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The Water Cooler
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Can NBC's Olympic coverage be any worse?
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<blockquote data-quote="Lone Wolf &#039;49" data-source="post: 1858668" data-attributes="member: 3016"><p>Would any of you like a different "thing" or side of the Olympics? From a friend who is assisting at his 10th games:</p><p></p><p></p><p>Thursday, July 19</p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p>Headed for Olympics! Pls excuse clumsy writing and mis-spelling, since I’m typing really fast.</p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p>Chicago O’Hare packed. I did find McDonald’s for two chicken wraps. Last McDonalds for a while.</p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p>Luckily I found a coveted seat near a rare electrical outlet. Southwest Airlines does electricity better than anybody else. A red-headed Brit asked me to watch his luggage while he mails post cars to his children. Then he asked me to translate the announcements from the gate agent, because he couldn’t understand what she was saying.</p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p>The guy’s brother was a 400 hurdler and had a chance to run in the Atlanta Olympics, but was injured parachute-jumping. He got somewhat well, then fell climbing in the Alps and crawled 20 miles to safety. He later joined the British army. His knee has now been re-built and he did two years in the army. His wife was an athlete and they have two kids who have good genes. And on and on and on. I think he’s still there at the gate in Chicago, talking.</p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p>Our United plane left at 6:20 p.m. Oklahoma time and arrived at Heathrow at 8:30 a.m. That’s 2:30 a.m. Oklahoma time.</p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p>On the plane, I listened to the classical station and watched the map. The music was a Sports Center for music: it played about 32 bars of warhorses like the Hallelujah Chorus, 1812 Overture, Ride of the Valkyries (sp), 18th Variation on a Theme of Paganini, etc. I listened four or five times around.</p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p>Dinner &#8211; General Tsao’s chicken, rice, roll, brownie.</p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p>Friday, July 20 </p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p>Took the Tube from Heathrow to our hotel, the Montague. 45-minute ride. </p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p>Wow, what a privilege to be at Olympics No. 10. This will be an incredible games. Something strange and something else wonderful will happen. Stand by. </p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p>Please excuse the typos and bad writing. Will hurry with these little missives to let the family know what’s happening. And so spelling and grammar will be ignored for convenience. Don’t turn me in to any wandering English teachers. Nor to any wondering ones. As they say, let it be.</p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p>Breakfast: Cantaloupe, roll.</p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p>The accreditation station at Heathrow was right after the immigration check. There was no line when I was there.</p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p>Getting from Heathrow to the Montague was easy: took the Picadilly line on the Tube to the Russell Square station. Picadilly is the only Tube line that goes to Heathrow, and it goes right into the terminal. </p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p>It took about 45 minutes to get from Heathrow to Russell Square.</p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p>There’s a neighborhood map on a post outside the station, and the Montague was on the map, thank goodness. I made a wrong turn the first time, but there seemed to be a map on every block and so I got back on track quickly.</p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p>The hotel is very nice, and so is the staff. A woman from guest services gave me a quick tour of the hotel and escorted me to the room. The staff members think I’m a journalist, so maybe I’m getting special treatment. The neighborhood is just awesome. Russell Square itself is just perfect.</p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p>Good news: there’s complimentary breakfast in the hotel every day! </p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p>One thing: the guest rooms are extremely small. I asked the staff to remove a small table and chair to create a little more space. But it’s still really, really small. There’s no dresser; I stored my luggage under the bed. </p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p>There’s an American electrical outlet by the desk; of course, it’s not “our” voltage, but computer cords convert that, of course. The wireless is free and fast. </p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p>The media transportation hub is a short walk from the Montague. I rode the media shuttle to the MPC today. Had intended to take the Tube, but the transportation volunteers said the media shuttle would be much faster, because the tube stop (Stratford) is a 40-minute walk from the MPC. Mark at the office said the tube would be faster. There’s also the javelin line, which we took back to the hotel tonight.</p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p>The media shuttle from Russell Square was a red double-decker London-type bus. Brand new. Very cool.</p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p>The media shuttle route from Russell Square to the MPC goes on a narrow street past great-looking outdoor cafes, then along the Thames for a while, right by the Tower of London and the Tower Bridge. There’s an Olympic lane, but it’s not open yet. The sign says “Games Lane Now Open to All Traffic.” The traffic is terrific, as advertised.</p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p>Weather: It’s cool and cloudy and rained at least four times today. The last time was when I was walking from the tube station to the Montague. Several people were walking around; I didn’t see anyone with an umbrella. Instead they raced to get under trees and waited there until the light rain stopped. Mighty fine umbrella, but a tad leaky for a Kansas thunderstorm.</p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p>The volunteers all say the weather will warm up very soon. </p><p></p><p>Lunch: spicy beans, Waldorf salad in small press center cafeteria (as opposed to large cafeteria</p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p>Dinner: two cookies</p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p>Volunteer du jour: Barbara, earnest, gray and 55-ish, working at the accreditation center. Extremely proud to have been chosen as a volunteer. “We’ve been waiting for you for a year,” she said when I walked up. There were 10 volunteers and one customer.</p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p>What a privilege to be here!</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Lone Wolf '49, post: 1858668, member: 3016"] Would any of you like a different "thing" or side of the Olympics? From a friend who is assisting at his 10th games: Thursday, July 19 Headed for Olympics! Pls excuse clumsy writing and mis-spelling, since I’m typing really fast. Chicago O’Hare packed. I did find McDonald’s for two chicken wraps. Last McDonalds for a while. Luckily I found a coveted seat near a rare electrical outlet. Southwest Airlines does electricity better than anybody else. A red-headed Brit asked me to watch his luggage while he mails post cars to his children. Then he asked me to translate the announcements from the gate agent, because he couldn’t understand what she was saying. The guy’s brother was a 400 hurdler and had a chance to run in the Atlanta Olympics, but was injured parachute-jumping. He got somewhat well, then fell climbing in the Alps and crawled 20 miles to safety. He later joined the British army. His knee has now been re-built and he did two years in the army. His wife was an athlete and they have two kids who have good genes. And on and on and on. I think he’s still there at the gate in Chicago, talking. Our United plane left at 6:20 p.m. Oklahoma time and arrived at Heathrow at 8:30 a.m. That’s 2:30 a.m. Oklahoma time. On the plane, I listened to the classical station and watched the map. The music was a Sports Center for music: it played about 32 bars of warhorses like the Hallelujah Chorus, 1812 Overture, Ride of the Valkyries (sp), 18th Variation on a Theme of Paganini, etc. I listened four or five times around. Dinner – General Tsao’s chicken, rice, roll, brownie. Friday, July 20 Took the Tube from Heathrow to our hotel, the Montague. 45-minute ride. Wow, what a privilege to be at Olympics No. 10. This will be an incredible games. Something strange and something else wonderful will happen. Stand by. Please excuse the typos and bad writing. Will hurry with these little missives to let the family know what’s happening. And so spelling and grammar will be ignored for convenience. Don’t turn me in to any wandering English teachers. Nor to any wondering ones. As they say, let it be. Breakfast: Cantaloupe, roll. The accreditation station at Heathrow was right after the immigration check. There was no line when I was there. Getting from Heathrow to the Montague was easy: took the Picadilly line on the Tube to the Russell Square station. Picadilly is the only Tube line that goes to Heathrow, and it goes right into the terminal. It took about 45 minutes to get from Heathrow to Russell Square. There’s a neighborhood map on a post outside the station, and the Montague was on the map, thank goodness. I made a wrong turn the first time, but there seemed to be a map on every block and so I got back on track quickly. The hotel is very nice, and so is the staff. A woman from guest services gave me a quick tour of the hotel and escorted me to the room. The staff members think I’m a journalist, so maybe I’m getting special treatment. The neighborhood is just awesome. Russell Square itself is just perfect. Good news: there’s complimentary breakfast in the hotel every day! One thing: the guest rooms are extremely small. I asked the staff to remove a small table and chair to create a little more space. But it’s still really, really small. There’s no dresser; I stored my luggage under the bed. There’s an American electrical outlet by the desk; of course, it’s not “our” voltage, but computer cords convert that, of course. The wireless is free and fast. The media transportation hub is a short walk from the Montague. I rode the media shuttle to the MPC today. Had intended to take the Tube, but the transportation volunteers said the media shuttle would be much faster, because the tube stop (Stratford) is a 40-minute walk from the MPC. Mark at the office said the tube would be faster. There’s also the javelin line, which we took back to the hotel tonight. The media shuttle from Russell Square was a red double-decker London-type bus. Brand new. Very cool. The media shuttle route from Russell Square to the MPC goes on a narrow street past great-looking outdoor cafes, then along the Thames for a while, right by the Tower of London and the Tower Bridge. There’s an Olympic lane, but it’s not open yet. The sign says “Games Lane Now Open to All Traffic.” The traffic is terrific, as advertised. Weather: It’s cool and cloudy and rained at least four times today. The last time was when I was walking from the tube station to the Montague. Several people were walking around; I didn’t see anyone with an umbrella. Instead they raced to get under trees and waited there until the light rain stopped. Mighty fine umbrella, but a tad leaky for a Kansas thunderstorm. The volunteers all say the weather will warm up very soon. Lunch: spicy beans, Waldorf salad in small press center cafeteria (as opposed to large cafeteria Dinner: two cookies Volunteer du jour: Barbara, earnest, gray and 55-ish, working at the accreditation center. Extremely proud to have been chosen as a volunteer. “We’ve been waiting for you for a year,” she said when I walked up. There were 10 volunteers and one customer. What a privilege to be here! [/QUOTE]
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