Dry cleaning is a pretty simple service. Houston is a big city. There are lots of choices, and all of the ones I have tried so far seem to fail at this very simple task.

I grew up in a small town in Illinois. I had lots of dry cleaning done there, and never had any problems, incidents, or damage with the local cleaners. Since I have been in Houston, I have used 6 different dry cleaners. Every one of them has failed in some way. To date, I have had 2 expensive shirts lost, french cuff shirts with creases improperly pressed into the cuffs (also expensive shirts), a baseball jersey improperly pressed even after asking for it not to be pressed, and a button broken on a brand new shirt.

So, my question to Houstonians is, what dry cleaner do you use? Why should I go there? Have they ever lost anything of yours?

Watch this now! Also, Digg it:

http://digg.com/d316YuH

I saw a Caprice Classic with a rusted out body and smoke coming from its tailpipe today on I-10. On its back window, painted in that orange paint that teenage girls use to paint uplifting phrases on the car driven by a player from their high school sports team, when she/he goes to a tournament and does so much, or less, winning, were the words:

“Chernobyl 04-26-86 Never Forget”

So, where is the best place in Houston to play darts?  Don’t say Rudyard’s, please.  I’ve tried to play there, and there are just too many people, both playing and not playing, and the boards are in bad, typically high-traffic spots.  I’m looking for a place where I can just chill out and play and have a pint.  Any suggestions?

The Astros have re-signed Brandon Backe and Tim Byrdak to contracts around $1Million.  As much as I love Backe, I’m not sure this is a good move by the ’stros, but at least it’s a move.

Jeff Kent will retire from Major League Baseball Thursday at Dodger Stadium.  Jeff ends his career with a .290 batting average, 2,461 hits, 377 home runs, and 1,518 RBIs.