Traffic

[homer13j]

Our glorious city leaders in their infinite wisdom have allowed a Hollywood production studio to completely shut down the West Shoreway for TWO WEEKS to film some stupid superhero movie that I will never watch. Traffic this morning was an absolute nightmare.

I am seriously considering commuting to work on my dirt bike using the numerous abandoned rail lines around here.

[Shaggy Hiker]

Go for it. I'd certainly be doing that. The only real concern I'd have would be securing the bike at work.

Several years back, either Bush or somebody around him (I forget who it was), gave a speech in downtown Boise. This city isn't big enough for that kind of security, so it pretty much shut down ALL the main routes through the city. Driving was fun.

[TysonLPrice]

I seem to remember Bill Clinton getting a haircut somewhere that tied up a whole airport

[Shaggy Hiker]

Any time a president does anything it messes with all the traffic in the area, whether in the air or on the ground. I got stopped by what I was told was the presidential motorcade back in the late 80s around Hartford. A whole series of on-ramps onto the interstate were blocked off. I've never been entirely clear on that one, though, as I heard two different explanations for why the on-ramps were blocked. It sure messed up travel, though.

[homer13j]

The biggest joke is our glorious leaders trying to convince us this fiasco will bring in "$100 million" in economic benefits (LOL) while completely ignoring the economic impact of adding at least an hour per day to the commute of 50,000+ people times 11 weekdays.

Our doofus mayor is toast this November. Wish I could say the same for city council, but if Zack Reed can get reelected after multiple drunk driving arrests then there's no hope of replacing any of the other corrupt bums.

Funny thing is one of the main reasons I fled Chicago for Cleveland was because I hate dealing with heavy traffic and hopelessly corrupt one-party rule.

[Steve R Jones]

homer - I'll trade you your two weeks for my five years..

Dallas has Interstate 635 the circles the city.. The big stretch 100 yards from where I'm sitting is halfway through year one of a five year project. They are adding a upper deck to the existing ten lanes. Once they are done, there will be a toll to use it

[dunfiddlin]

Probably not the time to talk about my daily commute - 21 feet from bedroom to desk - then? [ducks]

[Shaggy Hiker]

Our governor got elected with some DUI history. One party rule for the whole state....but I really can't complain about the traffic. Not only is it generally light by the standards of any city, people are super-polite when it comes to driving. Not too bad the rest of the time, either, for that matter.

[Shaggy Hiker]

Probably not the time to talk about my daily commute - 21 feet from bedroom to desk - then? [ducks]

Yeah!! I have stairs I have to descend, you lucky @#$@#$!

Actually, I do have a lengthy commute on those days I go to the office, but I don't go in every day, and the days at home have a most excellent commute.

[homer13j]

I don't hate anyone for telecommuting - I envy you. But I'm on a contract job and they insist I work from their office on the opposite side of town. I can park the bike next to the security office but there's no guarantee they'll actually keep an eye on it. I'll probably chain it to the cast iron fence.

I googled I-635 and yeah, it's a mess but at least you'll see (and pay for) the benefits eventually.

And I am aware that Cleveland's normal rush hour traffic is a Sunday afternoon in a lot of cities. A side benefit of losing 60% of our population. What pisses me off is they could have used a freeway under construction somewhere else and CGI'd the buildings but only Cleveland was stupid enough to make this offer.

[baja_yu]

The biggest joke is our glorious leaders trying to convince us this fiasco will bring in "$100 million" in economic benefits (LOL) while completely ignoring the economic impact of adding at least an hour per day to the commute of 50,000+ people times 11 weekdays.

Maybe the extra cost in gas is part of that $100 million

[sapator]

Traffic, forgot to add it on what IT people hate. Traffic is proly in my top5 list. Fortunately with the Greek crisis less and less cars are circulating (gas price) so, ye, at least we are solving the traffic problem in Athens....Come to think of it i hate politicians and is on my top 3 list, maybe no1 or no2.

[dunfiddlin]

less and less cars are circulating

It never ceases to amaze me that people still don't realise that every time they get in a car (especially if they're on their own) they immediately become the traffic that everybody else is complaining about. But then having once had a neighbour who would get in the car and follow a one way system half a mile round three sides of a block to get to a 'convenience' store 100 yards away (if I left on foot at the same time we always arrived more or less simultaneously!), I suppose nothing should surprise me about drivers anymore!

[sapator]

And how would i suppose to get to work? No public transportation nearby at the specific one.
Also i prefer to walk 20 minutes to go to the gym than take the car or public trans.

[baja_yu]

Bicycle.

[sapator]

15km bicycle in the main streets of Athens and the express way in the morning on Greek summer sun. Right.

[dee-u]

Traffic, forgot to add it on what IT people hate. Traffic is proly in my top5 list. Fortunately with the Greek crisis less and less cars are circulating (gas price) so, ye, at least we are solving the traffic problem in Athens....Come to think of it i hate politicians and is on my top 3 list, maybe no1 or no2.

I use motorcycle and avoids all traffic and I also hate the politicians here.

[homer13j]

Haven't tried the dirt bike thing as the weather has been crappy. My solution has been to get up an hour early. Lucky for me they let me leave early too. A bit of lunchtime exploring has revealed a route back home using side streets to bypass the worst traffic. Only one more week to go...

[baja_yu]

15km bicycle in the main streets of Athens and the express way in the morning on Greek summer sun. Right.

It seems I have misread your mind regarding how far you have to travel and where exactly. Having been to Athens and drove the streets on my motorcycle, I'd suggest a motorcycle.

[sapator]

If i have to use a bike then i prefer to use a car. Safety first.
If you have been to Athens then you know how they (we) are driving here. So using a bike in the morning traffic that everyone is in a hurry will probably cost me a broken arm or leg, if i am lucky.
I can use a bike on Sundays and Saturdays to get to the beach tho.

[Shaggy Hiker]

If i have to use a bike then i prefer to use a car.

Parsing that sentence just results in very odd speculations.

[dunfiddlin]

Parsing that sentence just results in very odd speculations.

Meh, it's all Greek to me!

[sapator]

So let me explain it better.
Motorcycle comes from the LATIN word movere, motus that means movement and the GREEK word κύκλος (kuklos) than means circular.
Automobile comes from the LATIN word movere, motus, same as above and da GREEK word αὐτός (autos) than means self, same.
I just cut the words down to the, let's say more common English so i can blend with the natives here.
So you just have been educated.

[dunfiddlin]

I disapprove of these Latin/Greek mishmashes. Mention them not again in my presence or I shall be forced to take my Anglo-Saxon dictionary to you!

[sapator]

Anlgo what? The Whole English language is based on Greek and Latin. If you didn't use these words you will end up talking like this:
Eh, at's up? are we going to the stuff to do the , that we did it when it was done.
Although i am not sure about do-did. It may come from Latin "do ut des". Can you take your Anglo-Saxon lexicon(I Greeked it up) and help?

[dunfiddlin]

The Whole English language is based on Greek and Latin.

Whoa there! English is officially not a Romance language, no matter how many Greek or Latin words it may have adopted, so we'll have none of that talk here! (See what I did there!) It is a Germanic language essentially and a very late adopter of the Classical rootswhich were brought in by the Normans but remained very much the preserve of the ruling classes well into the 16th Century. There was published some years ago a modern English Dictionary which eschewed all Latin and Greek rooted words and replaced them with derivations from Old English, Anglo-Saxon, and Norse (I've always wanted to get a copy!) which proves that it can (if not should) be done!

[sapator]

You are right that English is officially not a Romance language but it is mostly a blend of Roman and Greek. Almost everything comes from Greek/Latin. 16th Century what? Please don't.
Now:
Fiddlin. Interesting read: fides - fidicula.
Goes up to ancient Greek and Rome. The boy knew what cool nickname to pick.
http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/..._Fiddled*.html .
I am leaving you to find where my nick comes from...You have one hour... lol.
There is also a complete article written in Greek that all of the words are used in English language. Would you like to provide it?

[dunfiddlin]

Nay sir! Fiddle is a proper English word from the Norse fidla, Old German fidula. Done is also as English as it gets, derived from the Old English gedon. So there's no taint of the Romanic about Done Fiddling, no sirree Bob! My real name is firmly rooted in Anglo-Saxon with a soupcon of Welsh too.

[sapator]

English:
Old English Englisc=Engle (pl.) the English (Latin Anglī
And we move to: From Latin Angl, the Angles, of Germanic origin.

[sapator]

Old German fidula:
"Certainly by the seventh century, the term was established in western terminology. In England a poet writes concerning a fidicula and on the continent fidula, a derivative of fidicula, was used as the name of one of a number of musical instruments which included the harp, lyre, and rotta."
Sorry to spoil your dreams.

[sapator]

Gedon's language of origin is Hebrew. Gedon is a variant form of the English, French, German, Hebrew, and Slavic Gideon.
So your name is Hebrew - Latin - Greek. You should be proud!

[sapator]

found the article with all Greek:

"The genesis of classical drama was not symptomatic. Aneuphoria of charismatic and talented protagonists showed fantastic scenes of historic episodes. The prologue, the theme and the epilogue, comprised the trilogy of drama while synthesis, analysis and synopsis characterized the phraseology of the text. The syntax and phraseology used by scholars, academicians and philosophers in their rhetoric, had many grammatical idioms and idiosyncrasies.

The protagonists periodically used pseudonyms. Anonymity was a syndrome that characterized the theatrical atmosphere.
The panoramic fantasy, the mystique, the melody, the aesthetics, the use of the cosmetic epithets are characteristics of drama.
Eventhrough the theaters were physically gigantic, there was noneed for microphones because the architecture and the acoustics would echo isometrically and crystal - clear. Many epistomologists of physics, aerodynamics, acoustics, electronics, electromagnetics can not analyze - explain the ideal and isometric acoustics of Hellenic theaters even today.

There were many categories of drama: classical drama, melodrama, satiric, epic, comedy, etc. The syndrome of xenophobia or dyslexia was overcome by the pathos of the actors who practiced methodically and emphatically. Acrobatics were also euphoric. There was a plethora of anecdotal themes, with which the acrobats would electrify the ecstatic audience with scenes from mythical and historical episodes.

Some theatric episodes were characterized as scandalous and blasphemous. Pornography, bigamy, hemophilia, nymphomania, polyandry, polygamy and heterosexuality were dramatized in a pedagogical way so the mysticism about them would not cause phobia or anathema or taken as anomaly but through logic, dialogue and analysis skepticism and the pathetic or cryptic mystery behind them would be dispelled.

It is historically and chronologically proven that theater emphasized pedagogy, idealism and harmony. Paradoxically it also energized patriotism a phenomenon that symbolized ethnically character and phenomenal heroism."

So many band titles to choose from!! :P

[baja_yu]

You seem to be arguing with yourself from the start. Take a look at what Shaggy originally quoted. Now, I don't know what he meant this, but my take on it is the logical problem, if you have to usa a bike, how can you prefer to use a car. It's like saying, if I have to eat a vegetable, I prefer to eat a fruit.

[sapator]

I am not arguing. I was trying to educate in sap's unusual way. Didn't even parse Shaggy's post. He's a friend and old timer like me(and you obviously) so he can irritate and make fun of me as long as he wants.
Didn't you like the Greek - Latin argument afterwards? I though it was educative.

[baja_yu]

I have no problem with that, except that it seemed disconnected from what I perceived to be the starting point. Back to the subject on traffic in Athens, while it does get crowded, I have to say that, and it applies to Greece in general, you have some of the most motorcycle-aware drivers of anywhere I have been. Everyone seems to mind motorcyclists very much. Plus you have the bus lanes that you can use when traffic is congested.

[sapator]

Also i was supposed to study Jquery tonight(Greek) and i just blew it. Chit chat can be very ethistic(Greek) so i think i will practice some diminution(Greek) and not post very often here.

[sapator]

Bus lines are frequently pirated by drivers.They don't run that long anyhow, it's mostly in the center of Athens.Motorcycles keeps passing left and right from my car like crazy (you ever driven a car here?) .
Basically i would say that we have a 30% good drivers and 70% bad drives. We don't always stop at traffic signs, today i was walking down the road to the gym and from a 15 minutes walk 3 bikes crossed the road opposite (up instead of down).What else..
Err. Woman drivers (hope my Girlfriend doesn't see that :P ) . You see i can praise Greek civilization but in some sectors i must say that we are very bad.
@Baja where are you from buddy? If you care to comment.

[baja_yu]

Just up north from you in Serbia Well, you may think it's bad there, but I've seen a lot worse I did cover a lot of road by car as well, though not in Athens. Thessaloniki, yes.

[sapator]

Respect to our Serbian brothers!
Then you know the Greek thymic man. You know how we drive here. Cutting the exhausts for more noise and lubricate our hair. We have a couple of car crashes every day, although i can blame it to our poorly made roads.
P.S. You know that they are cutting down the public tv and radio signal today? Politician scums!

[baja_yu]

I heard about that. Though, our national broadcaster is so bad most people wish they would close it down