Monday Meanderings - 2.17.2014

If you didn't make your Valentine purchases prior to Valentine's Day itself you were out of luck if you went shopping at WalMart. By 10AM the shelves were stripped of cards, candy and stuffed bears; got to make room for Easter merchandise. Time's a wasting!

I noticed all that on one of the rare times that I was not glued to the TV this past week, soaking in every moment of the Olympics. The 10 hour time difference sure makes it difficult! However, since NBC only shows the highlights (and mainly the USA highlights, at that) during prime time, you have to stay up all night to see the rest of the action - like the figure skaters from Uzbekistan.

  For this triple throw, the judges gave the pair a 9.5 for originality, but deducted style points because she did not stick her landing.

I've been following the Uzbekistan team very closely, all three members. Bless their hearts, they have not won a medal since Lillehammer in 1994; their first and last.  Here, the ski-jumping competitor (who is also the team chaplain) didn't place, but he did get a nifty illustration for his sermon on "The Slippery Slope."

And then there's Curling, my favorite sport. I could doze for hours during the interminable Curling matches or "Ends" to use the vernacular of the sport. Except all the screaming keeps waking me. I've decided that "Whoa!" has the same meaning in every language.

It may look very low tech, but I found out that there are electronics embedded in those stones; if the "Thrower" does not release the stone before it crosses the "Hog Line" little red lights show up on the handle of the "Rock." Man, I love those terms, and I haven't even gotten around to the "Hammer" yet (which simply means that it is the last stone thrown).

And if you thought curling was a risk-free sport, here's the Russian "Skip" down for the count after being bowled over.

I know this video was from Torino - thus far Vladimir Putin has blocked all coverage of Cat Curling in Sochi. Something about, "Nyet! Too much grief about the stray dogs. Mother Russia loves all pets, cats and dogs alike!"

Only 700 more hours to view. Go Uzbekistan!