I should be a native texan - but I was born in the smallest state in the union - yes I am a yankee with a twang - and I grew up in Hawaii! But my grandmother's family have pig and peanut farms all around floresville and pleasanton. My Uncle Buster (Buster Brown) has 182 children, grandchilren, great grandchildren and great-great grand kiddies smothering the landscape in south texas. We have family reunions in Verde (between Floresville and Pleasanton) once a year. I think Verde Texas is three farms, an "ice house" and the park we have those reunions at!

Houston is really crowded - they're cutting down the pine stands and building - building - building. The air quality is terrible. I went on vacation to Rosemary Beach, Florida - and - the sky, at night, was "black" to the horizon - the stars were crystal bright. In Houston there is a permenant haze with a little hole at the top revealing fuzzy stars.

In tall buildings, visitors see ground level clouds and think it's [quaint] early morning dew! But it's pure ozone! A couple of years ago, the environmental regulators hoped to impose a 60mph speed to bring it down - but the cops and DA just gave up - one driver pulled over was just one less traffic cop the rest of us had to worry about.

City hall is considering an L-train - but they keep on building toll booths - HWY 8 is a cash cow. I spent 40 minutes, on the way to my SIG in the Galeria, waiting to move 10 car lenghts (in the Post Oak off ramp - no kidding) 290 was backed up 5 miles (both directions), because one driver got ansi on an entrance ramp. It's nice to be self employed - cuts down the driving - I have accounts in Baytown and League City that require onsites once in a while - and the drive kills me - not a moments resipitive'.

But the people here are some of the nicest I've met - everyone in Houston sees to have come from some place else. A cornucopia of humanity - prefessionals - especially in the Energy Sector - from all over the globe.

You know what the summers are like - sometimes it would be nice to trade out for a couple of "cool" LA nights.

My Dental Hygentist told me Flagstaff is bueatiful in October - so I am looking forward to being there!

>Well, Terry, it'd be cool having you there since you seem to have a lot of good humor; we could use some of that at the conference. Do you do stand up comedy? I'm serious now. Plus, you are in the greatest state of the USA (I was born in Fort Worth). Are you a native born Texan?
>

I wish those closest to me apreciated my sense of humor - but they "are not amused":)

>I lived in Houston the majority of my childhood, down south of south Houston. Do you ever go down to Clear Lake City, or any of that area along the Gulf Coast?

League City and Clear Lake are right next to each other. I went to the space center - saw the saturn (18?). Its big - but sure seemed small for a trip to the moon!

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>Cecil
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>>I've never been to one - and - like you - I need to budget for it. Maybe I can make this one!
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>>I am curious who all on the UT Forum are going to the Southwest Fox Conference October 22-24, 2004?
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>>http://www.southwestfox.com
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>>I decided to go, partly because Arizona is a state in which I spent nearly two years back between 1976 and 1978; it is quite an interesting state, hotter than all git out, but in latter October should be settled down pretty well by then. Well, okay, I wanted to go to a VFP conference, but didn't want to spend the beaucoup bucks at DevCon, as I am an independent developer.
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>>I don't have a big company backing me up, as happened back in the late 90's with the DevCon I went to in 1996 and 1997. [1996 -Scottsdale, Arizona, 1997- DevCon San Diego]. So, I'm going to the one that's within my budget and over a weekend so that I don't lose too much billing time.
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>>I have no affiliation with these guys at this conference, but I thought I'd put in a shameless plug <g> for them and see if we can round up some more people to go. It looks like we'll have a good time and also some very interesting and well-known speakers. I hope you'll attend.
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>>Cecil
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>Imagination is more important than knowledge