{"id":120,"date":"2014-10-10T07:00:59","date_gmt":"2014-10-09T20:00:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/new.radio-active.net.au\/web3\/?page_id=120"},"modified":"2014-10-10T07:01:32","modified_gmt":"2014-10-09T20:01:32","slug":"darryls-olympic-diary","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/www.radio-active.net.au\/web3\/consult\/projects\/oly2000\/olydiary","title":{"rendered":"Darryl’s Olympic Diary"},"content":{"rendered":"

Brought to you by Radioactive Networks. This diary is a generally unedited
\nview of what I was working on during the Sydney 2000 Olympics. They have been
\ntaken from an email diary that I circulated through email during the games,
\nwhich is why they sound quite informal. Enjoy.<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dateline 1-September-2000<\/H2><\/b>
\n<\/TD><\/tr>\n

\nOne week down – Four weeks to go.
\n<\/TD><\/TR><\/table>\n

For me, one week down, 4 weeks to go… For the general public 14 days
\nto go… Until the Olympics come to town. Or should I say until the Olympics
\nstart in ernest, since the Olympics are definitely here…<\/p>\n

The work I am doing is setting up a network of equipment to track the
\nlocation of our video camera vehicle, 4 motorcycles, 6 helicopters, fixed
\nwing plane, and a Manly Ferry. If I we are lucky we will get this data
\nonto the net… So that the actual position of these can be placed onto
\na digital map…<\/p>\n

I am working directly for a company called Winemiller Communications
\nInc, of Carlisle, PA in the USA. They are the largest RF contractor to
\nSOBO, the Sydney Olympic Broadcast Organisation…<\/p>\n

As of today I have even managed to secure off street parking a few blocks
\nfrom the Olympic Stadium in the SOBO compound.<\/p>\n

I have also been working on wiring up the Marathon\/Triathlon\/Cycling\/etc
\ncontrol room for video and audio, which has been interesting… The room
\nis small, but it is filled with everything we need… It looks a bit different
\nfrom the last time I was there. I will put some photos of the room onto
\nmy WWW site in the next week or two… There are some on the Winemiller
\nWWW site, but none of me [ http:\/\/www.winemiller.com<\/a>
\n]<\/p>\n

On Wednesday I got to visit the NBC field workshop near Smithfield.
\nThat was interesting… The car I was driving was an Olympic one with 22
\nKm on the clock… I joked that we change the car rather than fill it up
\nwith petrol, which is almost the case :-). The NBC site was amazing…
\nI was asked if I wanted lunch, which I got… Salads, pasta, bread rolls,
\nbread etc… smorgasbord style… Well packed fridge[or 8 of them], Starbucks
\ncoffee etc… All free… They said they also serve breakfast there which
\nwould be amazing if lunch is anything to go by.<\/p>\n

The motorcycles, and a van we are using were shipped from the USA, and
\nhave USA plates on them… On of the things i needed to do was get a copy
\nof a NSW police report about how some plates were stolen from the van…
\nso that they can get replaced and sent back to Australia… These vehicles
\nare being driven on Australian roads with USA plates… Bizzare… Someone
\nelse’s job now to get the police report as I was unable to get it…<\/p>\n

I still have not got my official olympic clothing, but have got my unofficial
\ncompany clothing, that I am not allowed to wear at any venue… Seems the
\nclothing contains the words “Sydney 2000” and this does not refer to the
\npost code.. This is not legal in australia but is in the USA…<\/p>\n

A bit of gossip… the ID tags that all the poor security people are
\ngoing to have to swipe with a bar code reader are unfortunately unreadable
\nmuch of the time thanks to the built in holograms.. and certainly will
\nnot work unless it is very clean… Also the ID tags are coming apart
\nat the edges… But you will destroy them if you try a repair with an iron…
\nA member of our team has tried.<\/p>\n

At the moment I am based at Lidcome in a warehouse… Interesting place…
\nAll the ‘Camera Corps’ have just set up their equipment there.. Stuff like
\ngrips, etc… I saw a few loads go off to the Entertainment centre on friday.<\/p>\n

Speaking of ID’s, I have picked up a few more… I can go to any Olympic
\nvenue before the games start and get in… I will also be getting games
\ntime accreditation to Sailing, Equestrian and a few others.. I wear 2 id
\npasses at the moment, as well as the phone book [100 names], cell phone
\nand mobile radio… Sometimes I also wear the laptop too… I purchased
\na LAPTOP backpack so I can actually carry it with gear without breaking
\nmy back.<\/p>\n

I am working with some interesting people… The person who I was working
\nwith friday should have been in the USA this weekend… His company [he
\nowns it] is covering a major golf thing this weekend, and they were having
\na few problems…<\/p>\n

Anyway I need to get going… I have some more work to do…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dateline 10-September-2000<\/H2><\/b>
\n<\/TD><\/tr>\n

\nOne Week to go…. Uniform Delivery…
\n<\/TD><\/TR><\/table>\n

Greetings People…<\/p>\n

Another week down… Today [Yesterday] I have safety training – Occupational
\nHealth and Safety stuff – so that those who are not used to Australian
\nconditions do not get killed… Also I will be trained in local procedures…
\nand what to do if something goes wrong… [And of course it will not \ud83d\ude42
\n]. After that 43 of us are going to dinner in Centrepoint. [Dinner was
\ngreat… Looking over the wonderful city… I think some people will want
\nto stay]<\/p>\n

Safety Training: All 36 inch Microwave dishes must be taken up ladders
\nin SOBO issues back packs, which are certainly not large enough for the
\ndishes… Hearing protection will be supplied for use when transiting the
\nplant room to the roof of the UNSW. Torches will be supplied and must be
\ncarried when there in case there is a blackout and you find yourself in
\nthe middle of the plant room with no lights. ID Tags should be worn UNDER
\nclothing when on rooftops as they do not want a repeat of a guy who hurt
\nhis eye when the accreditation blew up and hit him, but the accreditation
\nmust also be visible at all times.<\/p>\n

Last night I went to the dress rehearsal of the Opening Ceremony, thanks
\nto my Olympic Club membership. Dare I say it the Olympic Club membership
\nwas worth it… I would now be prepared to pay over $1,000 to see the real
\nthing.<\/p>\n

There were a few failures last night, such as the compare dropping his
\nnotes and delays between segments. I was at the southern end, which had
\na great view, but was some windy. I was also under the flag. Also on the
\nsubject of flags, it tore last night. And when you see the ceremony you
\nwill see what I am talking about. After the opening, I feel sorry for Athens
\nwho will have a problem with topping it in 4 years time.<\/p>\n

I visited the Main Press Centre yesterday, and it was quiet… In the
\nOlympic store there they had T-Shirts ‘I SURVIVED THE MAIN PRESS CENTRE’.
\nI bought some pins saying the same thing.<\/p>\n

Last night I was on the southern side of the Stadium having just walked
\nfrom the International Broadcast Centre [IBC]. I was outside the gates and
\nwanted to get to the press centre… All the Support Services people pointed
\nme back to the IBC, exactly where I had come from… I had to tell them
\nthat the press centre was on the other side of the stadium and that I just
\ndid not know how to get there… Whilst I was asking a journalist wanted
\nto get to the baseball stadium. Support did not know where that was, so
\nI was able to tell him where it was, just not how to get there. 3 weeks
\nlater I found out I should have used another entrance to get to the MPC
\nfrom the IBC, via the superdome car park.<\/p>\n

I finally got my official Uniform… My haul was<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Olympic Uniform Bundle<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n