citykid09

Whats new with BLVD place?

What's that?

When I said "Urban Culture," I meant Hip Hop & R&B type clubs.

Either

Provide on-street parking along the entire street, thus ameliorating the parking problem and making it more pedestrian friendly and neighborhood-like

or

Pave the whole street in cobblestones to discourage through traffic. Anyone who wants to get downtown can use I-10, Allen Pkwy, Memorial, etc.

Here's a snapshot of what I think it could ideally look like:

That was exactly what I was imagining. But with the way Houston sets up standards like each business has to have a certain amount of parking and the buildings have to be so far from the streets, how could anything like this ever get built? But what you showed in the picture is what I was thinking about. That is the type of district I would be attracted to for entertainment. Its somewhere where you can park once and club hop without having to go get the car again and drive to another venue. To me downtown is the place to be. There are a lot of clubs down there, but unless you like the urban culture, its probably not for you.

This may sound stupid to some, but why not build an entertainment district from scratch? Developers could by out a large area of land, clear it out and build a true urban entertainment district without having to worry with people not wanting it in their neighborhoods. The developers could build and design their own streets and have 3-4 story buildings that house clubs, bars, etc. If I had the money I would like to build a district like that from scratch. It would look similar to the Woodlands town center.

This is a discussion on Skyscraperpage, where basically people from other cities have been downing the city of Houston for its inner city infrastructure.

Here is a link to the discussion: http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=170983&highlight=houston

What are your opinions on what is being discussed?

Should the city of Houston work on the infrastructure of these inner loop neighborhoods?

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=houston,+tx&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=48.374125,76.376953&ie=UTF8&ll=29.774845,-95.335128&spn=0.013037,0.018647&t=h&z=16&layer=c&cbll=29.77794,-95.332222&panoid=8jbiwDnANa7LiaUt8PX5Bg&cbp=12,0.39,,0,2.83

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=houston,+tx&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=48.374125,76.376953&ie=UTF8&ll=29.735856,-95.361371&spn=0.013043,0.018647&t=h&z=16&layer=c&cbll=29.735962,-95.361271&panoid=tpzcvcml3rdppF5ZbA1-7w&cbp=12,36.26,,0,4.79

After seeing them in person, I kind of like the new look. But I found a few things that I don't like. The numbers and letters are not embossed, and the numbers are separated by a little Texas in the middle.

My question is why are the new plates not embossed? Its now harder to read the plates. By removing the little Texas in the middle and embossing the numbers and letters, they can make the new plates more readable.

Abc13

That is the ugliest license plate I have seen out of all 50 States. What were they thinking? And it looks like they covered it in glitter.

Trust me, when you(just an example) or somebody else takes their kid here w/o telling them what it really is, as puma mentioned,

their going to be the Debby Downers. Just imagine, "Let's go to the theme park kids!" , and then they find out there's no wooden roller coasters,

they are going to be disappointed.

I agree, I thought it would be more like a Sixflags. But this is an attraction, and its needed in the Houston area!

I don't know how long this has been in the works, CityKid stumbled across this. The official name for the theme park is 'Grand Texas'.

Tomball Popturri

Thanks for giving me credit UpuPUp! And thanks for finding more info!

Today on the 6:00pm on channel 13 (abc13), they will show plans for a new theme park planned for Tomball. Is Earth Quest's location considered Tomball? Or is this a totally different theme park? The plans they showed in the previews looked similar to some of Earth Quest's plans.

Yeah, I saw it on the news. So I wonder will they have roller coasters? That's what makes a theme park if you ask me.

Edit: OK, thanks UpuPUp! I see the info you added.

editor, is it possible for me to send you a private message?

Today on the 6:00pm on channel 13 (abc13), they will show plans for a new theme park planned for Tomball. Is Earth Quest's location considered Tomball? Or is this a totally different theme park? The plans they showed in the previews looked similar to some of Earth Quest's plans.

Is someone purposely putting negatives on peoples comments?

I really like this picture. It makes Dallas look like a huge urban city.

By the way, this is my first post since the HAIF HD upgrade. I like the changes, but I will have to get use to it.

So, things have been quiet around HAIF lately. I don't know if anyone else has noticed, but I have.

The reason is our transition from .info to .com.

As you can see on this graph, we officially took possession of the .com on June 14th.

A few days later we moved the web site from .info to .com

A couple of days after that, Google erased almost all of the 19,000+ links we had in its index. You can see the number of HAIF visitors trailing off over the next couple of days as the change was copied to Google servers across the country and around the world.

Three days ago (not shown on the chart), Google finally started crawling the dot-com. I also filed a sitemap to help it with the chore.

Today-- some positive movement. We're still virtually invisible compared to how we used to be, but at least things are improving.

How did this happen? Well, it all goes back to one of the basic truths of HAIF -- 60% of our visitors are drive-bys who are searching for something on Google, Google points to us, they get the information they need and then move on.

I'm not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing, but it's a pretty good illustration of how dependent on the big G we are.

So, if you haven't already done so -- talk to your neighbors, your friends, your family members, the homeless guy wheezing the free wifi at Panera Bread with the stolen laptop, and let them know that HAIF is a good place to blow a metric assload of their valuable time while unexpectedly learning new things about their city.

I have no doubt that HAIF will recover in time, but it we can reach the goal faster if we all get out and push.

How much would a Billboard on the West Loop Cost? HAIF would get a lot more exposure then.

I keep seeing a BP commercial where it ask people about the future of energy??? I think. Well the point is they should some guy standing in a park and you could see the 2727 high rise under construction in the background.

This show will be on a new TV network called Centric. I hope my cable network picks it up so I can see.

http://www.tvmole.com/2009/05/greenlit-kee...oneses-centric/

They probably are changing up because they got a D rating from these people last week. http://247wallst.com/2009/06/15/rating-the...-websites-2009/

Most TV stations used to give tours to just anyone. Then it got narrowed down to just certain groups (Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, etc...). Now it's hardly anyone.

There are exceptions made. Usually if an employee is also a member of a group, that group can get a tour -- something like if someone in the sales department is also a Brownie leader. But, again, this is rare.

FiloScotia is right -- people don't realize how dangerous newsrooms are. At least twice in the three years I worked at KHOU someone shot through the Allen Parkway windows into the newsroom. Fortunately, no one was hurt either time, but the bullets did reach reporters' desks. I remember once it was after a big expose on aggressive tow truck drivers.

I've heard from colleagues that Fox has it the worst and that back in the early 2000's, people shooting at the station was pretty much a weekly event. The theory was that it was because an escape could be quickly made via the feeder roads onto 59.

When I worked at WKRC-TV in Cincinnati, a guy came in and shot up the lobby. Fortunately, the management had the foresight to install a bullet-proof desk for the receptionist. This is not uncommon. A few TV stations I've been to have bulletproof glass separating the receptionist from the lobby. The last station I worked at had armed Chicago police officers as receptionists, and others patrolling the station and the grounds at all times in addition to the regular corporate security team. And when the anchors went home at night, they were always followed by a marked police car.

At WDIV in Detroit in April of 2005, a guy shot up the lobby and nearly killed a producer. The guy had a history of attacking WDIV employees.

In addition to crazies shooting up TV stations, what goes on inside TV stations can sometimes be dangerous and unexpected. The week before I started at WKRC-TV they were shooting a segment for the weekend morning show with a tiger from the zoo. As they were walking the tiger from the loading dock into Studio A the zookeeper's teenage daughter and her friend came bounding down the metal staircase above the lion making the usual loud racket that teenagers do. The tiger freaked out and attacked the zookeeper's daughter. It sunk its teeth into her arm and the side of her torso and did a lot of damage. Amazingly, some members of the newsroom staff actually jumped on the tiger to get it off of her. When I got to the station the next week, Harry the weekend producer did my training. He had gashes and bandages all over his face. I assume what was under his clothes was worse. Amazing that he jumped on that animal, because he was an old guy -- maybe in his early 60's.

And then there was the time that Air11 crashed on the roof of KHOU. Shrapnel went everywhere. Fortunately, none made it through the roof into the public areas, but if some did a visitor could have been killed.

Of course, as dangerous as TV stations are, they're way safer than being out in the field. At least one person dies each year simply from hitting a power line with the microwave mast. But there are dozens of other ways that TV live shots are dangerous. If you ever see one, steer clear. It's just trouble waiting to happen.

And I always wanted to be a news reporter/anchor. I'll have to think about that now.

Sometimes at the end of Channels 13's 11:00am news, they show an elementary, middle school, or high school class sitting in on the news cast.

Where is this tree planet? I would much like to visit.

I think some groups are growing. The I-10 and 610W area I look forward to seeing in 10 years. There are some small areas coming up 288 that seem to be growing as well. Which ones are you referring to?

LOL! My bad, I didn't realize I miss spelled it.

On another note, guess who called my house today here in Bryan/College Station? It was Houston Mayor Bill White's Daughter. I think it was a prerecorded message, but it said that her father would be in Bryan/College Station today for the Texas Steak & Reds Festival. It also said something else, but I didn't pay attention. I will have to hit the answering machine again to see what it says.

Trees for Houston has done a commendable job sprucing up many of the freeway corridors. You can volunteer or donate money to help. http://www.treesforhouston.org/Plant/Volunteer/Index.aqf

Is it me or does it seem like the trees planet along the freeways aren't growing? They look about the same height as when they planted the years ago.

Now a Continental pilot just died in mid flight from over seas to New Jersey. I just saw it on the news.

I don't see any litter problems on the Katy Freeway and 45N has always been that way, but is definitely a lot better.

Though Citykid, the Houston expert, please do tell of the other freeways just like 45N.

59 from (from 610 (really further back) all the way to Sugarland)

290

45 south (Gulf freeway)

I'm sure I could name more. Its not just freeways, its city streets as well.

So again...why would this dome not be focused on protecting the port where all the oil comes in and the refinery sector where all the petrol products are made?

That sounds like a good entrepreneurial idea! I think it could work, but it would have to be modified specifically for refining.

I personally don't like the idea a dome over downtown Houston. It would limit the height of and future building and it would also mess up the view. But, I think that It could work if a developer wanted to create a shopping district or something similar where people could walk around and shop no matter what the weather is like. It would also attract people to it just because that are interested in what it is.

Judging by you guys responses, you don't like to face the truth. Houston does have a huge littering problem and problems with its streets among many other problems. Why wouldn't any city or its citizens want to cleanup and and improve even if its just a little bit.

Driving down I-45 North yesterday, and down some of the near by streets I realized that it was all just a big mess! Potholes for miles, trash lining the medians, sidewalk areas and parking lots, buildings covered in wave tin and chipped up paint. Whats with these make shift businesses plastering their signs over the signs of a business that was previously in that location and you can still see both? What that hell has Houston become? The American version of a 3rd world city? Its like there is no pride in the city and people just care about making money. And its not just I-45North, its just one of the worst, its pretty much the whole damn city! Where is all of the tax money going?