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[Asherdan]

[pmcd9]

Someone posted some pictures a couple of weeks ago of construction in Sochi that looked like the place was months if not years away from being ready for the games to begin. I assumed it was bullshit because, you know... I wonder why they keep having the games in places that are either too poor, or corrupt, or both to put on the games?

[Carlos del Vaca]

NBC News' Richard Engel: My Computers, Cellphone Were Hacked 'Almost Immediately' In Sochi
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/05/reporter-hacked-sochi-richard-engel_n_4731846.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000009&ir=Technology

[ianmalcolm2]

ughh. I've always loved the Olympics. Every two years I get gather with friends and family who have cable, swill brews, and furiously text international acquaintances as part of the one remaining event that allows me to feel just a lil bit of heartwarming (if imaginary) international fraternity. Starting with Beijing, though, I've have a harder time justifying my love of an event that upends and ruins entire neighbourhoods, displaces hundreds of poor people, and leaves behind facilities that'll be abandoned in two years.

That said, I'll still be glued to the TV in the coming days.

[jaydub]

It was me that posted the link to the photos, with the acknowledgement that selective editing could make a photo essay of San Francisco make the City look like the 3rd circle of Hell.  That said, many Olympics in recent memory (going back to Barcelona in '92) had warts the organizers wanted to hide as far as hasty construction, cost overruns, etc.  The Russians however, seem to be making a particularly spectacular dog's breakfast of the situation.  It lends credibility to the stories I have heard about the Soviet Army, where soldiers carried empty rifles and spray painted the grass in advance of inspections by top brass.  My prediction: the phrase "Potemkin Village" is going to get widely quoted.

[pmcd9]

So far I am enjoying the Olympics immensely. The Russian pairs figure skaters last night were incredible. Best I've ever seen.

[pmcd9]

I have a question, when did they add the grooves to the ski jump ramp?

[jaydub]

I was wondering about that too.  I don't remember them being there in the Vancouver games.

Poked around a little bit to solve the mystery.  Its a technology new to the Games this year.  Inconsistent snow conditions around Europe prompted some inventive German to create these tracks which are made of ceramic and have cooling tubes, water misters, and some sort of grooming/conditioning machine to make a consistent icy surface for the skiers.  The sport was being plagued by delays and cancellations due to global warming totally natural cycles of nature that man has nothing to do with.  Really.  Move along now.

  Here's a POV video.  If you're into those roller coaster rides that drop you 30 stories for a free-fall experience, ski jumping might be for you.  Holy smokes.

[Carlos del Vaca]

I have been back on the elliptical in the morning so that has been my Olympics time. I immensely enjoyed watching U.S. vs. Canadialand Women's Hockey this morning while I sweated it up. The Chicky-boo-boos were out there straight laying some wood on each other. I think Lady-Hockey is going to move into the #2 spot on my 'Woman Team Sport' list behind Softball. The speed and the dynamics of the game don't seem to suffer much when compared to the Guy version, like soccer and basketball do.

You know a sport where the women's version is better than the men's? Beach volleyball. (And not just for the obvious het-male reason.) The men's game, points tend to be very short--it's all about power, and there's little to no strategy. The women have longer rallies and it's a lot more exciting.

[pmcd9]

Here's another in my long series of old man who doesn't want to accept how some things have changed rants.

I have been maligning figure skating when referring to the so called extreme sports such as half pipe and slopestyle by saying that any sport that is judged is just figure skating. Then I realize that I really enjoy figure skating and that even though there is a lot in common between these sports they lack the grace and beauty of figure skating. I've long held that calling these sports extreme is laughable because they are tame compared to downhill skiing and ski jumping. But what really bugs me is the BS stoner style that are the uniforms. It has nothing to do with performance, it's just about being cool and nonchalant. They are wearing hoodies for God's sake. Well anyway, I'm enjoying watching men and women twirling around in the air, but I would enjoy it more if it didn't have a stupid and irrelevant veneer tacked onto it.

[KeithHernandez]

Yeah, that bugs me too.  I don't know why or have anything to add, but those are both the worst sports and the worst stoners.

[wombat]

But what really bugs me is the BS stoner style that are the uniforms. It has nothing to do with performance, it's just about being cool and nonchalant. They are wearing hoodies for God's sake.

I don't know if this is the same thing you're talking about, but I saw a bit of one of those wacky new flying around in the air type sports and they were wearing these crazy baggy clothes. These outfits have got to interfere with their aerodynamics. Is fashion really worth that? Whatever you say about how dumb figure skating outfits are, they're really careful the clothes don't interfere with what they need to do.

[AugustWest]

They're all doing shit that I can't do and probably never could.  The level of body awareness and control these folks (skiers, skaters, snowboarders, skeletoners, and whathaveyou) have is just astounding, not to mention strength and flexibility.

Also, I think biathlon would be hard as FUCK.  I'm shakey enough when I sit still.  Get my adrenalin going and I'm wobblier than Neil Young's voice.

[Choop]

are you all talking about the winter olympzzzzzz

[CortJstr]

are you all talking about the winter olympzzzzzz

At least it's not the summer games. There are events in the winter games I would watch if happened to turn on the tv at the right time (hockey, bobsled/luge/skeleton, crazy flippy in the air stuff) while the summer games are basically 3 weeks of paint drying with the occasional beach volleyball game.