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travelguy_73

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Everything posted by travelguy_73

  1. Having worked for an airline, this sounds familiar. If you cannot provide a product people want, and make money doing it, then surely if you are even larger you can achieve some sort of economies of scale that you couldn't when you were simply "large." Not sure how this merger of equals will do anything positive for either shareholders, customers, or employees. Cerberus would be wise to say "no thanks." Or perhaps Cerberus, from a strictly financial aspect, would be wise to cash out and feed Chrysler to the wolves. Chrysler has very little in the way of US product offerings that appeal to people right now...at least those that value fuel efficiency. GM is on its way back, IMO, so if it can just make it through this rough spot, I can definitely see light at the end of their tunnel. No real opinion on Ford, except that they have award-winning European offerings, but couldn't get their head out of their collective arse to realize a change in car-buying priorities was on the way, and continued to think Explorer, Expedition, and Navigator, when they should have been thinking Mondeo, Focus, and Ka. "We lose money on every one, but we make it up in volume"
  2. I mentioned this in another Williams Tower thread, but the beacon was damaged by the hurricane and it will probably be a while before any of us see if shining.
  3. For anyone curious, I was told by a building maintenance manager that the beacon atop Williams Tower was pretty badly damaged in Ike. So it might be a while before we see her light again. Other parts of the building fared much better, with water damage mainly in the corner offices.
  4. EASTWOOD here, bounded by Leeland, Sidney, Eastwood, and Harby. We are staying put, and probably boarding up some windows tomorrow (we have nearly 30 windows, so what direction is the most at risk?). Hopefully we don't lose too much in the way of landscaping, and the massive oak tree that hangs over the house was trimmed less than a year ago so it should hopefully be OK. We don't have a chainsaw either, but we have a neighbor who has pretty much every tool known to man, so we should be OK. Of course those tools make fabulous flying projectiles! Maybe we will get a new garage out of this .
  5. The trees and streetscaping is part of the same East End Mgmt District plan that "beautified" Gulf Freeway and Wayside. It is markedly better looking here, though
  6. FinalGear.com is awesome for Top Gear and 5th Gear torrents (I use uTorrent for downloads). You get the entire episode, not the overly edited BBCAmerica version. And do check out 5th Gear. It's the Motorweek of European car shows, but it is still better than anything we have here! I stream them via Vista media center to my Xbox360...picture quality is very good using Transcode360. ETA, IMO the best Top Gear episode is the Winter Olympics episode from (I think) a couple of winters ago.
  7. Anyone see the "coming soon" electric car dealership? We were driving down Dowling the other day and spotted it: Houston Electric Cars Aside from the poor grammar and sentence structure, this is quite interesting. There's quite a bit on YouTube on this car as well. mY commute is about 6 miles each way, and given how much gas our Cross Country chugs, this might be a great second car.
  8. On and off. I owned an 02 TL Type S for 3 years, but the transmission troubles pushed me away from them again (though I was happy to take Honda's check to buy it back). My partner used to drive a CL Type S, which I thoroughly enjoyed, and was sad to see it discontinued. Even though they are as common as 3-series, I love the current TL, and am really worried about the redesign (the new TSX looks too much like an Altima for me and the TL will likely have the same fate). I don't quite get the direction that Honda is going with their styling, especially with the new 09 Mazda 6 coming out with a fine look. I do like the current MDX, especially the interior.
  9. I have been there a few times for work lunches (so far we are still allowed to expense it ). It's very tasty, especiallly the crab cakes, and the decor is quite classy and understated.
  10. While I agree that this building would make a great residential space, IMO we are about 2 decades from that side of downtown being able to sustain anything like that. If the northern reaches of downtown, with arguably better housing stock and retail/restaurant amenities is anemic at best, then there just isn't enough demand around the Y other than the fact that the Randall's is closer. With all that said, I think it *would* be interesting if Chevron converted it into some sort of corporate apartments for their visiting employees. However, I'm sure it is cost-prohibitive to do so.
  11. And let's look on the bright side, (1) Chevron will most likely turn this into attractive greenspace until the figure out what to do with the land. I wonder if they will gate it off for employee use only? (2) When the Y builds (the article said downtown, not midtown), then another surface lot will bite the dust. And there is plentiful street parking over there as well as the 250-space lot they will have. I'm sad to see the building go, but this really is a net positive for that side of downtown.
  12. While I agree with you on the silliness regarding the rumor the water wall will come down, Hines absolutely positively owns Williams Tower. It was purchased from Fosterlane (the Kuwaiti interest you noted in your post) earlier this year.
  13. Definitely true, but I heard that Williams actually runs more efficiently today than it did when it was built. And I swear I heard Hines is looking into seeking LEED status for it, but I might be way off.
  14. It was a bit long (the entire section on the psychiatric hospital could have been cut out, IMO), but well worth viewing. My partner is black and I'm white, and so he had a lot to say in the car ride home (about the black cultural hierarchy, disgust with Jackson Lee's politics, etc.). There were definitely some comments from people that were tough to listen to, but the generational differences accounted for much of it. I am curious about the man who broke down and cried when recalling the time his daughter asked if she could bring home her black friend from college. Was he embarrassed that he had hesitated before saying yes she could bring her home? Or that she had a black friend? i think I missed something!
  15. Condos, townhomes, and duplexes are on and off the market all the time...Houston has a large selection in nearly any price range and location. Keep your eye on HAR.com and Craigslist.org.
  16. You are exactly right. The only rumor I had heard (and this was during Fosterlane's ownership, not Hines) was that the empty lot across Post Oak would make a nice spot for a parking garage. The economics might not be there to support such a move, but parking is tight now that the building is full.
  17. Williams Tower is a jewel in Gerald Hines's crown. The REIT may not be 100% Hines family-owned, but it is managed by Hines, and that management style is what has made it so successful. I think it is safe to say that it is in better hands with Hines than with many of the other REITs out there!
  18. We went to The Grove a number of weeks ago. I really liked the aesthetics of the interior, the music, and the crowd. I was less impressed with the menu (just couldn't find anything I wanted), and the service was quite poor. We had a party of 8 and they put us in the "party room," which was their overflow room. The room had a banquet hall feel (not very decorated, no music piped in, very detached from the rest of the restaurant), and there was only one other large party there. Once they left, we were the only ones in the entire room. And this was with a reservation. I'm sure they will remain popular, but it isn't a place I will frequent.
  19. My two cents: Many of us have traveled down the same path as you, but have reach different conclusions (see my thread at http://www.houstonarchitecture.info/haif/i...mp;hl=eastwood). For example, I have few (white) friends who have purchased homes in Riverside Terrace and general they like where they are. Some have had great luck, while others have had less positive experiences. We looked at a fixer-upper on Prospect Street, near 288. The house needed a ton of work, but had great potential. All the homes on the street were large and well-maintained. However, we felt very uneasy there. Can't really describe it, just a general feeling that we weren't wanted. I'm white, but my partner is black, and so I figured nobody would mind me being there, LOL. We spoke to a number of the neighbors, asking what they knew about the house. OMG, not friendly at all...couldn't wait to get us off their porch. I was a bit confused by it at first, but my partner knew why. He describes the problem with RT along the lines of his people being generally suspicious of white people moving in (which I expected), but really the issue is the gay thing, which is more cultural than generational. If you are single, they don't really know you are gay, so you are problably fine. I think RT has tons of potential. Love the homes, the terrain, etc. But I never did feel welcome there. Eastwood seems to be our fit, though on the outside it isn't as clean and well-maintained as RT is. ETA: We were looking in the 77004 section of RT, not 77021. Things might be different in 77021, though I suspect not.
  20. What timing! We are trying to kickstart the same process for our Eastwood home so that we can add details to our renovation photo album. I haven't been to the library yet, but did have an email chat with Annie Golden at Harris County Archives, whose name I got from the Old 6th Ward website. She used our tax id number (from HCAD) to search the earliest tax records for our home. She was able to find out who owned the property when the house was built ('36), and then the next people who owned it (through '54). All by email! My dad is going to do some research on these people in the geneology forums to find out who they are, so perhaps we can track down relatives to see if they have old pictures. The Harris County Archive email is Archives@fpm.hctx.net]
  21. With Starbucks rethinking their expansion plans, I will be a bit more pessimistic and say 5 years. What will happen, IMO, is that another retail name will stake claim as an sign of up-and-coming neighborhoods. I have no idea what it will be, but it probably won't be Starbucks.
  22. I have seen this house and it's a crazy one. Or he is crazy for redoing it, I haven't figured out which one yet , but given his track record it will be outstanding when complete. Bill mentioned that they intentionally set it backwards on the lot. Odd!
  23. Those of us who enjoy preserving Houston history often get caught up in a cycle of pessimism, and dare I say it, mild depression :closedeyes: . It is easy to forget there ARE many people in Houston who value history and want to see it preserved/restored. Whether for personal satisfaction, economic gain, or whatever, their efforts are definitely appreciated. I think we should take time here to thank those that quietly go about their daily lives, yet manage to keep a little bit of old Houston alive and well. No fanfare, no drama, they just do it. Here is a link to a Houston House and Home (PDF) article highlighting winners for 2008. I especially like the duplex at 1704 Kipling because there are so many cool inner loop duplexes that are large enough for today's families, if only the average homeowner or developer could see past their current multi-family arrangements. http://www.houseandhomeonline.com/home/doc...nt_0108_hou.pdf http://ghpa.org/awards/ (outdated, but has links to past winners)
  24. http://feeds.swamplot.com/~r/swamplot/~3/213927657/ Wrecking Ball Meets the Carousel House: Building Well Is the Best Revenge What
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