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Originally uploaded by Jake Sutton.
It makes me happy that Kustom Kulture is making such a mainstream comeback these days, thanks (at least in part) to the various car and chopper shows on TLC and the Discovery Channel.
Though I still wonder where the heck these people get their money.
Plans for high-speed rail between Wyoming and New Mexico rolls on
Organizers envision the "Ranger Express" traveling about 110 mph and connecting Cheyenne, Wyo., Denver and Albuquerque, N.M., and cities in between. The plan will need cooperation not only from voters but also members of Congress and commercial rail companies.
Interesting. I wonder if the economies of the cities along this proposed line actually support the idea of building it. Or if people are just banking on the "if you build it they will come" idea.
[Ta, Garret]
On the way back to work from lunch at home, I saw something interesting in the construction site across the road from the office. At first it seemed like one of those sun beams you see in the distance on a hazy day. Except I was driving right at it, so unless it was one of those signs from above, that could't be it.
As I drew closer, I could see dirt swirling around inside what looked like a 100 foot tall, almost perfectly straight straw. Then when I was right next to it, basically disappeared.
This is the first time since we moved to the "West" that I've seen a genuine dest devil in person.
Pretty cool.
Just FYI, I've added a listing for the upcoming Rocky Mountain Rollergirl event on Upcoming.org. (You should all sign up and use Andy's rocking event calendar site.) I've also been in contact with Jayne Manslaughter of the Sugar Kill Gang... This fact alone excites me tremendously.
Meanwhile, The Wife took a kickboxing class last night and loved it, so maybe she's not as far from rollergirl fame as she thinks... ;)
The Rocky Mountain Rollergirls are finally getting down to bidness:
Don't miss our first bout! July 16, 2005 Bladium Sports Center The Red Ridin' Hoods versus The Sugar Kill Gang
Matt tells me the Bladium stinks to high heaven, but I'm not positive that's going to be enough to dissuade me from persuing my first roller derby experience.
Meanwhile, Matt and I are already daydreaming about being roller derby emcees (since it doesn't look like our significant others are going to sign up to skate anytime soon... Boo!):
How can I help? Know a band who'll work gratis for one of our events or bouts? Got a neighbor who can donate chairs or beer? Have a rich uncle whose company would sponsor the Roller Girls? Wanna be a referee or MC? Feel the burning need to adopt a roller girl? E-mail rmrollergirls@yahoo.com And of course, you can always attend our events!
No, not that one (though she is a good thing, for sure). I'm talking roller derby girls! The recent resurgence of roller derby has finally made its way to the Denver metro region, and I am psyched.
Matt and I desperately want our ladies to sign up. Then not only could we be legitimate rollergroupies to real, live, super-hot rollergirls, we could stage roller husband fights in the stands!! Yeah!
Besides, check out the friends they would make:
The assembled crew suggests there's no typical derby girl. There are women from all walks of life: a mom, a burlesque dancer, PhD students, nine-to-fivers, a former figure skater. Some girls are all of 90 pounds while others are significantly more. They all come together thrice a week to strap on some wheels and smack each other around a bit.
Sweet. They even have t-shirts available at Twist & Shout.
Today, on the drive to work, I had the distinct pleasure of being the #1 car in a three car chain-reaction accident. Same old story: I had to stop short approaching an intersection. Of course, as soon as I am able to stop without hitting the car in front of me, I check the rearview. The car behind me stops close, but the Suburban behind her isn't able to stop in time. Boom leads to tap and my 7-8 year old plastic rear bumper crumbles.
Nobody was hurt, but we had a fun time waiting 20 minutes for Broomfield Police to arrive only to tell us, "Oh, this is actually City of Westminster, so just hang out until they get here."
Ten more minutes and we get to sit in the Accident Investigation van to file the report.
And now I get to deal with getting a new bumper.
Good times.
I'd like to share a few "moment of zen" type links:
We had us a little bit of snow yesterday:
CBS News Meteorologist George Cullen says Colorado is experiencing a week of weather extremes: On Saturday, the temperature in downtown Denver was 65 degrees, while overnight there was a foot of snow on the ground there. However, he predicts temperatures rising to about 40 later Monday and in the 50s on Tuesday.
And that would be why Spring storms rule in Colorado. One day you're stuck at home, the next everything is gone.
It's nothing like New England.
The most interesting thing I noticed this morning was the trail of paw prints in the snow in front of our house. I think it may have been a fox sniffing around our milk box.
Yesterday morning, as I drove to pick up my morning latte, I passed the new LED sign that was recently erected by one of our neighborhood churches and it had an interesting slogan on it:
Tired of Religion?
God is too.
I thought to myself, "Well, that's an interesting angle." I couldn't really wrap my head around what they were trying to say with that.
This morning the sign had something more normal on it, so now I wonder if it was some vanaldous scalawag who hacked the sign. It does seem that some folks are using that message legitimately, however, so perhaps not.
Saw my first Honda Ridgeline in the wild today at the local mall. Mighty big, but pretty cool, IMO.
Honda Ridgeline
Originally uploaded by Jake Sutton.
There was also a Ferrari at the same mall. Crazy. Didn't bother taking a snap of that, though. I'm so over Ferraris. ;)
I need a tiny lens cover to keep my cameraphone lens schmutz-free...
Today our building management people set up some fun St. Paddy's Day fare in our lobby. (I know... Wrong day... I guess they have four buildings to entertain... Or something...) So, what yummy treats do you suppose they had for us? Well, I'll tell you!
That was the extent of the solid foodstuffs, but then there was a coice of beverages, as well:
Jaysus, Mary, and Joseph it was a sad affair.
As an alternative, I shall be hoisting a Guinness or few (and playing my Songs of Bobby Burns disc — take that, ya bastards!) this Thursday.
In case a home invasion/robbery isn't exciting enough for the soccer moms... Last night we were disturbed by (at least) a pair of police helecopters (or maybe they were just news choppers, don't really know) hovering over our whitebread 'hood like we we suddenly in Compton or something. While it was fun for me to watch the flyboys zoom around — they were a lot higher than I expected considering our walls were shaking, it was more than a little creepy overall.
Turns out some ass was trying to shake Johnny Law in a car chase that went right around our neck of the woods.
I can think of a handful of possible locations for that sign the police officer ran into. All of them are within maybe a mile of my house.
Newspaper Ad Leads To Home Invasion, Robbery
James Reynolds told investigators that around 8:30 p.m. three gunmen burst into his apartment at the Cascade Village complex in Westminster and staged a take-over style robbery. They bound him and then took off with a lot of his electronic equipment, including a plasma TV that he had advertised for sale in the newspaper, Westminster police said.
When the robbers fled, Reynolds freed himself of his restraints, ran to a neighbor's apartment for help and called police. He told investigators that he recognized one of the attackers as a prospective buyer whom he had invited into his apartment and shown his TV to earlier in the day.
The North Denver suburbs are becoming more and more like a soap opera every day.
The folks at Engadget might just have a point when they say maybe he should have used eBay...
I was called into jury duty on Tuesday.We rendered our verdict today at five o'clock.
It wasn't a lot of fun, but it was certainly educational.
Now that the case is over, I can actually talk about it...
Basically, it was a rape case. And basically, we found the guy not guilty. None of this was easy. Unfortunately, the alleged victim either could not or would not remember anything about the alleged assault, and since the defense was consent (That is: "Yes we had sex, but it wasn't rape." This makes forensic evidence pretty useless, really.), it boiled down to he said / she said and that really wasn't enough for us to believe beyond the fabled "reasonable doubt" that the defendant was guilty.
When we went into deliberate, the first thing I asked was "Is anyone dying to be foreperson?" which got answered with "You go ahead." Ack! OK... That's me then: Foreman of the Jury.
Then we went around the table to state our feelings: One said guilty, three were undecided, and eight (including myself) felt not guilty was the right verdict. As we talked it over, it became apparent that we all felt something uncool happened. However most of us weren't so sure about it based on the evidence that we were willing to say a man was guilty of a serious crime. We all felt badly for the woman, but when close to ninety per cent of her testimony consisted of the phrase "Honestly, I don't remember at this time." we couldn't send a guy down the river. Something seemed to be going on with her. The District Attorney even asked her at one point "Are you trying to remember?" It was as if she had given up the fight. Whether that was because she just wanted it over with and behind her, as she stated, or if it was because she had lied about the whole thing, as the defense contended, we just didn't know. That's the very definition of reasonable doubt, I think.
Just before five the one juror who had been strongly in favor of a guilty verdict was just starting to realize that he, too, had a doubt in his mind, the bailiff / court secretary / ??? came in and said the judge was going to call recess for the day. Of course, we replied with a hearty "No! Wait! Just a couple more minutes!" I checked again with the juror who was changing his mind to be sure he wasn't feeling coerced in any way and that he would be able to sleep at night with this decision. He said simply that he did indeed have a reasonable doubt and that it would be worse to convict an innocent man than to send someone who, to our knowledge, might be a one-time offender free.
So we re-polled, and I got everyone to agree that we were unanimous, and I signed my name under the NOT GUILTY verdict.
This was all very difficult and distressing.
Luckily I hung out in the parking lot (telling my boss that I'd actually be back to work tomorrow) long enough that I saw the judge come out. I went over to him and thanked him for the experience, etc. Then I made a comment about how tough an ordeal it was and he described the whole situation in a single word: Pathetic. It really was. Pathetic and sad for everyone involved. Then I mentioned how there was no way we could have come back with any other verdict and he agreed totally. He said that if it had been a trial before the court (without a jury) he would have had to determine a not guilty verdict as well. This is why I say it was lucky I ran into him. That validation really helped.
I wish I could share that with the other jurors.
So, there you go.
Cool parts and observations:
Jury duty can be a hassle. It can drain you emotionally, like this did for all of us, I think. But it's certainly worth doing. I'm glad to have done it.
Besides, it could have been worse.
