There is a list stuck to your refrigerator that is a mile long that requires some quality time with your tools and hardware collection. So, why the heck would you want to spend any more extra time looking at old hardware and tools?  Because they’ve been made into and exhibit at the very cool Edge gallery.

“Hardware” is an exhibit inside Edge gallery. The idea is that it’s made to look like a hardware store. (A very artful, well designed hardware store).

Who knew inspiration could come from spending time in the basement with old tools.

I think it’s pretty brilliant.

May your next do-it-yourself project inspire the same greatness.

edge gallery on 3658 navajo street. Will be open until the end of the month.

-Rich

If you’re hanging out on a Wednesday this summer, thinking about what to do, but not wanting to spend your greenbacks on gas (I hear that) to drive to a bar, then join the Denver Cruisers for a cruiser rally. Get a bike off craigslist, meet up at The Ginn Mill, and cruise your fancy fanny all over downtown.

Here are some pics from Armando’s recent rendezvous with the cruisers.

- Sarah

A while back I posted a ONE SENTENCE RESTAU-RANT on an unnamed lunchery that was so good I swore I wouldn’t reveal the name for fear it would become overcrowded. Well, I didn’t reveal the name and still there’s a line out the door at lunchtime. Good for them. I’m glad they’re doing well. The deserve all the success they get. With a seasonal menu that includes sandos, salads, cupcakes, cookies and now BOOZE!!! It’s FUEL Cafe, and it’s —sigh—fantastic. It’s the best lunchspot in Denver hands down. Currently, I crave their BLFGT (bacon, Lettuce, Fried Green Tomato) on an hourly basis. How could you not? The sourness of the green tomato is perfectly balanced by the sweet aoili mayo and meaty bacon. A sando from heaven.

Anyway, back to the point. Our friends at FUEL are doing so well that they now have a patio and a liquor license. So, they are hosting happy hour every Thursday from 4 p.m. - 8 p.m. with delicious bites such as corn fritters, masa boats, pork tacos and thirst quenchers such as sangria, limoncello cocktails and mojitos. Yes, there’s beer and wine ( a lovely rose, I might add).

What else are you doing on Thursday afternoon in this hot weather? Get down to FUEL and eat some bacon and drink some bevvies. Mmmkay? Okay.

(Sadly, I have no pictures for this post. Check back soon.)

-Sarah

Made it out last weekend for our annual high lake trip. Brought along a few new guys which made this trip much more enjoyable. It’s always nice to see the look on the new faces as they catch a lot fish in such beautiful country.

Got to the trail head (in the Zirkel Wilderness) around 9:00pm and made it to the lake at 11:30pm. Had a hard time sleeping, bad choice bringing my 40 degree bag, but morning came quick enough. Woke up at 5 (i guess I was already awake), walked down to the lake and you could see rainbows and cutthroats everywhere. Fished mostly hardware and did great the first day.

Got up the next morning and the fishing was a little tough. Not much was hitting the hardware we had all used the day before so some of us switched to fly rods and spinning rods set up with bubbles. Once we found the right fly set up it was on (mosquito or black gnat with a green hairs ear dropper (not sure if that’s the right terminology). I caught a few off the fly rod but switched to the bubble so I could cast out to where the fish were. I’ve never used a bubble before, I was very impressed.

All in all we caught around 80 fish in two days.

As we walked along a 20ft cliff we could see a fish right below us. My buddy throws down a lure and right when the fish was about to hit it his line got all tangled up. As he was untangling his mess I couldn’t help myself, I threw down a fly and the fish grabbed it right away. Now what to do, I’m 20 feet above the fish with no where to go. I mannaged to climb down to lake level and land it (with my friend laughing at me the whole time).

-August

Not many things with a “Copyright 2003 Apple Computer, Inc.” are still around, much less functional.

Except my trusty iPod Gen 3, 40 GB. It’s jam packed and the << button ceased to work a while ago, but it just keeps spinning. A while back I ordered a Do-it Yerself battery replacement kit. Like a surgeon hovering over a patient, I pried it gently open, tweezed out the postage stamp sized battery, replaced it and closed it all back up.

Wah lah. Full battery that would actually stay charged for longer than 10 minutes. I’ve never felt so proud. Another stand against the Planned Obsolescence hard-wired within these devices.

Then a month later while riding home, I had a little bike accident and fell on top of ol’ trusty. While is still played, the LCD screen was cracked, completely eliminating it.

Now it became a decision, buy an new screen for nearly 50$ or say farewell to my little friend. A new 80GB is only 250$, about half what I paid for mine 5 years ago. Plus it has a BIG color screen! And it’s got a sleek new look! It’s lighter! You can watch VIDEO! It comes in sexy black or stylish silver. It ships within 24 hours!

Waaaait a minute. I feel like I am slipping into a trap.

I talked to Rich about my dilemma, to which he replied, “I am surprised it still works, I’ve been through 3 of them since my Gen 3.”

Yep. Planned obsolescence. Who knows what went wrong with Rich’s, just stopped working. Everything on it is still good — looks brand new, battery still good, dock in perfect condition, screen not broken.

Hold the iPhone. Screen?

I asked Rich if he still had it - yes. Would he be willing to part it out? Hell yes.

Going into uncharted territory, I did a double open surgery and swapped out the screens.

Power. Lights. Action.

It’s a small black and white screen, but it still works.

F*ck you Apple.
- Monte Mead, M.D.

You’ve no doubt noticed that a gallon of gas is more than your morning latte. That’s wack. So, whatcha gonna do about it? Well one idea is to pick up bystanders and charge for rides in your car to work. Black market cabbing.  But here’s a more original and legal idea: ditch the four-wheel gas guzzler for a two-wheeler. This is Colorado Bike-to-Work Month and June 25 is Bike to Work Day. Now, I know you have a bike in the basement or the garage that you haven’t rode in a while. Or, maybe you’ve been looking for a reason to get back in the saddle, but a bike and get on the road. No better time than the present. If only for one day, join the masses and get a little exercise before work, hug the environment, save money, avoid road rage, improve your calf muscles. Who knows, maybe you’ll get addicted and ride everyday to work.

At the very least your employers should throw an all-day party that includes breakfast burritos, BBQ, afternoon beers and prizes.

-Sarah

Since receiving a cryptic message in a fortune cookie that read “Find yourself in nature” I’ve been having the strangest feeling that I should go hike or camping or something. I almost decided to ignore this fortune, based on a previous snowshoeing episode where I got lost with a friend and ended up a refugee eating Girl Scout Cookies at a hippie family’s mountain cabin after dark. But, because I believe in the wisdom of the Asian mind (and cookie), I decided a few weeks ago to test the theory. I drove to some canyon between Denver and Colorado Springs, parked right off the road and walked about five minutes to a gorgeous flowing river. (Baby steps.) I laid in the sun on a rock. My white flesh like a piece of sashimi. Nature and I were communing. And then I got sunburned.

Back to the city. I’m over you, Nature.

This past weekend, again, me and nature got together. It’s kind-of like a one-nighter I can’t shake.  This time, I outsmarted it. I was neither going to get lost or sunburned. I lathered on SPF 50, and with a friend in tow, left these markers to get us home.

If nature and I are going to be friends, I’m going to make a few rules.

-Heather

It was hot Friday afternoon. A sweet breeze blew through the office. And with it brought the delicious taste of a Squeam. Ahhhhh, a refreshing taste that immediately transports you to the back of a flatbed of a truck in the corner of your Uncle Jimbo’s property in Southern Kentucky, sneaking drinks as a mere teenager, and then being grounded for the rest of the summer when you were found out.

Ya.

Anyway, the ingredients are these two fine American icons. Mix and serve over ice in a plastic cup.
Drink often.

-Sarah

Unscrew America. (link) It’s the very simple idea by changing out our light bulbs and using CFLs and LEDs instead (those curled, screw looking light bulbs), we’ll save money, the Ozone, environment, Mama Earth, energy - and much more. There’s a lot of good doing that’s so easy on this website. Incidentally, also a really well-designed, fun website.

Check it out. Reduce spending. Be nice to Mama Earth.

- Sarah

Color me happy. There’s a art show here that everyone will love. Ink Lounge Gallery is currently playing host to YeeHaw Indstries from Kentucky.  They specialize in letterpress, woodcut, handmade and fine art prints with a delightful Southern taste. And dangit, Ink is pleased as punch to serve up a little Kentucky whiskey while you look. Woooweee that sounds like a hoot.

Here’s a peek: