One of my Goals for 2009: Ski all the Blacks, Double Blacks, Expert Runs at Telluride

One of my goals for 2009 is to ski all the great expert terrain at Telluride.

Over the last couple of seasons Telluride has open a LOT of new expert hike tos. The most spectacular is Palmyra Peak (check out TelSki CEO Blog post on it here).

If I don't kill myself on these runs, at least I am going to get in shape just doing all the hike tos. Also, none of these hike tos are open quite yet, snow pack as been very dangerous this year, and TelSki is having a hard time opening even the non-hike to terrain.

So as the geek I am, I have a online checklist using Evernote. I love Evernote (see my post and review here), however, Evernote on the Mac is doing some funky things with the formating, so I am still tweaking it so it looks good. So if things are funny colors or the words are different sizes, it is in progress. :)

Click below



For those that are curious and want to check back on my status, I added this widget to my sidebar on the right.


Ok, hopefully, I can check one of these off today. Looks like a blue-bird day!

ProBlogger: Secrets for Blogging Your Way to a Six-Figure Income

Just got down reading. ProBlogger: Secrets for Blogging Your Way to a Six-Figure Income



Might be a while before, I make six figures off of THIS blog, but I have ideas for 2009, that I will use some of the thoughts and ideas in this book.

I recommended this book to anyone, that is thinking (or thought)

Hmmm, I wonder if can I make money off of this blog thing.

I hope prosperity to all in 2009!!!!

Berner Puppies Story

If you like puppies you got to check out this extra cute story.

Click the link below
http://alpenschatz.blogspot.com/2008/12/alpen-schatz-yodelling-marmot-yodels.html

Beers and Prices at the Hop Garden

I promise this will be one of the last post on Hop Garden. But for the curious here are are the beers and prices of what is flowing:





Prost!!!

Ice In Urinals

This will probably fall under the category of TOO MUCH INFORMATION.

However, I have always wonder why some establishments but ice in the Urinals. I took this photo the other day at Hop Garden. No one else was in the room.



Well wikipedia came to the rescue with the following answer: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urinals

Some establishments, often bars, pubs, or nightclubs, fill their urinals with ice cubes during peak hours. As the ice melts, it serves to slowly flush the urinal, and also cools the urine to prevent smells from rising during use.

So there you go.

Interesting Facts of Colorado

My friend Shanna sent this to me, not sure the original source, but I thought I would pass these on.

Here are some curious things you might not know about Colorado.

Highest Climb. The highest vertical climb is not on a mountain but up the north side of the Black Canyon. Rising 1,700 feet, this sheer rock face is even higher than the famous Diamond on Longs Peakand was not conquered until 1969.

Deepest Snow. In 1899 Crested Butte recorded 254 inches of snow near the top of Kebler Pass. That year, snow buried a train near Leadville and left only stove pipes showing above cabins at many mountain towns. Usually, Wolf Creek Pass near Pagosa Springs gets the most snow in Colorado.

Oldest Hotel. The Peck House in thelittle town of Empire, near Berthoud Pass, is Colorado 's oldest hotel. It was built in 1859 by James Peck. Early guests included President Ulysses S. Grant and other famous people.

Highest Town. Leadvilleis the highest (10,200 feet) incorporated town in Colorado and the entire U.S. It has also had the highest rate of premature babies in the U.S. Researchers concluded that the altitude causes smaller babies.

Largest Nuggets. The biggest gold nuggetin Colorado weighed 135 ounces and was found near Breckenridge in 1887 by miner Tom Broves. The biggest silver nugget weighed 1,840 pounds and was found at an Aspen mine in 1894.

Largest Elk Antlers. Measuring 52 inches at the widest point, the antlers of an elk killed in 1899 near Crested Butte are still on display at that town's visitor center. In 1961,Boone and Crockett researchers declared it to be the largest elk rack in history.

Toughest Climate. No crops are grown around the town ofSilverton, north of Durango. At 9,318 feet elevation, Silverton's growing season between frosts is only two weeks. San Juan County here is reportedly the only county in the U.S. without a single acre of agricultural land.

Worst Drought. About every 40 years, Colorado experiences a drought, according to tree-ring researchers. The worst was in the 1200's. It lasted 25 years and may have driven the Indians from Mesa Verde. During the Dust Bowl on the eastern plains, one cloud of dust on April 4, 1935, gathered itself to 1,000 feet high and 200 miles wide. It traveled at60 miles an hour, suffocated hundreds of animals and damaged many people's health.

Driest Town. Delta, south of Grand Junction, gets less rain per year than Tucson, Arizona.

Musical Dunes. Winds blowing around the Great Sand Dunes near Alamosa create sounds resembling music. That's how Music Pass above the dunes got its name.

Women's Rights. Colorado was the second state in the U.S. to give women the right to vote. Wyoming was the first. You would think the eastern states would have been more progressive, but it took the frontier adventure to make men realize how strong and intelligent women were.

Cold and Powder Skiing and Snow Work

After a little snow work at the homestead I went out and got fresh lines on Chair 9. Did three laps on 9, but with this many people waiting at the bottom, it got track out fairly quickly.



However, my run down the Plunge was GREAT! (smiling now as I write this), but it was a bit COLD. Anyone that as rode Chair 9, knows it is a long and cold lift.

So after 3 laps on 9, I went over to Chair 6 and did a few runs over there. The fog was damp and cold, but provided some funky lighting on Zulu Queen.


I got home, took a nap and finished off my snow work. More snow is coming, so I wanted to get a good start on it. Below is our driveway down to the road.

$2 Fat Tire and Signed Poster by US Ski Team

Had a few $2 Fat Tire Grand Opening Special at Hop Garden last night.

Fat Tire is up there in my top 5 favorite beers. New Belgium Brewery in Fort Collins Colorado is a great environment and social conscience company.

Also at the Grand Opening the US Ski team was signing posters of Revelation Bowl. Already put it up in my study.


One thing for sure, is I felt old around this young amazing athletes.

Alpen Schatz is Hiring!

Alpen Schatz in Telluride Colorado is hiring for the Winter Season.

Please Contact Mary Dawn at
Email: boutique@alpenschatz.com
Phone: 970-728-4433
Web: www.alpenschatz.com




Warm Alpine Regards,
Michael and Mary Dawn

Revelation Bowl

[updated: Photos at bottom of post]
So I (and a hundred of my close friends) where waiting at the top of Gold Hill lift for the Security to drop the rope so we can ski down into the brand new terrain at Telluride Ski Resort called Revelation Bowl.

Skiers and Riders love powder (and today there was lots of un-tracked). They let some of the Very Important People go first. The snow was deep, and was easy to trip you up. A couple of these VIPs (in front of a jealous crowd) took some good tumbles, which made the wait a little easier at the top watching.

So when they dropped the rope, it was NUTS! This huge crowd of good skiers "Whooping it up". I have never been part of a Chinese Downhill (note it was not as bad as the definition on Urban Dictionary:Chinese Downhill) but the quicker you got down, the better in line you to get to more "good stuff". I was fortunate to dodge the fallen unfortunate and stay on my feet to the bottom. It was a BLAST!

At the bottom Dave gave a short thanks to all that made it happen. This process took 20-30 minutes before they loaded the lift.

Now, here is something TelSki HAS to work out the kinks. When getting off the lift, they did not design the exit ramp. You had to push HARD off the chair so it would not hit you in the butt. They had a guy at the top, coaching people to get off the lift. You have to remember, the people who rode the down to the bottom know how to ski and are NOT beginners. The lift guy would count down 3,2,1, go,go,go.... :)

[update: I asked Dave about the above on his blog and here is his reply

Dave's reply: Hi Michael, Thanks for being a part of the day.

Yes, we will fix it tonight by snowcat. The runout area below the unload ramp at the top needs to be cut down a few feet.

Have a great ski season.

ok, good....

]

My second run down, I found some un-tracked snow up above my knees. Any one that skis powder knows you have to go fast to float to the top of the snow. Well, I was going a good clip, when I lean to far forward and I went "over the handle-bars". Except for a face full of fluff, it was all good. :)

Did break threw to the rocks a couple of times where they over blasted, or wind blown, but this is very early in the season. Look forward to the next big powder day.

Anyway, long post for those who don't ski, but it was a GREAT day. They opened up lifts 5,6, and 15 today. Got fresh tracks on most of my runs. My early season legs are spent. I will sleep well tonight.




Map from Telski:

"Think Snow"

Hop Garden (Review)

In a previous post, I said I would write my thoughts on Hops Garden.

So with my very special guest Mary Dawn (of Alpen Schatz) we sampled the Bretz'n with Obazda and Süßer Senf. :)

Here is what she wrote:

The new Hop Garden in T-Ride offers an authentic large "Beer Garden" Bretz'n (Pretzel) which is served with Obazda (a Bavarian Cheese Spread) and Süßer Senf (Bavarian Sweet Mustard).

The pretzel is warm and soft on the inside and crunchy on the outside. I rate this dish a 8.5 out of 10. The lacking 15% would be the Bretz'n is not having the large Rock Salt typical of German Pretzels and the Obazda lacking the spicy/tang taste of a true Bavarian Obazda. In all, I've never ever seen an attempt in America to serve authentic Bavarian and its dips.

Ok so there go, a review from someone that lived in Munich many years.

From MY beer standpoint, they had about 10 beers (some local and some European). However, only several were flowing today. They range from $5 to $8.5. I had a Fat Tire, so not very German.

Another good point, I was able to get a weak WiFi signal there. Not sure if that access point will hang around, but for any of you on-the go people, you might try it.

Revelation Bowl opening Tomorrow at 10 am.

So Dave from Dave's Blog says that Resolution Bowl is opening tomorrow! I will definitely try to be there for the ribbon cutting. Telluride really does not have this type of big open bowl skiing. Should be fun.

Below is photos from Dave's Blog


Tomorrow I will give my review of this new terrain. Also, they are opening up lots of other runs, my legs will BURN tomorrow.

For official reading on Revelation Bowl, click on of the links below.
Dave's Blog: http://blog.tellurideskiresort.com/blogs/davesblog/archive/2008/12/08/more-lifts-terrain-revelation-bowl-hop-garden-grand-opening-us-ski-and-snowboard-team-poster-signing.aspx

Telluride Daily Planet: http://www.telluridenews.com/news/x1049849038/New-terrain-revelatory-On-the-mountain-the-wait-is-nearly-over

Hop Garden (Telluride's new Apre-Ski Place)

Telluride Ski Resort opened a new Apre-Ski place called Hop Garden. I have not eaten there yet, but Mary Dawn from Alpen Schatz provided them with the flags. :)

Prices seem reasonable, good beers for $5. When I actually eat/drink there I will post a review.

Thanksgiving Trip

Just catching up on my blog photos. Below are some of the more interesting photos I took while in Fort Collins and Crook while over the Thanksgiving week. Click the FullScreen icon and the ShowInfo link if you want the description of the photo.

Click here to open up the set in Flickr, otherwise you can use the embeded viewer below. Click on the image to advance to the next image.

Snow Depth after Dec 8, 2008 Storm

Snow depth after the yesterdays storm. We were told that we need to shovel the deck, so I wanted to show pictures before that took place. But that can wait, I am off to go ski!!!!


Click here to open up the set in Flickr, otherwise you can use the embeded viewer below. Click on the image to advance to the next image. If you want more info, hover over the notes link.

Why I did NOT shop on Black Friday

What??? A man trampled to death because of shoppers wanting to get a head start on buy cheap Walmart crap. UGH!
http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE4AR4QU20081128

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A man working for Wal-Mart was killed on Friday when a throng of shoppers surged into a Long Island, New York, store and physically broke down the doors, a police spokesman said.

The 34-year-old man was at the entrance of the Valley Stream Walmart store just after it opened at 5 a.m. local time and was knocked to the ground, the police report said.

I really don't know what more to say, than how disgusted I am.

Photos from the Colorado and some Wyoming Trip 2008

Made a big loop around a lot of Colorado.

I twittered (see sidebar to the right) a few of the big activities as they happened, but I will summarize them below:
* Photos of hike with Blaze Orange into the woods above my parents place outside of Walden.
* Moose on Cameron Pass
* Sunset at Mom and Dads
* Anheuser-Busch brewery tour
* Pikes Peak
* Sunset and ripples on Blue Mesa Res.

Note: Mary Dawn took a lot of these shots.


Click here to open up the set in Flickr, otherwise you can use the embeded viewer below. Click on the image to advance to the next image. If you want more info, hover over the notes link.

For me the Confessor is ME. There's no place you can hide...

If you look at your reflection in the bottom of a well,
What you see is only on the surface.
When you try to see the meaning, hidden underneath,
The measure of the depth can be deceiving.
The bottom has a rocky reputation
You can feel it in the distance the deeper down you stare.
From up above it's hard to see but you knowwhen you're there.
On the bottom words are shallow.
On the surface talk is cheap.
You can only judge the distance by the company you keep
In the eyes of the CONFESSOR.

In the eyes of the Confessor,
There's no place you can hide.
You can't hide from the eyes (of the Confessor)
Don't you even try.
In the eyes of the Confessor
You can't tell a lie,
You cannot tell a lie (to the Confessor)
Strip you down to size,
Naked as the day that you were born,
Naked as the day that you were born.
(Tremendous guitar work)
Take all the trauma, drama, comments,
The guilt and doubt and shame
The what if's and if only's
The shackles and the chains
The violence and aggresion,
The pettiness and scorn,
The jealousy and hatred,
The tempest and discord,
AND GIVE IT UP!

Joe Walsh's "Confessor" -- 1985

Gas Prices

I am planning a trip to Front Range for the Thanksgiving holidays. At least the gas prices have been falling.
As of November 10, 2008, Unleaded is $2.23 in Montrose.

Colorado Historical Gas Price Charts Provided by GasBuddy.com

Here is a temperature map. Use the mouse to drag around the map.

Colorado Gas Prices provided by GasBuddy.com

Click here to add this map to your website.

Ice Crystals on the Beaver Pond

Mary Dawn, Smokie, and I went on the Extended loop hike this morning. Here we captured the ice crystals on the beaver pond


ps.
Those crystals are about the size of my thumb nail.

ODE to Schlappi

As promised, here is Mary Dawn's "ODE to Schlappi". Click on the image to view the whole document.


What a lovely, touching tribute.

sigh....

Our Dear Schlappi....

Hello,
Thanks for all that gave well wishes to our Schlappi. Tonight he has moved on, to other beautiful grass to roll around in. You know, that is one of his favorite things to do. I won't say much more because Mary Dawn as composed a beautiful piece of prose that with her permission, I will post here.

As sad as this is, Schlappi time has come. His spirit was strong, but his body just gave out on him.

I will never know Schlappi like Mary Dawn did, but the his very old wise soul taught me a lesson or two, or three, or four, ....

I miss him, as all the souls he touched as well. Thank you Schlappi for being a part of my life.

I Love You Schlappi...

First Big Snow of 2008

Ok, our Indian Summer has come to a end.

Snow!!!!


Hopefully my knee will hold up. hmmmm

Election 2008 Center At The HomeStead

Just a "quiet" night at the homestead. Put laptop on the projector, and streamed CNN live, with projection maps from different sites.



Snow is falling, eating pizza, with a fire to keep us warm, we look forward to the results of the election. So far the President Campaign looks promising. The Colorado Amendments projections have not been shown yet. We will see.

Will have to wait until tommorows press of Telluride Daily Planet to find out how the many, many local "things" that I voted for.

Historical election, glad to be a part of it.

Hope to that CHANGE will happen.

Cheers!

EverNote. WOW! Great application.

EverNote is one of the COOLEST application, I have seen in a long time. WOW. Check out my full review on TellurideTech.

Below is a widget of one of my public notebooks.

Fireball

I twittered this the other day. My sister (thanks!) sent an email about it was reported on 9news (http://www.9news.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=102775&provider=top).

Picture from 9News site



Cloudbait Observatory tracks such fire balls. Here is a link to the reporting of this fireball.
http://www.cloudbait.com/science/fireball20081028.html I filed a report with my observations.

Anyway, it was VERY cool none the less. I will remember this for quite some time.

As my friend Don (and his blog) would probably say at the end of this post.

I hope your day is full of fireballs!!!!!

Happy Halloween

I took this photo a couple years a go, I title it "Pumpkin in Ghost Costume"


Here is my one of my favorite Halloween songs on my Blip.fm account. Hit play below.

6 Years of Service

Ok, it did not work out this way, but IF (A BIG IF) I was still employed by Harris, Inc. Today would have been my 6 year anniversary date.

I was bought in to Encoda as a Visual Basic programmer. I transitioned into C# and .Net and was the UI guy. The last year of service I was tasked to learn Objective-C and Cocoa so to port the Windows Client Digital Asest Management application to the Mac.

Oh well, times change....

Weekend haul/cut/chop/stack effort

Double deep wood pile, preparing for winter. This is the result of the weekend haul/cut/chop/stack effort.



I would love to double this amount. At $1000 a propane tank re-fill, we are looking toward wood heat to help out.

Taking a trip into town to vote!

I am off to town to turn in my mail-in-ballot for this year's election.

While I am away check out:
Ron Howard's Call To Action
Ron Howard wants to talk about the election. So does Andy Griffith and Henry Winkler.

See more Ron Howard videos at Funny or Die

Vote your conscience!

Photo posted on BonjourTelluride Blog.

Maribeth of BonjourTelluride fame included this photo in her blog.


The whole article about gondola riding can be found here:
http://bonjourtelluride.com/2008/10/fall-in-telluride-the-best-time-to-ride-the-gondola/


Also, I might get to help out with some the technical stuff too. If you need a Wordpress blog like this let me know.

Just spent $$$ on my Telluride Ski Pass and now checking out new ski map

Ok, just forked out some coin (a fair bit of it) to make sure I got the early season price for my Telluride Ski Pass.

So, I then explored some other sections of the website.

Excited about the new terrain for a couple of reasons.
1) Revelation Bowl is really the first powder ready "true bowl" that Telluride offers.
2) Can get you closer to the Gold Hill Chutes.
3) Also The Back Country access point is easier to get to.

I am deep linking to some of the jpg ski map images.

ps. Do you know WHY the call it Revelation Bowl? I have been told that before there was a lift, people (stupid) would cut the rope, and ski down the untouched powder. At the end (pun intended) their "Revelation" was the only way out was huge cliffs.

Our Dear Schlappi....

As many of you know, Schlappi has very advanced liver cancer.  I am up at 4 am, because I can't sleep.  He is in my study right now, looking at me with those Schlappi eyes.  It has been a couple of days since he was diagnosed, and Mary Dawn and I have spent some very quality time with him.  We both hope for a miracle, but understand that he may leave us any day now.

Actually, I have been dreading writing this post, because I was not ready...  However, I feel I need to let people who follow my blog about how he is doing.  So many pictures of Schlappi are posted here on how he influenced my life.

He just now crawled under my desk, laying on my bare feet.  Ugh...  This is so difficult...  I need to be strong.  Oh Dear Schlappi, you will always be in our hearts.  

Ok, I guess I will use Mary Dawn's email that she sent out the other day to finish up this post.  

Following weeks of not eating and multiple trips to the vet, an ultrasound done this am revealed two large masses growing off of our dear, Schlappi's liver. The masses are cancer and it is quite advanced. We have brought him home today and will continue to force feed him, give him as much love that we can and let him do all of the things he loves best. He does not have long...so the vet said.

He is our most loving and loyal companion and I cannot imagine him not being in our lives. He is the inspiration behind Alpen Schatz...and in effect IS Alpen Schatz. He has also been my inspiration for over 7 years and my daily joy every waking day. Cannot imagine life without him.

He has always loved humans, esp. children and babies, as well as all creatures from my little bird Sunshine that I once had, to our kitties, to other dogs, cats, and even his buddy the Porcupine, who he has encountered at least three times in the past few years.

Please, please say a prayer for him and if there are miracles out there, let it take place now and take this awful cancer away from him. He is much too young to die. Our dearest loving Schlappi...and the original Alpen Schatzi.

Mary Dawn

Latest Polls

My sister show me this, so I thought I would embed it into my blog.

As of this writing, Rep=163, Dem=320, Tossup=55

PLEASE register to VOTE!!!!

In Colorado tomorrow IS the deadline.

GREAT video:


http://www.rockthevote.com/electioncenter/

Fall Colors in Telluride / Mountain Village

Wow, what a great photo shoot day. Still need to tag/title the photos, but I was anxious to share on flickr.

Either click this link (for cool FULL SCREEN )
http://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelmowerymedia/sets/72157607733692760/show/

or use the new flickr embedded slideshow below.


I make a cameo toward the end of the show. :)

Gotta luv fall here in T-ride. I guess snow is around the corner.

ps. Yes, I still need to post Budapest, Germany, and Blues and Blues Pictures.

Apple Drops NDA for iPhone Developers. WOW!!!!

OH MY GOSH, can this be true.

A message for iPhone Developers
We have decided to drop the non-disclosure agreement (NDA) for released iPhone software.

http://developer.apple.com/iphone/program/

You don't know HOW MANY times, developers have written, they can't discuss a fix out on the internet, because of NDA.

THANK YOU APPLE! for correcting your direction.

Do you need a Jagahuat mit Muenze for Octoberfest?

Octoberfest is almost here.




Don't you WANT one of these?!!!

Visit http://www.alpenschatz.com/Store/alpine_hats.htm



Prost!!!!

Our friend Kendra Wilcox is going to be on WB2, Channel 2, Oct. 2, 2008

Chef Kendra (from Kendra's Kitchen) be aired on WB2, Channel 2, Oct. 2, 2008, Thursday, Denver 8:00 a.m. RE: The simple sauce a fat free cream sauce.

Congratulations Kendra!!!!

Telluride is moving UP the Ski Rankings

Skiing Magazine Readers Survey ranked Telluride as 4th Best Overall Resorts.
http://www.skinet.com/travel/2008-09/best-overall-resorts-2008-09 [note at the time of this post, their site, is a bit "funky", hope they get it straight soon]

I guess this is good news.  So it looks like people are liking the new terrain they opened up in Prospect Basin and Palmyra . http://tellurideskiresort.com/Tellski/info/hike-to_terrain.aspx

And now there is more to come. On Dave's blog (CEO of Telluride Resorts), he writes frequently on what is going on http://blog.tellurideskiresort.com/blogs/davesblog/default.aspx and the new Revelation Bowl.

The local Telluride Daily Planet covered the article here.

Ok, skiing season is still a ways off, but with the leaves turning, and a chill in the air, one is thinking SNOW around here.

Brrrr..... :)

Telluride Tech Feed on the Right

Hello,  

I added a RSS Feed of Telluride Tech Articles to the side bar on the right (just below my Twitter Updates), that contains the articles that we have written.

Enjoy...

Developer: Please check tag attributes and closing tags.

I LOVE QWEST!!!!. UGH!

I was just trying to get into my account, but kept getting the following error.

Sign In to MyAccount

Sorry, there was an Error
Found in: /profile/pageFlows/login/ProfileLoginController.jpf


The source of this error is:

Developer: Please check tag attributes and closing tags. Be careful of reserved words
View Error

We have noted the error and will be working on the issue.

I find especially useful that I as a customer am being told the Developer screwed up.

Official Launch of TellurideTech

So my last severance check came on Friday, so I suppose I should find some work.

I am officially opening Telluride Tech (For the Love of Technology) to the public. www.TellurideTech.com

Below is my flyer that I will give to people.


Feel free to print this out and post on your wall. :)

Enjoy,
Your Lead Tech Guy...

Salsa

A few of you that have been following the twitter, knows that Salsa might have been taken from us by coyotes. :(

We still have hope but, now trying to move on, while always remembering our little "monster".

Below is few photo of Salsa.
Click here to open up in Flickr.



We will miss you VERY much,
Love
Michael and Mary Dawn.

Telluride Blues and Brews Festival

Telluride Blues and Brews Festival is one of my favorite festivals in Telluride. http://www.tellurideblues.com/

I put the schedule up on Google Calendar and embedded it below. Click on the artist for links and info. I have my ICal subscribe to this calendar. Click on the Google Calendar (bottom right) for more info or click here



Mary Dawn and I will be camping again this year, so we don't have to drive back to the ski ranches.

Enjoy, I know I will.

Apfelessig ord Apfelschorle

A couple of days ago I was by myself wandering about in Salzburg. I needed a much need drink so I bought a "refreshing" bottle of Apfelessig.

I could hardly wait to get out of the store to take a big gulp.
When I did, I almost got sick. To my surpise it is Apple Vinegar not the Sparkling Apple Juice Aphelschorle that is picture below.


YUCK. I will not make that mistake again.

Waiting in Airport while MD left me on earlier flight.

Awful picture, but I am München right now with Mary Dawn.
She mistakenly booked me on a DIFFERNT flight from Frankfurt to München. So I had 2 hours to spend while wait. I played around with the internet kiosk and took this "wonderful" photo. :)

New Bridge in Front of the house were we got flooded out.

Because of the flood, that droves us from our miners' shack in Telluride, the town in putting a new bridge/covert.  The shack is on the left of the hole.

Here is the article in the Daily Planet.  

http://www.telluridenews.com/homepage/x1635426880

Durango Silverton Railway Crossword Puzzle , anyone?

Mary Dawn and I created this Durango Silverton Crossword puzzle for her family reunion. We are all going to ride the train together. There is a couple of family related questions, but for the most part it is generic. Email me if you want the answers.

So, it appears that I don't need to apply for a EIN for my new LLC that I am creating

So, in my transition, I am setting up a LLC. (name will be posted later this week). But since I am the only employee in the LLC. The following applies.

http://www.irs.gov/faqs/faq-kw67.html

I recently formed a limited liability company (LLC). The LLC has no employees. Do I need a separate Federal Tax ID number for the LLC?
No, you will not need a separate Federal Tax ID number for the LLC if you are the sole owner of the LLC and the LLC has no employees. If you are the sole owner of the LLC and the LLC has employees, you will need to get a separate Federal Tax ID number, if you choose to have the LLC report and pay employment taxes with respect to employees of the LLC. If you are not the sole owner of the LLC, you will need a separate Federal Tax ID number for the LLC. See Notice 99-6, 1999-1 CB 321.

Not sure any one really cares about this, but you never know.  

I made the press. Article after interview with AP reporter

I was searching on the web for something else when I found an article by CATHERINE TSAI. AP Business Writer regarding my interview on filing for unemployment.

http://www.examiner.com/a-1539722~Colorado_unemployment_hits_5_2_percent_in_July.html

I was quoted by saying
"Telluride has appetizers that start at $10," he said. "The standard of living in Telluride is just expensive. That's the cost of paradise."

I did say that, but really appetizers start higher, that was price for a side salad. :)

One thing for sure, one needs to watch what one says, in an interview. Really did not want to make public my salary (or lack of), but that was Harris, for you.

My Birkman First Look Report Summary

So, part of the Severance package, is a one month services from www.right-from-home.com. I just finished a webinar on the Birkman First Look assessment. No great surprises here, but a few.
The following is my summary page.

HyperSpider : October of 2002 was the last update

I had not updated my contracting website www.hyperspider.com since October 2002. Now with the new transition, I decided that I would still use this business name, and I clean up some of the obvious stuff on the site.

Even after 6 years, it still looks decent, albeit a bit "old school". But straight hand coded HTML is like a old car. You don't need any fancy tools to fiddle with it.

Resume is now updated....

Yep, my resume is now updated.  Click here to download it in Word format.

Let the search begin.

Why I moved to Telluride in the first place.

I presented to Harris (formerly known as Encoda) back in May of 2004 a "Project Telluride" document, explaining why I wanted to work remote out of Telluride.

I ran across this document, and during this time of transition, it was interesting to reflect back on this time.

At the end of the document I state:

Bottom Line: I am a mountain man at heart, stuck in a computer programmer’s body and mind. “The call of the mountains”, has reached a point where it can no longer be ignored.

After 4+ years, this statement is still true.

Telluride 4th of July Parade Photos

Photos from the Telluride 4th of July Parade. I was the Alpen Schatz photographer. They got first place for there category in the parade.

Click here to open up in Flickr.

Unemployment += 1;

For the first time in my life, I filed for Unemployment. Interesting process. Snippet of the application below.

"I understand I must register for work and actively seek work in order to be paid on this claim, unless I am job attached or union attached. I understand I am required to keep a detailed record of my job contacts, including dates of contacts, names and addresses of employers, names and titles of persons contacted, phone numbers of employers contacted, type of work sought, how job contact was made, whether an application was taken, and the results of these contacts.(Your Unemployment Insurance Handbook includes a log for recording these job contacts.) I am aware that my work search contacts are subject to verification. I further understand I may be denied payment for any period for which I cannot provide this detailed record of my work search. NOTE: Colorado residents must make five contacts per week seeking work. Non-residents are required to make three contacts per week seeking work."

Hopefully, I don't have to be on this for long. But I guess the many decades of paying into Unemployment Insurance, I should be able to get back a little bit from it.

Song/Video from Tim McGraw about Telluride on YouTube

So, I was looking at some new technology called TimeTube

Which let me to this song by Tim McGraw about Telluride. Not bad (for Country)


I went ahead and bought it for 99 cents off of iTunes.

Subscribe To This Blog Via Email

So, I am finally putting on a email subscription to this blog. It is super easy to set up, all you need to do is sign up using the subscription entry box on the right (in the side bar). Or click Subscribe to Mike's Blog by Email

I subscribe to my friend Don blog at http://don-denver.blogspot.com/. Each post that he does goes directly into my inbox.

You can always unsubscribe from this service too.

Harris, Inc has downsize. I have been affected.

Ok, so the people that follow my twitter (on the right), have noticed that my company Harris, Inc has downsized.

I was told about this decision right after I got back from my Budapest trip. This did not come as too much of a surprise. We were told all teams were going to be affected. When I was requested to go out to Budapest, I suspected it was to train my self out of job. In the past, my performance at Harris, Inc. as sheltered me from such downsizings, however, the culture has changed regarding remote employees (which I was). To my knowledge most (if not all) of the remote employees got it.

People ask me, so now what? What are your plans? This is usually my response:

"Change is not always bad. The world is wide open now. It is kind of exciting, a bit scary, but a big part of me really does like new adventures."

So, this all went down on Monday. On Tuesday, I received all the paper work via overnight FedEx. Today, I sent my laptops and paperwork, and my expense report to Harris.

I have SOOOOOOO many projects, that I want to do. No rest for me.

Then off to Germany, later in the month with Mary Dawn. She is doing some buying for her store Alpen Schatz and doing research for her Alpen Tours. I will be her personal assistant.

Once I start a new job, I won't have any vacation, so need to get that out of the way AND it was paid for it from Harris.

Thanks to all, that have given me support.

Come back soon to this blog, lots of Budapest stuff to blog about and some of my new plans might start trickling out.

-Michael

ps. If you are looking for some .NET, Cocoa, Web work, send me an email. mmowery@hyperspider.com <- Shameless plug....

Luftansa Strike might affect my air travel

Because of Lufthansa Strike, my flight on Saturday from Budapest to Frankfurt was NOT on the schedule.

Once I get to Frankfurt, I fly United, so I think I will be ok.

Also, I fly out of Frankfurt at 5 pm. So, hopefully, they can put me on a latter flight from Budapest to Frankfurt.

We will see...

Company Car

Company Car here in Budapest.

One picture can say thousand words. So I will stop now.

Rubbish Bins on Buffet Tables

At every buffet table here in Budapest (like in the hotels), there is a small rubbish bin on the table. I watched others and if they have any "rubbish" during their meal, they deposit it into the bin on he table. I remember thinking this was odd the first time I came to Budapest. Only applies to buffet meals. I guess it makes sense because you don't have the same kind of wait staff. Hmm don't know.

What is important NOW in your life? : WW2 bomb found

After arriving at work, I was told that a WW2 bomb found and that thousands of residents, were evacuated here in Budapest.

So, that brings me to the question:What is important NOW in your life? This 2 ton bomb could destroy the whole neighborhood.

Can you imagine the "terror" of living in this environment at that time during WWII (or any war zone for that matter).

I know that currently, the things that occupy my mind are very pale in comparison to others living in turbulent times.

The point (if any) is if you are in a good place right now in your life, give thanks. If you are not in a good point in your life. Well, realize, that you probably have a better grasp on what is important in your life than the rest of us. Hopefully, the simple questions of life, that respond with hard answers, will ease into simple solutions.

Car Alarms Going On/Off

At the office, I hear a lot of car alarms go off each day. I would say probably close to 10+ a day. That is a lot.

So, I am thinking either
a) a lot of car break-ins
b) a lot of fault car alarms


Yesterday, I looked down at the building below my window. It had car flags (Jaguar was one of them) flying on posts. It then occurred to me that they were TESTING / INSTALLING car alarms at this establishment.

Another note: The alarm were short lasting 10-30 seconds long.

Maybe I will ask my colleagues tomorrow about it.

I REALLY WANTED TO BLOG TONIGHT....

I really wanted to write about my adventures last weekend, however, I am zonk. Need to spend energy on work.

hopefully tomorrow....

Ouch....

Bottle of Hungarian Rose wine ---- HUF 500 = $3.48 US
Dancing in hotel ----- HUF 0 = $0.00 US
Music on iTunes ----- HUF 0 - $0.00 US
Forgetting to cut toe nail ----- HUF $.... $..... US

Stubbing toe on Bed post ----- OUCH!!!!!!!

Don't mess with me, I am a Fejlesztők!

Don't mess with me, I am a Fejlesztők!

Photo taken in the Budapest office.



:)

One year anniversary of the flood.

It was a year a go that Mary Dawn and I got flooded out of 430 West Dakota.

http://mikemowery.blogspot.com/2007/10/cornet-creek-flood-day1.html

Unfortunately the pictures are not showing up. Will have to work on that later.

But it has been a interesting year!!!!

Some how I always find my self wandering around

I am a wanderer. When I get to a place I have never been, I tend to wander until I get lost. Then get my self "un-lost". Then start the cycle over and over and over.

I probably wander until I got lost 3-4 times yesterday, then I just continue until I recoginze some street, object, and then re-orient. This all takes time, hence, I never seem to have the energy or time to blog at night. ugh.

By doing this, I wandered into several places where I visited last time I was here in Budapest. I ended up eating next to the Greek place, that Mary Dawn and I went to.

But here is the craziest thing. My work colleague last time I was here took me to this place to have a drink. It was in some courtyard, very much what I would call a dive bar in the states. SOOOO much character, I thought I would never see that place again. It has giant insects hanging from the ceiling. Graffiti everywhere.

So, I was walking back to the hotel which is on a side street of a side street. During the day this place, has a "garage style" door into the corridor. No signs, no nothing. Just graffiti. However, last night, it was opened. Then a strange sense of deja vu settle in. Then it occurred to me that this IS that place and it is right around the corner from the hotel. I have walked by the door many times and never knew that this was THAT place.

I JUST might have to go visit again some time this or next week. :)

I will close with a self timer picture I took of me on the Danube, with the bridge and National Gallery in the background. Budapest at night is VERY magical.


Ok, way late for work. But as I am finding out, the working hours in Budapest are shifted to 9-10 am starts.

Rain..... and short entry today.

Ok, the commute into work, was very wet. None of the shops I went into had umbrellas. Oh well, what is a little rain. Short blog entry today. Plenty to write about, but late start to day, so make it priority to write tonight.

Things to write about, so I don't forget.
Budapest Metro
Post some photos
Food
Forints
Hungarian Language
Crazy people

[Added this picture, after I posted]
Here is the Harris office building. On the 6 floor.

First full day in Budapest

Will see if I can keep up the blog while I am here in Budapest.

I arrived at 2:30 pm here in Budapest. This was over 24 hrs of travel from Telluride, but it went fairly smoothly. I took a taxi directly into the office. Did all the logistical stuff, meet people, and took a taxi to my hotel.

I am staying at Hotel Ambra. It is nice, big, somewhat quiet (for a big city), in a cool area, and I think it will just fine for my 2 week stay here.

I tried to stay up as late as possible last night so, I really do think I kicked the jet lag. Got up and realized that I did not unpack yet. Tonight will be one big iron session.

Breakfast is good. I think enough variety to last for the next couple of weeks.

The only thing bad about the room so far is the phone keeps ringing. Had to unplug it. Told the front desk, hopefully, they can look at it today.

I then walked to where I can catch a bus to work. But first I wanted to buy the seven day travel card. However, the place I have bought this card in the past, was closed. There was a sign on the window, but my Hungarian is absence.

Number 9 bus, works out great. Takes 17 mins from the town center to Mazsda ter where the office is. I feel like a pro!!!

Ok, need to get to work.

Pictures, might be posted tonight.

Cheers,
Michael

[Added this picture after the fact]
Waiting for my flight out of Telluride.

Great Britain Top 100

Ok, as many of you know, I am off to Budapest tommorow, so I wanted to finally post a filtered down version of the wonderful trip that Mary Dawn and I took to Great Britain. These are the top 100 photos from the 1000+ photos.



[click on the ">" above for the slide show]

If you feel like spending a bit more time, I posted an expanded set to my flickr account.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelmowerymedia/sets/72157606248817792/


or if you want to FULL 1000+ photo set please visit http://www.marydawndebriae.com/gallery/Europe2008/
YIKES, that is a lot of photos.


Well, need to prepare for the summer party, then off to Budapest for 2 weeks. I will try to blog some from over there.

Favorites photos from the year 2007

There are my favorite photos from 2007. They are posted up on Flickr.
Click here to open up in Flickr.

Favorites photos from the year 2006

There are my favorite photos from 2006. They are posted up on Flickr.
Click here to open up in Flickr.

Favorites photos from the year 2005

There are my favorite photos from 2005. They are posted up on Flickr.
Click here to open up in Flickr.

Favorites photos from the year 2004

There are my favorite photos from 2004. They are posted up on Flickr.
Click here to open up in Flickr.

Favorites photos from the year 2003

There are my favorite photos from 2003. They are posted up on Flickr.
Click here to open up in Flickr.

Favorites photos from the year 2002

There are my favorite photos from 2002. They are posted up on Flickr.
Click here to open up in Flickr.

Favorites photos from the year 2001

There are my favorite photos from 2001. They are posted up on Flickr.
Click here to open up in Flickr.

Favorites photos from the year 2000

There are my favorite photos from 2000. They are posted up on Flickr.
Click here to open up in Flickr.

Yes, I am a model. oh yeah..... I look fabulous!!!!! :) [UPDATED with orig photo]

Mary Dawn (owner of Alpen Schatz) was very desperate for a male model so she convinced me to do this photo shoot for Telluride Style Magazine.

The day of the photo shot was a dreary rainy day, but the photographer overexposed the background, and it turn out great. The photo shoot was taken at the Telluride Airport. We were all a little disappointed where the photo was placed, (in the crease of the magazine), but it is cool none the less.

Smokie and Schlappi look good too :)

Here is a zoom-in shot.



Here is a shot of both pages. (note, the majority of my blog readers are male, so I wont be surprised, if they focus on the other shots on the page)


[UPDATE: We got the original file from the photographer. He retains all rights] The photographer did a GREAT job with the exposure!




If you want to see the page on the internet, here you go....
http://viewer.zmags.com/showmag.php?mid=grdgg&pageid=171

any request for additional model shoots, can be sent to me at mmowery@hyperspider.com

:-)