In Houston

I had dinner with the Houston Community College History Department chair, and even though her specialization is modern Middle Eastern history, she also teaches the American history survey classes, so we have a very entertaining conversation. We ate a very upscale Tex-Mex place called Hugo's, run by a former student--one of those success stories of the guy who started out in the kitchen of one Mexican restaurant, and worked his way up.

Different Mexican restaurants have slightly different notions of carnitas. This is the thoroughly cooked, not so spicy variant. I like both forms of carnitas--they're just different, probably reflecting regional differences.

The college put me in a Hilton--which is as nice of a hotel as I think I have ever stayed in. (Not nicer than any that I have ever stayed in, but comparable to the places that NRA lodged me Lansing, Michigan and Columbus, Ohio a few years ago.)

It is November--and it was still unpleasantly hot and sticky when I arrived. But alas, the outdoor pool was still too cold for my delicate body by the time I headed down there.

Here's a picture from my room.


Click to enlarge

The exposure was a bit long--hence those streaks are headlights, not the high energy particles used to accelerate Houstonian ground vehicles up to light speed.