Rugby, News, Latin, and Pinochle

(From Christophe Simon/AFT/Getty Images, via CNN, used w/o permission.)
"Rugby has become increasingly popular from Copacabana Beach to the rugby pitches of Rio de Janeiro and elsewhere"

"Olympic Games 2016: Samba sevens as Brazil granted rugby spots"
CNN (February 7, 2014)

"As a nation, Brazil might be better known for its round rather than oval-ball prowess but the World Cup host has been granted automatic spots in the rugby sevens at the 2016 Olympics.

"Sevens is making its Olympic bow in Rio de Janeiro and increasingly teams in the Brazilian city are seen practicing on the iconic Copacabana Beach and elsewhere - overall in the country, rugby participation in Brazil has risen by 25% since 2011...."

The Sochi Winter Olympics are over. Some folks won, some didn't, and now the world breathlessly awaits Olympics yet un-commentaried. If that wasn't a word before, it is now, but the Lemming digresses.

The Lemming has already seen one op-ed about the unfairness of the 2016 Olympics in Brazil, and is confident that there will be more of the same over the next year or so.

That's understandable, since editors have space to fill in their publications; and a persistent need for something, anything, to prevent those regularly-scheduled broadcasts from descending into ad-libbed witticisms.

Or, perhaps, for those who go for Baroque, a piacere: which has nothing to do with pizza.

On a more — or less — serious note, the Lemming recognizes the importance of rugby in the lives of so many of this world's people.

This brings to the Lemming's mind a question: why is there so very little attention paid to Pinochle?

Vaguely-related posts:

• "Night of the Creeping Tree"
  (February 21, 2014)
• "Starlit Clouds of Rho Ophiuchi, Puritan Privateers, and a Rambling Lemming"
  (December 6, 2013)
• "Chengdu's Huge New Mall, and a Musing Lemming"
  (August 30, 2013)
• "WR 104: Gamma Ray Bursts and a Musing Lemming"
  (January 4, 2013)
• "What do a wedding dress, an opera house, some purses, and a torch have in common?"
  (April 25, 2012)

Of Ravens and Rhymes: But Not Writing-Desks

Mercifully, the Lemming recalled that Poe's poem about a monomaniacal raven was loosed amid cries of "havoc!" last September. (September 13, 2013)

No, wait that's Antony's line: not in A. and Cleopatra, the other one. "Julius Caesar:" not to be confused with Orange Julius, or Jules Verne.

Since the Sochi Winter Olympics are still going strong, or cold, or whatever: the Lemming thought it only fitting to ponder, weak and weary, over many a — no, that's about a monomaniacal raven: not that saying "nevermore" necessarily constitutes mania. If your life won't be complete unless you read Poe's poem, here's a link: "The Raven," Edgar Allan Poe.

That reminded the Lemming of an unaccountable lacuna in the Olympic lineup. Why have the Olympic committees utterly overlooked the snicker-snack double biathlon?!

Maybe it's due to pressure from the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Jabberwocks. Or perhaps something more sinister. Dares the Lemming say it — ravens?!

It's Valentine's Day today, by the way: thankfully, the Lemming did not forget. And that's another topic.

Not-necessarily-related posts:

• "Sochi, Winter Olympics, Lint, and a Rambling Lemming"
  (February 7, 2014)
• "And Now, For Something Completely Different: Portable Buildings; and an Octopus Cartoon"
  (March 7, 2012)
• "From the Mind of the Lemming: Valentine's Day Dragons"
  (February 14, 2012)
• "Olympic Committee Rules for Social Media: Common Sense; or Signs of a Vast Conspiracy of Space Aliens?"
  (June 27, 2011)
• "How to Not Sound Crazy - or - THE PARANOIDS ARE AFTER ME!!!"
  (June 12, 2011)

Sochi, Winter Olympics, Lint, and a Rambling Lemming

"Sochi: After weeks of worry, a pretty smooth start to Olympics spectacle"
Laura Smith-Spark, Michael Martinez, CNN (February 6, 2014)

"Amid international concerns about security, the Sochi Games completed the first day of contests Thursday with high excitement and -- equally important -- no major adverse incident.

"After all the anxiety about a terror strike, controversy over gay rights and ridicule over poor preparations, the Winter Olympics commenced smoothly enough, as qualification events were held in the men's and women's slopestyle, women's moguls and team figure skating...."

A remarkable portion of news about the 2014 Winter Olympics is about sports: alpine skiing; snowboarding; and curling; but not, oddly enough, mascara.

On the other hand, automotive journalists cover Sochi cars and trucks, activist journalists cover Sochi unfairness, and animal journalists cover Sochi animals: or lack thereof. Which actually is a somewhat-serious issue. Oddly enough, nobody seems to have noticed the utter lack of lemmings in the official proceedings: which have little to do with Lemuria.

In deference to the time-honored, if not tome-honored, custom of dragging hobbyhorses behind "Olympics" coverage, the Lemming presents:


(from Ingomar Club, used w/o permission)

"Lint (material)"
Wikipedia

"Lint is the common name for visible accumulations of textile fibers and other materials, usually found on and around clothing. ... Lint is composed of threads of all colors, which blend hues and may appear to be a uniform grey....

"...Navel lint (also known by names such as navel fluff, belly button lint, belly button fluff, and dip lint) is an accumulation of fluffy fibers in the navel cavity. ... The reasons for its accumulation in the navel are a subject of speculation...."

Presumably Olympic Athletes occasionally find lint in their navels, but mainstream journalism has been strangely silent on the topic. The astute reader will note that the photograph of a magnificent domestic interior has little to do with lint, which is the Lemming's point precisely.

Points may be of the percentage, pivot, or Paris persuasion, but the Lemming digresses.

Posts which have almost nothing to do with this one:

• "Hellgrammite: A Lake, a Character, and a - Thing"
  (February 27, 2011)
• "Rabbit, Snow: Disapproval"
  (December 1, 2010)
• "Carson Mansion, Eureka California"
  (May 26, 2010)
• "The Coconut Crab: No, It's Not From a Science Fiction Movie"
  (September 25, 2009)
• "Protesting Against New Technology - the Early Days"
  (February 23, 2009)

Olympics 2012: "The Fans Will See Something Different"

First, the good news.

Someone convinced the North Korean football (soccer here in America) team to come back.

Now the bad news.

Somehow, a North Koran athlete's picture - with a South Korean flag - showed up on a one of those King-Kong-size screens at the football venue. Then the North Korean team walked out.

Can't blame them, in the Lemming's opinion. North and South Korea haven't been on particularly good terms for several decades: and North Korea's leadership has earned a reputation for being sensitive about insufficiently loyal subjects.

Even in a less tense situation, getting the flag wrong wouldn't win friends. Think about it: would a Canadian hockey player appreciate it, if the Olympic stadium megascreen showed his picture - with the United States stars and bars?

Not that Canada and the United States have the sort of relationship that North and South Korea have. Happily: the Lemming lives close to the Canadian border. It's just a couple hundred miles north.

Opening Ceremony - With 1/7 of the World Watching

"London Olympics final countdown begins"
(July 27, 2012 )

"The opening ceremony of the London Olympics is due to take place later after seven years of preparations.

"The three-hour spectacle in the Olympic Stadium is expected to be viewed by a global TV audience of a billion people.

"The final day of the torch relay will see the Olympic flame taken along the Thames on royal rowbarge Gloriana - and then used to light the cauldron that will shine during 16 days of sport.

"The Games will see the biggest UK peacetime security operation mounted.

"Organisers have released a video clip giving a sneak preview of Oscar winner Danny Boyle's opening ceremony, featuring groups in colourful stage outfits dancing to Tiger Feet by 1970s rock group Mud and cyclists with wings pedalling along to Come Together by the Beatles...."

From today to August 12, the Lemming is confident that there will be no shortage of 2012 Olympics news. The get-together's official website is www.london2012.com, by the way.

By the time you see this post, the opening ceremonies will probably have started: and the Lemming will almost certainly be sleeping. It's a matter of time zones. There's an ocean and about a third of a continent between the Lemming and London: and the Lemming needs sleep.

Oops: North Korean Athletes, South Korean Flag

"South Korean flag flies above North Korean football team at London Olympics"
news.com.au (July 26, 2012)

"GREAT Britain is known as the home of football so it should have been the last place on earth where a gaffe disgraced an Olympic Games....

"...Yet a diplomatic blunder - in which a North Korea player was introduced on the giant screen accompanied by a picture of the South Korean flag - sent the London Games into damage control just 48 hours before the official Opening Ceremony.

"The flag faux pas occurred as North Korea prepared to play Colombia at Glasgow's Hampden Park and it prompted the team to refuse to take the field, delaying the start of the game by more than an hour....

"...With FIFA introducing pre-match procedures to avoid match day disasters 24 hours before kick off, its appointed technical committee in Glasgow seemingly put its trust in Hampden Park's venue manager, Andy Mitchell.

"Ironically Mitchell - a former Scottish Football Association communications director - told The Scotsman on Wednesday 'the fans will see something different' before yesterday's embarrassing flag incident...."

Surely Mitchell didn't have the flag switch in mind when he said "something different."

Again, from news.com.au:

"...A FIFA source last night confirmed big screen graphics and stadium public address systems are in the hands of the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (LOCOG) during the Olympic football tournament...."
(news.com.au)

Then, in their apology, LOCOG called the country "North Korea." That's what folks in the English-speaking world call the Korean Democratic People's Republic. "North Korea" is shorter: but it's not the correct, formal, name of the country in English. On top of the flag foul-up, that error required another apology.

Eventually, LOCOG seems to have apologized without causing a new incident, and the Olympics got going again.

Maybe the flag fuss seems like a lot of protest over a small offense. Maybe not. The Lemming thinks it would have been nice of LOCOG, or whoever was running the show, had paid more attention to details. Like which flag goes with which country.

Related posts:

• "What do a wedding dress, an opera house, some purses, and a torch have in common?"
  (April 25, 2012)
• "Olympic This, Olympic That, and Chobham Academy"
  (March 14, 2012)
• "And Now, For Something Completely Different: Portable Buildings; and an Octopus Cartoon"
  (March 7, 2012)
• "Olympic Committee Rules for Social Media: Common Sense; or Signs of a Vast Conspiracy of Space Aliens?"
  (June 27, 2011)
• "Beijing Olympics Closes With Style: Next Stop, London"
  (August 24, 2008)

What do a wedding dress, an opera house, some purses, and a torch have in common?

"Olympic Torch Voted Design of Year Before London’s Games"
Farah Nayeri, Bloomberg (April 24, 2012)

"The Olympic torch was voted Design of the Year in a U.K. contest, as judges chose to reward the sporting emblem in the year of the 2012 London Olympic Games.

Designed by London-based Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby, the tapered rod has 8,000 holes representing the 8,000 bearers who will carry it over 8,000 miles (12,874 kilometers). Runners-up in the 'Design of the Year 2012' announced today included Catherine Middleton's wedding gown, a Zaha Hadid opera house in China, and Vivienne Westwood handbags made in Kenya...."

The Bloomberg article doesn't say how folks judged the relative merits of a ventilated torch, a wedding dress, an opera house, and some handbags. Sure, they were looking at 'design' in each case: but design criteria for an opera house and a wedding gown aren't all that similar. Come to think of it, though, the torch and the handbags may be roughly the same size: and both are designed to be carried.

Maybe that odd lot of entrants isn't so unrelated, after all. Still: a wedding dress and an opera house?

Here's a photo of the opera house in question. Looks pretty cool, in the Lemming's opinion.


(Iwan Baan/Design Museum, via Bloomberg, used w/o permission)
"The Guangzhou Opera House, designed by Pritzker Prize winner Zaha Hadid. The building is nominated for the Design of the Year award, organized by the Design Museum in London. Photographer: Iwan Baan/Design Museum via Bloomberg"

The Guangzhou Opera House looks very impressive from this angle, but the photo raises some questions. Is the camera at eye level? If so, why aren't there any handrails on the left side of that - is it a walkway? And if that's a reflecting pool to the right, what does it look like when there's a breeze?

Oh, well: It's still a cool photo.

Related posts:

• "Olympic This, Olympic That, and Chobham Academy"
  (March 14, 2012)
• "And Now, For Something Completely Different: Portable Buildings; and an Octopus Cartoon"
  (March 7, 2012)
• "Eco-Bridge or Not, This Looks Like a Good Idea"
  (February 20, 2009)
• "The 2008 Olympics 'Water Cube:' Looks Cool, Retains Heat, and Keeps Itself Clean"
  (August 22, 2008)
• "China's Cool New Buildings: Eco-Aware, Too"
  (October 15, 2007)

Olympic This, Olympic That, and Chobham Academy

"London Olympics Architecture : Buildings Information + Images"
e-architect.co.uk

It's basically a link page, where you can go to photos of the London Olympics Shooting Venue, Olympic Aquatics Centre, an areal view of the Olympic Park (under construction), Olympic Stadium, and Olympic Village.

And, for reasons that weren't immediately clear to the Lemming, Chobham Academy.

Related posts:

• "And Now, For Something Completely Different: Portable Buildings; and an Octopus Cartoon"
  (March 7, 2012)
• "Houston, Texas; Civic Pride; Futuristic Architecture; and Admiral Horatio Nelson"
  (February 1, 2012)
• "Rogers Centre / SkyDome, Toronto, Canada"
  (July 16, 2010)
• "Eco-Bridge or Not, This Looks Like a Good Idea"
  (February 20, 2009)
• "China's Cool New Buildings: Eco-Aware, Too"
  (October 15, 2007)

And Now, For Something Completely Different: Portable Buildings; and an Octopus Cartoon

"Athletic builds: the architecture of the London 2012 Olympics"
Steve Rose, Culture > Art and design > Architecture, theguardian (UK) (March 5, 2012)

"You've seen the pool, the stadium and the velodrome – now here's the octopus-tentacle shooting range and the multicoloured rubber bridge. Steve Rose looks at the hidden architectural highlights of London 2012


"Olympic octopus … Magma's shooting gallery. Photograph: J.L.Diehl
(via guardian.co.uk, used w/o permission)

"For the first half of the 20th century, architecture featured as an Olympic event. Medals in the 'culture games' were also awarded for sports-related endeavours in the fields of music, painting, literature and even town-planning. But the practice was abandoned after the 1948 games, when the last gold medals for architecture went to an Austrian ski-jump and an athletics centre in Finland...."

There's more, partly about the Royal Institute of British Architects, the Velodrome, Zaha Hadid, and why London in 2012 won't look like Beijing in 2008. Also a refreshing bit of common sense labeled as "sustainable:" a basketball area and shooting venue that event organizers can move around the world. Or to Glasgow.

By far not the worst idea the Lemming's seen.

This Video has Nothing to do with the Olympics

And now, for something completely different: an animated cartoon about two octopuses. Octopi. Octopods. Oh, never mind.

"Octopus cartoon"

elgreco01, YouTube (November 25, 2008)
video, 2:26

Enjoy.Related (?) posts:

• Apocalypse, Olympics, architecture, and all that
  
  • "Mayan Apocalypse Transition: Book a Galactic Cruise; or Take the Cosmic Bike Tour"
    (February 3, 2012)
  • "Olympic Committee Rules for Social Media: Common Sense; or Signs of a Vast Conspiracy of Space Aliens?"
    (June 27, 2011)
  • "Wiggly Buildings and Other Weirdness"
    (September 13, 2010)
  • "Rogers Centre / SkyDome, Toronto, Canada"
    (July 16, 2010)
  • "China Olympics and Algae: Bad News, Good News, Bad News"
    (July 3, 2008)
• Octopi - octopuses - octopods - whatever
  • "A Somewhat Paranoid Look at Cute, Deadly, Animals"
    (February 5, 2010)
  • "Dumbo Octopus: Two Eyes, Eight Tentacles, and Wings"
    (February 1, 2010)
  • "And Now, for Something Completely Different: Animated Octopuses - Octopods - Octopi - More Than One Animated Octopus"
    (November 13, 2009)
  • "The Answer You've Been Waiting For: How Many Arms Does an Octopus Have?"
    (August 16, 2008)
  • "Forget Henry the Eighth: Meet Henry the Hexapus"
    (March 4, 2008)

Olympic Committee Rules for Social Media: Common Sense; or Signs of a Vast Conspiracy of Space Aliens?

"Olympic Bosses Set Guidelines for Tweeting Athletes"
Erik Malinowski, Playbook, Wired (June 27, 2011)

"The International Olympic Committee has released guidelines on how athletes at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London may engage in social media, an effort clearly designed to avoid the sort of confusion that occurred nearly 18 months ago in Vancouver.

" 'The IOC actively encourages and supports athletes … to take part in "social media" and to post, blog and tweet their experiences,' the guidelines state (.pdf). 'Broadly speaking, the IOC wants people to share their experiences through social media. As a general rule, the IOC encourages all social media and blogging activity at the Olympic Games as long as it is not for commercial and/or advertising purposes.'..."

So far, so good. It's nice to think that the International Olympic Committee can learn. And apply what's been learned.

"...Well, if anything, it should certainly curtail the type of promo-only tweeting we often see from Olympic athletes. But beyond scaling back on this sort of commercialism that could distract from the competitions, IOC officials undoubtedly expect this move to cut down on some of the questions that arose during the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia...."

The Lemming suspects that part of the trouble is that the big shots who get to be on international committees are around the Lemming's age. Nothing wrong with that, by itself. But the Lemming stayed in touch with what 'the help' were doing: quite often by being 'the help,' and that's another topic.

That meant that the Lemming knew how to use a typewriter - a vital skill for 'clerical' types, not so much for success-track executives. Manual typewriters: the Lemming's that old. Being able to type maybe 50 words a minute ('good enough,' barely) gave the Lemming a head start when the Disk Operating System, and computers with stunningly huge internal memory¹ came along.

The Lemming's rambled on about this before:

• "Why Your Boss Doesn't Understand the Information Age"
  Starting a Small Business Without Losing Your Mind (August 9, 2010)

"Olympism?!"

"...IOC honchos are expecting the athletes (as always) to best on their best Twitter behavior.

" 'Postings, blogs and tweets should at all times conform to the Olympic spirit and fundamental principles of Olympism as contained in the Olympic Charter, be dignified and in good taste, and not contain vulgar or obscene words or images,' the rules stipulate...."

The Lemming was not aware that "Olympism" was a word. In context, it's pretty clearly a noun, probably meaning something like 'of or pertaining to the Olympics.' And if it wasn't a word before, it is now. Languages - living ones - change, grow, develop. Someone really should let the folks running France know that. And that's definitely another topic. (Another War-on-Terror Blog (June 6, 2011))

The Olympics, Vast Secret Conspiracies, and the Lemming

Back to that article. Last time. Promise.

"...Additionally, no website URLs will be allowed to contain the words 'Olympic' or 'Olympics' in the primary domain, unless they have been pre-approved by the IOC. And, as before, fans and athletes will not be allowed to post audio or video of any events to Twitter, Facebook or personal blogs...."

The IOC controls what folks can name their domains?! Okay - maybe that's part of what's been getting sorted out, as intellectual property laws and customs are catching up with today's information technology. Well, moving in the right direction. Maybe.

It occurs to the Lemming that the 'no Olympic/Olympics' in domain names may be sort of rough on folks who want to start something online about ancient Greece, or Mount [redacted], or Greco-Roman mythology.

Well, as we say here in Minnesota - it could be worse.

Or - - - maybe Wired let a little-known aspect of the Vast Global Worldwide Conspiracy of International Oligarchic Control ("IOC" doesn't stand for International Olympic Committee, although dupes of the lizard-men think that's so - - -

IOC STANDS FOR INTERNATIONAL OLIGARCHIC CONTROL - WHO ARE

THE REAL RULERS OF EARTH!!!!!!!

They're the ones who killed John Lennon, and put the face on Mars, and faked the moon landing to cover up the real reason that Kennedy was killed: which was so Elvis could elope with Marilyn Monroe, who had been hiding in plain sight disguised as Jackie Kennedy - who couldn't have married Onassis, since he's one of the shape-shifting space-alien lizard-men who really run the world.

You See??!!! IT ALL FITS TOGETHER!!!!!!!!

Maybe the Lemming shouldn't joke about that - somebody might believe it.

Or the lizard-men might be upset.

Or something.

Related posts:

• "Lemming Tracks: 2010 Commonwealth Games and Bad Publicity"
  (September 26, 2010)
• "Chinese Olympics: A Bit on the Control Freak Side?"
  (August 4, 2008)
• "Watching the Olympics Online: Some Advice"
  (February 22, 2010)
• "Athletes, Social Media, Rules and the 2010 Olympics"
  (February 6, 2010
• "China Olympics and Algae: Bad News, Good News, Bad News"
  (July 3, 2008)

Not-so-related posts:

• "How to Not Sound Crazy - or - THE PARANOIDS ARE AFTER ME!!!"
  (June 12, 2011)
• "Nuclear Weapons, Space Aliens, Conspiracy Theories, and Getting a Grip"
  (September 24, 2010)
• "Why is it So Hard to Find a Comprehensive History of Blotting Paper?"
  (March 2, 2010)
• "Haiti's Earthquake Caused by - You Guessed it - Yankee Imperialists"
  (January 21, 2010)
• "Beware the Lizard People! (I'm Not Making This Up)"
  (January 21, 2009)

---

¹ The early hard drives paled in comparison to the later titans - which sometimes could store as much as 30 megabytes of data!

Watching the Olympics Online: Some Advice

"Watch the Olympics Online"
How-to Wiki, Wired (undated)

"The 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada, are in full swing. Many events are being broadcast either live or same-day (with a tape delay) by the major networks. But there's even more action to be found online.

"NBC is the games' official media outlet in the United States, and the network will be providing thousands of hours of content on the web. However, the only way to truly ensure you won't miss...."

Cutting to the chase:

"...Here's a list of online destinations for getting your fix of the snowiest of sporting events...."

And then, there's a list - with links.

I'm not sure quite what to make of some of the advice - but I suppose it's safe to assume that the Wired legal department made sure that what they're suggesting is fairly safe and legal.

Or, not.

Winter Olympics: One Gold Medal Down, More to Go

"Ammann glides to normal hill gold"
Reuters Canada (February 13, 2010)

"Swiss ski jumper Simon Ammann won the first gold medal of the Vancouver Winter Games on Saturday, sweeping aside his Austrian rivals to win the individual normal gold contest...."

On the off chance that you don't know about this already, here's a website that's tracking the 2010 Winter Olympics gold medals:

• Vancouver Olympic Games Medals Results Sports : Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics

Enjoy.

Winter Olympics: It's On in Vancouver

"Games open in Canada's wintry indoor paradise"
Reuters Canada (February 13, 2010)

"A snowboarder soared through the Olympic rings and skiers schussed down mountains in the unlikely confines of a stadium as Canada whipped up a wintry wilderness for Friday's opening of the 2010 Winter Games.

"Vancouver staged the first indoor opening ceremony in the 86-year history of the Winter Games, an ironic choice for a nation with more outdoors than almost any other place as the world's second largest country.

"On the big white canvas of BC Place, Canada painted starry skies, polar bears, blue ice and indigenous icons, with the participation of 60,000 'pixels' (spectators and athletes) to welcome the world to its cold yet coveted paradise.

"In what appeared to be the sole glitch of the night, only three of the four giant icicles supporting an Olympic cauldron emerged from the floor...."

Everybody else on the planet seems to be writing about the Winter Olympics in Canada: so I figured I'd put in my two cents' worth.

First of all "ironic choice" or not - I think the Olympic planners were smart to put the opening ceremonies inside. Not that the 48°F / 9°C it was there when I checked is all that bad. This time of year, here in central Minnesota, that'd be downright torrid. (It got up to 40°F on this date, back in 1967, but that's freakishly hot.)

Then there was that luge accident. I trust that: first, if there was an equipment failure it's been found and fixed; second, that we continue to see and hear about the more positive events at the Olympics.

Okay. I've written about the Winter Olympics.

Now, what else is there online?

Athletes, Social Media, Rules and the 2010 Olympics

"Athletes Confused by Olympic Social Media Rules"
Epicenter, Wired (February 5, 2010)

"American skier Lindsey Vonn, one of the potential stars of the 2010 Winter Olympics, told her nearly 35,000 Twitter followers that she would not be posting to the social network until after the Games were over, perhaps based on a faulty understanding of the International Olympic Committee's rules on blogging and social networking.

Vonn wrote that “because of the Olympic rules (blackout period) I will not be able to post any updates from now until march 3rd. Sorry, it bums me out too!” In the update, which was also posted to Vonn's Facebook account, she encouraged fans to keep sending her messages.

But there is no Olympic rule that sets up a blackout period for athletes according to Bob Condron, the Director of Media Services for the United States Olympic Committee...."

I'd love to see the rules - as they were presented to the athletes. The explanation given in the Wired article was fairly straightforward and lucid.

Off on a Tangent: Bureaucratese

You may or may not find "bureaucratese" in your dictionary. It's a sort of language often used by bureaucrats to (in my opinion) make their jobs look important, and make the simple seem complex.

Like this bit of instruction. See if you can figure out what I'm writing about.

Utilization of Articulated Binary Power Allocation Device

Approach the Articulated Binary Power Allocation Device (ABPAD) in bipedal locomotion mode, extending the arm, forearm and hand in such a manner as to place the distal segment of the index finger in close proximity to the ABPAD.

Determine the current power utilization state of the task-, transport-, storage- or other institutional enclosed volume under consideration and make a decision as to the advisability of altering this state through use of the ABPAD: requesting the services of an authorized agent, if your ABPAD utilization authority does not extend to the ABPAD whose utilization you are considering.

Should your authority, or the authority of the authorized agent, allow you to change the current power utilization state, and should such a change be called for, place the distal segment of your index finger on the ABPAD, applying pressure at an approximately 90 (ninety) degree angle to primary axis of the ABPAD articulated member until said pressure reaches a point sufficient to initiate appropriate motion of the ABPAD articulated member....

Oi. That sort of obfuscation was a bit more common, in my youth. I do not get nostalgic over 'the good old days,' as a rule.

Feline Ping Pong: A New Sport?

"ping pong cat"

mutleey, YouTube (December 13, 2008)
video, 2:00

"cat wants to play ping pong"

Lively music and two minutes of a black cat playing ping pong with two kids. The video has clearly been edited from raw footage - I'm pretty sure that a number of the sections are repeated. But it's fun to watch. Well, I enjoyed it: an you might, too.

It's probably too late for the 2012 London Olympics, but I think we may be looking on a fresh new variation on ping pong here: Ping pong with two players, a table, and a cat. Maybe it could be called feline ping pong. Or cat pong. That sounds weird. Maybe cing cong. No, that reminds me of Fay Wray.

All the Olympic committee needs to do is come up with an Olympic-standard cat, and we're good to go.

I've heard that the Olympics is about meeting and overcoming challenges: and what would be more challenging than a ping pong match, with the reputation of your country at stake, the whole world watching - and a cat trying to catch the ball?

Brazil Blackout: It Could Have Been Worse

"Power restored in Brazil after blackouts"
CNN (November 11, 2009)

"Electricity returned early Wednesday to a large swath of central and southern Brazil that was plunged into darkness when power from a major hydroelectric dam was lost.

"Up to 18 of Brazil's 26 states were left without power when electricity from the Itaipu dam was interrupted around 10:15 p.m. (7:15 p.m. ET) Tuesday, leaving Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and other cities in darkened chaos...."

Obviously, folks in Brazil - now that Job One of getting the power grid working again is done - are very curious about why the power went out in the first place. My guess is that whoever is in charge is highly motivated to make sure it doesn't happen again, any time soon.

Still, it could be worse: This blackout could have happened during the Olympics.

More:

• "Brazil's Big Blackout Raises More Questions for the Olympics"
  Time (November 11, 2009)

Rio de Janeiro Gets the 2016 Games - Now the Work Begins

"Rio de Janeiro to host 2016 Olympics"
CNN (October 2, 2009)

"Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, will host the 2016 Summer Olympic Games, the International Olympic Committee announced Friday.

"The announcement brought tears to Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who dabbed his eyes with a handkerchief several times in a news conference afterward.

" 'Our hour has arrived,' he said. 'It has arrived.'

"In Rio, jubilation erupted at the world-famous Copacabana beach, where thousands of people gathered to hear the announcement.

"Rio organizers promised to start working immediately to make the games a success.

" 'Maybe some of the people tomorrow can rest,' said Rio 2016 President Carlos Nuzman. 'I'm not [resting].'..."

The 2016 games might have been in at Madrid, Spain; or Chicago, Illinois; or Tokyo, Japan. But that's not the way it turned out.

I'm pretty sure there will be Monday-morning-quarterbacking tomorrow, about how it's not fair, and Madrid, or Chicago, or Tokyo - or Khayelitsha, or Palembang, or some other place should have gotten assigned as host.

As it is, folks in Rio have a great excuse to spruce up their city, fix any chronic shortcomings in the city's infrastructure, and put up eye-popping buildings that will draw tourists and business conventions for years - decades, if they do it right - after the games are over.

All in all, sounds good for Rio.

2010 Olympics: 19 Venues, 23 Committees; and Running Behind Schedule

"India admits 2010 Games problems"
BBC (September 15, 2009)

"India needs to take immediate steps to ensure that it is in a position to host the 2010 Commonwealth Games, a top sports official has said.

"The Indian Olympics Association secretary general, Randhir Singh, said some of the concerns raised over the progress of preparations were valid.

"His comments follow a warning from the Commonwealth Games chief that Indian plans were severely behind schedule.

"There are also concerns over security arrangements and housing for guests.

"In a letter to the local organising committee, Commonwealth Games Federation chief Mike Fennell is reported to have warned that India's preparations were behind schedule...."

A few months ago, the article says, a government report said that development on 13 of 19 sports venues was running behind schedule. A bit over 2/3 running behind? Yeah, I'd say that could be an issue.

Randhir Singh says the venues and the infrastructure to support them will be ready.

"...'There is not a lot to be fixed, but we have to get it activated,' Mr Singh said.

"Earlier, he told The Indian Express newspaper that games authorities needed to 'wake up, decentralise, ensure our concerned departments and stakeholders come together. Knowing the capabilities that we have, there is no reason why we can't deliver'.

"Mr Singh said there were 23 committees looking into various organisational aspects of the Games, but 'the chairmen of those committees hardly meet'...."

With so much to lose, I think that India will, somehow, get their 2010 Olympic venues up and running - even if it means committee chairmen duct-taping pipes together themselves. They're off to a good start: the Indian supreme court threw out an environmentalist lawsuit, involving humans and the River Yamuna.

Mr. Singh's advice to "wake up, decentralize" is a hopeful sign, too. Apart from justifying the existence of quite a few positions in management, I don't think that a company works better when it's micro-managed. Think about it: how much work gets done, while a supervisor's supervisor holds up last week's restock of office supplies, deciding which brand of pen to order?

I'll admit to a bias: I think it makes sense to find a few people who have the necessary skills, give them the specifications and the deadline, ask what they'll need, and then get out of the way.

I ran into an observation about management styles some time ago: "The perfect emperor does nothing, rides on the perfection of his ministers." Lockheed called a division of their company that's run that way "The Skunk Works."

Back to India: From the BBC article, it sounds like the people responsible for getting India's Olympic venues up and running are going through a learning experience. As I said, I think the odds are that they'll get the job done: one way or another.

Related posts:

• "The Skunk Works: Why Doesn't Everybody Work This Way?"
  (August 31, 2009)

Eco-Bridge or Not, This Looks Like a Good Idea

"Chicago Eco-Bridge to 2016"
Jetson Green (February 20, 2009)

"This conceptual proposal for Chicago's Monroe Harbor was designed in honor of the great American architect Daniel Burnham, but perhaps more importantly, to secure Chicago's bid for the 2016 Olympic games. The proposal is a modern interpretation of Burnam's 1909 master plan for Chicago. In a land locked city, the Chicago Eco-Bridge offers an extension of the landscape that would dramatically change the face of the city, and perhaps the United States...."

The post does a good job of describing this impressive - and ambitious - project, with maps, renderings, and a diagram or two. In one of the renderings, the "central observation tower" looks a lot like Brancusi's "Bird in Space:" on a gargantuan scale. "Chicago Eco-Bridge to 2016" compares it to "a next-generation Statue of Liberty of sorts, welcoming the world once again to America."

That reference to "the great American architect Daniel Burnham" may be a little obscure. From Chicago Park District:

"...Chicago's famous architect and planner Daniel H. Burnham imagined Northerly Island as one of the northernmost points in a series of manmade islands stretching between Grant and Jackson Parks. His vision for this park included lagoons, harbors, beaches, recreation areas, a scenic drive and grand stretches of green space that would provide breathtaking views of the lake and City skyline...."

Northerly Island was the only part of the island chain build, and for a half-century or so it was mostly a small airfield: Meigs Field. Since 1996, Meigs Field has been gone, and Northerly Island is growing into something closer to Burnham's idea.

More about Northerly Island, at:

• "Northerly Island "
  Chicago Park District (Spring, 2009)

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Beijing Olympics Closes With Style: Next Stop, London

The 2008 Olympics in Beijing is over. The closing ceremony was spectacular, with fireworks, drums, and Jackie Chan.

There was even a red double-decker London bus, part of the short 'meet us in London' show put on to whet people's appetites for the 2012 London Olympics.

Quite a bit of what happened in Beijing was good news. Liu Xiang almost made it to the first hurdle in the 110-meter men's hurdles: which, considering the condition he was in, was doing very well indeed.

Google Made a great many logos for themselves, with Olympics themes (Thirteen in all, now displayed at "2008 Summer Games Doodle.")

Abhinav Bindra won India's first individual gold medal.

Chinese athletes won 100 medals, 51 of them gold.

American athletes didn't do too badly, with 110 medals. 36 of those were gold.

There's a pretty good chart of which countries won how many of what sort of medal at the official Olympics website's "Overall Medal Standings" page.

Not everybody's happy, of course. Human rights groups were disappointed that world leaders didn't bawl out China for human rights abuses. Reporters were annoyed because China blocked websites with improper content: like criticism of China's policies. And protesters didn't like China's restrictions on demonstratons. The last I heard, eight American protesters are still being held. I'm not so worried about them, as I am about Ji Sizun, a Chinese protester who disappeared when the Olympics began. I haven't been able to find news about him, apart from his disappearance.

But aside from that, the 2008 Olympics went very well.

More, in the news:

• "Grand spectacle closes Beijing's Olympics"
  CNN (August 24, 2008)
• "Beijing finale has star power"
  The Seattle Times (August 24, 2008)
• "Mixed Legacy in China as Olympic Games End"
  FOXNews (August 24, 2008)

Lego Olympics: Three Videos

"Lego Olympic Games 2008 Swimming Freestyle"
YouTube video (August 13, 2008)

video 0:37

This Lego stop-action animation of an Olympic swimming event is quite short - and includes a replay of the animation. Just the same, it's well-done, and fun to watch.

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"Lego Olympic Games
YouTube video (August 05, 2008)

video 0:31

"Cute" is a pretty good one-word review of this video. Unlike others, it's mechanical puppetry, not stop-action animation.

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"Lego Olympic Games 2008 Gymnastics
YouTube video (August 12, 2008)

video 0:39

Twenty-four seconds of really good stop-action animation with Legos. The rest is a simple set of credits.

Lego Olympics: About a Third of This Video is Amusing

"Lego Olympics Beijing 2008 Yang Wei Gymnastics"
YouTube video (Lego Olympics Beijing 2008 Yang Wei Gymnastics)

Video 3:16

I almost didn't post this, but the first third of the video is quite good.

The first 1 minute, 20 seconds, is a well-done stop-action animation of a Lego figure doing gymnastics. The rest is "Lego News" that highlights the last-minute switch of opening ceremonies singers and the CGI fireworks. Then comes what I think is meant to represent a large-scale bombing of the Beijing Olympic venues. Tasteless? I think so, but your experience may vary.

I can't say that I recommend more than the first 1:20 of this video: but that part's well done.