My family and I have been in Los Angeles, specifically West Hollywood, since Sunday afternoon and already we have decided, we don't really like it here.

I love big cities. The energy, the colors, the overwhelming amount of things to do. L.A. is the king of these areas. Everywhere you look, there is something to do, some food to sample or a shop to rifle through.

That being said, L.A. is filled with misery, greed and disinterest in the welfare of those who live within its borders. I don't fancy myself to be a great human being but God I want to be. I want to care that there are men, women and children sleeping on the streets of this city.

To care about them, and their welfare helps me to find that place where I am authentically human. Where I am the best of what humanity can be, and should be. Everywhere around me I see people who have become so desensitized to suffering that they walk past, step over or the most irritating, level an indignant glare on a poor, suffering member of their species.

I realize that there are people here trying to help, and they are amazing examples of our species, but how small that number is should terrify and humiliate every person who lives in the L.A. area.

My wife and I have talked about it already and fear that if we stayed here long we would become just like everyone else, desensitized to the madness around us. To feel pain for those who are suffering is also what makes us human, and those who can feel this pain on behalf of others are the best of who we are, and who we can be.

I would love to live in a place like this and try to make a difference, but I fear I am not that strong; I am not that good of a person to stop the deadening of my heart towards others.

And I don't want to become that person, ever.

Although we didn't make it into Google's Summer of Code this year (although we were told we made the short list), that doesn't mean that we have abandoned the idea of mentoring young coders.

The Habari Community has announced our Summer of Collaboration 2008. We might not have any money to give you, but we do have one of the most inviting communities you are likely to find on the internets.

If you have a desire to push the boundaries of todays web technology, and work in an environment where each person's vision is given equal weight, then I look forward to working with you this summer.