hokieone

Samagon, you're right, that house on two lots is enormous! I'm guessing he plans to stick around the East End for a while, considering the style is also very specific to seemingly one person's tastes. If I were to sell and move, I'd still stay in the east end as well, just relocate a little closer to the light rail.

been to the grove a few times at night, once for drinks, twice to eat - has always been more fashionable for the dinner crowd for sure. don't think the shorts and t shirt would do too well in the downstairs bar, but i think during the day that's probably different too. the treehouse upstairs is pretty cool in my opinion. that deck is pretty large and its nice. one of the pics someone had was from the upstairs portion, and i can definitely see sitting out there during the day having a few drinks and it not being fancy at all. the other part that i think opens soon (the lake house) will also have beer and wine and i think that is very casual over there too.

yeah i don't really mind what they gave up outside of Patton - Luke was without a spot, so it was good for him to find a new home. Pitching is a huge need though and I don't see what we have left to trade if anything outside of Chris Burke, which would get you about nothing. I don't mind seeing Everett get non tendered, he just could not hit worth anything. I do like that with Loretta coming back, you do have some flexibility on the left side of the infield. Tejada can always move to 3rd, or Loretta can play 2nd if Matsui struggles. Right now our rotation is what though - Roy, Wandy, Backe, Sampson, and Woody? Not exactly the kind of rotation that you can count on....

i work right next to jones hall in pennzoil tower and on the exterior, i love jones hall. clean lines, and just fits in the block very nicely. as for the inside, i have to admit, its been a while since i've been in there - stomp maybe 10 years ago? so my opinion probably doesn't matter, but i would prefer that if there were a way to make it more updated on the inside, i would love to see it stay.

red scare you are right about the patios being packed, but at the same time, i'm still loving the smoking ban. i love to watch college football during my saturdays and the best place is sports bars where you can watch multiple games going on. the thing i hated though was coming home around 6-ish when the game died down and just reeking of the smell. these days, i get home and feel ok, other than of course the effect of the alcohol. i don't think i would say any of the places i used to go to seem anymore empty, but people have definitely gotten used to going outside. and since most of my friends don't smoke, we're enjoying hitting some spots we used to like, but avoided during the week because of the smoke. loved the pizza and darts at keneally's, but hated the smell. now we go once a week. i agree not everyone is loving it, but for some of us that love to grab a few drinks during the week and not have to deal with smoke hangover, its nice. and thank god for patios for the rest.

I know the Houston ban is scheduled to go into place Spetember 1st, but how quickly do you all think the effects will take place? There are quite a few bars in Houston and I just don't see them all flipping the switch like that. The only way it would seem to take place is if the city is aggressive enough to enforce it or else it turns into another "anti homeless" midtown type ordinance, which is never enforced. does anyone know if police officers are able to enforce it or is it a different agency? is the bar fined as well (which to me would make the law actually work) or the invidual smoking? If the bar has no stake in it, i can see them just turning the other way.

yeah i drive by there everyday on the way to work - still looks like a lot of work to be done to meet that timeline, but i'm guessing the garage is probably the toughest part of all and the rain probably hasn't helped. some of the basic park structures are being built right now. i'm hoping they can meet that timeline, because jan 2008 seems like its just around the corner.

exactly - i never pay to park for astros games. the street is free and the lot at i think mckinney and st emmanuel is the one that cracks me up the most. $5 to park there and the entire street around it is free. i parked there last night on the street and saw people piling in to the lot - i think its perception that a lot is somehow "safer." i personally don't think parking is a huge issue with taking away that one lot. if there is a combination of events on one day, then maybe there will be a pinch, but the same thing somewhat happens for rockets/ astros games. i know they are separated, but some of that middle area is used by both users. i think its great to see so many people walking around the near east end to astros games on game day, adds a definite festive feeling. as for bars and other development, i think its already on its way somewhat - next to warehouse live, i saw a sign for a liquor permit for a "lucky's pub" - typically when there are show's at warehouse, there is no where to go right before or after the show except for the bus which is across 59. if a stadium opens on the east side of 59, i think you will see a couple of restaurants and bars give it a shot. as for stadium sound, i live in the near east end - i can hear some announcer noise from robertson when there are games there. but i didn't move in close to downtown for it to be quiet country living anyway.

clemens always has been and always will be a prostitute when it comes to choosing team. that doesn't mean he isn't a great pitcher, because he is. but he always manages to get what he wants and the stringing along of the astros is just what he loves to do best. i loved this quote he threw out there too: "You feel like coming back home," said Clemens, who won his only two World Series championships with the Yankees in 1999 and 2000. "And you feel like you're welcomed. You know what it's all about here. Uh, you were back home. You just didn't care anymore to be there.

No Violence in Boston Still none Actually sounds like the same as Houston stats

i believe that your "urban crate and barrel" is already in the works based off of previous articles. i think that the company that owns the clothing boutique wish is supposed to open a lifestyle store in the sakowitz building - as to when that will happen, who knows, but i believe that is supposed to have more of your plates/ glasses/ furniture type retail. don't remember where the article was that had that, but i remember seeing that before.

east side, best mexican restaurants = stories about the pools? can we take a little break from the "the east end used to be nice but now is a run down crap hole" stories for a little while? it seems like every thread in the east end forum is getting bumped up against for some random complaining.

Colts will not make it to the super bowl. that run defense is horrific - yes ron dayne looked good yesterday, but also against a team that has been getting drilled by the run. the jags went for i think 400 yards on the ground a few weeks ago. if the colts run into a team with even a decent running game, its over. the nfc is unpredictable - dallas looks like world beaters, gets smacked by new orleans and philly. new orleans got beat by the redskins a week ago. philly is playing with jeff garcia. bears have a great record, but who knows what grossman is ever going to do. i would think this is a year that the AFC should have a significant edge.

which ones have closed recently?

Rocbar has been open for several weeks now - Roc Bar you may have seen them working on Mosaic, which I don't think is ready quite yet.