woolie

That's actually a pretty cool idea.

I freely criticize this city all the time, but it does have a few redeeming qualities. Ten unconventional things to do with out of town guests, in no particular order: 1. View from UHD at night. 2. Dinner in Bellaire Chinatown. Pick any restaurant, almost all of them are good because of intense competition. 3. Drive 225 to 146, cross Fred Hartman bridge. Preferably at dusk. It will help you understand Houston's identity. 4. Kemah seafood markets. Buy fresh Gulf shrimp. 5. Coffee and people watching at the garden outside Rice's Brochstein Pavilion. 6. Galveston and Bolivar ferry, if you happen to be out that way. 7. Cullen hall of Gems and Minerals, HMNS. 8. Julia Ideson library. 9. "Picnic dinner" and people watching at Central Market. 10. Ship channel boat tour.

How much was someone paid for this rendering? I mean, this is a sick joke, right? This was entered in a competition?

Youth for [insert name here.]

Edit: My wife told me she'd talked with the staff. The 2nd-floor showroom faces the freeway, so people stuck in traffic can peer in at the new Audis. This was inspired by the success of the new Advantage BMW dealership in Midtown.

I've been to Aldi in Europe. They love it. But it's basically like a smaller CostCo. Never been to one in the US.

I'd like to see the city's borders for each year, particularly 1940 (pre massive annexation.)

Me and some friends ran a similar blog back in 08. It always starts off fun, but the enthusiasm is hard to keep up I'm sympathetic to your positions, so I'll add you to my RSS reader.

Houston will never be a domestic tourist destination. Beyond the TMC and energy industries, it has little to offer that you can't find in any other American city. In many ways, it's worse than any other city -- car centric, bad climate, boring landscape and subpar beaches. Exceptions: visitors from Latin America, who seem to love Houston. I think any advertising Houston does should be 100% business oriented. The city should stop trying to get personal tourism business that will never come. Instead, it should just not care, move past insecurities about the things I mentioned above, and focus on its strengths, particularly the business friendly environment and industry strengths in energy and medicine. Advertising should say things like: "Houston. Where things get done," or "Houston. World's most sophisticated medical care." To add to the previous posters, the TMC absolutely does bring in prominent national and international visitors. The nature of modern science means that every research group has many collaborators from across the world. Also, TMC institutions host seminars, workshops, symposia, conferences, etc. on a regular basis. All these people come because of the quality of work done in the TMC and the critical mass of people. But a very common question is "ok, the conference is over; what else is there to do?"

Will any of these strip centers ever be developed, or are they too expensive to buy and knock down?

05oct29-2.jpg by wools, on Flickr RIP Flagship Hotel. An old photo from 2005. It was handheld with a not particularly fast lens; I was very surprised it came out as well as it did. Just wished I'd framed it slightly lower.

Well, unlike Dallas and Atlanta, our LRT is very urban-oriented, and is developing nicely. If the University and Uptown lines ever get built, it'll be in a very good position for real density increases in Houston. So, commuter rail that connects directly to LRT routes won't be a problem at all; it'll be a ridership feeder.

Heh. Reading through the permitting website. I am not a conservative in any sense of the word, but the idea that "antique dealers" have to be licensed by the city is just absurd. http://www.houstonpermittingcenter.org/frequently-asked-questions/i-received-a-letter-about-an-antique-dealer-or-secondhand-reseller-license.html These regulations are much more about protecting market incumbents from competition than it is about consumer safety. It's just total bullshit. I can't think of a good reason I should care if my antique dealer or hair stylist has the appropriate certification and licenses. Whatever happened to caveat emptor.

http://documents.pub...01_pp_final.pdf I imagine the need for approval on covered structures is so they can verify it can handle the wind load... I guess it comes down to the question of a pergola counting as a covered structure or not. Or I could build it without the pergola now, and add it at some point in the future.

The deck floor will only be about 1 foot off the ground. The pergola will have 4 supports, and these will be on top of a poured concrete footing with brackets sticking out. The remaining footings will be simple "Dek Block" concrete blocks. Total size of the deck will be about 10x10 foot.

I want to DIY build a small, simple at-grade deck and pergola in my front yard. The total material cost will probably be under $1,000. A house across the street built something similar, and I've been eyeing it for a couple years. Since I assume I am going to need a permit, should I just give up? Will I have to hire an engineering firm to produce detailed plans? Will it take six months to get approved? I'm not looking forward to jumping through 10,000 hoops and spending the next year waiting for approval on something that will take me a weekend to complete. Or is it pretty easy, and I just have to file some form that lets them increase my home appraisal for next year.

My wife and I are big Audi fans. They are pretty solid cars and well priced for their segment. We had an A3 and now we have a Q5. Beautiful building. Can't wait to see it.

This is the internet. No one convinces anyone. We're here for the simple pleasure of partisan bickering.

Baby steps.

And you didn't take a picture? It'll be a few more months before I go back over there...

I like your thinking.

I drove by it today. From a distance it looks OK, but up close, eh.

Thanks, Brian. I always read your blog Perhaps we'll pass each other in the street someday.

I hope no one got course credit for this.

There's been a thread ( http://www.houstonar...y-april-13-2012 ) about bike commuting. While I don't do it every day, I do ride to work maybe twice a week when the weather isn't awful. I decided to supplement the discussion with some photos, so I stopped a couple times on my ride home to snap some pics with my phone. Note these are just phone snapshots, so excuse blurriness, bad lighting, horrible white balance, etc. Also, I used the "in-camera HDR" a bit to get more shadow detail in the exposures, but this blew out the colors in a couple instances. Anyway, pics. Untitled by wools, on Flickr I work in the TMC; the first (or last) part of my ride is through Hermann Park. This is always my favorite section. There is currently an exhibition by the Chinese artist Ai Weiwei. It's interesting how the Chinese gov't can't seem to make up its mind if he is a countercultural dissident to be jailed or a modern wonder to be celebrated. Untitled by wools, on Flickr Untitled by wools, on Flickr More Hermann Park. I decided to ride up the tallest hill in Houston. Untitled by wools, on Flickr Untitled by wools, on Flickr This is a typical streetscape for this part of the Museum DIstrict, along Caroline. On this street: Asia Society, Weather Museum, Holocaust Museum, Caroline Collective, etc. Untitled by wools, on Flickr ... and the Mexican consulate. Always alot of activity here during business hours. Untitled by wools, on Flickr Wheeler is the only problematic intersection. Although Caroline is the "bike path," there isn't a light at this intersection. This is the only part where I have to pay particularly close attention to traffic, as it is much faster moving on Wheeler than any of the residential neighborhood streets that I use. The character also transitions out of the lush Museum District to the grittier Midtown feel at this point. Untitled by wools, on Flickr Untitled by wools, on Flickr Accidentally snapped this one, but I thought it came out well. Untitled by wools, on Flickr The new Buffalo Soldiers Museum is a truly beautiful example of adaptive re-use of an existing structure. Just really great. I can't wait to see it finished. Untitled by wools, on Flickr Untitled by wools, on Flickr Depending on traffic, I will cut through the HCC main campus after Alabama. This campus is very street oriented, and has alot of pedestrian life. It's better connected to its neighborhood than Rice or UH. Untitled by wools, on Flickr Another great example of re-use. This is the "St. Joseph House," a psychiatric rehabilitation center. Untitled by wools, on Flickr Untitled by wools, on Flickr Elgin is a very busy street, but fortunately there is a stoplight. To the right is Houston Fire Station 7, Elizabeth Baldwin Park, Magnificat House, and some incredibly overpriced "Tuscan" townhomes that the developer took years to sell after many price reductions. Untitled by wools, on Flickr Untitled by wools, on Flickr And some typical streets in East Midtown. Nice density, mixed residential and commercial uses (a hospital, a wine bar, a sandwich cafe, a gym, a fortune cookie factory (smells like vanilla!!), bars and lounges, some warehouses, and office buildings including the architecture firm Studio Red, and yes, of course, Star of Hope, Search, and some other homeless charities and halfway houses.) I think Midtown, particularly the quieter East Midtown, is a very pleasant place to live. It's convenient to Downtown, TMC, Montrose, and Greenway. Occasional (or exclusive) bike commuting is very possible to any of these areas. Even if you don't do it every day (I don't; the balance is about an equal mix of using the light rail or driving myself) it is definitely possible, good exercise, and enjoyable in fair weather. Untitled by wools, on Flickr Untitled by wools, on Flickr Also, some really great places to eat. Les Givral's is less than a mile from my house. An extremely tasty dinner for two under was about $16.