by Peter Boyles | Dec 5, 2013 | Blasting with Boyles
The Butcher, The Baker
And The Candlestick Maker
In New Mexico there’s a case of a wedding photographer by the name of Elaine Huguenin who has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a ruling by New Mexico’s
highest court that she was required by the state public accommodations law to take pictures of a female couple’s committed ceremony.
Three weeks ago a judge here in Colorado ruled against a baker who refused to supply a gay couple with a cake for their wedding reception. Religious thought is the issue in both cases. As is free speech. This is important.
The first amendment protects not only the right to express one’s own views but also the right not to be compelled to convey someone else’s. In the New Mexico case the photographer warns that the decision against her would threaten other artists and “expressive professions,” including marketers, advertisers, publicists and website designers.
In as much as I support and have verbally fought for same sex marriage and very much oppose discrimination, there is a distinction between businesses that provide the same products or services to all comers and those that collaborate in a personalized message.
In July 2012, Dave Mullins and his husband Charlie Craig walked into the Masterpiece Cakeshop. They were there for about 50 seconds when Jack Phillips told them he would not make the top of a gay wedding cake. At that point Mullins and Craig stood up and said “f-you and your homophobic cake shop,” and gave him the finger as they walked out the door. How nice.
What we now know is a month before that, a lesbian couple went into the bake shop and were told by one of the employees that they would not make the wedding cake for the women. True to form, Phillips also will not make Halloween cakes with werewolves, demons or satanic decorations. This also offends Phillips’ religious beliefs. And he has made that clear on numbers of occasions. Now one of his critics has said he was willing to make a wedding cake of two dogs. My response to that is, dude, that’s make believe.
There’s no consenting adult involved in dog weddings. How far the progressives will go to stretch a point.
I’ve been to Masterpiece Cakeshop. It’s very out of the way in the back of a shopping center off of South Wadsworth. Mullins and Craig were shopping there to cause Phillips a problem. They had the ACLU in their back pocket as well as the Colorado Civil Rights Commission and, frightening enough, I believe Colorado Attorney General John Suthers is in on this, too.
So when it comes down, the Administrative Law Judge Robert N. Spencer ruled that Masterpiece Cakeshop discriminated against the couple “because of their sexual
orientation by refusing to sell them a wedding cake for their same sex marriage.” Spencer also said Phillips must “cease and desist” discriminating against gay couples. Although his Honor didn’t have the stones to impose a fine, therefore kicking the can down the street for some other black robed fascist who will fine Phillips if he continues to turn away gay couples that want to buy cakes.
Here’s the kicker. Phillips says you can buy anything else, all your pies and muffins and cookies and cakes are yours. He won’t, as an artist, make the top of a gay cake. He told me the other day on 710 KNUS he can’t back down. He won’t make the cake. So now the ACLU, the state of Colorado and the cake police are going to put this man out of business. He’s been there for over 20 years. He truly is an artist and I believe that his career is coming to an end.
What is it about the left that’s screams tolerance? That would put this humble guy and his employees out of business, hurting everyone who sells him supplies, who he pays rent to.
For the store will close. Because an appointed judge is telling this man what he must believe. How soon after gay marriage (which I openly support as well as gay adoption) before someone walks into the Catholic cathedral, conservative Jewish temple and evangelical Protestant church and tells them that they’re either hate speakers for saying a marriage is between a man and a woman and telling they must cease or be fined. Or better yet, when the hate police walk in and say it’s hate speech for you preaching that marriage is between a man and a woman and you must serve everyone’s interest and marry two men and two women on demand or be fined and put out of business. If we had enough space in this paper I could list historically nations that have pulled that stunt in one form or another. All of them are now in the dustbin of history. So I leave you with the words of the original motion picture, “Watch the Skies” — This stuff is scary!
Happy New Year!
Peter
by Mark Smiley | Dec 5, 2013 | Feature Story Middle Left
by Brian Zabroski
January is one of my favorite months. It is my birthday month so I tend to stretch the celebration beyond the customary single day. It is also a great month to reset and reflect. The holidays seem to put us in a time management tailspin. Our time is consumed with parties, family visits, travel, end of the year business activities, and of course, the countless hours our kids were out of school.
There were a number of holiday networking events, which resulted in the typical pile of business cards. Is your business card approach similar to mine? I place all of the business cards in a pile, and then they sit there. After a bit, I’ll wrap them with a rubber band, and then they sit there. Evernote Hello is a creative way to scan the cards. Take a photo of the card with your smartphone, and it will search social media sites for the contact. Once the contact is found, you can link to them with a single click. The app performs an accurate capture of the contact information. This was always one of my pet peeves with other apps. Maybe the cards can become useful this year rather than take up valuable desk space.
In my previous life, I was an Excel guru. Well, I thought I was a guru until I worked for a large company that hired Excel gurus. Regardless, I have always been able to build workbooks with formulas, such as “If this happens, then enter this cell.” For some reason, my brain works that way. Now I am using IFTTT, which is an app called, If This Then That. It turns your smartphone into an auto messenger. The app uses my GPS location to recognize I am entering or exiting the address of Toddler App’s school. At each instance, it will send Mrs. App a text so she knows Toddler App is being picked up or dropped off. The tool is versatile and allows you to customize your own alerts. It can send an email every time a photo is taken; post a Tweet based upon a setting; and, generate LinkedIn invites for each new contact as they are created. Did you create a cool IFTTT? If so, share it with me!
I would love to know how many readers have converted to reading the news via their Twitter feed? I am on Twitter all day. I may not Tweet, but I am watching my feed for news. It is also becoming a marketing tool. There are marketing studies that state which days and times are best for delivering tweets and emails. So why are we sending information when someone may not be looking at their social media streams? If you would like to maximize the number of eyes on your posts, then use Buffer. It creates a schedule for your updates. This can help maximize your update effectiveness. The number of productivity tools is mind boggling. I always believe, keep it simple. I try to reduce the amount of items on my office white board. Instead of listing the items on the board, I’ll list them on Any.do. It is a task list for your smartphone. There is always a sense of accomplishment when the items are crossed off. Some people dance around. Others use different color markers to check off an item. I say, dance around and check off the items from your app. It’ll probably make your co-workers worry about you, but it’ll be fun! I also like iDoneThis. It’s obvious the app’s creator was not very good at English, but who cares. He is a millionaire. Our business has a daily huddle via video conference. We share our daily action items and success stories. Each night, iDoneThis reminds you to complete the action items for tomorrow and wins for today. Once the action is complete, it sends the update to our CEO. The morning huddles are more efficient and quicker than in the past.
Remember to get to the gym early this month. Lots of newcomers are working off their cookies and eggnog. Please, only one candle on my cake this year.
Do you have a favorite productivity tool? Contact Brian at brian@brianzabroski.com, on Twitter @BrianZab or LinkedIn at www. linkedin.com/brianzab. Brian has focused on helping technology companies grow their businesses for over 15 years. He currently serves as the Director of Channel Management for a cloud-based
software business, which specializes in network monitoring, phone system usage analytics and mobile device analytics. Simply put, if your business’ network, phone system and corporate cell phones are slow, have issues and are expensive, then his software reduces and eliminates these challenges. The software is resold through an international channel of technology partners. He travels across North America educating technology companies how they can increase their business value nearly five-fold through his hybrid managed service selling technique
by Mark Smiley | Mar 14, 2013 | Feature Story Bottom Left
Confessions Of A Serial Dater
Sheik Of Cherry Creek Greg Hollenback
Beware Of Cruella
de Vil This Year!
Sheik!
I have recently started dating again and I am getting eaten alive out there by single, mean, selfish, middle aged, booze swilling women who want to punish me for their past relationships. They are correct when they say all the good ones are taken. I can’t find a functional woman who is my age anywhere (I’m 39). I try to follow the advice in your column and on your radio show but sometimes I get sucked into the dysfunction of dating these women because of my natural male instinct for sex. But I have to tell you I am losing confidence, money, time and energy trying to keep up the dating game because of my encounters with these bitter shrews. I may seem a bit harsh but I really believe I am a good catch with a lot to offer but the minute I show softness or weakness they tend to want to steamroll me like a mancake.
Any advice would be great, Down Dater
First, I disagree; all the good ones aren’t taken. The good ones are just harder to find and get. I have been on many dates as well where I know pretty quickly that I am sitting in front of a woman who has no business dating (for reasons I will lay out) and/or a woman who is so emotionally damaged that she needs to piece her life back together before she starts to market herself again. I’m sure the same is true for some men, I just don’t date men so I can’t really comment on what it’s like to date them. The point is, you are not the only guy out there with this problem. You just have to get better about how to identify these men hating wretches and learn to run the other way at first sniff.
Let’s face it, living life, having experiences and wading through relationships can take a toll on people, men and women alike. Let me break down for you what I call the signs to “run for the hills!” and don’t look back. Remember, a lot of these warning signs that I am going to give you are universal and you should use these signs as a general rule to follow and I’m certain you will be able to eliminate most of the women you’re talking about just by this vetting process. Try to do most of this investigating in a nonchalant manner over the phone (not texting) before you agree to a date and spending your hard earned time and money on her. This is key!
1. I know talking about past relationships is a huge no no on a first date but it’s fair game to walk by the graveyard on the phone before a potential date. Nine times out of 10 you don’t even have to bring it up because a wounded woman will. I always say to people, “Look at how someone interacts with their exes, because that’s going to be you someday.” If she constantly complains what a p.o.s. he is and she calls him every filthy name in the book there is a real good chance she is used to having bad relationships and/or she isn’t over them, or healed yet. If you see this, run for the hills!
2. Make a point to call her on the phone in the evening, around 8 or 9 p.m. This is primetime loneliness for most single people and you will get to hear her voice when she is deeply ensconced in her downtime. Is she drunk or drinking? It can be very tricky to find out if someone has a problem with drinking and/or drug abuse because they will never be the first to admit it but you can learn quite a bit from about someone by just being aware. Chances are if she is knocking back a bottle or two of wine a night you will have some sense of it by talking to her in those prime drinking hours. Better to figure out if she drinks and what her demeanor is when she’s had a few over the phone. It’s much better to try and figure that out early before you’re picking up the bar tab for some numb, glassy-eyed woman who is ready to read you the riot act for being a man. This is usually where she calls you her ex’s name and proceeds to try to either emasculate you or make a scene. The first sign of this, run for the hills!
3. Ask her on the phone how often she dates but in a way where she is not feeling pressured to lie. You want to find out why she is dating. To have fun? To find someone special, etc… Technology has made it very easy for people to meet, and it is almost working against us daters as it gives us too many options. This isn’t so bad for women because they could go out every day of the week and come Sunday their checking account will still look the same. For us guys, we have to be careful and choosy. Technology has made it easier for single women to just go out and have fun! I encourage you to read the article I wrote titled “Dinnerdiggers” for a more in-depth look at this new dinner grab phenomenon. If you are looking for a relationship and you sense a “dinnerdigger” run for the hills!
4. When talking to her on the phone, do you hear this, “my kids and work come first?” I always feel like saying, “duhhhh… As they should!” But for some reason some women feel the need to make sure you know that. She is basically saying she doesn’t know how to fit a man into her life and her time with you will be limited. If you’re looking to see her more than once a week run for the hills!
5. Lastly, how does she revere men? You can usually find this out in bantering with her. Make sure you consciously keep conversation light with mild joking over the phone. If she proceeds to be overly sensitive and elevates joking to bickering which is usually followed by name calling, you my friend just got a glimpse into her last relationship and if you don’t run for the hills, your future.
I wanted to start out the New Year right and share with you this message I received through my website www.themoderndater .com. This is the realness of dating; admittedly I’m apprehensive to address this topic because I’m a sensitive guy and I don’t want anyone’s feelings hurt. I wish dating was easier but it’s not. Do your homework and have functional fun out there! Happy New Year!
Sheik
by Mark Smiley | Dec 15, 2012 | Main Articles
by Mark Smiley
Only 3,636 days separate the fire that burned Spanish Gate Apartments to the ground on December 28, 2003, and the raging fire at the Apartments at Cherry Creek Corporate Center on December 14, 2013. The eerie part of these devastations is that the two complexes are situated 200 feet from one another on South Cherry Street, north of Kentucky Avenue. The recent fire started at approximately 11:40 p.m. at South Cherry near Kentucky Ave. and was contained by 1:30 a.m. The Denver Fire Department sent 23 trucks to the scene while the Glendale and Denver Police departments, along with the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office, assisted with evacuating nearby neighbors. Residents to the east and south of the fire — as many as 100 — were evacuated as a precaution. Glendale Sports Center at Infinity Park was used as an evacuation center. The flames could be seen as far away as Castle Rock — about 28 miles away from the fire site. Residents highly praised the prompt response of the Denver Fire Department and the Glendale Police for largely limiting the damage to the apartments under construction. The previous fire, across the street, was started on December 28, 2003, and destroyed one of two five-story buildings at the Spanish Gate Apartments in Glendale. Residents say Blake Fieber, who admitted to setting the fire that torched 58 apartment units, engaged in a fight with his roommate. One resident, Nancy Weaver, perished in the fire, in what was described as a slow and agonizing death. Blake Fieber pleaded guilty to a negligent homicide charge, and a lesser count of arson, as part of a plea agreement that called for the original 41 charges to be dropped. Fieber was to stand trial for first-degree murder and arson, among other charges.
Neighboring apartments in this December 2013 fire may have had exterior damage due to extreme heat. One of those belongs to Kentucky Ridge homeowner and City Councilman Dario Katardzic. His blinds are completely scorched and the framework around the window is charred. “I lost my first home in the war in Bosnia,” said Katardzic. I was 90 percent sure I was going to lose this home as well.” Jamie Brady lives in the 4550 Cherry Creek apartment homes adjacent to the fire. Brady tells the Chronicle, “I didn’t hear any explosions that some people reported hearing. I could hear the sounds you would expect from a building fire: wood popping from the heat or collapsing as their supports gave way or were knocked down by the hose.” A ladder engine was already set up on Cherry Street and beginning to engage the fire from above. “I then noticed that two additional engines were hosing down the roofs of the The Crescent at Cherry Creek apartments, across Cherry Street from the fire. The westerly wind was blowing the smoke directly at those apartment units. You could see steam rising from the roofs as a result. My fellow 4550 neighbors agreed we were very lucky that the wind was not coming from the south, or we would have been in trouble.”
Jamie added, “Hearing about the melted cars from The Crescent the next day drove that point home. The edge of our parking garage was probably the same distance from the flames. Fortunately the luck of the wind direction kept us out of danger.”
She did not realize there was a fire at first. When she did, she decided to walk out (approximately midnight) to the roof deck of her parking garage to investigate (and move her car if necessary). Approaching the railing she observed “flames were above the 5th floor deck.” She said it became evident that the fire was engulfing the adjacent apartment building which was still under construction.
She concluded by saying, “In my short time in Colorado, I’ve learned how quickly wind can affect a fire.” She also notes that in the future she “will certainly pay a little more attention to those random fire alarms in our building.”
The Greater Glendale Chamber of Commerce has issued a statement: “All of our residents and members of our business community can be assured that their businesses are safe and that with the exception of a street closure during the investigation, that business in Glendale is as usual.”
The ATF’s National Response Team composed of experts from across the country has taken over the third floor of the Glendale fire house indicating that arson was not originally ruled out as a possible cause of the fire.
MKS Residential, a California based real estate company, acquired the 5.4 acre site a year ago in order to build a 341-unit high end apartment complex featuring apartment layouts ranging from 572 to 1,335 square feet.
As part of the transaction the seller of the land demolished what remained of Spanish Gate Apartments which had stood empty for the decade since the 2003 fire. The property was then conveyed to the City of Glendale to be used as a parking lot for Infinity Park.
It is anticipated that MKS Residential will take insurance proceeds from the fire and begin building the apartment complex anew.
