Sunday, September 18, 2011
Fat crows
The crows seem to be especially well-fed right now. Some of them are so fat they can scarcely fly... flapping slowly, just staying off the ground, dragging their landing gear half the time.
Wonder if they look like this to the lean crows?
= = = = =
More local random: As mentioned before, I switched my almost-daily grocery routine in June when bus routes were detoured by street construction. The new routine, down to NW Blvd, is a longer bus ride but requires less walking to reach the stop, and includes a better class of people. Since the construction is done, I've tried the old routine (to Shadle) a couple times, which only reinforces my desire to stick with the NW Blvd trip. Nothing like a good old A/B/A experiment to pick out the variables and constants!
The difference in human and driver behavior between the two neighborhoods is definite and consistent. In the NW Blvd area, drivers are aware of pedestrians and will pause when it's feasible; and the employees and customers in the store are more easy-going and friendly. In the Shadle area drivers will not stop for anything, even though the Shadle parking lot has speed bumps.
I can't see an obvious cause for this difference in aggressiveness. Age and race seem about the same. Shadle is a half-step higher on the economic scale. NW Blvd ranges from working class to middle, with a dollop of old rich. Shadle ranges from middle to upper-middle. If I had to guess, I'd say more soccer-mom types infest Shadle.
= = = = =
And more unsorted junk.... I've always been a good speller and a good grammarian, but I've never been confident with punctuation. I'll hesitate and vacillate over the choice between a semicolon and a dash, and my usage of single quotes vs double quotes is completely inconsistent and seemingly random. If you look at any two successive entries in this blog, you'll find a patternless mix of singles and doubles. Yet I never hesitate or vacillate; I always know which type I want. Clearly I'm not following the official rules, but some kind of internal rule is operating under the surface.
Finally spotted a possible rationale. When I like the contained item, it gets single quotes. When I hate the item, it gets double quotes. Like double-paned glass to shield me from its baleful radiation. Maybe. ¶ 2:49 PM
Wonder if they look like this to the lean crows?
= = = = =
More local random: As mentioned before, I switched my almost-daily grocery routine in June when bus routes were detoured by street construction. The new routine, down to NW Blvd, is a longer bus ride but requires less walking to reach the stop, and includes a better class of people. Since the construction is done, I've tried the old routine (to Shadle) a couple times, which only reinforces my desire to stick with the NW Blvd trip. Nothing like a good old A/B/A experiment to pick out the variables and constants!
The difference in human and driver behavior between the two neighborhoods is definite and consistent. In the NW Blvd area, drivers are aware of pedestrians and will pause when it's feasible; and the employees and customers in the store are more easy-going and friendly. In the Shadle area drivers will not stop for anything, even though the Shadle parking lot has speed bumps.
I can't see an obvious cause for this difference in aggressiveness. Age and race seem about the same. Shadle is a half-step higher on the economic scale. NW Blvd ranges from working class to middle, with a dollop of old rich. Shadle ranges from middle to upper-middle. If I had to guess, I'd say more soccer-mom types infest Shadle.
= = = = =
And more unsorted junk.... I've always been a good speller and a good grammarian, but I've never been confident with punctuation. I'll hesitate and vacillate over the choice between a semicolon and a dash, and my usage of single quotes vs double quotes is completely inconsistent and seemingly random. If you look at any two successive entries in this blog, you'll find a patternless mix of singles and doubles. Yet I never hesitate or vacillate; I always know which type I want. Clearly I'm not following the official rules, but some kind of internal rule is operating under the surface.
Finally spotted a possible rationale. When I like the contained item, it gets single quotes. When I hate the item, it gets double quotes. Like double-paned glass to shield me from its baleful radiation. Maybe. ¶ 2:49 PM
