Thursday, February 2, 2017

Main Street Mixed-Use

The City of Richardson announced that it had approved a mixed-use development in old downtown Richardson.

A proposed mixed-use development at the northeast corner of Central Expressway and Main Street was approved unanimously by the City Council Monday. The 14.5-acre development will include residential, commercial and restaurant space. It is the first significant private sector development in the downtown area since the adoption of the Main Street/Central Expressway Form Based Code last year...A highlight of the development is the mixed-use portion planned for the corner of Main and Interurban streets. In addition to 15,000 square feet of retail/commercial space, it will have multifamily units located above the retail space, surrounding private courtyards, and a 700-space parking garage, which will be shared with tenants from the Chase Bank building. Immediately to the north of the mixed-use area will be townhomes with private yards and garage parking. The for-lease units will be two or three stories each and average 1,800 square feet per unit.
After the jump, why I am cautiously optimistic.

Wednesday, February 1, 2017

Repeat Tweets: Conspiracy Theorists

Repeat tweets from January, 2017:
  • Jan 1 2017: Am I wrong in thinking that conspiracy theorists are the kind of people most likely to not recognize irony or sarcasm?
  • Jan 2 2017: More bowl game teams than not have serious off-field reasons for me to want them to lose. Why isn't there a "Good Guys Bowl"?
  • Jan 2 2017: Penn State had worst play calling in their last two possessions. Three runs and a punt, then a run and two crazy passes. Deserved to lose.
  • Jan 5 2017: Rogue One (2016): A rollicking fun adventure...just like all the others. Fighting an authoritarian regime has new relevance in 2017. Sad! C-

After the jump, more repeat tweets.

Tuesday, January 31, 2017

Beauty and the Beast at BHS


Beauty and the Beast at BHS: Superb voices (leads and chorus), production numbers ("Be My Guest"), comedic acting, backed by a great pit!

Bonus photos after the jump.

Monday, January 30, 2017

Mary Poppins at LHHS


Mary Poppins at LHHS: The stage play, not the childhood movie. With RISD, not Hollywood, talent. Great singing and dancing. And flying!

Friday, January 27, 2017

POTD: Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec

From 2016 09 09 Quebec City
Today's photo-of-the-day is from the Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec, a one-day professional bicycle road race held in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada.

Bonus photos after the jump.

Thursday, January 26, 2017

Rethinking a Falling STAAR

I get a little thrill whenever something I read leads me to change a long-held belief, or even just forces me to question it. Spoiler alert: thrill coming.

I've long believed in the need for standardized testing in our schools. As I put it in "Falling STAAR":
We should constantly examine both our teaching methods and our methods of assessing the effectiveness of our teaching. We can try cutting back on standardized testing (the direction we seem to be going). But we still need some form of standardized testing to see if that results in anything good. So, let's ease up, watch the results closely, and take care that we don't over correct.
Source: The Wheel.
I haven't changed my mind about any of that. It's what's done with the results of those standardized tests that I am now forced to rethink. After the jump, what leads me to that.

Wednesday, January 25, 2017

Hidden Figures (2016)

IMDB
Hidden Figures (2016): Racism, sexism at NASA in '60s. Uplifting, patriotic. Hits all the bases. Laugh, cry, cheer. A little too pretty. A-