No happy that Whole Foods is not carrying Ah!Laska chocolate syrup.
Saturday, December 06, 2008
Friday, December 05, 2008
Decided not to go to my company holiday party. Much happier about going to DG's party instead!
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da' hammer
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10:30 AM
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Thursday, December 04, 2008
Happy to see that Netflix is now supporting Mac for their instant movies. Thank You!
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da' hammer
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8:12 AM
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Wednesday, December 03, 2008
Enjoying a Salted Caramel Signature Hot Chocolate, bagel & free WiFi (thx Brueggers) on this cold day.
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da' hammer
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10:13 AM
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Tuesday, December 02, 2008
Sunday, November 30, 2008
@ Brandon's Pub with a Guinness ready for the Patriots / Steelers game
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2:05 PM
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Saturday, November 29, 2008
Had a fantastic day snowshoeing @ Butler Gulch & now heading to the movies.
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7:44 PM
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Thursday, November 27, 2008
Saturday, November 22, 2008
In Boulder for the Garmin/Chipotle 2009 team presentation.
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5:59 PM
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Sunday, November 16, 2008
Kim & I are on the bus going to our car. Just got back from our week of sailing in the Abacos, Bahamas.
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3:43 PM
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Friday, November 07, 2008
Wondering if hurricane Paloma is going to challenge our sailing trip
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8:53 PM
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Noticed the TSA has new uniforms & shiny metal badges. I feel so much safer.
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da' hammer
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8:55 AM
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Thursday, November 06, 2008
Just met a guy who commented on my Red Sox hat & said his daughter's middle name is Fenway.
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12:46 PM
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Tuesday, November 04, 2008
Which is more of a rivalry, Broncos/Raiders or Blue/Red?
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da' hammer
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12:10 PM
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Just heard early exit polling that McCain is up by 30 points
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da' hammer
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7:59 AM
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Sunday, November 02, 2008
Do live in the Constitution Free Zone? This is disgusting and I do not mean in a gross way. http://ping.fm/q68lY
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da' hammer
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7:08 PM
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Thursday, October 30, 2008
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Bumper Sticker Seen: "How many soldiers per gallon does your SUV get?"
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da' hammer
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4:54 PM
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Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Today = Great Day! Hike this morning, bike ride this afternoon, movie this evening & cocktails tonight.
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5:10 PM
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Friday, October 24, 2008
Working @ the new rugby stadium in Glendale. Very nice facility.
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da' hammer
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9:32 AM
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Monday, October 20, 2008
@ the Squealin' Pig in Cherry Creek North hoping the Patriots can make up for the Red Sox.
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6:33 PM
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Sunday, October 19, 2008
Saturday, October 18, 2008
In Boulder ready for a hike with the Adventure Rabbi & Reb Tirzah Firestone celebrating Shabbat & Sukkot.
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da' hammer
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9:17 AM
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Friday, October 17, 2008
I think Red Sox & Pats fans r the healthiest people. How many times have heart attacks been thwarted?!
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da' hammer
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9:05 AM
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Thursday, October 16, 2008
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Why are people still watering their lawns & sidewalks?! You would think they would want to save some money....
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da' hammer
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6:50 AM
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Monday, October 13, 2008
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Wow! Just picked up a 500 gig external hard drive for $90
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da' hammer
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3:16 PM
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Monday, October 06, 2008
Why is it that people have a blatant disregard for public bathrooms?
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da' hammer
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11:33 AM
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Sunday, October 05, 2008
At Blake St Tavern with a Guinness ready to watch the Patriots game.
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da' hammer
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1:40 PM
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Just had a great breakfast with Kim & a friend at Snooze. Love that place but so does everybody else. Get there early or wait a long time.
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da' hammer
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11:29 AM
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Friday, October 03, 2008
Just had a great pizza & salad @ PizzaCato. A new place @ 13th & Pennsylvania. Highly recommend.
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7:47 PM
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Thursday, October 02, 2008
Wednesday, October 01, 2008
Should we be scared? http://ping.fm/qNPsx Here is another take on it: http://ping.fm/0Ow7W
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da' hammer
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5:51 AM
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Monday, September 29, 2008
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Friday, September 26, 2008
Just watched Sarah Silverman & her "The Great Schlep" video: http://ping.fm/ag9Mv
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da' hammer
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11:59 PM
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Just heard about the story of Google looking at offshore barges: http://ping.fm/NxY7P Interesting...
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da' hammer
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11:50 PM
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Thursday, September 25, 2008
Monday, September 22, 2008
Starting to mess around with Genius in iTunes & so far I like it!
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7:36 PM
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Sunday, September 21, 2008
Just had another awesome breakfast @ Watercourse. Now heading into the mountains for a drive.
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10:52 AM
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Saturday, September 20, 2008
Friday, September 19, 2008
Just had dinner @ 730 South & now going to a Cleo Parker Robinson dance ensemble @ the Newman Center.
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da' hammer
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7:19 PM
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Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Just went for a 1/2 hr swim @ Wash Park Rec. Felt good. Has been about 7 years. Too long!
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da' hammer
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8:18 PM
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Monday, September 15, 2008
Just had a 90 min massage after 17 hours of pedicabbing this weekend. ohmm...
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da' hammer
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8:10 PM
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Sunday, September 14, 2008
Thursday, September 11, 2008
My new favorite quote: "If voting changed anything, they'd make it illegal." Henry David Thoreau, 1849
Posted by
da' hammer
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5:13 PM
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Just tried the new voice feature for google maps on my blackberry. Very cool!
Posted by
da' hammer
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10:43 AM
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Floyd Landis is coming back to cycling in 2009. I wonder if he will be open to being as transparent about doping as Lance will be.
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da' hammer
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9:13 AM
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Dark & dreary in West Lakewood. I need some motivation today.
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da' hammer
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7:39 AM
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Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Sunday, September 07, 2008
I am now officially a Macbook owner. Welcome to the Apple world.
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7:38 PM
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Watched the patriots win @ Blake street tavern & then went to the pour house to watch the red sox win. Nice! Let's hope Tom Brady is ok.
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4:51 PM
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Just saw a cop fly through larimer @ 15th & came so close to hitting the light pole.
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da' hammer
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12:33 AM
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Saturday, September 06, 2008
Friday, September 05, 2008
Thursday, September 04, 2008
Did you ever want to know what was on the bar code of your driver's license? http://ping.fm/Ba7Oo
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da' hammer
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6:54 PM
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Wednesday, September 03, 2008
First look @ google chrome is positive. Looking forward to testing it further.
Posted by
da' hammer
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9:51 AM
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Checking out Ping.fm, thanks to the twit from Greg. I'm slower.... ;)
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da' hammer
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6:56 AM
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Sunday, March 16, 2008
First They Came...
Poem written by Martin Niemoeller
They came first for the Communists,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist.
Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew.
Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Catholics,
and I didn't speak up because I was a Protestant.
Then they came for me,
and by that time no one was left to speak up.
Posted by
da' hammer
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4:29 PM
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Saturday, March 15, 2008
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Pay Attention!
Here is a great test to see if you are paying attention.
You will need sound.
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da' hammer
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4:35 PM
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Saturday, March 08, 2008
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Are You Scared Yet?!
This article comes from the San Francisco Chronicle and scares the sh$t out of me! How many people actually think this is a good idea? I think that too many people are still "trusting" our government and need a wake up call. Maybe when the feds come looking for them or they end up on a watch list, they will listen. But, it will be too late.
Enjoy your freedoms while you still can, or at least the ones you think you have left.....
San Francisco Chronicle
Open Forum
Rule by fear or rule by law?
Lewis Seiler,Dan Hamburg
Monday, February 4, 2008
"The power of the Executive to cast a man into prison without formulating any charge known to the law, and particularly to deny him the judgment of his peers, is in the highest degree odious and is the foundation of all totalitarian government whether Nazi or Communist."
- Winston Churchill, Nov. 21, 1943
Since 9/11, and seemingly without the notice of most Americans, the federal government has assumed the authority to institute martial law, arrest a wide swath of dissidents (citizen and noncitizen alike), and detain people without legal or constitutional recourse in the event of "an emergency influx of immigrants in the U.S., or to support the rapid development of new programs."
Beginning in 1999, the government has entered into a series of single-bid contracts with Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg, Brown and Root (KBR) to build detention camps at undisclosed locations within the United States. The government has also contracted with several companies to build thousands of railcars, some reportedly equipped with shackles, ostensibly to transport detainees.
According to diplomat and author Peter Dale Scott, the KBR contract is part of a Homeland Security plan titled ENDGAME, which sets as its goal the removal of "all removable aliens" and "potential terrorists."
Fraud-busters such as Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Los Angeles, have complained about these contracts, saying that more taxpayer dollars should not go to taxpayer-gouging Halliburton. But the real question is: What kind of "new programs" require the construction and refurbishment of detention facilities in nearly every state of the union with the capacity to house perhaps millions of people?
Sect. 1042 of the 2007 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), "Use of the Armed Forces in Major Public Emergencies," gives the executive the power to invoke martial law. For the first time in more than a century, the president is now authorized to use the military in response to "a natural disaster, a disease outbreak, a terrorist attack or any other condition in which the President determines that domestic violence has occurred to the extent that state officials cannot maintain public order."
The Military Commissions Act of 2006, rammed through Congress just before the 2006 midterm elections, allows for the indefinite imprisonment of anyone who donates money to a charity that turns up on a list of "terrorist" organizations, or who speaks out against the government's policies. The law calls for secret trials for citizens and noncitizens alike.
Also in 2007, the White House quietly issued National Security Presidential Directive 51 (NSPD-51), to ensure "continuity of government" in the event of what the document vaguely calls a "catastrophic emergency." Should the president determine that such an emergency has occurred, he and he alone is empowered to do whatever he deems necessary to ensure "continuity of government." This could include everything from canceling elections to suspending the Constitution to launching a nuclear attack. Congress has yet to hold a single hearing on NSPD-51.
U.S. Rep. Jane Harman, D-Venice (Los Angeles County) has come up with a new way to expand the domestic "war on terror." Her Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007 (HR1955), which passed the House by the lopsided vote of 404-6, would set up a commission to "examine and report upon the facts and causes" of so-called violent radicalism and extremist ideology, then make legislative recommendations on combatting it.
According to commentary in the Baltimore Sun, Rep. Harman and her colleagues from both sides of the aisle believe the country faces a native brand of terrorism, and needs a commission with sweeping investigative power to combat it.
A clue as to where Harman's commission might be aiming is the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act, a law that labels those who "engage in sit-ins, civil disobedience, trespass, or any other crime in the name of animal rights" as terrorists. Other groups in the crosshairs could be anti-abortion protesters, anti-tax agitators, immigration activists, environmentalists, peace demonstrators, Second Amendment rights supporters ... the list goes on and on. According to author Naomi Wolf, the National Counterterrorism Center holds the names of roughly 775,000 "terror suspects" with the number increasing by 20,000 per month.
What could the government be contemplating that leads it to make contingency plans to detain without recourse millions of its own citizens?
The Constitution does not allow the executive to have unchecked power under any circumstances. The people must not allow the president to use the war on terrorism to rule by fear instead of by law.
Lewis Seiler is the president of Voice of the Environment, Inc. Dan Hamburg, a former congressman, is executive director.
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da' hammer
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5:22 PM
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Thursday, February 21, 2008
ACLU
I am sure you have heard of the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union). I know I have heard there name in news as long as I can remember. I am not sure why I have never checked them out, but last night we went to one of their Young Professionals events. Wow, what an eye opener! We met 20 or so like minded young people who believe, like we do, that our civil liberties & rights are being eroded daily by the government.
The speaker was State Representative Terrance Carroll. What a great story he has. Hearing him speak and seeing all the other folks in attendance keeps me inspired to stay informed and not get too discouraged.
The local chapter is having an Advocacy Conference this Saturday. I will be attending and checking them out a little more. I feel this is an organization I may be able to stand behind.
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da' hammer
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7:00 AM
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Monday, February 04, 2008
NY(?) Giants
Yes, I am very upset at the Patriots. But, I kind of wondered if this was going to happen. The last part of the season they started looking tired and not winning like they did earlier in the season. But I will admit that it was a very good game and the NY(?) Giants had a great defense. It was a great ride and Tom Brady did have a phenomenal year. So, hats off to the New England Patriots!
Now, about those NY(?) Giants..... If they play in Rutherford New Jersey, how can they call themselves the New York Giants? My sister-in-law lives 1/2 block from the Hudson River on the Jersey side and If I say she lives in New York, people freak out. "No she doesn't, she lives in New Jersey." So based on Google Maps, Rutherford is 7 miles West of Weehawken. Our kids are confused enough with geography, so we need to make sure they understand who this team really is. I will be calling them the NJ Giants and starting a petition as well.
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da' hammer
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8:07 PM
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Sunday, February 03, 2008
Road Trip
Kim had planned a surprise weekend getaway for us and it was AWESOME!
We left Denver Saturday and headed West. The drive wasn't too bad. The West side of Vail pass was a little sketchy in places, but not too dangerous. Once we got into Glenwood Canyon the roads were very icy, so I stayed safe and drove a little slow. It's only about 13 miles so it didn't take too long. Once we got into Glenwood Springs, we headed South towards Snowmass. Yes, that was our destination!
We pulled into Snowmass and checked in to the Stonebridge Inn.This hotel is in a great location; just a 4 minute walk to the slopes, not that we were going to ski but is right in the heart of the village. We had a quick lunch at Fuel and decided to head over to Aspen.
The bus to Aspen is a quick ride and $3 per person. Very good deal and we didn't have to worry about parking etc. We did a little window shopping and thought about going to a movie. So we headed to Isis and saw Juno. I have been wanting to see this movie for quite some time and so glad we did. I really enjoyed the movie and highly recommend it. I have to say it is one of my all time favorites. Then we had dinner at Blue Maize and took the bus back to the hotel.
We were 'supposed' to go snowshoeing, but Kim had other plans. The hotel van took us on a 5 minute ride and we arrived at the Krabloonik kennels. I have been talking about dogsledding for a few years and now we get to do it! What a fantastic wife I have!!!
Here are the pictures.
We had a wonderful lunch in their restaurant and then hauled ass back to Denver to watch the Super Bowl. Which has just ended and it did not go my way. Not much more to say anymore about the game. A great weekend overall though!
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7:22 PM
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Saturday, February 02, 2008
Friday, February 01, 2008
Dollars & Cents
Another excerpt taken from the following article:
New Study: Ron Paul is the only candidate who would cut spending
By James W. Harris
American Chronicle
....In fact, Paul´s proposals would cut the bloated federal budget by a whopping $150 billion.
The rest of the candidates might as well adopt the old hit song "Big Spender" ("Hey, big spender!") as their campaign theme.
The other Republicans strut around the campaign circuit, describing themselves as "fiscal conservatives" and boasting about cutting back government.
But the NTUF exposes them for what they are: advocates of an even bigger, even more bloated, even more intrusive federal government than we have today.
* John McCain´s proposals would result in a $6.9 billion spending hike.
* Mitt Romney´s programs would result in a $19.5 billion spending hike.
* Mike Huckabee´s proposals would result in a $54.2 billion spending hike.
As for the Democrats:
* Hillary Clinton´s proposals would result in a $218.2 billion spending hike.
* Barack Obama´s proposals would result in a $287.0 billion spending hike.
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9:26 PM
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Labels: Ron Paul
Ron Paul Visits Denver!!
I wish I was there!
RON PAUL 2008
I am kind of surprised that the Denver Post actually ran a decent article for Ron Paul, especially since they just endorsed one of the Republican war-mongers.
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9:08 PM
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Labels: Ron Paul
Denver Civic Center Park Update
This is GREAT news!
To: Friends and Supporters of the Coalition to Save Civic Center Park
From: The Coalition to Save Civic Center Park
Today the Board of the Colorado Historical Society voted to withdraw Civic Center Park as a possible site for the new Colorado History Museum!
In his press release, Mayor Hickenlooper characterizes the decision as one to "abandon" the Civic Center Park-Museum idea.
While we will continue to monitor the situation, it appears that the ill-conceived idea of putting a 4-story building (and a large underground museum gallery) in the open space of Civic Center Park has now gone away.
Some have already asked what will happen to our petition effort. At this point in time our intent is to suspend our efforts at gathering signatures (we had only gotten the final "green light" from the City to proceed on Monday, 1/28), but we will reserve our ability to start up again if the decision to go elsewhere with the Museum were to be reconsidered.
Also, this does not mean an end to the need to focus on Civic Center Park. Contrary to what some have said about our efforts, we do not accept the status quo. Civic Center Park is in need of our attention and efforts to make it better, including figuring out a way to renovate the Carnegie Library Building to return it to a more public function.
There will be a presentation on Tuesday, Feb. 5, to the Denver Landmark Preservation Commission regarding proposed "guidelines" to implement the Master Plan for Civic Center Park, and we intend to be there and provide input.
Thanks for all of your help and support! We will keep you posted as best we can regarding future development.
Follow Up Stories:
Rocky Mountain News
Denver Post
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Thursday, January 31, 2008
PLEASE, Vote for Who You Align With, not Who You Think Will Win..
Here is a great RON PAUL article. Sums up everything about him.
Quick Tidbits:
* Ron Paul has never voted to raise taxes.
* Ron Paul has never voted for an unbalanced budget.
* Ron Paul has never voted to raise congressional pay.
* Ron Paul has never taken a government-paid junket.
And in a remarkable show of personal integrity:
* Paul does not participate in the lucrative congressional pension program.
* Paul returns a portion of his annual congressional office budget to the U.S. treasury every year.
AMERICAN CHRONICLE
New Study: Ron Paul is the only candidate who would cut spending
James W. Harris
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Labels: Ron Paul
Slipstream || Chipotle 2008 Team Introduction
This is the "new" team to watch. Very exciting to have this team headquartered in Boulder Colorado. I am looking forward to following them.
Posted by
da' hammer
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11:03 AM
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Labels: cycling
Monday, August 07, 2006
40 - Oh, I mean 1.....
I wonder if this will actually get any coverage, guess not since it is buried in the following article.
"Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora said Monday that one person was killed in an Israeli airstrike on the southern village of Houla, not 40 as he had earlier reported."
Lebanon proposes plan to end violence
Two Israeli strikes kill 17 people; Hezbollah fires 140 rockets
Monday, August 7, 2006; Posted: 9:47 p.m. EDT (01:47 GMT)
BEIRUT, Lebanon (CNN) -- Israeli strikes shook Beirut at daybreak and nightfall on Monday, while Lebanon proposed changes to a draft U.N. resolution aimed at halting the Israel-Hezbollah conflict that left some 800 people dead.
Lebanon's government agreed to dispatch 15,000 troops to its southern border as part of a peace agreement if Israeli troops leave the country, a government spokesman said late Monday.
Lebanon's proposed changes would have Israeli troops hand over their current positions to the U.N. Interim Force In Lebanon as they withdraw. UNIFIL would then give control to Lebanese forces.
As the Lebanese Cabinet convened, an Israeli strike hit a south Beirut street on the edge of the city's mostly Christian eastern district, killing 10 people and wounding 65, security sources said.
The strike hit a building near a mosque in the upscale southern suburb of Shiyah, officials with the security forces said.
It was not clear whether the blast was the result of an Israeli airstrike or shelling from warships off the Lebanese coast. The Israel Defense Forces has not said what it was targeting.
Video of the scene, aired on Lebanese TV, showed rescuers digging for survivors in the rubble of the collapsed building.
The strike came shortly after Israel warned residents south of Lebanon's Litani River to stay off roads after 10 p.m., Israeli military sources said. The IDF warned residents it "intends to intensify its attack against Hezbollah."
Earlier Monday, an Israeli airstrike killed at least seven civilians near the southern city of Sidon, Lebanese officials said.
The IDF in recent days had dropped leaflets on Sidon, urging civilians to evacuate.
Israeli warplanes also struck the southern suburbs of Beirut, a Hezbollah stronghold, shortly before dawn.
Israel is attempting to establish a buffer zone between Israel and the Litani -- about 25 miles (40 kilometers) from the border -- to halt the Hezbollah cross-border rocket attacks.
Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora said Monday that one person was killed in an Israeli airstrike on the southern village of Houla, not 40 as he had earlier reported.
Lebanese media reported 65 survivors were pulled from the rubble, more than half of them children.
The airstrikes, which pummeled Houla's Hamamir neighborhood near the main mosque, destroyed at least six homes and caused fires to engulf the area, a law enforcement source said.
The IDF said it has warned residents for the past two weeks to leave.
CNN crews in the southern Lebanese port of Tyre reported hearing "a series of heavy explosions" south of the city early Monday.
The area has been a launching point for Hezbollah's Katyusha rockets, about 140 of which were fired into Israel on Monday, the Israeli military reported.
Israeli commandos Monday raided an apartment complex in Tyre that they had attacked two days earlier, The Associated Press reported. Five people were feared dead in Monday's attack.
Israeli commandos also landed on a hilltop south of Tyre, Lebanese security officials told AP. About 30 commandos fought Hezbollah in close combat in a bid to destroy rocket launchers, the officials said.
The AP reported that Israeli attacks killed 49 people Monday, noting that such tallies have been difficult to confirm.
Two Israeli soldiers were killed by an antitank missile in fighting near the southern Lebanese town of Bint Jbeil, while a third died battling Hezbollah in the same area, the Israel Defense Forces reported.
And the IDF said its troops suffered more casualties near the town of Debel late Monday, but no details were released.
Israel also said it had shot down a Hezbollah drone on Monday.
Monday was the 27th day of fighting. So far the conflict has resulted in 98 Israeli deaths, including 35 civilians, the IDF said; in Lebanon, security forces put the death toll at more than 715, most of them civilians.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, in a taped address to an American Jewish charity, said Israel was prepared to pay "a terrible price" to battle Hezbollah now rather than face a strengthened foe later.
Olmert called on the "solidarity and partnership" between Jewish communities overseas and the people of Israel for support.
Disagreement on U.N. approach
Siniora's Cabinet, which includes two ministers from Hezbollah, made its decision on troop deployment unanimously, ministers said.
The deployment of Lebanese national troops to the south is part of the U.S.- and French-backed peace plan under discussion at the United Nations. Hezbollah has effectively controlled southern Lebanon since Israel withdrew in 2000.
But Siniora's government has objected to other elements of the plan, arguing that it does not call for an immediate withdrawal of Israeli troops from Lebanese territory or resolve other outstanding Israeli-Lebanese disputes.
Monday's proposal does not call for Hezbollah to disarm, but the Cabinet said it would allow only Lebanese government troops and U.N. peacekeepers to operate south of the Litani River, Finance Minister Jihad Azour said.
Israel has long supported the idea of Lebanon's army taking control of the border from Hezbollah. But Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said Israel expects to see details presented at the United Nations, questioning whether Hezbollah would be disarmed.
An Arab League delegation was heading to the United Nations to request changes in the draft peace plan before the Security Council votes on the proposal.
The current plan would have the Security Council call for an end to the fighting, followed by a second resolution later that would establish an international peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon.
Lebanon prefers a single resolution that would deal with a cease-fire and all of the political issues rather than a two-phase approach that the Lebanese Embassy's charge d'affaires in Washington, Carla Jazzar, said would give Hezbollah a pretext to continue fighting.
The Lebanese proposal calls for Israel to hand over the disputed territory of Shebaa Farms to the United Nations, "pending delineation of the border."
And it would bolster UNIFIL rather than creating a new peacekeeping force with more robust rules of engagement.
CNN's Paula Hancocks and Matthew Chance contributed to this report.
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Wednesday, August 02, 2006
Raising Martyrs in Southern Lebanon

'We are ready to strap explosives to our children and send them to Israel'
By Colin Freeman in Tyre
(Filed: 30/07/2006)
Nayfa Muhanna's childbearing days are long over, her husband having taken a second wife to produce the younger half of his huge clutch of 16 children.
Now, though, after Israeli -helicopter missiles destroyed the family farmhouse and wiped out their entire tobacco crop, she finds herself feeling broody again.
"It is our duty as mothers to start producing more boys to help the resistance," she said, to cheers from other residents in their refugee camp in the -southern Lebanese city of Tyre, where all 19 family members pitched up a fortnight ago. "We want them to be martyrs for their country in the fight against Israel."
Nobody could accuse the family of not doing its bit for the "Party of God".
Asked about the fighting in their village of Majdel Zoun, just a few miles from the Israeli border, Nayfa, 47, proudly mentions that her brother "disappeared" that day - not a suggestion that he is buried under rubble, but a coded way of stating that he has slipped off to join Hezbollah's forces.
The next time she sees him he may well be in a coffin. Yet, if so, there appears to be no shortage of family members willing to replace him on the front line. "I am very excited about defending my country," said her oldest son Mahdi, who is just 15. "If I do not, and others do not, then who will?"
After two weeks of Israel's military offensives on the southern Lebanese border, a whole new generation of youngsters like Mahdi is being groomed to follow in their uncle's footsteps.
Mahdi has dreamed of joining Hezbollah ever since he was 10, yet until two weeks ago the "enemy" has never been more than a vague presence at border fences.
Now, though, he and thousands of other children who are too young to remember the last major Israeli incursion 10 years ago have witnessed a new one first-hand, yielding a fresh crop of traumatised young minds that Hezbollah's propaganda machine can mould.
The Israeli army psy-ops leaflets airdropped into the border villages, which caricature Hezbollah leaders as cowardly snakes who send followers needlessly to the slaughter, are unlikely to win them over, especially not with so many of their parents spurring them on.
"We are ready to strap explosives to our children and send them to Israel," said Naim Mussalmani, 35, a farmer who fled the village of Shaitiah, on Tyre's outskirts. "My own brother exploded himself against the Israelis in 1998. Our women and children are ready to go out and fight if needs be."
In the past two weeks, the normally peaceful Mediterranean holiday resort of Tyre has been flooded with refugees fleeing the farming villages dotting the Israeli border as they become battlegrounds for fierce clashes between Hezbollah guerrillas and their Israeli foes.
The port city offers limited security as a safe haven: the crash of Israeli ordnance into the surrounding hillsides shakes Tyre's buildings relentlessly, and the sky over the deserted luxury marina hums constantly with jets and drone spyplanes.
Town Hall officials estimate that more than two thirds of Tyre's population of 270,000 have fled the city, leaving it more deserted than a rundown holiday resort in midwinter.
Shops are shuttered, rubbish lies festering in stinking piles, and the only signs of life are in the schools and government buildings where villagers from the border areas have sought safety.
With few humanitarian convoys able to reach them because of damage to the main road from Beirut, living conditions for the diaspora are grim. The luckier ones are crammed into long established Palestinian refugee camps, while the less fortunate are billeted in school classrooms, living off aid packages and with little access to washing facilities.
Worst off are those still trapped in the villages, unable to access even Tyre's meagre sanctuary because of the house-sized scoops that Israeli missiles have gouged in the narrow country roads.
Yet, despite the privations it has caused, there is little tangible sign of the Israeli campaign undermining support for Hezbollah.
Among those from the villages, where nearly every house flies a Hezbollah flag, nobody queries the movement's fateful decision to kidnap two Israeli soldiers, nobody blames it for the death and destruction it has provoked, and nobody even expects the organisation to look after them in the consequent chaos.
"The Government of Lebanon is not taking care of us properly," said Mr Mussalmani. "We have to look to our Palestinian brothers, who are refugees of Israeli aggression themselves, to help us out.
We do not ask Hezbollah for medicine or help. That is needed for their fighters, who are giving their blood for the nation. The whole of southern Lebanon are now ready to become martyrs."
The women standing around him in headscarfs shouted their agreement.
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Tuesday, August 01, 2006
Photos that damn Hezbollah

Chris Link
July 30, 2006 12:00am
THIS is the picture that damns Hezbollah. It is one of several, smuggled from behind Lebanon's battle lines, showing that Hezbollah is waging war amid suburbia.
The images, obtained exclusively by the Sunday Herald Sun, show Hezbollah using high-density residential areas as launch pads for rockets and heavy-calibre weapons.
Dressed in civilian clothing so they can quickly disappear, the militants carrying automatic assault rifles and ride in on trucks mounted with cannon.
The photographs, from the Christian area of Wadi Chahrour in the east of Beirut, were taken by a visiting journalist and smuggled out by a friend.
They emerged as:
US President George Bush called for an international force to be sent to Lebanon.
ISRAEL called up another 30,000 reserve troops.
THE UN's humanitarian chief Jan Egeland called for a three-day truce to evacuate civilians and transport food and water into cut-off areas.
US SECRETARY of State Condoleezza Rice returned to the Middle East to push a UN resolution aimed at ending the 18-day war, and:
A PALESTINIAN militant group said it had kidnapped, killed and burned an Israeli settler in the West Bank.
The images include one of a group of men and youths preparing to fire an anti-aircraft gun metres from an apartment block with sheets hanging out on a balcony to dry.
Others show a militant with AK47 rifle guarding no-go zones after Israeli blitzes.
Another depicts the remnants of a Hezbollah Katyusha rocket in the middle of a residential block blown up in an Israeli air attack.
The Melbourne man who smuggled the shots out of Beirut and did not wish to be named said he was less than 400m from the block when it was obliterated.
"Hezbollah came in to launch their rockets, then within minutes the area was blasted by Israeli jets," he said.
"Until the Hezbollah fighters arrived, it had not been touched by the Israelis. Then it was totally devastated.
"It was carnage. Two innocent people died in that incident, but it was so lucky it was not more."
The release of the images comes as Hezbollah faces criticism for allegedly using innocent civilians as "human shields".
Mr Egeland blasted Hezbollah as "cowards" for operating among civilians.
"When I was in Lebanon, in the Hezbollah heartland, I said Hezbollah must stop this cowardly blending in among women and children," he said.
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