sarahiki

I may be misunderstanding here, but I read it as dbigtex hitting a car to alert them they were about to run him down at a crosswalk as they made their right turn. That sounds like self-defense to me.

I used to live near the intersection where those folks were hit. Walked around with a baby in a stroller a lot. Scary. Where I live now, I've seen a driver run a red light at high speed in front of an elementary school. At 8:00 a.m. I'm sorry, I'm not giving one inch here... the driver ran a red light, the driver is at fault, this should not be a forum about how stupid pedestrians are and how they should be more careful.

Quickly looking at the CV website, it calls itself the only ALL gifted/talented high school in Houston. That puts it in the same category as HSHP and HSPVA which I believe are classified as magnets. They have no zoned students so public transit does not matter. All those students are eligible for HISD bus transportation. Entrance exams must be taken by the students, it's not just a matter of standardized tests as both Health Professions and PVA have their own requirements and according to the CV site, they will have an entrance exam too. Students accepted will also have bus transportation furnished.

Of course, things may have changed since I last dealt with HISD and their magnet programs.

Yes, bus transportation is provided, but it will take those buses long to get there with no nearby freeways, making a long day for the kids. Plus, there is constant murmuring about cutting bus transport to magnet schools.

I HATE this location. Carnegie Vanguard is an excellent school and its current location is terrible but this thing should have been built in either midtown or downtown adjacent (near the Dynamo Stadium?) to take advantage of better transit access to ALL kids. Additionally, the area where this is going up is zoned to Lamar High School which is already one of the best public schools in the area (not just within HISD).

I agree... Carnegie deserves a beautiful new school, and I love Montrose, but Montrose is a PIA to get to from anywhere else in town.

I'm debating an Ipod touch vs. Iphone. I have an old ipod classic, and a phone with a minimal plan through Verizon... I rarely use it, and never to text or send photos or anything else. I like the idea of having internet on my phone now and then, but the truth is I'm never away from my laptop for too long so I don't really need to send e-mails on my phone (but it would be cool to do so). Bottom line--iphone would be very cool to have, but I'm not sure I need it.

Any strong opinions on iphone vs. ipod touch?

Holman and Tierwester. It's not even a four-way intersection and there's a traffic light. Very little traffic there, too, in the middle of the third ward.

Natural gas is the way to go if you have it. Like Red Scare said, never put any kind of generator indoors. Unfortunately storage of fuel indoors also poses a major risk.

Meaning, if we have natural gas coming into the house, we could hook up a generator to that line? Does this require professional installation? That would be great... no storing fuel, no running out of fuel.

Thanks. I was aware of the carbon monoxide risk, which is why I thought a detached garage was okay, but I guess it must be outdoors. This is why I ask questions!

I'm in a new neighborhood this year, in which they lost power for three weeks after Ike. I can't take that. I need cold beer and cold air.

Thanks for the advice!

I am thinking about getting a small generator before the upcoming storm season. I have no knowledge about them at all. I know they run on gasoline and run small appliances... I guess you put it in your garage and run a long extension cord into the house?

Questions:

1. What size would I need to run a mini-fridge, plus maybe a window unit?

2. Can you run it non-stop?

3. How noisy are they?

4. Any recommendations on brand/size/etc.?

Thanks!

Don't be tardy for the party!

This is awesome news. I love RH. No more apologizing for it either! If watching these damaged, brittle shrews is wrong, why does it feel so right?

Deconstructing 'Lost': booooooring. Cataloging the clown makeup, bad breast implants, and decorating horrors inside the

homes of RH New Jersey...now we're talking!

best quote of the day! Love me some Real Housewives.

E-textbooks are definitely on the way. But I wouldn't expect to see them in K-12 public schools anytime soon, as a rule. We are only adopting them very gradually on college campuses. They make a lot of sense, but people still like books. And they require readers, and kids lose things, so unless someone comes up with a good low-cost version of a kindle schools aren't going to switch over soon. Plus you can reuse an e-book, usually. Public schools reuse textbooks for years.

BUT: I wouldn't be surprised if some of the big textbook publishers start offering deals on e-readers for schools that make a full switch. They are behind this technology. A $100 textbook is sold as an e-version for $50. Can't be reused, can't be resold. Nice deal for the publisher.

I guess this is off-topic; I'll steer it back on by saying that Rick Perry is the last person I would listen to regarding school textbooks.

In case anyone missed this extremely fun article in the NYT:

http://www.nytimes.c...rden/08mod.html

And do click on the links to the blogs where the dollhouse room designs are posted. Very cute.

(duplicate post, for some reason)

One save might be that it's not about body girth. So, you're not discriminated against because you're fat, exactly. You could be a really big dude who's not fat, but still pay more, because it costs more to transport you.

They are already turning humans into freight with these policies. This would simply be more direct: we are freight, therefore we pay by the pound to be transported.

When do you suppose they are going to take the seats away, to really pack people in?

They should charge by weight. Put you and your bags on that big scale at the counter, charge a fee accordingly. Then you can either check your bags or carry them on. First 150 lbs (person included) is free; charge for the rest, whatever. Then stop nickel and diming us on everything else.

Agree. It might allow some travelers to pack light, make a sandwich, and save a few bucks, but most of us want to know the bottom line when we're planning our trip.

Not to mention that the baggage policy discriminates wildly against people who aren't able-bodied adults. In theory, it is to recoup the money that it costs to transport heavy bags. However, I pay full adult fare for my 30-pound 3-year-old, who is unable to carry his own carry on, so I then pay extra to check it. I then pay to check my bag, which I can't carry, since I am managing the three-year-old. So my skinny self and mini-child get to pay to subsidize some big ole fat man and his big ole fat carry-on bag.

I pointed this out to Continental in a strongly worded letter. They sent me a free flight voucher which, when cashed, would relinquish any claim I had to a future lawsuit. Yes, I used it.

"We're offering you a settlement of free coffee for life and..." "I'll take it!!" (Kramer, on Seinfeld)

Thanks Travelguy and Sevfiv. I think my husband will be a little relieved if I give him the okay to call the handyman.

I want to replace the door to my patio with one that has glass in it. We are trying to do repairs and improvements ourselves, but are very inexperienced. I asked a handyman about this job, and he said it can be difficult to match the new door to the frame (meaning where the lock goes, I think) and he prefers rebuilding the whole door frame.

To have the handyman do it will cost a good bit. Is it really as challenging as he made it sound? Could a couple of inexperienced people successfully change out this door? What would it involve?

Thanks!

In the news today, Spirit air will charge for carry-on bags. The end is nigh...

http://www.cnn.com/2010/TRAVEL/04/06/spirit.carryon.fees/index.html?eref=igoogle_cnn

You could consider my old nemesis, the bougainvillea, for the area that doesn't require good behavior. Mine all died in the frost, even the one I liked, but aside from a killing frost they seem indestructible. And bloom like crazy. And provide protection from intruders with their evil spiky thorns.

Morning glory would be a friendlier alternative. It really takes over, but has pretty little flowers.

Note that they recommend you keep the bags store at below 80F, so the bags for your yard waste should probably be store inside the home. There's some counter-intuition for you.

Thanks for that information. I will move mine (which I found at Costco, FYI if anyone is looking for them).

Yes, it's too bad. But don't despair. It's still a good-sized property with a good location; someone will snap it up and eventually it will be developed. Enjoy the lack of development, in the meantime. It's better than a vacant strip mall.

It seems the exciting announcement is that they are in foreclosure:

http://blogs.chron.com/primeproperty/

Yes! I got the magic letter in the mail today. We're getting a big bin. Being able to put the glass in it is a huge bonus. I admit, I've been throwing away all the beer bottles, rather than bringing them to a recycling center. I will feel like a much better latte-drinking, New-York-Times-reading pinko liberal now that I can recycle properly.

I'm jealous! I wish we'd get the big bins here. Sounds like things are moving in the right direction, though.

If you look at the map they link to, the area they are talking about is about 2/3 park and 1/3 actually residential. So if they're figuring out crime per square mile (I don't know if that's how they do it) it's going to be low.

That said, I know there are some very nice neighborhoods around there.

edit: just read the blurb more carefully; they do it by population, not square mile.