UrbaNerd

Lol yeah. Of course, you probably know something about Houston's infamous "soil testing" issues...

As posted above: "The environmental permit mentions an August '08 start date with construction ending in December 2012." 4 yrs...Seems kinda slow for a TMC project. Most things are done in less than 2 yrs. It is a massive structure though, and there are probably other issues regarding the construction.

From my personal experience, the quality of Bose products varies widely. We have two wave stereos at home, and those sound great (especially for their minuscule size), but the speakers in my car (Well, it's an old car, but it's all a college student can afford) sound horrendously tinny and worn out. Perhaps this is due to their age (1997 vehicle), but I'd pay a good couple of hundred to get those changed (if I didn't have to constantly purchase art supplies...).

Recent topic on Swamplot: http://swamplot.com/alamo-or-modern-which-...ose/2008-11-06/ Sordid, banal, vapid pastiche bastardization of a design: vs Modern design: I certainly hope the latter is built, rather than the former.

Knoll furniture, in The Village.

Some of the plywood came off from the Chase bldg yesterday. I saw it from my archi studio class at UH.

Perhaps you didn't get the fact that the resident tongue was planted firmly in cheek, as denoted by the usage of a smilie. Oh well, it was late, and sarcasm may be hard to read online sometimes.

Keep in mind that MLK was a Republican. Palin quipped about becoming a "White Oprah" if the McCain/Palin ticket loses the election. I'll be joining Niche and Papillion in her book club, which would feature the likes of Ayn Rand, Friedman, and the like. Either way, we will be going through some tough times in the near future; I will cling to my faith and the like to try and make the best of whatever happens. Having a sarcastic, snarky sense of humor will help as well. Oh, and thank God for Texas.

Most places sell em for approx 50-75 dollars a cubic yard. I ordered 3 cubic yards last year from some local landscaping supply company for about 50, and they charged approx 35 for shipping. Not sure how much shipping will cost now, but you'll still save a lot compared to buying em in baggies.

Looks like the Royce Homes dude learned some mad haxx0rz skills over his short hiatus....

Just some commentary (not entirely conforming to the format, but why the heck not...) from an architecture student's perspective, regarding the "urban style" as Niche calls it: they are DOING IT WRONG. Most examples of the "urban" style are done incorrectly so, and the whole thing is just a simulacrum for the "real" experience. I'm not even talking about the old townhomes with front-loading garages argument; many of those can be considered legitimate infill, especially in an autocentric city like Houston. Formula for the "urban" style: Take a regular suburban apartment complex;be sure to use the same stick construction. Keep the basic design, take the sloped roof off, and replace it with either a less steeply sloped one, a parapet roof, or a flat roof. Add more offsets and such on the structure, to give an appearance of a "multi-structural street scene". Add a few balconies here and there, along with oddly placed awnings (most non-functional, and not even large enough to put a potted plant on) to give the "urban" feel to it all. Either festoon it with poorly replicated "neoclassical" trim, or go the more economical "modern" route of few details at all. EIFS is a MUST, and if you can, install Hardie siding where "people won't really notice it". Trendy colour schemes are a must, including yellows and oranges! Once you're done with that, fill the insides with granite countertops, "high end" finishes, and "modern" decor! Then charge double or MORE for rent than the original complex! The problem is, maybe most people actually see through the superficiality of the above, which as Dan put it; it is all a bastardization of what is real, and the trend itself perhaps needs some updating.

Dudu, go baibai

Just for the heck of it, I'd like 1000 worth of gold stock. Just wanna see what happens to it over the next few months.

"Shopping":...HAHA, I don't even know the last time I used that word, or even went on a trip to buy something other than bare essentials, school supplies, etc. One just can't go out on a whim and splurge a bit at the store(s) of his/her choice (def not with credit, and all the spending allocations have been used up by other things). Oh and yes: "Building Boom" and "Houston" have almost no chance of being stated in the same sentence in a long time. As for most of the above, it is agreed. One thing that got my attention was "Outdoor living spaces"; of which we used to have one at our "family compound" (Yeah, where us uni progeny stay at, instead of paying for dorms, but I digress) , but the lack of funding/horrible summer weather/Ike have reduced the place to an overgrown, unkempt mess. The plants will grow back of course, and the furniture may finally be carted out of the garage, but a lack of time due to the need to work more (also, the fact that the "gardener" has classes to attend), as well as the lack of funding caused by the recent developments (the increase in fuel prices alone completely swallowed the budget) may not allow it to return to its former glory anytime soon.

Agreed. Looks frikken awesome coming home from UH.

Was driving home late the other day, and the light seems to be working again.

One must wonder what they mean by "trees"; stick-sized saplings, or nice 55 gallon caliper planted specimens? I certainly hope they go with the latter. Considerations must be made regarding species, watering needs, etc. Live oaks are nice, but they should be mixed in with various other deciduous and coniferous species, such as Maples, other Oak species, Bald Cypress, Sweetgum, and Sycamore. More Crepe Myrtles would be nice as well, along with Vitex, Redbuds, and other flowering varieties. I hope this involves tearing out the concrete erosion wall on the south freeway/59 combo just south of the 45 stack. The growth planted a few years ago on the opposite end is verdant and lush, especially in contrast with the grungy old concrete slope across the way. The small median there should be mowed and forested; it does not obstruct any merging traffic anyway. 45-S itself needs maintenance, with overgrown weeds and broken, unpruned trees mixed in with the out-of-context palms. Many sections of 59 seem to have had some prep work done it seems, esp around Kirby. Minor landscaping was done earlier this year, and hopefully more trees are on the way. One concern here as well is the portion near the 610 stack, where some parts lack trees. They really need to fill in the gaps here and get a nice green ribbon growing along the freeways; with some landscaping going on into the suburbs (including Sugar Land, Stafford, etc) and the amount of growth in the beltway stack, this vision isn't too far from reality. Great news overall, especially considering that freeway landscaping and such has improved by leaps and bounds in the past couple of years alone. Bring it on!

9 hrs avg. Weekdays usually get me 7-9 hrs, while weekends/days off get me anywhere from 9-12 hrs, thus resulting in the 9 hr average. I can function on a decent level from 7-8 hrs of sleep, with optimal function at 9+. Insomnia is a rare event, and I usually manage my time well; I don't pull all nighters to study (at least not yet). I struggle to stay awake at 6 hrs, and am a zombie at 5 hrs. Naps taken as needed, and they last from 1-3 hrs on average. Lately though, I have not needed any naps, even though I am pulling 11 hrs straight in classes some days. Furthermore, in regards to sleep quality (The poster should edit the main portion of the post to ask this as well), I tend to sleep well through the night, and I often fall asleep within 10 mins of going to bed. When my mind is active, however, it may take well over an hour. I find that thinking monotonous, nonsensical thoughts and such easily allows one to fall asleep if the mind is racing. I wake up very rarely during sleep, mostly for when nature calls, nightmares, extremely loud noises, etc. I do not respond to minor and intermediate interference during sleep, although external stimuli may affect content going on in dreams. Yeah, sorry for turning this thread into a sleep study.

Insane geek image with bedhead=win

lolwut...you're calling Hollister "Designer"? That reminds me of middle school all over again, when A&F, RL Polo and such were "must haves" or else you're "out". Come on now, wearing the same overpriced faux-preppy clothing everyone else wears does not make you "among the elites". Last I checked, I also wear what I like, not what everyone else likes. As for me, I don't have any probs with the blokes in architecture. Sure, you see the dudes in the "A&F" garb mostly, along with various other "trendy" outfits, but there are also a lot of dudes who look like they just got out of bed. I don't really see much of a problem in terms of social cliques forming and all that; no one seems to care about such pettiness anymore. Then again, most of the faculty members there tend to boast and brag about how elite the archi school is in UH, so perhaps I'm looking from the wrong perspective.

The grass looks photoshopped, and I seem to be seeing two of some things on the lower left quadrant of the image. heh.

There's one off of Westheimer, across from Shepherd Plaza. http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&...mp;cbp=1,0,,0,5 One may also wonder what will happen their distribution center off of 99@I-10 in Katy...

If anything, this "fight or flight" response may be beneficial to the continuation of a gene line. In animal behaviour the reaction would give the specimen a greater chance of being able to pass his/her genes on, since he/she isn't dead, and would have the opportunity to reproduce later on. Thus, those who posses a more "developed" fight/flight response would win out in the evolutionary battle against those with a less developed biological reaction. Couple this along with other parental instincts and behaviours, and this may explain the higher birthrate among conservatives. /social Darwinism /Tounge in cheek

A sad loss, but I find it sort of ironic that "brennen" is German for "Burn"... Here's to their recovery, and the rebuilding process!

I wonder how well this fared Ike? None of the news reports regarding the boardwalk had any info about the bullet.