On Sun, 5 Aug 2012 19:53:24 +1000, "Rod Speed"
wrote:

general snippage


I think the whole thought of putting up something like the Olympics
is all a bit bizarre. What actually is it? It's a competition between a
tiny minority of the population who are interested in those particular
things and can be bothered (or get the opportunity) to do it

And who happen to have the genes that let them do better than others.

Yup, there is that as well. Isn't it a shame to set yourself some
arbitrary goal of winning something when, (as you say), because of
your genes there would never be the chance of winning.

(and as you say, 'dedicate their lives to it' in many cases). So?

Fact, for every_single_sport, there *will* be
someone out there who could be better.

And when the difference between silver and gold can be just 1/100th of a
second.

Yup, g, gold and 1/100th of a second later you are a nobody.

And the result can be reversed the next day.

Or on the re-run the same day. It's not a race therefore, it's a
Lottery?

Wota packa terminal ****wits.

Well, I wouldn't go that far but it does seem a bit bizarre to me. ;-)


There are those things of course that do relate to the real world.
Like if you can throw a spear a long way and keep it accurate
you are more likely to bring home the bacon than the next guy

Not anymore.

Well, I think there may still be a few groups / cultures who survive
that way?

What its now about is who can find what they need
on the net instead.

;-)

Corse that doesn't make it to the olympics.

Quite.

Even with something like chess, who actually gives a flying red
**** who can play something like that better than anyone else ?

'Them' I guess and I have no issue with that. If people want to
compete amongst themselves then that's fine (as long as they don't
interfere with me) so I guess it's the thought of it being anyone's
'job' that get's me.

but what if the next guy is 'better' at starting a fire to cook it on?
Do they also hold 'championships for that? Why shouldn't those
people also be recognised? How many of us could be 'champions'
at cutting in a metal back box into a brick wall? Why shouldn't
skills, honed over decades also be recognised thus?

I don't actually give a flying red **** about recognition myself.

No? Don't you think it's 'nice' though when someone comments on some
work you have done and says 'nice job'? I'm not saying you / we do it
for that but if you are doing it anyway (because it needs doing rather
than you just waning to do it 'because' as such)?

I mean the difference between someone saying "nice job" for a neat
fence or car body repair rather than running 100m to nowhere faster
than the next guy? (Especially so when they are 'experienced' in such
fields themselves)? [1]


I get it ... I get it in that I understand how and why we have come to
do what we do with the likes of the Olympics but I don't get it as in
the fundamental desire to. I guess I don't get the point or the hype.

I don't even see any point in any sport at all myself.

Nor can I for most of it, however I can see why *other people* might.
Just as you might only be good at say 'building stuff', they aren't,
but they may be good a vaulting over a pole (however useless that may
be today. H&S won't even let you get on the roof that way any more!).

In spades with watching someone else do it.

Quite.

Isn't watching someone row 100m like watching someone row
100 virtual m in a gym? I'm sure you can race these gym rowing
machines these days so shouldn't it be on telly?

Just watched a doco where the stupid south koreans do just that.
http://www.abc.net.au/foreign/content/2012/s3557618.htm

Again, I've done quite a bit of online gaming myself (single player
and part of a 'Team') and it was cool because *I* was actually doing
it. Not sure I've ever (seriously) watched anyone else doing it past
learning how to get past a tricky bit maybe.

And why would you want to watch someone
doing that sort of thing in any case?

Because you have a pathetically inadequate 'life' presumably.

weg


but I don't watch others competing. Ok, I guess it's also 'good' for
England that we gave done well, but who actually cares? What are
we (as in England) going to get now because of it ...[2] both the
country and the citizens? Or do you have to have this tribal / gang
thing within before you can have a 'side' and then support it? [1]

Maybe that's where we all obese these days,

I'm not. I'm right in the middle of the ideal BMI range.

It was a 'Royal' 'we'. ;-)

we count watching someone else exercise
as exercising (when we say we are 'into sport')?

I think obesity is more about modern food being
much more calorie dense than traditional food was.

I'm sure that's a big part of it.

I don't even think its got that much to do with exercise either.

Well, only that we can indulge ourselves in such high calorie foods
and then burn it off afterwards (or were you talking about 'sport' as
such)?

So, whilst I can see there can be some good come
out of such a spectacle, if it actually encourages
people to go out for a run, or get their bike out etc

I've seen no evidence that it does.

I think I heard suggestion of their being more cyclists on the roads
these days? Not sure if that is because of exercise or just a side
effect of the 'cutbacks' as such?

And hordes are out walking on the streets at all times
of night and day where I live, you have to be a bit careful
at sunup and sundown because they mostly do walk on
the roads because we have **** all in the way of footpaths.

There you go. That's where some of that 'Olympic' money could have
gone.

but to have this 'dream' of being the best at 'hop, skip
and jump' ... "from when I was 7" ... really? Especially when
you will never know if you really were the best in any case ... ?

And all those who make it to the olympics are are the best
at ****ing their pathetic excuses for 'lives' against the wall
on something that completely pointless at anyway.

hehe Not sure if I'd agree if it was just a hobby for them, or they
just did it for fun, for themselves. But then I'm not into 'Live
entertainment' much either (it often seems 'flawed' which of course it
is). I don't mind a film where the bad bits have been edited out.

Oh well, it will soon all be over and I can turn the tell back on again.
;-)

I only watch stuff I've recorded and the only effect that the
olympics has is that a couple of free to air TV channels aren't
worth even bothering to check the EPG for the duration.

We do that quite a bit normally. Timeshift TV. ;-)

[1] I do 'get' fun / amateur competition.

I don't, and never have.

Never played darts, cards, raced yer mate to the pub or yer kids
across a park?

Jumpers for goalposts, a round of golf with your
mates or even a game of darts down the pub.

Never bothered with any of that.

Me neither (those ones) but I do 'get' the competition thing.

I did manage to infect quite a few of those I knew with the
house building bug when I built my own from scratch tho.

I wonder if there was any 'competition' there to do it better, quicker
or cheaper?

I guess for me it's when people take that and turn
what is only / ever 'a game', 'a sport' and mutate it into
something bigger than it really should be (IMHO of course).

I'm not humble either |-)

I've noticed. ;-)

[2] Personally, I would much rather they spent the same money they
spent The Olympics, opening up our existing waterways across the
country and providing facility's for *everyone* to actually go out and
do this stuff. Not just those who happen to stumble into it but give
everyone a chance to not just give it a go but to be able to carry on
doing so (free / cheap) if they so choose. We don't need one velodrome,
we need thousands of miles of cycle paths and good bikes to ride on them.

Not into that stuff myself. I prefer to walk and do that well out of
town, basically because I find walking in the burbs too boring.

Still, the same can apply, even in the burbs (and as you mention
elsewhere with people on the road dawn / dusk etc). Take the Olympic
money and make a dual-use pavement for real everyday people to help
them get about better and safer?

We don't want a huge sports stadium
we want free gyms across the country.

We do have something like that.

We do?

The ****ing great
multilevel mega oval has a heap of exercise machines
out in the open that you are free to use any time you like.

Where is this then?

Don't use them myself.

Not sure how many of them I would but it might be nice to at least try
a verity.

With limited cash, we all need better facilitieS,

We don't.

We don't?

The facilitys are pretty decent and we have
just built some for the kids too, free for anyone to use.

They still exist though and I'm saying we need more (as you say,
especially for the kids). [2]

Cheers, T i m


[1] A tiler, here to do another role spotted my tiling and asked who
did it? I said 'me' and he added 'nice job but I bet that took you a
while?' (It took me whatever time it took to do a 'nice job'). ;-)

This would be in contrast to the dear old lady neighbour saying 'you
are making a good gob of that' when she observed me putting up a new
fence at the front. Whilst I accepted the comment in the spirit it was
given I'm not sure just how much skill she had re judging if it was
really good or not.

[2] And I don't just mean some patch of tarmac behind an industrial
estate, I'm talking a proper (say) skate park, properly manned and
maintained.