Come out to the Cactus Wheel Modern Taqueria this Friday, Feb 3rd for an art opening in downtown Louisville. This month the Cactus Wheel will be adorned with various pieces of art done by various local artists. Come for the great food, the drinks and to meet the artists. Mingle, relax, and check out the art. It will be a good time for all!

We’ll be there from 6-10pm. The art will be on display at the Cactus Wheel for the entire month of February.

FaceBook page for “Various Artists” Opening

Cactus Wheel Modern Taqueria
Pine and Main St, Louisville, CO 80027
Friday, February 3rd 2012
6-10pm

The creative process is a fascinating thing for me. I always have ideas. My ideas generally turn into “projects,” as I like to call them. For me a project begins with a spark – an inspiration. Then, when it’s time, I move it into the category called “projects that I’m working on.” Sometimes there are many of these.

From time to time there’s a “project that I’m working on” that doesn’t see a lot of physical motion or action. That’s because it’s in the dormant phase. The ideas roll around and bounce off of each other. I like to call it letting ideas percolate. And to answer on of my client’s questions, “Yes you can French-press it if you prefer.”

Is all of this currently being threatened? Will the bombardment of information and speed in our culture kill off our creativity? Will we see an end to the creative process?

I love these RSA Animate videos.

Personally, I’m a huge advocate for balance. I endorse it and I try to bring it into my life as much as possible. I could easily find myself opposing the internet, webpages, iPhones, iPads, etc. I’m often requesting that people slow down. I think it has something to do with my natural inner pace and the way that my brain works.

Part of making my request to slow down is for me is to create a space for magic to happen. When things slow down around me I can see pathways and connections between ideas in a new way. My creative mind is free to play. And what does my creative mind want? New ideas, of course. And what’s the best way to quickly get ideas? Jump to a website, or if I’m away from my computer then pull out my iPhone. Sure, I have ideas… but think about all the ideas just floating around out there in cyberspace. They’re everywhere.

So the verdict is in for me. YES on the Internet. YES on iPhones. But do try to keep yourself in balance. It’s important.

There is no set-up fee or charge for the card reader unit itself. That’s cool. There is a one-time $10 charge that’s deducted from the first payment you receive. I can live with that.

What I like the most about this system is that there are no monthly fees. It seems like many companies in many industries want to lock you into a monthly subscription. I guess it makes sense but as a user/consumer I don’t want to be locked in. This really works for me.

This thing plugs right into your iPhone jack and lets you swipe a credit card right there. Pretty cool.

I discovered today that you can, in fact, take payments over the phone. If you have a hands-free device you can talk to your customer while you plug in their credit card information. Square simply requests that for the signature you write in PHONE.

Signing this thing on the iPhone is surprisingly easy. You use your finger and it seems to perform better than a lot of the grocery store signature pads.

The processing is almost instantaneous. It took about 1 second to approve the transaction. After that the buyer can have a txt message or an email sent to them. In less than 5 seconds both the buyer and me had received a confirmation email.

It looks like it does take several business days for the payment to even hit your bank. It’s annoying but I can live with it.

So far I am a pleased customer. If you want to test it out and buy something from us just let me know. I am happy to run your credit card for you.

The more attention I pay the more I realize that doing ancient, earth-based practices really resonates with me. I like to be outside, to hike, to journey, and explore. I also love creating meals and sharing food. I love to cook them but the real payoff is in the proverbial breaking of bread for me. I plan to roast a pig soon. This should be good!

If you’re a foodie then this probably doesn’t apply. But I’m sure you know people in your life that don’t take the time to eat with others. They will often say things like “I’ll just grab something on the way there.” And “I’ll eat later.” These are the same people that go heartily into the cellophane bag of whatever to “skip meals.”

If you’ve never done it I highly recommend sitting around a campfire and cooking something with others. I am not talking about a personal camp stove in your own corner. I’m talking about cooking on the same fire. For me it calls in that ancient centering of who we once we and brings me to the present moment. I know everyone recharges in their own way. And I know that all people are different. I just can’t seem to think that we’re really THAT different.

So, what happened? Did we get too busy? Do we no longer attribute value to the family-style meal connectedness? Has the lack of necessity to rely on someone else to prepare meals (because you can get them pre-prepared) eliminated the draw to have those relationships? Are we just becoming so independent that we don’t really need others for anything? Or are we further evolving, to some sort of calorie-injection way of existing that the Matrix will feed us?

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 palmful of dried rosemary (about 1/6 of a bottle)
• 1 oz. blue cheese or gorgonzola
• 1/2 stick butter

Directions:

• Put the water, balsamic and rosemary in a pot
• Bring to a boil
• Turn down to medium-high heat
• Reduce the solution to 1/2 of the original volume
• Add butter – melt it
• Add blue cheese – melt it
• Mash the cheese with a spoon, blending it in
• Strain everything through a fine sieve to remove the rosemary and cheese chunks