Blog of Josh Hall

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08003/846452-100.stm?cmpid=news.xml

Looking good!  Hill district getting a grocery store, developing the YMCA, and probably a bunch of good jobs reserved for residents.  This will really help with the new housing assitance law that passed Jan 1st.  People who have no jobs or income were paying $25 for rent at some places, but come 2008, they are paying $150.  When I went driving around on the 1st, I saw at least 3 people moving out, for what I could only assume because of that change.  So, we’ll give jobs to those who are able to work and that will justify the increase.  The other offset is tearing down old housing buildings in the projects and replacing it with nicer but smaller mixed income communities.  These work.  Crawford square, bedford hill, and oak hill are all mixed income and they’re beautiful, safe, and wonderful.  I lived in crawford square for 3-4 years before I bought my house a few blocks away.

Now all i gotta do is come up with a good purpose to get some money to buy/revitalize the new granada theatre and we’ll be all set.  I love that building.  LOVE.  I’d really like to see a music venue or jazz club, but i don’t think they’ll be up for commercial purposes.  Maybe we’ll see.

What the heck is up with all the bank robberies in the pittsburgh area recently?!?!  HOLY CRAP.  I think since they filmed that FX movie with Donny Wahlberg about a bank robbery in the city, there have been nearly a dozen.  It’s ridiculous.  You’d think after the first couple that other banks would be thinking, "hmmm, maybe we should invest in better security."  I bet people who are desparate enough to rob a bank right now are thinking, "Wow, if that many people can rob a bank and get away with it, maybe I can."  It’s dumbfounding how so many are going on.  Let me try and count all the headlines…

1. January 2nd – South Side – http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08002/846067-100.stm?cmpid=news.xml
2. December 27th – North Huntington – http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07362/844932-59.stm
3. December 20th – Somerset – http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07356/843754-56.stm
4. December 13th – Latrobe – http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07348/841713-100.stm
5. December 13th – West Mifflin – http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07347/841489-100.stm
6. December 12th – Neshannock – http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07348/841615-54.stm
7. December 11th – Morningside – http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07345/840783-100.stm
8. December 10th – West Newton – http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/valleyindependent/news/s_543194.html

There were a few convenient store robberies as well.  Is this just the holiday season or what?  I just don’t understand how these people are robbing these banks.

When I was around 7 or so, my parents decided to split.  I don’t remember particularly why, but it was decided that J’aime and I both needed to see psychiatrists as a result.  Actually, I don’t remember if J’aime started at the same time as I did or not, all I know is right around that time, I started seeing Cindy.  From memory, she was in her 30s, dirty blonde hair to her shoulders, not too over weight, but not overly attractive either.  Anyway, I’d go see her, I think once a week, and she had this black garbage bag (in retrospect, you’d think she’d have a better storage solution) full of toys that she’d let me play with as she played with me and probably used mind tricks to have me reveal my feelings.  I was actually pretty open to this, and want to say I grew pretty attached to meeting with her.  Heck, it was surely better than beating my forehead against the door frame when my parents started fighting…(again on retrospect…perhaps that’s why they sent me to therapy??).  I have no idea how long I saw Cindy, but I remember that she came to my graduation ceremony one here.  She sat right in the middle of the room, right pews, first seat in.  I still remember walking down and being so happy and surprised to see her.

Somewhere along the way though, Cindy decided to get married and move to Connecticut or some other New England state.  It was sudden and unexpected, but perhaps that was their plan.  I remember crying at home once; crying to talk to Cindy.  I can remember my mom trying to find her number in the phone book or some way to get in contact with her.  I don’t think we ever did.

I think I was done with head doctors for a while, until I went to see Mark.  Mark was a mid 20s guy, slim, tan, wore a thin gold chain, and pretty energetic.  I remember thinking his wife was pretty attractive, so he must have been some sort of lady’s man.  He was cool.  Probably too cool for me.  He talked about playing basketball one day with me, but we’d play waste basketball in his office instead.  I think i saw him for a while, and it was good having a guy to talk to, but like i said, I think he was just too cool and energetic for me.

I know I’ve been to at least 1 other therapist, Rod, but he was more like a family therapist that we all saw at times.  Although I do not have the scientific pleasure of being objective and can only rely on introspection, I feel that shrinks were a waste of time and money, at least for me.  Therapy, by that I mean an act, hobby, or some sort of interaction or escape is invaluable though.  Legos — Therapy.  Guitar — Therapy.  Driving long distance — Therapy.  This blog — Therapy. 

So I just made my blog georss compatible.  Kinda geeky, but for every post, it will have a location signature to it, specifically, latitude and longitude.  So if i write about a trip to Vegas, I can put in it’s location and RSS readers will know that it was about Vegas.  The same goes for all of my Pittsburgh posts.  Outside.in is creating maps to display areas that are blogged about the most and where they are coming from, and they taking that data and laying it over google maps.  It’s a pretty neat iniative.

Along the lines of the dirt from the states goal, a cool idea for a product would be a map of the US where each state is a clear case that you can put stuff in.  Maybe it’s not dirt, maybe thimbles, receipts from Hard Rock Cafes, pictures, or just some sort of memento from every state.

My left eye has been twitching for the past 3 days.  I have no idea what the heck is causing it.  It’s like the bottom eyelid has a pulse or something.  Wait…i think it just stopped…let me see if it does it again…Maybe it just comes and goes.  It’s just weird.  I think maybe it’s roach larva growing in my eye.  Wait, it feels like it’s going to twitch again… Any idea what would cause that?