Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with TX

Happy Feet slippers around Austin?

sentient — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 10:21:42 -0800

Where can I buy Happy Feet slippers in or near Austin, TX? Alternatively, where can I buy other fun/novelty slippers for kids in or near Austin? Hoping to luck out on this one. Is anyone aware of where Happy Feet slippers are for sale in Texas, ideally within an hour by car of Austin, TX?

The slippers look like cartoonish oversized sneakers, and I've seen them in other states in mall kiosks.

The website doesn't list locations, although an article [pdf] about the company says that there are 190 locations in forty states.

I tried the 800 number and got voicemail (large volume of holiday calls, etc.), and I emailed them to ask. No response so far. The website's "Live Chat" feature is offline as of this post.

Has anyone seen them? Any tips? I'd like to get them today!

As a backup, what places in Austin definitely sell fun/novelty slippers in big kid sizes? (Animals, paws/claws, giant-and-fluffy, look like other stuff, that kind of thing.) Thanks!

Couples / marriage therapy in Round Rock / North Austin, TX?

Alias Unknown — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 19:15:35 -0800

Need to find a therapist for my husband and I in the area. Preferably not affiliated with any religious organization. Need to make the appointment soon. Wanted to go to CAMHC, but they're booked up until January. Recommendations?

Austin for the weekend

a.steele — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:08:44 -0800

Fun in Austin, TX for a young couple with 2 days to spend, one of which is Black Friday? We are in our mid-twenties. We like comics and toys, art, science, and books . Seafood's the only meat I eat but he's down with everything. We're staying at the Stephen Austin Intercontinental downtown and would love to find places in walking distance, but we will have a car if we need to drive somewhere. Good coffee near the hotel is a must for me. Help us find other fun, interesting, non-touristy places. Or tourist attractions really worth seeing. I've seen previous askme threads on quirky Austin things, but most of them were asked during warmer months. We're going to be there next Friday and Saturday, so we also wanted to know if there's anything fun going on that weekend or anyplace to avoid on black Friday.

We're driving from Ft. Worth (which we're also unfamiliar with) so we're open to anything fun or delicious between those two places, too.

Thanks in advance!

Can anyone recommend a real estate lawyer in Houston?

getupandgo — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 09:17:40 -0800

The wife and I are in the process of buying a home in Houston (TX). We have/had a real estate lawyer that we were working with, but she has gotten extremely non-responsive (we just found out yesterday that she has some family issues), and the deal just got a little more complicated. We were going FHA, and one of the stipulations of the deal is that the seller must own the house for 3 months before selling it. Apparently, we were told one thing, but the actual facts and paperwork say another. So we have another month and a half before we can purchase the property. We have been offered, by the seller, a 12 month lease, that can expire upon purchase of the property.

Now, that could be all well and good, and we really do need to move on this quickly, however there are two issues; first, is that we don't have a lawyer to look over the lease and to protect our interests currently, and secondly, we're going to miss out on the 8k tax credit (unless the deadline is extended).

Are there any reputable real estate lawyers in the city that anyone has dealt with and can recommend?

how to keep from having Bored kids

rxbert — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 17:37:31 -0800

what activities/programs are recommended to have children do this summer in Irving, TX? We haven't been here for very long and haven't "found our way" yet. we do have a limited budget and need something for the kids to do during the day while we are at work. I'm talking about a 10 yo boy and 13 yo girl. please and thanks in advance.

Where to stargaze around Austin?

Roman Graves — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 20:58:25 -0800

Where's a good spot to go stargazing around Austin (naked eye or with telescope in tow)? I noticed the AAS has a dark sky spot at Canyon of the Eagles, so places other than that. Preferably safe places that won't get me arrested.

NoIWillNotFixYourComputerFilter

Lockeownzj00 — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 13:49:42 -0800

NoIWillNotFixYourComputerFilter: I've got a 500 gig that won't show up in Windows XP. Help! So I bought this 500 gig IDE drive. I'm using Windows XP SP2. I installed it in my box. My BIOS sees it. Windows doesn't. In Disk Manager, I see it as a 128 gig drive, but it still doesn't appear in Explorer (even if it did, I want those other 372 other gigs dammit). I tried using this firmware update via floppy for my hard drive controller (promise ide ultra100 tx2), but booting it up yielded a split screen: half was the menu, half was blackness.

So uh. wtf? I've scoured google and found people with similar problems, especially people with SATA drives. But that's not what I've got, so. Could anybody lend me some pearls of wisdom? I'm pretty sure it's not a loose ribbon.

I want to buy plants in Austin.

puritycontrol — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 08:56:44 -0800

Looking for a good nursery in the Austin, TX area. My wife and I want to buy some shrubs and flowers for our yard. We'd prefer to go to a local nursery and avoid the Home Depot and Lowes. Thanks in advance!

There Is No Category for Mohel on Yelp

JLobster — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 06:53:02 -0800

We just moved to Austin, TX and have a new baby boy due next month. Of course I wait until the last minute, but does anyone have any recommendations for a mohel (ritual Jewish circumciser) in the Austin area? The ceremony will not be huge, since we do not know anyone here yet. My wife is not Jewish, so s/he would have to be accepting of that.

Fireworks in Austin

cebailey — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 12:22:34 -0800

Where should I watch the fireworks in Austin tomorrow night? So I might be going down to south Austin, TX to watch the fireworks this year. I know that Zilker Park is where they "are," but I also know that the park is going to be a total cluster. Does anyone know of a good off-the-beaten-path location to get an awesome view of the fireworks in Austin tomorrow night?

Please help me find a place to live temporarily in Austin, TX.

sequential — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 21:04:27 -0800

Please help me find a place to live temporarily in Austin, TX. In May I embark on a trip to TX. On the way I'll stay with friends, but when the trip ends I'd like to explore the city of Austin as a potential place to live when my current lease ends. I've been searching for house sits and sublets in Austin so that I may stay for a month or longer. In my search, I've concluded that there is a lot of inexpensive, temporary housing available at the end of May and early June. The problem is that I won't be in Austin until the very end of my trip and would like to secure a place before I arrive.

Let me preface this by saying that I've never been to TX. I've been told by clients, coworkers and friends that it's the kind of place I'd thoroughly enjoy, but having never been there, don't really know what to expect. My search has yielded that there are a lot of different neighborhoods, but sadly the names of the neighborhoods have little meaning to me. I'd like to find a place that is close enough to walk to entertainment, food, groceries, and other such things, but not smack dab in the middle of UT, nightlife, or a high crime area. I'm 34 years old, a self-employed IT worker, and definitely not looking for the party life. At the same time I also don't want to live too far away from places where I can get lost in a crowd of people in a cafe, local book store, or even a park.

What neighborhoods would you suggest I look into? What places might I avoid? Other than craigslist, what other websites might help me find the a month to month, roommate, or sublet situation? Thanks for your input.

Life in Houston.

matteo — Fri, 03 Mar 2006 09:28:32 -0800

A dear friend of mine (female, single, Italian, outgoing, mid-30's) has been offered an excellent job in Houston. She has only visited the city twice, for business, and she's wondering if she'll adapt well. More inside.

Help me find rare Texas rock music

mds35 — Fri, 23 Dec 2005 08:58:13 -0800

Help me find two super-rare 1980's recordings from Dallas/Ft. Worth-area bands: My Three Sons and The White Shapes. In the late 80's and early 90's I used to stay up late taping songs from punk and indie-rock radio shows that were broadcast on KNON 89.3 FM and KTCU 88.7 FM.

On the tapes I made, I have recordings from two bands, The White Shapes and My Three Sons, that I never was able to see perform, and I have never been able to track down actual recordings by them.

Here's what I know about the bands:

THE WHITE SHAPES formed in the mid-80's and played most of the usual Deep Ellum venues such as Trees and Prophet Bar. Their sound was a washed-out, jangly, guitar-based garage-y pop-rock, with harmomized vocals. Kind of a c86-meets-shoegaze with a touch of Husker Du thrown in.

The White Shapes songs that I taped from the radio are called "Crystal Smiles" and "American Spectator."

MY THREE SONS were, I believe, based in Fort Worth. They played venues such as The Axis and possibly The Hop. They were around in the late 80's and possibly early 90's and had a reputation for frequently being too drunk to put on a reliably good show (at least that's what a high school friend of mine told me).

The My Three Sons songs that I taped from the radio are called "Stop" and "Feels Like Fire." Their sound was also characterized by jangly guitars but their music was darker and more agressive, featuring bass-driven melodies, twangy disaffected vocals and a slight psychedlic edge a la early Bunnymen.

It is quite possible that neither band had an official release, but as I heard them/taped their songs from the radio, I know that recordings were made, at least in demo form.

I have been trying to locate these recordings for over a decade. The first place I tried was Bill's Records and Tapes in Plano. No luck. From time to time I check back with Bill's either through email or on MySpace, but I rarely get a response.

I live in New York now, so scouring Dallas record shops is not an option. Occasionally I will email a record store or two in Dallas to see if anyone can help, but to no avail.

I have met people on-line (MySpace, mostly) who were part of the 80's Deep Ellum scene but no one has been able to help me locate a recording or give me names of people who were in those bands.

The closest I have come is meeting a guy who used to book acts for Trees and Prohpet Bar. He remembered each band and said that he used to have their demos in a box in his mother's attic. But when he went in search of them they were not there.

So...this is probably one of the longest shots ever fired on AskMe, but I have seen you people do some amazing things on these green pages. If anyone can direct me to where I can purchase a cassette, LP, or even a CD-R, from either of these bands. I would be much obliged. Alternately, if I could somehow learn the names of people who were in these bands, that might be a start.

Your favorite Palm apps and tricks?

WCityMike — Wed, 14 Dec 2005 07:59:50 -0800

I recently purchased a new Palm T|X with WiFi & Bluetooth. It's been a long time since I had a Palm, and it was the old Palm Vx running Palm OS 3.x. Obviously, they've come a good ways. I'd appreciate any recommendations as to cool Palm apps. I really don't need to be uber-heavy on the games (although I do like nostalgia games, i.e., stuff from the '80s and Doom), and would appreciate more how-did-I-ever-live-without-this kind of convenience/useful apps. I'm aware of Pocket Quicken, SiEd, and MealTip. And, for what it's worth, I'm on a Mac. Geekery neatness is greatly appreciated -- advanced geek tricks you've figured out how to perform, even if it's a little bit of a brain-bender to follow. (For example, I use Remind for my calendar, so obviously I can't use Datebook -- so I figured out a way to throw its output into a text file, convert it on the command line into a PDB format, and then use OS X's "open" command to both add it to the to-install list and then open Conduit Manager to begin the HotSync automatically.) I'd also appreciate general tips people have picked from usage ("don't look at it upside down for more than 10 minutes, or it becomes a thermonuclear weapon").

Six Weeks in Dallas

herc — Thu, 13 Jan 2005 13:44:32 -0800

Have you ever seen Dallas from a DC 9 at night? Or at any time, really? I'm about to spend six+ weeks there and was hoping my fellow metafites familiar with the area might share their expertise. Particularly, things to do during the evenings and weekends. Traveling alone (for business) but not averse to going out on my own, as I'd rather not miss out on any local favorite spots. Any recommendations for great Dallas bbq? Cool bars or coffee shops? Comedy clubs or interesting local theatre. Colorful, only-in-Dallas attractions? I mean, how long can I spend visiting the grassy knoll?

Any advice is greatly appreciated! Thanks!

How is SXSW for someone under 21?

lotsofno — Wed, 12 Jan 2005 08:46:45 -0800

A friend and I are hoping to go to SXSW's music portion this year. I am 22, but my friend will only be 20. Will we have trouble getting into a lot of the shows? Will the whole SXSW experience not be fun for us? Is all the fun to be had 21 and over? And uh... How well will a fake ID work down there?

What does "in the round" mean?

busboy789 — Tue, 10 Aug 2004 18:24:25 -0800

I am planning on going to a concert at the American Airlines center in Dallas, TX and the concert is listed as in the round. What does "in the round" mean?

Best (fast / safe) driving route from Houston to Columbus?

Scottk — Mon, 26 Jul 2004 16:28:08 -0800

I've got to drive from Houston, TX to Columbus, OH, round trip, mind you, in a span of no more than two days.

Any insight on trip routes, staying alert(I'm aware of the sleepiness dangers), etc would be appreciated.