mattyt36

So . . . you think London has no zoning, eh?

I never had any doubt 🤣 Let’s hear it for the Astros on this historical night

Ah, then, my mistake! Makes total sense now . . . how could I not see something so clear? Houston is indeed just like London, especially when it comes to areas outside of downtown. I have zero doubt that if you ask any of the nearly 20K native born Brits who live here now, they'll say, yep, they're developing so similarly, it's almost like they didn't leave home! Maybe we can get the AIA Houston Chapter to jointly sponsor an exhibition with the British Consulate exploring the vastly similar urban fabric of these twin cities. We can put aerial photos side by side and people will see, "Look, there's a tall building over there! And there's one over there! And another group over there! It's like they're the same! There certainly aren't any other cities in the world that can lay claim to this wildly unique development feature." (It's always fascinating to see what hills people will die on. I never would've guessed it would be claiming that Houston was developing like London, but this site never disappoints. At least I did learn GreenStreet was downtown and therefore was not like Piccadilly Circus, had been admittedly confused about that one.)

Must have been quite the, er, "trip" if you were walking around Piccadilly Circus and seeing, um, GreenStreet. That 17th century street design, no grid and all . . . WOWZA!!!!! I definitely DO eagerly await a trip report from Toronto!

OK buddy. Have you even been to LA? You're describing a lot of cities there, including LA. Name any city of size without multiple activity centers. If your only distinction is our buildings are taller as if that's the distinguishing development characteristic, I suppose that's possible, but I think even that's a stretch. Take a look at the urban infrastructure (the "inital design" you're referring to, if you will)--spoler alert--it's still LA! Large developments popping up in multiple locations within a 5-mile radius, in particular at the intersection of large arterials (it ain't "random"!!!!!), doesn't change that . . . in fact it makes it more like LA! Houston is just now getting these large-scale mixed-use development. We are probably a good 10 years behind other comparable cities in this regard. And thus far, the results seem decidedly, er, mixed (pun!) . . . take a look at the vacant commercial space in the Regent Square and Autry Park developments. To say Houston is developing like London is beyond absurd. What is Seattle developing like then? How about Atlanta? Austin? Maybe, maybe, maybe I will give you Houston is developing like Toronto, albeit probably 20 years behind.

😆 By London, surely you must be thinking LA. If by Asian city, you mean city with a lot of Asian neighborhoods, OK. LA yet again!

Well I was feeling super confident For a decent minute there I was sure JV would win his first WS game And the Astros would win their first ever WS game 1 #HOUbris always comes back to bite you! And you just end up getting #HOUmiliated But am as confident as a Houstonian that we get it tomorrow! And maybe JV can get the Lifetime Achievement Award for World Series Pitchers in the Hall of Fame. I guess Angela Lansbury never won an Emmy. Neither did Courtney Cox. Similar vibe.

But … there … were … charts … GO ASTROS!!!!

Is Violent Crime Increasing? | Department of Criminology (upenn.edu) Even though the increases in violent crime tend to be concentrated in neighborhoods that already had substantial crime problems, the violent crime increases appear to be quite common throughout the county. Some local district attorneys are progressive, and some are not. Some local mayors and governors are Republicans, and some are Democrats. Some state legislatures lean left, and some lean right. Political finger pointing at the state, county and city level will not likely be persuasive. Blaming individuals or institutions at the federal level probably will not work either because most crimes are not federal crimes, and federal actions can only have local effects at the margins. One is left with several conclusions. First, the recent violent crime increases, even if they are not just noise, are dwarfed by the amount of violent crime in the 1990s. We have not returned to the bad old days. Second, the speculative explanations commonly proposed must fit the timing of the recent violent crime increases. Conjectures revolving around the COVID-19 pandemic and pent-up frustrations, at least as usually formulated, do not seem to get it right. Third, explanations based on more passive police practices, real and imagined, coupled with the perceptions of reduced risk among individuals already predisposed toward violence, may have some merit, but the existing data range from weak to nonexistent. It is very difficult to bring facts to bear. Fourth, if one takes the solid black curves in the two graphs at face value, we have been on a time path that is bottoming out. Sadly, this may be about as good as it gets under the existing conditions that affect violent crime. Variation in violent crime over the past few years may be nothing more than a bit of bouncing off the bottom. Fifth, with the passage of time, and the accumulation of better data, we may understand more about what drives violent crime. But we have a long way to go.

Maybe or

And he quotes an image where all the signs literally say "Lina Hidalgo." (It's a hard knock life there in San Antonio, I'm sure.)

I've said it before and I'll say it again, this obsession with statistics (as opposed to experience) when they're presumably readily available for those interested makes little sense. Numbers are numbers. For someone so "in the know," I'm really surprised you haven't "gotten to the bottom of it," so to speak. Early on I asked if you were convinced that the data were false. I don't remember getting a straight answer back then, either. Batting numbers back and forth without any appreciation of the substance--and admittedly so--seems just so nonsensical to me. "I was scared yesterday when I saw this but now I saw this number and I'm really scared." Or "I don't know what to believe anymore, and I'm going to spend a good chunk of my life continuing to try to figure out something I've admittedly had 20 years to figure out without success." Forgive me for my directness, but it sounds like a lot of this is a personal issue. Here's my prediction: If the Repubs win the County back, the crime issue will miraculously disappear and the 1,000 officers will not be hired. Maybe they'll make an effort to cherry pick in the first months of their administration or come up with new metrics, but at the end of the day they will declare the issue to be "fixed." People who buy into this crap in the first place will also buy into this latest round. Meanwhile, at the end of the day, I predict little of substance will have changed. At least certainly not overnight. Crime will be continue to be concentrated in certain areas in what is likely an organized way, or amongst family and friends, and there will still be a not insignificant number of innocent people caught in the crossfire. Sad? Absolutely. Does it occur as often as these political predators imply with their extortionate campaign ads? Nope. At the end of the day, they're the ones who turn these feelings of panic off and on, and the country is all the worse for it because I guarantee you they have little interest in doing anything substantive or fixing the more systemic issues. They are entirely unserious people interested only in scaring a bunch of people every 2 years to obtain power. They won't even show up to the Commissioners Court to vote on the damned budget--it is blackmail and extortion, plain and simple, and counter to what they say they are politically interested in. And plenty of the law enforcement leadership is shamefully complicit. These people--a whole bunch of miserable people who are essentially "I'm not going to play unless I win, and I'm happy to take down the whole government with me in order to do so"--by definition have absolutely zero business in government. Still, sadly, their tactics have a great chance of working this year.

I thought you guys all hated war now?

So . . . what was your conclusion?

And the most important question … when/why/how was Main St realigned?

Well thanks, was not implying that it was unusual, just did not know what the prior Main St alignment was. I assume it wasn’t current Fannin north of Holcombe?

I'd love to know more of the history of this name change/realignment--first I've heard!

Anyone know what happened to Seaside Lounge? They seem to have closed around the same time.

Data on this would be grrrrrrrrrrrrreat.

Disappointed, Augie, I would've thought your hypothesis would've been FEM BOT.

Schizophrenia is a terrible disease. Beto O'Rourke for Texas governor: Houston Chronicle Editorial Board Since @Blue Dogs is such a fan of endorsements (who has the time these days to think for one's self, really?!), I suppose he'll just have to hold his nose and vote for Beto. (Also in today's edition, a great photo of Lily Munster with short hair here. Maybe she should get props for none of that caked-on makeup running off her face from sweat during the hot Houston summer. Also, where's her gun?)

The federal government also has its own requirements attached to the grants that every commercial service airport in the country receives. (Similar requirements are associated with almost every federal government grant.) Airport Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Program | Federal Aviation Administration (faa.gov) How can chickens own businesses? That sounds silly.

But whom has the San Antonio Express-News endorsed? Why is she so averse to red? Shame issues? Is that the reason she also seems to use so much foundation? She's beginning to look like a Munster. It's almost like . . . they're deliberately . . . trying to . . . make her look . . . white?! NAH, surely that can't be the case!!!!! I prefer the more natural, Rosie O'Donnell look. (I wonder if she'll be able to keep the weight off in addition to her newly found "whiter-ness"?)

In a very short period of time, she is getting flooded with money while Hidalgo is getting subjected to coordinated harassment. Now this bizarre endorsement. People can yap about crime all they want, but this election is, first and foremost, about turning over the County's voting system to the State.

OMG what do we do?!