JohnA lifeBlog

I’m a wimp who cannot last through this “parade”.

• I am simply AMAZED at how the producers have chosen to use people instead of technology in so many places. Where I expect to see a nice servo, I instead see a smiling Chinese citizen.
• What technology are they using to project on the canopy at the top of the stadium? It is too precise to be DLP, but too bright to be anything else.
• Ugh, time for the part of the “ceremony” that is awful… how long until they light the flame?
• Even the immovable Bob Costas is confused by the the athletic parade. I don’t feel so stupid now not knowing how many character strokes “United States brought to you by McDonalds and Starbucks” requires
• Why is Bush 43 still “arguing” with Putin? Isn’t that what the Kremlin is for?

Sorry friends, I need to hit the sack. Enjoy 2 more hours of, um, walking. Yeah.

Wow, the first Lenovo commercial I’ve seen yet… sorry, but it’s not a Thinkpad…

• I wish I could be a cameraman covering this event… how awesome was the petticoat shot just when Bob Costas talked about costumes!
• A 500 foot LED display… how many pixels, and how much $$$ is that?
• Every single woman performing is simply stunning. I guess when you have over 500 million available, you can be choosy.
• It’s interesting, watching NBC’s bumpers with the “classic” Olympic theme song seem dated compared to the actual event.
• Thanks for the IMs. In regards to my previous post about ATSC, I meant that I need to get my ATSC tuner working in my big Vista MCE server so I can record all of the prime-time HD coverage on NBC.
• OMG, look at the LED costumes… it reminds me of the Main Street Electrical Parade.
• Hmm. I wonder how the lights are controlled… per person, or as part of a larger procedure?
• It looks like from a closeup shot that each performer has some kind of control module attached just above the waist.

In the spirit of my good friend Tony’s weekly braindump posts, here is my braindump thus far into the opening ceremonies. More to come after the break.

• $300 million, and it shows. This is crazy over-the-top.
• How precise was the color guard in the flag ceremony?
• Watching this in 1080i is definitely worth it. I need to get my ATSC tuner working ASAP.
• How much money did that unrolling scroll prop cost?
• A 230′ x 70′ LED display? That is nuts. The shot from the blimp shows that it really is LED technology.
• This really is the best High-Def presentation I have seen since Planet Earth on Blu-Ray, and this gives that a run for the money.
• I could have sworn the chinese printing block presentation was done with mechanics. Wow.
• NBC should have made better use of the Dolby Digital 5.1 provided by High-Def.
• Only China could have ever spent this much money on such an elaborate production.

Stay tuned…