Tobacco Road

Everywhere, around the world

The fall color guy

Fall is one of my four favorite seasons. Dr. Howard S. Neufeld, a professor of plant ecophysiology in the Department of Biology at Appalachian State University is the, well, the fall color guy. Through his blog and website, he and his informal team of leaf watchers prognosticate and document fall color in the mountains. Among the interesting information is his prediction map (click to enlarge):

Why "hits" are not websites and why "porn" is not porn

(Greensboro, NC) From the Public Library's logs, the following were identified by the content throttling software as porn hits.

...and scripting files like this, a JavaScript file the user does not see but that is delivered to the user's computer to control some function of the web page behind the scenes:

Takeaway:

1. Filters identify and log things as porn that are not porn.
   
2. Filters count and log as "hits" not just web pages but all of the components that combine to construct a web page, like those above. "Hits" do not equal web pages or web sites any more than any of the items above are websites or web pages.

Sheriff Barnes and challenger Wadsworth on association's call for access to prescription database

(Greensboro, NC) The N.C. Sheriffs Association wants state lawmakers to allow sheriffs to have access to the state's Controlled Substance Reporting System database. The system tracks prescriptions for painkillers and other controlled substances.

I emailed Guilford County Sheriff B.J. Barnes (R) and his election challenger Phil Wadsworth (D) to get their opinions on the proposal. I would like to thank both men for their quick and serious replies.

The question I originally asked was:

Do you agree with the position of the N.C. Sheriffs Association that law enforcement have access to the state's computerized list of people with prescriptions for pain killers and other controlled substances?

Wadsworth's answer:

No, I don't agree with this.

Barnes' took exception with the premise of my question:

No, nor does the Sheriff's Association agree with what the paper wrote.* Our interest is to get the access the DEA and SBI have when we are working on a case where we have probable cause to believe a crime is being committed.  I would never support just a blanket access, we have NO business with that nor does anyone else.

Fair enough, but I was left wondering:

Would you have any objection to requiring a search warrant first -- so that a judge can determine if there is probable cause?

Barnes replied:

The issue is doctor shopping and forged prescriptions and people abusing the system. Without a complaint or information from a identifiable source we would not have reason to look into anyone's history.  You need these things as a basis for our investigation before looking into anyone's private information.  We use probable cause as a basis for every arrest and search warrant we do. That's the process we use now.  The state has eleven officers who have access to these records now to help stop the aforementioned violations, what the sheriff's are looking for is some not all officers to assist with those investigations, especially in the smaller counties where resources are sparse.

I still wasn't sure I understood where Barnes stood and I did not want to jump to any conclusions or read between the lines, so I had two more questions for Barnes:

Do you support the proposed change? Is there any criteria for how the selected personnel would be selected?

His reply:

No, only criteria on how and when it would be accessed.  I can't tell you if I support it or not, I would need to see the legislation that would make it a possibility. I support the concept but I want see how they intend on it working.  I'm not for anything that would impede law enforcement, but I will not support anything that stomps on individual rights.

[Note: Extraneous information edited from answers. The portions of answers included here are contiguous -- no internal edits.]
[* Barnes made this comment before the N&R published the story referred to above.]

More on the interim city attorney's disqualifications: Important Rhino reminders

A few days ago, I posted a video reminder of the current interim city attorney Becky Jo Peterson-Buie's hostility towards transparency and public records law. The Rhinoceros Times' editor John Hammer has an article that offers a more thorough look at Peterson-Buie's history and it reminds us of the many reasons why she should not get the city attorney position permanently. From Hammer's piece:

In February 2008, Margaret Banks, who was the city reporter for the News & Record, requested a memo dealing with some of the investigations in the Police Department that led to then City Manager Mitch Johnson locking then Police Chief David Wray out of his office. Peterson-Buie in an email responded that no memo of that description could be found, therefore the city could not release it.  [snip]

In this case the News & Record would have been forced to accept the proclamation that the memo didn't exist except for the fact that The Rhino Times had a copy of the memo. In fact, The Rhino Times had two memos that met the description of the News & Record's public records request. It is devilishly hard to describe a document you don't have, but Banks had done a good job and we instantly recognized the documents she was after. To help out our friends at the News & Record, we published one memo on the front page one week and another memo on the front page the next week. The city was forced to admit that it also had copies of the memos.

Hammer is also critical of Peterson-Buie's lack of understanding of parlimentary procedure, a good example seen here:



For what it's worth, I've seen Peterson-Buie in the courtroom. She's good there--fast on her feet, focused and forceful. She is certainly not without her competencies, she just should not, in my opinion, be in a position where her opinions would shape the city's policies or affect its interactions with the media and public.

Council representative Danny Thompson: prevaricator extraordinaire

(Greensboro, NC) Yesterday, I posted a file from the public library that I explained logged 500 hits from websites that the bandwidth shaping software identified as porn. Last night, Danny Thompson misrepresented my findings to the public during the city council meeting.

In the post, I asked readers to look at the file and see two things for themselves:

1. Many items flagged as porn are not porn at all.
2. Each counted item does not represent a web page. These logs also count images, styling files, script files and other elements that combine to compose a single web page. Each item is a hit. Hits are what are counted, not websites. There were 500 hits.

I did not think I could make it any more clear or convincing. As I wrote:

"It should be comprehensible to the rational mind that these are not 500 'visits' or even 'pages.'...It shows why it is disingenuous to report these items as counting 'porn site visits.'"

So what does Internet filter advocate and at-large City Council representative Danny Thompson do? At last night's council meeting, he refers to this blogger and announces that the information I requested* and evaluated reports the very thing I explained it did not report, his remarks conforming to what I said is disingenuous.

Thompson: "From twelve thirty to eight thirty P.M. I understand there was about 500 inappropriate or pornographic websites on August the twenty-third that Cymphonix had counted."

No. Wrong. There were not 500 websites. That is what I explained there were not. There were 500 hits (and many of those were not even to porn sites). As the library has explained, as I have explained and as Sue Polinsky has explained, hits do not equate to websites and interchanging them reveals the kind of ignorance that disqualifies one from claiming knowledge of the issue or it is the kind of prevarication that disqualifies one from elected office.

Thompson waves a stack of library incident reports.

Previously, Thompson waved a stack of nearly 200 incident reports from the library at a council meeting and implied that a majority of them were for viewing porn or inappropriate web sites when, in fact, only twenty-one were. Subsequently, somebody misrepresented the findings of another report from the library before it became public to Tony Wilkins who transcribed the mistaken information to his blog, crediting it to anonymous sources. Now there is this third misrepresentation.

If Thompson is unconcerned with establishing a reputation as a prevaricator, that is his business, but when he takes the careful fact-based analysis of this blogger and misrepresents it to the public, that is downright contemptuous -- of me and the public he represents. It is sinister and unworthy of an elected official.

[* Thompson also misstated what I had requested in my records request: Thompson said, "He asked how many web sites were, inappropriate websites, were attempted in one day." No, I did not ask for that, I asked for log files. But it helps Thompson to set up his deception by saying I had asked for what he is going to wrongly say the record reports, as if he's thinking, "I want to say this reports the number of websites, so I'll say that is what Roch asked for even though it is not."]

Rush Radio 94.5 appropriating web content from another newsorg, again

(Greensboro, NC) After a brief hiatus, Rush Radio 94.5 is again appropriating content from another newsorg for its web site (previously, previously, previously, previously and previously). This time they embedded a chart from this story at WFMY's Digtriad.com into a story on the Rush Radio 94.5 site.

Here is the chart in the story on WFMY's site:

Here it is on Rush Radio 94.5's site:

Pornish? Not really.

(Greensboro, NC) What does the library's internet access control software identify as porn? Here are some from one recent afternoon/evening:

http://yumyummagazine.com/index.html
http://jetpayday.com/?sub=19139
http://www.lazombie.com/matrice.swf
http://carbackgroundwallpapers.com/images/britney_spears.jpeg
http://carbackgroundwallpapers.com/images/5.gif
http://media1.keepbusy.net/content/epic-combo.swf
http://greensboro.craigslist.org/w4m/
http://truongton.net/forum/picture.php?albumid=10471&pictureid=138331

Smell that? A nose for nothin'

(Greensboro, NC). I saw on the city council agenda for tonight's meeting a change to the franchise fee paid by telecommunications companies for the public right of way they use for fiberoptic cable.

Accommodating Google?

Unfortunately, no. The city says they've had no communications from Google regarding our proposal since confirmation of its receipt. But, we did get a shoutout in Google's thank you video.

"Porn's" greatest hits

[Update: Some items flagged by the library' system as porn that are not porn.]

(Greensboro, NC) In response to a records request, I have received a report from the public library generated by their Cymphonix internet filtering system.* It reports items ("hits") throttled as porn on library computers from 12:29 P.M. to 8:49 P.M on August 23rd, 2010. It shows why it is disingenuous to report these items as counting "porn site visits."

Prodded by a previous report from the library, some local bloggers confused internet "hits" with site "visits" even though the library's report cautioned that a single web page may account for multiple hits and that counting the hits was not the same as counting visits. Tony Wilkins acknowledged the misinterpretation. Joe Guarino repeated the error without correction, twice.

With this file, we can see for ourselves what a number reporting "hits" actually reports. Scroll through the log and you will see multiple image files (extensions of gif, jpg and jpeg),  icon files (ico), formatting files (css) and scripting files (js). These are in addition to and separate from the entries for web pages (html files) but they load as components of a web page and get counted as individual items -- hits. These are the items that, as the library initially explained in their report, result in multiple hits being reported for a single web page. So, while this list shows 500 hits, it should be comprehensible to the rational mind that these are not 500 "visits"or even "pages."

* The library is working with the vendor, I am told, to figure out why the system is failing to report more than five hundred items but, for now, the available log is substantially instructive.

[The items in the log file are in reverse chronological order. ]
8/23/2010 Greensboro Library throttled internet hits

City Legal

(Greensboro, NC) Becky Jo Peterson-Buie has been appointed interim city attorney. I do not think the city would benefit from appointing her to the position permanently. She abuses the state personnel laws to bludgeon public records requests.

Crime reports are public record. If you or I get charged with a crime, that information is public. But here is Peterson-Buie arguing that city employees, by nature of their employment with the city, have special status--that information about their alleged crimes should be kept secret without the approval of City Council.

"In order to release the date, time, location and nature of the alleged violation, it needs to be done the way we have advised, you need to go into closed session to discuss the matter because it's personnel matter..."

When mommies attack

(Greensboro, NC) Local coffee shop asks breast feeding mom to leave. Mom is forum moderator for Triad Mommies, with lots of mommy friends. Mommies bomb coffee shop's facebook page and plan a nurse-in at the coffee shop.

Blue Boar Inn

 The Blue Boar Inn

After three nights of camping at the quite nice Standing Indian Campground near Franklin, N.C., Kathy and I spent our next night at the charming and secluded Blue Boar Inn in Graham County, North Carolina. Located on pristine Lake Santeetla near Robinsville, the inn was originally built in the 1950's as a hunting lodge by a Cincinnati beer magnate. It has since been renovated and updated with each of its eight rooms now including a private bath, sitting area, private porch, TV, telephone and CD player. Wireless internet access is available and there is a computer terminal in the lobby for the use of guests.


View Larger Map

The real charm of the Blue Boar though is not the amenities common to a modern hotel, the Blue Boar is exceptional for the pleasant and serene atmosphere created by the mother and daughter owner/operators through their attention to detail and loving care. We were not only provided a CD player, for example, but there were three disks with selected music labeled morning, afternoon and evening. The desk in the sitting area had guide books for nearby hiking trails and for identifying local birds and plants. Common areas are eclectically appointed and comfortable. And the grounds? Storybook.Not in a Disney way, but in an epitome-of-real-love-and-human-effort way.

View of the pond

While the inn offers dinner five nights a week, we were there on an off night so we scooted a few miles up the road to Snowbird Lodge for dinner, the only place to get an adult beverage in the county as it turns out. Graham county is a dry county--bone dry--even the grocery stores are prohibited from selling beer or wine, so bring your own or visit the restaurant or bar at Snowbird which has a "country club" exception to the alcohol prohibitions.

Snowbird is a rustic yet beautiful place with a view of the Smokey Mountains that you'd swear is too perfect to be real. They offer a prix fixe menu of quality entrees and an extensive wine and liquor menu including a mindbogglingly vast selection of scotches. A funny thing happened to us during dinner that added to our delight. After we were seated, Kathy kept saying to me, "I know the hostess from somewhere." I was sure I'd never seen her before, although I had. Kathy kept at it and finally waived the hostess over and introduced us. Her name was Tina, she said. Kathy proceeded with the usual starting places for solving the "where do I know you from" riddle. Schools, home towns, work...

Tina was coy. Kathy insistent. Finally, Tina fessed up: "I won Survivor," she said. Ah, yes! That Tina.

 A private patio

Before bed, I took a walk around the flowered grounds of the Blue Boar, around the lily-padded pond with splashing fountain and croaking bullfrogs and back to the inn twinkling like a ship at night, floating in the forest pitch.

Breakfast

The next morning, we dined on the complimentary breakfast then headed down to the lake for what was to be a short paddle in one of the Blue Boar's canoes. The warmth of the sun met the cool morning breeze to make paddling seem effortless, cozy almost, and the green of the water was so pure it was hypnotizing. We kept going further and further along, nearly an hour and a half out and back, never seeing another soul on the way. We packed our bags, said goodbye and thanks to owner Pam then headed to the nearby Cherohala Skyway and to hike in the Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest.

The grounds

The Blue Boar Inn is one of those special places where the experience transcends the place; where the physical is perfectly in support of the soulful. The price was more than we usually spend for accommodations, even after procuring a last-minute deal. But it was so thoroughly serene and invigorating that I can only recommend it.

Common sitting area

Sanctimonious bullshit

(Greensboro, NC) Joe Guarino continues to wag his scolding finger at people who do not bow to his moralizing. His new gig is to accuse people who dare to think about internet access at the public library with any depth or complexity as "relativists." This time his target is City Council representative Zack Matheny.

In typical Guarino fashion, he impugns Matheny's character through innuendo then levels his indictment:

"Matheny's posited insistence that proposing filters at public libraries is not a 'black and white issue' is a statement that smacks of relativism."

It is condemnable "relativism," according to Joe, because Matheny's proposals would fail to completely stop people from viewing porn at the library. But here's the thing, Joe's preferred solution of mandatory "porn" filters on all computers would also fail to completely stop people from viewing porn. Both options are "relativistic." 

"Porn" filters are imperfect and defeatable and, as such, would still allow people to engage in the practices Joe wants to stop. The difference between porn filters and other options is the answer to the question of to whom do we give responsibility for imperfect options? Joe would bestow responsibility on the imperfect policing of a corporation that also blocks legitimate content, others would give responsibility to users of the library and library staff. 

The only "absolute" means of prohibiting anybody from ever viewing sexually explicit content on a library computer is to remove the computers. By not advocating for the absolute solution, Joe places himself among the "relativists" -- which makes his self-righteous moralizing accusations a pile of sanctimonious bullshit.

Ranford Almond

Eleven years old, from Browns Summit, NC.

Funky Funky from a secret location in Greensboro

One of the things about getting older is that you start seeing things and think, "Too late for that."

This, I wish I could.

BBoy battle from a secret location in Greensboro. (Found on Greensboro 101)

Records request foot dragging

 Custodians of public records shall respond to all such requests as promptly as possible.
-- North Carolina law

I made a records request of the City of Greensboro. One of the records provided was an email that refers to an attachment, but I did not receive the attachment. I asked for the attachment. I asked again. Then a third time I asked for it or an explanation of the delay. I am told, it is "being worked on."

Why does a document already in existence and already having been attached to another email need to be worked on?

Regionalism = Greensboro, diluted

(Piedmont Triad, Milky Way Galaxy) I've never understood the love affair local leaders have with "regionalism." Sure, I get the self-interested appeal of it to absentee conglomerate-owned "local" media but the glee with which people elected to represent Guilford County and especially Greensboro embrace it makes no sense to me.

Rob Bencini (hat tip Vie de Malchance) nails it:

Successful regions almost universally have successful cities as their lead.  With the notable exceptions of Silicon Valley and Research Triangle Park, very few regions stand above their principal city.  The Piedmont Triad Partnership, contrarily, has been adamant that it is regions, not cities, that are central to economic development success.  In a world that is largely unaware of Greensboro – and to a similar degree Winston-Salem and High Point – getting others to acknowledge the existence of the Piedmont Triad (Partnership) has proven to be expensive and futile.

And

If Greensboro, which shows up on a real map, has an airport, is the largest city in the 36th  largest MSA in America, has a coliseum that routinely gets big-time acts and regularly hosts the televised ACC Men’s Basketball (and other) tournament(s), is home of the International Civil Rights Museum and the historic 1960 sit-ins, is known among golfers as a host city of a PGA Tour stop, and is the home to five colleges and universities and a law school can’t get enough name recognition to move the meter, how in the world can skipping a step of identity to promote a blandly-titled, geographically-marginally matched region have a chance in this world of gaining meaningful attention and developing national/international name recognition?