I don't have anything clever today so I thought I would start the month with another edition of Proper Lab-min, where we dig through my trash and make up excuses for why I gave up on certain ideas.
The bad group of Good People
People sometimes make an odd error when assessing individuals who are members of sinister organizations - they insist on looking at the full character of the person. If you are trying to get the measure of someone, I can't think of a better way than to look closely at that person's decisions - and what better place to start than looking at the types of groups this person joins, right? I think there are certain groups where the fact of membership is the start and end of any question regarding character; all ensuing attempts to look at "the full story" fall flat since by definition such an exercise must rule out the fact of membership in said group. If I rule out the worst thing you did, you become a better person; no, this thought isn't at all about Manchester United.
Wait for the signal!
The best way to know it's safe is when you see evidence it's too safe - with this in mind, I offer the example of Cambridge, in the context of intersection safety for bikes and pedestrians. The proof is at the T-intersection where Ames Street ends as it meets Broadway; cyclists on the former can join the Loughrey Walkway's bike path directly from a green light at the intersection. This takes the rider across Broadway and over a sidewalk, creating the possibility of a pedestrian collision, so the brilliant minds at the city infrastructure office came up with the only possible solution - a pedestrian signal, which overlooks a few lines of white paint that have turned the sidewalk in question into a "crosswalk".
It's possibly the shortest "crosswalk" on all the eastern seaboard, and likely the world; two people facing each other on opposite sides might be in violation of social distancing protocols. When the signal changes, the countdown from thirty begins, and pedestrians scurry across to cover the two or three strides in time. I'm all for safety but they've lost their minds in Cambridge. How much money did this cost?
The solutions I've seen closer to home pass my common sense test - a few plastic poles and some spare paint have created separated bike lanes on the streets surrounding the Public Garden. This is part of the citywide Connect Downtown initiative, which seems like Boston's best idea since Haymarket. I haven't given it a full test as of now but it looks about right to me - nothing fancy, just some clear instructions on the road so that everyone knows the rules for safe travel. Maybe in the spring I'll bring "Tales of Two Cities" out of retirement and give you all my full review.
Nothing beats a try...
I've heard that the origin of the word essay is "to try" or "to attempt", which seems about right based on my experience today - I had two other ideas I'd thrown away in November, but in the process of summarizing those I injected them with new life. I'll likely post these sometime in December - they are tentatively titled "Fear or Desperation" and "Boring Bono".
Boring, just what I was thinking!
It's what we all fear.
Anything else?
Let's run through some quick admin...
Search index
"True on average" - up to third on the Google results! I suspect it won't move up much more anytime soon, though - after rocketing out of the unofficial Dark Web this spring, ranking progress in summer and fall has been far slower; we're likely in the dreaded back half of the 80/20 rule.
TOA Admin
I'm enjoying the unofficial structure - quick hits on M/W/F, reading reviews on T/R, who knows what on Saturday, and an attempt at real (and longer) writing on Sunday. If you don't like it, hit reply on your TOA email and send your complaints - they come direct to my inbox. And if you are still doing this the old-fashioned way, try signing up for an email subscription - not everyone has switched over, but no one has switched back; instructions are at the top of the page.
In terms of back-end news, Google recently gave Blogger a facelift, which included a massively improved search function. I'm going to look into adding that to the main TOA site so that new readers can quickly find posts that contain certain tags, titles, or even words; it's basically like a private Google - not a shabby feature by any means.
Apple watch
I think you get my point by now - we have trillion-dollar companies while people stand in line for bread. I wish I was smart enough to figure it out.
See you in December!
