Andrew Olmsted, one of our very own Colorado bloggers, has been killed in Iraq:

Andrew Olmsted, who also posted here as G’Kar, was killed yesterday in Iraq. Andy gave me a post to publish in the event of his death; the last revisions to it were made in July.

Andy was a wonderful person: decent, honorable, generous, principled, courageous, sweet, and very funny. The world has a horrible hole in it that nothing can fill. I’m glad Andy — generous as always — wrote something for me to publish now, since I have no words at all. Beyond: Andy, I will miss you.

I didn’t know Andy very well beyond chance meetings at the first couple of Rocky Mountain Blogger Bashes. However, from what I did know, he seemed a likeable sort, easy to chat with and enjoy a beverage or two (or seven, it being RMBB, see) in his company.

Anticipating that he might be killed in the line of duty to his country, he prepared a final post to be put up on his eponymous blog. Here it is.

Today is my new “healthy me” reward day for a good week of workouts, so I have a beer in hand. Go grab one yourself and toast the memory of a man who served with honor and paid the highest price for his dedication to country.

Condolences to all his family and friends.

(found via Resurrection Song)

Update: More from The Rocky Mountain News.

My fair city, Denver, has topped Forbes magazine’s list of the most lustful cities.

Awww, yeah.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, goodly readers, it’s time to break out the smoking jacket, the Courvoisier, and teach Mrs. WWR something new from my lexicon of hot, hot lovin’.

Or change a diaper.

One of those.

You sit down, breathe deep, and your nasal passages fill with the mouth-watering, smoky sweet tang of barbecued pork, beef, and chicken.

And this is two hours after you got home from the restaurant.

(thanks to Brickyard BBQ for another great visit)

The first of our annual parties for 2007 is just around the corner!

Mark your calendars for February 16, for - on that glorious eve - many a-blogger shall gather together to solve the world’s problems, dream the impossible dream, and mooch free shots off of the blogger formerly known as Zombyboy.

For details, as we decide upon them, which seems to be taking quite some time, clicky clicky here here.

Because of my esteemed status as an influential Denver blogger, I got an invite to the kickoff party for a new web-based company tomorrow night.

The company is called ViewMyLife.com.

Since you are an influential Denver blogger [ed: see, told you so], we wanted you to be the first to know about the global launch of the Denver-based company ViewMyLife.com. ViewMyLife.com is a next generation lifestyle site; think MySpace, Facebook and YouTube - but better! ViewMyLife.com offers FREE, secure, simple-to-use tools to document your personal life experiences online without any ads to clutter your personal pages.

Unfortunately, this week has left me pretty drained and I think I’m going to be in bed early tonight and tomorrow night. Also, the party is in the south metro area, and I don’t think being (a) dog tired, (b) with a few drinks in me, and (c) more than forty miles from home would really be a good combination (unless you happen to be a bail bondsman).

However, they did say all of my friends (over 21) are invited - and, well, good people, I consider you my friends, even if you don’t send me birthday presents and don’t know my favorite color and never hold me close during that one scary scene in Poltergeist where the clown doll attacks the kid.

So, here you go: party details can be found here, for those interested.

The party will be streamed live over the internet, something we had discussed doing for a blogger bash, but never did because what happens at the blogger bash stays at the blogger bash, except for that time Goldstein showed up with a camera and posted it at Malkin’s Hot Air site. I’m just happy the llamas and gnus and handcuffs had already been hidden away by the time he arrived.

Keywords: housing bubble, home mortgage, home loan, Denver

Interesting article on the Denver real estate market at The Housing Bubble Blog; unless, you know, you don’t live in Denver.

But if you do… and own a home… or want to buy one… or sell one: have a look. The news isn’t so cheery, especially if you took out a “crazy person loan.”

When I say “crazy person loan,” I’m talking those no-interest-this, no-down-payment-that, and ARM yourself, because you’re gonna be mighty pissed when that interest rate adjusts to something in the stratosphere.

I’m a fan of the 30-year fixed loan, as you can guess (unless you can swing payments on a 15-year loan, in which case, knock yourself out).

My neighborhood has been pretty flat for the last year, with our house staying steady in the $270K range (which is probably unrealistic considering we have two kids, two dogs, two cats, and what used to be good carpet and a nice hardwood floor in the kitchen… but then we did put in landscaping and a patio… so, in short, what I am saying is “I have no clue what it’s worth but I err on the high side to make me feel good.”)

Regardless, it’s big enough for us now and I’ve grown accustomed to my 30 mile commute across downtown Denver each morning, and - well - it’s home. Until I become stinking rich and then it’s just a ghetto, yo.

* As always, extra-super-special bonus points for naming the source of the title.

The ACLU is suing the city of Denver to cease keeping files that local law enforcement has maintained on peaceful protestors.

While the city’s steps towards having an impartial panel review the information is going in the right direction, we believe the files should be open to review by those people (and their lawyers) who have been documented within them.

The Red Menace isn’t hiding out in Denver - and, besides, all the anti-government hippies are in Boulder!