august948
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Posts posted by august948
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On 6/11/2022 at 7:26 AM, editor said:
Amtrak's biggest problem has always been, and continues to be, being a guest on freight tracks. And it's become worse since the supply chain crisis started. For three reasons:
- Because of the increased demand, freight companies are running longer trains. The longer freight trains often have to travel at slower speeds, depending on track conditions and the route.
- While there are plenty of cars to add to the end of a freight train, there are only so many engines to go around. So the trains run slower because of that, as well.
- In an ideal world, the slow freight trains pull over to a siding to let the faster passenger trains pass. But now the freight trains are often longer than the sidings, so they can't pull over.
The train I was on most recently had a selection of train-oriented magazines available for the passengers to read. One that I picked up focused on the northeast, but had a section about Amtrak with information from across the nation. It was very informative.
Riding Amtrak between Houston and New Orleans has three pain points:
- The bridge over the Neches River is packed with traffic.
- The Huey P. Long Bridge over the Mississippi into New Orleans is packed with traffic.
- There are a couple of places between Lafayette and New Orleans where the train actually has to stop so the conductor can get out and manually throw a switch. I don't know what the story is with this. It isn't always the same place, so it doesn't appear to be a problem with an individual switch. Maybe the freight company that runs the track didn't put the switch back into the right position, or the system that's supposed to do that automatically isn't responding.
In the days when rail companies ran their own passenger services, passenger trains we're routinely given highest priority and freight trains pulled into sidings to let them through. These days with Amtrak I don't know if that is always the case.
As for the turnouts, the turnout switch is typically manual except in certain cases. On a freight line, it's normal for the train to stop so a conductor can get off and set the switches for the activity at hand.
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18 hours ago, editor said:
Why not replace the gravel with some nice greenery? I occasionally read gardening magazines, and there's lots of different plants that work in that function, and it looks pretty nice.
Random example from the intarwebs:
That looks suspiciously like artificial turf grass.
https://www.almostgrass.com/artificial-grass-between-pavers/
Not a bad idea, of course. My first thought looking at that picture was "that's gonna need constant maintenance". Using artificial instead makes it almost maintenance free.
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On 5/30/2022 at 10:25 AM, BeerNut said:
The way I read this, it allows a developer to not construct a sidewalk and just pay a fee in to the city instead. Is that correct?
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3 hours ago, gene said:
yeah that is awesome...i am kinda sad that it wont be 2 stories as that is one feature i really like about the montrose location
Maybe the parking will be better.
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23 minutes ago, Amlaham said:
Wrong, not surprised, the CITY imposed these restrictions not the master planned communities. You do realize there are dozens of master planned communities in Sugar Land, you think they all uniformly agreed on the same restrictions and control the design of the major thoroughfare?
https://www.sugarlandtx.gov/DocumentCenter/View/10260/FINAL_SIGN-REG?bidId=
Well then, I stand corrected. Master planned communities in recent years all seem to have similar signage restrictions regardless of where they are located. I suspect, however, it wasn't so much the city that imposed these restrictions as the developers pushing them.
Regardless, I'm glad to see such support for suburban development on this forum.
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32 minutes ago, kennyc05 said:
I wish the city would have went a extra step and banned signage on poles similar to Sugar Land.
I believe that's a restriction imposed by the master planned community, not the city.
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1 hour ago, mattyt36 said:
"Opinionated sorcery"
DAMN . . . why didn't I come up with that?! 🤣
Because it's an empty and meaningless, knee-jerk ad hominem attack? 😜
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1 hour ago, Amlaham said:
I had a feeling you would comment. I already figured out your arguments/views by now. Care little to none about pedestrian experience, no point of bringing buildings closer to the streets, no point in removing cluttered billboards/ signs. Your arguments are always sided with businesses that can......afford a more proactive design/layout. You legit only care about a car's perspective and nothing else.....which is actually the main point of the meme. People like you, only care about their OWN experiences and nothing about anyone else's experience; especially not from a pedestrian or cyclist. Even as a car driver, idk what the obsession is with having giant advertising signs at every meter? All it does is create distraction and make our streets look like a drive thru Facebook advertisement page. There is literally thousands of research that prove that YOUR type of street design is doing nothing for the community besides providing a business itself.....the bare minimum.
https://hbr.org/2020/01/advertising-makes-us-unhappy
Great video that explains urban design, skip to 4:15 if you want to get straight to the point.
Lastly, the magic of being set in one's old ways is always fascinating. Below are streetviews that relate to the meme above. Seems much more ordinary and relevant than your opinionated sorcery.
It's not really an argument in favor of cluttered signage as much as a commentary on photographic distortion of reality of random street in the suburbs of Cincinnati.
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13 hours ago, Amlaham said:
Sorry, should have included the entire picture, but it looks like that section requires Harris county action? Not sure what that exactly means, maybe because its technically Houston Unincorporated area (Airline, Texas). Not fully sure though.
I completely agree! Houston's inner core has changed completely for better! Many areas I would even consider "beautiful," but mannnn that drive on i45 from Hobby or Bush is a nightmare. We look like that famous meme:
The magic of photography is always fascinating. Below is the streetview for this location. Seems much more ordinary without the camera sorcery.
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12 hours ago, IntheKnowHouston said:
And a progress photo of the bar's construction:
Feat not, good citizens. I have it from a reliable source that the fencing around this place will be one-way, like a crab trap. This is designed to attract errant Austinites in the area and confine them until they can be safely relocated back to central Texas. Thus the large billboard-like sign. Apparently the Heights is particularly over-infested.
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57 minutes ago, sapo2367 said:
This is under TC jester, basically this:
Is it complete or are they still working on it?
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4 hours ago, TacoDog said:
Where is this extension?
I believe this is the extension from Stude Park to the Heights trail. As far as I know they're still working on the bridge so I don't think it's completely open yet.
EDIT: Nevermind...looks like this is extending the trail towards TC Jester. My bad.
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4 hours ago, mattyt36 said:
You see, now, Augie, this, I would say, is way more in the spirit of "fake news." More like, "The Republican propaganda networks have aligned the Democrats nationally with higher crime rates, looting, burning, riots, and defunding the police."
Of course, but the question is, are you going to make material changes to your life or start attending meetings or obsessing about statistics to feel safer because the murder rate goes up or down a few ticks?
Now I will say, the only (well visible) crime that I encounter on a regular basis and that seems to have increased greatly is vehicle theft, just tons of broken glass in and around the streets and lots surrounding Buffalo Bayou Park. You'd think if it were that localized HPD could set something up, but I guess not.
Maybe you can ask them at your next meeting?
And the Democratic propaganda networks have largely ignored or tried to explain it away. I'm not surprised, mind you, that's what these organizations do, right and left. That fact doesn't make it, or parts of it, not true.
But, we see the mayor jumping on a 3% decrease over a five month period and the question comes up as to "why now". I've been poking around the HPD page and haven't been able to verify the stats the mayor put out. I suspect, but wanted to verify first hand, that the press release was held in waiting for a drop that they could pounce on. And pounce they did. Perhaps I missed it, but is it normal for the mayor to put out a press release any time the murder rate drops by a few percentage points? If not, why would he do so now? Why would a professional politician do such a thing? I wonder.
Quelle surprise indeed.
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27 minutes ago, trymahjong said:
Party Politics? IOhhhhh……..now I get it…..Turner wants to be head of the DNC😶
I think he's smart enough not to take that job.
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8 minutes ago, trymahjong said:
I again and wondering what made 3% decrease in crime so attractive to Mayors staff that a PR release was issued in the first place
They wanted to jump on it in case the 3% went away?
Turner might be looking to run for something else once his term comes to an end and the Democrats have aligned themselves nationally with higher crime rates, looting, burning, riots and defunding the police and have been trying to walk it back. Thus Turner and Finner meeting with Biden recently. It's not about lowering the crime rate, it's about party politics.
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7 hours ago, Texasota said:
The excessive setback from Westheimer.
It's a long, narrow lot that really faces Huldy, which appears to be how they are orienting the new build. The T-Mobile appears to be staying and is right next to Westheimer. The rest is, if anything, set back from Huldy, not Westheimer. Was there some expectation that they would only build on the narrow end of the lot next to Westheimer?
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2 hours ago, Texasota said:
If those cowards at the Planning department had made the 82 a transit corridor this wouldn't be a problem.
Problem?
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9 hours ago, mattyt36 said:
Well, in fairness, the 3% decrease in the homicide rate is either real or not, and shouldn't be subject to debate, wouldn't you agree?
The OP stated that his personal experience does not jibe with the claim.
Even though his personal experiences may not jibe with the claim, that doesn't automatically mean it's "fake news," correct?
The Mayor's press release states:
May 31, 2022 -- Mayor Sylvester Turner and the Houston Police Department announced today that for the first time in more than a year, Houston’s homicide rate is showing a decline. As of today, there is an unofficial number of 187 homicides in Houston thus far in 2022 compared to 192 homicides at this time last year.
The nearly 3% decline in the city's homicide rate is an indication of the efficacy of the One Safe Houston initiative, a comprehensive public safety plan aimed at holistically addressing and in some cases rebuilding the public safety ecosystem in Houston.
If the 187 is accurate and the 192 is accurate, then the "nearly 3%" is accurate.
One could argue, wow, only 5 fewer murders, are you kidding me? Perfectly valid.
One could argue, wow, only a 3% reduction, why don't you call me when you hit 10%? Also valid.
Or one could just say, "192 murders in 5 months?! That seems like it's still a pretty big problem, so why are you tooting your own horn?" That seems to jibe with @trymahjong's observation.
But for it to be "fake news," either the 187 would have to be inaccurate or the 192 would have to be inaccurate. Or both. Or the "nearly 3%" calculation.
What is your claim, Augie?
For me, as a resident of the City of Houston, I have obviously not been murdered, don't know anyone else who has been murdered, don't know anyone who knows anyone who has been murdered or attempted murdered, can't say I've seen anything close to one transpiring, and, for that reason, I don't feel any less safe than I did 5 years ago. If that experience changes next week, well I'm sure my opinion will change. There may be stories from time to time on the local news with really, really bad and really, really sad circumstances for murder, but it's been that way my whole life. Not trying to discount the murders here, all murders are of course bad, but I would argue sensationalizing it without context is as well, especially for political reasons. If @trymahjong has personal and pervasive experiences as a victim of crime, well it totally makes sense to me that he would think 3% is nothing to write home about and is a waste of time and that it would be overtly political to advertise such “small potatoes.”
This...
QuoteThe nearly 3% decline in the city's homicide rate is an indication of the efficacy of the One Safe Houston initiative, a comprehensive public safety plan aimed at holistically addressing and in some cases rebuilding the public safety ecosystem in Houston.
I'm choosing to regard this as something along the lines of propaganda. A drop of 5 over a 5 month period smacks of selective use of statistics.
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4 hours ago, trymahjong said:
My skeptic radar went off first at. Media coverage showing Mayor Turner and Chief Finner being hosted at White House over the positive impact of ONE. SAFE. HOUSTON.
That. Wasn’t the message I was receiving at the kazillion HPD meetings I Attended —- it seemed HPD used the continuing uptick in crime as a reason fewer Patrols would be coming into my neighborhood. That message of “ over worked,understaffed HPD” continued and continued and. Continued …….
Now all our local media jumps on 3% decrease…….not a word or heads up from any speaker at any of these HPD community meetings.
The. Skepticism came hard as later in same TV Broadcast; two murders reported.
Fake news is real my friend.
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4 minutes ago, kylejack said:
We want to build a patio like this in the back yard. It would be a few feet from the house. Do we need a permit?
It would be a few feet away from the house. I'd dig down 8 inches, fill 4 inches of gravel, top with leveling sands to slope away from house, and then fill in pavers and small rock.
We're in Houston city limits, and we are not in a 100 or 500 year floodplain.
We built patios and walkways on all four sides of our house with no problems. Expect that the city or HCAD (not sure how the exact process works) may see that in the satellite photos and ding you for the extra drainage fee on your water bill.
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8 hours ago, mattyt36 said:
Now there’s the systems thinking I was expecting! 👍 But kind of mean, there, @Reefmonkey showing the population densities in shades of red and Harris County being solid red. It’s definitely going to confuse the poor chap! 🤣
In, other news, our illustrious Governor Hot Wheels, in a typical display of true crisis leadership, said today “On any given weekend more people get killed in Chicago than we have schools in Texas, so therefore gun control is not an option.”
I mean, I guess if Dubya said it I guess it would’ve been entertaining, but it’s almost like Wheelz is being just a tad bit disingenuous? And why is it always Chicago? Hmmmm …
Not sure what is disingenuous about opposition to gun control by the governor (Hot Wheelz?) I'm quite sure he doesn't consider gun controls an option. As for Chicago, that has been the go-to example for failed liberal leadership in recent years. Chicago has gun controls and yet they aren't any safer. You can make the argument that part of that is because criminals ignore the laws and law-abiding citizens obey them. Imposing gun controls has the effect disarming the good guys while not disarming the bad guys, and perhaps encouraging them. Thus it is not a real option.
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5 hours ago, mattyt36 said:
Well I shall just say, I hope you’re right, @aachor
And as compensation for your donations and support, I hope you get an autographed photo of the Man Hands. The campaign team definitely has shaven off at least 20 pounds, femmed her up a bit, and made her less mouthy, I’ve noticed. As much as I hate to admit it, smart money at this point is probably on her. (Yes @Blue Dogs, you can quote me on that!)
In which case Lina Hidalgo will rank right up there with RBG and Hillary for me. Smart, smart people, but absolutely terrible at the execution of basic politics.
I'd be more careful about putting Hillary in the same category as RBG. And I haven't seen the Hillary's astonishing level of arrogance in Lina so far.
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10 hours ago, mattyt36 said:
Absolutely.
But it's not great politics when (1) it's obvious that most of this is being shamelessly orchestrated at the State level; (2) most voters can't even tell you what the County Judge does; (3) she's up against a shameless demagogue and, I won't mince words, outright liar; and (4) the worst part of all--Lina just doesn't seem to be that good at politics. Well, stated differently, I guess, she's about as good as one should expect a 31-year-old, first-termer would be. The cards are definitely stacked against her, and I can't say I'm that hopeful in the efficacy of her response.
1) I'm not so sure an indictment has that much effect on voting. Lina should be able to turn this to her advantage by portraying herself as a victim of vicious politics (unless #4 really holds true). 2) Agreed. 3) Demagoguery is part and parcel of politics. I know we might disagree there so I'll ask about Alexandra's outright lies. What I've heard her say so far is mostly fluff. What lies are we're talking about? 4) Probably right on this one but I wouldn't worry too much about Lina's future. If she's got a taste for being a professional politician/operative the Democrats will find a place for her.
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3 hours ago, Reefmonkey said:
My mistake, I should have known, even with a diesel-electric being extremely efficient and all that mass and Newton's 1st law once it gets going, 480 did seem awfully high to me. But still 3 miles a gallon with a 4,000 gallon capacity is 12,000 miles between refueling, and New Orleans to Los Angeles is only about 2,000 miles, or am I getting those figures wrong too?
The engine pictured above in the thread is a GE P42DC and has a 2,200 gallon tank.
Yet another Houston vs Dallas thread. Blah blah blah
in Other Texas Places
Posted
I was disappointed at first when I heard we weren't getting the Enterprise shuttle, but what we got was so much cooler...