midtown 4.2

Prisoners released from the TDC in Huntsville get a Greyhound ticket to that location in Midtown . . . state policy is to send them back to the location of their conviction; that's why it looks like a prison yard.

Funny how the smokestacks were add to the second photo . . . presumably to impart a sense of industrial prosperity. How times have changed.

Why not look into the possibility of using High Fashion Fabric's old location? . . . at Louisiana @ Rosalie street. You can tap into the emerging home/decor businesses emerging near that area.

The other Pinoy place in Clear Lake is called "Tia Lolengs" . . . on hwy 3 between Clear Lake City Blvd. and Eldorado blvd. it's a combo grocery / cafe / video rental kinda place.

I love Southland Hardware, but if you open a competitively priced store, with as varied a selection, then I'll be there. . . maybe a resonably priced version of Restoration Hardware?

I have several grand development ideas, but need help / advise on how to protect them. I'd like to shop them around, but was concerned that delevopers might take them and run with it. Anybody out there that might have some suggestions?

Thanks,

I went to the American Le Mans race Friday, and enjoyed it. I too liked the open paddocks and access to the Le Mans teams and vehicles. I had misgivings about the race in the parking lot . . . thought it might turn out to be a royal disaster like the IFEST; but it turned out great. The night time race was also cool (figuratively and literally too!).

Can someone burn me a DVD of CBS's broadcast (hint, hint texas911).

Good one! Jose!

For those that have a difficult time understanding why some are offended by the Spanish Star Spangled Banner. Imagine the outrage if a group of individuals decided to insert the U.S. flag into the top corner of another flag . . . say Puerto Rico's. Do you think there might be an uproar about altering their nationalistic symbol? A country's symbol is sacred, and should remain un-molested. Keep the Star Spangled Banner in english.

But have at it and good luck on your journey aboard the Titanic.

How do you know I'm on the Titanic . . . I could be on the Carpathia, or in Tahiti for that matter.

Just trying to keep everyone honest here, no matter your race, religion, politics, or sexual preference, just be honest. I don't mind people criticizing Bush, (I'm not a Bush appologist) I just want the criticism to be based on facts. And here are the facts:

Bush hired Tony Snow to be the White House Press Secretary. That's it.

The White House has announced FOXNews is now the official press office for the Bush Administration.

(Fox News Channel's/White House Press Secretary Tony Snow 4/26/06)

So, nmain, lets say that you worked for Ben & Jerry's ice cream, and then you leave that job to go work for the Clinton administration. . . can I then claim that the Clinton admin made Ben & Jerry their official ice cream?

NO!

That will sound as stupid as " . . . the White House has announced FOXNews is now the official press office for the Bush Admin . . ." psssst, your bias is showing.

BTW, I'm guessing Tony Snow COULD have worked for Bob's KWIK Mart as a gas station attendant, does that make Bob's the official White House beer run location?

Ed, my statement was based on facts . . . no imagination involved here. Under Communist rule, the vast majority of the population did not / could not own cars. The public transportation system was the ONLY way to commute across town. . . thus the high ridership figures.

I agree that the subway stations are opulent, I've seen them myself (during the bad old days). Each one was designed to look completely different from the next. Looks like you were there post-Communism.

Hey, Plastic. The residents of Moscow are glad you could see them getting a subway. Especially, since theirs is the busiest subway in the world. Their 9 million passengers a day are triple NYC's.

Yeah, Moscow has the heaviest subway ridership in the world, not because it's a far superior form of transportation, nor is their system the best, most efficient, convienient, etc, etc. It's because the former Communist system kept the vast majority of the population in a state of servitude, with no way to escape from it. If you were lucky enough to be granted the privelege of owning a car, the only choice was a Volga . . . a vehicle that makes the Yugo look like a model of reliability. Simply put, they had no other form of transportation available to them . . . other than walking.

I'm not anti mass-transportation, I actually wouldn't mind seeing such a system in Houston one day; I just had to point out the "other half of the story" regarding Moscow's subway system.

By the way, the Moscow system was also touted as being the cleanest in the world . . . you know why? Because, the Communists were extremely "efficient" at dealing with those "subversive" elements of society . . . you know, the ones that dare to toss their ticket stub on the ground. . . .and you thought Singapore was harsh on gum chewers . . .

I think we can all agree on one thing: The earth's atmosphere goes through NATURAL warming AND cooling cycles.

Where we disagree is that global warming is necessarily a BAD thing. I, for one, would rather have warm weather than cold weather. Sure, I enjoy the occasional ski trip in the winter, but if I had to choose between living in Greenland or Tahiti, it going to be the beach all the way.

What would you Liberals prefer? Warming or cooling?

I like the new design, the plantings, the bridges, the lighting and signposts . . . but I have one major complaint. The Milam street on-ramp is a deathtrap! How in the world did this design get approved? The Jersey barrier is so high, that you can't see on-coming traffic (and they can't see you either); and the distance allowed for merging is too short! You either have to floor the gas and hope the coast is clear, or slow down to a crawl and risk getting rear-ended. This is horrible. I'm fairly mild-mannered, but stupidity like this absolutely bugs the hell out of me.

The only smell in the exhibit comes from the wax coating burning off of the brand new high intensity light bulbs. That smell should dissipate in a few days. The plastinates ARE soft . . . feels just like oily silicone. While I was setting up the exhibit, I had to hold on to some of the plastinates . . . with ungloved hands to boot!

As far as $$$'s goes, both the museum and Dr. Von Haagens institute are non-profit. The museum depends on visitors to keep it's doors open, and Von Haagen puts the monies back into furthering anatomical research and education.

I highly recommend the show. I promise that you'll leave the exhibit with a clearer understanding of your anatomy, and the effects that diseases, smoking, poor dietary habits etc. etc. will have on your organs.

I'm an exhibit designer at HMNS, and help set up the exhibit. My initial thoughts was that it was going to be gory seeing real corpses; but once the plastinates were uncrated, my first thoughts were . . .wow! these are fantastic models! I kept on having to remind myself that these were once real living human beings. It's not that sick, and it's very informative . . . more anatomy class then contemporary art. It's not intended to be art at all. This exhibit is so facinating, that I'm considering bringing my 4 1/2 year old son to view it. He has such a curious outlook on the world, that I think he will really learn a lot from this show.

No. They look like they'd make a cool patio.

I am a collector brick enthusiast.

100 years from now, nobody will be trying to make patios out of our lame-o Acme bricks.

Midtowncoog,

I have a brick pilfered from the infamous "Hanoi Hilton" . . . wanna buy it?

I tried to search the 1836 site for an email link . . . wanted to express my support for the 1836 name (much better, and more unique than the "highschoolish" Mustangs, Appollos, Generals, etc.). I still think Washington D.C.'s name of D.C. United was cool.

Let's try to start a campaign to support the current name . . . anyone know of a link to a site in which we can make our feelings known to the people that will call the shots?

Once you're in Houston, pick up this free publication for club / bar info

http://www.envyhouston.com/

You can find it on street corners and some of the trendier stores.

thanks stolitx,

rps showed us the basket-weave fence house next door . . . has lots of potential for a unique re-hab, but unfortunately they're asking too much (for the contition it's in). If it was about 60K less, I might be able to overcome my fears of getting stuck in a fixer-upper money pit. We are still going to look around a bit, but might come back and make an offer . . . who knows, we might eventually be neighbors.

I currently live in Midtown . . . metal loft, and considering moving up to a Mod. This neighborhood caught my eye, but the surrounding area . . . what are your thoughts? Crime? Schools? Grocery? Future? Values? etc.

Thanks,

HISD's Magnet or Vanguard programs don't really give parent's freedom of choice. The programs are based on a lottery system. We wanted to send our kids to Poe Elementary, because our inner city school was not up to standards, and found out that it's all "luck of the draw." Poe has space for an additional 25 kids, and they draw the names randomly. It's not fair to keep disadvantaged kids poor. . . it's just another way of keeping them dumb and on the plantation. I'm all for the voucher system, it's the only way I can afford a good education for my kids.

I took pics of the board room, and the cafeteria. . . but understandably, they would not let me photograph inside the vault and the $$$ handling areas. I'll share the pics if someone tell me how to post them online.

Merry Christmas everyone!!