Miner Details

I always enjoy watching the Olympics whenever I have the time.  The IOC, NBC, and the hosting nation always do a great job of telling an interesting story with the best athletes in the world.

I’m especially amazed at Michael Phelps.  The guy is an absolute marvel as he casually smashes through record after record and scoops up handfuls of gold medals.  (On a side note, check out his 12,000 calorie/day diet)

Yet, I wonder why it is that there are so many variations on swimming and so many available medals as a result.  Phelps could win 9 medals during these games, but is there any other sport where there are so many medals available?  Take a look a the list of men’s swimming events:

• 100 m backstroke
• 100 m breaststroke
• 100 m butterfly
• 100 m freestyle
• 1,500 m freestyle
• 200 m backstroke
• 200 m breaststroke
• 200 m butterfly
• 200 m freestyle
• 200 m individual medley
• 400 m freestyle
• 400 m individual medley
• 4×100 m freestyle relay
• 4×100 m medley relay
• 4×200 m freestyle relay
• 50 m freestyle
• 10 km marathon

It takes skill and excellence to earn a gold, and I know that every medal earned represents a lifetime of effort, discipline and sacrifice.  But why can’t basketball players achieve more than one medal?  Even kayaking/canoeing offers more medal opportunities:

• One-person 1000 m kayak
• One-person 500 m kayak
• Two-person 1000 m kayak
• Two-person 500 m kayak
• Four-person 1000 m kayak
• One-person 1000 m canoe
• One-person 500 m canoe
• Two-person 1000 m canoe
• Two-person 500 m canoe

Notice that in each of these events, there is only variation on the number of individuals competing, the length of the event, or the style of the event.  As such, I think the IOC should add a few more basketball events:

• One-on-one basketball
• Three-on-three basketball
• Free throw competition
• Three point competition
• Slam dunk contest (subjective with judges, but no worse than gymnastics)
• Horse

All of these events should be added before the IOC even considers including Texas Hold ‘em.

UPDATE:

Trampoline is an event.  Someone will earn a gold medal for trampoline.

Do you have other suggestions for variations on Olympic® events?  Share them in the comments.

• @yafd I’d love to hear how Google apps email does in terms of spam filtering for you. #
• @rodsantiano what are you eating, at midnight, in manhattan? #
• @tacanderson I’d love to hear what the takeaway is from the “local tv news” discussion tonight. #

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• A new king, a very European-styled crown, and dead pigs as far as the eye can see. http://tinyurl.com/6e98o9 Congratulations, Tonga! #

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• @yafd I’ve had my domains on google apps for mail for a long time now and love it. @shodson just moved mail to google; gets no spam™ now. #
• KNBC reports that in China they use chopsticks instead of forks. Sounds like a fluff story to justify sending a skinny blonde to Beijing. #
• Wow, with stories like “They Use Chopticks in China”, I should add every episode of “Olympic Zone” to my TiVo. Thumbs up, Channel 4! #
• But it the employee handbook didn’t say I _couldn’t_ take a bath in the sink.. http://tinyurl.com/5jzxxs #
• China’s Milli Vanilli moment: http://tinyurl.com/67vrdz “You’ve got a great voice, but those buck-teeth… Find someone cuter.” #

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• _The Little Mermaid_ is teaching my 2 year old bad habits. She’s brushing her hair with a fork. No joke. #
• Iran backs out of Israeli pool showdown http://tinyurl.com/6dxnn5 #
• “Alirezaei swims in lane one and the representative of the Zionist regime (Israel) in lane seven, so they will not face each other,” #
• Couldn’t find my cell phone this morning. Some jerk took it and put it exactly where i left it in my car. #
• Random House announces that terrorism is an effective way to stifle speech. http://tinyurl.com/5dktv4 #
• just bought JungleDisk and signed up for Amazon S3 online storage. So far so good. #
• thinking of brushing up on my argumentum non-sequitur skills #
• @yafd your hosted mail or your @ gmail.com ? #

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• @alexlindsay is there a GMT twitter feed I can follow? #
• Pigeonhole principle: If you have 5 pairs of shoes in your closet and you grab 6 shoes, you will be assured of at least one complete pair. #

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• I’m so impressed with the architecture, art, design, and choreography of the Olympics. A beautiful example of how it should be done. #
• The protective gear they wear for fencing looks like 1950s sci-fi space suits. They need to have a V-Stripe to complete the effect. #
• @jowyang Last Olympics German media was criticized for focusing primarily on German winners rather than global, wonder if that’ll happen aga #
• @jowyang Last Olympics Ohio media was criticized for focusing on Ohio winners rather than national, wonder if that’ll happen again #
• Just got a commercial robo-call on my cell phone. Isn’t that illegal? #

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• @scottanderson I like how Twitterific ads never blink, flash, or ask to punch the monkey.@chockenberry, Pride of Orange County, great job! #
• @shodson Twhirl’s nice, but it doesn’t talk to “Growl” and that’s the dealbreaker for me. #
• making an effort to cut down on bacn in my inbox. #
• via @hotdogsladies http://xrl.us/MerlinsCard #

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• What is better than “best”? “Excellent”, apparently. http://tinyurl.com/58bbtq #
• installing drivers for an old HP all-in-one scanner-printer-wafflemaker. Worried that the driver will take up permanent residence in my dock #
• @maccast Maybe they are running out of room on Wikipedia. I was afraid this day would come. #
• “I’ll see you at the debates, bitches” could end up being the most memorable line from campaign 2008. #
• @CHCtwitter Awesome production values. What program did you use to do the lower 3rd graphics? Also, Lakeview Basement = Awesome Oxymoron #
• OK, web 2.0 application… FYI: Rancho Cordoba is NOT within 50 miles of Orange County. Please make a note of it. #
• @CHCtwitter Yeah, good job! I’d much rather have a video walkthrough to add to any photos. Hard to get perspective from a static shot. #
• Off to the DMV for a new photo and renewed license. Last time I went they told me they can’t take credit cards (!) because of the “system”. #
• I have deep, seething contempt for the DMV. Will live-tweet if anything interesting happens. What a despicable implementation of government #
• Apparently they play bingo at the DMV. They just called G112. #
• The waiting area of the DMV looks like a gallery of forlorn, damned souls. #
• The DMV has a sign that displays the wait times at other DMV locations. Such information might be more useful on the internet than here. #
• Practicing my smile for my new driver’s license photo at the stupid DMV. #
• Things that could make the DMV better:tv’s w/Ultimate Fighting championship, a Ms. Pac-Man machine, a laundromat, starbucks, twitter. #
• Are you dead behind the eyes? The DMV is hiring. #
• Have you given up on having a meaningful, positive impact on the world? The DMV is hiring. #
• Tired me being part of the solution? The DMV is hiring. #
• Ok! I’m done here! No more DMV comments for 6 years. Thanks everyone, you’ve been great. #

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• @jeffmcneill Only 79 browser tabs open right now. Need to catch up. Maybe I’ll cmd-click some LOLcats or something. #
• @jeffmcneill currently getting down to inbox zero, then browser tab zero, then desktop zero, then bowl of ice cream zero. #
• @ironicsans They fixed that file problem in Windows Mojave. #
• @rodsantiano you bought a song on iTunes with DRM? THAT’s the crime. Amazon.com has DRM-free mp3s. #
• @whatevrnvrmind Why couldn’t you use gmail for all your email? http://www.google.com/a/ #
• @whatevrnvrmind That link was going to a chinese page. Here ya go againi: http://www.google.com/a/help/intl/en/index.html #
• @jasoncalacanis Delta Airlines to Offer Wi-Fi on all flights http://tinyurl.com/5pamee #

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