Feb 7
I am happy to report I am in the relatively pleasant climate-controlled ice arena for the men’s short program. I treated myself by assigning Dawn Cai and me to this. The rest of the crew is at Big Air.
Thanks for all the birthday wishes everyone.
Warm weather mask.
Feb 6
The Alpine Center is downright tropical compared to the Snow Park where Slopestyle was. I’m wearing only one winter coat at the men’s downhill, not two like I had the past few days.
This was me at slopestyle
The sports editor asked if I would write up the backstory to our fear project so he could share it with the staff. I thought I’d share it here too.
It was 2008, also in Beijing, when Bedel and I worked on a piece that allowed people to experience what it was like to stand atop the Olympic 10-meter diving platform. Bedel had taken our latest toy, a 360-degree camera to the Water Cube, now known as the Ice Cube, current home of curling.
Read moreFirst full day of competitions and we had to make the 140-mile journey to the Snow Park, where slopestyle, halfpipe and a few other events are located. But our target was slopestyle. It was the women’s snowboard qualifiers and we did a dry run for the final Sunday morning.
Read moreThe bar is open!
High tech culinary exploits are underway at the MMC, a.k.a. Main Media Center. There are precisely measured and expertly shaken drinks at the Robot Bar. Patricia, perhaps you should get one for your opening ceremony party. Robots also make our food and deliver it. Touchless cuisine at its finest. Asking them to leave out the soy sauce seems to fall on deaf ears, though. Well, to be completely fair, the robots don’t have ears.
Read moreBack so soon, you ask?
I’ve had my fill of the Far East these past few Games — South Korea, Japan, China. Marco Polo has nothing on me. I didn’t have to take the Silk Road, but my journey did seem endless. More than 24 hours from JFK to my hotel in Beijing, with a long stop in Paris and a long, cold wait in the Beijing airport.
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Eat at Joe’s 