RedScare

Is it arguing to point out an incorrect statement? Nowhere do I state, or even imply that Houston has not destroyed many of its early buildings or do a "better job" of preservation than any city, including Chicago. I merely pointed out that your use of Chicago for camparison is dreadfully flawed. If pointing out the flaws in your lecture on urbanity is considered arguing, I plead Guilty. By the way, the City Beautiful movement had nothing to do with historic preservation, but I won't point that out for fear of being argumentative.

Shasta, You have WAY oversimplified your analogy, and you have ignored some monstrous facts. While Chicago was founded as the Town of Chicago in 1833, it was incorporated in 1837. This contrasts with Houston's founding in 1836. This is where the similarities end. By 1900, Chicago had 1.7 million residents in a city without automobiles. By comparison, in 1900, Houston had 44,000 residents. Because there were no automobiles, homes and businesses were crammed together to shorten the walk or bicycle ride. It was not done out of altruism or some desire for an "urban aesthetic". As for tearing down buildings versus preserving them, I can guarantee Chicago has torn down more century old buildings than Houston ever dreamed of. How do I know? Because Chicago's population at the time was nearly 40 TIMES the size of Houston's. They flat had more buildings to tear down. Just how many buildings of any kind do you think existed in Houston in 1900? At that time, over half of "downtown" was RESIDENTIAL. Sure, many of our original downtown buildings have been destroyed. But far more of Chicago's have. Something else you have ignored is the construction of these buildings. For numerous reasons, much of Houston's original buildings were built of wood. They were fire traps, and eventually would rot in this climate. So were many of Chicago's buildings. However, with the crushing population growth, the wood buildings were destroyed and rebuilt with masonry and steel long before you or I were around to see them. Chicago deserves no more or less praise than Houston. It is simply different. It grew 60 to 80 years before Houston did, and it grew in the organic ways that cities grew at that time. By contrast, Houston grew organically in the ways that Sunbelt cities grew after World War II. It is disingenuous to suggest that Houstonians are bad for the way Houston grew, just as it is inaccurate to suggest Chicagoans were enlightened for the way their city grew.

Business travellers also have someone else footing the bill, making it far easier to take the expensive, but more convenient form of trasportation. Business travellers are not the market that needs to be served...they take care of themselves. It is the locals, and perhaps the occasional non-business traveller.

It is one of those classic developer inspired names, coined to less than subtly pay homage to its surroundings, in this case, American Airlines Center, home to the Dallas Mavericks, who coincidentally, have never been victorious. Jerry Jones, in one of the classic developer faux pas' of all time, coined another "homage to sports champions" name in nearby Arlington with the jaw-dropping "Glory Park", a name that immediately conjures images of Senator Larry Craig hanging out in Minneapolis airport restrooms. The Victory Park developers had another name in mind, but found that it was taken. Besides, Texans do not speak French.

I only revert to realist mode when confronted with posts that claim to make a point, but are utterly devoid of supporting facts, logic, or both. These posts in reality, are nothing more than a fixation on one thing, usually irrelevant to the overall point (see above reference to Victory Park), followed by an ill-thought attempt to expand that small fixation to the entire city. Once my foray into realism is complete, I happily retreat to my normal state...fatalism. Have I mentioned that we are all doomed, today?

Pardon me for being horrendously blunt, but just how in the hell do you know? You do not live here. You do not see downtown during the day, at lunch, or at night. You are making sweeping statements with authority....authority you flat do not have. You are either flat out guessing, or you have taken the opinions of others as your own. But, since you do not know the context of their opinions, your opinion carries the weight of a guess. Sorry if I offended YOU, but you frankly have no idea what you are talking about....even if you happened to guess correctly....which you have not.

More Sino-hyperbole. AP Story

Actually, from Travis and Texas to Terminal C is 61 minutes, but your point is made. Out of curiosity, does anyone have a knowledgable time for driving from downtown, parking in the satellite lot, and taking the shuttle to Terminal C? I know that cabbing it from downtown is approximately 30 to 40 minutes, depending on traffic, but for those without the extra $50, what is the real difference?

Love the Coogs! In fact, I can't wait to go root on the Coogs against Kentucky in December. But, that's a topic for another thread.

Completely agree. I am about to declare war on "urban", "mixed use", and even "pedestrian friendly". These terms, when grabbed and used by developers and suburbanites to describe some faux downtown, or even a real downtown that they wish to sanitize, become just so much Disneyfication. While I am very pleased that HP is being built, the real reward will be the revitalization of the surrounding blocks by smaller groups, more so than HP itself. The bigger project may entice the mindless hordes with credit cards, which are needed to fund the other projects, but the best finds will not be in the bright and shiny shopping center at all.

I had it done for about $2 a foot. He sanded, sealed and refinished. At one time, I considered just doing the bad rooms, but dirt gets into the floor over time, and there will likely be a difference in color and shine. Generally, you can expect one to two days of prep work, one day for sealing, and one day for refinishing. The refinish could drag into two days if the first coat is slow to dry. Being November, it should not take too long. The floor needs to be completely dry before moving furniture back onto it. I believe I was out of the house for 8 days total, due to slow drying during humid weather. With the sanding, and odors, you really will have a hard time staying in the house during this period.

I saw that on Channel 13 News last night. Both Paul Bettencourt and County Attorney Mike Stafford came out strongly against the Texans and Rodeo position. I was duly impressed. Perhaps if the Texans had even ONE winning season to rely on, they may have garnered a bit more sympathy. And the Rodeo fatcats should probably read some of their own marketing material. If not for the Astrodome, they would NEVER have been "The World's Largest Indoor Rodeo". That Astrodome made them what they are today. If any Rodeo volunteers or Texans employees care to weigh in, feel free.

If we would light up our skyline, we would be. Interestingly, I have noticed that only our "international" sports teams are doing any good. Our "American" sports teams are pretty much the suck. I liked Van Gundy, but damn, it was hard to watch the Rockets, even when they were winning. This season has been a lot more fun to watch already. Looking forward to tonight's game.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/5287512.html The Rockets play the Milwaukee Bucks tonight at Toyota Center in a game that would draw yawns across much of the US. In China, however, because of the matchup of 7' 6" Yao Ming and 7' Yi Jianlian, the television audience could exceed 250 million viewers, more than an average Super Bowl. I made a new topic for it, due to the unique nature of the game (apologies in advance to the thread nazis). Some of the interesting items from the article were the number of Chinese sponsors of the Rockets (six), and the number of shoe deals for Chinese shoes by NON-Chinese Rockets players. Luis Scola now has a deal, in addition to Steve Francis, Shane Battier, and Chuck Hayes. CHUCK HAYES? Should be an interesting game. I look forward to Yao and the rest confirming their status as China's Team.

I am still looking for someone myself, since the aforementioned "professional" never appeared. Since it has stopped raining, it is not high on my list. I also do my own lawnwork, but most of my neighbors have the pros do it. I'll check with some of them, and hopefully post some names soon.

To some, apparently yes, just as some think lighting on buildings is more important than businesses actually working in them. It is symbolic of the ongoing HAIF struggle between those who define cities by who lives and works in them, versus those who define them by how they look as they drive by them on the freeway. Style over substance, I suppose.

I agree that the current rail is overcowded. I was suggesting a separate track, if room was available. As for LRT vs. commuter rail, I think LRT is best to Greenspoint, along the route suggested by METRO. If a separate commuter link was contemplated to replace P&R service, the Hardy line would be my suggestion. Otherwise, I agree with desirous, that P&R busses work just fine.

Yeah, the sub-prime market did a fine job of governing itself. As for Rudy understanding the war on terror, you ought to read some of his statements prior to 9/11. He did not even know who bin Laden and al Qaida were, though he claims to have been warning people about it now.

I think he understands perfectly.

Actually, as a lawyer who has seen how the existing anti-discrimination statutes work, I fail to see why adding one more protected group will change anything at all. Gays who feel discriminated against face the same burden of proof as Blacks, Jews, women and snake handlers. There is no more potential for abuse today than there has been for all other protected groups. That is why this business owner is not concerned. Frankly, if you have seen how much harder the current administration has made it for legitimate claims of discrimination, you would not be the least bit concerned about abuse.

Seems to me that IF the Hardy Corridor has room for commuter rail, it would be much more efficient and inexpensive than lines running in or beside freeways. A Hardy Line could run north, with a stop near Greenspoint, then continue north and split toward the airport and Kingwood, and another line continuing toward FM 2920, with stops at Kuykendahl and FM 1960. Much of the line would be either in the railroad easement or on airport property, and a single line from downtown to Greenspoint would serve two suburbs, north and northeast. In contrast, a freeway line would only serve one suburban area. and would interfere with HOV service.

D'oh!!!

You know, this statement is oddly disturbing - in an eerily creepy sort of way. T'aint nothin' a bottle of Captain Morgan can't fix.

Thanks for ruining my entire day.

Which must surely explain why you are posting on a Houston forum...or why this thread was even started in the first place (Note the thread starter is ALSO not a Houstonian).