Olympic Cauldron - 3 Out of 4 Ain't Bad

[wyly]

And so what exactly should have been done? The door worked a few minutes before.

I would think it should've had two or three backup systems for opening the doors and raising the equipment...

[Smallc]

Admittedly not knowing that much about it, they probably should have had a way to manually open the door in the event that it didn't work automatically.

I agree, but then that may not have been possible. Everything went off (well, except for the late aboriginal leaders) without a hitch. Nothing (unfortunately) is ever perfect.

[Smallc]

I would think it should've had two or three backup systems for opening the doors and raising the equipment...

We don't know what it had.

[Smallc]

Looked to me that the door was open.

According to the AP (I can't find the story now) they were told the door didn't open far enough.

[Guest American Woman]

Looked to me that the door was open. It was the arm that failed to extend. The door had been operating all evening, the arm had not.

I read that the fourth door, after working for the totem poles earlier, failed to open for the lighting of the Cauldron. Perhaps that wasn't correct.

[wyly]

We don't know what it had.

true but I'm betting it didn't...

[Smallc]

It may have, and it may not have. If it didn't, it may be that it wasn't possible. I think we're getting too hung up on something that wasn't really all that big a deal in the end.

[Guest American Woman]

Looked to me that the door was open. It was the arm that failed to extend. The door had been operating all evening, the arm had not.

I found a source that says the door jammed: link

Because of a mechanical glitch, her pillar didn't get out of the trap door that was supposed to open and release it.

Atkins said it was too soon to know what caused the glitch. He pointed out that the same trap door "worked perfectly well" earlier in the ceremony, when it released a totem pole.

Considering the time, effort and money that went into the production, it would've been understandable if Atkins missed a breath or two when the door jammed.

[wyly]

I agree, but then that may not have been possible. Everything went off (well, except for the late aboriginal leaders) without a hitch. Nothing (unfortunately) is ever perfect.

harsh, your willing to accept a major technical gaff but pick on a few natives who were late, I'm sure they had issues with transportation which is beyond their control and their arrival had effect on the program...

[Wilber]

I would think it should've had two or three backup systems for opening the doors and raising the equipment...

You can have all the backup opening systems you want but there is only one door. If some part of it breaks, you're hooped. Nothing is foolproof. Having four arms to light one torch seems like lots of backup to me. If three of them had failed it would still have been lit and it's not like someone was going to die if they all didn't work.

[Smallc]

harsh, your willing to accept a major technical gaff

The door worked at the beginning, I don't blame them for what happened.

but pick on a few natives who were late

Maybe their horses got tired....the spectators were asked to arrive early, and the natives should have as well. There were people walking around behind the Governor General when the Vice Regal Salute was happening.

I'm sure they had issues with transportation which is beyond their control and their arrival had effect on the program...

And it seems that the technical problems were beyond their control too.

[msj]

I would like to take back the Gold medal from JBG and give it to wyly with a silver to smallc and the bronze to JBG. The medals are awarded for being one of "those people."

I wonder what your blood pressure must be like being so anal retentive and obsessive compulsive.

Chill, man, it's just a glitch and maybe some bad traffic.

[Smallc]

I didn't say I thought it was a big deal that they were late, I said that I thought it was a bigger deal than probably anything else that went wrong. When you give people head of state status, you would think that they could at least show up on time. I loved the performance last night, I thought it was breathtaking, and I was very proud of VANOC and Canada. Frankly, I think you're grouping people and calling us "those people" is a bit juvenile. Perhaps you should nominate yourself for gold?

Edited February 13, 2010 by Smallc

[wyly]

I would like to take back the Gold medal from JBG and give it to wyly with a silver to smallc and the bronze to JBG. The medals are awarded for being one of "those people."

I wonder what your blood pressure must be like being so anal retentive and obsessive compulsive.

Chill, man, it's just a glitch and maybe some bad traffic.

at a cost of $6 billion and 8yrs to prepare it wasn't JUST a glitch it was a major FU...

[Smallc]

Oh, and I have perfect blood pressure right now, as I always do. I just checked.

[wyly]

Maybe their horses got tired....the spectators were asked to arrive early, and the natives should have as well. There were people walking around behind the Governor General when the Vice Regal Salute was happening.

I don't remember at what stage it happened but it could have been any easy fix by stopping their entrance until the salute was done...

stuff like this acceptable, people miss their cue's come late and so on but they've had very little or no rehersal time, it's human error by amateurs, it's ok...

[wyly]

You can have all the backup opening systems you want but there is only one door. If some part of it breaks, you're hooped. Nothing is foolproof. Having four arms to light one torch seems like lots of backup to me. If three of them had failed it would still have been lit and it's not like someone was going to die if they all didn't work.

if I recall correctly nearly zero of them appeared...

[Smallc]

.

Edited February 13, 2010 by Smallc

[Smallc]

I suppose you're right. I really like the Vice Regal Salute....and I was disappointed, that's all. Overall, everything went wonderfully though, even with the few glitches.

[Smallc]

if I recall correctly nearly zero of them appeared...

It looked that way, but according to AP, that isn't correct. The time delay was as a result of them reprogramming the system to rise without the fourth arm being deployed. That took a few seconds.

[jefferiah]

It was an amazing ceremony that really showed off who we are to the world.

I disagree with this statement. Maybe I'm alone here but I don't think it showed anything about who we are. But then who knows, maybe all those people who grew up the prairies watched that guy floating through the air on a string over a nonsensical light show and soft jazz and thought "Yes Yes, this is what its like to grow up in the Canadian prairies."

[Smallc]

And so what would you have had them do to show off the prairies?

[jefferiah]

And so what would you have had them do to show off the prairies?

Something that had something to do with the Prairies for instance. The visual effects were great. But I think the ceremony was cheesy as a whole. I usually feel this way about these shows in general. I'm not sure if it was good or bad, but I would not describe it as representative of the average Canadian or the daily Canadian experience.

I also find it somewhat annoying how we Canadians often toot our own horns about how wonderfully polite we are. They do say please and thank you elsewhere.

Edited February 13, 2010 by jefferiah

[Smallc]

What it did was symbolize the vastness of the Canadian prairies, and it did that well. It wasn't so much about life on the prairies, as it was about how large, open, and fee they are.

[Wilber]

I also find it somewhat annoying how we Canadians often toot our own horns about how wonderfully polite we are. They do say please and thank you elsewhere.

Me to and yes they do.