Winter Olympics 2014: Sochi...

These Olympics, are going to be bad in a lot of ways.....

Yeah, they ran out of pillows. PILLOWS! Nice job Russia. I wonder why you are no longer a world power...

I think they will suck also but I'm going to at least watch opening ceremonies if I can figure out what time they come on.

The horror stories coming out already are something else. No door knobs on the inside of hotel rooms, no running water in hotels, if it is working you shouldn't use it because of the stuff in it.

Yeah I heard the hotels were still mid construction which is nuts.

Tim, good to hear from you man.

The unfinished stuff is a product of the big problem out there, corruption. They made their own people homeless to bring the world to Sochi among other acts.

GDP it's great to be back man. And as far as the topic hell yeah it's terrible. The fact that they wanted the world to see how there standards are over there and put themselves on display is a joke.

Wasn't very impressed with the opening ceremonies to be honest.

timthebim wrote:

Wasn't very impressed with the opening ceremonies to be honest.

Some of it was cool,like the graphics on the floor, but I thought it was not good overall.

Yeah a couple parts was pretty cool but overall I wasn't impressed at all.

Canada women hockey team looks very good so far against Switzerland.

What to Do with Toilets



There is a lot of signage in Sochi that confounds the mind, but none more so than this very extensive demonstration of what to do and what not to do on toilets.

Do: Sit and use the toilet.

Don't: Stand and use the toilet.

Don't: Vomit into the toilet.

Don’t: Do an upper decker into the toilet’s tank.

Don't: Go fishing in the toilet.

Don't: Um…do your business on the floor while holding a bottle?

That begs the question: Where are people supposed to vomit?

Dangerous Courses

The women’s downhill ski training runs were delayed after just three racers on the first day of Olympic competition. It was deemed too dangerous because one of the jumps was too big and athletes were “getting too much air” according to Pat Graham of the Associated Press (via ABC News).

The race was stopped after Italy’s Daniela Merighetti injured both of her knees in the landing after the jump. The three racers will get to start again when competition resumes.

The news came just days after American snowboarder Shaun White pulled out of the slopestyle event over safety concerns. He’s not the only one with concerns about the course, which has been described as “sketchy,” but at this point all they can do is hope for the best.

In fairness, American Sage Kostenburg faired just fine on the slopestyle en route to the first gold medal of the Olympics.


Very Disgusting Yellow Food and Drink

ABC News correspondent Matt Gutman tweeted out this photo, later reposted by ABC on Facebook, which captured the minds and sickened the stomachs of people all over the world. He said, “Bees in your honey, beer colored water, no flush toilets and the buzz abt #Sochi yuck factor today on @GMA.”

Speaking of yellow water! Stacy St. Clair of the Chicago Tribune tweeted out an equally disgusting photo of that and said, “Water restored, sorta. On the bright side, I now know what very dangerous face water looks like. #Sochi #unfiltered.”


Russian Whitewashing



The malfunctioning Olympic rings at the opening ceremony made worldwide news because it was a pretty conspicuous mistake. The malfunction was broadcast, as it happened to most countries, but not to the host nation.

According to the Washington Times, instead of airing the malfunction, Russian state television aired an edited version that utilized pre-recorded footage of the demonstration in which things went off without a hitch.

It’s hard to imagine this is the first or last attempt by Russia to whitewash the happenings in Sochi.

Hotel Decor



On February 4, BBC Moscow Bureau Chief Kevin Bishop tweeted: “The reception of our hotel in #Sochi has no floor. But it does have this welcoming picture.”

The next day, Bishop provided an update on the situation, “Progress on the front desk front - a laptop and computer for Volodya. Still no floor though.. @Sochi2014.”

Featured prominently in both photos was a stately framed photograph of Russian president Vladimir Putin. Obviously much more important than a floor.


Unfinished Construction

Unfinished construction has been one of the big stories out of Sochi, fueled by tweets from journalists who have been meticulously documenting every exposed wire, uncovered manhole, broken curtain rod and makeshift shower curtain along the way.

And that’s just to name a few of the issues with the still-unfinished hotels, some of which are reportedly without lobbies, working elevators or even running water.


Toilet Proximity



The “twin toilet” story definitely has legs. First reported by the BBC’s Steve Rosenberg via a tweet on January 20, the double toilets in Sochi continue to make headlines three weeks later.

Apparently the unorthodox setup isn’t just an isolated incident at the Biathlon Centre, but rather a deliberate construction decision that is found all over the Olympic Village. #Awesome

Bed Proximity

The sleeping accommodations in the Canadian hockey dorm are cramped, to say the least. Though the photo only shows two beds, a wider look reveals there are three beds to a room, each separated by a nightstand and about 12 inches.

Although the quarters are tight, the Canadians aren’t complaining—they’re just getting creative. Said women’s goalie Shannon Szabados via Canada.com, “We rearranged our beds so they weren’t side-by-side. I think mine’s in the kitchen right now.”

That sounds like a recipe for restful sleep.

A Lack Of Pillows

As reported (and translated) by Vocativ (with a h/t to TheBigLead.com), a notice to Sochi volunteers at the Games revealed a rather unique problem facing athletes in the Olympic Village and a pretty disturbing solution to said problem.

The original notice, which is in Russian, can be seen on Instagram here. Here it is as translated by the fantastic folks over at Vocativ:
“

ATTENTION, DEAR COLLEAGUES! Due to an extreme shortage of pillows for athletes who unexpectedly arrived at Olympic Village in the mountains, there will be a transfer of pillows from all apartments to the storehouse on 2 February 2014. Please be understanding. We have to help the athletes out of this bind.
”
Um, wow. Maybe they should’ve just sent out an email a few weeks ago suggesting that athletes travel with their own pillows. That would’ve been more sanitary than collecting them from the homes of townspeople.

Plumbing...Issues



The setup of the toilets in Sochi is awkward and weird, but that’s actually not the worst of the bathroom situation. Not by a long shot.

Yahoo! Sports’ Greg Wyshynski was asked what has surprised him most in Sochi and he said “without question,” it was an instructional sign from inside a bathroom.

You can view the photo here, but the sign read: “Please do not flush toilet paper down the toilet! Put it in the bin provided.” #NoFlushingAllowed

Spray Painting Grass



This photo of a woman spray painting the grass outside an Olympic venue in Sochi has been making the rounds via Twitter and Instagram over the last few days. The issue here is just a matter of priorities.

If everything else was going off without a hitch, then someone painting the grass for appearance's sake would make more sense. But this seems like a waste of manpower considering the slew of problems in the Olympic Village.


Unwanted Visitors



ESPN’s Bonnie Ford tweeted out one of the more disconcerting photos shared by journalists in the last week.

Said Ford, “Update from #Sochi2014 barracks: Arrived back at my room and found door like this: (Clue: I didn’t leave it that way)."

Wow. Can’t imagine she’s been sleeping soundly.

Widespread Hacking

NBC News’ Richard Engel reported this week on a very disturbing hacking problem facing all visitors to Sochi for the Olympics. With the assistance of a cybersecurity expert, Engel demonstrated just how quickly and easily his devices had been accessed.

Said Engel, “In a minute, hackers were snooping around. The same thing happened with my cell phone—it was all very fast and very professional.” His cell phone and two laptops were both invaded by hackers within the first 24 hours.


Shower Spy Cams

In trying to address (and deny) the reports of widespread plumbing problems in Sochi, Russian deputy prime minister Dmitry Kozak didn’t set many minds at ease with his explanation of how he knew it to be false.

Said Kozak, “We have surveillance video from the hotels that shows people turn on the shower, direct the nozzle at the wall and then leave the room for the whole day."

He didn’t further elaborate on the Russian shower surveillance system because an aide quickly pulled him away before reporters were able to ask any follow-up questions. Which is a shame, because that sounds interesting.

Primetyme this was fascinating reading. I can't believe all the shit going wrong over there.

yeah it's crazy.

It really is and the sad part is I have been watching the events on tv and have loved it. I'm watching Russia vs Germany women's hockey right now and think it's awesome. Amazing that behind the scenes the place is in shambles.

I'm at work watching the websites I go to.   

Damn that sucks. I was on vacation this week. I don't go back to work till tomorrow.

I work every Sunday. My days off are Friday and Saturday. Sucks getting up on Sundays especially after working cards on Saturday nights. I did the CFFC card last night but thankfully it was over early and I got to sleep around midnight.

Yeah that does suck. I used to always have Sundays off but after this promotion I'm on a 6 week rotation schedule and I work 3 out of every 6 Sundays.

I would never want to do a rotating schedule.

Yeah it kinda blows. We get one full weekend off every 6 weeks and then work a full weekend twice. The other 3 weeks I work one weekend day and off the other.