the bofe blog

After some interesting experiences in Kansas City last week, It was invigorating to dive back into web application development, but it was disheartening seeing sides of the corporate world that all of the business classes underplay.

I’ve decided my ultimate goal is to go into business for myself.

It has been a tough decision to make, but I feel like I’ve got time on my side. Like Scott has said, if there was a time to screw up… it’s now. That one ‘hot’ geek also thinks it’s good to get into business now. I do not have money on my side, though. I cannot sustain on my own for the few months it would take for me to write my flagship application.

There are still options. I’m still applying for great jobs when I see them, but I can’t help to think about what I really want to be doing.

My ideas are there. Hell, the database schema is (mostly) done. If I can land a cushy job that actually allows me to breathe, I’ll be developing my own PHP framework to build my app and other apps.

So, like Cass Elliot says…

And if you will not take my hand
Then I must be going, I’ll understand
You gotta make your own kind of music
Sing your own special song
Make your own kind music
Even if nobody else sings along

And now, off to Dallas, TX for the 2006 AITP national conference.

(15:50:08) p ART y c 0w: had to pay the cahtoilcs like 500 dolla

Thanks, Adam.

Thanks to Craig for taking me to the Deftones/Thrice show on the Taste of Chaos tour on my birthday.

And thanks to the 40 something facebook well wishers.

Oh, and thanks to the family for the iTunes gift certificates. I’ve bought:

• Shostakovich full symphonies 1, 7, 9, and 10.
• Richard Cheese – Lounge against the Machine
• Sufjan Stevens – Greetings from Michigan – The Great Lake State

23 already rocks.

Easily one of the most useful functions in PHP.

In order to protect against SQL/code injection attacks, developers are encouraged to sanitize your input. This gets to be a little bit of a hassle applying sanitation functions to 200 form variables and 8 URL variables.

The answer? Array Map.

$_GET = array_map(“sanitize”, $_GET);
$_POST = array_map(“sanitize”, $_POST);

Sanitize is a user-defined function that employs strip_tags and trim, among other hacker defeating elements.

It’s that easy.

I’ve had a pretty awesome time traveling every time I’ve gone somewhere this semester.

I’ve already hit two awesome locations:

• San Diego, CA
• St. Louis, MO (saw my buddy Rick P )

Now I’m about to hit two more:

• Kansas City, KS (getting to see Craig Clayton )
• Dallas, TX (going to the AITP national conference)

Where after that? Who knows.

Everyman: A Romantic Comedy is a movie my friend and roommate John filmed over the past year.

Check it out on Google Video. My other roommate, Matt, is the bassoonist. Quite a bit of it was filmed in our apartment.

I’ve gotten some good feedback on my previous post.

It depends on what I want.

So what do you want?

How do you decide what you want?

Here’s my general list (in no order):

• 100% fiscal self sufficiency, without having to worry at all.
• Good weather. I realize this means that job I’ve been talking about with a couple of people in London would probably be out… but that’s a dream job.
• A challenging job.
• A core of friends/family available at all needed times.

For some reason, I have this idea ingrained that I have to prove myself. To my parents, to my peers, to everyone. I don’t know what would do that.

Money’s a good thing. It isn’t the only thing. I’m not a soul-less capitalist bastard, but if I’m not doing anything better… might as well cash in.

Sorry about the sporadic thoughts.

By the way, a new addition to the sidebar: my resume.

You’re going to be 23 soon. You’re graduating from college. You’re single. You’re surrounded by great people where you are. You MAY be able to find gainful employment in the area. You can definitely find gainful employment elsewhere.

What would you do? Why?

I’m in 6 classes this semester, 4 business classes. Each one of my business classes claims to know “What went wrong at General Motors”.

The synopsis:

• ECO310 (Global Economics) – Previous trade restrictions put on Japanese imports (see voluntary export restrictions) have nipped us all in the butt
• MGT443 (Operations Management) – Quality Assurance wasn’t done properly at GM or any American auto manufacturer. Failure ensues.
• BPA442 (Business Ethics) – Poor ethical decisions were made at GM. There was not enough altruistic thought throughout the company.
• MGT590 (Strategic Management) – Poorly formed strategy was poorly implemented from the brass at GM.

Possible candidates from my non-business classes:

• AST199 (Astronomy) – Due to the current phase of the moon and Venus, it should have been obvious to GM not to spend so much.
• ENG101 (English 101) – An improperly worded memo reached the desk of the CEO which caused an irreversible chain of events.

A friend recently gave me a copy of the university’s concert choir concert.

This was recorded in 2002-2003, in the Performing Arts Hall at Murray State University, Murray KY.

mata_del_anima_sola.mp3—Mata del Anima Sola by Antonio Estévez. Featuring Aaron Lundy, Tenor, Conducted by Dr. Bradley Almquist.

Wow, our concert choir is badass. So is our Wind Ensemble. I’ll find a recording of them this week.

The lyrics, translated:

Tree of the lonely soul, wide opening of the riverside—Now you will be able to say: here slept the clear song.
With the whistle and the sting of the twisting wind,
the dappled and violet dusk quietly entered the corral.
The night, tired mare, shakes her mane and black tail above the riverside,
and in its silence, your heart of phantoms is astounded.

A Random Pet Peeve Of Mine Is When People Use Initial Caps On Every Single Word They Type. It Gets To Be Quite Annoying.

That Is All.