Olympic Tech: Shoes.

I've had a fascination with high-performance footwear (i.e. gym shoes) since I was a little kid. I think it stems, at least in part, from the fact that for most of my childhood, all us kids could only pick one kind of gym shoes brand - Winner IIs from Sears & Roebuck (back when they still used "Roebuck" too). Our family got a pretty sweet discount on already low prices, so it was a no-brainer. Of course, as soon as I could buy my own kicks, I was all about doing whatever it took to be sporting something other than Winner IIs.

I've been seeing a bit more coverage in general for the Olympics, now that we're only a couple weeks out, and I notice the shoes pretty easily, here's a sample:


This is *the* shoe to have if you're going to be boxing this Olympics. As I understand it, boxers are mostly on their midfoot and toes, so that's where the bulk of the support and padding is needed/located in this shoe. Once that's sorted, they make the rest of it as light as possible. You can basically see through the shoe, as it uses losts of high strength mesh, which also keeps the feet cooler during the pummelings. (lightweight is a theme in almost any high performance item, be it shoe or otherwise)


Next up, the crowd-pleasing sport - ping ping! No joke, though in fairness it's known as 'table tennis' in the Olympics. Also, if you've ever seen the sport (usually only on TV during the Games), it's pretty hardcore. So, these shoes, again from Adidas (All Day I Dream About...), are part of their "ClimaCool" series. Same kind of venting/mesh as the boxing shoes, to keep feet-heat low.


Ah, did you think I would forget basketball? Did you know that one of the biggest brands in basketball and for Nike is Lebron James? He's had his own signature shoe for about 5 years. This is the Lebron V in what I can only presume is the Olympic 'colorway'. I believe two players on the team have also guaranteed a gold medal for the US... good luck.



Finally, I've saved what I thought was the coolest new shoe for the games, used in track & field. Middle distance track to be specific. This is from a new series at Nike called "Flywire". This is the 'Nike Zoom Victory Spike', an intended track shoe that should weigh about 95grams or .2lbs. It's the lightest shoe they, or I believe anyone, has produced for this sport. Joe Schmoe should be able to pick this up in October, but each Nike athlete at the games will get two pairs.

Oh, all the other shoes are available for purchase by Joe Bagadonuts too... but bring lots of cash for the best. The lighter it is, the more it costs.

Lastly, if you need more tech, here's a "fancy schmancy" article on 7 new Olympic shoes.

Never Back Down.

I'm thinking of this phrase for my first tattoo, kind of a personal mantra that I've taken up in the past week. What do you think, old English script down my lower right arm or left arm? It might have something to do with the DVD release of the movie with the same title, here. Looks like a good movie, right? I might have to NetFlix it this week and "knock it out".

2 new plates for the Vanity Plate Review Board.

Time for some more questionable driving in order to shoot some more questionable vanity plates:


Yeah, the Irish are really proud of their parent's parent's heritage. It's not even close to St. Patty's Day... but it's always Irish-pride in their license plate. Perhaps this driver is also an ophthalmologist... combining eyes and the Irish.


And who doesn't like a good emphatic "ZINGG", with a "5" on the end. Perhaps this tells us that it's part of the Zingg family of autos and this is #5 in the series?

Discuss, Poll #28, Housing.

Tell me all the dirty details about your housing situation. I dare you.

Results, Poll #27, Batman.

So, the biggest weekend movie for a single film opening ever! And, it was also the movie industry's biggest weekend in history with all theater receipts totaling almost a quarter billion dollars. Not too bad in this economy.

> 5 people (29%) chose "I seen it" - I now have to include myself, so the response is more like 6. Pretty good movie overall, def a summer blockbuster.
> 9 people (52%) chose "It's high on the list" - GO! Don't run, but walk to the theater.
> 4 people (23%) chose "Nah, I'll rent it" - ok, if you think you can wait that long, and be the only on on your block that hasn't seen it...
> 2 people (11%) chose "Who's Batman?" - I'm not sure what to say to this, but Adam West, Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, Christian Bale and whoever else I'm forgetting would be upset.

Pretty good amount of respondents (unless someone didn't remove their multiple votes?) and a darn good movie. I voted earlier in the week and then saw the movie on Friday. The theater was like an icebox, but what person living in an un-airconditioned apartment on the 4th floor would complain? Not I.

Next poll and discussion locked and loaded.

REI+A.

Who needs new camping gear!?!
Well, I've had one of the t.c models head over to the local REI and check out some gear for the blog, enjoy.


"Howdy, Partner. You need a new hat?"


"I think this backpack *might* be a bit big on me... but I'm sure it'll fit you fine."


"You're in luck, you *can* get your new kayak in powder blue!"


"They got tents out the ying-yang."


"You can get a rock-climbing helmet to match your shirt... maybe it'll match the kayak too."


"Don't forget the importance of proper rest when camping. You'll need your energy."

More waitress tats.

I've yet to find a tattooed person that won't gladly lift their shirt or stop what they're doing to show you their ink, I kind of enjoy asking...

We started with the most visible on her foot, ooh, a birdie!


We then wound up lifting her shirt up in back to see this beauty, awww, a fairy. Tattoo tough?