I like a lot of fictional starship captains, but Kirk will always be my favorite.
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Sunday, March 22, 2026
Saturday, March 21, 2026
Friday, March 20, 2026
Combo IHOP/Applebees: Stroke of Genius or Casual Dining Chimera?
I've only seen fast food places try this; but maybe this is the bold move will pay off. The combination IHOP/Applebee's can be found in Hawthorne, NY. While I haven't been in either restaurant in a while, memory indicates they do have complementary menus. IHOP was a college staple (especially for late night studying) while Applebee's has usually been more of a road trip stop (if there is no Chili's to be found). I don't recall Applebee's having much in the breakfast department thus attaching an IHOP might be the bold move the franchise owner needs to increase traffic. So, where does this land vis a vis my hyperbolic headline? Probably somewhere in the middle.
The article note what I have observed: Chili's is doing well in the causal dining category. I've been a couple of times this year (on road trips; I haven't been to the one at 45th & Lamar in a while and the Chili's near my house has been gone for over a decade) and found the burgers to be slightly more expensive than fast food while tasting much better. Plus you can take a break from driving while watching sports or something. My only beef with Chili's is that they changed the Chicken Crisper recipe from tempura style batter to a less fun crispy version. Despite my comments in every check-out survey, corporate has yet to take my advice and switch back.
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Thursday, March 19, 2026
Homeowners Insurance and Credit Scoring
Texas is one of the states which allows credit scoring vis a vis homeowners insurance. You can learn more about credit scoring by visiting The Texas Department of Insurance's page on credit scoring, including a link to a list of companies which employ the practice.
[note: In Texas, credit scoring is also allowed vis a vis auto insurance.]
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Wednesday, March 18, 2026
Austin Rises in Happiness Ranking
Austin is now ranked 39th happiest city on the below linked list from WalletHub. Personally, my Austin-related happiness is pretty high in the Spring but takes a dip around the time we cross the 100º threshold. It comes back up when I can tailgate in sub-80º temps.
Annoying heat aside, I still find this city to be a pretty nice place to live.
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Tuesday, March 17, 2026
Monday, March 16, 2026
Friday, March 13, 2026
Points Guy Visits The Curtis Hotel in Denver
We have stayed here twice, and it is definitely the most fun either of us have had at a DoubleTree. I just hope the Jimmy Buffet themed suite survived the renovation.
Get the steak and eggs for breakfast; get the French dip for lunch; get a martini at happy hour.
Ok, now go read what TPG has to say:
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Thursday, March 12, 2026
Impending Austin Admiral's Club
A fun idea for the Spring and Fall (and sometimes in the Winter), but I'd expected terrace utilization to be low in July-late September.
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Wednesday, March 11, 2026
Barton Springs Pool
Barton Springs Pool was set to reopen on Friday, but now it is tentatively set to reopen on March 21st. The pool has been closed for work on the Barton Springs Skimmer Bypass Project.
If you want to swim in another cold spring pool in central Austin, there is always Deep Eddy (also, in my past and possibly outdated experience, a good place to swim laps). You can finish your swim with a drink at the Deep Eddy Cabaret and or grab a burger from Pool Burger down below.
Tuesday, March 10, 2026
Monday, March 9, 2026
Monday, March 2, 2026
Creative Fund Trivia Night
We have one in the works for April 1st. Stay tuned for more information about the venue and for a link to register.
Friday, February 13, 2026
Data Privacy Tips For Tax Season
It's tax season. Huzzah! If you're like us, we each get tax documents from various accounts and compile them for our accountant. Ergo, here are a couple of things to keep in mind:
- Use a secure portal (if your accountant offers one, and they should) to submit docs. If you must email, encrypt the attached files and call your accountant's office with the password.
- To share docs at with your spouse/partner/business partners/etc, make sure your emails are encrypted and exchanged on the same server. E.g., your business has secure intraoffice emails, or you and your spouse both have Protonmail accounts and email to each other there.
- Another option, if you are sharing docs with someone and you don't have a secure email solution, is to set up a shared Dropbox folder.
- If you must email a tax document across multiple email services, (as mentioned above) be sure to encrypt the file (very easy to do this w/ PDFs) and provide the password to the recipient in a secure manner.
I'm not an IT expert; just a lawyer who is paranoid about security. So, if you are concerned about any of the above issues ask an IT professional or consult an online guide for more information. The point of this post is to get you thinking about tax document related data security.
Tuesday, January 27, 2026
Creative Fund Trivia Night February 2026
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| Me, at a Superlative Filled Locale |
Do you enjoy live team trivia and helping to raise money for Austin artists? If you said yes either count, then you should join us for the next Creative Fund trivia night on February 4th in the new Poeta in the East Austin Hotel (register in link) . Our last trivia night fundraisers have been a blast. We have five rounds of live trivia (I will be co-hosting) and a picture puzzle round. If you don't do well at trivia, there are other amusing side games in which you can participate.
Who knows? Maybe I'll ask a question about the Grand Canyon. Or, maybe not. You'll have to show up to find out.
Monday, January 26, 2026
Texas Voter Registration Deadline for March Primary
Texas voters: make sure you are registered if you want to vote in the upcoming primary on March 3rd. If you are not, you have until February 2nd to register. If you need to register, mail in your registration form as soon as possible (you can't register online). Thanks to the new USPS postmarking rules your letter with the form might not be postmarked on the day you actually drop it in the mail.
Not sure if you are registered: contact your county registrar.
Thursday, January 1, 2026
Tuesday, December 30, 2025
Austin Air Travel
KUT has a list of the new non-stop flights coming to Austin in 2026. There a some good ones in there, including (but not limited to) British Airways' plan to start flying two non-stops to Heathrow daily and Southwest's plan to add season non-stop service to Seattle.
Thursday, December 18, 2025
Sunday, December 14, 2025
Floyd Real Estate Turns 11
Floyd Real Estate, LLC, is 11 years old! Contact us if you're thinking of buying or selling property in the Central Texas area. We enjoy helping residential and commercial clients.
Note: The above photo is from Wheeler Peak, the highest point in New Mexico. It has nothing to do with Austin real estate, but it is one of my favorites featuring our branded koozie.
Wednesday, December 10, 2025
Austin: Esther's Follies AMA on Reddit
Tomorrow the founders of Esther's Follies, a comedy institution in Austin which has been around since the 70's, are having an AMA on Reddit. In anticipation, you can visit a subreddit today and posit questions in advance.
Wednesday, November 5, 2025
Saturday, October 25, 2025
Friday, October 17, 2025
Wednesday, October 1, 2025
Tuesday, September 30, 2025
Trivia Night: October 22nd
There is a Creative Fund trivia fundraiser night in the works for October 22nd at Second Bar + Kitchen in the East Austin Hotel. I will be co-hosting. Stay tuned the link to the event page.
[Update] Event Link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/tcf-trivia-night-102225-tickets-1766940258879?aff=oddtdtcreator
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