BryanS

Yea! ... and what about cream-filled ... oh wait...

To all the moral purists out there... Your kids are absolutely going to hate living under your roof. And not in the good, healthy way. "Dad wants to go camping with us... AGAIN! For the love of God, why can't we just go out with our friends!" I've made several personal observations that kids who live under such regimes end up more screwed in the head than kids with normal parents.

I have rediscovered Twinkies, after 15 years of not partaking. I was at the grocery store, stumbled across them and thought: Hey! I remember these! I have one Twinkie, with my coffee, every morning now. Not a healthy snack - but yummy.

I'd say the opposite is true... You sound like someone who wants to have children that are driven winners. Maybe your kid(s) will be on the football team - star players. Or perhaps your girls will make the cut for the varsity cheerleading squad. They're gonna be enjoying quite a bit in life, at that age - doing things they like. They'll enjoy their extra-curricular activities (playing football, cher leading)... as well as gettin' it on with each other! BIG TIME! If their high school was anything like mine. ...vs... the fat, nerdy ones who stay at home, watching TV, playing video games. Their chances of scoring will be a lot lower than the other driven, popular ones. It just works that way. ...and I am totally confused on the thinking about sex less, and it "helping." It only takes one time... and unless you can purge all sexual thoughts from your kids minds, you are wasting your time.

What a timely topic... I was talking with the SO ... and it turns out that sex education - in this state - is not uniform. For example, we had "sex (education) day" in 7th grade. Actually, it was really a half a day. Prior to admission into the class, parents had to sign a consent form. Guess how many parents signed the consent form in my class? All of them. It is beneficial, to a limited extent, to have public schools provide such education. They explain all of the plumbing – way better than your parents ever could; however, they were too generic when describing the urge to “touch yourself” – and how that was normal. You eventually get that figured out, but a little more instruction would have been beneficial back then. They encouraged you to have the “moral” discussion with your parents; the class was focused on what was happening to your body, why it was changing, and why you have these urges. It was a win-win. But where the SO is from, they did not even offer the class. Both of us went to small public schools. I thought for sure if they did it in a school like mine, surely, they would do this everywhere. Sadly, that is not the case. In the UK… to combat the teenage pregnancy problem there… kids are told to “touch themselves” – DAILY. To get it out of their systems. That, and free condoms in every bathroom in every public school in the nation, is the only way to combat this problem. And for those who have moral objections… home school your kids. They may not be active sexually, but you can still be proud of the little spelling bee freaks.

No need to worry about keeping the paint clean. Simply don't clean it... Just leave it. Like I do. Nice car... what part of Houston did you take that photo? I sure would like to live in that spot...

What a lie. "The Leaf" must be plugged in. So that electric factories can recharge it. Doesn't look like zero emission to me.

Some of these: ...in yogurt. YUM! ... but DO NOT eat the grape-nuts by themselves. "You'll knock your teeth out." Said one of my fellow LA AFB USAF commissary Compton-area grocery baggers in 1990... who had no teeth. I will never forget that.

...purpose-built? The cross at B-8, given its enormous size, like this recent St. Joe addition, is not "purpose built." They just scream: "We're here, we're Christians, get used to us!" Kind of like a polite, Christian way, of giving the rest of the world a big giant middle finger. A purpose built cross would be about 10 feet high, made of lumber, made for hanging bodies on. Or maybe I am describing a "functional" cross? ...

As soon as we let Continental get away with illuminating the top of their building with their logo... it was down hill from there. As I made the curve around the Pierce elevated from Allen Parkway, headed south... I was like: Jesus! Then I had to stop myself: "Hey... wait a minute... That's the response they're going for!" It appeared to be illuminated by several thousand incandescent bulbs. Chaser lights, blue neon, and strobes would have better. It sure is nice, and refreshing even, to see some of that suburban B-8 taste make it right to the middle of downtown.

No. Not really. It's good design actually. I just got back from Central FL. For the past 30, 40 years homes are cinder block construction. The ones that I saw being built had furring strips, both inside and outside. This allows typical sheetrock construction in the interior and hardi plank on the outside. Or... no furring strips on the outside... and REAL stucco. Basically, the homes look the same as all frame construction. Just that they are built like bomb shelters, more so for the termites than hurricanes. Much better construction, IMO.

It was very hard for me to wake up that morning, and carry on, once I heard the news... Poor guy was such a messed up freak show. Maybe this is better for him. RIP.

Brings back memories of NIN. Like in this disturbing piece of work: I really liked this song... until I saw the video. It has pig (parts) in it, too.

This has Y2K stamped all over it. The biggest non-event, event. 10's of thousands die every year from flu. So far, "mild cases" with the occasional expected deaths...

I've eaten there before. It isn't it.

I find that hard to believe. For example, this is what they do in Arkansas: http://www.co.benton.ar.us/Assessor/faq.html#authority What gives the assessor the authority to come on to someone's property? ^ Arkansas law makes it the assessor's responsibility to physically inspect property to determine what is there that gives the value. A.C.A. 26-26-91((1) states: "For the purpose of enabling the assessor to determine just and equitable values of property, he is authorized, and it shall be his duty, to enter upon and make such personal inspections thereof as he shall deem necessary." I would find it surprising if Texas did not have a simlar law on the books. I would gather there probably is. Because if there were not... wouldn't someone, angry at HCAD "trespassers" have filed a law suit by now? As angry as we are at the tax man, surely someone would have sued by now, establishing precedent to keep them off your property. So yes, there are very few circumstances when any organization, government or civilian, can walk on your property, but in AK, the tax assessor has the legal authority to do so. Also sounds like they can "enter" your property up there. Understand. However, if TX has a law similiar to AK... sounds like it was perfectly legal.

Please provide a link to a legal source that backs up this claim. That is, that HCAD cannot take external measurements of your home, without your permission. If the utility company has easement rights, I wonder why HCAD would not also have similar rights, for tax purposes. Again, please post a link.

Yes.

All that matters on this list is Sears. And nothing else.

It sure does. Just keep driving north on Ella... past 43rd... past Pinemont... Tidwell... keep going... Living on Ella, at one point in my life, watching the traffic going up and down that street was interesting to watch, from the living room window. I kept devising, in my mind, how I could go about installing my own remote controlled "speed ramps" into/onto the street. So when a car was speeding down Ella... I could press a button... a ramp, about 30 degrees, would emerge from the road surface at just the right moment... and given the high rate of speed, and weight, these cars had: TO THE MOON, BUDDY! That'll teach you from speeding down my street again! EDIT: Oh and yes... someone did break into the house and stole some items. And on a separate incident, some renters, about three houses down, had the nerve to steal our COH trash container. Under the cover of darkness, we did steal it back. Ella Blvd/that part of OF is kinda 'hoodish.

It involved the walk-in freezer at the BK... and the employees from accross the street at KFC, coming to rescue those employees. Oh - and bullets. And ducking for cover from the bullets, in the freezer. Happened a few years ago...

Beware the Burger King on Ella Blvd...

Yes, you can. All you need are the permits/inspections. Please let me know if I am wrong. Or do it anyway and screw the permits. But that's just me... A/C work, let the pros do it. Electrical, plumbing, framing, roofing, sheetrock, etc, etc. are all easy. Look how much you can save doing most of the framing, electrical, plumbing, sheetrock yourself (or with helper)...

Are you saying these are gurly men drinks? I think you are...

My apologies for the delays... I just got through doing some taping and floating... and am now drinking my margarita... I do feel sorry for anyone building a structure, as you describe. Where I come from, such structures are called pole barns; fitting for only parking tractors in. Doing the work yourself... I'd say no more than 45K. That is... you doing the work... Based on a 65K estimate having someone else do everything for you... 45K does not seem unreasonable. Of course, you'll spend every weekend for a year building it... but... considering doing that and paying as you go vs. taking out loan financing and paying for years, even decades... one year building a structure outright is a small expense. Considering that I am basically rebuilding/remodeling half of my house down here... and correcting countless mistakes that the builder... who "passed" his inspection... built... I give little weight that builders and some inspectors at COH really know what the hell they're doing. I prefer they stay clear. Being an accomplished rocket scientist, I know enough about basic physics and structural mechanics, and about 20 years doing this kind of work, to do it right. Building a huge garage apartment on your property will draw attention to yourself. So permits may be unavoidable in that case, depending on which part of the city you live. 100K on a garage apartment... that you plan to rent for income... does not make sense to me. Because for 95K you can buy a single family house in Freeport, rent it out for $200 more per month (over a garage apt), and pocket about 5K in cash. Plus, the renters are not in your backyard. You can even hire a property management company, and still come out ahead. EDIT: My 45K estimate is for a fully finished structure (you doing the work, subing out A/C); not the pole barn that TheNiche describes.