Recession Special, originally uploaded by aturkus.

This economy sucks.

Many people out there are trying to act like it isn’t that bad.   Bull puckey.  I believe the real expert I talked to the other day…. my cab driver set the record straight for me. It was on this past Friday night.  I had just rolled into the back a green and white hybrid taxi cab of Metro Taxi (Thanks for going green Metro, but don’t stop at a few). I should have known something was different when the “ring ring” of my phone indicating my taxi’s arrival came only a few scarce minutes after I placed the call.  I mean this was fast service. Remember, this was on a Friday night. Usually you can call a cab with time to spare to finish getting ready, have a glass of wine, watch the last few minutes of 30 rock that you recorded on your DVR, or even take the dog out for a final squirt before they usually arrive.  In fact you usually have to make that insecure “did you forget about me call” at least once, which coincidently I believe is the real time that they dispatch the cab.   But not this night my friends.  They were ready and waiting.  Here is why…

“This is my worst Friday ever” the cab driver shared with me. He was pretty noncholant about it. “I thought last Friday was my worst Friday ever, and then this week it got worse” he continued. “This economy must be keeping everyone home”. It was then that we passed tons of people walking to the Pepsi Center. “Or maybe they are just driving”.  That might be scary if they are still out at 2 am.

Whatever their transportation plans are, straight from the cabbies mouth we are seeing the slowdown in the simplest things. I stopped into the Chang (PF Chang) for for a quick lunch while downtown and the place was, well not empty, but lets just say “strangely table friendly” I could pretty much sit wherever I wanted, lay out whatever I was reading, and be taken care of by the readily available team there. Mind you this was a weekday, lunches have consistently been packed on weekdays downtown. (Side note, weekends are a great time to eat at the Chang and avoid lines). Again the feedback I got from my server was “It’s been reeeeeeaaaaaaallllllly slow”. nuff said.

The last omen might not be the economy but a troubled season. I decided to save a little money myself and put a pair of club level Bronco’s tickets for the always popular Raiders game on stubhubb. At the beginning of the season I was all pumped up for the game, now I think I’d be just as happy to sit cozy on the couch with a my own snacks and beverages. Everyone said “those tickets will sell in a snap”. They haven’t. I look and prices are dropping. This one you can’t blame on just the economy, but the Broncos don’t need any more heat.

And for those of you out there, you know who you are, who say “Don’t say the economy is bad, it will scare people into acting in a way to make the economy worse”.  The cat is out of the bag.  Lets just realize it sucks, laugh about it, deal with it, and move on.  Making it a big bad scary thing that you can’t say does make people act a great deal differently.  Treating it like the a zit on the face of life that will come and go makes it a little easier to bear.  Sure, it’s ugly, but it will go away.

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By the way it is either sad or funny what the lowest (0 votes at the time of this post) ranked cutback item is.

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This has become one a more pressing question lately. You see, we totally forgot to make any dinner reservations for the few nights of the DNC. I called yesterday to try and get a reservation at the Capital Grill for any of the three main nights during the convention. My logic was simple. I am excited to see and experience the energy of the Democratic National Convention. Since I won’t be attending, at least not that I have worked out yet, I thought maybe a nice dinner during the frenzy would give me a nice viewpoint. And if I figured one place would be knee deep in the lobbyists, political powerhouses, and media superstars I thought the Capital Grill on Larimer would be it. I’ll just have to wait until Monday to find out if I can get us in because a designated person is managing reservations for these few days and they haven’t gotten back to me yet.

Now I doubt my late request will be met, but since I have more than a few nights in their computer history I am hoping that a few reservations might remain for the locals. If it’s not available I will simply try other spots such as the no reservation taking Potager that we love any night of the week.

What I found interesting about my Dinner dilemma was the conversation it created while out to dinner with friends (at Potager of course) last week. After sharing my foolishness in not thinking about reservations during this coveted week earlier I found a very clear split of emotion among my dining companions. What was most interesting was that the opinions were totally opposite. Half of the group would prefer to do what I was attempting, to be out and about in the heart of the energy of the event for Dinner plans. The other half was going to hit the grocery store well in advance and spend each night cooking, safe and secure within the shelter of their loft or bungalow. There was no middle ground. The folks who were going out were doing it big or not at all.

Interesting… So what are you doing for dinner?

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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. [Read more →]

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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. [Read more →]

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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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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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Really, the snow is AMAZING!! Taken from the back bowls the snow is up to your knees. Wow!!

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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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I love snow.

The past two days have been spent skiing the fresh powder of Vail and I can tell you that it is wonderful. Sunday I was doing some training for some volunteer work I signed on for. I’ll fill everyone in on this in a later post but in the meantime check out these pics. All of Monday was spent in Blue Sky Basin and the back bowls and it was NICE!!

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