Driving into Denver

Driving into Denver is an interesting experience for one having a foggy image of the place. First, I had no idea that Denver is not in the mountains. Signs seen in passing promise slopes all the way -- "Vail Right 200 feet". Yet from the airport it's 15 miles to town and there's not a hill in sight. When finally entering the city, you see them looming in the distance all blue and moody,. But really: this is Calgary. But smaller, older and apparently a lot richer in the old days.

Signs on the way in piqued my interest. First, as the shuttle navigates through successive districts, apparent differences in the ethnic/linguistic makeup are dramatic. In some areas the billboards are exclusively Spanish. Three blocks on, I see the same signs, with the same messages, but in English.

And then a treat: "Special today! Amish Built Garage Doors!" With extra width to accomodate the team's gear, I suppose.

one of the more unlikely lines...

I was recently watching the dvd packaged with Lyle Lovett's It's not big, it's large cd. In his comments on the song "don't cry a tear," Lyle says: "the first time I played this was at Hunter Thompson's memorial. Just after they shot him out of a cannon."

A water park for gnomes

This will likely be the start of a series of entries under the broad heading of Bathing Concept Fails. And it’s a worthy first – as near as I can tell a water park for gnomes. It would be a short gnome who could stand under the showerhead. Note too the complete lack of shower curtain or other device that might prevent flooding of the rest of the bathroom while using the water park. I assume the gnome slides are placed at the far side of the water park to prevent potentially disastrous flooding. Unfortunately, I am not a gnome, so I am not so much enjoying the challenge of showering in the water park. The nearest experience is the space customarily provided for pre-bath washing in a Japanese inn. (Best Western Trocadero la Tour Hotel, Paris (alleged to be 4 star), 9 March, 2009) Also remarkable here is the idea of having the Internet connection provided by a single line in that is shared with a fax machine. The fax has priority. In a hotel, the fax wins.