Highway6

In a way, yes, but not the same way Jesse Jones and Dan Duncan invested in Houston. Granted, they invested more in the arts and medicine, I'm not sure how much they invested in infrastructure or things like Fibrocity, but that would be awesome if they wanted to.

Here's a decent article I found: http://www.chron.com...an/6944081.html

I initially had a longer response, but I slimmed it down till I could see who your examples would be.

You hit the nail on the head - all the multi-millionaire philanthropists invest in Universities, Arts, Medical, Libraries, Humanities. You can add Ima Hogg and M.D. Anderson to your list. Nationally, it's the same - Carnegie, Rockefeller, Vanderbilt, Gates - their return on investment is seeing growth in cultural, medical, or scholastic endeavors.

I can't think of many example of philanthropists who's only goal is too invest in the architecture and aesthetics of a city for the sake of improving the city, especially when it involves commercial projects.

The sort-of exception I can think of, though it isn't isolated from the above reasons, is T Boone Pickens. Rich alumni like himself who's main goal is to improve their alma mater, but in investing in academics of a small school in a small town, are also investing in the architecture, aesthetics and image of the college town.

Seriously, those fools spent the whole day voting on a symbolic bill that will never pass....

Same could possibly be said for the Senate's gang of 6 plan since it's already established the House probably won't go for it.

If the HoR and Senate are controlled by different parties, then this could be said about 90% of the bills out there.

Not that I hope this new plan doesn't pass.. I do.

Fibro city. It would be awesome for a visionary Houstonian to invest in the city in this way. What ever happened to those people who invested in their city? Did they leave it to corporations or do we simply not hear about them anymore?

Isn't any entity, whether an individual or corporation, who decides to build here instead of elsewhere deciding that Houston is the best place for them to build? So wouldn't all new projects in Houston be investments in Houston?

Kinda appropriate.... ok.... not really.

Seen on failblog.

I can't find the thread for Discovery Green.. ( one would think the search terms "Discovery" & "Green" would get you there).. but I vaguely remember when seeing the initial site plan years ago being disappointed that it didn't take up this block too. Figured the farther the park stretched into the core, the better.... but what we got turned out well.

BTW... Just press the HAIF Easy Button... BAM.

Plus 2 for cash -- it's way easier than keeping up with a bunch of grocery receipts to compare with the monthly statement.

I don't understand this statement.

With the advent of online banking, I'm not sure how many people go through the trouble of comparing receipts to monthly statements anymore. If you look at you banking app or hop online a few times a week, you can just ignore monthly statements.

For the technophobes who rectify their checkbook register with their Quicken database and their monthly statement.. How does cash purchases make it easier or any difference at all ?

Why would you not need to bother keeping a receipt if you pay with cash, but if you pay by check, debit or credit ( all of which you can track instantly online, or get record of purchase at the end of the month) you all of a sudden do need to hold on to the receipt for a month ?

Imaginary -1s for all you cash using neanderthals.

I took this with my spiffy new camera and thought I'd share this with you you guys. I did it for each line.

For the sake of sanity, I sped it up a tad and decided not to add a sound track for safe office viewing.

Oh come on.. ya could have at least added the "chica chica chica" of the train and the occasional steam engine whistle for our auditory pleasure.

Just kidding.. good job.

Not worth a new thread, but I have an observation/gripe.

I realize most bus lines run like a wheel's spokes, In to Out, but Metro seems to do better job with the Crosstown routes in some part of the city, while in other parts, they don't exist.

Between 610 and 8, there are only 2 N-S crosstowns and they are at either end, PostOak and Gessner.

There is nothing on Bingle, ChimneyRock, or Fondern/PineyPt/Bunker Hill.

My guess is the Villages had their say in making it this way...

A Bingle/Voss crosstown connecting the Pinemont P&R to the Hilcroft P&R and intersecting main bus lines on Richmond, Westheimer, Longpoint and Memorial, all of which run DT, would be very useful.

I WANT PB&J's every day, but unless I want to walk around like Jabba the Hutt, it is not a good idea.

If you are a lover of the PB&J, may I suggest adding BaconBits, and then garlic-onion croutons if you're feeling really adventurous.

It works best with Raspberry preserves.... HEAVEN !!!!

Just to make sure I understand what I read.. the MAC boundaries are exclusion zones to this new proposed ordinance ?

I don't really see this as zoning. Like the language in the pdf says - It's meant to discourage hi-rises next to single-family residential, not prohibit. Prohibiting commercial would be zoning. Of course, It could have the same effect of prohibiting if the site is too restrictive, unless the developer/architect finds a way.

Would this new proposal save the people off Bissonnet from their tower of terror? I don't think so.

What would the result be?

Ground level retail.. Out. Pedestrian zone off Bissonnet.. Out. Slightly skinner and disproportional tower - In. A residential development that strives to add streetlife to the community - Out.

If this ordinance goes through, and Buckhead plays ball, would the city have any ground left to say No. The anti-Ashby clan will find out that they'd be better off had they kept their mouths shut.

It's still amazing. I wish I could +rep it 1000 times

Ahh.. You're too kind.

Lockmat's opening post stated.. "or even conceptual ideas architects had for Houston." So I'm pretty sure my icon is qualified to be here.

Plus... it's a helluva lot more realistic than the downtown dome.

I never liked this proposal. I do like the idea of an 'iconic', large monument within the city, but not this one.

My Lord, it would have been beautiful....

But what about this section? Benches and shade. The fountains spurt up in rhythmic patterns there. It's enjoyable to watch.

The reason the park was built there was it was a bit of an act of atonement on the part of the Medical Center for gratuitously tearing down the Shamrock.

I stand corrected on the benches and shade... but location still sucks.

If it's located such that only one building is going to benefit from it, I guess it shouldn't even considered a 'public space'.

I always kind of liked the fountains at the old Shamrock Hilton site.

I've always thought this was a waste of a public space.

It's on the wrong side of Main and Holcomb to get any visitors from the TMC. No benches, no shade.

I pass here multiple times a week and I've never seen anyone even attempting to enjoy it.

Basically, how does it look?

Mostly gray and flat.. a little bit of white paint thrown in for good measure.

It's not faster for me to have to input the fruit code, since I don't know it by heart.

It's not faster to have to wait on the one employee who has dominion over 8 self checkouts to come okay my alcohol purchase.

Having never worked in a grocery store, it's not faster for me to scan items. I haven't done it a thousand times and learned how to hold each item so that it scans on the first pass.

It's not faster to not have someone else bag my groceries while I'm paying.

It's not faster when i have big items that I have to move off the bagging area to make room for other items and I get the "Return your item to the bagging area" warning.

This is a welcome change.

Random Tangent Time

I also hate when I go deposit a check at the bank and the teller tells me I can just do that through an aTm.

a ) No i can't.. Burned once, depositing at a BoA aTm.. never again.

b ) How stupid can a teller be to encourage the use of their machine replacements ?

I'll give you one guess as to which Kroger this article is referring to....

http://www.msnbc.msn...-consumer_news/

One of the nation's major grocery store chains is eliminating self-checkout lanes in an effort to encourage more human contact with its customers.

Albertsons LLC, which operates 217 stores in seven Western and Southern states, will eliminate all self-checkout lanes in the 100 stores that have them and will replace them with standard or express lanes, a spokeswoman said.........

The move marks a surprising step back from a trend that began about a decade ago, when supermarkets began installing self-checkout lanes, touting them as a solution to long lines. Now some grocery chains are questioning whether they are really good for

business

.

Kroger, the largest grocery chain in the U.S. (with some 2,500 outlets), is experimenting with removing all self-checkouts in at least one Texas store

,

reports StorefrontBacktalk

, an industry publication. Publix, another major chain, is "on the fence" about self-checkout, according to a report quoted in the story.

For those of you who haven't visited Disco Kroger recently, In addition to removing the self-checkouts, they've set up an express-checkout area that works very well, I think.

They have 1 line set up that leads to 6 or so mini-express checkouts that are similar to, say a CVS counter. No converyor belt. Not enough counter surface for some greedy bastard with over 15 items.

Overall, I'd say it's just as fast as the self-checkout, but I've never been fond of them anyways.

So you too think you have the right to break the law if you think nobody is watching.... on the highway.. not me.

Anarchy triumphs.

So, are you saying that we all should have a right to break the law if we know someone isn't watching?

So, are you saying you never speed... ever !?!

It won't happen because Transtar and the HCTRA will not allow it to happen. The software only reads the ID number and doesn't save it. I realize that is easily remedied, but look at the consequences. Thousands of tag holders turn in their tags to avoid being detected. HCTRA goes bankrupt as revenue plummets.

No, not quite the revenue stream you envision.

Frankly, the redlight cameras do not bother me nearly as much as the camera on every intersection in downtown. The redlight cameras are fixed to only look at the intersection. The Big Brother cameras are watching our every move downtown. And, at least you can fight your citation if you did not run the light. The City is screwing many of us far worse with other ordinances that cost us tens of thousands of dollars. A $75 citation doesn't faze me.

I did not look at it from HCTRA's side, and i agree with most of what you say except i do want to point out that not everyone would turn them in. Some people need the tollroads every day and their eztags would become necessary evils.

But.. taking HCTRA out of the equation, the possibility of escalation still stands. What if this arizona company, or any other company, comes up with a system that does the same thing without the need for EZtags. If we allow one small-fine big brother intrusion in the name of safety and needed revenue, I don't see why we would pass up on any opportunity for bigger-fine auto ticketing if the technology came along... and the technology will come along eventually.

I didn't realize we had so many cameras downtown... just wait till they figure out how to tie in an auto-ticketing system when those cameras catch you jaywalking or illegally parking.

Sorry guy, but that's just hysterical talk.

Remember, the same things were brought up with cops first started doing Radar, the same with people actually having Driving licenses, Social Security Numbers, etc. People have been harping about the loss of privacy for DECADES.

As far as I'm concerned, this has been an issue of whether Houston can take another financial hit when we need it least(i.e. $20 mil contract violation). The mayor made, in my decision, a good move for the city.

again, the contract comes up for renewal in 2014, make your voice known then we don't have to have such a financial bag around our necks.

I'm more arguing against the fact that Big Brother was ever installed in the first place.. I do understand the city is a bind, and i too don't want them to take a 20m hit from a bad contract, but i'm certainly glad they're still fighting this in court as well.

Some of my examples were overboard on purpose to show what opening the door could lead to in theory, but it's not all hysterical.

Speeding is no less dangerous than running red lights.

Having Transtar team with CoH to issue speeding tickets... Why is that unfathomable? Why is that hysterical?

It would be safer.

It would be massive revenue for the city.

The hardware is already in place.

By your previous statement - "We turn it on, we don't have to go to court, we will receive badly needed income, and can move officers to more needed areas." , I have to assume you would gladly welcome this big brother addition to the family.

I totally get what you're saying but I don't think it's quite as slippery of a slope..

Also, I would imagine that red light running by itself causes more accidents/injury/death than slightly speeding (now excessive speeding and speeding + another factor is another story)..

That being written, I'm not a fan of the cameras at all and I'm not sold on their effectiveness..

It could be that slippery of a slope. We don't even need a contract with an arizona company.. The capability to use Transtar to fine speeders is in place now.. tweak to the software.. and bam, it's possible.

Would it be safer.... Check.

Would it be a massive revenue stream for the city... Check.

Only the political will to propose and implement this is missing.

But it's not just tickets for red-light running... That I can understand. It's also ticket for not coming to a 100% stop when making a right on red. That's ridiculous.

I'm an adult, I'm an alert driver. When I'm approaching a red, I'm checking out the pedestrian signals and looking for pedestrians 50' out. Most of the time, I can easily ascertain before coming to a 100% stop if there are any pedestrians or other vehicular traffic that I should yield too. And if I can't ascertain, I stop till I'm sure. If i slightly roll through a red, and get caught by a cop.. that's my bad luck, but I can stomach it. But having a camera catch you every time !!! And not coming to a complete stop isn't that dangerous.. you're going 1 mph at that point. That's certainly not more dangerous than every driver on the freeway speeding.

Recycling camera catches you throwing cardboard in the trashcan instead of the green box... ticket in the mail.

Your GMC Onstar notifies HPD when you don't buckle your seatbelt.... ticket in the mail.

Transtar traffic camera's get upgraded.... You change lanes without signaling... ticket in the mail.

You pull into the full grocery store parking and see 1 spot left. The truck to your left does a crappy parking job forcing you to poorly park, and your rear right tire goes over the line into the next spot. Good thing the store has their "double parking cams" activated.... Ticket. In. The. Mail.

Any big brother sucks. Removal of observation and discretion of a human law enforcer is not a good thing.

What EXACTLY is your whine about the red light cameras?

Don't want to pay into it? don't run the light. Seems fairly cut and dry to me.

It's big brother, that's the gripe.

Do you want fines mailed to you when a machine catches you jaywalking? Do you want fines mailed to you when you return to the parking meter 5 minutes too late?

Do you ever speed ?

You know how Transtar works, right ? Reads your EZtag and determines how long it takes you to get from one sensor to the next, multiplied and averaged out for every car on the freeway. If they can send you a ticket in the mail for not paying a toll, what's to stop big brother from sending you a fine in the mail every time you speed on the freeway ?

On your typical Houston freeway, non rush-hour, 99% of the cars are going at least slightly over the speed limit. We are a city of speeders. Guess we all should get auto-ticketed since speeding is dangerous, right ? Late for a job interview, pregnant wife to the hospital, kid with a broken arm... none of that matters.. cuz you're breaking the law and deserve that $200 fine in the mail. And every Houstonian does it every day. You sign off on big brother in the name of safety in one place, you open the door for worse !!

Oh, but the revenue stream for the city would be marvelous, and we wouldn't have to have cops doing this job anymore, so I guess it's alright.. right ?

sunuvabizcuit @#$%R@%

http://www.houstongovnewsroom.org/go/doc/2155/1130827/