dbigtex56

This is a topic that affects nearly everyone, yet no one seems to talk much about it. How much do you tip, and who do you tip? The standard amount for restaurant service now seems to be around 15-20%. Many people use twice the sales tax as a guide (I remember when 10% was the norm, but that was years ago.) I regularly tip that amount, or more if the service warrants it. However, all service is not created equal. In some restaurants, customers are expected to place orders at a counter, and the food is brought to the table by a server. In other cases, the customer is expected to pick up his own food. Yet, there seems to be this attitude that someone who only stops by occasionally to refill your iced tea deserves as much of a tip as a 'full-service' server. IMHO, this sucks. Worse yet are these trendy little coffee places, where one is expected to tip some condescending, hipper-than-thou kid for merely taking your money and handing you a cup. The people who work at fast-food places do more work, provide more service and generally have a better attitude - but they don't have a jar cutely labelled "KARMA" on their counters. And if the service is really bad, do you leave a smaller amount (5-10%), or nothing at all? Complain to the management? Or do you guiltily shell out the standard amount? Comments, please.

Hi, I checked out the www.spineuniverse.com site, and typed 'dow' in the site's search engine. "Too many matching articles found for 'dow'!" was the response. Could you furnish a more specific link to the article? I'm curious as to how the design of a building could affect the workers' spines. It seems to me that ergonomic furnishings would have a more direct impact. But then, OSHA works in mysterious ways...

I'm curious about the zoning laws. Are the height restrictions meant to preserve the lake views of existing buildings? Even a building that's 'only' 540 feet (!) would have a commanding presence on the lakefront. Do FAA regulations enter the picture? Or does Chicago want to confine its megascrapers to one district? Hope this proposal goes through; it's time for America to have a 21st century superskyscraper, and the design is inspiring.

Looks like this building is nearing completion. A cellular phone company has opened in the westernmost space. The corner unit (Smith at Elgin) has a notice posted in the window that application has been made for a liquor permit for a club dba The Maple Leaf Pub. Anyone know more about it? Does it cater to Canadians?

Here's the link for Michigan Left. Interesting concept, although the additional cuts through the meridian would detract from the scenic quality.

Too funny! Ever think of going into politics?

Yep, I can see it now...hordes of swarthy people walking twenty miles on the off chance that those nice suburban people haven't eaten all their Pop-Tarts yet. But you have that grasshopper/ant metaphor backwards. After all, aren't cities often compared to ant hills? And think of an extended interruption of food supplies; we'll have the ducks at Hermann Park to feast on, and pigeons, squirrels - even rats. For the knowlegeable, there's lots of edible plants to be found in vacant lots. And any relief efforts would start in a central location. You'd be walking in. Pity the suburbanite! After you've explained to the kids that "we have to eat Fluffy and Mittens now", all you'll have is St. Augustine grass. I'd suggest rinsing the pesticides off first. "Reality folks.. try bowl of it for breakfast tomorrow." What you're pushing isn't reality - and it's more often found in bowels than bowls.

That's the same setup that the Twin Towers at the WTC had. I'd always thought that was the first building with this innovation. It makes a lot of sense - the first people in are the first out, and you don't have to go through that whole awkward avoidance of eye contact with your fellow passengers.

Could it be The Acadian Bakers on W. Alabama?

A few nights ago, a bartender offered me a sample of a new 'beer' which his distributor was promoting. It's a flavored beer-energy drink mixture, and tastes exactly like those SweeTart candies. I find it hard to imagine that any adult would purposely drink this slop (the name of which I didn't catch). Like the pop-wines of the 70's, or Zima in the 90's, this is a product unashamedly aimed at the underage drinker. So wheres the outrage in Austin? Maybe the lollypop people need to hire better lobbyists.

Casual Observer: Drop the condescending attitude. Calling people "fragile", "naive" and "foolish" is not a reasoned argument, nor is it respectful of others. These statements were intended to inflame, not inform. If there's a point worth making, it can be done in a civil manner. If not, posts can (and shall) be deleted.

danax, what I find interesting is the changes that have come about in the way that neighborhoods are being revitalized. "Birth, youth, midlife, decline, death?" is the pattern for many neighborhoods, which used to be reversed in much the same way. The "rebirth" used to come about through three different actions (off the top of my head): *Wholesale demolition, followed by low-income government housing projects (very popular in the 50's and 60's), usually with terrible results. *Historic preservation, historic protection, appreciation of value, followed by appropriate infill. *"The Creative Class", who would congregate in rundown residential neighborhoods (such as Montrose), or abandoned industrial/commercial areas not on anyone's radar (think SoHo in NYC, or the Warehouse District in Houston), often mixed-use. Sometimes this sort of rehab was initially a form of civil disobedience, as residential use of these buildings was prohibited by city code. The second two examples usually took years, and a great deal of grass-roots effort. Legal battles had to be fought before any serious investment took place. The change I've noticed (at least in Houston) is that new development is going up without the interim steps. Townhomes and apartments are springing up in slums that hardly could even be called neighborhoods. The mantra used to be "Location, location, location". Now it seems to be "Location, Proximity, Speculation". It'll be interesting to see which neighborhoods in Houston have best held their value ten years from now.

This seemed to be a popular practice from the 'teens through the 1930's. In Rochester there was an apartment building from the 20's called (no kidding) Thelma Louise. Unfortunately it was torn down before the movie came out. A 50's apartment complex on Garrott used to be called the Pam-Roy, but the sign was removed when it was rennovated.

They're Common Nighthawks - small, swift birds with swept-back wings. You can sometimes spot them at dusk and dawn. They make a small 'cheep' sound that seems to come from nowhere and everywhere. Because they're swift! You'll also sometimes hear a solitary bird singing in a tree at night, usually in a well-lit area. I've read in the Chronicle that these are young male mockingbirds who are seeking to establish their own territory. Seems artificial lighting has changed their natural habits.

Absolutely agree. Covenant House cannot continue to bury its collective head in the sand. For all practical purposes, it's a trade school for prostitution and street crime. Despite of their good intentions, they're doing harm both to these mixed-up kids and to the surrounding neighborhood. At the time it was founded (early 80's, I think) Montrose property was fairly inexpensive. If they were to sell the existing property, I'll bet it would pay for a facility twice its size in a different part of town, leasing a local office, and a van to transport the kids from point A to point B. I'd also like to see HPD initiate some 'reverse' stings and scare the creeps who exploit these kids away from the neighborhood.

SpringTX, you make some excellent points. The "Leave it to Beaver" (or John Waters' "Polyester", for the more perverse) views of suburban life are simplistic and dated. And as you pointed out, conformity of thought isn't limited to the suburbs. What bothers me is that suburbs were designed exclusively for the benefit of automobile owners. I like to walk or take Metro - and you should be happy that I do, because I'm a terrible driver. (I do things like stop at red lights, use turn signals, obey speed limits - and it confuses people.) As bachanan has pointed out, The Woodlands may be an exception. It was planned to accomodate pedestrians and bicyclists as well as automobiles. However, it's not serviced by the Metro system; and I suspect that there's a dearth of greasy spoons, gay bars and thrift shops among their tree-lined paths. Like it or not, America is dependent on the private automobile. I don't like it. Cars kill people. They pollute the air, take up entirely too much of the landscape, and make us dependent on some creepy people to satisfy our thirst for oil. I'd be interested to hear from any happy suburban residents who are not automobile owners. (Bueller....Bueller?)

What's disheartening is that the destruction of historic houses in the Sixth Ward will have a dampening effect on future restoration and rehabilitations throughout the city. The Sixth Ward wouldn't have any appeal to these Johnny-Come-Latelys if a few dedicated people hadn't worked very hard to elevate conditions from its abysmal state twenty years ago. Preservationists who put sweat equity into their houses are motivated more by affection for historic structures and neighborhoods than to turn a quick buck. This seems to confuse many Houstonians. I guess an appreciation for old architecture and intact neighborhoods is something not easily acquired later in life. Like playing a musical instrument or fluency in language, perhaps exposure at an early age is required. If preservationists are convinced that their work is for naught, then we can forget about these urban pioneers saving other decaying neighborhoods - and no one benefits.

Enough of this nonsense. Thread closed.

Thanks, BrentO - you make a legitimate point. Come to think of it, my brother's family generally eat in the kitchen's (cramped) breakfast nook of their mid-sixties house. The dining room has been relegated to the role that the parlor had in houses a hundred years ago - nicely furnished, but seldom used. Hopefully, people will find ways to increase the functional use of their vintage kitchens while retaining the more desirable original elements.

Even better, you can take the light rail from Hermann Park and exit at the Preston Street Station. Walk north three blocks and you're there - just walk down the stairs east of the Main Street Bridge. As an aside - I'm not sure how old this building is, but surely it's been majorly flooded several times. I'd want a structural engineer to give it a good once-over before investing anything.

bachanon, Here's the budget version: Steam table breakfast at Kroger. Be sure to have some biscuits; they soak up the toxins in 'well' drinks. Hit Mary's at 10am for cheap Bloody Marys or Screwdrivers. Go to Half-Price Books; mumble loudly "So how come none of the damn books are half-price anymore?" until you're asked to leave. Go back to Mary's; stay until it sinks in that the crowd ain't gonna get any better, or there's a shift change, or you've played every bearable song on the jukebox at least three times, whichever comes latest. Hmm...I forget what comes after that.

Those diamond-paned windows are also charectoristic of the Tudor style. I agree that the curved portion of the roof looks vaguely French - I've seen similar rooflines on thatch roofed English cottages.

So stop telling people "your (sic) full of it." No flame wars, please.

This seems to be the prevailing style - no home is complete without a kitchen equipped like a medium-sized restaurant. How puzzling that people used to feed large households three meals a day from these kitchens; yet now two people living off microwavable food find them 'cramped'.

A little of both, I suppose. At one time, the Westheimer Festival was like a bizzare class reunion (except it was fun). Locals could always count on seeing people they knew, and it was amusing to see the bewildered looks on the faces of people unfamiliar with the neighborhood. It certainly brought out people's creative sides. In its latter years, it seemed to degenerate into just another place for dim-wits to drink too much beer. Although unsympathetic new residents' attitudes towards the festival irritated me, I think that the WestFest kind of ran its course. Once something becomes too popular, it's difficult - maybe impossible - to restore what made it appealling to begin with. (sorry - I know this is off topic)