AtticaFlinch

Even though it won't be the single defining theme to the park, I bet the presence of dinosaurs and a volcano would be enough to get kids excited. It gets me excited anyhow, and I am nothing more than a kid in adult clothing. Yes and no. From my understanding, a considerable portion of their financing has yet to materialize, but they're betting the buzz will generate enough good will equity to make the project appear less risky to potential investors.

Weatherbug just alerted me we have a coastal flood watch in effect this evening through Thursday evening. If you have a house on the water, you might want to move the furniture upstairs.

Kinda sorta on... I heard music muffled by static like they switched to a weaker antenna.

As a teen, Steve Miller wanted to play guitar so badly, his wealthy parents hired Les Paul as a teacher. For all his parents' money and for all the skill he acquired under the master's tutelage, his most memorable songs are "The Joker" and "Take the Money and Run". For all that money and the skills it bought, he was never able to pen a "Layla", a "Stairway to Heaven", a "Strawberry Fields" or even a "Hotel California". You can't buy soul, and any attempt to do so makes you appear even more soulless. The City of Dallas is the Steve Miller of cities.

So much for Heights "good will". It's too bad. The Montrose operation seems to flourish in comparison, even during this rough economic patch. Anybody want to get a betting pool going on a Walmart close date?

I don't buy that. Lawmakers tried to ban rock and roll for similar reasons. And those kids need to stay off my lawn!! *shakes fist in the air angrily*

Here I thought you were suggesting gay men were hardwired to be incapable of differentiating between a smile and a frown on a woman... which would go a long way as to explaining why they're gay.

Are they back on? I turned the dial to KPFT this morning on the way into the office but still only got static. I'll check here momentarily as I'm about to leave for a meeting.

Gay men can't see women smile?

For about 6 months in 2007, I paid $550 per month for a 350 sq foot garage efficiency with street parking in Montrose. I know I got screwed on the deal, but I had needed it in a hurry. I had a much better deal for a real apartment in Montrose with a parking space that was actually a little less than $1/sq foot. The deals are out there, even in the Heights, but you have to be patient and constantly looking or know someone who's moving. Believe it or not, but Craigslist and the Greesheet are the two best sources for small individually owned units. People who own one or only a handful of units for rent don't typically put ads in the Chronicle or in those apartment magazines you find at the front of grocery stores.

Porn is founded on bad assumptions?

Don't forget you can sprinkle a few Sam's in there for good measure. Speaking of Sam's (or stores exactly like it), there's a Costco smack in the middle of Greenway and no one seems to mind that in the least. I shopped there all the time when I lived in Greenway, and so did my River Oaks, Afton Oaks, Rice, Bellaire and West U neighbors, if the type of cars they drove were any indication of where they lived (along with the "Tower of Terror" bumper stickers). I guess Costco must be "cool" like Target.

I say the latter, unless Walmart was involved! Chron article.

38 donuts will make that a requirement.

Except that it's harder to get to and less central than the supposed Yale location. Besides that, Heights residents would obviously not be able to use it then as it would fall outside their comfort zone. Use HEB as a great case in point (there's an entire thread about it somewhere but lord knows where it is). Many Heights residents hoped beyone hope that this property would be filled with an HEB as there are no convenient HEB locations nearby... despite there being an HEB on TC Jester and 18th. Putting a Walmart outside the loop would be like putting it on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. It would miss a substantial part of its intended clientele.

Huh? I don't follow. I hate Walmart and quite a number of other major corporations (except for the one that employs me - I love you guys). I just recognize the need for a place like Walmart given the nature of our economy. And, as such, I don't see how eschewing Walmart in the Heights benefits anyone whatsoever. It's like when Rick Perry denied Texan taxpayers our share of the bailout loot because he was grandstanding to his party base. Sure, it made a handful of braindead GOP tea party types feel all warm and fuzzy, but in effect, he hurt a bunch of Texans for no real reason. It was mindless political theater and nothing more. Similarly, why shouldn't people in the Heights also have the same benefit of low prices as the people in the 'burbs? If low prices are available, then everyone should be able to take advantage of those low prices. If you prefer to abstain from Walmart, for whatever reason, then go ahead and abstain. No one will think ill of you for it. Most people only shop at Walmart out of necessity and understand that if you can afford to base your decisions on personal politics and not personal economics, then more power to you because we'd do the same if we could. But with that said, just because you can afford to make that decision doesn't mean everyone can. And who are you to dictate what and where I buy the goods that feed, clothe and otherwise support my family? If you'd like to pay my bills, then you can dictate to me where I shop. Otherwise, butt out of my personal affairs. Remember, not everyone who lives in the Heights is living the high life, and an even greater number who were livin' it up a couple years ago probably no longer are now. To impose your preferences on everyone around you reeks of tyranny. On the other hand, if you were to hand me a petition calling for an overhaul of our economic system which would prevent future cases of corporate misconduct such as perpetrated by Walmart, then I'd sign it. Hell, I'd probably volunteer to stand on a street corner and get even more signatures. But I wouldn't waste my time on something so inconsequential as Walmart trying to build on land that has no ecological or cultural value. I don't think Walmart should be the new "working class dream", but I'm mostly a pragmatist. Let's solve the underlying illness, and the symptoms will sort themselves out.

The City of Dallas operates under the Field of Dreams principle: If you build it, ghosts will walk out of the cornfields and secretly be your father... or whatever. I never stayed awake through the entire movie.

Walmart brings out the best in people.

This is the one point I have a contention with, not because it's not true as for all I know it could be true, but because no one should be surprised anymore when a massive corporation tries to cut costs. That is, after all, the goal of a corporation. To increase profit, corporations must either increase revenue or decrease costs. Playing with health insurance, reducing corporate contributions - or eliminating it altogether - has been a common step for many corporations. With as many people as are in the employ of Walmart (1.2 million in the US alone), health insurance is doubtless going to be one of Walmart's largest controllable expenses - that and overtime. With that many employees, eliminating overtime and cutting health benefits could save them billions of dollars annually, which helps to ensure that I can get my value priced porkchops in bulk without having to concern myself with whether or not I can afford to put fresh diapers on my child. The point is, this behavior is not unique, and this sort of thing isn't Walmart specific. With the new healthcare law as currently in place, a number of corporations, some thought respectable previously, have mulled options to cut employer subsidized programs in favor of the government imposed penalty. Companies like AT&T, John Deere, Caterpillar and Verizon have seriously considered just dropping healthcare altogether. In other words, you aren't mad at Walmart. You're mad at an economic system that allows companies to act unethically in order to remain competitive with other companies acting unethically. You're wasting your breath protesting a Walmart. Even if you were successful in preventing a Walmart from building in the (near) Heights, it won't solve anything. It's like putting a band-aid on a dismembered arm. What you want is massive corporate reform. You want reform of the nature that will prevent companies like Walmart from doing the things you find so reprehensible.

Awesome. A new place for breakfast.

Is that where you found your thrill? White people crazy!

It's my opinion he's saying Houstonians are dumb and that we don't know what's best for ourselves as well as he does. But don't be offended because 1) he's speaking generally and 2) he specifically excluded you from the general group of dumb people - from which you would have been excluded regardless because he's kept it general and not specifically insulted anyone. In other words, redundancy.

Well then, perhaps you can explain where you got the word spite to describe the position of those not opposed to the Walmart rather than spend your time responding directly to me. As it is, going forward, I'll let your own words respond to your remarks. I won't bother thoughtfully typing out replies as it clearly *yawn* takes too much of my time and I don't want it to be construed as in anyway personal - regardless of the fact I may (or may not) have made it so. If you try to call me to task on it in the future, I'll just claim it was an "opinion" and feign incredulity that you were annoyed or offended at something that was so clearly not directed at you or anyone who shared the same viewpoint that I criticized. If I call all people stupid for holding a thought that I disagree with, and if you happen to be one of those people who I'm supposedly calling stupid, just take a chill pill, because I'm not specifically calling you stupid. I won't ever do that directly. Passive-aggressive comments are a much more effective way of getting that across, amirite? Well had I known you would take it so personally I would have included a disclaimer. Wow. Project much? Now THIS is a good example of framing and mischaracterization, right on cue. Thanks for a good laugh!

Out of curiosity, was this study Walmart specific or did it include the massive parking lots of all big box retailers? If the latter, I wonder how it compares to the crime stats of the Sawyer Target. A Walmart on Yale will likely draw the same criminal element as that Target, so what you see there will likely be repeated at Walmart.

I hate Walmart as much as the next guy, but I'm pragmatic about the fact I need to shop there from time to time. Let me put it to you this way, I use Walmart as a last resort always. It's not my first choice retailer, but sometimes I have no other choice. Either I can shop at Walmart or either pay too much for something or go without. I'd love to tell you I can afford to make all my financial decisions based on my personal ethics and political beliefs, but that's not the case. If shopping for my pork chops at Walmart means I can take my family, including my 7 year old stepson, to see Toy Story 3 this weekend versus sitting at home with our thumbs up our butts, I'm going to shop at Walmart. It's pretty simple math and not an opinion. When you live on a budget, sometimes you have to make choices you find personally detestable in order to satisfy others around you. This isn't spite. This is simple economics, and fairly understandable at that. I do on a number of things, but I don't know how calling your characterization of all those not opposed to a new Walmart as being driven by "spite" hyperbolic reflects me projecting at all. Perhaps you and I are using different definitions of the word hyperbole. So you know, I'm using it to reference heightened exaggeration. Perhaps you could provide a different definiton to help me understand your position. Now THIS is a good example of framing and mischaracterization, right on cue. Thanks for a good laugh! I don't see it. Please explain. What have I mischaracterized here that's so hilarious?