Athlete complaints at Olympic Village?
Several people have posted a link to this article on the German news site Bild.com: Some athletes and coaches have complained about accomodations at the Vancouver Olympic Village, which is pertinent for this site since those units are set to be sold by the city after the games are over.
One of the complaints is that the walls of the rooms are so thin that the athletes are struggling to fall asleep – not a good time to have snorers nearby…
Ski jumping trainer Werner Schuster compared the Olympic Village with a boy scout camp. The 41-year-old said: “The living standard is very poor. Five, six people have to share a bathroom and the walls are as thin as curtains.”
I wonder if the complaints regard temporary walls or actual walls between units?
The size the accommodation has also been criticised. A particularly sore point is that there isn’t enough space for athletes to dry their clothes.
Don’t they know this is Vancouver? We pioneered the art of small living in North America. They should just be glad we didn’t stick them six to a room in a 270 square foot micro condo in the Downtown eastside.
A German functionary said: “The Village is good for summer. But now in winter with this weather it’s a problem.
“The German team have especially bought heaters to dry their things which are always getting wet due to the relentless sleet.”
It’s all about location, location, location. That’s why we located the Athletes village walking distance from Canadian Tire, where they can buy heaters to dry their clothes.
UPDATE: Nope. We didn’t locate it near a Canadian Tire. Many people pointed out that this is about the Whistler Olympic Village, NOT the Vancouver Olympic Village.
November 17th, 2010 at 3:11 pm
Why does Susan Anton still have a job with the city of Vancouver? She was on the previous city council, the boobs that were stupid enough to negotiate a terrible deal. Why aren't these people held accountable?
February 23rd, 2010 at 6:07 pm
just to clarify, the "Bild" is comparable with the national enquirer, or the British Sun… they don't take truth to seriously!
February 18th, 2010 at 4:01 pm
Anyone think the emerging story of the bad rep these games are garnering will have an impact on short term prices/valuations?
http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/ar…
February 18th, 2010 at 10:45 am
@tim:
"the hypocrisy of the bears on this forum far exceeds anything that VANOC can dish. They love Vancouver so much that they’re clearly trying to influence with hopes to own."
This blogging community has been hitting the subject for five years now. Honestly, if any of us actually thought our blogging was having a significant impact, don't you think we'd have seen results by now?
This is a place for intelligent discourse, filled with factual information and time-proven analytical techniques on when and how the bubble will burst with the occasional fact and analysis free "there is no bubble" rant by people like you. We want to time the bubble and know the depths to which things will sink so we can be prepared to snap up bargain housing while people like you are going bankrupt tim. No offense, I don't want you to go bankrupt, it's just you're bad with money and if it wasn't housing it would be tech stocks or Bre-X.
February 18th, 2010 at 2:44 am
@Declan: Unfortunately, you'll never get the editors to make that correction. In fact, the omission was purposeful.
David Letterman is somewhat right – the luge track could have been safer. (Incidentally, so can the ski jump, half pipe and a ton of other venues.) However, the hypocrisy of the bears on this forum far exceeds anything that VANOC can dish. They love Vancouver so much that they're clearly trying to influence with hopes to own. Normally, I don't mind some trolling, but it's so transparent that these people don't believe what they're writing that it's comical.
February 18th, 2010 at 1:08 am
This may or may not be the case also, but typical construction in Germany and Europe (or at least the ones I've been in) have massively thick walls, like 1.5 feet thick. So comparing the typical constructing materials used there vs here, sounds is generally more of an issue here than there. But it still wouldn't surprise me if the walls uses minimal materials still considering how fast they built those buildings
February 17th, 2010 at 10:55 pm
Little Boxes on the Hillside
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AN3rN59GlWw
February 17th, 2010 at 10:20 pm
VHB spuppose to buy in 2010 whenever he don't buy market goes up.Hey Arit? I thought your dementia is under control but it's getting out of whack again,Nope?
Best Regards.
Control Arit Control.
February 17th, 2010 at 10:15 pm
The post really should be updated to clarify that the remarks were about the Whistler village (where ski jumping takes place) not the Vancouver village.
Real estate bears should leave butchering the truth in order to try and make a point to the bulls (and UK tabloids) as all it does is undermine credibility.
Personally, I don't see the connection between pointing out that the Vancouver housing market is a bubble (it is) and hoping for the Olympics to fail, but that's just me.
February 17th, 2010 at 10:06 pm
Hi Arit,
thanks for your nice words. Did not buy. Not looking. Life is good.
February 17th, 2010 at 9:31 pm
@arit:
Who's going to speculate when they have to use real money?
It's over.
February 17th, 2010 at 7:55 pm
I'm in my mid forties and have no time to wait for the pyramid to collapse. So I stopped waiting and made my peace. I rent a nice place for a good price in a convenient location and enjoy life. I travel, I buy things that are fun to own, I give flowers to my wife for no reason at all.
Watching the rat race where paper-millionaires topple each other struggling to become the "best slave ever" is amusing and puts things in perspective. I guess different things make different people happy – and in the end happiness is what all of us should strive for. It all reminds me of the "Planet of the Apes" on so many levels…
Someone said that in today's world, Olympic athletes are merely modern-day gladiators for governments and corporations. I think this is very true, except that I think it's clear now that as they fight best they can, all other slaves are watching, oblivious to reality, vigorously clapping their hands clad in chinese-made red mittens. 2.8 million pairs of them, apparently.
Come on people, it was sunny and 10 degrees today – I was on my motorcycle cutting through traffic on my way home, happy and free And red mittens are not what I consider proper gear for the occasion.
February 17th, 2010 at 7:30 pm
@arit:
Nope, that happens after the pyramid collapses. Who got wise to Madoff's scheme before it collapsed?
The reason pyramid schemes collapse is simple – they require exponential input of capital from new participants to pay off the old ones, and that cannot continue indefinitely. No matter what.
February 17th, 2010 at 7:19 pm
best_place_on_meth
"The most common phrase you’ll hear in 2010 is “I sell 3, my husband sell 3″."
I truly hope you are right. We all wish 2010 is going to be the year when the trends revert.
Unfortunately, I am not '100% sure' anymore. Like all pyramid schemes, it will end only when it runs out of greater fools. I don't see we are there yet.
First, all the existing "great fools", haven't even acknowledged that they were suckered. That needs to happen before the pyramid collapses (in traditional pyramid schemes you may see protesters with signs outside the scheme's headquarters or similar. In Albania they had riots, etc).
Here, the fools are still in the phase where they think they made a good investment (Do you think Supraboy is alone? There are millions like him, hypnotized by the colloseum games while buying condos at 5/35. I have plenty at work).
Second, the pool of fools is not empty yet. There are still people in the sidelines. They could potentially capitulate.
Third, and most important, the perpetrators are still working on it. The govt, the banks, the real-estate industry et all are making tons of money out of the Pyramid (remember, the taller it gets, the more money flowing upward!).
And as mentioned earlier, they have a few more bullets: First time home owners grants, return to 0/40, tax breaks…. They will try some if not all when the fecal matter enters the air intakes.
A question to our dear friend VHB, if he reads it, out of curiosity: Did you buy a house eventually?
Regards
arit
February 17th, 2010 at 7:16 pm
Your future tax increase will go indirectly the banks.
CMHC are taxpayer insured motgages.
The banks are enjoying their biggest spreads ever.
We are being controlled and screwed by the banks.
The banks have no competition.
Money is the REAL power.
February 17th, 2010 at 4:50 pm
@domus:
"However the lack of any insurance would effectively restrict credit, also for people who might deserve (at least some)."
I don't consider that a downside. If someone who really wants to buy a house but the banks see them as too much of a risk, all they have to do is work a couple of extra years to get a bigger down payment or boost their credit score are they really suffering? Certainly they're not suffering as badly as those who recently bought in to the market and are stuck paying off a mortgage three times as big as it should be and it's a smaller portion of the public that would be in that boat.
Banks want to loan people money, they're not going to cut back on the amount they lend. It's what they do. If you tell them there's no safety net it will just force them to do the due diligence they should have been responsible for all along.
February 17th, 2010 at 4:32 pm
What does $900 million in security get you?
http://www.ctvolympics.ca/news-centre/newsid=4459…
If the guy had a weapon, the U.S. Vice President would be dead right now.
But at least he would have died in The Best Place On Earth™.