Rangers9 Posted July 28 Share Posted July 28 We were watching equestrian events (not that boring kind of cool) and I thought I recognized the location Gardens of Palais de Versailles. I was there last Sept. we spent time in Paris too I remember buying posters from a vendor off the Seine an area by a bridge looked familiar during opening ceremonies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bicketybam Posted July 28 Share Posted July 28 1 hour ago, Rangers9 said: We were watching equestrian events (not that boring kind of cool) and I thought I recognized the location Gardens of Palais de Versailles. I was there last Sept. we spent time in Paris too I remember buying posters from a vendor off the Seine an area by a bridge looked familiar during opening ceremonies. My wife has been trying to drag me to France for a while now. It's not that I don't want to go but there are other countries that I want to see first. I've been to Scotland (highly recommend) and Sicily (also highly recommend). I want to do England and Ireland. I'm going to the London Jets game and will be able to sneak in some of the big tourist attractions while I'm there, but I want to go back and do a proper tour of the country. I also want to see mainland Italy and that's at least 2 more trips if not 3. I haven't heard great things about Paris lately. And based on what I'm reading regarding the Olympics, it makes me even more wary. You also have a people that basically torpedoed any sort of functioning government just to keep a certain political party out of power and it really makes it unappealing for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rangers9 Posted July 28 Author Share Posted July 28 12 minutes ago, bicketybam said: My wife has been trying to drag me to France for a while now. It's not that I don't want to go but there are other countries that I want to see first. I've been to Scotland (highly recommend) and Sicily (also highly recommend). I want to do England and Ireland. I'm going to the London Jets game and will be able to sneak in some of the big tourist attractions while I'm there, but I want to go back and do a proper tour of the country. I also want to see mainland Italy and that's at least 2 more trips if not 3. I haven't heard great things about Paris lately. And based on what I'm reading regarding the Olympics, it makes me even more wary. You also have a people that basically torpedoed any sort of functioning government just to keep a certain political party out of power and it really makes it unappealing for me. I'd go to Paris. I've been there 3 times. We also went to Nice and the French Riviera took a train to Monaco very close to the Italy border. One European city we visited and loved is Copenhagen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bicketybam Posted July 28 Share Posted July 28 1 minute ago, Rangers9 said: I'd go to Paris. I've been there 3 times. We also went to Nice and the French Riviera took a train to Monaco very close to the Italy border. One European city we visited and loved is Copenhagen. Didn't you just say you went to Paris? What am I missing? My in-laws are huge travelers. They speak very highly of France. I'm just saying I'd rather go to other European countries first. I'm glad you enjoyed France though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rangers9 Posted July 28 Author Share Posted July 28 3 minutes ago, bicketybam said: Didn't you just say you went to Paris? What am I missing? My in-laws are huge travelers. They speak very highly of France. I'm just saying I'd rather go to other European countries first. I'm glad you enjoyed France though! I've been to Paris 3 times just recommending a trip there. Esp if you go to London. We also went to Portugal this past year. Lisbon and Porto we liked Porto the best. Smaller city easier to get around but plenty to do. If you ever go book a tour of Douro River. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bicketybam Posted July 28 Share Posted July 28 1 minute ago, Rangers9 said: I've been to Paris 3 times just recommending a trip there. Esp if you go to London. We also went to Portugal this past year. Lisbon and Porto we liked Porto the best. Smaller city easier to get around but plenty to do. If you ever go book a tour of Douro River. My in-laws highly recommend Spain. That's also on my list. I guess my point is that I will eventually get to France once I see the other countries I want to see more 👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rangers9 Posted July 28 Author Share Posted July 28 Just now, bicketybam said: My in-laws highly recommend Spain. That's also on my list. I guess my point is that I will eventually get to France once I see the other countries I want to see more 👍 We went to Spain a few years ago. Our daughter studied for a semester at U of Barcelona. Which is a great city. We also booked a coastal bus tour and saw some of the southern cities and areas of Spain. It was a good trip liked it a lot. I'd like to go to Norway and Sweden. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bicketybam Posted July 28 Share Posted July 28 I may give France a try but if my tour guide is this person, I'm out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EM31 Posted July 30 Share Posted July 30 Anyone else notice how the rest of the world lists the Olympic medal tables vs. how it is shown here in the US? Rest of the world Gold medals, if tied then Silver Medals and if tied then Bronze medals Like the BBC site here https://www.bbc.com/sport/olympics/paris-2024/medals US sports sties Since the USA benefits from the most total amount of medals that is how it is listed over here (example ESPN). https://www.espn.com/olympics/summer/2024/medals What a crock Medals tables are odd to begin with. Swimming and Gymnastics have a gazillion and most other sports have just one but still, a bronze is not worth as much as a Silver which in turn is not worth as much as a gold. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bicketybam Posted August 1 Share Posted August 1 Don't miss the "women's" boxing! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nj meadowlands Posted August 2 Share Posted August 2 Gee, what a surprising thing to find in posts that I've hidden. 🙄 Luckily for that particular women's boxer (who was, yes, born a woman, with female reproductive organs), she probably endured abuse and adversity in her life growing up in freaking ALGERIA that was a lot worse than some online bullying from an ill-informed Log Cabiner with a goatee from Connecticut. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bicketybam Posted August 2 Share Posted August 2 14 minutes ago, nj meadowlands said: Gee, what a surprising thing to find in posts that I've hidden. 🙄 Luckily for that particular women's boxer (who was, yes, born a woman, with female reproductive organs), she probably endured abuse and adversity in her life growing up in freaking ALGERIA that was a lot worse than some online bullying from an ill-informed Log Cabiner with a goatee from Connecticut. Is she your online crush? My bad. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bicketybam Posted August 4 Share Posted August 4 Scottie Scheffler wins gold! What a final round! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bicketybam Posted August 5 Share Posted August 5 On 7/30/2024 at 6:44 PM, EM31 said: Anyone else notice how the rest of the world lists the Olympic medal tables vs. how it is shown here in the US? Rest of the world Gold medals, if tied then Silver Medals and if tied then Bronze medals Like the BBC site here https://www.bbc.com/sport/olympics/paris-2024/medals US sports sties Since the USA benefits from the most total amount of medals that is how it is listed over here (example ESPN). https://www.espn.com/olympics/summer/2024/medals What a crock Medals tables are odd to begin with. Swimming and Gymnastics have a gazillion and most other sports have just one but still, a bronze is not worth as much as a Silver which in turn is not worth as much as a gold. Gold is worth 3 points Silver is worth 2 Bronze is worth 1 Would that work for you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EM31 Posted August 5 Share Posted August 5 9 minutes ago, bicketybam said: Gold is worth 3 points Silver is worth 2 Bronze is worth 1 Would that work for you? Everyone else agrees on one way of doing it but the press in this country chooses a different method because it suits our collective ego to see team USA sitting at the top. There are lots of things wrong with medal table besides the most medals vs the most golds question. For example many sports have just a single gold medal or a small number (golf has 1) whereas Gymnastics (mid-teens) and especially swimming (35) seem to have gone batsh1t crazy adding medal events. Swimming particularly with four different strokes has added additional distances and then additional relay races over the last few years. Is there some limit to this inflation? For example the 50, 100, 200, 400, 800 and 1500 freestyle (times two for both men and women).... Why not add in 150, 250, 300, 350 and so on? You could add in a 150 relay for example. At what point does it just get stupid? Athletics has a largish number of medals too but at least many of those can trace their heritage back to the dawn of the games in ancient Greece. One can argue about how each country manages to win as many medals as it does particularly China with a ruthless strategy and the funding to be the best everywhere. With that said, any reasonable assessment of this year's games for which countries are the most successful across the board I think China clearly wins on that score especially if you normalize for sports like swimming and gymnastics which have "enjoyed" rampant medals inflation and where the US historically wins a large number. Don't get me wrong I like watching swimming and (to a lesser extent) Gymnastics too. Both of those are well suited to TV as opposed to skeet shooting for example but maybe there should be some way to measure success across the board while normalizing out the excessive medal counts in some sports. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#27TheDominator Posted August 5 Share Posted August 5 On 8/2/2024 at 4:14 PM, nj meadowlands said: Gee, what a surprising thing to find in posts that I've hidden. 🙄 Luckily for that particular women's boxer (who was, yes, born a woman, with female reproductive organs), she probably endured abuse and adversity in her life growing up in freaking ALGERIA that was a lot worse than some online bullying from an ill-informed Log Cabiner with a goatee from Connecticut. On 8/2/2024 at 4:29 PM, bicketybam said: Is she your online crush? My bad. This is one of those things where both sides will be convinced that they are correct and nobody will ever be able to convince them otherwise, no matter what. The allegations that she has XY chromosomes, if true, are pretty damning to the it's a woman argument. OTOH, they come from the Russian based IBA which has several reasons to try to discredit the entire system - because Russia is out of the Olympics, because they are right wing and anti-trans, because the IOC pulled their support and funding. Mostly because they are corrupt. Of course the IOC is pretty corrupt too, so I doubt either is actually right and the athletes are the ones that suffer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bicketybam Posted August 5 Share Posted August 5 27 minutes ago, EM31 said: Everyone else agrees on one way of doing it but the press in this country chooses a different method because it suits our collective ego to see team USA sitting at the top. There are lots of things wrong with medal table besides the most medals vs the most golds question. For example many sports have just a single gold medal or a small number (golf has 1) whereas Gymnastics (mid-teens) and especially swimming (35) seem to have gone batsh1t crazy adding medal events. Swimming particularly with four different strokes has added additional distances and then additional relay races over the last few years. Is there some limit to this inflation? For example the 50, 100, 200, 400, 800 and 1500 freestyle (times two for both men and women).... Why not add in 150, 250, 300, 350 and so on? You could add in a 150 relay for example. At what point does it just get stupid? Athletics has a largish number of medals too but at least many of those can trace their heritage back to the dawn of the games in ancient Greece. One can argue about how each country manages to win as many medals as it does particularly China with a ruthless strategy and the funding to be the best everywhere. With that said, any reasonable assessment of this year's games for which countries are the most successful across the board I think China clearly wins on that score especially if you normalize for sports like swimming and gymnastics which have "enjoyed" rampant medals inflation and where the US historically wins a large number. Don't get me wrong I like watching swimming and (to a lesser extent) Gymnastics too. Both of those are well suited to TV as opposed to skeet shooting for example but maybe there should be some way to measure success across the board while normalizing out the excessive medal counts in some sports. To date, China has 21 gold medals: 5 are from air rifle shooting 5 are from badminton and table tennis 4 are from diving 2 from gymnastics 2 from swimming 1 from tennis 1 is from walking which isnt even walking anymore. 1 is from BMX Just keeping tabs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EM31 Posted August 5 Share Posted August 5 26 minutes ago, bicketybam said: To date, China has 21 gold medals: 5 are from air rifle shooting 5 are from badminton and table tennis 4 are from diving 2 from gymnastics 2 from swimming 1 from tennis 1 is from walking which isnt even walking anymore. 1 is from BMX Just keeping tabs. Looking at those top categories China has pretty much run the table on a (small) number of medal events in each of those sports. Whereas the US has 8 golds and numerous other medals in Swimming. Also 5 golds from Gymnastics so 13 out of the current 19 golds from two sports. 8 out oi 35 (give or take) in swimming. For me there are just too many medals in Swimming. Almost every sport could start down the road of same sort of event inflation by adding events at different distances or relay type expansions (mixed sex relay teams were added in recent Olympics for example). Swimming seems to be the only sport that has done that or, if others have done it too then none of them has expanded as egregiously. How many more? Trans-gender doggy paddle relays anyone? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bicketybam Posted August 5 Share Posted August 5 1 minute ago, EM31 said: Looking at those top categories China has pretty much run the table on a (small) number of medal events in each of those sports. Whereas the US has 8 golds and numerous other medals in Swimming. Also 5 golds from Gymnastics so 13 out of the current 19 golds from two sports. 8 out oi 35 (give or take) in swimming. For me there are just too many medals in Swimming. Almost every sport could start down the road of same sort of event inflation by adding events at different distances or relay type expansions (mixed sex relay teams were added in recent Olympics for example). Swimming seems to be the only sport that has done that or, if others have done it too then none of them has expanded as egregiously. How many more? Trans-gender doggy paddle relays anyone? I think it's safe to say the USA dominates the Summer Olympics. We blow at the Winter Olympics. I'm ok with that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EM31 Posted August 5 Share Posted August 5 As an aside this is an Olympic sport expansion that I could fully get behind. https://www.reuters.com/sports/pole-dancers-eyeing-games-participation-soul-sport-risk-2024-04-04/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bicketybam Posted August 5 Share Posted August 5 1 hour ago, #27TheDominator said: This is one of those things where both sides will be convinced that they are correct and nobody will ever be able to convince them otherwise, no matter what. The allegations that she has XY chromosomes, if true, are pretty damning to the it's a woman argument. OTOH, they come from the Russian based IBA which has several reasons to try to discredit the entire system - because Russia is out of the Olympics, because they are right wing and anti-trans, because the IOC pulled their support and funding. Mostly because they are corrupt. Of course the IOC is pretty corrupt too, so I doubt either is actually right and the athletes are the ones that suffer. I made one of those tongue in cheek replies you tend to see on message boards. I'm not that invested in it. I just thought it was funny. I knew from the very beginning that it wasn't a transgender issue. Even the first reports made that clear. It's just a person with allegedly XY chromosomes that looks extremely similar to a man. At the end of the day if the IOC deems it legit then so be it. Sorry if I offended anyone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EM31 Posted August 5 Share Posted August 5 4 hours ago, bicketybam said: Gold is worth 3 points Silver is worth 2 Bronze is worth 1 Would that work for you? BTW, are two Superbowl runner-ups better than one Superbowl championship? Cmon man. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bicketybam Posted August 5 Share Posted August 5 44 minutes ago, EM31 said: BTW, are two Superbowl runner-ups better than one Superbowl championship? Cmon man. Those are definitely equivalent 🤡 Why does this bother you so much? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EM31 Posted August 5 Share Posted August 5 44 minutes ago, bicketybam said: Those are definitely equivalent 🤡 Why does this bother you so much? The mental gymnastics bothers me. The pretzels that people have to twist themselves into in order to come out with the results that they want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bicketybam Posted August 5 Share Posted August 5 27 minutes ago, EM31 said: The mental gymnastics bothers me. The pretzels that people have to twist themselves into in order to come out with the results that they want. The result is the USA wins a lot of medals at the summer Olympics. No way to sugarcoat it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EM31 Posted August 5 Share Posted August 5 19 minutes ago, bicketybam said: The result is the USA wins a lot of medals at the summer Olympics. No way to sugarcoat it. On this we are agreed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bicketybam Posted August 5 Share Posted August 5 17 minutes ago, EM31 said: On this we are agreed Are you an American citizen? I'm just trying to figure out why this upsets you as much as it does. You can PM me if you want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EM31 Posted August 5 Share Posted August 5 53 minutes ago, bicketybam said: Are you an American citizen? I'm just trying to figure out why this upsets you as much as it does. You can PM me if you want. I am a naturalized US citizen so I see this from both sides and it is quite plain to me that Americans want to see the USA at the top of any list, almost no matter what. Given that track and field medals are largely still to come it is likely that USA will end up on top no matter what but.... If the customary way of calculating a medal table does not fit the hoped-for outcome then hey, why not just change the formula to put the USA on top. Seems pretty cheesy. Kinda like trying to say that two silver medals is worth more than a Superbowl. Only in Buffalo maybe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bicketybam Posted August 5 Share Posted August 5 10 minutes ago, EM31 said: I am a naturalized US citizen so I see this from both sides and it is quite plain to me that Americans want to see the USA at the top of any list, almost no matter what. Given that track and field medals are largely still to come it is likely that USA will end up on top no matter what but.... If the customary way of calculating a medal table does not fit the hoped-for outcome then hey, why not just change the formula to put the USA on top. Seems pretty cheesy. Kinda like trying to say that two silver medals is worth more than a Superbowl. Only in Buffalo maybe. The USA will be at the top of the list because they are the best at the Summer Olympics. That's just the way it is. If you want to remove everything except for table tennis, badminton and other obscure sports then you have something entirely different. This is a very strange conversation for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bicketybam Posted August 5 Share Posted August 5 32 minutes ago, EM31 said: I am a naturalized US citizen By the way, congratulations 👏 🎉 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EM31 Posted August 5 Share Posted August 5 56 minutes ago, bicketybam said: The USA will be at the top of the list because they are the best at the Summer Olympics. That's just the way it is. If you want to remove everything except for table tennis, badminton and other obscure sports then you have something entirely different. This is a very strange conversation for me. Remove all the sports where your team does not do well? I think you have just invented yet another new winning formula. You know, in case either of the other formulas do not pan out and fit the results you would like to see. In other news Poland are rumored to be in favor of a system where you remove any gold medal winners whose surname does not end with the letters "SKI". Of course it would just be coincidence that such a formula might tend to favor Polish athletes. Go ahead pal, you can make up whatever works for you but please don't try to pretend that it is not obvious why you are doing it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bicketybam Posted August 5 Share Posted August 5 23 minutes ago, EM31 said: Remove all the sports where your team does not do well? I think you have just invented yet another new winning formula. You know, in case either of the other formulas do not pan out and fit the results you would like to see. In other news Poland are rumored to be in favor of a system where you remove any gold medal winners whose surname does not end with the letters "SKI". Of course it would just be coincidence that such a formula might tend to favor Polish athletes. Go ahead pal, you can make up whatever works for you but please don't try to pretend that it is not obvious why you are doing it. Dude you have some serious issues. Go touch some grass. The USA dominates the Summer Olympics. Facts. I'm sure there is a safe space somewhere where you can go convalesce. I have to assume the country you came from isn't doing so well. Tough cookies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EM31 Posted August 6 Share Posted August 6 1 hour ago, bicketybam said: Dude you have some serious issues. Go touch some grass. The USA dominates the Summer Olympics. Facts. I'm sure there is a safe space somewhere where you can go convalesce. I have to assume the country you came from isn't doing so well. Tough cookies. OK you are officially on the moron list. Go continue to believe in your suggestion that 2 silver medals (4 points) is worth more than a gold (3 points). Here is a hint. You will be the only person who does believe that. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bicketybam Posted August 6 Share Posted August 6 9 hours ago, EM31 said: OK you are officially on the moron list. Go continue to believe in your suggestion that 2 silver medals (4 points) is worth more than a gold (3 points). Here is a hint. You will be the only person who does believe that. USA now tied with China for most gold medals.USA! USA! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bicketybam Posted August 6 Share Posted August 6 USA women advance to gold medal soccer game! It takes an extra time goal and an incredible save to beat the Germans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.