Colorado Cool

Just got back from a week in Denver and Steamboat Springs. Our plan was to escape some of our Texas heat and see a few of our cool relatives. Well, at least we saw the relatives.

First up was our eldest who lives in an apartment with a very cool view of downtown "Little D." You want to keep your eyes focused on the view outside of his living area-- evidently it is not very cool to keep the inside clean and organized (perhaps just an unproductive use of one's time when one is a financial guru of the bachelor persuasion who is training for a marathon).

Next on our list was my BBL's niece and god-daughter who is one-half of the mile and a half high Double D B&B. While we didn't stay overnight, we did manage to wrangle a gourmet grilled dinner, get introduced to geo-caching, watch a garden try to grow at 8200' and all the while listened to what winter (which evidently starts in in about 60 days) can be like (i.e. VERY, VERY cool!).

On to Steamboat where we lodged at the Sheraton, having secured a good deal if we listened to their version of a timeshare --oops, sorry, meant to say "vacation ownership". Our 90 minute investment grew to 180 minutes before we told Joe "No!" which meant we were late to arrive at the Yampa Remodeling School run by BBL's nephew. Here we witnessed a very cool home expansion project in progress where the sky (literally) was their roof--at least over the dining room! Unfortunately, the day they removed the roof, it poured. Probably would have been better if it had snowed instead.

A couple of observations:
- Subaru's are still the"national" car of Colorado, although the Audi Quattro seems to be gaining ground;
- Gas is more expensive than in any neighboring state and the already high price increases with altitude;
- The Pine beetle is destroying the beauty of the land--naturally. Where are the tree huggers when you need them?
- Strenuous physical activity is mandatory if one is a resident--and one must profess to love it!
- Colorado seemed even cooler when we got home to "Big D" where a brave thermometer was registering 107 degrees!

Obit: Seven Words for George Carlin

He lived. He died. I hardly cried.

As you might guess, I wasn't a big fan of his, which is the case with most of the performers whose stock in trade is "blue" material. I will say that George seemed more intelligent than most. I'd rather remember him for his classic question: "Why do we park on driveways and drive on parkways?"

But his "seven words" trial is a historical footnote, just like George is now. Even though he lost that battle 30 years ago, at times it seems he won the war [HBO's Deadwood and Comedy Central's South Park come to mind]. I'm apparently not alone. Even before Janet Jackson's infamous wardrobe malfunction during the 2004 Super Bowl, public complaints to the FCC about broadcast indecency were jumping exponentially — from fewer than 14,000 in 2002 to nearly 170,000 in 2003. In the first half of 2006, the last statistics the FCC's beleaguered enforcement bureau has compiled, there were more than 327,000 complaints--and none of them was from me (yet).

Go see Brian Regan instead.