Enjoy….

The web site is great, but I’d like to expand on the information there, based on comments I’ve gotten from friends as I’ve tried to talk this up.

What kind of dancing is contra dancing? Girls: it’s the kind of dancing you see in Jane Austen movies such as Pride & Prejudice, Sense & Sensibility, etc.  Guys: it’s the kind of dancing Wellington did when he won Waterloo. If you’re a fan of Bernard Cornwell, the author, it’s the kind of dancing Richard Sharpe would have done if Cornwell had had him attend a ball.

Held in the ballroom, it was a veritable feast ranging from soups and salads through toothsome entrees to mouth-watering desserts. Not to forget a cash bar that actually knew what a ‘kir’ was. Indeed. They offered a ‘kir royal’.

And it was all done by the students going through the Culinary program at PCC.

Here are some shots of the event.

This NEXT Sunday, 22 November, they’re going to put the students through what is called The Grand Buffet. If you don’t think you’re going to get enough turkey over the coming holiday, THIS is going to be the place to be. However, I do understand they’ll be offering beef and pork as well.

I’m in the process of downloading an app to help identify wild flowers. And speaking of ‘wild things’ there are apps for identifying birds as well. The latter, titled iBird Explorer Pro, includes their calls and various ways to search on something you saw.

The one for wild flowers is titled Audobon Wildflowers — A Field Guide to North American Wildflowers. They talk such things at their website where they talk about a LOT of things. But there, they don’t mention….YET….their iPod Touch/iPhone guide. But they ARE advertising their Audobon Birds for iPod Touch and iPhone.

I think I’ll get that one too….

Here is the advertisement that appeared recently in the Pueblo Chieftain…

ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY ADVISORY COMMITTEE

PUBLIC NOTICE

The Pueblo Area Council of Governments (PACOG) is seeking applications from Pueblo County residents (i.e., City of Pueblo or the unincorporated area of Pueblo County) interested in serving on its Environmental Policy Advisory Committee (EPAC). EPAC is a twelve-member advisory group which may advise PACOG regarding environmental issues, including air quality, water quality, noise abatement, solid waste, and hazardous waste. EPAC meets on the 1st Thursday of each month at 5:15 p.m.

Members are appointed by PACOG to serve three-year terms, and reflect a balance of interests in the Pueblo area. EPAC consists of substantially equivalent proportions from the following four groups:

• Public Interest—Any member of a nonprofit organization which reflects a general, civic, social, recreational, environmental, or public health perspective in the Pueblo region, and which group does not directly reflect the economic interests of its membership. Excluded from membership in this category shall be any member eligible for the economic interest or public official category.

• Organizations with Substantial Economic Interest—Any person and/or company who is likely to incur financial gain or loss greater than that of an average homeowner, taxpayer, or consumer as a result of any action likely to be taken by PACOG. Included in, but not limited to, this group shall be: representatives of companies inspected by the City-County Health Department for possible pollution; farmers and/or representatives of ditch companies; persons involved in supplying for profit recreation programs or equipment; large water consumers; manufacturers; commercial establishments; and nongovernmental professional with substantial economic interest.

• Public Officials—Any office holder who has been selected by a vote of the residents, any commission or agency member who has been appointed by a group of elected officials, and any employee of local, State, or Federal government.

• Private Citizens—Those persons who are not eligible for any other category. In addition, no person may be included in this category that is likely to incur a financial gain or loss greater than that of an average homeowner, taxpayer, or consumer as a result of any action likely to be taken by PACOG.

At this particular time, applications are being requested for persons to serve from the Organizations with Substantial Economic Interest and Public Officials groups. If you are interested in applying for appointment, you may secure an application form from the Pueblo County Department of Planning and Development, 229 West 12th Street, Pueblo, CO 81003 or telephone 583-6100. The deadline for receipt of applications is November 20, 2009 by 5:00 p.m.

If you have a heart for Pueblo and improving the quality of life therein, seriously consider (1) applying yourself or (2) passing this information on to someone you think would serve us all well.

Here is the APPLICATION for you to download, fill out and submit by COB (5 pm) 20 November 2009, to the Pueblo County Department of Planning and Development.

Get in the game!

How does one do it? Get an Apple iPod Touch.

I’ve had an iPod (classic) for quite some time. I found it mildly entertaining while waiting for another ‘round’ at debate tournaments. I’d listen to my favorite music. But battery life was somewhat limited. And, recording was not as effective or lengthy as I would wish. So, when I figured I’d need some more recording capability, I finally dropped on a second-generation iPod Touch. And I have to admit that it has become the most used electronic device in the household. And not just for the pleasant music I’ve collected over the decades. Nor for the games that are available at Apple’s iTunes Store. But I will admit that playing Monopoly and Scrabble with other people using iPods IS a pleasant way to play such games. And then there are the internet based contest games too.

Rather, what prompted this missive is the discovery of an app titled Eucalyptus. This is a ‘reader’ program that has been developed as an ‘open source’ project to make as many books that are out of copyright or their copyright owners have agreed available to be read on the iPod and iPhone products from Apple.

At last Saturday’s debate tournament, I decided I’d like to have something good to read, but my selection was limited on the iPod. Yesterday, I went searching the iTunes store for good books to read and discovered Eucalyptus. They claim 20,000 titles so I dropped on the application for $10 and discovered what, for all the world, to me seemed the ancient library of Alexandria. Since then I’ve been merrily downloading things ranging from novels about Allan Quartermain to the histories of Herodotus, Xenophon, Josephus, Tacitus, Julius Caesar, Cicero and others to the works of Shakespeare, Cornell Wilde, Lewis Carroll, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Edgar Allen Poe, Jane Austin, Rudyard Kipling, the philosophies of Thomas Paine, John Locke, Marcus Aurelius, Thoreau…. The names and lists seem to be endless.

Kudos to Apple for coming out with a device that can be SO useful and entertaining at the same time. And special thanks to the people at Project Gutenberg, the creators of Eucalyptus.

I have a simple question for the Y….

Where they say….

Terry Lockwood, president and CEO of the Y, notes that the organization provides scholarships for kids who cannot afford Y membership. No requests for scholarships have been rejected, he said, and requests for them have risen by 20 percent since the new complex opened.

....I’d like to know how many such scholarships have been issued, compared to requests and to number of under-privileged children in Pueblo that would benefit from such.

Also, I seem to recall comments that the Y would be providing bus service to facilitate children on the East side getting to their new campus. I’d like to know the status on THAT service, too.

Resident Phil Weber, who has an extensive computer background, said the district will have to pay more for someone who knows what they are doing. “For $40,000, you’re going to get a jerk,” he said. “Think $70,000.”

But Weber, a retiree, said he would do it for nothing.

....I had to ask myself, so what would Pueblo West get for paying ‘nothing’?

Not that I know Mr. Weber. And I do admire his willingness to volunteer to do for free what he thinks people should get $70K. BUT, the logic of his statement just stood out to me.

On the other hand, I’m surprised that Pueblo West doesn’t ALREADY have such a person on their payroll. But if they don’t, I highly recommend they hire someone who is familiar with Macintosh as well as Windows platforms and works to facilitate BOTH operating systems in the metro-district plans.

As for compensation….

....someone who gets NOTHING for their efforts can turn around and walk away without a second thought. Just having a ‘bad day’ with the ‘boss’ could trigger it. Whereas someone who is getting good pay and other important benefits….think the new health care legislation and the requirement, as stated last week, of having to pay $15K per year for an individual policy or face jail time….would likely think at least twice about walking away.

As for Mr. Weber?

I highly recommend the city consider him as a consultant with a decent compensation for his expertise in this important area. And put him on the committee to select the full-timer, too.

NOW….maybe just….now….

....they’ll let us READ the legislation. Considering that Pelosi broke her ‘promise’ {snicker} to let US see it 72 hours before the vote and our Congressperson’s staffers were saying we’d see the verbiage….but apparently not BEFORE the vote….

...let’s see what our Congressperson voted for. I’ll provide the text once I can find it.

UPDATE: An interesting observation on what it means.

UPDATE: And THIS probably explains why they did it at night….

....men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.—John 3:19

....S——- stated that Fox News was not the most reliable source of information when I mentioned Fox News had an article claiming that the Democrats were NOT going to release details of changes they were making to their proposed health care reform bill—for all of US to read—BEFORE the vote.

S——- kept telling me the information would be released. And I kept asking “When? Before or after the vote?” Or words to that effect. At which point, when we got to the third iteration of that cycle, she hung up.

This is NOT the way to run a public relations/interface-with-your-constituents, in my personal opinion.

To tell the truth….I’m getting rather tired of hearing that my Congressperson hasn’t made a decision with regards to a bill. Especially when it’s this LATE in the ‘game’.