Thought Id start this one going because its rather dead on this board at the moment and I suppose all my usual muckers are either at the Stella tennis event watching Dim Tim (lose again) or at Henly Regatta eating cucumber sandwiches (they wish,...NOT).

Anyway please feel free to just talk to yourself blast away and let it go on any company or subject you wish. Just wish Id thought of this one before.

cheers GF.

Yes very impressive and not taking anything away from China but my personal view is that the Greek opening ceremony was better, (and no I'm not Greek, so not bias). OK not as technically brilliant but the theme was to my mind better.
As to LONDON, the main point of contention I have re all the Olympics is that they progressively get more expensive.
Don't get me wrong, the opening/closing displays are usually now absolutely fantastic, but thats what they are 'fantastically expensive displays'.
To me a bit of a sports fanatic, the events tend to be second place to the actual spectacle of the already said ceremonies.
No doubt some will see my comments as those of a kill joy (I am a bit of a sports fanatic both as a spectator and participant), but where in monetary costs will it end.
One of the reasons they were granted to the UK for 2012 was the cost estimate of 2.4 billion. Olympic budget contingency plans are now at 9.35 billion
although the latest cost is now at 5.3 billion.
Some are already estimating that the final cost will be as high as 20 billion and with this countries reputation of overrun cost that may be nearer the mark.
If we could only get back to some were near the basic principle of countries competing in the sports represented and not in competition of outdoing each other in the presentation the better.
I think we have a stark choice, either move away from the outdoing each other in the spectacle of the occasion area and get back to the main concept of sport being the main theme or risk the future of the games themselves.
Common sense says the games can not continue along the same money/cost/value
system. But no one will break the mold, will they.

Good points greekman. I share your concerns about cost and agree with the sporting aspect. China though feels it has to showcase itself to a critical world so there is some justification unless you are one of the poor peasants who had to move out of your home.

Can't wait for the events to start.
I actually trained with the British Olympic Squad as a guest in 1968.
I thought I was fit as I had competed all over England and actual competed against the Australian Team in a friendly a few month before.
I lasted about 3/4 of that days training and could not keep up, so that was a bit of an eye opener to say the least. The average Olympic athlete is superbly fit.
At the time I was training 5 times a week, a weekly total of some 15 hours.
I realized that if I wanted to increase my fitness to that standard it required so much dedication it takes over your life.
At the time I was a normal 20 year old (some would argue the normal bit) and having discovered women a few years earlier! Well you know!
I tend to blame women for just about everything. Sexist comment? You bet.

According to The Telegraph an 18 year old girl was given a community service order to work in a charity shop.
Her defense lawyer stated that she could not carry out the order as she suffered from an obsessive compulsory disorder that meant she had a fear of touching anything that may be dirty such as second hand goods that came into the shop.
Her crime was for Handling a stolen Mobile Phone.
Presumably the phone had already been touched by several people, including the thief.
I know a person with OCS so am not making lite of it but I cant believe the Judge was taken in by such an excuse, but he was. She was given a curfew instead.
And they say Judges live in the real world.

The Government is pushing ahead with plans for a national road-pricing scheme, including testing "spy in the sky" technology.

Eight areas of the country have been selected by ministers for secret pay-per-mile trials which will begin in 2010 and are expected to pave the way for tolls on motorways.

Motorists face paying up to 1.30 a mile during peak periods on the busiest roads.

More at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/....Spy in the Sky

Also

The 245 increase in tax for higher emission cars bought between 2001 and 2006, which cover many family cars such as the Ford Mondeo and Renault Espace as well as 4X4 "gas guzzlers," has led to a fall-off in resale values of at least 500 and as much as 1,000.

As a result, some families will lose as much as 1,000 on the value of their car, directly as a result of Alistair Darling's Gordon Brown's budget.

More at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/...Vehicle-Excise-Duty

sorry, wrong thread

I've got a bit of inside information on the olympic closing ceremony, from those who organise it, Gordon Bennett, a strange half blancmange creature called Boris and an advertising agency called Sebastian & Co.
Apparantly the ceremony should combine British Culture and the theme of closing, so this year it will feature lots of British closing such as Northern Rock, estate agents, retailers and thousands of mortgages. The ceremony will end with Gordon Bennett closing the door af number 10 and handing the key to someone else.
Traditionally, the flame is then given to a famous person to carry around the world. This will be David Beckham, and after months of training it is hoped he will hold the right end of it. He will then set off on a tour of all the countries who will welcome Britain, avoiding those we have had a war with. Basically this means a 2 hour stopover in Thailand before heading for Gatwick, if the Spanish will let him land there.
It was envisaged the flame would be kept going in London, but with gas prices rising the flame will secretly be kept in Moscow to keep costs down.
It will then be down to the London Tourist Board to attract the world, and they have already designed posters welcoming any visitors who have disposable cash and a return ticket. They are to launch a website with advice for foreign visitors on London, including how to treat stab wounds and benefit advice for eastern european competitors.
Lastly, the olympic village is now taking shape. All the major UK builders are involved and Barratt have promised they have enough money and staff to build a shed to hold the javelins for the Togo team, while Persimmon have a few tents left over from a recent donation to the scouts.
Training though, is well underway. We intend to beat the world record over 100m. The search is on by dint of releasing police dogs in Tower Hamlets in search of the fastest individuals for further training. Unfortunately, so far this has produced some very talented athletes, though they have all been illegal immigrants.

Congrats though, to this times team GB.

Hewittlan6.
If you ever decide to stand for Prime Minister you most certainly have my vote.
Do enjoy your sense of humour, like mine but you put it into print much better than I could ever do.
Keep em coming.
Cheers.

Hewittlan6

I love your stuff too.

I wondered, seriously, if you had ever considered writing stuff professionally for that semi-disgraced bloke.....erm, err, what's is name.....the one leaning towards the right on the left?

Last 2 posters, Thank you.

In all honesty, I just write what is on my mind and I would love to write for a living, but I could never hope to have the talent to do it anywhere were people might pay for the privilege of reading it!
I have actually appeared in print. Two court reports and numerous begging letters.
I am currently (well, on and off) trying to write a humourous (to me) story of a last day at work. I will never get a publisher, it is for my use only, but if I ever finish it I will make it available on an online self publishing site.
Your comments have given me fresh impetus to get back to it, so you only have yourselves to blame..............

Are the markets open tomorrow ???

NO is the answer I was looking for = found it on Yahoo Cheers

It looks like the British Olympic Committee is already looking at increasing the medal targets for the 2012 Olympics.
Why do we have to follow the trend of setting specific targets. Why follow such systems as Health, Education, Crime etc. everything these days appears to need a target.
I'm sure the athletes don't need targets to be set as they will try their best no matter what, so such talk is meaningless.
The only goal should be to win as many medals as possible.

As to track and field, the Labour Government has now admitted that selling off school playing fields and the political correct none competitive attitude, (don't beat little Johnny/Mary or they might need counseling in later life brigade) was wrong and is partly responsible for the lack of sufficient talent in this area. Now what a surprise that revelation is.

No doubt whatever happens, the GB games will be the most heath and safety ones ever.
Blunt javelins, steel cap and safety helmets for the shot put and hammer. Safety suspension lines for the pole volt. Stabilizers for any cycling event.
Full bathing suites for the female beach volley ball (well I nearly had an accident when they bent over to pick the ball up).

No doubt you inventive lot can come up with more suggestions.

On BBC Breakfast Tessa Jowell stated that more money will be targeted into the areas of sport where most medals were won. So more money will be put into sports like rowing, sailing, swimming, cycling and less into athletics.
So in the governments thinking, until certain areas such as track and field show results they will not receive as much funding.
What a ridiculous plan as there are far more grass roots (a popular government term) participants in these sports than the others mentioned. The sports where we struggle should receive a bigger slice of the cake, not less.
Another c**p idea.

HELL EXPLAINED BY CHEMISTRY STUDENT

The following is an actual question given on a University of Washington chemistry mid term.

The answer by one student was so 'profound' that the professor shared it with colleagues, via the Internet, which is, of course, why we now have the pleasure of enjoying it as well :

Bonus Question: Is Hell exothermic (gives off heat) or endothermic (absorbs heat)?

Most of the students wrote proofs of their beliefs using Boyle's Law (gas cools when it expands and heats when it is compressed) or some variant.

One student, however, wrote the following:

First, we need to know how the mass of Hell is changing in time. So we need to know the rate at which souls are moving into Hell and the rate at which they are leaving. I think that we can safely assume that once a soul gets to Hell, it will not leave. Therefore, no souls are leaving. As for how many souls are entering Hell, let's look at the different religions that exist in the world today.

Most of these religions state that if you are not a member of their religion, you will go to Hell. Since there is more than one of these religions and since people do not belong to more than one religion, we can project that all souls go to Hell. With birth and death rates as they are, we can expect the number of souls in Hell to increase exponentially. Now, we look at the rate of change of the volume in Hell because Boyle's Law states that in order for the temperature and pressure in Hell to stay the same, the volume of Hell has to expand proportionately as souls are added.

This gives two possibilities:
1. If Hell is expanding at a slower rate than the rate at which souls enter Hell, then the temperature and pressure in Hell will increase until all Hell breaks loose.

2. If Hell is expanding at a rate faster than the increase of souls in Hell, then the temperature and pressure will drop until Hell freezes over.

So which is it?

If we accept the postulate given to me by Teresa during my Freshman year that, 'It will be a cold day in Hell before I sleep with you,' and take into account the fact that I slept with her last night, then number two must be true, and thus I am sure that Hell is exothermic and has already frozen over. The corollary of this theory is that since Hell has frozen over, it follows that it is not accepting any more souls and is therefore, extinct......leaving only Heaven, thereby proving the existence of a divine being which explains why, last night, Teresa kept shouting 'Oh my God.'


THIS STUDENT RECEIVED AN A+.

That is years old bosley - do keep up!

Re: Post 7022

I think our archers need targets.



Sorry. Tumbleweed slowly rolls across monitor.

Hi StarFrog,

Never thought of that. At least you have started the ball rolling.

If the javelin throwers need targets, may I suggest anyone with the letters MP after their name?
The target for swimming, for me, has always been not to drown.
Equestrian targets could be my rose bed.

How about a General Studies "A" level exam essay subject based on the olympics? "Javelin and Hammer are the only field events. Discus."

What about raising our tally by introducing games we would win. Such as queueing without complaining. Electing idiots. Synchronised stabbing.

The far East included Judo, Tae Kwondo etc., so could we introduce Morris dancing?

And I now give you a promise of 2 world records to be set at the London Olympics.

1) Highest ever ticket price paid.
2) Furthest distance ever from an event to a parking space

Verily, we can hold our heads high.

Just in:

Blessed Herbs. That's what you need, so they tell me. Blessed Herbs.

Yurgh!

You'll have to find your own link(s)!!!!

:-(