editor

You rang? Seriously, though -- do the e-cigarettes produce smoke, or is it water vapor? Does it has a smell? If it's just water vapor, that doesn't bother me at all. But I can understand the restaurant not wanting to set a precedent. Most restaurants are already stretched thin, and the last thing they want is the additional burden of being the cigarette police and having to check each patron's cigarette to see if it's electronic or on fire. I guess maybe the waiter/waitress could do this in the course of their duties, but it's just one more headache for the restaurants. Still, I just spent $25 on a humidifier. Maybe I should have just taken up e-smoking!

Yep. I saw a big billboard when I was in Seattle, and I also saw a report about it on NWCN. I think I read an article in the New York Times, too. Here an article from the Cleveland paper: http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2009/11/canadian_ppolice_to_recruit.html Here's an article from the Seattle Times: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2010066754_copjobs15m.html That last link says the starting salary is US$48,000 and rises to US$75,000 within five years. Maybe they know you're from Texas. There's a line buried deep in the Seattle article: "They're not recruiting in Southern states." Looks like the Edmonton Police Service Recruiting Unit has a Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/joineps Maybe you could ask them there if they're still taking Americans. There's an "International Questions" section in the Facebook page's forum.

Church Belltower Heights, originally uploaded by mata-leão. Not sure where this is, but mata-leãlo shot this church belltower. This photo is part of the HAIF photo pool on Flickr. You are welcome to add your photos to the pool for the entire group to see. Visit the pool: HAIF Houston Photo Pool on Flickr

Plastic bags are illegal in some cities. Among them, San Francisco. I went to a grocery store there back in September and it wasn't the hardship I expected it to be. Paper bags with handles are pretty durable these days. I didn't have any problems with tearing, even with heavy bags. Of course, if it rains, that might be a different scenario. I guess that's why there's reusable bags.

Until it's the 14% that I pay for Starbucks, everywhere is a tax paradise compared to Chicago. I don't smoke, but in a number of places I've seen cigarettes approaching $100 a carton. From what I can tell, the average price for a pack is $8.50. Taxachusetts' got nothin' on Illinois.

Bethel Baptist Church , originally uploaded by Secret5468. Secret shows us what little is left of Bethel Baptist Church. I took a few pictures back when the walls were still standing: http://www.houstonarchitecture.com/Building/2057/Bethel_Baptist_Church.php This photo is part of the HAIF photo pool on Flickr. You are welcome to add your photos to the pool for the entire group to see. Visit the pool: HAIF Houston Photo Pool on Flickr

Imperial Sugar Plant , originally uploaded by Secret5468. Secret5468 shot this great picture of the Imperial Sugar Plant. Very Max Headroom-looking. This photo is part of the HAIF photo pool on Flickr. You are welcome to add your photos to the pool for the entire group to see. Visit the pool: HAIF Houston Photo Pool on Flickr

Bar Zero / VIP Lounge, originally uploaded by Secret5468. An abandoned private lounge inside an abandoned grocery store refrigerator case. Nice find, Secret5468. This photo is part of the HAIF photo pool on Flickr. You are welcome to add your photos to the pool for the entire group to see. Visit the pool: HAIF Houston Photo Pool on Flickr

I've done the Chicago-Saint Louis run a bunch of times, and even on regular rail it's quite pleasant. Especially when I splash out the extra $16 for first class and end up having the entire car to myself. Chicago-Kansas City is eight hours right now. With this plan it would be closer to four. Very much an improvement. I think the part I'm most interested in, though, is the increase in frequency of service. Going to Cincinnati you have only one train to choose from, and it gets you there at 2am. Not very useful.

Ugh. Gizmodo is the worst example of blogging evar. As for the new iThing, I'm only interested if the original rumored price point of $600 is correct. The $1,000 figure I've seen around lately is too much. At that point you'd might as well get a MacBook and have a keyboard. Or a Nook and a hundred e-books. Either way, I think this is going to be the Kindle-killer if Amazon doesn't go color. And fast.

I feel you on the job placement companies. Five years ago they used to fight over me. Now I can't get them to even acknowledge I exist. I even went to my old standby -- Kelly Services. They haven't been able to provide me with an hour of work in 16 weeks so far. Yet they keep taking on new applicants. Frustrating. This might be a little off the wall, but desperate times call for desperate measures. The Edmonton, Alberta police department is hiring. Americans. Lots of them. They've been sending recruiters to cities like Seattle and New York and Boston and putting up billboards in those cities, too. They'll train you, find you housing, and even take care of immigration for you (no citizenship change necessary). Yeah, Edmonton is cold in the winter, but Houston is hot in the summer. Same strategy for both -- try to stay inside as much as you can. And it's an oil town, so you might even know some people who live up there already. The best part is -- you'd have to police Canadians. How hard could that be?

Right now I'm listening to a Lyle Lovett interview on WDCB (one of the nation's remaining great local radio stations). He's talking about life in Houston and driving in his family's 1968 Buick from Houston to Lafayette to watch his uncle's horses race. The show is "American Routes." Unfortunately, it doesn't have a Houston station. The nearest one is KUT/Austin where it airs Sundays at 2:00pm.

Got this in the e-mail this afternoon: ---- METRO AND ENERGY CORRIDOR DISTRICT LAUNCH NEW CONNECTOR SERVICE In keeping with its promise to bring more bus service to the Houston region, METRO has joined the Energy Corridor District to launch the 75 Energy Corridor Connector, starting Monday, Jan. 25, 2010. This new service, which runs along Eldridge between the Katy Freeway and Westheimer, provides employees and residents who live and work in the Energy Corridor District with a quick, convenient ride to stores, restaurants and businesses along the route. Energy Corridor District employees who live in the downtown and midtown areas can connect to the 75 Energy Corridor Connector by riding the 228 Addicks and 229 Kingsland/Addicks from the Central Business District to the Addicks Park & Ride. The Connector also links with popular routes like the 82 Westheimer and the 131 Memorial. Service will run every 15 minutes, from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m., and 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., and every 10 minutes from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Med Center (shooting into the sun), originally uploaded by J-a-x. Telwink got a great shot showing the interplay of the sun, some high clouds, and a fountain. This photo is part of the HAIF photo pool on Flickr. You are welcome to add your photos to the pool for the entire group to see. Visit the pool: HAIF Houston Photo Pool on Flickr

Night in the City 2, originally uploaded by bill barfield. Three types of lights make for confusion for the camera since it can't auto-white balance. But it gives each section of this photo by Bill Barfield its own feel. This photo is part of the HAIF photo pool on Flickr. You are welcome to add your photos to the pool for the entire group to see. Visit the pool: HAIF Houston Photo Pool on Flickr

Barber Shop , originally uploaded by Secret5468. C'mon, don't be a wimp. This place looks legit. Just ask Secret5468. This photo is part of the HAIF photo pool on Flickr. You are welcome to add your photos to the pool for the entire group to see. Visit the pool: HAIF Houston Photo Pool on Flickr

I Only Had One Accident / Land Mark Chevrolet , originally uploaded by Secret5468. A little workplace humor at the old Landmark Chevrolet, captured by Secret5468. This photo is part of the HAIF photo pool on Flickr. You are welcome to add your photos to the pool for the entire group to see. Visit the pool: HAIF Houston Photo Pool on Flickr

This is a map I did for a series of articles on HAIF's sister site, the Chicago Architecture Blog. I know a lot of HAIFers have an interest in high speed rail development in the United States, so I thought I'd share it here. You can read the first of the four articles here: http://blog.chicagoarchitecture.info/2010/01/midwest-high-speed-rail-part-1-overview.html The bottom line -- High speed rail is coming to the United States. It's just a matter of who gets it. The leading contenders are California, the midwest, and (naturally) the northeast.

...or so they tell you. Check the internet for other rates. Also ask your neighbors and people on HAIF what they're paying. The people on the phone rarely give you the lowest rate. Also, check with senior citizens organizations. Often utilities are required to have special super-cheap service for old people. You don't have to be old, and the utilities don't have to tell you they exist. For example, where I live the cheapest land line you can find on the internet or by calling the phone company is something like $24.99/month. But if you ask for the special rate (Elder Saver or some stupid name like that) they have to hook you up at the $4.99/month. My mother has something like this. She was paying $150/month for cable, internet, and phone. It turns out her cable company (Time Warner, I think) has a rate that gives her 1.5 megabit internet (plenty fast for an old lady), all the basic cable channels, and the phone with no long distance for around $60/month. But the cable company wouldn't tell her about it. She had to find out from her neighbors.

Only full-power stations were required to go digital. Low power stations are allowed to remain analog for now if they want, but they're also required to get out of the way of digital stations. For some reason, there are a LOT of low-power stations in Texas. Maybe because outside of the big six cities people are more scattered. The only analogs I see on my list are: KVQT-LP 21 - TX LIC HOUSTON TX US BLTTL-20051207AGO - 57187 150. kW 0. m C. DOWEN JOHNSON KHMV-CA 28 CA LIC HOUSTON TX US BLTTA-20061214ABD - 66790 108. kW 0. m PAPPAS TELECASTING OF THE GULF COAST, L.P. (A DE LTD P/SHIP) KCVH-LP 30 Z TX LIC HOUSTON TX US BLTTL-20060526AAV - 7079 150. kW 0. m DAIJ MEDIA, LLC KBPX-LP 33 - TX LIC HOUSTON TX US BLTT-19920623JD - 17746 34.3 kW 0. m ION MEDIA LPTV, INC. KUVM-CA 34 CA LIC DEWALT TX US BLTTA-20070918ABR - 13200 115. kW 0. m CLUB COMMUNICATIONS KVVV-LP 53 - TX LIC HOUSTON TX US BLTTL-20070531AFY - 6690 150. kW 0. m PAPPAS TELECASTING OF THE GULF COAST, L.P. These are all low-power stations. CA=Community, LP=Low Power. Both mean the same thing. The FCC's been changing a lot of terminology over the last few years and you end up with some screwy call letters here and there.

But what do we call these illegal aliens? Oh, wait...

If you want your local channels to be better quality, then watch them more. More ratings mean more money for the TV station and more money it can spend on better equipment and people. i understand your frustration about "fake" channels. I've lived in markets like that before. Heck, I even worked at a station like that (WFRV/Green Bay, Wisconsin was the main, and WJMN/Escanaba, Michigan was the satellite) In many of them, they will eventually produce local news for the satellite station when economic conditions warrant. WSAZ/Huntington, West Virginia does this. It carries its main newscast on channel 3 in Huntington, but half way through, the channel 23 satellite in Charleston switches to a local Charleston newscast. If the stations in Waco can make enough money, they'll put people and resources into B/CS, because that will make the station even more money. But they need a certain level of viewership to do so. People watching Houston stations doesn't make it happen. As for the ABC going black, that's a complicated issue, but comes down to the fact that ABC doesn't have a B/CS station, and that's ABC's fault. There are applications for new stations in your area on channels 3, 14, 15, 16, 17, 20, 30, 41, 49, and 51. Maybe one of them will pick up the full-time ABC affiliation for your area. For now, all I can recommend is supporting the one commercial local station you have - KBTX (channel 50). Interestingly, KBTX has a permit to increase its signal enough to take it into Houston: Current special temporary authority: Construction permit:

Sounds cool. If you have a cameraphone we'd love to see the rings!

Since it's in a restricted area, it should be pretty easy to narrow down the list of suspects. Especially if they have to key in and out.

In most of the cities I've lived, it's always the independent PBS stations that do almost all of the original local programming (WTTW, WNET, WGBH, etc...) while the college PBS stations just carry other station's stuff. I'm not sure why this is, considering that the college TV stations should have no shortage of eager young people willing to help. There are exceptions, of course. WCET in Cincinnati is the market's leading PBS station, but produces no local content. And WNDU in South Bend, Indiana produces a TON of local programming, even though until just recently it was owned by Notre Dame University. Of course, WNDU was pretty bad-ass because it was college owned, but NOT a PBS station -- it was a full NBC affiliate.