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KinkaidAlum

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Everything posted by KinkaidAlum

  1. KinkaidAlum
    I HATE this location. Carnegie Vanguard is an excellent school and its current location is terrible but this thing should have been built in either midtown or downtown adjacent (near the Dynamo Stadium?) to take advantage of better transit access to ALL kids. Additionally, the area where this is going up is zoned to Lamar High School which is already one of the best public schools in the area (not just within HISD).
  2. KinkaidAlum
    Numbers closing would be a final nail in the coffin of Houston's hoppin' club days. I never knew it until I went off to college, but Houston's music and club scene in the 1980s was cutting edge. Had a lot of firsts at Numbers and I am sure I am not the only one. I'll forever miss Numbers/NRG/Power Tools/ EMOS-SOME/Red Square/ Record Rack/ etc...
  3. KinkaidAlum
    Off to the Rose Bowl tmrw. Go Coogs! Whose Bowl? Coogs Bowl!
  4. KinkaidAlum
    Yesterday was a good day. I actually liked the UH game late on friday. It made for a KILLER night but also allowed me to watch football all day yesterday. I'd join the pick 'em but I hate working with the spread.
  5. KinkaidAlum
    Go Coogs! There's a chance for sellout #2 tonight. Can't wait. Hitting the tailgate in 2 hours!
  6. KinkaidAlum
    Oh, and back on topic, Emirates must not have liked what they saw at DFW. Instead of starting new service to DFW, Emirates will be adding a SECOND daily non-stop to Houston later this fall. So, we'll get TWO 777s from Emirates and DFW will get some narrow body airbuses to California.
  7. KinkaidAlum
    Actually, if you're a property owner, you did spend $ to help build the Embassy Suites. The E.S. received upwards of $5 million in tax breaks and incentives to build in that location.
  8. KinkaidAlum
    I don't worry about who votes. I worry about who COUNTS the votes.
  9. KinkaidAlum
    The Rice Village had a great movie theater. Then, it was torn down to add shopping and parking... Oh, but they left part of the marque as a nod to history!
  10. KinkaidAlum
    I stopped in last Saturday around 6ish. The pizza was delicious and there was a nice crowd in there considering the early time. Friendly service too. I'll go back for sure.
  11. KinkaidAlum
    Of course Times Square is packed with people flocking to Bubba Gumps and TGI Fridays. However, 99% of those folks are not New Yorkers. NYC gets over 48 million visitors a year. Over 12,000,000 people take in Broadway Shows a year. We don't have that kind of market in Houston so a comparison is ridiculous. The average "tourist" to downtown Houston is regional. What draws someone to downtown Houston are the unique events (Astros, Rockets, Aeros, Ballet, Opera, Symphony, Plays, Parades, Festivals, etc...) and unique venues (House of Blues, Lucky Strike, Artista, etc...). Nobody is going to go out of their way to eat at a TGI Fridays in downtown if they live in Katy, Pearland, Spring, etc...
  12. KinkaidAlum
    Copycat Criminals at Rice? First, the MOB loses creativity. Then KTRU gets sold off. Now, even the coeds can't think of their own crimes?
  13. KinkaidAlum
    Vasquez is going nuts over "voter registration" fraud but then admits that over 2/3rds of the applications sent in were indeed legitimate?!?!?! The "fraud" in many cases appears to be duplicate applications which in many cases can be explained away if people can't remember if they registered for their current address. Poor people move more than the average American. Seems like an easy explanation to me. These Tea Party folks are pretty un-American if their main objective is to suppress votes.
  14. KinkaidAlum
    The 4 top execs might be "solidly" Continental, but these are the same 4 that decided to "merge" just 2 years after the more trusted former leadership team decided that United WAS NOT A VIABLE partner. The fact of the matter is, the Houston area is getting ready to lose lots of decent paying jobs. Middle management will likely be terminated or forced to Chicago. Route planners, accountants, regional VIPs, etc... are all going to be either out of work or out of town. This is a HUGE blow to Houston but particularly to downtown. The hub might grow, but most jobs at the airport are not as high paying as those downtown. So, even if there isn't a net loss of jobs (which is highly unlikely since nearly 100% of mergers involve downsizing) it would still be a net loss for Houston because rampers, gate agents, etc... don't make nearly as much as the accountants, managers, and sales folks. Get ready to see about 5,000 Houstonians hit the job market shortly...
  15. KinkaidAlum
    What a big blow and not just to downtown. The Houston region is now down to just the River Oaks for indie movies. Something in this story is odd though; the Angelika mentions their lease not being renewed but why in the world would the operators of Bayou Place want to do that? I am hoping there is something in the works (maybe it's taken over by AMC or Landmark). Not much will work in that space unless the landlords spend a ton of money to remove the theaters and then build out again.
  16. KinkaidAlum
    Cheap is the only way to describe the look of this Embassy Suites. They chopped off 3 floors. They eliminated the roof that would have tied the building a little bit to One Park Place. The worst part though, is they turned their back on the actual park. The UGLIEST part of the building faces the park. Actually, I take that back, the worst part is these developers got public money to help build this thing and this is what we got. For all the folks that cry about regulations, it is my wish that we have some sort of architectural commission for downtown buildings that receive public funds.
  17. KinkaidAlum
    McMansions are definitely springing up in River Oaks in my opinion, especially in Avalon Place. To me, what makes a McMansion are as follows; 1) In an older neighborhood, a McMansion is usually a builder home that doesn't fit the scale of the neighborhood or the lot. These are popping up all over River Oaks, Avalon, West U, Southampton, Bellaire, etc... The types of houses that have 5,200 ft of living space on a 7,000 square foot lot whereas the home it replaced likely had between 2,000 to 3,000 sq feet of living space 2) Out in the burbs, the mass produced houses of large scale builders. Huge spaces built on the cheap but hopefully (for the builders) disguised by things like vaulted ceilings, grand entry ways, granite counter tops, stainless appliances, wine "cellars" and media rooms.
  18. KinkaidAlum
    The Infiniti QX looks similar the the 2010 Lexus LX. I have an older Audi A6. I love the car but damn, Houston potholes are taking out my tires left and right. I now know why so many folks drive big trucks and SUVs. I've been back in Houston for less than 2 full years and have had to replace 7 tires due to pothole damage... and before anyone tells me that I need to avoid them, you can't avoid what the big King Ranch F350 infront of you is hiding!
  19. KinkaidAlum
    True, the Embassy Suites is a fugly building. They totally turned their back on the park. Heck, even that stupid light tower thingie doesn't even face the park; instead they aimed it for "freeway presence."
  20. KinkaidAlum
    Didn't that ABS become Touppes or something like that (a lesbian-esque breakfast joint)? You definitely wanted to hold the cream there...
  21. KinkaidAlum
    Jax- I appreciate your photos and comments on this forum. You bring an interesting perspective since you're not from Texas or the USA. No sure why The Niche seems to have it out for you but he certainly does follow your posts with petty attacks. It seems pretty stupid to talk about "aesthetic waste" on an architectural forum. Seems like all architectural elements worth talking about have some form of "aesthetic waste."
  22. KinkaidAlum
    I've got to wonder how many of these are actually owner occupied. In the Third Ward, many properties are owned by slum lords and have been for decades.
  23. KinkaidAlum
    Houston should stop trying to follow NYC. Instead of cracking down on sexually oriented businesses, we should embrace them. We can become a tourist mecca for titty bars, Asian massage parlors, glory holes, and gay bathhouses. My out of town friends get a kick out of sitting outside at the West Alabama Ice House while wondering what's going on across the street at the Hollywood Spa.
  24. KinkaidAlum
    Ate at Market Square Bar and Grill for lunch. Forgot how much I like that place... Anyway, the renovations to the actual square look pretty sweet. Now, if only the city would give LaCaraffe the permit for outdoor seating...
  25. KinkaidAlum
    Oxymoron. The best Starbucks is the one you avoided on your way to the Inversion/Brasil/Empire Cafe/Rice Coffee House/etc...
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