Mile Hi - New Things

I watched a movie entitled Taken with Liam Neeson and Maggie Grace, that came out on January 30, 2009. This is a French thriller film where Neeson plays a former CIA operative who sets about tracking down his daughter after she is kidnapped by human traffickers while traveling in France. Moments before she is dragged away by the as yet unseen and unknown assailants, she manages to phone him, who begins to expertly piece together clues that will take him to the darkness of Paris's underworld. He will let nothing and no one stop him from saving his daughter. A sequel, Taken 2, is set for release on October 5, 2012. The movie was ok, it had a lot of fighting, car chases, and action. I'm not sure what Taken 2 will be about, as it was a 'happy' ending. IMDB gave it a 7.9 out of 10 and I would give it a 6.9 rating. What did you do today?

I didn't have time to post the last night, therefore I'm posting this late as this occurred yesterday (Sat 9/29/12). I seen some unique vodka flavors lately. UV Vodka makes a bunch of them. I decided to try UV's White Cake Flavored Vodka . UV Vodka is made by Phillips Distilling Co in Minneapolis. Some of their other unique flavors include Chocolate Cake, Whipped Cream, Espresso, and Sweet Green Tea. I bought a bottle of Cake and mixed it with Diet Dr Pepper and a cherry. It was a pretty good drink, tasted like Diet Dr Pepper Cherry Vanilla. What did you do today?

I didn't have time to post the last night, therefore I'm posting this late as this occurred yesterday (Fri 9/28/12). As I stated earlier this week, I signed up for a Sustainability Class called Sustainability Leadership and Implementation Certificate C ourse offered by University of Denver and Natural Capitalism Solutions . It is the leading sustainability certificate program that will help students gain the knowledge and skills needed to implement an effective and profit-enhancing sustainability program in their organization. Class started on Friday morning. We were served coffee, tea, yogurt, fruit, and pastries to start our day. We met our organizers, Toby Russell, and teachers, Hunter Lovins and Scott McLagan. Hunter spoke 1st to intro the course and discuss advocates and leaders in sustainability such as Gandhi, Rachel Carson, E F Schumacher, David Brower, Karl-Henric Robert, Ray Anderson, Paul Hawken, Dana Meadows, etc, and books to read on the subject (there are man...

Since I am taking a Sustainability Leadership and Implementation Certificate Course starting this Friday and Saturday, they requested I take read Leading Change Why Transformation Efforts Fail by John P Kotter. The article is about how many major change initiatives (ex boost quality or improve culture) that organizations attempt, fail miserably. One reason may be that many managers don’t realize transformation is a process, not an event. It advances through stages that build on each other. And it takes years. Managers must understand the stages of change to boost chances of a successful transformation. EIGHT STEPS TO TRANSFORMING YOUR ORGANIZATION 1. Establishing a Sense of Urgency - Examining market and competitive realities - Identifying and discussing crises, potential crises, or major opportunities 2. Forming a Powerful Guiding Coalition - Assembling a group with enough power to lead the change effort - Encouraging the group to work together as a team 3. Creating a Vision - Cre...

Since I am taking a Sustainability Leadership and Implementation Certificate Course starting this Friday and Saturday, they requested I take Insights Discovery Online Evaluator that is a 25 questionnaire with questions asking what is most and least like me, like Empathetic and Patient, Contained and Controlled, Task-focused and Competitive, Discussing and Spontaneous. The questionnaire helps determine where I stand on the Insight s Discovery Model (Cool Blue, Fiery Red, Sunshine Yellow, Earth Green).     The Insights Discovery model is based on the extensive research of Swiss psychologist, Carl Jung, and the subsequent work of Jolande Jacobi, one of his leading students. The model uses 4 colors to represent observable behavioural patterns which are measured by the Discovery evaluator; a 25-frame questionnaire of statements from 100 word pairs, which when completed, produces the Insights Discovery Profile. The evaluator has been tested and updated to measure the...

As an alumni of DU , I receive email communications about events, activities, and education opportunities. I received an email a while back about a sustainability class being offered in the fall. The email was from Natural Capitalism Solutions  about a Sustainability Leadership and Implementation Certificate C ourse  offered for 6 total days between 9/28/12-12/15/12 for $3,500. It is the leading sustainability certificate program that will help students gain the knowledge and skills needed to implement an effective and profit-enhancing sustainability program in their organization. Through this course, participants will gain a deep understanding of sustainability frameworks, while also learning the practical leadership and implementation skills needed to put an effective sustainability program in place. As a final deliverable, participants will develop and present a set of strategic sustainability initiatives for their organization, in addition to initial goa...

As an alumni of  DU , I'm invited to attend events on campus. Tonight, was Daniels College of Business Voices of Experience speaker series event with Michael Long, CEO of Arrow Electronics . The Daniels speaker series brings in CEOs and significant leaders to share the lessons learned from their triumphs, mistakes, and decisions as they navigated through their leadership careers. Arrow Electronics is a global provider of products, services and solutions to industrial and commercial users of electronic components and enterprise computing solutions. Arrow serves as a supply channel partner for more than 120,000 original equipment manufacturers, contract manufacturers, and commercial customers through a global network of more than 390 locations in 52 countries. Prior to being named CEO in May 2009, Long served as president and chief operating officer (COO) of Arrow, with responsibility for all of the company’s operations and business units. Before that, Long served as senior vice p...

I bought a $5 Groupon to Gunther Toody's Diner   for $10 wor th of food. So we went there for brunch this morning. Gunther Toody's is a blast from the past retro fifties-themed eatery operating in 8 Colorado locations for over 20 years. There were bowling-shirted waiters and poodle-skirted waitresses with Elvis and Jerry Lee on the jukebox. It’s not the finest food in town, but it’s cheap. For breakfast, we ordered and split Huevos Rancheros ($7.69) with 2 eggs hashbrowns, green chili, melted cheddar, refried beans, jalapeños, flour tortillas, and a side of bacon. Everything was very pretty good, a little spicy. What did you do today?  

I didn't have time to post the last night, therefore I'm posting this late as this occurred yesterday (Sat 9/22/12). The day finally came. After about 18 weeks of training, I ran the full marathon in the Sports Authority Denver Rock 'n' Roll Marathon Series yesterday morning starting and ending in Civic Center Park downtown Denver. The Rock 'n' Roll Marathon Series is a collection of road running events owned and operated by Competitor Group Inc . The series is known for lining race routes with live bands, cheerleaders and themed water stations. There are 29 events in the Rock 'n' Roll Series. I woke up at 5:45am and ate a blueberry pancake, some almonds, some raisins, and a Clif Crunch Granola Bar  (white chocolate macadamia flavor). The marathon began at 7:15am in corrals. I started in corral 5 at about 7:25am. I also took 2 Jelly Belly Sport Beans (berry flavor) to give my body a boost of energy. It was chilly in the morning, about 55F but...

I didn't have time to post the past couple of nights, therefore I'm posting this late as this occurred 2 days ago (Fri 9/21/12). We watched the new series on NBC called Animal Practice tonight with Justin Kirk and JoAnna Garcia Swisher. The show is a sitcom about a top veterinarian with an impressive list of famous animal patients at the Crane Animal Hospital - a bustling New York City veterinary practice. Despite his unorthodox style, George has an undeniable gift with animals of all kinds - except the human kind. Much to his chagrin, George recently learned that his ex-girlfriend, Dorothy Crane, has inherited the family business and is now George's boss. Whip-smart and ambitious, Dorothy shakes up the hospital as she brings order to the chaos and butts heads with George's animal-friendly administration. IMDB gave it a 4.8 out of 10 and I agree with that rating so far after seeing 1 episode. The main veterinarian doctor was a little weird with a few comedic one-li...

My co-workers and I went to the Health & Fitness Expo downtown today in Hall F of the Colorado Convention Center. The main purpose of this expo is for runners to pickup their race bib number and packet for the Denver Rock 'n' Roll Marathon this Saturday. The expo 2 days and has over 60 exhibitors that offer free samples, showcase the latest in running gear, sports apparel, health & nutritional information, and more. One of the exhibitor booths was O.N.E.  The exhibitor representative gave us each 2 samples of O.N.E Coconut Water . Coconut water is the clear liquid inside young coconuts. In early development, it serves as a suspension for the endosperm of the coconut during their nuclear phase of development. As growth continues, the endosperm mature into their cellular phase and deposit into the rind of the coconut meat. In recent years, coconut water has been marketed as a natural energy or sports drink due to its high potassium and mineral content. The O.N.E. C...

My friend's boyfriend is fundraising while running the 2012 Bank of America Chicago Marathon on October 7th, 2012 in honor of his mother who pasted away from cancer 10 years ago. All money that is raised goes to cancer research to help reduce the risk of cancer, provide free programs and services for cancer patients, and make sure cancer is a priority issue for elected officials. I donated $26.20 ($1 for every mile he runs) to the American Cancer Society . I feel good since I am also running a marathon (Denver Rock 'n' Roll Marathon) and helped raise money for a wonderful cause and in honor of an amazing women who raised 8 wonderful children. Click here if you would like to donate as well!   What did you do today?

We watched the new series on NBC called Revolution  tonight with Billy Burke. Our entire way of life depends on electricity, so what would happen if it just stopped working? Revolution is a sci-fi show about a family living in a post apocalyptic world. In this epic adventure from J.J. Abrams' Bad Robot Productions and "Supernatural's" Eric Kripke, a family struggles to reunite in an American landscape where every single piece of technology - computers, planes, cars, phones, even lights - has mysteriously blacked out forever. 15 years later, life is back to what it once was long before the industrial revolution: families living in quiet cul-de-sacs, and when the sun goes down lanterns and candles are lit. On the fringes of small farming communities, danger lurks. And a young woman's life is dramatically changed when a local militia arrives and kills her father, who mysteriously - and unbeknownst to her - had something to do with the blackout. This brutal ...

I didn't have time to post the last night, therefore I'm posting this late as this occurred yesterday (Mon 9/17/12). Since I'm training for the marathon and the marathon is this Saturday, my co-work suggested I take wheatgrass Monday to Friday. He gave me 5 tablespoons of powder to add to fruit smoothies every morning this week. Wheatgrass is a food prepared from the cotyledons of the common wheat plant, Triticum aestivum. It is sold either as a juice or powder concentrate. It provides chlorophyll, amino acids, minerals, vitamins, and enzymes. Claims about the health benefits of wheatgrass range from providing supplemental nutrition to having unique curative properties. Some consumers grow and juice wheatgrass in their homes. It is often available in juice bars, alone or in mixed fruit or vegetable drinks. It is also available in many health food stores as fresh produce, tablets, frozen juice and powder. I blended 5 ice cubes, peach yogurt, orange mango juice, and 1 t...

We were up in Estes Park this weekend and to go horseback riding at O'Dell's Horseback Riding at Elkhorn Lodge . It was my 1st time riding a horse ever. I bought a Rocky Mountain 2 Hour Horseback Trail Ride for 2 for $25 on Zozi . I rode a small brown horse named Dollie and Matt road a large black and white horse named Bonnie. Our ride started at 10am on a warm sunny Sunday. It was a slow walk the whole way, no trotting, or running. We went up hills, through field, over rocks, and down hills. There was a lot of beautiful Rocky Mountain scenery. Our guide, Lyndsey, said the 1 mountain range is the range on Coors Light bottles and cans. It was a great ride. I was sore after 2 hours. What did you do today?

I didn't have time to post the last night, therefore I'm posting this late as this occurred yesterday (Sat 9/15/12). We were up in Estes Park this weekend and went to get a drink at The Stanley Hotel . This famous hotel is a 140-room neo-Georgian hotel located within sight of the Rocky Mountain National Park. It was built by Freelan Oscar Stanley of Stanley Steamer fame and opened on July 4, 1909, catering to the rich and famous, including the RMS Titanic survivor Margaret Brown, John Philip Sousa, Theodore Roosevelt, the Emperor and Empress of Japan, and a variety of Hollywood personalities. The hotel and its surrounding lands are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Stanley Hotel also hosted the horror novelist Stephen King, inspiring him to write The Shining . Contrary to information sometimes published, King was living in Boulder at the time and did not actually write the novel at the hotel. Parts of the mini-series version of The Shining were filmed ...

I didn't have time to post the last night, therefore I'm posting this late as this occurred yesterday (Mon 8/27/12). We watched a movie entitled Definitely, Maybe with Ryan Reynolds, Rachel Weisz, Elizabeth Banks, and Abigail Breslin, that came out on February 14, 2008. This is a romantic comedy film about a thirtysomething Manhattan dad that is in the midst of a divorce when his 10-year-old daughter starts to question him about his life before marriage. She wants to know absolutely everything about how her parents met and fell in love. So he relives his past as an idealistic young man learning the 'ins' and 'outs' of big city politics, and recounts the history of his romantic relationships with 3 very different women. As the daughter puts together the pieces of her dad's romantic puzzle, she begins to understand that love is not so simple or easy. And as the dad tells her his tale, she helps him to understand that it's definitely never too late to g...

We watched the new series on NBC called The New Normal tonight with Justin Bartha. The show is a sitcom about a male couple, who hire a single-mom surrogate from Ohio to carry their baby in LA. The single-mom's disapproving grandmother, small mindedness provides some comedy. IMDB gave it a 6.2 out of 10 and I agree with that rating so far after seeing 1 episode. It was a little bland with a few comedic one-liners from Nana. What did you do today?  

From September 10-15 2012, participating  Chick-Fil-A  restaurants are giving away a variety of free breakfast entrées to customers who made a reservation online. I reserved for September 12 at 7:30am for the Chick-Fil-A by my work. The Spicy Chicken Biscuit is a boneless breast of chicken, seasoned with a spicy blend of peppers, hand-breaded, pressure cooked in 100% peanut oil, and served on a baked buttermilk biscuit. They asked if I wanted honey or jelly so I put some honey on it as well. It was an ok sandwich but I think I would have enjoyed it better if it also had an egg. I think the sandwich also retails for $2.25 which I think is a little pricey. What did you do today?

I went to Cafe Bar  in Wash Park with a couple friends for happy hour tonight. Cafe Bar is designed by owner Dane Huguley, whose vision was to create an atmosphere that was modern but comfortable, making guests feel as though they are dining in an urban upscale restaurant with a residential charm. Our focus is to be a community restaurant; we are 100% wind powered, recycle our fryer oil, utilizing composting programs, and energy efficient equipment. Food is prepared by chef Eric Rivera. I had a $4.00 draft of a pilsner beer. Their happy hour is from 3-6pm everyday. We missed happy specials but I would really like to go back for the $5 Summer Perogies (2 hazel dell local mushroom, ricotta, and potato perogies with chive creme fraiche). They have other drink and food specials as well. It was good to catch up with friends.                                             ...

Tea  is a beverage made by soaking cured leaves of the of the Camellia Sinensis Plant in water. Tea is the 2nd most consumed beverage in the world (water is the 1st). The largest producers of tea are China, India, Kenya, Sri Lanka, and Turkey. Tea is said to provide antioxidant properties and therapeutic applications. I’m feeling a little under the weather still so I wanted to drink some good herbal tea to help my immune system and prevent further getting any sickness. My co-worker is an avid tea drinker and has a variety of tea flavors. She had a  Yogi tea box of Green Tea Triple Echinacea . Yogi Tea Company began in 1984 with packages of the rough, dried spices appearing in natural foods stores throughout Southern California. As demand increased, the spices were more finely ground, packaged and sealed into individual tea bags. By 1986, Yogi Tea was distributed nationwide in 3 flavors. Yogi has continued to expand and evolve tea offerings to address...

I didn't have time to post the last night, therefore I'm posting this late as this occurred yesterday (Sun 9/9/12). We went to the Pittsburgh Steelers vs Denver Broncos football game last night at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. The game started at 6:30 pm MST. It was a good game. The 1st half was low scoring, only 10-7 by halftime. During the game, Peyton Manning threw his 400th career touchdown throw. It was a 71-yard touchdown throw to Demaryius Thomas, Manning's first as a Bronco and the 400th of his career. The game picked up for the 3rd and 4th quarters. It game was 13-14 at the end of the 3rd quarter. At the end of the 4th quarter, the Steelers still had a chance to win with a couple minutes to go, until Ben Roethlisberger threw an interception pass. Final score 19-31, boo!   Go Steelers!

I didn't have time to post the last night, therefore I'm posting this late as this occurred yesterday (Sat 9/8/12). I finally watched a video on the internet that my co-workers told me about a few months ago. It is JCP's Launch Event Presentation to the investors. Ron Johnson and Michael Francis presented JCP's new strategy on January 25, 2012 in New York City. Ellen DeGeneres and Martha Stewart also spoke briefly. J.C. Penney Corporation is a chain of American mid-range department stores based in Plano TX. The company operates approximately 1,107 department stores in all 50 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. Most JCPenney stores are located in suburban shopping malls. In addition to selling conventional merchandise, JCPenney stores often house several leased departments such as Sephora, Seattle's Best Coffee, optical centers, portrait studios, and jewelry repair.   I enjoyed the 93 minutes presentation and the strategy sounded great, however, it is not doing gre...

I'm not feeling good. I had a sore throat yesterday and had a snuffy nose today. We have Nature's Way Umcka ColdCare under our bathroom sink. I've never heard of Umcka before today. Nature's Way is herbal medicine company that has been around for over 40 years. Umcka uses a homeopathic preparation of P. sidoides roots (EPs 7630), a leading medicine in Europe. Much of their supply of EPs 7630 is grown on their farms in South Africa.Umcka ColdCare reduces the severity of throat, nasal and bronchial irritations, including cough, congestion and sore throat. It is available in mint-menthol and cherry flavor. I took 4 mint-menthol chewable tablets today. I also had 2 Emergen-C drinks and 2 teas. However, I don't feel any better. What did you do today?

      On September 6, 2013, participating Arby's restaurants were giving away free hot Turkey Roasters from 11am-1pm. I went to the Arby's by my work. There are 3 new Hot Turkey Roasters: Turkey Classic, Turkey 'n Cheddar Classic, and Grand Turkey Club. I tried the Grand Turkey Club which has sliced roast turkey, melted swiss cheese, pepper bacon, leaf lettuce, tomato, and mayo served on a toasted wheat bun. This was a pretty good turkey sandwich, a little heavy on the mayo. The sandwich would have cost almost $5.00 so I don't think I would come back to buy it. What did you do today?

One of my co-worker's birthday was today so we went out to lunch with her. We went to Il Vicino . Il Vicino serves wood oven pizza, paninis, and handcrafted ales. The Littleton location had been there since 2003. I ordered a Hero Piadine (folded flatbread sandwich) with hard salami, capocollo ham, dijon mayonnaise, mozzarella, provolone, pepperoncini, red onions, tomatoes, romaine, and house vinaigrette for $8.25. I was really full. The service was good and it was nice to sit outside in the sun. What did you do today?

I love dogs and other animals. I happened to see that Motley Zoo Animal Rescue is in a voter contest to win a grant to help their animals. Motley Zoo is an ALL-volunteer, foster-based, 501c3 animal rescue based in Redmond WA. They have rescued, rehabilitated, and re-homed over 600 pets since inception in 2009. They use social media and contests to help raise awareness and raise funds for our organization. They would like to win a large grant in Chase Community Giving . They need help rallying new likes, votes, and to promote the "just 1" concept- if each voter donated just $1, they'd be able to raise just about as much as they win. The contest runs from Sept 6th- Sept 19th, and each voter can earn up to 5 votes - though only 3 can be used for Motley Zoo. Please check out their website  www.motleyzoo.org . Also check out their facebook page at  www.facebook.com/motleyzooanimalrescue  to like them. What did you do today?

Recently, I read an article that Walmart was opening 5 Walmart Neighborhood Markets in the Denver area. These stores are smaller concept Walmarts (usually 1/4 the size of Walmart Supercenters) — that feature bakeries, self-serve delis, meat and dairy products, fresh produce, frozen goods, organic items, general merchandise, and pharmacies. They opened in June 2012 and are the 1st to open in Colorado. They claim to add 400 new jobs. I went to the Walmart Neighborhood Market on South Parker Rd in southeast Denver. I found some pretty good deals on most food items, saving around $0.05-$1.00 on each item. What did you do today?

I was on travelling for a wedding so I didn't have time to post the last few nights, therefore I'm posting this late as this occurred 2 days ago (Sun 9/2/12). We were in the northeast in the Pittsburgh Pennsylvania area for a few days for my DU classmate's wedding on Saturday. The day after the wedding we did some exploring in Pittsburgh. We wanted a good city skyline view so we decided to go up Mt Washington in the southwest of downtown across the Monongahela River to view it. One of Pittsburgh's distinctive features is its cable-powered  inclines  designed for transportation between the river valleys and the communities on top of the overlooking bluffs. At one time Pittsburgh had about 15 inclines; 2 of them remain. One provides service to the Mount Washington for a historic voyage of views of the city's panoramic skylines. The cars are not self-powered, instead, they are pulled up and down the inclined track by a single cable driven by an engine in the uppe...

I was on travelling for a wedding so I didn't have time to post the last few nights, therefore I'm posting this late as this occurred 2 days ago (Sat 9/1/12). We were in the northeast in the Pittsburgh Pennsylvania area for a few days for my DU classmate's wedding on Saturday. The wedding ceremony was at St Paul Cathedral at 108 N Dithridge Street at 4:00pm. It was a nice ceremony in a beautiful catholic church on the Pitt campus. The reception was at The Fairmont Pittsburgh at 510 Market Street starting at 6:00pm. The Fairmont Pittsburgh hotel offers distinctive guest services and accommodations in a luxury setting located at the heart of Pittsburgh’s business, cultural and retail hub with views of PNC Park, the restored downtown, and the Pittsburgh city skyline. The hotel houses 165 guestrooms. The hotel embraces the city's rich history of art and industry with striking glass and steel features and work from local artists displayed throughout hotel’s accommodat...