signal lights

do you ever notice that no 2 signal lights are the same. This is something I noticed as a young boy and never ceases to interest me. do you think that car companies look up the amount of signals per minute (we can call it spm) and ensure that their cars are different. why can't the signals be in unison with each other? it would be nice if I could just once have my signal lights match that of the vehicles around me.

olympic flame

I love watching the olympics. I always have. top athletes performing under pressure with such a prize and the whole world watching it is quite a spectacle. I also enjoy much of what the olympics brands itself about the world coming together and sharing in the experience.
Contrary to that I see and understand the dark side of the olympics. The side that has governments cut social spending and not only turn a blind eye but ensure that the world is uneducated about social problems. It was prevalent with social issues in Beijing and is prevalent as the olympics come to vancouver. There is also the cheating and scandals that have been involved in past games. One thing that stands out in my mind with every olympic games is how much hype is surrounding it and in a poof of 2 weeks it is over to only leave a memory.

With the olympic torch passing through kamloops last week (and I went out of my way to see it come through) I really felt that it captured what I view as the olympic spirit. It brought people together, there was excitement, pride, and celebration. It also was incredibly over hyped, exceptionally brief and for me slightly overshadowed by the security and how forced some of it was. for example the people had to stand at certain angles when lighting the torch and people running alongside the torch should security become a factor. I understand its need but physically seeing it be what I felt a bit over the top took away from the event.

It seems that the when talking about the olympics many people are polarized about the topic. so many in favor and drink in the product and lifestyle the olympics bring while others are passionately against it. I have mixed feelings about the entire process. What I think would be great is that the olympics were still strictly about competition. Not about epic opening ceremonies, marketing mascots, scandals, social problems, or any of that. In this day and age sports and competition is about so much more than the event itself. The olympic torch relay is another byproduct of this spectacle. Whether you love it or hate it that's how it is.