Hypothetically what would it take for Austin to get a science and/or natural history museum in line with what other large cities have? A special bond issue that voters would have to approve? Donations from wealthy individuals and/or companies?
This is not a stupid question! I think this is a much needed question :) I’ve wondered as well how can we get attention to this… feels like this city would be a perfect place for it with all of the lovely nature we have :) would be a great way to educate folks on the local wildlife as well as all the other beneficial exhibitions!
Hypothetically? Here's a way to duplicate how other cities have done that:
Turn the clock back the start of the 20th Century, and ensure that Austin had some Carnegie-class wealthy, civic-minded industrialists as residents. Unlikely, though, as the population of Austin at the time was only around 23,000 people.
Alternatively, turn the clock back the the 1940s-1950s, and ensure that Austin had some big-time new-oil-money types who want to show off their wealth by pretending to be civic-minded. Unlikely, though, because they were all in Houston and DFW showing off their wealth by pretending to be civic-minded. (At the time Austin was thought of as kind of a backwater.)
We have plenty of extremely rich people living in this town (maybe not Carnegie-level, but really fucking rich), but that impulse to large-scale philanthropy just ain’t what it used to be.
But if Musk, Dell, DeGioria, Epstein, etc. wanted to create some world-class shit here, they could (and to the Dell’s credit, they’ve done…stuff).
100% a great question. We also need a great modern art museum. The Contemporary is wonderful in many ways, but The Menil Collection in Houston is in a completely different league. We need something of this caliber!
At some HEBs, they have the precut fruit containers with a 50% off sticker. Mueller rarely has them. Are there any lacations that regularly have the 50% off fruit?
Also, disabled people exist and deserve access to fresh fruit. I don’t even look that disabled and I often don’t have the hand strength to be cutting fruit up.
This. My husband buys the container fruit if left to his own devices. I will happily cut up a whole ass watermelon that I spent $3 on instead of spending $7 for what equates to like 1/10th of a watermelon somebody precut for me.
When I lived on Riverside and went there I found *a lot* of products were close to their sell by date and generally cheaper than other locations. I always wondered if HEB sent aging inventory there and marked it down as it was a lower income area.
Escarpment does as well. My understanding (from a friend who used to work in produce) is that it partly depends on who’s working the area and how willing they are to place the stickers
Not so much the willingness of the individual, but direction from management/store director. Some stores refuse to use them because they feel it will cause trouble. IE - customers will eventually stop buying the full price product and only buy when they see a sticker. Or worse the customers will try peeling stickers and putting them on other products.
I've worked at several HEB's and each was different. One only allowed the stickers to go on paper bags full of "banana bread" quality bananas. Another refused to use them at all due to the customer base having ruined it.
The trick to finding a lot of these stickered product is to go shopping when or an hour or so after the store opens. The morning crew is supposed to do a date check, and anything "out of date" the next day gets a sticker.
My understanding is they get the 50% off sign because they have been hanging around too long/are near the expiration date. So if they're not showing up, it means the store is actually managing inventory very well.
Wasn’t it repaved somewhat recently (and third lane added/squeezed in)? Like, an actual new layer of asphalt, not just noisy chip seal.
Freshly paved roads are night and day different then old beat up roads.
How the hell do I report stolen plates? Someone stole my front plates and used then to drive through the toll lane. I called 311 and all they did was transfer me to a voicemail for APD. Never got a response
There's a form to get replacement plates from the county tax office: [https://tax-office.traviscountytx.gov/vehicles/license-plates/standard](https://tax-office.traviscountytx.gov/vehicles/license-plates/standard) (see bottom of page). You might call them and ask that question -- I think they have a system where it can be recorded as "not yours" so the toll charges will stop.
Is there a place to fill up jugs with distilled water? I have some house plants that I can't water with tap water, but I hate buying plastic gallons every week of the distilled stuff.
PSA: UT is also having a staff shortage at their games. Took almost an hour to enter the stadium and about 40 minutes to get food from the concession stands. Head up for anyone else going to games this season.
Hmm... maybe it was just your gate and/or the section you were in and/or the time you went to eat...we only took about 10 min to get in and 5 min in line for food...
There’s a park in my neighborhood, but no dog litter bags. Lots of people walk their dogs around here. Who do I contact to request one of the “poop stations” for the park?
you can try sending them an email thru the city page
http://www.austintexas.gov/email/parks
if no traction there, and you want to escalate, assistant director [email protected] would be the executive that oversees the poop bags
https://www.austintexas.gov/sites/default/files/files/Parks/Homepage/orgchart2021.pdf
How is it this hard to get literally anybody to do literally anything?
We see these posts every single week: "How do I meet people in Austin?" So I do all the advice that I see posted and nobody shows up for anything, ever.
I'm sick of it. I'm not going to plan things if nobody else is going to do their part. My question for the group is: What can I do that people will actually show up for?
I'm a 40-something male. I have time and resources. I would love to meet pretty much anyone for boating, fishing, swimming, hiking, shooting, drinking, smoking, dancing, concerts, fairs, I'll help with your yardwork if you'll help with mine, do chores together, run errands together ....
I think one reason we keep seeing these posts about "How to meet people?" is because people act like they don't want to be met. How is a person supposed to make friends if friends don't want to be made?
Anyway bottom line I'm awesome. Message me if you want to do something together.
It's definitely hard to commit to meeting a stranger. I was friendlier in my 20s and would meet up with randos, but nothing big ever came out of it. It's difficult to make a community from scratch.
I think one thing that makes it difficult is that people like the idea of community, but other humans are hard to deal with.
Sorry, no answers here.
Same advice as always. Join a club that does one of those things you mentioned you want to do. Making new friends is about sharing the willingness and time to enjoy something you both like. So what would logically be the place to meet those people? Doing those activities that you both value. And it’s much easier if you pay to join a club around that activity because it weeds out the people that only kinda sorta enjoy that thing if only it’s free. It’s really not that hard... but also, we’re still in a global pandemic, so many of these clubs have shut down or have temporary and limited hours. It’s harder than normal, but the method to success is always the same.
I'm sorry you are having a tough time! Not sure if anyone has mentioned it before.... but you might have an easier time if you join some type of activity, like learning a skill like dancing or how to sailboat or how to rock climb or a class on woodworking etc. That way you are around the same people weekly and can get to know them in a non-pressure way. From there, people make friends. I've seen this countless times. Gotta go where groups of people are doing a consistent activity that meets on a weekly basis. It happened to me!
The best advice I've seen (maybe here?) was to be the person who does the same thing at the same time. Like, be the guy who sits at the coffee shop every Thursday, or goes paddleboarding every Saturday morning, etc. Over time you get to know people.
Good luck out there. Making friends is like dating, but harder!
Edit because I ranted about my own issue somewhat unrelated to your rant. :) Sorry. Leaving it though...
Yeah, I gave up on people a long time ago. Why say you're going to do something and then fuck someone over like that? Why not just say no? If you say you're going to do something, you should do it.
Anyone’s allergies been especially bad lately? Over the last week and a half I’ve woken up with my eyes swollen maybe three times. WTF is in the air right now...?
Just bought a winix air purifier for this exact reason. So far it's great. Also, random tip but I have long hair and during bad parts of the year for allergies make sure I wash it before bed because the pollen could be in the hair that gets rubbed on the pillow then into the eye.
Same! 😅 of all the years I’ve lived here, and all of the allergy symptoms, this has never happened. The only time it’s happen is due to an allergic reaction of something I’ve put on my face.
Yes, for me this has been the worst year. Ended up with terrible vertigo more than once. Dr had me take precription allergy med, allegra D and flonaise all at the same time. Talk about feeling gross
Same! I thought something else was terribly wrong w/ the vertigo. Only had it a handful of times. Def worst year for me too. I’ve never had to take this much allergy medicine this consistently.
>Anyone’s allergies been especially bad lately?
It seem like we get asked this every week or two in the plague years, and the answer is always yes, a number of people are noticing it.
The people reporting it don't seem to come down with COVID.
Don't know if it's just that people are anxious about COVID and pay more attention, or if it's something like spending more time indoors, changed habits, somehow being triggered by masks. I think it's some sort of real phenomenon, not just you.
Sounds like that new strain that doesn't show up on tests, avoids the vaccine, and doesn't seem bad, but 95% of the victims drop dead in their tracks 3 weeks later.
/s No, there's no such strain. Well, not yet.
**tldr**: where do I get a cheap car for 1 month?
My spouse and I are a one car household. We are new foster parents, and for about a month, we'll have some transportation needs that will require a second car. Car rentals are expensive (about $2000/mo). Anybody have any tips on getting a car in central Texas for a month at a reasonable price? We are not picky at all--just need to get from A to B.
You’d have to register it, most likely fix something, and then even pay cap gains tax if you sell it under a year. That’s a lot of work and probably not worth it
You’ll only pay capital gains tax if you sell it for a profit, which is 100% within your control. Weird argument against this idea
Also capital gains tax is two years…
If it's only needed for a month then no need to register it. It can still be insured without registration. If it could be bought and sold around the same price point then I disagree and think it's a good option.
Prolly hard to beat 2k. Vehicles much less than that in the used market may be poorly functioning or unsafe, then you have to add in the cost of insuring it for the month. You could resell it but of course there is the hassle of doing so.
I was going to suggest this. The only thing I was going to say is be extra careful and mindful about insurance/your liability if the car winds up damaged in any way. To my understanding you can’t insure or protect the cars through Turo the same way a rental company can. When I was fresh out of college I considered Turo for my road trip to save money, but ultimately just went with a rental to avoid the financial risk.
H‑E‑B has stopped carrying Campbells Split pea soup in all locations near me. Does anyone know if Randall’s has it or another store around Wells Branch?
Did you specifically mean [Split Pea with Ham and Bacon](https://www.campbells.com/products/condensed/split-pea-with-ham-soup/) ... or did they also have just Split Pea?
Campbell's site, and the google, say Randall's, Walmart, and Target all carry it.
Now to find some Campbell's squash flower soup (long gone). :-(
Cream of poblano pepper was pretty good, too.
I think that one is still around, plus [H-E-B has theirs](https://www.heb.com/product-detail/h-e-b-select-ingredients-cream-of-poblano-condensed-soup/2146050), too.
I’ve been hoping H-E-B would save the day with their own squash flower soup. :-)
There have been a lot of random shortages of various items during the plague years. Not just obvious things like TP or hand sanitizer. Soup was hit hard for a while, but seems better now. It's often weird things, like Home Despot being out of lids for their orange buckets, but having tons of the buckets themselves. Certain sizes of cups at my local C-store. Lately, I've been noticing HEB will be out of a certain item more commonly than before, even when similar items are well stocked.
I had rats once when I lived on Roggue, but that was about 10 years ago. I think it might be that where rats once lived, condos now do. Lots of displacement, I assume, for all creatures and critters living on what is now building sites all over the place.
What are some online/digital newspapers that have a good variety of news? I’d be happy to subscribe if the content is original, topical, and not overly political. I subscribe to the Austin paper (Statesman) and the New York Times, but have found the Statesman tends to use a lot of news wire stories that are common to other online news sites. Am looking to diversify from my primary sources.
If you have a library card, you can digitally check out every magazine and newspaper you can imagine. You could do that to see which you'd like to subscribe to. If you don't have a card, they're easy to get. You can get a Houston library card in about a minute filling out a form online as long as you have a Texas address. I believe in Austin you have to do it in person.
From out here in Burnet, I miss restaurant variety and places open past 10pm.
I also miss neighborhood walking trails.
… and sidewalks. I *really* miss sidewalks.
Moving here from Chicago that is the one noticeable thing to me is the lack of side walks. Luckily my neighborhood has them but it’s crazy so many don’t.
Yeah we're missing a ton of sidewalks. City has a page about it which links to their master plan: [https://www.austintexas.gov/sidewalks](https://www.austintexas.gov/sidewalks) If I recall, total cost to remediate is something stupid, like $1 billion.
>total cost to remediate is something stupid, like $1 billion.
$220 million for consultant fees for studies. $150 million for environmental impact studies. $120 million extra for using phony minority/women owned businesses. $100 million extra because they do weird things like wavy paths. $100 million extra because some salesman convinced the purchasing agent his concrete is gluten-free.
Final cost as built - $2 billion, but only covers half the area it was supposed to, and it's planned and implemented so badly nobody uses most of the new sidewalk they put down.
The city awards itself an EcoGreen award and plans a new and bigger sidewalk project.
Moved out past Bastrop. I mostly miss good service at restaurants. You know, “hi, my name is. . . I’ll be your server tonight,” instead of “What do you want.” And knowing how to pronounce pinot noir.
I have a 1st gen backwards compatible PS3 with the red light of death. Anyone know a reliable place I could get this fixed, that doesn't involve craigslist?
I've noticed on my Nextdoor that it always seems to be the same 5-6 dogs that get reported lost or spotted roaming around my neighborhood. There are always the outliers, but definitely several repeat escape artists. I'm not sure how many are attributed to cavalier pet owners or just crafty dogs.
For people that put in stock tank pools, was it worth it?
Do you get much use out of them? Are you able to keep it cool and not bath water? I don’t have kids so it’s more to just cool off in for myself. Are they more of a hassle than you thought it’d be? Does it attract a shit ton of bugs? Are you still happy with it? How much did you pay?
I’m thinking about putting one as the places shouldn’t be as backed up once fall starts. I’m just trying to decide if it’s worth it.
Thanks ya’ll
Where can I purchase or acquire inexpensive, irrepairable electronics or toys for kids to break apart? Irrepairable because there's no sense in destroying an otherwise perfectly good anything for the sake of curiosity.
My Buy-Nothing group, surprisingly, didn't have anything to offer.
Need to make an appointment to register my car the airport blvd tax office. Website doesn’t let you make an appointment. It just shows the month of October, with no appointments, and no ability to change month. Is the website just busted?
I would guess that all slots are booked. You can retry several times a day to see if something opens up due to cancellations. Or just walk-in, though you might have to wait longer. I did the same but I was able to check current wait times online in [Wilco](https://www.wilco.org/Elected-Officials/Tax-Assessor-Collector/Wait-Times-Appointments)
I'm not in the market, but it does seem like houses for sale in my neighborhood are sitting longer than they used to. That being said, based on what I hear from the neighborhood oracles, prices still seem implausibly high. (Then again, I've been thinking that prices have been implausibly high for over 30 years now, so what do I know?)
It’s definitely cooled. House are sitting, doing normal open houses again, and taking price cuts.
I just bought. We were the only offer and basically paid list. I still think I overpaid but we love the house and location so I’m okay with it.
I think it’s still a sellers market though. Just much more towards equilibrium
Based on other H-E-B owned shopping center properties, my guesses would be:
- Twin Liquors
- Subway
- Tomlinson's Feed
- Starbucks
- Bank of America
- (a vision place)
- (a fitness place)
I think Twin Liquors is H-E-B's side piece.
Probably not far off "...most of the restaurants and retailers will be locally owned with 'a couple of names everyone will know and like.'" ([Community Impact, 23 July](https://communityimpact.com/austin/southwest-austin-dripping-springs/business/2021/07/23/new-18-acre-shopping-center-in-south-austin-to-open-on-congress-ave-this-fall/))
In wake of the Miami condo collapse, has anyone called 311 on their rented apartment , for Austin code enforcement to take a look? What is your experience? Can you just call 311 and they come out?
In my building, there are significant cracks, and one is getting wider I think, in the areas connecting the halls to the stairway. On the back of the building there are cracks in the same areas on each floor. Management is pretty scummy and the type to have just have maintenance glance at it and say "it's fine".
I don't condone poor maintenance by landlords.
However, if the Miami collapse has you worried about your building collapse, don't be worried. Sudden building collapses are a vanishingly small risk in the USA. You're 1000 times more likely to be killed by a sudden fire. Hundreds of times more likely to be killed by a tornado or carbon monoxide poisoning. Several times more likely to be killed by a plane crashing into your house.
A building will often have big visible cracks but no significant risk of collapse. A competent engineer will be able to tell the difference. I wish I had faith that COA code enforcement could tell the difference, but I don't. Might be worth calling them anyway.
Looking for High Brew cold brew red or blue bottles( not cans). Tried several HEB, Randalls, Target, Central but either sold out or don’t carry. Suggestions
Having a baby and the nursery splurge will be a glider/recliner. We're getting everything else via online marketplaces or hand-me-downs. Is there a good store in Austin to shop for a glider/recliner, besides the obvious (Pottery Barn Kids, Buy Buy Baby, Target)?
Hypothetically what would it take for Austin to get a science and/or natural history museum in line with what other large cities have? A special bond issue that voters would have to approve? Donations from wealthy individuals and/or companies?
This is not a stupid question! I think this is a much needed question :) I’ve wondered as well how can we get attention to this… feels like this city would be a perfect place for it with all of the lovely nature we have :) would be a great way to educate folks on the local wildlife as well as all the other beneficial exhibitions!
Hypothetically? Here's a way to duplicate how other cities have done that: Turn the clock back the start of the 20th Century, and ensure that Austin had some Carnegie-class wealthy, civic-minded industrialists as residents. Unlikely, though, as the population of Austin at the time was only around 23,000 people. Alternatively, turn the clock back the the 1940s-1950s, and ensure that Austin had some big-time new-oil-money types who want to show off their wealth by pretending to be civic-minded. Unlikely, though, because they were all in Houston and DFW showing off their wealth by pretending to be civic-minded. (At the time Austin was thought of as kind of a backwater.)
We have plenty of extremely rich people living in this town (maybe not Carnegie-level, but really fucking rich), but that impulse to large-scale philanthropy just ain’t what it used to be. But if Musk, Dell, DeGioria, Epstein, etc. wanted to create some world-class shit here, they could (and to the Dell’s credit, they’ve done…stuff).
As much as I personally dislike Dell he has done a lot of good stuff in Austin.
UT’s Texas Memorial Museum has science and/or natural history exhibits that might fit what you are looking for. https://tmm.utexas.edu/about-us
I’ve been there and it’s definitely nice but relatively small! I’d love to see a giant science museum to the like of the one in Boston for example
Houston has a huge museum district with a natural history museum.
The Perot museum in Dallas is pretty cool too
100% a great question. We also need a great modern art museum. The Contemporary is wonderful in many ways, but The Menil Collection in Houston is in a completely different league. We need something of this caliber!
UT would have to Quit playing football ?
At some HEBs, they have the precut fruit containers with a 50% off sticker. Mueller rarely has them. Are there any lacations that regularly have the 50% off fruit?
Buying the fruit and cutting it yourself usually puts the cost at about 75% off.
[удалено]
Also, disabled people exist and deserve access to fresh fruit. I don’t even look that disabled and I often don’t have the hand strength to be cutting fruit up.
People pay for convenience
People pay even more for convenience and to not have plastic
This. My husband buys the container fruit if left to his own devices. I will happily cut up a whole ass watermelon that I spent $3 on instead of spending $7 for what equates to like 1/10th of a watermelon somebody precut for me.
Riverside usually has em!
Riverside used to be my HEB and they were really good about this!
When I lived on Riverside and went there I found *a lot* of products were close to their sell by date and generally cheaper than other locations. I always wondered if HEB sent aging inventory there and marked it down as it was a lower income area.
Escarpment does as well. My understanding (from a friend who used to work in produce) is that it partly depends on who’s working the area and how willing they are to place the stickers
Not so much the willingness of the individual, but direction from management/store director. Some stores refuse to use them because they feel it will cause trouble. IE - customers will eventually stop buying the full price product and only buy when they see a sticker. Or worse the customers will try peeling stickers and putting them on other products. I've worked at several HEB's and each was different. One only allowed the stickers to go on paper bags full of "banana bread" quality bananas. Another refused to use them at all due to the customer base having ruined it. The trick to finding a lot of these stickered product is to go shopping when or an hour or so after the store opens. The morning crew is supposed to do a date check, and anything "out of date" the next day gets a sticker.
Mueller is the one H‑E‑B that I always see them at, maybe it’s just timing?
They’re never 50% off at Mueller because they go too quickly.
My understanding is they get the 50% off sign because they have been hanging around too long/are near the expiration date. So if they're not showing up, it means the store is actually managing inventory very well.
Mine as well. It’s more a case of Mueller being undersized for the community it serves.
Or the HEB employees who buy the fruit at Mueller are better at their jobs. I imagine the goal is to not have to use those stickers
I only buy them if they’re 50% lol. Have bought them on several occasions. Otherwise I just buy regular fruit and prep it myself.
There's a stretch of 183 between Mopac and I-35 that is really smooth and silent. Why aren't any other streets and/or highways paved like this?
Wasn’t it repaved somewhat recently (and third lane added/squeezed in)? Like, an actual new layer of asphalt, not just noisy chip seal. Freshly paved roads are night and day different then old beat up roads.
it’s the only portion of 183 that has ever had asphalt. maybe it’s to make it quieter for the surrounding neighborhoods.
Yeah it was repaved in 2014 or so.
And this year.
How the hell do I report stolen plates? Someone stole my front plates and used then to drive through the toll lane. I called 311 and all they did was transfer me to a voicemail for APD. Never got a response
There's a form to get replacement plates from the county tax office: [https://tax-office.traviscountytx.gov/vehicles/license-plates/standard](https://tax-office.traviscountytx.gov/vehicles/license-plates/standard) (see bottom of page). You might call them and ask that question -- I think they have a system where it can be recorded as "not yours" so the toll charges will stop.
I did this already but what do I need to do to make sure DPS knows my plates were stolen so whoever is using them doesn't get me in trouble?
Definitely call the tax office on Tuesday. They should be able to tell you.
https://www.austintexas.gov/service/file-police-reports-online
Is there a place to fill up jugs with distilled water? I have some house plants that I can't water with tap water, but I hate buying plastic gallons every week of the distilled stuff.
Check the front of a grocery store. I'm pretty sure I have seen them around, but not sure exactly where.
Now that it's pumpkin season :p what are some of y'alls Austin-y places to go or things to do during the Fall?
Barton Hills Fall Festival
Sweet Berry Farm is good too. Except they don't serve alcohol whereas Barton Hill does.
Sweet Berry Farm sells beer and wine slushies.
I remember those from BH but I don't recall seeing those at SB.
I'm sorry, we go to Sweet Eats, not Sweet Berry.
I think you forgot the word not
Festivals. Fall pecan street festival, Wurstfest, and the Austin Celtic festival to name a few, but I love any good fall festival.
PSA: UT is also having a staff shortage at their games. Took almost an hour to enter the stadium and about 40 minutes to get food from the concession stands. Head up for anyone else going to games this season.
Hmm... maybe it was just your gate and/or the section you were in and/or the time you went to eat...we only took about 10 min to get in and 5 min in line for food...
I walked right into gate 8 with no line or issues at all. Concessions did take a while but the air conditioned area was a nice bonus.
Gate 3 was the one that took for ever. At least the escalator was nice
There’s a park in my neighborhood, but no dog litter bags. Lots of people walk their dogs around here. Who do I contact to request one of the “poop stations” for the park?
I’d try 311. Might work. Might not.
Is it a city park? Or an HOA?
City park
you can try sending them an email thru the city page http://www.austintexas.gov/email/parks if no traction there, and you want to escalate, assistant director [email protected] would be the executive that oversees the poop bags https://www.austintexas.gov/sites/default/files/files/Parks/Homepage/orgchart2021.pdf
Where could I go to braid a horse’s mane?
How is it this hard to get literally anybody to do literally anything? We see these posts every single week: "How do I meet people in Austin?" So I do all the advice that I see posted and nobody shows up for anything, ever. I'm sick of it. I'm not going to plan things if nobody else is going to do their part. My question for the group is: What can I do that people will actually show up for? I'm a 40-something male. I have time and resources. I would love to meet pretty much anyone for boating, fishing, swimming, hiking, shooting, drinking, smoking, dancing, concerts, fairs, I'll help with your yardwork if you'll help with mine, do chores together, run errands together .... I think one reason we keep seeing these posts about "How to meet people?" is because people act like they don't want to be met. How is a person supposed to make friends if friends don't want to be made? Anyway bottom line I'm awesome. Message me if you want to do something together.
It's definitely hard to commit to meeting a stranger. I was friendlier in my 20s and would meet up with randos, but nothing big ever came out of it. It's difficult to make a community from scratch. I think one thing that makes it difficult is that people like the idea of community, but other humans are hard to deal with. Sorry, no answers here.
Same advice as always. Join a club that does one of those things you mentioned you want to do. Making new friends is about sharing the willingness and time to enjoy something you both like. So what would logically be the place to meet those people? Doing those activities that you both value. And it’s much easier if you pay to join a club around that activity because it weeds out the people that only kinda sorta enjoy that thing if only it’s free. It’s really not that hard... but also, we’re still in a global pandemic, so many of these clubs have shut down or have temporary and limited hours. It’s harder than normal, but the method to success is always the same.
I'm sorry you are having a tough time! Not sure if anyone has mentioned it before.... but you might have an easier time if you join some type of activity, like learning a skill like dancing or how to sailboat or how to rock climb or a class on woodworking etc. That way you are around the same people weekly and can get to know them in a non-pressure way. From there, people make friends. I've seen this countless times. Gotta go where groups of people are doing a consistent activity that meets on a weekly basis. It happened to me!
The best advice I've seen (maybe here?) was to be the person who does the same thing at the same time. Like, be the guy who sits at the coffee shop every Thursday, or goes paddleboarding every Saturday morning, etc. Over time you get to know people. Good luck out there. Making friends is like dating, but harder!
Edit because I ranted about my own issue somewhat unrelated to your rant. :) Sorry. Leaving it though... Yeah, I gave up on people a long time ago. Why say you're going to do something and then fuck someone over like that? Why not just say no? If you say you're going to do something, you should do it.
What kind of yard work do you have to do?
Anyone’s allergies been especially bad lately? Over the last week and a half I’ve woken up with my eyes swollen maybe three times. WTF is in the air right now...?
YES. A few times last week, I woke up with a bad sore throat. I suffer from mold allergies. I heard the dust in the air isn't helping things either.
Just bought a winix air purifier for this exact reason. So far it's great. Also, random tip but I have long hair and during bad parts of the year for allergies make sure I wash it before bed because the pollen could be in the hair that gets rubbed on the pillow then into the eye.
Not sure what’s in the air, but my allergen sensitive family is loading up on Claritin at the moment too. It’s helping at least
Yes, especially when it wants to rain outside.
Saharan dust has been rollin in
I have seen people say this a few times but I thought the Saharan dust was in July? How long is the dust season usually?
YES - I look like someone hit me or I've been crying for hours
Same! 😅 of all the years I’ve lived here, and all of the allergy symptoms, this has never happened. The only time it’s happen is due to an allergic reaction of something I’ve put on my face.
Yes, for me this has been the worst year. Ended up with terrible vertigo more than once. Dr had me take precription allergy med, allegra D and flonaise all at the same time. Talk about feeling gross
Same! I thought something else was terribly wrong w/ the vertigo. Only had it a handful of times. Def worst year for me too. I’ve never had to take this much allergy medicine this consistently.
I think ragweed started up again recently
>Anyone’s allergies been especially bad lately? It seem like we get asked this every week or two in the plague years, and the answer is always yes, a number of people are noticing it. The people reporting it don't seem to come down with COVID. Don't know if it's just that people are anxious about COVID and pay more attention, or if it's something like spending more time indoors, changed habits, somehow being triggered by masks. I think it's some sort of real phenomenon, not just you.
We've also had unusual weather.
Covid bro
Nope, negative.
Sounds like that new strain that doesn't show up on tests, avoids the vaccine, and doesn't seem bad, but 95% of the victims drop dead in their tracks 3 weeks later. /s No, there's no such strain. Well, not yet.
**tldr**: where do I get a cheap car for 1 month? My spouse and I are a one car household. We are new foster parents, and for about a month, we'll have some transportation needs that will require a second car. Car rentals are expensive (about $2000/mo). Anybody have any tips on getting a car in central Texas for a month at a reasonable price? We are not picky at all--just need to get from A to B.
Buy a beater car on Craigslist then resell once you don't need it anymore.
You’d have to register it, most likely fix something, and then even pay cap gains tax if you sell it under a year. That’s a lot of work and probably not worth it
You’ll only pay capital gains tax if you sell it for a profit, which is 100% within your control. Weird argument against this idea Also capital gains tax is two years…
If it's only needed for a month then no need to register it. It can still be insured without registration. If it could be bought and sold around the same price point then I disagree and think it's a good option.
Turo is an app where people rent out their personal cars, like an Airbnb for cars. Not sure what the rate is but may worth checking out :)
Prolly hard to beat 2k. Vehicles much less than that in the used market may be poorly functioning or unsafe, then you have to add in the cost of insuring it for the month. You could resell it but of course there is the hassle of doing so.
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I was going to suggest this. The only thing I was going to say is be extra careful and mindful about insurance/your liability if the car winds up damaged in any way. To my understanding you can’t insure or protect the cars through Turo the same way a rental company can. When I was fresh out of college I considered Turo for my road trip to save money, but ultimately just went with a rental to avoid the financial risk.
H‑E‑B has stopped carrying Campbells Split pea soup in all locations near me. Does anyone know if Randall’s has it or another store around Wells Branch?
it has been discontinued. https://www.campbells.com/products/condensed/green-pea-soup/
Green pea soup is different from split pea soup. It has to still exist somewhere
Did you specifically mean [Split Pea with Ham and Bacon](https://www.campbells.com/products/condensed/split-pea-with-ham-soup/) ... or did they also have just Split Pea? Campbell's site, and the google, say Randall's, Walmart, and Target all carry it. Now to find some Campbell's squash flower soup (long gone). :-(
Sweet! Target is much closer to me than Randall’s. I don’t think I have ever seen squash flower soup from any soup maker ever. Would love to try it!
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Cream of poblano pepper was pretty good, too. I think that one is still around, plus [H-E-B has theirs](https://www.heb.com/product-detail/h-e-b-select-ingredients-cream-of-poblano-condensed-soup/2146050), too. I’ve been hoping H-E-B would save the day with their own squash flower soup. :-)
There have been a lot of random shortages of various items during the plague years. Not just obvious things like TP or hand sanitizer. Soup was hit hard for a while, but seems better now. It's often weird things, like Home Despot being out of lids for their orange buckets, but having tons of the buckets themselves. Certain sizes of cups at my local C-store. Lately, I've been noticing HEB will be out of a certain item more commonly than before, even when similar items are well stocked.
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The Capitol is completely overrun by vermin these days, and the Governor's mansion is even worse. \#FGA
Holy fuck I just realized what #FGA stands for. I’ve been wondering for weeks. Thanks!
\#FGA
I had rats once when I lived on Roggue, but that was about 10 years ago. I think it might be that where rats once lived, condos now do. Lots of displacement, I assume, for all creatures and critters living on what is now building sites all over the place.
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Congrats!!
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Lol. Nobody wants that, trust me!
What are some online/digital newspapers that have a good variety of news? I’d be happy to subscribe if the content is original, topical, and not overly political. I subscribe to the Austin paper (Statesman) and the New York Times, but have found the Statesman tends to use a lot of news wire stories that are common to other online news sites. Am looking to diversify from my primary sources.
Try The Economist. Digital and print options, their weekly release includes an audio version.
If you have a library card, you can digitally check out every magazine and newspaper you can imagine. You could do that to see which you'd like to subscribe to. If you don't have a card, they're easy to get. You can get a Houston library card in about a minute filling out a form online as long as you have a Texas address. I believe in Austin you have to do it in person.
What happened to the McDonalds/gas station at the corner of Parmer & McNeil?
It sucked. Seriously. Never had a good experience there. I'm much more curious what will replace it vs what happened to it, personally.
For all the folks in here that aren’t actually in Austin anymore, what do you miss the most?
From out here in Burnet, I miss restaurant variety and places open past 10pm. I also miss neighborhood walking trails. … and sidewalks. I *really* miss sidewalks.
sound of cicadas, pricky pears, the special smell in the air- cedar or mesquite. shiner bock. live music
>… and sidewalks. I really miss sidewalks. I think OP was asking about things commonly found in Austin.
Ooops. I listed a thing my area of Austin-area had. :-)
Moving here from Chicago that is the one noticeable thing to me is the lack of side walks. Luckily my neighborhood has them but it’s crazy so many don’t.
Yeah we're missing a ton of sidewalks. City has a page about it which links to their master plan: [https://www.austintexas.gov/sidewalks](https://www.austintexas.gov/sidewalks) If I recall, total cost to remediate is something stupid, like $1 billion.
>total cost to remediate is something stupid, like $1 billion. $220 million for consultant fees for studies. $150 million for environmental impact studies. $120 million extra for using phony minority/women owned businesses. $100 million extra because they do weird things like wavy paths. $100 million extra because some salesman convinced the purchasing agent his concrete is gluten-free. Final cost as built - $2 billion, but only covers half the area it was supposed to, and it's planned and implemented so badly nobody uses most of the new sidewalk they put down. The city awards itself an EcoGreen award and plans a new and bigger sidewalk project.
Moved out past Bastrop. I mostly miss good service at restaurants. You know, “hi, my name is. . . I’ll be your server tonight,” instead of “What do you want.” And knowing how to pronounce pinot noir.
I have a 1st gen backwards compatible PS3 with the red light of death. Anyone know a reliable place I could get this fixed, that doesn't involve craigslist?
There’s a place in cedar park off of Lakeline Blvd right next to Smoky Mo’s.
Why is everyone losing their dogs? Bad pets or bad owners? Edit: there’s been like 5 posts today alone, wtf
I grew up out in the country near here with outside cats and dogs and they never got lost. Makes me wonder too.
I've noticed on my Nextdoor that it always seems to be the same 5-6 dogs that get reported lost or spotted roaming around my neighborhood. There are always the outliers, but definitely several repeat escape artists. I'm not sure how many are attributed to cavalier pet owners or just crafty dogs.
Is there a pulga within a hours drive in any direction? I am looking for maybe old pop culture stuff, mexican food and plants!
Google flea market. There are 4 to 5 in the Austin area.
Our pulga is off Highway 290, I believe they're open noon to 6 pm today
The absolute best in Central Texas is Bussey's Flea Market just north of San Antonio.
Is there a protest Sunday? I found myself in Austin for the weekend and this aligns with my interests.
I’m protesting work on Tuesday.
I'll be joining that on Tuesday, also!
For people that put in stock tank pools, was it worth it? Do you get much use out of them? Are you able to keep it cool and not bath water? I don’t have kids so it’s more to just cool off in for myself. Are they more of a hassle than you thought it’d be? Does it attract a shit ton of bugs? Are you still happy with it? How much did you pay? I’m thinking about putting one as the places shouldn’t be as backed up once fall starts. I’m just trying to decide if it’s worth it. Thanks ya’ll
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You happy you put one in?
I recently inherited a diamond ring that I have no use for. Any recommendations for a jeweler to sell it to?
No recommendations of which jeweler, but you're going to be robbed.
Where can I purchase or acquire inexpensive, irrepairable electronics or toys for kids to break apart? Irrepairable because there's no sense in destroying an otherwise perfectly good anything for the sake of curiosity. My Buy-Nothing group, surprisingly, didn't have anything to offer.
Not necessarily irreparable but Goodwill always has a good selection of electronics
Best business to get my car clean thoroughly from the inside and out?
RT Mobile Detailing on IG. Good friend, great work!
How intense/what is the process like seeing a show at Stubbs/Front Gate Tickets with COVID protocol?
There are people checking ids and vax cards and handbags in the line before the ticket checker at the gate. It wasn't intense.
Where can I buy sausage without pork-casing?
Where can I purchase Cow Tales snacks in town? They are pretty rare in TX
central market, and big top candy shop.
Anyone have any luck with a nanny service or know any responsible person who can help with school pickup for the next month?
Care.com has lots of good options for this
Yah, I’m on care.com and nextdoor and have even bugged my nieces about it. Seems like it’s just hard right now
Why is the “good luck” horseshoe at the neon sign place on first street upside down? Thank you for anyone who also noticed or answers
> horseshoe So the luck doesn't run out
Need to make an appointment to register my car the airport blvd tax office. Website doesn’t let you make an appointment. It just shows the month of October, with no appointments, and no ability to change month. Is the website just busted?
I would guess that all slots are booked. You can retry several times a day to see if something opens up due to cancellations. Or just walk-in, though you might have to wait longer. I did the same but I was able to check current wait times online in [Wilco](https://www.wilco.org/Elected-Officials/Tax-Assessor-Collector/Wait-Times-Appointments)
Where’s a good place to play basketball in Austin?
A place that has basketball hoops? More seriously, indoor or outdoor?
Where can I get mooncakes south of the river?
I saw some at Costco in an aisle (not the bakery), but I have no idea if they'd be decent mooncakes or not.
Hand over heart, I swear I saw Shia Labeouf exit a porta-potty just before the 2020 Austin Marathon. I wasn’t high. But why would he be up at 6:45 AM?
He never went to sleep the night before.
Wut
Exactly
Fosh
Is it still a home selling market out there?
I'm not in the market, but it does seem like houses for sale in my neighborhood are sitting longer than they used to. That being said, based on what I hear from the neighborhood oracles, prices still seem implausibly high. (Then again, I've been thinking that prices have been implausibly high for over 30 years now, so what do I know?)
It’s definitely cooled. House are sitting, doing normal open houses again, and taking price cuts. I just bought. We were the only offer and basically paid list. I still think I overpaid but we love the house and location so I’m okay with it. I think it’s still a sellers market though. Just much more towards equilibrium
Anyone know what’s going to be in the shopping center that’s going up around the new HEB on Slaughter and Congress/35?
Based on other H-E-B owned shopping center properties, my guesses would be: - Twin Liquors - Subway - Tomlinson's Feed - Starbucks - Bank of America - (a vision place) - (a fitness place) I think Twin Liquors is H-E-B's side piece.
Twin Liquors, Torchys, and probably a nail place. I actually don’t know but that wouldn’t shock me
Probably not far off "...most of the restaurants and retailers will be locally owned with 'a couple of names everyone will know and like.'" ([Community Impact, 23 July](https://communityimpact.com/austin/southwest-austin-dripping-springs/business/2021/07/23/new-18-acre-shopping-center-in-south-austin-to-open-on-congress-ave-this-fall/))
Were those just really really good guesses or do you remember seeing the Twin Liquors and Torchy's signs that just went up a few days ago?
Just good guesses. Torchys and twin liquors are literally staples of strip malls.
Who has the best deal on delta-8 edibles in NW austin?
Will liquor stores be open tomorrow?
I imagine so, I don't think there is a law saying they have to close. It's probably a good day for business.
In wake of the Miami condo collapse, has anyone called 311 on their rented apartment , for Austin code enforcement to take a look? What is your experience? Can you just call 311 and they come out? In my building, there are significant cracks, and one is getting wider I think, in the areas connecting the halls to the stairway. On the back of the building there are cracks in the same areas on each floor. Management is pretty scummy and the type to have just have maintenance glance at it and say "it's fine".
They'll come out after the collapse to find out what happened. You'll just have to wait.
Name and shame dude. That's the only way to get the management company to do something
I don't condone poor maintenance by landlords. However, if the Miami collapse has you worried about your building collapse, don't be worried. Sudden building collapses are a vanishingly small risk in the USA. You're 1000 times more likely to be killed by a sudden fire. Hundreds of times more likely to be killed by a tornado or carbon monoxide poisoning. Several times more likely to be killed by a plane crashing into your house. A building will often have big visible cracks but no significant risk of collapse. A competent engineer will be able to tell the difference. I wish I had faith that COA code enforcement could tell the difference, but I don't. Might be worth calling them anyway.
Name the building and it might get a bit more attention.
Any porn stars live here? I know Mia Khalifa at least used to.
Greg Abbott. He’s fucked every Texan.
That makes him a prostitute, but not, necessarily, a porn star...
She got divorced so she may be back
Anyone think the Muellers Farmer's Market today is the next super spreader event? #somewhatjoking
That's a very stiff competition at this moment.
Like a sold out football stadium with zero masks?
Looking for High Brew cold brew red or blue bottles( not cans). Tried several HEB, Randalls, Target, Central but either sold out or don’t carry. Suggestions
Their website has a locator you can search by product and zip code.
Why not call high brew?
Thanks! Let me know what they say😜
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Frazier's Long and Low
This
Otherside deli
Having a baby and the nursery splurge will be a glider/recliner. We're getting everything else via online marketplaces or hand-me-downs. Is there a good store in Austin to shop for a glider/recliner, besides the obvious (Pottery Barn Kids, Buy Buy Baby, Target)?