I saw this banner downtown, near Fountain Square. Clever use of the pole as the neck of the giraffe.
Evidently, there’s a new Giraffe exhibit at Zoo. I haven’t been to Zoo in a while except for the Cheetah Run, so I didn’t realize that they didn’t have Giraffes there.
Monthly Archives:
August 2008
From Guardian.co.uk: Architecture after the flame goes out
But just two years after the Games left town, Athens officials – facing upkeep costs of more than $74m per year for athletic venues that were not used after the Games’ end – started thinking about tearing venues down.
An interesting article about the historical investments into Olympic stadiums and their use post-Olympics.
From NYTimes.com: After Glow of Games, What Next for China?
To a large degree, the Beijing Games reflected the might of the centralized power of China’s authoritarian system: The stunning sports stadiums contributed to a $43 billion price tag for the Games that was almost completely absorbed by the state. China’s 51 gold medals, the most of any nation, were the product of a state-controlled sports machine. Those successes are one reason that some analysts doubt Chinese leaders will rush to change the status quo.
In contrast, the Chicago bid for the 2016 games has a price tag of between $2-3 billion dollars.
From CNN.com: Founding Fathers’ dirty campaign
Things got ugly fast. Jefferson’s camp accused President Adams of having a “hideous hermaphroditical character, which has neither the force and firmness of a man, nor the gentleness and sensibility of a woman.”
In return, Adams’ men called Vice President Jefferson “a mean-spirited, low-lived fellow, the son of a half-breed Indian squaw, sired by a Virginia mulatto father.”
Makes today’s negative campaigning seem pretty tame by comparison.
I saw this banner ad and I had to check the news to see if Lieberman was actually announced as McCain’s VP.
Nope. Not yet. But he might as well lobby for the job since it looks like he’s burnt his last bridge with the Democrats. It’s amazing to think that Lieberman could have been finishing his second term as a Al Gore’s Vice President, as well as being on his way to becoming President as many VP’s have become.
From NewHavenRegister.com: EDITORIAL: Lieberman makes final break with Dems
Lieberman, 66, has another four years in his Senate term. If he were up for re-election today, he would likely be swept away by the state’s strong antiwar sentiment. Voters did not elect him to campaign for a Republican president.
From mobilecomputermag.co.uk: Is the iPhone’s predictive text too clever for its own good?
The iPhone’s predictive text doesn’t allow you to type the word “sesame” letter by letter.
If you try typing S-E-S, and then try to type an “A”, only an “S” shows up. The only way to type it is to go ahead and type “S”, backspace and then correctly type in the rest.
However, if you just type it in fast and not look at what you’re typing, “sesame” shows up as the correction. So if you just type in “sessme” or “swsame”, “sesame” shows up as the correction.
Kind of weird.
There’s a video in the article above of someone trying to type in the word Damiera. The word Flickr also has this same problem.
From Golf.com: Tiger Woods walks on water (seriously)
From NYTimes.com: With Solo in Goal, U.S. Women Win Gold in Overtime
Solo had been especially close to her father. She described him as a homeless man, but said he served as her inspiration with his candor and effervescence. She had dedicated a championship in the 2007 World Cup to his memory, only to have her plans come undone in the semifinal match against Brazil.
There was much about her father she did not know, including his real name. He was variously known as Jeffrey, Johnny and Jerry. He was a Vietnam veteran from the Bronx, who moved to Seattle, lived in a tent and may have been in a witness protection program, Solo said. He died before many of her questions were answered.
After being estranged, Jeffrey Solo reconnected with Hope when she attended the University of Washington from 1999-2002. He attended her games and she often took macaroni and cheese to the tent where he lived, a place where they talked for hours.
I had heard about the controversial benching of Hope Solo last year at the Women’s World Cup, but I guess I missed the story about her father being homeless.
From NYTimes.com: Obama Counts McCain’s Houses
If John McCain had tried to play into Barack Obama’s strategy of sounding out of touch with ordinary people, he could not have done better than to say in an interview that he didn’t know how many houses he had.
“I think — I’ll have my staff get to you,” Mr. McCain told reporters for The Politico in an interview in New Mexico on Wednesday. “It’s condominiums where — I’ll have them get to you.”
Working class people, McCain feels your pain.
From Kottke.org via Daring Fireball: Great Olympic moments on YouTube
A collection of some of the greatest athletic moments of the Olympics.
A couple of things that stand out in the videos.
Women’s uneven bar in gymnastics is a totally different event now than in the past. The uneven bars are spaced further apart now and gymnasts barely use the lower bar.
Michael Johnson’s WR run in the 200m is equally as impressive as Usain Bolt’s 200m. It looks like Michael Johnson slowed down in the end just like Bolt did in the 100m. If Johnson had run through a little harder at the end he might still be holding the WR today. Bolt has gotten flack from IOC President Jacques Rogge for showing a lack of respect to other competitors during his celebrations. But, if you watch Michael Johnson’s video, Bolt’s celebrations aren’t any different Johnson’s 12 years ago. Whenever you win gold, set a world record, and claim the title of fastest human being on the planet, there’s a certain amount of individual pride that goes with it.