Laid-off workers do some virtual kvetching

Thousands of laid-off technology workers in Colorado got new reading material Wednesday, when a local Web design firm launched LaidOffColorado.com. Boulder-based Insight Designs Web Solutions created the site as a "resource for what the heck to do with yourself now," including links to classified job listings, inexpensive entertainment options, volunteer positions and a "whine & cheese room" for virtual kvetching.

The site is the newest symbol of the tough times facing Colorado, which has more tech and telecom workers per capita than any other state. Research labs, software developers and telecommunications companies in the state's tech corridor between Denver and Fort Collins have laid off thousands of workers, causing the statewide unemployment rate to surge 30.8 percent in the first nine months of 2001.