If you haven’t read my “Free Ice Cream at Safeway tip” you still have time to stock up on free Ben & Jerry’s 3.6 oz ice creams.

I popped in the Cherry Creek Safeway over the weekend and picked up a reasonable amount without emptying out their freezer.    On a diet?  No worries - put them in the ice box and save them for this fall’s trick-or-treaters.

ok - been a while since I emptied out my “news of interest” saved bookmarks into a post - so here we go:

From the New York Times - an article about the advantages of small cars.   Check out the gas mileage charts.  How can you not love these?  Or my friend’s new Smart Car.    And a related piece from the Boston Globe about the difficulties of selling large gas guzzlers.

The Denver Post documents the perils of cycling on 32nd Avenue in Golden.  This article comes complete with 52 comments (as of 10:22am)  mostly frustrated comments between motorists and bikers.

Fox Nomad - who writes and excellent travel blog with personal in-depth idea and excellent lists of travel tips and tricks is currently running a contest for “Sexiest Summer Travel Story“  Check it out and you could win a $250 airline gift card.   I would send him that story about that night in Munich last year, but co-workers and potential future employers might read my blog, sooo….

From American Magazine, I found this article on Houston and other “opportunity cities“ interesting.  This story details the shift from of business from established northeastern cities like New York and Boston to the sunbelt cities of the south where housing is affordable and job opportunities abound.  

The Atlanta Journal Constitution gives some high merits to the Denver Fastracks plan - our 15 year plan to expand current rail lines and build new lines to corners of the metro area, including Boulder and the airport.    More about Fastracks here.

More auto news:  Here’s an accident I saw at 7th and Josephine last week.  No one was hurt.  But how can that car hit the telephone pole with such straight on perfection?    

A girl, (about 10,) who was exiting the nearby soccer field reprimanded me for taking photos of someone else’s misfortune. I’m sorry. But thanks for speaking your mind young city stranger!

by James Van Dellen

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Remember a year ago on April 12th when I lamented that is was still snowing in our fine state?  Today is, (hopefully our last,) snowy wet day for THIS spring.   Here’s interstate 70 at Georgetown, west of Denver.

Earlier this week the story “Death by Blogging” made the rounds of almost every newspaper, blog, and water cooler in the country.  The original New York Times article by Matt Richtel studies mostly free lance bloggers who maintain 24/7 schedules to be first in publishing a new story or hot rumer.  I instantly thought “ok, this sounds like an article written with the headline first, and the story to match it.”  Similar to “Driving while on cell phone equal to drunk driving.”

This story is nothing more than made up sensationalism.  A scary techy headline about the dangers of our modern culture.  Its overstating the obvious to say a high pressure job takes a toll on your health and personal life, but there’s no such thing as “dropping dead from blogging.”  Slate Magazine’s Timothy Noah agrees, and in this rebuttal examines this made up story and trend.

From Noah’s April 7 article:

Richtel strongly implies that bloggers drop dead because they work in their apartments or houses all day and never get out. Never mind that Russell Shaw, a 60-year-old tech blogger who provides 50 percent of Richtel’s evidence that blogging kills, died while reporting on-scene at a conference 3,000 miles from his home and that “it’s not clear what role stress played in his death.” We never learn any circumstances surrounding the death of Marc Orchant, the 50-year-old tech blogger who provides Richtel’s remaining evidentiary 50 percent, and Malik, the blogger who survived, disappears entirely from the story after his cameo appearance in the above-mentioned to-be-sure graf.

More news of interest…

I posted earlier this week on the Fort Collins Bike Library Bike sharing program.  MSNBC has an article about the popularity of bike sharing programs in the U.S.

I have no idea who this guy is, but his blog “Denver Bike Paths” is full of photos and recent info on our local trails.  Check out his info if you’re recreationally biking Denver soon.

There’s nothing wrong with the MD-80.  Except that you can’t get on one today.   Cranky Flier lays out the details and reasons for the MD-80 groundings. Hopefully this wiring issue will solve this coffee maker problem too. 

I follow airline and travel news but living far from Delta territory this one completely escaped me.  So if you’ve been living in a cave too check out Katherine Lee, aka “Deltalina,” the well spoken and attractive face of the new Delta Air Lines safety video. Stylish and well done, but at 4.5 minutes long can they show it before the plane taxis to the runway? Check out the “sparkle” at 4:01.

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Fortunately I’m sitting comfortably at home and am not one of the unlucky ones traveling on Aloha, ATA, or Skybus this week, as in the past few days all of these airlines have shut down - leaving many passengers stranded midway through a trip to fend for themselves, or attempting to book themselves in the already packed seats of other airlines. Although trying to find a cab in Denver at 2am can certainly give you similar exasperation.

While none of this is important to Denver travelers, or residents of cities with multiple airline options, it certainly stinks for small to middle markets where Skybus and other shuttered carriers pulled out of, since the remaining carriers no longer need to remain competitive. Boom: A $150 dollar RT ticket is now $400 in 200miledrivetothenearestbighubville.

With that I’ll repost my article titled “Cheap is Not Always Best.” In this post from last fall I wrote about Columbus resident Don Dennis, who was rightfully angry at Skybus when they abruptly halted service to Bellingham, Washington after he had booked a ski vacation for him and his friends. I wrote that after investing his time and money booking a condo, renting a car, and buying ski tickets, perhaps it wasn’t the best of ideas to rely on an airline that sells tickets for ten dollars.

Full article here: quotes:

That’s the problem though: Cheap Fares. When purchasing airfares the public descends on low fares like Target on Black Friday. The fact is people insist on scraping up the absolute cheapest fares - then complain when the inevitable consequences arise. Cheap fares OFTEN result in bad service and a low priority level. And when people have a bad experience flying they complain, whine, and write letters about airline service - but when it comes time to purchase a ticket they’ll still acquiesce and fly whichever airline or fare is cheapest.

If you’re hiring someone to re-roof your house or drywall your basement should you take the lowest bid? Probably not. Would you pay bottom of the barrel rates for car insurance? Not a good idea. Then why pay it for transportation? Reducing the fraction: I can take the bus from my home downtown to my suburban office park for $1.50, which entails a transfer and an hour plus jaunt snaking down congested busy streets. Or I can pay $1.25 more and take the train - making my commute a quick 40 minutes trip.

Granted most of my trips or solo or with one other person, so I realize a higher (more convenient,) airfare can be cost prohibitive to larger families. Yet I think everyone should examine their options in detail before snatching up the price grabber specials. You wouldn’t buy the cheapest car or TV available. Treat airfare purchases like any other consumer product. Cheap has it’s consequences.

Like a crummy watch, can opener, Wal-Mart bike, or shoddily constructed house, low rate shitty products do not last. I don’t consider airlines any different. Just some tidbits to consider in the age of rocky airlines and the tempting rock bottom airfares that come with them…

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I’m stumped today…  And here’s why: 

Last summer Dallas based pizza chain “Pizza Patron” became the focus of U.S. news and water cooler chat nationwide when they announced that they would accept the Mexico peso.  This sparked outrage and the obligatory torrent of negative comments of Mexicans, illegals, anchor babies, soft guv’mint, and electric fences.  109 pages. Count ‘em.  And that’s just one site.

Backlash and death threats - all because a pizza place knew a certain percentage of the local populace carried pesos, and wanted their pesos in exchange for a pizza. 

Yesterday several news outlets reported that more and more retail stores in New York are accepting and welcoming the Euro.  Aside from a few tired “snobby French” comments this is happy news as it means tourists, and their tourist Euros flowing into the city.

I understand the issue of “accepting pesos” comes with the burden of immigration discussion - but I don’t understand WHY.   Whether those purchasing pizza are here legally or not is not the pizza joint’s concern, nor a concern of a shop in New York.  They have a business, and like the New York shops shoving Euros into the register they are simply opening up another conduit of business.

But why aren’t we in dire straits over THIS news?  Don’t we care that some spending those Euros are students overstaying their VISAs?  Aren’t we concerned that far more terror plots originate from Europe than from Mexico?  No, we don’t care, because they aren’t Mexicans.

Is it possible to SEPARATE business issues from political concerns?  Hell PAYPAL allows me to send money in 15 different currencies including the Polish Zlotych.  No one’s up in arms about that.   Uruguay happily accepts the Argentine Peso as many Argentineans frequent their coastal cities.  Same deal with Montreal and the U.S. Dollar.

Good for New York for welcoming the Euro.  It will foster an increase of business.  And good for Pizza Patron for permanently accepting the Mexican Peso.

If we exist in a global economy where big business produces product en masse in China, BMWs and other imports roam our streets, and my calls are forwarded to India - then we shouldn’t bitch and complain when SMALL BUSINESS chooses to adopt the same international approach.

by James Van Dellen

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Microsoft now wants your health records.  According to Jon VanZile of Newsmax Microsoft HealthVault is shifting into high gear, and they ensure their program absolutely cannot be hacked.  Patients and doctors store all of their personal medical records at HealthVault, allowing easy access and transfer for both patients and medical offices.  Jon VanZile brings up the most obvious risk:  An ENORMOUS amount of sensative medical date located in one place.  N.Y. Times story.

I’ll abstain from sending them my personal info, but hopfully the software will operate better than this Denver light rail ticket kiosk. 

I think I’ll a segment called “Friday Fear Factor”  in which we feature an article specifically designed to frighten you as you go about your daily life.  Let’s start early by showcasing this MSNBC series on “bad bridges” around the U.S. This “Oh my god don’t leave the house,” group of articles includes a bridge tracker where you can map your route and avoid our rickety structures.   Freak out here.

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I had no idea what Microloans were until watching a Frontline story last week.  Much like  Web 2.0 connects people of all backgrounds together, microloans links individual borrowers with lenders.  Generally the borrowers are self sufficient business owners in developing countries who want to expand their practice but lack the means to obtain credit, and if they can receive loans face high interest rates and often unscrupulous banking practices.

Frontline’s piece focused primarily on San Francisco based Kiva.org.  Kiva lends worldwide, and their site features lenders and highlights borrowers and their success stories.

I explained the concept to a few friends while skiing over the weekend and of course the immediate question was “So what’s the payback rate?”  It’s actually quite high.  Due to the personal connection the lenders actually see the progress of their “co-business” through e-mail and web correspondence, while representatives placed in these developing and needy areas work closely in the communities ensuring the funds are put to good use.

Meanwhile back at home you can send as little as $25 from Paypal (who waves fees for Kiva) and watch your money be aggregated directly into something useful.  FAR more personal than mailing a check out to a large charity.  Better?  No,  but something different, and to me it seems much more immediate.

Included in the Frontline story is this article about the history of Microfinancing  

In most Western or developed countries, it’s relatively easy to obtain credit through large banks or money lending institutions. But in the developing world, where many people lack steady employment, credit history or collateral, there’s often no way for legitimate small businesses to receive a loan.

In many ways, microfinance changed all of this. Generally defined as small lending to the rural poor in developing countries, microfinance has made great strides in the latter half of the 20th century. The 2006 Nobel Prize awarded to Dr. Muhammad Yunus, one of the founders of modern microfinance, has helped to push the industry even further into the spotlight. But the idea of microfinance has existed for hundreds of years — in many regions and in many forms. 

And some criticisms for healthy measure:

Critics of microcredit say that many of the poorest of the poor still do not qualify for a loan, because they pose too much risk; and those that do qualify use much of their loan, not for business, but for simple needs such as food for their families. 

Others insist that microfinance is not a complete solution, charging that those who have benefited from the industry overstate its value in order to keep the model going. Institutions like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund have also come under fire for funneling into microcredit institutions money that could have gone to funding for education, health or other basic social infrastructure needs.

Read all of the Frontline articles here, including a list of active organizations.   And consider a microloan for your next charitable donation.  It’s a cool way to be involved, and even if it’s just a “micro-donation” it can still go far.

by James Van Dellen

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Being a space and science geek I’ve been following the story of this satellite’s upcoming plummet towards Earth. Where will it fall? Perhaps Siberia where KGB agents in Siberia will haul it through the tundra to a secret hanger and unlock U.S. secrets? (Wait never mind it’s 2008.) Maybe in a remote wilderness aside DB Cooper’s stash?

Here’s Wired’s story from Monday reassuring us that harm is slim, and then yesterday afternoon’s update from AF Gen. Gene Renuart, alerting us to a potential duck and cover day in the next few weeks…

I have to admit I do think it would be cool to be walking the dog and see a charred hunk of metal the size of a school bus crash in a field next to me and start smoldering. Straight out of a 1950 sci-fi movie.

I grabbed this photo from the blog SATTRACKCAM - an an amateur satellite tracking group based in Leiden, Netherlands. Check out their site to follow USA193 and for more cool space stuff.

Oh and heads up.

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BBC’s Justin Web discusses how those abroad view the current U.S. elections.  Will the bright future promised by Obama be stamped out by Huckabee’s evangelical base (and theocratic rule?)  Justin’s blog.

Interstate 70 pops up again.  For those unfamiliar - The 75 mile stretch between Denver and Summit County suffers the same problem as I-15 from SoCal to Vegas:  numbing congestion for countless miles during weekend recreation traffic.    And it’s not limited to the ski season.  Drive back to the city any Sunday afternoon and you’ll be bumper to bumper for miles.  I rarely even go skiing on weekends anymore due to traffic and crowds; rather I drive up Sunday, stay overnight and ski all day Monday.  Options from a high speed (high elevation) train, banning semi trucks on weekends, congestion pricing, and freeway widening (which Idaho Springs will fight to the end,) have all been optioned.  The present solution?  Ski weekdays, or drive to Jackson Hole.

Rocky Mountain News discussion.

Reader and contributor M.P. sent me the scoop on L.A.’s new medical marijuana automatic dispensaries.   From Gizmodo and KCBS.  Fortunately (or unfortunately) my diabetes isn’t so crippling that I need to frequent this machine, but I think it’s a great option for those wishing to partake.  No complaints here…

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At least one interesting post a day?  That’s my goal and I try.  However I’ve been busy this week narrowing down an apartment to rent for a March trip to Amsterdam.  Why Amsterdam?   I’m Dutch - and we plan to explore our genealogy roots in the small towns around Netherlands’ countryside.  I don’t speak Dutch, I’ve never been to Holland, but my 5th grade class photo bears a striking resemblance to the Dutch Boy Paint boy.  And I ate a lot of windmill cookies in church.  Reason enough.

And March?  Yes I know it could be cold and dreary.  But early spring airfares to Europe are inexpensive, and I’ll take an umbrella over sweaty shirts and crowds of people.   If I can find interesting things to do on a rainy day here in Denver I’m sure I can do the same over there. 

We plan to visit for 10 days, with a side trip to Brussels or Germany.  We are renting a one bedroom apartment in this building which is located right on one of Amsterdam’s canals.  (details forthcoming.)

By shopping at markets and cooking some meals at home, (like I do when renting a ski condo,) you end up saving a significant amount of money, and have a more “homey” experience.

In the meantime if anyone has tips to share please pass them along!  If this is half as enjoyable as last year’s time in Munich and the Czech Republic I’ll have a great time…

Travel related - this NY Times story about hard drive inspections gives me the heebiest of jeebies, (to quote Peggy Hill.)  Should border officials be able to walk through your “virtual life” and read various documents, see photos, and more?  Of course not.   My advice:   Store all your important photos, music, and documents on external hard drives.   And of course take only what you need when traveling.  This not only gets around snoopy inspection officers, (or the Geek Squad,) but saves you when your hard drive crashes too.  

Argonaut Liquours - Denver’s most well known purveyor of spirits is moving.  At least not very far.

Here are some interesting animations of Mexico City’s airport renovations.  It’s not a bad airport, if you love walking.   Instead of various terminals and the more modern concept of centralized check ins, Benito Juarez Int’l is one long, long, long, linear terminal.  

The new terminal and shuttle will eliminate gate congestion, and avoid deplaning on the tarmac and being bused inside, as happened to me in 2005.

Stayed tuned for a review of “Neighborhood Flix,”  In the meantime you can watch the Medsled video.  I could definitely have some fun with this thing on the slopes…

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Happy New Year. 

Here’s a discussion as divisive as immigration:  SUVs and parking spaces.  Not sure why this is an issue now as opposed to five years ago, but people are realizing that parking spots in Denver garages, streets, parking lots, and basements of high rises built in the 60s and 70s are simply too small to accomodate today’s vehicles.

Of course the logical answer is that you shouldn’t need a huge car living in a dense city, (I bike and own a reasonably size Saturn,) but some want to reduce the number of parking spaces and provide extra space to avoid door dings on their Escalades and Hummers.  Rocky Mountain News discussion here.

Nothing else new - other than the standard NYE partying and some excellent baked ziti and sausage at Maggiano’s last night I’ve been sequestered in my basement all weekend finishing my cabinets and bookcases.   I added the trim, painted the top, and spent another afternoon FINALLY organizing and sorting out the jumbled piled of AV gear, cords, movies, and video games.  All I need is to hang the doors and drill a big hole in the back to hide that cord bundle.

I’m pleased that my handmade bookcases make my basement far more inviting than the Guess store with these oddball uncomfortable chairs.  (If they can be called chairs.)

Have a safe and prosperous 2008. Now to start searching Kayak.com for my next trip…

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Great news!  It is now possible to reverse sexual orientation.   In Fruit Flies.  This is great news for young fruit flies who are questioning their sexuality, who are now able to change their orientation in a matter of hours.  That’s almost as fast as Ted Haggard!

This will finally put on end to such controversial debates as gay fruit fly marriage, gay fruit fly church clergy, and gay fruit flies in the fruit fly military. 

More at, you guessed it, this Fox News article.

Salon says: “Let’s have a presidential debate on science.”  The initiative Science Debate 2008 calls for technology to be established as fundamental political dialogue.  

Salon article:

Popular and political anti-intellectualism is taking a toll on our national esprit de corps and on our economic security. In a time when we lack major national science and engineering policy goals, and when it’s not of status to be a scientist, or a teacher, or a laborer, who is going to want to do it? And yet intellectual candidates for public office are seldom perceived as cool; in the high school parlance of our national politics, they’re not “the kind of guy you’d like to have a beer with.”

Watch this vintage commercial “Mom’s new job at McDonalds” over at the cool site tek.no.lo.gic

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While not reducing any flights, Frontier Airlines is laying off 100 people here in Denver and scaling back on various items like food carts on aircrafts and employee expenses.  

KUSA reports that in addition to firing 100 employees during the holidays they’re also canceling the Christmas party.  Or I’d guess probably just dialing it down to cake, limp balloons, and $10 gift exchanges in a conference room from 1 - 1:30pm

Bummer.  Frontier Airlines is a wonderful Denver based company with excellent service, new planes, and friendly staff.  Many in Denver and the region go out of their way to fly them and appreciate the competition Frontier brings.  And everyone here loves their heavy winter schedules to Mexico.  Hopefully these cuts won’t have an effect on overall service and the good spirits and attitudes you find when flying them.

It’s always interesting to browse and find hip and elcectic stores in new cities.  While you probably won’t buy a sofa when traveling it’s nice to find unique things on the road for yourself and gifts.  Design Sponge offers their  “Denver Design Guide“  linking cool places in Denver for gifts, fashion, and relaxation.  Many of my favorite places I’ve posted on are listed.  Check out their other City Guides as well.

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Mike Jones “finds” himself in the spotlight - or such is the headline from Queerty.com

FINDS himself?  No.  More like jumped in front of the spotlight.  Again.  I dunno.  I’m apt to believe Mike Jones, but his eagerness for publicity can be cause to question his motives.   In the year since Ted Haggard he’s written a book, starred in his own play, scared up some action on local radio numerous times, and visited Ted’s former home of New Life Church.

I wish Mike Jones the best and thank him for his actions, but it’s time to move on.  I’d want to be known for more in life than Ted Haggard’s hooker / meth runner.

Brad Pitt is helping Katrina victims.  If you lived in the Lower Ninth and want a house give him a call.   That’s actually pretty cool to read.  Having visited New Orleans about a year ago, and a year after the hurricane I saw it as a complete ghost town.  Residents are proudly restoring and fixing up their homes in the quarter and Garden District - but residents returning to the completely devasted areas would be a wonderful thing for the city.

Jerry Greenfield of Ben and Jerry’s discusses climate change and responsible business practices.

The Denver commuter rail project Fastracks makes waves when rail and retail developers seize property via eminent domain.  When building rail, freeways, and roads eminent domain is often used.  Most would agree that it’s ok to levy land to build tracks and sleek modern stations, but is it right to annex adjancent land to support retail, residential, and additional economic projects as well?

More photos of Denver’s light rail system are in my half completed photo project.

Coming soon - When your type 1 diabetic friends corner you at parties and ramble on about this cool new technology called a “constant glucose monitoring” - your thoughts probably drift continents away as your eyes glaze over.  Mine would too.  But this week I’ll have a review detailing how incredibly amazing it really is.

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Featured on the Consumerist, SF Gate’s Mark Morford dreams about a world where these people might one-day might wake from their zombie like comas.  Perhaps Mark is THE ONE.  SF Gate Article.

I don’t even know what Kohl’s is. I’m guessing some sort of mass-crap superstore, like Best Buy or Target or T.J. Maxx or a weird amalgam of all of those and it doesn’t really matter because last Friday they opened at 4 a.m. for the mad rush of Black Friday shoppers, because if there’s one thing you want to do when your body is groggy and sleep tugs at your heart and your dreams have turned vacant and sad, it’s grope cheap waffle makers before sunrise.

CNN Explores “Eco Travel Lies” and whether “Green Travel” really is green.

Antarctica’s most detailed map ever thanks to satellite Landsat 7.  Check out the stunning video.

I’ve been reading the blog of Lindsay Beyerstein - a freelance journalist based in New York.   She’s astute, keen views, and has an interesting photostream.   I hope I run into her having coffee in N.Y. someday.

Blame the Chef for oversize portions?  No way.

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This article is currently on the front page of CNN.com: “Military Air Space to be Holiday Express Lane”

Ahead of the holiday travel crunch, President Bush ordered steps Thursday to reduce air traffic congestion and long delays that have left passengers stranded. President Bush, accompanied by acting FAA Administrator Robert Sturgell, outlined a plan to reduce air traffic congestion on Thursday. The most significant change is that the Pentagon will open unused military airspace from Florida to Maine to create “a Thanksgiving express lane” for commercial airliners. It will be open next week for five days — Wednesday through Sunday — for the busiest days of Thanksgiving travel. Bush said the problems with delayed flights are “clear to anybody who’s been traveling. Airports are very crowded. Travelers are being stranded and flights are delayed, sometimes with a full load of passengers sitting on the runway for hours.

I can confidentally state, even though I’m only a small time private pilot, that this will have absolutely NO bearing on airport congestion whatsoever. The problem isn’t lack of space in the sky or the availability of routes. It all comes down to the airport environment being TOO crowded, and having TOO MANY flights scheduled.

Opening up new air traffic routes is as misleading as stating that the lack of direct routes is slowing air travel. The August 29th Time Magazine article stated these ridiculous assumptions, and I addressed it in my rebuttal. I can write these same words about today’s “routing fix” announcement:

Consider the air travel horror stories lately: Eight hours on the ground in New York. Feces rolling down the aisles on Continental. Northwest cancels half their daily flights. Do these anecdotes sound like they have ANYTHING to do with air traffic control? Nobody hates an airline when they’re actually moving through the sky.

We should invest the money in people, resources (such as ground radar,) and improvements in the LOCAL airport environments at our largest hubs. The TOWER is where air traffic controllers are overworked, overtaxed, and because of this have increased chances of errors. Granted I haven’t sat next to him or her, but I’d bet the controller sitting in a dark room in Denver Center or Salt Lake Center watching planes meander over the big square states has a far less stressful position than approach control into Chicago. Why are people being told, or sold, a false worry about the LEAST problematic and least dangerous part of our ATC system?

If airlines and airports still have 25 planes scheduled to arrive at 5pm, cramming them in and stacking them up over the hub won’t LAND them any faster.

As a commenter on the CNN story stated: This is just window dressing.

by James Van Dellen

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This article in the Denver Post by Colleen Smith lists “Five Ways to Learn a Local Language.” She makes the oft repeated points that going out of your way to learn a few phrases is beneficial to yourself and makes you more appreciated in the eyes of the citizens you’re visiting, however she only lists expensive and limited software options.

There’s a much more effective method of doing this: Take some classes. Local “free universities” are located in most major cities, (for example Colorado Free University,) offer intro to language classes one or two nights a week which last for a few months, and generally cost under $150. You’ll usually be taught by someone native or experienced in the region who can add important cultural, location specific, and up-to-date information. You’ll also have the opportunity to practice with others, make friends, and sharpen your mind.

I would never rely on software when first embarking on a new language. Personal one on one or group classes are the best way to build a solid foundation.

This article in Sunday’s Denver Post features the company “Future Solido U.S.A.“, which helps immigrants understand benefits and retirement packages.

Founders: Melissa Burkhart and her husband, Colombian-born Ferney Colorado, founded the company as “Casa Colorado” in 2001. They later changed the name to Futuro Sólido U.S.A.

Services: Written translation of benefit plans or other documents, workplace safety training, language instruction, on-site presentations in Spanish and English, and DVDs on workplace issues.

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Does anyone attend a church that dictates to them the decisions they should make in the voting booth?  Why on earth would ANYONE allow the Catholic church, (who’s reputation is as tarnished as an 1840s spittoon,) to govern their personal voting decisions?  How can the church endorse candidates and still have tax status as a church?  Electa Draper explains and readers comment in this Denver Post article.

Driverless robot race in Oro Grande, California.   Carnegie Mellon’s team took first prize.  Cool photo essay here.

Hysterial headlines resulted D.C. to Denver’s unnamed flight in which both pilots allegedly fell asleep. This story was covered last week, and I posted the following in the comments:

I don’t believe this in its entirety. The cross country portions of piloting are dull, but arrival at a major class B airport necessitates preparing arrival procedures from miles out. Similar to driving and approaching a major city. Your senses perk up, and you just don’t fall asleep.

When I see the actual details and hear admissions by the pilot’s I’ll believe it, but until then it’s just a scary news story that makes attention with headlines like “Hurtling towards DIA at twice the normal speed.” That line is simply BS. Even if the pilot’s were asleep and unable to communicate most likely the airliner was on auto pilot, and controllers could easily route other planes around it.

Today I read this AP article  which contains one key phrase that gives proper perspective:

The captain noted the plane was about 60 miles away from Denver International Airport and was approaching a point where it was to begin its descent when he woke up.

That means the airliner was at cruising altitude, (the most boring/dull part of flight.)  If they were sleeping then plane would overfly Denver on autopilot.  Definitely unsettling to a passenger, and certainly requiring authoritative action, but not nearly as perilous as your bus driver falling asleep.  It DOESN’T mean the airliner was “hurtling towards the city” uncontrolled requiring a Superman movie scene to save it.  The “twice the normal speed” simply means they were flying at cruise speed, (at cruise altitude,) when it was time to configure for approach.

The Consumerist posted this story today.  Fortunately the commenters on the Consumerist aren’t bent in reactionary hysterics, and realize headlines like “hurtling uncontrolled” just aren’t true.

James Van Dellen

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