crunchtastic

I am highly concerned about this drone thing for baseball. Will Roger Klemens' boys be safe?

i know it's just a rendering, but shouldn't it at least look like fun? That looks all creepy, like Westworld after the robots do bad things. Must be the statues.

we wanted to gawk at fancy heights backyards and made the mistake of turning onto the Nicholson st path this Sunday, with a few hundred other people. Promptly got back on the streets. I don't want to begrudge anyone their strollers, running program, kid trailers, walking grandmas, etc, but it was flat out dangerous with all the peds and cyclists not knowing basic trail rules, on top of stops each block. Here in the east end on the Harrisburg path we don't have quite the congestion issue, go figure. But come early if you want to collect cans. The path from Jensen/Navigtion across to Stude Park is totally awesome though, and I can't wait to spend quality time visiting my heights friends and having weekend day drinkies without having to drive, or bike busy streets. And they can easily ride over for Ninfas/Tiempo or Moontower beer and sausages.

If this means a short term rental on my comfortable home 2 blocks from the east line (or a longish walk from the downtown stadium area) can finance 2-3 weeks down in the southern caribbean, then yes please.

Let's hope for a direct hit so I won't even know what hit me. Sucks to be you, suburbs. Seriously though, I know some of what's in those rail cars that pass through my east end neighborhood every night. When it hitsthefan, at least I'll go quickly due to proximity.

we drove down richmond this morning, and it looked like the old stretch around Sams Boat was being set up for a big outdoor thing promising a lot of acts. Didn't catch the names.

There's an enormous amount of truth to that statement. If your labs are outside of the AMA mafia's prescribed limits: for example your cholesterol is high for a first time--and your doc prescribes you meds--regardless of whether you fill the script, take the meds, or not, you officially have a pre-existing chronic condition. You may successfully lower your numbers without meds and be in otherwise perfect health, but you're history of the diagnosis never goes away. I know people who have been prescribed anti-depressants and have been been bumped to unfavorable rate classes based on that alone. RX database records are used like any other records check. Factor in the financial underwriting that all carriers use, and pity the uninsured fool who bounced a check or ever made a late payment, takes xanax, lipitor, and saw a 'counselor' back in their 20s. Chances are you can't afford to buy private insurance.

Not sure, Frank Liu may still own that? A few years back there were rumors of a suburban-style strip mall. Latest is that the not for profit architecutral salvage Historic Houston has moved into some donated space in the remaining warehouse structures (with the murals). The Lockwood station landing is built and there's even benches. Kombat Krog on Cullen is still hanging in there. They've improved some and I now buy produce and they carry more white-people brands like Fage yogurt. I see many more college/20s kids moving into rentals in the area. Some early yuppies from 10 and plus years ago moving out and on. A few new builds (crudely done faux craftsman, but not as bad as the usual brother-in-law addition to grandma's house you see here) going in on empty lots. Prices still in line with when I bought high in 2007, for the most part. The eastwood area is great. No regrets on settling here. And mercifully, the D&W has remained assclown-free. Lately when I'm in the Heights, and I feel like I'm in some forced lifestyle- zone of urban caricature, I really appreciate the east end. Keeping it real, as the shirts say, at least for now. Of course 2 more years and people will be saying that about the heart of the 3rd ward. Onward, urban lifestyle consumers!

I meant to mention this a couple of weeks ago: I test-drove the walmart before Christmas, on my lunch, and got in and out with wrapping paper, cat food, laundry soap, a new pair of garden snips and a snak-size McDs ice-cream treat in minutes. Much less hassle than the Target. Shopping success! And I capped my bougie noon-errand experience with a drive thru coffee at Starbucks. I work for the evil, nearby AIG empire and demand convenience. Thank you, cousin corporate baddies, for making that happen. PS to you Heightsie militants, I also bought major gifts at Jubilee so stand down on the shopper judging.

I wouldn't feel overly excited. This article could have been very easily and quickly written without the benefit of any such business trip using nothing but recent press releases and a quick google. Still, I agree it's nice to see a write-up without the usual attitude or disclaimer.

Did you leave out that you're bored...and high? kidding. At a minimum: C3PO, translator, and parts in a pinch.Plus if you tell it to shut up he will. Bucket o' bolts. Is this a trick poll?

we love you long time

yea, between the fixie crowd at Bohemeos, and large population of less cool students who bike for transport to UH it's a good fit. The whole east end is great for weekend urban riding. On Sunday mornings the roads are deserted when compared to the west side of downtown.

Probably around the same time they also got rid of the record department. I distinctly remember grudgingly going to Memorial City Foleys in the late 70s with my mom, who was taking my brother to get his Boy Scouts uniforms, because I had babysitting money and Zeppelin's In Through the Out Door had just come out, which I HAD to get and I was grounded from going to the mall with my friend's older brother who was old to enough to have a license. Which is a funny story because I was grounded for smoking weed, but as soon as I got it home my dad would take to playing that album when he was 'in his shop' for long periods of time.

heard from my partner who works with a cyclist who's tight with the owners of blue line bike lab on White Oak... they've inked a lease for a shop in the same center where Bohemeos and Kanowan Thai is located. Super cool news. Bike work just 4 blocks from home!!

Is it just me? Not sure how many people here actually have been to MT--it's not exactly a capital-intensive joint. Please just re-open Moon Tower, and maybe then I will entertain the idea of becoming super-excited about your other ventures. Seriously. I've been riding by at least every two weeks since it shut. And you really expect me to believe 2 new cool places are on their way? All hat, no rabbit dogs. Dear moon tower, by distracting us with promises of pizza and beer, all you did was cause me to make a mental note to go by Liugis. When I would much rather ride my bike a few blocks for a duck sausage. Focus!!

Hey, that kid has clothes and shoes. As slums go, you gotta pick your battles.

welcome to HAIF. You sound like a stand-up guy. Watch for any posts on HAIFY happy hours. We should probably do an end of summer/back-to-school one, if for no other reason than to plan our fall meet-up extravaganza. Warning, you will get sucked into endless political, aesthetic and transit debate, but that's sort of the point. Oh, and most of us like our liquor, a number are very well armed, and all have specific ideas on communal living in the post-zombie-apocalypse.

I would shorten to Skygarden. from a broader branding perspecitve, 'walled' and 'tower' have undesirable connotations of the jailing and torture sort.

Not dissimilar to the feeling I have in The Woodlands. I infrequently have to go for work socializing, and can never escape this niggling fear that the when it's time to go home the gates to I-45 will be shut and I can't get out.

Cap'n Crunch coined a term for this: tacticool. Being a gun nut, he (and sometimes me) spends a lot of time at gun shows, stores, ranges, and mingles with a lot of law enforement. The younger the guy, the more it is about the gear, and looking the part. I can't help but contextualize it within a couple decades worth of ultra-violent male gaming culture. Young thugs ramp up their image and voilence, young cops are the flip side of the same coin. Same thing with overzealous citizens. Go the Arms Room in League City--it's hard not to giggle at the chubby young dads with their little mouth rugs, decked out in crazy technical gear like they're auditioning for The Expendables III.

Also in record store news, Soundwaves has closed another location. Down to the Montrose store and the one in Clear Lake, which I think is surf/skate only and no tunes. A couple of months late, but RIP Sundance in San Marcos.

One can only hope the bar is as good as the art direction.

Eh. So a couple of months later, the only thing really going on is Tiempo is coming to Navigation to challenge Original Ninfas, and Moontower still ain't open. I do like seeing more residential infill along Congress.

Is there a Princess Bride or Weird Science day also? Please say yes. Chips, dips, chains, whips!