20thStDad

Yes go read the website - it hasn't changed in a year, they were asking for votes on restaurants a year ago. I don't think that bodes well for any actual progress on the project. I'm pulling for it since my stupid office is now down there, and I just can't get excited about choosing between Chili's, TGI Friday's, On the Border, Olive Garden, and all the other places that are exactly the same. I'll stick to Almeda Diner I guess.

I think you spoke too soon, as a secondary hijack is underway and in full strength. This is now the official unofficial all-Heights activities thread.

I went on a haunted tour in Edinburgh a few years back, it was awesome. The city reminds me of New Orleans, but add that it's over 1000 years older and you get some pretty cool stops on that tour.

Maybe that explains why their website hasn't been updated in over a year, and a lone trailer sits nearby with not a sign of work going on.

It's pretty much the Heights 1st Saturday thing, but a little bigger, and everyone wears white linen (because it's so hot maybe?). We drove by last year, looked like a good time. http://www.heightsfirstsaturday.com/whitelinen.html

I don't think showing totals proves that basketball is the most dangerous at all. It's about total numbers, there are way more people casually playing basketball or getting a pickup game together, because it takes a lot more equipment, organization, and facilities to do that in either baseball or football. There are just more people screwing around playing basketball, period. If as many people played football that number would be at least 10 times higher for football.

I love that Kroger and get good meat from there all the time. I think you just have to know how to select good meat, which honestly has taken me years to get good at. They have great sales on meat compared to Randall's from what I've noticed.

Ok I'm confused. You do have a device that let's you see how much energy your whole house is using (meter), even if it is analog. Are the smart meters a) more accurate, or b ) just better at relaying the same information because they are digital? I read the two links but neither describes what that "extra" information might be. What could it be besides an analysis of the same information, such as trends on your consumption rate over time? What might that show, that you use more when your a/c or electric water heater are pulling power? It's not difficult to make a list of the top 10 electricity users in your house. I'm kind of with musicman on this, common sense says if you turn off everything you don't need on, you are going to lower your consumption and therefore the bill. Can't do much more than that in the end. But if there is some new magical information that I can get from a smart meter, I'd like to know what it is. Information is good, data is fun.

Is your meter special? There should be 4 or 5 dials, just read left to right to get the total number. Take the final reading from your last bill and do some subtraction. The only tricky part would be when it rolls over, but that just makes it 2 step subtraction. I used to read mine every day during the summer when we lived in a crappily insulated apartment.

I've seen both sides of it, and enjoyed it for a while. My least favorite trips were Port Arthur and Gillette, Wyoming. Now you think Wyoming and nice landscape, but something about northeast Wyoming just isn't as great. Beyond that, there is nothing to do there (except get speeding tickets driving to Cheyenne or Rapid City on the weekend). Now Cody, Wyoming is another story. I love that place. I hit Yellowstone as much as I could on those trips. I've been to a lot of great places though - I got to spend a good amount of time in Aberdeen, which was really cool. I took a few weekend trips to Edinburgh and out in the country to Balmoral Castle. Also went to Cork, Ireland. That place rocks. Kinsale, south of Cork on the coast, it a beautiful place, and I actually got to fly out to the platform for that trip, about 12 miles out in the south Irish Sea. So beautiful. Also got to go to Alaska about 5 times now. Anchorage is great, but the best was being able to get up to the north slope. Of course I only got there during winter, so it was like being on the moon (I imagine, don't know for certain). White/gray everywhere, and just constant wind. I think 50 below was the temp in October sometime. To fly back on my second trip I had to get a guy to drive me 20 or so miles from Kuparuk to Prudhoe bay, and I remember being amazed looking at the truck thermostat reading 90 degrees. When the wind would blow I could feel it come through the cab, that's how cold the air was.

Is there a good place around here that actually grills their burgers? Burgers on a griddle will never have the same flavor, they all taste the same.

It's hot here, and "no one" walks anywhere (except crazy people who like hotness).

Do a little more reading up on your sacred IPCC report, it is not the gospel that you claim it to be. And this is no surprise based on where it came from, there is ample slant in it. I didn't feel like going back to find all the things I read, but here are a few. I can't honestly say they are the best examples or experts, but either way the point they make about the spin of the results and the fact that its findings are merely the expert opinions of a group put together in order to generate that particular opinion is enough for me to not worship it as you seem to. http://www.sepp.org/Archive/controv/ipcccont/Item05.htm http://www.ncpa.org/pub/st/st308/ Now definitely the entire report is not crap, and we should be prudent with regards to emissions, but the current tone is a little on the alarmist and dramatic side for me.

Go read post #6 again, from an actual meteorologist. It has no political slant, only a scientific conclusion. The leftists don't go after GW so vehemently because they actually understand or trust any science, it's completely political. Mother Nature is going to put everyone in their place sooner or later, and there won't be anything we could have done about it. One catastrophic volcanic eruption can completely negate and far outdo anything we try to do over the next 25 years. BUT I'm on the side of being responsible and managing what we release into the atmosphere regardless. I'm not saying there is no such thing as global warming, and I'm not saying we do/don't cause it - I'm just saying we don't know, and the only people claiming they absolutely KNOW anything are not the scientists, on either side.

I like Shady Acres, the trees are great, the location is great. I don't really like the style of building that is going on there right now. Where there used to be nice sized lots with yards (no sidewalks though), now they are sticking these townhome complexes in. I don't mind a townhome if it's street facing and has some kind of a yard to speak of, but these things they build where 8 are on a double lot sharing a driveway or a walkway up the middle are weird. I can't picture these not being completely slummed up in 10 years. I think it's too dense for the area. This is not Rice Military, and I can't really say for sure whether that model of building is going to work there in the long run. I'm just saying I don't like it. I think it's over-filling the market with homes that don't have long-term desirability.

No, I don't like any of the money wasted campaigning. It's a byproduct of a crappy 2-party wastefest.

I totally agree with that perspective on global warming. I don't think we can possibly prove what affect we have versus the vastness of forces that work naturally on the planet. BUT...I am happy to see that man is paying a lot closer attention to what we pump into the atmosphere (and water and solid waste as well), because whether it's a definite or not that it causes global warming, I believe it's certainly responsible to minimize our "unnatural" contributions to the equation. I think more focus should be turned away from CO2 and toward toxics, but keeping an eye on all of it is necessary I believe. (insert memebag comment that everything we do is natural)

...and in the process she managed to raise and subsequently waste millions of $ that could have gone to just about anything else to help the country and world. Thank you for that.

We got out there also, it was pretty hectic. The platforms weren't too stroller friendly so I just stepped up for a bit, on the side that apparently no one else was hanging out on...maybe I wasn't supposed to be there. That was a lot of rebar and concrete. ...and it's damn hot here. I feel my annual urge to whine about the heat coming on strong.

The stories we still tell have more to do with the amount of alcohol consumed before/during and less to do with where we were. My advice is to pre-drink and cab it, and hit midtown.

Doesn't have to be food. Corn is just the latest substitute. Someone needs to really invent the Mr. Fusion (back to the future in case you don't like awesome 80s movies), lord knows we make enough trash to power earth and beyond.

I only was postulating the warm weather theory because I know that you can hit a golf ball a good bit farther when it's hot as hell versus cold. It's also much easier to take off in an airplane in cold weather due to air density. The difference between 70 and 95 might not be much, but 40 to 90 I bet you can feel it. Not in engine performance, I'm just talking about wind-less air resistance. No doubt on the cycling-wind reference. Me and the wife did the MS150 last year, and after a few Saturdays with 20 mph headwind and infinite cursing, I checked the wind directions before going out on a training ride. So keeping that in mind, we should strive to line ALL interstate with trees, both in the median and sides. Not only is it a visual plus, but it'll cut the wind down and help our economy. If only it were easy to get mature trees quickly...or any trees in some areas like west Texas.

Um, you didn't see the part about donuts and coffee???!!!!11

So, I agree that the war needs to end, but whoever gets elected needs to actually go over there and see how things are. Anything that could be considered "immediate" withdrawal would create complete chaos over there. It's not just about war and insurgents, we are over there training their police force and military to maintain security in the country. A friend of mine just got back from his third tour doing this. Anyway, they are not even close to ready with a stable infrastructure. Sure, if we back out the troops the insurgents will have less targets, but I think we can't abandon them or it'll be no time before some group comes up and takes the place over again. I think that would be a crappy move on our part.

I would think your mileage would improve, although slightly, as it gets hotter (not accounting for a/c usage at least). do you think that has anything to do with it? Wind resistance is slightly less with the less-dense warm air, and O2 levels shouldn't be hurt because there are sensors that keep that where they need to be anyway. I also think wind itself plays a bigger part that you would think. If I can feel my car being blown around, it definitely affects the power/efficiency I'm getting.