a word about language: who's winning?

What does it mean to be "winning" a game?

By common usage, you are "winning" if you are ahead by some commonly-accepted measure. In most sports -- and that's where I'm going to stay for the rest of this post -- that means you've scored more points.

In a football game, suppose a team is down by two points with five seconds left, but they have the ball on their opponent's five yard line. They've stopped the clock and they're bringing in their kicker to attempt a field goal. It's an easy chip shot for him. He's perfect from that distance. We may debate which team is likelier to win (and, of course, I set up a situation where the team with fewer points is more likelier to win). Still, we say that the team with more points is winning.

In baseball, if the visiting team team scores a run in the top of the first inning, we say they're winning -- even though the home team hasn't batted yet.*

But I think we're doing it incorrectly. And I'm not saying that we should be indicating which team is likelier to win.

What does it mean to be winning? It means you are in the midst of a process, at the end of which you will have won. If we accept that, then a team is winning of they will ultimately win. It doesn't matter if that team is down by 40 million runs. Or goals. Or whatever it is that points are called in the sport they're playing. If they will ultimately win the game then they are winning.

Yeah, I know. I know. Words and phrases have meaning beyond their etymology. Since we all know what is meant by the simple question, "Who's winning?" there's no need to get all pedantic about it. Besides, communication would be hampered if we could never say who's winning until the game is over.

Still, every time someone asks me who's winning I want to say, "I dunno. Ask me after the game."

*Unless you're my sister, who will indicate which team is winning based on the score after the last completed inning**
**Unless the home team scores and goes ahead in the bottom of the inning, in which case she will acknowledge that they're winning because the visiting team cannot score again until the next inning

vending machine follies

There's a Coca Cola vending machine at my office. The other day it was, apparently, not working.

That's nothing new. That machine is known to behave in odd ways. There was a stretch, a few years ago, when it would give extra bottles. That was at a time when I was drinking soda. I would put in my money, selected the Coca-Cola* button, and out would come anywhere from one to eight bottles. There were other times where nothing would come out, or the wrong kind of soda would come out.

At this point, being that I'm trying to lose weight and all, I'm not buying from the soda machine. But I noticed it wasn't working because of the sticky notes that started collecting on it. First it was one note. "Didn't vend Coke <name and extension>" Then, later in the day, a similar note appeared. Then there was a third note and a pad of blank sticky notes was sitting on the counter next to the machine.

I couldn't resist. "Machine kicked me in the shin and told me I'm too fat."

*Because, seriously, what other soda is there to drink?**
**Unless you're eating pastrami, in which case there's also Cel-Ray

a word about language: the learning curve

At work, I was talking to someone about a new project I'll be taking on. It was noted that there would be a steep learning curve.

The meaning of that expression, as everyone knows, is that it would be difficult to learn what's needed. I suppose the expression came about because it's hard to climb a steep hill. So, steep learning curve means hard to learn. But that always sounds wrong to me. If the learning curve is a graph showing how much is learned over how much time, a steep learning curve means that a lot is learned quickly, which seems to imply that the subject is easy to learn.

So, guess what I found? I did a Google search to find an image to include with this post -- while I have no data to back me up, I am willing to bet that including a  graphic makes it more likely that people browsing this blog will stop and read. And I found a site that seems to agree with me.

I have no experience with that website, but the author made the same point as I did above. Only she made it better, and seems to imply that in technical fields, the concept of "learning curve" is handled the way I instinctively think of it. To quote:

The typical plotting of a learning curve shows the time (or experience) for learning on the x axis and the percentage of learning on the y axis. In science (and contrary to popular usage of the term) a steep learning curve represents a quickly-learned subject. Difficult subjects will have a longer duration to complete learning and, as such, a shallower curve. The relative percentage of learning can show how some subjects can be mostly learned quickly while some difficult aspects may remain resulting in plateaus in the graph where learning stalls. 

Now try convincing the world of that.

el topo (cinema history class)

Session: Inspired by Spaghetti Westerns, Week 3
Movie: El Topo (1970)
Directed by Alejandro Jodorowsky
As always, there may be spoilers here. And the trailer may be NSFW and/or NSFL

Plot:
A bunch of shit happens, but I have no fucking clue what. Hilarity ensues.

Background and Reaction:
Keith warned us that this movie would be weird. "A Western from another dimension" was one way of putting it. He also made some allusions to LSD. He understated it. This was just completely bizarre, with odd imagery and transitions, and strange goings on.

I spent the early part of the movie admiring the visuals and thinking "Wow! I have no idea what's going on, but this is stunning to look at." As it wore on -- and I still had little clue as to what was going on -- I found my thoughts changing. I was eventually thinking "Wow! This is still stunning to look at, but when is this going to end?" The storytelling was awful. I could usually understand what was going on in a particular scene. But, like a fever dream, it was hard to understand how any of the scenes fit together.

The movie itself was both incredibly beautiful and intensely ugly -- a fact that's a testament to the cinematography. Of course, that was heightened by the soundtrack, which often was a cocophanous mix of various sounds such as sheep bleating and bagpipes. There was all manner of purposeful imagery -- religious, violent sexual.

This was quite the experience to watch. If only I understood it.

Ratings:
First, a note about the ratings. After last week, I was thinking about my ratings, and decided that they are afflicted with grade inflation. I explained all the ways that I didn't care for Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid, and then gave it an 8. Most people would see a rating of 8 and think that means I really liked it. With that in mind, I am trying to avoid giving these too high a grade.

Me: 4 (which was overly generous)
Christina: 10
Dave: 9.0 - 9.1
Ethan: 2
Scott: 3
Sean: 4 out of 4

i'm protected

In an unexpected turn of events, orders of protection have been issued to keep two people (whom I have never met) away from me.

The surprise came with the mail -- four (or was it five?) envelopes from the Queens County District Attorney. Now, I don't know about anyone else, but I'm kind of a nervous person. So I see these envelopes and start panicking. What are these? What can it mean? Am I being accused of something?

Opening an envelope, it took me a moment to figure out what it was. In the middle of the cover letter, in bold print, I saw "INSTRUCTIONS ON READING THE ORDER OF PROTECTION." Did I mention that I'm a nervous person?

When I saw that, I immediately started trying to figure out what the hell I did that someone got an order of protection against me. Finally, when I calmed down enough to read it, I was listed as the "Protectant" and someone else was listed as  "Defendant."

Phew! That's a load off my mind. But wait! Why is there this order of protection? What happened that this person wants to kill me? Oh my God! I'm gonna get murdered!*

Part of what had me so confused is that I simply don't have any experience with orders of protection. I didn't know they can be issued without you even asking for them. Once I calmed down enough to view it rationally. I remembered the water theft that happened last week. I wrote about it here. The police had told me I might hear from the District Attorney. I knew that there may be criminal charges -- if it's determined that the items these people stole (from other porches as well as mine) are collectively worth enough to make it worth pursuing.

I can only assume that these orders of protection are related to that theft. That it's a matter of course** and all the identified victims are also protectants. Maybe it's prophylactic. Maybe it's a way of potentially upping the charges (assuming the thieves return to any of the same homes to steal again).

The one thing that's truly odd is that the document orders the defendant to (among other things):

Refrain from assault, stalking, harassment, aggravated harassment, menacing, reckless endangerment, disorderly conduct, criminal mischief, sexual abuse, sexual misconduct, forcible touching, intimidation, threats or any criminal offense or interference with...members of the family or household of...Marc Whinston.

Seems to me these actions are already illegal. Maybe it's, again, about upping the possible charges in case they come back.

The cover letter lists a phone number for a Crime Victims Advocate Program, but I didn't see the mail until too late in the day to call. I'll try in the morning. As for tonight, I'll keep a baseball bat by the bed.

*Yeah...still nervous

**I hope so, anyway. What if it's not and my family is truly in danger? Did I mention that I'm a nervous type?

pat garrett and billy the kid (cinema history class)

Session: Inspired by Spaghetti Westerns, Week 2
Movie: Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid (1973)
Directed by Sam Peckinpah
As always, there may be spoilers here. And the trailer may be NSFW and/or NSFL

Plot:
Two lawmen -- or are they outlaws? -- engage in a battle of wits across the old west. One will win and one will die. Hilarity ensues.

Background and Reaction:
This movie had a whole lot of chrome -- stuff that made it look really good. The cinematography was superb; visually, it was top notch. Bob Dylan's music was a perfect complement. At once emotive and subtle. The humor is great. And I really liked the way the opening and closing scenes of Garrett (in what is, for the bulk of the movie, the future) made for clever bookends.

So I wanted to love it. I really wanted to. But I had trouble warming up to it.

For starters, I found the plot to be too meandering. I also had trouble buying Kris Kristofferson as Billy the Kid. Billy died in his early twenties, and I've seen what few pictures there are of him. He was scrawny and odd-looking. Kris Kristofferson was in his upper forties. And he was big and muscular. He simply didn't look the part. Some of the other minor characters who peppered this production would have made better Billys. Now, maybe that shouldn;t matter. If this had been called "Pete McHugh and Angry Bob" and there was no actual historical Angry Bob so I had no preconceptions about what he looked like, it would have been fine. But too bad. Billy the Kid was a real person and I have a rweal impression of what he should look like. So that hampered my enjoyment.

While Bob Dylan's music, which served as the score was a good complement, Dylan's performance in the movie annoyed me. His character was intended to provide humor, but he kept smirking his way through his scenes, like he was Joe Piscopo doing his "I'm from Joisey" routine.

Back to the plus side, I did enjoy the dynamic between the two principles. These guys are very similar -- each acting as both lawman and outlaw. And they have a genuine affection for each other. They know that, eventually, one will kill the other, and yet they seem to see it the same way a friend of mine and I might view a game of Monopoly -- one of us will win and one will lose. I find that fascinating.

Dave and Joe were really appreciative of the cast which was a kind of a who's who of old Western character actors. Great for them. But since I didn't grow up on the old Westerns, that part was lost on me. Except for Slim Pickens. I love Slim Pickens. But, of course (and I know this is a heresy), I loved him best in The Misadventures of Sherriff Lobo.

What I find ironic about this is that this was supposed to be the superior cut. From what Keith explained, the studio was frustrated with the time and money that the film was consuming, and that caused a deterioration in their relationship with Sam Peckinpah. As a result the film went through some major editing, over which Peckinpah had no control. The movie that was ultimately released was butchered to the point of being a poor shadow of what it should have been. Eventually Peckinpah's cut, which is vastly superior, was released on DVD. And that's the cut we saw.

Meh. It makes me wonder how bad the studio cut was.

Ratings:
Me: 8 (for effort)
Dave: 9.7 - 9.8
Ethan: 6
Joe: 9.8
Scott: 8.5
Sean: 2 out of 4

they stole my water!

Late last night Ethan and I got out of Keith's film class and went to the car. I had a series of texts from Blair. To paraphrase:
Call the police
Officer <name> at the 107th Precinct at <number>
He has our Fiji water
It was stolen


It took me a second to figure out what this meant. It was something I knew would happen sooner or later -- a package was stolen from our porch. It seems like a national epidemic -- at least judging by the plethora of Youtube videos on the subject. I'm sharing one below.

It has been discussed at meetings of the Jamaica Estates Association, since it has seemed to happen a lot in this neighborhood, and many are furious. Of course, there's not a whole lot the police can do to stop it from happening. They simply can't be everywhere at once, and I assume these are low priority since they're nonviolent.

It seems to me that the increase in package theft is due in large part to the increasing prevalence of online purchasing. It's simply a matter of a newly-emergent opportunity being exploited. One person I know disagrees. She has heard from the police that it has to do with Mayor DeBlasio being soft on crime. Theory of Broken Windows and all that.

Maybe. But then why is it not just a New York thing? Maybe it's a combination of factors, as such things so often are.

At any rate, I have to give my thanks to the police at the 107th precinct. They caught the water thief (with over a dozen packages addressed to a variety of homes) and called our house. When I called, and when I got there to pick up my water, they were very courteous and professional. They told me a little of what had gone on, and asked for my estimate of the value. Apparently, if the total value of the stolen items is above some threshold then it becomes a felony. Anyway, I appreciated them and their demeanor.

Now I'm gonna have some water.

i coulda slept late...

Getting up early on a freezing cold Saturday to go on a major subway schlep to dig through crap in a park in Harlem. Sounds great, huh?

Actually, it wasn't as bad as it sounds.

It was actually a bit of a convoluted connection. The Student Conservation Association (SCA) has an annual service event where they get students (and others, I guess) to do restoration work on one of New York's historic parks -- this year it was St. Nicholas Park in Harlem. The Mission Continues (TMC) made it one of their service events. And Ethan and I, as leaders of the New York chapter of Stack-Up, signed up to work with TMC on the project.

By way of background, TMC is a charity for military veterans who want to continue serving their communities. I first came across them when Blair and I, representing Stack-Up, attended a meet and greet sponsored by The Wounded Warrior Project (WWP)*. Ethan and I signed up for a few of their events last year. But the one that was truly a service event (cleanup in the Bronx along the Harlem River) was cancelled, so the ones we attended were show businessy types of affairs -- the kind of events that are more in the realm of perquisites than service.

So, despite the early hour, the cold and the schlep, it was important to me that Ethan and I keep this appointment. An alarm that I set improperly, and a bunch of rerouted subway lines** made us late, and it was tempting to take that as an excuse to be a no-show. As an aside, I wonder if they had no-shows? Fortunately, despite being late, we didn't miss anything except some speeches.

Ethan and I were put into a group clearing culverts of debris. Some of the paved paths in the park have old cobblestone culverts running alongside for drainage purposes, and these culverts fill with soil, leaves twigs and such. So we were part of a crew digging them out. I know -- thrills, thrills. It actually wasn't that bad, except for the fact that it was cold, and my fingers were freezing.

The one thing I missed was that we weren't connected with anyone in TMC. They had all been grouped together. We weren't grouped with them, and I didn't know to ask about it. Fortunately, Blair was coming by later to meet up with us. So, after an hour and a half of clearing, we got a call from her. She had found the TMC group and was wondering where we were. So we ended up switching groups. So, for the last half hour or so we were with a different group, doing what they were doing. Which was...clearing culverts. At least we already knew what work was needed.

Blair is so much better at networking than I am, so she managed to turn this into a good connection with TMC. Afterwards, we went for barbecue with them -- I'm talking more than a dozen people from TMC. With any luck, we'll be collaborating with them in the future. We're inviting TMC to our next Stack-Up event -- our third annual animated shorts night with Dr. Eliska Decka. And, with any luck, we'll be part of more of their events.

*Gee, has this post degenerated into an exercise in name-dropping of military-supporting charities? Sorry.

**These days, there are subway reroutings every night and every weekend, so they can do maintenance. When I was a kid, they were much rarer. More of the maintenance was done while trains were in regular service.

high plains drifter (cinema history class)

Session: Inspired by Spaghetti Westerns, Week 1
Movie: High Plains Drifter (1973)
Directed by Clint Eastwood
As always, there may be spoilers here. And the trailer may be NSFW and/or NSFL

Plot:
A wandering stranger arrives in Lago and is hired to protect the town from outlaws heading their way. But is he the town's salvation -- or its damnation? Hilarity ensues.

Background and Reaction:
Once again, Keith kicked off the year with a month devoted to Spaghetti Westerns. This time it's Westerns inspired by Spaghetti Westerns, and he kicked things off with this Clint Eastwood effort. And I was psyched. I've been meaning to see HPD for a long time now, and had never gotten around to it. Seeing it in Keith's class setting was perfect.

Eastwood, having acted in three of Sergio Leone's Spaghetti Westerns, learned the form well. It had all the ingredients, and if you didn't know that it was an American production you'd swear it was Spaghetti. If anything, it's more Spaghetti than the Spaghetti Westerns -- people being whipped to death, the hero establishing his bona fides by raping a woman...yeah, this isn't a John Wayne flick.

The story contains some ambiguity, which we loved. It didn't hit you in the face with things. We discussed the fact that it would have been easy to have Eastwood's character be the brother of the murdered Marshall. The movie would have worked just as well. But, of course, that would have put it in the realm of so many standard revenge films -- Death Rides a Horse comes to mind. By giving it a supernatural twist, Eastwood elevated it. In fact, even the next day we were still exchanging emails discussing possible interpretations of events.

I liked the use of flashbacks for the backstory -- something similar to the way I've been thinking for my Bleed Me a River project. Of course, I don't envision adding a supernatural element to that -- unless I need to fill some plot holes.

Of interest to me, at one point early on the film reminded me of the infamous Kitty Genovese murder. I mention this only because, after the film, Keith asked if any of us knew what real-life case was an inspiration for this. I immediately invoked Genovese' name, thereby impressing (or shocking -- I'm not sure which) Keith. Of course, while we were watching it, I mentioned the name, but Keith must not have heard me.

Also, to Joe's delight (and Dave's annoyance), I mentioned an odd parallel between this movie and the Plato's Stepchildren" episode of Star Trek. In that episode, Kirk and crew find themselves on a planet where nearly everyone has telekentic abilities. The one person who doesn't is Alexander, a short person who (by virtue of lacking such abilities) is bullied by his whole society. Kirk and company figure out what's causing the telekenesis, and empower Alexander with stronger abilities than everyone else, thus elevating him above the rest. In similar manner, Eastwood's character in HPD elevates Mordecai -- the town's little person -- by making him mayor and sherrif.

Ratings:
Me: 9.9
Dave: 10
Ethan: 8.5
Joe: 10
Scott: 9
Sean: 2 out of 4

Bonus line from the conversation that I'll present without context:
"Turtle. Is that another word for a small turd?"

it's all or nothing

When discussing my dieting, my standard joke is that I can't eat one donut. I can eat none of them, or I can eat all of them. But I can't eat one.*

The truth of that joke was driven home to me yesterday. Blair and I hosted a meeting of the Jamaica Estates Association Gardening Club. In preparation we bought lots of healthful snacks -- baby carrots, hummus, peanuts, cheese, crackers. It was easy for me to be a good boy. Of course, some of the guests brought snacks as well, and we put them out. These included cookies.

For most of the meeting I was good. I was snacking on the food we put out. Mostly I had the carrots and hummus. But I also ate peanuts and cheese. And only a couple of crackers. I had decided that I wasn't going to eat cookies, so I was fine avoiding them.

Until one of the guests noted, in disappointment, that no one was eating her homemade cookies. So I had one. And, somehow, that opened the floodgates. Before I realized what I was doing, I had eaten several. I managed to stop myself (eventually), but it was suddenly much more difficult.

I mentioned it to a friend at work, and he noted that all these junk foods are engineered to be as addictive as possible. He specifically mentioned Doritos, and suggested I Google "Doritos addictive." Among the items was this article in the New York Post, which explains things very neatly. I'm impressed and horrified at the same time. It also reminds me of the advertising line about potato chips -- that you can't eat just one. A lot of what the article says about Dorito's is true for potato chips as well. Maybe it's just that Dorito's are like potato chips on steroids.

But these were homemade cookies, using (I assume) wholesome ingredients. Not that it's good for me, what with the combination of sugar and wheat flour. But are they really addictive the way Dorito's are? Or do I need an infusion of willpower?

*Of course, if there is only one donut, I can eat it.

i get results

In the words of the Traveling Wilburys, "Oh, the sweet smell of success." Maybe there should be an exclamation point there.

Back in September, I wrote (here) about a concern I had with traffic control devices at the intersection of Homelawn Street and the Grand Central Parkway. The long and short of it is that there was contradictory signage. The metal sign indicated that you could make a left turn from the right lane. But the markings on the street indicated that the right turn was for going straight only. See the first picture on this entry.

The blogpost, in and of itself, didn't lead to change. I guess I don't have as much influence as the New York Times or even the Queens Tribune. And, when I emailed the offices of my City Councilman (whose district includes the intersection in question), I never heard back.

But two months after the blogpost, I mentioned it to the president of the Jamaica Estates Association. Per his instructions, I emailed him a link to the blogpost. He forwarded it to Community Board 8. There ensued a bunch of emails about how they really needed to get it fixed ASAP. And, honestly, I was skeptical.

But I drove by there today. Lo and behold, it's been fixed. The metal signs now indicate that the right line is for going straight.

Hooray for me.

two truths and a lie

At work, one of the higher-ups was having a skip-level lunch. As an icebreaker, she told us, we would play "Two truths and a lie." We would each, in turn, say three things about ourselves. One would be true and two would be lies. The others would then guess which was the true statement.

My statements were:

• On my first date with my wife, we ate dinner at the Cornforth House in Saco, Maine. This was relevant because this higher-up is from Maine.
• My grandfather played minor league baseball in the Pirates organization. He was known as the "Rude Shortstop."
• One year I was invited to the Governor's Christmas tree-lighting ceremony is Montgomery, Alabama.

ducks deluxe albums ranked

I have seen lots of lists where people rank the Beatles albums from best to worst. I get it. The Beatles were really popular and influential. And people like to rank things, and to read others' rankings.

But I've seen enough of those. You know what I haven't seen? Anyone ranking the Ducks Deluxe albums from best to worst. So, in the interests of music journalism, I present:

Every Ducks Deluxe Album* -- Ranked from Best to Worst

Ducks Deluxe (1974)

The band's first album was by far the strongest. Possibly because it came after they had been together for a while and had some very strong material. The trio of signature songs -- "Coast to Coast," "Fireball" and "Don't Mind Rockin' Tonite" -- make this a hard album to beat. In addition, there was the Beatlesque "Please, Please, Please" and a couple of killer cover tracks -- "Nervous Breakdown" and "It's All Over Now." There are a couple of weak spots in the form of "I Got You" and "Too Hot to Handle," but the effort still has a really good vibe overall.

I have heard the album criticized for failing to catch the band's live energy. By some accounts, the album was disappointing. But to my ears, it's crisp, exciting and full of energy.

Taxi to the Terminal Zone (1975)

There's some good material here, but nothing to compare to the signature songs on the first album. "My My Music" and "Paris 9" are really good, energy-wise. But they're the best this record had to offer. "Love's Melody" was also a good song, but I don't think it was quite right for the Ducks. It was more melodic and subtle than what they had done before.

Of course, that's symptomatic of where the Ducks were when they recorded this. They had added Andy McMaster on keyboards, and there was some internal dissension as to how to fit him in. They got more ambitious with the songs, but it didn't always work out, and the material just isn't as strong.

In addition, the production isn't nearly as sharp. There's kind of a muddy sound. In fact, that muddy sound is what keeps "Love's Melody" from being a great track. To hear the potential of that song, just listen to The Searchers' cover version. Not that the Ducks would ever recorded anything with the kind of jangly sound that the Searchers were putting out in 1981.

*This only includes the studio albums they recorded and released while still together. It does not include EPs, greatest hits packages, anthologies, live albums released after the breakup, bootlegs, reunion albums and the like.

where to meet -- aaaaarrrrrgggggghhhhhh!

A couple weeks ago I posted about the troubles I'm having scheduling the next meeting of the Jamaica Estates Association Gardening Club.

Well, the trouble continued, but at least we have a meeting place for this weekend's meeting. My house.

St. John's University agreed to let use space in their residence hall on Henley Road for our meetings. Initially this seemed like a perfect solution, both for this meeting and future meetings. But there's a fly in the ointment. Security. Because it's a residence hall, they understandably have a need for tight security. We'd have to provide a list of attendees before each meeting, and no one who is not on the list gets in. Now, I can easily provide a full membership list before each meeting. But then, anyone new who wants to attend would have to let me know in advance. No one could simply decide at the last minute that they want to check it out. Unless, of course, they let me know in advance that it's a possibility. I don't think that's conducive to getting new members. I understand the need for tight security in a residence hall, so I don't begrudge SJU this need. But it does make their residence hall a suboptimal option.

But having the meetings at my house -- or, similarly, at other members' houses on a rotating basis -- does not work as a long term solution.

Fortunately, there are a few possible solutions (some, obviously better than others):

• We may end up having meetings at the residence hall even though it is suboptimal. We;ll just have to make sure all meeting announcements indicate that anyone who intends to come or might even be considering it needs to contact me in advance to get on the list.
• In my email exchanges with the facilities representative of SJU, I floated the idea of using a location on the SJU campus. Surely there are unused classrooms on Sundays, and security won't be as tight. By the time I thought of this, it was too late to make it work for this weekend's  meeting. But the next meeting will be on March 4. We have time to mwork out the details before then.
• The UN School can give us space. But only on weekday evenings. THat's going to be a hard sell, since a lot of members work during the day and may not be eager to rush home for an evening meeting.

These ideas, and whatever else anyone thinks of, will be one of the first orders of business. I hope it's not too chaotic.

local traffic changes that i'd make

Back in September, I wrote about an intersection near me where the signs are contradictory. That post was here. Since I wrote that post, I forwarded the link to the President of the Jamaica Estates Association and he forwarded it to Community Board 8. I know they got it because I saw some of the emails. Sadly, the problem hasn't been fixed. Yet.

EDIT: Today, I drove by that spot. It has been fixed. I don;t know when. When I wrote the above paragraph as a draft, it hadn't been fixed. But I didn't check in the interim, before posting it. It is likely that the signage had been fixed by the time I posted it. My apologies for getting it wrong. I was sloppy.

Despite the fact that this blog doesn't have a stellar record of effecting changes in traffic control devices, I'll mention two changes I'd like to see. Both refer to the map above.

The first thing I'd like is to have Avon Road, between Chevy Chase Street and 188the Street turned into one-way, heading Northeast. This is needed because of the traffic light  (marked with a red diamond) on 188th Street, just south of Avon Road. A lot of cars heading south on 188th Street and then turn right onto the Grand Central Parkway Service Road. But a lot of drivers cut through the residential neighborhood to avoid the red light. For illustrative purposes I've marked this route on the map in purple. Of course, once they've cut through to avoid the light, they typically drive inappropriately fast through the residential streets -- gotta make sure they don;t cost themselves time with their cut-through, afterall. It's a dangerous situation. Making Avon Road one way (heading Northeast) between Chevy Chase Street and 188th Street would improve safety. An additional issue is that the street is too narrow to be two ways with parking on both sides. When we moved in, there were generally only a few cars parked on the street, and the narrowness wasn't an issue. Now, though, there's a lot more parking on the block, and it can be an issue when cars going in opposite directions pass each other.

The second thing relates to the traffic lights on 188th Street just south of the Parkway -- I've marked that stretch in red. There is one set of lights for the entire intersection where the Eastbound service road splits into 85th Road and McLaughlin Avenue. That wouldn't be such a big deal except for the traffic going South on 188th Street and turning left onto 85th Road (at the North end of the intersection) for the Parkway entrance ramp. During busy times, it can be very difficult to make that left turn because of the Northbound traffic on 188th Street. The intersection is so wide that when a Northbound car enters the intersection as the light turns red (or after it turns red, as often happens), the Southbound cars don't get a chance to safely make that left turn after the last Northbound car. I've seen times where the light goes through several cycles without anyone being able to make that left turn. The solution would be to add a part of the cycle where the Southbound traffic has a green left turn light while the Northbound traffic has a red light.

I'm sure I can think of other changes that I'd make if I ruled the world. But I guess I'm sounding like one of those old men who think they have the answer to everything.