dbigtex56

Threads merged

It works fine. What's the problem?

Gee, I've never heard the word 'design' described as grossly arbitrary. It seems pretty all-encompassing to me. I'm also puzzled as to what in the "elitist, "schools-of-art" attitude" and "obscene pencil sketches" (whatever they are) is intrinsically offensive; they seem to address the very issues on which you place great importance. Certainly it's a superior method of planning and designing public spaces than the old model of "I am your God, The Architect, looking down from on high." Sure, it's fun to look at scale models of buildings, but it gives a false perspective. To plan from the perspective of street level (and multiple points of view) requires the architect to consider how a space will actually be utilized, not as a mere design element to offset a single building. Open plazas in urban settings can be a blessing or a curse. Jane Jacobs did time/usage studies of some of the more prominent ones around New York City, and her findings are still relevant. I recommend reading that chapter of The Death and Life of Great American Cities; she explains their dynamics more clearly than I, and in greater detail than belongs here. Some of these rants could use a good editing.

What a mixed blessing. On one hand he increased values and gave people reason to maintain their homes. On the other, some significant MCMs have been bastardized beyond recognition. If anyone cares to gaze into his crystal ball, what are the chances that these 'improvements' might someday be undone on a large scale? I'm hoping that MCMs will someday be more widely appreciated. A trend I've noticed lately is that many advertisers are using MCMs on TV ads, which is encouraging.

Appreciate the compliment.

Welcome to HAIF, Sauquoit. What's the cross street on Caroline? Can you describe the building (my memory needs jogging)?

Good design at the top is no excuse for bad design at street level. Why would anyone defend barren, alienating streetscapes?

Reminds me of the guy(s) who would hang out in front of La Carafe and offer (for a few bucks) to tie a balloon to your antenna "So's I can keep an eye on it for you." As veiled threats go, it was about as subtle as "Nice little business you have here. It would be a shame if something was to happen to it."

The uncertain height of the building seems like an impediment to good design. Stretching a building from 30 to 50 stories can wreak havoc with proportions.

What a great choice of color. It contrasts beautifully with the brick, and seems very period-appropriate. I notice that the old door had a peephole, and the new one does not. Certainly, it creates a sleeker surface - is there an alternative way you can preview guests?

Dr. Frank has an 80% chance of being completely full of himself. He's unbearable whenever there's any weather in the tropics between June and December. I'm tired of having regular programming interrupted so he can listen to himself talk. If that's a question, read the link on the first post in this thread. Mr. Brandon discusses his history quite frankly.

In fairness to mrfootball, his original title was "This is why apartments suck". I decided to make the title more descriptive of the topic(s) being discussed (murder and fire prevention )

And yet...

Yes; in the process of moving the thread, the original was lost. I was able to (more or less) reconstruct it using cut and paste. Sorry for any confusion. That's what I heard on a television report last night (sorry, cannot remember which station.) However, here's an account from The Eagle: Despite the confession, Harris County sheriff's officials have questioned the likelihood of finding Stewart's body, which they said could be buried in a landfill beneath more than 35,000 tons of refuse. Late Thursday, department officials announced they had all but ruled out a recovery effort, saying such an undertaking would be nearly impossible, logistically. A public outcry ensued, as did an offer from Texas A&M University former students to help foot the bill for the search, which could cost upward of $350,000 in excavation costs alone. By Friday afternoon, sheriff's department officials appeared to have reversed their position. At the request of Harris County Sheriff Tommy Thomas, the county commissioners earmarked $500,000 in seized drug funds to pay for a potential search, a department spokesman said. Republic Waste - the garbage collection service for the trash container in question - was told to begin preparing the site, a process expected to take three days. The sheriff then provided a rather cryptic message as he explained investigators were continuing to follow leads that could make the search unnecessary. He declined to comment further.

611 Walker is the Bob Lanier Public Works Building. The City Hall Annex building is at 900 Bagby.

Very observant! Even grade A sci-fi flicks use 'found sounds': Sound Design of Star Wars Laser Blasts The sound of a hammer on an antenna tower guy wire.

Per HFD Standards" 3.5 Location to buildings. Portable barbeque pits, charcoal grills and other open-flame cooking devices outside of a building shall not be operated on combustible balconies or located within 10 feet of combustible walls or roofs or other combustible materials. There's no "sometimes" about it; this rule applies to all structures within the city of Houston. The fire department can only enforce rules if they're made aware that the rules are being violated. I agree, it's odd that they didn't make the guy move his grill. I also think it's odd that Sheriff Tommy Thomas outright refused to initiate a search through landfills for the young woman's body (at first the alleged murderer stated he'd disposed of her body in a dumpster.) After a firestorm of controversy (sorry, unfortunate choice of words) the perp conveniently changes his story, and gets the sheriff off the hook.

In 311's defense, several months ago I saw my street strewn with trash and the heavy trash truck making a quick getaway. Fortunately I was able to get the truck number and called 311. Within twenty minutes, the truck returned, and the trash was picked up.

Where did you get your information? From 1969 to 1992, when it was moved to Akron, Ohio, the Goodyear airship America was based near Spring. The airship is one of three designed and built by Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company of Akron, Ohio. - Handbook of Texas Online This matches up with what I remember happening at that time.

(apologies for going off-topic) A friend just bought a pair of Erath speakers, and I did a little research for him. As a Houstonian, Erath probably deserves his own HAIF thread - he's considered to be a genius in the audiophile world.

Parents who raise well-mannered children and encourage their talents have earned bragging rights. If these displays do not interest you, then don't watch them. Would your mother be proud to hear you talk like that? Is that the way you view yourself, and every other human being on this planet? Despite what's shown on TV, coarse and vulgar doesn't always equal funny. I care about children. I have none (and have no plans to acquire any), so I view it as a privilege when people permit me to be in their children's presence. They remind me of my own childhood, which was (pretty much) a happy one. I can understand constant exposure might grind on one; if that's the case, do everyone a favor and stay away from them. It's nice to know that we can, occasionally, agree.

The Wachovia on Smith (just south of Spec's) seemed to spring up overnight. The design is OK, but IMO too closely resembles an Audi dealership.

Hate to carp, but the locations do not correspond to those yellow dots - they seem to have been randomly assigned (e.g. since when is the West Alabama Ice House downtown?)

uh-huh. And maybe this is why there are so many sex shops on Westheimer:

I kept hoping that maybe they'd accidentally switched captions, and the "before" was really the "after". Is there any way for the new kitchen to not look cluttered? Open shelving can be a dangerous thing.