SpaceCity

I know an old lady that drove from San Antonio to Dallas on I-35 COMPLETELY ON THE SHOULDER. The cops stopped her outside Dallas. Evidently there were 10+ squadcars. She said it was pavement, and it wasn't taken up, so she drove on it. Sounds completely logical to me. But only a little old lady can get away with it.

It also looks like the "Org. Excellence Medal." http://www.defenselink.mil/specials/ribbons/AirForce1.html It's a black and white photo, so you can't really tell. Outstanding Unit Award Organizational Excellence Award

Amended: If you drive a car worth less than $75,000 and have a tan.

That makes me feel better. I think.

I say, pick the one you like the most.

They didn't ask this girl. They just knocked and said they were coming in.

I'm one famous redneck.

They showed me occupied units too. A tenant came home while we were there. It would have freaked me out if I was her. I moved elsewhere.

Everybody needs a giant bean. They call it a "cloud" in Chicago. Evidently, all clouds in Chicago are shaped like beans.

But wait, my mom said that she and my Dad first met while she was on Harry Hines. OH DEAR GOD --- I'm a hooker's son!

Those pigs never got my cigs.

Please don't turn this into an anti-Dallas thread. We've been doing so well thus far. Dallas does not have the monopoly on snobs.

I wish Dallas' suburbs would quit trying to take things out of the center city. Dallas has to fight with its suburban "friends" for all sorts of development. The rich folks can move to the new development. The poor folks stay in the city. It just ain't right.

I think Dallas is still the city for big business and San Antonio is the city for tourism. San Antonio got "bigger" by annexing land. It did not get bigger because of huge amounts of people moving in. Dallas is landlocked. It's one of the few Texas cities that doesn't have the opportunity to annex, therefore its population will not increase as much. Hopefully Dallas will suck people in by actually making itself a better place to live.

Oh, of course, every city has its "grit." I think its actually kind of cool. Any town that has a hair salon called "shear happiness" must be cool.

I'm glad somebody appreciated it.

Although that statistic is true, I don't see Dallas' crime as that bad. It just depends which area you are in. In North Dallas, Uptown, Turtle Creek its seems very safe. Lots of single women jogging or walking their dogs (which I assume one would not do in an unsafe neighborhood). In south Dallas and East Dallas -- its rough. I wouldn't want to be there at night. But then again, I'm a nervous white guy. Oak Lawn is in between. East of the Tollway is rough. But the northern edges of Oak Lawn look safe. The eastern edges are very affluent.

Berlin is going to be a helluva town. Notice how European cities evolve? They have short buildings close together, then they start to build up. It's taken them hundreds of years. Here, it seems we build the big buildings to draw people in. We're still much more spread out than Berlin and other European cities.

Buffalo Bayou is a great plan. It could really change the face of the city.

I'm sorry, I meant a "first run" movie theater. One that shows stuff soon as it comes out. Galveston = Waco by the sea. I'd consider moving my family there an act of cruelty.

Waco on her mind What's in a name? In the city of Waco, not much, thought one weekend sojourner -until she found the night life and a few other surprises. By KRISTIN FINAN Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle Say "Waco" and I think of three things. First, the town's reputation as a hotbed for religious fanatics, highlighted by the Branch Davidians. Second, my boyfriend, who spent his freshman year at Baylor before transferring to the University of Texas and shivers each time someone mentions the place. And third, a memory from fourth grade when a classmate announced he was moving to Waco. A group of pint-size hell-raisers immediately started taunting: "WACKO Waco! WACKO Waco!" I may have been in pigtails and having a little trouble with long division, but it was obvious to me even then that Waco was no place I wanted to be. So when Lisa, a good friend of mine from high school, moved to Waco a few years ago, I smiled and waved a heartfelt goodbye, certain that nothing short of a $10 million bequest from a long-lost Waco relative would get me to set foot in that town. But then Lisa got engaged. And threw an engagement party. As ugly as my thoughts were toward the city, I wanted all the best for her and her fiance. So after much thought and with an otherwise blank social calendar, I made a decision. On Friday night (OK, it was actually Saturday morning -- I never said I fully embraced this weekend road trip) I set out for Waco. I MapQuested the route straight to her house and was getting close when I remembered I had left her card at home. Deviating from my direct course, I toured the busy streets, searching for a drug or grocery store where I could buy a new one. As I looked around I was surprised by the wide variety of shops and restaurants in the area, something I should have expected from a city of more than 100,000. I stopped at a mall, where I encountered what appeared to be the world's worst entrepreneurial venture -- a kiosk selling "I love WACO" T-shirts. Suddenly I remembered that Waco was the closest city to President Bush's Crawford ranch and contemplated this until the man next to me, who was eyeing a patriotic "the ribbon says it all" T-shirt, looked at me and glared. I moved along. After buying a card, I headed to Lisa's house, where the engagement party/barbecue was well under way, and surveyed my surroundings. Lisa and her fiance had just purchased a pretty house with a huge back yard. She drives a like-new Corvette. He drives a Mustang. Considering that she's a journalist and he's a student, life in Waco has been good to them. Once the party thinned, Lisa and I hopped in the 'vette and headed to Cameron Park, which offers 416 sprawling acres of bike trails, horseshoe pits and Frisbee golf courses. At one point we watched canoodling couples at Lovers' Leap, a gorgeous lookout point across the Hill Country. I was amazed. Who knew Waco was scenic? Eventually we changed for dinner, and five of us headed to the Elite Circle Grill, which Lisa said was one of the nicest restaurants in Waco. On the way we passed a crowd of teenagers gathered in the Fuddrucker's parking lot to watch street races on Valley Mills Road. I questioned whether this was their best entertainment option for a Saturday night, until I remembered, of course, where I was. For the same reason, although I trusted Lisa's opinion, I still partially expected everything on our dinner menu to be served on a bun or deep-fried. Instead, I was impressed by the refurbished diner's trendy light fixtures, hip music and spare but tempting menu, with dishes such as a 20-ounce bone-in rib-eye, chicken portobello pasta and bacon-wrapped grilled shrimp. Still recovering from the afternoon barbecue and having snacked on the restaurant's free jalape