Welcome to the 21st Century 

At 11:51 AM this morning, Skynet went active at the Birch Ridge Inn....oops...wrong mime...

Last week, I spent the day asking Mary the following question...Black or White? Our assistant, Mickalyn, new exactly what the question meant, but Mary was briefly puzzled. You see it was pre-order day for the new iPhone 4S, better known in alternate universe of Apple Inc customers as the iPhone for Steve. I pulled the trigger in the afternoon and pre-ordered 1 black and 1 white; both from ATT.

I have been tracking the shipments all week. With the crush of orders for the new iPhone, I was never quite sure if they would make it thru the backlog. ATT said they would, but you never know. Nervous anxiety, combined with a less than crisp ATT Order Status, kept me checking ATT's order status web site all week. Fedex shipment numbers were finally released early Thursday morning, resulting in a whole new level of anxiety as I saw that the shipment was split in two (2 iPhones, 2 shipments sort of makes sense). I watched the iPhones travel across the country through slightly different routes in Fedex's network before arriving in Vermont early this morning. With my black turtleneck and blue jeans as the chosen attire for the day, I scanned the web early this morning and confirmed that the iPhones would be delivered today on schedule. At 11:51, they arrived at the inn.

First impressions: fantastic! Initializing the phones could not have been easier. A quick connection to our respective computers, and all the information we needed was automatically transferred. Mary was making phone calls, reading email, and taking pictures in less than an hour.

The personal assistant on the phone, Siri, is simple and efficient to use. Making phone calls, calendar entries, searching the web, checking the weather, are all as Apple has advertised. And the parlor tricks that can be done with Siri are worth the price of admission. I guarantee we will see a comedian on TV in the next week or so, having a conversation with Siri... Skynet indeed!

Anyways; at least for today, Mary and I are on the cutting edge of new consumer technology. Thank you Steve.

There are still some nice colors in the mountains around Killington. We at the Birch Ridge Inn look forward to greeting you when you visit.

Fall Foliage as seen in Home Depot parking lot in Rutland VT 

We usually try to shop local whenever possible, but today I needed to go to Rutland to visit Home Depot. Mary and I are in the middle of finishing our outdoor projects for the season resulting is various little purchases of specialized supplies to complete the jobs. In this case, Mary needed some special 40 grit sanding disks that the local hardware store, Goodro's, did not carry. But enough on the stream of conscience chatter about hardware stores....

What really struck me today, while driving around Rutland, was how the fall colors on the mountainsides surrounding the city have just popped in the last few days. The view from the Home Deport parking lot was just a stunning combination of bright red maples interspersed with green pine trees and yellow poplars against a beautiful blue sky background. Many were concerned that the moisture we received in August had dulled the annual fall display.... Not so...If anything, today on my travels the color was stunning in every direction you looked.

Friends of ours called this afternoon to say that they had the same experience. We always have friends on the look out giving us reports so we can feed the information to our guests. In this case, our friends had travelled down Route 100 south meandering to Manchester Vermont, before completing the circle home via Route 7 north. They reported that the color on the routes down and back was beautiful in each direction, in many cases appearing to be a peak color along the way.

Mother Nature is a fickle lady. She always keeps one guessing when it comes to fall colors. Every year they are always stunning to look at. One just needs to be patient, observant, and trusting... because one thing is certain... the leaves will change color like they do every year.

Fall colors in Killington are at their peak. We at the Birch Ridge Inn look forward to greeting you when you visit.

Jet contrails lace the sky above Beaver Pond on Route 4 in Mendon VT 

Leaf Peepers, Dock Dog competitors, and skiers taking advantage of Columbus Weekend ski sales have struck gold in Killington this weekend. Bright blue skies, temperatures in the mid 70's, and light fall breezes have combined to create a perfect weekend in the Green Mountains.

Scenes of fall foliage from around Killington on October 9, 2011 Click image to stop rotation. Click again to resume rotation.

Fall colors at Killington are a mix this year. Some trees have gone early, while others are just starting. Colors should remain good in the area through the next week or so.

Guests taking day trips from the inn this weekend are reporting good colors along Route 100 north and in the mountain passes to the west between Routes 100 and Route 7. Minimal road disruptions are being experienced except along Route 107 east of Killington towards Bethel. Route 107 appears to offer 1 lane on dirt to the east, with traffic being blocked to the west. Route 107 is still officially closed and foliage visitors are advised to keep off of it to allow local traffic to pass.

Fall Foliage season is underway at Killington, and winter is just around the corner. We at the Birch Ridge Inn look forward to greeting you when you visit.

Steve Jobs 1955-2011 

I feel a little strange writing this blog today. I am surrounded by Apple computer equipment. This blog is written every day on a big, honking, Powermac that can still blow the doors off of many new computers available today. Within my reach is a 21 inch Intel based Imac. The airwaves around me are saturated by the RF signal of an Apple Airport Wifi Network. There is an Ipod Touch in my pocket, an Apple TV in our Great Room, and a new Iphone in the very near future. I have personally owned at least one, usually several, Apple Computers since the first Apple Macintosh was released in 1984. I cannot even begin to tell you how many miles around the world I travelled with an Apple notebook in a bag slung on my shoulder. I used at work Apple II's and what was essentially the Macintosh prototype, the Lisa, before most people knew what a personal computer was. For over 30 years products from Apple have been integrated into my life. When I think about it in absolute terms, that's longer than most personal relationships I have had with the exception of my family and a few very close friends.

So when I heard the news flash last night, a story that we all unfortunately knew was coming, that Steve Jobs had departed this earth, I was instantly sad. His passing did not hit me with the same shock as when my mother picked me up at school, as a fifth grader, one November day in 1963 crying about the death of a president. The message was not visually shocking like seeing the Challenger blow up in 1986, or seeing the Trade Center buildings fall on 2001. Unlike those events, those of us who follow the computer industry knew it was only a matter of time before last nights news flash would occur. But it still made me sad all the same.

I can't quite place the feeling. I had no actual "personal" connection to Steve. Our paths crossed several times in the early 80's at geeky events like the BCS and at industry confabs out west. He was always a legendary presenter, and if you were at a conference where he had something to say, you wanted to be in the audience. Since starting the inn, I had emailed Mr. Jobs at Apple on several occasions. One concerned the failures of a vendor to support a software product on our Apple System. Another time concerned the unavailability of the original Iphone in Vermont, because ATT did not offer originating service in the Green Mountain State. Both times I got a short and polite response. They probably came from an Apple functionary, but it was clear that whoever wrote the response was taking the matter to heart and speaking for Steve. The problems have long since been resolved by the way.

But it is time.... The legacy of Mr. Jobs is assured. He changed the world...no he changed MY world! And for that he has my heartfelt respect. Godspeed Steve Jobs. I hope that when you left this world yesterday, that the sky around you was Bondi Blue.....

The weather forecast for the upcoming Columbus Day Weekend looks nice and sunny. Fall colors in Killington will be at their peak. We at the Birch Ridge Inn look forward to greeting you when you visit.

Fog rising from behind the 18th hole on the Green Mountain National Golf Course 

While much of the visible damage to the transportation network caused by the remnants of Hurricane Irene have been mitigated in the immediate vicinity of Killington, for those whose homes and businesses were impacted by the storm, the damage is still all too real. But the spirit of Killington will not be broken as the community rallies to help those who need a hand.

In the last couple of days, the Killington community turned out in huge numbers for 2 events to benefit victims of Irene. On Sunday, the Concert for Killington raised money for charities in both Killington and nearby Pittsfield. The all day concert by local musicians, supported by food donations from local restaurants (including the Birch Ridge Inn), raised approx $30K according to one of the organizers I spoke with late yesterday.

Yesterday afternoon, I joined well over 100 people to play in a golf tournament at Green Mountain National Golf Course to help raise money for a friend, Brian Halligan. You may know Brian from television. His house was totally destroyed by the flooding caused by Hurricane Irene in Pittsfield. He escaped the flood with the clothes on his back and his dog.

Through out the emergency created by Irene, the people of Killington have rallied to help each other. The concert on Sunday and the golf tournament yesterday are visible examples of the continued spirit of the whole community to rise up and work for the better good to help everyone recover from the effects of Irene. The events of this weekend prove yet again that Killington is a great place to call home!

The early weather forecast for Columbus Day Weekend looks like it will be nice. Fall colors in Killington will be at their peak. We at the Birch Ridge Inn look forward to greeting you when you visit.

Brilliant colors behind the Birch Ridge Inn shot from across the Roaring Brook Valley 

A full weekend of events are "on tap" at Killington for the first fall foliage weekend in October.

The Pico Ski Club will hold their annual Ski and Snowboard swap at the Pico Base Lodge in Killington. New and used ski and snowboarding equipment for kids and adults will be available for sale at this annual event that benefits the Pico Ski Club. The sale starts Friday evening from 5 to 9 PM. It resumes on Saturday from 9 AM to 5PM. It finishes on Sunday morning with swap hours between 9 AM and Noon.

The 16th Annual Killington Brewfest is set for sampling 75 craft beers. The beers come from 20 breweries from around the North East. Taps will be open at the Beerfest at the Snowshed Base Lodge of the Killington Resort starting at 1:00 PM on Saturday afternoon.

Rounding out the weekend, on Sunday the "Concert for the Killington Area" is scheduled to take place between Noon and 11:30 PM in the parking lots of the Lookout Tavern and Outback Pizza. Local bands from the Killington area will perform. A $20 donation gets you entry to the event, a buffet, and the good feeling that you are helping local Vermonters recover from Hurricane Irene. All proceeds from the event go to "We are K-Town/Irene's Islands" and the "Pittsfield Hurricane Relief Fund" for distribution to people needing assistance in the aftermath of Hurricane Irene.

It should be a nice weekend in Killington to enjoy the events while taking in some nice fall colors. We at the Birch Ridge Inn look forward to greeting you when you visit.

Concert for the Killington Area - Sunday October 2 

It is hard to comprehend that remnants of Hurricane Irene struck Vermont one month ago today. Much of the beauty of Vermont was left unscathed. For every picture of damage and destruction shown on the evening news, I can show you a picture of the absolute beauty that the Green Mountain are today, a scant 31 days after the storm. It is, of course, the paradox of living in the mountains. The Green Mountains endure, like they have for millennia, while the valley floors took a beating from mountain runoff in the storms aftermath.

In central Vermont we are all marveling at the speed with which our government reacted to the crisis. We witness arguments on TV about politics at the national level; about how government is bound up by "special interests" and the "bureaucracy"; about how government can't get anything done. We have witnessed those arguments in Killington and in Vermont in recent years as well. The complacency of prosperity leaves the chattering class with little to do but angle for the next "big deal" or complain if they are shut out by the very game they are playing.

Make no mistake, Vermont by all rights should have fallen down the rabbit hole after being nearly drowned by Irene. It would have been easy for government to wring their hands and say the problem was too great, the resources are not available, if we had only prepared for a rainy day.... and so it goes.

But the people of Vermont would have none of it. And we all know somewhere in the back of our brains, that we the people are the government. That the government follows our lead, not the other way around.

Vermonters showed that spirit 31 days ago when they woke up on the morning of August 29th to see much of their state destroyed. Thousands of Vermonters came out and started working to repair the devastation. Many worked to help their neighbors, before tending to their own needs. In Killington, the community turned out and volunteered to help one another. Whether it was shoveling debris from our streets, or going door to door to check on every individual in town, the spirit of working together raised everyone up above the catastrophe which struck Vermont, and created a shared sense of community which we can only hope will transcend the petty politics of the day before the storm hit.

And low and behold, as the citizens of Vermont individually mobilized to combat what Irene had wrought, the governments of Vermont at the State and Local level took notice. It was clear fairly early on that citizens were helping citizens, neighbors were helping neighbors, strangers were becoming friends. And because the citizens of Vermont stood up to Irene, the government of Vermont was free to deal with the big problems created by the storm with the full knowledge that Vermonters wanted them to get things done. One only needs to look at the before, during and after pictures of Route 4 across Vermont to realize that government can get the job down when it wants too.

But the citizens of Vermont are not done. While the roads have been repaired and guests are starting to trickle back to see the annual display of color know as "Fall Foliage Season", there are many citizens of Vermont who are in need of help to recover from the personal destruction they suffered at the hands of Irene. And just like Vermonters responded 31 days ago, now that the general recovery is at hand, it is time to help out individuals who were the unwitting victims of Irene's wrath.

On this coming Sunday, you can do your part to help the people of Vermont. Starting at 12:00 Noon, the "Concert for Killington" will take place on the Killington Road in the parking lots of Outback Pizza and the Lookout Tavern. For a $20.00 donation, you can enjoy music from local artists including Joey Leone and the Chop Shop, Bobby Darling and Dr Devine, Rick Redington and the LUV, the Idiots, Jamie's Junk Show, and many more. In addition to music, your donation includes a complementary buffet. All door, raffle and silent auction proceeds will benefit We Are K-Town/Irene's Islands and the Pittsfield Hurricane Relief Fund who will access need and distribute funds to those who need them the most.

For years to come, the calamity caused by Irene will be permanently etched into the Vermont landscape. But for the people of Vermont, all of us who were impacted in our own way by the storm, it's the little victories of people helping people that is the most important memory for the history books.

Fall Foliage season is getting underway at Killington, and winter is just around the corner. We at the Birch Ridge Inn look forward to greeting you when you visit.