oh, Austin

The biggest surf park development on the planet.

Coming (hopefully soon) to Austin. “If all goes according to plan, Pura Vida will be the largest integrated wave pool development in the world. In addition to the Surf Lake at the center, other high adventure additions will be announced […]

oh, Austin

Building around protected trees in Austin.

There’s construction on my street and that included removal of a big tree. I learned that trees larger than 19″ diameter are all protected, so to remove one you must pay a fee, plant new trees elsewhere on the property, […]

oh, Austin

The difference between xeriscape and zeroscape.

I hadn’t heard of this until I moved to Texas. Keeping plants (and grass) alive down here can be hard, so often landscaping is designed to require no water. When I finally saw the word ‘xeriscape’ written out, I thought […]

oh, Austin

Ten things Paul Millerd likes about Austin.

“Many people claim to have moved here because of the lack of state taxes. I think people are lying. If that was the case they would have moved to Dallas. This may be a bold claim but I think there […]

oh, chicago

Caterpillar’s headquarters leaving Illinois for Texas.

Just a few years ago they moved headquarters from Peoria to Deerfield, a suburb of Chicago. Now they’re leaving for Texas. “The move—expected to affect the roughly 230 corporate employees at Caterpillar’s headquarters—is the latest in a series of recent […]

oh, Austin

I just learned about the Texas school recapture program.

“The decades-old system, known commonly as Robin Hood, is meant to balance resources among less property-wealthy school districts, with the goal of leveling out the per-student spending across all districts statewide.” Of note Austin’s school district is paying $710 million […]

fun facts

Johnson & Johnson and the Texas Two-Step.

“The Texas Two-Step is a way of describing when a company with a f*ck ton of potential tort liabilities…” uses obscure Texas corporate law to limit that liability in bankruptcy court. One more quote: “If that sounds shady as f*ck […]

fun facts

How to build a small town in Texas

“How do you build a town?” We know well how it used to be done, but these last one or two centuries we have forgotten how to do it (with only a handful of notable exceptions during the last century).” […]