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mollusk

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Everything posted by mollusk

  1. mollusk
    Induced demand is a thing, and it affects more than just the part of a given highway that was expanded. Everyone points to how the Katy is now even more sclerotic outside the loop than it was before; what gets overlooked is that portions inside the loop that were previously generally free flowing except for at the height of rush hour are now a hot mess for most of the day. Sure, one lane of highway takes up about the same amount of space as one track - but it has nowhere near the carrying capacity, nor anywhere near the bang for the buck in energy consumption. For the minimum of $7 billion that the I45 expansion is projected to cost, you could build more than 50 miles of light rail (using the Green/Purple lines as a benchmark); and 30+ miles of commuter heavy rail (using BART's San Jose extension as the benchmark).
  2. mollusk
  3. mollusk
    "Nobody goes there anymore. It's too crowded." - Yogi Berra
  4. mollusk
    I do so enjoy my neutrality in what used to be known as the Southwest Conference.
  5. mollusk
    Everyone needs a little lebensraum every now and then.
  6. mollusk
    Between flooding issues with the old building, not to mention it just being generally pretty grim (even when Brutalist was fashionable), this is a positive development.
  7. mollusk
    Which you could put in this:
  8. mollusk
    That's looking better. Originally the wall signage (at least what could be seen on the passage from Pennzoil to Esperson) was stick on cutouts. Some of it didn't even make it to the first day of the soft opening.
  9. mollusk
    I'm glad we've got Understory to fall back on. According to their web site, they'll be back open during normal hours tomorrow.
  10. mollusk
    Heyyyyyy... everyone knows that the DH is a Commie plot. * *(loyal Astros fan since they were the Colt 45s, who still thinks $elig should have put his daughter's Brewers in the AL if he really wanted to "balance" things)
  11. mollusk
    Tenure is what gives academics the freedom to rock the boat. If you've got someone who's really bad, or likes to grope, or some such, they can still be fired for cause, tenure or none. Adjuncts have their place - such as people who have day jobs teaching a class at a professional school in their discipline. I learned a lot from such adjuncts. But filling the faculty with them at the cost of tenure to "hold down costs" is just short sighted.
  12. mollusk
    Maybe rebuild the Continental Astroneedle... that'll get two bygone names with one stroke.
  13. mollusk
    To clarify, what got filed was a suit asking to foreclose the mechanic's lien. The filing looks very routine. These projects are frequently structured using single purpose entities. What often happens when they go underwater is that the single purpose entity files for bankruptcy.
  14. mollusk
    As it is, the Travis County courthouse functions are spread among a number of buildings ranging over a bunch of blocks. That gets to be a real PITA after a while - which is why Harris County built several new tall buildings over the last couple decades. There's also a new, larger family courts building on the horizon; it's sorely needed.
  15. mollusk
    Short answer: Austin outgrew it.
  16. mollusk
    We will know that we've come full circle when we start seeing wallpaper with red flocking on a shiny gold background.
  17. mollusk
    60s chic was considered quite tacky by the 80s. Maybe it'll be more durable as a retro thing.
  18. mollusk
    Covenant House is zoned to either Lamar or Heights HS (not sure exactly where the boundary lies). I have friends who could easily afford private schools who send their kids to both - and of course, there are other options for getting to a GED. That said, the reason most kids are at Covenant House in the first place is because of terrible home situations - not school attendance (or lack thereof). Not saying they're angels, but NIMBYism and snobbery aren't helpful.
  19. mollusk
    700 Louisiana (formerly Bank of America Center, neé NationsBank Center, neé NCNB Center, neé RepublicBank Center, almost neé Houston National Bank Center) is a signature building if national recognition is a criterion. I can tell people who have never set foot in Houston that it's "the big pink building with all the peaked roofs with spikes on them" and they know exactly what I mean.
  20. mollusk
    Even an extra foot or so would add 20% or so and make a more inviting sidewalk, while leaving plenty of room for greenscape - however, it would also add to the flatwork bill. That's probably a motivation, since as it is it looks like it barely meets ADA width standards.
  21. mollusk
    Yikes - closed for two or three months... as if Galleria and Memorial City weren't already packed enough. If they would only open one downtown...
  22. mollusk
    Pure speculation here, but... I wouldn't be surprised if there were a significant number of tenants bailing on their own because of the Hines building going up next door, making it a good time to get out and put the money to another project. Friends who live / lived there frequently complained about the noise from Market Square Tower being built across the street; a bigger building starting inches away certainly wouldn't be a welcoming prospect for sleeping.
  23. mollusk
    A friend who lives there said they're not renewing any leases.
  24. mollusk
    My experience is that everybody gets involved in trying to sort out the how and why pretty much immediately.
  25. mollusk
    Bowl & Social seems redundant somehow.
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