Off On One Again: August 2008

Off On One Again

A blog of no interest to anyone apart from me. Highly egotistical. Somewhat ironic that once upon a time people kept diaries secret. Now we publish to the world, even if no-one is listening (or reading). This may include stuff on Greece, history, rugby, cricket, Health and Safety, Wales, genealogy and West Hendred. It will almost certainly include complete rants about things I find amusing, interesting or annoying. There is no guarantee that anyone will share my views!

About Me

Name: Jonathan

Location: Didcot, Oxon, United Kingdom

37, forgetful, cynical, sarcastic, would like to have been a struggling artist but ended up with a PhD in chemistry. Got bored with being in the lab, fell into Health and Safety and now can't get out of science without taking a pay cut. Rather enjoying the diversion into Environmental compliance. Unfit and terminally depressed. Lovely wife Sam - just about all that keeps me together. Son Rafferty GFX Hall born 24 Oct 2005 is growing up quickly. Greyhound (Buddy), cats (PJ and Boots), tortoises (Tinkerbell and Compost). Learning Greek at Evening Classes. Play Cricket badly for Didcot CC, haven't played rugby for years and am a little annoyed about that. According to my medical, am clincially obese. Earn far too little. Completed H&S and Environmental Diplomas

August 22, 2008

Aussies - wind up merchants and very bad losers

http://www.foxsports.com.au/beijing_olympics/story/0,27313,24221767-5016818,00.html

August 20, 2008

Last Place Medals

Number of last places at the Olympics - if a medal was give for finishing plumb last,,,!

Have a chew

Tajikistan's Dzhakhon Kurbanov has been disqualified for biting Kazakh Yerkebulan Shynaliyev in their light-heavyweight quarter-final bout in the boxing.

The stupidity of sport governing bodies

Stolen from the BBC:

"The New Zealand hockey manager has been banished from the field at a crucial men's match because officials objected to his players' underwear. Kevin Marr was ordered to watch the must-win match against Germany from the grandstand as punishment for three players wearing black undies beneath white shorts in an earlier match."

The article goes on to suggest that Olympic dress codes demand players' underwear match their shorts. Who decided that? What did they envisage might happen if that rule didn't exist?

August 11, 2008

5 Live's Phone in

This morning's hour of opening up the national airwaves to the uneducated and opinionated British public, otherwise known as the phone-in on 5Live, asked the question of whether we should care about minority sports (in other words anything but football).

They seemed to completely miss the irony that as the self-titled Olympic station, they chose not to broadcast prime time from the Olympics (4 pm in Beijing) but broadcast drivel of that sort....

World Record in 4x100 Freestyle

In today's 4x100 men's Freestyle relay swimming at the Olympics, the USA beat the old World Record (set at 3:12:23). Impressive but not unusual. They knocked nearly four seconds off the record, which was gain impressive but not unusual. What was stunning was that all the top 5 broke the old record, with the 6th place Canadians 0.03 seconds outside the record. The GBR team in 8th were 0.6 seconds outside the record, which would normally be enough to at least get a medal. They beat the national record by 6 seconds. The best 5 times ever set in history all happened in the same race.

Stunning.