Working-out the Christmas dinner

Ok, so this one goes to twenty. Gotta ease into it. Nuff said.

Memorable

Once again at a DU parking lot. This time at the Lamont school of music for a festive holiday celebration. I must admit I like the tagline: "remember Level 3". It has a nice ring to it. As for the presence of the word "orange", I suppose they may have put it there to ensure no one gets cute and tries to rhyme it with something. Orange you glad they did that?

Sun Devil 3

Picture this... the devil drives-up to a parking spot in his beat-up Ford Pinto. What does he see? If the devil in question is Sparky, the ASU mascot, he may well see a sign that reads "Level 3".

This photograph comes from my good friend and aspiring photographer Stephen Andert who recently happened on this sign in a parking garage at ASU. You can see some of his more serious work at his brand new web site: http://flowingdesert.com/

My kind of Level

OK. There is no "3" association here. But if you're going to go with just "Level", this is the way to do it!

Some Consistency, Please!

Here is an interesting case, recorded at University Hall in the University of Denver, no less. After starting with the appropriate terminology, creating a "Garden Level", for no apparent reason, the folks in charge of the naming convention for this building point us to the first, second and third "Floors". This is the first building I've seen where both naming conventions ("Level" and "Floor") are used simultaneously. I guess these folks think they can have their cake and eat it too.

I am appalled this clear violation of the parallel structure English professors work so hard to instill in their pupils happens in a reputable institution of higher learning. Besides, if you're going to do it, why wouldn't you use the word "Floor" for the lowest level and reserve the word "Level" for the top?

Level Dumpster

If you've been to the northwest parking lot at the Level 3 headquarters building you may have noticed a dumpster that's been there for a couple of weeks now. As I walked past it, my attention was drawn to the top of the container, on the upper right hand corner is the word Level. It seems lonely, orphaned -if you will from the number 3 which, by the way, makes-up six of the ten digits of the phone number prominently displayed at the bottom of the container. Curious.

Piso vs. Nivel

It's the age-old debate: Floor vs. Level. As you can see in this photo taken at Hospital José Carrasco Arteaga in Cuenca - Ecuador, it appears that (at least in Ecuador) the wrong side is winning the battle. Of course, the war is not over.

Houston, we have a problem

I have to admit I had to go way out of my way to find Level 3 at Houston International Airport. Fortunately, courtesy of my 7 hour layover, I was able to do a thorough search and find the elusive sign. The cameo was taken at the elevator leading to the train depot for gates D and E. This blatant disregard for the time-honored tradition of prominently displaying Level 3 was a welcome distraction in an otherwise long day. I must say, however, the Apollo 13 crew got it right when they uttered the memorable words (which I echo in the tagline for this entry).

Location, location, location

Looking for children's books at Borders my eye immediately spotted a Level 1, shortly followed by Level 2... but where was Level 3? Surely, if you go to the trouble to arrange books in levels, two is too soon to stop. Hardly seems worth the effort. I was about to give-up when I noticed the bottom shelf. Obviously, the wrong location for a top shelf name like Level 3. Not only that, but unlike the two preceding levels, it was forced to share space with "& 4". Poor form, to say the least.

"Level" vs. "L-"

Abbreviations. We've all been guilty of using them. It's a natural human tendency. It is rumored that in 1998, Level 3 had to quickly redesign its first logo because they found-out a company called L-3 Communications had the right to use that fateful abbreviation, leading to the current generally accepted implementation of the full name (rather than an abbreviation). Occasional mistakes when talking to a representative of one company and referencing the other are infamous. In-fact, on June 7, 2006 after Frank Lanza -L3's CEO- passed away, Level 3's stock took a 7% beating -- talk about a bad case of mistaken identity!

The enclosed photo comes courtesy of my brother-in-law Gary who lives in Southern California and had the audacity to take this snapshot on his way home from work.

Tunnel 3

Returning from the mountains, I noticed the tunnels were numbered. Obviously, I had to take a picture of "Tunnel 3". As you can see, there is light at the end...

Level.. C?

This afternoon as my son Pablo and I were discussing our brand-new haircuts my eye strayed to a brand-new bar they're building. Now, I was aware of at least two "Level 3" bars (Atlanta and Hollywood), so it seemed reasonable to me the tradition could continue in the Metro Denver area. You can imagine my dismay when I found a letter C where the number 3 should be. Sure, "C" is the third letter in the alphabet... close but no cigar. I suppose in a pinch I could be persuaded to have a drink or two at this establishment, still, the experience won't be everything it could. They need to move-up to the right level.

Part Deux -The bear of the east

So, I figure there are a couple of ways you could react to DIA's Terminal East "Level 3" implementation. On one hand, one can be bullish about having two sets of Level 3 signs at the airport, each with a distinct personality. On the other, one can be bearish due to the color scheme used on the East side. Given the fact the blue background on the east side is intended to give travelers visual cues as to whether they are on the correct side of the airport (and Lord knows travelers are already clueless enough as it is), I choose to go with the former attitude. Kudos DIA!

LVLT at DIA

Now that's what I call a Level 3 sign! Red, white and black (the desirable color scheme), the correct nomenclature and a spur to boot (sorry, I could not resist that last comment). Denver International Airport, my hat is off to you! -and no, there is no "hat level" at DIA, I checked!

The real deal

Such a nice day for a walk. Crisp, clean air. Sunny skies. And the threat of six inches of snow tonight with twenties for a high tomorrow. So I decided to break with the "lunch at my desk" routine and take a leisurely stroll. And there she was, staring me straight in the eyes. The Level 3 sign. It's kind of ironic that I drive by this sign every morning, yet it was conspicuously absent from this blog. No longer. This is what those other signs at parking lots and event centers aspire to be when they grow up. The real deal.

Lawyers and Letters

I must admit I was not expecting to make a blog entry today. I do, after all, have a DU picture on the blog already. I was intrigued, however, by the Sturm College of Law's implementation of the name. I don't think I've ever seen a "Level Three" (spelled-out) before. Leave it up to the lawyers and they'll find a way to use more letters (after all, isn't that how they charge for their services - by the number of characters used?)

3 Level?

I finally get around to visiting the Level 3 parking structure expecting the proper nomenclature to be used and... of course I'm disappointed. You'd think of all places in the world this would be where Level 3 would be proudly displayed. Go figure.