Hmm, I'll pass

Pin collection is a shrewd business. It takes cleverness and patience. You have to stick to your guns in order to win out on the swap. For me pin collecting is not what it is to others. Some people go nuts over collecting and swapping pins. Me, no, what I do is go after very specific pins that represent a memory or event. For instance, if there is a particular broadcaster I’ve done a lot of work with, I will attempt to get a hold of a pin from them. If there is a particular place that holds a good memory, I will either trade for a pin with that place or I will buy one.

My main motivation now is to build up a collection that supports a good shadow box display. Stacey is really good at display handicrafts and she can take the various items I’ve collected and turn it into a fine piece of art. I have a very cool display from Athens she put together, and I’ve been collecting items she can use for a Beijing display. What I love about this type of souvenir, is when its on display in my house and I see it, it brings back great memories of not just the events and experiences but of the relationships that are a part of the memories.

Outside of the main press center there is a whole other level of pin trading going on. Professional pin traders stand outside the press center hoping to trade for press and broadcast pins that are rare. These guys travel to every Olympics and every day come outside to trade, looking for the rare pin that has never been seen before. Its amazing to see all the companies and places represented in the collections these guys have. They’ve dedicated much of their lives to this hobby. Glad I’m not them.

On a totally unrelated note I made a visit several days ago to a place that you may have seen on the news coverage of the Games. The Wang Fu Vendor street. This is the place where they fry everything in front of you and serve it up on a stick. In walking down the street a menu of the following could be offered: Fried silkworm, fried squid, fried grasshopper, fried centipede, fried snake, fried starfish, fried sea horse, fried scorpion (small and large), sugar coated watermelon, honeydew melon, strawberries, grapes, kiwi, pineapple, stewed DOG, and my personal favorites, fried sheep testicle and fried sheep penus. The smell is enough to make you toss your cookies without even putting anything in your mouth. On my visit I was with Jared, and he had tried this stuff the other night. I patted him on the back and said you the man, you can have the title. Even though most of it all tastes the same after frying it (according to everyone who has jumped on the opportunity) the sheer psychological damage I envisioned wasn’t worth it. I liked watching Fear Factor, but I never wanted to actually participate myself. So it makes for a good laugh, a good cringe, but not an experience I wanted to venture in on. It doesn’t help things when the Chinese man across the counter, smiles and in broken English says “try the sheep testicles, truly delicious!” Riiiiggghhhtttt.

The torch burning in the Stadium has so much gas pumping into it, when no action is going on you can pick it up on the commentary unit microphones. Our venue manager at the Bird’s Nest noticed that the other day, while troubleshooting a noise on the circuit he couldn’t figure out. He then discovered it was the gas line feeding the flame. If oil prices jump even more the next few weeks, you’ll know why. Its a pretty amazing site, the torch, burning on top of the stadium. The stadium is incredible and that torch up there is just beautiful and quite the symbol for the competition.

I read Michael Phelps makes about 5 million a year in endorsements. Imagine what that amount is going to be now.