olympics

Olympics time again

Vancouver 2010It always seems that my blog gets more use when the Olympics are going on. Ironically, I’m very much not a sports fan except maybe for watching the Phillies. However, I’ve always enjoyed watching the Olympics, especially the Winter Games. I think it’s a combination of the fact that you get to see sports that you don’t see very often (many of which aren’t team sports that I find boring) and the fact that for a few weeks people from various countries actually get together and participate in something just for fun without political posturing and other such silliness.

So, get ready to see more blog entries over the next few weeks, and for the first time some tweets as well.

Posted by Michael in Randomness

Olympic History Online

Olympic FlagNow that the Beijing Olympics are over … well, they were pretty much over after the first week really, but that’s besides the point … you’ve probably seen all that you want to see about the 2008 Summer Games. However, take a look at the Olympic website for a really cool archive of all past Olympic Games, both Winter and Summer. It shows all medals, torches, logos, major stories, number of participants and much more.

Check it out here.

Posted by Michael in Interesting Links

Phelps Does It 8 Times

Michael PhelpsI haven’t posted much about the Olympics this time around partly because the Summer Games don’t interest me as much as the Winter Games. Unless you live in a cave, you have most certainly heard about the most interesting story to come out of Beijing. Of course, I’m talking about Michael Phelps. Everyone hoped he would beat Mark Spitz’s record and win 8 gold medals at these games. Yesterday, he did it. Oh, and did i mention he also set a world record in every single race except one where he “only” set an Olympic record?

There’s not much I can say that hasn’t already been said too many times over, but if you want to relive all 8 of his exciting races, visit NBC’s site for video of each and every race.

Posted by Michael in Interesting Links

Beijing Olympic Links

What sites am I following to keep up with the Olympics? Mainly, I’m checking out www.nbcolympics.com. Besides Olympic news and updates, it also features a huge amount of streaming video. I’d rather be watching it on TV in HD, but it’s a good way to catch on random and more obscure events.

I’ve also been checking in on the official Olympic site at www.beijing2008.cn. It might not be accessible from some places because one of the side effects of the Olympics being in China is that the official site is in the .cn domain. The Chinese domain is blocked on some networks because a lot of hacking and attacks tend to come out of China.

Posted by Michael in Interesting Links, Randomness

Interesting Opening Ceremonies

Political, environmental and security concerns aside, the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics are officially underway. The opening ceremony was unlike any other. The scale of it was above and beyond a normal opening cermony. China has a lot to prove with these Olympics and they are certainly trying hard.

The ceremony was very impressive. I thought parts were a little boring, but the technology involved was very impressive. The 2008 drummers all drumming was really striking. Though, I thought the funniest thing about it all was that the drummers were told to smile so they seemed less intimidating. (I didn’t actaully see many smiling, and frankly they were quite intimidating!)

Posted by Michael in Randomness

Beijing Olympics – What could go wrong?

I’ve always been a huge fan of the Olympics. I like the winter games the best, but I follow the summer games too. This year as the Beijing Summer Olympics get ready to start (Technically they already started, but I’ll skip the confusion of the time difference.) I have to point out that no the fun and excitement of the Olympics are tempered by the problems that could dampen these Olympics.

As you can see in the picture, smog and pollution cloud the skies. There have already been complaints of the press not getting the unfettered internet access that they were promised. I’m sure there will be plenty of protests throughout the games.

I’m not sure what prompted the IOC to decide giving the 2008 Summer Games to China was good idea, but hopefully it will end well. I’m not getting my hope up though.

Posted by Michael in Randomness

One last Olympic Link

OK, OK, so you’re tired of the Olympics. I’ve been talking about the Torino 2006 Winter Olympics for 2 weeks or more now. However, I have to point out one more link that I thought was pretty cool. On the Bejing 2008 Summer Olympics site they have a page that shows all of the medal designs used in every Olympic Games and the torch design as well. You might not agree, but I thought it’s pretty interesting to see how the designs have changed.

View the medals here and the torches here.

Posted by Michael in Interesting Links, Randomness

Torino 2006 Closes

Torino 2006It’s hard to believe that it was 16 days ago that I sat here in fron of a roaring fire watching the Opening Ceremony of the XX Olympic Winter Games in Torino. Now here I am sitting in front of a roaring fire watching the Closing ceremony. Lucky for the althletes and attendees of the ceremony it’s actually warmer there than it is here. It’s aout 40 degrees in Torino tonight, here it’s only in the teens!

If you’re looking for info on the next Winter Olympics, check out vancouver2010.com. If you want info on the upcoming Summer Olympics check out beijing2008.com or london2012.org.

In the meantime, I’ll still be watching the Torino Games for a few more days because I still have some left on my DVR that I haven’t watched yet. 🙂

Posted by Michael in Interesting Links, Randomness

Nothing predictable in Torino

While watching the Olympics over the past 14 days, I couldn’t quite put my finger on why I thought this year’s has been more interesting than some other years. The main reason that I could come up with was that this is the first time I had a DVR while watching the Olympics. It lets me completely skip over the really boring sports like hockey, figure skating and cross country.

However, tonight while watching the primetime broadcast I realized that there was something else. Jimmy Roberts mentioned during his nightly “Chevy Olympic Moment” that nothing has gone as predicted in these Olympics. He pointed out that there were no real sure things in these games. He also pointed out that so far during the Olympics, 26 different countries have won medals. There were some Japanese gold medalists, Croatian gold medalists, and many others you might not expect.

You can read/view tonight’s “Olympic Moment” on NBCOlympics.com.

Posted by Michael in Interesting Links, Randomness

Torino 2006 Widget

Looking for a way to keep up with the latest from the Olympics in Torino without having to head to the web? I finally found a good way. You very likely already use Konfabulator (now known as Yahoo! Widgets.) If not, go get it and then continue reading.

The Turin 2006 Winter Olympics widget puts the current medal count on your desktop and continuously updates it. It also gives you all the latest photos from the games and the day’s latest news.

Get the widget right here. It works on both Macintosh and Windows.

Posted by Michael in Interesting Links, Randomness