Two Houston questions - Referring to the Astros and NASA

Firstly, thanks to those who answered my previous post, re. Finding a hotel
in Houston. I went on priceline.com and got 7 nights at the 4* Inn at the
Ballpark for $60 pn.

Anyway a couple of quick questions.

1. Is it easy to get to NASA via public transport. If we were to get a taxi
rather than a bus (or whatever) what would the fare be, approximately.

2. We are thinking about going to see the Astros at the Minute Maid (when in
Rome...). Now we have never seen a baseball game and had no idea of the
rules (sorry, but I am British ) until I read a brief rundown of the rules
this evening.
My question is this:
Approximately, how long does a game last and will it be easy to pick up
what's going on?

Thanks in advance for any feedback to my questions.

MC

MC wrote:

Firstly, thanks to those who answered my previous post, re. Finding a
hotel
in Houston. I went on priceline.com and got 7 nights at the 4* Inn at the
Ballpark for $60 pn.

Anyway a couple of quick questions.

1. Is it easy to get to NASA via public transport. If we were to get a
taxi rather than a bus (or whatever) what would the fare be,
approximately.

No, at least not that I am aware of. I Left Houston 10 years ago but I
still visit there a couple times a year to see family and friends. Houston
is HORRIBLE when it comes to public transport. Most Houstonians perfer to
drive a car - even if they are the only occupant. The Gulf Freeway which
you will need to travel on to get to NASA can get VERY congested so be
prepared for slow traffic and traffic jams. In my opinion Houston is a
TERRIBLE city built on mosquito infested swamp land and was part of a land
deal rip off by the Allen Brothers years ago. Why on earth would you want
to visit there? It is hot and EXTREMELY HUMID and summer is NOT the best
time to visit there. There are only two saving graces about Houston.
Houston has some of the best food and the most beautiful women to be found
anywhere.

2. We are thinking about going to see the Astros at the Minute Maid (when
in
Rome...). Now we have never seen a baseball game and had no idea of the
rules (sorry, but I am British ) until I read a brief rundown of the
rules this evening.
My question is this:
Approximately, how long does a game last and will it be easy to pick up
what's going on?

Games depend on how many innings are played. Most games end in 9 innings so
it should last several hours. To me it is extremely boring - sort of like
watching grass grow. Since you are in the area, I would suggest you visit
Galveston. The Boardwalk in Kemah (near Galveston) is also sort of nice
with arcade games and other amusements and a very good selection of
restaurants. It too, can get quite crowded. If you really want to get a
flavour of Texas, visit the hill country around and near Austin -
especially the Fredricksburg, San Saba and Llano area.


Thanks in advance for any feedback to my questions.

MC

"MC" writes:
1. Is it easy to get to NASA [from Houston] via public transport.

I looked first at http://www.jsc.nasa.gov and the subsidiary site
http://www.spacecenter.org, and they don't seem to even mention the
possibility.

However, the city transit site http://www.hou-metro.harris.tx.us shows
a "commuter bus" route 246 connecting downtown Houston and the NASA site
(Johnson Space Center). It's a 25-mile trip one way, takes about an hour
and a quarter, and runs on an irregular schedule roughly once an hour --
*weekdays only*. It's obviously designed for people who work there, so
it might not go near the visitor entrance -- I don't know.

Schedule in PDF (for this and two other routes, so read the right page)
at http://www.hou-metro.harris.tx.us/pdf/Routes/gulfcorridor.pdf.

System maps in PDF, in two sections at:
http://www.hou-metro.harris.tx.us/pdf/smapa.pdf (city center)
http://www.hou-metro.harris.tx.us/pdf/smapb.pdf (suburbs, including NASA)

I don't know if there are long-distance bus companies competing with this.
--
Mark Brader, Toronto | "It was too crazy to be true,
| and too crazy to be false." --Tom Clancy

My text in this article is in the public domain.

MC wrote:

Firstly, thanks to those who answered my previous post, re. Finding a hotel
in Houston. I went on priceline.com and got 7 nights at the 4* Inn at the
Ballpark for $60 pn.

At those prices it looks as though the city has another white elephant
on it's hands.

Anyway a couple of quick questions.

1. Is it easy to get to NASA via public transport. If we were to get a taxi
rather than a bus (or whatever) what would the fare be, approximately.

There is a bus service for $3.50 each way.

http://www.hou-metro.harris.tx.us/pd...lfcorridor.pdf

Notice that the last returning bus appears to be just before 3 pm so you
need to make it a morning trip. If you miss it you can take a taxi to
the local park & ride where there is later service on that route. The
origination isn't too far from your hotel.

2. We are thinking about going to see the Astros at the Minute Maid (when in
Rome...). Now we have never seen a baseball game and had no idea of the
rules (sorry, but I am British ) until I read a brief rundown of the rules
this evening.
My question is this:
Approximately, how long does a game last and will it be easy to pick up
what's going on?

I suppose that the answer is that it varies. I'd expect a game to be
about 3 hours but they can be very extended if the score is tied. The
rules are fairly simple but as with most contain lots of unusual exotic
parts. Hint: if anyone starts discussing "infield fly rule" hit them
with an umbrella. Don't try to damage them just startle them and try to
bring them to their senses.

Thanks in advance for any feedback to my questions.
MC

In article ,
MC wrote:

1. Is it easy to get to NASA via public transport. If we were to get a taxi
rather than a bus (or whatever) what would the fare be, approximately.

Given the pretty unencouraging answers that the Houston locals have
provided, perhaps you might want to consider a bus tour? You might
be able to find one that would pick you up at or near your hotel,
take you to JSC for a tour, and then bring you back. I don't know
how the price would compare to a taxi, but it might be worth investigating.

My question is this:
Approximately, how long does a game last and will it be easy to pick up
what's going on?

As someone else mentioned, as long as no one hits any infield fly
balls, you'll be okay. ;-) (There was even a scene about this on
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine once, proving that people will still be
confused by the rule hundreds of years from now. ;-) )

Yes, it's a slow-moving game, but that gives you time to chat and
look around and take in the atmosphere. Give it a try!


Patty

MC asked:

how long does a game last and will it be easy to pick up what's going
on?


Count on three hours. Nine innings are required, and standard. Could be
less time, could be more, i.e., they keep playing until a tie is broken.
I attended a 17-inning college game once. I left at 11:30 p.m. and it
was still going.

Yes, it is easy to pick up the basics. The point, of course, is to hit
the ball and make it around the three bases back to home plate (where
the batter stands), thereby scoring a run.

"Inning" = both sides at bat until each team has three outs.

"Out" = (1) batter can't hit the ball after three tries ("3 strikes,
you're out")(a "ball" doesn't count); (2) ball is caught by opposing
team after it's hit, but before ball reaches the ground (known as a "pop
fly" when it goes high before falling back down); (3) ball is thrown to
a base before the runner gets there, or (4) variations on # 3.

"Ball" = ball is thrown above batter's chest or below knees, or he hits
and it goes out of the foul lines. A foul ball may well fly over to
your seating area.

Scoring is by "runs" ("R" on the scoreboard) i.e., a man makes it back
to home. ("Home run" = batter hits ball beyond the walls and thereby
makes it home on one ball; a run is also scored for any other batter on
a base who can get home by another batter's hit.) On the scoreboard you
will also see "H" for "hits" = batter makes it to first base at least,
and "E" for error = a defense player should have done something he
didn't. Hits and errors are for information only; they have no effect
on the score itself.

You will have a great time! Get good seats low enough that you can see
what's going on; I'm not familiar with the Houston park so can't help
you with specifics but along the first base line is always where most of
the action takes place. Don't sit too far beyond first base. The
famous Houston players to look for are Roger Clemens and Andy Pettite
(both pitchers), Jeff Bagwell, Craig Biggio, and Orlando Palmeiro. The
proper edibels at a baseball game are hot dogs and beer.

Oh yeah, the "umpire" is the fat ******* standing behind the batter.

Now I guarantee, somebody is bound to tell you something I forgot!

"MC" wrote in message ...
[snip]
2. We are thinking about going to see the Astros at the Minute Maid (when in
Rome...). Now we have never seen a baseball game and had no idea of the
rules (sorry, but I am British ) until I read a brief rundown of the rules
this evening.
My question is this:
Approximately, how long does a game last

3 - 4 hours.

and will it be easy to pick up what's going on?
[snip]

In the sense that it is a very slow moving game, yes. When the action
is happening, you may not know where to look, nor what to expect.
Your tendency will be to "follow the ball" but the ball is rarely where
the "action" is. In essence, the object of the "offense" is to get the
ball away from where the action is, and the object of the defense is
to get the ball TO where the action is. Baseball is one of the few sports
where the ball does not do the scoring and the further away the ball
is from the goal, the more likely points will be scored. The ball comes
to the action, which can be at any one of 4 points on the field (the
bases) and the hard part for a novice is anticipating to which base the
ball will come. There no hard and fast rules on this, but the closest
is that the ball will move towards the "lead" runner (but not always
so....)

I don't know if you have seats yet, or if you do where they are, but
for the novice the best seats are actually probably out behind one of
the "fields" (left, center or right). You can see the whole field of
play at once that way. You could try to sit behind "home plate" but
those are often difficult, or expensive, seats to obtain.

The essence of the game is moving players around the bases. As such,
the astute novice will pay alot of attention to the bases.Understanding
how, and when, a player may advance on the bases is really the key.
When the ball is struck, pay attention to the motion of the
players on the bases, their motion will tend to tell you what is
going on. They move most aggressively when there is little
chance of them getting "out" by doing so, least aggresively in the opposite
condition. They will hesitate when there is an impending decision to
be made about their ability to advance.

MC wrote:
Firstly, thanks to those who answered my previous post, re. Finding a hotel
in Houston. I went on priceline.com and got 7 nights at the 4* Inn at the
Ballpark for $60 pn.


That's a great deal. The hotel is new and probably offering introductory rates.

Anyway a couple of quick questions.

1. Is it easy to get to NASA via public transport. If we were to get a taxi
rather than a bus (or whatever) what would the fare be, approximately.


On a previous web site I mentioned there's info on bus tours to the Space
Center and Galveston. The Metro bus to NASA would be ok since they're
express down the freeway. It's definitely worth seeing: where the
astrounauts live and train, Mission Control, IMAX, etc. If you go to
Galveston there're guided trolley tours, Moody Gardens with three large
areas (rain forest, aquarium, and Discovery for kids), plus IMAX movies,
plus shopping "On The Strand" next to the waterfront cruise ship terminals.
Also harbor tours morning and afternoon, the old Elissa tall ship, movie on
the 1900 hurricane that swept the island. Beaches are not much - no
boardwalks like on the East Coast.

2. We are thinking about going to see the Astros at the Minute Maid (when in
Rome...).

Astros will be town except July 21st and 22nd.
http://houston.astros.mlb.com/


Thanks in advance for any feedback to my questions.

MC

"MC" wrote in message
...
2. We are thinking about going to see the Astros at the Minute Maid (when
in
Rome...). Now we have never seen a baseball game and had no idea of the
rules (sorry, but I am British ) until I read a brief rundown of the
rules
this evening.
My question is this:
Approximately, how long does a game last and will it be easy to pick up
what's going on?

Yep, it is about 3 hours long. I have had the pleasure of going to games
with fellow engineers who were raised on cricket, and no, the game
isn't as easy to pick up as I would have thought. (And teaching them
to play softball, the recreational version for adults, was also quite
an experience....) That said, most game goers are very friendly and
more than happy to explain the game to novices. The other interesting
thing about baseball games is taking in the environment. The peanut
sellers are a show on their own. The organist and score boards keep
little ones entertained for hours. And if you are lucky there are sausage
races... So you may not be able to walk away ready to coach a local
little league team, but if you are looking for an American experience,
a base ball game can't be beat.

"Paul E. Lehmann" wrote in message
...
MC wrote:

Firstly, thanks to those who answered my previous post, re. Finding a
hotel
in Houston. I went on priceline.com and got 7 nights at the 4* Inn at
the
Ballpark for $60 pn.

Anyway a couple of quick questions.

1. Is it easy to get to NASA via public transport. If we were to get a
taxi rather than a bus (or whatever) what would the fare be,
approximately.

No, at least not that I am aware of. I Left Houston 10 years ago but I
still visit there a couple times a year to see family and friends.
Houston
is HORRIBLE when it comes to public transport. Most Houstonians perfer to
drive a car - even if they are the only occupant. The Gulf Freeway which
you will need to travel on to get to NASA can get VERY congested so be
prepared for slow traffic and traffic jams. In my opinion Houston is a
TERRIBLE city built on mosquito infested swamp land and was part of a land
deal rip off by the Allen Brothers years ago. Why on earth would you want
to visit there? It is hot and EXTREMELY HUMID and summer is NOT the best
time to visit there. There are only two saving graces about Houston.
Houston has some of the best food and the most beautiful women to be found
anywhere.

My son lives in Houston and we visited a couple of times. I agree with
everything you said except the end. Houston has probably the worst dining
scene for any major city we've experienced. LA, NY, and Chicago all beat
Houston hands down. Even many medium sized cities (notably SF) has much
more to offer in terms of restaurants.

As to the women, I'll leave the judgement to others. I am married, what do
I know about beautiful women?


2. We are thinking about going to see the Astros at the Minute Maid
(when
in
Rome...). Now we have never seen a baseball game and had no idea of the
rules (sorry, but I am British ) until I read a brief rundown of the
rules this evening.
My question is this:
Approximately, how long does a game last and will it be easy to pick up
what's going on?

Games depend on how many innings are played. Most games end in 9 innings
so
it should last several hours. To me it is extremely boring - sort of like
watching grass grow. Since you are in the area, I would suggest you visit
Galveston. The Boardwalk in Kemah (near Galveston) is also sort of nice
with arcade games and other amusements and a very good selection of
restaurants. It too, can get quite crowded. If you really want to get a
flavour of Texas, visit the hill country around and near Austin -
especially the Fredricksburg, San Saba and Llano area.


Thanks in advance for any feedback to my questions.

MC