TGM

The daily mimeographed talking points only refer to BigOil, Robber Barons, and Current TV.

Houston keeps pulling them in and next week we could know more.

Point taken on the Nazi references. It's old hat and over the top. I will apologize in advance to anyone of Turkish background for my substitute phrase to describe the members of HAHC. I'm offering up the term "Byzantine" as I think it fits rather well. Byzantine definition jargon, architecture A term describing any system that has so many labyrinthine internal interconnections that it would be impossible to simplify by separation into loosely coupled or linked components. The city of Byzantium, later renamed Constantinople and then Istanbul, and the Byzantine Empire were vitiated by a bureaucratic overelaboration bordering on lunacy: quadruple banked agencies, dozens or even scores of superfluous levels and officials with high flown titles unrelated to their actual function, if any. Access to the Emperor and his council was controlled by powerful and inscrutable eunuchs and by rival sports factions. [Edward Gibbon, "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire"]. (1999-01-15)

S3mh is right. 1. It's too fast paced on Shepard. Too many people with motor carriages. 2. No hitching posts.

Have no fear the jack-boot architecture facists of the HAHC have plenty of experience stuffing people into small confines, boxcars, etc.

One of the reasons why the Post ground-level retail has ebbed and flowed was the person/company they had managing it. I'm not sure who they are working with now, but in conversations with a few former retailers this guy drove away and turned off many a business owner. There is always going to be challenges in leasing these types of developments, it would make more sense to be less appraisive to the people who actually want to be there. Not so for Mr. P.

Greyhound has never really felt the heat from the community on their Houston location. The closest they got to it was when this Dallas-based company was confronted about the policy of dumping Huntsville TDC parolees into Midtown on a weekly basis. The parolees would come to Houston first and then were supposed to catch a bus to their final destinations. So if they were returning to Dallas, they would first arrive in Houston, then go to Dallas. The problem was that people would hang out here for a few days before catching their next bus and HPD at the time testified that their was a noticeable spike in Midtown crime after the Wednesday drop-offs. After some pressure from the 2016 Main folks, the parolees were met by TDC or some other gov entity and routed to their proper bus. At some point this stopped when they figured the public stopped caring. Greyhound always does the bare minimum until forced to clean things up. Maybe it's again time to ask them to bring more to the table.

Greyhound is not going anywhere. It's funny how no one seems to mind them, but everyone goes rabid at the thought of them being relocated to their area. Some time ago Midtown ponied up $20k for an intermodal study that ultimately got high jacked by Metro. There were grand plans for Near-Northside intermodal facility, but nothing ever materialized besides Metro spending the money. When I last asked about it I was told there would be nothing before 2017, which pretty much made my decision to cash-out for me.

Little tyrants and the committees they love to chair... The HAHC book of the month club appears to be stuck on Kafka.

New York Bagels. 9724 Hillcroft. New York Bagels. 9724 Hillcroft.

In the past I always would find Fiesta to be cheaper on produce items, but more expensive on everything else. I stopped buying produce there because no matter what Fiesta location I would visit there would always be a serious issue with flies in the produce section. I never experienced this at Kroger, HEB, or Randall's. The occasional fly or bug is normal, but at Fiesta I was expecting to hear Charlton Heston to yell "Let my people go" at any minute.

Love how the article states that their services were needed in the neighborhood because their was always a line out the door. I always scratched my head about the wisdom of that location, but from a landlords perspective I'm sure it made total sense. I wonder what changed to make the landlord rethink leasing to someone who always pays their bills. (Besides more $$$$)

Bollocks. I have a hard time believing that you are performing recon in the Wal-Mart parking lot. I will now have keep an eye out for a fellow with a pair of Bushnell bi-nocs parked way out in employee parking land. My last visit to the Heights Wal-Mart had me waiting for a primo space up front for over 2 minutes while bubba searched for his lighter to light one up before backing out. On the way out the parking lot 3/4 full. So much for tales of tumbleweeds blowing around at Heights Wal-Mart.

TJ's is pretty good if you are entertaining and want to serve a variety of appetizers that taste okay without breaking the bank. Then again you could always go with Spec's in Midtown, but that would require going to Midtown.

Looks like the civic club is pumping it up a notch. http://www.khou.com/news/local/Robbery-victim-wants-to-thank-Good-Samaritans-who-came-to-his-rescue--186572461.html

How else are they supposed to get 150% of people to turn out and vote yes for these districts.

Good to know others are out there. We've taken up positions and have inserted a mole into Taco Cabana. To pass on a message order the #5 combo at 5pm and exclaim "Che What?" when asked if its a to go order. Recon has determined that there are good values in the vegetable section, and deals can be made on the Ministry of Rubbish approved trash bags. Parking is never an issue.

Good News! Meth Labs are now considered HD compliant. This one even has a plaque . http://www.chron.com/news/articleComments/Traffic-stop-leads-to-meth-lab-in-historic-home-4178992.php

I've been told by the staff at Trader Joes that they are looking at opening 15 stores in Houston. One would think/hope that the Heights would be ideal for a TJ'S. That Fiesta may have been too large, but who knows.

Just checking in to see how everyone is surviving post-invasion. Has everyone found a tribal leader in the post-apococlypse? Are we all organized into clans now? Information is scarce. Everything in Red Sector A appears to be okay. Any word on how many Mom & Pops, Mom & Moms, Pop and Pops, etc that we have lost? I realize I am trading with our occupiers, but my experiences there have been great. I feel so guilty and self-loathing....

Which era of history do you wish to preserve, and which one do you wish to see fall by the wayside? Architecture and music have much in common. Your parents hated what you listened to and you feel this generations music is hollow and contrived. In 50 years some overbearing group will be protesting the destruction of McMansions for the purpose of building the latest faux-neo-classic-Victorian-revival-du jour. I hope you hold true to your word and protest this outrageous destruction of historic Houston architecture.

So Caroline is the Champs-Élysées and the San Jacinto building is the Arc de Triomphe? Someone needs to tell the Caroline street drug dealers to start hawking souvenirs and offering to take your photo. Urban planners always swing for the fences, but they might get close on this one given the complete lack of anything on this street.

My folks had a basement up in northwest part of town in a home we lived in back in the 1980's. We convinced my dad to add a basement to the house he was building for us after visiting some friends of ours in Denver. I guess as a child you have no concept of relative humidity, but when all was said and done we had a seldom-used game room complete with cinder bloc walls that sweated. I'm sure the fact that it was pier and beam didn't help with the dampness. On the same note the home he built down the street had a wine cellar and subterranean garage ramp that I believe also had one of those widow-maker pits. My guess is that they did not fare too well during Allison.

Love it! (Also dig the turntable in front) The only issue I would need to figure out in my situation is how cope with the dampness in the pit when the car has been lowered. That and some other questions about my foundation, 30+ year old oak tree roots, etc. I've been thinking about my car basement options ever since I started viewing some of the options out there on YouTube land. I want to maintain the footprint and external esthetic of my house, and since I have my kitchen and a nice live oak behind the garage I cannot extend it back. It's up or down. So are there any city codes that would prevent me from tunnel boring under my house? ;-) I mean caves are like (pre) historic or something...

Another option would be to go with a 4-post lift if you have enough ceiling height. Even if it does require some ceiling redesign you may come out ahead vs building a new garage and the pleasures of dealing with the city. Like in most urban land situations sometimes the only option is to go up or down.