I got a nice email from the SVP of HR (my boss' boss' boss and the Sr. HR person in the entire Corporation) congratulating me for winning the fitness challenge (see yesterday's log entry) and setting a good example for the company and my department. That was cool. Always nice to get praise from the Executive Floor. But..the bad news was...no MRI today. Something came up and I had to cxl the appt, but I got another for tomorrow. Whew. My wife's got a softball game, so no gym, and the boy went to bed too late to set up the trainer, so I'm chilling on BT and watching Project Runway, and praying that f-ing Stella finally goes home. B: YFG L: Tuna sandwich on baguette D: Not really hungry, so I kind of grazed on what was in the fridge.

Final thoughts on the Olympics: I know it’s not apples and apples, and I’m certainly not comparing China to Nazi Germany, but we kept hearing over and over again about how these games were critical to China to show themselves to the world as a new superpower, and especially that it was considered vitally important to the Chinese that they win as many gold medals as possible to demonstrate…what exactly I’m not sure. But it was hard to hear that and not think of Hitler’s 1936 Berlin games, which he viewed as a means to demonstrate the superiority of the Aryan race and their way of life. It’s kinda nice to have a natural Olympic rival again, like we used to have with the Soviet Union. If Rocky 4 came out today, Ivan Drago would be Chinese. And Sylvester Stallone would be way to old for anyone take him seriously as a boxer anymore, so of course, no one in their right mind would make a movie like that now….oh, wait….. I think all the Americans screaming about the Chinese gymnasts now know what all those French people felt like who were screaming for all those years about how Lance Armstrong just HAD to be doping, because, well…just LOOK at him. At the end of the day, as Lt. Caffee says in A Few Good Men, “It doesn’t matter what I think. It only matters what I can prove.” And, not for nothing, but the 12-year old Chinese girls WON. I’m not saying that it’s ok if they were allowed to compete when they were ineligible, but I didn’t hear much of an outcry until they started winning gold medals. I guess they can unplug Dim Daggett, Elfie Schlagel, Ato Bolden, and Cynthia Potter and put them in their crates until 2012. Seriously, what do they do between Olympics? I can picture Cynthia Potter (he expert commentator for diving) sitting in the park, watching the leaves falling off the trees into the pond and talking to herself. “That one just didn’t have the tight rotation that you’d expect to see in a maple leaf. And way too many ripples on the entry—I wouldn’t give it more than a 7.5. We’ll see if that opens the door for the Poplar to take command of this competition…” I kinda want Michael Phelps to just totally fall off the wagon now. Quit swimming, accept a couple of ridiculous movie roles, start showing up in VIP rooms with Paris Hilton, get photographed by the paparazzi on Diddy’s yacht in St. Barths with a bottle of Cristal in each hand, surrounded by eight topless girls each wearing one of his medals. I mean, he’s earned it, hasn’t he? It must be weird for Misty May and Kerry Walsh to go back to wearing clothes on a regular basis. By the way, did you see the interview with Bob Costas after they won the gold? Somehow, they were all the same size, sitting behind the desk. I don’t know about you, but I think that is a feat of CGI technical brilliance that far outweighs the fireworks in the opening ceremonies. I’m sad that it’s over, actually. As always, I thought the coverage was focused too much on the stuff Americans do well (swimming, sprints, gymnastics) and I didn’t see as much of the other sports and other countries’ top athletes as I’d like to have seen, but I can’t remember enjoying another Olympics more. I’m looking forward to 2012 already—I might actually get a chance to see some of them in person if I play my cards right. That would be cool, no? B: Kashi cereal S: Granola bar L: Tuna sandwich

Got my MRI today. They put these headphones on, darken the room, and start playing friggin' Josh Groban and tell me "don't fall asleep or you'll move around and ruin the images." I'd have an easier time staying awake with an IV of morphine than with John Groanin' in my ears. Jeez, the guy's like musical Vicodin. I don't know how people listen to that. Finally, I decided I preferred to listen to the clanking of the machine. Wife's away, and got home too late to set the trainer up and everything, but I did do a ton of walking around today, so it wasn't a total loss. B: YFG L: pastrami sandwich D: ww pasta pomodoro with chicken