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woody_hawkeye

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Posts posted by woody_hawkeye

  1. looks like it's east of i10 and 45. (w of n main)

    I'll look there. The reason I am asking is that The Woodlands is paying for some of the project and I would like to know what we are paying for. Houston consistently has followed the pattern with other projects we have helped pay for but this one escapes me entirely. The projects are supposed to be regional in benefit, mostly related to the medical center and parks.

  2. I seem to remember a realtor who kept plans for lots of houses and models. Don't remember her name, offhand, but I'll bet there are a few obsessive/compulsive realtors who collect these things as houses come out, so that they are equipped with the floor plans when they sell the houses years down the road. Maybe start calling the local realtors?

    Who knows, I might even have one in my piles, somewhere, because we offered on a Treehouse once (just off Gosling in that Hidden Lakes area, on Misty Morning). If I find it one of these days, (I'm in a major declutter mode this year), I'd be happy to send you a copy, but I'd try realtors first.

    Our neighborhood is circa 94. Would that help if I could find one among my neighbors?

  3. I think most of these criticisms come from urbanites who object to the Woodlands on principle. When we're out in the neighborhood in the evening, we invariably run into neighbors, and end up talking for an hour or two.

    I like the lttle ad hoc street social events. Sometimes on a cul de sac, sometimes at a home in the backyard, sometimes in the driveway. Just pull out the BB pit and tell folks to bring something.

  4. Has anyone ever heard of an oil company sending their geoscientists back to school to earn a phd (at UT-Austin or Tex A&M for example) in order to move into the research and development side of the company?

    Chevron moved away from doing research years ago. The researchers generally manage research in universities and contracting companies rather than actually do it. The strategy is to leverage research under the practical guidance of those who actually need it, rather than the other way around.

    It is difficult getting into oil companies these days. Teams hire rather than companies, except in recruiting efforts where the teams are encouraged to take on inewxperienced people from the universities. Those tend to get in the door through summer programs and they come from special schools, sponsored by folks who went to school at those special schools, e.g., Colorado School of Mines. The best ways of finding work in those companies are through networking and contracting, already covered in this thread.

  5. i do not have any recent photos. i will be keeping my camera with me this next week and intend to get more current pictures.

    i read that eddie bauer is opening a 5000 square foot location in market street. it is the plot across from where the hotel is going (across from starbucks and jamba juice) and is under construction. also, gap's "forth and towne" is closing. it opened in november. gap says that it had timing problems rolling out the new concept. market street is negotiating for another gap concept in its place.

    link to story

    It seems to me that Market Street has to be a high end place to shop. One boutique I know is quite successful selling fashion jeans and other specialties at high prices. I see a number of shops I believe will not make it. The secret to success has to be moderate volumes of high cost items in order to pay the rent. In my business, I cannot imagine putting in a store that would require raising the cost of our services 6-10 times to pay the rent. It would be an interesting exercise to forecast the success or failure of the existing stores there, based on perceived business models.

  6. those metal roofs are very well made, they will oxidize with age and will last a lifetime. they are a high end look. i'm disappointed at all of the hoopla from villagers who aren't up on really great materials. if they are not reflecting in the eyes of passers by on woodlands parkway or blinding homes on the west shore, i think they are great.

    don't get me wrong, i'm all about the "vision" thing, but c'mon. east shore is not full of forested areas, it is to be a more formal setting; giving a nod to east coast waterfront, southern colonial, georgian, mediterranean and federal styles.

    the roofs will be a dull gray in time and will not be so "shiny".

    I get upset each time I go by them. You have started my motor. After passing by the area for 8 years, I am very disappointed in the outcome. HIgh end maybe for the northeast and even Houston downtown, but this place is different and has been gradually and consistently architectually misguided by the yankee influence and the "wildness" of this development company. Just think, this was a place where the eagles nested and cared for their young on the grass next to the lake! Now there is a risk to anything that flies low. The development company wants to build higher rise parking garages, even in the villages. That is not acceptable. We see the area decaying in quality rather than improving. Quality materials is a perspective within. The shiney roofs just do not fit The Woodlands. Like putting together red and green exterior paint to blend with the green trees. And a competent professional designer did that? I wonder where that person came from, New York City? If the place was set in the forest away from the entrance to the community, I would be more complacent, but where it is makes it an eyesore.

  7. the woodlands villager annual "outlook" insert (feb 22nd) reported that the 70 room boutique hotel with retail (at market street) could break ground the third or fourth quarter of this year. also, the empty plot across the street from the hotel on the south side commons will begin construction in "february". i haven't been over there in a week or two, so i can't say if construction has begun. good news none the less.

    Have you seen the roofs of the condos? They are sooo ugly with reflective roofs. My understanding is that the roof's color was shown to the committee and approved but they had no idea that it was a reflective material. Vision has a big gap in more ways than one.

  8. But back on topic, I totally agree that its the parental involvement as a whole that makes a strong school and makes individual children a success. Many schools that are ranked Recognized might actually be a stronger schools than those rated execellent due to the strength of the PTO. Without involved parents, at any level, the teachers would be overwhelmed. And if you aren't involved with teaching the basics at home, the child will sink because so many of the basics are skipped or left for parents to teach due to the TAKS "preparedness" pressure.

    But sadly, its the TAKS test results that defines a school Exemplary/Excellent, not the parents.

    I agree with this. The TAKS test is purely a paper and pencil exercise. How can a "test" define the quality of education? It seems like parental and teacher feedback are just as important. To get parental feedback, the parent must be involved. I really do not know how to measure the quality of education and I bet there is major alignment on this with subject professionals.

  9. Touche Niche.

    I think it's really cool how they keep adding. How much of it was actually planned before all this stuff was built? Or do they just have short term plans every so often?

    Anyone know?

    There is a master plan which designates where the properties are, the classification of each, how the overall community interconnects and the vision of the community from the perspective of visitors. Details are dependent on who purchases the properties and what specific purpose. For example, the walkways may be customized for the business. Any development on any given property is limited by development covenants. Soi the answer is short term for specific projects but long term for the way the property will be used and how it fits into the community. Hope this helps a little.

  10. Nice summary of things to come. I am personally looking forward to the Asian Gardens. There are also bars coming in Town Square. They will "adulterize" the amenities as a whole, but actually put more night life into the area, which is a good thing, if the drivers here will clean up their act. I think they are on tap for late 2007. Sort of a local Main Street concept. I do not recall when we can expect the new fine arts facilities to be built.

  11. Sorry to be so Woodlands, but the mall is used regularly by regular Woodlands inhabitants for regular Woodands shopping. Some people come here to avoid a 1 percent sales tax. Yes, we go to the Houston malls, but very infrequently, only to get out to a different place. Market street? A nice place to also get out to some place different, but definately not the main course. It is more borng than the mall.

  12. I live in a Life Forms, but a little later... circa 1995 VINTAGE. Basically, they built the houses out of cedar, using board dimensions that are difficult to find. Maybe someone else knows of a local lumber yard which has the materials for rep[airing these homes. I found some and have been a little lucky but then again, once I could not find any boards and had to have them custom made. I like the feel of living in the woods. My living room istwo stories and I can loop at the birds and squirrels in the tree tops and lower from my sofa. IN our bedroom, I can watch the squirrels play in the tree limbs in my backyard in the morning from my bed. The woodpeckers often will wake me in the morning. There are two varieties which routinely visit the backyard. The canopy shades my home and cuts the cost of electricity in the summer. The downside is the coldnes of the high ceilings for a couple of months in the winter. We normally do not spend much time in the living rom in the winter as a result, but the rewst of the house is cozy in the winter. I supose I am saying that we have a summer home and a winter home all in one.

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