:cheers:

Oh, and you forget that there already is a building with a glass crown...CROWNE PLAZA :yes: hahaha

that would actually be a great building to get a facelift...more glass and a more dramatic crown.

KevinFromTexas, or others....What is the difference {intended difference} between the "City Compilations" and the "Regional Sections". I feel like the Austin threads are one-in-the-same. Are they supposed to cover different topics?

Cleaning the stained brick on the top of the west & east sides of the building would be a start lol.

could they intentionally stain it? (that would be different than letting years go by without cleaning which is why it is becoming so grisly these days)

and if they did stain it...brick red, perhaps? it could almost take on the look of a much older and much more prestigous building that way.

add some brass touches and a little greenish hue to the pyramid. mmm, that would be nice.

Who ownes the Crowne Plaza building? Did it change hands when it went from an Adam's Mark to a CP?

Yeah, I think brick red would look nice. It's just those darn black water stains on the brick at the top of the building (at least I think it's from water over the years, rain that is)

The city compilation thread in the main section of the forum and the Austin update thread are basically intended to be the same. Some people don't always check the Texas section, so having a thread in the main section of the forum allows them to see it. Basically it acts like a more central location with all the other city threads. There are several forumers who used to live in Texas cities who now live elsewhere. They might not always check the Texas section, but having the city compilation thread in the main section can be convenient to them. It's also a way to promote each city's development to more people. Someone from the other side of the country might not care or think to visit the Texas section, but might be curious enough to click on the compilation thread and be surprised at what they see. Just check the city compilation thread vs the update thread here in the Texas section. There's a far more diverse group of people posting in the compilation thread, even some international forumers. The other thing is that some of the cities that have their own thread in the city compilation section might not have their own regional section on the forum. For instance, there's a thread for Adelaide and Melbourne, Australia, but there is no regional Australian section on the forum. There used to be, but a lot of the Australian forumers started their own dedicated forums about their cities and their numbers dropped big time, so that section of the forum was removed.

Travel Suggestions
 

I'll be in LA for business 9/27-10/1 and want to go somewhere 10/1-10/5, preferably international, and preferably on Continental. Any suggestions? I'm leaning towards Quebec City...explore the town and see the foliage in the countryside.

I will probably be in Orlando for a few days in mid-October 10/10-10/15 and may jump across to Ireland 10/15-10/19, so that's not an option. Neither is London (did that in April), Paris, or Amsterdam (I can fly nonstop from Houston to CDG and AMS). Basically instead of flying home Wed. I'm using it as a day to get to someplace not served non-stop from Houston.

While all y'all where sweltering last week I was in Iceland with themps in the 50's! :tup:

I'm trying to fill up my passport by Dec. 31, 2011. and I think I need to hit 16 countries (32 stamps) between now and then, assuming stamps both entering and exiting. I think I can "cheat" my way a little by revisiting New Zealand via Australia coming and going (6 stamps), and going to Europe via Iceland, from a Canadian destination (10 stamps?).

Thanks Kevin for the info on the difference of compilations vs. sections and thanks for all your effort and posts. Much appreciated.:tup:

I posted a thread in 'City Discussions' about television markets in the US. It includes a map of the areas with a list. I know we have some tv and radio geeks here, so have a look:
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=154837

The defunct HollyHills East Side sports complex is revived, built, and SA bids for the Olympics. Yay or nay?

San Antonio will never get the olympics for a number of reasons with the airport being a main one. The terminal is too small - the terminal will have to handle three or four times the passengers it does now. Even after the current terminal projects are complete it still is just not enough. The runways are too short, not able to handle inter-contental flights.

The Olympics will have to go to a true international city - Los Angeles, London, NYC etc...

Does anybody know where the Spurs training facility is located? I'd like to drive by and see it sometime, and can't find the address on the internet...it's probably shrouded in secrecy.

it is right by my church. go down huebner (west from i-10)...take a left on floyd curl and then the practice facility is on your right on spurs lane.

here is the google map: http://maps.google.com/maps?ie=UTF8&...=16&iwloc=addr

while we're at it, i am preaching at church this week on "the power of words". i am pinch-hitting for the pastor and, yes, i am going to work in a skyscraper reference. :) the TOA will be brought up...

here is the church website: http://www.gracepoint.org/Home/tabid/53/Default.aspx and directions...http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=e...3&z=11&iwloc=A

I think the other day the NFL Comissioner was here speaking, and basically said they are keeping their eye on San Antonio. We all know SA has been overlooked in the past because of the small tv market. But, wouldn't the games be shown in Austin, the Hill Country, West Texas & El Paso, and the Valley? Wouldn't that bump up the tv market a good bit?

despite proximity, any team here would still be trumped by the cowboys in all of the television markets you mentioned.

they would probably bump the texans in a few of those markets, but, honestly, i don't know that the nfl sees a huge profit to be had in drawing el paso viewers who wouldn't otherwise be watching football.

as i mentioned earlier in the thread, i did some public speaking this weekend.

for anyone who is interested, here is THE LINK. Click on "The Power to Direct".

Good points. But too, is the reason those markets are already saturated w/ the Cowboys and Texans BECAUSE San Antonio doesn't have a team???

maybe to a very slight degree.