Opinions

Tracking DMV wait times

PROJECT on-hold due to COVID-19

THIS PROJECT IS CURRENTLY NOT COLLECTING DATA BECAUSE THE DMV IS NOT OPERATING DUE TO THE COVID 19 PANDEMIC. CHECK OUT MY OC COVID TRACKER MEANWHILE.

So I was required to visit one of our favorite state agencies, the DMV. Its been a while, and when i showed up the line was wrapping around the building.  So i went home to spare my day, and figure out a better way to accomplish this civic duty.

With some general knowledge of the existing public data, I attempted to track the wait times for all my local DMV's. and figure out where and when a good time to go to the DMV would be.

Going to the DMV website I found some interesting stats

This data provides a  general overview but not the specifics im looking for. After a little more digging I wass able to find "some what" real time wait time on the DMW website:So i proceeded to scrape those wait times into a MYSQL database every 15 minutes for each location.  Making use of that much data can be difficult, so i need to make a way to visualize the data, so i employed google charts.   If your interested in seeing the ongoing results of this project click here

  I was able to figure out the best time and location, which i will publish online after I finish my dealings with the DMV. So be sure to check back or subscribe to my site for an update.

Orange County CA Sea level Rise Threat Assessment

According to Bloomberg and the Florida State University:

To put in context 225,700 people is more than double (just under x3) the entire population of Newport Beach.

Here is what the threat assessment according to the NOAA Sea Level Rise Map

Areas Effected By Sea Level Rise according to Bloomberg scenario

Areas threaten by High Tide Flooding:

Southern Orange County appears to be physically unaffected by rising water, possibly due to elevation, but it is vulnerable to social impact, even at the present seal levels

Why using Frameworks is a MUST

A coders example of why frameworks are a MUST in application development.

    • Frameworks reduce the amount of code required to complete a task.
    • It reduces the overhead cost and time (learning curve) of bringing onboard new developers to an existing project
    • Helps keep your code clean and organized as your project grows
    • The more displined you are in adhering to MVC pattern, means less time and less cost in future development

CodeIgniter is right for you if:

  • You want a framework with a small footprint.
  • You need exceptional performance.
  • You need broad compatibility with standard hosting accounts that run a variety of PHP versions and configurations.
  • You want a framework that requires nearly zero configuration.
  • You want a framework that does not require you to use the command line.
  • You want a framework that does not require you to adhere to restrictive coding rules.
  • You are not interested in large-scale monolithic libraries like PEAR.
  • You do not want to be forced to learn a templating language (although a template parser is optionally available if you desire one).
  • You eschew complexity, favoring simple solutions.
  • You need clear, thorough documentation.

 

Now for the good stuff…

Querying Data from SQL

CodeIgniter (4 Lines of code)


$query = $this->db->get('table_name');
foreach ($query->result() as $row)
{
echo $row->title;
}

VS

PHP (LOTS OF LINES OF CODE) Using Codeigniter all the configuartion settings are automatically loaded and avaliable EVERYWHERE and ANYWHERE

$servername = "localhost";
$username = "username";
$password = "password";
$dbname = "myDB";

// Create connection
$conn = new mysqli($servername, $username, $password, $dbname);
// Check connection
if ($conn->connect_error) {
die("Connection failed: " . $conn->connect_error);
}

$sql = "SELECT id, firstname, lastname FROM MyGuests";
$result = $conn->query($sql);
if ($result->num_rows > 0) {
// output data of each row
while($row = $result->fetch_assoc()) {
echo "id: " . $row["id"]. " - Name: " . $row["firstname"]. " " . $row["lastname"]. "<br>";
}
} else {
echo "0 results";
}
$conn->close();

This is just one example, to learn more about working with SQL via codeigniter

HELPERS

Toolbox of useful Code aka Collection of Functions that help simply coding such as
Dealing with Dates, Arrays, HTML, Forms, Cookies, Sessions, etc

Example Dates HELPER


//Makes all Date Helper Functions readily avaliable
$this->load->helper('name');

$bad_date = '199605';
// Should Produce: 1996-05-01
$better_date = nice_date($bad_date, 'Y-m-d');

For a complete list of CI helpers available

 

Libraries (Object Oriented Library of Common Tools)

Example of sending complex emails


//Load Library
$this->load->library('email');

$this->email->from('your@example.com', 'Your Name');
$this->email->to('someone@example.com');
$this->email->cc('another@another-example.com');
$this->email->bcc('them@their-example.com');

$this->email->subject('Email Test');
$this->email->message('Testing the email class.');

$this->email->send();

Without Framework you would have to add third party files SUCH as PHPMailer and add Includes on top of each page, coding alot more method calls

PAGINATION LIBRARY Codeigniter


$this->load->library('pagination');

$config['base_url'] = 'http://example.com/index.php/test/page/';
$config['total_rows'] = 200;
$config['per_page'] = 20;

$this->pagination->initialize($config);

echo $this->pagination->create_links();

Check out the list of libraries for almost everything you could possibly need 

Black Fly Aircraft coming in 2019

1-2



Possible game changer in personal aviation

This aircraft will be available for sale this year.  Here's why I think this aircraft stands out and could possible be a game changer for personal aviation

-Affordable (Cost of an SUV)

-No Pilots license required (Ultra Light Class)

-Vertical Take off and Landing

-Propiertary Engine, designed fail proof via redundancy (Parachute included)

-Small engine and propeller, so no large heavy parts falling from the sky.

-Developed in adherence to US regulatory laws (it'll be legal)

Currently the only thing holding this back from possibly being the next Tesla, is the current regulatory restrictions and civil ordinance, just like self driving cars, that will take a bit of time, but flight in our lifetime may now be possible.

Analyzing journalism today

Original Article Posted on INFORUM.com

Is it just me, or is the authors hatred  expressed in this article greatly concerning.   This seems to be a common pattern I see in publishing these days generally from the anti-trump crowds on both sides of the political divide.

 

Letter: Fox News is the real “fake news”

Every morning and evening I watch and read the news. And every day I am so very thankful to the news media for getting the truth out to the public. They investigate and report the truth.

However, there is one exception: Fox News. There is your “fake news,” and Trump relishes in it.

 

Cognitive Bias: This is favoring information that conforms to your existing beliefs and discounting evidence that does not conform. The author

Trump relishes in Fox news because it supports him, just like you support every other news outlet because they don’t support

 

Just lately, I was able to watch Fox News since I don’t have cable. I was shocked at their reporting such garbage.

Our Founding Fathers formed the greatest free democracy, which included freedom of speech. Trump is trying to erode that, among other rights, by lying and conniving every way he can. There is a great saying, “Behind smoke is fire.”

Trump admires a dictatorship. He would like to see our government that way. He admires Putin the way he governs.

 

If trump was really a dictator, you wouldn’t be able to perpetuate such baseless lies publicly against an individual you clearly know nothing about.  I hope you see this Joan Kieffer because maybe now you’ll know what it feels like to have a stranger publishing negative things about you, feels like.  Luckily for you, I will do so objectively off your own words, supported by legitimate references.

Our Founding Fathers fled from tyranny to form our beautiful nation.

Wake up, people. You want to live under communism?

 I hope the founding fathers wake up, and educate you on what communism really is.  If communism is your biggest fear, then you should be happy Republicans believe in small government, the left believes in big government.  Communism needs a large government presence.

Trump America is not a dictatorship. The sooner he’s out of office, the better.

Look up facism in the dictionary: authoritarian, militaristic system of government. Not America!

Please look up the definition of Communism too! So where is Trump leading us to fascism or communism? I’m not a political science major, but I’m pretty sure it cant be both:

Communism: International theory or system of social organization based on the holding of all property in common, with actual ownership ascribed to the community or state. Rejection of free markets and extreme distrust of Capitalism in any form.

Facism: An extremely nationalistic, authoritarian state usually led by one person at the head of one party. No democratic election of representatives. No free market. No individualism or individual glory. The State controls of the press and all other media.

 

Articles such as this are greatly concerning to me, there is no room for logical debate with these types of people, as they are driven entirely by emotions (strong hatred) , and its like a fast moving cancer that is infecting the public discourse, that will inevitably spawn into violence and civil unrest and possibly civil war.  Its a distraction, the real enemy is both republican and democrat, the true enemy to our country is the “deep state” and  lobbyist/corporations/banks.

 

Scientific Data that Proves Global Warming is another Lie

A recording of a testimony from Dr. Don Easterbrook before the United States Senate Environment & Energy Committee, for which he provides a lot of weather data and facts that contradict the global warming narrative. Dr Easterbrook states upfront he is not backed by any special interest, and his only funding for his research is from government tax funding. Some important things he points out, is that there is no correlation between Co2 emissions and global warming. CO2 emissions didnt increase until after the 1940’s during the rise of the industrial era, during which time all records show that the earth temperature was cooling, also the measurement of CO2 in the overall atmosphere is not even close to 1%, he touches on all the important points.

Thank You Dr Don Easterbrook, for giving the truth a voice, it’s refreshing to be presented with data and no BS.

Global Warming Is A blatant LIE & This video scientifically Proves it.

The cost of ignoring lies and accepting negatives for self preservation

 

These are interesting times. On one hand there are changes happening on a global scale that can’t really be ignored much longer. On the other hand the majority of the population seem to live their lives as if everything is just as it always is and always will be, locked in a tunnel vision of personal and material interest.

As long as we keep lying to ourselves based on conditioning, wishful thinking, suppression or denial and believe the lies “out there”, mistaking them for truth, nothing will change. This goes also beyond having a “positive” attitude, where hope can be merely a trap and lie to the self. Believing in lies that are “positive” in appearance (regardless how well-meaning the intent or good-hearted the person) is actually being negative and blocks one’s awareness and spiritual evolution. Being positive can mean acknowledging something negative because it is the truth, seeing it for what it is. If you believe a lie, even if it seems positive and makes you “feel good”, you give away your free will and that has spiritual implications. In these times of transition it becomes imperative to do seek truth and strive towards objectivity so we don’t take the “wrong” turn into entropy.