The astute observer will note that we're just 70 days from the opening of the XXIX Olympiad. In my own mind I claim to be the biggest fan of the Olympics in the world. Will I be there this year? No. Will I watch every single event on TV? Count on it. Except while I'm at work, of course. And church. And on dates. And when I'm bathing myself. Or sleeping at night.

I do love the Olympics, though. This year's Summer Games brings the addition of a few items to the traditional Olympic presentation. The major addition this year is smog. The games are being played in China, home address for most of the world's pollution. The city of Beijing is taking measures to clean up the air this summer, but the risk to the athletes' health is still very real. Other additions to this year's set of events include the following (not kidding):

• BMX Racing
  
• Long-distance Swimming
  
• 3000m Women's Steeplechase
  
• Team Table Tennis
  
• A few new women's Fencing events
  

This year will mark the last Olympiad featuring a Baseball competition. Fortunately the World Baseball Classic will be held again next year. The WBC really is a much better set of circumstances for producing a true world champion baseball team than the Olympics have been able to be. The schedule works much better, and it allows each team to put forth its best roster. I'll be sad to see Baseball go from the Olympics, but the WBC more than consoles that sadness.

Let's just get one thing out of the way: China doesn't deserve to host the Olympics. The laundry list of human rights violations carried forth and endorsed by the central Chinese government hasn't earned it the right to host an event like the Olympics. But that is the last I will say of that. Whether we like it or not, the Olympics are going forward in Beijing. So I will let that lie. I want to enjoy the sport of it all. I want to see the countries compete and race, cycle and swim. I will rest my protests and simply hope that China changes.

Allow me to show you all some of my favorite Olympic memories:

Derek Redmond pulling up with a torn hammy in Barcelona
I remember watching it live. I was 13 years old and truly felt touched in my heart at Redmond's determination, and by his father's love and support. It was perhaps one of the earliest points in my life where I recognized true Christ-like compassion in my heart. It is a beautiful Olympic moment:



Michael Johnson's 200m in 1996
He's the greatest American runner of my generation. Look at those golden shoes! Note that the Namibian Frankie Fredericks was a runner at BYU back in the day. Neat little factoid.



50km Speed Walk in the 2004 Athens games
Fine, this isn't the actual video of that event (as if something like archived Olympic walking races would really be on YouTube), but it was SOMETHING like this. Only if my memory serves me correctly there was a dead heat between an Ecuadorian and a Peruvian. I watched it at roughly 2:00 AM one night. We had the living room in the Brown House (on 9th East in Provo) set up stadium-style and positioned someone at the TV for virtually every event -- there was 24-hour coverage during the Athens games -- oh, where have you gone, Kent Freeze?! So the 50km speedwalk captivated me and carried me through the next day. Note that the participants wear beepers or lasers or something on their feet to ensure that at least one foot is planted at all times. And look at those hips!



Two words: Kerri Strug
Who can forget sweet little Kerri Strug? I certainly can't! 1996 in Atlanta! She jacked up her ankle on a vault, then came back and fought through the pain to score a 9.712 on her final vault, winning the Gold for Uncle Sam. I'm not the most traditionally-patriotic American you'll ever meet. I generally don't fly flags and I only sing our National Anthem when I'm so full of love for my country that I feel like singing out, (although: who could forget that U.S. vs. Costa Rica World Cup Qualifier back in 2005 when I wrote "First On The Moon" on my face and hung Old Glory around my neck? Pictures here) but still, seeing her bring it home for our country still makes me want to beat my chest once out of pride. But only once. And only when no one else is doing it.



That's all for now. Let's get up for the Olympics, friends! Who's ready? Who's excited? Who'll be joining me 'round the clock? Anyone? Any takers? Let's coordinate your favorite events and watch some together. Let me know.

http://www.dwell.com/daily/blog/19099469.html



In light of my recent downsize from the two-bedroom downtowner with high ceilings and 1930s wood floors to the cell-like confines of my rented bedroom (which is wonderful -- don't get me wrong -- I totally love it. But it is indeed a downshift in living space), the thought of this apartment in Brooklyn is utterly refreshing. I can't say that I would enjoy the trip up and down the stairs (look, I have a small bladder and I frequently get up in the middle of the night to relieve myself), but this apartment looks to be as near to perfect as I've ever imagined: Great living space, plenty of shelving, a nice, quiet study, a kitchen with plenty of natural light, beautiful flooring, high walls... it's simply perfect.

I'll take it!

I called 2007 my "Year of the Beard." I suppose it was a reaction to having lived in Utah for those years, where beards are esteemed to be the official facial hair configuration of non-Mormons, jack-Mormons, and people who don't love God. So when I moved here and was free of that whispered tyranny, I finally let loose on my life-long desire to sport a beard. I had worn scruff while in Utah, but never a real beard.

My first experiment was the June/July 6-week full beard that centered around my trip to Norway. This photo here was taken on the banks of the Drammen fjord:


I shaved it soon after returning from Norway, but the experiment was a clear success. I had proven that I could wear a full beard and not look TOO bad (although "how it looks" is clearly a debatable topic -- be sure to leave a comment with your opinion). The corners of my chin clearly grew the fastest, and the front of my chin takes its time, but there weren't really any patchy areas that were too stubborn to grow. So I definitely claimed victory in the June/July Norway beard experiment.

Growing a beard is a milestone that should be paired with something else happening in life. Are you a law school graduate preparing to take the bar exam? Why not grow a beard until the test is done? In the middle of your last semester of school? How about a beard to go along with it? Growing a beard can be a sign of continued commitment to an upcoming event: Building up to a marathon? Why not grow a runner's beard? It worked for Forrest Gump!

With the success of the Norway beard in my personal accomplishment portfolio, I set off to find something new and exciting that would warrant another beard. I shaved regularly throughout the late summer and early fall, mostly with the aid of a new shave cream (Anthony Logistics For Men Shave Cream) and a new step-by-step shave strategy:

1. Hot water (or a hot wet towel) across the face.
   
2. Cream up, then shave WITH THE GRAIN.
   
3. Rinse with hot water.
   
4. Cream up again, then shave AGAINST THE GRAIN.
   
5. Rinse well with cold water.
   
6. Apply post-shave product (I use Burberry Brit After-shave Lotion -- but don't go buy it, because it's MINE).
   

In the middle of Autumn I found out that I would be going on a big trip for work throughout the first three weeks of December, then would roll that trip right in to my Christmas trip home to California. I had found what I was looking for: a big reason to wear another beard!

I started that same day with a fresh shave, then committed to not shave until New Year's. "But why?," people would ask me. I couldn't really give a reason, only that I knew I was committed to it. I would be going (as I've previously reported) to countries on two continents, and that seemed like a reason to celebrate with a beard!

On and on it grew. Come December 1 I was asked if I would shave for the trip, and I declined to do so. I went to Germany, Austria, the UK, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, and India, at each place proudly wearing it. (Courtney, if you read this: Again, I apologize!)


I even started "primping" it regularly. By Christmas it was unwieldly, and my parents sighed and shook their heads. We were having family portraits taken, and I volunteered to shave it, but was told by both my dad and step-mom that I could wear it in the pictures if I wanted to, so I kept it. (Side note: I should point out that they later were mildly agitated when I shaved it a few days after the pictures were taken... I promise I'll get a new photo for your wall soon, Dad!)

New Year's approached, though, and I really wanted to make my goal, but at the same time I had grown EXTREMELY tired of the shag. Glenn and I decided to get rid of it the night before I flew home. I shaved while he took pictures (for a stop-motion video -- it's posted on my facebook) Here are the last pictures of that majestic creation, taken just before its death:







I wanted to make it to January 1, but I made it to December 30... Does that count? Can I "round up" and say that I accomplished the goal? I think the spirit of the law would say that the beard served its purpose, so the end date was decidedly arbitrary.

Now I'm back to regular cycles of scruff and small beards. I can't say that I'll ever give the huge beard another try. Discuss, please.

My new residence has brought with it a new drive to work. I used to approach Red Hat from the northeast, and now I come at it straight from the west. Rather than staying on Western all the way to Avent Ferry, I choose to cut through the side streets: from Western to Gorman to Marcom to Varsity, then straight on over to Red Hat.

Along the way, though, I've discovered a slight corridor that I've deemed "The Forgotten Avenue." Whatever city organization (Public Works? Police? Local chapter of the Rotary organization?) that cleans the road of carrions is clearly unaware that this area exists. It starts on the south side of the Marcom/Varsity intersection, and continues down Varsity for a block and a half. I've illustrated the area here:



In the past three weeks, I've come across the following, all dead in the road: a raccoon, two squirrels, four little birds, and what I think was a possum. That's eight carcasses. None of them get cleaned up. Usually they're in the same place the next day, only a bit more run over and torn up. I suppose some of them could be getting cleaned up, but I haven't seen any evidence of that. I've only seen dead animals rotting away in the middle of the road.

In no uncertain terms, I say here and now that driving down The Forgotten Avenue can be an exercise in controlling the gag reflex. I should call Public Works. In the meantime, be advised.

As my readers have noted over the years, I go through phases on occasion where I post less or more than in other times. Lately I had started picking the pace up again after a slower time, but I decided it was time for a new template. I've decided to move to WordPress and base my new design on the Cutline theme (created by Chris Pearson at Pearsonified), and I've been working on that here and there for the past week or so. My redesign isn't quite done yet, though, so I'll need to maybe put a bit of time into it this weekend to get it where I want it to be.

In the meantime, I've also been working on some other things: Revising some sections of the HPSI web site (that's my regular consulting gig), working on a site for Angela's homestaging project, creating a site for the party Janelle and Sunni and I are throwing next weekend, and starting a few other pet projects here and there.

I didn't want to lose my momentum, though, and that warranted a post today. My cousin Amy and I went to DC a few weeks ago. She came out and visited me for 5 days, and for 2.5 of those days we went to DC. We stayed at the relatively-new Courtyard Washington Capitol Hill/Navy Yard. I had previously stayed in the Bethesda Marriott and the Renaissance M Street last summer, and I was planning on staying at the JW Marriott for this trip with Amy, but we got a great deal at this Courtyard and decided to stay there. And it was simply perfect. We parked the car there and took the Metro everywhere. The Navy Yard stop is literally like 100 yards from the Courtyard. It's perfect. I'd recommend it for a trip to DC. Nice, clean room, good security for the car, etc. The Navy Yard is obviously enjoying quite the resurgence of late, the centerpiece being the new Nationals Park. The Nats were out of town, though, so we didn't get to go to a game.

On Sunday we hit up some of the monuments, since Amy hadn't been in DC since she was young. While walking from the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial, the sprinkles got a bit heavier, then the clouds opened up and poured on us. We were in the middle of the Mall, next to the Reflecting Pool (right here), and we had nowhere to go that would provide us shelter from the rain... so we just kept going! By the time we got to the Lincoln Memorial we were soaked to the core. Every ounce of every piece of clothing on my body was soaked all the way through. After relaxing (that term really is relative, isn't it?) at the feet of Honest Abe for about a half hour, we decided to go try and fetch a cab. We got one relatively easy, then went back to the hotel, dried off, changed, etc., then decided to get the car out of the garage and drive it the rest of the way.

It was a good trip. I loved having my cousin Amy out here in Raleigh. Since then I've moved to a new apartment and I've been getting used to that. Also, I went down to Fayetteville last Thursday to see Allen get home from the war. That was a supreme treat. My dad and step-mom and my younger brother Cameron were there, too, and it was great to see them in this state that I've come to love so much. I made my dad and step-mom promise that they wouldn't judge North Carolina on Fayetteville alone. Luckily my dad will be back to visit in June for a few days, so he'll be able to spend some time here in beautiful Raleigh.

I'm looking forward to another trip to the northeast at the end of June. I'll be driving to Boston, stopping in DC, Philly, and New York along the way. That'll definitely be a good trip.