At the Springs

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trees

I went to Barton Springs for the first time this year today – and got most first glimpse of what the place will look like if the parks department and the inspiringly named Davey Tree Co have their say and remove 30 or so trees. Every tree you can see in the photo above is one of the condemned.

In a typical Austin fashion the city has attached multiple sheets of paper to each doomed tree with an inspiring quote on one side and the dates of the ‘additional public hearings’ on the other, intended as tear away so you can voice you opinion. As I was grabbing my own copy, I happened to overhear some conversation behind me. “I can’t believe they’re going to cut down the trees that’s the whole reason everyone likes Barton springs….” her friend replied, “I know! They’re crazy.”

This informed discourse was not between two deadlocked hippy-chicks, but two seven-year-old-girls walking down to the pool with their mom. I get it that we have  a shitty economy, a $30 million deficit, and a lot of issues that are a lot more important than this.  I also understand we regularly hand out millions in tax breaks to organizations like The Domain and Intel (remember that building the city had to pay to demolish?). This is a special place – the kids understand that – it might benefit us to put a little more effort into saving and maintaining at least a little bit of what makes it special. More importantly this is your government, so go raise some hell.

  • Staff Briefing of Austin City Council
    April 23, 2 p.m. (This is a presentation only with no public comment)
  • The Parks and Recreation Board
    April 28, 6 p.m. at City Hall
  • The Environmental Board
    May 20, 6 p.m. City Hall (This meeting is supposedly open for public comment).

Coldsprints

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ac-spalsh

Take a fixed-gear bike, mount it on a roller with zero resistance, and get fools to pay you $5 to sprint their hardest for 20 seconds to qualify (or not in my case). Add crowd and liberal alcohol, and a jeering MC an you’ve got my fairly badass evening.

More pics, including my own epic fail.

Daily Drinks

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Finally some science I can get behind – drinking makes you live longer and not just wine (Yes, I know it’s the New York Post and the toilet paper stuck to my shoe is probably more credible).

TxDOT Hearts Austin

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TxDOT just issued it’s spending plan for our state’s $1.2 billion road-building chuck of economic stimulus act. Despite the mess of undersized highways, half-arsed connector ramps and pot-holed streets that perpetuate some of the worst traffic in the country for a city our size, TxDOT has decided that Travis County will be getting exactly – wait for it – one project: a ramp at 183 and 290.

We can widen I-35 to six lanes in that a fantastic tourist destination Waco, or add lanes to FM50 in the vibrant city of Bryan, but god forbid we do something about the 70’s era clusterfuck that is I-35 in downtown Austin, or even, I don’t know try building a major-highway that doesn’t come to a screeching halt at a random stoplight? Instead, TxDot is going to (once again) ignore the needs of the capitol city, and build a connector ramp out in the ass-end of nowhere, I guess so the TxDOT higher-ups can get back Houston a littel bit faster. Thanks guys. I’d love to continue this rant, but I have to go get my oil changed on the northside, so I need to allow 45 minutes to get there in traffic.

Read the full report here.

If you’re bored post some other projects they might have considered in the comments. The ever-increasing number of stop-lights on 71 (on the way to the airport) come to mind. And if you’re really bored, you might ponder calling your representatives.

Death by Cheese Steak

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2204_6088260315542433612_4215_nI was dropping off some cleaning this morning at the Comet Cleaners on 15th and Guad. In the process I ran into a former co-worker as I was getting some coffee, which distracted me from my initial goal of getting some tacos at the Texadelphia next door.

We were walking out to our cars and suddenly I hear this big crash, as a Ford Explorer decided to use the Texadelphia as a covered parking spot. Apparently the guy was driving with one of those AirCasts on and got his foot stuck. I was one of the first people in the shop, but I was very disappointing in myself for the lack of  witty banter as we checked everything out – I mean this guy just used used a cheese steak shop as a garage, and i couldn’t think of a single cheese-related pun? Weaksauce. Apparently I’ll never be an action hero.

Everyone was fine, but it’s a damn good thing I didn’t stop in there for breakfast as planned. Had I been in there or been walking by when it happened, we could have become a very permanent fixture at a very marginal sandwich shop.

Warning Signs

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It’s Texas law – obey all warning signs. Time to dust off your Zombie Plans – you do have a Zombie Plan, don’t you?

Austin-Elgin Rail

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Behold a new, $200 million proposed Green Line to compliment the about-to-open Red Line. Also, a side note – in a somewhat heated discussion about this, Mr. Brian J. Pinero was in fact correct, (and had the links to back it up, thus proving me wrong) – suggesting that this line makes less sense than the as-yet-hypothetical downtown circulator.

I say build them both, it’ll stimulate the economy and get some cars off of I-35.

Ski Shores

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Speaking of burgers.

Top Notch

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The future of an Austin landmark featured in Dazed and Confused is somewhat in doubt after it’s proprietor’s untimely demise.

He was Mr. Top Notch,” Frances Stanish , his mother, said. “He made the orders. He did the cooking. If the faucet dripped, he fixed the faucet. He was the backbone of this place.”

Sad.

Future Salsa

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Bell Peppers at the Downtown Farmer’s Market.