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Today Oil prices jumped over $10 a barrel, although I really don’t know how big that is but according to the New York Times it is the BIGGEST JUMP EVER. Just Frakking Great.

How did I know something was up, I noticed the stock market was taking a nose dive. So now everyone’s savings, 401K, [Read more →]

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It might mean Pedestrian Friendly with everything within walking distance, it might mean bike trails, it might mean public transportation.  But the question is, with gas pricing going exponentially up, where is the best neighborhood to live without a car.  Back up your vote with a reason.

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Don’t answer too fast… and read the links below.

It isn’t often that I get behind the wheel to drive on the roads, but every time I do I ask myself the same question…. “is it time for a new car”.

I don’t really have much in the way of driving. I cruise around Denver by foot, cruiser bike, by my ages old mountain bike, by bus, by light rail, by cab, and by scooter. I rarely drive my automobile (make that, my giant SUV). What drives me to get behind the wheel (get it) is usually a trip to the mountains which may or not have some bad snow conditions or carrying alot of stuff. [Read more →]

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Vail Resorts has decided to do a special gift for skiers this coming year with the rollout of a new Epic Pass. For $579. The new Epic pass offers unlimited skiing at all the Vail Resorts including Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone, and Arapahoe Basin. There are no Blackout dates, period. This is an amazing promotion considering that it undercuts even the merchant passes available for employees working in these resort towns.

Compare this to the current year pricing…

This year, the same unrestricted pass would have cost $1,849
For employees in the Vail Valley, who have always gotten the best deal, an unlimited pass WITH RESTRICTIONS would have cost $869

Why the sudden change of strategy in pricing? Who knows, maybe all the real estate development needs a boost, maybe skier numbers need a boost, maybe they are hedging the threat of decreasing skier numbers due the the big R forecasts. Is a Recession on the way, are we already in one, are we on our way out of one, or is it all a big scare? Let the economists wrangle with that one, I’m just happy to have a great deal thrown my way.

Of course not everyone is happy about this. The Vail Valley in particular is wrestling with some predictions on what the increased traffic will do the the roads throughout the valley. Citing “Epic Problems” on the way many worry this will be a disaster for travelers and those working in the Valley.

Guess that’s why you are supposed to buy some real estate and head up there on Friday night to stay under your own roof.

What do you think? What ski pass, if any, will you buy next year?

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Wahoo!!! The Writers Guild Strike is expected to be over today and the great shows should be back, including my favorite 30 Rock with Tina Fey.

But don’t get too hopeful yet. According to the New York Times it will take weeks (maybe about 4) for the shows to get caught up. [Read more →]

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I just spent a few days in New York City for some general rest and relaxation plus a healthy dose of NY culture. While there I had a few famous people sightings… 14 members of the New York Giant’s offensive line was heading into Smith & Wollensky for a team dinner while I was there, Rob Lowe was cruising into the Ritz Carlton spa when I was strolling around Central Park, I sat next to Robert Horay at Rue 57 for lunch (nice guy) and then walked by the Writer’s Guild strike where I saw Michael Moore and my favorite… Tina Fey.

You have to understand the irony of me seeing Tina on this trip to New York. I was only recently introduced to 30 rock and was instantly hooked. The show is witty with smart humor and great characters. It has been a LONG time since I found something this hilarious and I admit I am hooked on the pretty, smart and funny Tina Fey who co-produces, writes and stars in her 30 Rock show. After checking out the online episodes from this season I filled my Netflix queue with the past season.

Just the week before some colleagues joked and were a bit surprised that Tina was in my top 5. Imagine their shock on finding out I got a chance to meet her. What an awesome profession, making people laugh. I admire her and what she does writing for 30 Rock. You just need to believe and follow your dreams… hmmmmm, maybe meeting her was a sign.

The talented Mrs. Fey was, as you would expect, very nice. I met her at the site of Columbus Circle where the writers strike line had just ended. She was with Rachel Dratch talking and preparing to head out when I introduced myself, shook her hand, and asked her how the strike was going. Her eyes sparkled, she smiled, and shared with me that she thought it would be over soon.

Tina, i certainly hope so. Good luck guys!

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Since I walk to work I usually miss out on all the drama of traffic, weather, and general human foolishness…. but my friend’s story I had to share.

Now I know we got some snow last night. Let’s face it, last night rocked. After taking my very happy Alaskan Malamute for a snow romp we went to grab dinner at the Avenue Grill and watch the snow fall through the big glass windows. Cab’s both ways saved us from driving, but the wait to get the return cab was a bit long.

But nevermind that, I’m off topic from my friend’s trip into the office today.

First let me set the stage for you. She works downtown and lives in Highlands Ranch. That’s a long enough hike on a normal day but with the weather today… ouch. Her husband sets out for his day much earlier and gave her a warning call just before she left “I’m still not to the office yet” he let her know. This means close to two hours on the road.

So she quickly changed her plans and decided to take the light rail. Her usual 7 minute trip to the light rail station took her 30 minutes. No telling what a trip all the way downtown would have been. She missed her first train because apparently it was High School trip day and the machines were clogged with fun loving teens experimenting with their freedom and trying to learn how to use the system for the first time (this I actually find funny) and she catches the next train with no major issues. She thought about jumping on the train that was just sitting there and that she eventually missed waiting for the high school students to wrap up their purchases but didn’t want to risk getting ticketed.

Then on the way across Colfax WHAMMO a car collided with her light rail train. I guess the hit was pretty hard (and loud) with passengers on the train screaming and jolted from their peaceful trip. And what does the idiot who hit the train do… they run away. Can you imagine someone thinking they can get away with a hit and run on the light rail. Apparently no less than 50 people got their license plate numbers. I am just fascinated with how people think, or don’t think, sometimes. I can’t even imagine what will happen to that fool. My guess is the person wasn’t on the way to their job as a rocket scientist or molecular genetic engineer, but I’ve been wrong before.

The train announcer was a bit confused. Ordinarily the train needs to sit and wait to swap information with the other car but since the driver did a hit and run there was no one to swap info with. Good news for those train passengers as the train went back on its path. After finally arriving to downtown she decided to make a pit stop at the bank at Lawrence with the intention of taking the 16th street shuttle the rest of the way. That, of course with Murphy’s law, turned out to be a big mistake as the shuttles were only running one way… for her the wrong way. And of course this means the last leg of her trip was on foot slipping and sliding every step of the way.

If anyone has a better trip into work story for today… bring it.

I didn’t really think our snow was that bad last night but it sure seems to have the ability to grind our streets to a halt. Good thing we all have a sense of humor (or at least most of us).

Photo credit from CBS website.

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So I finally got a chance to do the famous Winter Park Ski Train. With my ties to Vail it took me a little longer to give this a shot, but I am glad I did.

I’ll do a quick summary for those of you who are thinking about it. First of all, groups are the best. We had a group of 107 folks so we pretty much ruled a car and a half. At first I think everyone worried about seats and being right next to each other but the reality is that with train travel everyone is walking, talking, leaning, moving pretty much all the time. It’s a social scene on wheels.

The views are amazing, although again this became second place quickly to everyone being social. Yet far more scenic than a flood of taillights on I-70.

If you live downtown the Ski Train has a special appeal. We walked over the bridge in Riverfront Park right at 7:00 for our 7:15 departure. I personally set my alarm for 5:30 to take the pup for a long walk and to give me quite a bit of time cushion just in case, so it is not a good night to plan a big Friday out on the town.

Then on the train everyone greets each other, has fun, and kicks back and RELAXES all the way up. No white knuckle driving, no fighting traffic, and there is always a place to buy coffee or breakfast only a short walk away. Some slept, some read the paper, most chatted. Nice.

On the way back this gets magnified into a huge social gathering. Beverages flow throughout the car, there is laughter everywhere and no one is driving. What a great solution for downtown residents… instead of trying to balance doing apres with the drive home and fighting crowds on that sometimes painful return the ski train becomes the apres location. No risk, no worries. One person said it was just like staying in the mountains with no worries about the commute. Considering I carried my skis there and back in less than ten minutes I’d have to agree.

Some bits of advice for you…

Avoid car 2. It’s behind the engine so the front is sealed. Don’t worry, you don’t get any fumes but the lack of ventilation gets TOASTY. We had folks stripping down to the minimum so maybe chair two will be the naked car. Your choice.

There isn’t much you can do about this worry, but if you get behind a slower train your trip could take a bit longer. This happened on our way up but not on our way back. Not too bad, some folks slept longer and the train is comfy. But keep this in mind if you are making strict plans involving timing and make sure you have a puppy sitter on reserve in case your return is late.

Get your food or drink quick if you want it. They sold out of burritos pretty fast on the way up and while they had beer all the way through the trip back, the Stella was the first to go. Don’t forget they close the catering car when they think they are 30 minutes away from the station. This might be longer so if you want stock up before they close.

There is a great lounge car with scrabble and other games. Consider grabbing a spot there for awhile if you have a small group but be quick if you want a seat.

We will be doing the Ski Train again. Give it a shot for yourself. I forgot to mention that the train stopped on a cross track exactly where another train was heading at us. The folks in our car started getting a little bit nervous as it got closer.. and closer… and closer. Then we quickly moved, picture is one of others below.

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Ski Trip
Winter Park
Ski Train (no driving)
Apres Party

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!!!

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Here is a quick list of the Bowl Game match-ups that just came out. Go ahead and share this one around or print it off for your reference.

BCS BOWL GAMES

National Championship (January 7, 2008)- Ohio State Buckeyes vs. LSU Tigers, FOX 8PM EST

Orange Bowl (January 3, 2008) - Virginia Tech Hookies vs. Kansas Jayhawks, FOX 8PM EST

Fiesta Bowl (January 2, 2008) - Oklahoma Sooners vs. West Virginia Mountaineers, FOX 8PM EST

Rose Bowl (January 1, 2008) - Southern California Trojans vs. Illinois Fighting Illini, ABC 4:30PM EST

Sugar Bowl (January 1, 2008) - Georgia Bulldogs vs. Hawaii Warriors, FOX 8:30PM EST
Poinsettia Bowl (December 20, 2007) - Utah vs. Navy, ESPN 9PM EST

New Orleans Bowl (December 21, 2007) - Florida Atlantic vs. Memphis, ESPN2 8PM EST

Las Vegas Bowl (December 22, 2007) - UCLA vs. BYU, ESPN 8PM EST

New Mexico Bowl (December 22, 2007) - New Mexico vs. Nevada, ESPN 4:30PM EST

PapaJohns.com Bowl (December 22, 2007) - Cincinnati vs. Southern Miss, ESPN2 1:00PM EST

Hawaii Bowl (December 23, 2007) - Boise State vs. East Carolina, ESPN 8PM EST

Motor City Bowl (December 26, 2007) - Central Michigan vs. Purdue, ESPN 7:30PM EST

Holiday Bowl (December 27, 2007) - Arizona State vs. Texas, ESPN 8PM EST

Emerald Bowl (December 28, 2007) - Maryland vs. Oregon State, ESPN 8:30PM EST

Champs Sports Bowl (December 28, 2007) - Boston College vs. Michigan State, ESPN 5PM EST

Texas Bowl (December 28, 2007) - Texas Christian vs. Houston, NFL NET 8PM EST

Alamo Bowl (December 29, 2007) - Penn State vs. Texas A&M, ESPN 8PM EST

Liberty Bowl (December 29, 2007) - Central Florida vs. Mississippi State, ESPN 4:30PM EST

Meineke Car Bowl (December 29, 2007) - Wake Forest vs. Connecticut, ESPN 1PM EST

Independence Bowl (December 30, 2007) - Colorado vs. Alabama, ESPN 8PM EST

Insight Bowl (December 31, 2007) - Oklahoma State vs. Indiana, NFL NET 5:30PM EST

Chick-Fil-A Bowl (December 31, 2007) - Auburn vs. Clemson, ESPN 7:30PM EST

Music City Bowl (December 31, 2007) - Kentucky vs. Florida State, ESPN 4PM EST

Humanitarian Bowl (December 31, 2007) - Fresno State vs. Georgia Tech, ESPN2 2PM EST

Sun Bowl (December 31, 2007) - Oregon vs. South Florida, CBS 2PM EST

Armed Forces Bowl (December 31, 2007) - California vs. Air Force, ESPN 12:30PM EST

Capital One Bowl (January 1, 2008) - Michigan vs. Florida, ABC 1PM EST

Gator Bowl (January 1, 2008) - Virginia vs. Texas Tech, CBS 12PM EST

Cotton Bowl (January 1, 2008) - Arkansas vs. Missouri, FOX 11:30AM EST

Outback Bowl (January 1, 2008) - Wisconsin vs. Tennessee, ESPN 11AM EST

International Bowl (January 5, 2008) - Rutgers vs. Ball State, ESPN2 12:30PM EST

GMAC Bowl (January 6, 2008) - Bowling Green vs. Tulsa, ESPN 8PM EST

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