Are we boring? John C. Dvorak seems to think so. All the cars are the same borish colors. Have you seen the housing developments recently? Here in Colorado they all are the same neutral colors, no pizzazz here. Have a read of John's article, I tend to agree with him!

I found a few good cartoons from this week these past few days. Enjoy!

• Tom Toles - Bush shifting the blame
• Non Sequitur by Wiley Miller - ObviousMan
• Nick Anderson - Bush Action Figure
• Nick Anderson - WMD Search
• Steve Sack - Bad News Sir
• Stuart Carlson - Old but Wily
• Mike Luckovich - 9/11 Commission
• Pat Oliphant - Cheney the Ventriloquist
• Tom Toles - Polar Ice Melting
• Gary Vargel - If I Could Read
• My Whole Collection So Far

Avs win a come from behind against the Rangers in overtime after losing yesterday against the Devils. David Aebischer played a good game with the two goals against him being shots he couldn't do much about. The Avs are now 6-5-0-0 on the season. Probably the last 6:09 of the first period where the most important as they where short handed the whole time. Aebischer made some great saves to keep the team in the game.

Mike Dunham played a great game for the Rangers. He had some spectacular saves tonight. He was definitely one of the stars of the game.

Travis Brigley recorded his first goal in the NHL while Tanquay and Skrastins recorded the other two goals for the Avs.

Peter Forsberg is still out with a pulled groin and the team is not saying much about when he may return.

Shots on Goal:

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	OT	Total
Colorado	12	13	11	2	38
Rangers	14	6	4	0	24

You've heard about it! You know it's out there! Now is your time to pre purchase your
Elite Force Aviator: George W. Bush - U.S. President and Naval Aviator - 12" Action Figure

You better buy one now as we all know these things will be scooped up like hot cakes on a cold Colorado morning. Best get your order in now ;)

Unfortunately, it does not come with a "Mission Accomplished" sign. You will have to track down the unknown sailor on the USS Abraham Lincoln who put that up. Funny how it perfectly framed the Prez though ;)

Anyway here are some more articles on Dubba's fateful landing:
Keepers of Bush image lift stagecraft to new heights
White House pressed on 'mission accomplished' sign

This guy wants your help to become the ultimate safeway shopper.

(Sports Network) - Karlis Skrastins scored 1:14 into overtime to lift Colorado over the New York Rangers, 3-2, on Sunday at Madison Square Garden.
Travis Brigley and Alex Tanguay also lit the lamp for the Avalanche, who came back from a two-goal deficit to bounce back from a loss to New Jersey on Saturday.
David Aebischer, playing his third consecutive game and sixth in seven, turned aside 22 shots for Colorado.
The trio of Peter Forsberg, Tanguay and Milan Hejduk have 32 points in the last six games. Tanguay is riding a nine-game point scoring streak (5g, 11a), while Hejduk has five goals and six assists over his last seven games.
Forsberg, though, missed his second straight game on Sunday with a groin injury. Colorado also continues to play without Paul Kariya, who has missed six straight games with a wrist injury.
Colorado will return to the ice on Tuesday when they host the Minnesota Wild.

An interesting read on how those who backed Bush are now starting to question him on his moves to go into national forest for gas and oil production.

"Seven years ago, the U.S. Forest Service ruled that the Rocky Mountain Front deserved "special attention" and halted new oil and gas leasing. Now, with energy a national security priority, the fight is back on...."

Here is a suprise. In an internet poll done on Tuesday in his native Sweden, Peter Forsberg was voted the greastest Swedish player ever to play in the National Hockey League.

Daily newspaper Dagens Nyheter found that 51 per cent of 6,000 people taking part in the survey picked Forsberg, last season's scoring leader and Hart Trophy winner, as Sweden's top trans-Atlantic export.

Borje Salming, a NHL Hall of Famer who played 16 seasons with Toronto Maple Leafs, was second with 18 per cent of the vote.

Toronto's Mats Sundin was third with eight per cent, ahead of Nicklas Lidstrom of Detroit and Hakan Loob, the first Swede to score 50 goals in the NHL for the Calgary Flames.

Ah yes, the afternoon nap, it was so badly needed today. Had it not been for that nap I could not have stayed awake to watch a great Avs game as Philippe Sauve won his first NHL game tonight against Phoenix. Did you see that amazing pass from Forsberg to Hejduk for the go ahead score. It was just unbelievable. On top of that, the Avs definitely had the penalty kill going tonight not giving up a goal in any of Phoenix's 6 chances.

Game Notes:
Joe Sakic tied Gilbert Perrault (28th all-time) in goals scored
Peter Forsberg recorded his 500th career assist
This is the Avs 400th sellout, the NHL's longest recorded sellout streak in its history

I'm glad I stayed up for this one!

This is a kind of scary article on CNET about how the State of Massachusetts obtained information of people who purchased cigarettes over the internet and thus where sent letters requesting payment of cigarette taxes. "The details of this case are important to Massachusetts residents, but the implications are national."

So how much dead stuff does it take to make a gallon of gas for your guzzler? Probably a lot more that you thought! Check out this article and you will find the truth

Well, the final tabulations are in and the verdict is:
www.LarsonsWorld.com is 29% Evil and 71% Good!
This, of couse, was drived by using the "infallible methods" of the Gematriculator. Better head right on over there and check your favorite phrase or web site. ;)

Here is a great speech by Al Gore that I found through Matt Bivens weblog on The Nations' web site. I honestly believe that American people are being duped into believing they have to give up their civil liberties to be protected from terrorist attacts. Folks, these things are not connected. This country is slowly becoming a police state and we are just sitting back, driving around in our big SUV's with our cheap gas and don't give a shit whether our government fucks with us or not. It is a sad state of affairs ladies and gentlemen! I hope you can live with it, because I am not really sure I can.

© Don Wright
But I wouldn't put it past the Prez!

Yo!
The photos are finally coming in from my 40th birthday and a chosen few are being added to the Photo Gallery. There will be more on there way soon along with photos from All Hallows Eve.
I have also added a few new photos to the Kremmling 2003 collection and once I get some slides put onto disk I add even more :)
Hope you enjoy them

A small collection of articles I have enjoyed recently:
• The meaning in the 'message'. Euphemisms for a candidate's stand are not enough. By Brad Rourker
• Is anyone actually hearing what Bush is saying? - His new 'forward strategy' is less militant. By John Hughes - Commentary on G. W. Bush's democracy speech of a couple of weeks ago to the National Endowment for Democracy
• Hotel Rooms and High-Technology Befuddlement. Some terrific hotels, in their zeal to be hip, have designed elements of almost comic incomprehensibility into their guest rooms. By Joe Sharkey
• Rare Infection Threatens to Spread in Blood Supply. A parasitic infection, Chagas disease, common in Latin America is threatening the United States blood supply. By Donald G. McNeil Jr.
• A Shortage of Energy The energy bill now before the Senate offers no real solutions, only more kickbacks to President Bush's campaign contributors in the oil and gas industries. New York Times Editorial
• Man on the Street - P. J. O'Rourke on Iraq, Michael Kelly, and taking a country's measure by just "hanging out." An Interview by Elizabeth Shelburne

Hope you enjoy the reading!

Big Green Governor? - Environmentalists, Republicans Eager to See How Green Schwarzenegger Can Be.
Social Intrigue - Baboons Studies Show Humans Aren’t the Only Ones Embroiled in Social Politics
Compassionate George - Bush has snubbed the families of US KIAs but looks forward to meeting 'British' families.
Looting the Treasury, Again - Republicans have secretly written a 1,700-page bill to give away billions to their friends.
A turning point in the Iraqi mess? - Next November, remember this November when the administration was hit by the full brunt of its wrongs.
Why Bush Had to go to Britain - Britain can't afford to damage its close alliance with the United States.
America's penchant for instant gratification - Speedy victories and simplistic happy endings are not an Iraq strategy.

Congress is very close to giving government law enforcement agents even broader powers to force businesses to turn over sensitive private information about their customers without any judicial review.

Part of a little-noticed provision that is pending before a conference committee, the expanded powers would allow the government to access your travel records, car purchases, stock trades or other purchases and stop you from finding out that these records have been searched. The government could undertake these searches for loosely defined "national security" purposes even if it has no reasonable suspicion that you were involved in a crime.

Take action! Congress needs to ensure that there is proper judicial oversight over government investigations!

Click here for more information and to send a free fax to your Members of Congress:
http://www.aclu.org/NationalSecurity/NationalSecurity.cfm?ID=14370&c=111

BBC, November 3rd
"Spectre of Vietnam looms over Iraq"
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3237171.stm

Salt Lake City Tribune, November 3rd
"David Broder (Washington Post): Bush's statements on Iraq 'eerily
reminiscent' of the Vietnam era"
http://www.sltrib.com/2003/Nov/11032003/commenta/commenta.asp

Los Angeles Times, September 26th
Vietnam's Shadow Lies Across Iraq
http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0926-05.htm

International Herald Tribune, October 22nd
The neocons from Vietnam to Iraq
http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0926-05.htm

And an older one from the St. Petersburg Times, mmmm, from about Feb. 10th..
Conflict with Iraq echoes Vietnam, yet no one hears"
http://www.sptimes.com/2003/02/10/Columns/Conflict_with_Iraq_ec.shtml

The Washington Post, October 5th "Is Iraq Another Vietnam Quagmire? No and Yes"
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A45109-2003Oct4¬Found=true

Well, Denver got its first real snowstorm of the winter yesterday. Somewhere around 5"+ hit parts of the city and surrounding areas. It made a real mess of the streets, cars where sliding everywhere. Doesn't look like I will be commuting by bicycle for a few days. Hopefully it will be sunny enough for the next few days to enable the bike path to clear up a bit.

Anyway, last night we took the light rail down to the "Can" to watch the Avs get get blanked by the Kings. Man, did the Avs just look bad last night! Unfortunately we where sitting behind the wrong goal for most of the game as all the action was in the Avs end for most of the game and thus, for 2 periods, everything was going on in the other end. At least it was warm as opposed to Edmonton where it was -2 and the game was outside! Well maybe the next game I get to go to things will go better. Seems like most of the time the Avs are playing these days that should not be a problem.

Received this letter by email the otherday from Senator Wayne Allard

The weather has giving me a good excuse to sit in front of my monitor and keyboard and wander around the information highway. Here are some items of interest I have found:
F.B.I. Scrutinizes Antiwar Rallies - The agency has collected information on demonstrators and has advised local officials to report suspicious activity to counterterrorism squads.
How to Make the Deficit Look Smaller Than It Is - President Bush and Congress seem to view the Social Security surplus more as a cookie jar than a lockbox.
Love in the Time of No Time - How Internet dating is re-engineering flirtation, seduction, relationships and the love-seeking self.
NASA Official Hopeful on Shuttle Progress - NASA is making steady progress toward returning its shuttle fleet to flight so that construction of the International Space Station can resume, the agency said.
Thousands pay tribute to Kennedy - Thousands of people in Dallas, Texas, have marked the 40th anniversary of the assassination there of United States President John F Kennedy.
Wal-Mart to write own name on notebooks - The retail giant reportedly plans to launch a line of notebooks under its own brand name next year, a move that could push down prices, say analysts.
Senate may move on bill to ban Net-access tax - A logjam appears close to breaking on stalled bill to permanently ban taxes on Internet access, but final shape of the bill uncertain.
Daily Outrage: Royal Airs - George Bush irks the Queen by bringing an army of his personal chefs to Buckingham Palace.

Cool Sites: Office 2003 Editions: Compare Them to Previous Versions
Skyhigh Airlines
Nixon Librarys Online Store - Check out the bowling shirt!

The National Rifle Association recently targeted hundreds of organizations and individuals for having the temerity to have "lent their names and notoriety" to the "anti-gun cause." The NRA has compiled these names on a 19-page blacklist being made available to its membership.

Who's on the list? Sure enough, there's the notorious Oprah Winfrey, Sean Connery, Julia Roberts, Bruce Springsteen, Mel Brooks and Jimmy Carter. Also Russell Simmons, Missy Elliot, Shania Twain and Dustin Hoffman. The NAACP, NOW, the United Methodist Church, the AARP and the American Jewish Congress are also all featured on this modern-day enemies list.

The grassroots group Stop The NRA thought that more than just NRA members should see the list. So, they've created a website dedicated to exposing this campaign and are encouraging concerned citizens to sign up for what reasonable Americans should consider an honor roll.

For more info: http://www.nrablacklist.com

The NRA, emboldened by the strong support it enjoys from the Bush Administration, is acting increasingly out of control as it attempts to bully Congress into granting the Association two coveted favors: an end to the ban on military-style rapid-fire assault weapons and ironclad legal protections for gun manufactures and weapons dealers from virtually all civil lawsuits.

The Stop the NRA campaign has a set of suggestions for helping defeat the NRA's assault on American society: Sign a petition, donate funds to help support anti-NRA advertising nationwide, join with like-minded activists in local groups, lobby your elected reps, and find out much more about a fierce political struggle being waged with potentially dramatic consequences for American citizens.

All this at: http://www.stopthenra.com

You can also watch "NRA Madness" a special free web film: http://www.nramadness.com/

Canadiens alumni Guy Lafleur and Claude Lemieux were calling for a rematch. "Olympic Stadium," Lemieux said of the domed Montreal stadium that seats more than 56,000 for CFL games. "I think we can fill it." Wayne Gretzky wouldn't commit. "A rematch? Our team needs a year's rest." ...

The temperature at the start of the Oilers-Canadiens game, which was at 7 p.m. ET and after the sun had set in Edmonton, was minus 2. The temperature when the puck dropped for the alumni game two hours earlier was a balmy 2 degrees. ...

Before settling on the Oilers-Canadiens matchup, other opponents were considered. According to one report, Rangers coach Glen Sather said his team originally was to play in the game, but Hockey Night in Canada pushed for an all-Canadian affair. An NHL spokesman said there were many different possibilities before the match was final. ...

This was the first outdoor game to count in the NHL standings. ...

Transforming Commonwealth Stadium, home of the CFL's Edmonton Eskimos, into a hockey rink took 12 days. It took 100 people approximately 150 hours to install the ice, which was 2 inches thick. Most NHL ice surfaces are 1 inch. ...

There were 70 rink boards and 120 plexi-glass sections used to create the rink, with 1,000 anchors securing the boards to the turf. ...

The date of the game is significant for the NHL -- November 22 is the anniversary of the league's inception in 1917. It also is the date Gretzky was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1999. ...

As expected, the event shattered the NHL attendance record with 57,167. The previous record was 28,183 when the Flyers played the Lightning at Tampa's ThunderDome on April 23, 1999. ...

Between the 15-minute halves of the alumni game, the players shoveled snow from the ice.

Check out this article by Kara Yorio of The Sporting News that I received via email.
On Frozen Pond: Heritage Classic Rekindles Memories of Hockey's Roots

The Colorado Avalanche suffered their second straight loss on Monday when they found themselves on the wrong end of a 3-2 decision against the Nashville Predators at the Pepsi Center.

Milan Hejduk and Joe Sakic both lit the lamp for the Avalanche, who are in the midst of just their second losing streak of the season. Colorado, which has lost two at home for the first time all season, also dropped two straight from October 18-21.

The Avs continued to play without Peter Forsberg (abdomen) and Paul Kariya (wrist). They also learned on Monday that center Andrei Nikolishin will be gone for two-to-three weeks after injuring his knee in Saturday's loss to the Los Angeles Kings.

Colorado will return to the ice on Thursday against Calgary.

The Hockey News weekly ratings are in and the Boyz from Colorado are still holding 7th even after playing poorly and losing there last two games at home. They will need some better goal tending on the road as they are allowing 3.3 goals per game while playing away from home.
Here are their top ten:
1. Philadelphia
2. New Jersey
3. Boston
4. Tampa Bay
5. St. Louis
6. Vancouver
7. Colorado
8. Detroit
9 NY Islanders
10. Toronto

David Aebischer moved a few notches up the goalie ratings this week, from 26th to 22nd (out of 40), so he is riding in the middle of the pack.
His stats:
This Week: .960, 0.95, 1-0-0
Season: .910, 2.43, 9-3-0

“CAUTION: THIS QUIZ MAY SURPRISE YOU, SHOCK YOU, OR MAKE YOU THINK. PLEASE REMAIN CALM...BUT NOT TOO CALM!!”

Those who are perhaps a little too secure in their environmental stewardship would do well to take this admonition from Earth Day Network to heart. At the group’s Ecological Footprint Quiz site, those who dare can see just how environmentally friendly, or not, their daily activities are. Here's more on the quiz's methods and goals.

You’ve been warned.

First of all, I have to say I admire GW's trip to Baghdad. I may not believe in his policies, but I honestly believe it was the right thing to do under the current circumstances. Some may say it was a political stunt, it may have been, but it was still the good thing to do.

I went up to Waterton Canyon yesterday for a bike ride. The road up to the connection with the Colorado Trail was fine, just a few bits of snow here and there. From the single track up was a bitch. There is a couple inches of snow that is just enough to mess up the climbing. It was frustrating because when I lost traction or went of trail and I would unclip and put my foot down. Now my clipless was covered with snow that would pack in to the little notches and prevent me from being able to clip back in. Oh, well. Live and learn. I guess I will head to someplace not in the trees today, maybe Green Mountain.

Last night I listened to the Avs and Edmonton play over the computer. It was not broadcast on TV here and the radio station it was on I could not receive well. I was amazed at how well it come through. I am sure having broadband made a big difference, but it was still cool to be able to do. (Ah, where would we be without technology?) Anyway, between last nights game and Thursdays wild one with Calgary the Avs are doing pretty good right now. The standings currently place them the Western Conference and in second in the league after Philadelphia and Vancouver. David Aebischer definitely had a good game last night only giving up one goal on 41 shots. Yep, he had 40 saves! It was a nice turn around from Thursday night for him.

Finally, I hope you all had a thankful Thanksgiving. I know I am thankful for the 4 day weekend I ended up with along with a few other minor things ;)