N Judah

I thought this was funny. http://www.news.com.au/world/daughter-mortified-by-senator-scott-browns-gaffe/story-e6frfkyi-1225822378010

Agreed, I think $600 is doable but $1000 is too pricey, for the reasons Editor mentioned. However, I have heard that there will be a model with a smaller screen and a model with a larger screen, which would make more sense. Not mentioned in the original graphic is that I think this tablet (and the programs that run on it) will be cloud everything. From LaLa to iWork it will all be versions of web apps, saving onto the web in addition to/instead of a hard drive. EDIT: I'm predicting $699 and $849, depending on hard drive size and screen size. EDIT: Here's an article on what people are willing to pay for the tablet: http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/10/01/21/consumers_reluctant_to_spend_above_700_for_apple_tablet_study.html

Well then there needs to be more competition. For only $10 more I can go from Galveston to Austin in a Greyhound -- a much better place to spend tourist dollars. For a day trip or quick jaunt a $5-$10 trip via commuter rail will attract more tourists than $45 each way. At any rate I say get tourists and commuters both with commuter rail. To the people who attend these open houses: please keep us updated.

Agreed, it wasn't listed as one of the four options at the open house meeting. Anyone who wanted Maglev trains should have brought it up then. Airport direct: $15 for 20 miles, so from downtown to Galveston would be about $30. I would not pay $60 a day for a commute. Are you kidding?

Airport direct is too expensive. If I were a tourist I wouldn't take it anywhere even if it were cheaper. If I were a commuter I'd rather have an express bus or rail. It will be interesting to see how it all turns out.

Well best case scenario for that person would be if there were a 228/229 equivalent from downtown to Galveston. There actually is, but it stops at Baybrook Mall, and Island Transit picks up at Mall of the Mainland. Maybe they can combine the two. However, I do think tourists would still prefer a train.

Commuter rail to galveston would be nice. I am reminded of the thread posted by the guy whose girlfriend needed the fastest route from Hwy6-Westheimer to UTMB-Galveston. Since he did not specify the mode of transit, I decided to see what the commute would be like via bus. Unfortunately it turns out there is no direct route from downtown to galveston, but if there were commuter rail in place I think his girlfriend could make her entire trip in about an hour.

I'm too lazy to scroll up and read. Did we already have the discussion about why things like this don't seem to get built downtown? What did everyone decide was the reason?

And it's not like Obama's heckler couldn't have just contacted him personally/privately to voice his opinion, gone through traditional party methods of communication, or even gone on Fox News for a good old fashioned rant. But for GHW Bush's heckler this was probably the only way he would ever be able to ask the questions he thought needed asking.

What a waste of $88 million. Save the money and use it elsewhere.

I think he was making a movie or something. But it's good to film it just in case one of the SS guys did something stupid.

I disagree...it was fine. Sometimes you have to take the bad with the good...even when "taking the bad" means eating pizza and letting the SS do the talking for you. If it makes you feel better, I'm sure he cried himself to sleep on top of piles and piles of money. Hey, good for you!

GHW Bush always seemed like a guy who had contempt for the working man (and that kid he raised is/was pure garbage). Can't say I'm a fan. But anyway the video isn't that good, mostly because you can't really see who he's talking to.

And you're testing these routes during regular 7 am commuter traffic, correct?

Well, I hope we follow that pattern, because I think otherwise crunchtastic's bleak forecast will come to pass.

I think that once credit gets flowing we will see more jobs. And not only that, once the currency undergoes massive devaluation, there will be a resurgence in manufacturing.

My understanding is that the government has been printing lots money to replace the leverage that was lost. Once the economy picks up steam, this money will create leverage of its own. Then dollars will become at least as easy to find as they once were, making credit once again readily available. Food stamps are just the stimulus check to tide people over until then. With regards to food stamps, I personally doubt that a family can be sustained on $277 a month. So an incomeless family must be getting money somehow. If not from credit, then I don't know where... Edit: In response to your question about how long it will last, I think that (in the absence of another stimulus plan that actually addresses infrastructure needs) it seems to all be up to the banks right now.

Yes, this is true. However I prefer having timetables and route maps at the stops. It is a lot easier. Also, being able to get places without having to plan it out ahead of time makes it a lot easier to just explore the city. For me, that is/was the real advantage of having access to auto transit.

I don't think it's a symptom of a consumption driven society. I just happen to disagree that it will "break the back" of a consumption driven society. People on food stamps without other sources of income will just buy things on credit. The worse their credit is, the higher the interest rate, making them go further into debt.

How so? I see it the exact opposite way.

If people ever get worked up enough for armed insurrection, the powers-that-be will just legalize marijuana.

According to their website they have restaurants in Houston, Dallas, Austin, and in a couple of cities somewhere in Florida.

Houston's bus stops dont have timetables or route maps, and the route names are not really helpful when determining the routes themselves. So you really have to plan your trip out ahead of time. As far as looking for places to live, I suggest viewing the "walkability index." On the front page of the Chron if you click on the real estate listing pictures to the right, it will match up specific houses that are for sale with a walkability map -- including nearby bus stops. I would then visit the specific area to see the actual quality of the walkability (such as what types of roads you'd be expected to cross, if it's small shops v. a giant superstore with a huge parking lot in front, etc.).

At that point I don't think it would even be worth it for the terrorists. They might as well use easier methods on easier non-airport targets. Also, I don't think the R&D abilities of 20-30 guys in Yemen can compare to the extensive R&D abilities of the drug cartels. Not that it matters -- remember, the terrorists' biggest success to date did not utilize any bombs at all.

Hrm, good question. I don't know. I was under the impression that a lot of these techniques rely on the explosives being outside the body. Maybe it's possible to use a combination of detection techniques? Air puffs plus bomb sniffing dogs as you exit the air-puff bomb detector area?