august948

6 hours ago, Amlaham said:

That livable places ordinance needs to go into effect already and stop all the damage that these developers are creating. Yes, this is better than whats there now but does little for walkability. 

Are they going to destroy the sidewalks then?

2 hours ago, steve1363 said:

Hogg land is not free.  You have to be a MFAH member or pay the entrance fee.  I seriously doubt the MFAH will do anything to lessen the historic value of the grounds.

They might be able to make a case if you create a completely separated bikeway, bridges and all.  If the new path featured views of the grounds it might stimulate more paying visits considering how many people will be riding by each day.

Plus the virtue signaling, which orgs like MFAH just eat up.

On 4/20/2023 at 12:16 PM, Andrew Ewert said:

BCycle has 150 stations, great branding, an awesome social media presence, and a proven track record.

Metro is going to take 43 years to extend a light rail line to the airport.

So yeah, obviously, let's definitely make Metro in charge of all the public bikes in the city.

Sounds like BCycle couldn't survive without heavy subsidization.  In that case putting a government agency like Metro in charge is going to be the only way it will happen.

5 hours ago, talltexan83 said:

I've heard that Bayou Bend/Hogg Sanctuary would like to be a part of the project.  It makes sense as they could see a nice influx of visitors arriving on bike.

So if the path can reach those sites arriving from the east, then the last portion of the path before Memorial Park would have to involve ROCC.  Obviously, there would be some challenges there, but maybe a fixed skyover (just using the banks on the ROCC as anchors could work).  That's my dream at least.  Given the potential here I hope the planners are thinking big.  Being able to avoid Memorial Dr all together would make this one of the coolest rides in the city.

What would make it even cooler is to connect all this to Terry Hershey.  Katy to Downtown ride anyone?

33 minutes ago, Texasota said:

Literally the opposite of my experience. 

Also, if you live in Brenham you don't have to live with the damage done to Houston by these freeways. You get the benefit and none of the downsides.

Without the freeways bringing in a lot of the nearly 7 million people, and their money, who live outside the loop every day the 500k who live inside the loop wouldn't have nearly as much fun stuff as they do now.  First world problems anyone?

1 hour ago, TacoDog said:

Sorry, this is what I was referring to.

 

That's just a link from an article complaining about how big the beltway is.

7 minutes ago, TacoDog said:

Did you draw it by hand? How did you get the highways to overlay?

Google maps has a scale in the lower right corner.  I zoomed in on the beltway until the scale was a half inch (in this case the half inch showed as 2 miles).  Then I measured the north-south and east-west with a ruler on my monitor.  Like I said, it's a rough estimate, but I couldn't find an official measurement anywhere.

13 minutes ago, TacoDog said:

How did you do that?

Just a rough estimate.  Google maps shows the beltway to be somewhat of a square 22 miles by 22 miles.  That gets us 484 square miles.

13 hours ago, mattyt36 said:

I've obviously been entirely ineffectual--maybe someone else can explain to him that none of the above aligns with the foreign policy platform of the person he has "no choice" but to vote for?

Indeed.

....no you just missed my point entirely.

19 hours ago, MrFubbles said:

Adding 4 lanes to I-10? What research is being done to justify these changes? We are already a laughing stock with our existing highway mess

IKR, they need at least four of them to be toll lanes to extend the katy tollway all the way to downtown.  Maybe we need 6 or 8 new lanes total.

7 hours ago, __nevii said:

The townhomes alone over the years contribute to added density. Removal of the remaining aformentioned regulations allows the development to continue in a way that finally makes true walakble form possible (hence, we can really see how much "inertia" is at play, if nothing else). Regardless, the Inner Loop has the most coherent grid, so is most salvagable.

Within Beltway 8 is definitely more iffy as there is more super-blocks, cul-de-sacs, and other road/block designs that make it harder to retrofit urbanity (if not outright impossible). On the other hand, the same lot-size reforms that allowed townhomes in Inner Loop were extended to the Beltway in 2013. It's possible that Gulfton, Ghandi District, Chinatown, Uptown, etc are dense enough clusters (development-wise) to work something out. 

Outside the Beltway is a lost cause for sure, though. Sorry Kingwood. Sorry Clear Lake/Space Center. Sorry SW/Funplex.

Considering that the land area inside the Beltway is almost 500 square miles, I think we'll be fine.  How much urbanity do you really need?

6 hours ago, Nate99 said:

These people trying to give sluts a bad name or something?

Better get your shots before eating there 😆

3 hours ago, mattyt36 said:

You would've been a real hoot in the 1930s.

What on earth do you mean, Augie?  Asking for a friend.

I'm a real hoot all the time, brother.😜

Cold war 2.0.  The US has four strategic enemies, Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea.  There are others that don't like us that much, Venezuela comes to mind, but the rest are all bark and no bite.  Iran and North Korea are a pain the the nether regions, but they are only regional powers at best. 

That leaves us with Russia and China.  Until early March 2022, we thought the Russians were still a great power (so do they, btw, which is the root of this problem).  They had a couple of weeks window to overrun Ukraine and establish a puppet government and failed spectacularly.  At that point we realized, institutionally, that the Russians are a paper tiger and have been grinding them down ever since.  That will continue into the near future until they are no longer any more than a regional power.  This is the unspoken reason why we've been drip feeding them weapons instead of rushing them in.  We need maximum grind on their military age population and the massive stockpiles of soviet-era munitions.  They are already in a demographic decline and we're helping that along.

On the other side of the planet, we've been building up a ring of allies and bases to strangle China, if necessary.  China's also got a major demographic issue.  One of two things will happen there.  Either they'll strike out at Taiwan, run wild for a few months and then get crushed by blockade and sanctions or they'll slowly rot on the vine as we pull our trade away from them.  They have to have imports and exports in order to survive.

On 9/12/2023 at 11:16 AM, mattyt36 said:

Well 40 years ago this would have made everything abundantly clear and provoke a unified American response, with the exception of a very small population of leftists.  Impossible now considering you have the leading faction of one of our two major political parties essentially aligned with autocrats who (*spoiler alert!*) don't have the U.S.'s best interests at heart.

North Korea’s Leader Arrives in Russia as Nations Seek Closer Military Ties - The New York Times (nytimes.com)

Here is some of what the Russian leader said:

Donald J. Trump: Mr. Putin said the criminal cases against the former U.S. president show “the rottenness of the American political system, which cannot pretend to teach others about democracy.” The Russian leader said the cases amount to “persecution of one’s political rival for political motives” and lay bare “who is fighting us.” Mr. Trump has continued to express his admiration for Mr. Putin after leaving office, and called the Russian leader’s decision to invade Ukraine “pretty smart.”

OH THE IRONY . . . Putin talking about "persecution of one's political rival for political motives."  Translation: "Elect Trump and he will let me do whatever the flurf I want."

Elon Musk: The billionaire entrepreneur is an “active, talented businessman,” Mr. Putin said, noting that all around the world Mr. Musk is recognized as an “outstanding” person in private business. The description resembled the way the Russian leader first described Mr. Trump as a “brilliant and talented” individual when he launched his U.S. presidential run in 2015. Last week, Mr. Musk acknowledged that he had thwarted a Ukrainian attack on Russia’s Black Sea naval fleet in 2022 by refusing to let the Ukrainian military use his satellite network, Starlink, to guide its drones.

Well that should tell you all you need to know about Elon.

China: Western nations are trying to restrain China’s development because they see how the country, under Xi Jinping’s leadership, is developing by leaps and bounds, Mr. Putin said. “They are doing everything to slow the development of China, but this will not be possible,” he said, adding: “They are late. The train has left the station.” Mr. Putin has forged closer ties with Mr. Xi, in part to overcome Western sanctions, and the two leaders declared an enduring economic partnership after talks this year in Moscow.

China is in the toilet, and reality will eventually catch up with the totalitarian Xi--we could do a lot to hasten such an event by leveraging our close economic and geopolitical ties with our allies versus throwing those relationships in the trash.

Doesn't seem to take many of what Lenin would call "useful idiots" to support this transparently anti-American platform--the political movement for which is equally transparently led by one Donald J. Trump.

Are we taking Russian proclamations seriously now?

Relax, by the time the next US president is inaugurated Ukraine will have most, if not all of it's territory back and the ring around China will be ever tightening. 

There's a bigger game afoot now, one that's going to dominate the coming decades.   Also one that is bigger than any US president, Trump or otherwise.  Politicians say all kinds of flurf, but when push comes to shove US dominance will be the agenda.

2 hours ago, mattyt36 said:

Don’t forget China!

No wonder he is such a hero of the modern-day tankies, all while calling himself a “free speech absolutist.” He’s either got some misfiring synapses that somehow allows him to rationalize these positions (when you’re ultra wealthy, I suppose you can rationalize anything with little effort) or thinks we’re all stupid.

Is Musk Derangement Syndrome a thing now?  Asking for a friend.

4 hours ago, monarch said:

^^^ the ROYAL SOAPBOX is now yours my good pal @shasta burnt orange.  i am now off to IAH for my flight to atlanta > tuscaloosa, alabama, for our HUGE game this coming saturday.  there are (#98 of us in my group alone).  WIN or LOSE, you had better believe that we are getting ready to INVADE lil bitty tuscaloosa.  everything is BIGGER at TEXAS.  this is how we do it.  HOOK'EM! 

And no matter how much we raz each other on our favorite Texas teams, when it's Texas vs the world...

19 minutes ago, shasta said:

MOD:

Delete Post.

Ban User.

Ha

No need.  The long term plan is to absorb the UT system and rebrand it's flagship as UH - Austin.😛

2 hours ago, mattyt36 said:

Well, the DoJ said yesterday it would indict Hunter Biden in the coming weeks.  Guess he has a small window to file his papers to run for president so he can get off on the "Trump Rule of Justice."

Wait, wasn't the Hunter Biden laptop thing all just a Russian hoax?

7 hours ago, mattyt36 said:

So once again we revert to the extortion.  Are you saying because a not insignificant amount of MAGA supporters have proven themselves to be violent fanatics, we can't prosecute the person responsible for the only time in American history we have not had a peaceful transfer of power?  The individual responsible for the only coup in American history?  Because a bunch of wingnuts will turn around and apply the law in bad faith for retributive purposes? .  

Not at all.  What I'm saying is if there is really a case, an actual legal case not media/political hyperbole case, they should have brought it well before now.  They've already got convictions on Jan 6 rioters. 

Not suggesting extortion...just making a prediction, one that applies to both sides.  Surely you're not going to tell us that Democratic led investigations are always good-faith and Republican led ones are always bad-faith?

Even if you are right and the timing of the prosecution and court date is just a 'coincidence', the optics will strongly suggest otherwise.  The ball is already in play now on this one and we'll see how it affects the election, as it surely will one way or the other.  Bookmark this discussion and come back to it after the next presidential election or two and we'll see how things go.

21 hours ago, editor said:

It's funny how someone who campaigned with the slogan "Lock her up" now says it's unfair to indict someone during an election.

And from here on out it will be completely legit to actually try to "lock her/him/them up" during an election instead of just blathering about it at political rallies.  Pandora, meet your new box.

We'll see how this turns out in the coming years.

8 hours ago, mattyt36 said:

He literally tried to overthrow the American system of government on a whim.  Something commonly referred to as a "coup."  There has been plenty documented in the indictments as well as in the January 6th commission hearings that make this indisputable.

His best defense is that he did so because he was delusional and unable to accept basic facts after all states certified the election results and he lost court case after court case after court case, including several presided over by judges he appointed.  I don't believe this defense at all--he has been whining about things being rigged if he loses since 2015 and their whole reaction to the 2020 election results was planned in advance.  Regardless, he has demonstrated he is absolutely unfit to be president because (a) he either consciously and deliberately tried to overthrow the government; or (b) he is absolutely delusional and mentally unstable.

The fact that people who in their immediately prior lives liked to claim they vote on the basis of "law and order" would make excuses for this is absolutely unreal.  As @Amlaham said, there is definitely something in the MAGA water.  I guess it should be no surprise that Trump voters trust him more than they trust their own family.  Salt of the earth, definitely!

Trump’s voters trust him more than they trust friends and family - The Washington Post

Are you suggesting this standard somehow applies to sharing one's opinion on a message board?  Seems a bit snowflake-y.

More than half the country disagrees.  Amazing--can you believe it?!

What are you talking about, augie?!  Democrats won over swing voters with "Defund the Police" messaging that came out of the summer 2020 demonstrations?  Absolutely delusional.  

Only a Republican would think indicting anyone for trying to overthrow the government is a "weaponization of the legal system."  Republicans seem to be hard-wired to think "well, if I want to do something, it must be legal."  Abortion rights?  Doesn't matter what the majority of the country thinks--they should just be able to do whatever the hell they want to do because they are somehow "right."  Same with just about every other Republican position in the culture wars.  "Because I don't approve of something, no one else can do it."  Fine logic. There’s a word for it—“entitled.”

Oh please, what difference does it make to you really if he were indicted in 2021?  Your tune would change and the prosecution would be "legitimate"?  Sure, Jan, sure.  

So why wait until the start of primary season to charge him and then set the court date the day before Super Tuesday?  If it's an open and shut case, why didn't they just go ahead and do it earlier?  Or, alternately, why not just let the majority of voters who don't want him to be president do their thing and deny him office?

My point here is we're dangerously close to having impeachments, rioting, and prosecution of political opponents become the norm.  Surely you're not in favor of that just so you can "get" Trump?

1 hour ago, Ross said:

If Trump had not committed crimes, he would not be indicted. It's really that simple. I would hope that any politician that did what he did would be indicted and tried.

Given the massive nature of the federal code, not to mention state codes, it's not that hard to find something to charge someone with if the prosecutor has the inclination.  But why did they wait until an election was coming up to charge him?  Why did they get a court date the day before Super Tuesday?  It's all just a coincidence?  You can pretend this isn't a political prosecution intended to influence the election all you want but the evidence begs to differ.

30 minutes ago, Amlaham said:

Why would anyone use his tactics after seeing him suffer the consequences of his own actions? Trump and his son in law has legit called their supporters "stupid" and the shoe is clearly fitting. 

Trump supporters constantly proving our point that he could literally "shoot someone and wouldn't loose any voters" - Trump himself. Its actually crazy how Culty his following is, he could do ANYTHING and you guys would still kiss his butt, like the obsession is sooo weird. The counter arguments are "but dems, but liberals, but dems....." the other side does NOT praise any president or leader as much as a Trump supporter and never has. Imagine Idolizing an almost 80 year old fat spray tanned convicted felon 💀 There's definitely lead in some of ya'll water system because y'all are legit hallucinating and acting like Trump is Jesus himself

You missed my point entirely.

7 hours ago, ArtNsf said:

so, surely Houston won't allow Austin to have the tallest building in Texas for long ?  as a native Houstonian, I find that appalling, although I'm a bit proud of Austin for scoring so well.

Think of it as the booby prize for them losing out to us on pretty much everything else that matters. 😛

5 hours ago, 004n063 said:

TxDOT, sweetie, go on outside and bite the curb for me. I'll be out in a minute.

TxDOT, sweetie, go start the grill.  Papa's going to throw on a big juicy steak for this one.  'Bout time they expanded the Katy inside the loop.   🥂

3 hours ago, freundb said:

I don't know where they are gonna fit two extra lanes on each side of the freeway. 

Just released conceptual for the extra lanes...