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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In a high scoring game this past Friday the Buffs beat their nemesis Nebraska 65 to 51. The Cornhuskers squandered an 11-point halftime lead by allowing 34 consecutive points.

The next day Nebraska announced Callahan’s Departure. It will cost the university more than $3.1 million to buy out Callahan’s contract, which was to run through the 2011 season.

It was hinted to throughout the game on Friday that this was a pending event. From our cold seats in the stadium (which mattered little since we rarely sat down) many Nebraska fans throughout the stadium held up signs of “Adios Callahan” and Buff fans rooted for more years for Callahan. You know you are in trouble when your opponents love your coach.

But back to the game. It was fun. It was a blast. It wasn’t a defensive game and the points just kept adding up. First one, then the other. Fortunately Nebraska made some mistakes (why not go for it on 4 and 9?) and the momentum in the second half was amazing.

So here is a cheers for the Buffs. A nice way to wrap up the year and the students got to flood the field in celebration with the gorgeous view of the mountains in the background. Nice!

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In a fun twist the blogging on the recent Colorado Rockies ticket snafu got noticed by some folks involved at Bernstein Crisis Management PR Firm.

These folks have taken an interesting angle on blogging with regards to the immediate availability of news through the blogging community over status quo news agencies. Basically if you want to find out what is happening you might be better off doing a google or technorati search instead of just hitting the standard news channels. The reasoning is simple, with cell phone cameras (both photo and video) and sites such as youtube or personal blogs regular joes like you and me can be giving the rest of the world news faster than organized news channels. Interesting and fun for this blog to have gotten a little press so I hope you don’t mind my sharing. [Read more →]

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What is more important, land rights and an individuals right to maximize their property value or the preservation of our city landmarks? Then again, who has a right to decide what constitutes a city landmark?

This topic might get more comments than any others so in advance I’ve set up a forum discussion. The trick in the mix is that the owners have also pointed out that if the Rockies and the city advocate groups feel that strongly about preserving the views they can always buy the land away from them. That’s not such a crazy argument and I would think that if the city OR the rockies started to approach local developers they just might find some interested parties who would love the idea of developing the Coors Field lofts.

It has branding, it has some panache, it has some great possibilities (anyone out there who decides to do it give me a call :) ).

Really, just think about it. There is no need to step on property rights or to ruin the views for the stadium folks. Every challenge is an opportunity. First of all, just build the building to the maximum height that still keeps the Rockies owners and the advocate groups happy. That is still a fairly high range and I expect that several floors of condos could go in there.

Secondly, if the Rockies and their advocates are a partner in this to preserve their asset (The stadium views) they could also come up with some killer marketing idea that makes the units unique and increases the price per square foot they obtain and work to make it not just a winning move for the stadium, but also a profitable one for the group involved. What would that perk be…. who knows. What about those units carrying a 10 year season ticket package and rights to renew beyond that for each unit. What about a Rockies affiliated restaurant in the base. What about a rooftop Rockies sports lounge. Heck, you can even throw in autographed Rockie jerseys and baseballs for each owner as a welcome gift at almost no cost but a huge value.

Forget fighting about it. Someone take this bull by the horns and make it the opportunity it should be. My guess is a lower building with a Rockies tie in would sell better ane more profitably than a generic taller building that is in contention with the city. PR matters. Branding matters, and this just begs for a flip from bad to good. Let’s also get the city to do their part with a pedestrian bridge over to the stadium across the tracks from that building. There are always options to make it a home run (had to have at least one pun).

So lets do a little marketing and development feedback here on my crazy little idea. The land looks to be for sale from this info I found when I googled 2010 Delgany so this fiction can become reality. Any buyers out there?

Link to PDF of proposed change

Rocky Mountain News Article

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Early to bed, early to rise… and my jet lag made sure of that.

My first morning in Tokyo I bounced out of bed, unable to sleep, at 4 am. I quickly showered and dressed then headed downstairs to catch a cab to the famous Tsukiji Central Fish Market. The Tsukiji Central Fish Market is the largest fish market in the world, and a recommended sight in Tokyo by every book, website, and person I checked with. The auction officially starts at 5:30 am and it can draw huge crowds, especially on the weekends. My lonely planet review offered the detail “About 2246 tonnes of fish, worth over 1.8 billion yen (US $15.5 Million), are sold here daily”. Thats alot of sushi.

I thought I was getting a good jump on the day but from the look on the concierge’s face it was too good of a jump as she politely suggested I find a cup of coffee to bide my time before taking a taxi. Maybe there is nothing going on at the Fish Market at 4:30 am so I took her advice and wandered the quiet, very quiet, streets of Tokyo to find an early morning beverage. Outside of a few salarymen heading in early there are actually times that Tokyo is all but motionless. It was kind of peaceful considering the buzz I had witnessed just the night before. It only takes a few blocks to find a convenience mart and pick up some oj and then return to the Hyatt a short time later for my cab.

If you are asking why I didn’t use Tokyo’s awesome subway lines; it was just too darn early for the trains to be running.

My cab whisked me over to the fish market and soon I emerged from the cab in the middle of a busy frenzy of men buzzing around on buzzing carts. It was still just around dawn on an overcast morning and the grey illumination showed me stacks and stacks of styrofoam boxes, crates, tanks, and trucks on a wet stone street. My taxi driver pointed the direction of more activity and some larger trucks and then zipped away as a truck behind him began honking.

I saw no other tourists and it may very well be that I was seeing a little bit of the pre show. As I walked in the direction i had been pointed I had to wait and watch at every step for the activity of these funky little motorized carts going both directions. They had a round tank like engine in the back and sat up a little high and they were moving fast.

Continuing past a area with many parked trucks I entered the main tents of the Market. Here I found hundreds and hundreds of booths and alleys with an array of every type of fish being set up. My arrival was right in the middle of set up and while I wandered around merchants were laying out their items and setting up their displays. And they were doing it fast. Now the carts were buzzing along in tight alleys, men and women in jeans and tee shirts smoked cigarettes and laughed with their colleagues as they worked. A few offered kind smiles or waved but most were so busy, and probably either used to or annoyed by the tourist crowd, that they just kept working at a quick pace. Some of the booths were larger, well lit and had big display counters. Some had tanks with eels or fish squirming back and forth probably recognizing their fate and looking for an escape. And some were dark alleys where men with huge machete style blades or big electric saws waited for the next fish to cut up.

It was amazing. Many fish I recognized and many I did not. Sometimes the display booth had many different varieties in piles of fish where you could see them still moving, wriggling from being only recently taken from the sea. These guys were the supermarket booths that had many things to choose from. Others might be a specialty store where there was just alot of one thing. One booth had every type of mollusk and clam under the sun. bins of fleshy white squid or a mountain of bright red shrimp and prawns. My favorite was a stand with nothing but octopus of all sizes and a very stoic man standing there waiting for his customers. A warning sign asks the tourists not to touch or you have bought the Octopus and to respect the ways of Japan while in Japan. Sounds like a few of the tourists haven’t been so well behaved.

I weaved my way through the booths for I don’t know how long, amazed at every turn until I noticed some activity in the back in a large open shed like area. I headed that way and heard loud rapid speaking and the sound of a crowd responding. This was the auction. I walked right into the center of the Tuna auction surrounded by the huge and glistening bodies of some monsterous fish. If you have ever seen a Tuna body it is one big fish. And surrounding the fish were various men going about their tasks of the day. There were main auctioneers who would ring a bell to signify the start of an auction and the various buyers would be gathered in a circle around him. Just like the stock market, the auctioneer would start rapidly speaking and shouting out higher and higher prices (that I couldn’t understand) as the buyers around him raised hands for their bids. The energy of the event was high and the momentum was fast. While the auctioneer was yelling out the bid prices buyers or their assistants were checking on the fish for quality. Each fish had a slice in the tail to expose a flap where the buyers bent or knelt down and checked the lines of fat. Perhaps to determine how how much O’toro versus toro they would be able to recover as O’toro goes for as much as 5 times the amount (Fatty tuna sushi sells for much more). These inspectors carried flashlights and were studying each of the fish in turn.

As the auction progressed and wrapped up and the fish were purchased the runners would tag each of the fish and a man with long paintbrush would mark the body of the fish with bright red paint. They didn’t seem to be doing an auction fish by fish, but more row by row with 8 fish going at a time in almost mini lots. And there were multiple auctions going on at the same time creating a moving flow of activity as buyers flocked from one crowd to the next. In the midst of it all men with pull carts and huge hooks were running through grabbing the sold fish and then racing them off to their destination. Most of these fish were huge and them men would swing all their weight to rock these weighty monsters up and onto their cart.

I wandered in and clicked more than a few photos before spotting a huge sign saying that I wasn’t supposed to be there. I am sure this is not only to help keep their business from being slowed down but also to make sure I don’t get myself squashed by some swinging fish or rolling cart. Fortunately this was the earliest auction and no other tourists had arrived so my presence was barely noticed and I began looking for a proper roost to take in the views. The tuna auction was wrapping up and most of the activity was done by the delivery carts who sped away through the alleys of the market with their cargo. At this point a very nice man in bibbed overalls came over to me and began pointing and saying “Salmon”. Turning I noticed a sign for visitor passage (A-ha) and off I headed.

The folks at the fish market were wise and had created an alley between two of the large warehouse style areas for the tourists to gather and click away with their cameras. While I was expecting a big crowd, there were probably only about 20 or 30 folks there but from every spot on the globe. Surrounding us on both sides were rows and rows of Salmon carcasses. These were clearly frozen and must have just been unloaded from their icy cargo holds. It had a surreal effect of creating a lingering mist across the floor of the auction hall as the rows of frosted fish gave off their chill. This auction was more of the same although it seemed to be bigger. Maybe Salmon is a bigger market. Either way it was fun to watch this from start to finish and I followed the visitor passage from one warehouse to another and spotted a few other fish along the way. The most interesting part was watching the different styles of buyers and the auction’s energy. Some were older, more traditional men who looked very sage like as they conducted business while others ran around in corporate jackets and looked like they represented the big boys of business.

After watching this auction for awhile I decided to head back to the market and see where those deliveries were going. As I headed back the carts of recently purchased fish flew by me everywhere. I soon found that the booths I had recently seen busy setting up were now pulsing with the activity of selling. In some areas I saw the same fish bodies recently bid on being divided for sale to their various customers. In France you see folks picking up their morning bread at the bakery, here they are picking up their morning fish. Some bought over the counter and kind little ladies and men walked around with individual purchases. Others placed orders at little booths within the booths, like mini cashiers which were almost always manned by ladies. My guess is these were the restaurteurs placing larger orders for the day. And everywhere small, medium, and large styrofoam boxes were being filled with different size fish and sealed for delivery to different locations. I recognized the same packaging I believe I saw at Sushi Sasa once, and imagined that a fish I saw today might just be eaten in Denver tomorrow. Cool.

I again weaved my way (again for a long time, so much to see) through the booths again watching this new activity and then headed to see what else was going on. There was a bustle of cargo heading for the trucks and more mechanical carts running to and fro as I cleared the both area. There were also a number of ice machines I had missed notice of on my way in. These guys had the wonderful job of sitting there and reading the paper or smoking until someone ran up with a bin. Then they flew into action grabbing a block of ice and putting it into this very, very, very old and scary looking machine that blew out chunks of ice from a metal chute. Then the ice fetcher shot off to restock someone and the ice make returned to his relaxed post.

By this time it was almost 7 am and my stomach was growling. Watching all this fish was making me hungry and another tip I had heard was there may be no fresher sushi in the world than the small sushi stands surrounding the Tsukiji market. Sure enough in the first outer ring of booths I found a scattering of small sushi bars and other vendors. Looking in from door to door I tried to pick the right one. The first had no customers, the second looked too touristy, but the third was perfect. It was a tiny sushi bar with maybe 10 seats and the wall was filled with photos, writings in Japanese, and was, simply put, cozy.

it was the perfect fit and the gentleman behind the counter made sure I was welcome. He recommended the Sashimi bowl and I have to say it was the absolute best bowl of Miso I have ever had.

Just outside the market other fish were headed for trucks.

Aw heck, this is taking a long time to write and I need to get out and keep exploring so here is a quick link to a Flickr dump of the photos from the first couple sights. Enjoy.

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The first time I took my new Electra Cruiser Bike on a ride I dang near wiped out. I was coming up to my first intersection and started grasping for the hand brakes.

There are no hand brakes on a cruise bike. It is far simpler than that. You pedal forward, you move forward. You pedal backwards, you stop. But it is taking my brain a little time to let go of all the years of using hand brakes on scooters, bikes, mountain bikes and pretty much anything on two wheels.

But other than that.. I love my new Cruiser bike. And here is the scoop on where to find them. [Read more →]

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Grab your cruiser bike, road bike, mountain bike or trick bike and head over to the the Colorado State Capital in Downtown Denver tonight (Saturday) for the Kaiser Permanente Moonlight Bike Ride.

This just sounds fun to me. Cruising through the streets of Denver with the soft glow of the moon showing you the way. And with a “Gonzo” wave of folks taking off in the later start and a costume contest element I think half of the event is just about having fun and, as is a common theme for me, being a kid again.

Now my favorite is a snow shoe under a full moon where the light from moon bouncing off the snow literally makes it bright as day. But for city living this sounds like the same great idea. And don’t forget it goes to benefit a good cause…

Proceeds from the Kaiser Permanente MOONLIGHT CLASSIC benefit SENIORS INC.

Created in 1969, SENIORS INC. is a non-profit agency dedicated to promoting independence and enriching the quality of life as we age.

The organization sponsors programs and services throughout Colorado which help and encourage the elderly to live independently, and support opportunities for older adults to continue to learn, grow and contribute to society.

Contact Seniors Inc. at 303.300.6900 or at www.seniorsinc.org.

Here are the details…

The event will start and finish at the foot of Colorado’s most recognizable landmark - The Colorado State Capitol in downtown Denver. The 15-mile course will tour other landmarks, new and old. A shorter 8-mile course will also be available. Registration and the 180 Energy Drink After Hours Cycling Bash will take place on Saturday night from 8:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m.The Family Wave of riders starts at 10:30 p.m. and the “Gonzo Wave” begins at 11:30 p.m.

Proceeds from the Kaiser Permanente Moonlight Classic benefit Seniors Inc., a non-profit agency dedicated to promoting independence and enriching the quality of life as we age.

For more information and to register to participate, visit www.moonlight-classic.com or call 303-282-9020.

Where: Downtown Denver - The event will start and finish at the foot of the Colorado State Capitol
When: 8:30 p.m.

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Always on the lookout for something new and cool in the world of green the folks at Revolution Cleaners has opened a “Green Cleaning” business here in Denver. I was surprised to find out how few people even knew about them. And I hate to admit that I had no idea what the heck Green Cleaning was. I knew it was supposed to be good for the environment but I didn’t know why or how. My shirt, pant, and other cleaning has increased a ton since I moved from my fleece worshiping days in the mountains. Back then a pair of jeans, some clogs, and a fleece top were the bulk of my wardrobe.

Now that I have balanced this with an urban style (I never said a good one) I actually have clothes that need some more attention. So if I am going to have them professionally cleaned I would like to think I will be green doing it. Hence I hunted down the green cleaning option in town and wanted to learn about their business.
And of course the geek in me (which is probably alot) wanted to learn the science behind it as well.
So on my last drop off to their shop, I asked if the owners would like to share with us some more details about their business and the science of green cleaning. They happily agreed. The following interview was sent by email…

Noel, many folks don’t know about Green Dry Cleaning. Can you give us a high level overview of the difference between your process and standard dry cleaning?

Dry cleaning isn’t really dry; rather, it’s cleaning without water. Standard drycleaning uses perchloroethylene (more commonly called PERC) as the primary solvent. Traditional machines are simply large washing machines that use PERC instead of water. PERC-exposure has been associated with lots of health problems, including being identified as a hazardous substance by the EPA. It is also one of the most common contaminants in groundwater. Cleaning in PERC requires drying of the garments at a high temperature. Our process doesn’t use PERC, or any other hazardous substances. Our two dry cleaning process’ use liquid carbon dioxide and water. Both are naturally occurring in the environment and in your body.

For the extra geeky among us who love the technical details… how exactly does your process work? [Read more →]

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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. [Read more →]

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Last night the board voted on the decision to do Electric rail or Bio Diesel. Electric won (Wahoo!!) I think it will be cleaner, less pollution, and allow us for more options in terms of powering the lines for the future. Do it right the first time has always been my favorite plan. Plus, and of course I am only offering my opinion, the possibility of electric gives us future choices for how we generate the electricity we need. Solar, wind or something else may be the future power source that runs across these lines. I like possibilities.
Here is the article for you to read from [Read more →]

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