According to this interesting tool on an Indonesian tourism website, the straight-line distance between Houston, Texas and Dubai, United Arab Emirates is 8,181 miles.So, when I told people in Houston before I left that I would be traveling halfway around the world for business, I wasn't being completely accurate.The earth's average circumference is about 24,881.3 miles (I say "average" because
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Army invited to a bowl - before the season even begins!
Posted on 1:49 PM by jackline
One last preseason college football note: what if your team was invited to a postseason bowl game before the season even began?That's exactly what's happened to Army. The new Poinsetta Bowl, in San Diego, has invited the Black Knights to participate in their game should they end the season with at least six wins.It won't be easy for Army. They went 4-7 last season and have road games against
2006 football outlook: the University of Houston
Posted on 12:39 PM by jackline
A month and a half ago, I reported that I was trying not to get excited about the upcoming Cougar football season. Well, those days are over. Football season is my favorite time of year and it's only a few days (and a very long, two-legged plane ride; damn you, Emirates, for not flying non-stop to Houston yet!) away, and I am officially excited. I am counting the hours until the 8 pm kickoff at
Speaking of hurricanes...
Posted on 12:25 PM by jackline
Well, it looks like I won't have to worry about Ernesto disrupting my flight home (or, for that matter, the start of football season) after all.Can't say the same thing for the people of Florida, however. They need another hurricane like Dubai needs more cars.(Sorry for the cheesy analogy, but I couldn't help it. My taxi ride back to the hotel this afternoon took over thirty minutes, even though
Katrina plus one year
Posted on 7:43 AM by jackline
As everybody who doesn't live under a rock knows by now, today is the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina's landfall. News stories and TV specials will run all day long recounting the horror of that day one year ago: when 80 percent of New Orleans flooded, coastal communities of Louisiana and Mississippi were devastated, and 1,700 people lost their lives. For hundreds of thousands of other
Saturday, August 26, 2006
Oh, great.
Posted on 7:28 AM by jackline
Say hello to Ernesto.Look where Ernesto might be headed. Notice where he might be towards the end of next week, when I'm supposed to fly back into Houston.And just in time for the start of football season, too. It figures...
Thursday, August 24, 2006
Dubai Picture Time!
Posted on 2:37 AM by jackline
I guess it's time to share a few of the pictures I've taken so far.Here's a view looking south towards Dubai Creek from my hotel. Traffic is uncharacteristically light on Al Garhoud Road (Emirates Highway 11) headed towards the bridge. In the distance you can see construction well underway on a pair of large towers at Festival City as well as a much-needed third bridge over Dubai Creek. I took
Blood on the highway
Posted on 12:55 AM by jackline
We are approaching the fifth anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks. 3,000 people lost their lives on that horrible day. Could you imagine what it would be like if the United States suffered a September 11th - like event every 25 days or so?In terms of the number of lives lost, that is exactly what is happening on our nation's highways every year. According to the National Highway
Monday, August 21, 2006
Happy Birthday, Kirby!
Posted on 12:10 PM by jackline
It’s hard to believe, but our son turns two years old today.Unfortunately, I can’t be there for his big day today, or for the small party he’ll have with Lori, my parents, Lori’s family and his great-grandparents this weekend. I hope he’ll forgive me one of these days.I’d send him a card and a present, but shipping parcels from here to the United States is expensive and I don’t know if a card
2006 football outlook: the University of North Texas
Posted on 10:57 AM by jackline
Speaking of North Texas, I really guess I should acknowledge the other half of the title of this blog and make some predictions about the Mean Green’s upcoming season.Last year was a rough year for the Darrell Dickey’s squad, whose streak of four consecutive conference championships (and New Orleans Bowl appearances) ended with a disappointing 2-9 record.So how will they do this year? Some
College football 2006: the top and the bottom
Posted on 7:43 AM by jackline
Being here in Dubai has not caused me to forget that my favorite time of year – college football season – is now less than two weeks away. Here’s my take on the coming football season, looking at both the top and the bottom of Division I-A.Both the AP sportswriters’ and the USA Today coaches’ preseason polls are out. Ohio State, coming off last year’s 10-2 season, is the preseason favorite in
A Dubai dining deal
Posted on 3:55 AM by jackline
One thing I have been doing a lot of while I’m here is eating. Not that my fat ass really needs to eat, mind you, but, given the cosmopolitan, tourist-oriented nature of this city, there’s no shortage of dining options and it’s hard to resist the urge to enjoy a nice meal in the evening. Restaurants are everywhere and just about every cuisine is available: Middle Eastern, Chinese, Thai, Indian,
My first week in Dubai
Posted on 3:48 AM by jackline
So, I’ve been here just over a week. What fun and exciting things have I seen and done so far?Well, truthfully, not much. This is a business trip, after all; it’s not a vacation. I’m here to work, and so far that’s pretty much what I’ve been doing. I expect to be working six days a week while I’m here, and even on my day off (which is Friday in the Islamic world) I’ll at least spend part of my
Sunday, August 20, 2006
The Tungurahua volcano in Ecuador
Posted on 3:22 AM by jackline
The popular tourist town of Baños is one of my favorite places to visit in Ecuador. Baños is famous for its waterfalls and mineral baths and marks the beginning of an amazingly picturesque drive along the Pastaza River to the Amazonian rainforest.Unfortunately, the town might be in trouble. It is located on the northeasteastern slopes of Tungurahua, an active volcano located in south-central
Friday, August 18, 2006
Houston's panhandling problem
Posted on 10:57 AM by jackline
Is Houston finally going to begin cracking down on its rampant panhandling problem? I'll believe it when I see it, but news like this gives me hope: a TV and radio campaign featuring the mayor urging people to help the homeless by giving to local charities instead of giving panhandlers spare change.Of course, things won't drastically change until the police finally begin enforcing Houston's
Thursday, August 17, 2006
What urban rail systems have you used?
Posted on 10:41 PM by jackline
Via The Third Rail: how many metro systems have you ridden in your lifetime? Go to this site and make a list. Here's mine:From the top: Berlin U-bahn, Berlin S-bahn, Dallas, Guadalajara, Hanover, Kobe, Kyoto, London, New York City, Osaka, Prague, Dusseldorf Rhein/Ruhr, Tokyo TOEI, Tokyo Metropolitan, Vienna and Denver. I guess it's a start.The list isn't exhaustive; they don't have a logo for
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
City of Cranes
Posted on 11:48 AM by jackline
Dubai's historic importance as a center for gold trade - a legacy that endures to this day in the city's shimmering Gold Souk - is the reason why the city has adopted its "City of Gold" moniker. But this Emirate's official nickname really should be "City of Cranes.” Nothing represents this city better than a construction crane, for this is, quite literally, a city under construction.Depending on
Saturday, August 12, 2006
Made it...
Posted on 1:00 PM by jackline
I'm now at my hotel in Dubai, where it is about 12:30 in the morning local time. The trip was long and exhausting, but it wasn't horrible by any means. The added security measures in the United States meant that lines at the ticket counters were longer (because everybody was checking items they used to be able to carry on such as make-up and toothpaste) but the security screening lines were
Thursday, August 10, 2006
Back to the Emirates
Posted on 9:52 PM by jackline
Yep, it's official. Tomorrow afternoon I am once again making the journey halfway around the world to my company's offices in Dubai. That rapidly-growing city is in the process of constructing an urban rail network, and I've been called over to assist in station planning efforts. This will require me to be in Dubai for most of the next three months, although I have planned short trips back to
¡Felíz Diez de Agosto!
Posted on 9:43 PM by jackline
Today, August 10th, is Ecuador's independence day.To be technical about this holiday, Ecuador did not officially gain its independence from Spain (or Gran Colombia, for that matter) on August 10th. On that date in 1809, a group of nobles in Quito, a colonial city that served as the seat of an administrative district (audiencia real) essentially encompassing what is now Ecuador, apparently became
Website finally back up
Posted on 6:02 PM by jackline
It took me much longer than I had anticipated, and there are still several changes and updates I want to make that I haven't yet done, but the entire content of my website is back online. There isn't any one "big" change to my website, but rather lots of smaller ones. I've added content to some pages, reformatted others, and also retired a handful of pages which had become dated. More
Tuesday, August 8, 2006
You want me where? When?
Posted on 6:53 AM by jackline
My company's Dubai office would like for me to come out there for a project meeting.This Saturday. At 1:30 pm local time.And I need to be back in Dallas by 9:30 am CDT next Tuesday.This ought to be interesting...
Tuesday, August 1, 2006
The Richmond rail squabble
Posted on 9:17 PM by jackline
Anybody who lives in Houston is by now pretty familiar with the "rail on Richmond" debate (if not, there's an extremely lengthy discussion about it over on the Houston Architectural Information Forum). In a nutshell, METRO would like to construct an east-west light rail line (called the "University Corridor") to complement its existing north-south rail line along Main Street (known as the "Red
I hate August
Posted on 6:05 PM by jackline
Today marks the beginning of August.I hate August.During August, the oppressive Houston summer is at its worst. The heat and humidity combine to create a climate that is truly unbearable. August is also when hurricane activity begins to pick up; in fact, some of the nation's most devastating hurricanes appear in August, including Andrew in 1992 and Katrina last year. There's something brewing out
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