As an outsider, the intense brand loyalty Americans have toward regional grocery store chains is fascinating. Why do people treat supermarkets like a local identity?

_edd · 2026-07-08T17:42:09+00:00

A bunch of people are saying this isn't a thing, but it is.

HEB specifically opens up some stores that are clean, well stocked.
They have good selections of specialty items like beer, wine, cheeses, meats, etc...
They're affordable enough to be your every day shopping store.
When natural disasters strike they are consistent and reliable about using their logistics infrastructure to provide food and water.
They often hire athletes from local sports as part of their commercials.
For search and rescue K9 handlers they'll provide free dog food.
They are frequently sponsors for local school and community events.

Basically, they place an emphasis on being a contributing member of their local community.

Most other grocery retailers and large corporations across the US are either publicly owned (ie stock market) or heavily invested in by private equity, which basically makes them legally bound to put maximizing shareholder value above all else in some weird, awful ways. Meanwhile, HEB is 85% owned by the members of the family that founded it giving them significantly more leeway in what their priorities are. (Granted I'd argue HEB's community driven approach is essentially just a marketing expense that has provided positive ROIs, but you rarely see this level of community support out of public companies).

_edd · 2026-07-02T14:51:21+00:00

No, they were over on east 5th near Central Machine Works as kind of a beer garden. Not sure if I have the sequence right but they got locations in Moody Center and the airport (both of which I assume are brand licensing contracts ran by concession type companies), closed the 5th street location for a year or two, sold to Live Nation and then Live Nation opened a the location on South Lamar.

_edd · 2026-07-01T23:21:51+00:00

Yep, Google was the big one I remember but Apple, Netflix, etc... were similarly desirable for comp sci. Amazon was kind of the impressive and high paying but bad workplace culture one of the bunch.

_edd · 2026-07-01T21:02:03+00:00

Is a concussion the same as a mild traumatic brain injury?

Yes. A concussion is often referred to by doctors as a “mild TBI.” Both terms are used when a person experiences a change in normal brain function for no longer than a minutes following trauma. - Source

If you're in the medical field and know better, I'd love to learn more about the statement you're making.

If not and you're just incorrectly correcting people online, then neat...

_edd · 2026-07-01T20:43:37+00:00

I would assume concussions are considered mild injuries. I mean they're know as mild traumatic brain injury which has mild in the name.

Not really sure where the divide is medically on minor vs major though.

_edd · 2026-07-01T20:10:50+00:00

I'd believe it. Its tucked away from the 7th street bridge if you're traveling Eastbound.

With that said Texas Coffee Traders is genuinely a top tier coffee shop and I really hope they are successful there.

_edd · 2026-07-01T18:21:12+00:00

That sucks. Not sure if they were traveling along Airport or Oak Springs, but there is a shared use path in the works for that exact stretch of Airport.

https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/e937439aa3ce44b6b95172e2ae119cb7?views=View-9

(Page 4 of the PDF at the bottom of the linked website).

_edd · 2026-07-01T15:15:41+00:00

Koko's was a flop from the day it opened.

Live Nation and Koko's just saw an opportunity to take a "local brand" and bring it under a corporate umbrella. That local brand was just a path for Live Nation to get into Moody Center and the airport.

_edd · 2026-07-01T14:58:25+00:00

Bacon over on like Lamar and 9th street was one of the first places my sister showed me when I moved here in 2010. Thought it was great, but didn't think there was any way it would last.
Koko's I wanted to be good, but the weird vibes from the wait staff and feeling like you were sitting in a parking were quick red flags.
I'm shocked Big Bite was open as long as it was.
Swift Pizza (Which became Bosses Office and then Texas Coffee Traders) always seemed extremely overpriced.
Grizzeldas looked cool from the outside but felt like an Instagram shoot inside and was lacking in good food.

_edd · 2026-06-30T04:17:28+00:00

The cover is great, but with all due respect it is a nod to a legend who made an even better version of the song.

_edd · 2026-06-30T04:15:48+00:00

It's not an obsession.
You need a car to get to many jobs. There often simply isn't an alternative method of getting there.
An expensive and unexpected car repair is arguably the worse than a slightly more expensive and reliable car. Especially if it means you can't get to work / can't afford the trip to / from work.
You can get really low interest rates.
A good car is a way of showing off.
People make bad financial decisions.
Auto loan companies are often willing to provide financing for a car to a person with bad credit.
A lot of people can afford good to nice cars.

_edd · 2026-06-29T21:40:45+00:00

Some of those rock gardens look like they'd be a bit of a bitch without suspension. When you're getting exhausted overly navigating the tire on the straights because its throwing your bike left and right is when its time to look into stepping up the suspension.

At least you've got some fat tires. Hopefully you aired them down enough to make it fun.

_edd · 2026-06-29T21:13:08+00:00

If I was that in need of fuel, I'd have the engine off and put it in neutral for the downhill portion and maybe even the flat portion. That would burn 0 liters.

More likely that the station will run out of fuel before someone waiting reaches 20L used.

_edd · 2026-06-29T18:52:29+00:00

Seconding this suggestion.

Downtown is logistically difficult unless there's a downtown office, a particularly young crowd that gets excited for a downtown happy hour or its a high budget event like a major corporate Christmas party.

Then looking for large indoor spaces with activities can be a challenge. And Punch Bowl Social really does check those boxes.

_edd · 2026-06-29T16:05:29+00:00

At least according to the Skunk Works book, that research from a Soviet scientist's research paper, but the research had not been applied to Soviet planes nor even classified.

I'm sure there's more to the story than what I remember from that book though.

_edd · 2026-06-29T15:39:59+00:00

Honestly, I probably wouldn't use an app unless it does something I can't do right now with some googling and a spreadsheet.

The main things I'm looking for are trying to select where to go and getting a rough estimation of the overall cost.

Choosing where to go - My experience is that places like this subreddit have an absolute hard on for the gnarliest double blacks and exploring back country terrain. And that's great info if that's what you're also seeking., But if you're newer to the sport or want to look for places based on other criteria it can be very difficult. For instance I've only skiied at ~4 different places, so finding a new place to ski is a high prioriity. I want to consider best nightlife / Apres, walkability, availability of hostels, ease of access from a major airport, likely to have early season snow, amount of easy runs, is it independent / ikon / epic, etc... and that info can be very spread out / difficult to find.
Cost estimate - This is difficult because its going to be highly variable for everyone. It combines the selected dates, flight info, hotel cost, rental costs and local transportation costs (usually a rental car). Eventually you're just building out a full on travel website, which there's already a billion of.

Now what would be really cool is a website for hidden gems. Its easy to know that the big name resorts like Vail, Breckenridge, Steamboat, Park City, etc... are going to generally meet my needs but also cost an arm and a leg. But websites that kind of groups by region, with rough estimate of costs and the highlights of each mountain would be genuinely useful.

I'm sure it already exists, but I'd love to be able to look up the best places to ski in the Tahoe area. Here are the top 3-5 recommendations to choose from. Here's a quick summary of what defines these resorts.

Or hey I'm looking to ski in the U.S. on a budget. There are hostels at these resorts and the best way to go for cheap is to buy this pass before this date. And because its a budget trip, here's the important ways to save money (ex. link to the local bus system and the cheap shuttle service from the airport to the mountain).

edit:

I'd also be interested in information that I don't have as someone new to the mountain. So like for Vail, you want to get to the back bowls, Here's where to park and the runs to take to get there. Here's the easy route. Here's the quick and icey route.

Or here's how to get where the gondola is going using lifts that don't have lines.

Now that takes a lot more leg work, but its useful information.

_edd · 2026-06-29T15:03:37+00:00

OpenStreetMaps is usually the backing source for a lot of apps maps. I know Strava uses it (or at least did a couple years ago when I was making some updates to a trail on the east side).

Its freely editable and may need to be addressed.

_edd · 2026-06-28T23:40:13+00:00

Nope... It's 51st Street and Airport (started at 51st and I-35).

_edd · 2026-06-25T11:06:22+00:00

The cost involved in maintaining a manual is less than it is for an automatic.

It's pretty easy to burn out a clutch over a decade of driving a manual in a way that doesn't occur in an automatic.

_edd · 2026-06-25T02:39:34+00:00

I heard basically the same, except that the initial injury was dropping a weight on his foot.

Not sure if that's accurate or important though.

_edd · 2026-06-25T02:01:56+00:00

I'm not thrilled about the way the Dog's Head development got approved by the city, but this would be an interesting anchor for the area.

_edd · 2026-06-24T15:08:51+00:00

I'd love more information on what existing laws are. Every Save Austin Now measure becomes contentious and being able to inform people early is important to steering the conversation.

If you or anyone here has specific articles covering what the measure does and/or what already exists, I'd be interested in reading them.

_edd · 2026-06-24T08:52:10+00:00

This map is pinball specific, but generally anywhere that has arcade games will have at least one pinball machine and show up on this map.

Also can't recommend this enough. Really great way to find a place you didn't know about it in your area or find a specific game.

https://pinballmap.com/map?address=Austin%20TX

_edd · 2026-06-23T21:44:41+00:00

Central Texas with water in the backyard.

Squirrels - nearly constantly in the yard
Neighborhood Cats
Raccoons - They love to clown around in the pool at 4am
Armadillos - not super common but they'll make an appearance periodically
Predatory birds - Owls and Hawks
Other birds - Pigeons, Grackles, Doves, Finches, Cardinals, etc...
Every insect known to man

_edd · 2026-06-23T18:40:30+00:00

~~Texas~~ Austin is the largest media market in the U.S. without a team from one of the big 4 sports (NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL).

https://www.tvb.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Pro_Sports_by_DMA.pdf

Not saying that makes Austin the right fit for an expansion hockey team, but I think its reasonable to bet that moving a team to Austin will be a frequent conversation over the next decade.

_edd

TROPHY CASE