mollusk

1 hour ago, samagon said:

I know you guys were joking, but whatever the speed limit, wide lanes, plus huge shoulders encourage fast driving.

it's unfortunate that this is a thing, and it's even more unfortunate that this was not built to comfortably and safely accommodate more than just cars.

TxDoT still thinks like this...

1 hour ago, elpigto said:

Since when do Houstonians drive the speed limit? 😄

Is that what those signs with numbers on them are about?

Many of the Mole People are still working remotely all or part of the time, but the beginning of each of the last couple months seems to have brought more people coming back in.  My guess is that we're at ~50 - 60% of the usual commuter population, based on how full the parking garage is.  It's growing, though... we now often have to look before jaywalking, some places are reopening, and there are now lines at some of the more popular lunch places.

Part of the issue with bars and restaurants is that the people who worked there have generally gone on to other jobs, and frequently the pay and conditions are better in the new gig. 

On 6/14/2021 at 10:30 PM, Amlaham said:

My bad, just thought others cared about health as much as I do 😅

On 6/8/2021 at 10:41 PM, JBTX said:

Man, some of those are nice. The future that Demolition Man saw for us is coming to be.

On 6/5/2021 at 7:29 PM, cspwal said:

Usually I replace my demolished Taco Bell with more Taco Bell

or Tums...

10 minutes ago, Avossos said:

The lobby here is truly awful. 90s threw up / movie theater vibe.

I look forward to the upgrade.

I always thought of it more of a live action Jetsons motif.  If we could only have gotten the Mole People to move through in costume, or at least the tenants' employees...

On 5/24/2021 at 9:31 PM, HtownWxBoy said:

It's amazing how much this part of Downtown has changed / continues to change with the help of Discovery Green.  When I moved here in 2002 I wouldn't even consider walking by this area... now it's my neighborhood. 

And who could forget the Texaco/Havoline Grand Prix of Houston... (from Wikipedia)

Sounded like a bunch of angry bees during practice the week or so before.

20 minutes ago, hindesky said:

I didn't doubt they would have underground parking I just wondered if they were going to start all over and create a brand new garage for the mollusk mobile.

We haven't heard anything... then again, Houston First isn't exactly the best at communicating.  Best guess is that it's going to stay as is, though.  I think they may have finally finished repairing Harvey damage.

1 hour ago, hindesky said:

I forgot that this has an underground parking lot underneath. I wonder if they will demolish it too and start all over. The tiny demo equipment they have unloaded so far makes me think they will save it and just demo the top.

The renderings show garage entrances in their current locations; besides, The Catacombs fill up pretty well when all the venues are up and running.

Also, I'd have to find new parking for the mighty molluskmobile.

"New venue" would be a replacement for Bayou Music Center, the venue formerly known as Revention - it's easy to forget, since its offerings weren't exactly on par with Cynthia Woods or Toyota.

Its first show this year will apparently be Ween on June 17. 

edit:  I now have Voodoo Lady as this afternoon's earworm...

5 hours ago, BigFootsSocks said:

https://abc13.com/high-speed-train-houston-dallas-bullet/10519504/

 

Imagine believing this is a valid argument lol

Isn't that part of the point?  Surely they aren't under some delusion that freight service should be able to accompany it... (***epic eye roll***)

Adding a train station component would bring things full circle - this was the site of the Southern Pacific station (Houston's dominant passenger railroad at the time) before being torn down for the post office.

On 2/19/2021 at 12:16 PM, mkultra25 said:

I remember when they were first being sold, as I (very) briefly considered buying one. But I don't recall whether there was actually a dedicated Houston dealer or (more likely) they were available through already-established dealers that carried other makes. 

I looked at them, too - more out of curiosity than anything else.  In a way it was the perfect car - in the sense that it was perfectly awful.  I don't recall any stand alone dealerships; perhaps they were sold at the place on the Gulf Freeway that also carried various other oddball European cars (like TVR), and maybe Motorsports (if that was their name) on the Southwest Freeway.

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14 hours ago, toxtethogrady said:

Another strip center. Yay....🤕

Well, it would up the walkability index.

1 hour ago, s3mh said:

Of course, this won't go anywhere and the stupid storage place will get built.  But it is a positive sign that Heights residents have not given up and still have some fight left in them.  

 

https://www.stopbigtexstorage.org/

The Ashby folks might claim copyright infringement for the angry toothy building image...

7 minutes ago, Texasota said:

And you can't possibly believe that a bar would lose business if you put up a 7' penis on your property. If anything, the opposite would be true. Everyone would want to go to the bar next to the giant penis!

Well, it does make it easier to give directions...

On 12/23/2020 at 10:54 AM, cspwal said:

It looks like chain link fences on overpasses over train tracks is standard

https://ftp.dot.state.tx.us/pub/txdot-info/cmd/cserve/standard/bridge/rlstd032.pdf

I'm not sure why

It's intended to keep hooligans from dropping stuff onto the tracks and trains.  The same logic applies to street overpasses over freeways.

1 hour ago, Houston19514 said:

Did I miss something?  When was 515 Rusk updated?

Quite some time ago... 10 years plus IIRC.  It used to have small red glazed tiles all along the first floor exterior.  The main entrance doors were also reworked.

18 minutes ago, dbigtex56 said:

Let's hope that the ill-advised plans to despoil 800 Bell have been thrown in the dust bin, and that it will not fall victim to an ignorant, awkward and unconvincing attempt to 'modernize' this beautiful and distinctive building. 
Consider some of the amateurish attempts to update older buildings such as the Federal Courthouse (515 Rusk) or Two Shell Plaza.
The results manage to be both tragic and laughable. Granted, that is no small feat, but surely there were better options available.

This.

I really fail to understand the logic behind the current fad for "let's reclad the bottom few floors in something that doesn't look anything like the rest of the building," of which Two Shell is the most glaring example.  It looks like it was intentionally phoned in.

9 hours ago, staresatmaps said:

They must be forgetting that emergency vehicles can drive on the light rail lines.

They may be able to drive there, but I wouldn't want to try to thread a ladder or a water cannon through the wires that power the trains.

On 12/5/2020 at 5:24 AM, august948 said:

 

Wouldn't most of those folks already be flying, then?

Not necessarily.  I used to fly to Dallas very regularly when you could just go to Hobby, buy a ticket from a kiosk, pass through a metal detector with your shoes, jacket, and belt on, and get on a less than full airplane with a half hour wait at the very most.  Now you must make a reservation, security is a bunch of kabuki, etc., etc. - all of which eats up much of the time advantage of flying - plus it's all but certain that the plane will be packed to the gills even though the seats are closer together because there's no longer a flight every half hour.  So I take a lot fewer trips, and drive the ones I do take.

I also used to fly to Austin about half the time, but now that their airport is almost in Bastrop it's almost always a better use of time to drive.