Olympics in Vancouver B.C.

The Olympics being in eight days in Vancouver. Each year the online coverage of the Olympics improves and the Winter Games in Vancouver will have some superb online environments to watch, explore, and experience the games.

Although there will be coverage via Facebook and Twitter, I don't see a few cam pictures and text as the best way to experience the games, especially because many events only take a few minutes anyway so the advantages of "condensing" information down to a few snips make less sense than for, say, a speech where you may just want to glean a few tidbits.

Here is the NBC Coverage (NBC is likely to have the best and most Olympics content): NBCOlympics.com

ESPN Sports: espn.go.com/olympics/

Here is the official website of the Olympics: Olympic.org

CBS Sports: http://www.cbssports.com/olympics

BBC: News.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/olympics/

Dirtiest Hotels in America

TripAdvisor.com has ranked the "top ten" worst reviewed hotels in the USA in terms of cleanliness, and CNN has the story.

Although customer reviews can be of dubious quality - competitors may even chime in with fake reviews to hurt another business - it's probably fair to say that if your property has hundreds of bad reviews you should seriously consider....changing things!

Traveling to Canada for the Olympics? Check your documents.

New travel document requirements will affect people travelling from the USA to Canada for the Olympics. Generally a valid passport should do the trick as well as special WHTI travel documents. If you are not clear on requirements you should read this and contact authorities to make sure you won't have problems returning to the US after the Olympics:

Returning to the U.S. after the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games

Vancouver is expected to be a popular destination for U.S. citizens during the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games. Under the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI), U.S. citizens entering the the U.S. by air, land or sea from Vancouver or elsewhere in Canada must have a WHTI-approved travel document. Please allow several weeks for new document application and processing before leaving for Vancouver.

Arriving in the U.S. by Air
When returning home from Vancouver by plane you are required to present a U.S. passport, with these exceptions.

Entering the U.S. by Land
If you are a U.S. citizen driving, taking a bus or train back from Vancouver into the U.S., you are required to present a U.S. passport, U.S. passport card, enhanced driver’s license (EDL) or Trusted Traveler Program card. Some travelers may be part of the WHTI Special Groups in which case travel document requirements may be different.

Traveling to the U.S. by Sea
Travelers taking a ferry or small boat back to the U.S. from the Vancouver area must have a U.S. passport, U.S. passport card, enhanced driver’s license (EDL) or Trusted Traveler Program card. Some travelers may be part of the WHTI Special Groups in which case travel document requirements may be different.

The above information is for U.S. citizens on their way home from Vancouver or another destination in Canada. Canadian and Mexican citizens should access the appropriate WHTI information by clicking country of citizenship on the map on the home page.

Please allow four to six weeks to process your WHTI-approved travel document.

http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/

Winter Olympics in British Columbia, Canada

Here's the official olympic website for the Winter Olympics in Vancouver and surrounding areas of British Columbia, Canada:

http://www.vancouver2010.com/olympic-tickets/olympic/

The ticket process is based on several factors designed to make it fair and offer opportunities to everybody. You'll probably find that popular events are prohibitively expensive in the auctions, so consider attending practices to get the feel of the Olympics and then watching the finals on TV along with the rest of the world.

Tallest Buildings in the World

Tallest Towers (below) are from Wikipedia list.

Tall building graphic From Burj Dubai website: (missing Shanghai WFC) http://www.burjdubai.com/the-tower/worlds-tallest-towers.aspx

Comparison picture of tall buildings from Info Please: http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0001338.html

Rank	Building[A][3]	City	Country	Height		Floors	Built
1	Burj Khalifa	Dubai	UAE	828 m	2,717 ft	160	2010
2	Taipei 101	Taipei	Taiwan (ROC)	509 m	1,671 ft	101	2004
3	Shanghai World Financial Center	Shanghai	China (PRC)	492 m	1,614 ft	101	2008
4	International Commerce Centre	Hong Kong	Hong Kong	483 m	1,584 ft	118	2009[C]
5=	Petronas Tower 1	Kuala Lumpur	Malaysia	452 m	1,483 ft	88	1998
5=	Petronas Tower 2	Kuala Lumpur	Malaysia	452 m	1,483 ft	88	1998
7	Nanjing Greenland Financial Center	Nanjing	China (PRC)	450 m	1,476 ft	89	2009[D]
8	Willis Tower	Chicago	United States	442 m	1,451 ft	108	1973
9	Guangzhou West Tower	Guangzhou	China (PRC)	440 m	1,444 ft	103	2009[C]
10	Trump International Hotel and Tower	Chicago	United States	423 m	1,362 ft	96	2009[C]
11	Jin Mao Tower	Shanghai	China (PRC)	421 m	1,380 ft	88	1998
12	Two International Finance Centre	Hong Kong	Hong Kong	416 m	1,362 ft	88	2003
13	CITIC Plaza	Guangzhou	China (PRC)	391 m	1,283 ft	80	1997
14	Shun Hing Square	Shenzhen	China (PRC)	384 m	1,260 ft	69	1996
15	Empire State Building	New York City	United States	381 m	1,250 ft	102	1931
16	Central Plaza	Hong Kong	Hong Kong	374 m	1,227 ft	78	1992
17	Bank of China Tower	Hong Kong	Hong Kong	367 m	1,205 ft	72	1990
18	Bank of America Tower	New York City	United States	366 m	1,200 ft	54	2008
19	Almas Tower	Dubai	UAE	363 m	1,191 ft	68	2009
20	Emirates Office Tower	Dubai	UAE	355 m	1,163 ft	54	2000