Flashman

I guess it all depends on whose ox is being gored.

I walk, drive, and bike that intersection with great regularity and find it easy to navigate. (compare Kirby and Richmond, or Kirby and Alabama)

We need more density inside the loop. If the price we pay is a little more traffic, so be it. You can't have your cake and eat it, too. If you want to live in the "inner city" you can't expect it to feel like Sugar Land or The Woodlands.

I have a friend who lives in Afton Oaks and brags about being an inner looper, and how cool it is to be able to be so close to everything downtown. But he bitches and bitches about the light rail - just the thing that would enable him to take advantage of the things downtown he likes - but without a car.

The intersection of Montrose and Westheimer is an embarrassment. That should be a vibrant, throbbing, active, hot, and happening place. And what is it? A smoothie king, a gas station, a buffet restaurant and an empty lot.

For goodness sake! Think about the city for a minute or two. But if your little problem getting across that intersection is more important than making Houston a more livable city, well I guess that is just the way you roll.

While I'm not opposed to a midrise in principle, I just don't think that intersection - which is already congested enough - could handle the additional traffic that a bunch of people/cars in a midrise would create.

I have lived about 4 blocks from that intersection for the past nine years. I don't find it particularly busy - even at rush hour.

I would like to see higher density in the 'trose. A little extra traffic is a small price to pay for the services the extra people will demand.

Little known fact:

Beaver's Ice House was an ice house. It was going to be run by Louis Beaver. Beaver ran an ice house on Shepard at about 29th street - just inside the north loop - from about 1988 to about 1995, maybe 1996. That, too, was named Beaver's Ice House. (It is now called Buffalo Fred's. Fred is Vietnamese)

After he shut down that ice house, Beaver started a tape copying business. (Seismic mag tapes) If you were so inclined, you could meet Beaver at The Shiloh almost any afternoon.

Then he decided to open up another ice house. He got the lease there south of Washington (where the restaurant is now) and proceeded to build his ice house.

I called them on the day it was supposed to open and asked for Louis. They said that he had a heart attack and died that very day.

That is, indeed, the rest of the story.

MY wife has engaged a company called Greenworks (we are a user, no financial association with these guys) who are all natural lawn control.

Whatever they do, it must work, as I don't see her obssesivly pulling Buttonweed on the weekends anymore. PM me for the contact information if you want.

I am not sure if we have Virginiaor CommonButtonweed here.

Buttonweed.

About the only thing you can do is pull it.

My wife HATES buttonweed!

Me, not so much. It's green. That is all I ask for in a lawn.

Professional appraisors don't have any bearing on tax appraisals.

You have one more level of appeal, unless I am mistaken. You should certainly take it!

I think that Jack In The Box siogn is still busted...

My experience with HCAD (I assume you are in Harris County) has been much different. I am not a professional appraiser, and have protested my appraisal at least 10 times.

IN all but the last three years I have has success with the informal appraisal. In preparation, I use the information supplied online (did you have this information?) which very precisely describes the adjustements to the sales values of adjacent properties. (I live in The Montrose, so many adjustments are needed. There are few comparable houses to ours that get sold. We live in a house built in 1915 by Joe Stewart of Stewart and Stevenson. That is it in my thumbnail).

The last three years I have been to the panel and have found them reasonable, rational, and - dare I say it - friendly. They looked at my arguments (using their data) and while they did not give me exactly what I asked for, they did come close.

I am sorry that you had the opposite experience.

I just walked back from The Norman (the apartment that is/was on fire). It looks like it is mostly under control. I think someone lost their cat, but I don't think any humans were hurt.

Didn't know about the Lovett Whitney fire - I saw no evidence of that remaining. I guess it was small.

I love the idea of Jeannine's opening--but i worry about the location-- there was another restaurant there. . . the martini grill --i think-- even tho it only served beer and wine--anyway--

bagby runs one way south and the section of westheimer right in front of the restaurant has a "hump" divider that makes turning left difficult----i think that's why the rent is cheap-- too bad the old house next door couldn't have been renovated for the restaurant instead--it's a great house-- and there's a vacant lot next to it for parking--

It won't fail because of the location.

It will fail because of the same disregard for clients that the Cafe Montrose showed.

lol. That'd be quite the spectacle, but wouldn't that freak out the yuppies?

Not the guppies.

I didn't want to start a new thread, but the Cody's/Skybar building at Hawthorne and Montrose was hit by lightening yesterday. It hit the northeast corner, where the stage is and blew bricks off. The bricks fell to the ground and I'm not sure if anyone was injured.

So THAT Is what happened! It happend about the same time as the step-down transformer got hit over in Midtown. We live just down the street from 3400 Montrose (The skybar building) and were wondering what exactly happened. Thanks for the update.

However, from what I understand, with the amont of asbestos in that building there was no danger of fire...

That's right! We're bad. We're bad. Hey you find something fabulous at Eclectic Home and you don't have enough cash whatya goin' to do?

EXACTLY what I thought.

Everyone North of I-10 is a Yankee, after all.

I wish you would just STAY up there in The Heights.

Yipes!

Local Resident Robbed at Gunpoint

It is a steep slope. It is also a "protected" landmark, so I will have to get the historical commission to approve any substantial change to the look of the house.

I will look at the GAF and CertainTeed products. I think my wife will be happy if it is not "white" white.

Here is an article from today's NYTimes about White Roofs and the benefits that accrue.

I will need a roof in a couple of years, and am interested to hear if anyone has tried a white roof (as opposed to spraying your existing roof white) here in town.

Intuitively it makes sense, and heck, the Secretary of Energy is for it, so why not? I think it will probably look odd, however.

I lived in Caracas for a couple of years, and traveled extensively all around Latin America.

That being said, it was about 16 years ago, so your milage may vary.

Caracas can be a lot of fun, especially if you are with a native and not afraid to get out and about. But it IS dangerous. Do not underestimate that. But if you like dancing, meat (as in beef), and some great seafood, you can have a blast there. But you really need to be careful.

Quito was always a good trip (I will also point out that most of the trips I took were for business. If I had some extra time I would tourist around as much as possible) and it is much calmer (and smaller) than other Latin Amercian cities. You can use Quito as a base to visit interesting places like the Mitad Del Mundo (the Middle of the World - or the equator), Otovalo (both a big volcanic crater and a wonderful market), Cuenca (a little far, but plenty of Panama Hats there) and some interesting Haciendas.

Bogota is also a lot of fun, especially if you know someone there. It is much safer than Caracas, and pretty safe in general. The gold museum there is not to be missed. And if you have a spare evening, visit Andres, Carne de Res (roughly translated as Pete's Fine Meats. But it is a club, not a butcher shop). If you go to Colobia, make sure you go to Catagena des Indias. Great old colonial city.

I really love Lima, mainly for the food and the history (There was an artile in the NYTimes lately about the food in Lima. If you go there, make sure you read that article. Sorry I don't have the link) Parts of Lima are a bit dangerous (pickpockets, mostly) but that is the case with any large city. Barancas is gritty, Miraflores in beautiful. Not to be missed.

If you decied to do Peru, go to Arequipa as well. You will not see many tourists there, but it is a loty of fun. In the shaows of El Misti (a volcano) the city is built from White Ryolite (A volcanic stone) you will have great stories to tell your friends.

I have only been to Santa Cruz del a Sierra (which, oddly enough, is in the jungle) in Bolivia, and I would not recommend it.

Buenos Aires is spectacular, and you can spend a month there as easily as a week. Of couse, you will have to deal with the Argentines, the most arrogent of all Latin Americans. But wonderful people once you get to know them. (How is that for a generalization?)

I have spent a ton of time in Mexico as well, but I would say you can find out much about those cities on the Internet.

I never enjoyed Rio, except for the view on the beaches.

Have a good trip.

Gosh, and I was going to say it is so much nicer now that it was whne I lived nearby in the 1980s. I miss all the flags and inflatable gorillas.

Stinking Canadians anyway. Tell them to go back to canukville if they don't like Houston.

Probably funny the first time this happend (in the 60's!)

But when you consider that the city has to shut the fountain down, clean it out, and take a city employee at least a full day to make it happen, are you really proud of yoruself for doing this?

How, exactly, is this different than throwing garbage out the window that someone else has to clean up.

Grow up, for goodness sake.

Classic astroturfing.

I guess that they just read the sign on the window of Smoothie King that says they are moving to where the old Taco Cabana was.

It will protect it for 90 days.

As I said.

Smoothie King.

HouPress

But then again, most inner loopers would have known that.

(edited typo)

Smoothie King is moving into that location from.