Spacecow

It seems odd that I hadn't noticed it before, given the number of times I've flown into Houston, but today I saw it. As you walk down to baggage claim, to welcome you to Houston is a giant statue of a spacesuit. And in the spacesuit, is not, as you might expect, a man, but a cow. All you'd need is the creature sitting ontop of an oil well and you'd have encapsulated the whole of Texas in one moment.

Bacon is a vegetable

This evening I went to a local eatery to sample `Texas Barbeque'. For my choice of dinner plate (beef brisket and pork ribs), the menu allowed a choice of two `vegetables'. One of these choices was Jambalya, which I selected, unsure of exactly what it would be. It turned out to be a mix of rice and bacon. Vegetable indeed.

Art Cars

Last Saturday was the day of Houston's 'Art Car' parade. This is something a lot of people seem to take very seriously. Some people paint their cars, or turn them into mosaics:


or jigsaws:


Some people cover their cars in fruit:


The more daring go even further, and turn their cars into exotic models. There were many animals - fish, dogs, insects etc, boats, telephones, and other creations. My favourites were the shoes:


and this crazy fish thing:

Humidity

Over the last few weeks I've been in a losing battle with my air conditioning. First I tried not to use it at all, now I'm trying my best just to use it just for a few hours in the evening so I can fall asleep without completely overheating. Sadly though, it's not going to be long before the humidity beats me into total submission and my apartment becomes hermetically sealed from the outside.

Last night, the Friday night after-work get-together was in a pub only just over a mile from my house, so I took the unusual (to Houstonians) route of walking there. By the time I arrived I had rivulets of sweat dripping down my back, face and arms. Yuck. I wasn't overdressed, I wasn't hurrying, it's just seems that these are the consequences of moving about outside in this humidity. Yuck.

April (snow) showers

If you ever happen to be stuck in Houston in April, wondering how to escape the heat, here's how: go to Chicago. Where it will snow. In April.