COMMENT OF THE DAY: THE HOT MANTRA “It hasn’t been ‘too hot’ to cycle comfortably for nearly six months. It’ll be reasonably comfortable for nearly two more, until we near the end of May. Summer will suck, but thousands will still be cycling. The same is not true for large swaths of the country which are currently sitting under feet of snow. Houston Summers are less inhospitable to outdoor activities than Winters are in many large cities; and our Spring and Fall are as good or better than most. The ‘it’s too hot’ mantra is tired, lame, and false. [jon, commenting on Designing Houston’s Bicycle Underbelly]
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Tag: Comments
COMMENT OF THE DAY: A WELL-DESERVED COUPLE DAYS OF REST FOR 77018 “Has Oak Forest fallen out of favor or have all the houses already been torn down, because we haven’t see any permits issued this week.” [miss_msry, commenting on Daily Demolition Report: Buzzkill]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: THE STRIP CENTER MANDATE “Wait, so there’s no nail salon now? Is that legal? I thought that municipal laws required all strip centers of a certain size to have tax prep, a dry cleaner, a nail salon, and a coffee shop/ice cream parlor/yogurt bar.” [Sihaya, commenting on Telephone Road’s New Sweet and Sweat Shops]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: THE SOUND OF AN OPEN KITCHEN “I really miss the days when kitchens had doors that you could close. Kitchens are noisy. The open kitchen thing just sends all that noise out into the living areas. As a result, people in the living areas turn up the TV or have to talk louder. Any attempt to communicate between the kitchen and living areas sound more like a shouting match. It is also nice to be able to put an actual physical barrier between pets, toddlers and other intruders and the kitchen. And where are you supposed to go mid-meal in order to have a heated argument with your spouse?” [Old School, commenting on Tiny and a Little Piney: A By-the-Bayou Idylwood Bungalow]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: THE TEAM THAT’S TRYING TO TEAR DOWN THE ASTRODOME “The more this saga continues, the more I’m inclined to agree with the opinion that the dome should become the Rodeo’s and the Texans’ problem, since they seem to shoot down every idea that’s ever been proposed for the reuse of the dome. Clearly their goal is to be rid of the place, so they’ve dragged the repurposing process out long enough for the place to fall into disrepair in order to seal the dome’s fate. Both the Rodeo and the Texans are flush with cash, so if they want it gone, let them pay for the demolition.” [KC, commenting on Judge Emmett Not Impressed by Texans, Rodeo Plan To Demolish the Astrodome]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: WHAT IS AND ISN’T NEAR EASTWOOD “Part of the problem with Eastwood’s location is the different yardstick people apply to what is considered close. The 2.5 miles or so to Washington Avenue is listed like a neighborhood amenity for the restaurants or clubs over there, but a more direct 2.5 miles over to Midtown from Eastwood is nowhere close.” [Winer, commenting on A New Blue ’Do in Brookesmith]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: CHURCH OF THE SHUTTERED WALMART “Conversion into Goodwill and flea markets has a kind of internal logic. Can’t say the idea that school district administrators are overflowing into defunct Walmarts soothes me all that much, but that’s a personal foible. I expect before it’s all over a fair number of Walmarts will house, for a couple hours a week anyway, new-style churches for people who are ‘broken and hurting.’ Other uses might be these feeding sites I’ve been hearing about and even college. An old Walmart’s as good a place as any to earn your degree in leadership. . . . ” [luciaphile, commenting on And That Makes Two: Construction Begins on Idylwood Walmart]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: I HAVE CRACKED THE RECYCLING BIN CODE “My green bin was getting overly full, so I went to Sears and bought a similar blue bin. They empty it just like the official one, without concern or question, every other week.” [anon, commenting on Actually, Say Critics, ‘One Bin for All’ Maybe Not Best Idea]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: THE DIRTY TRUTH ABOUT THE HOTEL ZAZA’S THEME ROOMS “You want the low down from an insider? I worked there for a year as a concierge. The dirty truth is that there is no dirt. There are seven multi-room suites, ten one-room concept suites and four smaller sized silly themed rooms. The smaller themed rooms are a result of the owners having too much fun while designing and decorating the hotel. They really do think the rooms are funny, it’s sad. The room in question is lovingly referred to as “The Martha Stewart†among staff. It’s not a secret, but most people don’t want to stay in it because it is so tiny. The hotel was built when bathrooms were in the hallway for guests to share so cramming a bathroom into every room made some of them very, very small. Occasionally when a guest checks in and is assigned to a room the person at the front desk forgets about the smaller themed rooms (either because they are new or because they just don’t pay enough attention) and the guest will asked to move to another room if they don’t like the size. Guests are never “paid off†to not talk about it, if they raise a big stink we would send them a bottle of champagne or offer them breakfast on the house, most people just ask what it is and have a laugh. If you go in for a tour (tell them you are thinking of staying for a birthday or something and they will show you some rooms if it’s not busy in the lobby) and ask to see the four smaller rooms they will most likely show you. So there you have it, any questions? [Cash,former employee, commenting on No, Says Hotel ZaZa, Room 322 Isn’t an Expensive Bondage Dungeon for Creeps, It’s Just Different]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: SOMEDAY, SOMEBODY SOMEWHERE WILL RECOGNIZE US FOR BEING IN THE RIGHT PLACE AT CLOSE TO THE RIGHT TIME “We’re just living in Houston before it’s cool.” [jp, commenting on Headlines: Popular Harris County; Houston’s Hipster Factor]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: WHAT LUXURY REALLY MEANS “Although the term ‘Luxury’ is being thrown around loosely, it’s shorthand for New Construction with Upper Market Price. The truth is that from a developer’s perspective that’s the only thing that makes financial sense, there’s no money left in low end markets unless its government subsidized. Go big or go home.” [commonsense, commenting on Where Downtown’s New Residential Tower Will Go]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: IF YOU’RE STILL STUCK ON CAFE ARTISTE “I used to work at (for a year) and frequent (10+ years) Café Artiste. Bill — the coffee you miss is Southern Pecan by Lola Savannah. You may find it at Central Market or can order it from their website (now renamed Texas Pecan). It actually had real slivers of pecan in it. Artiste was a great place to hang out but it never did well financially aside from weekend breakfast rushes. When they had to furlough everyone just to afford getting the AC fixed (which is like life support in Houston), it was the warning sign the end was near. I would assume Black Hole coffee, just blocks away, is the spiritual successor and it seems much better run/organized. I’ve since moved on in life and out of Montrose, but will always have special memories of Artiste.” [SL, commenting on West Main Standalone Now Available for Next Restaurant]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: WHY DON’T SCHOOLS LEASE? “HISD needs to get out of the real estate business and set themselves up as a 40 year build to suit lease with AA credit and 10 year options to the end of time, thus allowing private development to be holding the bag in year 41 if the neighborhood has turned and students have migrated elsewhere. Oh, they haven’t? Still top notch? Great, we renew, and will again in 10 years. Hell, the deal would/could even include mandatory capital infusion from the developer (or assigns, sells) upon exercise of option! Why am I not in charge? I welcome people to explain the downside of this idea, truly. I’ve been unable to see it, myself. Oh, and if the peanut gallery tries saying that there would be a developer on the planet who wouldn’t jump on a 40 year lease commitment build to suit with an HISD guaranty is just lying. If HISD defaults on the rent, first of all we should all be stocking up on shotgun shells and bottle water, but more over IF they default the developer has permanent debt, favorable loan terms, and can easily shop the market to backfill with any number of learning institutions who would be licking their chops to get that deal.” [HTX REZ, commenting on Third Ward Residents Protest HISD Proposal To Close Historic School]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: WALKING IN OAK FOREST “Greater Oak Forest probably has fewer opportunities to be walkable than either the newer or older master-planned communities (i.e. Eastwood or The Woodlands). The older ones have secondary thoroughfares spaced at shorter intervals, so for instance every four blocks instead of every ten blocks; they were built with sidewalks; deed restrictions tended to be weaker; and they were much smaller to begin with, easier to escape on foot. The newer MPCs were designed to have jogging trails and interconnectivity for recreation rather than for transportation, but that’s something at least to walk around for. The Oak Forest walkability problem is apparent if you just look at Google Earth. It’s a big gigantic green splotch with only one viable commercial strip running through it and 34th Street (across the tracks) as the red-headed stepchild of neighborhood retail. The neighborhood streets tend to run parallel with the commercial strips with perpendicular streets at much less frequent intervals. It’s not walkable. It wasn’t intended to be walkable by design. When I lived in that area, I’d walk two miles to Petrol Station and back. That’s how I justified to myself indulging in the Rancor Burger. But then . . . you have to understand that I am insane. Not as profoundly insane as the Art Guys, but I’m the sort of person that will walk alone from Montrose to Bellaire and back via the TMC from between 10PM and 3AM for no particular reason. Normal, sane people aren’t gonna walk like I walk. But don’t get me wrong. I suspect that Greater Oak Forest’s relative lack of walkability or mixed-use potentials is part of what draws the big money in. They prefer it to be insulated from the urban core physically, aesthetically, and demographically. If you own property there, you will prosper. [TheNiche, commenting on Comment of the Day: The Drive for Oak Forest Retail]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: THE PAY WAY “ALL new highways should be toll roads. Every last one of them. If you use it, you pay for it. If you don’t use it, no harm to you. You don’t HAVE to drive it. YOU decide by your actions if you wish to pay more. Nothing makes more sense economic equality-wise than that.” [Thomas, commenting on TxDOT Presents Toll Lanes Down the Middle of 288]