America’s Top Family Doctor 2010

by ruBik on May 5, 2010


Yes, it is true that I am among America’s Top Family Doctors 2010. Enjoy the irony…

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Photo of a Pueblo in Taos NM

by ruBik on February 21, 2010

Pueblo in Taos NM

Here is a nice photo of a “living” Pueblo in Taos, New Mexico. This Native American community still lives and works on this site, with the beautiful mountains in the background. This Pueblo has been here for over 1000 years.

Ryder was playing a drum near one of the “homes,” and the tourists thought he was one of the local Native Americans. One woman wanted to tip him. He thought it was funny and decided to play the part – he is such a ham.

We had a great time relaxing in Taos with the kids. The art galleries were incredible and the food was tasty.

After Taos, it was off to Sante Fe before heading back to Denver. We have other photos of the trip on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bignestegg/

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Secondcar Smoke Sucks

by ruBik on January 10, 2010

Well, you have heard of “secondhand smoke”, but you may never heard of “secondcar smoke.”

Secondcar Smoke

Secondcar Smoke

Secondcar smoke is a term I coined this week after being exposed 3 times to smoke from surrounding cars while driving.  The first episode occurred on our first warm, sunny day this week.  I rolled down the windows to enjoy the beautiful sunny day.  I started smelling smoke, but there was nobody else in my car.  It was clearly cigarette smoke, but I was going 45 miles per hour.  The only car I could see was about 8 car lengths ahead of me.  It was not until I pulled up next to it at the next stop light that I saw the driver flick the cigarette butt on the ground next to my car.  That was when it first registered with me that I had been breathing in smoke for about 2 miles while driving behind this smoker.  So much for enjoying my beautiful day…

The very next day, I was sitting at an intersection and noticed the same odor, but much stronger.  I quickly looked around and realized that the driver 2 lanes over was smoking.  He was the only one around that I could see, so it had to be him even though he was about 40 feet away.

Today, the same thing happened again at another intersection.  This time my windows were up, but the smell still permeated my car.  Disgusting!!!

I really have no problem with smokers, as long as I don’t have to breath their poison myself involuntarily.  Here are some agreements that might help us all get along:

1)  You agree to roll up your windows if you are going to smoke while driving.  This should be more efficient for you anyway as you will be able to breath in your own secondhand smoke too.  I agree to roll up my windows when I am jamming to some good tunes.

2)  Don’t throw your cigarette butts out the window – this is called littering and smokers are not immune to such laws.  I agree to not throw my gum out or shoot fireworks out my car window.

3)  You agree to use smokeless tobacco in public.  I agree to not take x-rays or CT scans in public.

4)  If you decide to smoke in public while driving with your windows down, at least use marijuana instead of tobacco so that I will become as apathetic as you and just not care anymore.

If you too have been a victim of secondcar smoke, then please spread the word about these agreements or feel free to add your own.

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I Need Your Help TODAY!

by ruBik on November 10, 2009

Today is a very important day for us and we are asking for your help and support.  Our charitable foundation, the Agel Cares Foundation, is having a one day campaign to raise money for our projects.

Agel Cares helps provide needed surgeries for children around the globe, including cleft palate repair, club foot repair, and eye surgeries that prevent blindness.  Without these surgeries (and without our help), most of these children become outcasts even in their own families.  However, thanks to our foundation, we can repair each of these problems for less than $40.

Did you get that? For less than $40 you can help provide a surgery to repair a cleft palate in a child.  100% of all donations goes directly to the cost of the surgeries (all logistical and management costs are covered by our company).  Any donation you can provide counts as it all adds up, so do not think that these small donations do not make a difference – they do!

Here is what we are asking you to do TODAY:

1)  Go to AgelCares.org
2)  On the Home page, click on the ‘Give’ button on the bottom right
3)  It requires that you enter the info of the person who referred you – here is what to enter:
Name:  Tim and Julie
City:  Denver
Event (drop down menu):  select ‘Ten Dollar Tuesday’
4)  Note this is a secure website (https) and your information is protected.
5)  Please donate any amount you feel comfortable with (everything helps).  We are asking that you donate $10 minimum, but don’t hesitate to do more.
6)  Please consider forwarding this email to everyone on your list so that we can make this an amazing day!

We appreciate your help.  This cause is very important to us and we need all of the help we can get.

Sincerely,

Tim Berry and Julie Mirr
www.WorldGel.com

p.s.  Also if you are interested in learning more about our business and how it can help you, please let us know.  We are currently doing business in 58 countries and we are always looking for new partners.

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Pancakes in Amsterdam

by Tim on July 29, 2009

Tim Berry with Pannekoeken Met Stroop

Tim Berry with Pannekoeken Met Stroop

If you have not had the pleasure of eating a pancake in the Netherlands, then you are missing out on one of life’s little treats.

As I was planning my recent trip to Amsterdam, I started salivating just thinking about “Pannekoeken met Stroop.” While most tourists think about Dutch architecture, art museums, coffee shops, and the Red Light District, my mind was on just one thing – Pancakes!

For me, the best time to enjoy a Dutch pancake is mid-afternoon, but really I have yet to discover a bad time for them.  Seriously!

Ok, there are definitely other things to do while visiting Amsterdam.  For one thing, I got to catch up with a lot of my good Dutch friends.  During this recent trip, I was taken to some hard-to-find, locals hangouts (ones not listed in my Top 10 Guide to Amsterdam).  It was really fun as far as I remember…

There are a lot of great museums, including the Rijks Museum (my favorite), the Van Gogh Museum, and Stefelijk Museum.  There are many others, but I haven’t taken the time to visit them yet.  Whether you like art of not, you will feel deep inspiration when surrounded by paintings from the masters.

Another favorite of mine are the street performers.  The quality was down a bit during this trip, but overall they are quite enjoyable.  My favorite ones are the break dancers.  I have videos that I will be posting soon with plenty of entertaining performances.

Top 10 Things to Do in Amsterdam

Top 10 Things to Do in Amsterdam

Right now you can really save money when booking your trips. This particular trip was a last minute whim (or pancake craving) and I booked my hotel and flight less than one week prior to the trip.  The airlines showed my tickets ranging from $3000 – $23,000 round trip, however I was able to find a package deal on Expedia for just over $1000!!!

So what did this last minute travel package give me? Well, I stayed 6 days in a 5 Star hotel, plus I flew business class over the Atlantic and back (this is the same seating as First Class).  If I would have made reservations through the hotel’s internet site and the airline, I would have paid a minimum of $13,000 for this same package.   So I figure I have an extra $12,000 to use on my next trip, which looks like Costa Rica in a few weeks…


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Summer in Telluride Colorado

July 15, 2009

Since our Mexico vacation was cancelled due to the Swine Flu outbreak, we decided to do a family vacation roadtrip through Colorado and Utah. We started by driving to Glenwood Springs, CO and staying in a cabin along the river in Glenwood Canyon.  We did some mountain biking along the river trail and also hiked [...]

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Eating Like a Champ

July 5, 2009

Confession:  I love food and lots of it:) Seven years ago, just before Ryder was born, I decided to quit racing triathlons, mountain bikes, and adventure races.  I finished strong with 6 age group wins in a 60 day stretch.  Then I quit cold turkey. Not only did I quit racing, I pretty much quit [...]

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Tastes Like Chicken

July 4, 2009

When I arrived home from Dallas Sunday, my mother, step-father, and granny were waiting for me.  They had just made a road trip from TN and they were hungry:) About a month prior to their visit, they had seen something on the History Channel about the oldest restaurant in Denver, The Buckhorn Exchange.   This was [...]

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Quick Mountain Bike Loop Near My House

June 30, 2009

I did a quick mountain bike loop from my house to the Bluffs today in order to test out my RunKeeper Application on my iPhone. I only had about 45 minutes to ride before dinner as we had company in town.  It was a scorching 91 degrees during this ride, so I am glad I [...]

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Top 10 Lifestyle Questions

June 23, 2009

You guys know I am a fan of lists, so here are my latest internet research results.  These are the top 10 questions asked online about lifestyle in the search engines over the past year. How to maintain a healthy lifestyle How to live a healthy lifestyle Why is a healthy lifestyle important How income [...]

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