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Today I played Clue for the first time after my first attempt at developing a better notation system. My take-aways from the last attempt were:

• Focus on who doesn’t have which cards
• Pay attention to the progression of guesses

The results were pretty good. The systematic nature of my notation was generally thought to be superior to the lackadaisical strategy of my friends (note: playing games lackadaisically is great; it’s just not how I roll). Here’s the basic layout of what I wrote down:

Billiard Hall Kitchen Rope (these are the cards I had)
—————————–
DR – MrsW – Candle | F->A->D
Ball – MrsP – Candle | D->L
etc.

Then, in addition to keeping these notes on a blank piece of paper, I filled in the normal grid with the initials of who didn’t have which card. Let me explain the above, though. I made an entry for each guess, listing each card guessed as well as the progression of who guessed it to who eventually showed a card. Later on, when I had more information, I went back and determined which cards could not have been the ones shown, and ultimately which cards had been shown.

Thoughts on this method:

• It was great, though the transcription was still a little slow.
• The arrows on the right-hand part are unnecessary. I should just write the initials in order.
• I should not note when a suggestion is “helped”, but rather when it goes unhelped. This cuts down on the writing.
• Most importantly, I should use the second sheet (the normal sheet) from the very beginning, because trying to transcribe that information on the primary sheet slowed me down at the beginning.
• Also, it was a little overwhelming because I was making it up as I went along. Now that I have specific ideas about how I should do it, the method should be smoother.

Ultimately, it would be nice to sort the list by guesser, so that it’s possible to see the progression of someone’s guesses. That would enable easier speculation about what cards they were shown.

Some statistics from this game:

• 4 players (including me)
• 35 suggestions
• 9 of those suggestions skipped one person before being helped
• 8 of those suggestions skipped two people
• The correct suspect was first guessed on the 10th suggestion, and quickly adopted widely. It was suggested approximately half of the time after it was first guessed.
• The correct weapon was guessed on the first suggestion, and was used sporadically throughout. It was suggested about a third of the time.
• The correct room was only suggested twice.
• I had zero suspect cards, but figured that out first
• I had three room cards, but was still less than 100% certain about that when I finally accused

Anyway, it’s a fun game. We should play sometime.

Here are three maps I made not for class, but instead for NEFFA. These are maps of where NEFFA members live. The reason Natick & Mansfield are highlighted in the third map is that the festival is now held in Mansfield, but was held for years in Natick.

This is the second batch of maps I’ve made in the GIS class. This assignment was to make six maps of the same place using different datasets from the Census.

This semester I’m taking an Introduction to GIS (Geographic Information Systems) course, where I’m learning to create awesome maps using the program ArcGIS. Here are the seven maps I just created for our second assignment:

Last night Nicole and I went to the alternative music contradance at the Concord Scout House. It was great, dancing to pop music and calling by Lisa Greenleaf. But the highlight of the night for me was twofold, and revolved around a cute little uncoordinated bundle of cute named Ethan. Ethan is five months old. This was one of (if not the) first times his parents (Melissa & Robert) had brought him to the Scout House. It was wonderful to see them again, and to finally meet the little bugger whom I’d seen pictures of on Facebook. During one dance, Nicole and I were sitting out on the steps up to the stage, where little Ethan was sitting, asleep, with headphones on to keep out the loudness of the room. But it wasn’t enough, and he awoke, bawling his little eyes out. Lisa said from the mic “paging Robert and Melissa…”, and I spotted them, dancing together, in the middle of the middle set, looking to see what the matter was. I immediately sprung into the hall and took Robert’s place in the dance so that he could go comfort the distressed infant. When Melissa & I got to the top of the set, we dropped out too, and she joined in the calming efforts. The efforts were successful, but at the break, some new friends of mine who’d apparently babysat Ethan a lot already offered to take him home with them right then, so Melissa & Robert could enjoy the rest of the dance. Turns out they were going our way, so we joined them (we were pretty tired). What unfolded was a fascinating twenty minute car ride, Ethan screaming his little lungs out the whole way. It was fascinating because we would try all these things, but he just would not stop crying. But because he was so adorable, we didn’t really mind that much.

Today, I made bread. I’ve made scones and cranberry bread before many times, but this was my first time making real bread, with yeast. It went well! One loaf tore a little bit coming out of the pan, but it’s still good, and the other one looks perfect too. The texture is great, and the flavor reminds me of my dad’s bread (where the recipe comes from). Here’s to further adventures in food creation!

Tonight on the T, between Central and Davis, I saw a peculiar sight. Two young women were sitting across the car from me to the right. One had red hair pulled back in a ramshackle bun, the other, straight dark hair half-up (though in the overly shiny fashion of girls who get pregnant in high school, not in the matte, swishy fashion of attractive hippie women). They both wore conventional coats, conventional pants, and conventional boots. They both carried conventional purses. They also both carried smartphones. Not only did they carry smartphones, but they were absorbed in the smartphones, apparently playing games. Perhaps the same game; I could not say. But what struck me about the situation was that, despite their utter captivation in their mobile games, they were carrying on a conversation. A conversation which (to be fair) was occasionally about the games in their hands (“no, it’s because you have four lives”), but also seemed to range to more analog topics (“so I told him that, and he was like…”). Those were pretty much the only two snippets of conversation I heard, but they conversed for much of the ten-minute ride. It reminded me of nothing less than old women sitting around a table, chatting over a game of bridge.

The world is changing, and this new technology is but one Penrose stair in the fabric of the human experience. I’m currently reading Bowling Alone, by Robert Putnam, on the observed decline in American social capital since sometime in the 1970s. But I believe in conservation of social energy, and while there may be fewer conversations over bridge games, there may also be more conversations over games of Angry Birds.

A while ago I started an intermittent series here, trying to explain how things work in Washington. I don’t think I ever got more than one or two parts down, but I just saw a fantastic video that demanded to be included. It’s from Schoolhouse Rock, which I was unfortunately too young to grow up on, but it fits my impression of that show as producing fantastic educational content. Enjoy the feeling of knowledge percolating into your brain:

That’s basically it. And the process is as boring and repetitive as the melody of the song.

To and from my recent New York City stay, I took the new MegaBus route from Amherst. It started on December 15th, departing from Hampshire Mall in Hadley. On the way back, I had arranged to be picked up at the mall, but heard another passenger talking to the driver at one point, and the driver said he actually drops people off at UMass as well. Apparently they aren’t allowed to stay at Haigis Mall for very long (probably because Peter Pan doesn’t want its competition in so convenient a location) but they do swing by there after the mall to drop people off. They may pick passengers up there too, but I’m not sure. It also may be dependent on who the driver is. This driver said that they’re still working out the kinks in this new route.

Hope this information is helpful if you’re planning on taking the MegaBus to or from New York!

Today brought the second iconic experience of my three weeks in New York City this winter.

The first experience was staying up until 3:30am on the Solstice to watch the total lunar eclipse. It was late, my friends and I were all grumpy, but we saw it.

Today, I went with Nicole to play in the snow at Riverside Park. We walked through the foot-deep snow and bitter wind, past multiple hills crawling with sled-borne children. We met Nicole’s friend Mark near the steepest of the sledding hills, and after rolling around in the snow for a bit like puppies, decided to find sleds and descend the hill. We found two cracked disc sleds and one cardboard box, and all made single plunges down the child-bestrewn hillside. We then walked back to Nicole’s house to play a few games of Settlers of Catan. It snowed, we braved it, and now it is truly winter.

Merry Christmas! Happy Solstice! Happy Hannukah!

I have two finals left, a paper and an exam, and am at least 75% done with my work for each. So I thought I’d make here a change I’ve been thinking about for a while. It’s your Christmas present! This blog is now called “Walk in the Street” instead of “Dispatches from Life”. The old title was geared toward my cross-country trip, and “Walk in the Street” captures a number of themes I want to explore more in the coming year. First, non-automotive transportation. The streets belong to people. As long as you’re safe and don’t get hit by a car, I heartily advocate not restricting yourself to the ghetto of the sidewalk. Bike in the street! Walk in the street! Stand and chat in the street! Don’t wait for other people to change the world; just get started. In addition to my enthusiasm for multi-modal transportation, the new title captures the faint spirit of insurrection I feel in the face of the dominant social and political paradigms that continue to control our world. The status quo gets so many things wrong, and I’m tired of passively standing by as those evils get perpetuated. Additionally, “Walk in the Street” is what I want to do more of. Go for walks. Especially with friends or loved ones. Finally, the concepts of “walk” and “street” are common parlance in the world of planning, which I am giddily entering over the next year and a half.

So that’s your present. Hope you like it. Now on to the holiday card.

I continue to enjoy my graduate program, where I am in the first year of a two-year masters program. I have made so many good friends there. I continue to enjoy my girlfriend, who is moving into a new place in Somerville with me in January. I continue to enjoy contradancing, and in the past year have called several times as well as helping organize several dance series. I continue to be frustrated by the lack of progress in Washington, especially the oversimplification of the “political spectrum” as a line along which all people and policies fall. I believe that concept is what creates groupthink bubbles like the Tea Party movement. I continue to enjoy living a simple life, eating real foods, owning few things, and appreciating the world around me for what it is. I continue to enjoy Facebook, Gmail, and Gchat, and love staying connected (and reconnecting) with friends through those media. There are many other little things I enjoy in my life, but if you’re interested in hearing ridiculous amounts of detail, I’m sure you will get in touch with me directly.

May your holiday season be filled with joy and warmth, friends and good food. I hope I get to know you better in the new year!