Archive for August, 2008
evawhite on August 29th, 2008
Now with the Closing Ceremony of the Olympics over and done with, we can take a long lingering look back at a spectacular 29th summer Olympic Games, as spectacular at the end as it was at the beginning. China spent $40 billion building dazzling venues, filled them with thousands of smiling volunteers, transported people to them with a flawless bus network and earned Kudos from the athletes as well; “Oh my goodness, This is my third Olympic team, and the organization, the volunteers, the venues, everything has been the best. Every’t’ was crossed; every ‘i’ was dotted. … I would rate these highest of the Olympics I’ve been to.” said an athlete.
So the organizers did a cracking good job in Beijing, and what of the participants? It goes without saying that these were the most high tech Olympics ever and that the next ones will be even more so. Technology played a big part in making the athletes stronger, faster, jump higher, throw further, shoot more accurately, etc.
Phelps’ phenomenal showing at this Olympics brought into focus the advancements in swimming gear. The LZR Racer suit from Speedo is an innovation that has helped topple some records in these games. These suits feature a very tight fit, a slippery synthetic fabric and ultrasonically welded seams to streamline the body. There is also a structural feature sewn into the suit that helps to keep the legs aligned with the upper body.
One thing that an athlete has to guard against is overheating; consequently many manufacturers came up with ‘cooling suits’ such as Nike’s ice vest: it is water filled and turns into ice when you put it in the freezer. When the athlete dons it, it pre-cools him or her before the race, so as to delay onset of body overheating.
Shoes are another item subject to constant improvement to make them lighter, faster, better, with Adidas introducing the concept of asymmetric shoes (different shoes for the right and left foot). Then there are Nike’s shoes involving technologies called flywire and lunar foam! Gymnastic shoes now weigh just about 10 grams each!
Then of course there are the carbon fiber bikes, with fewer spokes for less resistance and lighter weight, with the wheels now composed only of a one piece disc as against the spokes in days of yore. With records being made and broken by a hundredth of a second margin, high tech can give you just that extra edge to be a winner!
evawhite on August 27th, 2008
Sportsman or entertainer? Watching his 100m dash was purely entertaining, but yet utterly competitive. Beating his fellow runners and making it look laughable is just the beginning. And what a show it was. A broken world record included.
The 21 year old, all of 6ft 5 skidded out of the starting block and ran the race with his left shoelace dangling, knot undone. Bolt started with the seventh-slowest reaction time (see picture, casually looking about) in the eight-man line-up but then with lengthy strides closed up to the 50 meter mark and then hit the afterburner. He overtakes everyone gets so far ahead he starts celebrating by the 80 meter mark and parties till the finish line and, breaks the world record in his festivities!
Notice (in picture) his fellow runners leaning forward before the finish line to make position, but Bolt there is leaning back! His competitors say if Bolt didn’t party and rather pushed till the finish line he would have been staggeringly quick. Easily bettering his world record of 9.69 seconds for the 100m dash. They say he could possibly do maybe 9.55 seconds! Amounts to running at almost 35 feet a second! Astounding!
Usalin was debating whether if he should participate in the 100m dash at all; he considers the 200m his speciality. His coach wanted him to participate in the 400m but Bolt insisted taking on the shorter event, in part, he admits ‘because it’s, well, shorter. Less taxing. Less time spent running, sweating, working out.’ He didn’t want to disrupt his preparation for the 200m.
Coolly easing up when the competition was toast. Bolt turned himself sideways to face the crowd while swaying his arms in dance moves to the background reggae music then thumped his chest in triumph before he even reached the finish line!!. It is said the audience fell silent for a moment before erupting in cheer. I would have been quietened too, where are the words to describe such a thing? Celebrating before reaching finish line has never seen before, the free spirit of Jamaica, breaking world records while partying… Seen absolutely no where else, got to love these guys. When asked, Usalin Bolt replied;
“I was having fun,” he said. “That’s just me — I like to have fun.”
Go the Jamaican way, Go Jamaica!
evawhite on August 25th, 2008
By half century I do not mean a century hit by our sportsman in the cricket match, but I mean a normal person reaching his half century age. Yes you’ve guessed it right….. 50th birthday. It is a great feeling to see someone celebrate their 50th birthday. The person by this age has seen the entire world and the up’s and downs of life. By this age I don’t think anybody would have interest in material gifts, there may be nothing which would touch him more then love and caring. But since this is a special occasion and calls for special celebration, it also calls for some special 50th birthday gift.
This has to be something which is over the hill gift. It is different then the normal gifts which we generally pass on at birthday and anniversary parties. This gift needs to come from the heart and should touch the heart of the person receiving it.
You guys must be wondering why I am getting emotional about the 50th birthday. Well because my very close uncle is turning 50 and I need to give him a gift which touches his heart. I am thoroughly confused as to what should I give.
Any suggestions as to what should be a very special present, for a very special person, on a very special occasion.
I need your help people……..share your experiences here if you’ll have come across any occasion like this.
evawhite on August 25th, 2008
The cooling effect comes from Air conditioner. I think in climatic changing conditions which they rightly call it as global warming it is almost next to impossible to live without ac. Over the weekend I had to visit my aunt who stays around two hours drive from my house. We packed our bags and started off with all the excitement. But after around one hour drive the ac of our car broke down. We went to the nearby repair shop and he said the ac compressor was not functioning. We had to replace it then and there and it did delay our time of reaching my aunts place. But that day I realized how important AC is in our life. It is not possible to live without it. It is no longer a luxury but ahs become a necessity.
evawhite on August 25th, 2008
I have in the past covered the best dressed celeb couples as named by Forbes, but I thought that a Worst Dressed list is so much more fun. The definitive Worst Dressed list is compiled yearly by the famous (or rather infamous) Mr. Blackwell and this is as eagerly awaited as his scathing but creatively funny comments on the celebs that unwittingly make the list every year.
Mr. Blackwell obviously could not decide who was the worst dressed from among a rather overblown looking Britney Spears and an inexplicably fluffy looking Paris Hilton, so he awarded them joint first place on his list of infamy with the words, “They’re two peas in an overexposed pod” Indeed!
Camilla Parker-Bowles hats do not inspire Mr. Blackwell in the least; he has only these scathing words for her: “In feathered hats that were once the rage, she resembles a petrified parakeet from the Jurassic age. A royal wreck.” Watch out Milady!
Next on the list is poor Lindsay Lohan, who is described pithily as “Adorable to deplorable”. Christina Aguilera who is next on the list also found no favor, being described as someone who “puts good taste through the wardrobe wringer. All crass and no class.” Ouch!
Next on the list, Mariah Carey, is a bit of a no brainer; she has long been a cleavage-baring fashion victim! American idol did not lead us to believe that Paula Abdul (next on the list) was worthy of a mention here, but according to Mr. Blackwell, “Let’s face it: Perky Paula’s a paint-by-numbers fashion foul — she dresses with all the restraint of a revved-up Simon Cowell!” Oh dear!
A real surprise on the list was Sharon Stone I thought, but Mr. Blackwell describes her as “an over-the-hill Cruella DeVille”. Boy, I know I would not like to cross that Mr. Blackwell’s path! Bringing up the rear are Tori Spelling, Sandra Oh and rather undeservedly I thought, the legendary Meryl Steep!
Wait there’s more: if you want to check out the very worst dresses, then here is another Worst Dressed of 2007 list which included the likes of Beyonce Knowles, and rather more predictably Amy Winehouse. Ah well you know what they say, there’s no accounting for taste!
evawhite on August 23rd, 2008
Michael Phelps, the best swimmer the world has seen hauls in 14 Gold’s, 2 Silvers and a Bronze. A mighty haul it is considering it was all in one Olympic! There have been other greats over the years that have accumulated their gold’s over several Olympics. Phelps has shown the whole world what it means to be a great athlete.
Any of you who have watched his participation would have seen his superiority over the competition. There leaves no doubt about his finesse and fantastic ability. The excellent performances of some athletes in this Olympics is like sun shining through the clouds which was all the political wish-wash.
At 23 years he is part of the new generation of super-performers set to shake the world. A winner from early years in his life threw in his net and hit his first gold on 10th August with nothing less than a new swimming world record. He then picked up on the momentum and built on it to win gold’s in final events on the 12th, 13th, 15th while setting new world records. Finishing it off with two more gold’s on the 16th and 17th, setting new Olympic and team records respectively. These are only the eight of the finals. The heats, semi-finals included takes the tally to a staggering six more totalling 14! Tremendous.
We have two Olympic Games in a decade. We are lucky to be part of this day and age to witness this feat.
Phelps beat the best record of 10 gold medals which was set by Raymond Ewry in Olympic track/field in 1900, 1904, 1906, and 1908. The last was a hundred years ago!
The next best is Mark Spitz also a swimmer who won 9 gold’s in the 1972 Munich Olympics. That was 34 years ago!
Carl Lewis at 9 gold’s accumulated in Olympic track/field 1979 to 1996.
Paavo Nurmi 9 gold’s accumulated in Olympics track/field 1920 to 1928. (Eighty years ago!)
Larissa Latynina 9 gold’s from 1956 to 1964 in Olympic gymnastics. Incidentally, she holds the maximum number of medals overall at 18 Olympic medals. Unbeaten for 44 years. Only today Phelps at 17 medals comes close.
It’s great to be part of this day and age to witness grand accomplishments breaking records set decades ago. Who is to say when these records will be broken next? The athletes have broken through all the clouds and hue surrounding the Beijing Olympics and restored the spirit of sport.
evawhite on August 21st, 2008
I have in the past told you about the hair and skin care tips that I incorporate into my everyday life. That post had got a very substantial response so I thought that I would also share with you the everyday good health rules that I live my life by. Firstly I understood the difference between trying to be healthy and trying to get to a particular size. Being healthy is far more important than being thin or fat or any particular size and to that end I live by the following rules to stay healthy:
Be Active: I go grocery shopping on my bicycle; an amazing number of things fit into that bike-basket of mine! I take the car only if someone else is coming with me; if it is a short trip I walk and ask that someone else to walk with me. If I am not in a hurry I take the stairs rather than the lift or the escalator.
I take my four year old to the park every day, I trot along with her as she rides her bike (with the trainer wheels in place, she cannot manage without them) and I play catch or any other physical game with her, which is great fun, great bonding and a bit of a workout as well! I also try to go to the gym 3 times a week to do moderate weights, but I have to admit I am not always successful.
Eat Right: I made some replacements in the family diet a while back and I have honestly seen positive results. I reduced the amount of salt and sugar that we were consuming. Where possible I replace the sugar with honey or jaggery. I replaced the white bread with whole wheat bread (not just brown bread because often ‘brown’ is merely caramel or color added to white bread).
When I buy packaged foods I read the label and if it says the words ‘hydrogenated’ or ‘partially hydrogenated’ vegetable oil or if it has sugar listed as the first ingredient, I put it back on the shelf and don’t buy it. These few simple rules have stood me in good stead.
Be Happy: Play with your kids, laugh a lot, keep away from stress or at least learn to manage stress effectively. Start an interesting hobby or take time out to do that which you enjoy doing even if it is something as simple as going for a walk in your favorite park to enjoy the flowers or reading a book. Take a holiday with the family and take time to just be and not do!
Lastly don’t make excuses (like this cartoon here)!
These few things keep me healthy and sane, what about you?
