def initialize(self, *a, **kw):
     webapp2.RequestHandler.initialize(self, *a, **kw)
     cookie = self.request.cookies.get('user_id')
     self.user = None
     if cookie:
         uid, coded_val = cookie.split('|')
         if (enc.validate(uid, coded_val)):
             self.user = User.get_by_id(int(uid))