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Or with bad music and enough money. More to your point -- the internet has been great for leveling the playing field for a lot of musicians. When you see so many long established acts suddenly having to actually work and tour and put out new material like the newcomers, you can tell there's been a big change in the way things are done.

How so? Do you assume that the one in Houston was the first one?

No, Ted Turner created it from scratch because it was his hometown. Atlanta's entertainment industry merely added fuel to the fire that Turner started. Ted Turner parlayed WTBS into a huge cable TV empire. For a while when cable was starting to spread the only channels on cable were HBO and his. Turner spent a lot of money building a telecommunications infrastructure in Atlanta, not because it made sense (it would make more sense to locate in the center of the country), but because he wanted to. The Weather Channel launched out of Virginia, but moved to Atlanta because of its teleport. At the time, teleports were pretty rare things. I remember it being a big deal when the Staten Island teleport went online so that New York had one. This was well after the Turner Broadcasting empire was already established. At the same time, Atlanta was becoming known as a great place for black people to live. There have been several thread on HAIF about it, and I'm sure we've all seen a magazine cover or two proclaiming Atlanta to be the "best place in America" for black people to live. That went on for a few years. Then things changed. The headlines went from "best place for blacks to live" to "best place for black businesses." A lot of what's listed in the rest of this thread as examples of entertainment industry success in Atlanta are more accurately examples of black business success in Atlanta. Not exactly. The left and right coast productions run up to Canada, film, then run back to New York and L.A. to edit and produce the pieces. The reasons for Canada becoming America's back lot are simply taxes and unions. A full-blown production can be done in half the time for half the money if it's done in Vancouver, compared with LA or NY. Since Houston's not unionized, Houston could be the next big thing if the city and state's leaders decide it's what they want. But it's not what they want. It would be somewhat difficult getting re-elected in Conroe after giving Barbara Streisand a massive tax break. Unless you were a brazillionaire, you'd need the state's help. And to be honest -- the Texas film office is pretty lame, even compared to lame states like Illinois.

I came across this the other day outside the offices of The Province newspaper in Vancouver, BC: Looks a lot like the Wortham Fountain on Allen Parkway. I remember being told once that the artist made a bunch of them, and that there's one in Australia somewhere, too.

Across the border? Yeah, good luck with that. I just made two trips across the northern border. PITA. The Amtrak train I was on spent almost an hour in the Vancouver freight yard waiting for permission to pull into Pacific Central Station. Then once we were in, it took another hour for customs and immigration to interrogate everyone on the train one car at a time. And that was at a border that DOESN'T have a giant fence! Coming back into the United States was a lot shorter, but we still had to unload our luggage, go through interrogation, then have our luggage X-rayed like at the airport, then re-load the luggage.

At traffic lights... restricting it would be unconstitutional. Sadly. Door-to-door? Dunno. Don't some cities have soliciting licenses for things like that? Red?

Because fame begets fame. Like I told an aspiring DJ from upstate New York -- get out of your backwater town and move to NY, LA, or Atlanta. When a famous DJ wants to hang out with some new talent at 2am on a Thursday is he going to call that promising kid from down the street he heard spinning at the club the other night, or is he going to call that promising kids who's a three-hour drive away? Just like sales people and business managers will tell you -- no matter how much Cicso pushes teleconferencing, there's nothing like being in the room.

The Catholic school I went to was very similar to the public schools I went to. The school specifically had the sciences taught by lay people. The only time we had clergy teaching was for theology class. Other than that, and Latin, it wasn't much different than a public school, except that it had a 99.9% graduation rate and 99% of its students were accepted to their first college choice. A lot of people who have never been to a Catholic school make a lot of assumptions about what it's like based on things they heard, or saw satirized in a cartoon, that happened in the 1940's. What the average HAIFer doesn't know about Catholicism could fill a cathedral. Since this thread is way off topic and no one seems interested in discussing the root, it is now closed.

I find it interesting that so many people so easily got sucked into a movie promotion. Sony and Centropolis Entertainment thank you.

You might be on to something. Meijer opened its first hypermarket in 1962. Target opened its first in 1990. Wal-Mart opened a handful in 1986 (branded as "Hypermart USA," but they ended up closing because it tried to manage the grocery side the same way it did the non-food stores, and it simply doesn't work that way. One of the original Hypermart USA locations was in north Texas (Garland, I think). BTW, In Minnesota, the SuperTargets are still branded with their original name: "Target Greatland."

Yeah, suck, right? It's one of the features that magically dropped out of the upgrade. A number of web sites have petitioned the software company to restore the feature, so hopefully it will come back in a future upgrade.

City of Houston and NRG Energy Developing Largest Solar Farm in Texas Ten megawatts of clean renewable power online in early 2010 The City of Houston has selected NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NRG) in a competitive bid process to develop, own and operate the largest solar project in Texas to date. The agreement must be approved by the Houston City Council and Mayor in a process expected to begin next week. Using the latest photovoltaic (PV) technology, the proposed project will have the capacity to generate approximately 10 megawatts (MW) of clean, renewable solar power which would be purchased by the city under a long-term power purchase agreement. Ten megawatts is roughly 6.25% of the City's annual consumption and is equivalent to the energy required to power over 7,000 homes. The EPA currently lists Houston as the country's No. 1 municipal purchaser of renewable energy. The Solar initiative is consistent with the City's prior renewable purchases and the ongoing weatherization and efficiency efforts that mark the City's commitment to reducing its impact on the environment while continuing to meet its ongoing energy needs. The facility, as proposed, would come online in the second quarter of 2010 and would create approximately 100 jobs during construction. The project would supply the City with both sustainable power and Renewable Energy Credits which would be needed under a number of the environmental initiatives being proposed by Congress. "The City of Houston has established itself as a leader in green energy projects. That includes both energy efficiency and renewable energy. These are things we all have to think about and plan for as we face the challenges of an uncertain and more costly energy future. Using renewable sources of energy such as solar and wind power means we are conserving energy, saving money and protecting the environment," said Mayor White. NRG was selected as the generator best able to deliver the facility on time with an innovative solar power project that reduces cost and ensures Houston's energy needs are met. The City will purchase the full 10 MW at a blended cost of 8.2 cents/kilowatt hour. To achieve this blended price, the solar-generated power will be complemented and backed up by NRG's extensive and diverse generation portfolio to economically meet Houston power needs at night and on days when weather conditions do not allow solar generation at maximum capacity. This long-term power purchase agreement provides a fixed price over the life of the agreement for the solar generation, protecting the city from price fluctuations due to natural gas price volatility of the type experienced in the summer of 2008 and following Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The facility will be developed at NRG's TH Wharton Electrical Generating Station in northwest Houston. By using land an existing NRG site, the solar project can take advantage of available land and existing nearby interconnects to reduce costs. NRG plans to use PV solar modules manufactured by First Solar, Inc. to turn sunlight directly into electricity. First Solar has been a leader in advanced solar technology since it began commercial production in 2002.

Sorry... late again with this one. Pacific time is killing me. ------------ METRO TO PRESERVE ART DECO FACADE / REMOVAL SET FOR TOMORROW METRO will preserve the historic clock tower of the old Sterling Laundry and Cleaning Company on Harrisburg. It will be moved to a temporary storage location tomorrow morning. METRO, city and county officials, and East End community leaders worked together to preserve the facade at 4819 Harrisburg, which is located just feet from the light-rail line now under construction. In cooperation with city officials, the preliminary plan calls for relocating the clock tower to Eastwood Park, creating a permanent monument or gateway to the park. METRO has made a financial commitment to support these efforts, while the city will be responsible for executing the installation of the facade and for the future maintenance of the facade in its new, permanent home. Crews are set to remove the clock tower portion at 8 a.m., weather permitting. With the help of the Greater East End Management District, the clock tower will then be transported to a storage facility at the Buffalo Bayou Partnership while future plans are finalized. The clock tower’s placement at Eastwood Park also supports the community’s on-going efforts to beautify the park, and reinforces METRO’s commitment to respond to community needs during light-rail construction. ----------------------- And by "tomorrow" they meant "today" my time, which is currently "yesterday" Houston time. Also known as Friday, September 25th.

Considering that trains move about 80% of everything in this country, you'd gain bike trails, but have to get used to empty store shelves.

Good luck. It's been great having you aboard. Feel free to share your Tennessee flipping pictures here on HAIF. I know your fans will want to see them.

Yeah, I see them in lots of cities. They're just a fact of life. Railroads built the cities, people moved in and found themselves next to the railroads. Growing pains. In fact, I'd say Houston has a lot fewer problem freight lines than most cities I've been to, especially when you include the suburbs.

They could still be arrays of LEDs hidden behind a diffuser. For a while the feds were chucking money at cities to replace their old lights with LED ones. I haven't heard of a new technology to supplant LEDs yet.

Here's the official release: -------------- Owners of the Savoy Hotel Prepare to Step Forward to Take Control of Demolition The City of Houston has reached a tentative agreement with the owners of the vacant Savoy Hotel building to demolish the dangerous 103-year-old building beginning no later than October 2. Negotiations are being finalized to have the owners assume responsibility for the demolition of the structure. Under the terms of that agreement, the owners are being asked to submit a contract with a qualified demolition contractor by the close of business on September 29. The demolition would have to take place no later than the following weekend, Oct. 2-4. “We are very pleased that the owners are acting in good faith and expect they will live up to their responsibility,” said Assistant Police Chief Mark Curran, head of the Neighborhood Protection Division. “They are helping to set an example for other property owners. If, however, they are unable to meet the commitment, we are prepared to step in and protect the public’s safety and interest.” The City is prepared to begin demolition at midnight on Oct. 2 if that becomes necessary. The City awarded a provisional demolition contract today to the lowest of six bidders, Houston-based Cherry Environmental Services, Inc. Cherry’s bid was for $448,600. Demolition was ordered this past week after inspectors noted structural cracks in the building façade. “It is understood the demolition process takes time to prepare utilities and other infrastructure and stage the needed equipment and personnel,” said Andy Icken, Deputy Director for the City’s Public Works and Engineering Department. “We are working through that and with surrounding property owners as quickly as we can.” Meanwhile, the City will take necessary steps, including posting police officers at the scene, to keep the public safe and away from the structure, said Chief Curran. The City is also working with other agencies, including the Metropolitan Transit Authority, whose Main Street light-rail line runs in front of the Savoy, in the 1600 block of Main. It is expected that the rail line would be temporarily shut down in the Savoy’s vicinity beginning at 6 p.m. on Oct. 2. Demolition, will be performed using specialized cranes and all necessary environmental safeguards will be in place during the demolition. The demolition is expected to take the weekend, though removal of debris from the site will take somewhat longer.

Lots of cities are replacing their at-grade crossings with underpasses. Canadian National Railroad recently bought a big regional railroad in Chicago. In order to get the towns involved to approve (and thus win Federal Railroad Administration approval) CN had to agree to build overpasses at a bunch of intersections. My understanding of the law is that the railroads are under no ordinary obligation to build over/underpasses. The railroads have legal priority, and the roadway is technically the interloper. Also, the big logistical challenge isn't keeping the cars moving, it's keeping the trains moving.

YouTube embeds work fine. Click the "Media" button: In fact, they work better now because you can paste the entire web address in.

Science is useful is preparing food. But cooking isn't science. It's art.