IronTiger

I don't know. Some forums have "ratings" systems like this one: http://forum.starmen.net/forum/Fan/Forum/4.../31#post1340875 but allows people to anonymously "beat up" a comment, even if it's not spam. And Facebook has a "Like" button. But for the HAIF? Nah. That's what makes the HAIF pretty neutral.

That was my thought, too.

Two thoughts: 1. The ugly mural above the fireplace when he sold his house in 2007 2. The terrible taste of Bill List's mansion (and we all know what happened to him)

I've heard pretty nice things about The British Isles on the HAIF, and recently my sister visited it. She was telling us at what a great store it was, and how she got a one-of-a-kind Scottish-made chocolate bar for $1.35. What are your thoughts on it?

I can't figure out what is more creepy in this one: the fact they would have an insane asylum for children or the knock-off Ernie and Bert murals on the walls.

Hmm...some giveaways of a private road include "flipped colors" on the sign (in CSTX, normal road signs have white-on-green, private roads are green-and-white), barricades, and gates. Other than that, feel free to drive through!

I can't imagine it being useful. It seems a bit redundant, and something tells me that it will be woefully underpopulated or overrun with spammers and trolls.

One of the DART lines in the Plano area is an abandoned heavy rail. But I think they TORE IT UP before installing LRT.

I went there yesterday. The gondola station and wires remain, but it no longer runs. The hotel stands as a nature center. The glass bottomed boats are nice. But the amphitheatre is completely closed. The ramp (it looks freakishly narrow) is overgrown and the actual theatre had the glass cracked in 1998 and it filled with water. It would be nice to pump out the water and remodel it, but that won't happen anytime soon. Photos coming.

Cool! When was that photo taken? And can anyone remember when Wal-Mart opened?

Well, we shouldn't jump to conclusions. So what if Mac is a big jerk in real life? Just because he's a jerk doesn't mean he'd arson his own furniture warehouse. Besides, Mac would have to be awfully gutsy...or foolish...to set the building on the fire, collect insurance, and then wait until someone figures out what he's up to...then have his reputation, money, and life go up in flames, like the warehouse.

Well, given your activeness on sniffing out mid-mod homes on HAR, having good taste in architecture, and knowing when a house is "remuddled".

The Twilight Zone. And, yes, I know that it is She_eats, but why not combine it into Sheets? And ricco, is that "Ricko" or some foreign pronunciation so it comes out as "Reeso" or something like that?

How do you pronounce some of these? For example, LTAWACS becomes "LeTwacks", Sevfiv is "SevFiv", and sheeats is turned into "Sheets".

Of course not. If I was making a list of Internet personalities with a grudge against McLeroy, it would be...long. @HoustonRanger: It's just a list of active HAIFers. Everyone can be on it.

I'm trying to write a list of regular posters to the HAIF, you know, easy reference. Here's what I've got...for now. 20thStDad BryanS: Magic eight ball citykid09: Light rail fanatic, Obama fanatic crunchtastic Dan the Man editor EMME flipper: House remodeling! Geoff8201: Y SO SRS Htownwxboy Lockmat LTAWACS LunaticFringe IronTiger Jax marmer NenaE: Houston historian Pumapayam: "Yum" RedScare: Not outspoken. rsb320 ricco67: The independent one. Sevfiv: HAR devotee sheeats TheNiche: No avatar! tmariar Also, Moderators, if this is a bad idea, feel free to lock this post. edit: 1013 PM: updated! edit 2: Geoff fixed, Highway6 rm'd, Dan added.

In regards to the original topic, who was Midtowncoog and when did he leave? I don't recall seeing him around...

Also, here's another one that is common, but really irritate me: the "Obamaist". This refers not to those who voted for Barack Obama or even support his policies. The Obamaist title is reserved for those who plaster his mug everywhere they go: their web personalities, their clothing, their life. They chant HOPE and CHANGE. They also buy the commemorative plates not so they can proudly eat off Obama's suit, but rather in the china cabinet as a flamboyant way of saying they are, in fact, an Obamaist. I really think that Obamaists are more annoying than hate-inducing. It's just that they treat Obama like a god figure, when he is in fact, not. But HATE inducing? Probably mimes.

Next on The HAIF things get interesting! RedScare and The Niche compete for posts, the secret relationship between two well-known HAIFers, NenaE's true love leaves her, a bad cold lands BryanS in the hospital, and Memebag is leaving?! (that was a joke, Nena, Red, Bryan, and Niche...please don't get offended)

Athens?

I'm pretty sure that the powder room IS a half-bath and the term is just a fancy way of saying it (sort of like "water feature" or whatever)

When I was new here, there was some talk of a Sage or Globe store (both?) across from Town & Country Mall. But I was talking to someone about the Pasadena area and she said a Globe was opened across from the Foley's at Pasadena, that later became Target. While I would still like to know if the Target is still there, I want to know about Sage and Globe. Apparently one was dumpier than the other, but... ...tell me.

Here is another bizarre instance of the spur. This must be connected to the Pelican Island Spur, somehow.... Abandoned switcher

There's just a lot of traffic there on weekends and vacations when schools and tourists jam the stoplight, and you can't make left or right hand turns from the north due to the light rail. Getting rid of the grade crossing somehow would probably alleviate at least one headache. I see. They seem to be too close to the stop line (San Jacinto/Fannin) without sufficient space for a full crossing. This can impede right and left turns. A full crossing like in Dallas would allow both parties to stop for each other (cars and LRT) while roads that don't have light rail can make easier turns. Do you honestly not know, or are you quizzing me? I would say it's because the trains there are either too fast or come in at a different angle. There is something different about it. Not really. If longer trains would be "too long to fit on a block", I assume you're saying that it would block more than one road downtown. But if the trains had an overpass or an underpass, one or less would be blocked, thus eliminating the "too long for a block" problem. Do you see what I'm saying? Good point, it would increase interruptions, thus increasing traffic, and defeating the purpose of a light rail. Still, I can't see how just one or two more cars would make that much of a difference... Why, the Texas and New Orleans Railroad, parallel from US-59. It would provide a speedy way to get from the Beltway 8 to downtown without driving on US59.

@ Musicman: First off, you have to keep in mind that I don't live in Houston, so my comments are naturally going to lean on the idealistic side, but I'm going to try hard to keep in reality. Musicman, I would close OFF the roads from vehicular traffic, giving it exclusively light rail. There's lights-and-guards at Fannin and Blodgett, also at Wentworth and San Jacinto, plus on San Jacinto. I'm afraid to say this, but isn't a given that if unless a light rail avoids roads via underpasses and overpasses, it's going to block vehicular traffic either way? Now, if Houston had more money that it does, we could tear up a road, build a "ditch", place a light rail in and build concrete "plaza" roads on top of it. Sunken ramps would allow access. However, the huge cost and the mess of tearing up of Main Street would be unimaginable. So I'm going to go with my first plan and expand the cars to four cars. Yeah, it will impede traffic, but that's what light rails do anyways, right?! Meanwhile, if Houston was to build anymore light rails, it would be more "traditionally" like what a heavy rail would do. Specifically, they could use a couple of abandoned ROWs I know of...