AUSTIN | Misc. Discussions - No Politics

[KevinFromTexas]

Seen in Austin recently - a BART subway car being hauled through Austin near I-35 & 183.

?


https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...type=3&theater

[The ATX]

NBC Nightly News had a story on tonight's broadcast about the increasing amount pedestrian fatalities, and the story focused on Austin. Is the problem due to intoxicated or crazed homeless people running across I-35 at 3:00AM? No! It's those evil SUVs apparently. The video starts at 15:27.

https://www.nbcnews.com/nightly-news...-1241421379805

[eguidry]

I'm guessing the shells, which are manufactured in Mexico, are being delivered to NY and and their path happened through Austin. Don't see the bogies on this one thus the likely empty shell. Though if they wanted to drop off a couple here and let Cap Metro have them I wouldn't complain

"The construction of these trains is an international affair. The shell bodies of the cars are being fabricated in Mexico, the seats in Indiana, doors made in China, and car body compression testing in Canada. Then it all comes to get assembled at Bombardier in New York, with a total, approximate price tag of $2.5 billion."

http://sfist.com/2016/03/15/video_fi...ew_bart_ca.php

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

Seen in Austin recently - a BART subway car being hauled through Austin near I-35 & 183.

?


https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...type=3&theater

[KevinFromTexas]

Originally Posted by The ATX

NBC Nightly News had a story on tonight's broadcast about the increasing amount pedestrian fatalities, and the story focused on Austin. Is the problem due to intoxicated or crazed homeless people running across I-35 at 3:00AM? No! It's those evil SUVs apparently. The video starts at 15:27.

https://www.nbcnews.com/nightly-news...-1241421379805

My cousin saw one of those last week. She saw the guy laying in the road on I-35. It seems like I-35 around Stassney close to where we live is one of the worst spots for pedestrians getting hit. I don't know what makes people think they can cross I-35.

[kmack]

Did you also notice that about half the pedestrians they showed crossing streets were on their phones? Another issue they didn't specifically address...

[KevinFromTexas]

And another pedestrian got hit at Stassney and Congress last night.

https://www.statesman.com/news/local...1u4HYw6j79HZP/

Still, the real monster in South Austin is Slaughter Lane, an aptly named street, let me tell you. We see a wreck over there at least once a week between Congress and Manchaca. The last one we saw was Tuesday night at Slaughter & South First. Two cars hit head on in the middle of the intersection. It wasn't all that bad, likely either a redlight runner or someone making a U-turn.

[the Genral]

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

And another pedestrian got hit at Stassney and Congress last night.

https://www.statesman.com/news/local...1u4HYw6j79HZP/

Still, the real monster in South Austin is Slaughter Lane, an aptly named street, let me tell you. We see a wreck over there at least once a week between Congress and Manchaca. The last one we saw was Tuesday night at Slaughter & South First. Two cars hit head on in the middle of the intersection. It wasn't all that bad, likely either a redlight runner or someone making a U-turn.

Pedestrians getting hit by cars, or trains seems to be almost entirely preventable, unless the person in the vehicle leaves the road and hits them on the sidewalk. Lack of common sense, caution, awareness and judgement probably account for most of the accidents. In my life, I've never been hit by a vehicle, but in a sometimes altered state, I have walked into a few that were standing still. Maybe they need to start teaching kids in school how to avoid getting hit by a car. I remember being taught when I was young to walk facing oncoming traffic so you can jump out of the way if the car is heading right for you, but that wasn't practical if you were hitch hiking, which btw I never see anymore. I've been on scene of a few auto - peds when I was with the fire dept and it is NOT pretty. I hate that its still so common and so preventable.

[urbancore]

KXAN announced Ora won't seek another term. Hard to imagine anyone worse than her filling the D1 seat. I see this as a positive move for Austin. If you were ever on the fence about her.....i'll share this,

https://www.austinchronicle.com/news...arly-thwarted/


Add to her legacy will be that she also "thwarted" a grocery store for her constituents.

[masonh2479]

I don't know if this has been brought up yet, but the Line Hotel opened the 4th.
https://www.cntraveler.com/story/ins...e-austin-hotel

[the Genral]

Just got back from Fredricksburg. On the way there, we climbed up Enchanted Rock from the summit route. I'm wondering if anyone here has ever climbed that HUGE rock. My brother in law and I made it to the summit and back in a little less than an hour. I'm 60 and out of shape and almost didn't make it until a little 4 year old girl ran passed us as did her mother and little brother in diapers and gave me the incentive to keep going. It was hot and it was NOT easy. If you have not gone there yet, I HIGHLY recommend it. I had no idea how huge that hunk of rock is and the effort it would take to climb it. The view from the top is incredible. I will never do that again however. It almost kicked my ass. Drove by downtown on my way home and took Mopac. Right where it is due west from downtown, the view of the city is awesome with the Independent in the forefront. The whiteness of the exterior was a good choice, very impressive. Took the toll way all the way to Parmer, once I got passed the merge section, it was 60 MPH all the way. The non toll lanes were bumper to bumper. Worth the $7 especially after the long drive from Fredricksburg.

[KevinFromTexas]

I haven't, but my brother has. He rock climbs. He has a bunch of climbing gear and goes out there every once in a while. He's climbed up the side of the main dome along the main climbing route, which is something like 300 feet up.

This is my brother on "E-Rock" as he calls it.






He also climbs along the greenbelt. I've done some climbing on the greenbelt also, but my brother is way more into it. He also went on a climbing trip with some friends to Missouri and Arkansas a few years back.

This is on the greenbelt somewhere along Barton Creek.





This is Reimer's Ranch. It's a park that Travis County bought several years ago from a family who had owned the land for several generations and wanted it protected. I think eventually they'll have 1,500 acres along the Pedernales River adjoining Hamilton Pool.

[The ATX]

The Texas Supreme Court ruled today that cities can't ban stores from from providing disposable bags for their customers. I wonder how quick places like HEB or Walmart will be in switching back to plastic bags? I wouldn't be surprised if some stores continued with a bag ban in the belief that their customers still support it.

[KevinFromTexas]

I guess I'll have to put the baggers out of a job then by inching over there quick to bag my stuff before they can whip out those plastic abominations.

I do usually bag my stuff myself anyway, but still.

I leave a reusable bag in my "grocery backpack" for when I ride my bike up to the grocery store. I've got this monster backpack with tons of pockets for stuffing groceries into, plus, I have a solid cargo rack on my bike that I can strap a basket to to carry even more stuff. There's pretty much nothing I can't carry on my bike. I have no missed plastic bags.

[the Genral]

We have the option of reusable or plastic in Round Rock and always have. We use reusable more for the fact that they hold more and make bringing the stuff in from the car faster with less trips, and there's less spillage in the trunk that have to be rebagged. But I remember looking at a field covered in plastic bags outside of HEB that made me realize why some cities banned them. What ever happened to paper bags?

[The ATX]

Originally Posted by the Genral

What ever happened to paper bags?

They were killing all the trees and the rain forest. I remember when plastic bags were hailed as a savior for all the trees being killed for bags.

[drummer]

We can get our groceries home from the market in two or three bags that my wife made that are pretty heavy duty...otherwise it would take around ten plastic bags, probably. Ours are actually cloth so we can just throw them in the washer if they get gross. They've lasted eight years now, I'd guess, and she made them when we were still in the States, so we used them there and left them in the trunk.

We did buy an HEB freezer bag with velcro years ago that is also still going strong. Helps us to represent Texas over here!

[KevinFromTexas]

Just watch.

• Video Link

[the Genral]

I think I saw the UT Tower. I wish I could unsee, unhear the rest. Thanks for the earworm Kevin.

[kmack]

I remember when plastic bags were hailed as a savior for all the trees being killed for bags.

I remember also as I was working as a "sacker" at an HEB in the Valley at the time (high school...). What I find funny now is, how the stores almost refuse to put a lot of stuff in those bags, yet when they first came out, HEB went on and on about how they could hold more weight than the paper, even though the bag was smaller.

We actually put them to the test. Best we were able to do was 18 regular-sized cans of green beans in one sack and it never split open. We could do more sometimes, but about half of the time they would split if anything over 18 was put it.

[The ATX]

This scored a 7.0 on IMDB and is playing free on Amazon Prime. Check out the city backdrop. I haven't watched it yet. But I strongly suspect it sucks ass.