Tom, it's not better YET. But in the end it will be. After all new and wider roads or bridges cause major blockages during the construction phase. That's where RCU is at the moment and from the discussion in the moderator's area will be for a couple of more weeks. The major stuff is likely to be fixed in the next few days and then they can mess around with the smaller issues that affect fewer people.
As for your avatar I'm not sure. Possibly it had too many pixels to match the new software's rule? Try submitting it again and see if it accepts the image. Or your user panel may have come up with the "show avatar" box un-checked?