PLANET BOULDER RESIDENCY QUESTIONAIRRE

H/T to Michael Sherman for this list published in the Boulder Daily Camera: 


Below should be used to filter out folks that are not a good match for Boulder.

Application to Boulder:

How many bikes do you have? Have you trained at the Olympic center? Did you bring your charts for your average wattage output per ride?

What is your best time on Mount Sanitas? Must not exceed 35 minutes per Boulder Ordinance 8-11-6.

Do you throw anything away in the garbage? If yes, see link to website for Broomfield.

Would you be willing to volunteer on our Recycle Audit Team (RAT) in which you would be required to give us names of those in your new neighborhood that do not recycle?

Do you have a lot of money? Would you be willing to either give it away to transients or have it taxed from you?

Do you have the required $10,000 deposit with you?

Has anyone ever called you weird?

Can you draw crude block letters on scraps of cardboard that explains your circumstance? Can you stand for hours at a time while appearing forlorn?

Can you commit to spending two hours per day in a coffee shop? Bonus points if you are wearing bike licra and talking loudly about your ideas for a new start-up.

Has anyone in your family ancestry ever voted Republican?


How passionate is your hatred of gluten?

Do you feel the need to be controlled and suppressed by conventional mammary gland support systems created by Puritan men? Do you allow and encourage free-range breasts?

How often do you practice yoga? While in public, do you carry your mat rolled up in a very visible spot?

How many piercings do you have? Any that disrupt eating, talking, breathing, hearing, seeing, mating?

Do you need a formal deity? Can you worship the clouds?

Are you willing to lay down your life for the rights of prairie dogs, the rightful steward of all open space?

NBA or NOBEL?

 


So, as your fairy godfather, I can grant you wish between these two choices - an outstanding career in the NBA leading to a Championship or an outstanding career in the Academy leading to a Nobel Prize.  Register your 'vote' on the poll and it would be nice if you would add a comment about why you chose one way or the other.

My Letter to the Editor of the Boulder Daily Camera - this is what got me started....

I would wager a couple of dinners at Jax that the Camera used more ink covering Spencer Dinwiddie’s decision to leave CU for the NBA draft than in reporting CU-Boulder’s Tom Cech winning the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.  It seems apparent to some of us that winning a Nobel at age 42 is a couple of orders of magnitude [for at-risk CU admits, that’s 100 times] more significant than a very good player, from a team that may be among the top 50 in the country, leaving school.  Like many basketball fans, I too would have liked to see Spencer continue at CU, but also understand that the lure of the NBA is a prime consideration for athlete-students.  Who wouldn’t be tempted by an annual salary that is more than many CU folks will make during their careers?  Also like many fans, I too wish him well in the upcoming draft.  However, as a long-time player, I must take issue with his self-analysis of ‘having first round talent’.  There is no doubt that he has many/most/all of the attributes of a first round pick, but basketball talent is only a portion of the requirements.  There are thousands of players who have as much basketball talent at Spencer – even my career statistics are at least as good as his, but alas, I am barely 5’10” – and thus physical attributes are an important part of the draft-day equation.  Spencer has no doubt worked hard to get where he is today, but he should also give a hat tip to his genes for at least some of his privileged position.

CONTINENTAL DIVIDE - PARTING OF THE WATERS

A previous post talked about the North American Continental Divides.  Almost always, the headwaters of any creek, stream, river will head toward either the Atlantic Ocean or the Pacific Ocean [sometimes by way of the Gulf of Mexico or the Great Lakes].  But take a look at the stream shown below - it arises in the Rockies and part of it goes east and part of it goes west!!

 I learned of this at this link at SploidGizmodo which also links to a similar article here.  On the appropriately named Two Ocean Pass in the Tetons of Wyoming, headwaters give rise to a creek that splits, with one branch heading to the Pacific and one to the Atlantic, with the bifurcation called the Parting of the Waters.

 

BOULDER BRONUTS

 

From today's Boulder Daily Camera:

Bronuts enters Boulder doughnut market with 'balls'

 

By Alicia Wallace, Camera Business Writer

 

Two Boulder brothers saw a hole in a local industry and have sought to fill it with some dough and double entendres.

Brett and Mitch Magdovitz launched Bronuts, a Boulder startup that makes a variety of doughnut holes — savory and sweet treats the brothers affectionately refer to as "doughnut balls."

The balls produced at Bronuts — a melding of "brothers" and "doughnuts" — include Bleu Balls, with bleu cheese, blueberry filling and blueberry glaze; Monkey Balls, with banana filling and chocolate glaze; and "South Park"-inspired Chocolate Salty Balls, with salted dulce de leche filling and chocolate glaze.

 

The balls will be sold by the dozen, half-dozen and, "of course," pairs, the Bronuts brothers say, adding they're readying the wholesale business for commercial and online sales and potentially a food trailer
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While the confections' cheekiness may seem appropriate for a Pete Schweddy "Saturday Night Live" skit, it's not all daffy. The brothers business that can seriously contend in a local doughnut industry that has quickly expanded.

"We have a pretty unique product," Mitch said, noting the Bronuts are a hybrid of yeast-raised and cake doughnuts. "Not only is it a baked ball, it's got a very distinctive texture and eating experience."

The brothers' journey to the land of pastries took longer than expected. Brett and Mitch grew up in Tennessee, where they became devotees of Gibson's Donuts, a Memphis staple. Mitch, a self-proclaimed "doughnut connoisseur" and Boulder resident since 1999, said he was sorely disappointed when his new hometown's doughnut options dissolved. After the closures of shops such as Daylight Donuts, Dunkin' Donuts and Tastefully Toasted, Boulder was absent a retail doughnut business from 2007 to 2012. "After I was here, I thought, 'I got to start a doughnut shop,'" he said. "But the timing wasn't right." When the timing became right near the end of 2012, Boulder no longer was doughnut-less. That year, the locally operated Dizzy's Donuts opened a retail shop at 1606 Conestoga Ave. in east Boulder. Earlier this year, Dunkin' Donuts returned to Boulder and opened a location at 3235 28th St. "We're not shooting for gourmet," Brett said. "And we absolutely have no interest in trying to compete with Dunkin' (Donuts)." Eric Guthrie, owner of Dizzy's, said his business is "still rolling along" and also is expanding its wholesale reach.

"We haven't noticed much effect from Dunkin' Donuts, to tell you the truth," he said. "As far as the new wave of doughnuts, I'm kind of surprised for Boulder, but we're still doing our handmade, gourmet, everything-from-scratch (doughnuts)."

The Bronuts bros believe there is room in the market — even one that typically garners accolades for its healthy living — for a business offering some guilty pleasures, including balls in the gluten-free and vegan varieties.

"People love eating sweets," Mitch said. "People (in Boulder) exercise a lot, and they like high-quality food."

Wanting to take a unique approach, the brothers eschewed frying the doughnuts and instead opted to bake their doughy creations.

"The feedback was, 'These doughnuts are good, but the doughnut holes are awesome,'" Brett said.

So the brothers decided to pursue a line of doughnut balls and serve them up under the Bronuts name, and be a little ballsy about the marketing in the process.

After about 18 months of preparing and fine-tuning, Bronuts officially launched earlier this month at BDNT, a startup-focused meetup event.

An Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign is aimed at helping raise money for a mobile bakery. The brothers now are baking out of the Rodeway Inn & Suites Boulder Broker's commercial kitchen trailer.

In the coming weeks, Bronuts will start a bigger push into selling directly to businesses and securing others — such as coffee shops, hotels or car repair shops — to serve as resellers. Bronuts plans to supplement the commercial sales with offering delivery and online sales.

"Our intent is not to offend anyone with the playfulness," Mitch said. "At the same time, we just want people to smile and have fun."

 

RARE NESTING FALCON

A 4/20 EASTER

On March 31, 2013, I posted "Lesser Known Facts About Easter" and if you did not read it then, you should read it now -  interesting stuff!!  So, today we simply note without commentary that Easter Sunday this year falls on the traditional 'celebrate marijuana' day. It's likely that some Colorado folks are celebrating both!

 

BIENVENIDOS

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MUSTANG!

APRIL 17TH - 1964

Abe Willems, Rhonda's dad, bought at 1966 Mustang, in brown.

Of course, all of the guys thought that if they got a Mustang, they also might get Farrah Fawcett!

Today's Version

And the Future?? 

 

ELECTILE DYSFUNCTION

Read that Carefully - Electile!

Disclaimer:  Not meant as an endorsement! ;-)

TAXMAN

Let me tell you how it will be
There's one for you, nineteen for me
Cos I'm the taxman, yeah, I'm the taxman

Should five per cent appear too small
Be thankful I don't take it all
Cos I'm the taxman, yeah I'm the taxman

If you drive a car, I'll tax the street
If you try to sit, I'll tax your seat
If you get too cold I'll tax the heat
If you take a walk, I'll tax your feet

Taxman!
Cos I'm the taxman, yeah I'm the taxman

Don't ask me what I want it for (Aahh Mr. Wilson)
If you don't want to pay some more (Aahh Mr. Heath)
Cos I'm the taxman, yeah, I'm the taxman

Now my advice for those who die
Declare the pennies on your eyes
Cos I'm the taxman, yeah, I'm the taxman

And you're working for no one but me
Taxman! 

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So, Here Is Where The $3,000,000,000,000 Comes From

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 And Here Is Where It Goes

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But here is an interesting tidbit - the 'discretionary' spending 

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 And of course, minor problem, the outlay is $560,000,000,000 more than the intake

 

And this is just the Federal Government!

We also get to pay state income taxes, property taxes, state, county and city sales taxes, special assessment taxes, license and use fees, and more.  We even get to pay taxes on money that was taken from us as a tax!!

In Colorado, Tax Freedom Day is April 22nd this year, and you can find your state's

Tax Freedom Day here.

So, most of us are still working for the government.

COLOURS REDUX - JACK DALTON PODCAST

 

I previously wrote about The Colours and the band members including Jack Dalton and my brother-in-law Gary Montgomery.  It is the 8th most popular post here on The Planet and currently has 476 pageviews and 23 comments.  The most recent comment came from Nick Crescendo, who pointed to a recent podcast with Jack who along with Gary were the principals of the Colours.  This wonderful  podcast is on 88.3 Southern FM, [Melbourne], The Purple Haze Archive with Nick Black, and it can be found at this link.

http://www.southernfm.com.au/general/the-purple-haze-archive-presents-jack-dalton-of-the-colours-classic-cult-band-of-the-1960s-on-podcast/

Jack's Bio from his website:

JACK DALTON started playing music with his four brothers, THE DALTON BOYS, when he was six years old. They did the banquet circuit with their father, Walter Dalton, “Michigan’s Irish Tenor,” who also had his own radio show. When Jack was 17, he and two of his brothers, Wally and Dan, formed a folk group called THE DALTON BOYS and became successful performing at concerts and playing famous nightclubs such as Philadelphia’s LATIN QUARTER, New Orleans’ PLAYBOY CLUB, and New  York’s BITTER END. They had a hit with “San Francisco Bay Blues” on Decca Records. THE DALTON BOYS appeared on several national TV shows like ABC’s HOOTENANNY, THE MIKE DOUGLAS SHOW, and MIKE WALLACE’s PM EAST.

After THE DALTON BOYS retired, Jack took on a writing partner, Gary Montgomery, and they signed with MOTOWN, recording their own songs. They moved to the West Coast and became staff writers for WHITE WHALE RECORDS and ROBBINS, FIEST AND MILLER, and wrote for THE TURTLES, THE OUTSIDERS, SPIRAL STARECASE,and APRIL AND NINO.

Jack and Gary formed a rock group, COLOURS, and had a hit single, “Brother Lou’s Love Colony,” on DOT RECORDS. After the group disbanded, Jack returned to Detroit and started a jingle company with Jeff Parsons. THE ROAD COMPANY quickly became the largest jingle company in Detroit. Jack wrote, arranged, played, and sang on most of the commercials.

In 1980 Jack returned to his “first love,” performing. He joined DOUG JACOBS’ RED GARTER BAND and played hundreds of one-nighters annually. Jack continues to make his living in Detroit, singing and playing guitar and banjo in Detroit-based bands as well as being booked by Detroit agents as a single performer.

In 1990  Jack put together his own entertainment company and has been singing and entertaining in retirement and nursing homes. He performs around 250 shows a year.

WHAT A DAY FOR A DAYDREAM

No, not the Lovin' Spoonful song that you can find here, but the literal use of the term:

1.  Pleasant thoughts about your life or future that you have while you are awake;
2.  A pleasant visionary, usually wishful creation of the imagination.

And I would add:

3.  Thinking about things, times and places you will likely never attain.  

Or even better, seeing some of the things that you will never attain!!  And so, daydreaming it was this past Saturday as I was able to see some wonderful things that will never be mine, but that I can enjoy vicariously.  Here's some of what I am talking about!

A friend and neighbor graciously invited me to tag along with his car club on a Car-a-van tour to see three private car collections in the Denver area. And we got to travel from place to place in my friend's immaculately restored 1934 Ford.

The first stop on the caravan was the Vehicle Vault.  If you click on the link, you will see that the permanent Vehicle Vault is under construction and will house a car museum as well as being a car condominium where you too can own space to show your cars - "a country club for car lovers", as the developers have stated.  We visited the temporary vault of the developers where their growing collection is housed.  Here are a few of their cars:

The second stop was at the Mathews Collection.  Click on the link for some information and pictures, not only of cars, but motorcycles, signs and other memorabilia.   

The third stop was at Steel Affairs and again, click on the link for more information, and you may even see a "used" car that you would like to buy!  I think that maybe the 1954 Nash Metropolitan is the only car in my league :-)  

 

This 1957 BMW Isetta is only $49,950

A highlight came after the tour of car collections was over.  The owner of Steel Affairs also owns the iconic "Sleeper" House - the futuristic house that sits high on a ridge on the south side of I-70 near Genessee - and he graciously invited the caravan crowd for a tour of the home.

The place is incredible.  The owners have painstakingly restored and upgraded the place, which they lovingly dubbed "the money pit."  Do a google search on Sleeper House and you will find many amazing pictures, such as these:

 

So, maybe I will end with another Lovin' Spoonful song, that perhaps will move from daydreaming to a little of bit of magic!

JOHN DENVER ON VALUES.ORG

Saw a values.com ad on TV last night, and it reminded me that this is one of my favorite John Denver songs.

75 YEARS AND COUNTING

April 2, 1939, Edward Swartzendruber and Mary Aschliman were married at the Michigan Avenue Mennonite Church in Pigeon, Michigan by the Reverend Sherman Maust.

From the Pigeon District Library Archives:


Bride & Groom - Edward Swartzendruber of Pigeon to Mary Aschliman
Parents- M&M Joe Swartzendruber and M&M S. G. Aschliman .
Wedding Date- Sunday.Newspaper Date- April 7, 1939.  
Comment-Edward was employed at Maust Food Store in Pigeon.

 

 

It is hard to imagine the the folks have been married more years than only about 12% of the US Population lives!!!  And only 0.1% of the US Population live to be the ages of Ed and Mary, 97 and 96.  And even a smaller percentage would have both of the marriage partners still alive, making my sister and me members of a fairly elite group!!

 As a Vulcan Would Say

"Live Long and Prosper"