As my six regular blog readers know I’m a big advocate of utilitarian cycling, meaning the use of cycling for every purposes such as commuting to work, shopping, and daily errands.   With some storage capacity added to any bike you can forget traffic, save gas, and get healthier all during your daily routine.

Here’s a site called C.I.C.L.E. or the more verbally cumbersome title: “Cyclists Inciting Change thru LIVE Exchange“. 

C.I.C.L.E. is chock full of useful tips, links, and logistics for practical cycling.  If you love racks, panniers, and cruising to the coffee shop with your laptop on a sunny day this site’s for you.  It’s also a good networking tool to find local bike shops that focus on utility cycling, in addition to racing/road bikes.  With perfect weather almost everywhere it’s a great time to start bike commuting.  Check them out!

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atan, atan atan atan….

Following Richard Robert’s comments regarding Satan’s influence on the Virginia Tech gunman - now Utah County Chairman Don Larsen is blaming the great beastmaster for advancing the destruction of America vis a vis immigrants swarming our borders.
Salt Lake Tribune Article

Utah County GOP Chairwoman Marian Monnahan says District 65 Chairman Don Larsen’s resolution - asserting that illegal immigration is the devil’s plan to destroy the nation by “stealth invasion” - “in no way” is endorsed by the Republican Party.   

Larsen, who did not return a phone call or an e-mail seeking comment Thursday, is urging the closing of national borders to illegal immigrants to “prevent the destruction of the U.S. by stealth invasion.”

Dear citizens of Utah:  WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE!!  Why on earth would ANYONE vote for someone who is obviously delusional and insane? 

I know there can’t be THAT much influence from the fine folks over at Rapture Ready.com because they’re all moving to South Carolina in order to secede from the rest of the country.

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Sad news from Vail.  The popular low budget dive motel “The Roost” is gone, swallowed up by development. I love places like this:  small, cozy, perhaps a bit dumpy and rough around the edges, but after a day of hiking or skiing it’s nice to be able to drive right up to your door rather than navigating enormous Vegas size lobbies and hallways. 

In Vail I recommend the nearby Park Meadows Lodge.  Not as cheap as the Roost, but still affordable.  It’s on the west side of town, and walking distance to the chairlift next door the Vail Cascade hotel.  I’ve stayed here two times in the past and found it clean, spacious, with friendly owners and fellow travelers.

From the Denver Post: 

Vail - The red neon “vacancy” sign is no longer lit at the iconic Roost Lodge, famed as the cheapest accommodations in this high-dollar ski town.

When the last guest made the 11 a.m. checkout Sunday, the Roost became a piece of Vail’s history, a casualty of ever-increasing property values and a need for a facelift.

“It’s going to be sad to see this baby go,” said Juan Fregoso, the live-in manager of the 72-unit budget motel just a few yards from Interstate 70. “We have a lot of people who stay here because it’s the most economical place in Vail. You’d have to drive an hour in either direction to get a lower rate.”

In a town where the average price of a hotel room was $267 in March, a no-frills room with two double beds at the Roost could be had for $99 and as low as $69 last week, at the tail end of the ski season.

“It’s not a five-star place, but it’s not five-star rates, either,” Fregoso said, showing off the clean-but-dated rooms.

Timberline Commercial Real Estate purchased the lodge and has spent the past two years planning a $50 million project to demolish and replace it with a 102-unit Marriott Residence Inn and 31 market-priced condominiums, according to developer Greg Gastineau.

“No question it has met a need in this valley, but the building is at the end of its useful life,” Gastineau said. “What we’ve tried to do is replace it with a product that’s still going to be one of the most reasonably priced accommodations in town. You just can’t create something that’s as inexpensive as the Roost.”

The town is undergoing an estimated $1 billion in renovations and new construction to update its decidedly 1970s look, including development of a new Four Seasons hotel and Ritz-Carlton residences.

The Roost won’t be demolished immediately: Gastineau is in discussions with construction contractors to use it for worker housing during summer’s busy season.

While popular with budget-minded skiers from the Front Range, the Roost also was typically the first stop for newcomers and seasonal workers, who have been known to pack four or more people into a room

Casey Wiatroska pushes towels to be laundered at the Roost Lodge in Vail earlier this month. The iconic motel, which closed Sunday, offered no-frills rooms at no-frills prices, especially appreciated by budget-minded skiers and seasonal workers. (Post / Glenn Asakawa)popular with budget-minded skiers from the Front Range, the Roost also was typically the first stop for newcomers and seasonal workers, who have been known to pack four or more people into a room.
That fact is not lost on Gastineau, who contends that the new lodge will still be far less expensive than other lodgings, and they will have kitchens - rare in Vail - allowing families to stay economically.

Not everyone is sentimental about the Roost, though. Reviews by guests posted on Trip Advisor.com are mixed, lauding its affordability but not its accommodations.

A couple from Park City, Utah, found it beneath even low-brow standards.

“When we arrived at the Roost, it was at night, so the hotel looked OK, since it was snowing and all we cared about was getting some sleep,” they wrote. “When we woke up, I thought we were at the wrong place. … The Roost should be knocked down and never remembered.”

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Smoke, fog, and black sweaters! 

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On May 27th Littleton resident Tim Cody will commence a solo cross country bike tour from Oceanside, California to Ocean City, New Jersey.  He’ll be raising money and awareness for ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease.  Averaging 100 miles a day it’s certainly an endeavor, and far outshines my daily 18 miles commute

Tim’s site is  www.rideforstrength.org.    Check it out and paypal him some money for Cliff bars.

Denver Post Article below:

Bio: A serious bicyclist for only five years, Tim Cody is training to ride the 3,000 miles from coast to coast in 30 days this summer as a fundraiser for victims of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, better known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. A Denver native and Regis High graduate, he served four years in the Army during Desert Storm and now works as a computer systems administrator in the Denver Tech Center. Cody, 40, lives in Littleton with his wife, Dawn, an airline ticket agent, and their two daughters, 16 and 9.

The Journey: Cody was inspired to take up the cause of ALS after the death last May of his best friend’s father, construction engineer George Ralston. “I’d known him since I was 14, and he was really close to me - he taught me how to be a man,” Cody says. “I had heard about ALS but never had a full understanding of it, and when I saw him the Christmas before he died, it was amazing the toll it had taken. It’s a terrible disease. Your mind is intact, but you can’t move your muscles.”

Cody concluded that to have real impact he couldn’t just “do a century ride or a walk” like the annual Walk to D’Feet ALS in September, but “something on a grand scale.” Hence his “crazy” plan to pedal an average of 100 miles every day for a month.

The Strategy: Cody intends to leave May 27, following most of a route established by the annual Race Across America, from Oceanside, Calif., to Ocean City, N.J. He will be accompanied by four friends who will each take a week at the wheel of an RV carrying food, gear and sleeping quarters. (Cody is seeking donations of gas cards and the use of a vehicle; for details go to rideforstrength.org.)

He has a main bike, a 20-speed carbon-fiber Giant TCR model weighing a little over 15 pounds, plus two aluminum bikes as backup. He figures he’ll go through at least two sets of tires and “burn through 7,000 calories a day” in food energy.

The Details: Besides training hard for three years as an amateur racer, he says, “I’ve climbed Mount Evans a few times, done the Triple Bypass twice, and several century rides.”

At 5 feet 9 and 161 pounds, Cody has dropped nearly 40 pounds since he was diagnosed with high cholesterol at the age of 35. “The first 10 pounds was from cutting out all the high-fat and junk food, and the rest was just from riding,” he says. -Jack Cox

Exercise

70 miles of cycling daily, in three hour- long circuits around Chatfield and Cherry Creek reservoirs, plus two sets of 30 to 45 minutes of stretching. Pilates three times a week to strengthen core and lower back.

Diet

Oatmeal, yogurt, banana, orange juice and V-8 for breakfast; turkey sandwich with salad for lunch; chicken, pasta, vegetables and two glasses of milk for supper. In the saddle: Clif Bars, GU20 energy drink and Hammer gel.

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From Engadget.com   Robotic Falcons chase away pigeons.

While San Franciscans (and birdwatchers around the globe) enjoy the beauty of the Sutro Forest through a new MMO, British chaps are figuring out a way to rid a city of an apparent “obese pigeon” quandary. In order to shoo away the unsightly animals, a Scottish firm has delivered Robops to sit atop Liverpool rooftops and “flap their wings and squawk loudly to scare the problem pigeons away.” Reportedly, the solution was crafted after officials (and citizens) grew tired of the increasingly nauseating droppings and incessant badgering for food. Proponents of the plan are hoping that the newly disturbed pigeons will find their way to parks and green pastures where their diet will be more balanced, but critics are suggesting that pigeons will “soon realize that these mechanical things are not a threat,” effectively rendering the project useless after a short while.

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Not surprisingly from Fox News: Religion reporter Lauren Green details to us how Oral Roberts University Dr. Richard Roberts is 100% sure that “The Devil Made him do it” in the case Cho Seung-Hui gunning down of 33 people last Monday.

“Based on what I’ve seen in the news,” Roberts said in an interview, “there’s no doubt that this act was Satanic in origin.”

It baffles me why the nonsensical ramblings of a theological university are reported as news, even by Fox. This makes as much sense as Jerry Falwell blaming the gays and ACLU for 9/11. At least a logical opposing view is provided by Michael Shermer and Rev. Robert Schuller of the Crystal Cathedral:

Atheists don’t believe in the Devil or demonic possession, but there is some respect for the theological idea of evil. Michael Shermer, editor of the Skeptics Magazine, acknowledges Christianity’s take on Satan has a great deal of weight to it. “Religion figured out long before science the pervasiveness of man’s ‘vil’side, that’s why they created so many rules,” he said. Shermer, of course, doesn’t believe in anything like demon possession. And surprisingly, he has an unlikely man who almost agrees with him: Rev. Robert H. Schuller, founding pastor of the Crystal Cathedral, who says he’s “not prepared to give the Devil credit for insanity.”

Sometimes

Fox News article:

When unexplained violence takes center stage, we tend to turn to modern psychology to explain it. But there is an alternative explanation, one that has been played out in film, stage and writings since the beginning of history.

Was Cho Seung-Hui schizophrenic … psychotic … manic-depressive? Or were the shooting deaths of 32 people, including Cho himself, at Virginia Tech University part of the ongoing struggle between God and Satan … good against evil … lightness and darkness?

Could Cho have been possessed by the Devil? Could that explain the massacre at Virginia Tech? Dr. Richard Roberts, president of Oral Roberts University, shouts an unequivocal “Yes!”

“Based on what I’ve seen in the news,” Roberts said in an interview, “there’s no doubt that this act was Satanic in origin.” Roberts added that he doesn’t know if it was Satanic “possession” or “oppression.” Possession, he said, occurs when Satan takes over a person’s life, and the person’s actions are dictated by demonic possession within. Roberts says he’s seen this type and has seen the Devil cast out of a person.

Satanic “oppression,” on the other hand, is “that which comes against.” “It’s not in a person, but is coming against them, trying to put evil thoughts in their minds,” Roberts said.

He said that the evil thoughts in Satanic oppression can be fairly innocuous, or they can be harmful. And the oppression can be in the form of fear, depression or discouragement, he said, because “Satan comes to kill, steal and destroy.”
(more…)

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In addition to Red Dog’s theme below, Green is also the theme of April’s Outside Magazine.  In addition to all things eco-friendly they feature interviews with Eddie Veder, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and a host of other people and products devoted to a better environment.  Some of it’s obvious fluff, but if you examine it in detail there’s some good companies and info.   Now you can sit at an eco-friendly hut on an eco-friendly beach wearing your new eco-friendly white briefs.

One local company highlighted is Boulder based Sustainable Travel International.  STI is a clearinghouse and directory for all earth friendly travel from air travel, eco-resorts, activities, and lodging.  Their directory contains hundreds of companies - each with an “eco-certification” noting their sustainability policies and social and cultural impacts.

Searching by company and location will net you a wealth of potential activities from all parts of the world.  Worth checking out.

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I don’t envy companies that market men’s underwear.  Every product needs to look sexy, so when you have a good product that you want people to take seriously it must be difficult to distinguish it from other ads that look as if they were lifted from the first 10 minutes of a gay porn. Red Dog Sportswear  manages to make their product appealing and sexy, without the Abercrombie overcompensation of oversexed erotic male bonding.

Since it’s earth week it’s worth noting they’re a company aboard the green train as well.  Red Dog Sportswear uses organic cotton for a healthier and higher quality product.  Their underwear and t-shirts are made from cotton grown without pesticides  - all natural for when you’re almost all natural.  From their site:

You probably know why organic food is good for you… but organic clothing is a new concept for the majority of us. The clothes we wear are a direct expression of our personalities, beliefs and lifestyle. Organic fabrics have similar benefits of organically-produced food. That is, the cotton is grown without chemicals or pesticides. Traditional cotton is sprayed with a cocktail of pesticide poisons. Don’t you think it’s time to wear organic?

Organic farmers use biologically-based (rather than chemically-dependent) growing systems to raise cotton crops. Organic farming starts with the soil.  Rather than attempting to eradicate all insects with chemicals, organic farmers cultivate a diversity of natural enemies which prey on insect pests, and lure pests away from the cotton by planting trap crops. Organic cotton growers shut off water early, and apply certified materials to promote cotton ball opening and leaf dropping, readying the fibers for harvest.  More organic cotton info at Sustainable Cotton.org

I’m curious if any guys actually own these or other organic clothing? Now I can update my stripper apparel while helping the environment at the same time.  And the skin photos don’t look bad either.  Photos from Red Dog Sportswear

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As Jason Reynolds accurately whined about during sentencing, this has been a story of interest for the past year.  In November 2005, (a year in which he received four reckless driving citations), Jason Reynold’s antagonistic driving caused two deaths on a Denver interstate.   Driver Kelvin Norman apparently was not driving at an adequate speed for Reynolds, inciting Reynolds to whip out in front of him and slam on his brakes.  This caused Norman to swerve and careen over into the median, taking another car driven by Greg Boss with him.  Both drivers died instantly.

Reynolds argued what he did with his vehicle has no effect on others, and he was not responsible for either death.  (Photo of local asshole Jason Reynolds from KUSA).

The only intelligent thing Reynolds said was his accusation of the media “witch hunting” him.   He blames the media and public interest for causing his prosecution and sentencing.  

Well of course the media followed him, because it’s a damn fascinating story.  We’ve all seen people practice “vengeful” driving:  Speeding up to re-cut off the driver that originally cut them off.  Or slamming on their brakes to “punish” a tailgater.  Many have done it, however in this case his vengeful actions DIRECTLY caused two deaths.   Since I’m not a juror I have the liberty to opine that he just looks like a dick:  He carries the appearance of a smug, arrogant, conscienceless wife beating asshole, concerned only with his shallow self.  He makes even the most materialistic money grubbing slum lord look like Ghandi.

Larry Pozner, from the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, (run for the hills),  feels differently.  In the Washington Times article he scoffs at linking a road rage death to first degree murder.   A vehicular homicide prosecution usually garners a 10-15 year sentence.

Arapahoe County DA Carol Chambers fought for first degree murder.  She pursued Reynolds and prosecuted this asshole.  She just set a precedent that CARS CAN BE WEAPONS, and using a car to kill someone, even without premeditation, is no different than using a gun.  Let his trial, sentencing, and media with hunt be a lesson to those tempted to use their cars as weapons.  If not, I hope that their court follows the benchmark of the Reynolds case.

Washington Times Article    Rocky Mountain News quote  

The 34-year-old said the crash that killed two men whose families sat in the courtroom Monday wasn’t his fault, and he put the blame for his conviction on “media whores,” prosecutors and what he said was a misled jury.  Reynolds’ comments drew a quick rebuke from Arapahoe County District Judge Carlos Samour, who handed two life sentences to the first person in Colorado’s history to be convicted of first-degree murder for deaths resulting from road rage.

“Mr. Reynolds, you might as well have been standing in the middle of the highway with a gun pointed at people,” Samour told Reynolds. “You used your car as a weapon, and you played Russian roulette.”

Reynolds tailgated Kelvin Norman then cut in front of Norman’s Toyota 4Runner and slammed on the brakes, setting in motion the carnage on E-470 east of Parker Road on Nov. 8, 2005.  Norman, a popular 50-year-old soccer coach, swerved to avoid Reynolds’ Jeep Wrangler and lost control of his vehicle, which rolled across the median and landed on top of a car driven by Greg Boss, a 35-year-old Postal Service special agent.

The crash killed both men instantly.

Rot in prison Jason Reynolds.

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I’m reading “Deadman’s Poker” by James Swain.  Swain writes a series of books based on the Tony Valentine character, a retired cop from Atlantic City now living in Florida working for casinos as a cheating consultant.  They’re fun and easy to read, and you get a fix of casinos, pokers, the mob, and other nefarious dealings without needing to leave your bus seat.

Although Swain is only moderately guilty of this, an amusing yet annoying habit of some writers is to over explain step by step every process of computer operations.   Often times an entire paragraph is devoted to: He sat down at his computer and turned on the power.   He opened his e-mail program and read three new messages.  He hit “respond”,  and wrote back to…

You’d never read:  He opened his car door, sat down, turned the key, etc, etc.  Unless those details were truly pertinent to the storyline.  Editors take note:  Basic computer operations need not be overexplained.   This hasn’t been necessary since 1997.

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This looks worth seeing: From June 22nd to January 6th this exhibit will be at the Denver Museum of Natural History.

If you have a Titanic fetish, come combine this exhibit with a trip to the Molly Brown House.

Oh and don’t miss Titanic 2, the movie.

This once-in-a-lifetime exhibition, viewed by 18 million people worldwide, tells the story of the lavish vessel—from its construction in a Belfast shipyard, to its acclaim as the world’s greatest (and unsinkable) luxury liner, to its doomed maiden voyage.

The ship’s passengers included titans of commerce and industry, artists and movie stars, senior members of governments, immigrants dreaming of a new life, mothers, fathers, sons, and daughters. Listen to their stories, as told through personal artifacts salvaged from the deep. Reservations for this exhibition are highly recommended.

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Errors happen when you’re in a rush.  But even Drudge report, which gets stories out seconds after they happen rarely if ever has such glaring spelling error.  This isn’t a single occurrence.  It happens repeatedly.   I’d expect such spelling errors from a low rate personal blog, (like this one), but not from one of the top news consolidation sites, which thousands have their home page set to.

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Transit Oriented Development at it’s worst… At only six months old half of this light rail station at the University Denver might be bulldozed.

It appears ridiculous, but Mile High Development is actually attempting to cram a 12 story high rise into this tiny wedge shaped piece of land adjacent to the University of Denver light rail station. This triangular corner, between Buchtel Boulevard and the tracks is no more than a few hundred feet long and much less than that in width. A high rise here would dominate the surrounding landscape, and completely alter the open-plaza space feel of the University of Denver Station, located across from the University of Denver.

An enormous building would be an incredible imposition on the train station and neighborhood. It would block all light coming in from the west, turning the station into a dark and gloomy locale, not to mention cold and icy in the winter.

I met with some residents picketing this small field and raising awareness about the project. Keep the bright atmosphere of the University of Denver Station. On April 30th a vote will be taken by city council on whether or not to allow construction to proceed. The transit agency of Denver, RTD, currently owns the property, and would be selling the land to them for profit.

Here’s further reading Eileen Abbattista of the Washington Park Profile.

An awkward, remnant wedge of land at the western edge of RTD’s University light rail station property – and the 11-story high-rise building proposed by Mile High Development for construction there – is at the heart of a currently escalating rezoning controversy.

Many neighbors strenuously object to obscuring the impact of the high-rise (which also seeks to add a top floor for resident parking on to the existing light rail station garage), by the City’s seemingly under-examined embracing of TOD at this specific location. Community Planning and Development staff and the City’s Planning Board have each expressed support for the rezoning application. If the zoning change is approved, CPD will only then review any proposals for future buildings and site improvements (including any by Mile High Development) as a matter of compliance with the new zone lot designation. No public input is allowed in that process.

Another sticky issue is that this parcel is owned by RTD, hence making it public land for all. Should this really be sold to a private developer? Many agree the land should remain public. Or at least be used for purposes directly related to transit. Here are additional negative factors by neighborhood resident Allan Ferguson:

Parking and traffic: This structure will dump 300-400 new residents and their cars onto the perimeter of a quiet residental area and into the midst of the already crowed DU area.

Aesthetics: People along the south side of the Buchtel corridor have worked long and hard to maintain the views to the north, and chose not to have sound walls along sunken interstate 25. A 12 story building would obliterate these views.

Safety: This building would cast a dark and dangerous shadow north over the light rail station and the highway. In winter, snow and ice would accumulate around the station, on the steps, and on the platform, posing serious dangers to transit riders.

Setback: Unlike the 10 story high rise a few blocks to the east, this building would have little or no setback from the sidewalk.

Even if you live outside of this district, or even the city, please forward a note, or forward this post to them and keep a tiny piece of open space intact. Or attend the public meeting at the City and County building, April 30th, 5:30pm.

Denver City Council site Reference council bill 149

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I saw this on Crunchgear.com attached to an article about file sharing. 

I love it.  No matter what they do, or how hard they try, Blockbuster is forever engrained in the consumer mind as a greedy, inept company with ridiculous fees, overages, and surcharges.  Even now with their new mail delivery combined with the perk of exchanging them in stores, people are saying get lost, and opting for the simple trust red and white logos of Netflix.

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Friggen’ April and a foot of snow is forecasted for the city.   Well at least I can go skiing for another few weekends.  But it’s about time for this to be done.

Here’s a CDOT photo from about 50 miles west of Denver.

Hopefully it won’t cripple us like the December 20 massive snowstorm.

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During Most days I listen to XM channels 80, 81, and 82, which are mostly dance, house, techno, and club music,  as well as XM84 “Chill” later in the evening. I constantly hear remixes of songs that ordinarily I wouldn’t hold my interest in the least, (should I admit Hilary Duff)? but with a good DJ they can turn a banal top 40 drone into something catchy and original.

When I hear a song I like I’ll jot it down and search for it on iTunes, but obscure remixes are often difficult to find.  Beatport can usually solve that.  Easily searchable by artist, song, album and DJ, they delve deep into the house/techno/trance music for your downloading enjoyment. 

Check them out next time you’re stuck trying to find a song:  www.beatport.com

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