With the DNC coming to town I thought it would be useful to dispel some of the impressions I’ve heard about Denver from clients, friends and family around the country. I only came up with 7… 10 would be a bit too forced.

1. Denver is in the Mountains

Thank you National Weather Service and local weathermen for this misconception. We are about 30 miles from the actual mountains where the weather / climate is totally different from the Front Range, in large part due to the huge elevation difference.
Source

2. It snows in Denver all the time

Wrong. I really believe Coors and Monday Night Football are to blame on this one. On average Denver gets about 60 inches of snow per year. For comparison, Cleveland, Ohio gets about 56 inches. However, because of our dry climate and high-elevation snow doesn’t stick around for more then a few days… tops. I’ve even shoveled snow in shorts because the sun is so intense.

Frequently the mountains are blasted with 2-3 feet of fresh powder and the weather service wrongly associates this snowfall to Denver; when in fact Denver has received an inch or two of snow.
Source

3. It’s cold in Denver

Nope. It’s usually about 7 degrees warmer in Denver then in New York, Boston, Chicago or St. Louis during the winter months. Also the low humidity makes the air temperature even more comfortable.
Source

4. Denver is a “cow-town”

OK, sure we have a few cowboys in the area and the annual Western Stock Show but that is about as far as it goes. The corridor which consists of Denver and Boulder is a fairly well established metro area which feels like any other metro region, minus the trees. It is stories like this one from NPR which make me crazy because this really isn’t the “real” Colorado.

5. The South has more sun.

Sorry, that is wrong also. Colorado gets about 300 days of sun per year, Denver specifically gets around 115 day of pure sun. While that is much better then a rainy day the biggest drawback is you’ll need sunglasses and sunscreen out here. Source

6. Denver lacks cultural attractions

Not so much. The DCPA is the second largest performing arts complex in the World next to New York City’s Lincoln Center and the Denver Art Museum is a work of architectural art in itself.
Source

7. The Highways are overcrowded

We aren’t even in the top 10 most congested cities. Having lived in Philly most of my life i can say I-95 and the PA Turnpike are far worse then I-25 into Denver. It just like any other metro area and we have decent public transportation now that the T-Rex project has been completed.
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Yes, you can track file downloads with Google Analytics. Although it doesn’t automatically give you that capability by just dropping in the Google Analytics Code, here is a simple method to add that tracking ability. For each file that you want Google Analytics to track, you need to create a “virtual page” using the pageTracker function in each file HREF in your site.

Example:
If you site has a PDF called financial-report.pdf and the link is
<a href="/files/financial-report.pdf">Financial Report</a>
That code will need to be rewritten to read.
<a href="/files/financial-report.pdf" onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview('/files/financial-report.pdf');">Financial Report</a>


This works great for a limited number of files, but for sites which have multiple file downloads. You may want to try Brian Clifton’s JS Script.

I’m from Philly so when I say any sandwich from a small deli in Estes Park, Colorado is better then anything I’ve had back East (Pat’s Steak Sandwich excluded) then you know I have to be serious. I’m talking about DeLeo’s Deli, recognized as one of the very best sandwich shops by The Food Network. Earlier this summer I had “The Big Reuboni”

Delicious corned beef topped with kraut, horseradish, banana peppers and Russian dressing, and finished with imported Swiss cheese…”To die for!”

Aside from the unbelievable menu selections; I think what is even more impressive is DeLeo’s customer service and passion for his work. Owner, Tom DeLeo, a transplant from Connecticut, is easily one of the most entertaining and charismatic people I’ve ever met. In this last visit, Tom remembered me from visiting the year before. I was floored that he recognized me, I have a tough enough time remembering my own Uncles’ names. While enjoying my Reuboni I realized it wasn’t just me that he recognized, Tom greeted everyone who entered like they were his best friend.

There are several factors which make DeLeo’s Deli a winning mix and hopefully a longtime staple of Estes Park. I personally believe that like his terrific sandwiches, these ingredients are the key to running a highly successful business.

• Passion! This guy loves creating sandwiches.
• Good Story. He’s an ex-insurance executive who was disenchanted with that way of life and was looking for something a bit simpler.
• Love of People. He adapts to every visitor and brings a smile to all who visit. It’s as if he can instantly read each customer like a book.
• Great Product. The sandwiches alone could sell this place. Tom could be the “sandwich Nazi and people would still frequent his deli.

I love my job, I’m excited about what we do, where we are heading and the team I have to work with. However, sometimes I think it’s really easy to get caught up in the daily grind. People like Tom remind me to keep it real; to wear the passion on my sleeve and throughly interact with every customer from the heart.

Tom, thanks for making a kick-ass sandwich and keeping it real, even if my Philly friends have now disowned me.

It isn’t often that I run across a Firefox Add-on which just blows my mind and makes me want to sing the praises of the developer, but Better Gmail 2.0.5.2 is one such add-on. This week we converted the office away from Microsoft Exchange server and onto the Google Mail App instead. I won’t go into the reasons why in this post, but after I made the switch I was somewhat disappointed with the interface of Gmail and it’s inability to allow me to customize it.

Here were just a handful of my gripes.

• I can’t resize the width of the left side menu bar
• Why does Gmail feel the need to “label” my messages rather then using the conventional folder system?
• Shouldn’t I be able to modify the color scheme to my liking. There is only so much pastel I can take
• When writing messages the REPLY, FORWARD and DELETE aren’t in the most obvious or intuitive locations

I don’t want to continue on bitching about Google, because aside from the interface the Gmail App kicks ass and checks SPAM well. It is reliable and it allows me to IMAP my mail to desktop clients. In light of my situation I looked for some way to relieve my disdain for the default interface.

Better Gmail 2 makes the entire mail experience much more enjoyable and easy on the eyes.
Google Talk actually looks like an IM client

Labels are converted into operating like folders.

A handy keyboard shortcut menu

All in all, this add-on has made the jump from Exchange to Gmail VERY enjoyable! I highly suggest Better Gmail 2.

So, I would assume most Account Managers, Project Managers, and anyone else in client services all know about (and occasionally create) call reports. However, I’d be willing to bet that eventually almost all of you have given up on them. I know, from personal experience, that the call/meeting report is thought about and started with good intentions. Inevitably, however, it ends up being one of the first items to slowly fade away. While it appears to be a good idea, it always seems like a waste of time, and the easiest task to drop. You get busy, and bogged down with tasks, and figure “who really reads these things anyway?” Well, as much as it may seem like extra, unnecessary work, I can say it is one of the best tools anyone in client services can use.

For those of you who have never heard of these, it’s basically a summary of a meeting, phone call, or even quick discussion you’ve had with a client. (It doesn’t hurt to do this with internal meetings too.) After every meeting, send a summary and list of action items to your team and your client. Trust me. It’s worth it.

The call report does NOT need to be an extensive document. It just needs to cover the basics. If you have a client who tends to “forget” what you talked about, you may need to be a bit more specific. No matter the level of detail, just do one. Every time.

I can’t tell you how many times there has been a conflict about what we decided, a task unassigned, or a lack of follow up on an urgent request. With the call report, this is practically impossible. I have had times where the client was quite upset with a situation and couldn’t believe we chose to go down a certain path for his design. Based on a meeting we had over two months ago, I vaguely remembered him requesting something along those lines, but I honestly had no idea what we decided. I feared we were in for a huge change (and a significant loss of money). Low and behold…the magical call report. I pulled up the old document that was sent to my client the day after the meeting, and copied the exact statement saying he agreed to the change. Not only did he insist on this change, but he also agreed that it was out of scope. The call report saved us hours of headaches and a bundle of money. This is not just a random example. These types of things happen at least once a week, and the meeting report has saved my team, my company, and myself a lot of problems. So, I beg of you. Take the time. It’s worth it. And who knows? It may even save a life or two.