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KinkaidAlum

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Everything posted by KinkaidAlum

  1. KinkaidAlum
    Why would a Parrot read when she can just repeat what she is told?
  2. KinkaidAlum
    The only HOV lane numbers that make any sense in this comparison IMO are the bus riders. I say this because all of those double occupancy cars are eventually getting off of the highways and clogging local roads in Houston. This is very different from commuter rail riders in Boston who either walk from North Station, South Station, or Back Bay Station to their offices or they hop on the T to where they need to go. Commuter rail in Boston is also just one means of public transportation for people to commute to work. Boston also has the 4 T lines serving Boston, Cambridge, Somerville, Medford, Malden, Quincy, and Braintree. People also use Amtrack to commute to town from Providence and Route 128 (Western burbs) as well as New England train service to places like New Hampshire (where many Boston workers live due to N.H's no state income tax). Boston also has local bus service and commuter bus service to places like the Cape, Plymouth, and out West along the Mass Pike. During the warmer months, there's also commuter ferry service from several waterfront communities like Hull, Scituate, Hingham, and Charlestown. The last piece of the puzzle is Boston has very user friendly bike trails for people to commute to work by bike.
  3. KinkaidAlum
    Tower info... Possible twin 30 story condo towers by a NYC based developer. Would rise on the NW corner of Post Oak Blvd and Richmond (old Mason Jar Restaurant site). Second tower proposed by Faulkner USA out of Austin. Site is on McCue Road where the old Marquee Apartments are being torn down. Early reports state it would be a 40 story condo tower. As for me, I would never want to live in a highrise in Uptown. With no rail line connection and unpleasant pedestrian life, I don't quite get the point. I would much rather have a private house/patio home/condo since driving is pretty much required for all daily activities. That said, I am not a 60+ empty nester from Tanglewood nor am I a rich Mexican national. Those are really the only 2 groups I see these towers being marketed too despite the slick ads showing bikini clad strippers sitting poolside and wannabe urban hipsters smoking cigars in the club rooms!
  4. KinkaidAlum
    Actually, now that 59 and the Spur are complete, why not just turn back West Alabama to the way it was? I hate that West Alabama lost the bike lanes. I also hate that the people who live in the neighborhoods can't make left turns at certain times of the day. I also hate that people now use the road as a place to avoid traffic and drive like A.J. Foyt to get THROUGH the neighborhoods and museums and universitites and schools. BRING BACK OLD ALABAMA!
  5. KinkaidAlum
    The Orion was going to be built on Asbury off of Memorial Drive just West of Shepherd. From what I remember, a new parking garage is going to go up there to service a nearby office tower (Heritage Plaza?). Such a shame that a prime spot on the Western edge of downtown and overlooking the park will only see a parking garage..
  6. KinkaidAlum
    Your understanding seems spot on to me. I also hate reading that the sentencing will consider his age as a factor. Unbelievable. We're holding 16 year olds in jail in Louisiana for beating up a kid but considering a lighter sentence for a guy who made God knows how much money by defrauding the UN's food for oil program and negotiating with Iraq!
  7. KinkaidAlum
    I noticed on my way to the airport today that the buildings fronting Allen Parkway are nearly 100% demolished now too. Surprised there isn't more chatter about this project. This is my absolute favorite of all the new projects because the scale and location are top notch.
  8. KinkaidAlum
    The crane was in operation just the other day and there were 30-40 workers visible too.
  9. KinkaidAlum
    Uh, actually, if this were a thread about a highrise on Binz, it would be about 75 posts smaller...
  10. KinkaidAlum
    Personally, I'd hate to see this rise on Bissonnet. That area of Houston is very attractive and the scale is totally wrong for the neighborhood. That said, I don't think it should be stopped. The developers have done nothing illegal in putting this project together. Additionally, it appears they've put together a nice project too (other than location). I am all for highrises with ground floor retail, restaurants, spas, live/work spaces, and residential living all mixed together. It certainly beats the walled off, isolated towers we've seen built in the city that do nothing to encourage neighborly interaction. My only real complaint is why oh why couldn't this be built on any of the numerous lots on a rail line (or on a future rail line)? That will only be fixed by better regulatory policies for developers.
  11. KinkaidAlum
    Nope. Most part of River Oaks, Boulevard Oaks, and Southampton all have utility poles. The difference being they are hidden in alleys (Southampton/Blvd Oaks) or in the back yard by the detached garages (River Oaks).
  12. KinkaidAlum
    It could always revert back to a club/concert venue. I remember Dangerous Disco nights (I think Sundays?) at the Tower!
  13. KinkaidAlum
    Uh, what are you doing scoping out that area long enough to know which cars are circling? I'd wager to guess that the store isn't open 24 hours because it was built largely for commuters.
  14. KinkaidAlum
    The Cosmo dwellars are going to have to shut their shades! Also, the Willie G's site across Post Oak Blvd. is set to house a 300,000 square foot office tower. That little stretch will be crane city with these two possibly joining The Titan and BLVD Place.
  15. KinkaidAlum
    Unless the billboards are located INSIDE their areas, I think that's a really bad idea. A lot of people who are for zoning and for the overall beautification of the city are VERY anti-billboard. I know if I lived in an area with unwanted billboard clutter, I'd be angry with the rich folks who spent money to advertise their plight in my neighborhood. It also seems to be hypocritical to use billboard advertising when some of their first public arguments have centered around shadow casting, structural height, and protection of "beautiful" areas.
  16. KinkaidAlum
    Is this poll similar to the alternative entry exams into UT-Austin for "student" athletes?
  17. KinkaidAlum
    The lack of response terrifies me. Has anyone seen the doom and gloom posters? I hope they are allright. Maybe they were murdered in that crime spree last night that occured in sketchy neighborhoods like The Heights and Briargrove Park...
  18. KinkaidAlum
    Didn't Bill White Houston to live in the area? I think he might live in the Memorial area now but I could have sworn he used to live in/near Southampton. Also, Clutterbuck lives on Sunset Blvd. between Greenbriar and Shepherd.
  19. KinkaidAlum
    Don't let the Malibu beach location fool you. Pepperdine is conservative. It is closely affiliated with the Church of Christ. It's a dry campus and any university group caught with alcohol on or OFF campus faces expulsion. Dorms are all single sex and they have curfews. Until recently, dancing was still officially banned on campus! In the Princeton Review, Pepperdine ranks #13 in the "Alternative Lifestyles ARE NOT an alternative" category. A straight guy who tried to start an "end homophobia" group on campus in 2006 was denied that right by the President of the University! The Fiske Guide calls it "one of the nation's largest conservative colleges." Additionally, the law school gained some attention when they tried to lure Kenneth Starr to become the Dean and head the new Public Policy Institute. He "resigned" before he ever began due to the ties the school had with Scaife (donated $13 million to Pepperdine including the seed money to start the new school) as well as to Scaife's ties to the Clinton scandals. The Law School's own mission statement states the "mission is to incorporate the values of Jesus Christ into the law." Douglas Kmiec is one of the most famous profs at the law school. He is one of the most conservative lawyers in the nation!
  20. KinkaidAlum
    I used to ride my bike by that house every day on the way to school as a kid. It's a great place. What is happening in Tanglewood is beyond disgusting. Rampant consumer culture out of control. Oh, and tasteless builders selling to people with more money than taste. The neighborhood used to be almost 100% single-story homes with nice yards and HUGE trees. Now, it's becoming one spec home after another and the trees are disappearing to make way for 7,500 square foot homes with 4 car garages and "quarters." Take a gander of what might replace this beauty (these are all currently homes on the market)
  21. KinkaidAlum
    In the late 80s, my friends and I called it Midtown. We liked Red Square!
  22. KinkaidAlum
    Did it ever cross your mind that maybe you aren't as obviously straight as you think you are?
  23. KinkaidAlum

    Toys

    KinkaidAlum replied to a topic in Off Topic

    A late comer to the thread but I LOVED matchbox, hotwheels, and corgi cars. Had over 500 (most as hand-me-downs from my two older brothers) but then word got out that I liked them and I was still receiving them as present from aunts/uncles, grandparents, etc... into my late teens. Unfortunately, the box I had them in was stolen during a move in Houston. I also loved legos and my GREEN MACHINE. However, I used to love to play tennis. My favorite gift of all time was a play-by-yourself tennis set which consisted of a tennis ball on a string mounted to a stand. You could take it outside and hit the hell out of the ball and it would fly off and them zoom back at ya! Good times.
  24. KinkaidAlum
    The path at Memorial makes it #1 in my book. My knees appreciate that path! The path around Rice is nice but you do have to deal with more traffic/cars. The Allen Parkway/Memorial Drive loop around the bayou is nice but it is only "busy" at lunch time. There's a steady group of runners coming out of downtown at lunch. With further park improvements, more people moving downtown, and a lot of residences being added along that stretch (Regent Square, Legacy at Memorial, etc...) I expect the path will only grow in popularity. Before my knees gave out, I also liked to run the streets of River Oaks just to look at the houses.
  25. KinkaidAlum
    I hate that Continental expands EWR over IAH, but can you blame them? A 20 million person market compared to a 5.5 million person market. Massive O&D at EWR and close to the largest financial markets in the world, the New Jersey Pharm. market, a massive tourism market, and more. Plus, when you fly from IAH to Europe, you pretty much fly right over EWR. IAH-EWR-Europe makes a helluva lot more sense. That said, we did win a major coup when they started the EZE (Buenos Aires) flights from IAH. That flight has proven to be a GOLDMINE for Continental (as did the Brazil flights compared to the Brazil flights from EWR) so maybe we'll win a few more. Of course, the biggest thing hurting IAH is the Feds. The transit rules put into place after 9-11 mean that all of the Latin American connections CO could offer at IAH (31 cities in MEX, every major airport in Central America, and several South American routes) to Europe, Japan, Hawaii, etc... are no longer pleasurable for non-US citizens.
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