dbigtex56

Thinking outside the box: My ex owned a boa constrictor, which achieved a length of 8+ feet, which was a little larger than he was prepared to deal with. According to a pet shop which dealt in reptiles, Texas law prohibits the trade of snakes over a certain length. He was stuck with the thing until another friend was persuaded to take it off his hands. Bear with me. We gather these unwanted boa constrictors, pythons, etc., and fit them with radio transmitters so they can be tracked. We then release them in areas infested with rats and the homeless. The homeless will scatter. The rats will be eaten. The snakes will be saved. Everyone's happy.

"I see...dead people." Just curious...according to Toyota's Cars and Environment webpage, more than 30,000 Priuses have been sold in Japan alone since its introduction in 1997. Presumably, at least a few have been involved in accidents. Has there been even one reputable report of EMS personnel being electrocuted? Regarding the batteries: these are not your father's Oldsmobile's lead-acid batteries. They're nickel-metal hydride (whatever that means...) Whatever environmental threat this new technology poses, it cannot be compared with the known problems caused by conventional lead batteries.

There used to be a similar building on the south side of Westheimer, near Windsor (across the street from the Daiquiri Factory). It was a locksmith shop and they had a big sign saying KEYS. Wonder if it was a Rettig's, too?

Yes, I think so. It was called "Metropol" or "Metropole" - something like that. They installed circular windows on the front in keeping with the Deco/Streamline theme.

Speaking of how easy it is to make a kid happy: When I was about four, my father took the family to a soda fountain for ice cream. When it was time for me to place my order, I said I wanted a milkshake. "What flavor?" "Raspberry." "We have chocolate, vanilla and strawberry. No raspberry." "But I want raspberry!", I insisted. "We don't have that." I guess my father saw my disappointment. "Bring him a raspberry milkshake," he said. The soda jerk rolled his eyes. "Sir, we don't have..." "Sure you do," my dad interjected. "See?", pointing at the menu. "S-T-R-A-W-B-E-R-R-Y. Raspberry." Best raspberry shake I ever had.

According to their website, DiverseWorks is preparing to celebrate its 20th anniversary. So far as I know, they've always been located at the Vine St. location. From their website: DiverseWorks is one of the leading contemporary art centers in the United States. Known for its groundbreaking artistic education programs and distinguished by its financial stability, DiverseWorks serves as an open venue for artists, a training ground for future arts administrators and a model for arts centers across the country. DiverseWorks remains notable for its commitment to artists who are exploring inventive and successful earned-income ventures. DiverseWorks serves as a crucible for artistic exploration and audience development. DiverseWorks' activities are supported by an active Board of Directors and Artist Board and an involved corps of members, audience supporters, students and volunteers. That's what's so great about Houston - just when you think you know the place, another facet reveals itself.

Forgive me, but what the hell are "talking points"? This Orwellian 'Newspeak' grates on my nerves. By 'talking points', do they mean issues? Or sticking to the subject? "When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, "it means just what I choose it to mean - neither more nor less." "The question is," said Alice, "whether you can make words mean so many different things." "The question is," said Humpty Dumpty, "which is to be master - that's all." - Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking-Glass Humpty Dumpty played by his own rules. He defines 'glory' as "There's a nice knock-down argument for you!", 'impenetrability' as "we've had enough of that subject, and it would be just as well if you mentioned what you mean to do next, as I suppose you don't mean to stop here all the rest of your life." Yet, he expects his nonsense will be not only understood, but respected as well. Unfortunately, Humpty Dumpty's rules seem to be more the rule than the exception. People who have extremely liberal views about the government granting financial breaks to the ultrawealthy and megacorporations call themselves conservatives. People who hold extremely conservative views about governmental involvement with matters of religion and personal morality call themselves liberals. These words are so consistantly misused that they've lost any meaning. What are words for? When no one listens, it's no use talkin at all. - Missing Persons, Words When people cannot comprehend nor express themselves clearly, all that remains is noise.

I'm going to try to attend. How can we identify each other? Yelp "HAIF! HAIF!" at intervals? Nametags?

Which is why we couldn't enjoy the annual meteor shower last night.

If you needed a hearse to transport the world's fattest man to a remote gravesite in a war zone...why, this would be just the ticket!

merged topics - existing thread.

How come they don't offer the option of which brand of water is used to brew your coffee? Here's the options I want to hear: "So you wanna cuppa kawffee or dontcha? I don't got all day."

How do y'all feel about La Carafe? Any other suggestions?

As a current (dissatisfied) SWB customer, I"m interested in finding a different landline telephone provider. No DSL, no call waiting, no caller ID, none of that um, stuff. Just regular ol' dialup. Since I don't have broadband, Vonage isn't an option. In other words, I'm looking for cheap. I realize that this is a market about as hot as that for manual typewriters. However, does anyone know of a local provider who's cheaper than SWB?

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all doing direct the other way - in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only." - Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities (1859) The more things change, the more they remain the same.

Guess this may as well go here as anywhere. From today's KHOU website: Neighborhood activists call them "litter on a stick." For years now, they've ripped down and ripped up so-called bandit signs. Now activists in the FM 1960 area have dreamed up a novel way to clean those signs off the streets and it's working. Larry Lipton loves driving his sports car, but the guy in his little red Corvette has another obsession. "It's trashy," he says about nearby FM 1960. Maybe you've seen him on the busy stretch of road, swinging a garden tool and ripping down bandit signs. After tearing down countless illegal signs in his neighborhood, the civic activist came up with an idea. "We started reporting these builders and other offenders to the Better Business Bureaul," said Lipton. City regulators have routinely torn up bandit signs and ticketed the people behind them, but nobody had ever before considered threatening them with black marks at the Better Business Bureau. "It is within our purview. But I will tell you, we had a lot of meetings of staffers, where we sat down, did some real brain friction, and said, 'Are we really going down the right road?' And the answer was, 'Yeah, we are,'" said Dan Parsons with the Better Business Bureau. It is an unorthodox strategy, but it's apparently working. Civic activists say two major homebuilders have agreed to stop posting bandit signs in the 1960 area. And drivers can see the difference. "Right now, we can walk through this area and see nothing but grass," said Lipton. Now, in places where people used to see bandit signs they're seeing a sign of how things have changed. To report bandit signs in the City of Houston, just call 311. Link to KHOU article

That (CDs or DVDs) certainly seems like a sensible option. I've heard that some students are laden like pack mules with textbooks. Conventional textbooks, while more expensive to produce, should remain available; not every student has unrestricted access to an adequate computer. Although I'm neither a teacher nor a parent, I'd like to have the opportunity to review the current crop of textbooks. Maybe something was overlooked in my education; or perhaps certain information is no longer being covered. Aside from mugging some unsuspecting student, can the public obtain access to current textbooks?

excerpt from "That Hissing Sound" by Paul Krugman: Of course, some people still deny that there's a housing bubble. Let me explain how we know that they're wrong. One piece of evidence is the sense of frenzy about real estate, which irresistibly brings to mind the stock frenzy of 1999. Even some of the players are the same. The authors of the 1999 best seller "Dow 36,000" are now among the most vocal proponents of the view that there is no housing bubble. Then there are the numbers. Many bubble deniers point to average prices for the country as a whole, which look worrisome but not totally crazy. When it comes to housing, however, the United States is really two countries, Flatland and the Zoned Zone. In Flatland, which occupies the middle of the country, it's easy to build houses. When the demand for houses rises, Flatland metropolitan areas, which don't really have traditional downtowns, just sprawl some more. As a result, housing prices are basically determined by the cost of construction. In Flatland, a housing bubble can't even get started. But in the Zoned Zone, which lies along the coasts, a combination of high population density and land-use restrictions - hence "zoned" - makes it hard to build new houses. So when people become willing to spend more on houses, say because of a fall in mortgage rates, some houses get built, but the prices of existing houses also go up. And if people think that prices will continue to rise, they become willing to spend even more, driving prices still higher, and so on. In other words, the Zoned Zone is prone to housing bubbles. And Zoned Zone housing prices, which have risen much faster than the national average, clearly point to a bubble. In the nation as a whole, housing prices rose about 50 percent between the first quarter of 2000 and the first quarter of 2005. But that average blends results from Flatland metropolitan areas like Houston and Atlanta, where prices rose 26 and 29 percent respectively, with results from Zoned Zone areas like New York, Miami and San Diego, where prices rose 77, 96 and 118 percent. Link to New York Times article (for limited time)

OK, with 20 votes in: 10 for Downtown 6 for Midtown 4 for Montrose 12 for weeknight 8 for weekend So far, it looks like downtown on a weeknight would be the best compromise. Jefe bar, anyone? Or we could all bring 40 oz.-ers and meet under the Main St. bridge...

Courtlandt Place more closely resembles neighborhoods in the West End of St. Louis than anywhere I'm aware of in New Orleans (it was designed by a St. Louis architect). Although it's gated, you can catch a glimpse through either the Bagby St. gates or the fence on the Taft St side (at the end of Lovett Blvd.) As you mentioned in an earlier post, the wide streets in Houston just don't lend themselves to the ambience of the French Quarter. However, the closest to it is along the Smith St side of Brennan's. Gas lights, a brick-walled courtyard with an iron gate, and the odors of delicious food mixed with the smell of stale cigarette butts and spilled drinks...

Why, Fox News, of course! What a bunch of kidders! I accidently hit Fox News instead of TCM the other day, and the announcer was talking about Robert Novak's little hissy-fit (I paraphrase): "Yes, that's how our friends over at CNN do things. The minute the conversation started getting interesting, they cut him off." Well, no. Not. Totally wrong. After Robert Novak got backed into a corner by James Carville, he used an expression more appropriate to barnyards than prime-time television, and flounced off the set. But heck, we can't hold him accountable for his childish behavior. Must have been the liberal meda's fault! It's true that CNN beeped Novak's vulgarity. I'm sure conservative viewers appreciate that.

This here's Texas. Someone who's a big enough jerk to construct such a wall might want to argue the legal fine points with a shotgun. Besides, why should neighbors work for free? The wall needs to be removed at the owner's expense.

People hate to give up their urban myths. Imagine how many barroom arguments we can get into with that bit of information!

The Calais sits atop what used to be the centerpiece of the "French Quarter" area of Midtown. There were several buildings which took that theme in the 60's or 70's. Brennan's may have been the inspiration; not sure. The block bounded by Louisiana, Smith, Stuart and Elgin featured buildings built around a central courtyard with a fountain. They were demolished about three years ago to construct The Calais, which also attempts a French Quarter theme (how well they succeeded is a matter of personal taste). Courtlandt Square is a reference to Courtlandt Place, which is a gated St. Louis style enclave accessable only off Bagby (west of Spur 527). It's designated as one of Houston's few historic districts. Per the 1913 map of Houston, Stuart St. ended at the entrance of Courtlandt Place, prior to construction of the spur. btw, the residents bought the street (Courtlandt Place) from the city of Houston several years ago; it's privately owned, and not accessible to the public. Supposedly.