dalparadise

The new HS will be built in the new section being developed by Hillwood -- the same group that developed Victory Park in Dallas, among many other prime DFW developments. Hillwood has big plans for Houston. They are going to do a lot for this city and the new section of Sienna is just the beginning.

Back on topic:

Did anyone see the "15minutesaway.com" billboards downtown? That's all they said. there was nothing to indicate who the advertiser was. It took me a few times seeing them to remember to check it out, but I finally did:

www.15minutesaway.com

San Francisco is a town with more aggressive panhandlers and many more and more visible homeless people in the city. It's never been an issue for me, though. I think a good dose of city sense is all that's needed, as there is a lot of pedestrian activity in most areas and street crime is pretty well contained north of Market Street. South of Market, you may run into some dicey neighborhoods, but even those are generally okay, if you look like you belong there and have your wits about you.

The Embarcadero area is not what I call San Francisco. It's pretty much like any Downtown area with office towers that empty out after 5 pm. Fisherman's Wharf is a tourist trap, but should probably be seen at least once. The place is full of street performers, restaurants, the smell of sourdough bread baking and lots of shopping for trinkets. You can board ferries to Alcatraz or other points around here, too. Ghirradeli Chocolate Factory and the adjacent shopping area are also here, as is the main cable car turnaround for the North-South lines. So, it makes for a pretty lively area. Touristy, but lively.

The nearby North Beach area is a great place to eat some great food and take in a little neo-boho atmosphere. It's pretty close to Chinatown, too -- if you don't mind climbing hills on foot. Or, you can take a trolley to the Union Square area (where many hotels and even more tourists are -- but also many good restaurants, galleries, sights, etc.), walk down to Market for some really vibrant urban street life, great architectural finds, bars, coffee shops, etc.

It's been a couple of years since I last was there, but back then there was a burgeoning neighborhood bar scene on Fillmore St. north of Geary attracting a lot of locals and offering some good bar-hopping. The Haight, just a few blocks farther west also seemed to be livelier than I remembered from past visits. Depending on your tastes, you may enjoy the Haight more during the day.

Broadway (a main East-West) sorta connects all these areas and offers sex shows, dives and hookers, if that's what you're into. Down in the Castro, you'll find the same, only gay.

Golden Gate Park, in my opinion, is even nicer than Central Park. It's something to explore when you have a little more time, though. Still, the area can provide some beautiful views for photos, if you only have a couple of hours of daylight. Don't count on much neighborhood activity once you leave the Haight, though -- in these parts, it's almost suburban, by City standards.

You might consider a BART ride across the Bay to Berkeley -- a visit to campus and a walk around its environs to get a real feel for the hippie atmosphere that still lives in this area. Or, stay on the SF side, venture into some of the nicer, Eastern areas south of Market for some cool clubbing anf great people watching. The suggested ride up to Tiburon or Sausaulito is also a great idea, though with limited time, you might feel like quaint bayside villages, art galleries and shopping take too much valuable time. Still, the scenery is spectacular and the hidden away bars and restaurants in these towns can't be beaten.

Enjoy SF. If you're like me or most people, you truly will never want to come home.

I feel sorry for anyone who wears his assessment of his home as a cesspool as a badge.

I don't know what part of Houston you call home, but I don't live in a gritty cesspool. I live in a vibrant city, where I can afford a nice lifestyle ans am afforded many amenities for ejoying that lifestyle.

Why are you trying to compare MT Houston to UT Dallas? Why don't you try to compare UT Houston to UT Dallas? UT Houston is even bigger then DT Dallas. If you want to compare MT Houston (which just started development over the past decade), why don't you try compare it to a similar hood in Dallas.

Yeah -- the area around Fair Park and Deep Ellum is probably a better comparison to Midtown Houston in terms of challenges, momentum, proximity and promise.

This is cool and I am one of those poor, misguided souls who actually likes living here. I like my standard of living. I like the urban attractions. The pace suits me. I like having some money left over after everything is paid to travel on, too (I'm not delusional -- I know there are places that are more fun to visit).

One point, however -- is anyone else tired of these reports trotting out the beer can house? It is a little embarassing that after all these years, we can't seem to come up with something else that grabs out-of-towners' attention. If I were a travel editor for a major out-of-town paper that ran stories about Houston every few years, I'd be a little discouraged to come back and see the same old beer can house being touted as a must-see attraction.

I get it. It and the Orange Show are our Watts Tower. We just need more, in my opinion, to keep the presses rolling.

Looks pretty nice and kudos for not overdoing the remodel job on what is, and should be, a modest home.

A little landscaping or something that might add some curb appeal (the main area where this house is lacking) would probably pay about 10:1 for a small investment.

Good luck.

I remember one of there plans in the Master Plan release had a runway crossing 1960, I dout that will ever happen.

If Houston drivers can't handle a train in their streets, I doubt they'd ever be able to abide by hold short lines on 1960 as landing aircraft speed by.

It has to do with timing. I think Continental has flights from LAX to IAH in the early evening, but not after 7 so there aren't arrivals at IAH at 2 in the morning.

I've arrived at Hobby on Southwest out of both Phoenix (after an LA layover) and Las Vegas at around 1:30 - 2:00 am. Is Southwest more liberal in its scheduling?

I will never understand that mentality, and I was knee-deep in the gay culture for years.

I don't think slamming kamikazis at Montrose Mining Company in 1989 with a bunch of your gay boyfriends constitutes being "knee-deep in the gay culture". That's just being a FH.

Is that all you have? "Do some reading"?

A combination of reading, and learning from people who support both versions, is how I came to my conclusions about Creationism vs. Evolution.

I think he meant books.

I believe the commuter line from Downtown FW already connects with DFW.

What if, using common grocery store items, spending about $5.00 or so a week and about 10 minutes per week on "maintenance" could give you a nice backyard pool? Would you be interested in spending the $2500 to get it fixed?

Pools are great in Texas. People often don't understand how inexpensive and easy they are to maintain. The provide a real return on a small investment, in my opinion. Plus, you can do a really nice landscaping project using this small pool as the centerpiece. "Maintaining" the pool and the landscaping could grow into an enjoyable hobby that's definitely more rewarding than a hole full of dirt.

Why is the Chronicle such a piece of ____?

Two reasons --

It doesn't have to be anything more, because we don't demand anything more.

and

It doesn't have to be anything more and it know it doesn't.

Why anyone would subscribe to it is beyond me. AP wire stories are available online, as is poorly written schlock about local issues.

It's just the Dallas Morning News showing it's inferiority complex over Houston.

Now, if you want to see something REALLY funny, read the different article on the exact same subject in today's Houston Chronicle.

Houston GDP

This article says that Dallas GDP is BIGGER than Houston GDP!

Why don't the two papers just switch articles, so each paper's hometown homers can be happy?

Wow, that Chron article sounds like it was written by a fifth grader. Despite the many things Houston should be proud of -- namely its cultural, economic and political growth over the past 30-40 years, its newspaper is a constant reminder that Houston is not ready for the big time.

Yeah, it looks great. Let's just put a lid on the Central Park stuff, so we don't sound like a bunch of hayseeds.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headli...iz/5156092.html

In 10 years or less DG is going to be like a miniature Central Park right in our own back yard!

Not this again... but yeah, I agree with you, it's going to be nice.

IMO, this type of topic should stay in the PM realm ask your trusted friends.

Absolutely. And again, I do publicly apologize for misunderstanding the crack baby part of her post.

By way of explanation, I will say that when I misread that, her constant "hard luck" stories seemed to finally make sense. As I stated, I had never responded to any of Pap's stories of how her employers, Friendswood Development, family, her health and others had victimized her over the months. That last poll and my mistaken interpretation of her being a crack head just pushed me over the edge. And please do understand, I was trying to be constructive, as I do believe some people really can benefit from a kick in the butt sometimes, regardless of the PC agenda that goes in and out of fashion on this site.

Pap -- again, I apologize. Perhaps an Internet poll is not the best way to solve your life's hardships, though. And if you truly think about it, the difference between you, who has seemingly an endless barrage of terrible things, disabilities that make it impossible to "work at a fast pace" and acronym-laden disorders affecting your family, and those of us who have overcome such things is more than your run of bad luck. Surely someone who describes herself as scarcely capable of taking care of her own problems, yet submits to trying to take care of a crack baby can understand that. Sometimes, bad luck is self perpetuating...just like good luck is.

If you want the opinions of an Internet forum, you should be willing to accept all of them, including the ones you may find offensive. You should not have to listen to someone making untrue assessments of you, however. For that, I apologize.

Now, I'll go back to ignoring these posts.

prefacing your comments with "i apologize, but..." and then spewing off about crack buddies, BS disabilities and so forth may be constructive in your eyes, but the comments aren't from anything factual she stated (forgive me if i missed the part about her making up her medical conditions).

while this topic is of a personal nature, you are not required to read or respond to anyone's posting.

Is anyone required to read or respond to anything here?

Here's a photo of one of Montreal's rubber wheeled trains!

I remembered sometimes we had to wait until 2-3 trains had passed to get into one of those suckers at Beri-UQAM station at rush hour. It was amazing how many people used the Metro.

Montreal's stations aren't as impressive as that Toronto station you posted, but a lot of them have a sort of "60s/70s modern" vibe to them and they were sort of interesting.

A couple of the lines in the Paris Metro use these rubber-wheeled trains, too. I suppose they offer a better ride. I wonder if they are easier/less expensive to maintain and/or build?

Clear Lake - 2750 square feet. No idea on the price - would sell to an investor for 80 cents on the dollar, though.Ah..............my children are ADOPTED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!GOOD GOD!

Okay, that takes care of one of your portrayals of victimization. How will you address the others?

And I do apologize for misunderstanding about your crack baby. But, rather than feeding the cycle of "disorders" and making excuses, why not take real steps to help him or her understand the value of overcoming adversity? You do this by setting an example of strength, not whining on a Internet forum and claiming your own disabilities, being laid off, selling off your home, marrying the wrong people, pawning your goods, etc...

Isn't all the area around and on the Memorial City property redeveloping? This isn't a mall aquarium. I think it's part of the larger vision for the mixed use development of MC. There will be highrise residential, office, medical, new open-air retail, restaurants and plazas. I think the vision is to try to integrate the streets into the surrounding area, too, so it's not just a shopping center in a parking lot, like so many "town(e) cent(re)s" are these days. I think the developers have their sights set on a mini Uptown.

I apologize if I sound insensitive, but I've been reading your whining for some time, with an "if you can't say something nice..." attitude. However, since you continue to air this laundry here, you must not mind a harsh criticism. So, here goes...

Crack baby? And you have the nerve to seek sympathy? Jeez. Quit playing the victim, get your ____ together and move on. Quit instilling this victim's role in your kids, too. Teach them how to overcome the things you seem to be determined to let keep you down. And stop blaming yours and your kids' shortcomings on disorders, past addictions, poor marriage choices and all the other crap you constantly cry about. You are at the top of a slippery slope of misery for your children, who don't even realize how much their happiness depends on your somehow mustering the strength to break that chain. Overcome your BS disability. Work two or three jobs. Sell whatever of your "just stuff" you can con your old crack buddies into buying and fix your place up into a home your family is proud of. Doing so will not make you special, exceptional or anything else. People who've been dealt much worse hands than yours have done more than that. What it will do is square you with your family and yourself.

I realize I speak from mostly ignorance of the specifics of your situation and what I've said may not be fair. But, I do so not to be mean, rather to offer something more than just a vote of sympathy to contribute to your weekly emotional yard sale. Surely you're looking for something other than just a hollow affirmation that you're doing alright, aren't you?

You seem well educated and willing to better yourself, if not for yourself, then for your family. It's time to kick it into a higher gear.

Ponzo's in Midtown is good - NY Style

Romano's in the West Gray Center is good - NY Style

Frank's Pizza Downtown by Cabo's is good - NY Style

BJ's Brewery Pizza is damned good - Chicago-style

Brother's Pizza is good - NY-style

Doubledave's is good. - Austin-style

Birra Poretti's was very good - Houston Irish-Italian Style

Fuzzy's is good

Kinneally's is good thin crust (ever try the corned beef pizza?) - Irish Pub Grub Style

Napolis is good - NY Style

Collina's is good pizza, is it still BYOB? - Italian Style

Mario's Flying Pizza on Galveston Island...good pizza. - NY Style

Star Pizza is the most constantly overrated pizza in Houston, IMHO. Gave it two tries just to make sure...nothing special there. I found it to be quite bland. Of course, I may not have had their 'signature' pizza.

Gonna have to try Dolce Vita, I love good prosciutto pizza. Reminds me of my European escapade.

Double Dave's blows. Pep rolls are interesting, but too greasy. The pizza is on par with Chucky Cheese.

The others on your list are all among my favorites, though.

I just hope these wealthy Mexicans don't try to fly Mexican flags in their yards.