COMMENT OF THE DAY: ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE TRACKS 
“The love affair with trains by a certain group of urbanists in the US is a ‘grass is greener on the other side’ mentality; they always point how wonderful public transport is in Europe. Well, if you actually lived in you Europe (and I have for many years), you realize that public transport is a horrible pain in the ass to live with every day. It’s inefficient if you have to go anywhere that is not on direct route, you have to make plans days in advance if you need to be across town at a particular time, you have to go to the market every F-ing day to buy food because you can’t carry more than a couple of bags at a time. You eventually give up after a while and end up confining your life to within a couple of blocks of your house. Don’t even get me started when the weather is bad. There’s one thing everyone in dense European cities dreams of: owning a car.” [commonsense, commenting on Which Came First: the Traffic or the Freeway Lanes?] Illustration: Lulu
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COMMENT OF THE DAY: CYCLING THROUGH TRAFFIC JAMS ON THE ROAD TO THE AMERICAN DREAM 
“The real crux of the issue here is that Americans are constantly sold on the idea that cars represent ultimate freedom and prosperity. That image breaks down when crowds of commuters start forming giant, slow-moving, panic-inducing trains of automobiles. The cognitive dissonance causes automobilists to latch on to the only solution they can imagine: ‘wider roads will restore that feeling of freedom.’ Of course, it never really works out that way.” [Derek, commenting on Which Came First: the Traffic or the Freeway Lanes?] Illustration: Lulu
COMMENT OF THE DAY: HOW TO CONSOLIDATE PRESERVATION EFFORTS FOR 2 OF HOUSTON’S LARGEST AILING HISTORICAL STRUCTURES 
“Move the Battleship Texas in pieces to be dry-docked inside the ‘Dome and create the World’s Biggest Ship in a Bottle. This is Texas, damnit!” [J, commenting on The Future Is Now in Houston; Yet Another New Heights Project from Treadsack; previously on Swamplot] Illustration: Lulu
COMMENT OF THE DAY: SIZING UP HOUSTON’S REFINERY BOOM 
” . . . The total investment ongoing in the Petrochemical complex is about $50 billion. 1000 Main sold in 2014 (after the crash was underway) for $0.5 billion. There are about 50 skyscrapers in downtown. Therefore, with the investment ongoing in the Petro complex, we could rebuild downtown Houston twice with only our classiest of class A skyscrapers.” [awp, commenting on A Tale of 2 Houstons During the Oil Bust; Inside 500 Crawford] Illustration: Lulu
COMMENT OF THE DAY: INSTIGATING LATITUDINAL PROPRIETY IN HOUSTON’S PALETTE 
” . . . Houston is a colorful town. The skies are usually blue. The live oaks stay green in the winter. Azaleas, wildflowers, oleanders and crepe myrtles color our city throughout the warm months. Our interior design should not be inspired by landscapes that are above the Arctic Circle. Houston is a dynamic, multicultural city. We do not have to snap into line with the latest design fad. We can do better. Please. Just try it. One time. That is all I am asking.” [Old School, commenting on An Early Peek at the Galleria’s New Saks 5th Avenue Space and the Restaurant Inside] Illustration: Lulu
COMMENT OF THE DAY: KICK BACK, RELAX, AND ENJOY THE BUST “Downturn or not, Houston was so lacking in new development, ALL of what is getting built needed to be built . . . we were sooooooo far behind. The building boom allowed Houston to catch up to where it should have been — so these other delays/cancels are good for now. The pent-up demand will fill up what’s already in the works, and the delays/cancels can get after it at another time. What Houston has developed in the last several years has transformed the city, for the better. During the slowdown, we can catch our breathe and savor/enjoy the successes of the recent boom, and regroup and prepare for the next great haul.” [TXT, commenting on The University of Texas ‘Invasion’; Houston’s Hottest Neighborhoods] Illustration: Lulu
COMMENT OF THE DAY: HOW NATURAL SELECTION ELIMINATES HOUSTON PEDESTRIANS 
“Biology has words to describe the relationship between parking and driving. ‘Arms race’ and ‘co-evolution’ fit pretty well. If you find a creature that has evolved to devote a lot of its energy to producing toxins, you’ll find some other creature that has evolved to survive those toxins — the two are in an arms race with each other, and have co-evolved these capabilities. One becomes a little more toxic, the other becomes a little more immune to that toxin. Other organisms can’t invade that relationship because they aren’t toxic enough or immune enough. From this perspective, large parking lots and heavy reliance on cars can be seen as Houston’s defense mechanism. Houston is immune to walkability because driving and parking have co-evolved to such extremes here. There’s no stable strategy to provide a path from where we are to where the new urbanists want to be.” [Memebag, commenting on Houston’s Pothole Progress; Reagan HS Name Staying for Now] Illustration: Lulu
RUNNER-UP COMMENT OF THE DAY: READY FOR ICING OUTSIDE THE INNER LOOP 
” . . . I think the real opportunity to expand affordable housing is in Houston’s ‘donut of despair’. The area between 610 and the Beltway (except around the Spring Branch area) is full of acres and acres of empty land. With a huge push from the City, these areas could be redeveloped into truly affordable neighborhoods with homes in the $150-250k range.” [Old School, commenting on Houston Home Sales Continue To Tumble; One More Link in the Grand Parkway] Illustration: Lulu
COMMENT OF THE DAY: AN INSIDE-THE-LOOP STATUS REPORT 
“I am a real estate agent in the Heights-Montrose area. While sales are down a bit in volume, prices are still slowly rising. Correct: 2014 was a banner year, the likes of which may not be seen again for another few years. We are seeing price reductions on listings that were speculating the continuation of the rapid price increases — however, when the prices are brought down, they still sell. Here inside the Loop, we are quite busy, and the good stuff under 500k is moving nicely.” [Freddie, commenting on Houston Home Sales Continue To Tumble; One More Link in the Grand Parkway] Illustration: Lulu
COMMENT OF THE DAY: ARCHIVING HOUSTON’S PAST FOR FUTURE AFFECTATION 
“I am going to put together a coffee table book called ‘When Houston Sucked’ that will document Houston’s former lack of glory. There will be photos of a half-empty Town and Country Mall . . . a picture of the 10k running route map in the old downtown YMCA that warned women not to run on the bayou trail under Memorial Drive at night . . . a map showing the work of serial killers and arsonists in the Heights . . . and lots of pictures of strip malls and garden-style apartment complexes. All the yuppies, hipsters, and millenials need to understand that Houston used to really suck, so they can feel guilty about the ugliness we lose every day . . .” [Old School, commenting on Paradise Lost on Hempstead Rd.]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: FLIPPING HOUSES IN THE AGE OF DIGITAL SCRUTINY 
” . . . You’ve got to fill two dumpsters with trash, rip out the carpet, probably all the sheet rock at this point (to get rid of the urine smell that is probably in there), bleach clean the studs, probably sand and refinish the wooden floors downstairs to address pet stains. The bathrooms could use an update. Still though, good profit at that price, but I’d say you’ve three to four months’ work to get it onto the market — plus however much it costs to get a hacker to remove all internet traces of this listing and the photos.” [MikeH, commenting on The Champion Forest House Ruined by Animal Excrement, and the Rhinestoned Real Estate Agent Who Really Wanted You To Buy It] Photo of 5623 Willow Walk Ln.: HAR
COMMENT OF THE DAY: REMEMBERING THE WONDERFUL LIFE IN THE HEIGHTS 
“Back when it was a drugstore, I remember buying sodas from George Bailey when he worked there. His boss Mr. Gower ’bout ripped his damn ear off one time when he almost poisoned a kid. Old man Potter came in with his cheap housing, building all these stucco Mcmansions. Things haven’t been the same since.” [Violet, commenting on Oolala, Heights Candy Bar Calling It Quits on Studewood Storefronts] Photo: Heights Candy Bar
COMMENT OF THE DAY: HOW DOES ALCOHOL COMPLICATE THE BARBERSHOP EXPERIENCE? 
“Do I want to drink a beer while getting my hair cut? Will it get hair in it? Is it comfortable to drink a beer while holding your head in hair-cutting position? Will I have time to finish it? I have a lot of questions about this concept.” [TacoTruck, commenting on Getting Ready for an Alcoholic Barbershop Experience Where the Parking Lot is Going Pink on E. 20th St.] Illustration: Lulu
COMMENT OF THE DAY: PRICING OUT TAKEOUT OPTIONS FOR THE HOUSE-SLASH-TAQUERIA ON CAROLINE ST. “I think ‘less is more’,
in that I’d pay more for the house WITHOUT the attached taco stand. Don’t get me wrong — I love me some tacos — but I don’t need a stand attached to my house. That’s taking convenience too far.” [Major Market, commenting on 2-Story Single Family Home with Built-In Taco Stand Now Available in the Museum District] Photo of 4504 Caroline St.: HAR
Too close, too far for tacos
COMMENT OF THE DAY: A WARM UNWELCOME TO HOUSTON TRAVELERS 
“Glad to see these improvements — I hope that one day the airport system will invest some money in making the terminal more appealing to those who arrive in Houston. Baggage claim sucks, and the exit into a dark, humid, and sometimes-overwhelmingly-filled-with-fumes parking garage is even worse. I have never flown into another airport anywhere that has created a less welcoming environment than Hobby, especially in a major US city.” [sjh, commenting on Checking In at Newly Upgraded (and Once-Again International) Hobby Airport] Illustration: Lulu
