Attention Deficit David

Mascot fail

Mascot fail, originally uploaded by davidjschloss.

China, it appears, was not done with me

The trip to the airport for a voyage home after an extended stay in a foreign country is usually a bittersweet experience. I've always got a mix of sadness at leaving and the pangs of excitement at going home.

As I arrived at Beijing's airport, I looked around and said a mental adieu to the country and the people.

Which is when the woman from United told me to please go to another line, as the flight to Dulles (my flight) had been delayed until tomorrow.

What?

How does a 6:00 PM flight even get delayed until 8:30 the following AM? That's fourteen hours there folks, what could possibly have made you so late? It's possible to take a pregnancy test when you're not that late.

At least the folks at United handled it pretty well (while I was having Abby call the travel system that booked my flight to try to find any way home), opening up a partner airline's kiosks to check in the stranded Dulles people, automatically issuing hotel vouchers and handling (ably) all the connecting flight info. They even booked me on a Continental commuter from DC to EWR because their own flight would have kept me sitting there six hours between flights. (As it is though I have only a 90 minute window to connect, and since it's not United, I don't get to transfer, I have to check out and back into another terminal—that's not going to happen.)

Luckily I kept my hotel room an extra night, so after grabbing a change of clothes from my bag, headed back to town. Luckily again my new friend Joseph is still in town, so we spent the day hunting down the Apple store, drinking beers out on a patio and having an exquisite dinner.

Still, I had really wished that I would have been part-the-way-home by now. It's been a long trip, I'm eager to get back home and into the arms of my wife, and so I'd really like to no longer be in this country.

Flickr shots from Beijing

About six million of my shots up now on my Flickr site. For convenience, that link goes right to my gallery.

Apple at the Olympics

My coverage of Apple's support at the Olympics is up online here at MacCentral.com and is featured here on Apple's Start Page/Hot News page. This marks my third feature appearance on Apple's big ol' news blast.

New Olympic Rules

There are many excellent games on display at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, where I've been spending the last week working. Spending countless hours in the Kodak photographer's center, surrounded by a phalanx of monitors all tuned directly to the Olympic feeds has given me a certain access to watching the games that I have not previously enjoy.

Now, I'm not a terribly big fan of sports, I can't name more than a handful of NBA, NFL or MLB teams, and in fact I had to think for a second to come up with those letters. When it comes to sports, I'm basically a cycling fan, and that's about it.

However, the unfettered connection to the games has been fun, and the events I've seen in person have even been exciting. USA vs. Brazil in the semi-finals in women's beach volleyball was a hoot, although probably a large part of that was due to the extreme amounts revealed flesh on the "court" at any time.

The exposure (pardon the pun) to the Olympic events has at times caused a bit of an adverse reaction. There are things that just don't seem like they should be part of the competition. When I see someone competing at an event and I think "that's not even as real of a sport as curling then it shouldn't be in the Olympics. To help decide what should and should not be allowed, may I present to you my new guide to Olympic event elimination.

No event may be included in the Olympics if it can be performed in one's basement. Events that this will effect include the shooting events and table tennis. I know table tennis is popular in China, but I'm sorry, it has to go.

Exception - The winter event Biathlon may continue to be included as it includes a component that can not be performed in a basement.

No event may be included in the Olympics if it does not require a trip to the gym at least once a month, or at least requires and acceptable substitute. This includes the shooting events. Yes, I have a problem with the shooting events. They're just standing there with guns. Occasionally they move their fingers. Not a sport.

No event may be an Olympic sport if it's already included in another sport. Discus and decathlon discus, I'm looking at you two. Go to your corners, work your shit out and get back to us. Only one of you gets to play.

No event may be included in the Olympics if it utilizes a name that's already a sport. This will eliminate "handball," which is really just a version of soccer that's played indoors and requires the use of your hands not your feet. Handball is already taken by an event that's been using it longer than it could possibly have been an Olympic sport. You must pick another official name or go home.

No event may be in the Olympics if it's just a silly variation of some other event. Oops, we already kicked out handball because of the name, looks like it's out even if they pick up a better moniker. (My vote was for "handtrowbounceyball.")This would be like including walleyball. Sadly, it also includes beach volleyball, as it's just a version of volleyball that has less sand. I think we're going to have to make an exception to this one.

Exception - Beach volleyball is exempt because the girls are hot, and there are cheerleaders.

I think that's a good place to start, though I'm likely to come up with more before the Olympics are over.

Just added: No event may be in the Olympics if a horse is doing the work. Likewise, no car racing or yachts. I think the equestrian folks in the crowd know who they are.

Added 8/28/08: Any activity that's really dancing or was featured in a burlesque show is not an Olympic sport. Hula hoop routines? Are you kidding me? That's two minutes of my life I'm never getting back, times twenty "competitors." Enjoy your careers working at the floor show at Bally's Hotel and Casino in Vegas, baby!

Self portrait via bus.

Self portrait via bus., originally uploaded by davidjschloss.

A great ride through a great city

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Beijing has a reputation for being difficult to bike in, despite its long history as a cycle-centric city. The recent influx of cars (millions and millions) has made it nearly impossible to get around the city for most. However, the bike lanes that are a part of the entire city's infrastructure are for the most part massive, well marked and easy to navigate.

Separate from car lanes in almost all areas, the bike lanes here are massive. Sure, there are cars parking in them and pulling out from corner spots (the lanes double as parking access and local turn lanes) but they're really easy to follow.

In fact, I'd say that Beijing is one of the most bike-friendly places I've been, even to some degree topping Amsterdam, as there are fewer cyclists to clog up the arteries.

I rode down to the Forbidden City and Tienamin square today. Turns out that tourist attractions are hot and boring regardless of the country or location. I didn't spend a lot of time there. I did, however, ride around the Hutongs, the small tenement-style dwellings that date back almost as far as this city's been a city, and are narrow, winding corridors of humanity. Most are in utter disrepair, with the residents all sharing a single public bathroom. When I say these places are single room dwellings, I mean just that. They are comprised of just four walls, a bed and some items laying around. No bathroom, no kitchen, nothing.

In one of the just-slightly-more-upkept areas I came across a row of vendors and a terrific looking noodle shop where the chef was slicing bits of dough from a large block of it into a pot of boiling water to create a noodle dish that was amazing looking. All the tables were full, I was getting stared at by the locals (orange bike jersey, helmet, folding bike will do that) and normally I'd be too shy to butt in, but in I went and waited for a steaming bowl of noodles. The woman sharing the table with me insisted on showing me how to add vinegar, and then sort of chided me for not mixing it in, taking my chopsticks and stirring it for me. That got a bit of a laugh from the group.

A man sat across from me and spoke a bit of English with me. He said his name was Tony (I think perhaps that was translated) and asked what I was doing in China. I told him I was working at the Olympics, he translated for the group. Then I raised my hands up in the "showing off my muscles" pose and told him to tell them I was an Olympic weight lifter. That also got a laugh.

Tonight is another stint at the Media Center, hopefully it'll be more active tonight than yesterday, we had maybe five people to talk to in the course of four or five hours, and the shift went very slowly. I like getting to talk to people much more than saying "do you need help?" to people who only speak German.

Beijing 2008 Games

Beijing 2008 Games, originally uploaded by davidjschloss.

Beijing 2008 Games

Beijing 2008 Games, originally uploaded by davidjschloss.

In the shadow of giants

In the shadow of giants, originally uploaded by davidjschloss.