Siber-Den

29 September 2002

Is Anyone Planning?

So, we were flipping channels last night and stumbled upon a minor protest that took place on an intersection not too far from our house. It's the first I've heard of a plan to make West Alabama St. an HOV street. What that might fully entail scares me for several reasons. First, West Alabama is two blocks from our house. The fact that hundreds of busses will be passing by on a daily basis isn't going to do much for the neighborhood, the air, the sound level, the condition of the street, etc. Second, my brother's business, The West Alabama Ice House, is located a third of a mile away from us on West Alabama. What that might mean for his business and the property on which it is located concerns me greatly. I've been poking around on the web and found a few links that mention the plan. *sigh* I never thought I'd be aligning my views with very leftist organizations.

From BikeHouston.Org:

Believe it or not, they want to take out the tree-filled esplanade on Richmond to make more traffic lanes, and put HOV lanes on West Alabama for up to 110 Metro buses an hour.

There has been no consideration for the safety of pedestrians and bicyclists, the accessibility of the disabled, or the livability of the neighborhood. The young, the old, the disabled, nearby residents and businesses, and just about everybody else in Neartown, are being forgotten in this madness to give suburbanites a free ride into and out of downtown on streets paid for with our local taxes.

From The Citizens' Environmental Coalition:

In protest of city plans to divert freeway traffic onto Richmond and West Alabama during the two-year spur closure at Highway 59, activists are planning to demonstrate on Saturday September 28. Organizers claim that plans to remove the tree-lined esplanades from Richmond in favor of more traffic lanes and to put an HOV lane on West Alabama, show disregard for the safety of pedestrians and bicyclists, the accessibility of the disabled and the livability of the neighborhood. All concerned should bring their voices and signs to the corner of West Alabama and Kirby at 4:30 pm for a one mile walk and an 8-10 mile bike ride. The demonstration is sponsored by the West Alabama Quality of Life Coalition, Bike Houston, Walk Houston and Houstonians with Disabilities.

From TeamCure:

The Texas Department of Transportation and the city of Houston are considering removing the bike lanes on West Alabama to make way for freeway traffic volumes during upcoming construction along the Southwest Freeway (US-59) and Spur 527, which leads into downtown. The four-year reconstruction project is scheduled to begin February 2003 and end by summer 2006.

It will bring most of the freeway to ground level, add several over pass bridges and a new and much-needed exit onto Main Street. During construction, parts of the freeway will be closed and traffic will have to be diverted to frontage roads, side streets and other freeways. The city has asked consultants to consider putting a reversible HOV lane on West Alabama; the bike lanes will be eliminated under that plan. In some portions of the corridor there is already no sidewalk.

West Alabama is the only east-west bikeway connector between Westpark and River Oaks. It is very unique in providing access to shopping, schools, jobs, offices, churches, entertainment and residences along West Alabama. The bike lanes are wide enough, but need to be smoother for full use, a condition that will be addressed when the street is resurfaced in January 2003. We should be protecting this unique multi-use development and encourage the adjacent businesses to embrace the benefits of a healthy, active neighborhood.
BikeHouston believes that West Alabama is not wide enough to safely support four traffic lanes. The current configuration is much safer for pedestrians and bicyclists, as well as motorists, and the four- lane version adds marginal capacity at best because the center lane is a turn-only lane. Removing the lanes will not improve capacity east of Shepherd at all because that street currently is three lanes without bike lanes.

These are a few of the links I've stumbled upon so far. I haven't been able to find anything on the issue on the official City of Houston and local traffic sites. Still I'll be keeping my eye on this. The local neighborhood was instrumental in keeping the 59 construction from intruding into Montrose a few years ago, maybe the same activism might save it again. Maybe I'll have to show up at a demonstration or two wearing a Bush/Cheney t-shirt.

[Posted at 13:43 on 09/29/02]

27 September 2002

Regenerative Hot Water Pipes

This is fascinating. I wonder if they can apply the knowledge to a broken hot water pipe. Maybe we wouldn't have to endure the ripping out of our bathroom wall this fine Houston morning. We're talking some corroded pipes behind our bathroom sink.

[Posted at 10:08 on 09/27/02]

24 September 2002

It's Been A Long Week So Far

I haven't had much time for an entry, so I'll throw one together tonight. The rest of this week threatens to be just as busy as the last three/four days.

Friday, Saturday, and Sunday consisted of guests, friends, and a road trip back to Gruene. Our good friend, Camille, road tripped over from Shreveport, spent the night with us Friday, then headed out with us (in the back seat of the Cobra, no less) to meet up with our usual partners in crime, John and Cathy, down the road in Gruene. They were already exploring New Braunfels when we arrived, so we hung out in historical downtown Gruene waiting for them. While waiting, we walked down to the river (Guadalupe) and marveled at the amount of water still flowing down it, three months AFTER the floods that ravaged the area. The bridge we overlooked still had 3-5 feet of water flowing OVER it.

We met up with John and Cathy at the infamous Gruene Hall, and who else was setting up to play there but our former faves, Reckless Kelly. It was kind of weird to see the band walk by us and set up and realize that we weren't there to see them. We enjoyed a cold one there, and then set out to walk over to the flea market but didn't make it far. Certain members of our party noticed a little wine tasting place (downtown Gruene is basically a small shopping area replete with many little antique shops and eateries and gift shops), and we proceeded to make short order of a really good bottle of Texas Cabernet (don't laugh). After chasing off EVERY other party on that porch with our laughter and carrying on, we finally decided to head over to the flea market, only to discover it had closed an hour earlier. By this time, we were starving, so we settled into a cozy picnic table on a beautiful deck surrounded by huge trees at Guadalupe's Smoked Meats (or something) and gorged on ribs and sausage and brisket and beans and slaw. More beer flowed and much good discussion ensued (though Camille and I were more or less right, I'm beginning to see the logic in Kev's and John's side of the argument :). We finally made it over to The Tavern and our usual table up front (usual....we've had it twice now :).

Scott Melott once again put on a good show. Scott and Libby sounded like they'd been practicing their vocals. They sounded lovely together. The only complaint I'd make about the night was the lack of a really good lead guitarist. No Gary Wayne. The dude in place for the night was some session musician, who is probably pretty good in his own right, but really didn't know any of Scott's or the Groobees tunes. Hopefully the guy they have lined up for future gigs will be able to fill Gary's shoes. We'll see.

I really had fun this weekend. Camille was fun to hang with as usual. We love Camille. We don't see her often enough. Twice a year is probably indulgent though, for someone who'll be a doctor in residency in eight months and then a full fledged doctor in three years. It's just really nice when we get the chance to see her. She stretched out in the back seat of the Cobra and slept for most of both legs of the trip, so she didn't really get to experience the thrill that is Callie's driving on a road trip. On the trip back, she did marvel though when she woke up two hours later to discover that we'd already made it back to town. Yep. The car can fly.

John and Cathy are the coolest. I'm glad we've found friends we can share fun times with. That sounds goofy, but it's true. I only hope they got their papers done before class on Monday. Sometimes I feel like a bad influence on them :). They had four days to see a recital and write a three page paper on it. And we dragged them 150 miles out of town to see a Texas band instead. Hmmm. Or maybe they dragged us.

In other happenings, yesterday and today have been spent at our big law firm doing our quarterly update, a month early though. Things have gotten so bad that they had us come in a month early. All of our accounts are looking bad this week because of the inundation of work, but it usually doesn't take us too long to get things looking presentable. We should be finished with the big one tomorrow.

The rest of the week will be spent looking after Kev and hoping he isn't hurting too much. Arrrggh. I hate the dentist. I'm going to have to get another one pulled in a couple of weeks myself. I have another wisdom tooth giving me problems. I really DO dislike going to the dentist. Really. My repeat visits are not evidence to the contrary. *sigh* On that note, I guess I better start taking the antibiotics the dentist prescribed for me today.

Yep...the weekend's looking mighty nice right about now.

[Posted at 22:16 on 09/24/02]

18 September 2002

More Visits From The Foggy Man

Well, I take it back. Dogs and squirrels are now being reported as susceptible to West Nile. Great. And the mosquitoes around here are biting like crazy.

[Posted at 21:12 on 09/18/02]

14 September 2002

The Real Enchilada

For the second night in a row, Kev and I have eaten Spanish Village enchiladas for dinner. A few days ago, The Chron had a nice article about the place, and it made us realize how much we missed the food, atmosphere, and people. Last night, kinda last minute, we decided to venture over and partake of their yummy enchiladas and potent margaritas. Tonight we decided to get takeout, since football would be missed otherwise. After about a year of eating Chuy's enchiladas, rediscovering the place has been a joy. I don't know why we've stayed away.

[Posted at 17:56 on 09/14/02]

Nothing Comes Between Kev And His Politics

Another lazy Saturday. Lazy Saturdays are good.

Kev takes his politics seriously. Case in point:

Someone knocked at the front door earlier today. Kiwi, of course, reacted with her usual vehemence. Kiwi thinks a knock at the door is an invitation to carnage. Anyway, Kev took hold of her collar, I held her back from her tummy, and Kev cracked the door open. Standing in front of us was a beautiful young woman in a very tight muscle shirt and shorts. I think we were a little shocked at the sight. We just stood there with our mouths hanging open. I was expecting the two elderly ladies peddling cult nonsense from yesterday. Anyway, beautiful young woman very politely stated that she was out promoting a local candidate and wanted to share some political literature with us and talk to us about him. Kev allowed her two sentences and then politely shot back that he's not a fan of that particular candidate. That's all he said. I think she was a little stunned by that because she barely stammered something about being sorry and turned to leave.

Some things work, some things don't. He couldn't even stand to listen to her for twenty seconds. Yep...he does take his politics seriously.

[Posted at 14:29 on 09/14/02]

13 September 2002

Exuberant Dogs

That's ok, Evelynne, believe it or not, I'm terrified of horses. Of all the animals I've been exposed to in my life, they are the only ones I've had bad experiences with. One summer in Greece (I think I was twelve), I was kicked in the chest by one (knocked the breath out of me), bitten on the head by another one (don't ask), and bitten on the thigh by a third one. All different occasions, all different beasts. I think I just didn't get them. I was such an animal nut, and I couldn't keep away from them that summer. I've pretty much kept my distance since then. They're just too big for little me. I'll take a wild, freakin-around-the-backyard husky (or two) any day.

I really love old dogs. They have a dignified and wise air about them. She sounds like a sweet old pup. I hope whatever she's being treated for isn't serious.

A puppy or an older dog would be the solution to your fear perhaps. I can't count the number of times people have dumped their older huskies (8 years and older) because they don't want to deal with an old dog. There are plenty in rescue (as I'm sure other breed rescues have their fill of their older dogs), and they usually are described as being the sweetest, calmest huskies. And you don't have to worry about going through housebreaking or training with them.

Word of advice, though, don't bring up the subject of dogs AND refer to me. I can drone on for hours before I realize it :).

[Posted at 01:45 on 09/13/02]

12 September 2002

My Driving Gets Dissed Once Again

I haven't had much of a desire to post lately. It's not entirely MY fault. Reasons follow:

Reason #1: Kev's doing a server change. Gotta wait for the changes to propagate.

Reason #2: I had some oral surgery done yesterday. Not the best way to commemorate 9-11, but somehow it seemed appropriate. Ouch!! I HATE those damn shots. HATE. And yesterday I had to endure three of them (and still felt the pain of the procedure). I'm never given any other option because of my asthma, so I have to endure those cursed shots. I will forever pay for my past sugar addiction. I'm in dental purgatory it seems.

The only good thing about it all is the prescription for Vicodin I got to fill yesterday. Woo hoo. It's almost a reward for enduring that torture. I've always been a fan of Vicodin. It only takes half a pill, and I'm feeling no pain and not caring if I do. I took two halves yesterday and I'll probably only need two quarters today.

Yep....that Vicodin is some good stuff.

Kev drove me to and from the dentist and waited for me while the sadist...er...dentist did his evil deeds. While walking from his truck to the office, we were talking about HIS impending dance with an oral surgeon (Kev's taking the i.v. sedative route for his surgery) Excerpt:

Callie: When I drive you home that day, you're really going to be drugged up and out of it.
Kev: Callie, that's the best way for anyone to ride with you.

I think the other building patrons thought I might have been visiting one of the resident psychologists. My laughter really rang through that lobby.

[Posted at 22:24 on 09/12/02]

Reason #3

Reason #3: I didn't really have too much to say about 9-11. What else is there to say except that it was horrifying and it angered me and it saddened me and that I hate the bastards who did this to US. I watched most of the ABC special Wednesday night. My stomach still gets in a knot when I allow myself to follow the survivors' stories. I'm still marveling today over one story told during the special. There were 14 survivors in a North Tower stairwell at the sixth floor, making their way down, when the building collapsed all around them. They survived the collapse AND made their way out, though four hours later. They actually had to climb back UP out of the stairwell to escape. The firefighter interviewed said he heard both buildings collapse while in that stairwell. What an ordeal.

I keep wanting to say 'never again'. I keep wanting to justify my support for the president's current plan by saying that over and over again. Never again. We must prevent this or anything like this from ever happening again.

[Posted at 22:14 on 09/12/02]

Homeless

There's been quite a bit of talk lately between us and John and Cathy(over beers)and over at Evelynne's about homeless folk and whether or not to give them a few bucks. Today seemed to be filled with homeless folk for me.

There's a young blonde man who I've seen on several occasions on Allen
Parkway under the Shepherd overpass. What makes this guy somewhat different from most homeless folk is the fact that he's always smiling and occasionally even laughing to himself (no, Kev, he isn't the village idiot :). I assume it's to himself, since there doesn't seem to be anyone around him except cars waiting for the light to change. I usually see him when I'm too far away even to consider the money debate. Today though, he was on the other side of the car next to me. I finally got a chance to read his sign.

I'm Homeless and as Hungry as a coon with three legs.

When I read his sign I started to laugh (vicodin moment), and he saw me laughing and seemed very pleased with himself for causing my reaction. I was about to power down my window and pour my change repository (good use for an ash tray) into his hand, but the light changed. Maybe next time. It isn't often that I see a humorous homeless person.

Then there's the elderly lady I occasionally see at the back entrance of the Chase Tower, the tallest building downtown. I swear, this lady must be at least eighty. The first time I saw her, about two years ago, I thought she was an hallucination. I've never seen an eighty year old bag lady. And she's as delicate and as fragile as any sickly elderly person. Once I saw her in the Chase Tower tunnel in the little convenience store and the young Arab man who works there handed her a fiver and she went her merry way. When I inquired about her, the young man shrugged and said she often comes down specifically for the money they give her, then she goes back up and disappears. She was sitting at the back entrance today. She always acknowledges your attention with a really sweet, toothless smile. One of these days I'm going to follow her and see where she ends up. I have a feeling it's the Catholic church three blocks over. At least I hope that's where she'd end up. Can't stomach the thought of that fragile being sleeping on the streets.

No solutions to the homeless/money issue though.

[Posted at 20:04 on 09/12/02]

05 September 2002

Nauseous On The Inside...

I guess if I can eat fried calamari....

According to aficionado Tum Neang, the best spider is one plucked straight from its burrow and pan fried with lashings of garlic and salt over a traditional wood fire until its skin goes a deep red-brown color.

Crispy on the outside, gooey on the inside, it should then be served piping hot.

[Posted at 21:15 on 09/05/02]

04 September 2002

Too Many Violent Movies Before Bedtime

"I grabbed my husband and took my kids as fast as I could. And I had to come back to get my son because he wouldn't walk. He was asleep and I came back and dragged him to the front door," Rebecca Scott said. "I thought that tanks had come and invaded, and that they were bombing. There were explosions -- the sound and the glass shattering -- and the fact that I could continue to hear the engine rev and back up and pull back forward. I just knew we were at war."

Yes because, if I were a terrorist, I would be sure to target far southwest Houston as the starting place for my invasion (do terrorists invade?). There certainly is no better target strategically than those far southwest Houston suburban homes. There is no better place to start an invasion and drop tanks than far southwest Houston.

This sounds more like a screenplay for a Lifetime movie. Wife valiantly saves clueless husband and sleeping children from the frontal assualt of the terrorist invasion's tanks. Lifetime could pull it off.

[Posted at 11:11 on 09/04/02]

03 September 2002

Chimney Swifts

A few days ago, while playing with the huskies in my mom's backyard, I noticed there were no chimney swifts circling in the sky or zooming in and out of my mom's chimney. Her two-story chimney is home to 30-50 swifts every summer. Watching all of them dive in the chimney at dusk, one after the other, is an amazing thing to behold. Realizing it was too early for them to set off for the winter journey south, I asked my mom when she last heard them. It had been a few days. I've sent off one email to the county extension service and have been referred around, but I have this sinking feeling they might be one species of bird susceptible to the West Nile Virus. It's a strange thing to notice and realize with all that's going on, but I miss the little chattering dive bombers.

It's sad to see someone else has been affected by the absence of his feathery neighbors.

[Posted at 02:06 on 09/03/02]

Now That's What I Call A Rescue

For weeks back in March, Louise and I followed the news stories concerning this little dog. We sent little email cheers to each other when they finally found the ship and she was still ok. Though I almost fell off my chair when I read how much it cost to rescue her, it's good to see she finally has a home.

[Posted at 01:20 on 09/03/02]

And Then There Are Dogs Who Rescue Us

Ok...this may be fascinating just to me, but it has a really interesting history of rescue-dogs.

How is this for payback? Making rescue-dogs out of rescues:

The best candidate, says Melville, is often a dog that is too rambunctious and prey-driven to make a good family pet. That's why the NDSDF now scours animal shelters � where unwanted pets are often dumped � as one source for its dogs. Melville says she can walk into a shelter and determine in 10 minutes if a dog is a good candidate for rescue work.

I love dogs.

There is also more attention being paid to the therapeutic value of the dogs at a disaster site.

Kellogg says he was profoundly impressed by the sensitivity the dogs displayed to the needs of the humans surrounding them at ground zero, and how effective they were at restoring morale to depressed and discouraged workers.

"It's difficult to take a warm, licking tongue and still be angry or introverted," he says.

And for the dogs, too, love coming back from the humans around them is essential. Search-and-rescue dogs generally live with their handlers, and the intense emotional bond the pair forge is key to the dog's willingness to do the work.

Melville says she sometimes tells people considering work as a handler, "Don't do this unless you're ready to experience marriage to a dog."

"They're also family dogs," says Clemmo. "They have to come home to a loving environment. They sleep on the couch, they sleep on the bed."

For some handlers, it's the desire to experience the powerful human-animal connection that brings them to the work.

Ok...enough about dogs. Maybe I should TRY to defeat this insomnia by actually lying down :).

[Posted at 01:15 on 09/03/02]

01 September 2002

Burgers and Midori

We had a very low key but enjoyable evening last night with our usual partners in crime, John and Cathy. Met up at Rudz and had burgers and drink and much good conversation. Was almost a shame to call it a night, though my four Midoris did much to slow me down. Hopefully, the member of our party who mixed it with vodka is doing ok this morning, er afternoon. :)

[Posted at 12:41 on 09/01/02]

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