Obligatory Olympic Post

As I got off the plane upon my return to Des Moines, i was greeted by a crowd who had gathered to see soemoen who had went off and made world history and the state proud.

Oddly, it wasn't me.

It was Liang Chow, better known as the personal coach for Olympic gymnasts Gabby Douglas and Shawn Johnson.  He runs a gymnastics club in West Des Moines.  He from all appearances, appears to be a very friendly, optimistic person.  Unfortunately, from my encounter, you won't get any great insight.  He was very polite and civil while waiting for luggage to come off the carousel.  That is all I can offer up.

I watched quite a bit of the Olympics, and since most people have already covered it, I don't know that I have any further insight there, either.  For the most part, I thought NBC's coverage was fine, though I certainly understand the criticisms.  If only NBC had a family of channels where perhaps they could have shown some live events, instead of taping everything.

I am told the NBC.com streaming events wasn't great, though it should be noted, in four years, the technology won't be needed (for those in the US, as the games will be in this hemisphere) and in eight years, technology shouldn't be a problem.

I missed the Opening Events and heard the criticism of them being edited (I understand that), and the only part of the closing events, I saw was Eric Idle singing "Always Look On the Bright Side of Life" (which  seems appropriately British).

the other local story besides Gabby and Chow.  I actually predicted this.  Lolo finished a disappointing fourth.  I think Lolo had been built up so much as a gold medal sure thing, that it was almost inevitable that she wouldn't succeed.  I really do feel this was a case of the media building someone up and then tearing them down when they don't do everything we expect.  Yes, she was on Leno and everywhere else, but I don't really blame her.

Shoes I found in a dried up lake

Part of my trip to SLC included a nice little hike just outside Sandy, Utah (a town of about 80,000 and also birthplace of The Sandman).

Anyway, I humbly offer up to Adam_0oo for his shoes series a shoe in a dried-up river bed, a picture of an abandoned shoe if he would take it.



That said, it ended up being a bit "Where's Waldo", so perhaps I will have to wait another day. If you don't see it, I will give you a couple of hints, it's in the upper middle, and it's the sole showing.

Here a couple of more from this trail which I enjoyed immensely, and was a favorite of joggers, horsemen, and teenage hooligans.
( A few more pics... )

If you have to ask, you can't afford it

Part of my Salt Lake trip took me up to the mountains. While I have been up there before, I never have been to Park City before.

Park City is a resort town and is what you think of when you think of where CEOs go for their summer home. Indeed, Mitt Romney has one of his homes there. I thought about leaving a message at his door, but with four houses, I'd figure it would be November before he saw it.

Hey-Oh!

I don't know where Romney dwells, but I was pointed to a house (a driveway really) where I was told was the residence of Robert Redford. It was gated, but indeed, the gate was open, so maybe dinner with The Sundance Kid maybe wasn't outside the realm of possibility.

Equally notably is the road that continues on up past Park City which reaches grades of 10% and is only for the true off-roader and those who were born there.

Park City is the main location of the Sundance Film Festival, and looks like it. It has to have the most art galleries per capita of any place in the world.

Wikipedia says the town has a per capita household income of $65,000, but it feels like it should be twice of that. Wiki also states this town was once home of Ted Bundy and Harry Reems, which suggests like Aspen and other resort towns was probably a home for bohemians and layabouts, but given the current residents (Romney, Michael Jordan) has become a town for the profoundly rich.

For example, the town's only graffiti was provided by Banksy and is framed.



I snapped a picture or two, but once again I will defer to Wiki for a pic that best captures Main Street Park City, a series of high-end retail shops, art galleries (I can't stress this enough) and coffee shops.



The other thing that I can't help but mention about Park City is that whole 'middle of nowhere' comment that British Prime Minister Cameron made. There were quite a few Olympic events that were held in this area (skiing, luge, and yes you can go bobsledding here if you like).

Logistically, there is a lot of space, so yes indeed, it can't be avoided that surely having events herewould be way easier than trying to have them in a big city like London. I can't pin any of this on Romney, Cameron, or anyone. It doesn't feel like it should be a point of contention. It just is. Sure, you can talk about it, but it seems a moot point.

Salt Lake residents (I am told) took great pride in pointing out the failings of the London games. I didn't experience this first hand, nor am I sure who these 'residents' are though if I had to guess, I would expect it to be local radio hosts. For example, the Olympics Security Strike was one way SLC trumped London ("They can't even find security guards").

(As an aside, while doing research for this post, I found out that Keith Moon was asked to be part of the London closing ceremony. No word if Kenney Jones took his place).

Lastly, I will share a photo I snapped of Park City, which captures the Shopping District from the bottom and the back. It should give you some perspective of both the upscale town and the mountainous terrain in the background.

Cuidado!: Moose

Every year this time, I talk about the butter sculpture at the Iowa State Fair. Perhaps after 100-plus years, the Butter Cow is passe.

Behold! The Chocolate Moose.



Chocolate moose? Get it?

Hey-Oh!

Oddly, I missed the Moose when I visited the Fair, which gives a bit of the breadth of the Iowa State Fair (and also that a little Fair goes a long ways). The Moose was the work of Chocolaterie Stam and 4000 bars made up the 850 pound moose.

On a side note, i did not miss the latest ice cream technology. Ames's Liquid Nitrogen flash frozen ice cream Nitro Magic which was fantastic.

Also, speaking of Moose, now seems like the right time to post this from my Utah trip. While I was in the Wasatch Mountain Range, I was on the lookout for moose. I didn't see any, so I had to settle for this sign.



I am told there are Moose in this area (and the very rare Mountain Goat and very rare Bear), but only saw deer.

I am also told that if you are looking for a moose, they are harder to find than you think.  I was told to look for black spots against the green countryside.

No moose though.  Maybe next time.