Olympia, originally uploaded by kevindooley.

Yes, after walking away from an awarded an offer to host the 1976 Olympics due to worries about financial and environmental impacts Denver is not looking at a possible opportunity to host the Olympics in 2018.

Cool, but guess what they are saying a big worry would be… transportation up and down I-70. I just won’t stop hoping and working to see if the mountain train/monorail project will finally happen.

Here is the article… http://www.examiner.com/x-758-Denver-Skiing-Examiner

It’s time for some grassroots community organizing.

Focus Property Group is planning on building a 7-11 in the Historic Ballpark District at 2425 Broadway, between Silver State Lofts and the PBA Architectural Firm across the street from the Granada Fish Company and the site of the new Plus Gallery. This 7-11 will also be two blocks down from The Samaritan House and Denver Rescue Mission. Focus Property Group is the same group that drove out the independent coffee shop Monkey Bean and claims an all-night convenience store next to an alley already infamous for drug deals will be good for the community. Quick reminder of the 7-11 at 14th and Pearl that eventually had to be shut down because no amount of security cameras or policing could keep it clean. This is a fragile time our for neighborhood and something like a crime-ridden 7-11 could potentially tip it in a direction none of us desire. Not to mention, there’s already an independent mom & pop day-time convenience store on 24th between Walnut and Blake, one block away, that will surely be put out of business.

So what can we do? There is a meeting on Tuesday, November 25th at 6pm in the Premier Lofts (2200 Market St) with Focus Property Group, the Ballpark Neighborhood Association and Steve Oliver, the 7-11 Real Estate Manager for North America. The Ballpark Neighborhood Association will be in the meeting and the people will be in the street. My goal is 200 people in front of Premier Lofts protesting this 7-11 at the time Steve Oliver arrives to decide if this is a good decision for his company or not. I also have a contact at Channel 2 News that I am going to try my hardest to interest in this cause. I am asking people to arrive at 5:30pm in front of Premier Lofts, 2200 Market Street, I will have some signs pre-made, but feel free to make your own. Together we can do this.

This is our neighborhood, this is our opportunity to come together as a community and make our voices heard. Please send this along to anyone you think might be interested stepping forward for the greater good of our community.

In Solidarity,

Brianna Martray

Studio/Gallery
900 Santa Fe Dr, G
Denver, CO 80204

BHUTAN-KING-CORONATION, originally uploaded by Leonardo G. Ponce.

As some of you know from reading this blog, I recently returned from a long trip that included a trek in Bhutan. It truly is a magical country filled with… well… quite simply… happiness.

Here’s the killer part. They absolutely ADORE their King. Really, this is a country where everyone loves their leader. He looks out for them and they love him for it. The trust, the respect, and the good blessings are going both ways.

If some of you out there are thinking to yourself… well yeah of course but he’s a king dictator sort. Well the King voluntarily implemented a democratic process that can rule the country. So take that. How funny considering I think some of our leaders act more like dictators than an empowered King does.

Really.. YES REALLY. But we now have a new enthusiasm. It is time for us to look at what is accomplished in the next administration. As well listen closely to the words our leaders I thought it would be interesting to share the Coronation address that was delivered by the new King of Bhutan, Jigme Khesar Namgyei Wangchuck at his ceremony in Thimpu on November 6th, 2008.

“It is with immense joy that we are gathered together on this most auspicious day. In these last 100 years the dreams and aspirations of our forefathers and the vision of our Kings have been fulfilled beyond all expectations. The wise and selfless leadership of our kings, the sacrifice and hard work of generations of Bhutanese and the special bond between the People and King have given us this unique and special nation – a jewel of the earth.

Two years ago, at a time of profound change I came onto the throne as a young King. You, my people, in the spirit of generations past, worked with me with complete faith and gave me your wholehearted cooperation and goodwill. Thus, in these two short years while we have taken gigantic steps towards strengthening our nation, we have done so in a calm, deliberate manner in complete harmony. It is with great pride that we stand as a new democracy, having successfully completed an unprecedented and historic transition.

Yet we must always remember that as our country, in these changing times finds immense new challenges and opportunities, whatever work we do, whatever goals we have – and no matter how these may change in this changing world – ultimately without peace, security and happiness we have nothing. That is the essence of the philosophy of Gross National Happiness. Our most important goal is the peace and happiness of our people and the security and sovereignty of the nation.

Our generation of Bhutanese have been gifted a strong, dynamic nation by our forefathers. I am confident that as long as we are willing to work with their committment and dedication and follow their example we can bring greater peace, happiness and prosperity to our country.

I am confident because I know the worth and character of our people. You are the true jewel of this nation. As citizens of a spiritual land you treasure the qualities of a good human being – honesty, kindness, charity, integrity, unity, respect for our culture and traditions, love for our country and for God. Throughout our history our parents have upheld these values and placed the common good above the self.

My deepest concern is that as the world changes we may lose these fundamental values on which rest our character as a nation and people. It is critical that we are able to recognize Bhutanese character irrespective of how far we look back into the past or into the future. The Bhutan we see is vastly different – unrecognizable even – when compared to the Bhutan in the time of our first King. Yet, the character of our people and the nature of our fundamental values have remained unchanged. Henceforth, as even more dramatic changes transform the world and our nation, as long as we continue to pursue the simple and timeless goal of being good human beings, and as long as we strive to build a nation that stands for everything that is good, we can ensure that our future generations for hundered of years will live in happiness and peace.

It is not because I am king that I ask these of you. Destiny has put me here. It is with immense gratitude and humility that at this young age, I assume the sacred duty to serve a special people and country. Throughout my reign I will never rule you as a king. I will protect you as a parent, care for you as a brother and serve you as a son. I shall give you everything and keep nothing; I shall live such a life as a good human being that you may find it worthy to serve as an example for your children; I have no personal goals other than to fulfill your hopes and aspirations. I shall always serve you, day and night, in the spirit of kindness, justice and equality.

As the king of a Buddhist nation, my duty is not only to ensure your happiness today but to create the fertile ground from which you may gain the fruits of spiritual pursuit and attain good karma.

This is how I shall serve you as king.

I cannot end without addressing out most important citizens – our youth. The future of our nation depends on the worth, capabilities and motivation of today’s youth. Therefore I will not rest until I have given you the inspirations, knowledge and skills so that you will not only fulfill your own aspirations but be of immense worth to the nation. This is my sacred duty. A strong motivated young Bhutan guarantees a strong bright future.

The future is neither unseen nor unknown. It is what we make of it. What work we do with our two hands today will shape the future of our nation. Our children’s tomorrow has to be created by us today.

I end with a prayer for Bhutan – that the sun of peace and happiness may forever shine on our people. I also pray that while I am but King of a small Himalaya nation, I may in my time be able to do much to promote the greater wellbeing and happiness of all people in this world – of all sentient beings.”

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.

I am having trouble avoiding interruption.

I first began not simply noticing this, but focusing on this over the past week. I realized that I was spending far too much of my day checking email or performing some other technology tool task. While out walking my dog, I am checking email. When I first wake up I check email. While writing or working I am checking email. I find it is more than a bit distracting. Maybe it is the nature of my career over the many years where things were always moving so quickly. Or, as those of you who have been reading this blog for some time remember me posting, it is because my iphone or whatever technology toy it might be makes it so easy. At that time it was me singing praises to my iphone for all it allowed me to do and how easily it allowed me to do it.  Be careful what you wish for, you might get it.  Now my habit of welcoming interruption is becoming too much.  And it is something I want to change. A lifestyle that promotes focus without interruption can be a very good thing.

My first steps took place this past winter with the revolutionary idea of not taking my cell phone. For a few peaceful hours I didn’t keep checking my messages or answering my phone. Meanwhile this was the typical discussion I heard around me…

PHONE: “Ring Ring” (actually it was probably some song but this is easier)

PERSON ON SKI LIFT WRESTLES WITH THEIR GLOVES, THEN THEIR COAT POCKET, TRYING TO REACH THEIR PHONE

PHONE: “Ring Ring”

PERSON ON SKI LIFT: “Hello…. Hey dude…. Yeah I am skiing in Vail… I am just riding the lift up…. Yes its great up here today”

PERSON ON SKI LIFT’S FINGERS ARE STARTING TO FROSTBITE AS THEY TALK

PERSON ON SKI LIFT: “I am not sure what we are doing this weekend, lets totally grab a beer on Saturday… No I didn’t hear if Sue was going…. really….. she was looking good on Tuesday man…. Okay….. Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha….. um yeah I love that show…. Okay later”

PERSON ON SKI LIFT PUTS PHONE AWAY WITH CRAMPED, FROZEN HANDS AND THEN GOES BACK TO LOOKING AT THE PRETTY SNOW

Of course this is the simpler version. The funniest is the person in the act of skiing who stops to take the call. Not only does this throw off their rhythm but it totally stops whatever Zen moment with nature they might have been having. I respect this works for some. It is just not the choice for me.

So now I am trying to bring this philosophy off the slopes.

The New York Times had an article this past week “Lost in Email, Tech Firms Face Self Made Beast” discussing the new trend for technology companies to be building tools to combat the “beast” of their own creation. I thought this was an especially interesting quote…

“A typical information worker who sits at a computer all day turns to his e-mail program more than 50 times and uses instant messaging 77 times, according to one measure by RescueTime, a company that analyzes computer habits. The company, which draws its data from 40,000 people who have tracking software on their computers, found that on average the worker also stops at 40 Web sites over the course of the day.

The fractured attention comes at a cost. In the United States, more than $650 billion a year in productivity is lost because of unnecessary interruptions, predominately mundane matters, according to Basex. The firm says that a big chunk of that cost comes from the time it takes people to recover from an interruption and get back to work.”

Now I am not sure how this translates to me personally, but I believe my habits ensure some greater level of productivity loss in what is most important to me. And I certainly don’t want to miss any of the company or scenery around me during something as simple and nice as an early morning dog walk.

Yet most people I know or observe are busy scrawling on their electronic devices while out at dinner with friends, enjoying happy hour with their team, or simply in a public and social setting. I can’t complain, I do it too. Now I am trying to stop, slow down, smell the roses along the way and save my email catchup for a specific time and place. So here are a few tricks I am trying to break my interruption habit:

1. First, I turned off my email accounts (yep, not just one) on my iphone. I can always turn them back on when I go out of town but do I really need updated email every fifteen minutes, twenty-four hours a day, three hundred sixty five days of the year. This is probably the single biggest change.
2. Next is to break the habit of constantly checking my phone. I am periodically leaving my iphone (this is going to sound like blasphemy to some) hidden away charging versus having it on me or right next to me. I want to focus on the task at hand without interruption, or temptation of interruption. Barring an expected call I need to wait for there is no reason to not create some “quiet time”. That goes equally for a non phone zone while joining friends for dinner, or taking my dog for a walk, or many other brief tasks. I know that there is the risk of an emergency. Fortunately, everyone around me will have a phone I can borrow. And this doesn’t have to be a long term strategy, just long enough to break the habit of constantly checking my device. But I think being out of touch for a couple hours at a time will still allow the world to keep turning. I can barely remember, but I am pretty sure I lived without a cell phone at one time.
3. I am turning off that little flag that tells me every time I have a new email on my computer/laptop. The darn thing goes off every 30 seconds it seems, and they are never critical. But of course…. it might be really important so I have to stop what I am doing to check it. Enough!

Do you have any other suggestions for how you prevent interruptions? Or do you have a pro argument for the virtues of an interruption rich life. That has been my habit for quite some time.

What about your habits? Here is a poll to ask that question and see how the populations checks in on this one. Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

By the way, in the few minutes it took to write this my email box is showing a red alert flag that I have three new messages. I better hurry and check them!

Quick, what bills are these?

In 2002, the American Council of the Blind began a lawsuit against the U.S. Government claiming that our existing currency discriminates against the Blind or the visually impaired.

In 2006 the decision came in in favor of the American Council of the Blind. The Treasury Department Appealed.

This month in 2008, the Appelate ruling is in and the decision stands! The American Council of the Blind wins for now.

I applaud them, but it’s not over yet. The Treasury has 90 days to appeal or as for Supreme Court review.

Before I go into this topic let me discuss my bias and existing point of view. In the past year I began volunteering with Foresight Ski Guides, a non profit organization based out of the Vail Valley that works with the visually impaired as guides on the Mountain. Living in Denver I didn’t spend as much time volunteering as I would have liked to, but the limited time I did have was amazing. I met so many inspirational men and women who only want to experience the best in life. They work, they persevere, and they were simply amazing. All we did in guiding was help out a little bit. Just like we all need a little bit of help in one way or another every day.

To me, this change of currency would be simply a little fairness to create more empowerment and freedom for the visually impaired. Do you like to travel? I do, so this is an easy example for me. Can you imagine exploring our country and going to an ATM in a strange location and having to ask someone to explain the currency for you? Or what about the simple act of getting change for a cup of coffee? Sure, you can rely on others to help but if we can assist in creating a denomination that is clear for any visual impairment why wouldn’t we?

It is also curious to consider from an artistic or philosophic approach the U.S. approach to money. In traveling I have encountered many different currencies across many different countries. None resembles the American Greenback (which may be a distinguishing feature worth retaining, that argument has merit) and are adorned with various colors and backgrounds. Some currencies are, quite simply, works of art.

Does our approach to currency mean something? Is it a hard nosed business approach to money. Does it reflect the value we put on the “almighty dollar”. Does something more fun and whimsical mean “It’s just a piece of paper… my time,experiences and laughter are more important”. I don’t know but someone out there probably studies this for a living and could better answer it. Or do the various colors in other cultures do just what the American Council for the Blind hopes for, a better tool for the visually impaired to differentiate their currency. Remember that we are not just hoping to help individuals with total blindness, but many that have partial impairments who could benefit from something as simple as different colors.

A lot of vending machines will need to be reprogrammed and it is a BIG change. But like all things, we will get used to it. Doing the right thing is always more important.

Interested in supporting this, you can visit this page and show your support with Congress.

Either way, lets have a fun little challenge and see if anyone can design our new currency. I’ll create a topic on the forum (I am hooked on the new forum component of this blog) and see if anyone uploads their ideas or links to items on this topic.

http://www.theurbanbrain.org/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=7

I figured the easiest way to get folks talking was to connect them. So check out this link here, register once and you can post or subscribe to the topic.

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.

My auto, as I mentioned above, is a monster gas guzzling SUV. It’s a 2000 Dodge Durango that I originally bought when I lived in Vail and wanted to be able to get around regardless of the weather or the type of road. It was also a priority to have space for a 125 lb pup. Priorities you know.

But now that I don’t live full time in the mountains I wish I had a nice hybrid to feel better about that drive between here and Vail when I do go to the mountains. At the same time I feel better when I drive in a snow storm (which is often the case as I chase powder days) to have my trusty SUV. I should mention that this SUV has roughly 130,000 miles on it, gets roughly 17 mpg, and just passed it’s emissions test with flying colors.

Here is the question that I have gotten many answers to. Am I more environmentally responsible to keep driving my gas guzzling SUV that I rarely drive anyway until it either fails an emission test or stops working or should I buy a new hybrid now. If you don’t know why this is even a question, you have to understand that there is an argument that one of the biggest damages we are doing as a culture is to be constantly consuming and disposing of everything all the time. We fill up landfills, we create a non stop flow of trash, and we don’t keep something that isn’t shiny and new. There are also arguments being made that the best green technology is just around the corner in 2010. Whatever my green car choice is today may not be as green next year. Also, some people say the greenest car I could buy is a used car for just that reason.

Don’t get me wrong. You can’t put off doing something greener just because the technology will be better tomorrow because (hopefully) the technology will always be getting greener.

But if “Big Red” is still chugging along fine and getting minimal miles at all… is it better to wait. Will my lifetime carbon footprint be lower for not churning through the products I buy treating it all as disposable.

Or perhaps it’s from my upbringing in the Midwest where everyone I knew bought a car and drove it till it simply wouldn’t go another mile. Mind you, no one I knew growing up believed in leasing a car either. And no, we didn’t go cow tipping every weekend.

But I digress.

Ideally I’d love a green vehicle that was a little better suited for deep snow. Maybe the Prius isn’t the best pick, but there has got to be a better option. If I wait, will the options get better? Or is it better to get the big gas guzzling SUV I have now off the road immediately? Does it depend on how much I am driving now, or doesn’t it?

I am keeping my limited drive time gas guzzler for the time being. Especially considering how little I drive. But beat me up, change my mind, or tell me your thoughts. I pose the question because alot of folks may be asking it. Keeping it sure hurts at the gas tank. But does throwing it away really help?
Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

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?