My framework is sufficiently advanced to where it generates distinctly different products for 2 different types of business. It's not a universal solution, nothing is, but it does these jobs pretty well, and it is stable and maturing. In the beginning, moving from FPD to VFP, I did not intend to create a framework, it just worked out that way.
Both projects are now in production and in maintenance mode. For some time now, I've been mulling over what to do next. Since I'm 59, I figure I have somewhere between 10 and 20 more working years left, which seems like a long time, but knowing how much time projects actually take, it may be fair to say that this will be my last big project/adventure. That being the case, I want it to be a "good one", so I mulled and mulled. Then it occurred to me, while watching the Democratic debate, the extent to which our gov't of/by/for the people is really owned, lock, stock and barrel, by "interests" that are out of sync with the American people. I believe this can be turned around by an improved election system, and towards that end, a "personal voting assistant" would become the cornerstone of a new way to do it. This wasn't a "Eureka!" moment because it's really been obvious all along. What wasn't obvious is that VFP can handle the job, and another consideration (see below). Some key features include: 1. A record for each candidate, downloaded from candidate websites and other sources, sectioned into logical groups (voting history, personal info, etc.) 2. A list of issues, primed with those declared by the candidate, but customizable per individual voter concerns and other feeds and ranked by the voter. Irrelevant non-issues can be filtered. 3. Comprehensive voter preference "profiles", that are stored only on local machines and never uploaded anywhere 4. Ranking and comparison charts showing candidate's positions on issues of importance, as they relate to the voter's profile/preferences (i.e. the program helps the voter to pick candidates most closely aligned with his/her preferences). 6. Ability to submit votes to a receiver, with a positive feedback/verification feature. Thoughts that brought this together as doable and viable: (1) This can be done with VFP. I've taken a blank piece of paper and laid out how what I've got and how it can be extended to handle the unique requirements of such a system. The more I drew, the more I realized that it could actually be done. I've even come up with a pretty good name for it, but have to check to see if it's really available (it appears to be). (2) While I'd be thrilled if this project results in a "standard" that is actually used, the fact is that I really don't care if it wins or not. I'll be perfectly happen to see it competed with and for someone else to win, because the goal is to make it exist, not to win the race. This isn't going to materialize overnight. Reality dictates attention be given to money-making projects, but I'll keep nudging this forward and talk about it from time to time. I've grown real tired of complaining about the way it is and feeling impotent to actually do anything about it. This changes that picture, and now I'll be actively working on something, instead of just complaining. At some point, when there's something ready for show and tell, I'll post it on my website. If anyone feels as passionate about this as I do, please say so. This forum is as good a place as any. Bill _______________________________________________ Post Messages to: [email protected] Subscription Maintenance: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profox OT-free version of this list: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profoxtech Searchable Archive: http://leafe.com/archives/search/profox This message: http://leafe.com/archives/byMID/profox/[EMAIL PROTECTED] ** All postings, unless explicitly stated otherwise, are the opinions of the author, and do not constitute legal or medical advice. This statement is added to the messages for those lawyers who are too stupid to see the obvious.
