Denver’s bus system, RTD, has one of the easiest and most economical ways to get to the Denver International Airport. It’s called skyRIDE.

• It’s much more efficient than getting your buddy Bob to drop you off at the Airport and hoping he’s there to pick you up when you get home.
• It’s much cheaper than parking at DIA or any of the surrounding privately owned lots.
• It gets you to the airport with little to no hassle.
• There’s a schedule of when they drop you off and when they pick you up.
• There’s plenty of locations to park your car and most of them are safe.

Here’s an excerpt from the RTD website (www.rtd-denver.org) with all the links you need to learn about this service.

Why Choose skyRide?

RTD’s skyRide bus service is the best way to begin or end any trip to DIA. It’s convenient, reliable and very affordable. Discover why travelers are making skyRide the preferred way to DIA.

• The lowest fare in town
  With skyRide, you’ll pay only $6, $8 or $10 for a trip to DIA. You can save even more with advance purchase products and discount fares.

• Metro wide coverage
  There are 30 skyRide stops throughout the Denver metro area. Whether you’re traveling to DIA, dropping off a friend or meeting family flying into Denver, you’ll love the convenience of making a quick trip to your nearby skyRide stop (please visit skyRide Map page).

• Free parking
  skyRide passengers can park free at 16 park-n-Rides throughout the metro area (see skyRide Route and Fare table). For long trips, park free at the Airport Blvd./40th Ave. park-n-Ride or at the Stapleton Transfer Station — which offers 24-hour security and limited covered parking. For more information about parking, please visit park-n-Ride page.

• Frequent service
  skyRide buses depart from each skyRide stop at least once an hour (every 15 to 30 minutes from Stapleton and Airport Blvd./40th Ave. park-n-Rides), seven days a week, 365 days a year. Routes operate from approximately 4:00 a.m. to 12:00 midnight.

• Luggage assistance
  skyRide drivers make your trip easy by loading and unloading baggage in the outside luggage bins at skyRide stops and at DIA.

• First-class comfort
  Relax and enjoy skyRide’s deluxe transit coaches with comfortable reclining seats, individual reading lights and overhead compartments for smaller luggage.

Due to the holidays (which is Christmas for me) I’ve been out of the loop for almost two weeks. I flew back east and actually had my first Southwest Airline experience as part of a deal with ATA.

Southwest Airlines will be finally arriving in Denver next year on January 3, 2006. Preparations are underway for them to fly out of Terminal C at Denver International Airport. We flew into Midway (Chicago) using ATA then into McArthur (Islip, NY) using Southwest. Here’s a summary of my experience:

• Departed on time.
• More legroom so I felt like I was flying United Economy Plus.
• I got to pick my own seat and I even chose the seat next to my wife.
• The tickets were cheap.
• My luggage made it to my final destination.
• Never felt like I was cattle being herded.
• Never felt like I was taking a bus.

It remains to be seen if I will be flying Southwest Airlines to New York, personally I prefer to fly Frontier Airlines since they have a direct flight into LaGuardia. However, I would definitely be tempted to fly more often mainly because of the cost and ease to fly Southwest Airlines.

To learn more about Southwest, click here.

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m a sucker for the Apprentice. I watch this show every Thursday night. I really do. If I miss the original airing (I don’t have TIVO) I catch it the next evening on CNBC.

Season Four just concluded last night with Randal winning the job. Usually by week four you know who’s a stud. Randal was that guy by week one. From day one they touted his pedigree – Oxford, MIT, and Rhodes Scholar. As for Rebecca, the runner up, all they did was question her loyalty each and every week for saving her friend Toral.

Nothing will touch Season One. It truly was the best group. However, this season was better compared to the previous two seasons which were fairly lame. Donald Trump has something about him that makes people want to watch the show. In comparison, Martha Stewart’s version of the Apprentice was a flop.

KOSI 101 Denver’s lite rock station plays non-stop Christmas music (between commercials) during the holiday season. However, they seem to play the same Christmas songs. So I took an informal survey in my office of which Christmas song is the best of all time:

And the winner is…. The Christmas Song sung by Nat King Cole

Thank you Mel “the Velvet Fog” Torme for coming up with that gem!

This hit my inbox yesterday:

As expected, the Federal Reserve raised their Discount Rate for the 13th time. The Discount Rate now stands at 4.25. Most banks raised their Prime Rates to 7.25%. The market has not changed its expectations for the January meeting (Greenspan’s last): 88% chance of another increase, since the word “measured” was retained, albeit somewhat qualified. Currently the March meeting has a 64% chance for another 25 basis point increase. By keeping their pledge to raise rates at a “measured” pace, and removing “accommodative” from their statement, the Fed is believed to have signaled that committee members now consider that rates are highenough, and that rates are no longer spurring economic growth.

The only major news this morning was October’s Trade Balance, which showed the trade deficit widened from $62.7 billion to $68.9 billion. Ahead of that number, however, bond and A-paper mortgage prices were already roughly .250 better than yesterday afternoon’s. This was attributed to “follow through” from yesterday, along with bond marketsoverseas improving, coupled with stock markets worsening.

Regarding our friend the yield curve: What did this to the 2-yr to 10-yr spread? It now stands at 9 basis points. Why are long term rates holding so low given the Fed continuing to squeeze? On a day-to-day basis we tend to focus on the economic numbers, supply issues, inflation thoughts (is there or not), and, of course, the Federal Reserve. The real driver keeping rates low (and precious metals climbing) is so much liquidity around the world. Investors tend to view a flattening yield curve as leading to an economic slowdown, but the predictive quality of a flattening yield curve isn’t foolproof although it has fundamental underpinnings. Investors generally want to be paid more to lock up their funds for a longer duration, but when the yield curve is flat it suggests that investors are nervous about the near-term bets and so are
demanding relatively more return on them. Heavy foreign buying of U.S. bonds drives up prices and keeps long-term yields, which move in the opposite direction of a bond’s price, low. The heavy foreign buying, the argument goes, keeps long-term yields unusually low, which could help the economy, even as short-term rates rise.

With Season Three of Dave Chappelle on the horizon, here’s a list of my favorite skits:

• Charlie Murphy’s True Hollywood stories featuring Rick James
• Who knows black people?
• When keeping it real goes wrong
• Clayton Bigsby
• Wrap it Up
• Lil Jon – Yeah!
• The Tyrone Biggums intervention
• White People Can’t Dance — with Questlove and John Mayer

Third Season of Chappelle’s Show in 2006
NEW YORK, December 5, 2005

COMEDY CENTRAL® TO PREMIERE THIRD SEASON OF “CHAPPELLE’S SHOW” DURING 2Q 2006

Viewers Get Last Laugh As COMEDY CENTRAL Offers Sneak Peek Of Never-Before-Seen Sketches From “Chappelle’s Show’s” Third Season During Network’s Year-End Blow Out, “COMEDY CENTRAL’s Last Laugh ’05″ Premiering Sunday, December 11 at 9:00 P.M.*

——–

Third Season Sneak Peek To Make Its Broadband Debut Monday, December 12 On COMEDY CENTRAL’s “MotherLoad” (www.comedycentral.com/motherload)

At long last viewers will have a chance to see for themselves exactly what Dave Chappelle was working on just before his departure from production of the third season of the critically-acclaimed and Emmy-nominated hit series, “Chappelle’s Show.” COMEDY CENTRAL will premiere the unaired third season episodes during 2Q 2006.

In advance of the 2006 premiere, COMEDY CENTRAL will offer a sneak peek into the mind of the master by airing never-before-seen footage from third season sketches during the broadcast of “COMEDY CENTRAL’s Last Laugh ’05″ which premieres Sunday, December 11 at 9:00 p.m. The sneak peek will also be available for viewing the following day on COMEDY CENTRAL’s broadband channel, “MotherLoad” (www.comedycentral.com/motherload).

It’s been a while since i’ve posted. Lately, I’ve been busy trying to figure out how to get more business for 2006. Recently I joined a Denver Chamber of Commerce leads group. It’s along the same lines as LeTip, Rotary Clubs, BNI (Business Network International), etc. where you meet on a regular basis with people in different industries and exchange leads.

I’ve been to two meetings at the Chamber and this past week I actually gave a presentation. I have no fear of public speaking. In fact, I enjoy it! Sure I get jittery but overall I don’t mind getting in front of people and engaging in dialogue. My presentation was borderline boring since the mortgage biz isn’t exiting until something goes awry. So I switched gear and began talking about my background. I talked about how I was a software developer before getting into the mortgage biz and how the movie “Office Space” was the epitome of my previous life.

The group seemed to relate. It helps when there are people in the group trying to sell tech services such as telecom, website design/hosting and IT consulting services

Later that evening, I went to the Business After Hours, a happy hour for members of the Chamber. It helps when you’re in a leads group since you can bank on seeing familiar faces. I try to meet at least 5 people or get 5 business cards. As long as they serve social lubricants i.e. alcohol, I have no problem starting up or engaging in conversation. On occassion you run into people you know or who know people in your circle.

Next week is my leads group Christmas Party. I doubt I’ll need social lubricantion since I’ve met most of the people but just in case I’m bringing six of my friends all named Samuel Adams.