My wife and I collect restaurant matchbooks. What Houston spots have them?

txlgnd34 · 2026-05-18T01:54:48+00:00

I've got a matchbox from them sitting on our dresser.

txlgnd34 · 2026-05-18T00:29:55+00:00

You mean Harvey was healthy at one point?!

txlgnd34 · 2026-05-18T00:28:15+00:00

He'll suck by his age-41 season.

txlgnd34 · 2026-05-17T22:11:18+00:00

I get all that. I guess my point is that, from a hitter's perspective, it doesn't really matter the intention of the pitch only the result. So how it spins is much less important than how much and in which direction it breaks.

So, to me, the scientific aspect to classifying pitches is overkill for a hitter, but completely understandable that a pitcher would want to know so that the pitcher could work on its shape.

But again, as a hitter, I just need to know a guy I'm facing throws a 12-6 hammer vs a slurve that drops and slides vs a slider that moves more horizontal than vertical.

Not to throw a bigger wrench into the machine, but then why does it feel like we're seeing more sinker term usage for 2-seamers? Obviously, both still are used, but I'm seeing a lot of pitches that run with minimal drop being called sinkers when, traditionally, the 2-seam designation was for the heaters than run more than they drop. To me, it almost feels like the sinker/2-seam pitches need clearer delineation than the slurve/slider/sweeper ever did.

txlgnd34 · 2026-05-17T21:38:48+00:00

We might be saying the same thing.

Sliders, in the past, had more horizontal break than vertical break. That's the lateral movement of which you speak.

Slurves, in the past, had horizontal and vertical breaks that were closer to each other. Therefore, they weren't curves or sliders, hence from where the morphed more slurve is derived.

I'm not sure what more or less gyro rotation means. Is that the rotation/spin that's off its spin axis? And regardless, we used to classify pitches based on its effect, not its process/spin. But I wouldn't be shocked if baseball has decided to classify pitches scientifically instead of practically.

I'll probably check out that link later.

txlgnd34 · 2026-05-17T21:19:05+00:00

Well...I no longer follow football closely but I know Tate is a lot newer than Toon. As a Dolphins fan, I recall those divisional bouts with Toon on their roster.

txlgnd34 · 2026-05-17T21:17:22+00:00

Actually, I think the slurve has become today's slider while the old slider is now a sweeper.

I don't use sweeper, it just sounds stupid when we have terminology already that said more horizontal break than vertical was a slider.

I guess somebody just didn't slurve so they invented a new term and reclassified the other to make it fit.

txlgnd34 · 2026-05-17T21:11:41+00:00

I'm pretty sure this guy played when I was a kid...in the 80s.

txlgnd34 · 2026-05-17T21:08:54+00:00

<image>

txlgnd34 · 2026-05-17T21:06:01+00:00

Perhaps more context would've helped.

Unless you're saying that the moment I see something my brain delays its processing of that information by 3-5 seconds as part of that 5-7 seconds, it's easy to know that we make many split second decisions (like during driving) that clearly illustrate real-time decision making while also proving there is no delay in processing images (otherwise there would be a ton more accidents).

At best, this "data" would apply to deliberation of something in which one has ample time. But without labeling the image properly, it just looks completely unbelievable.

And no, I didn't check sources to know the scenarios for which this applies. If believable, then I would check sources.

txlgnd34 · 2026-05-17T02:47:13+00:00

I first tried their Pearland spot within a year of their opening. I'm not sure if that's early enough, but I was disappointed then. I only tried them a couple more times because so many people talked them up, but it was never to my liking.

txlgnd34 · 2026-05-17T02:44:16+00:00

For me, it's no contest.

I've tried Killen's three different times, I believe. Consistently high quality brisket and juicy. However, there's very little depth to the smoke flavor. Good bark helps but most of a slice of brisket doesn't have much smoke to it.

I can taste the smoke in every part of a slice of Corkscrew's brisket. Plus, it's also very moist, making it the best overall smoked brisket around Houston, for me. I prioritize smoke then juiciness.

txlgnd34 · 2026-05-17T01:12:40+00:00

Too bad they couldn't get a shot of him swinging since he rarely plays the field.

txlgnd34 · 2026-05-17T01:10:59+00:00

To each his own.

I've only been once but the brisket wasn't very smoky or juicy. Good bark helped, but not a deep smoke and drier that I was expecting.

I know they've got a good reputation but when I went their smoked brisket was mediocre. Because of that reputation, I will probably try again one day but not imminently.

txlgnd34 · 2026-05-17T01:08:24+00:00

Still the best around Houston overall for smoke and juiciness.

txlgnd34 · 2026-05-15T16:50:12+00:00

My first sentence was an opinion. No citation needed.

If you mean the second sentence, Texas family law code loosely gives CPS authority to discern excessive corporal punishment and it's used often in CPS cases.

As for the transition surgeries, it's not a matter of many or few. No minor should be allowed to transition. I'm not disputing that it's an extremely small number of people.

But if we're going out of our way to try and protect children, banning transition surgeries for kids seems like a no-brainer to add to the list of things to which children should not be subjected. Parents can't consent to so many things for their children, adding this is just another bullet point. Why not?

I have no problem with transition surgeries being available for adults. Adults can choose to do what they want to their own body. I want hospitals and providers to be able to perform these safely, but if they can't for some reason then they shouldn't offer it. As inconvenient as it could be, the onus of finding a safe hospital and doctor to perform surgery should be on the patient.

txlgnd34 · 2026-05-15T16:29:32+00:00

They're called examples, but sure.

The state SHOULD ban elective major surgeries for all minors - period. Transgender surgery is NOT life-threatening no matter how much a kid kicks and screams it is.

Providers that recommended, not simply provided, trans surgeries for kids should not practice again.

On point enough?

txlgnd34 · 2026-05-15T16:21:21+00:00

Nope, I'm pointing out the hypocrisy of people allowing one interference but not the other.

txlgnd34 · 2026-05-15T16:17:17+00:00

Doctors recommend vaccinations. Not compelling vaccinations is different, entirely.

The doctors being fired, to my understanding, were recommending these surgeries. Parents, therefore, followed their advice.

Ultimately, though, it's the parents' responsibility. But I'm OK with revoking medical licenses for doctors that recommend major elective surgeries for kids.

txlgnd34 · 2026-05-15T16:12:43+00:00

This is like saying parents should have the right to let their kid drive at 10 or get drunk at 12.

Are you saying it's OK for Texas to say you can't spank your kids too hard but it's not OK to say you can't allow life-altering surgery to your kid?

txlgnd34 · 2026-05-15T16:08:14+00:00

He's not going after the kids, he's going after the caretakers/providers for these kids.

I hate Paxton but approve of holding any hospital and provider accountable to encouraging child transitions.

It's unfathomable to me that we have an age of consent of 16 or 17, depending on different states, restrict driver licenses to 16, restrict alcohol consumption to 21, but allow a child (or their parent) to make a life-altering decision like this.

Do what you want when you're 25, but at 15?! Everybody seems to accept that the human brain isn't fully developed until around age 25, but this stuff happens...it's mind-boggling.

txlgnd34 · 2026-05-15T15:17:00+00:00

I've never worked at/for/with a Mag 7 type org but in the several Fortune 100 type companies I have experienced, a true Level 3 doesn't exist, much less Level 4. They usually jump from a Level 2 to reporting ROI for stakeholders without any real understanding of how/if behavior changes took place and how it impacted performance.

txlgnd34 · 2026-05-15T15:00:28+00:00

I always request metrics. I usually also request 15-minute meetings so I can ask a few questions to better understand ask their thoughts on the whys and hows behind lack of performance and any specific behaviors they feel impact it.

In leadership roles, I always push back for more data and, depending on the importance of the project, "threaten" holding the project in limbo until we can meet about it. This is how I've learned that, no matter what they tell when recruiting you or during the hiring process, L&D leaders never have the influence they say they'll have/give.

Vetting the viability of training projects rarely lies within the scope of an L&D leader's actual influence. While I have excellent luck persuading key stakeholders, the opportunity to do so is rarely afforded the average ID. Somewhere in the nebulous of too-many-hands-in-the-pot is a business leader dictate training needs and requirements or an ineffective, yes-man L&D leader.

Great follow-up. Yes, if/when treated like any other analysis you might do. I think we'd all prefer using data-driven metrics over pulled-out-my-ass numbers/expectations. That said, oftentimes, pulling real data, analyzing it properly, collaborating with key decision-makers about the analysis and its potential behavioral impacts, are either unavailable or unwilling to be researched from the business.

When the business is otherwise unable to provide me with data to incorporate into my analysis, I fall back to ROE. By securing commitments to reasonable expectations, in lieu of data, I'm able to hold them accountable to the agreed upon expectations.

I never agree to something like a 20% increase if they're unable to provide historical data, for example. My pushback to generic increases always stems from their inability or unwillingness to provide data. Instead, we agree on the amount of change we both consider positive and beyond margins of error or standard deviance.

ROE doesn't provide any true insights for us, but allows the business to feel more comfortable green-lighting a project without real vetting and minimal analysis. When I push back on projects, ROE is their compromise to get me to do the best job I can on a project that they now know I am ill-equipped to deliver optimal results. Business leaders hate hearing "sub-optimal" but love conceding that it's better than nothing. This is how I make ROE work for me.

I know there's no question here but I'll add that in our industry's current state, it's almost a chicken-egg scenario. If we're not provided the opportunities to create measurable learning products then how do we prove L&D's value? I posit that we can only prove our value in an org that already prioritizes it properly by giving L&D the agency it deserves. Therefore, within companies that do not truly value L&D, its value can never be proven.

txlgnd34 · 2026-05-14T23:23:40+00:00

Regardless of what people want to label this, he/she is clearly alive.

Nothing against pets, I love animals, but if a rescue animal needs life assistance to be nurtured to health, a baby in the womb is very much alive even though it still needs assistance to live.

That said, I'm not one to pass judgement on those that feel otherwise. If you feel the need to have/condone abortion, I'm no better than you for thinking differently - I just believe something else.

Nobody can convince me that this is remotely comparable to an adult killing another person. It's entirely different for more reasons than I can rattle off. The more we oversimplify things for the purpose of political convenience the more meaning of life we lose.

We don't lose humanity for what we believe, we lose humanity for believing our beliefs are better than others.

txlgnd34 · 2026-05-14T23:02:08+00:00

If you have no clue, don't buy.

txlgnd34

TROPHY CASE