dalparadise

I don't really get the gray tile or the antique stove and gray granite in the kitchen. The overall design and condition of the home is beautiful, though.

Architects have bigger erections and Fuller domes.

Early to bed, early to rise, work like hell, and advertise. Laurence J. Peter

Oh my gosh, you're right. It's all so clear now -- if you want tourism traffic, build Disney World! Man, I don't know what I was thinking.

Okay, I did that, even though I've observed both cities' weather. Our curve is a lot steeper, showing a much greater swing in temps. When you consider these are averages, it makes the difference I was trying to get across. Winter in Orlando is usually pretty nice, with only rare freezing days and little rain. Cold snaps occur, but are short-lived. Our winters here have almost no freezing days, true, but because they are much rainier, the cold is more noticeable. My point is, when you dig a little deeper into the charts, like for instance, the record lows plotted side-by-side, you see that Houston is much more erratic and unpredictable, due to all the continental frontal activity that affects us in cooler months. Plus, Orlando's having three months longer in the 70s with four months of much less precipitation during these cool weather months is precisely the difference I was talking about. That's the difference between profitable and not for a year-round tourist destination.

Maybe, but both Florida and California offer weather that allows year-round operation of the theme parks. This indoor ski thing might be able to overcome our shortcoming in that area for a local audience, but nobody from outside this region really wants to come to Houston from December to February (too rainy and cold) or from July-September (too hot and humid). Despite similar heat, Florida just doesn't get as cold or wet for as long. I know there are exceptions to this broad swath of bad weather here and many years, there are nine months of comfortable weather. But, the perception remains. and that still leaves three months when theme parks sit idle. That's hard to live with at the investment levels it takes to build and maintain a California or Florida-style park.

You think?

Texas' count is a great accomplishment, but just remember -- every time an NYC Fortune 500 company decides to move to the suburbs, New York State loses an HQ that the metro area retains.

Except it will have stupid heads of presidents along it. Sweet fancy Jesus, this is dumb.

Typically I don't care when local TV people move on, pass away or whatever. Honestly, besides maybe Steve Smith, no local TV personality has ever struck me as someone interesting enough to warrant any real opinions or caring. I realized when I heard about Robert Smith, though, that perhaps he was another exception. I think he was a genuinely good guy and was good at what he did. The reason I think I knew his name was because it's the same as the lead singer for The Cure. Shortly after I moved here in 1987, I noticed him on the air and it just sort of registered with me for that reason. Later, I found out that he got his start at the ABC affiliate in Lufkin -- KTRE. That was my hometown (Nacogdoches) TV station. I paid attention to him. I liked his work. He seemed real. In today's TV world, that is exceptional.

The biggest obstacle to The Dynamo playing at the Astrodome is the Texans and the Rodeo, who own the lease agreement and aren't sharing. They aren't about to let anybody in on their party without a major piece of the action. And by piece of the action, I mean ALL of it.

That was the 1000 coats of paint Absolut bottle. It is now on display as the centerpiece of the outside bar at The Social on Washington Ave.

The mall would have no authority to ticket, so they must be city meters, or else they aren't enforceable. Also, Sugar Land City Hall has very little connection with the federal government. Your protest would be silly.

Assuming Tom Delay was still in office, why would you protest him at Sugar Land City Hall? Another thing -- if Sugar Land Town Center's streets are all private property, why are there City of Sugar Land parking meters all along them? Are they enforceable?

Wait till you get a quote on refinishing that concrete floor before you judge how minor an issue it is. Could it be a homeowner's warranty issue?

Just a note -- Sugar Land Town Center includes mall-type stores, a Starbucks, restaurants and the like, but it also has a large hotel, Sugar Land City Hall, mixed-use apartment/office/retail buildings and a new 8-story headquarters for Minute Maid. Seems pretty much a "town center" to me. There is a mall across the street from it for reference, though.

What half-assed counterfeiter is printing fives, anyway? It's only worth a dollar these days, anyway.

Bleh, articulating beautiful Italian stone veneer as formed concrete on a big-box store isn't noble. I generally love clean designs, but having toured many of the great cathedrals of the world, I can tell you the class of this building type is not understated. A cathedral should leave you awestruck in your procession to it, then double the effect upon entering. Ours is very beautiful inside -- I have been lucky enough to go in -- but outside, it could be mistaken for the downtown headquarters of Ryland Homes.

Calling this design "sub-par" is being way too kind.

I really wish there were some way to justify a Downtown location for W. While I agree their demographics suggest Uptown, the net result of locating there will most likely be at the expense of Hotel Derek, which is getting a bit long in the tooth, anyway. In a wildly competitive market, as I hope perhaps W will help generate, yeah -- Derek has a good chance of feeding off W when W is at capacity. That would be great for all concerned. Going head-to-head under capacity, however, Derek doesn't stand a chance. They may need to re-concept and offer lower rates to compete. It remains to be seen how a W in Uptown will affect some of the older, established properties like The Houstonian or JW Marriott and if they will merely be taking from their own client base at St. Regis or the two Westin properties in The Galleria. Don't get me wrong -- it's cool to have this growing and vibrant hotel district. That's how it's done in many cities that draw lots of tourists. But, seeing as how we don't do so well in the tourism department, I worry that the W will hurt properties like Derek and even their own Westin Oaks and Westin Galleria (who aren't really in the same price point, but are "competitors" nonetheless), where they could be carving out an exciting new niche in Downtown. What do you guys think?

If it's the one I'm thinking of, I heard he gets around this by being the owner of the office and actually employing his broker as his boss. Thus, the slimy guy is merely a Realtor in the equation, with a puppet regime. How that shields him from trouble, I don't know. But it sure is clever.

I had an HHN townhouse in the West End, purchased new in 2001. My overall impression of them was mixed, in light of some issues with the home. Their customer service was excellent and the repair response after the sale was satisfactory. I also found the fixtures, trim, cabinetry and other details to be excellent -- at least in my home, which was a mid-level unit for its area. The issues: Six months in I discovered a slow water leak behind a wall on the third floor from the small puddle it made on the floor that finally penetrated the wall. They ripped the wall open, fixed the leak and treated it with bleach, then let it dry out for several days. The supervisor checked it out personally several times and I was satisfied the issue was resolved, but always wondered about possible mold or rotting problems that might develop from that. Needless to say, it wasn't the best first impression of the builder. After 18 months, the compressor in the upstairs (bedrooms) AC lost its charge of coolant -- in the heat of summer. Under warranty, after four days of sleeping on the couch, HHN sent the original contractor, who installed it, over to fix it. He patched it poorly and recharged it, but worsened the damage in the process. It leaked out again after a few days and we were back on the couch to escape the 90-degree nights. This time, I called the owner of the AC shop (sub contractor for HHN) and he informed me that the no-name units they put in my home were the absolute cheapest ones made and that he didn't recommend trying to fix it, but to replace it. At this, I raised hell with one of the principals of HHN, who had a technician out there that day to replace the key element that was damaged. He also contacted the sub contractor himself -- mostly to protect his business -- but also to satisfy me and to restart my warranty, fresh. I balanced my disdain for the cheap AC units with the good service I got from HHN and netted out about even on that ordeal. After a couple of years, they bought up some adjacent property and built more townhouses. My opinion of this second phase was that they put about 20% more of the three-story units than the land should allow. It made my narrow street an out-of-scale canyon, with units too close to the street, no setbacks and flat elevations. The neighborhood lost a lot of its promise of charm, which was there when we bought originally. The good side is, that despite there still being a lot of construction in the area, I was able to sell my townhouse after only two and a half years and still make a modest profit. I wasn't dying to get out of it, I just found a great deal on a house I really wanted. I was pleased I didn't take a hit on the HHN house. As for financials, they are backed by Redstone and are more solid than most. They do seem to build solidly and the finishes in my unit were very luxurious. The plumbing and HVAC were shoddy, in my opinion, which was not HHN, but their choice of sub contractors. And they did a good job of standing by their product before and after the sale. Overall, I give them a C+, which is lower than I had hoped, but not as bad as I've heard others have experienced in my same price range.

The two brokers who represent the agents involved are the ones responsible for ensuring the contract between them is handled equitably. Those brokers are both governed by the National Association of Realtors and TAR. their livelihoods depend upon those contracts being executed properly, as any broker who tries to pull a fast one on another could lose his license and his affiliation with NAR. Doing so would prevent him from practicing his business. So, while the contract is negotiated between the two parties, it's actually a contract drawn by the two parties and executed by the association. Once it's on paper and the deal is properly negotiated, it's rare that it gets changed on whims such as a Realtor wanting more commission. Typically it takes a force described within it to alter it, such as lack of financing to alter it. That's why Realtors must be good on the front end of drawing up and negotiating the contract. Some choose to go for retainers, which is fine, but not common in Texas.

Then, Brazoria County probably "has enough" to hold 10-12 million.

I'm sure it will be very cosmopolitan landscaping -- maybe even video of landscaping projected on jumbotrons, just like they do in New York.