editor
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Posts posted by editor
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On 12/10/2023 at 10:57 PM, jhjones74 said:
I'm confused how they're even allowed to remain open given Bowie's past legal issues and back taxes owed
I confused how he can owe back taxes. Except for when it's closed, I don't think I've ever walked by and it hasn't been absolutely packed. I don't know what kind of marketing that place does, but it works.
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On 12/22/2023 at 9:41 PM, staresatmaps said:
The senior priests get to stay. It's the junior ones that get moved around.
I don't think that's universal. I've seen the heads of cathedrals moved around more than once. Not in Houston, though.
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Not being a Northsider, I'd rather not make a change that makes it worse, so what you you guys suggest for the new description?
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On 10/20/2023 at 9:59 PM, Highrise Tower said:
I would like to meet Ross, Editor, Montrose1100, ChannelTwoNews, strickn, Houston19514, Triton, etc. etc.
Soon, maybe? I wonder the last time there was an official HAIF meet?
There has only been one "official" HAIF meeting, and that was a moderators event when the web site was sold about five years ago. But there have been probably a dozen unofficial HAIF meet-ups organized by people on HAIF. It's been my observation that if a HAIFer sets a time and place, other tend to show up.
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You love HAIF. We all love HAIF. And now there's a way you can show you love for HAIF.
Just like your grandmother slipping a check inside a birthday card, you can express your love of quality Houston information by slipping HAIF some money. And just like your grandmother's love, it costs just five dollars!
HAIF+ is all the HAIFy goodness you know and love, but without any banner ads.
Benefits of HAIF+:
- With no banner ads, HAIF pages load faster.
- You support HAIF directly, rather than enduring internet network ads, which end up paying us as little as 0.001¢ (Yes, that's one one-hundredth of a cent!)
- You feel all warm and fuzzy inside knowing you helped support Houston people running a Houston web site for people in Houston, rather than a trillion-dollar global advertising platform disguised as a "social media."
- No punching of monkeys required!
HAIF+ has just two simple plans:
- $5 per month
- $50 per year
Get HAIF+
To get started, send a message to @editor, or e-mail editor@houstonarchitecture.com. Because we're just ordinary schmoes like you, the available payment methods are:
- Cash
- Personal checks
- PayPal
- Apple Pay
- Apple Cash
- Frank's Pizza gift certificates
If none of those work for you, give us a shout at @editor, and we'll work something out.
Seldom Asked Questions:
Q: Why should I sign up for HAIF+?
A: Because you love HAIF, but hate ads.
Q: Why can't I just use an ad blocker?
A: Because then you are taking away from HAIF. Running HAIF isn't cheap. It costs many hundreds of dollars each month to keep this web site online and available for the people of Houston, near and far. If you use HAIF without viewing ads, or signing up for ad-free HAIF, then you are deliberately helping to bring about the demise of HAIF and make Houston a worse place for yourself and your neighbors. Why would you do that?
Q: But I can't afford five bucks!
A: Then you should probably work on other things in your life to improve your situation, rather than wasting your time on HAIF or any other web site.
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6 hours ago, Houston19514 said:
Not hindesky's fault; he accurately quoted Community Impact. This is another example of why one should never trust a journalist to do math, or for that matter, to write an intelligible article. They start by telling us it is a "60,000 square foot memorial plaza" by which they apparently meant "parking lot". Then later they tell us that the "plaza" [parking lot] includes 6,000 square feet of "public gathering and tribute space" (i.e., the memorial plaza).
You get what you pay for. How much do you pay for your news these days?
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https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/interactive/2023/cleveland-downtown-empty-offices-transform/
Our year-long project studying how to revive downtowns has identified three keys to success: First, to focus on a few blocks at a time (what urban planners call a “node”). Second, to make it as easy as possible to convert old office towers for new uses, via tax incentives and expedited permitting. Third, to offer unique amenities for residents, workers and tourists. Cleveland did all three in the area around Public Square.
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A couple of weeks ago, Victory (711 Main) added branding to the front door, and occasionally puts a sandwich board on the sidewalk.
While I don't understand what's happening here (it's supposed to be "elevated comfort food," but most of the reviews talk about hookas), I hope it does better than the previous occupants of this space. It's been through at least three, maybe four different tenants in the last 2½ years.
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The new Vietnamese Martyrs church is going to be dedicated this coming Wednesday (December 13, 2023).
As a work of architecture, it's not special. But it is interesting for having the stained glass windows, stations of the cross, and other elements that were part of the 1911 Sacred Heart Co-cathedral downtown before it was demolished.
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11 hours ago, asubrt said:
Incredibly condescending points aside, Post's biggest strength is that it actually has some really good food spots that you can't find anywhere else. Andes Cafe, Chòpnblok, and Golfstrømmen are all phenomenal, destination-worthy restaurants. Not to mention multiple other strong concepts with enough variety to cater to nearly any taste. I find Post is an awesome spot to meet up with folks from across the Houston area in a central location where everyone can get something they enjoy.
I'll give you Goldstrømmen. But Andes Café's virtue is that it brings together the flavors from a dozen other more regionalized restaurants across Houston in one menu. Does that count as a strong "concept?" I'm not sure. I guess it saves on gas driving all over town.
I haven't tried Chòpnblọk yet, but it's described as "West African fusion." Great, but when I see "fusion" in a restaurant description I think "we've run out of ideas." It'll be nice when Houston builds up a base of (better distributed) west African restaurants first so that we can taste and understand the basics before having it go all tex-mess. Or if the intent of this "fusion" is to make west African food more palatable to Western tastes to give us an introduction to the cuisine, then they should be more helpful. Writing "Ghanian style" or "Liberian style" on a menu doesn't tell me anything. How am I supposed to choose between the two? It's a food court. If I'm confused, I'll just turn around and there's a dozen other options from other vendors right in front of me.
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According to an ad in the Chronicle today, Havana Air is going to start flights between Houston (IAH) and Holgun (HOG), Cuba.
The service starts December 16.
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I bought my wife's engagement ring there. This was back when the TV was full of ads proclaiming "guaranteed to appraise for double!"
Less than five years later I had it appraised on Jewelers Row in Chicago. Nope.
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Post and Finn Hall are very different audiences.
Finn Hall is for office workers and tourists. And I'm surprised how many people go in there on Saturdays. It's not "busy" by any stretch of the imagination, but my observation has been that there's a lot more foot traffic than I would have expected.
The Post is for urban wannabes who want to cosplay cosmopolitan urbanity from the sanitized safety of a rooftop, across a moat, and a half-mile away from the downtown core. It's for the people who pull their kids nearer to them when they walk past someone sleeping on the sidewalk. A not-quite-Disneyfied version of what it's like to be downtown.
That said, Post has the advantage over Finn Hall for a few reasons:
- The Post's concert venue. People who don't ordinarily go downtown won't make the trip just for a food court. But they will go there for a concert. Then once they've seen the place, know what to expect, and most importantly know how to get there, they will return for the food court.
- Post's parking situation is a lot less scary for people used to parking at Target and Kohl's, instead of inside parking garages. Plus they don't have to deal with one-way streets, which make people from outside Beltway 8 fudge their Huggies.
- The Post has a ton of programming. There is something going on at least weekly, and sometimes it verges on daily. The Post has done a great job with bringing in reasons to visit the Post beyond the food court.
- The Post seems to have a proper PR company, or a PR person on staff. it gets lots of attention in print and TV, and seems to be media-friendly. Finn Hall seems to think having an Instagram account is all that's needed for success. It couldn't be more wrong. Coca-Cola and McDonald's don't spend millions of dollars on advertising and PR because it doesn't work. I like Finn Hall, but when it comes to self-promotion, it's seriously amateur hour over there. I live a block away from Finn Hall, and the only way I find out that anything is happening there is when I see it mentioned in the Chronicle a few weeks later. But I see what feels like 80% of what's happening at the Post.
Both could do better, but Finn Hall has a lot of catching up to do. It looks like amateur hour over there. Even some of the crappy bars down the street had big Taylor Swift events after the concert, enticing people to ride the train to after parties. Finn Hall was dark. There's no imagination over there. And what's bad for Finn Hall is bad for Finn Hall's eateries, and bad for the neighborhood.
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At the Four Seasons downtown:
At the Hilton Americas-Houston:
At Kofeteria in EaDo:
At Table 7 Bistro downtown:
At Methodist Hospital:
At Shake Shack downtown:
At 811 Main:
At Main Street Square:
At the Club Quarters hotel downtown:
At the Kirby Lofts downtown:
At 1000 Main:
At The Star:
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707 Fannin is now The Star Parking Garage, which IIRC replaced the Montague Hotel, so this building didn't last very long.
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What's the fastest way to lose my vote? Send me text message spam.
It shows a fundamental lack of respect for me as a person and a voter; shows how out of touch the candidate is; and demonstrates that to him, his campaign is more important than anything else, including the voters.
I keep a running list of politicians who have spammed me, and each election I make sure not to vote for any of them.
I'm no fan of Sheila Jackson Lee, but at least she's not a filthy spammer.
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17 hours ago, mattyt36 said:
I have zero idea why State politics continue to overcompensate to allow individuals with zero common sense, nevermind empathy, run the place.
I do. Money.
Taking very public stands on moral issues that get you national attention is a way for politicians to attract in-state, out-of-state, and overseas donors for their next campaign so they don't have to get a real job.
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Since we're moving into a construction phase, I've created a new thread for the new project:
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On 11/18/2023 at 10:33 PM, Highrise Tower said:
Has anyone also noticed that in some TMC parking garages, taking a parking ticket is no longer an option? You insert your credit card, to serve as your parking ticket.
Kinda crazy but it makes sense! Why should TMC pay for parking ticket rolls when they're not needed? Paper is expensive.
Paper is cheap. Parking companies pitch these machines to companies like TMC so that the parking companies can collect data about who comes and goes, how often, and how long they stay.
Giving your credit card number to anyone for anything other than making a purchase is dumb. Matching up a credit card number with the tracking profile of a human being is cheap and easy. Google buys 90% of credit card transaction information to build its profiles on everyone, whether they use Google or not. And most of the other big tech companies, advertising companies, and data brokers do the same.
Moreover, requiring a credit card for anything is bad. According to the FDIC, there are six million households in America that do not have a bank account.
But it gets worse when you break it down by race. 40% of Black Americans do not have a credit card. What are they supposed to do? In certain cities, businesses have been using the "Sorry, no cash!" signs as a way to keep certain races out of their stores. It's why more and more cities (most recently Los Angeles) are making it illegal for retailers to not accept cash.
Every time I go into a store in Houston and see a sign that says "No cash" I read it as "Go be poor or Black somewhere else."
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Good for them, if they can pull it off. Seems like about 13 stories, so not over ambitious.
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On 11/20/2023 at 9:24 AM, 004n063 said:
Off the top of my head, the following protected high-comfort bikeways are not visible on Google Maps:
Cullen - continuously protected bikeway from MacGregor/Brays Bayou to Polk. Off-street pathways on both sides of the street from Brays to I-45, on-street armadillo-protected from 45 to Polk, with additional protection via parked cars on the northbound side. North of 45 can have debris. Total protected distance 2.2mi.
Lawndale - concrete barriers from Forest Hill Blvd to the KIPP Explore/Intrepid/East End campus on the south (eastbound) side and to Telephone on the north (westbound) side. Lots of cutouts for driveways & look out for parked cars between Wayside and Brays Bayou. Total protected distance 1.6mi.
Polk - concrete barriers on both sides extend protection from Cullen to Lockwood. Total protected distance (Emancipation to Lockwood) 1.6mi.
Almeda - MUP on the west/southbound side from Hermann Drive to Holly Hall. Total protected distance 2.3mi.
East 11th - curb-protected lanes continue from Heights to Micheaux. Total protected distance 1.5mi.
Commonwealth - curb-protected one-way lane from Waugh to Yoakum. Total protected distance 1.1mi.
Heights - combination of MUP and armadillos get you from Willia to I-10. Wide but unprotected lanes from I-10 to 20th. Terrible unprotected crossings at I-10 and Memorial. The gaps here are pretty inexcuseable in my opinion. Westheimer to 20th should be a seamless straight shot. Total protected distance irrelevant until those gaps are closed.
Shepherd & Durham - curb-protected one-way lanes from Dickson to Washington. Total protected distance 0.4mi.
Blodgett - wide, curb-protected lanes on both sides of the street from Scott to Ennis. Some nicely done intersections, especially with the Columbia Tap. Total protected distance 1.2mi.
Wheeler - MUP continies (in increasingly unimpressive form, I'll admit) from Cullen to Tierweister and along MLK from Wheeler to the new Fertita College of Medicine building. Total protected distance (not including Bayou connection) 1.4mi.
Please add any you can think of.
Probably also worth mentioning that despite what Google Maps says, there are no bike facilities on Fannin or on Memorial between Crosswood and Shepherd.
How does Apple Maps compare? I remember a year or so ago there was a lot of chatter about Apple putting a lot of effort into bicycle routes in Apple Maps, but I don't know if Houston benefitted from that.
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+1 for the Katy Prairie line.
-1 for the ding against education. Teachers are there to teach, not entertain. Not everyone — especially smart people — is engaging. It's incumbent upon the students to realize why they are where they are and to engage themselves appropriately.
When I was in elementary school, our classrooms were right against the gravel lot that was used for gym class, and we managed to keep our eyes on the board, and not the flailing limbs and careering balls hurled by the students outside.
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Capitol Lofts At 711 Main St.
in Downtown
Posted
If by "vibe" dining spots you mean "gimmicky," then yes, I've noticed that most restaurants that open in Houston these days are mostly about gimmicks.