Paul W. Swansen's Weblog

Snow in high country on its way to metro area

Our first snow forecast of the season.

Snow in high country on its way to metro area: "DENVER - Snow is on the horizon for the metro area while it has already started to come down heavily in the high country."

(Via 9NEWS.com Top Stories.)

Snow in high country on its way to metro area

Technorati Tags: wintersnow | wintersnowwarning | coloradoski |

School Board with way to much time on their hands.

Where's the concern for teachers salaries and more funding for the school district?

Suspension for breaking school snack quota?: "

Filed under: Lunch, Snacks, British Isles, Culinary Kids, Food Oddities

What would you do if your child were punished because you did not pack a lunch that met the schools' guidelines?

In Kent, England, a 10-year old boy was made to leave the lunchroom and eat outside under supervision because his lunch contained 'one more snack than allowed'. At Lunsford Primary School, a lunch is only permitted to contain two snacks (the type and quantity of other food items was not specified) and young Ryan Stupples's lunch had cheese biscuits, a cake and a fromage frais yogurt. We can assume that the school felt that the contents of Ryan's lunch would have a negative impact on the eating habits of the other children, or else they would not have sent him outside to eat. 'Ryan said he...felt upset and frightened and feared he was 'going to be suspended'.'

The school defended the decision to remove the child from the lunchroom, stating that they had given the father a warning about packing appropriate lunches.

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(Via Slashfood.)

Suspension for breaking school snack quota?

Could we be relying a bit to much on the net?

Technorati Tags: bLaugh | internet | kids | school | schoolgrades |

New book to LIsten to?

This appears to be a good read. I took a look at it yesterday while browsing in Borders. I've looked at Audible and find that the only way it's available in an audio version is abridged. If I wanted Cliff notes, I'd have a subscription and in this case, an abridged version doesn't work. Why in this day and age of our increasing technology abilities, there are still a plethora of abridged versions of books, astounds me.

Mavericks at Work: "

MAVERICKS AT WORK is a tremendous biz book that rekindles the classic Fast Company vibe of challenging the status quo and expressing the optimism of how making a difference truly makes a difference. I promise you’ll be a lot smarter and a lot more inspired to make great stuff happen at work after reading this book.

The authors, Bill Taylor and Polly LaBarre, are getting a lot of well-deserved digital ink ... such as this worthy interview on TomPeters.com. Some stand-out money quotes from the interview include:

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Bill Taylor | ‘Our notion is that there's been a kind of hidden history in the last five years. A whole generation of companies has quietly and quite effectively been rethinking how some of the basics of business get done.’

‘In industry after industry there's been this changing of the guard, where the companies that are now generating all the growth, creating all the jobs, generating all the shareholder wealth, are companies that a decade ago were dismissed as outliers and wild cards. They're now the ones in positions of power, or at the very least the ones that are succeeding and growing in industries where everybody else is consolidating and cutting back.’

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Polly LaBarre | ’The four arenas that we spend a lot of time on in the book surround the question of strategy, that having the courage to be different makes all the difference in business today.’

‘When we talk about standing for important ideas we mean that these are ideas that shape the future of an industry, that reshape the sense of what's possible among customers, among employees, among investors. That distinctive and disruptive sense of purpose is the hallmark of a maverick. A company with a clear sense of purpose wins. That's the first principle.’

‘The second principle concerns relationships with customers. Sharing your values beats selling value. That's the paradox at the heart of the relationship with most companies and their customers today.’

‘When everything keeps getting cheaper, better, easier, and faster, offering customers something that's a little cheaper or a little better doesn't win you a place in their hearts or their lives. Companies and organizations increasingly have had to move away from just selling value to striking a genuine relationship on the basis of distinctive values.’

‘The fourth principle will not come as a shock to anyone. In this world of disruptive strategy, open source innovation, and psychological contracts of customers, your success as an organization is built upon one very core and perennial reality: The people are the company. You simply cannot have a great company that's filled with people who are of not so great quality. Your organization cannot be better than the quality of the individuals in it.’

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Devour the interview on TomPeters.com and then go devour the goodies on the MavericksatWork.com website.

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(Via Brand Autopsy.)

Mavericks at Work

Technorati Tags: books | audible | com | bordersbooks | mavericksatwork | abridgedbooks |

Loveland

Loveland: "Lifts open: 1/9
New snow last 24 Hours: 0 in.
New snow last 48 hours: 0 in.
Mid-mountain depth: 18 in.
Surface conditions: PP/MM
Beginner terrain open: 5%
Expert terrain open: 0%
Comments: Opening Day! Lifts start at 9:00am Saturday 14th, and 8:30 on Sunday... The season is here YEAH!
Closing date: 05/07/07
"

(Via Colorado Ski Country USA Snow Report.)

Loveland

Men's Room Art?

Do you really want to walk into the Mens Room (sober or not) and see these?

Urinal Sculptures, Still Just'a Peein': "

What a better way to say good morning on a Friday than with fun and unique urinal sculptures. These pieces of art are designed to be placed in the bathrooms of art museums and they range from $6,500 to $10,500 if you feel ever-so-compelled to take one home. It's just like being drunk and peeing in the flowers, but this time you aren't killing the flowers! Sorry, ladies. The artist behind these urinals is obviously sexist and doesn't want you to partake in any of the fun. - Travis Hudson

Product Page [Via funfurde]

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(Via Gizmodo.)

Urinal Sculptures, Still Just'a Peein'

Technorati Tags: MensRoom | Urinal | UrinalSculptures | Flowers |

Arapahoe Basin

Arapahoe Basin: "Lifts open: 1/6
New snow last 24 Hours: 0 in.
New snow last 48 hours: 0 in.
Mid-mountain depth: 18 in.
Surface conditions: MM
Beginner terrain open: 7%
Expert terrain open: 0%
Comments: The Legend is OPEN! 60 years and going strong.
Closing date: 06/04/07
"

(Via Colorado Ski Country USA Snow Report.)

Arapahoe Basin

Technorati Tags: SkiColorado | ColoradoSkiing | ArapahoeBasin | A-Basin |

Use a sick day Today.

Lots of folks taking a sick day today I'd bet.

Ski season to begin Friday: "SUMMIT COUNTY - Arapahoe Basin will open up for the 2006-2007 on Friday, the earliest opening for A-Basin since it started operating 60 years ago."

(Via 9NEWS.com Top Stories.)

Ski season to begin Friday

Technorati Tags: A-Basin | ColoradoSki | SkiColorado | OpeningDay |

Looking to move to Denver?

Guide to suburban Denver subdivision names: "Mark Frauenfelder: I was born in Denver and grew up in the area, and am too familiar with the barfalicious names developers attach to the hideous cookie-cutter housing subdivision springing up in the weedy praries around Rocky Flats nuclear bomb plant and the underground nerve gas armories. This table, which lets you generate subdivision names, is so good that I'm afraid developers will really start using it to name future particle-board-and-tarpaper travesties. The Reserve at Saddle Bluff Heights. The Preserve at Hawk Creek Landing. The Estates at Antelope Glen Ranch.

Over the years, as new subdivisions have stretched farther and farther out onto the plains, their names have become wordier, more elaborate, and more pretentious. Today, there is an obvious trend in the naming of new subdivisions in metro Denver. Developers now use a variety of semantic tricks in their attempt to increase the perceived exclusivity of the development. No longer would something simple and unassuming like 'Columbine Knolls' suffice. These days, the first part of the name must clearly identify that the development is not only a residential community, but also one of great distinction, and that these homes of great distinction are located at a place of even greater distinction. Thus, new suburban development names now begin with phrases like 'The Estates at...' or 'The Preserve at...' or 'The Retreat at...' followed by not just one or two words to describe the incredibly special patch of prairie on which these homes have been built, but three words or more.

Link (Thanks, GM!)

"

(Via Boing Boing.)

Guide to suburban Denver subdivision names

Heading to Reno

Off to Reno for the Weekend. See you on Tuesday.