hale.of.bay

...as I stall to embark on my policy analysis research paper about how population cluster sizes shape attitudes on immigration and illegal immigrants...my mind refuses to think of anything but time lines about where I lived and when. I guess if I'm going to skip class and fuck around on the internet, I may as well do a census.gov/memory warm up exercise and try to get this bullshit out of my head (and the vein of Monty Python... get on with it!).

June 19th, 1982 - August 2000 = Tipton city, Iowa, 3,110.
August 2000 - December 2000 = Ames city, Iowa, 51,557.
December 2000 - September 2001 = (brief summer stint in Bemidji, MN) Tipton city, Iowa
September 2001 - October 2002 = Winter Park city, Florida, 28,083.
November 2002 - December 2002 = Tipton city, Iowa
December 2002 - May 2003 = (sometimes Manhattan) Brooklyn borough, New York, 2,465,326.
June 2003 - July 2006 = Atlanta city, Georgia, 486,411.
July 2006 - December 2006 = Iowa City city, Iowa, 62,649.
December 2006 - NOW = ATLANTA!!!

Studies show there is an identifiable correlation between the two variables discussed above, and as a transient observer, I can definitely attest to fact that people are shaped more by their environment and habitat than they may realize. However, thinking in terms of sheer city size seems short sided... and to understand a true connection between one thing and another...you must analyze hundreds of variables that could possibly resemble a composite of a person's ideological framework. But perhaps a place based variable does actually realistically depict a probable ideology- as a person defined by their dwelling could be considered an ultimate amalgamation of character. A city space being a sum total of all that is, in one given area...(buildings, streets, cars, ethnic diversity, lack there of, jobs, houses, money, jobs, schools, old people, kids, crime, sex, etc.) I guess where I struggle is knowing where I'm from, knowing who I am, and then realizing that "studies show" I'm less likely to feel a certain way or do a certain thing about whatever based on a sample (and also how the city size variable discounts regional differences). I understand the concept of standard deviation and outliers, but I also know that I'm not some rare anomaly. Often times I fear statistical observations in that I feel they dangerously misdefine huge segments of the population. And when it comes to policy and resource allocation, huge mistakes are made everyday, and have been made in the past, causing cyclical failure as people struggle to fit into a numerically designed system, whether they are aware of this or not. But in the future, I think our traditional ways of data collection and statistical analysis will be obsolete...it just won't be current enough, fast enough, applicable enough...maybe it will even be laughable as people realize how much was missed by over relying on numbers when direct observation could have easily constructed so many more connections?



























...in other thoughts, I'm really stoked on CCR and Rush right now...
(closer to the heart OR freewill might be my new summer theme song!?!)
Also, I hope the dream of preforming Fortunate Son topless that is shared by Erin and I will sooooon became a reality. YEOW!