AtticaFlinch

I used to live at 820 too. More recently though. It's cleaned up considerably since your time, but it is still Montrose afterall. We'll never be able to entirely get rid of the rats.

I'm betting the vacancy is intentional. That property has to be incredibly valuable, far more valuable than the measly rent given by the handful of companies that occupy the retail space. I bet that as soon as all their leases are up, they'll be forced to move elsewhere and that property will be torn down for redevelopment. You know, just like the property on Montrose between Dallas and Allen Parkway. It's far too valuable to do nothing with!

But even better pepperoni rolls. It's a travesty Collina's on Richmond was overlooked entirely on this thread. The Mona Lisa a la Lisa is one of the best pizzas available in Houston. That said, I think time of day should be a factor in deciding quality. At three in the morning, the best pizza in town bar none is Late Nite Pie. (And they'll bring a few beers by, regardless of the time.)

All of 290 is designed badly. The HOV lane is no exception.

I will never do that. From now on, know that sarcasm is almost always implied in my posts.

I numbered your sentences so they can be addressed to reflect "reasonable debate." 1) No, it was my way of attempting to be funny. I think there was a point made though, and anyone familiar with the ridiculous depths the religious fundamentalists have gone to impose religion on education would realize that point isn't too outrageous. We encounter this debate far too often for those of us who'd like to keep Jesus out of schools to not make light of it or we'd otherwise be forced to deal with our weariness from fighting. For you to imply that this isn't an issue would be to indicate you didn't read the article. But again, it was mostly an attempt at humor. Lighten up. Don't take your God so seriously. I doubt s/he takes people very seriously. 2) There's no such thing as reasoned debate when talking with anyone who believes in something wholeheartedly without any evidence. That's the opposite of reason. You're allowed to use words like "reasonable debate" when you're willing to abide by the same standards you attempt to hold others to. 3) Don't play the victim card here. Your involvement in this discussion was in direct response to my post of the picture. You knew where your involvement was going to take you prior to typing anything. If anything, you've attacked my beliefs, or lack thereof, not the other way around. If you need a reminder, you called me "classless" for expressing my opinion on an open forum. Sound familiar? 4) If you openly criticize anything, you've opened yourself up to the same. I'm not moaning that you've attacked me. I've just offered counterpoints. Perhaps you could do the same. Otherwise, save the drama for your mama. 5) Perhaps, but it would be enough just to know you reached across the fence on one issue or another rather than that you swallowed the entire party rhetoric. In an attempt at equity, I'll have you know I support gun ownership even though I listen to KPFT. Let's teach the children that issues can't be judged in black-and-white and to think critically. How's that for an idea?

My mom worked in Pennzoil when I was a kid, and I would swear that bridge used to be open for general use. My childhood memory may be spotty, but I'm damned near positive I've been on that bridge and was scared out of mind at the time. If I remember correctly, the bridge is enclosed but suspended by anchors. A gust of wind could significantly rattle it. I'm pretty sure it stopped being used except for emergencies at some point when I was still pretty young (during the early 80s) but was available for use for a few years at least. Any old Pennzoil employees who might remember out there?

Corrected.

I think you are overanalyzing my joke.

As soon as the New Year comes around, I'll make a resolution to keep all discussion of religion in a church and all discussion of politics in the state house. Gotta stay classy, but that can wait till January. Until then, I won't wait until after the fact to voice my displeasure. I'll become reactive rather than proactive next year. No rush.

You should have put that in the slogan contest. "Houston: Hell on Earth, The Apocalypse has Arrived."

The Oilers have had some pretty amazing teams through the years, but just faced some obstacles that proved to be too large to surmount. During the Luv Ya Blue days, Bud Adams was too cheap to build a team beyond just Earl Campbell, and one player alone wasn't going to take them past Terry Bradshaw's Steelers. During the run and shoot days, Bud Adams was too cheap to build a team beyond just the offense. He took it a step further than he did with Campbell, but it still wasn't far enough. That said, it's hardly like rating the best of B movies. There have been a number of tremendous players that made this city home, but no amount of great players can ever overcome crappy top management.

Until the textbooks are changed to reflect the reality pictured below, our educational system should be considered a joke. Man, I get goosebumps looking at this reality. Wow, Jesus was da man!

Wow. How interesting. This list reflects the point that doctors are actually doctors because they want to help people and adhere to the Hippocratic oath with conviction. Despite what a handful of wingnuts on the right contend, they aren't all lassaiz-faire capitalists in it just for the big bucks. Amazing that someone intelligent enough to dedicate twenty-five to thirty years of their lives to education are smart enough to realize if money was the only motivator for pursuing a particular occupation, then a degree in finance and an MBA would be a much more direct route to a payoff. I think some people just don't get that there's a substantial portion of the population whose motivations are greater than cash alone.

This is clearly the job of a criminal mastermind. Oh, where is Batman when you need him?!

I've eaten at the one in Lubbuttocks, and I feel no great desire to go to another. I've only eaten there once, but I learned all I need to know about the place when I ordered chile rellenos and got a bland stuffed bell pepper instead of a spicy stuffed poblano pepper. It's not my cup o' tea. But I'm sure it'll fit right in in Midtown.

Which would be perfect if the below were true. It would be a big freakin' bar... or at least a bar with some decent parking.

And that statement is "I vote for a president based on whether or not I think I could have a beer with him (and if he's white)." Walmart is so disgusting.

What's it like to be able to keep a liquor cabinet stocked? I've long marvelled at people who posess restraint. Alas, it is not a character trait that I possess.

Odd. I've used my Blockbuster card in not only Houston where it was issued, but also in Austin and Memphis, Tennessee. I wonder if some locations are corporate and others are franchises. That could explain the disconnect. I don't rent enough movies to justify Netflix, and Redbox's avaliable selection blows. It's too bad they're closing, but it's their own fault for not diversifying as the market began to change. It means their upper-level management was too content raking in the dough to even bother with projecting the course of their specific market niche. Frankly, it's astounding they didn't foresee the internet's potential impact on their business fifteen years ago and start putting plans in place to counteract it.

They'll probably turn a higher profit selling that property than they have in their last two decades of business. Their location was too small for them to be able to compete in the way the new automotive market will require, and they can't possibly expand, but that piece of land probably has developers wetting their pants in excited anticipation.

Neither of the two Rice Epicurean markets are very far away. If you dislike Whole Foods' CEO, just shop elsewhere. Rice is a locally-owned private company (big plus in my book) plus the political views of the CEO Gary Friedlander don't show in the first couple pages of a quick google search. Actually, I doubt they appear anywhere on the web. If politics were really an important factor, you'd have been shopping at Rice already anyhow.

If that Cadillac dealership closes its doors, there'd be too much environmental subrogation necessary for any business to cost-effectively build there until after Midtown's other cheaper lots completely fill up. Maybe they could build the Target in Binz. Aren't those lots cheaper anyhow?

Excellent point. In the case for the hypotenuse, the stairs would only need to be 760 feet high. (Though my math is probably wrong.) That's only two and a half football fields up as opposed to the earlier suggested three and a third.

Heh. Our tastes in beverages are nearly identical, except my scotch of choice is a Macallans 18 year single malt. The mixture is the same though: Ice, glass. Viva la IPAs.