N Judah

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

713-635-4000, select the option to plan a trip and an operator will come on the line for you.

Alternatively, if you have Google Maps on your phone (or laptop) you can map a route and choose Transit option to get a bus and train route.

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.

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.

Does that assume that the explosive has to be outside the body? I can just see the looks on their faces: "Captain, we got a positive result on this one. We've stripped him down naked, but can't find anything! ... wait a minute... OOhhhh... we get it now."

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?

That rendering makes the sidewalk look a lot bigger than it really is. I can predict that the streetlife will not be like what is in that picture. But the actual development still managed to include those palm trees.

I was watching Fox News at the car repair shop yesterday:

-- according to Karl Rove, implementing the air-puff technology (where you walk through a thing that looks like a metal detector but which shoots puffs of air) would have stopped the bomber. This technology exists but is expensive.

-- the guy tried to get on the plane in the Netherlands without a passport, according to a witness who is also a lawyer and blogger. The bomber was there with an older Indian man. The Indian man said "He's from Sudan, we do this all the time." When the person at the desk refused, they asked to speak to a manager. This means either the manager gave in and let the bomber on in the name of good customer service, or the bomber eventually produced a passport.

Drove down Washington Ave. the other day, not really in the mode of getting somewhere, but more to just poke around.

So they are pretty much done with the big brick building with the parking lot in back (the one with "Washington Place" or whatever etched in a stone plaque in the very front). I think that building is hideous and I wish they had never built it.

I also drove past Roosevelt's...I have no idea what it looks like inside, but the outside is really really well-done. I was going to go on about how much I like it but I don't really have the right vocabulary to describe it. Suffice it to say that it really adds to the ambience and I hope this is the direction the corridor takes.

http://www.uhsa.uh.edu/regents/board_meetings/documents/121809Board/BOR1.1.pdf

"UH contemplates 3 multimodal stations

— Wheeler at Calhoun serving

• Residence halls

• College of Optometry

— Scott at Holman (or thereabouts) serving

• Athletic venues

• Cougar Walk pedestrian access to campus

— Elgin serving

• Arts district

• Schools of Architecture and Law"

a Houston-themed gift shop, a Metro RideStore, a nice Western wear shop like Cavender's.

I agree. Also, a U. of Houston "bookstore" (merchandise store) could work as long as the football team is successful.

What about the guy that cracked Berlusconi? If that happened here, you can bet it would be "terrorists" this and "terrorism" that...

Just think... Had Colt waited an extra half second to throw that ball.... Cincinnati would be in the Championship Game vs Alabama..

And UT would have been playing Boise State, right?

Edit: I entered too but I don't think my picks are very knowledgeable.

I don't know if they do it here, but in other places they will scan your ID for "trace amounts" of drugs. If this new policy keeps people from going to jail for a long time for trace amounts I'm all for it.

I think that any city that comes up with tax breaks and incentives to attract corporate HQs can have lots of Fortune whatever companies too.

I thought they weren't even done with Wheeler Station. Won't it be expanded once the Richmond line is built?

Why not start with something manageable? Maybe an U-20 or U-17 WC. The U-17 World Cup is going on right now in Nigeria. The weather there is, according to the announcer, over 30 C (> 85 F) with 70% humidity. They are playing at least some of their games in a stadium with artificial turf.

So you're saying the money should be spent on one (or possibly two) grade separated lines and 2-3 additional BRT lines, instead of 4 at-grade LRT lines? So are you planning on adding money to the budget or do you have a different definition of BRT?

To do it correctly is to basically make a LRT line but with buses instead of trains as the only difference. That is how it has been done in places that BRT proponents like to use as examples (such as Curitaba, Brazil). It will be compromised down if such a thing were to ever happen here and will probably look a lot like that bus line that goes down Bellaire that has slightly nicer stops and an occasional logo on the ground in its (shared, non-separated) lane. If anti-LRT people genuinely cared about BRT they would not have waited until LRT was proposed to suddenly decide that BRT is a good thing.

In response to the original poster, I don't see the value in putting buses in instead of trains and then converting it once ridership increases (if that is what you are proposing). Why not just put in trains from the start?

Heights is too expensive. Get an iron bar door and do the windows too while you're at it.

The cop says "he needs to search the vehicle" (It was probably more like "Do you mind if I search your vehicle" or "I'd like to search the vehicle") -- If Marksmu is such a learned attorney, he would know that he has every right to refuse and that his refusal would not be a basis for further action (like getting a search warrant) if there is not already probable cause for such action.

Aaaahhahahahaahha. If I had been drinking something when I read that you'd owe me a new keyboard. Lols!

http://www.thedailycougar.com/funds-push-uh-closer-to-flagship-status-1.2028385

A number of criteria must be met before a public research university can attain flagship status, and Birx said UH is close on all metrics except the research aspect.

“One of the biggest criteria for achieving (flagship) is based on the level of research funding,” Birx said. “What usually follows is (that) expenditures increase and the University starts moving strongly to being a key metric tier one institution. Why that is a measurement that is used is because (research) is very competitive.”

I moved up to the metroplex a few months ago... honestly, I think these Dallasites are patting themselves on the back about this "AT&T PAC" a little more than what is warranted.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/bus/columnists/chall/stories/102009dnbushall.3ce5470.html

A few notable architectural pieces in the arts district (the Winspear and the Wyly are quite cool) and all the sudden they are comparing Dallas to NYC and Chicago? Huh? I mean good for Dallas, but they do realize no one really lives downtown and the arts center isn't walkable from any residential/retail zone? Comparisons the NYC and Chi-town almost diminish the developments, b/c Dallas is never going to match those cities' urban vitality or architectural beauty.

And at the end of the day (and at the end of that article) it all comes back to attracting corporate tenants. So much for "moving past commercial reasons for existence." Some cities never learn. Even so, I do think Houston has a better chance than Dallas of attracting the Boeings of the world.

http://www.thedailycougar.com/uh-deals-with-parking-1.1995223

Two more parking garages are also being built to add to the existing Welcome Center garage. The east garage across from Calhoun Lofts has 1,500 spaces and is scheduled to open Nov. 11.

The third garage will be located at Robertson Stadium. It is expected to have 2,000-2,400 spaces, and completion is slated for July 2011.

The University is also searching for alternative resources for a fourth garage.

“We are attempting, and we’ve applied for some Federal funding, to help support the cost of a garage near the transit centers, a multi-mogul garage that we can tie into the light rail,” Browand said.

Any news on the new student center? I think that project in particular has the broadest appeal -- commuter students, on campus students, grad students, undergrads, etc. all use it. On-campus living at most schools usually has a lot to do with school clubs, so accomodating those clubs with a nicer student center should have been the main priority for a school serious about improving its "community" feel. I know they made a master plan, but have they found a construction firm yet?

The park in the Baylor Station picture doesn't look half bad either.