Lost in Translation

From today’s updates on the Olympic news service:

"The "Beijing is ready" press conference which was scheduled for Thursday, August 7 at 11:00 a.m. in Press Conference Room 1, will be moved to August 8 from 10:00 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. at the same location."

Funny ’cause for once it’s actually not true. Unlike Athens, where they were still slapping on coats of paint as we arrived at the venues, and the landscaping tended towards piles of dirt, no one is carping about Beijing’s readiness.

So far, the only question mark remains the weather. My earlier optimism has been proven foolish (28.3 C with 73 % humidity as I write.) And the gray haze contains for the second straight day, obscuring almost everything. The IOC and national delegations are expressing optimism that things will soon improve (rain is forecast for the next two days,) but that’s the only sunny thing in evidence.