gdp's Comments

Daily Camera.com: : Boulder County skygazers primed for lunar rarity Sunday - Boulder Daily Camera

Fri, 25 Sep 2015 14:53:50 +0000

Kanipe put it a little more strongly, saying, "The stuff you hear about this being a 'blood moon' is total (expletive). It's going to be a beautiful celestial event, something to enjoy and appreciate, not fear." It's not a "Blood Moon" because that's just one of the common names for the October full moon (also, Hunter's Moon), and the September moon's common name is the Harvest Moon.

Daily Camera.com: : Advocacy group protests potential Naropa prairie dog extermination - Boulder Daily Camera

Wed, 2 Sep 2015 17:00:48 +0000

What is a "cornerstone", other than a stumbling block, if the rest of the ecosystem that is built upon it has been displaced and destroyed? There is no value, only dead-end destruction, when prairie dogs become vermin in suburban areas. There is nothing to put sufficient pressure on their population to keep their numbers in check. There are few other animals to take-up residence in vacated burrows due to the urban pressures from human development and domestic animals. The same goes for rabbits that are infesting most of Boulder's suburban subdivisions. The second coyotes come in close to take rabbits, they invariably have conflicts with toddlers or pets and humans drive them off with beanbags or cans with BBs in them, or poison them with tainted burritos. That leaves behind only infestations of vermin, not anything remotely resembling an ecosystem. That's why your comment is the one that's ill-informed, just like the protestors' ignorant opinions. It would be nice if more folks understood that any component of a healthy ecosystem which is out of its proper context is a problem, not a solution. The only solution is to designate areas large enough to contain halfway viable ecosystems as preserves. Some Open Space comes close and almost has a balance that almost works, but the last thing those places need is to have the balance disrupted by humans dumping a bunch of unwanted urban vermin into the mix.

Daily Camera.com: : Sheriff: Evergreen man faces felony after fatally shooting bear cubs - Boulder Daily Camera

Tue, 1 Sep 2015 19:52:44 +0000

The "hunting out of season" charge is a stretch, that was clearly not his intention. That said, if he leaves his trash out, and his negligence has the unintended consequence of baiting wildlife that threaten his own animals, there should be legal consequences if he harms said wildlife.

Daily Camera.com: : Advocacy group protests potential Naropa prairie dog extermination - Boulder Daily Camera

Mon, 31 Aug 2015 04:39:36 +0000

The primary way prairie dogs "enhance" the ecosystem is as food for predators. Beyond that, they strip land down to the bare soil because they want to be able to see predators approaching their burrows. When humans drive the predators off, removing one of the main factors that keeps the prairie vermin population in check, they just dig more and more burrows, creating a moonscape pockmarked with holes. Then, they tend to die horribly of disease or famine caused by overpopulating their habitat. There is already more than enough prairie vermin on Open Space land. If Naropa decides to be non-lethal, all they'd have to do is wait a few years and all the vermin will probably die-off from Bubonic Plague, which wipes-out Open Space colonies periodically. What they don't do, nature will, and the end result will be the same, it just might put their students and the public more at risk if & when the colony does experience a plague die-off. There are battles far more worthy of fighting than this. Nearly everything the protesters are quoted as saying is indicative of profound ignorance on their part, both in terms of prairie vermin behavior and how an ecosystem functions.

Daily Camera.com: : U.S. 36 tolling glitch overcharges $3,600 to carpoolers - Boulder Daily Camera

Fri, 28 Aug 2015 13:51:03 +0000

There is precedent, and on this very highway. The Boulder-Denver Turnpike was a toll road in the 50s-60s, that name has stuck even though it's been toll-free since it paid for itself. These new express lane tolls seem to be carrying a large behavior-modification component, so they may not go away. If they keep the tolls for that reason, I'd hope the revenue would be applied as a direct monetary credit to HOVs and used to subsidize alternative transportation programs, rather than just being appropriated for other projects or maintenance.

Daily Camera.com: : Erie moves new fracking code along despite Anadarko, COGA opposition - Boulder Daily Camera

Thu, 20 Aug 2015 13:30:12 +0000

Agreed. This is a case of yet another mineral development boom where a bunch of greedy industrialists want to sweep-in, grab what they can, and get out as quickly as they can, leaving as much mess behind as they can get away with, for others to deal with in the future at taxpayer expense. Maybe, instead of whining about how they're not going to be allowed to be bad neighbors, the oil and gas developers should focus on technologies and methods that would make their activities less obnoxious to the surface landowners, and agree to ironclad contracts to hold themselves responsible for putting everything back largely the way they left it. No trace of surface pollution, no subsurface pollution either. Here's a thought: Maybe the oil company execs could see how their own sausage is made by living as close to a developed well over its entire life cycle as they want to drill to other people's homes.

Daily Camera.com: : City, RTD to dedicate Boulder Junction, celebrate opening of bus station - Boulder Daily Camera

Thu, 13 Aug 2015 13:54:54 +0000

I wonder what they'll report if they get an underwhelming crowd to the ribbon cutting. I think this would be a great idea if the plan was actually for the BPD to put all problem bums they contact on a daily basis to the bus for a free, one-way express ride out of town rather than to the jail.

Daily Camera.com: : Drugs or alcohol eyed in Boulder Canyon rollover that killed 1, injured 4 - Boulder Daily Camera

Fri, 7 Aug 2015 02:56:13 +0000

Indeed, it doesn't appear that she stood much of a chance either way. It's just fortunate that the car didn't strike any oncoming vehicles, the magnitude of the force that wrapped it around that reasonably mature tree it knocked over, the critical injury & death toll likely would've been higher.

Daily Camera.com: : Drugs or alcohol eyed in Boulder Canyon rollover that killed 1, injured 4 - Boulder Daily Camera

Fri, 7 Aug 2015 02:50:06 +0000

Yes, it seems that impaired or otherwise faulty judgement was involved, as well as bald tires (not all that visible from the Camera photo).

Daily Camera.com: : Too stoned to drive? Boulder start up launches app that helps answer question - Boulder Daily Camera

Thu, 6 Aug 2015 20:25:00 +0000

Agreed! At least potheads generally seem to drastically underestimate their abilities and overestimate their speed, whereas texters aren't looking where they're going for hundreds of feet at a time, and drive with the overconfident attitude that they are able to pull it off despite the intense distraction that takes their focus completely off the road. While some drivers in injury or fatality wrecks have had THC in their systems, I wonder if there's any solid evidence that driving while high, much less driving hours after having smoked pot that day, had any actual causal link to the errors leading-up to the wreck. It's well-established that drunk driving is dangerous because coordination, reaction time, and judgement are all severely impaired. Do people driving while high tend to speed, weave, and take dumb risks as those under the influence of alcohol?

Daily Camera.com: : Too stoned to drive? Boulder start up launches app that helps answer question - Boulder Daily Camera

Thu, 6 Aug 2015 01:45:33 +0000

I think that's known as "text messaging", as anyone who texts while driving is clearly too stupid to drive.

Daily Camera.com: : Residents of Boulder\'s Whittier neighborhood feel burden of commuter parking - Boulder Daily Camera

Tue, 4 Aug 2015 13:34:53 +0000

Oh no, I guess Boulder will have to "right-size" the parking in these neighborhoods, by just taking half of the parking spaces away to make room for more bike lanes. That will help the homeowners see the errors of their ways and get rid of their cars in favor of bikes, which clearly are suitable for all their transportation needs. Seriously, though, the City needs to get its transportation act together. The options for commuters on the west side of the area, especially around Downtown, are limited, and it's only getting worse. Stuffing more commuter permits into neighborhoods is not a viable solution, and each homeowner should have at least one permanently-reserved space if they have no off-street parking and aren't permitted to build any.

Daily Camera.com: : Man who studied Cecil the lion for 9 years talks impact - Boulder Daily Camera

Sun, 2 Aug 2015 04:33:31 +0000

Definitely extradite Palmer, the master-baiting huntard, back to face local justice for his poaching ways. He knew exactly what he was doing, he just didn't care. He's everything that's wrong with trophy hunters, who take any unfair advantage they can in canned hunts, killing the best and the strongest animals, taking morbid trophies, and leaving the meat to rot. Hopefully, this high-profile poacher gets what's coming to him. Being thrown to lions would be just about right...

Daily Camera.com: : Boulder police ID officer who fatally shot CU student holding a hammer - Boulder Daily Camera

Fri, 31 Jul 2015 18:02:45 +0000

It was a female police officer responding to a domestic violence call in an apartment complex near Eisenhower street in the 90s. She hit the guy a few times with 9mm rounds, but he kept coming. As I recall, there was suspicion he was on PCP or something because he was able to keep going for a while after murdering her, despite being shot in the chest. This is why situations where violent people in altered states are such high-risk situations and cops don't mess around-- drugs numb pain and shut-down the physiological mechanisms that help prevent us from overexerting our bodies and hurting ourselves. Drug-crazed individuals can be almost superhuman for a little while, and do a whole lot of damage in those moments.

Daily Camera.com: : Boulder police ID officer who fatally shot CU student holding a hammer - Boulder Daily Camera

Fri, 31 Jul 2015 17:28:03 +0000

Many police and other first responders have suffered career-ending injuries trying to subdue combative patients or suspects. It's surprisingly easy to blow-out a knee wrestling someone who's crazed and amped-up, and that's only one of the more common injuries. Add to that how the kid was armed with a hammer and had just stabbed & bitten other people, it's perfectly reasonable to expect they would not go for getting within reach of him.

Daily Camera.com: : Boulder to postpone \'right-sizing\' bike-lane project on Iris Avenue, 63rd Street - Boulder Daily C

Thu, 30 Jul 2015 13:25:23 +0000

As far as the southbound Folsom & Canyon reconfiguration, it's already proving to be a potentially dangerous failure. I've seen more than one idiot who think that the right-turn only lane is a thru lane because they apparently can neither read signs, nor comprehend the painted lines and arrows, nor think about the context of the new arrangement. That causes conflicts with drivers who have half a clue what they're doing who need to get over into that right lane. What's more, it has those terrible drivers carelessly driving directly across the cyclists' path. How is that safer for cyclists? Rather than almost being run over when they overtake on the right, which they can avoid doing, now they're going to have to be looking over their shoulder as they proceed through the intersection, when they're riding safely and doing exactly what they should be. Screw that, if I ride my bike that direction, I'm ditching the bike lane and just using the crosswalk to cross Canyon. Seriously, what were the traffic engineers thinking? Or did the "traffic experts" on the City Council tell them not to think and just to do this?

Daily Camera.com: : Boulder to postpone \'right-sizing\' bike-lane project on Iris Avenue, 63rd Street - Boulder Daily C

Thu, 30 Jul 2015 13:19:55 +0000

I ride my bike on occasion, but there's no way I'm going to ride in that bike lane. It has a dangerously stupid design that puts bikes just far enough off to the side to place them in drivers' blind spots, has bad drivers who can't figure out what "right turn only" means driving directly across the path of cyclists, and snarls traffic. Slow, but moving traffic is safer for everyone, folks take stupid and dangerous risks out of frustration when it gets backed-up, which makes the situation unsafe.

Daily Camera.com: : Two years into federal investigation, CU-Boulder forging ahead on Title IX - Boulder Daily Camera

Sun, 26 Jul 2015 18:44:55 +0000

Also... When she goes out to bars or restaurants, she makes a point of asking women who appear drunk if they know the people they're with and if they want help getting home. This is a very positive thing to come of Ms. Gilchriese's experience. It seems that most of these sexual assault cases involved overconsumption of alcohol by one or both parties involved. Booze is the oldest, most common, and most self-administered date rape and party drug known to humankind, and so few seem to care about that danger until they're victimized. If only more folks looked-out for both friends & strangers alike when they could see a sketchy situation unfolding, or just were more aware of their limits and didn't get so trashed. It's tragic how many victims, who otherwise wouldn't have been in a situation to be victimized had they been sober, have had their lives turned upside-down. It's tragic how many victimizers, who probably would have exercised better restraint and judgment had they been sober, ruin both their own lives and those of others in a moment.

Daily Camera.com: : Two years into federal investigation, CU-Boulder forging ahead on Title IX - Boulder Daily Camera

Sun, 26 Jul 2015 18:27:24 +0000

To this day, Gilchriese is still angry that she could barely walk on campus without panicking, feelings that forced her into empty bathroom stalls until she could face the world long enough to trek back home. "My recovery was dragged out by the five weeks they waited to kick him off campus," Gilchriese said. "If they had kicked him out immediately, I probably would not have dropped out (of two classes). I would've managed a lot better if they would've followed through with what they were supposed to do." Of all the cases they could've used to discuss Title IX for this story, they chose this example? If anything, CU overstepped in its actions, unless the male student had agreed to being suspended for a couple of semesters. There was no criminal complaint to the police, there was no formal police investigation, and the victim wonders why the guy she accused wasn't just expelled immediately and permanently based on a mere allegation? The simple solution would've been to go to the police immediately. I realize that's difficult and takes some courage, but they'll take action swiftly, get to the bottom of things, and get the dirtbag off campus immediately if their investigation finds that the allegations have merit. Upon such action, I'm confident that CU would also expel that student and exclude him from campus permanently. It is not reasonable to expect immediate, harsh action on a soft, non-committal approach to a crisis such as this. An injustice has been committed here, one way or the other. Either the male student's life was disrupted by an unsubstantiated complaint that wouldn't have held-up in court, or he's a rapist who suffered a mere setback, and now he'll be able to victimize someone else because he's not even legally considered a sex offender.

Daily Camera.com: : Boulder DA cites VineLife Church\'s \'disturbing culture of secrecy\' in sex-abuse cover-up - Boulde

Tue, 21 Jul 2015 14:32:43 +0000

The reflexive reaction to any report of a crime by anyone in my church, Heaven forbid, would naturally be defensive. I would instinctively move to protect and defend our church leaders, lest they be unfairly judged, especially when charged with a crime so inflammatory as child abuse. So would I be called an accomplice because I befriended someone I've learned to love and respect? And if I were charged because I was a Trustee, or Elder, or Deacon, would I deny personal responsibility because I did not call the police when I heard a rumor or if I thought the matter was best dealt with by our own internal discipline? I think so. And you? Absolutely, you would be an accomplice, if you failed to report the abuse. It's not for you to determine if a report is credible, if there's any chance that there's a child abuse situation occurring, it's your duty to make sure it's at least reported to the proper authorities. Period. You may remain loyal, stand behind, and love the person who suspicions are cast upon, but you may not cover-up the allegations by "counselling" the victim against coming forward, or try to have your associate reinstated quickly to avoid public speculation. Moreover, it's wholly inappropriate to use a position of trust and authority to preach cover-up as Walter Roberson did, telling the congregation that "the Bible Says (tm)" that they shouldn't report a crime if the criminal is repentant. Seriously, what is wrong with that preacher and that church? Somehow, while it's somewhat ironic, it doesn't seem all that surprising, that the Vinelife church leaders preached about the importance of repentance, yet themselves refuse to repent for their despicable deeds. This seems like an extremely clear-cut moral situation. All of them are getting off way too easily. They claim to represent a higher moral authority, the punishment should fit the crime, and it shouldn't simply be a slap on the wrist and leaving them to maybe answer to that higher authority when they die. I'd argue that the elders and pastor of this church even deserve harsher punishment than Jason Roberson. Jason has a psychological problem that needs to be addressed with a combination of consequences, counselling, and compassion. What his father the pastor, and what the others did, was deliberately attempt to silence a victim and protect Jason, themselves, and their church, rather than doing the right thing. They are all that is wrong with organized religion, they're exploitative, manipulative schemers who betrayed the trust. I believe that would land them in one of the inner rings of Dante's fictional hell, among the worst of the worst.