>> Poll shows split over Clemens, McNamee: The court of public opinion currently stands divided in Harris County regarding the Roger Clemens steroid scandal according to a poll by The Chronicle. According to the results published yesterday by David Barron, 35.5 percent said believed McNamee; 32.8 percent sided with The Rocket; and, 31.7 percent did not respond. The margin of error is listed at 4.1 percent. These numbers may prove initially encouraging for Clemens......

From local Houston headlines, we bring you these weekend news bits... • A man crashed his car into a Sugar Land home on Lynnwood at Oak Wood early Saturday morning. No one in the home was injured and the driver is in the hospital in stable condition. • The Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo is 76 years old. • An 84 year old Puerto Rican man with dementia is missing after walking out of......

From local Houston headlines, we bring you these weekend news bits...

::World's Championship Bar-B-Que Contest:: Or something like that. The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo's barbeque contest is happening this weekend and Houstonist thinks your tastebuds are as qualified as anyone's to make a judgement. Find yoiur favorite team or choose by the most appealing name on this listing and map of the area. Besides lots and lots of stuff from the grill, expect to find mucho live music to give you a smile for......

Calling all pooches! Oliver, a friendly (obviously, he's hosting this soiree) Golden Retriever is having a little canine social event, the Bow-Wow Bash at the Houston Arboretum this Saturday from 3 p.m. until 5 p.m. Please RSVP quickly here, to ensure your participation. There will be music and refreshments in the meadow and dog owners get poochie punch and a doggie bag with bottled water and a treat for their "party animal". Please be sure......

>> Two Houston Area Offshore Drilling Companies Win Big: The oil and money are flowing freely for two drilling companies based in Houston. A report in the Houston Business Journal, lists 2007 revenue for mammoth behemoth, Transocean closed out at $3.1 billion. The company also announced a $586 million contract extension with client Anadarko, another Houston company. The HBJ also reports that The Rowan Companies also inked a three year deal. The Rowan deal......

Local tech news in a compact, digital format. Dwight Watch Dwight Silverman, local tech guru, tackles installing the first service pack for Microsoft Vista. Dwight installs it on various platforms with various results. Dwight's also has been blogging about a workaround for Comcast's unethical treatment of bandwidth, he also unboxes the MacBook Air and touches on what could be the nail in the coffin of the HD-DVD vs Blu-Ray saga. Local Calendar Feb 19:......

::The Houston Center for Photography´s 2008 Print Auction:: These are some pretty gorgeous photographs and who'd believe they're all up for sale to benefit one of the coolest organizations in all Houston? Houstonist (a fan of photography, as you well know) was drooling over this one, and this one and this one too. The photographs are on exhibition right now at the HCP galleries until Wednesday, February 13th, and the auction is this Friday......

Pitchers and catchers report this week! Hell yes! Our long national nightmare is over! We'll take a look at the Astros roster in more detail later this week, but until then, here's what the blogs are saying about our local teams. Warning: not responsible for ball jokes about the Rockets. - So supposedly Roger Clemens is still in the news. Who knew? Rather than slog through all the syringes and attorney b.s., here's the Dugout's......

From local Houston headlines, we bring you these weekend news bits......

The Houston Rockets returned home last night, fresh off of an eight game road winning streak, to host the LeBron James-led Cleveland Cavaliers in a nationally televised match up. With Western Conference foes such as the Suns and Lakers making headline roster moves to improve their stock in an extremely competitive Western Conference, the Rockets were quickly becoming an afterthought as they fought for the final playoff seed. However, a 92-77 victory over the Cavs......

The Houston Business Journal reported that the Texas State Hotel has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Currently in the building is Club Quarters Hotel, but they weren't mentioned by name in the brief article even though the company applied for the register listing. The Texas State is a the corner of Fannin and Rusk and opened in 1929. Joseph Finger was the primary architect, and the cast terracotta detailing he often......

The Houston Rockets are seemingly transitioning into the New York Giants of the National Basketball Association. No, they haven't just won a championship. No, they haven't defeated arguably the best team in league history. No, they haven't snapped an opponent's 18-game winning streak. OK, so maybe they're nothing like the NFL's Super Bowl winner. Save for the fact that the Rockets have turned into road warriors (as the Giants have been characterized this season), after......

The Houston Rockets were able to overcome the absence of Tracy McGrady (15th missed game of the season) to earn a 111-107 victory over the Golden State Warriors at the Toyota Center last night. With McGrady suffering from “flu-like symptoms,” the Rockets were led by Yao Ming, whose 36 points and 19 rebounds both matched season highs. Aiding Yao’s efforts were Rafer Alston’s 17 points and 12 assists along with Luther Head’s 20 points and......

From local Houston headlines, we bring you these weekend news bits... • Two local developers are accused of bribing a former director of the city's Building Services Department. • A woman was shot in the face during a carjacking that occurred in Southwest Houston on Bellaire Blvd. near Larkwood around 8pm Friday. • An erratically driving man crashed his car into a home in south Houston and died after the car burst into flames......

• A Fort Bend County student has been accused of bringing a 9mm gun to school. The student was immediately expelled. • Two teens have been arrested after carjacking a family from their Cadillac Escalade at First Colony Mall. • Authorities are looking for a man claiming to be a police officer who attacked a 15 year old girl at a park in the 6400 block of Rustling Elms Drive back on November 18th.......

Local tech news in a compact, digital format. Apple Swap Meet Next Weekend It's coming! The Houston Area Apple Users Group semi-annual swap meet is happening next weekend, January 26th at the UH Hilton. Please check the HAAUG site for registration information and fees. Good luck finding that Apple Newton or Lisa you've been looking for! Sprint Nextel To Close 35 Retail Stores In Houston From the Houston Business Journal come this interesting news......

From local Houston headlines, we bring you these weekend news bits... • An experimental pediatric heart pump is being tested in 12 hospital clinical trials including Texas Children's Hospital. • The state Democratic primary will be missing one name on the upcoming ballot. That name will be Dennis Kucinich. • A Harris County Sheriff's office captain has been accused of sexual harassment and has been relieved of duty Friday. • Ten years after annexation,......

• The woman who left her six children home alone while she ran off to Africa to meet a man she met on the internet is headed back home. Shanell Monique Mosley has been charged with child endangerment and abandonment and authorities will be waiting for her when she arrives. • A man who backed up into an HPD car during a car chase last night after a traffic stop got away by fleeing......

Local tech news in a compact, digital format. Something's Brewing At WhiteBoard Labs Houston based WhiteBoard Labs is currently beta-testing MotionNotes, a web based app that allows messaging via video and multimedia interfaces such as Flash movies, PowerPoint Presentations and slideshows. MotionNotes is slated for release this fall. WhiteBoard Labs was founded in 1994 and is a recognized leader and pioneer in the development of Rich Internet Applications. PlaceShout It Out Loud There's a......

From local Houston headlines, we bring you these weekend news bits... • An HPD rookie officer was busted for selling 50 pounds of pot in an undercover sting. If convicted the officer could face two to twenty years in prison. • A frustrated Mom left her 10 year old daughter and 8 year old son at a Cy-Fair fire station Friday afternoon. According to fire station officials, the kids were told by the mother......

The Houston Rollerderby season ended in October, and Houstonist is having "DT's" - a condition in which lack of flat track action causes delusions (in which we actually think we CAN sing), nervous tic's and random verbal outbursts. We're gonna be just fine though, because there's Derbyoke in our immediate future - like tomorrow night! What is this "Derbyoke" of which we speak? Well, given that it's karaoke with, by and for HRD - it's......

::Houston NetSquared Meet Up:: The Houston Chapter of NetSquared returns tonight to kick-off another year of fascinating speakers. The Houston group recently got national props from Social Change advocate, Britt Bravo. Keep up the great work, guys! We are really excited to start the 2008 year with a wonderful guest speaker!! Kelly McCann, longtime advocate and CEO of the AIDS Foundation Houston, Inc., will be speaking about her work promoting AIDS awareness, prevention education. Kelly......

From local Houston headlines, we bring you these weekend news bits... • The parents of missing Rice student, Matthew Wilson have added $10,000 of their own money to the reward for information leading to his whereabouts. The total reward amount is now $25,000. This includes $5000 from Crime Stoppers and $10,000 from Rice University. If you have information, please contact Crime Stoppers at 713.222.TIPS • A man was ejected from his car and killed......

From local Houston headlines, we bring you these weekend news bits... • Recent Katy Freeway closures are sure to cause a few headaches. As of 10 p.m., Friday night, the Katy Freeway eastbound ramp to Beltway 8 northbound will be closed until April 2008. The westbound ramp to Beltway 8 northbound will be closed until August 2008. • Three Houston area residents have filed a lawsuit against Microsoft for breach of contract because they......

From local Houston headlines, we bring you these weekend news bits... • Seven people are in custody after a SWAT standoff on Saturday in southeast Houston. • Five people were injured Saturday morning when a police chase ended in a wreck near downtown. • Traveon LeBlanc was laid to rest on Saturday with hundreds in attendance. Traveon was the 12 year old who was killed after attempting to run across the Gulf Freeway. •......

From local Houston headlines, we bring you these weekend news bits... • A bicyclist was killed early Friday evening after being struck by a van on Old Katy Road. • A new three million dollar ad campaign to enhance the city's image is set to launch in February. The ad campaign will feature celebrities such as Beyonce and heart surgeon Dr. Denton Cooley. Expect to see these ads in The Wall Street Journal, USA......

Perspectives 159: Superconscious, Automatisms Now December 14, 2007 – March 9, 2008 Opening reception December 13, 2007, 6:30-9:00 p.m. Sigh. This is Houston's last hurrah with Senior CAMH Curator Paola Morsiani, and we are sad. Having been with the CAMH for over eight years, Morsiani is heading north to become Curator of Contemporary Art at the Cleveland Museum of Art, an internationally renowned encyclopedic museum in the midst of a $258 million renovation and expansion.......

The Houston Rockets three-game winning streak came to a close last night after the Golden State Warriors ran circles around them resulting in a disappointing 113-94 loss. The game began with an 8-0 run by the Warriors with the Rockets starting off 0-7 from the floor. Both teams were playing the second game of a back-to-back, but the Warriors had a higher intensity as they continued to penetrate to the basket while the Rockets did......

Do you find yourself a little scared to venture downtown these days, for fear of what you may or may not find? We'll admit, it's not out first pick for happy hour, what, with all the awesome parking opportunities and diverse bars, clubs, and retail? So we are looking forward to giving it a chance tonight, as ArtsHouston hosts a Meet & Greet (Hello, downtown, my name is ______) tonight at Butterfly High (705 Main......