Houston Building Explosion

[RWebb]

n a world where you can be anything, be kind

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by red-beard

Another coffee maker gone bad.

[slow&rusty]

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

Another coffee maker gone bad.

After feeling my house shake from this explosion and having visited the site of this tragedy where there was loss of life and hundreds of homes and families severely impacted I don't find your comment particularly humorous.

[svandamme]

Originally Posted by dafischer

Amazing how much damage an out of control Mustang can do.

them Gas Monkey weirdo's probably jacked it up a bit more with a crate engine and naws.. Might as well give a pound of meth to an elephant...

[David]

My shop supervisor was talking to a grind shop today where we have a job that was due Monday. He said the guy at the grind shop was pretty somber as it has hit the whole grinding community in Houston very hard. All the shops have had safety stand downs this week to go over the gases they use in HVOF processes and to make sure their safety controls are up to par. They’ve all been talking to each other and the Watson Grinding owner has been talking to all the other owners. He did say Watson is still paying all their employees and sounds like they’re going to help the home owners around them.

[Jolly Amaranto]

HVOF = High-Velocity Oxygen Fuel coating.

[pmax]

Originally Posted by LWJ

I'm still stuck that there is no zoning...

No zoning.

Does that mean there's a titty club every corner ?

[red-beard]

Originally Posted by pmax

No zoning.

Does that mean there's a titty club every corner ?

There are a lot

[Jolly Amaranto]

Originally Posted by LWJ

I'm still stuck that there is no zoning...

It has been that way since forever. The lack of zoning is so entrenched in the local culture that it will never happen. "My great grand daddy didn't need it so we ain't gona have it." Change is hard on Texans. Back in 1974 they held a constitutional convention to replace the one written back in 1869 to replace the one written right after the Civil War. More than $3 million in appropriations was spent on the convention. After seven months the constitutional convention closed, on July 30, 1974, having failed by three votes (118 for, 62 against, and 1 not voting) to produce a document to submit to the voters. In 1975 the legislature did approve a new constitution in the form of eight amendments approved by the normal amendment process. The Bill of Rights remained unchanged, but the eight amendments went before the voters on November 4, 1975, in a special election. They were all defeated.

[red-beard]

Of course a lack of zoning, that doesn't mean a lack of government requirements, permits, ordinances, etc.

HOAs are strong here to protect the residential areas. That is the closest to zoning that we have.

[Pazuzu]

Originally Posted by pmax

No zoning.

Does that mean there's a titty club every corner ?

Just because there's no city driven zoning doesn't mean that you can do anything. Titty bars might not open of the neighborhood has some sort of governing body, and can get the city council member to fight it. There was just (like, last week) a big case where a gravel company wanted to build right in a poor neighborhood, and the residents went a far as they could to fight it. Went all the way to the mayor, who grew up there. Now, the company wasn't LEGALLY forced to stop the construction, but they did stop, because the repercussions of it were not worth the effort. Don't bite the hand that feeds y'all ;P

[David]

There is a titty bar just south of Houston that a church almost got closed down until city council realized the club was one of the largest tax payers. The club stayed open but the church put a billboard right next to it.

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by pmax

Does that mean there's a titty club every corner ?

The only one I've been to is the Colorado (used to go to watch the football games ) I don't think it's on a corner.

[slow&rusty]

Originally Posted by David

There is a titty bar just south of Houston that a church almost got closed down until city council realized the club was one of the largest tax payers. The club stayed open but the church put a billboard right next to it.

And they have a great lunch special!

[masraum]

Originally Posted by David

My shop supervisor was talking to a grind shop today where we have a job that was due Monday. He said the guy at the grind shop was pretty somber as it has hit the whole grinding community in Houston very hard. All the shops have had safety stand downs this week to go over the gases they use in HVOF processes and to make sure their safety controls are up to par. They’ve all been talking to each other and the Watson Grinding owner has been talking to all the other owners. He did say Watson is still paying all their employees and sounds like they’re going to help the home owners around them.

That's great to hear.

Yes, lots of titty bars, all over Houston.

[pmax]

Originally Posted by red-beard

There are a lot

Predictable.

So... back to the accident, what happened ? Someone lit a cigar ?

[Pazuzu]

Originally Posted by pmax

Predictable.

So... back to the accident, what happened ? Someone lit a cigar ?

Came in early to use the gym, turned the light switch on. Might be more to it than that, but some basic thing that the guy did ended up causing a spark. The gas is super stinky, so I'm sure that he wasn't inside, with how that thing blew it must have been crapped with gas and it would have been very obvious. Even opening a creaky door might have been enough, or throwing a deadbolt open.

[slow&rusty]

With the roads (Gessner) now open, I cycled by Watson's Grinding as I have been doing for the past 9 years and stopped by the gate, the place is a scene from a movie - total devastation and sad.