The Great Hizzy!

I disagree that Capers is a horrible coach. The Texans don't have a lot of depth, which is why you see a guy like Jerry Deloach starting yesterday (I'm not hating on Jerry but he's just not a particularly impressive professional defensive lineman). It's also why you see Eric Brown at starting free/strong safety... on a lot of other teams, he'd be a backup. You can only do so much with what you have, and expansion teams generally have a lot of depth issues after their first five seasons. They should have great starting personnel at all positions by year four (because they get so many high draft picks, usually) but they don't have a lot of depth behind it. Capers nearly took Carolina to the Superbowl in his second season there but they had a big turnover in players the next season because they were older and were entitled to more money. I do, agree, though that if the Texans don't win six/seven games that Capers needs to be held responsible.

Hell, Westheimer from Uptown to Westchase is about as 24-hours as you're gonna get. Does the fact that it's suited more for people who don't mind driving make it less of a 24-hour spot? That seems to be the implication. I agree that expanded retail beyond Houston Center and Foley's would be a great thing for downtown on the weekends, though. I've taken Subdude's approach to it: be patient; it'll come. Maybe/probably not exactly how you'd prefer to see it, but it'll be there.

1) The Texans not only had turnovers, but they had a number of mindless false start penalties, one of which killed what could've been a drive for a TD. You're at home, and although the acoustics with the roof closed amplifies even the tiniest of sounds, you shouldn't have four false start penalties if you're the home team. 2) The Texans didn't play a good game in the secondary, even with the lack of a pass rush. The Chargers converted a third and 15 because Marcus Coleman gave the receiver too mush of a cushion and then was late getting in on the play (not that it matters, since we were called for an illegal use of hands penalty) 3) 77 total yards of offense in the second half, and, again, the inability to convert third downs in the second half. That killed us last year and it killed us again this year. 4) No pass rush minus about four plays, including the sack late in the fourth. It's just one game, but the way we played was too much like last year and I think expecting anything more than six wins is unrealistic unless some things change, like the penalties and the continued blown third downs and no pass rush.

Interesting. Thanks for the link, Rush. One question, though--and I apparently missed it in the article, but I thought the state was looking to contribute the bulk of the funds for either the Superdome renovation or a new stadium?

Any time you cut 7,000 jobs AND close a major hub it's going to be bad news for that major hub, as there will be a significant number of jobs from that hub that will more than likely be included in those cuts. Even if it's only 5-10% of the 7,000 jobs, it's still 350 - 700 jobs. Now if AA decides to take over a portion of Delta's hub or, more importantly, take on a large number of those former Delta employees at DFW, then the impact is lessened.

Quality of city is more important than size, IMO. The greatest thing about NYC (again... IMO) isn't so much its skyline or its density (I can take it or leave it) but its the hard work put in to lower the city's crime rate, and specifically its violent crime rate. At one time, during the late 70s and early 80s, it had one of the worst crime rates of any Western city with a population over 1,000,000. Now, it's one of the safest, although a report showed that NYPD doesn't report crime to the feds the same way some other agencies, including Houston, do--but nevertheless. I also prefer Chicago's skyline to New York's, not to say that the combination of lower Manhattan and Midtown Manhattan doesn't make for one awe-inspiring skyline(s).

Tex, Do you have any idea of what's being done to the green-clad building on the right facing the northbank of the Bayou? At one time, construction or what have you was fairly strong but it has since tapered off.

Boy, Ricco, Jack really chaffes/ed your hide, eh?

I think you mean this storm will be, physically speaking, one of the biggest (if not THE biggest) to hit Florida--not the strongest. For example, Andrew's winds were still about 30 MPH stronger than Frances's. Frances, however, covers twice as much square area. I doubt Frances builds back enough strength on its track across the Atlantic from the Bahamas to the south central Florida cost to match much less surpass Andrew.

I'm no Kerry fan but I think a while ago (back in June on a Meet The Press Interview)) he was very clear (one of the few things, IMO, he's been clear about) about why he voted against the proposed bill. The bill, in his opinion, did not address the true needs of the soldiers already in conflict and, as Tex mentioned, provided for weaponry that wasn't essential to the mission in Iraq. In Kerry's words, there wasn't much give on the issue and it was going to be voted in anyway but he voted "nay" on the principle that the bill, as designed, did not address the true needs of the soldiers already engaged, in his opinion, and was far too generous to aspects of the military that didn't need them at this time and under this economy. Zell Miller knows this and yet he went political with his actions, charging Kerry with not wanting to help our men annd women in Iraq (when that's not the case, according to Kerry's explanation of his own actions). This is exactly why politics sucks, because people will commend Miller on what was obviously a well written speech but not realize that most of what he was saying was inaccurate and pretty unfair (if there's such a thing in politics) to all senators involved with the construction and debating of said bill.

LOL! That's the cheesiest of 'em all. Trust me, Houston TV news can be pretty bad, but none of it is quite as inflammatory and overblown as WSVN 7 (Miami's) news coverage. That place makes every bit of a story the "worst thing ever" to have happened. Drama queens in all of its kaleidoscopic wonder, and they use the same guy with the same contrived, overly dramatic voice as the Fox 26 people to announce their upcoming stories. "Next on Fox 26, find out why this East End man's aching left ass cheek may be a signal that the end of the world is near. But first, a homicidal maniac vows to chop Houston area kids into a thousand pieces if his neighbor doesn't stop washing his car on Sundays. Plus, a clown is spotted driving a Dr. Pepper tractor trailer down a downtown sidewalk. Police think it may be part of a sinister plan to sell YOUR children oatmeal cookies with FAKE raisins that might turn their urine green! Stay tuned to Fox 26!!!" I'm beginning to think that all of these outlets are about the same, when you get down to it. Sad...

We're going to have to develop a lot of patience, though. I mean, considering all the antsiness surrounding the Shamrock project, we might all have strokes waiting for the entirety of the Buffalo Bayou Plan to become reality.

Heh. The pic didn't load for me the first time. Oh well.

Which federal building are you talking about, Bar? Are you talking about the Leeland Federal Building (which I personally think is pretty straightforward and non-offense if not attractive) or the building further up on Smith Street near the BOA Tower (which, I agree, isn't the best looking building in the world)?

No dirt has turned that I'm aware of on the plaza part of it, which is what will actually make the entire complex look good, IMO.

To this end, your input is needed on the Main Street Project section, 2112.

The Gardens @ Westgreen project was supposed to begin construction in late 2003 and didn't start until April of this year--as much as a four month delay. It happens. Again, when the trailer leaves the lot, then you'll have far more reason to be suspicious. Otherwise, who the hell knows what holds up are in place. They "estimated" August. They were off, at the least.

The Link! I think if it could be better integrated into the Houston Center Mall, that entire area could be a "Point of interest" to business travelers.

I agree with Semipro. Pearland seems more likely to get a mall before the area near I-10 and the Grand Parkway. Cinco, Several developers have talked about the location next to Cinemark being prime for mall development (a traditional type mall rather than a large-scale outlet mall). Nothing concrete has come to pass but I do know that the current property owner (I think it might be Metro National) has never been coy about admitting that the current infrastructure, accessibility and demographics scream "mall" at that location. The roads have already been designed to cater to a high-volue mall concept similar to the Willowbrook Mall. Nevertheless, nothing concrete as of yet.

I agree. If Jaywalking isn't enforced to some degree, then despite what the author says, some extremely dense person will cross willy-nilly, without much discretion. Even the most alert people use poor judgement from time to time. The more incentive pedestrians (and motorists) have to use good judgement, the better. BTW, the stringently enforce jaywalking in downtown Miami during weekdays. Police are even rude about it. "Hey, dummy. You want a car to knock you across the street?" It's somewhat funny.

I agree. If done right and supported adequately by various tennants, it could be a catalyst for that esteemed building next door to it on what, right now, is probably the poorest block on Main Street downtown. The Stowers tower has a very cool design, a nice color scheme and reminds me of some of the older towers that front Grant Park in Chicago. I was thinking that, in time, Fannin Street from about Prairie to about McKinney could be a tightly arranged corridor of hotels and condo conversions, similar (but to a smaller degree) to S. Michigan Avenue. And Ricco's right. Downtown was delightfully busy last night.

I'm impressed by the Partnership's ambition and attention to details. I hope that the city, county, state and federal governments match the Partnership's drive in helping this become reality. The developers are already hankering and chomping at the bit for an opportunity to get in on this thing, but they, like the public, need to know what's tangible and what's not. I would like to think the Partnership, civil engineers and architects could do quite a bit with $800 million in dedicated funds, and if done right, flooding would be of far lesser concern for decades to come.

I was thinking about this a while ago when I was at Tranquility Park. It's actually been pretty okay temperature-wise, minus three or four weeks. Today is no exception. A little warm around two o'clock or so but nothing we can't handle and it doesn't last very long. The rest of the day (today and yesterday) has been very nice. Am in my own world or does anyone else notice the same?

I can't post the infrareds, Monty, but it's the empty block east of the southbound platform of the Red Line @ Preston Station. To the south is Suedea, Boaka Bar and th Mercury Room. Across Main Street are Opus, M Bar and Saba. Above it is Live! and Subway. Hope that helps. How about a fountain with fancy lighting? I realize Market Square is nearby but a city can never have too many public spaces, IMO.

Actually, I prefer the I-45. It's not an architectural dynamo and can look seedy in areas (and to the urbanist, it's a nightmare of cars and strip malls) but it at least looks like it has life to it. US 59 and Hardy look pretty rural, like the NW arc of I-295 near Jacksonville. Doesn't look like you're heading into one of the largest cities in the country.