Jeopardy Archive

It should surprise none of you that I enjoy the TV game show Jeopardy.  Well, it turns out that there is an online archive of Jeopardy games.  Visit the site and play along.  The answers are hidden until you scroll over the dollar amounts (and, sometimes there is commentary from the show).

Also, from my end as a trivia host/quiz master:  we had a great trivia fundraiser last Wednesday at Lavaca Street Bar, and I have more in the works.  Stay tuned for more details.

December 2019 Austin Housing Market Statistics

Infographics courtesy of Austin Board of REALTORS®.  Visit https://www.abor.com/statsdec19/ for more information.  And, of course, contact Floyd Real Estate if you want to buy or sell property in the Austin area.

BoJack Horseman | Season 6 Final Trailer | Netflix

Austin Tourism Promo Video from 1987 - Classic ATX Access TV

November 2019 Austin Housing Market Statistics

Infographics courtesy of Austin Board of REALTORS®.  Visit https://www.abor.com/statsnov19/ for more information.  And, of course, contact Floyd Real Estate if you want to buy or sell property in the Austin area.

Basketball to Hockey Conversion | American Airlines Center

Red-Crowned Parrots in Texas - Texas Parks & Wildlife [Official]

September 2019 Austin Housing Market Statistics

Infographics courtesy of Austin Board of REALTORS®.  Visit https://www.abor.com/statssep19-2/ for more information.  And, of course, contact Floyd Real Estate if you want to buy or sell property in the Austin area.

Why Are Wild Parrots Disappearing in Miami? | Short Film Showcase

TV: The Expanse Season 4

As you may be aware, I am a fan of The Expanse series.  I've seen all of the TV episodes and am halfway through Babylon's Ashes (book 6).  Thus, it is delightful to be able to share that season 4 will be coming to Amazon Prime on December 13th.  

Also, if you haven't seen any of the TV series yet then I do recommend reading Leviathan Wakes and Caliban's War first.  People I've talked to who watched the show first- and then read the first couple of novels- said the show was more enjoyable once they had the additional background information from the books.  Seasons 1-3 cover the events in books 1-3. 

Here's the teaser trailer for season 4:

June 2019 Austin Housing Market Statistics

Last month Austin's median home prices were at an all-time high at $407,400.  In just a month we're up to $420,000 in the city.

Infographics courtesy of Austin Board of REALTORS®.  Visit www.abor.com/statsjune19 for more information.  And, of course, contact Floyd Real Estate if you want to buy or sell property in the Austin area.

Trivia: The Creative Fund's July Trivia Fundraiser

Join us on July 17th at Austin's Scoot Inn for a live team trivia fundraiser benefitting The Creative Fund.  As always, form teams of 4-6 to participate in 5 rounds of questioning and 1 round of picture puzzles.  Come with a team, or come alone and find a team to join.  

Tickets are $20 per person and they are available now.  Proceeds go to The Creative Fund and its efforts to help Austin's performing artists afford rental fees at local venues.  

Remember:  outside is hot, but trivia happens in air-conditioned comfort.

Food: Buffalo Lamb Chop Appetizer

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Recently, Sara and I celebrated our 10 year date-iversary.  We went to ALC Steaks, as we are wont to do for such occasions, wherein we could indulge in our favorite cuts (filet for her, the dry aged/grass fed strip for me).   And indulge we did, which leads me to the raison d'être of this post:  ALC's buffalo sauce slathered lamb chop appetizer is delicious and I wanted to let you know.  

I typically order the shrimp cocktail or the crab cakes when I eat at ALC.  Those are good options as well (though, ALC has never taken up my suggestion of offering bacon wrapped shrimp with remoulade); however, if you (1) find yourself at ALC Steaks and (2) at all like lamb then I recommend ordering the chops before diving into a delicious steak.

ALC's dry aged/grass fed strip steak, served Oscar style.

 

May 2019 Austin Housing Market Statistics

The big news here is that Austin's median home price is at an all-time high amid declining inventory.

Infographics courtesy of Austin Board of REALTORS®.  Visit www.abor.com/statsmay19 for more information.  And, of course, contact Floyd Real Estate if you want to buy or sell property in the Austin area.

March 2019 Austin Housing Market Statistics

Infographics courtesy of Austin Board of REALTORS®.  Visit www.abor.com/statsmarch19 for more information.  And, of course, contact Floyd Real Estate if you want to buy or sell property in the Austin area.

Trivia News

Dave Floyd, Hosting Trivia

A lot has happened on the trivia front this year.  First of all, Creative Fund trivia night in January was quite the success.   In March, Sara and I started our "Floyd Real Estate Presents: Trivia" series of fundraisers.  The first one was in March (at the Tavern), with the Fusebox Festival as the beneficiary.

Here's the upcoming schedule:

• April 10: Trivia fundraiser for The Creative Fund.  This will be at The Scoot Inn.  Social hour starts at 6:30, with gameplay to begin at 7:30.
• April 24: Trivia fundraiser with the Texas Exes Young Alumni.  This one is raising money for scholarships and will be held at Little Woodrow's on Parmer.  You do not have to be a University of Texas alum to join in the fun.  
• May 15:  Second in the Floyd Real Estate sponsored series.  This one will be at the Tavern and benefitting Austin Habitat for Humanity.  

All of these trivia nights follow the same format: 5 rounds of live questions and one picture/puzzle round.  Teams of 4-6 are suggested... but, if you are solo or in a pair feel free to come on down as we'll help you find a group (and hey, that sounds like a fun way to meet new people).  

If you want to stay in the loop vis a vis future trivia nights, then follow this blog.   I may be starting a mailing list for trivia- and I may be launching a fancier blog soon - but any updates on new channels of information will be posted here.

February 2019 Austin Housing Market Statistics

Infographics courtesy of Austin Board of REALTORS®.  Visit www.abor.com/statsjfeb19 for more information.  And, of course, contact Floyd Real Estate if you want to buy or sell property in the Austin area.

Food: Venison Chili

Here's a checklist:

1. Do you like chili?
2. Do you like venison?

If so, head to The Grove Wine Bar & Kitchen for this tasty meat dish.  I enjoyed said meat dish at The Grove on West 6th; however, you might enjoy any of the three other locations in the Austin area.  I thought that the venison chili deserved a spotlight (it's not the most common item on downtown menus), though everything else I've eaten at The Grove has been good.   Feel free to order other dishes as opposed to just demanding chili and a flight of reds.

If you aren't in the mood for wine, cocktails, and/or food at The Grove: the adjacent Lola Savannah makes a good latte and offers a nice area for afternoon coffee.  I hear the tea is good as well.

And, here is my post scriptum:  after enjoying food and drink at The Grove recently, we ended up at Whistler's on East 6th.  If you like a good Old Fashioned (I do), then you will enjoy the Old Fashioned at Whistler's. 

2019 Austin Area Population Growth Projections

Yes, everyone's moving to Austin – but they're not all coming from California

From the Statesman:

Yes, everyone's moving to Austin; but they're not all coming from California: According to the analysis, more than 50 percent of migration to Austin from 2012 to 2016 was from people leaving other large Texas cities, such as Houston, Dallas and San Antonio. But census data also shows that a net of thousands of people from states like California, Florida and New York came to Austin during those years.

Food: P. Terry's Expanding to Houston

Houston, you're in luck.  Apparently you're getting four new P. Terry's soon. 

I hit P. Terry's about twice per month.   The double cheeseburger (I get mine with onions, special sauce, and a wheat bun) is great, as is the chicken burger.  The latter is different from most fast-food chicken options as it is a patty of ground chicken (as opposed to a grilled/fried chicken breast).  Either option is delicious, as are the freshly cut fries  (salt and potatoes, no crazy seasonings) with a side of special sauce for dipping. 

I once described the P. Terry's burger as "what an In-and-Out burger should aspire to be."  Before you accuse me of anti-Californian burger bias:  I love Fatburger and wish someone would open a location in Austin.  And yes, I like to eat my Fatburger with chili. 

When driving around Texas, Whataburger is (of course) my preferred fast-food burger option.   I think they'd boot me out of the state if I didn't mention that. 

New downtown rail station to break ground early April - Austin Monitor

New downtown rail station to break ground early April - Austin Monitor: "After carving away the excess from Downtown Station plans in January, Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority awarded a construction contract of $36,865,160 to Austin-based firm Jay-Reese Contractors Inc. at its Feb. 25 meeting.Jay-Reese was one of three firms to respond to…"

A good thing to note is that this project is being designed with potential Green Line (commuter rail to Elgin) and Blue Line (possible light rail to airport) capacity in mind.

Food: Top Notch

The #5 from Top Notch

I was at ABOR headquarters all morning for a meeting.  As I drove out of the garage I thought, hey, today is a great day for a Top Notch burger.   Thus a slight detour was made.

Everyone I know who likes Top Notch talks about the fried chicken and how amazing it is.  I wouldn't know, as I stick with the #5 chili-cheese burger.  First of all, I love a good chili-cheese burger.  Second, Top Notch's reminds me of the #4 Fiesta Burger from the former Austin institution that was Holiday House (I'm not making this up: they had a live gator at the Barton Springs location back in the 70's).  Unfortunately, the notorious "Meat Lady" non-renewed the lease for the Tarrytown location and the Holiday House chain died shortly thereafter.  Holiday House was not only only a place I frequented in high school, the #4 Fiesta Burger was the first thing I ate when I moved to Austin (30 years ago, as of next week).   I'm digressing a bit, but it was a delicious piece of flame-kissed goodness I still miss.  Accordingly, this illustrates why I enjoy any burger which approximates the Fiesta Burger.  That is what I get at Top Notch and why I have yet to advance to the fried chicken.

So yes, the detour was worthwhile.  The #5 was delicious as always.  Now,  if Top Notch would just consider getting a live gator...

Not only is the food at Top Notch great, but is it also a fun place for fans of the film Dazed and Confused to visit.  In addition to being at the location of several scenes from the film, one can enjoy an up-close viewing of two paddles from the movie.     

One final bit of Top Notch news:  they are opening another restaurant in Hutto.   No Dazed and Confused connection, but I'm sure the burgers and fried chicken will be tasty.



On the chili-cheese burger note, here are two other restaurants with good options in Austin:

• Waterloo Icehouse
• Shady Grove       

Hopdoddy once had an awesome burger called The Terlingua (topped with chili, cheese, and Fritos) but it seems to have vanished from the menu.  I'm fond of the Buffalo Bill and all, but bring the Terlingua back.  

January 2019 Austin Housing Market Statistics

Infographics courtesy of Austin Board of REALTORS®.  Visit www.abor.com/statsjan19 for more information.  And, of course, contact Floyd Real Estate if you want to buy or sell property in the Austin area.

Fusebox Festival: 2019 Schedule Announced

The Fusebox Festival (April 16-21) announced its schedule of 2019 performances on Tuesday.  All performances are free.  Sign up early if you are interested in going, as many of the performances fill up quickly.

Here's an article about the upcoming Fusebox Festival line-up:  Fusebox Festival: 6 events to check out during this free experimental arts fest

Also, check out this video from Fusebox about the upcoming 2019 festival.

Office, retail project planned at South Lamar and Oltorf

South Austin commercial real estate news:

Office, retail project planned at South Lamar and Oltorf

Austin Opera will climb Mount Everest and push more boundaries in new season

Austin Opera will climb Mount Everest and push more boundaries in new season

Update: I saw Everest in January of 2020 and loved it.  They were giving away copies of Into Thin Air in the lobby, so I took one home.  If you haven't read it, I recommend that you do.

City Council's Casar unveils ambitious affordable housing plan

City Council's Casar unveils ambitious affordable housing plan

State GOP leaders seek to limit property tax increases

State GOP leaders seek to limit property tax increases

'Silent Night,' coming to Austin Opera, is an overnight sensation

'Silent Night,' coming to Austin Opera, is an overnight sensation