus, a GOOD t-shirt? Did I mention it’s my new favorite magazine?

So… in a couple of weeks (days? months? who knows?) I should be sporting a shiny new Allumonde ring and a spiffy GOOD t-shirt… because sometimes, just sometimes… dicking around on the internet can make you a winner.

* Actually, this is only technically true. I actually did win a trip for two to a charming bed and breakfast in Williamsburg, Virginia, by filling out a newspaper entry form. This was when I was sixteen, and as the newspaper in question was the (now defunct) Baltimore Gay Paper, my christian fundie mom wouldn’t let me collect my prize. So, I’ve never gotten a prize, although I did technically win one… once… ten years ago…

De mortuis nihil nisi verum 16 May 2007

Yesterday afternoon, I happened to find myself in a car with the radio tuned to WYPR just in time for the hourly NPR news broadcast.

Falwell Dies at 73

by David Molpus

Day to Day, May 15, 2007 · Fundamentalist preacher Jerry Falwell died Tuesday at age 73.

The founder of the Moral Majority was discovered unconscious in his office at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va., about 11 a.m.

The cause of death is unknown, but he has had heart problems in the past.

Falwell was a leader of the Christian right, a group that has transformed America’s political scene.

He founded Liberty University in 1971.

That’s right… Jerry Falwell, founder of the “Moral Majority” (which was, interestingly, neither), right-wing windbag and all-around public nuisance finally improved the world by leaving it yesterday. Before I’m accused of speaking ill of the dead, or at the very least, lacking sensitivity, let me remind you, gentle reader, of the Rev. Falwell’s character.

As a grieving nation woke to face September 12th, 2001, most of us prayed that the previous 24 hours had all been a bad dream. Just as the harsh reality began to set in, Jerry Falwell appeared on the morning news shows to give his perspective on the previous day’s attacks. Did he offer a message of hope, attempting to heal and unify a wounded nation? Not exactly. Instead, he said this:

“The abortionists have got to bear some burden for this because God will not be mocked. And when we destroy 40 million little innocent babies, we make God mad. I really believe that the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, People for the American Way—all of them who have tried to secularize America—I point the finger in their face and say ‘you helped this happen.’ “

Of course… it was People for the American Way and the ACLU, not Islamic fundamentalists driven to desperate, horrific acts of terrorism by decades of misguided U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East. Ignoring for the moment the disingenuousness of his comments audacity of his shameless lies, one would have thought that even Jerry Falwell would, just this once, put aside his malignant bigotry and narrow-mindedness but, alas, Falwell was nothing if not consistent. Except where he was inconsistent to the point of blatant self-contradiction (check out this lovely assortment of Falwell quotes over at Slate.com).

I don’t want to waste too much time or bandwidth on that ignorant old fool. But I did want to mark his passing, as I like to think that with his departure from it, the world became a slightly more tolerant and loving place.

post scriptum – Happy Birthday, Kana!

Dixon outlines city crime-fighting plan 9 May 2007

Well, yesterday I promised a look at (interim) mayor Sheila Dixon’s long-awaited crime-fighting plan, which was unveiled to the public last week.

For starters, you can read the article from the Baltimore Sun. Since the Sun takes articles down two weeks after they’re published, I’ve also reprinted the article locally.

The announcement of the new crime-fighting strategy for the city is significant because one of the areas in which the mayor has the most power to directly affect the lives of Baltimore’s citizens for good or ill is through policy decisions that directly determine how the Baltimore City Police Department will conduct itself. The O’Malley administration’s “zero-tolerance” approach to policing led to vast increases in “quality-of-life” arrests for offenses such as loitering, open container violations, and other trivial infractions that crowded Central Booking and clogged the courts, leading to a situation where fewer than two-thirds of arrests were prosecuted. It also had an extremely detrimental impact on the lives of the most disenfranchised citizens, as poor, black residents of the city’s worst neighborhoods were the most likely to be arrested on these frivolous charges, often leading already precarious workers to lose what meager employment they had.

As I started to address in the previous post, one of the most frustrating effects of zero-tolerance policing has been the impact on Baltimore’s large population of citizens who suffer from substance abuse problems. Police conducting corner sweeps, while theoretically attempting to halt the sale of illegal drugs, instead pick up drug users in possession of small quantities of narcotics, while the drug dealers time after time elude them. Police, not wanting to look completely useless, arrest and charge the addicts with simple possession (or, believe it or not, attempted possession of a controlled dangerous substance, if they nab someone they think they can prove was on his or her way to cop drugs). So the dealers are back out there, to supply more drugs to the local community (and drawing “kids from the counties,” who drive downtown to buy drugs and take them back to their safe, wealthy suburbs), draining the limited resources of poor families, and to become involved in violent turf wars that drive up the city’s homicide rate as police reduce the available turf through “Safe Zones,” officers stationed around the clock on specific corners, and their ridiculous flashing-blue-light cameras.

Abandoning zero-tolerance is an important step to reducing violence in Baltimore. For the past few years, an observable spike in the murder rate has followed every major success the police have had in sweeping drug corners, as turf wars inevitably ensue. Eventually, I think we’ll come to see that the only answer is decriminalization; only then can the proper emphasis be placed on treatment and prevention. Europe figured this out years ago. But we’ve always been a bit slow over here.

The emphasis on community policing is promising, although I think that after the Stop Snitching video, and the tendency of residents who report drug activity to the police to get firebombed, it might take a while for this to really catch on in some neighborhoods.

We’ll have to wait and see what effect Dixon’s policies have. At the very least, it should allow some citizens to breathe a little easier, reduce violence, and build community involvement in public safety. With the election just four months away (the general election is actually six months away, but this is Baltimore, and the Democratic primary is the election that really counts), Dixon will be under close scrutiny, and she’s going to do everything she can to keep the mayoralty she has sought for so long. A lower murder rate, combined with the support of O’Malley’s longtime nemesis State’s Attorney Patricia Jessamy, will go a long way to help her achieve this goal.

original story |

Baltimore mayor won’t take a stance on decriminalizing drugs 6 May 2007

I’m anxiously watching and waiting to see what kind of mayor Sheila Dixon, our fair city’s unelected executive, will decide she wants to be. As the city’s chief executive, the mayor is ultimately responsible for local law enforcement, and his or her approach to crime fighting has a major impact on the lives of the city’s residents. In Bodymore, Murderland, where the annual homicide rate still hovers close to 300, a city that the FBI has called “the heroin capital of the country,” law enforcement is a Sisyphean task, especially as police are expected to continue fighting a war on drugs that was lost before it began. In Baltimore, the drugs didn’t just win, they’ve established a formidable occupation force that has won the hearts and minds of many citizens, and accepted with quiet resignation by the rest. Former police chief Ed Norris has argued repeatedly that “you can’t arrest your way out of the drug problem.” With 10% of the population addicted to heroin, and a vast number of crackheads as well, trying to use police to solve the problem is the black-market equivalent of the “supply-side economics” so loved by Republicans, who quietly ignore the fact that supply-side economics don’t work, and have only ever led to recession and economic ruin.

Given the chronic, intractable drug situation in Baltimore, people are increasingly advocating (or at least open to the idea of) decriminalization. O’Malley wasn’t among them, but Dixon is often viewed as being closer to his predecessor, three-term mayor Kurt Schmoke. I doubt any candidate will come right out in favor of decriminalization prior to the election (although Schmoke did, and he was re-elected twice!), but as this article from the Baltimore Sun indicates, Dixon also won’t come out against decriminalization; combine this with the fact that she views drug treatment, rather than punishment, as the best response to this problem, and it looks like we might see a more reasonable (and successful) approach to public safety (and public health) this year.

In a future post, I’ll look at her recently released outline of her crime-fighting strategy, and in the coming weeks I’ll profile some of the other contenders in this fall’s election.

Mayor says treatment is best
By Annie Linskey
Sun reporter
Originally published May 3, 2007
Mayor Sheila Dixon yesterday declined to say whether she supports decriminalizing the use of illegal drugs after being asked three times about her views on the topic at a news conference.

“Drug addiction is a health issue, and drug treatment and providing support services to families is so significant and key,” she said in response to a question from a television reporter. “That is where you break the cycles.”

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Police say that much of the city’s violence is fueled by the drug trade in Baltimore, and some believe that decriminalizing drug use would drastically reduce killings and shootings because crews would no longer fight over territory and money.

In 1988, former Baltimore Mayor Kurt Schmoke created a national stir when, during his first year in office, he advocated the decriminalization of illegal drugs. He was re-elected twice.

Yesterday, when Dixon was pressed to clarify her views, she said: “I already made my point. Provide people the resources they need.”

A third reporter followed up, and again asking whether Dixon supports decriminalizing drugs.

“I understood the question,” Dixon said. “For those individuals who are drug addicted, services are needed to treat and deal with the families so this cycle can be treated.”

Anthony McCarthy, Dixon’s spokesman, later noted that as mayor, Dixon does not have a role in passing state and federal drug laws.

City Councilman Keiffer J. Mitchell, a candidate for mayor in this fall’s election, declined to comment yesterday.

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New look, same great taste! 2 May 2007

So if you’ve checked back for new posts lately (that is, if anyone out there actually reads this), you may have noticed some significant changes to the look of this blog. WordPress has been adding more and more themes, and although I was pretty proud of the ridiculously simple custom header I threw together for the site, I was getting bored with the squeaky clean theme I was using (it was called Cutline). So I’ve been playing around with some different themes, and right now I’m a fan of Rounded 1.0, the current (as of 2 May 2007) theme on the site. If anyone out there actually reads this, please leave some comments to a) tell me what you think of the new theme, and b) let me know that I’m not just typing to myself!

I’ve also been playing around with the widgets over there on the right side of the page.  Recent additions I hope you’ll check out include:

• My last.fm chart. Last.fm is a great site for exploring music and social networking, which works based on “scrobbling,” which submits what music you actually listen to, (not just pretentiously claim to like) to the web. You can find my last.fm profile here.
• Flickr photos. Just the latest few shots from my photos on Flickr.
  
• Updated blogroll/links section
• Palatial MapKit. This is pretty sweet. it uses the Google Maps API to create collaborative maps that can be edited by visitors to your blog… you can create ongoing discussions about places you have in common. Coolness.

There’s other stuff, but… basically, I’m trying once again to put some real effort into this blog, and hopefully someone out there other than just me thinks it’s worth their time. We shall see…

And one more thing… 

I just want to thank Best of the Left Podcast for linking to my blog. It’s pretty nice that my favorite podcast listed me in their “Blog Friends.” If you haven’t checked out BotL, stop wasting your time here and download the latest episode… or better yet, launch iTunes, search for “Best of the Left,” and hit subscribe. 

If it seems too good to be true… 25 April 2007

So I guess I should talk about my recent occupational choices, given the enraptured tone of my naively unwary posts about my “awesome dream internship.” Yeah, right.

To be fair, the job itself was awesome. I was doing tech support for an all-Mac (on the desktop) publishing shop, and also getting to do pretty interesting projects on the server end (mostlyLinux, plus an XServe and an XRAID running Mac OS X Server), I was learning a lot, and had a pretty cool boss. Everybody told me what a “great opportunity” it was, and I completely agreed. It was beautiful. I’d be having fun, making decent money, what could be better?

The first crack in the fantasy came when my boss told me he had been reprimanded for his attempt to get me a wage at least somewhat commensurate with my skill and contribution. Still not a lot for the type of work, but hey, it’s an internship, right? He was sure they’d assent to something in the range of twelve to fifteen dollars an hour. Of course, he was sent from the meeting with his superiors chastised for even suggesting that I should get two cents more than the eight dollars an hour they pay their interns. Forget that I was doing the work of a salaried, benefit-eligible employee (more than many of them, by my boss’s reckoning), I was just an intern. I should be glad they were paying me at all, so lucky was I to have this opportunity.

Okay, I told myself, eight bucks an hour isn’t much, but I can try to get by on it, I like what I’m doing, I’m having fun, this is still a great gig. So, for a few weeks, I tried to be the best damn intern they ever had, figuring if I proved myself, maybe down the line I could ask for a raise, or maybe a real job… hell, they’d already seen fit to give me an intern…