The Austin homicide map is crazy when you look at groupings of murders, especially when you consider the Sunset Valley one was one guy killing his grandparents (so not random crime but some nutbag) and the one near Far West was vehicular homicide...
When you dig in the homicides in Austin, I sometimes wonder if the raw numbers tell the whole story and there's maybe less random crime than some thing, especially compared to other cities.
https://www.kxan.com/news/crime/austin-homicide-map-2024/
January 1st - man kills girlfriend
March 27th - child abuse
April 13th - fentanyl death.
June 19th - murder suicide
June 25th - child killed by a family member
July 1st - son kills father
July 3rd - murder suicide
August 7th - vehicular homicide
September 21st - grandson kills 2 grandparents
September 24th - murder suicide
October 14th - man kills mother of his children
November 18th - domestic violence (weird rationale on this one... https://www.kxan.com/news/crime/apd-84-year-old-man-accused-of-murdering-woman-dog-in-east-austin-home/)
I did not count self-defense in the above because someone still may have died. Anyway that's 13 deaths that are certainly not random. Not that any death is good.
Other things I learned:
A 13-year old can be a one-man crime machine
Don't wear a $100,000 watch around town
Don't slash someone's tires unless you want to die
Sure sure... Riverside is gentrifying but...
Not all Rainey deaths float
Some people die of "apparent gunshot wounds"
If you are homeless and you brandish a machete, you and a buddy might die
If you're not homeless but steal a homeless man's drugs, you might die
Like game rooms and throwing dice? You might die.
If you provoke someone who is on his way to anger management meeting, it may not end well
Before the 2023 season...
SEC home winning percentage: .525
https://aggieswire.usatoday.com/2023/07/16/texas-aggies-football-sec-home-field-rankings-usa-today/
We're so loud and intimidating when losing!?!?!?
The winning percentage alone can’t serve as a proxy for the hostility and pressure from over 100,000 fans screaming at you when trying to get a play call in. Aggie football may have had its recent struggles, but by no means is the 12th Man indicative of a last-place ranking among the other SEC fanbases.
This should be your European ski trip planning Bible below. Pretty self-explanatory.
https://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=167136&sid=4e689adbebca9d92cda873ea4c198bb6
Oh please please please...
“We will absolutely abide by the burn ban, as we have done throughout the season, even as the cold has set in at Stack,” a Facebook post from the student bonfire page said.
https://www.kbtx.com/2024/11/20/burn-bans-could-delay-student-bonfire-2024-official-call-be-made-nov-26/
All depends. Last time we went we stayed here... button lift took you up to a run to ski down to a gondola. Go price out slopeside in Taos or Breckenrdige and then compare to something like https://www.anova-hotel.com/public/
F'ing Google is removing ski lifts and runs from Google Maps. Seriously pisses me off.
Sorry... one more thing. Going off piste? A guide is pretty important in Europe. You can also go with a group which won't cost much at all.
Going into glacial terrain? Mandatory guide.
Example of off-piste pricing on Serre Chevalier (specifically Monetier) for one person in a group going freeriding. Yes, that is daily pricing. Includes safety equipment. Insurance is usually extra but it is cheap.
This may be going further afield.
I'm a cheapo that flies coach and buys what I can with miles so I'm not sure.
Here is where you should invest:
- Private guides
- Private lessons
Definitely cheaper than in the US. Instruction in Europe is excellent and the French are great! Can recommend ski schools/guides in a few locations. Big fan of APeak in Montgenevre. ESF usually very solid. Most of the guides/instructors you will meet in Europe are former racers and exceptional skiers with amazing track records. In Italy I once had an instructor who was leading an expedition to the Himalayas. Have had former European Cup racers, etc. Quality is very high.
Spring break is great because they don't have school holidays then and the snow is in great shape in many places. Avoid February? When. A V O I D F E B R U A R Y!!! School holidays. Also, January can be hit/miss especially in Italy where they have the settimana bianca (white week) when a lot of people holiday. March? Man... I'm telling that the longest lift line I can remember was about 7 minutes and it felt like an eternity since you can often run laps. The exceptions were the Grands Montets cable car to the top in whiteout conditions and the Cresta Youla cable car in Courmayeur on a bluebird powder day.