editor

Shoot. I walked right by there yesterday and didn't even notice. I'll have to stop by tomorrow. Thanks for letting us know.

In a New York Times article this past Sunday, the Katy Freeway is one of three poster children for why you can't build your way out of traffic. The other ones highlighted are the Long Beach Freeway in Los Angeles, and the Jersey Turnpike Extension.

I'm going with option E: I have no idea. I've been trying to watch more local TV news lately, but it's just the same old thing on every channel. And not even the "same old thing" as in they all cover the same stories. I mean the same old thing I used to put on the local news when I was doing it almost 25 years ago. Another random shooting. Another random fire. Another random outrage group trying to make a name for itself and mug for the camera. Same old stuff from day to day. It seems like the consultants have convinced local news directors to shift from "News that matters" to "New you can use" to "Here's what you should be afraid of today!" The only difference between now and 25 years ago is that now, there's traffic in the evening newscasts. Who is that for? With the exception of the morning news, people don't turn on the TV to see what the traffic is like. Even if they did, by the time they got in their car and on the freeway, the traffic has changed. Traffic is just filler content because it's cheaper than hiring more writers and reporters. Also, where are the news helicopters? As far as I can tell, only 13 has one. It used to be that every station except 26 and 39 had one. And 39's excuse was that it was a startup and the owners made the news director choose between a satellite truck and a helicopter. The only station doing anything different is KHOU, but even that is superficial. It's at least visually different, even though it's a standard package that's used at all of its owners' stations. Every other station is putting out news using the same methods, the same visuals, the same rundowns as when I was doing it. The best local news in Houston these days is the dead tree edition of the Chronicle, which is really not saying very much. Seriously, how many hamburger reviews does one city need?

I thought the same thing until recently. I met a couple of people from Europe — one from Germany, one from Ireland — who thought it was great. They especially liked that it's all seemingly mom-and-pop operations, and not chains. Based on their assessment, I decided that I'm just wrong. Or looking for something else.

At this time (January 8, 2022), it is not possible to sign up for HAIF using one of Microsoft's public e-mail accounts: outlook.com hotmail.com msn.com live.com If someone registers with one of those services, they will never receive a confirmation e-mail because Microsoft automatically blocks all e-mail from HAIF. The reason for this is: Microsoft subscribes to a service called SpamCop to protect its users from spam. HAIF subscribes to a service called SendGrid to send HAIF e-mail messages. Because HAIF doesn't send a lot of e-mail messages, SendGrid keeps us on a shared IP address with other senders. SpamCop does not differentiate between different senders on the same IP address. If one person misbehaves, everyone on that IP address gets added to the naughty list. Thus, SpamCop tells Microsoft that all HAIF e-mails are spam, and Microsoft blocks any inbound mail from HAIF to its Outlook, Hotmail, and Live e-mail services. One solution is for HAIF to move its outbound e-mail to a dedicated IP address. But that would cost close to $100/month. If you have registered with an Outlook, Hotmail, MSN, or Live account, e-mail me at editor@houstonarchitecture.com, and I can manually approve your registration. This also means that if you are already a HAIFer, and use one of those e-mail services, you are not getting your regular HAIF e-mails. Like if you choose to follow a discussion, or get alerts when someone sends you a direct message, or need to change your password. Those people may want to consider using a different, or an additional non-Microsoft e-mail provider. If Microsoft is blocking something as boring as HAIF, there's probably a lot of other e-mail you're not getting, as well.

It's just awful to see a topic you're interested in and also see that it spans 146 pages.

December 26, 2022

A few more… 609 Main Day 6 Coffee Mademoiselle Louise on Main Street The Star

December 26, 2022

I think it's both. The computers and scheduling were absolutely a part of the problem. But running bus loops reduces resiliency. Just like the more links you add to a chain, the more places it can break. If a storm shuts down Houston, Dallas, and New Orleans, an airline using spoke-and-hub routing can just shut down those cities and the rest of the network moves along. It doesn't affect people flying from Portland to Seattle. It's logistics 101. It's why Amazon spends billions on warehouses moving product closer to the customer: To reduce the number of hops required to complete a delivery. When I first moved to Las Vegas, our Amazon deliveries — even the next day ones — came out of Phoenix or Reno. Amazon eventually opened warehouses in Vegas. The delivery time remained the same, but unexpected delivery delays almost disappeared. The last time I flew Southwest, my flight from Chicago to Houston was delayed because of problems in Florida. The plane ended up being late out of Orlando, then late out of Albany, then late out of Buffalo, and then late into Chicago, making us three hours late getting to Houston. In the bus world, it's what causes "bus bunching." The airline version is a Southwest Meltdown. There's a reason that only discount airlines use that system: To squeeze every penny out of the operation, at the risk of things going catastrophically wrong. They shift the risk and burden from the airline to the customer.

When the feds said, "This is no longer a weather problem, it's a Southwest problem" I thought that was telling. If Spirit can keep from collapsing, Southwest has no excuse other than greed. As in, "Should we update our computer systems, or rack up another billion dollars in profit?" Southwest's profit from September 2021 - September 2022 was $5,920,000,000. All this time, Southwest has been all smug about being the only major airline to structure its flights in a point-to-point loop. Perhaps running an airline the same way that city buses run isn't the best idea.

Use this thread to talk about what's happening with retail in the Heights in 2023.

Use this thread to talk about what's happening with restaurants in the Heights in 2023.

Use this thread to talk about what's happening with retail in Montrose in 2023.

Use this thread to talk about what's happening with restaurants in Montrose in 2023.

Use this thread to talk about what's happening with retail in Midtown Houston in 2023.

Use this thread to talk about what's happening with restaurants in Midtown Houston in 2023.

Use this thread to talk about what's happening with restaurants in downtown Houston in 2023.

Use this thread to talk about what's happening with retail in downtown Houston in 2023.

New year, new thread. Let's start fresh.

Awning is gone, and all the windows are open. Maybe they're airing it out? It's probably a bit rank in there.

Personally, I'd prefer Sentimental Street. But this is an area Where The Streets Have No Name.

Wikipedia disagrees Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Alabama: 40,000 Joe Albi Stadium in Spokane, Washington: 28,646 Cranston Bowl in Montgomery, Alabama: 24,600 BREC Memorial Stadium in Baton Rouge: 21,500

There seems to be this notion that Houston is the only place that is hot and humid in America. I guess they've never been even as far as New Orleans.

You make the mistake of assuming that the people referenced were trekking, or tourists. They were not. They were regular commuters. People have been commuting by bicycle for longer than they have commuted by car. It's possible to do it. And if someone sweats profusely from a little bike ride, I suggest that perhaps more bike rides are in order. I don't commute, but it's my understanding that people who cycle to work on hot days don't wear the same clothes the bike in when they go to meetings. This was actually very common in the past. Sometimes in movies make before 1980, you'll see a businessman pull a new shirt out of his desk drawer. I assume that cyclists still have some similar arrangement. Even KHOU had a shower so that people who biked to work, or jogged during their lunch hour, or who were otherwise sweaty could rinse off. And yet, somehow they survive without it. I'm not sure what your point is.