What the FRAK!! Okay that’s it
Loading ...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 →]
June 6, 2008 2 Comments
Best of Denver
The Urban Brain Best of Denver 2008
Food & Drink
Urban Places & Spaces
- Denver’s Best Neighborhood OVERALL - You pick the reasons
- Most Dog Friendly Neighborhood
- Best Neighborhood for Singles
- Best Neighborhood for Architecture
- Best Neighborhood to Invest in
- Denver’s Safest Neighborhood
- Best Neighborhood to live without driving
- Best Neighborhood to Raise a Family
- Best Neighborhood for Foodies
Other
May 25, 2008 1 Comment
My First Ski Train Trip
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.
January 27, 2008 No Comments
What if we use transport rail for commuter rail
After returning from Tokyo and loving the train system there, whether local subway style across town or the speed trains out of Tokyo Station, i reminded myself how much I love train travel. Kick back, have a beverage and lunch, read a book, look out the window, and arrive relaxed. [Read more →]
September 27, 2007 4 Comments
Tokyo Part One
I set off for Tokyo on Monday morning to see another part of the world. Tokyo has always been one on my list of places to see, and certainly to eat. I even held off on Sushi for a week beforehand just to get ready (Tokyo Training). I had saved up some points on my United Mileage plus to save me some bucks and with a little schedule adjustments found dates for a week of exploring.
My early morning flight out of DIA took off a little after 8 am. With little sleep from the night before, either from nervousness or excitement, it was an easy crash on the plane. I slept the entire way to my midway stop in Vancouver. [Read more →]
September 19, 2007 No Comments
Be Green with the Air Grocery Bag.
For the past few months the newest green movement has been to stop buying the individual water bottles that are sold by the millions over the counter and ending up in trash cans everywhere. The solution is to reuse higher quality bottles like Nalgene or to just drink out of the tap (Which most water is anyway).
This is old news. But people still don’t listen so it is worth repeating. Go by a Nalgene for Pete’s sake. Buy two or three and keep rotating them in the dishwasher so you never have an excuse. I’ll even think of a fun logo for this site and make my own if it helps…. hmmmmm not a bad idea. But anyway, the point is about the Air Grocery Bag.
The New News (redundant) that I wanted to focus on is about a great environmentally friendly solution to grocery bags. If you thought that water bottles were an issue just think of how many plastic grocery bags walk out of Whole Foods and every other grocery store every day. The answer is FAR TOO MANY.
This past weekend I bought a solution for me. A company called Granite Gear is selling a product called an Air Grocery Bag. Awesome and compact this is a wonderful solution that you can use over, and over, and over, and over. And it fits in my scooter or glove box with almost no space taken up. Cool.
So go buy one. Now. Stop using throw away bags.
Actually, every little bit helps so I just like to share with everyone all the ideas out there. Do what you can, maybe even a bit more. You don’t have to be perfect (I certainly am not) but every little bit does make a difference.
August 27, 2007 2 Comments
Organics are good…. aren’t they?
I heard the most interesting argument on the radio today and wanted to pass it on.
We all are in love with Organics, at least most of us are. Count me as one of them. Not only are organics something I would prefer to put in my body they just taste better.
The question is whether Organics are good for the environment. Of course they don’t have pesticides or other nasty sprays that go on the vegetables and into the ground. But that is not the issue.
The issue is that because organics have gotten so popular they are now being shipped across the country, via big exhaust spewing trucks, from where they are grown to where they are sold. The impact means that there are alot of fossil fuels being thrown into the atmosphere to get those tasty organic melons from Arizona to your local market. Think about that.
Shipped in organics may be more harmful to our environment than buying local, regardless of whether it is organic or not. Or simply put, you might be supporting sustainable growth to a greater extent if you just pick up some local Colorado grown items no matter what.
Of course the best case scenario is both locally grown and organic. So ask where items come from, learn about how things arrive. If it is important to you keep in mind that there are many, many, many impacts to our world that happen in every choice we make.
It was a surprising idea to me and something I had not yet thought of. So we need more organic farms spread across the country supporting local communities and neighborhoods. Sounds good to me.
I googled and found an article from Scientific Blogging if you want to learn more.
August 22, 2007 6 Comments
The new way to Grill
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 [Read more →]
August 19, 2007 No Comments
Denver’s Best Indian Restaurant
Well it has been quite some time since we did any Denver Best Polls and I am sitting here on Monday night trying to decide where to get some carry out from. I am really in the mood for Indian food and have only tried a few in town, mostly for lunch.
I need to change that.
I just have to decide who to try first, and second, and third, and so on. Why don’t you share your vote for who has the best Indian food in town, and feel free to comment on why.
Let’s hear it Denver
Loading ...August 13, 2007 1 Comment
Who doesn’t look good in Black?
Let’s face it, Black is the ultimate fashion color. Models and all the beautiful people live in black fashion. So do 007 and Darth Vader… along with most of NYC on any given day. And of course there are Black Tie parties, never pink or green tie parties. The ladies have 50 little black dresses and every guy has a slick black suit. So basically, in a fashion sense, black seems to rule.
This coming Thursday night the options for wearing black are going to be explored with the last big finale fashion series event at Riverfront Park. With food, wine, and of course the high energy Riverfront Crowd this is not an event to be missed. There is a catch. Tickets look to be selling out quick so if you want to go make sure to visit www.riverfrontparkfashion.com to get ticket information.
I just wonder if they will play AC/DC Back in Black to kick it off. I am guessing not.
By the way… Black is, scientifically speaking, not a color. A black object absorbs all colors of the visible spectrum and reflects none of them. It is, in effect, the anti-color. Kinda cool!!
August 13, 2007 No Comments
