Storm Damage

In doing some research today on the amount of damage to the City of Starkville from Hurricane Katrina, I learned that no public buildings, i.e. city hall, police department, etc. were damaged from the storm. The main financial cost to the city will be in the form of overtime for the sanitation department and gas, etc. for the chainsaws being used to cut off dead limbs. Some residents had their homes and cars damaged in the storm. I believe it will still be some time before we are able to assess that sort of damage. I also called OCH and they told me there were no storm related deaths and only a few minimal injuries.

I do feel fortunate though that we fared much better than our fellow cities to the south. We should do what we can to help those who are suffering from this tragic event. Several student organizations at MSU are collecting food and goods to send down to the volunteer forces who are working to put people's lives back together. I encourage each and every one of you to donate at least one item to help with the relief effort. If you need someone to give the item(s) to, please let me know and I will gladly take it and give it to a group for you.

CAPTCHA - Pro's and Con's

When I made my first post to the blog, I had stated that it would be used to talk about issues important to me, including city politics, state & national politics, science & technology, and various going-ons in my life. I've focused primarily on City of Starkville related posts but today i'm going to expand on an entirely different topic: CAPTCHA's.

What's a CAPTCHA? It's an acroymn that stands for Completely Automated Public Turing-Test to Tell Computers and Humans Apart.

What? You may be more familar with it in the form of images such as this:

where you are required to type the word on screen into a box to register for various sites or to post on various blogs. The purpose is to filter out automated computer programs (also known as bots or spambots) from being able to sign up for accounts to use in their spam. With the popularity of blogs, they're rapidly become a target of what is called comment spam, which is spam delivered in the form of comments from random "users" in various blogs. An example, taken from some comment spam left on Edward Sanders blog, is a comment post like this:

Anonymous said...
Hi, Blogs are very popular these days. I think you can potentially make the top 10. Go for it!

I have a Employment Screening site. I think it will eventually cover all things about Employment Screening .

Stop by if you get the change. : - )

In that example, the post was anonymous so a user account wasn't required. Many spam programs will automatically register accounts to use to make spam comments since it makes them look more "realistic" and also because some bloggers disable anonymous comments.

Blogspot, and other blog sites, are now allowing users to set a higher security setting which requires a CAPTCHA test before a comment can be posted. The idea is that this will deter spambots from posting comment spam.

There are some pro's and con's to using CAPTCHA's.

Pros:
Can deter spambots from registering/posting.

Cons:
Since CAPTCHA's are randomly created, they can occasionally be too difficult for even humans to read.
Annoyance of having an additional step to go through in doing something online.
Increased server load in image generation and storage.
Blind computer users are unable to use this and must seek assistance.

Weaknesses
CAPTCHA's are starting to lose some effectiveness now that spammers are developing software specifically for the purpose of cracking them. They will have the program scan the image and apply various transformations on it to allow various font scanning programs to read it. Good CAPTCHA's will use a variety of fonts, twists, rotations, transformations, random background noise, different colors, variable font sizes, and various other techniques to make them difficult for a computer to decipher. Again though one runs into the problem of making them too difficult for humans.

Alternatives
Various alternatives to word based visual CAPTCHA's. They include:

• logic problems ex. Which of these is not a bird? a. canary b. pigs c. woodpecker
• image based CAPTCHA's, where a user has to guess what an image is. Image recognition is much harder for computer programs to decipher.
  
• sound
• credit card verification
• live operators
• limited use accounts ex. Web-based email that only allows 10 emails a day. Prevents spam abuse from that account.
• biometrics ex. finger-print scanner
  

Personally I plan to turn on CAPTCHA on blogspot. It may not be able to deter all spam; however, if it can stop a few of them it would be worth it to me.

Links
Wikipedia Definition of CAPTCHA
W3C Accessiblity Problems with Visual Verification Systems
Spam: The Phenomenon (not about CAPTCHA's, but excellent overview on spam)

State of Emergency Declared

Today we, the Board of Alderman in Starkville, declared a local state of emergency for Starkville. It is essentially the same as what Governor Barbour has done on a state level. This will last for 7 days at which point we have authorized the mayor to decide whether to extend our state of emergency status or to have to cancelled. During this time, it will give the city more access to emergency funds as needed. Most of this will occur after the storm, right now our biggest concern is securing the safety of the citzens of Starkville and making sure everyone survives.

Stay somewhere safe, if you live in a house with structural damage or a mobile home then please proceed to a local shelter such as the First Methodist Church at the end of Main St. or Herbert Hall on campus.

Emergency Meeting of the Board of Aldermen

Mayor Dan Camp has called an emergency meeting of the Board of Aldermen to discuss the weather and what precautions the city is taking. Currently all non-essential personnel are being allowed to leave work. I checked with the Red Cross, which has set up emergency shelters at Herbert Hall on campus and the First Methodist church, and at noon they already had 38 people signed up to stay there. They have enough beds and supplies however to accommodate a fairly large crowd. I will report on the results of the board meeting after it is over.

Cheer's Future Uncertain

Over the past week or two i've heard rumors going around that the bar formerly known as Cheers, located in what was once the LaGallaria Shopping Center, may be closing down. Upon speaking to the establishment's owner last night, I learned that since being bought out the rates to rent space in the now Cotton Crossing Shopping Center have double or even tripled. As a result most if not all of the local businesses are having to relocate to other locations. Even Papa John's, a national chain, may be having to move, and even if they do not their lease, formerly a 10 year lease, has been revoked and replaced with a new 3 year lease. As far as Cheer's goes they should learn in 3 - 4 days whether they'll be offered a new lease. Word is that they may not be offered a lease renewal at all. In that case, then pending possible litigation, the establishment will have to close.

Cheers has been around for 21 years and is the oldest bar still open in Starkville. The owner was planning to renovate and increase the size, including a downstairs lounge area. It would be a shame for Starkville to lose a historic bar that even famous people such as Raphael Palmeiro and Morgan Freeman have frequented.

Pat Robertson in hot water over remark

The Vice President of Venezuela, Vicente Rangel, is upset over comments that tv envangelist Pat Robertson made on air. Pat Robertson remarked that the U.S. should assassinate Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Robertson was upset over Venezuela's relationship with communist Cuba and also accused them of being "a launching pad for communist infiltration and Muslim extremism all over the continent."

CNN reported that "[Robertson] did not explain how Venezuela was to be used by Muslim extremists. The U.S. State Department Web site says 98 percent of the population are Roman Catholic or protestant."

Full story here. (cnn.com)

City Hall Meeting - August 16th, 2005

Some of the highlights of last night's board of alderman meeting centered around three actions that the board took. They were:

1. Patrick Nordin, representing Starkville in Motion, made a presentation for a bike lane to be placed within University Drive. Patrick had been working with Bill Webb, Matt Cox, and other city officials on the plan. Representatives from Starkville in Motion contacted the residents and businesses along University Drive and the only objection came from the Catholic Church who feared losing some of their upfront parking. However, they are placing a bike rack in front as more and more of their congregration is biking to church. Matt Cox motioned approval and I seconded with the entire board approving the measure. The only pressing legal concern left is with making sure that proper maintenance is made on the paths to prevent potential accidents.

2. Jon David Cole and other select representatives from the Student Association came before the board to request permission to host Bulldog Bash in the Cotton District. This annual event also requires police and fire protection as well as electrical needs. I had previously requested that if the funds were available that enough be allocated to support the overtime fees of the police department for the event so as to save the SA money that can then be used to make the event even better. This event is a huge tourism and sale tax revenue generating event for the city and deserves to be supported. I motioned approval and Sumner Davis seconded with the entire board approving.

3. A brief presentation was made on a possible downtown location for the police department. This location would include a police department, municipal court, and new electric department all rolled into one. The preliminary plans can be viewed in this pdf that I scanned. The electric department, whose funds are seperate from the city's, can be used in land procurement as well as any development related directly to the electric department so the cost to the city will be less than what is presented. The board approved looking into this location further to get a more accurate cost estimate. Steve Langston of the Downtown Business Association voiced concern over the future location of city hall since that wasn't included in the plans. The issue over city hall is whether a new one should be built or whether the old city hall, after the police department has moved into a new complex, should be renovated. The concern is that a new city hall would require removing more land from the tax roll.

In addition to these highlights, Matt Cox also made an excellent presentation concerning the revenue portion of the city's budget. I will post a link to that presentation at a later date.

The agenda for the meeting can be downloaded and viewed here.

Wait, that's my present not my future...

After eating at the delicious Peking Chinese restuarant tonight in Columbus, I opened my fortune cookie and it said:

Someone is looking up to you. Don't let that person down.

Anyone have anything that you don't want me to let you down about?

City News from WMSV

WMSV logo from website

Starting at the end of this month, I will be hosting a short radio program on upcoming/past city hall news from 91.1 WMSV. The segment will become a part of the Perspectives radio show and will be on the last Thursday of every month. Starting at 11:30, the segment will last around 10-15 minutes. I will recap the various motions made as well as upcoming items. I will not be giving any sort of personal opinion. The format is purely an informational one without being an attempt to persuade listeners to feel one way or the other.

My desire to do this is tied in to my promise to bring local government to the people. Between this and writing for the Reflector I hope to raise awareness of city issues and how they affect us day to day.

City Budget Meeting August 9th

Last night Matt Cox, head of the budget committee, gave a presentation on what progress has been made so far towards the F.Y. 06 budget. The good news? It's balanced. The bad news? There are some additional sources of revenue and expenditures that have been mentioned/requested that could unbalance it. A indepth proposal of the new budget will be presented over the course of two board of alderman meetings to be followed by final board approval before the September 15th deadline.

If you are interested in reading Matt Cox's powerpoint presentation you can download it here.

Cold Beer passed

The board of alderman tonight approved the proposed resolution and ordinance to allow for the sale of cold beer and light wine in Starkville tonight. This change will go into effect 30 days after the ordinance is formally presented to the public in the local paper, which should be Thursday. All board members but P.C. MacLauren approved the measure.

I'm excited over the change. I have been working towards this night for the past month. I know a lot of people who will appreciate the simple privilege. I think I will celebrate by walking over to Roxies and purchasing... a cold beer.

In other news from tonight's meeting, more people attended to protest a possible change to the Planning and Zoning board. The core of the issue revolves around the fact that after the redistricting of the wards several members of the PNZ board found themselves in another ward than they were in previously. This left 4 wards: 2, 4, 6, & 7 without a representative on the board. Proposed fixes to this problem ranged from just adding 4 more members for a total of 13 to changing to board to only 7 members, one from each ward, and allowing the board members to reapply for their seat. The motion that passed was to replace one member's seat who had just left recently with one of the unrepresented wards and temporarily add 3 more seats for the other three wards. Then, in 10 months when three of the board member's terms will expire, their seat will disappear entirely and we will continue to have our 9 member board with at least one representative from each ward.

Meet the Reflector's newest guest writer

I have spoken to Elizabeth Crisp a little while back and asked to be allowed to write a bi-monthly column in the Reflector entitled "From City Hall". It will be my chance to inform students of the issues facing the board of alderman and how it may effect them. This is just one of the many things I plan to do to keep both students and citizens informed and involved in local government. Included at the end of these articles will be my email address and cell phone number should anyone need to contact me.

In addition to this initative I plan to speak to all of the fraternities/sororieties as well as various students organizations at least once a year. I will also occasionally recanvass various neighborhoods in Ward 4 to see what the current issues facing the residents are.

My goal is to not be able to walk across campus without people knowing who I am. It is important that students, faculty, and staff at MSU as well as citizens of Starkville get to know me and feel comfortable being able to approach me on various issues.

Cold Beer... finally!

What never should have happened in the first place will hopefully change at tomorrow's board of alderman meeting. I will make a motion to allow for cold beer sales in the city of Starkville. Either tomorrow's meeting will be like any other, or it will be standing room only, full of people anxious to voice an opinion one way or the other. The restriction on cold beer is unneccessary and does more harm than good for the following reasons:

• If the concern is intoxication while driving, it is far more likely for a resident to get home safely when they don't have to drive half an hour, as in West Point or Columbus, to buy their cold beer.
• Starkville loses sales tax revenue when people go to other cities to buy cold beer.
• Beer spoils faster when not kept cold, which can further drive up costs for businesses.

I personally don't believe that restricting cold beer prevents accidents. If anything, people are more likely to go ahead and drink on the way back from a half hour trip. Furthermore, as adults 21 and over, the government allows us to purchase beer. It should not then restrict the temperature of the beer itself.

Finally, cold beer is something that many of the citizens of Starkville and people who visit want to see. Earlier today I was on the air with Supertalk Mississippi discussing my opinion on the importance of electronic voting machines that create paper trails (which i'll cover in a later post). The hosts J.T. and Dave asked me when cold beer was going to be allowed in Starkville. This is something that people around the state and alumni nation-wide have wanted to see.