The big bitcoin trial over Silk Road begins today. WIRED tells you why it matters.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome

I didn't even realize the Golden Globes were on. There's an hour left, I hope I didn't miss much. Juliana Margulies is on now giving an award to George Clooney. His new wife is with him.

New seasons of Episodes and Shameless start tonight on Showtime. There's also Downton Abbey and a new episode of The Good Wife.

Update: The Good Wife apparently features the Ferguson and Eric Garner cases. It begins with a notice that it was it was written before the grand jury decision, and references to Ferguson are to events in August after the Michael Brown shooting. I wonder why they needed the disclaimer. (It's just starting here.)

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

For those of you missing Big Tent Democrat's political coverage (and that includes me) I have some good news. He will resume blogging at TalkLeft very soon, most likely over or right after the weekend, and says he will be posting regularly.

I've been gone all day, so I haven't seen any news yet and now I'm making chicken soup, even though it's been almost 70 degrees all day. 'Tis a privilege to live in Colorado.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

I'm done here for the day, having used all my blogging time to write about the Dershowitz/Virginia Roberts story.

If I had more time, I'd also write about Celebrity Apprentice. It's very entertaining this season. I hope Geraldo and Leeza Gibbons are the final two. I was a guest on both their talk shows many times in the 90's. In the six degrees of separation department, one of the Leeza shows I did was with Alan Dershowitz. Leeza not only flew us out to LA, she flew our sons out. The topic was representing the hated defendant and part of that was how it affected our families. (Our sons were also interviewed on air.) She is such a warm and genuine person, and a consummate professional. As for Geraldo, none of today's cable news shows come close to being as good as CNBC's "Rivera Live" in the 90's. Geraldo was my friend back then, and while I haven't seen him in years, I still like him.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

Sunday night TV is back. Tonight, the new season of Downton Abbey begins, as does Celebrity Apprentice. The Good Wife is also back tonight.

Tomorrow night, the Bachelor returns.

Showtime is running last season's Shameless all night, which means a new season will begin soon. [More...]

A new Jeep for the New Year. My last three Jeeps have been black, charcoal and granite. Time for a change. I'll probably spend the rest of the weekend learning all its new features.

V-8 engines are getting scarcer, and despite the promotions, I don't think V-6 engines come close in power when you're heading up a big hill (like I-70 from Golden to the mountains.) This one makes it a breeze. It's also much quieter than the V-6. Since I drive less than 5,000 miles a year, the reduced gas mileage isn't a big issue for me.

One thing I've learned my lesson on: When you're buying rather than leasing, get the extended warranty. After 3 years, my old jeep had only 10,000 miles, but the warranty ended in July and the cost of everything, from diagnosis to actual repairs is really high. [More...]

2014 is coming to an end. Are you glad or sorry?

For those of you heading out on the town, have a great time.

For those of you staying in, here's an open thread, all topics welcome.

Happy New Year everyone!

My new Spanish learning program, Fluenz, arrived yesterday. I'm going to try it out now, so I won't be blogging much today.

It is really cold here.

Forecasters say temperatures in Denver will top out at 4 degrees on Tuesday before dropping to as low as minus 9 at night with a wind chill of minus 15. A 70 percent chance of snow remains until this evening through which about an inch is expected to fall.

This is an open thread. All topics welcome.

(I also put up an open thread at the wordpress site. You can comment at either or both. Comments there will help me get the bugs out.)

I've been working on the Wordpress version of TalkLeft since Xmas Eve. I just put up an open thread there, so you can help me see what the comment section will look like with a lot of comments. If you have a few minutes, please check it out and let me know what you think in the comments. You have to be registered to leave a comment, but it just takes a few seconds and you can use the same user name you use here. Since it's an open thread, you don't have to write about the site, you can write about whatever you want -- both there and here.

I don't have a specific date for it to replace this site, but I'm getting closer.

Again, all topics welcome, here and there.

Merry Christmas, everyone. Enjoy the day and your time with your families and friends. Regardless of your religion, Christmas is a special holiday.

A big snowstorm just arrived here. I'm staying in, listening to KSPN Aspen on my Sonos, and tinkering with the wordpress version of TalkLeft I keep saying we're moving to. (Yes I know there's too much white space below the header and before the content, I'm trying to figure out how to change it.) Feel free to let me know what you think.

My favorite Xmas present: An Internet password journal. It's like a phone book but for your passwords. Under $10. I don't recommend traveling with it, but at home, it's great.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

Anyone cooking tonight? What's on your menu?

Sony has made "The Interview" available now to everyone by streaming. Let us know what you think if you watch it.

Merry Christmas, everyone.

Darlene Love's final performance on Letterman.

Another of my favorites:

Last night, Bon Jovi performed during the Bobby Bandiera and Friends Hope Concert at Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank. He wore a NYPD property t-shirt, saying he wanted to show support for New York City's police. [More...]