Obama’s Speech in 360 mode

Even if the speech had been crap (which it most certainly wasn't), this 360 view makes it look spectacular

View of Barack Obama’s Speech at Invesco Field in Denver - Interactive Feature - NYTimes.com

Pueblo time coming soon

M3 @ Pueblo, originally uploaded by Aaron in Denver.

Managed to get booked up for 2 days at the Pueblo track with the BMW Car Club in early October, so the excitement is building already. Just have to get the car booked into the garage for it's check up, and usual fluid changes etc. I'm hoping the tires will last for this visit, but I have a feeling I may need a brake pad or two before I set off, just to be on the safe side.

Of course, I find out today that the track weekend happens to coincide with an MMA fight up at the Broomfield Event Center that we had planned to attend with Ms Klassen (her Muai Tai (sp? - that looks like a drink rather than a fight.....) teacher is fighting). The chances of moving either event are somewhat out of my control, so I'm going to have to make a decision on what to do before too long (I know, a decision, scary). One things for certain though, I'll be at the track event - like I said in a previous post, it's an immovable object in the calendar these days, and helps keep me sane).

Random IM Conversation

Sometimes I miss being back home and hanging out with the family. Where else would you get to be involved in deep conversations like this one?

Daniel says:
how you doing bro??
Aaron says:
not too bad - what about you?
Daniel says:
canny!
Daniel says:
hit my hand with a hammer like so a bit sore!
Aaron says:
what did you do that for? was work getting too boring?
Daniel says:
lol
Daniel says:
maybe!

Apple iPhone 3Gs now outnumber first-gen iPhones

That was quick!

MacDailyNews - Apple iPhone 3Gs now outnumber first-gen iPhones

Colorado Tornado

It seems the tornadoes are gradually getting closer and closer to the city over the last couple of years (although people swear that there was one that hit downtown in the mid 90's before I got here). This was from Sunday night, the photo taken by Chip from his deck. He does live way out east, but technically it's considered Parker still, and to me, that's way too close for comfort. Somehow there were 4 of these things that touched down on Sunday evening, and they all managed to miss buildings and people.

Enspiria Summer BBQ

A nice quiet affair for this summers bbq (apart from the water bombs Mr Tonkin decided to bring to entertain the kids, which they decided to use to soak Chip). Unfortunately, the weather didn't want to help out, so the planned park destination was quickly changed to Kathy's house, the home of all the best parties.

I managed to not bring a camera with me, so these picks are stolen from Tonks

Flickr Does Embedded Slide Shows

Top Gear On YouTube (officially now)

They have their own channel and everything. Happy Days

The Non Camping Post

The Vegetable Garden, originally uploaded by Aaron in Denver.

My initial intent was to post a gorgeous photo of where we camped at the weekend, basking in sunshine, with a beautiful stream flowing next to the tent (or something like that). However, no sunshine, 5 inches of rain and a little sleet and hail meant the stream turned to a river, we sheltered (shivering) in the tent and I never got the camera out. And we left after (just) surviving one night in the elements. It's not often the weather sucks in Colorado, but last weekend wasn't good.

So, instead, I've posted our (or really the wifes) ever growing vegetable garden. If you take a look at this pic, you'll see that the tiny boxes sitting on the table have turned into something a little special. We picked the first cucumber last night, and I can't wait for the tomatoes to be ready - there's something strangely satisfying about picking stuff out of the garden for your tea, even before you realize it saves you dealing with the lines at Safeway.

Liam Jeffrey Ash Arrives

In a rare up to the minute report, Liam Jeffrey Ash arrived in the world at 9.30am this morning, weighing in at 7lb 12oz. So, congrats to Kimmie and Ash - we'll be cracking open the champagne tonight in celebration (as promised). No word yet on whether his first request for a Vegemite sandwich quickly followed....

Update - there's an official web site here (and just for the record, Mac's are great ;-)

Ice Blocking

If you ever wondered what ice blocking was (and to be perfectly honest, it had never crossed my mind until the wife mentioned it a couple of weeks ago), it basically involves a steep hill, the biggest block of ice you can find, and plenty of laughs.



We all headed over to the local field around the corner from our house, and tried it out. As you can tell from the pics, there were lots of laughs and everyone escaped without any serious injuries (although my side hurt a little from all the laughing).

Executive Office at a conference

Cloud Level

IMG_2091.JPG, originally uploaded by Aaron in Denver.

So we decided to take a little day trip out of town yesterday, as the last few weekends had been a little hectic. We kicked around a couple of places and ended up heading to the top of Pikes Peak. Only 14,000 feet high! The good thing about this fourteener is that you can drive all the way to the top (or take a train as well), so it involves little exercise, which is always a bonus for me.

Given how steep the road is, there's plenty of restrictions on speed both up and down, and even a brake heat check half way down to make sure you're not riding the breaks. I was hoping for some a little quicker (but not this quick), but in the end, it was still fun. I have no idea how they send the race cars so fast around the corners, especially with the huge dropoffs and ever changing concrete to dirt road.

Plenty more pics are here if you're interested.

Now heading out to the ESRI User Conference in San Diego for the week, so there may not be many posts this week (but you never know).

Speaking of next cars

Look what just appeared for sale down the road.....

Little Miss Birthday

Little Miss Birthday, originally uploaded by Aaron in Denver.

Last weekend's Birthday party seemed to be a big success. I spent most of the evening at the grill, so took a quick break before the light died to snap a couple of shots in a frantic run around the tables, so sorry if I missed you.

The wife had a blast, which was the most important point, and from the sounds of the laughter and squealing I heard, all the kids enjoyed it as well.