Olympics

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I’m pretty much a big huge fan of the Olympics. Summer, winter, I like them all. So I’m pretty excited about the London 2012 games that just started. One of the interesting things about living in Canada is that we have some more choices for Olympics coverage- we can watch the CTV coverage broadcast in Canada, or the NBC feed from nearby NBC affiliates in the US.

So we watched the Opening Ceremonies twice last night- first when it was broadcast live on CTV, and then when NBC broadcast it on delay. There are some things about the NBC coverage that I like- first of all, they have John Williams’ Olympic Fanfare and Theme. Which I love. Also, they do make a pretty montage.

I could pretty much do without Meredith Vieira, however. When I saw that she was hosting the Opening, I was surprised, and then thought “hey, maybe she’ll do well!” I was wrong. It was kind of a foot-in-mouth parade for her. I do kinda like Bob Costas, mostly because he’s been doing the Olympics forever so he’s like, the Olympics voice from my childhood. But man, Ms. Vieira really brought it down for me. Thankfully I’d already seen the ceremony once (including the bits NBC cut out in order to run more commercials), so I was just watching again to see the initial bits that I missed and to compare the coverage.

So a few point-form comments on bits I enjoyed of the Opening Ceremonies!

  • Kenneth Branagh in a stovepipe hat
  • Um, the Queen as a Bond girl.  I <3 being in the commonwealth.
  • And her CORGIS.  I swear, corgis are turning me into a dog person.
  • Glowing beds and dancing nurses and kids and a tribute to the NHS
  • Childrens’ choirs singing pretty songs I know
  • Abide with me, so pretty.
  • All the pretty sod that they used for the opening
  • The hill with all the flags of the represented countries on it
  • OMG, each country a part of the cauldron. How awesome is that?

So the actual events start today! Artistic gymnastics is a favourite of mine, so I’ll be watching that. We’re watching a good bit of cycling (fresh from watching weeks of the Tour de France, we love our cycling). I like gymnastics and diving the best, but I also like to watch sports I don’t get to see much of otherwise- canoe/kayak, badminton, equestrian, rowing, etc etc. I like the opportunity to learn more about the various nations that have sent athletes, and about the host country. Super excited.

So yeah, for the next couple weeks, it will be Olympics fever up in here! Yaaaaaay. 😀

Weekend awesomeness

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This past weekend was pretty nice! We didn’t have any specific plans for Friday or Saturday. We wound up having takeout wings for dinner on Friday, and on Saturday, we had a couple of nice outings and a long walk around the neighbourhood.

On Sunday, we went to the zoo! I’ve been to the Toronto Zoo a couple of times, but this was Wesley’s first trip. I love zoos, and have been to a ton of different ones in North America and Europe, and the Toronto Zoo is pretty good. Jackie, a friend of ours, was organizing an outing, so we decided to go!

It was a super hot day, so we made sure to stick to the shade where we could to keep cool. We saw mostly the African Savannah section of the zoo, since we were only there for a few hours.

Wesley is just getting to the age where he is able to enjoy a zoo trip. He was able to watch the animals (the ones that moved around, anyway- he wasn’t really interested in the crocodile that just sat still) and he liked being outside (though he got pretty hot before it started to rain).

And did it ever rain! We decided to stop for lunch because we were getting really hot, and the storm blew in while we were eating.

We waited until the rain died down a bit and then headed to do some of the indoor stuff, where we saw a pygmy hippo (so cute!) and some other cool animals. We hit up the kids’ zoo area before leaving (Wesley is gonna love that when he gets a little older!) and then came home.

All in all, a pretty awesome weekend.

Entering the tablet world

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For a long time, I didn’t really have a use for a tablet- I have a laptop, and am not a huge fan of touchscreens (aaaaahhhh fingerprints). But just this past weekend, I got one of my own, because I found a use for them finally! I like to read in bed before I fall asleep, and I have an e-reader, which helps me avoid the otherwise inevitable stack of books on my nightstand. But sometimes I want to read blog articles or Facebook or whatever other internet, since those things work a little more nicely when my attention span is shorter. I don’t like using my laptop in bed though- so enter the tablet- it’s my ereader for the internet.

I got a BlackBerry Playbook. It was a fairly easy choice for me, since I like to support RIM, but I particularly like the size of it- it’s similar in size to my Sony ereader and since I have small hands, I find it a lot easier to handle than a 10″ tablet. I took it with me when we went to Trevor’s parents’ this past weekend as well, and it’s really nice as an alternative to lugging the laptop along or using my phone to check my email and such. It’s nice out on the deck as well, if I am not wanting to avoid technology out there. 🙂 I’m pretty pleased with it, and the price is pretty awesome too. Hooray!