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I guess my information is a little outdated. I just looked at Apple Maps, and the train line is no longer active: A quick Duck shows that the trains stopped running in 2020. Here are a couple of pictures (from here) from when bicycles and trains shared the bridge: Here's the location, if you want to explore it yourself: https://maps.apple.com/?address=1049 W North Ave, Chicago, IL 60642, United States&ll=41.910306,-87.655529&q=Dropped Pin

If that had happened, the cry would be "They're rushing through justice to keep him from running!" instead. When all that matters is tribalism, the prosecutors can't satisfy anyone.

It's funny how someone who campaigned with the slogan "Lock her up" now says it's unfair to indict someone during an election.

Short term, I don't see any change coming. Neiman Marcus and Saks have different customers. But I could Hudson Bay eventually eliminating one brand simply because Hudson Bay is a terrible company that in recent years has ruined Saks in so many ways. (One example: many Saks stores don't even have HR people in them anymore. If an employee needs something, they have to make an appointment to have a video chat with someone in Toronto.)

SWEENEY, COOMBS & FREDERICKS BUILDING THIS LATE-VICTORIAN COMMERCIAL BUILDING WITH A 3-STORY CORNER TURRET AND EASTLAKE DECORATIVE ELEMENTS WAS DESIGNED BY GEORGE E. DICKEY IN 1889. EVIDENCE INDICATES THAT THE 1889 CONSTRUCTION MAY HAVE BEEN A RENOVATION OF AN 1861 STRUCTURE BUILT BY WILLIAM VAN ALSTYNE AND PURCHASED IN 1882 BY JOHN JASPER SWEENEY AND EDWARD L. COOMBS. GUS FREDERICKS JOINED THE SWEENEY AND COOMBS JEWELRY FIRM BEFORE 1889. RECORDED TEXÀS HISTORiC LANDMARK - 1974

INNOVATION FOR ALL, by W3R30N3 "Innovation for All is a mural about access to technology and innovation for all (United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 9). Bridging the digital divide, promoting sustainable industries, and investing in scientific research and innovation are all important ways to facilitate sustainable development globally. Houston is continuously connected to technology and innovation. Whether it is about working to lead the green revolution or becoming "a smart city" with strategic investments in Artificial Intelligence, the city is up for every challenge. This mural, created by artist w33on3 and curated by Street Art for Mankind (SAM) empowers humankind to unlock access to technology for all. The lines created by the artwork prolong the architecture of the building, creating an impression of movement and a technological web. The message is direct: "We hold in our hands the key to making our world more sustainable and equitable by sharing our technology." The piece is part of the second series of the Big Art. Bigger Change. murals produced in May 2023 in Downtown Houston. It was made possible thanks to the drive and generous support of the Houston Downtown Management District, TotalEnergies and Harris County Precinct One. Special thanks to the Dhukka Family for donating their wall.

Finally got a chance to take a picture of the plaque. CHILD LABOUR by Hopare "Child Labour" is a mural that highlights the connection between child labor and our consumption (United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 8.7). Cosmetics, smartphones and electric vehicles may be emblems of the modern world, but the sparkle added to our make-up or the batteries in our electronics are frequently powered by minerals, like mica or cobalt. These minerals are mined by children laboring in slave-like conditions in Congo, India or Madagascar. This mural, created by artist Hopare and curated by Street Art for Mankind (SAM) represents the two sides of the same coin next to each other: On one side our consumption. On the other side what powers it: child labor. Through the allegory of a girl putting on make-up, next to her friend collecting mica, the mineral used to create make-up, we dig into a deeper topic and in the contradictions of our modern society. There is also a vision of hope here with a new generation, represented by the two girls, side by side questioning how we can fix this. The piece is part of the second series of the Big Art. Bigger Change. murals produced in May 2023 in Downtown Houston. It was made possible thanks to the drive and generous support of the Houston Downtown Management District and Harris County Precinct One. Special thanks to Houston House for donating their wall.

I meant to post this a couple of months ago — a new store has opened up next to Day 6 Coffee. It's ostensibly a convenience store, but its primary business appears to be electric scooter rentals. The windows are all painted black, which does eversomuch to enhance the vibrancy of downtown Houston, and make the business seem totally legitimate.

This is on the retaining wall facing Yale Street. I couldn't find the official name of this strip mall, but I'm sure someone on HAIF knows.

August 19th:

Bees and flowers on a shipping container at Buchanan's.

I'll take it. More choice is often better. I love Phoenicia, but would also like an option that isn't themed on a particular region. Sometimes you need 19 types of olive oil. Sometimes you just need toilet paper. Unfortunately, District Market doesn't cut it. I went there recently, and for two basic turkey sandwiches and a can of coffee beans, it wants almost $70. I walked out. I went back a week later because I needed coffee creamer, and everything else walkable (Phoenicia, CVS, GhettoMart, SuperGhettoMart) was closed. It turns out the pricing wasn't a fluke. 32oz half-and-half (HEB) from HEB: $2.70 32oz half-and-half (Sysco) from District Market: $9.74 Yes, I just looked up my receipt, and $9.74 is not an exaggeration. I don't mind paying a premium for the convenience of location and the hours District Market keeps, but a 260% difference is not reasonable. I guess that's why in two years of walking past, I've only seen maybe six people in that place.

Perhaps it's an issue of math. Every one of us makes mistakes, has memory lapses, and other brain farts. Let's say it happens to an ordinary person 0.1% of the time they speak. Politicians speak 10x more than ordinary people, so that becomes 1%. SJL speaks 10x more than most politicians, so her error rate becomes 10%.

It's possible that the Galleria worked an exclusivity clause into the lease. It happens. Something like not being able to open another store within x miles of the leased space in exchange for $y rent reduction, or some other perk like covering renovation expenses. It happens. Business is messy. I wonder if in some cases, the store-in-stores are a way of getting around that limitation.

Someone who works in the Galleria told me that LV and Gucci are each going to have two locations. But he couldn't speculate about why. Also, this person has about 60/40 success rate with predictions about the Galleria, so don't take it as Gospel. As for Prada, he says the location next to Creed is temporary while a new, larger store is being built.

It looks like Velasco was built along a railroad right of way. I wonder if the reason the city can't abandon it is because some railroad retains the right to re-track it. This is occasionally a problem with rails-to-trails projects. People think a railroad is abandoned, and ripe for conversion, but to the railroads, these are just dormant assets that can be reactivated when the need arises. In Chicago, there's one point where a cycling path has to share space with a freight line over a bridge. Fortunately, the trains are infrequent and very slow, so everyone has lots of time to get out of the way.

I watch a show on NHK called Japan Railway Journal, and in a recent episode they explained that the main reason Japan can't run trains faster than they currently do isn't because of anything involving the mechanics of the trains or the tracks, but because of the noise they generate at higher speeds. According to the show, the focus right now on many of the HSR routes in Japan is noise abatement so they can speed up the trains. Not applicable to Texas, but I thought it was interesting.

I know it's a fantasy in Houston, but this is a solved problem: Tunnel. You run surface BRT on the western part of Westheimer, and then run it in a tunnel when you get inside 610. That's what they did in Seattle, and it works great. I've used it hundreds of times. It started with just city buses, but now city buses, commuter buses, and light rail use it. It acts like one long intermodal transit hub. One end even connects to the monorail, the street car, and the Greyhound station. I don't have access to my full photo archive right now, but here's a few pictures: I know that every time anyone on HAIF uses the "T" word, someone pipes up about how it would never work in Houston. Completely forgetting that Houston already has not only a pedestrian tunnel system, but also a vehicle tunnel that somehow work fine; and that there are cities with far worse water infiltration problems and a lot less stable earth that somehow make tunnels work fine.

While it's trying to make improvements as fast as it can, Metro is a generation behind on a lot of things, especially is bus shelters. It's very proud that it is finally putting in covered bus shelters in some locations. Yay. Welcome to 1973. But the vast majority of Metro's bus stops are nothing more than flimsy metal signs. It would be great if Metro would skip ahead to today with its new shelters, but that would probably entail leaving a lot of bus stops with no shelter at all.

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You can still get a good deal on quality low-mileage mules in the Houston area. The Bureau of Land Management rounds up feral horses and mules in California and Nevada and offers them for adoption all over the country. The BLM was up near Conroe or Spring or somewhere a couple of weeks ago unloading some.

Here's a question for you amateur (and professional?) HVAC engineers out there: In my personal situation, which uses less electricity: Running the central air conditioning, or using a ceiling fan? No matter how humid it gets, I don't like turning the thermostat below 75°. So if it feels a bit warm, I turn on a ceiling fan i what ever room I'm in to make up the difference. But recently I've started wonder if that's the most economical solution. The conventional wisdom my whole life has been that ceiling fans are cheaper than central air conditioning. But there's a complication: I'm on Houston's downtown central chilling system. I pay a flat fee for access to the chilling system, so my variable expense is to the electric company based on how much the central air fan runs to spread the system's cold air around my home. When it gets hot, the central air fan will run for a few minutes until it brings the temperature back into range, and then turn off. Whereas, if I run the ceiling fan, it's on and using electricity the whole time I'm in the room. Is a central air fan more efficient than a ceiling fan? Especially if I only use the ceiling fan in the room I'm inhabiting at the time, while running the chiller fan lowers the temperature across the entire 1,100-square-foot apartment?

Metro has put together a section of its web site to explain urban design principles, presumably to people who think it's possible for Houston to build its way out of pollution and traffic jams. Linky My favorite part is the GIF on the front:

From Metro: New METRO Bus Shelters Pay Tribute to Independence Heights’ Rich History On June 30, METRO helped unveil the first four of dozens of new bus shelters designed in collaboration with the Independence Heights neighborhood. METRO partnered with Houston City Council Member Karla Cisneros, community leaders, U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee and residents to celebrate the vibrant community and its rich history. Independence Heights is a historically Black neighborhood located north of Loop 610 and west of I-45. In the early 1900s, it became the first city incorporated by African Americans in Texas. "At METRO, we strive to invest in communities that we serve," said METRO Board Chair Sanjay Ramabhadran at the ribbon cutting event. "We are honored to make this investment, but also help share these special stories of perseverance and of the pioneers of Independence Heights." Each bus shelter shares a piece of history and a QR code to encourage riders and pedestrians to visit the neighborhood’s website. At Airline and 34th, riders learn about Washington Stokes, an entrepreneur residents referred to as “the fruit man.” The Fruit Man: The METRO bus shelter at Airline and 34th highlights Washington Stokes, an entrepreneur known as “the fruit man.” The story of the three African American mayors of Independence Heights--George O. Burgess, O.L. Hubbard, and Arthur McCullough--are displayed at Main and 43rd Streets. Other shelters share information about the establishment of the community and the first school for African Americans in Houston, a two-room building that was moved to the community from neighboring Sunset Heights in 1928. "It is a project that has been a labor of love. When people are riding, they will see pictures of the first mayors, pictures of young people in the schools, pictures of the early businesses," said Tanya Debose, executive director of the Independence Heights Redevelopment Council. The four shelters are located at: N. Main Street and 32nd Street N. Main Street and 43rd Street Airline and 34th Street Yale Street and Cockerel Street METRO will continue to partner with the community for more designs, which will be installed over time. Lasting Legacy: “When people are riding, they will see pictures of the first mayors, pictures of young people in the schools, pictures of the early businesses,” said Tanya Debose.