HoustonianInColorado

How about this blast from the past...still standing in Sharpstown.

I have mixed feelings about these town center projects. The Sugar Land Town Center is nice, especially with the new city hall. Still, all of these things I have seen do indeed look like a movie set. The other gripe I have is that the big box stores run mom & pop businesses out of business, thus ruining many REAL downtown areas. Now they try to recreate them with these town centers, only this time THEY are the only stores. Here is a similar project they just put up on the prairie in the SE Denver area in far south Aurora, CO. The Aurora Southlands website has an interactive map at http://www.shopsouthlands.com/directory.asp. Here are a couple of photos I took recently. Southlands' "Main Street" The Southlands Cinema, centerpiece of the project

As an aside, the NY Times owns other properties as well...for example the NBC affilliate (and first TV station in the Oklahoma), KFOR-TV in OKC. It was formerly KTVY and prior to that WKY-TV. As for KBME, I had some great times working there when it was KULF. I also am so old I remember it being KTHT, "Demand Radio 79".

As an old radio guy, I always wanted to own a station also. Didn't 1070 used to be the old KENR back in the 70s?

Kiss The Republicans' Hineys

About the time Safeway pulled out of Houston and spun off the division as Apple Tree, they did the same thing in Oklahoma/Texas Panhandle, with the newly independent company becoming Homeland stores. They are still in business. www.homelandstores.com

What a cool mystery! Did anyone notice on Google or Yahoo aerial photos, there is a clearing just a few feet to the north of the cross and circle, that is shaped like a map of the 48 contiguous United States?

I heard Spaghetti Bowl in both Houston and Los Angeles. I also knew about Mixmaster in Dallas. Here in Denver, the I-70/I-25 interchange downtown is called "The Mousetrap" for some reason that I don't know.

When I left Houston in 1992, it was just called 1100 Milam as I recall. I think they have since changed the address and added the pillars and flat piece with a hole to the top.

Yeah, IIRC he had a cocaine addiction. Much to 13's credit, they let him come back after he went through rehab.

When I lived in Tulsa in the early 90s there was still a Pancho's Mexican Buffet there. Not sure if it is still open or not. One thing I loved during my many years in Houston was Los Tios Mexican Restaurant's puff tortilla covered in queso. They really got the tortillas puffed up into a thin, crunchy balloon. Wish I knew how to do it. Are they still in business? BTW, for what it's worth, I remember Henke & Pillot's store on Bellaire Blvd. in a shopping center on the north side of the street, near the train tracks that go through the city of Bellaire. There was also a movie theater there.

The biggest problem with XM and Sirius is the high compression they use to multiplex all those stations on a single stream. Some channels are like low bitrate MP3s. I think local, terrestrial radio could make changes that will make it relevant again, but I don't hold hope that the powers that be will make those changes proactively. Satellite and HD Radio both need lower-priced hardware, and of course, the RIAA continues to blackmail every new technology that comes along.

One nation, under surveillance...

As for name changes, I will always think of Williams Tower as Transco. Also I call the building on the SWF The Summit, not Compaq Center, and certainly not Lakewood Church. Maybe comes from not living in Houston since 1992. I also don't think of Reliant's tower as anything other than 1100 Milam and actually I think of Reliant itself as HL&P and Entex. Yep, old habits die hard.

I hope that Greenspoint can have a renaissance, as it is one of the first things people often see flying into IAH, or driving in on I-45.

Here are a few I took last week. Milwaukee Art Museum at night: Milwaukee Art Museum by day: The old Wisconsin Telephone Company building with the old Bell logo and the new AT&T logo: The Milwaukee River downtown: Old buildings in downtown Milwaukee: Doors to the historic, art-deco Hotel Metro: Development along the shores of Lake Michigan: Miller Park, home of the Milwaukee Brewers baseball club: Pabst Theater: Columns on an insurance company office: I retain copyright on all of these. Please get permission if you want to use them. Enjoy.

After being in Madison, I can see why it is rated highly in places to live. Absolutely a beautiful city, with downtown situated on an isthmus between two glacial-formed lakes, Menona and Mendota. Streets have trees lining them everywhere. I took about 500 photos this weekend, so here are a fewto get you started: Let's start at the Allen Centennial Gardens, run by the Horticulture Department at the University of Wisconsin: The Washburn Astronomical Observatory at UW: The view from the rooftop of the Convention Center: Dome of the Wisconsin Capitol Building: The dome from inside the rotunda: Madison is a very progressive/liberal minded city, where free speech is alive and well. The next two photos demonstrate that. They were taken at a farmers market/street fair going on Saturday on Capitol Square. The one reminded me of Elton John's "Tiny Dancer". "Jesus freaks, out in the street, handing tickets out for God." Then there were the Veterans for Peace, calling for the impeachment of President Bush: Peruvian music with the guitar and pan flute filled the air: Here we have Freethought Hall, headquarters of the Freedom From Religion Foundation, a watchdog and advocacy group that works to maintain the separation of church and government: The main building at the Botanical Garden: Enjoy! As always, I own copyright on these, so if you want to use for any reason, get my permission first. Thanks.

Shame in more ways than one. Does this look too similar?

A combination of the two. We definitely had terrific seats, a few rows up behind the Astros dugout. I also used my Olympus E-500 digital and the Olympus Zuiko 40-150mm digital zoom lens. With the 2x magnification factor on this camera, that is the equivalent of 300mm lens on a 35mm film camera. The fact that I was holding the camera in my hands is why there is a little blur on some of the long shots. Plus, a couple of these I cropped before reducing the size for the web.

Alrighty sports fans... Here are just a handful of the shots I took last night at Coors Field, where the Astros were sadly shutout by the Colorado Rockies. Lance Berkman at bat Choo Freeman safe at second base Clint Barmes scores a run for the Rockies Chris Burke with dislocated shoulder is escorted from the field after hitting the backfield wall during a great catch! Bruntlett & Helton share a laugh at first base

All I can say is WOW! Very nice!

Hahaha. Probably more like a $100 bill though!

As always, outstanding photos. Makes me homesick for Houston.

I was in Omaha on business last week, and took the opportunity to take some photos of that city, and its cross-river sibling, Council Bluffs, Iowa. Enjoy. Here is a greenspace downtown Street level sign for Union Pacific Center Union Pacific Center First National Bank building Old First National building First National Park fountain Joslyn Art Museum More to follow: More . . . Old World Herald building and Qwest (Old NW Bell) building New World Herald building Federal Building Entrance to Creighton University Stadium Night-time view from Iowa side of Missouri River Omaha and the Missouri River from the Lewis & Clark Monument Park in Iowa Downtown from Carter Park near the airport Historic Central High School Wagon Train sculptures Council Bluffs to follow . . . Council Bluffs, Iowa Sunset in Council Bluffs Creston House City Hall Union Pacific RR Museum (Former Library) RR Museum Facade Downtown Street Sign