Music debate ready to roar

Get ready for the debate over what kids listen to to heat up again. Today's Rocky had an article about how the teen suspects in two recent murders (including the death of a Dacono City Councilman's son) were fans of the Insane Clown Posse. This debate is nothing new. In college, I watched a documentary on two kids (I think in Texas) who tried to kill themselves with shotguns (one succeeded) after listening to Judas Priest. And ICP's vengeful, violence-filled lyrics are nothing new, there some was some speculation that the Columbine killers were influenced by them as well. I don't know how much I buy this debate. Blaming murder on music seems like an cop out to me. But there is little question that our kids are influenced to at least some degree by what they listen to or watch. We slapped warning labels on CDs but iTunes opened a whole world of music listening. What do you think ? Is music making or kids murder?

Men, this is what we've been waiting for

In this dark time of no NFL football, a light at the end of the tunnel comes from a Duke University student. This could be the biggest thing since the remote control.

Raleigh, N.C. - When John Cornwell graduated from Duke University last year, he landed a job as software engineer in Atlanta but soon found himself longing for his college lifestyle.
So the engineering graduate built himself a contraption to help remind him of campus life: a refrigerator that can toss a can of beer to his couch with the click of a remote control.
"I conceived it right after I got out," said Cornwell, a May 2006 graduate from Huntington, N.Y. "I missed the college scene.
It embodies the college spirit that I didn't want to let go of." It took the 22-year-old Cornwell about 150 hours and $400 in parts to modify a mini-fridge common to many college dorm rooms into the beer-tossing machine, which can launch 10 cans of beer from its magazine before needing a reload.
With a click of the remote, fashioned from a car's keyless entry device, a small elevator inside the refrigerator lifts a beer can through a hole and loads it into the fridge's catapult arm. A second click fires the device, tossing the beer up to 20 feet - "far enough to get to the couch," he said.
Is there a foam explosion when the can is opened? Not if the recipient uses "soft hands" to cradle the can when caught, Cornwell said.
In developing his beer catapult, Cornwell said he dented a few walls and came close to accidentally throwing a can through his television. He's since fine-tuned the machine to land a beer where he usually sits at home, on what he called "a right-angle couch system." For now, the machine throws only cans, although Cornwell has thought about making a version that can throw a bottle. The most beer he has run through the machine was at a party, when he launched a couple of 24-can cases.
"I did launch a lot watching the Super Bowl," he said. "My friends are the reason I built it. I told them about the idea and hyped it so much and I had to go through with it." A video featuring the device is a hit on the Internet, where more than 600,000 people have watched it at metacafe.com, earning Cornwell more than $3,000 from the Web site.
Cornwell said he has talked to a brewing company about the machine, but right now only one exists. Asked if he might start building some for sale, he said: "I'm keeping that option open, depending on interest." When Cornwell was a student at Duke he participated in the engineering school's robotic basketball contests, said mechanical engineering Professor Bob Kielb. He said students tried to build a robot that could retrieve a pingpong ball and toss it into a small hoop.
"He always did well in it," Kielb said. "He came up with completely unique ideas."

Money talks so citizens have to hollar

I, as I'm sure many of you, have been following the ongoing NASCAR debate in Commerce City. It's hard to ignore hundreds of people trying to crowd into one room and tell City Councilors what they think. But one thought tossed around is what is the fuss right now – a proposal on a track hasn't even been made yet. I'll tell you what the fuss is. And don't bring me down on one side or the other of this, I don't want a race track in my backyard but I've sat through too many a public meeting to hear one more cry of "My property values are going to .... yada, yada, yada." I honestly believe if somebody walks by your house and sneezes, you just lost a grand – different soapbox, different day.
If residents don't raise a stink now about this now – they don't have a prayer. If they wait until an agreement is on the table they might as well be trying to talk Britney back into rehab – ain't gonna happen. Yes, city goverment is for the people, by the people (Bartender, another round of Yada's) but cities see $ signs. They see a giant race track bringing lots of people to town and lots of moolah! They don't see the giant diesel fumes wafting over Reunion's Big Red Barn – that's the job of the residents. So criticize the anti-NASCAR people all you want, as being premature and over eager to shoot this proposal down. But, for these folks, its speak now or forever hear the roar of engines.

The view up here

Sometimes it's easier to relate to somebody if you can see where they stand or, in this case, sit. Yes, indeed, this is my desk and where I spend far too much time. A brief tour: To the far left is my Dwight Schrute bobblehead (Watch The Office on NBC – hilarious). He's standing on my alarm clock – I snooze about 2 p.m. – it's right in front of my fancy phone –my key to the world and all the big news. Just to the right of that is my mess of technological stuff that is really cool. It includes my cell phone, a digitial recorder, my video Ipod, two USB cables (one for a camera, one for the iPod). Wait, that's not all, it's all on top of my Mini Mac. You can't miss my larger-than-life computer monitor but on top of it is a bottle of honey (don't ask), a box of tissues and a small trophy statue that when positioned the right way looks very inappropriate. To the right is my calendar – I normally use it to acknowledge that I missed yesterday's appointments. Just below that is a candy dish I swiped from the bosses' office. It's empty now so I'm considering returning it. Above my calendar are some documents that just seemed way to important to bury under the cesspool of other important documents on my desk. Oh yeah, there's some inspirational articles too that I read when I needed to be reminded why I didn't take a job as a computer software engineer. And, since I know you're going to ask, that big hairy blob in the background above my monitor is a scary Halloween mask because you never know when you're going to be called in to do some Dateline undercover work.

Preview

Happy Monday all, I know an oxymoron but just run with it. Mondays and Tuesdays are crazy for me as I help layout two of our papers. Consider privileged that I even have time to shoot off this little note. And if you ever call on one of these days and have the sneaking suspicion that I'm listening to you but not really listening ... well, just know that somewhere your information is being stored and will be retrieved when necessary. I'll try to use Monday as a chance to preview what will be in the coming week's paper so you know what to look for. But not too much info – just a teasing TV news lead-in where they lead you to believe toasters may be taking over people's homes and leading an industrial revolt only to find out that you shouldn't try and stick a whole loaf of bread into your toaster. Duh! Brighton's grappling with a massive graffiti outbreak over the past couple months but police are making some good progress and the fire department board is struggling to make the best use of their mill levy money especially in terms of buying new fire trucks. And we'll have some more info on that explosion at an auto shop over the weekend.

Not so bad after all

I can't help but think back this morning to the moans and groans of frustration after that series of snowstorms hit Colorado beginning in early December. Roads were virtually impassable - leaving many of us confined to our homes for at least a copule days with (gasp) our families. We weren't sure how we'd manage especially with all that last-minute Christmas shopping left to do.
Reality Check.
It now all seems pretty trivial as I think of the folks dealing with the aftermath of a swath of killer tornadoes across the Southeast United States yesterday. People dead, families torn aparts, lives shattered. We're pretty lucky here - the weather natural disasters are few and far between and rarely deadly. I'm keeping those people of places like Georgia and Alabama in my thoughts today.

The good, the bad and the ugly

The media takes a lot of criticism for only reporting the bad news. We hear it a lot that we bury the good news and focus only on the bad. I always like to believe news is news – good or bad. When I have a positive upbeat story to share – that's fun. When crime happens or a difficult issue is at hand, the chance to report on those situations gets my blood bubbling too. Does the bad news trump the good? Possibly. But I think it comes down to a line of responsibility. We could sugarcoat the news and only bring you happy, chipper stories of girl scouts helping firemen save cats from trees. But this is life and things aren't always rosy – sometimes bad things happen. As a newspaper, reporting on those items is part of a job too – a public responsibility. Do you think we find the balance? What do you want to see more of in the newspaper?