Hello Wisconsin!!

Saw this link on one of my daily readings this morning....


Having grown up in Wisconsin and with a majority of family in the state, this doesn't surprise me.

Pekoe

As part of my 2010 Mantra, I outlined a few things I would like to focus on this year.

Having a cup of tea a day is one of them.

This cup of tea can take many forms. It can be a morning tea (though I love a cup or two of coffee in the morning) or an afternoon refreshing drink. Sometimes it has caffeine, though often it does not.

One great place to get tea is at Pekoe sip house. The motto on their website says:

We want people to create quality time through things that enrich their lives. Our customers are able to slow down and enjoy the Pekoe buzz, the energy inherent in a healthy lifestyle. Pekoe tea revives, replenishes and heals.

I couldn't agree more!

This place is absolutely great. They have a nice and knowledgeable staff and a wide and ranging selection of teas. Think of your favorite, local coffee shop. Or if you don't have a nice local coffee shop, think of your nicest neighborhood Starbucks (though I hate to even make the reference).

You can even order online here.

Great tea house. Great setting. Great place to meet with friends.

Introducing Dylan's blog!

With a start of new year, we've added a blog focused on Dylan. It's still a bit of a work in progress but looks really good so far! Click here to access the site.

I am going to stop sending out direct e-mails of new blog posts through my mailing list. If you get these blog posts via e-mail and want to continue doing so, please respond to the e-mail and I'll keep you on the list. If not, no big deal and no need to respond.

You can still come to this blog to check out my various Musings on your own and I have a link to Dylan's blog on the top of this blog page for all future needs. Just simply click and go!

Thanks for tuning in and.... Go Buffs!

2010 Mantra

I’m not a big New Year resolutions fan, such as “lose weight” or “hit the gym 5x per week” or “be a kinder person to X, Y or Z”. None of that really makes sense to me. It seems like people make resolutions only to know they can break them shortly into the New Year because they’ll get a chance at resetting them next year. I think you should always look at ways of improving and continually push yourself. So instead of resolutions, I prefer to set (and reset) goals. This year I'll call my goals my personal mantra.

[Please note “being a great dad and husband” is not a goal as I think that is part of everyday life.]

Here are my goals.

In 2010 I will:
· Focus on Personal Development in my job. Aide in development of co-workers.
· Really apply myself in school. Establish myself as a thoughtful leader and active participant in each class I take. The goal is active learning throughout the year.
· Do 1 really fun / unique family event a month.
· Travel 1 place I’ve never been before.
· Participate in Toastmasters and improve public speaking ability.
· Train for a long, local bike race and finish.
· Work on establishing a stronger network in Colorado. Attend at least 1 networking / business event a month and find a take away from each event.
· Follow up with old contacts and friends on a more regular basis.
· Develop Musings from Boulder from a Dylan focused blog into a leadership / thought provoking community.
· Drink a cup of tea a day.
· Hike a few 14’ers.
· Play guitar. (No, really.)
· Focus on what really matters and stay ahead on things (aka prioritize and manage time more efficiently).

I wish you all the best in 2010. Please feel free to share what you are focusing on this year!

Delurker Day 2010

Today is evidently being called Delurker Day. This is some sort of global movement of people who blog asking those that read their blog to actually stop lurking and leave a comment.

Kind of funny that bloggers would create such a day and even funnier that I saw a logo for it this evening:
So hey, if you check this out and see things you like, don't like or just want to say hi, we love the feedback and commentary! But given different technologies available, as a blogger you can see how many visits you get a day. When 150+ people check out your site a week, comments are highly appreciated and actually mean a lot.

I am also looking to overhaul a few things blog related in the future and want to bring Intense Debate on this blog as a way to leave comments, and well, debate!

Thanks again for checking out this blog!

Air Jordan's

I saw this from a friend via Twitter this morning and in some strange way I wish I had an extra $8,000+ to get these! Air Jordan Eminem Encore Edition shoes... supposedly only 50 ever made!

As a kid, these were my favorite version of the Air Jordan collection (I'm not sure if I ever ended up getting a pair as a kid but almost bought them on several occasions a few years ago when they "re-released" all the Air Jordan's.) To me, these shoes are iconic.

You can check out the full E-Bay listing here.

And don't worry... we have a bunch of photos of Dylan to put up soon.

Minority Report technology revealed!

Remember the really cool 3D interface computer they used to track down Tom Cruise in the movie?? It was this amazing computer that is controlled by hand movements and operates in a virtual 3D "world". The company behind this technology is called Oblong. Go check out the website and what they are all about.

This is the kind of stuff that is going to help continue changing the world as we know. The creativity and imagination as well as the know how to figure this type of thing out is just amazing to me. Very cool stuff!


g-speak overview 1828121108 from john underkoffler on Vimeo.

The real truth from Mexico on why not to smoke cigarettes

Just in case big tobacco and the lobbyists in America have you believing otherwise, check out the display right in front of a Duty-Free shop at the Puerto Vallarta airport. Not only does 'smoking kill', second hand smoke is 'seriously harmful to those around you.'

On the other hand, it's only $92 (U.S.) to buy a huge box of death sticks... I believe this exact package holds five cartons of cigarettes.

We are expecting a baby in April!

Perhaps this is not news at this point, but we had our 20-week ultrasound a few weeks back. The doctor said the baby has a "nice, round head" which means it's definitely a Lee!! Hopefully this works out alright on the delivery side for Melissa's sake!

Here are a few photos. They are not the best quality as I took photos of our ultrasound pic's

Body picture (you can see the heart)

... And a foot

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a Good Night!

Hey everyone,

I'm sure all the faithful readers of Musings from Boulder are sad to not have received a Christmas card this year, featuring the Lee family along with a "sweet" Christmas sweater. With busy schedules, including work, school, baby-planning and spreading local holiday cheer, we were not able to get out our annual card (plus the photo opp's necessary to create such a card were missed or not there).

With that said, perhaps I can say we chose to go a more Green route by saving paper and sending a card electronically is much easier for everyone.

Please accept this posting as the Lee Family wishing you and yours a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! All the best to you in the new year and we hope to spend some time with all of you. Enjoy your New Year's Eve and come visit us if you have a chance in 2009... we always love guests!

Best wishes,

Melissa, Ryan and Ranger

Our new house guest is fitting right in

For the next 3-4 weeks we have a house guest - my parents 13 yr old Golden named Cisco. Most of you know Cisco from some point. Anyway, here are a few videos of how the 2 dogs are getting along.


Day 1: Ranger tormenting Cisco





Day 5: Cisco egging on Ranger over a ball

The "Joe Hermann Theory of Beer" revisited

3.2 Beer: The mystery solved

I am sure many of you have wondered the whole story on 3.2 Beer. Most people actually do not take 3.2 beer to be what it really is. Lets start with a little history....First of all 3.2 comes from prohibition. You could drink alcohol if it was less than 3.2% alcohol by weight. When it was abolished with the ST amendment some states decided to keep the 'low-point' alcohol in convenient and grocery stores. 4 states still do, Oklahoma, Kansas, Utah, and Colorado. (Terrible to think about isn't it?)

American consumers generally think of alcohol in terms of alcohol by VOLUME. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (BATF) uses the weight measurement. Thus we get 3.2% Alcohol by weight (or less) beer sold in Colorado grocery stores.So what does that mean. The conversion is quite simple. Multiply the alcohol by weight by 1.25. Or multiply alcohol by volume by 0.8.

Grocery stores sell beer that is marked as 3.2% alcohol by weight.3.2% x 1.25 = 4% alcohol by volume.

Some comparisons:New Belgium Sunshine Wheat - (Belgian style wheat beer) - averages between 4.8-5.2% alcohol by volume. Multiply by .8 and we get 3.8-4.4% alcohol by weight.

New Belgium Saison - (Belgian style saison) - 4.5-9% abv.New Belgium Tripple - (Belgian style triple)- 7-10%abv.Almost every American wheat beer averages between 3.5-5% alcohol by volume. This basically means that so called '3.2% beer." Is actually what we would call 4% beer.

We have all gotten drunk off a pack off Coors tall boys, and we have all gotten drunk off Sunshine. It takes just a little more Coors to get drunk off of. When comparing them to the beer of our wonderful microbrewery it's no argument that they are stronger. I think it's easy to believe that Coors light is 4% alcohol by volume, as Joe Hermann had stated.

Beer Myth: checked out! (correct answer). Great work Joe.

You can find all the info i used at:
How to measure the weight of alcohol
Essay on alcohol content in beer
3.2 Origins

Conquering your fear of the public potty

We all know someone who can't "go" while in public. It has been laughed about in movies like American Pie where one character has to run home from school to use the bathroom. His nickname is "Shit Break". Quite hilarious.

I don't have too many friends "scared" to go in public, but I think public restrooms cause an uneasy feeling in most people. Said another way, not too many people are all that comfortable using public restrooms.

A solid article on CNN Friday regarding this fear. http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/10/03/bathroom.hygiene/index.html

They even had a great photo (see picture). Notice how someone was so ready to leave the bathroom that they left their drink!

Even websites are popping up to address the potty problem. Once place appropriately named Diaroogle.com posts this as their Mission Statement:

Diaroogle helps you find quality public toilets from your mobile phone.
It's for the discerning, on-the-go defecator who is brave enough to use a public bathroom, but still demands a hygienic and private bathroom experience. It is also a community authored database of Manhattan toilets.

Good luck to you,The Diaroogle Team

Or for a more "universal" site nationwide with more feedback you can check out MizPee

MizPee finds the closest, cleanest toilets in your area. You can add and review toilets, get some cool deals in your area and challenge your knowledge of toilet trivia. This is no laughing matter. You can also access MizPee via your phone and save your "favorites". How great is technology!

Keep this in mind the next time you "have to go" but can't find a nearby Starbucks or other place you trust to take care of your business. So whether you "hover" or cover the seat with tissue or just go bare, remember these new sites as they should help you in your next time of need.

And remember that if you get caught going in public, by a tree, you will get a hefty fine and if you are a teacher you will be a registered sex offender. Find a restroom of some sort.

Best of luck on your future journey's my friends, MfB.

30 years old... 100% classy

We had a great dinner last night with our friends Emily & Jay at a Cuban restaurant in downtown Denver called Cuba Cuba (http://www.cubacubacafe.com/).

3 shots of Sailor Jerry rum along with various rum drinks helped in celebrating the occasion and making it a great time altogether. My head hurts... time to get back to work (notice the 100% classy shirt I got as a gift from TonyD)

A Big Thank You to those who remembered my birthday and called. I do appreciate it and will give you a call back soon.

Why a Blog, why now? Well… Why Not!

This would seem to be the ultimate question. I’ve been mulling over this idea for months now. I was part of a four person team a few years back that tried to have a cutting edge, funny and insightful blog. The pressure was too much for me and I never hardly contributed and the blog fell in to a great abyss of lost blogs. To say the least the experience has haunted me but never being one to give up or doubt myself, I have waited for the chance to at long last get into the whole blogging world. Perhaps it is being a bit more settled down now and feeling the need to share my thoughts (which I often do and can at times to put people on edge), perhaps I am inspired by some of my friends blogs (http://ourstorkgotlost.wordpress.com/) or perhaps I am getting the chance to meet people who keep really, really cool blogs that I find both interesting and insightful. Of course wedding blogs & baby blogs seemingly pop up with every new announcement…which is very exciting but allows by blogging failure to continuously pop back into my head. The business side of me gets the chance to meet really great business minds in technology and “cutting edge” fields, whether it’s the next great medical breakthrough company or a so-called Web 2.0 company starting in Boulder. Everyone blogs and as a late-adapter to technology, I now feel the water has been warmed up and it’s my time to jump in (finally)!

A bit about me…
I’m starting an Evening MBA program this fall, so I’m sure my work load, time management and stress levels will be crazy and all over the board! So what better time to start a blog! I should have an extra hour a week to put together blogs, thoughts, opinions and of course insight to today’s world. If nothing else this may turn into my “Dear Diary” on some days as well as “Dear What the Fuck” on other occasions. I’m going to look at it as therapy, a way to practice my writing skills for Grad school and life as well as a forum to comment on my passions (mainly sports, personal health & well being as well as commentary on the world). I’ve also begun to realize how quickly life comes at you and goes by. I met a great girl over 3 years ago, fell in love, got married, moved cross country, bought a house, then got a puppy and sometimes it’s hard to keep up with our busy life. We feel truly blessed and when appropriate I will tell tales from our life (as we always seem to find them pretty entertaining). Perhaps blogging is a great way to slow down and life and stop to smell the roses, or in my case, smell the coffee… we shall see.

So, feel free to check back in early and often and I will work to keep this puppy going as regularly as possible!

Godspeed – for a prosperous journey, success, and good fortune in life

- Ryan