Jesse

Went to the 11th St Cafe/Ruggles this weekend for brunch. Food was pretty good, service was mediocre. Slow, kind of disorganized. Our food took a long time to appear. Saw 2 other tables there with friends. Table 1: Didn't get 2 items ordered (bacon and coffee), toast wasn't toasted. Table 2: Left after sitting there for 10-15 minutes and not getting their order taken.

Payment system wasn't great either - they bring the check to you, but then you have to get up and pay at the register. Friends at table 1 said that part took them 10 minutes as well. Our table paid a lot faster.

Valet parking only.

I'll probably give them another shot, but wait a few months for them to work out the kinks. And i'll park nearby and walk a few blocks... I despise 'valet only' with all of my soul - we only did it yesterday b/c it was hot, we had a baby with us, and once we pulled into the lot and realized it was valet, it was too late to quickly/safely pull back out onto Studewood.

Cameras are back on, apparently.

Though I thought they were always on, just not sending tickets.

http://blog.chron.com/houstonpolitics/2011/07/city-turns-red-light-cameras-back-on/

Awesome!

Noticed the lack of ATT signal extends all the way to 11th and Yale, too. Weird. Something about 11th. Good luck with the Microcell... I heard it works great.

ASPCA might want to get involved too

They recently moved all of their geoscientists from Northern California to Houston. Much to the dismay of all of their geoscientists. I think their engineers stayed in CA, though maybe that will be changing.

I don't understand the excitement surrounding a grocery store. The idea of hanging out and having beer/wine at a grocery store just sounds completely lame to me.

I guess I was referring more to the ability to buy a growler of a local/microbrew. I too don't really care to spend longer in a grocery store than I need to.

I took a tour on Saturday. It's a gorgeous store... definitely an emphasis on fresh foods over packaged. The entire outer rim of the store (2/3 of the sq ft) is seafood/poultry/sandwiches/sushi/bbq/etc etc. The interior (~1/3) is all the boxed stuff.

The wine/beer bar is really nice too, though I imagine it's always going to be pretty crowded. Fresh BBQ is something I haven't seen in the other WF Markets - I'm looking forward to trying it.

They're not lying when they said they went green - lots of natural light from skylights, and everything else is LED. Lots of small trees in the parking lot too, which will eventually offer up some shade. I'm glad they completely separated the entrace from the exit. The Allegro coffee bar will be nice as well.

That being said, it's going to be a f'ing madhouse in there.

No, if you really want to see the ROW boundaries, you'll need to look at the City of Houston GIMS maps. I used to know exactly where it was, but haven't looked in awhile.

But, sidewalks are always in the ROW.

http://www.gims.houstontx.gov/portalWS/MainPortal.aspx

I don't think they've painted appropriate markings on the street (yet), have they?

The property in question is in between (brain fart - street that dead ends at 25th and picks up later - west of Durham) and Bevis on the north side of the street.

My neighbors have informed me I am not the first nor will I be the last. He also claims to put poison down so that any animals crossing his property will get sick.

From E to W the streets are Durham, Beall, Bevis, Couch, Ella. {EDIT: nevermind... saw red got the right street boundaries}

If the claims of poison can be recorded/proven/etc, I think the police should get involved ASAP. Someone crazy enough to follow you home is probably crazy enough to sprinkle rat poison on his yard (or, more accurately, what he thinks is his yard but is actually public property). You can also file a report or contact the Houston SPCA. Do you have a smartphone? Keep the camera running next time you walk near his property.

It's nutjobs like that that give people a bad name...

What block of 25th is this house located on? I'd like to look at it on Google Maps.

I'm happy to take my dog on a tour of the area as well :-)

I'm willing to bet his property line ends at his fence.

Did you dog make a deposit or something? Maybe he should next time :-)

Saw the fire today - about 6 or 7 fire trucks came by. A passerby saw the flames and called 911, thankfully. However there is very extensive damage to the house. I haven't been by since the trucks left, but it looked pretty bad when they were still there.

Then this just arrived via email a few minutes ago. I don't think I've heard of anything more awful in my life:

Crime Alert - Arson

The house at 202 E 23rd was burglarized and set on fire around noon on Sunday June 19th. The suspects fled the scene in a maroon car that had been parked nearby at Halbert Park. If you have any information about the crime then please contact the Houston Fire Department Arson Unit at 713-247-8900.

I bet all the rain has been holding them up :-/

Pile of rubble is gone. I presume that means the investigation is complete? Anyone know what happened?

I always wondered why my signal went to zilch while at Zelko's. Huh. Good to know.

Here's what you need:

http://www.att.com/shop/wireless/devices/3gmicrocell.jsp

Call AT&T until they give it to you for free. You'll prob have to call back several times, and keep threatening to leave for another carrier. If you complain enough, they WILL give you one of these for free (assuming you have AT&T internet service, that is)

eh, maybe you're right

But I forget...how long had it been public that Exxon was looking to study their consolidation and that we knew it was considering it's current site? Did SpringWoods Village get something together that fast? Maybe they did. Plus, it hasn't really been a slam dunk for the GP to get built, has it? There's even been speculation in the past months.

The real estate study has been going on (publically) for at least the past 18 months or so, though the current location has only been known (speculated, whathaveyou) for maybe 6 months? 9? Somewhere in that range, from what I've heard/read/seen. Maybe even longer... folks 'in the know' signed some pretty significant Nondisclosure Agreements. It's been known long enough to get plans drawn up, land purchased, trees cleared, a test building built (yep, a test building - visible on Google Maps, just south of ExxonMobil's property), cranes leased, etc etc.

I mean, it's ExxonMobil... it's a slow moving boat, at best. They take their time on things. I'd wager the higher-ups have known for quite a while.

What do y'all think happened behind the scenes with all this? There must have been corruption...if not, very good communication and agreement.

Three things all happened at once, more or less. Exxon, Grand Parkway and Springwoods Village.

My guess is Exxon told TxDot about their plans and their requirements. TxDot conceded and then Exxon hired Springwoods Village people secretly to build the master planned community right next to them. If nobody else knew Exxon would be doing this, how would SpringWoods Village?

Conspiracy theory already? Jeez. Unless I'm missing the sarcasm...

How about this:

ExxonMobil was looking for a large tract of land with good access for a 2014-2016 timeframe. Grand Parkway has a planned completion of 2015 I believe. So that satisfied one of XOM's requirements for a good site.

The fact that ExxonMobil has been looking at this area for quite a while is no secret at all. It was only *formally* announced a few days ago, but they've been working on the area for some time.

Springwoods Village saw where the wind was blowing, and jumped on the opportunity. If you're looking to build a community, and suddenly see a nearly 400 acre plot of land with good access be purchased, I think that'd be a pretty good clue that something big was happening.

I actually do find it interesting.

Say you're a young engineer and you've been offered by two firms; Exxon Mobil and Hess.

Which would you choose if the pay was relatively similar?

Corporate suburban campus vs. downtown across from Discovery Green?

After work drinks at Chili's or after work drinks at House of Blues, the BUS, new brew pub, etc..?

After work options of getting into your car to go anywhere or possibly walking to a Rockets, Astros, Aeros, Dynamo game?

Neighborhoods within 10 minutes of your office are all suburban or large garden style apartments or Downtown, Midtown, East End, Montrose, Upper Kirby, etc...?

This is Houston. Having something within walking distance isn't necessarily my primary objective. For me, I'd rather have these options close to where I live, not work.

Hey, I got a better idea. Why doesn't the New York Times do an article about whether EXXON regrets moving from Manhattan to a suburban campus in Irving 20 years ago? All indications are that they have no regrets.

BTW, the predictions of a Woodlands "boom" seem more than a little overblown. For one, it is unlikely that any Exxon employee currently working at Greenspoint will move to be closer to a campus only 10 miles up the freeway. Two, many Exxon employees working downtown or at Greenway already live in the northern, northeastern and northwestern areas of the county, and also would not move, given the campus just moved closer to them. Thirdly, those living in Houston will find the drive against traffic up I-45 a piece of cake. I currently drive from the Heights to a location about 4 miles north of the Exxon campus, and it takes me a cool 25 minutes. Those coming from the westside would take a little longer, but not unbearable. Only those coming from south and southwest areas would be looking to relocate.

Besides, where would they move to? Anyone living in the newest sections of the Woodlands is looking at a 45 minute commute to get to the Exxon campus. There are no quick routes from the back of the Woodlands to I-45 during rush hour. Given the location, it is likely that subdivisions in north Harris County will get as many relocations as the Woodlands will. And, given that Exxon apparently plans to build several eateries on campus, all those employees will not be flooding area restaurants either, though there will certainly be some that open up nearby. Restaurants in Town Center, being 7-8 miles away, probably won't see a noticeable increase, given the distance from campus.

Red, this might be the first time I agree with you 100%.

http://www.29-95.com...ook%27s+Tour%29

Pretty great "first look" review for Down House. Breakfast and lunch being served. Can't wait to go.

Went there this weekend. It was phenomenal. Incredibly friendly and knowledgeable staff, very relaxed atmosphere, and the food was spectacular. I'll be back there... soon. Nice selection of beers, too (quality over quantity). They went with the "private club" thing... had to pass a very difficult admission test involving writing my name and address down on a piece of paper.

Direct quote from what/whom?

From the website created for the project.

Direct quote:

"ExxonMobil corporate headquarters in Irving, XTO, and Clinton and Paulsboro Research facilities in New Jersey are not within the scope of the facility study and will not be relocated to the new campus."

Either Jesse is privy to special info only available to Exxon Employees or I keep missing the part in every article I've read today that says the HQ is officially out of the study. Is it possible to post a link to any article or credible info that says that the HQ is out of the study? Thanks.

Why am I not credible?

What article says that the HQ is officially out of the study. I haven't seen that report yet.

The information available directly to employees states it implicitly.