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RedScare

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Everything posted by RedScare

  1. I leased office space on the 19th floor of the Great Southwest Building for 5 years back in the early 2000s. My offices ran along the north side of the 19th floor, along the setback. There was an 8 foot wide balcony that was inaccessible due to windows that did not open. I had my cabinet maker remove a window and knock out some brick to install a door to the balcony. I am sure that it is still there. It would be the first window in the northwest corner of the balcony. At one time there was an apartment on the east side of the 19th floor. It also had a door that opened to the east side balcony. My law partner leased this space. We used to throw huge parties when the Grand Prix was run on the streets of downtown. The balconies held dozens of people without a problem. We also threw parties at various other times. GSW was a wonderful building. I watched the baseball stadium being built from that balcony, and of course, threw a party there on Opening Night. I am glad to see it being renovated, though I feel bad for my many friends being evicted to make room for the apartments.
  2. Your data appears to be incorrect. There were 319 burglaries in the Heights police beat during 2011. That increased to 266 in 2012, a 14.7% increase (nowhere near double). Almost all of that increase occurred during January 2012, when approximately 60 burglaries were committed. The burglary rate has plummeted in 2013, from 30.5 per month to 22 per month, a 27.9% DECREASE. Burglaries overall increased for a 4 month period from October 2011 to January 2012. Otherwise, they have stayed in the 20 per month range.
  3. Much of the real estate beneath the elevated freeways is being used as parking lots. This frees up unencumbered land for buildings. The Pierce Elevated also provides nice shade on a hot day. I enjoyed resting under it while cycling today. Considering the number of posters who advocate for elevated rail lines, I don't see the problem with an elevated freeway. If one is not a problem, neither is the other.
  4. Chronicle's take on things... http://blog.chron.com/bayoucityhistory/2013/08/30-years-ago-a-hurricane-named-alicia/?cmpid=hpfc#15034-60
  5. Today marks the 30th anniversary of Hurricane Alicia, the storm that snuck up on Houston. http://www.weather.com/news/weather-hurricanes/sudden-hurricanes-surprise-tropical-storms-alicia-allison-humberto-20130814 Alicia was born in the time that hurricanes were still excuses to party. Weather Channel did not exist. We did not get 24 hour wall to wall terror from weather reporters back then. One day, we wake up and go to work, and a hurricane is coming. The next day, it is a Cat 3. We worked a full day, got off at 5, went to the store and loaded up on beer and Doritos, and headed home to party with the hot UH coeds from the apartment next door. Alicia hit in the middle of the night, waking me and the coeds (my roomie was a nerd, so both girls wanted to stay with me instead). The winds were so strong that you could feel the walls move in and out from the gusts blowing against them. Power went out everywhere, but for some reason, our apartment stayed lit. We watched the major networks cover the storm. It looked worse on TV than at our apartment. In the middle of the morning, the eye passed over us. It was strange seeing blue sky, knowing that the storm would return soon. The freaky part was all of the birds trapped in the eye...thousands of them. They flew along with the eye as the stormwall was ferocious. After the storm passed, we jumped in my Toyota 4x4 to inspect the damage. Stoplights were blown away or the poles blown backward. We found a bar on Washington that was open. It is still a bar to this day, The Dubliner, or something. There were trees and power lines down. We got to downtown, but it was on lockdown, due to the shards of glass falling from the skyscrapers. After Alicia, skyscrapers never used pebbles on their roofs again, as those pebbles became BBs during the storm. Nowadays, hurricanes are scary creatures. Whether it is the media overstating the danger, or the fact that now I am a homeowner, I would just as soon most hurricanes pass me by. But, I'll never forget my favorite storm Alicia.
  6. http://www.visithoustontexas.com/listings/Mercer-Arboretum-and-Botanical-Gardens/20078/
  7. Weird, that is what his sig says to us longtime posters, as well.
  8. Actually, what you have to do is open the link, then copy the HEADLINE of the article. Then paste taht headline into google search. Click on the first result and you should get the entire article. Houston19514 simply mistyped link for headline.
  9. It seem you can only dish your sarcasm in one direction. Remind me to make a note of that. FWIW, the brick is not faux. It is actual brick that is sliced thin. But, you probably knew that already too, didn't you? On standby for further pissy remarks...
  10. Have you looked at the photos to see how durable the original materials were? The new stuff cannot be any worse than the old stuff.
  11. Try this one... http://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/article/GreenStreet-redo-will-begin-soon-4715996.php
  12. Looks like they were on the original shorter structure. Go look at the photos in post #21.
  13. In some ways that would be a good change, as Christian's clientele has dropped off a bit. In other ways Sherlock's is not much better.
  14. Not East End. This is going in at Eleanor Tinsley Park on Allen Parkway. Still cool, though.
  15. a·tro·cious /əˈtrōSHəs/ Adjective Horrifyingly wicked: "atrocious cruelties". Of a very poor quality; extremely bad or unpleasant: "atrocious weather". Synonyms horrible - ferocious - cruel - brutal - terrible HaHa! I am not laughing at you, but your mistake did give me a good laugh. And, I agree that the vegetation looks wonderful.
  16. He will NEVER agree to that. He will mumble something about already having a fair chance, but ignores that the mayor intentionally left out an opt out mechanism. If there were an ounce of integrity to his words, he'd agree and support an opt out provision. Watch him squirm.
  17. For those wondering what my quote referred to, here it is in all of its run-on glory.
  18. Heh heh. I was responding to one of your quotes. If mine is ad hominem, then yours was as well. There is nothing more to debate here. You think it is perfectly acceptable to have government commandeer people's homes in order to force us to renovate them in a style and manner of your choosing. I find that level of government intrusion to be absolutely unacceptable, and further, will actively seek to limit that government intrusion. Whatever internet labeling meme you wish to call it, doesn't change my...and most Heights residents'...view of this ordinance and your opinions on it. You made your opinions clear. They are unacceptable to supporters of a free society. No more debate is necessary to ferret out your overly restrictive and hypocritical views.
  19. It is equally idiotic for anyone to care whether they meet s3mh's definition of "preservationist".
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