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Post by Die Fledermaus on Nov 23, 2009 15:05:14 GMT -4
For those of our members who live in the area, how is it going? The Winter Olympics is almost here. Are they losing money yet on this?
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Post by Die Fledermaus on Feb 10, 2010 0:54:40 GMT -4
I want to bump this as it starts Friday.
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Post by Die Fledermaus on Feb 11, 2010 0:36:14 GMT -4
From what I hear it is warm with NO snow.
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Post by Hamsters82 on Feb 12, 2010 14:44:45 GMT -4
I hope they get some snow. It starts here for us at 7:30, I hope it doesn't run over 10pm cause I have to go to work tomorrow. But if it does, I'll just either tape it or watch it till 11pm.
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Post by Die Fledermaus on Feb 12, 2010 20:37:09 GMT -4
An inauspicious beginning! On the luge course a contestant was KILLED!! >> By Mark Sappenfield Staff writer / February 12, 2010 West Vancouver, Canada The luge death of Georgian Nodar Kumaritashvili in a crash during training Friday opens the Vancouver Organizing Committee to criticism that it has built a sliding track that is recklessly unsafe. News reports indicate that Kumaritashvili crashed into both walls near the bottom of the track while traveling at 90 miles per hour before being thrown from the track entirely and hitting a metal pole. It was his second crash of the week, the Toronto Sun reports. Even before Friday’s events, the track had gained a reputation as perhaps the most dangerous in the world. “I pray a little in turns 11 and 12 and then breathe again after 13,” said American bobsledder Michelle Rzepka in press conference Thursday, referring to the lower section of the track where the Kumaritashvili crash happened. Turn 13 is so difficult that it has become known as “the 50-50” – with athletes giving themselves only a 50 percent chance of making it through the curve without crashing. The Whistler track is the fastest in the world, with lugers hitting speeds of more than 93 miles per hour – six miles per hour faster than the previous world record. What’s more, it is also a technical track, meaning that sliders and bobsledders have to make key driving decisions to avoid crucial mistakes or even crashes. “Once you hit top speed it gets really technical,” said US pilot Bree Schaaf at the same press conference. “That’s where it gets scary.” Rzepka says only one other track in the world can compare to Whistler for sheer difficulty: the Altenberg track in Germany. It has gained its reputation because “even the best drivers crash there,” she said. The same is becoming true at Whistler. Before Kumaritashvili’s accident Friday, the world’s No. 1-ranked luger, Armin Zoeggeler, also crashed. But Altenberg is a World Cup track, meaning only the most experienced pilots and sliders attempt it. By contrast, the Olympic competition is open to far more athletes – many of whom are relative novices here only for the Olympic experience. The Olympic news service lists no World Cup results for the 22-year-old Kumaritashvili. Kumaritashvili’s death is the first death of an athlete during competition in the history of the Winter Olympics, according to historian David Wallechinsky. Two athletes have died during the Summer Games. At a press conference following the crash, International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge refused to talk about the specifics of the accident – or how it might affect the entire sliding-sports competition at the Vancouver Games. He said he would wait for the results of an investigation. But the men’s luge competition is scheduled to begin Saturday, giving the investigation a tremendous sense of urgency. << >>http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Olympics/2010/0212/Luge-death-of-Nodar-Kumaritashvili-shows-danger-of-Whistler-track<< www.nbcmiami.com/news/sports/Olympic-Luger-Killed-in-Training-Crash-84249942.html
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Post by Die Fledermaus on Feb 13, 2010 21:09:45 GMT -4
So, how did you like the Opening Ceremonies? I thought they were quite good, except when they screwed up the Torch Lighting. I hated the Chinese Beijing ceremonies two years ago - the megalomania of a vicious anti-human dictatorship.
They finally put some padding and protective walls around the steel beams that luger got killed crashing into. A little late, jerks. *shakes head*
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Post by pinky on Feb 13, 2010 22:52:36 GMT -4
They finally put some padding and protective walls around the steel beams that luger got killed crashing into. A little late, jerks. *shakes head* My thought exactly. And apparently the "investigation" revealed that the crash was the luger's fault--he didn't recover from the previous curve properly. Do we care to believe this?
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Post by Die Fledermaus on Feb 13, 2010 23:03:02 GMT -4
His fault or not, when I saw the video, and I saw it once, my first thought was "what the hell are those steel posts doing there??". Just saw a run today, and that entire area is walled off now. No steel posts to crash into. Not now.
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Post by Dezzi on Feb 17, 2010 4:51:34 GMT -4
So the Olympics are a total gong show. First off, the committee has taken over this freaking city and closed down a ton of roads. This means I can't get to and from school (and if I bus it's going to take me 6 hours, which means the time I have to leave is before and after they start/stop running) I can't drive to see my family, and I can't get downtown without either an Olympic pass or a Resident's pass. Well, I can but it takes HOURS UPON HOURS UPON HOURS due to traffic.
A lot of stores outside of the city (like in the area I work) have closed until the end of the games. That means instead of making my usual $9-15 an hour (depending on how much commission I make that day) and my regular 20-35hr work week, I'm getting $8 an hour and only 4hrs a week. This means my rent for this month is behind, I can't pay any of my bills this month, and I can't go anywhere. I'm stuck in this house for hours on end with only my rodents and a computer to keep me company. (And our net was down because of too much traffic from the Olympics, our servers couldn't handle it and it went out).
The Olympic committee made another awesome move and kicked all the homeless people out of the downtown core so that Vancouver could put on a good face, not to mention they've jacked up prices of EVERYTHING everywhere...
I could rant for hours about why I hate what the Olympics are doing to the city and why I hate them being here. However, I will support my country in the games by wearing red and white ONLY because my cousin is a back up for their ski team and I know how much the games mean to him and the other competitors.
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Post by Dezzi on Feb 17, 2010 4:53:53 GMT -4
Sorry for the double post, this one will be quick!
The snow thing: Yeah, there is no snow. They are hauling it from other mountains in BC, as well as some from Israel of all places. (and then when it gets here we get rain and it all melts) Maybe a higher power is telling VanOC to take their "business" elsewhere... hrm?
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Post by Die Fledermaus on Feb 17, 2010 15:44:27 GMT -4
Wow. Bad. Worse than I thought!
Did not even know Vancouver had homeless, although I know S.F. has them in truck loads.
Many people say Greece is now bankrupt owing to the Olympics there. I don't think Montreal ever recovered from their Olympics. It was a bust in Atlanta. How was it for Calgary?
So, sorry for your travails. But I am not totally surprised.
I always thought Vancouver would be too warm, or is this not a typical Winter for you?
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Post by Dezzi on Feb 17, 2010 16:38:42 GMT -4
Vancouver's homeless population is beyond the worst in the province. East Hastings (the ghetto) is usually full of homeless people shooting up on the streets and you have to lock your doors with the windows rolled up while driving down there as sometimes the crazies will try to jump into your car. That's usually only in the worst of the area. There are stabbings on a regular basis, but no one cares if a hobo got stabbed. The media only goes nuts if it was a shooting or if someone "normal" got hurt. It's the part of the city the media doesn't want people to see, so some of the roads they have blocked off are to the shabby run down buildings. BUT they have sent the people who usually live there away so they don't have to worry about guarding both sides of the road.
Calgary recovered fairly well, however Alberta is the richest province in the country and Calgary owes the recovery to the oil companies. Alberta is known as Canada's money-making province.
I am actually surprised there is no snow, this is a warmer winter than normal. I haven't even SEEN snow on the mainland. I went down to visit my family on the island and they had snow. Whistler and Cypress usually get a lot of snow, but it's usually wet because it always rains here. Two years ago when I lived here in the winter we got our snowfall mid March. I'm a bit surprised we didn't get snow, but the rain washing what they do have away comes as no surprise to me. That's a normal occurrence.
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Post by Die Fledermaus on Feb 17, 2010 21:04:27 GMT -4
So all the media stuff about Vancouver being "one of the most livable cities in the world" is a crock? Would not surprise me.
Good to hear about Calgary and why they are OK.
OK, a warmer Winter than normal in B.C. Just wondered.
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Post by Dezzi on Feb 19, 2010 14:31:15 GMT -4
I'd say BC is one of the most livable provinces in the world as far as natural beauty, etc. However I hate the city so I'm not a huge fan of Vancouver. It is SUPER expensive to live there, so although it is gorgeous, you need a lot of money to live in any decent neighbourhood. My uncle used to live in NY (not sure the area but can find out) and he said he preferred his live in Van to the one in NY. It's really a matter of preference. The media always wants to promote the city (just like they want to promote Canadians saying "eh") but I would say spend some time in an area and see for yourself before you make a decision on a place. And don't do it while the Olympics are around!
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Post by Die Fledermaus on Feb 19, 2010 20:44:45 GMT -4
Find out what area of NYC and I can tell you about it.
The whole Seattle-Van area always seemed rather soggy to me for half the year.
But you do have seasons, right? I mean, in terms of temperatures, not rain. The leaves change, right??
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