So you may be wondering, “Did Timmy die? He hasn’t blogged in a very long time.”

Well, I haven’t died, but I am very sick. I’ve caught a dangerous case of Olympic Fever, of the Phelpsian variety at the moment. You may or may not know that I do not have a TV at home. Thus, my Olympic viewership is limited to the web. But that really has been more of a blessing. Online, there is a ridiculous amount of video. Almost anything not on prime time is on nbcolympics.com. Badminton, fencing, judo, even trap-shooting.

So that’s what I’ve been up to mostly. As of lately, I’ve been watching judo, badminton, a little fencing, swimming, and table tennis. I’ve also been watching highlights of most of the other sports too. It’s not very often you get to experience such off-beat sports as weight-lifting, synchronized diving, or archery.

So if you have yet to do so, please stop by nbcolympics.com. You won’t be disappointed.

Some various thoughts:

- Michael Phelps is just absolutely super-human. Granted, the technology has helped him a lot (swimsuit design, pool design, better knowledge of training regimens, etc), but to be demolishing the competition as he has, WOW. And how about that 4×100 relay? Absolutely epic.

- I really like watching judo. It’s so intense, in its own way. At first glance, it looks like a giant shoving match. But as you watch it more, you can begin to pick up on the little nuances. And if you’re not careful, you can miss it all. Blink and the match could be over.

- Another thing about judo. I like how at the end of the match, both competitors must retighten their belts and sort of clean up. Then the judge declares the winner, and they bow. I think it shows great sportsmanship. No matter if you won in a thriller, or just absolutely smashed your opponent, you will show them respect by making yourself presentable and bowing to them. This is something all athletes can learn from.

- Men’s doubles badminton is another one of my addictions. While singles in badminton is a lot more strategic and slightly more slow paced, doubles badminton is pure power and speed. Their reaction times are so quick, and to get to see 4 smashes in a row is just pure joy.

- In addition to watching the olympics, I have also enjoyed the photography, as well as the blogs those photographers have created. Not only do I get to see their terrific photos, I get to hear what they were thinking. My favorite is Visions of China. It’s by 3 photographers (David Miralle, Mike Powell, and Vincent Laforet) who shoot for newsweek. They pretty much get to shoot whatever they want, which makes it that much better.

- On a lower note, I am unable to watch the olympics online on my computer. NBC is using this new technology called silverlight, which is currently not being supported on my laptop. So I have to watch stuff on my sister’s computer. While this isn’t that much of a problem, it will be when I go school. Bummer.

That’s it for now. I’ve got a bunch of tabs in firefox open waiting to be blogged about, so hopefully I can do that sometime soon.