But you can so make sure that you do vote. And regardless of your party, although I have my preferences, I do hope everyone out there votes.

Tonight whether you are celebrating or commiserating odds are you might just be having a cocktail. And I am going to watch the results with some friends who posed the question… “What would be an election theme drink?”.

So let’s hear your ideas and your recipes for election night drinks and libations. And celebrate democracy!!

Ezra Shanken, the Statewide Finance Chair for the Colorado Young Democrats shot me an email asking if I would share the above invitation for a Convention Kickoff Party Sunday NIght.

Anyway, I have to get moving. Happy pedaling today!

The Democratic Party website tells it all with a Congratulations going to Obama and a Thank you going to Hillary. The real question I have for Denver is whether you believe Obama should select Hillary as his running mate. It is a complicated question, and from the conversations I have heard it is also an emotional one.

Let’s talk about two brief examples. The first, a New York Times article discussing some reactions during the recent Democratic decision on how to allocate delegates from Michigan and Florida. Here is the quote from the article Democrats Approve Deal on Michigan and Florida…

“McCain in ’08! McCain in ’08!” a woman yelled from the back of the room. “No-bama! No-bama!” was yelled out by one Democratic Hillary supporter after learning the allocation of votes for these states.

That certainly sounds divided. Then of course there are a number of my friends who say “No Way” to the idea of Obama selecting Hillary for a running mate because of how she “went after him”. It seems like there needs to be some efforts made at unification and forgiveness.

I had to laugh at John McCain’s appearance on Saturday Night Live when Amy Poehler and Seth Meyers began bickering back and forth during their news desk sketch when discussing the Democratic Ticket and McCain says to himself “That’s it, fight amongst yourselves”.

I had to laugh to keep from crying.

The best jokes always have a slice of real life, even when it’s painful. This one hit the nail on the head.

So is the best choice to unite the party with a combined ticket or not?

But make sure to plan accordingly because unlike all the St. Patrick’s Day holidays of the past this one WILL NOT be held on the traditional March 17th. Due to a little scheduling problem the Church is moving it. Changed by the Roman Catholic Church to avoid conflict with Holy Monday that falls on 3/17 the 2008 Saint Patrick’s Day holiday will be celebrated on March 15th just a few days away. This is the first time the date has been moved since 1940 and the next time it will need to change will be all the way in 2160.

What will you be doing to celebrate? I remember the days of waiting in line for my old watering hole, Byrnes Pub, to open in the wee hours of the morning. There was some serious Irish pride going on at Byrne’s and folks waited all year for their favorite holiday to be celebrated right. What surprised me is that Byrne’s and many other establishments are still planning to celebrate Saint Patrick’s day on the 17th (the traditional day) which led me to wonder if there might be a revolt of sorts against the changing of the date. Are some out there making a statement that Saint Patrick’s day is simply to important to be swapped out because of a conflict with another event. Or did some folks just not get the memo? Here’s one story talking about how different cities are having different reactions.

For those of us how are consuming the beer it is far better to have a nice Sunday to recover than to be looking at a workday to follow. You know when that happens somebody will have the “great idea” to schedule a 7 am meeting. I imagine that businesses are probably pleased about the date change as well as it means they can avoid a possible crew of zombies on one of their supposedly productive days. I am not sure if it is better for the bars or not. They might certainly have a great night of beer sales for a Saturday, but that probably happens anyway. With a weeknight Saint Patrick’s Day they might just boost it up to being their best week ever.

Of course the smart Irish man or woman might want to celebrate twice just to make sure. You don’t want to tick Saint Patrick off by missing his day now do you (bar managers trying to boost beer sales, this might give you a record breaking week).

What’s your thought on the date change?

Whichever date it is my plans will be milder as I am quite a bit tamer than I was back then. Now I prepare by surfing Itunes to assemble an Irish mix of my favorite bands for the occasion. These would include such groups as Dropkick Murphys, Flogging Molly, The Skels, Blood or Whiskey, The Tossers, and of course The Pogues. I haven’t quite decided what I’ll do with the mix since I’m not hosting a party… but you never know when it might come in handy.

I’ll likely have a beer or two, laugh with some friends, and exit before things great really rowdy as I plan to hit a beach the very next day and that is when the real fun starts. But you have fun this Holiday and share your favorite way to celebrate Saint Patrick’s day here in Denver.

Do I really need to say any more… (well maybe)

I was at a little Holiday Party last night chatting about an upcoming Riverfront Park Ski Trip on January 26th. The bullet points are that a car has been rented with only 62 seats available, several sponsors have signed up to give some perks to this first time trip crew that will be taking the Ski Train up and back followed by an Apres Party and a very close and cool spot downtown (Another wonderful sponsor).

No fighting traffic and it will be fun and social!! Siri at East West Urban Management is managing the rapidly growing list of folks who are snagging the seats for this inaugural event. You can email her if you are interested in learning more or if you are a homeowner in Riverfront you can
sign right up.

Think snow!!!

It couldn’t have worked out better. We chilled out and got the celebration started with a round of cocktails (dirty martini, blue cheese stuffed olives please) and then relaxed over laughter, stories, and catching up while enjoying steaks (baseball sirloin for this day of course) and some great red wine. Our boys night out dinner carried us past the first pitch (which we did want to see) but we got there just in time for the blackout. In fact we timed it so close the folks behind us joked that we caused it.

First of all, let me tell you that the crowd last night was amazing. The energy, the rockies flag waving, the cheers, the jeers, and everything else was like a live current. Someone who watched the game at home said it was boring. I don’t know what they were watching but from my seat it was a nail biter with the close score and then the tie up keeping us all on the edge of our seats (or standing) as we celebrated every strike and out that kept the Phillies from moving ahead. That is to say that the comfort zone when we were 1 – 0 disappeared as we watched their one run homer put us neck to neck.

Somewhere around the 6th inning a few incidents started happening around us. Drunk guy falls down stairs (ouch), another drunk guy (doofus) tries to start the wave on his own with beer in hand and sprays the crowd (many apologies did follow), and the last drunk guy (yes, we see you) tries to start his own cheer leading section. There are always those interesting characters.

But what a finish. When, in the bottom of the 8th, the Rockies scored the needed run to put us up 2 to 1 the crowd went nuts. And then for every pitch, out, catch and moment through the top of the 9th the Rockies put the final touches on the SWEEP of the Phillies.

That moment, on the last out, was magic. Friends yelled with joy and high fives all around. Smiles EVERYWHERE filled every face and goodwill flowed. It was AWESOME. How cool to be there and share it with not just my friends but with 70,000 other fans.

The post game party in the streets and bars around the ballpark was just as exciting and with just as much energy. With laughter in the air, the smell of beer in the air, and traffic crawling through the streets we leisurely walked through Denver to find a spot for one more beer and some quality time to revel in the day. Cheers Denver, the Rockies did it!!

One thing you will learn very quickly about living in the city. You can’t grill out the way you used to. No more big propane tank feeding a gas fired fury of heat to sear up a delicious steak or to toast up a salmon plank. Nope, the fire code for Denver says that you cannot put your mega grill on your balcony.

So if you love the Downtown lifestyle and live in a multi dwelling unit (and don’t think that is a high rise only, that is three or more units) you will not be allowed to grill out unless you work within the rules. So lets cover the rules first…

“In the past five years, barbeque grills are directly attributable to causing over 150 deck fires in the greater Denver area.

In response to the large number of deck and patio fires, most Denver metropolitan fire districts have adopted the 2006 International Fire Code. Provisions of this Code relating to the use of barbeque grills directly impact owners, residents and managers of multiple family dwellings which include any structure that contains three or more living units. Therefore, this ban essentially encompasses everything but single family and duplex type homes. However, it’s important to note that some of the fire districts have excluded townhomes from the definition of multiple family dwellings.

The Fire Code bans the use and operation of barbeque grills fueled by propane, natural gas, charcoal or any other open flame cooking device from any deck or balcony constructed with combustible material. Additionally, the ban extends to the use and operation of a barbeque grill within 10 feet of any combustible material. So, even if a homeowner is using a barbeque grill on a concrete patio, if the grill is within 10 feet of any combustible material – for example, a structure made of wood, siding or plastic – the owner may not use the barbeque. This ban also includes prohibiting the storage of propane tanks on a deck, balcony or patio.

The only exceptions to this rule are if the patio or balcony is protected by an automatic sprinkler system or if the barbeque grill’s gas source is smaller than 2.5 pounds, which is approximately a small camping style grill.”

Now that we know the rules lets talk about what this post is about. This is about how to have an awesome grilling experience, make that savory food you will love, and enjoy your evenings with the smell of sizzling steak and more.

The answer, from hunting around on the internet and asking around turns out to be a great little company called Electri-Chef located out of Temple Texas. They make serious style electric grills going up to 600 btu’s. From what I can tell these beauties were originally designed for Yachts and other fancy bout outings where you might not keep a fleet of propane tanks. In talking with the owner I have found out that they are also growing in demand from all of the MDU (Multi Dwelling Unit) buildings going up under the new fire code.

They aren’t the cheapest things in the world, going over two thousand for the bigger grills. But then again I love my steak and don’t want the cheapest thing. I want a great grill to prepare some great food.

Order from them direct and get the best deal. I ended up going through a reseller and paid more, but when I had the first service question they had me go direct to Electri Chef anyway so there doesn’t seem to be any benefit. And I learned when I called them the money I could have saved (bummer, but my mistake can be your benefit).

For the record, the problem I had involved a timer switch not working and a weak roller wheel weld giving way. I called and spoke with the owner, a super nice guy, and that was when I found out I could have saved money by going direct. Even though I didn’t buy through them they first made arrangements to send out new parts to switch and then surprised me with a call that they were going to send me a brand new grill. Awesome! They were so nice and so great at their customer service that I was impressed.

And true to their word a brand new grill showed up days later. Not a single thing wrong with it. I shipped the other one back and we were in business.

Now let me tell you about these grills. They are just as big as the mega buck gas grills. They have two timers on the front, one for each side and a heat indicator to let you know if its getting juice. The temperature gauge lets you set the heat you want and the timer tells it to activate. This way if you forget to turn your grill off and leave a temperature gauge on it will automatically get shut off when the timer hits zero. I certainly know a few folks who this will be a great benefit to. Especially if they are hosting a party and get absent minded.

Now these grills require a 220 or 230 Volt outlet, just like your washer and dryer or hot tub. Some buildings today, like ours, are being built and wired with these outlets automatically. But don’t despair if your home isn’t set up this way. Any electrician worth his dirt can convert an outlet or even run a new one.

With our new grill plugged in and a recent trip to the Marczyk’s completed I gave the new grill its first trial using a delicious Pedro Steak. Don’t try to google that term by the way, the folks at Marcyzk’s made it up. It is a sirloin steak or tri tip section. In addition to the steak was a great selection of vegies for roasting.

With the grill plugged in we turned the burners all the way up and dialed the timers on. Within seconds you could feel the heat start rising off of the grill face and within minutes they burned bright red. The cover offers two thermometers, one for each side, which showed the steady temperature increase. This was the first time we had used the grill and a little bit of that electric radiator smell kicked out and then quickly disappeared.

Everything got thrown on the grill and started sizzling. Ah.. such wonderful aromas filled our balcony and the grill was awesome. It rocked and did everything my best gas grill ever did. Except now I don’t have to go and swap tanks anymore. And now I am legal and in compliance with the Fire Code.

Not much more to say that that. Great food, great results, and its an electric fully compliant grill solution.

Expect to see more of these in Denver. And I can already envision a cool night, leaves changing, Monday night football, a cold beer and some great grilling. Very cool!

This past weekend and today I took a small step forward in reducing my carbon footprint. As of this morning I am an officially licensed motorcycle licensed scooter driver.

How does this reduce my carbon footprint? Well so far whenever I had to get somewhere quick or without the time or the convenience of jumping on my bike I would pull out my keys and jump into that gigantic SUV I bought back in 2000 to travel across town. I keep the beast because (1) it is paid for and (2) I have a 125 lb pup along with tons of gear that I need to carry between Denver and Vail whenever I get a chance to enjoy the mountains.

But except for those periodic mountain adventures I would prefer to travel as light and environmentally friendly as possible. So with the addition of a scooter to replace an auto for the 99% of my life spent here in Denver I just went from a measly 13 mpg to a wonderful 60 or more mpg. I may rarely, if ever, drive. But now at least I feel better about it.

Now let me tell you a little bit more about the process to get yourself zipping around on a scooter, just in case you are thinking about it.

PART I – Bike and Class

First of all, you need to decide if you want a smaller engine such as a 50cc engine or something larger like a 150 cc. There is a big distinction between the two. With a 50 cc engine you can just buy and go, parking wherever you want on curbs and other spots. It is looked at more like a bicycle as far as rules and licensing are concerned. No special license required or endorsement on your license. But it has a little less pep, so if you need or want to be able to accelerate when you need to (this can be a bonus for safety to get out of someone’s way or in traffic) this might not be the best choice.

Now with the bigger engine you will have the zip to power on Speer if some loser doesn’t see you and starts to weave into your lane, but it also means the process to get you legally zipping around takes a few more steps.

But that is the cool part, there is no difference between you and a motorcycle as far as the law is concerned. You need to go pass both a written and driving test on your scooter before the great state of Colorado will give you permission to zip around. Now to be clear, you need a license to legally drive a larger engine scooter but you don’t need one to buy one.

Guess what that means… alot of people buy a larger scooter and drive around without their endorsement or at least until they get around to taking the test. Or you have another alternative. You can do what I did and sign up for a Motorcycle Safety Foundation two day class which runs you through all the safety, training, and other knowledge you need to be safe on the road information and prepares you to pass the test at the end of the two days.

Did I mention it will also shorten your wait at the DMV? More about that later. Plus your MSF safety card usually, with most carriers, gets you some preferred insurance rates.

Anyway, back to the class and the story I have about that.

The class costs about $240 and states that it goes from 7 am to 5 pm for two days straight. I signed up for the this past weekend and followed all the rules which are to (1) make sure to pick up your homework book at one of the local scooter spots and get it done before class (easy), (2) Wear long pants, over ankle boots or shoes, long sleeve shirt, and gloves, and (3) don’t be late.

The being late part is really important. If they start class without you then you cannot jump in. Say good by to your class cost and if it is for day two you just lost that one day you spent already. It has something to do with the insurance of joining the class if you miss even a little bit of the instruction. So don’t be late. Even if you stay up late at a birthday party the night before.
The class was held at the Denver Coliseum. You know this spot, a beat up old parking lot located off of I-70 filled with leftover carnival cars and junked up trailers with the trains running by and the overpass hanging overhead. Very pretty and cheerful, but perfect for having a safe wide open spot to practice.

Our road instructor was a great seasoned ex police motorcycle officer. He had a great sense of humor, dry and quick, and could do about anything on his bike. He was fondly referred to by his younger cohort and fellow instructor as yoda, the wise teacher. Yoda, it turns out, could ride tight circles on his hog while balancing with his knees on the seat, which we witnessed as they tested out a bike during an out of class break.

In a class of 12, I was the only scooter among a pack of motorcycles. They had road bikes, dual bikes, Yamahas, Kawasakis, and more. I, however was on the “cute bike”. That’s okay, the younger instructor confessed he had never ridden a scooter until the class and loved them. They were, as he described it, “just fun”. No need to shift or worry about maneuvers… you just zip and go.

The first day we spent half the day on the course testing one drill to the next. Part of it was a bit dull for me when the drills called for learning to shift (Scooters like mine don’t shift). But that just meant I zipped the loop having fun. The weather was humid, like walking around with the dense weight of the water pressing on you. But it was overcast and the sun stayed hidden so we got spared a bit.

You spend your first day first learning how to power walk your bike, then progress to drills taking you back and forth, shifting, doing turns. It’s fun and fairly easy. Just getting a feel for your bike (or scooter). By about 1 pm you get a quick break for lunch and then are asked to meet at Sun Honda for the written part of the class. For those of you who hate tests, this is one you shouldn’t stress about.

We get there and get a two part video watching and discussion section that covers the basics of bike safety and common sense. I mean, really, you will not have to stress about the test. The instructor said they gave it to a group of nuns who never took or read any classwork about motorcycle safety and they all passed.

He also said he stopped telling that story after he told it and someone didn’t pass. And of course he told our class, so anyone who didn’t pass must really have felt great about hearing that comment. I do think we may have had one person who did not pass. But some people just hate tests (or really should not be out there on the road).

I forgot to mention. The price tag for us to have the class at Sun appears to be in the form of advertising. We all first went on a 25 minute tour of the building, the showrooms, the bikes, the accessories and the service department. Our guide cut to the chase and let us know he was available if we want to buy anything and would give a discount to the class.

I can’t really complain. They provide a space to do the class and I am sure a number of those newly trained motorcycle consumers loved seeing the big classic Harleys. Some of them might even buy something. They also have a cool room upstairs with vintage bikes that was fun to see. And the crowds checking out the bikes were almost as interesting as the bikes themselves.

After a few hours of watching, listening, and quite a bit of yawning its a quick written test, immediate feedback on your score, and out the door. By now it is after 6 pm. Plan to run over the first day with the goal of getting out early the next.

Intermission: I want out for a friends birthday party that night and we had both Saki and beer. I will pay for this later

Sunday morning we all arrive at 7 am. I am feeling less than perfect from the birthday party before and guess what the weather decides to do to help me out. It decides to be 100% sunshine, humidity, and scorching heat. The black asphalt acts as an amplifier to the heat sending it up through our boots and the bikes are radiating more heat as they chug through the day. Ouch.

There is a series of 7 drills on day two that include….

• Quick stops demonstrating the ability to, well, stop quick
• Tight U turns to demonstrate your ability to maneuver in close places
• Corner turns to demonstrate going on an on or off ramp
• Wider turns to demonstrate curves of a road
• Swerving to dodge obstacles
• Riding over something in the road (a 2X4 in this case)
• Doing lane changes
• Stopping in a curve

The drills were fun, and the only time that we got a break from the heat with some nice wind. That and hiding out under the overpass. They also prepared us for the test which included the U turn first, the quick stop second, and finally the curves.

The good news is that these tests are items that we already did many many times. When you did it wrong you did it again. If you thought you did it right but missed something, they tell you. It really does mean that you learn something for road safety that is needed. It also prepares you for the test.

I couldn’t imagine, if you never rode a scooter or a bike, that these tests wouldn’t be a little tricky. But with the two days sweating on that parking lot you get it dialed in perfectly. And hopefully you don’t get to nervous and forget it when the actual test arrives. Two people did have a bit of a freak out during the test and after completing the u turn (the test that gave everyone the most trouble) and then forgot to cruised right through the easy stop. Ouch again.

So that was it. Test is passed, class is wrapped up, and it’s only 2:30 pm. We take our wonderful Motorcycle Safety Cards (which are not your license) and our stinky, sweaty selves and cruise out of there as fast as we can for cool showers at home.

PART II – The DMV

This deserves it’s own heading because if you do this wrong you will sit in line for a long, long, long, long time.

Your card means you don’t have to wait in the super long line at the DMV, or take the test there. For those who don’t know, the DMV can be the single longest line in the city of Denver. That and the Social Security Department. So just trust me on this advice on how to handle it. Go to te office before they open at 8 am. Some say to go at 7, I went at 20 till. There was already a long line in front of me waiting to get in the door but most of these folks will need to do the long process of the test. You, with your handy motorcycle endorsement card, will be going to the expedited line. After the first 30 people ahead of me walked in and got numbers I just told them what I needed and was sent, instead, to the head of the line for quick stuff (or something like that). A quick show of the card, a punch of my old license, and my $2 fee and I was all set. Done. The time was 8:15 am. I was there for 35 minutes. Behind me in the “short line” by the time I was done were about 40 people. The difference of showing up 20 minutes before they opened and arriving after may have saved me 2 hours. Think about it.
I almost forgot my last experience before I got to go scooting around Denver testing out my new scooter and my new license… it was the moment of getting my new photo taken at the DMV.

Without giving me a heads up the DMV representative snapped a photo and said I was all wrapped up.

“How did the photo turn out then? Does it look okay?” I asked

He paused for a second, looked down at his screen and replied “Well, it looks like you”

I don’t think I want to see this license.