HeightsGuy

Easy, Big East football is a joke. Half of the conference doesn't even field a 1-A football team. Their glory comes with Basketball. I think the Houston Bowl should be allowed to die along with about 15 others. I am a rabid College Football fan, but with all the emphasis on the BCS, the second-tier bowls no longer have appeal unless you are directly tied to the teams involved.

With the recent violence at the Edwards Marq*E, I think it's a perfect time to build a theater in that area. For shame;), that's like asking if Boston is flooded with clam chowder.

Funny, we're spending all this time discussing what is an important but ultimately insignificant post being filled by someone who is obviously qualified regardless of whether you agree with his opinions or not. Yet, wholly unqualified people like Julie Myers are appointed real positions in this administraion (Sec. INS) with nary a comment.

Good for you sticking to your guns. I would have never defended Joe Lockhart like that.

TJones, here's a Tony Snow quote regarding this year's State of the Union address: In the same vein, the president announced an American Competitiveness Initiative that would pour more federal money (that spending addiction again) into scientific research, a research and development tax credit (for "bolder private-sector investment") and 100,000 new teachers. This is Clintonism, pure and simple. C'mon, can you honestly picture stuff like that coming out of his mouth once he becomes the Press Secretary?

Surely you're heard the term I serve at the pleasure of the president. He of course will be allowed his opinions behind closed doors, but he is the mouthpiece of the administration, and yes, a robot. Not denigrating the man or trying to be political, but that's the job description of the WH Press Secretary. Nowhere in the job description does it say express your own opinions as you see fit during WH press gaggles, that's a recipe for disaster.

He will not be telling it like it is, he will be telling what the President and the rest of the West Wing tells him to tell. That's the WH Press Secretary's job. I am completely fine with the selection, anything he did before this doesn't matter as he is now in a position where he can't express his personal opinions.

What the US is currently doing in Iraq should be the UN's job, it's what they are good at. Tell me, when was the last time fighting broke out in Bosnia? They all still hate eachother, but the UN has kept the peace for over a decade.

I believe you, America has no problems winning wars, but winning wars is not the issue as we have been acutely aware the past year. Libs like to make fun of the "Mission Accomplished" banner, but at that time we had won the war. The problem we have is winning peace, and Bush is batting 0 right now.

I can't help it, he says specifically in the 4th paragraph that FDR decoupled the dollar from gold in 1932. I'm no professor, but I do remember from history class that Roosevelt was elected pres in 1932 and inagurated in 1933. How could he have decoupled the dollar from gold as the governor of NY? Also, he mentions that FDR decoupled gold (in 1932, remember) when it was convenient to the argument, but doesn't mention that it was really Nixon that nailed that coffin shut in 1968. Again, this is an economics professor we're talking about, eh?

Uh, the guy doesn't have his history right in the first 6 paragraphs, so I stopped reading. (hint - Nixon, Dollar, Gold, put the three words together) (hint #2, Roosevelt - 1932, wasn't he a little more worried about other things that year, like, say, winning an election??)

So, who's gonna be the first to paint a moustache on it?

I think it's a great idea. Think of it this way - Lucky Strike is to upscale bowling what Slick Willies is to upscale billiards. Plus, bowling will always have a retro feel to it. So yes, marketing baloney;)

If you have a near-bionic immune system, than what are you worried about? You know, many immunologists abhor the idea of anti-bacterial soaps and hand creams. There's also evidence out there that the reason so many more kids have allergies and asthma these days is because we keep them too clean as they grow up and they don't get acclimated to enough germs. It's all about acclimation, bacteria was here long before humans and they will be here long after we're gone, and there are a whole lot more of them than us.

Actually Plastic, a lot less than you think. Houston was a serious contender the last time, and can be again, mainly because we already have many of the venues needed in place. Not many cities can boast two 60,000+ seat stadiums a hundred yards from eachother. One of the strengths of our 2012 bid was the low cost of construction. My personal favorite part was the proposed archery range in front of Rocket Park at NASA. By 2016, I'll bet one of the current Space Shuttles will have a resting place there as well. What other city can boast an olympic venue with a Saturn V Rocket and a Space Shuttle as a backdrop?

OK, 1801 Durham #9, that must be the little strip center on the corner of Durham and I10 a little north of where I thought you were talking about. Very cool, and very convenient for me as I head to work.

Sorry Editor, you're absolutely right. About 4 careers ago I was a restaurant manager and had to carry the City of Houston Food Manager Certificate card, so I am well-versed in food and hygiene. I didn't mean to say that washing hands didn't help, I meant to imply that just because a sink is nearby doesn't mean employees are using it. By the way, one of my favorite lessons that came out of the food managers class was during the roach section when the teacher let us know that a favorite treat for roaches is toothpaste..... Think about it....... To this day my toothbrush lives in a plastic container when not in use.

Edit: I just read the Houston Press version, which, Editor, makes a shout out to your website, and I take back what I said. The poor guy probably walked away with 3/4 million dollars. If he was so sentimental, that kind of money could easily get those houses moved a few miles away. Houston Press article

Trust me, I feel for the guy, but the author does juice the story up a bit. Does anyone know the history of the area? Has it ever been a thriving neighborhood? I'm not that much younger than the owner, and I don't ever remember a time when that immediate area was anything other than the light industrial it was/is.

Back to the original post. Can you confirm this or link to it? I drive by there a lot, and the building I think you are refering to has a different sign than a starbucks that just went up. I am talking about the building across from Cyclone that must have been built by the same developer as Cyclone cause they are almost duplicates. The only other places I can think of are Mission Burrito and the gym.

If you think a bathroom sink in the near vicinity is the key to health you are smoking a little too much. If the food is steaming hot you are usually safe. If the food is rancid you would smell it no matter how much spice is used. If you're worried, stay away from the onions and cilantro. IMO, the best sign of a good taco stand is a thriving business. Never walk up to an empty taco stand. Nothing hurts a taco stand more than a coupla people getting sick and telling their friends about it, and if the stand is empty when it shouldn't be it means people are avoiding it like the plague, and so should you. Not a taco trailer, but two great places for tacos are a little place on the SE corner of Shepherd and Feagan, and a place on the SE corner of Shepherd and 14th. I can't remember the name of either place, but the first one is a lunch only place, and the second is a small meat market and grocery store as well.

Plastic, what's the opposite of narcissictic? Anyway, just to make it clear, although we may agree that Houston would have a tough time getting the olympics, I don't share your view of our fair city one bit. I also didn't say Houston was a name no one knew. My point was that I know Dusseldorf, but as an outsider to Germany it's not a city I would associate as the city that would best represent Germany. It may be shocking to some of you, but I think that outsiders to the U.S. may think the same of Houston.

Although I said that, I do acknowledge that we are light years ahead of 70's safety design with computer modeling they could only dream of.

Oh yeah, then how does one explain the Citigroup Center in NYC?

I think Houston scares the crap out of the USOC. Houston had the best technical bid the last time around, and would have the best bid again. I don't think they could refuse us again after the NYC debacle. To me, the best part of this would be the renewed interest in turning the Astrodome into a dedicated track venue. I love the idea of the Astrodome brought back to its glory with a clear roof and real grass. On the other hand you have to at least acknowledge that Houston would have an uphill battle on the World stage, which is what scares the USOC. It's not that Houston has a bad rap per se, it's just that Houston isn't the top 4 or 5 US cities that people around the world think about when they think about the US. Picture Germany in your head, what would you think of Dusseldorf's chances of getting the 2016 Olympics if they tried for it? See what I mean? When you think Germany, you probably think Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Cologne or even Frankfurt before you think of Dusseldorf. As with houston, there's nothing wrong with Dusseldorf, in fact it's an economic center of Western Germany in the same way we are an economic center in the southern US. Have any of you ever heard of Canberra or know it's correct pronunciation? If you don't know where Canberra is, you will at least understand why the 2000 summer olympics were in Sydney and not the capital of Australia.