Insomnia Log

You Don't Have to Go Home (But You Can't Stay Here)

2011-12-25T13:48:00.001-07:00

Boulder City Manager Jane Brautigam has proposed a new rule closing all city parks and open space properties between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. It wouldn't apply to pedestrians or cyclists passing through without stopping, but any hint of delay would open the lollygaggers to citation.

Communications Manager Patrick von Keyserling says this rule is not a response to the Occupy protesters, but rather is meant to protect their safety and health (a rather Orwellian description).

It is also meant to address illegal nighttime activity in dimly lit, sparsely populated areas. It's easier to stop all parks and open space usage at night than to just enforce existing laws.

However, my biggest issue with the proposal isn't its questionable justification. It's the legitimacy of the process being followed.

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Caution -- Slow Bikes

2011-12-04T13:45:00.001-07:00

City staff has proposed several changes to transportation code, some of which affect how crosswalks are regulated. The changes were presented to council on Nov. 15 and the first reading was approved, which means that the changes will be discussed in more detail this Tuesday.

If the changes are approved as presented, drivers will have to stop at a crosswalk if another driver has already stopped to let a pedestrian cross. This is common sense and brings the city's regulations into line with state law.

The changes affecting pedestrians and cyclists are more impactful.

Pedestrians using a crosswalk with an alert system, like the flashing yellow lights found around town, are only allowed to do so after the lights have been activated. Some pedestrians avoid triggering the flashing lights if there is plenty of time to cross and they don't want to inconvenience drivers.

However, I believe this is a reasonable requirement. Making the use of the lights more consistent will help with drivers' expectations. And if there is an accident in which the pedestrian didn't activate the signal, it will help assign responsibility.

The remaining crosswalk changes restrict the speed of bikes in crosswalks.

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What's the Difference between a Skeptic and a Denier?

2011-11-13T10:01:00.001-07:00

To someone with a scientific background, the difference is obvious. A skeptic has an open mind; a denier has a closed mind.

The denier has made up his mind that anthropogenic (human-caused) global warming isn't happening. He rejects any scientific evidence supporting AGW, and blindly accepts any evidence, pseudo-evidence, emotional appeal, or unsupported argument that opposes AGW. Scientifically disproving his argument won't sway him.

The skeptic doesn't believe something just because the establishment says it's so. He needs to personally examine the evidence, and won't believe it until he can prove it for himself.

The skeptic is pro-science, exactly the type of person who moves science forward. The denier is anti-science, but may hide behind the term "skeptic" the same way a creationist hides behind the term "intelligent design."

Dr. Richard Muller is a skeptic. The Berkeley physicist criticized errors he saw in Al Gore's movie, "An Inconvenient Truth" He criticized the scientists involved in the so-called "climategate scandal." He vocally criticized the "hockey stick" graph that climate scientists have used to show the sharp increase in temperature in the past few decades.

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The case of the missing education funding

2011-10-30T06:33:00.002-06:00

My ballot was sitting on my desk, only one blank remaining. I was confused.

Colorado Proposition 103 is supposed to restore cut state education funding by increasing our taxes for the next five years. But I distinctly remember that we passed a constitutional amendment about ten years ago that promised to increase school funding every year.

Either the Legislature has been violating the state constitution by cutting education spending, or someone isn't being quite honest (or possibly both).

Amendment 23 passed with 52.7 percent of the vote in 2000. It promised, among other things, to "(increase) per pupil funding for public schools and total state funding for special purpose education programs by at least the rate of inflation plus one percentage point for the next ten years and by at least the rate of inflation thereafter." And yet, for the past couple of years, education funding has been on the chopping block along with everything else.

I sympathize with the Legislature. Theirs is an impossible task. They are being micromanaged by us citizens with many conflicting goals.

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Boulder Election 2011

2011-10-11T15:24:00.001-06:00

Given recent local election coverage, you'd think the only things we're voting on were municipalization and corporate rights. However, Boulder has no fewer than eight ballot issues this year.

Issue 2A allows the city to sell $49,000,000 in bonds for critical infrastructure needs, including maintaining streets, bridges, buildings, and recreation facilities; upgrading software, the main library, and police and fire equipment; and improving transportation connections and streetscapes. It's hard to argue with those priorities. The bonds will be paid back using existing revenue streams. Plus, the work will generate local jobs, helping the local economy.

Issue 2B allows the city to extend and increase the utility occupation tax levied on Xcel's customers to further investigate the feasibility of a municipal power utility. Question 2C authorizes the city council to create a power utility, if it proves it can do so in a cost-effective manner, with rates and reliability comparable to Xcel's and a plan for more renewable energy.

David Miller, in his guest commentary a week ago, rightly pointed out that there are many unanswered questions related to this proposal. We don't know how much it will cost, nor how much additional renewable energy will be feasible. However, we can't know these answers without approving both measures. So, the real question is whether we want to know, or whether we will continue to trust Xcel to work in Boulder's best interest.

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Patent Reform is Bust for Brainy Boulderites

2011-09-25T15:12:00.000-06:00

Last year Boulder was judged the brainiest city by Portfolio.com, but lumped in with 20th place Denver in Forbes' list of innovative cities.

Now we're seventh on the Insomnia Log Patent Friendly Cities list. Boulder area residents were issued 834 patents per 100,000 residents from 2006 through 2010, and only six other metro regions did better.

President Obama just signed a patent reform law, the first major overhaul of our patent system in 60 years, and there was hardly a peep from local inventors.

The most debated part of the new law converts the U.S. from a first-to-invent to a first-to-file system. Previously, you could get a patent if you could prove that you invented something first, even if someone else beat you to the Patent and Trademark Office. No more.

Supporters, including many of the biggest technology companies, say this will simplify things, eliminating contests over who actually owns an invention. A class of procedures is eliminated from the PTO. This should reduce legal costs, and help reduce the multi-year backlog of patent applications.

Many small inventors are not so thrilled. They fear big companies with teams of lawyers will file applications faster, and earn patents even when they weren't the first to come up with an idea.

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Correction: In this essay, I said that, "Under the new law the PTO gets to keep all of its fees, rather than having them siphoned into the general fund." In fact, that provision was deleted during congressional negotiations.

Patent Friendly Cities

2011-09-20T22:58:00.004-06:00

These are the top 20 metropolitan areas in the US, based on the number of patents granted to residents per capita. This is based on the first named inventor on patents granted by the US Patent and Trademark Office from 2006 through 2010.

Rank	City/Region	Patents/100,000
1	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA	2,202
2	Corvallis, OR	1,586
3	Burlington-South Burlington, VT	992
4	Rochester, MN	962
5	Boise City-Nampa, ID	906
6	Bremerton-Silverdale, WA	841
7	Boulder, CO	834
8	Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA	758
9	Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX	597
10	Ann Arbor, MI	591
11	Fort Collins-Loveland, CO	591
12	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	564
13	Rochester, NY	496
14	Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown, NY	463
15	Ithaca, NY	458
16	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	427
17	Raleigh-Cary, NC	423
18	Trenton-Ewing, NJ	423
19	Durham-Chapel Hill, NC	390
20	Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH	374

Still fearful after all these years

2011-09-11T08:46:00.000-06:00

Raise your hand if you remember where you were 10 years ago today.

I'll bet almost all of you remember it like yesterday. I sure do. Watching thousands of people murdered on live television is not something you can easily forget.

It was a time of strong emotion: confusion, fear, grief, anger. We mourned together as one country, and we plotted our revenge together.

But it has not been satisfying, nor have we obtained closure. We attacked two countries, but saw mostly quagmire. The economy has never regained its pre-attack strength. The unity after the attack was quickly replaced by the bitterest partisan bickering this country has seen in a long time. Even the taking down of the 9/11 mastermind, Osama bin Laden, didn't generate more than a momentary sense of satisfaction.

Thirty-two years ago, a President gave a speech in which he talked about our country's malaise. The voters hated him for it, choosing to fire Carter and bring in the optimist Reagan. But today, politicians are competing not to deny the malaise but to pin it on the other guy.

What happened to us 10 years ago? Why can't we get out of this funk? Did we take a bite of the apple, lose our innocence, and get tossed out of the garden? Or are we suffering from PTSD and showing symptoms of depression that just won't disappear?

We're going about this thing all wrong

2011-08-21T12:00:00.000-06:00

I'm talking, of course, about the economy. It's annoyingly broken, and for some reason just refuses to fix itself.

The tea party gang would have you believe it's as simple as spending less money and reducing the deficit. However, they can't actually believe that will work. Every economist and his brother-in-law tells us that cutting government spending will just send the economy further into the toilet. Economies in the toilet, as we've seen recently, tend to result in larger deficits.

Of course, Obama and the Democrats don't have a much better plan. They're banking on stimulus that's so tepid that Republicans might even vote for it if they hold their noses. Tepid stimulus leads to, you guessed it, tepid recovery.

I have a modest proposal.

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What, Me Vote?

2011-07-24T12:00:00.000-06:00

It always amazes me when elected officials take the fact of their election as a message that people actually agree with them.

OK, it doesn't amaze me, but it still doesn't seem logical. Of course, once you are elected you really can't operate under any other assumption, but that doesn't mean you're not wrong.

In this country, about a third of those eligible to vote are actually politically active enough to vote regularly. There's your base: half of these regular voters. You can count on them as long as you don't do something stupid.

It's the fifth of all adults who vote once in a while that you really need. Convincing them of your position won't convince them to vote for you, nor will that strategy work for your opponent. They don't know much about the issues, nor do they care much about politics. What gets them to the polls is anger.

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Take our Time with Energy Decision

2011-06-26T12:12:00.003-06:00

Two weeks ago I wrote about Xcel's proposal to provide Boulder with lots of wind energy. I said that Xcel would be able to count that wind energy towards its legislated mandate to provide 30 percent of its Colorado electricity as renewable or recycled energy.

I received a couple of emails from folks who told me I was wrong. Xcel would sell the renewable energy credits associated with the new wind energy to Boulder, and Boulder would get the RECs.

However, the Colorado statute that mandates utilities to provide a minimum percentage via renewable and recycled energy doesn't mention RECs. It just says that the utility has to generate or cause to be generated the energy.

The Public Utility Commission rules that implemented that law say that a utility will use RECs to meet the mandate, but they don`t seem to say that RECs are the only way to meet the mandate.

Confused? According to Xcel, the interpretation of this requirement doesn't matter. They say that they`ve already gotten enough renewable energy lined up to meet the mandate without Boulder, and to meet it early. Whether or not they are allowed to count the Boulder wind toward the 30 percent, they are not planning on doing so.

They don't need us.

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Zero net carbons

2011-06-12T12:06:00.002-06:00

Xcel Energy has finally outlined a proposal to City Council for a new franchise agreement that looks like it meets the goals for Boulder's energy future. I'm not convinced.

It's actually quite slick, a virtual game of three-card Monte. Who uses the renewable energy? Who pays for it? Who gets credit for it?

Xcel already provides renewable energy. They have to by law. Under their Boulder proposal, they won't have to provide a single kilowatt-hour more. Xcel claims that this wind power generation capacity will be built specifically for Boulder, but that is disingenuous. It will still count against Xcel's statewide renewable energy mandate.

They think they've found a mark for their con game. Boulder citizens want more renewable energy, and Xcel management is betting we'll willingly spend more to get it. They've also used the classic con strategy of telling us the deal is off the table if we don`t agree by November.

With Xcel's offer we'd be getting the same renewable energy that Xcel already has to generate, but we'll be on the hook to pay for it while everyone else in Colorado will get a price break.

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Cyclists Lose a Round

2011-05-29T11:48:00.002-06:00

Last summer I wrote about Black Hawk's cycling ban. The news since then hasn't been good for cyclists.

In 2009, the Black Hawk Board of Aldermen passed a law giving them the right to ignore state traffic regulations and prohibit bicycles within their city. In 2010, they passed a law banning cycling on most Black Hawk streets.

Several cyclists were ticketed under the ordinance, including three cyclists on a loop from Golden through Idaho Springs, Central City, Black Hawk and back to Golden. They were ticketed for riding on Gregory Street, the only road connecting Central City to Black Hawk.

The cyclists challenged their tickets, arguing the ordinance is a violation of state law. Their arguments are many and convincing.

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Does Why Matter?

2011-05-08T11:43:00.001-06:00

A pair of recent local convictions brought up the issue of how laws against bias-motivated crime relate to free speech protections.

Joseph Coy was convicted of both second-degree assault and bias-motivated crime for his racially motivated attack on Nigerian CU student Oluyibi Ogundipe. Zachery Harris was convicted of bias-motivated harassment for using racial slurs against Ogundipe and his Saudi friend, Ahmad Abdulkareem.

The First Amendment was designed to protect expression that may not be popular, even expression that makes people angry. Yet, even the Supreme Court has ruled that it has limits. Some speech may be regulated within the confines of free speech.

Coy won the lottery with his two-for-the-price-of-one crime. Clearly, there was evidence to convict him of the assault. Was the bias-motivation a separate crime, worth doubling his punishment?

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A Deficit of Honest Discussion

2011-04-24T21:57:00.003-06:00

No matter which party is in power, the other party thinks that the budget deficit is a vital issue. The party in power, generally, considers it a lower priority.

But, at least for the time being, the GOP has convinced enough voters the issue is critical. So now both parties are talking about how to reduce our country's deficit spending.

Of course nobody is proposing anything that will seriously make a dent at any time in the foreseeable future. Each proposal simply reflects the ideological priorities of the proposer, and suggests cutting programs they don't like.

Anybody can play that game. See how easy it is to trim the deficit by $100 billion.

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An Uncivil Union

2011-04-10T21:53:00.001-06:00

There's no doubt in my mind that the opposition to the recently defeated civil unions bill was based in one group's need to impose its religious beliefs on the rest of us.

There is no other explanation for the fervor of the testimony against the bill given by the largely religious groups. There is no other explanation for the obsession with protecting their tradition and their definition of a single word. And there is no other explanation for what I believe is the clear violation of the oath each member of the legislature took to support the Constitution of the United States.

These opponents can't stand the idea that somebody else is getting married in a way different than what their religion supports, and civil unions are just too darn close for their comfort.

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First Lucky Island

2011-03-27T10:43:00.001-06:00

One thing seems evident when looking at the nuclear crisis at Fukushima Dai-Ichi (literally, Fortunate Island Number One, not to be confused with Three Mile Island).

If you are a fan of nuclear energy, that one thing is that even after one of the biggest earthquakes ever followed by a huge tsunami, the worst case scenario didn't happen. Nuclear is even more good-to-go than before.

If you are a nuclear foe, then what happened in Japan proves how dangerous this technology is. It is only pure luck and seat-of-the-pants management that prevented a complete meltdown and huge nuclear disaster.

I look at things differently.

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The Big Cheese Stands Alone

2011-03-13T10:39:00.001-06:00

One thing clear in the Wisconsin budget kerfuffle is that it's not about the budget.

If it were about the budget, when the unions and Democrats offered to accept all of the proposed financial concessions the Republicans would have jumped on the opportunity.

If it were about the budget, those concessions would have included all public unions, not just the ones that supported the Democrats in the most recent election.

If it were about the budget, the Governor's plan wouldn't include the ability for the state to sell off its power, heating, and cooling plants to whomever they chose, for as much or as little as they choose, without so much as a competitive bid.

If it were about the budget, it would not have followed on the heels of major corporate tax cuts.

No, the proposal to disempower public unions is a political move, a way to leverage Wisconsin's budget problems to accomplish long-term Republican goals.

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Dropped under the Bus

2011-02-20T10:33:00.001-07:00

I took RTD to a meeting in south Denver on the same day as our recent snowstorm.

The plan: avoid the stress of driving on snowy roads, gain time for paperwork and reading, pay less than for gas, and take only a few minutes longer than driving.

It turns out that RTD sometimes cancels express buses when the weather is bad, leaving fewer, slower, more crowded buses. Plus, missing a connection by one minute means waiting 15 or 30 minutes for the next (or longer if it's running late).

No matter. I was 30 minutes late, but I could have been just as late if I'd driven. Public transit is often a viable option, with its own set of advantages and disadvantages.

One of those disadvantages is the farebox.

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No Longer Polar Opposites

2011-02-06T23:45:00.003-07:00

As a child I liked to dig deep holes straight down, on the theory that I'd eventually make it to China.

It turns out that if I'd kept going and survived the 10,000 degrees at the earth's core, I would have popped up in the Indian Ocean off Australia. China is exactly opposite us in longitude, but at the same latitude.

It's probably for the best that I didn't make it. At the time, China was in the hands of Mao. Mao was never called Emperor, but he acted as one, perhaps one of the cruelest in China's history. Tens of millions died under his rule, and the souls of many more were crushed.

On his recent trip to the U.S., Chinese President Hu made waves saying that while his country has "made enormous progress," "a lot has to be done in China in terms of human rights."

He is right.

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Talking the Talk

2011-02-05T12:35:00.004-07:00

A few months ago, I wrote that Sarah Palin and other Tea Party darlings were fanning dangerous flames with their violent imagery, but that they were within their First Amendment rights to do so.

I also predicted the public would lose its sympathy for Tea Partiers after an event like Tucson's assassination attempt.

It's too soon to say whether my prediction will come true. However, it is clear there's been a backlash, in the form of calls for "civility." I'm opposed to those calls.

It's not that I'm opposed to civility. I'm not. Civility is greatly underrated.

But the principle of free speech is a foundation of this country. The way to protect against speech you don't like is not to tell people to shut up. It's to make a convincing argument why they are wrong.

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Fixing Health Care isn`t the Answer

2011-01-27T09:19:00.002-07:00

Politicians of all stripes have solutions to our heath care crisis, whether it's giving everyone access or letting the free market rule.

But you can't solve health care without solving health. Otherwise the current cycle just continues.

That cycle, discussed in my previous column, is based on health fads, each promising to fix our health with new supplements and enhanced foods, and each fad in turn proving to be insignificant or counterproductive. Look for example at the now discredited low-fat craze still driving many diets.

Will today's fads (super fruits, omega-3 fatty acids, and vitamin D) follow the same pattern?

It's taken us 10,000 years to adapt to dietary changes resulting from the invention of agriculture. Some of us still can't eat wheat and dairy. How can we thrive on foods invented in the past few decades or less?

Is an antioxidant really better than fruit? Refined flour better than whole grains? Factory-raised meat better than wild game? Pasteurized non-fat hormone-treated milk better than fresh whole milk? Vitamin water better than real water? "Natural flavor" better than any real food?

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Real Health Foods

2011-01-27T09:15:00.002-07:00

Imagine that you are the owner of a health food store who is cryogenically frozen for 200 years. When you wake up, you are told that everything you sold at your store is actually bad for you, and all the stuff that was supposed to kill you is actually good for you.

That's what Woody Allen finds out in his science fiction movie, "Sleeper." But it may also be the key to America's health care crisis.

It turns out that the food industry in this country has been lying to us for decades. Every time they come out with a new product they say is supposed to be good for you, it most likely is just the opposite.

Industry has accomplished much positive. Food is now much cheaper, it transports more easily, it doesn't spoil as quickly and it is much more convenient. People that were starving before are much more likely to be able to afford food.

But this progress has come at a huge cost. Each bit of processing brings a food item one step further removed from the foods we evolved to eat.

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Actors in the New Security Theater

2010-12-29T10:13:00.002-07:00

According to one rumor, former Idaho Senator Larry Craig originally recommended the recent changes in airport screening processes. Perhaps now he won't have to go to the airport men's room to satisfy his alleged needs.

Craig's self-reported "wide stance" may prove useful in the new full-body scanners. However, he might opt out in favor of the enhanced pat-down, maybe even requesting that it be performed in a private room.

I can't fully report in this family publication, but many refer online to the scanners based on their ability to determine the size of parts of the anatomy commonly shielded from view, and to the pat-downs using the name of a location on a baseball diamond.

The resistance to the new procedures is widespread among some travelers. No wonder: you stand with your legs spread wide, and someone runs his or her hand up your leg until "meeting resistance."

Many others are stoically accepting the changes.

But is there a third group, people who actually enjoy the sanctioned public exhibitionism and groping?

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The opening of open space

2010-12-17T08:04:00.001-07:00

After the recent election, Boulder County officials immediately approved new open space purchases using revenue from the Issue 1B tax increase.

This year's vote was a squeaker -- the measure passed by 0.86 percent. The county clearly learned something from last year's embarrassing loss, but can obviously no longer count on overwhelming support for program expansions.

Most recent opposition to open space expansion cited higher taxes and the large amount of open space already protected.

But some of the loudest opposition came from the program's biggest fans.

Some withheld support because there are too many bikes on open space trails, others because there is not enough bike access, too many dogs, not enough dog access, too many people and too many trails, or too much open space that is not open to the public.

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How Did I Do? Election 2010

2010-11-22T17:13:00.003-07:00

Are people reading my recommendations more this year? Are they starting to take me more seriously? Are people actually starting to read the issues and think about their implications before voting?

I'm not sure what happened this year, but the election results were much closer to my recommendations than they have been in past years. Probably just luck.

I called for a protest to vote "No" on all statewide ballot issues. In fact, almost all were soundly defeated. The only one that passed was a measure referred by the legislature to allow them to temporarily move the state capital in a state of emergency. Definitely not a big deal.

And voters approved every single county, city, and school district issue, including five tax increases. The only issue in the batch that I had recommended against, the Boulder Valley School District tax increase was certainly for a good cause. My concerns had to do with accountability, and hopefully BVSD will prove responsible with this new chunk of cash.

And maybe my winning streak will continue into future years.

Whose words?

2010-11-16T08:58:00.002-07:00

Many are happy to interpret recent election results, but to me it's simple. People are out of work and taking it out on their elected officials.

According to my statistical analysis of past elections, the unemployment rate has been responsible for about a third of switched congressional seats. Further, when the unemployment rate is above about 7 percent, that contribution leaps to somewhere between half and two thirds.

When unemployment is high it is a huge factor in house seats being lost by the president's party. When unemployment is low, other factors come more into play.

Based on this theory, you could have predicted that Democrats would lose at least 40 seats in the House without looking at a single news story, poll result, party platform, or campaign ad.

But there's more to this story.

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Summary of 2010 Boulder and Colorado Ballot Issues

2010-11-02T07:00:00.004-06:00

Here are my analyses and recommendations for each issue on this year's ballot from the City of Boulder, Boulder County, and the State of Colorado. You may not agree with any particular recommendation, but you can easily see how I came to my recommendation and come to your own decison based on all of the facts. My biggest goal is to ensure that fewer people vote on issues based on either just the ads or just reading the issue title on the ballot.

Remember, when in doubt, vote no! Here's the list. The most important issues are bold. Click on any specific issue to see my full analysis.

**Colorado Measures**
Vote	Issue
NO	Amendment P Regulation of Games of Chance
NO	Amendment Q Temporary Location for the State Seat of Government
NO	Amendment R Exempt Possessory Interests in Real Property
NO	Amendment 60 Property Taxes
NO	Amendment 61 Limits on State and Local Government Borrowing
NO	Amendment 62 Application of the Term Person
NO	Amendment 63 Health Care Choice
NO	Proposition 101 Income, Vehicle, and Telecommunication Taxes and Fees
NO	Proposition 102 Criteria for Release to Pretrial Services Programs

**Boulder County Measures**
Vote	Issue
YES	Issue 1A Human Services Safety Net Mill Levy Increase
YES	Issue 1B Countywide Open Space Sales and Use Tax Increase and Bond Authorization

**City of Boulder Measures**
Vote	Issue
YES	Issue 2A Public Accomodations Tax
YES	Issue 2B Five Year Utility Occupation Tax to Replace Lost Franchise Fee Revenue
YES	Question 2C Height Limit

**Boulder Valley School District Measures**
Vote	Issue
NO	Issue 3A Property Tax Increase

How High in Boulder?

2010-10-31T09:16:00.002-06:00

When I first saw Boulder Ballot Question 2C, I thought it was arrogant. I assumed builders were asking to be able to build up to the maximum height, and then add on extra for their solar panels. Why couldn't they just plan for the solar panels in their overall plans and build a bit shorter to allow for them?

But my assumptions were wrong. Question 2C is about the ability to add solar panels on top of existing buildings, buildings which were built before the concept of solar gardens was conceived.

Solar gardens, recently approved in Colorado, are a new way to provide solar energy to the masses. Build larger arrays, large enough for several families, on larger rooftops and other locations. Then, the people who couldn't use solar energy otherwise can take advantage of its benefits. People like renters, or people with shady lots.

Boulder Question 2C is a simple proposal and makes sense. Vote yes.

Scary Monsters

2010-10-31T09:12:00.002-06:00

The Republicans have been working on their Halloween costumes for weeks. This year they are dressing as Founding Fathers.

Last month they introduced their "Pledge to America," giving the rest of us a frightening vision of their costume.

The basis for this pledge is the idea that the citizens of this country do not consent to our government and its actions. It echoes back to the Declaration's explicit dissolution of our bounds to Britain. Why is that frightening? Our nation is a representative democracy that depends on peaceful elections and transitions of power. Talk of revolution pretends that process is optional.

It's not. That process has held this country together for over 220 years.

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Local Taxing Issues

2010-10-22T08:37:00.002-06:00

For those of us living in Boulder, five of six local ballot issues this year include tax increases. Given the current financial conditions, we need to look closely at the short-term and long-term benefits of each before casting our ballots.

County Issue 1A's property tax increase was drafted in response to a confluence of three factors. State legislation required the county to spend down its human services rainy day fund; state funding for human services needs has been cut significantly; and, due to the recession, the rainy day has arrived.

Not only is it wise and humane to help people in our community who are feeling the worst pain of the economic downturn, the county is also required to do so by state law. This measure is responsibly crafted: It has a five year sunset, makes good use of public/private partnerships, and directs the commissioners to reduce the new tax as state funding is restored and conditions improve.

County Issue 1B is a new 0.15 percent sales and use tax for open space acquisition. Most people are not fans of higher sales tax, but most in the county like our open space.

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Vote No

2010-10-12T21:20:00.001-06:00

Colorado's constitution is ridiculously easy to change. To pollute our fundamental governing document with your own poorly written special-interest trash only requires convincing 50 percent of voters in one marketing blitz.

There may be some hidden benefits among this year's Colorado ballot measures, but to make things easy and make a point I'm voting against them all.

The crème de la crème of over-the-top ballot issues is the group of Amendments 60 and 61 and Proposition 101. Their sheer complexity is reason enough to reject them. Funded by people hiding in the shadows, the goal of these measures is nothing less than destroying state and local government in Colorado.

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The Brighter Side

2010-10-10T14:51:00.002-06:00

Nine years have passed since the 9/11 terrorist attacks. I remember that day as clearly as yesterday, as I'm sure many of you do.

There was the phone call telling me to turn on the television, and then the disbelief, the shock, the grief as I watched buildings with thousands of people inside crumble and collapse to the ground.

What I and millions of other people wanted was information. But there were few sources, and nothing could be done by those of us on the sidelines.

Out of respect I hesitate to compare the Fourmile fire to the 9/11 attacks. But there are some parallels.

Communication technology, both successful and failed, was a significant part of the 9/11 story. We'll never forget the final phone calls from the hijack and tower victims, the loss of the network broadcast towers when the North Tower collapsed, or the overloading of the cell networks.

[more]

W's last laugh

2010-10-08T08:30:00.003-06:00

It's not totally correct to blame the pending tax increase on Bush. Although the 43rd President did push for and sign the law, it was Congress (primarily the Republicans) who came up with this clever scheme and wrote the laws that will raise all of our taxes on Jan. 1.

The tax acts of 2001 and 2003 included temporary tax cuts followed by corresponding increases. Republican marketing at the time focused on tax relief, but today's press focuses on the tax increase, conveniently while the other party holds the Presidency and Congress. The GOP gets all of the credit and none of the blame, in an election year to boot. Brilliant.

Of course, at the time there was no way to know Democrats would be in power when the tax increase was scheduled to tax place. That's just happy coincidence.

The sunset provision was purely a political ploy. By keeping the tax cuts in effect for fewer than ten years, Republicans could sidestep rules that would have required paying for them, a tacit admission that tax cuts do not pay for themselves.

[more]

Boulder Pools Go to the Dogs

2010-10-06T16:33:00.002-06:00

When I went for my swim workout this morning, Scott Carpenter Pool was closed for the season. Although still the middle of August, the pool is only open to dogs.

I love dogs as much as anybody, but closing the only 50-meter pool in town to humans after just an 11-week season in an athlete-friendly city like Boulder is a slap in the face to swimmers. With the coincident annual maintenance shutdown at North Boulder Recreation Center and scheduled closures for at least one private pool, swimmers` options are severely limited.

I headed to Spruce Pool for my workout. There were 6-8 swimmers in each Boulder Aquatic Masters lane, and two in each lap lane. Jane Scott, BAM head coach, told me BAM has negotiated additional lanes from the city for this practice time for safety reasons, as the pool was over capacity.

[more]

Gut Check

2010-09-27T16:28:00.003-06:00

It's not easy being logical in forming opinions. We humans are wired to make decisions with our guts, and to manufacture a rational world around those decisions.

We are easily manipulated. A news story with lots of blood convinces us that a minor issue is the problem of the day. For example, the Camera front page has a story about an accident at a flashing crosswalk, and suddenly flashing crosswalks are death traps. We conveniently ignore the fact that most traffic accidents do not happen at these crosswalks.

Then you throw in peer manipulation. One person says that pedestrians don't look before crossing the street. Pretty soon it is common knowledge that pedestrians in Boulder have a death wish and always walk out directly in front of cars without even a glance, an opinion that, if examined logically, couldn't possibly be true.

[more]

Gunning for Guns

2010-09-01T14:51:00.002-06:00

The University of Colorado Regents are trying to preserve their right to ban guns on campus. They say they decide who gets to do what on university property.

Meanwhile, gun rights activists are telling us that guns are necessary on campus (and elsewhere) because you never know when a random killer is going to attack. Someone with a concealed gun can take out that killer and prevent mass casualties.

By my calculation fewer than two lives per year would have been saved in this country since 1966, even if every university shooter had been killed by a legitimate gun owner at the first shot.

School shootings have gone up in the past decade, but still, fewer than five lives would have been saved per year in that period.

Clearly, more than five additional deaths would occur each year with the presence of legal guns due to gun accidents, escalation of arguments, stolen weapons, and other types of mortality.

And yet, the U.S. Constitution, as recently confirmed by the Supreme Court, guarantees the right of the people of this country to have weapons and to carry them.

[more]

Black Hawk: The Definition of Arrogance

2010-09-01T14:38:00.005-06:00

I looked up arrogance in the dictionary, and this is what I found:

1. Banning a legal activity (cycling) inside your city
2. Exempting your own residents from the ban and only applying the ban to people passing through and likely unprepared
3. Not posting adequate signs warning people of the ban
4. Claiming the ban is for your citizens, and then defining those citizens to be the biggest companies in town, not the real residents
5. Making sure the ban covers a nationally-known cycling route
6. With no reasonable alternate route
7. Which is in violation of state standards
8. And federal standards
9. Claiming the ban is for safety, with zero history of bike safety issues
10. Without consulting any cyclists or cycling groups
11. Rebuffing any attempt by cycling groups to even participate in the discussion or offer alternatives
12. Ignoring state statutes that limit the ability of municipalities to modify state vehicle codes
13. Modifying the standard model vehicle code to give yourself the right to ban bikes
14. In the law giving yourself the right to ban bikes, citing non-existent research
15. In the law banning bikes on specific streets, citing non-existent research
16. In the research does exist, using a measurement technique that is designed to increase use of bikes
17. When the measurement technique didn't produce the desired results, fudging the numbers to make it appear the roads are less usable by bikes than in reality
18. Telling cyclists they have to walk their bikes, which causes a larger impediment to traffic
19. And causes the traffic impediment to last longer
20. And less safe, because cyclists walking their bikes are less maneuverable than cyclists riding
21. Writing the law so poorly that it bans bicyles, not cycling, and in effect would even ban walking your bike or carrying it trough the streets.
22. And the latest, banning bikes in your resort town, and then inviting the president of the League of American Cyclists to host events there.

Fine for cycling

2010-07-07T22:42:00.003-06:00

One mis-click when registering for Bike to Work Day, and I would have chosen Black Hawk as my commute base. This would have been sadly ironic because Black Hawk recently enacted a ban on cycling on most of its streets.

Like many municipalities, Black Hawk has adopted the Model Traffic Code, which says nothing about banning bikes. In 2009 they passed an ordinance citing "engineering and traffic studies" that demonstrate how cycling is incompatible with safe and normal traffic, and gave themselves that right. This year they passed another ordinance that bans cycling on several specific streets based on additional "investigation."

I asked the city for copies of the studies and investigations cited in the ordinances. Imagine my surprise when I receive just one analysis, dated after the first ordinance was passed.

A grand total of two streets were analyzed, although the ban covers eight. It appears the Black Hawk City Council has violated its own rules by banning cycling on streets without a proper investigation. Either that or they violated the Colorado Open Records Act by withholding information I had requested.

[more]

Deepwatergate

2010-07-07T00:56:00.001-06:00

Eleven men dead. Wildlife dying. Livelihoods lost. Beaches fouled. Oceans polluted. Unknown deep-sea impact.

Someone must be to blame.

Some say this is President Obama's Katrina. But what can he do but fly to the Gulf, sound sympathetic, and talk tough to BP? Neither Obama nor anyone in his administration knows how to stop the flow of oil, much less eliminate the oil that has already spilled.

Some environmentalists and scientists say Interior Secretary Ken Salazar is to blame and should resign. After all Salazar's Minerals Management Service was responsible for regulating the drilling operation and screwed up. Literally. MMS staffers were partying and sleeping with the people they were supposed to be regulating. Talk about strange bedfellows.

[more]

Arizona, Take Off Your Rainbow Shades

2010-07-04T23:40:00.002-06:00

A month ago, Arizona passed a law requiring all police officers in that state to determine the immigration status of anyone they came into contact with if they had "reasonable suspicion" that their presence in the U.S. was not legitimate.

Of course, we liberals and civil liberty huggers were up in arms. That law was clearly a violation of the Fourth Amendment protection against unreasonable searches, an obvious attempt to add security at the expense of the constitution and our personal freedoms.

I'm not talking about the personal freedoms of illegal immigrants. I'm not even talking about legal immigrants, who are already required by law to carry their papers at all times (as the law's proponents are so quick to remind us). I'm referring to the personal freedoms of legal citizens.

[more]

Cycing Q&A

2010-06-25T09:05:00.003-06:00

May is National Bike Month. Colorado bike month is June, so we can celebrate twice as long.

This time of year, when more Boulderites are out cycling, is always a time of conflict and uncertainty, and non-cyclists often have similar questions.

Why do you dress funny?

Every piece of a cyclist's outfit serves a purpose -- comfort, visibility, safety, convenience, mechanical efficiency.

Our cleated shoes aren't made for walking; they transfer every bit of power to the bike. High-tech fabrics allow for less sweaty multi-hour athletic sessions. Padded shorts keep our privates comfortable on that little seat. Colorful jerseys may represent our club or team, or our favorite professional cycling team. Rear pockets are out of the way and stuffed with snacks and other cargo. We can easily take off arm or leg warmers and stow them there, too.

Remember -- your favorite pro in any other sport probably wears an equally silly outfit.

[more]

Enforcement under the Radar

2010-05-27T23:04:00.003-06:00

Recent letters to the Camera have questioned the city's photo radar locations, suggesting that vans are placed to maximize ticket revenue. However, the city lost $21,000 on the program last year. Perhaps something else is going on.

Photo radar, as part of Boulder's neighborhood traffic mitigation program, is designed to decrease speeding violations in neighborhoods and school zones, a laudable goal. It has indeed reduced speeds.

In 2008 the city got heat for its radar site on North Broadway; the van was stationed in a no parking zone, spewing noxious smoke into the adjacent bike lane. In response, the city added a sign under the no parking sign excluding police vehicles and replaced the van with a less stinky one.

There is another reason to question the North Broadway location, which is 50 yards short of where two lanes merge into one. Although drivers should be prepared to merge without speeding, local factors can make obeying the speed limit difficult. The lane loss is not marked well in advance, and occurs shortly after a pedestrian crossing and a steep hill with limited sight distance.

[more]

The 30th Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon

2010-05-08T00:05:00.005-06:00

Sunday, May 2, 2010

Race Prep

I've done this race once before, in 2002. It is an iconic event. The race is high in every poll of best and most popular triathlons. Plus, being held in San Francisco, I get bonus spouse points for making the trip into a mini-vacation.

It is also unique in that it does not heavily favor one leg over the other two. All three are hard, and all three are a significant part of the total racing time. The swim is 1.5 miles from Alcatraz Island to the marina, in tricky currents and cold water. The bike is 18 miles up and down the steep San Francisco hills. And the 8 mile run includes major climbs, a beach run, and the infamous sand ladder.

Swim prep included a new wetsuit. My old suit dated back to just prior to the previous time I'd done this race and it was showing its age, so it was time. Fortunately, Gail had a couple of nice suits left over from Adrenaline Tri-Sport, which closed early this year, and one was my size. Gordo loaned me a pair of swim socks, and I already had a neoprene cap. I bought new goggles a half diopter stronger than my old ones. (I wear prescription goggles.)

I brought all the gear to the pool for a test swim. Strangely, it seemed I was actually swimming slower. I noticed that the tops of the swim socks were fluttering around, and they even started falling off while I was swimming. This was going to be a problem.

Since they were size "large," I bought a pair of size "small" and brought them to the pool on another day. They filled with water and acted as anchors. When I took them off I sped up considerably.

No other similar products were for sale in the Boulder area, and I was out of options. I decided to bring all the socks to San Francisco and wing it.

Getting ready for the run was also a challenge. I'd been getting a bit of patellar tendinitis ramping up my training for the season. I backed off a bit, got a neoprene knee sleeve, and it seemed to help. It didn't quite go away, but it was definitely under control. Starting about three weeks out from race day, Gordo had me do some challenging workouts at Wonderland Lake, including some race pace climbs up the big hill at the northwest corner.

The bike was the biggest logistical problem. We considered driving out to avoid the hassle of flying with the bike. In the end, with cheap airfares I decided to try out TriBike Transport. I'd drop my bike off at the shop on Wednesday before the race, and they'd put it on a truck with hundreds of others and magically get it to the race site in one piece by race day.

I also scheduled my bike for its annual spring tune-up a few weeks out. But this was complicated by the shop not having the parts. They didn't have my chain rings, so I had to bring the bike back in a week. Then, while working on it they decided the hubs needed to be rebuilt, but they didn't have the bearings, so I had to come back again. And the bearings weren't in until two days before I had to drop my bike off for shipment, so I debated whether it would be worth the risk to do this repair without more time to test it out. (I did.)

The bike transport was also stressful. The Wednesday drop-off was changed to Tuesday. Then it was Monday. Then it was Saturday at noon, more than a week before the race. Although this method of transport is convenient, for those who stress about having their bikes for the most time before and after the race I wouldn't recommend it.

In prep for the hilly ride in San Francisco, Gordo had me doing repeats up the back of Olde Stage. This hill is steeper than any on the race, and I did my fastest ascent time ever in these workouts, so I felt as ready as I was going to be.

Starting as soon as long range forecasts were available, I began to stress about the weather. The predicted weather looked nice, in the 60s or 70s, but severe winds (50+ MPH gusts) were also forecast, depending on which day I looked and on which website.

Pre-Race

We flew to SF without incident, and found our hotel, about 2 miles from the race site at Marina Green. Of course, given we were in San Francisco, it was all steep hills, so there was more walking (and riding, once I was reunited with my bike) up and down these steep city climbs than was probably advisable in the days just before a race. (We didn't rent a car.)

I attended the pre-race advice meeting at Sports Basement. While I was there, I looked at their swim booties. They sold a different brand, Orca, and it was thicker (warmer), and had a Velcro closure, which I hoped would solve my problem with them filling with water and turning into anchors.

On the day before the race, my brother and cousin and their families came into the city to visit. It was stressful fitting that in while trying to work around packet pickup and workouts and trying to rest, but it was the only day that would work for them. So, as a condition of the trip I had them drive me to Aquatic Park for my test swim in the bay. (The kids loved the beach, and my brother loved the chance to take an embarrassing picture on his camera of me changing into my wetsuit.)

The gear was reasonably successful. My feet were warm, the new wetsuit was warm, and my ears were warm. Only my hands and face were cold, and I got in one 10 minute lap. The booties did fill with water and probably slowed me down a bit, but not too bad.

The clincher on the bootie decision was when I discovered that Gail had dropped out after the swim at Ironman St. George that very day because of hypothermia. Better to lose a little time on the swim than risk major problems from the cold.

Race Day

Alcatraz has one of the more complicated race days of any triathlon because of its point-to-point swim. I set the alarm for 3:00 AM but woke up early to start my routine. When I race at home I like to get on the treadmill at a very easy speed for as long as it takes to get my insides moving and make sure I poop before the race instead of having to go during. Here, a jog around the neighborhood would have to do. Then breakfast, the last bit of getting my gear together, bathroom again, and ready to go.

I left on my bike for the race start. It was just before 5:00, right on schedule. But it was still dark, and I wished I'd brought my headlamp. A little later, I discovered it would also have been useful when setting up transition. There were three other competitors who had been staying at the same hotel waiting outside for a van to take them to the race, and that van was already 20 minutes late. I offered to show them the biking route to the race site, but they opted to wait and try to call the van company.

Rack spots in transition were pre-assigned, and I had a great one. It was at the very end of a row, close to swim in/run out but far from bike in/out. Not sure what the weather would be like when I got out of the water, I left arm warmers, gloves, and a light jacket next to my stuff. I left transition with two bags – one swim exit bag with the shoes I would wear from the swim exit back to transition, and the bag with the swim gear I would put on in the boat. A quick jog, another visit to the porta-potty, dropped my swim exit bag at the truck, and got on the bus to the pier.

At the pier, I got my timing chip, another short jog, another visit to the potty, then got on the boat. Finally underway, I ate my banana and Clif bar, and finally felt the desired movement inside. The restroom line was the longest of the day, but the boat ride was an hour so there was plenty of time to finish my necessary business.

I got on my wetsuit and other swim gear, and as the boat did a celebratory lap around the island I left my clothes bag behind and went to the window to get a good look at the shore and pick out the landmarks I'd be sighting on. When the horn went off, I watched the pros start, and they took off straight towards the swim finish at the St. Francis Yacht Club. The race director had repeatedly warned us age groupers not to do that because of the strong current, but the pros obviously knew what they were doing.

The pros and younger competitors had been organized on the lower level of the boat, and we older athletes were on the upper level. That meant that even before I could get downstairs many swimmers were already in the water. There were three doors at which people were entering the water, but the boat was oriented so that one door was closer to shore, and everyone wanted to go out that door. Knowing that official times were based on the timing mat at the door, I figured it was better to wait a bit longer on board and have a slightly shorter swim.

I finally got up to the front of the line, ready to go. A race volunteer suggested I go to the rear door. I looked down and saw I'd been standing on the timing mat, and had already lost a few seconds. I told the volunteer I was going in, looked to make sure the water was clear, and jumped in.

The Swim

I went a bit too deep, but quickly surfaced and started swimming. With the adrenaline I barely noticed the cold. I immediately found myself in a big group, which was swimming in the conservative direction rather than the direct line taken by the pros. I'd like to go a bit more aggressive, but I concentrated on passing other swimmers and trying to find clear water.

The water was perfectly smooth. Visibility was perfect. I was really enjoying my new, stronger goggles. All of this made sighting much better than I was used to. I kept up as good of a pace as I could, given that I kept running into groups of swimmers and having to manipulate past them. I was not confident enough to just go straight to the swim finish because of the current, but I tried to keep fairly aggressive and aimed just short of the finish.

The last part of the swim was as hectic as the rest of the course. I ran into more swimmers. Swimming close to me, someone grabbed my arm. I felt someone on my feet and thought they were going to pull one of my booties off. I kicked harder and swam away. Finally I got to shore. I stood up and looked at my watch. It said 29 minutes. Certainly the quickest I'd ever swum that distance. It must have been some amazing current.

Here's where I was really glad I had worn the booties. My feet running up to the swim exit area were warm, not numb. I didn't worry about the gravel and rocks I was running on. I found my bag, took off my wetsuit, cap and goggles. I had considered doing the run to the transition area, about half a mile, in the swim booties. But they were totally full of water, and I figured it would be quicker to slip on the pool deck shoes I had left in the bag. I crammed all my stuff in the bag (or thought I did) and started the short run.

It actually felt pretty good. I remember doing this same swim eight years earlier, and feeling that same euphoria at the end of the swim. The air temperature was pleasant, and I was passing more people on the run. Back in transition, I put on my shades and helmet, changed my shoes, and took my bike out. None of the cool weather gear would be needed today.

The Bike

If the swim course had been crowded, the bike course was even more so. The course is out and back, and starts out with about two miles flat, and is up and down the entire rest of the course, until the end. The entire bike leg was spent maneuvering around other riders. Because of the hills, drafting was not an issue as a rule violation, but blocking (people riding on the yellow line) and passing on the right were certainly problems.

From 8 years earlier, I remembered that the first climb happens suddenly when you go around a sharp corner, so I geared down early to avoid the embarrassment of coming to a dead stop. Then I worked on the hills and the crowds for the rest of the 18 mile ride.

On the climbs, I was able to take advantage of my Colorado training, and work my way past the other riders. But I never got into that groove – with the bad road conditions (budget problems in California) and the crowds, my descents were cautious, not what I needed to hammer that course.

We got through the worst of the hills going out, and rode along the coast. This stretch would have been truly dangerous if the wind had been high, but luckily there was only a light breeze. We rode out and back through Golden Gate Park, where they had promised new asphalt, but still there was lots of bad road.

Then we reversed and came back. The climbs are actually a bit harder in this direction, which was okay with me, as that was where I was able to pass people. I saw Klaus going out as I was riding back. On the final flat stretch I drank as much of my remaining Accelerade as I could. Back into transition, racked my bike, changed my shoes, ditched the helmet, and grabbed my race number belt. My time for the 18 miles was over an hour, a bit depressing, but hopefully that meant I had something left for the run.

The Run

The run course is also out and back. In fact, at one point, the run from the swim exit, the bike course in both directions, and the run course in both directions are all next to each other. It makes it easy to see your friends (or rivals), but makes racing trickier. I saw Klaus on his final stretch of the ride at about two miles into my run.

The run starts out with about two miles flat. I held a reasonable pace of about 7:30 or so. At about a mile I saw Hunter Kemper coming back in. He was close to his decisive victory over Bevan Docherty and Andy Potts, and would eventually best me by about fifty minutes.

At 2 miles, the course starts up hill. First it goes up some stairs then onto a trail. For most of the course, the runners are coming back on the same narrow trail, so it becomes a bit tricky, and passing is sometimes a matter of timing. This climb goes on and on. You get to the Golden Gate Bridge and think you are at the top, but you keep going. I passed Charles coming down on my way up, but he didn't see me as he was concentrating on the footing on the descent. In all, there is about 300 feet of gain over about a mile. It's quite scenic, but I was thinking more about my legs and when I was going to reach the top. That mile was probably closer to 10 minutes.

Finally I reached the top and started the descent toward Baker Beach. Fortunately, I recovered well from the climb and was able to use the downhill to pick up some speed. Part of the descent is on the road, and the runners coming back were on the trail next to the road, so conditions were good to let loose. Then I reached the stairs down to the beach, which slowed me down, and the beach itself.

The last bit of the run out is along Baker Beach. The trick is finding the line in the sand that was neither too wet (the tide was coming in) nor too dry to get good traction. When I saw the turnaround, I decided to cut through the dry sand a bit – a shorter line, but worse traction. I think I made up a couple seconds. Then the turnaround (about 33 minutes) and the beach run in reverse.

Back at the end of the beach is the infamous sand ladder – 400 steps of mostly sand and a bit of ladder. I hit it hard and used the cable banister as much as I could, passing a few on the way up. It was tough, but I think that the climb by the Golden Gate Bridge had been mentally tougher. And, after the sand ladder, the trail keeps going up, reaching the same elevation as the climb in the reverse direction. This was probably my slowest mile, definitely slower than 10 minutes.

Then came the final descent, which I worked, except for the final stairs. The guy who told me he grew up in Boulder as he had been running behind me passed me on these stairs and left me behind. I hit the flats and the 6 mile marker at 54 minutes, thinking it was going to be a 1:10 run split by the time I was finished. I passed Klaus going out as I was coming in, and I found a strong pace I thought I might be able to hold for two flat miles.

I hit mile 7 at less than an hour. I was flying toward the finish. My goal at this point was holding my pace and passing as many people as I could. I hit the finish line at about a 1:06 run split. My pace for those last two miles had been an incredible (for me) 6:00 or 6:30 per mile, faster than my normal 5K pace. I need to run at sea level more often! Even after that brutal run I somehow found that final kick.

Learnings

My final time was 2:48:15, 11 out of 91 in my age group. In 2002, my time had been 2:46:31, and I was 23 out of 110. Not bad for 8 years older.

My knee was a bit worse, but ice and Advil helped. My calves were sore for a few days.

And even though I was sure I had crammed all my gear into my bag at the end of the swim, I still ended up with someone else's neoprene cap instead of my own.

What did I learn?

Add a headlamp to my race checklist
Add some petty cash to the list as well – not having the $2 Muni fare, I had had to walk back to the hotel after the race
Booties are probably a net gain for a cold water swim, even though my actual swim speed might be a bit slower (but swim socks would definitely have been a problem)
New, stronger goggles before a race are very useful
Testing the equipment out in the pool before the race and having enough time to make changes is a good idea
Leaving enough time after the bike tune-up before the race for things like ordering parts is also a good idea
TriBike Transport reduces the stress, but be prepared to be without the bike for longer than you originally think
Using ground transport for the bike allows you ship a CO2 cartridge with it – not needed, but good insurance
A hotel that is an easy bike from the race start is ideal, and lets you bike to/from packet pickup, race meetings, and the race itself
At Alcatraz, do everything possible to get off the boat as quickly as possible, because each person off ahead of you is someone that may be in your way on that rather crowded course
Don’t stress out too much about the long range weather forecasts, especially when they change drastically from day to day or from website to website
Thank the weather gods when they are so much in your favor, especially when other major races the same weekend are way too hot or too cold
Bike handling, descending, and confidence represent a major opportunity for improvement
Think about a sea level running race to build confidence and maybe snag a PR
Need to work on technical running descents
Escape from Alcatraz is a fun race in a great location, but there are way too many athletes on the course

Flashing Makes You Cross

2010-04-27T20:14:00.002-06:00

Last summer, many Boulder residents were upset about pedestrian-activated flashing signs. A driver ran into a family of three cycling through a PAFS crosswalk, sending a 7-year-old boy to the hospital. Shortly thereafter, Boulder transportation operations engineer Bill Cowern told the media that the rate of accidents at several of these crosswalks had increased.

Although Cowern also stated that accidents had decreased or stayed the same at some crosswalks, and that the increase couldn't be interpreted without the completion of a study underway at the time, many called for the removal of these devices.

That study was completed and presented to the Transportation Advisory Board late last year and to City Council earlier this month.

The good news from the study is that PAFS crossings are no more dangerous than other signalized crossings in the city. This, when combined with the finding that they significantly increase both usage by pedestrians and yielding to pedestrians by drivers, shows that they are a valuable addition to the city's arsenal.

[more]

Terrorist Cell Phonies

2010-04-25T19:31:00.002-06:00

By U.S. law, "terrorism" is "premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against noncombatant targets by subnational groups or clandestine agents." But ask 100 people and you`ll get 50 different definitions. One man`s terrorist is another`s freedom fighter. As Justice Potter Stewart said regarding pornography: "I know it when I see it."

Just as most Muslims don`t want to blow up airplanes and most anti-abortion advocates don`t want to kill abortion doctors, plenty of people who are sympathetic with the Tea Party goals condemn violence in furtherance of those goals. Clearly, membership in these groups is not sufficient to earn a label as a terrorist. The Tea Party movement is not a terrorist group.

But something scary is going on.

[more]

Flushing our Environment down the Toilet

2010-04-22T23:54:00.005-06:00

I was looking at the plastic packaging from the Earth First toilet paper we recently purchased, trying to determine if the plastic was recyclable. Generally, recyclable plastic bags have a recycling symbol with a number that tells you exactly what it is, and which lets you know if it is one of the types taken locally. But all I saw was the symbol on the package saying 100% recyclable.

Did that refer to the package, or just to the contents?

Then I noticed on the package in small print something saying that the plastic was designed to be environmentally friendly, and would expire in 18 months.

I had no idea what that meant. Would I have to bring it back to he public library, or what?

So I called the number on the package. I thought about pretending I was Gene Weingarten, but decided to play it straight.

The operator I talked to listened to my question and was flummoxed, and she sent me to customer service. The customer service agent had also never heard the question before, and said she'd get back to me after talking to the factory.

Just about this point in the conversation, I finally saw it -- the number 4 recycling symbol on the plastic wrap. So, that was my answer. Recyclable after all! I decided to not tell the person on the phone what I'd seen, mostly out of embarrassment.

When the phone call came a hour or so later and the caller ID said "Royal Paper," I ignored it, thinking it was some kind of telemarketing call. But my wife picked it up, and it was my agent calling back to make sure she had the details of the query. What brand of toilet paper was it exactly I was looking at?

Well, it turns out that Earth First is the environmentally friendly brand used by Royal Paper, I guess to differentiate it from their eco-disaster brands, like Soft & Silky and Petalo.

And when they finally called back with the answer, we found that the bag was not a recyclable number 4 plastic, but a decomposable number 4. That means that the bag decomposes over a small number of months.

But decomposable doesn't mean compostable. It doesn't turn into organic material, so we can't put it into the compost. It's not regular plastic and can't be recycled. If it ends up in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, it will turn into microscopic plastic bits that will make their way up the food chain. It has to go into the landfill.

Plus, the confusing packaging makes it likely that the bag will be thrown in with the rest of the plastic bags being turned into fleece or lumber, and may contaminate the entire load.

Royal Paper, how has your greenwashing (or greenwiping) helped anybody, except helping you market your green brand to gullible environmentalists?

Six Degrees of Climate Separation

2010-03-30T23:36:00.002-06:00

Until recently, the best scientific estimates of atmospheric carbon dioxide only went back about 800,000 years. This time has been a generally cold period in the Earth's history, characterized by ice ages punctuated with brief, relatively warm spells (one of which we`re in right now) every 100,000 years.

During this time there has been a strong correlation between CO2 in the atmosphere and global average temperatures. But also during this time CO2 hasn't approached today's human-influenced level, so we didn't have direct evidence of what happens when levels of the greenhouse gas are this high.

Late last year, a group of scientists at UCLA published a study demonstrating a new method of estimating prehistoric CO2 levels, extending the estimates back about 20 million years.

Not only do these measurements continue to show a strong correlation between CO2 and climate, they also illuminate the most recent time in the Earth's history when CO2 levels were similar to what they are today.

[more]

Good News on Global Warming Front

2010-03-26T18:32:00.002-06:00

I'm committed to telling both sides of the global warming story. So, here are a couple of items of good news that have been published lately.

First, New Moore Island has disappeared to rising sea levels. This uninhabited island in the Bay of Bengal, known by India as New Moore Island and by Bangladesh as South Talpatti of 81 square miles is now under water. The two countries have been arguing about control of this island since it first emerged from the sea over 35 years ago. Now, happily, the dispute is over.

Second, pollution from China is being carried around the globe by the Asian Monsoon. Why good news? Because pollution such as black carbon can reflect solar energy back into space, masking the increasing greenhouse effect that is causing global warming. Let's hope the Chinese don't address their pollution problem any time soon, or it could be getting lots warmer lots faster.

Why is a raven like a writing desk?

2010-03-24T00:00:00.006-06:00

It's tempting to dismiss today's Tea Party rants. When you hear statements like, "I don't want socialized medicine. And don't touch my Medicare," "I want my country back," and, "Nazis are preparing Obama's health-care reform," you could get as confused and disgusted as Alice at her wondrous tea party and walk away in a huff.

But the Mad Hatter had an excuse for his perpetual tea party -- it was always six o'clock, traditional high tea time. Similarly, for today's tea partiers it's always "morning in America," traditional Reaganesque rhetoric.

In Lewis Carroll's classic story, the Mad Hatter was sentenced to a perennial tea party because he murdered Time. Today's Mad Hater, Glenn Beck, murdered Truth. (The Hatter's top hat was inexplicably labeled "In this style 10/6," and, due perhaps to inflation, Beck's is labeled "In this scare 9/12." )

The Red Queen threatened to off the Hatter's head because of his murderous actions. And Blue State Liberals threaten to off the Mad Hater`s advertisers because of his racist comments.

[more]

Lance for President

2010-03-19T22:46:00.003-06:00

Tony Kornheiser rants against cyclists on his ESPN radio show. That includes "jokingly" suggesting that drivers hit cyclists with their cars.

Lance and his fans get wind and and start a viral campaign against Kornheiser.

Kornheiser grovels to Lance and invites Lance on his show to apologize. Tony promises no more rants and even agrees to ride a bike for the first time since childhood.

Lance goes on the air to a market of bike haters, and gets their biggest rabble-rouser to denounce his former ways to his fans.

I'm convinced Lance could bring about peace in the Middle East. He might even be able to bring Republicans and Democrats together on health care, but that's probably beyond even his powers.

Free Speech Means Just That

2010-03-16T23:20:00.002-06:00

A couple of recent incidents in Boulder illustrate just how fragile free speech guarantees are.

Seth Brigham, local activist, was first interrupted and then arrested when it appeared he was about to criticize a couple of council members during the public participation portion of a city council meeting. Fortunately, the charges were dropped, and council apologized. But there are still some on council who think the actions against Seth were legitimate. Council needs to immediately change the rules so that complaining about a particular council member during public participation is not against public policy.

Second, the local Catholic school told the lesbian parents of two students that they would not be allowed to re-enroll the children because of their homosexual relationship. Many in the community have taken the church to task for this decision.

Some have accused the complainers of being "intolerant". (Never mind that these people are themselves being intolerant of the complainers.) Since when has the right to free speech been limited to things that don't hurt someone's feelings?

Safe, Clean Nuclear Power

2010-03-06T23:11:00.003-07:00

To create more of these clean energy jobs, we need more production, more efficiency, more incentives. And that means building a new generation of safe, clean nuclear power plants in this country. - President Barack Obama, 2010 State of the Union Address

Many environmentalists gasped when the President made this comment. We all know that nuclear power is neither safe nor clean.

Nuclear reactors are dangerous. They are subject to meltdown. They are targets for terrorists. Nuclear fuel is a safety problem from mining though transportation, and there is not nearly enough uranium available for widespread use of nuclear power. Nuclear waste is dangerous in even small quantities: There is no safe storage option, and it remains unsafe for thousands of years.

Plus, huge amounts of greenhouse gases are produced in the mining, enriching, and transport of uranium; the building and decommissioning of the plants; and the transportation of nuclear waste.

But what if these dangers and problems didn`t exist?

[more]

Take Me to your Leader

2010-02-12T21:25:00.002-07:00

Everyone is making a big deal out of Scott Brown's recent victory in the Massachusetts senate race, but I can't figure out why.

The Democrats have the presidency and large majorities in both houses of Congress. One party having this level of control is not unheard of, but it certainly is not the norm historically.

The loss of a filibuster-proof majority is significant, but this supermajority only existed for about six months anyway, after Al Franken took his Senate seat in July.

When Obama ran his campaign, he was very clear about his priorities. In fact, much of his plan to help the economy included dealing with the long-term issues of health care, energy and education.

To summarize, Democrats won the presidency and increased their numbers in both houses of Congress after clearly telling us what their plans were. Then they started working on those plans, but found it hard to get agreement on the details. And now a large number of people are ready to dump the Dems before they even get a chance to put their plans in place.

[more]

ABCDEFG Haiti

2010-02-03T21:35:00.005-07:00

I'm pretty frazzled these days. As of a couple weeks ago, I'm organizing a fundraiser for the earthquake victims in Haiti.

The event is Feb 19 at the Elks Lodge in Boulder, and you can get all the details and buy tickets here.

The event is a Mardi Gras party, with live music, food, a silent auction, and lots more, all benefiting the American Red Cross Haiti Relief and Development Fund. Tickets are $25. I encourage all my readers in Boulder to attend, as it will be amazing fun and is all for a good cause. If you're in town, you won't want to miss it.

It all started a few days after the earthquake. I was on my bike, and while riding the pieces all just took shape in my head. When I got home I started contacting people I know who either were energetic and could help or who knew people who could help.

When I started I doubted that something this big could be pulled together so quickly. But so many people feel strongly about the cause that it's been pretty easy (although the number of details is making my head spin -- and my head isn't the only one spinning).

The venue was pretty easy, I just had to ask. After the first musician, the rest followed. Now we have more than we can fit into the time, and are having to turn away some great acts that want to support us. We discovered a sound engineer who could do the event. One of my friends took charge of the food and found a gourmet chef who was willing to help. My friend's brother is an amazing graphic designer (see above). Donations for the auction are starting to roll in.

It's mostly about the music, food, and auction, but we're also working on a number of other surprises, just to keep it interesting and relevant. We'll have a slide show from Haiti, and hopefully some good guest speakers who can tell us what's been going on there.

So, if I seem a little loopy these days, cut me a little slack. It's all for a good cause.

Strange Bedfellows in San Francisco

2010-01-31T23:49:00.001-07:00

If you think you understand the gay marriage issue, what is happening in a federal court in California may surprise you. Under the limelight of that court, many are retreating or changing their stories.

Opponents of California`s Proposition 8, the amendment to the state constitution that bans gay marriage, have brought suit in U.S. District Court on the grounds that it violates the rights of gays under the U.S. Constitution.

Judge Vaughn Walker attempted to put the trial on YouTube, which would have been a first. However, the U.S. Supreme Court put a swift end to that idea.

[more]

Immigration Woes (Gringo Ir a Casa)

2010-01-17T18:02:00.001-07:00

Immigration reform has been in the news lately. On my recent Mexican vacation, I saw the seriousness of the problem from the other side of the border fence.

Tens of millions of folks from north of the border are crossing into Mexico every year. A million Americans are living there, more than half illegally.

Many Americans move to Mexico because of its high quality, inexpensive health care system. Drugs are widely available and inexpensive. Drug dealers, called "farmacias," are on every street corner, anxious to sell the addict anything she thinks she needs.

[more]

Liberal Guilt

2009-12-30T00:09:00.002-07:00

My wife and I are pretty darn serious about minimizing our impact on this planet.

We proudly put out one orange bag of whatever trash we can't recycle, reuse or compost about every six weeks. Our water usage is an order of magnitude smaller than our city-assigned budget.

We bike and bus and walk, and Caron rides her hot pink scooter so we don't drive much. Our old cars work fine, thank you; the energy to scrap and replace them with a shiny new hybrid would be more than we'd save in years of use.

[more]

The Purity of Science

2009-12-22T23:42:00.001-07:00

The level of smugness rising from the anti-global-warming blogosphere is reaching the level they accuse us environmentalists of exhibiting.

The bloggers who cry "hoax" have stumbled upon (some say stolen) a steaming pile of e-mails and files they claim proves there is a conspiracy by scientists to fudge the data and silence dissent.

[more]

You can fight city hall

2009-12-19T00:21:00.002-07:00

As one of its final acts before seating its new members, Boulder City Council approved an agreement years in the making.

The city's new agreement with Silver Lake Ditch and Reservoir Company only directly impacts a few hundred folks. However, it closes an embarrassing chapter in the city's history that could have destroyed the ditch company.

[more]

The Loneliness of the Long Distance Swimmer

2009-12-08T18:01:00.002-07:00

I’m writing this from a tropical location. My favorite vacation is tropical, and my favorite activity while there is getting in the ocean and swimming for miles. Forget the pool. It’s kind of like trail running compared to running on a treadmill.

The first trick is finding a good starting point. Unless someone is willing to meet you somewhere at the end, this will also be your finish point. A beach is good for ease of getting into and out of the water. The beach should either be totally secluded, so that you can leave your stuff there, or have someone there to watch over it. Another trick is to leave everything in your car and hide your car key.

Don’t leave anything more valuable than your flip flops and a towel on the beach, and make sure you don’t leave your expensive shades. Always leave your stuff up higher than you think the water can ever get – you don’t know what the tide is going to do. I try to find some rocks above where the plants start growing.

I always wear a watch while swimming in the ocean. It is my only sense of how far/long I’ve been going, and it tells me when to turn around.

Water condition is important. Clear water is not only more interesting, it is also much safer to swim in. Swimming at dawn or dusk is not as good for the same reason.

If there’s any surf, getting in and out of the water is the trickiest part, especially if you’ve never been a surfer. Dive under the breakers, and swim easy breaststroke out past any surf. Practice getting in and out of the surf a few times, so you know where the rocks are, where the shallow or steep places are, where the biggest breakers are. Before you start swimming, make sure you are out past any breaking surf.

Here’s the most important part: Turn around and look at shore. Memorize what it looks like from the water. There is nothing worse than finishing a long swim and not being able to find your towel and shoes.

Stay still in the water for a moment. Feel if there is a current going parallel to the beach. If there is, remember that it will be slower swimming against the current. I prefer starting out parallel to the shore into the current, so that I know it will be easier and faster to get back. Remember that the direction of the waves is not necessarily the direction of the current.

Go parallel to shore, but far enough out to avoid the surf. If you want to pick a landmark like a big rock to swim towards, that’s great. Just remember that judging distances from the water is pretty much impossible. Sometimes it helps to know how far away something is on land so you know if it is a reasonable goal. I’ve been known to swim out to a rock or island that is a mile or so from the mainland, but the safest route is generally parallel to shore.

Be aware of any watercraft, whether boats, jet skis, wind surfers, or anything else. They are not your friend while you are swimming, and you should choose an area away from them if at all possible.

Of course, know how far you want to swim and what you are capable of. If you can, pick an area with mostly beaches along the shore, so you can quickly get to land if you have a problem.

I’ve always been told to never swim alone and to always tell someone where you’re going. I’m not very good about that, so I can’t preach on that topic.

When you are swimming, there are lots of sensations you don’t get in the pool. Get a feel for the swells, if there are any, and adjust your breathing so you don’t get a face full of water. It really helps if you can breathe to both sides and can sight in front of you. Memorize as much of the shoreline as you can when you are swimming, so that it is all familiar when you return.

The view from exactly sea level plus or minus one inch is very difficult for the brain to process. You may sometimes see things that aren’t there, fish, boats, people, whatever, that turn out to be nothing more than waves, your own hand, bubbles, features on land, clouds, or something else innocuous.

I often feel a little tap or other sensation on my toes, legs, or elsewhere. I may spin around to try to see what it was, but never see anything. Maybe it’s just the waves. In any case, you get used to it.

Depending on where you are swimming, there may be jellyfish. Sometimes I get a stinging sensation somewhere on my body even though I saw nothing. It subsides after a few minutes.

Don’t spend too much time worrying about sharks. If one is going to get you, there’s probably not much you can do. It can swim faster than you, so I imagine your only option would be to try to punch its face and eyes. Not worth obsessing about. This is one reason you swim in clear water -- sharks like to not be seen.

Get in a groove, just as if you were on a long bike ride or trail run. Go at a steady pace. Breaststroke is great for a break, or if the swells really pick up. With breaststroke, you can choose whether to go over or under a wave. Backstroke is fun if it’s calm. Stop and tread water any time you want, to rest or just to get your bearings.

Any problems, take the shortest route to the nearest beach. A beach is also a good place for a rest break if you need more then a few moments trading water. Watch out for breakers, because that can mean rocks. Rocks are not your friend.

When your shoulders are getting tired, hopefully you already turned around and are heading back. If not, do it soon. You can always build up to a longer distance on another day.

Follow the landmarks on shore that you memorized on your way out. If you are going with the current, it may be a bit faster going back, but your time estimations will only be approximate anyway. When you get back to your starting point, approach shore slowly. Use breaststroke. Watch the waves coming in behind you. Only ride a wave in if you are comfortable doing so. Otherwise, duck under and gradually make your way to the beach.

Last thing – pray that you landed on the right beach and that your towel, sandals, and sunglasses are still there.

Burning Carbon to Save Carbon

2009-11-25T00:13:00.004-07:00

The City of Boulder has been invited to make a presentation at the Copenhagen global warming summit. Pretty cool, huh?

It seems that some of the innovative things we've done have gotten noticed, things like open space, bike trails, and our climate action plan. Other municipalities want to learn from what we are doing.

Some naysayers here are saying that we should not be putting the CO2 into the air from flying two of our staffers to Denmark and back. They are also complaining about the $2,500 the city is spending on this.

(That's actually quite cheap, as the staffers are flying coach, bringing sleeping bags so they can sleep in private homes, and bringing bikes so they don't have rent cars.)

The money is coming out of the climate action plan budget, so if it furthers the goals of that plan the cost is not an issue. No other programs are affected.

If even one other city takes what we've done and implements it because of what we present, then the carbon savings from that one community will more than offset what's being burned for two airline tickets.

This was also unanimously approved by city council, from the most liberal to the most conservative. So obviously once you look at the tradeoffs it becomes worth it.

I hope this proves fruitful, and maybe even they'll bring back some good ideas from elsewhere.

Ideas that will, no doubt, inflame that same group of naysayers.

No, You May Not Have this Test for Cancer!

2009-11-21T14:23:00.003-07:00

A bunch of Republicans are pointing out that the new suggestions that mammograms and pap smears are overused means that under government health care they would be rationed.

The Republicans much prefer the current system in which the insurance companies ration services like this.

Climate Change causes Civilization

2009-11-11T22:57:00.002-07:00

Here`s an intriguing coincidence.

Humans evolved about 200,000 years ago in Africa. For most of the time since, we have lived as hunter-gatherers. There were fits and starts at agriculture, but nothing really "took."

And then, starting about 10,000 years ago, we figured it out. We domesticated wheat, oats and barley, and other grains. We started herding cattle, sheep, and goats. We built villages and towns.

[more]

How Did I Do? -- Election 2009

2009-11-04T22:25:00.006-07:00

First of all, I'm glad to say that all of my choices on the City of Boulder issues were agreed to by the voters. Four out of four, not bad.

I didn't do so great on the county issues. Issue 1A, the extension of the Open Space tax, failed by about 4 percentage points. It looks to me that this was partly because of the economy, partly because the County Commissioners did not do a good job of explaining why it needed to be renewed 10 years in advance of when the tax expires, and partly out of backlash against current open space policy.

However, if you look at that backlash, it seemed to come from both sides -- for example, one person commented that he voted against the tax because he wasn't allowed to mountain bike on county open space, while another said he voted against it because of too many bikes on open space. This sounds like a can't win situation. That's especially true since most of the folks who complained about the open space department seemed to be confusing the city's open space rules with the county's -- the contentious mountain bike rules actually are on city property. So, bottom line, lack of a good sales pitch by the county, coupled with ignorant voters who had to lash out against something.

The real puzzler was County Issue 1B, the extension of the ClimateSmart loan program, which lost by two percentage points. This program is already in place and has been enormously successful. It helps locals fund improvements that cut CO2 emissions. It adds to local jobs. And the best thing is that it doesn't cost anybody a nickle except the people who take out the loans.

It looks like 1B was caught in the backfire against 1A, as there was no organized opposition. Again, opponents seemed to not understand it, thinking it was a tax increase, and the county did not do much PR in advance of the election.

Both of these issues will undoubtedly be on the 2010 ballot, and the county will undoubtedly do a much batter sales job then.

Still undecided is Question 1D, the extension of term limits for DA from two to three terms. Latest results show that ahead by just 41 votes, too close to call with the last of the ballots still to be counted.

And that leaves me with the city council race. My endorsed candidate, Barry Siff, came in sixth in a race in which the top five get seats. He missed it by just 672 votes (not all votes have been counted, but there are not enough ballots outstanding to change the results).

Why did Barry lose? (Ok, best of the rest.)

As I see it, the biggest issue was the media and others who lumped the candidates together into so called "power blocks". There was the pro-environment slate, those endorsed by the Sierra Club and PLAN Boulder County, and there was the so-called pro-business slate. With his credentials, Barry could have been on either list. But because he has been a businessman, he was lumped in with the second group.

In Boulder, not being endorsed by the Sierra Club and being labelled pro-business are the kiss of death at the ballot box for many. Undoubtedly, he gained some votes by association with the business crowd. But he did not stand out from that group, and I think it was a net loss for him.

It would have been a better strategy, I think, for Barry to have tried to straddle both groups. He could have been the environmental candidate who actually knows how to pay for it, for example.

In any case, the fundamental makeup of council didn't change much, in spite of the loud voices of the mostly anonymous single-issue attackers.

So, Barry, have a well deserved vacation and when you come back think about whether there is some other way to contribute to this community and maybe get to be better known for the next election cycle (if you're still up for it).

Summary of 2009 Boulder Ballot Issues

2009-11-03T19:00:00.003-07:00

This post summarizes my analysis of the 2009 City of Boulder and Boulder County ballot. You may not agree with any particular recommendation, but you can easily see how I came to my recommendation and come to your own decision based on all of the facts. My biggest goal is to ensure that fewer people vote on issues based on either just the ads or just reading the issue title on the ballot.

Remember, when in doubt, vote no! Here's the list. Click on any specific issue to see my full analysis.

**Boulder County Measures**
Vote	Issue
YES	Issue 1A Open Space Sales and Use Tax Extension
YES	Issue 1B ClimateSmart Bond Authorization
YES	Issue 1C Energy Conservation Bond Authorization
YES	Issue 1D DA Term Limits Extension

**City of Boulder Measures**
Vote	Issue
YES	Question 2A Sales and Use Tax Extension
YES	Question 2B Open Space General Obligation Bonds
YES	Question 2C Pension Bond Funding
NO	Question 2D Changes to Housing Excise Tax

**City of Boulder Council**
Vote
Barry Siff

Letter to the New Council

2009-10-25T22:34:00.001-06:00

Dear City Council,

You will be meeting soon with at least two new members. Welcome to this thankless position. As if you weren't getting enough, here's a bit of advice.

[more]

Unsocial Media

2009-10-23T21:29:00.003-06:00

The wave of the future is supposed to be social media. You know, tweets, Facebook friends, etc. But for some people it seems to be the opposite.

You probably know what I'm talking about. If you know me or read my blog, you know I write a column for the Daily Camera, our local newspaper here in Boulder. (Yes, we still have one!) The online version of the paper, like many, allows readers to comment.

But most of the commenters use fake names. Most of them specialize in the clever put-down, the snide remark, the single-issue rant. Many like to push right to the edge of what is socially acceptable. If they go over the edge, no big deal. When they get banned from the site they can just create a new login with a new fake name. But you always recognize them, because it is the same style, the same rant, the same misspellings.

If you don't use your real name, you can't be held responsible for what you say.

Recently, there was a story in the Camera about one of these unsocial types. It seems this nameless person had infiltrated a Facebook group page, using the name of one of the city council candidates, and had been making rude comments about other candidates and commenters.

Well, the perp was banned from the group and his account was removed from Facebook. You'd think the story would end there. It didn't.

The person who created the Facebook page entered a comment on the Camera online story. Anonymously. Satisfied that the problem had been resolved, because the impersonator had been removed. And urging people to join the group (but using their real names) to discuss local politics.

I was, of course, curious. I like to talk about local politics and I have a Facebook account, so I quickly became a fan of this group.

If you are familiar with Facebook, then you know that their usage policy requires every account to be associated with a real person and to use that real person's name. So it was surprising to me that several of the commenters were using obvious pseudonyms. In fact, the organizer of the group was using his pseudonym to make comments on the page as well. There was no clue as to who the organizer was.

The comments were generally negative insinuating comments about certain council members/candidates. These people were using social media to make anonymous attacks on public figures. They were telling people it was in the spirit of public debate, but obviously they had an agenda.

As a fan of the page, I had the ability to post comments as well, so I started asking questions. Questions like, "Who are you?". And, "What is your source?".

It was not very long before I got de-fanned from the group and my comments deleted. So much for this group being formed for open political debate!

On the Internet, nobody knows you are a dog. But they sure as hell can tell if you are a jerk!

(Anonymous comments are welcome here, but comments with real names are even more welcome.)

Is that a Pumpkin on your Head, or are You just Happy to be Naked?

2009-10-21T23:55:00.005-06:00

Here in Boulder, starting in 1999, some of our local crazies have been getting together on Halloween night, taking their clothes off, putting pumpkins on their heads, and streaking through the streets. Originally in South Boulder, then University Hill, in 2003 they moved this goofiness to the downtown mall.

Every year, the group has gotten bigger, and with it the publicity. Last year, the police were waiting, and ticketed several of the pumpkin runners, charging them under the state's indecent exposure law.

Unfortunately for the police (and fortunately for the runners), they were unable to get the charges to stick. Not one of the runners was actually convicted.

So, what will happen this year? Police Chief Beckner has promised his officers will be out again this year, and he promises to not just issue tickets but to arrest naked runners.

Beckner recently went on record saying that indecent exposure is not an appropriate charge for people participating in naked events like this. Yet, he has promised to arrest people under that law, because "we want to stop that kind of activity." In other words, he doesn't think these people are breaking the law as it exists, but he is going to arrest them anyway, because he doesn't like what they are doing.

I guess if I were the attorney of one of the folks Beckner promises to arrest, I'd love to be able to present that contradiction to the judge and see if that doesn't get the case thrown right out.

Yes, the Election Can Impact Global Warming

2009-10-15T22:00:00.003-06:00

The smallest things can have a butterfly effect. If you are concerned about global warming, vote YES on 1A, 1B, 1C, and 2B, and vote for Barry Siff!

Also, check out http://www.blogactionday.org

Boulder County 2009 Ballot Issues

2009-10-12T22:00:00.003-06:00

This year's county issues are pretty straightforward.

Issue 1A would extend a current 0.25% sales and use tax dedicated to open space acquisition, improvement, and maintenance. Without this ballot issue, the tax will expire in 2019. If this issue passes, that will be extended to 2034. This issue also authorizes the issuance of bonds, to be repaid from the revenue from that tax, and to be used for those purposes. I support the county's open space program, and this would allow it to continue. Some opponents question renewing this tax 10 years before it expires. But the fact is that the money from that tax has already been spent, by virtue of bonds already issued. The county's open space program cannot continue to grow without this additional revenue. Vote YES.

Issue 1B would authorize additional bonds to extend the ClimateSmart program. This program allows county property owners to use the county's credit rating, to effectively cosign, on loans to make energy efficiency and renewable energy improvements. There is no cost to taxpayers. I supported this program when it was first implemented, and I continue to support it. Vote YES.

Issue 1C would authorize new bonds to pay for energy efficiency improvements in county buildings. Some or all of these bonds would be very low interest federal Qualified Energy Conservation Bonds, authorized under the recent stimulus bill. This is a smart long-term investment, takes advantage of a short-term opportunity, and is smart from an environmental point of view. Vote YES.

Question 1D would extend the term limit for the county DA from two terms to three. Several other county offices have already had this change approved. In general, I believe that term limits are anti-democratic. Having the option to suffer the overhead of a new DA every twelve years instead of eight would be a benefit as well. Vote YES.

2009 Boulder Ballot Issues

2009-10-11T13:31:00.004-06:00

I discussed the city's ballot issues in my column in the Camera this morning. My specific recommendations were not in that column, so that there is no confusion between my endorsements and theirs. So, here are mine.

Issue 2A, Vote YES, for the reasons stated in that column. We need the revenue from continuing the sales tax at the current level to maintain services at the current level.

Issue 2B, vote YES. Yes, there is a risk that the city will have to raise property taxes if they miscalculate and issue too many open space bonds. But even if that happens, in the meantime we will have been saving money on those bonds from the better terms we have negotiated just by having the possibility of those taxes.

Issue 2C, vote YES. Honor our commitment to our retired firefighters and police officers.

Issue 2D, vote NO. This is a big change in how taxes are collected for this fund, and I haven't seen the kind of analysis from the city to justify the change. Perhaps between now and when I mail in my ballot they can change my mind.

City of Boulder 2009 Ballot Issues

2009-10-11T13:24:00.001-06:00

City Council approved four issues for the 2009 ballot, all related to taxes and debt, and all deserve careful consideration before voting.

Each ballot issue is defined in an ordinance that includes a summary of council`s findings on the issue - good for letting voters know council's rationale. But each ordinance also specifies that these findings are not to be printed on the ballot - bad for deciding how to vote.

Voters who want to know more can find these ordinances on the city's Web site and in the county election pamphlet. But for additional information about the issues voters need to know at which council meetings they were on the agenda, search for meeting notes, and hope that the discussions were actually documented.

[more]

Boulder City Council Election 2009

2009-10-08T22:38:00.009-06:00

There are five open seats on council up for election. I'm not going to endorse five candidates, because I don't think there are five outstanding candidates.

The ballot tells us to vote for up to five candidates. I've asked several people who they are supporting, and usually they can rattle off two or three or four names. But they're not sure who they are going to add to make up their five choices.

Here's what I tell them: Don't do it. If you really like three candidates, vote just for those three. If you also vote for two candidates you think are okay but not great, those two votes are votes against the people you support. Your second tier candidates may win against your favorites because of your votes and the votes of others who also just included them to get up to five.

There are many specific issues on which to evaluate the candidates. But I don't think this is about specific issues. I think this is about principles, and about the kind of person.

Here are some of the things that I think are important for council, and candidates should be on top of these:

Council needs to learn to run this city without micromanaging. Council meetings cannot go until 2:00 AM just because they can't get through all the issues.
Council needs to set direction, and staff needs to be on board and held accountable. Today there are too many rogue departments and rogue department heads who are interested in turf building, rather than supporting the direction defined by our elected representatives.
Council needs to lay down the law with the City Manager to make sure she is enforcing this principle with all departments.
There is no real understanding of business principles in the council. As far as I can tell, some departments don't even understand which aspects of their programs make money and which ones lose money. Council can't make sound fiscal decisions without this kind of information, and nobody on council seems to have the background to understand what is necessary.
Fitting in with the national mood, it seems to be common belief that you have to be either pro-environment or pro-business. Yet our leaders need to embrace both in order to properly represent our interests and serve us.
The relationship with the county government is good, and the relationship with CU is improving. But the relationships with Boulder Valley School District and RTD are dismal. It is critical that the city be able to work well with these other government agencies.
It is a PR nightmare when the city moves forward with big, unpopular capital projects while cutting back library services. The city needs to better figure out how to remain flexible in its budgets and responsive when needed.
In fact, in general the city government needs to work on its PR. They makes lots of decisions that are controversial, and the reasoning behind the decisions is only evident to the people who stayed to 1:00 AM at the council meeting at which the topic was discussed. Currently, the public discussion is often controlled by the opponents to these decisions, who make their own one-sided emotional appeals. There's nothing wrong with one-sided appeals to the public, but the council needs to figure out how to get its story out too.
Make it a high priority to make information available and to make it easy for people to actually find that information.
Be willing to drop an idea if the public is obviously opposed. For example, whether or not council deserves a raise, they should have dropped the idea once the public voted it down the first time.

So, who am I endorsing?

I've known Barry Siff for several years, so perhaps I'm biased. But he is taking his council bid so seriously that it is impossible to ignore him.

When Barry started considering the run for council, he started going to every single council meeting, and he stayed until the bitter end. He even sold his booming business to be able to concentrate on this effort.

Barry has been in business for years and has business savvy. He understands all aspects of running a business, having been in senior management at a large company, as well as owning and running a small local business. He understands the bottom line, and he knows the value of having the best people working for him -- without that nothing can happen.

Barry is excited about changing the way council runs, stopping this crazy business of running meetings until the wee hours of the morning. After all, the way things are now, citizen participation is a joke.

Barry took a small local triathlon, and built it into a successful business that ran several races every year. So successful, in fact, that he had several suitors when he was ready to sell. He picked the buyer that would be best for the sport and best for Boulder -- Ironman is the biggest brand in the sport and is well-known outside the sport, and bringing that brand to Boulder without the city having to court them is a huge coup.

While running 5430 Sports, Barry did something he didn't have to. He turned his races into an environmental example for the entire multisport community around the country. It wasn't just having Eco-Cycle come in and collect recycling and compostables. It was actively pursuing what he called tri-sustainability. Using solar power at the races. Encouraging alternative transport. Even finding ways to recycle water bottles, bike parts, and energy bar wrappers. This shows that Barry is not just talk, that he can not only do the right thing, but also show the way to the rest of the world.

Everyone talks about having good relationships with other government entities. However, Barry called up Bruce Benson, the President of CU, made an appointment, and sat down with him. Our current council members are not doing that, much less the other candidates.

Barry has put a huge amount of effort into supporting low-income children in Boulder. He just doesn't talk about it, he does it.

Barry has more energy and enthusiasm than anyone I know. He's a former adventure racer, and so has unique qualifications to make it through marathon council meetings. He is also a huge Boulder booster.

Look at who is backing Barry. It's everyone from the most conservative to the most liberal. He doesn't have the biggest name recognition, but he is becoming well known all around town.

I say, when you make your city council selection(s) this year, include Barry Siff. I'm convinced he will make a huge contribution to the city. I don't agree with him on every issue, but on the guiding principles he is a perfect match.

Mid-Day Sea

2009-10-02T00:19:00.003-06:00

Here is the long-awaited third video in my Galapagos series. Underwater video and music by Jaden!

Mid-Day Sea from Mike Ellis on Vimeo.

In case you missed them, here are the previous videos in the series.

Galapagos Free Bird from Mike Ellis on Vimeo.

Leon Dormido from Mike Ellis on Vimeo.

Health-Care Reform that Just Might be Workable

2009-09-30T20:53:00.001-06:00

It may turn out that major health-care reform isn't politically feasible now. But that shouldn't stop us from making significant improvements to our woefully inadequate system.

The biggest problems with cost and coverage come from the insurance industry. And the only way insurance companies will learn to play nice without competition from the government is with new regulation.

Insurance companies have become de facto monopolies. If the only health care you can afford is via insurance offered by your employer, the insurance company has no incentive to keep you happy.

[more]

City Council Keeps Busy

2009-09-30T20:50:00.001-06:00

Macon Cowles was correct in his recent guest opinion; City Council has been working on myriad issues in addition to pops and scrapes.

Council recently approved a site plan for the former Junior Academy site on Fourth Street: a quarter of the property as low-density residential development similar to the surrounding neighborhood, and the rest as a "flex district."

Of course, there is no telling what that flex district will eventually become. The decision has been deferred either until nobody is paying attention or until it is too late (too much money invested).

[more]

Bikes Everywhere

2009-09-23T22:13:00.006-06:00

Things have been quiet here at Insomnia Log for a few weeks, as I have been on vacation in Italy. Part of that trip was a bike tour, but something I noticed throughout the trip was the number of bicycles everywhere. Of course that is with the exception of the city of Venice, in which land vehicles of all kinds are absent.

In the region of our bike tour, there were many sport cyclists, and they were more fanatical than just about any I know here in the states. But in all parts of the country you see a different type of cyclist - people of all ages and body types, riding inexpensive bikes for real transportation. They are far more abundant than I've seen anywhere in this country.

It's certainly not because of better cycling facilities. In fact, the roads there are much less friendly to bikes than the roads here in Boulder. They are narrow, with no rideable shoulders or bike lanes, and lots of cars.

But generally the drivers and cyclists seem to get along. Drivers slow down for bikes and wait until it is safe to pass. They don't honk or yell at them to get off the road. The difference? Bikes are so ubiquitous. Everybody bikes, so you just expect them.

Why does everybody bike? For one thing, it's often just easier. With the narrow roads and traffic, sometimes it is just simpler to get on a bike. Some cities, such as Florence, have restricted cars. Plus, the price of gasoline is almost three times what it is here.

It's not perfect there. I've never been hit by a car while on my bike before, and while riding a country road my arm was struck by the side mirror of a driver who obviously tried to pass when he shouldn't have. But he did stop to make sure I was ok. (I was -- thanks to break-away mirrors.)

One other difference that I think helps cyclists and drivers get along is a cultural difference. It's hard to put my finger on it exactly, but when the government tells people the way things are going to be, Italians seem more likely to accept it than Americans.

Is there a take away for us? Perhaps it's as simple as getting more bikes on the road in order to get drivers more accepting of cars on the road.

So go out and ride!

How did the chicken cross the road (safely)?

2009-08-30T17:54:00.001-06:00

A driver recently struck and injured members of a family cycling in a mid-block crosswalk marked with flashing lights, increasing attention to the issue of pedestrian crossings in Boulder.

Some blame the driver for not yielding at the crosswalk. Some blame the city for installing what they consider to be confusing signals. Some blame the victims for biking in the crosswalk.

[more]

From Fat, Dumb and Happy to Healthy, Wealthy and Wise

2009-08-17T00:21:00.003-06:00

Manufacturers use a tool called Pareto analysis to evaluate quality issues. They rank the problems and attack the biggest ones first.

I don't have to draw a Pareto chart to see where to start with health care costs. More than 75 percent of medical expenditures are for treating people with chronic diseases.

Chronic illnesses include cardiovascular disease, cancer, respiratory disease, and diabetes. A large percentage of cases are preventable, or can at least be managed less expensively.

[more]

Keep on Clunkin'!

2009-08-09T22:57:00.004-06:00

The cash for clunkers program may be many things. However, environmentally friendly isn't one of them.

Look at it this way. Suppose you trade in a car that gets 18 MPG for one that gets 28 MPG, and that you driver 12,000 miles per year. Also, assume that you will keep the new car for the typical six years.

For each of those six years, you will be burning 428 gallons of gas instead of 667 gallons. You save 238 gallons per year, or about 35% of the gas you would have burned.

A study by Toyota showed that as much as 28% of the carbon dioxide emissions generated during the life of a car occur during its manufacture and its transport to the dealer. That means that up to 38% more CO2 is generated than the CO2 generated from the burning of fuel during normal operation.

So, you emit 35% less CO2 during operation, but the act of buying a new car results in up to 38% more CO2 just to get you that car.

Ignoring the economic impact, the very best thing you can do is keep driving that car until it doesn't go any more.

The only exception I can think of is if you put lots and lots of miles on your car every year and plan to keep it a long time. Then, it might make more environmental sense to buy a new, more fuel-efficient car, and donate your old car to charity.

But scrapping the old car, as is required by law under this program, is pure waste.

We can't see the underpass for the trees

2009-08-04T22:33:00.002-06:00

When I saw the city preparing to use eminent domain to cut down 14 trees in the urban heart of Boulder to build a pedestrian underpass that didn't connect anything, I was dismayed.

Similar projects on Iris and the Diagonal Highway tied up traffic for months. In the end, things were a bit easier for a few pedestrians, but neither path provides a significant addition to the city's alternative mode infrastructure.

The Boulder Slough underpass is part of a package of improvements to 30th Street to be completed next year. It is one of the costliest components of the plan, and will have a huge impact on traffic and local access during six to eight months of construction. It is also by far the most controversial element.

[more]

In Which I Get My Life Back

2009-07-27T20:42:00.004-06:00

The Tour is over for another year. And it looks like the best three riders ended up on the podium, in the correct order. A few thoughts:

George Hincapie: I lost a bit of respect for George when he blamed the riders on the other teams for his failure to borrow the yellow jersey for a day. George, this is a competitive sport. You may be a great guy, but the other teams don't owe you anything. If you had ridden a bit faster, encouraged your breakaway to work together better, or stayed with the eventual stage winner, you might have gotten that jersey. It is poor sportsmanship to blame this on the other teams.

And then I gained back a bit of respect for George seeing him continue the race after injuring his collarbone, and race as hard as anybody and help get his team two more stage victories.

Jens Voight: Another very popular rider and elder spokesman of the sport. It was scary to see him go down so hard, and good to see his injuries were not nearly as bad as they could have been. The press reports said Jens crashed when he hit a bump in the road. However, I watched the crash in slow motion and I don't believe that. First, Jens had worked incredibly hard in the breakaway and then even more to help his team leader Andy Schleck. Then, on the descent, perhaps with just a tiny loss of concentration from exhaustion, he hit the center line paint and his tire lost its traction. He went down so hard there were sparks.

Alberto Contador: Clearly, Alberto deserved to win the Tour. Ho was faster than anybody else and climbed better as well. But his youthful exuberance caused him to ignore the goals of his team that didn't directly benefit him. It was so clear when he attacked and dropped Kloden, his own teammate, that he knew he'd made a bad mistake. He kept looking back hoping Andreas would get back on, and had a look in his eyes that said, "my bad". At least he seemed to learn, and on the climb to Mont Ventoux he was the best teammate he could be.

Something about Alberto reminds me of his teammate Lance Armstrong when he was that age. Lance wasn't successful until he had an entire team dedicated to his winning, and it looks like Alberto is likely to get the same thing next year.

Lance: He has finally proven he is human.

Snaps, crackles, pops and scrapes

2009-07-24T15:49:00.003-06:00

Pops and scrapes. Did you ever wonder why it isn't "pops or scrapes?" It seems that we can't talk about one without the other. But they're really two different things, with different goals and different impacts.

City Council is looking at regulating these types of projects, and perhaps to disguise the odd pairing they named the initiative "compatible development."

Our neighborhood has witnessed both types of development.

[more]

You'd Cry Too

2009-07-14T22:14:00.002-06:00

You'd cry too if Mom and Twin were on the other side of the fence and you couldn't figure out how to join them and there was a thunderstorm. Sad or funny? You decide.

Crybaby from Mike Ellis on Vimeo.

Global warming whodunit

2009-07-05T08:56:00.005-06:00

After my recent column about Dr. Jim Hansen's global warming research, I received e-mails with dozens of references designed to convince me that anthropogenic (human-caused) global warming (AGW) is a hoax.

I'd seen many of the references before. They ranged from irrelevant to bad science. Some I honestly don't have the expertise to evaluate. But I owe it to my scientific background to evaluate the case with a skeptical eye.

[more]

Strange Combinations

2009-07-03T15:44:00.009-06:00

Last weekend I rode in the Bike MS fundraiser for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. It was a tough weekend, covering a total of 175 miles, and I raised over $500.

This got me thinking. What is the relationship between athletic events and charities, and why are they linked? It's not just the MS Society. Lots of bike rides, runs, walks, etc., are tied to fundraising efforts.

But there's nothing inherent with bike riding or any of these other activities that has anything to do with the causes they support. I would have been happy to ride 175 miles without the charity tie in. But they wouldn't let me ride without raising at least $300. I didn't have a problem doing it, as it is a good cause. I know people with MS, and anything I can do to help is worthwhile.

But I wonder about the people I asked for money. Did they contribute because they thought they were supporting me, even though I never even saw the money? Or would they have contributed anyway? Probably not. Something about me riding my bike 175 miles caused people I know to contribute $511 to a good cause, and I'm not sure what it was. I guess I have to go with guilt -- since I made a personal request it made it harder to say "no".

And that's what these charities are counting on: Someone like me to do their job of making people feel guilty enough to contribute money, in exchange for being able to participate in an athletic event.

This is kind of like the strange combination of health insurance and employment. If you think logically about it, it really doesn't make sense for people to get their health care through work.

I guess it probably started with companies trying to attract workers by offering something of value beyond wages. But pretty soon it became expected that they would provide this benefit to their employees. Employers have now gotten trapped in a cycle of increasing health care costs that are not directly related to doing business but which they can't cut back on without big ramifications. And employees are stuck with whatever insurance is (or isn't) provided by their employer, unable to afford their own insurance, and unable to leave a job if they have any significant health issue.

So, just like I have to suck up to everybody I know to guilt them into contributing to a worthy cause so I can participate in a bike ride, my employer has to provide insurance to all its employees so it can participate in the job market.

Kind of makes you want to scrap this system and just start over from scratch.

Ironman comes to Boulder

2009-06-21T07:30:00.003-06:00

Today, I'm competing in the 5430 Sprint Triathlon. Barry and Jodee Siff, founders of the race and owners of 5430 Sports (named after Boulder's elevation) recently sold their company (and its eight races) to World Triathlon Corporation, which owns the Ironman brand and races around the globe.

[more]

The Meaning of Tri{athlon}: The Hearts and Minds Behind the Swim, Bike & Run

2009-06-18T22:39:00.004-06:00

This anthology of 15 essays, written by every day triathletes, is about humans doing what they were meant to do. In these pages, you’ll read why these triathletes love their sport. They are the men and women you meet every day. Some of the authors have regular jobs and some are retired. Some of them are barely out of school and some are grandparents. They are the fast one and they are the not-so-fast one but they all compete from start to finish just the same. You’ll read stories of triumph and defeat, of finding oneself and leaving one’s old self behind. They write about meeting new love on the course and leaving love-gone-wrong in the dust. For these athletes, triathlon is more than a sport, it's a way of life. And, that’s the way it should be.

Excerpt from "Triathlon as Evolution" written by yours truly:

It was August 1997, and I was rapidly approaching that time of life when many guys might consider getting a Porsche or a cute blond girlfriend or some other flashy distraction. On one Saturday morning I happened to read in the paper about something called a triathlon being held the next day. I was intrigued.

I didn’t know anything about the sport. In fact, I hadn’t participated in competitive sports since I was on a swim team at age nine or ten. But, as a mild-mannered, geeky, relatively active but noncompetitive kind of guy, I thought I could finish the race.

With my experience on a childhood swim team I figured the swim would be easy. As an occasional bike commuter, on weekends I often enjoyed riding up into the foothills, so the cycling wouldn’t be a problem. And, even though I’d never done it before, how hard could a bit of running be? If worse came to worst, I could always walk.

So, my wife, Caron, and I peddled our mountain bikes to Boulder High School to register me for the Boulder Peak Triathlon. It’s an Olympic-distance race, although I didn’t know what that meant at the time. A newbie in the worst way, I asked all the dumbest questions: What do you wear? What is a wet suit? Can I ride my mountain bike? Somehow I missed the crucial ones: Why am I doing this? What should I have done to prepare?

(I Can't Gitmo) Satisfaction

2009-06-11T22:47:00.000-06:00

Fortunately for our nation's interrogators, Gitmo is in no-man's land. If it were in the United States, there would the pesky problem of our Constitution and laws. If it were in some other country, the problem would be that country's rules.

When the U.S. government built the prison at Guantanamo Bay, they cleverly put it in part of Cuba that's not part of Cuba. President Teddy Roosevelt won it in 1903 from the first president of Cuba in a card game in which he wagered $24 in cigars.

[more]

The Sheriff Stirs Up Trouble

2009-05-31T17:50:00.002-06:00

First it was the Larimer County sheriff who tried to raise the level of anger between drivers and cyclists. Now, it's our own Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle who's getting folks all riled up.

It seems like Sheriff Joe met with mountain residents to talk about the new Bicycle Safety Bill, signed recently by Governor Ritter and scheduled to go into effect August 5. Residents are concerned that it allows cyclists to ride anywhere they want and block the roads.

But the sheriff, instead of telling the truth, that the new law doesn't give cyclists the right to ride anywhere or any way they don't already have, said that the new law makes makes blocking traffic by cyclists "basically unenforceable". He said, "Essentially, this law takes away our ability to enforce anything."

This is obviously a lie. The new law does not take away the ability of the sheriff to enforce any laws against cyclists. All it does is require motorists to give cyclists three feet of room when passing. I challenge the sheriff, or anyone else, to show me where in the new law he finds this limit on any of his authority.

Improving bicycle safety in one easy law

2009-05-25T22:29:00.003-06:00

Governor Ritter recently signed the Bicycle Safety Bill and it goes into effect August 5. But the road to its passage was not smooth. Although it passed fairly easily in the Senate, in the House it encountered stiff opposition.

I spoke to house sponsor Rep. Michael Merrifield, an avid cyclist. According to Merrifield, "The objections came from people who don't understand the concept of cycling in high-speed traffic."

[more]

A Bad Week for Retired Pro Triathletes

2009-05-21T23:30:00.002-06:00

First, Dave Scott was struck by a car while cycling less than a mile from here. The driver, who was ticketed, made an illegal U-turn in front of "The Man" as he was coming down a hill, causing the collision. Dave ended up with a broken finger and wrist, and either a broken or dislocated shoulder, depending on reports. Get well soon, Dave!

Then, Steve Larsen, the road/mountain/cross cycling icon who also made a big splash in the big race on the Big Island when he "dabbled" in the sport of triathlon, died suddenly and unexpectedly during a track workout. The initial reports pointed to a heart attack but the autopsy made a virus the primary suspect. Steve, I hope wherever you are there are miles and miles of great riding.

They say bad things happen in threes. I hope we don't hear about a shark attack on another former pro in the next few days.

Sons of Ditches

2009-05-15T21:45:00.004-06:00

Boulder's 150th birthday this year got me thinking: Is there anything in town that has actually been around that long?

Elizabeth Black, who is putting together "The Ditch Project" as part of Boulder's sesquicentennial celebration, confirmed my suspicion. Irrigation ditches are not only the oldest remaining human structures in the city of Boulder, but ditch companies are also the oldest continuously operating companies.

[more]

The Bicycle Safety Compromise

2009-05-09T23:40:00.003-06:00

The Bicycle Safety Bill was finally passed by the Colorado State Legislature, and now it heads to the governor for signature. It was a long and tortured process, including 2 visits to committee to resolve differences between house and senate versions. A day after it passed, Boulder County's sheriff came out against the bill. A day after that, he reversed himself and came out in favor.

What does it all mean? Let me see if I can untangle it.

When a car passes a bicycle traveling in the same direction, the driver must leave at least three feet between the vehicles (including side mirrors). This is probably the biggest change to state law in this bill. Colorado law finally sets an expectation that cars passing bikes must do so at a safe distance.
It will be legal for a car to cross the (single or double) solid yellow line to pass a bicycle, as long it can be done safely and without impeding other traffic.
Carelessly and imprudently driving close to a cyclist will be classified as careless driving. Interestingly, the law does not specifically say anything about deliberately driving too close to a cyclist.
Cyclists still have to stay to the right, but:
- It is now clarified that a cyclist gets to determine what is safe.
- Cyclists will be permitted to ride on the left on a one-way street.
- If the cyclist is traveling at the normal speed of traffic, or if the roadway is not wide enough for a car to pass a bike, the cyclist can use the full lane.
- A cyclist can use a lane other than the right lane to prepare for a left turn, to pass another vehicle, or to aid hazards.
- Cyclists going straight can ride on the left side of a right-turn lane.
The legislature went back and forth several times on clarifications to the two-abreast law. But in the end they didn't change the law much -- cyclists can ride two-abreast as long as they are not impeding the normal and reasonable movement of traffic.
Throwing things at cyclists is now explicitly a crime. However, it was already a crime to throw things at a vehicle, and the new crime for throwing things at cyclists has a penalty half as much as the penalty for throwing things at any other vehicle. Thanks for telling us what we are worth in this state. [Correction added May 15: The maximum penalty for throwing things at a car is double the minimum for throwing things at a cyclist, but half the maximum.]

Clarification of the two-abreast law was one of the reasons for this bill. Several changes were in the original bill, and several amendments were added by legislators trying to kill the bill, but in the end it looks like the legislature went with keeping it simple.

The original bill has a clause that stated riding two-abreast isn't impeding if there is no conflicting traffic, with the rationale being that if cars can pass the cyclists aren't impeding. This clause was removed, leaving this up to interpretation by law enforcement.

The original bill also stated that the two-abreast limitation does not prevent cyclists from passing one another, which presumably would have allowed a cyclist to pass two cyclists riding side-by-side. Presumably, with this clause removed that action will be allowed or prosecuted based on the whim of local law enforcement.

The original bill stated that riding two abreast isn't impeding if the road is too narrow for a single bicycle to share with a car. The rationale for this, of course, is that the second cyclist isn't holding up traffic any more than a single cyclist. With this clause removed, I assume this one is again left up to interpretation by law enforcement.

In order to get these clarifying clauses removed, it appears that the bill's opponents were able to get a couple of kooky amendments added, and used them as bargaining chips. These amendments were removed in committee in the final negotiations.

These two amendments started with the phrase, "Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary." As I see it, this can only mean one of two things. Either the lawmakers who wrote these amendments were too lazy to figure out what they really meant, or they knew and they just didn't want it to be obvious. In any case, I'm pretty sure it means that had these two paragraphs remained in the bill they would have had to have been figured out by law enforcement and the courts.

The first of these two amendments said that two-abreast riding is not allowed on state highways with lanes less than 12 feet wide. In other words, they went to all the trouble of spelling out exactly what is impeding and what is not, and then they said, "Just kidding!" Were they at least going to put a sign on these state highways, so that cyclists would know which ones they were? And why did the state get to exclude its highways from the law, but no other government entity got to (city or county roads)?

The second of the kooky amendments said that if the center line of a highway is solid yellow (single or double), cyclists had to ride as far to the right as "feasible". What was this supposed to mean? They went to quite a bit of trouble to define what it means to ride as far to the right as is safe. Was this supposed to be different than that? Were cyclists supposed to not ride safely if there's a solid yellow line? Was the fact that they said "highway" rather than "state highway" significant, especially since "highway" is defined in the code as a road in the state highway system, and "state highway" is not defined"?

I guess, given the confusion, it's not too surprising that the Boulder County Sheriff came out against this bill one day and in favor of it the next, since he based his original opposition to the pre-committee version.

In any case, be safe out there!

How to Save the World

2009-04-28T21:45:00.004-06:00

Dr. James Hansen spoke on "Climate threat to the planet: Implications for intergenerational and environmental justice" to a packed Macky Auditorium on April 9, as part of the Conference on World Affairs.

Way back in 1988 Hansen, director of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, testified about climate change to Colorado Senator Tim Wirth's Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, bringing the issue to the public eye.

At CWA, Hansen presented a target for what needs to be done, scientific rationale for that target, and a step-by-step plan for getting there. Not bad for a 50 minute talk.
[more]

I Don't Like Mondays

2009-04-20T11:19:00.002-06:00

Ten years ago...

Mondays from Mike Ellis on Vimeo.

Changing Attitudes -- Time is on our Side

2009-04-19T22:39:00.002-06:00

Researcher Fran Simon of Denver is a lesbian woman, married in every sense of the word except legally.

Working for the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, Simon authored a Harris Interactive study last November that explored attitudes of Colorado residents toward LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) issues, including gay marriage.
[more]

Leon Dormido

2009-04-05T00:39:00.001-06:00

Leon Dormido from Mike Ellis on Vimeo.Video from our recent trip to the Galapagos Islands.

Obama's New Direction on Economy: Declare Success and Move On

2009-04-01T00:17:00.000-06:00

The Obama administration is ready to announce a completely new direction in its attempts to rescue the economy, according to new information from Christina Romer, the head of the President's Council of Economic Advisors. In an interview with David Gregory, to be aired Sunday on Meet the Press, she discussed the idea, originally put forth by the President's newest advisor, Gunduz Caginalp. Caginalp is a mathematician from the University of Pittsburgh and past editor of the Journal of Behavioral Finance.

Obama was intrigued, according to Romer, by Caginalp's work, and by the idea that the economy is driven by human nature as much by "invisible" market forces. Within a month of entering the office, the President launched a behind-the-scenes project to see if psychology could be leveraged to help solve the current economic crisis.

If it works, it will certainly be a first in human history.

Nobel winning economist Paul Krugman, not a fan of the President's efforts so far to fix the economy, accused Obama of being nothing more than "an armchair psychologist". "There are real problems here," Krugman said, "problems that have been fueled by over two decades of bad policy. If the President thinks he can just click his heels together and wish the problem gone, he is indeed living in the land of Oz."

Romer, paving the way for the President's new plan, was definitely upbeat. "The American workers are sound," she said. "We have a good capital stock. We have good technology. We are just temporarily in a mess."

When asked how Obama's new plan would work, Romer would not give specifics, saying that the details would be given in a speech to the nation next week. But she did give Gregory an outline of some of the key points.

Obama intends to explain to the American people that the economy truly is sound. Nothing has changed since a year ago, when people weren't worried about their houses and jobs. The only thing that has changed, Obama will tell us, is that people got worried. They stopped spending, they stopped borrowing, they stopped hiring.

Romer would not tell Gregory exactly what the President's full message to the people would be. But she hinted that Obama would tell us that the future of the economy is not in the hands of Congress, it is not in the hands of Wall Street, it is not in the hands of the bankers. Any improvement in the economic situation will depend on the actions of all of the American public.

So, apparently, the President is going to tell us all to go out and spend, borrow, hire, invest, build, and pretend that this whole economic meltdown never happened.

"That's just crazy," Krugman said of the plan. People are hurting because of wishful thinking. And now the President of the United States, possibly the smartest man to hold that office in the past hundred years, is wishing on a star, crossing his fingers, and saying the magic words, hoping that we all won't notice what is happening behind the curtain."

Caginalp has not been available for interview by anyone. But one of his former colleagues, economist Vernon Smith, and like Krugman a Nobel laureate, said, "This is just crazy enough that it might work." But he added, "Of course, it would be nothing more than a smoke screen. If we were lucky, it could last to the end of Obama's term in office, and hs successor would be left with double the mess to clean up."

But Romer summed up what many people are privately thinking: "Let's wait to see what Obama has to say." We know he is a great salesman, and it may be that a great salesman is exactly what this country needs right now.

And so the country waits to see if the man behind the curtain can really give us a heart, a brain, and some courage.