Average Joes Need Reply

The World Olympians Association is looking for a few good women and men -- anyone not an Olympian -- to participate in an online health survey. The organization is spreading the word, which reached me via Facebook on 10 January.

I spent about 20 minutes reading about and then completing the online questionnaire in which respondents get quizzed about their health and work backgrounds before posting answers about gait, joints, weekly physical activities and levels of anxiety or depression. Though the survey is served up for adults over 40, there were no survey questions about age.

Anyone interested can read all about it in the WOA letter pasted below then click on the survey link provided. A password (health2018) is needed (curious the password is so last year). When general public participants make it to the end, they may select to opt in for a potential prize and/or to view the final survey results when published.

There's a version for Olympians, too: https://olympians.org/olympians/health/.

Survey says: Give this WOA study a whirl, and post a comment with your thoughts on the Q&A they provide.

Conversation with IOC Member H.S.H. The Sovereign Prince Albert II

Tonight VISA and the World Olympians Association opened Vancouver's Olympians Reunion Center with an amazing event at which numerous International Olympic Committee members, heads of state, TOP Olympic sponsors, Olympians and other dignitaries were in attendance.

I'm burning the midnight oil and need to sleep, so will post more details from the event tomorrow. But I could not shut off the computer without posting tonight's conversation with HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco (the second IOC interview du jour!).

This was not the first time the Prince and I spoke, but it WAS the first time we chatted since my purchase of a FlipCam, arguably the best invention since ... well, anything. (For those curious about the initial conversation with Mr. Grimaldi, visit this post.)

The IOC member and five-time Olympic bobsleigh competitor explained briefly some of his travels to Canada and return visits to Calgary, site of his first Olympic competition in 1988. He also shared praise for the hard work and successes already realized by VANOC.

Off camera, I asked Prince Albert to explain his earliest childhood memory of the Olympic Games. He replied that during the 1968 Summer Games of Mexico City, at age 10 he had to sneak out of bed to quietly turn on the TV (the Prince's Palace of Monaco being several time zones ahead of Central America) so he could keep watching late-night reports from the Olympic City.

All I could think while he was talking (channeling SNL's "The Chris Farley Show" interviews here): That is A-W-E-S-O-M-E!

More WOA event videos to follow -- interviews with those other Olympians at the VISA Olympians Reunion Center. But now, must rest.

Please forgive the bad audio at the beginning of the video (I dropped in captions to help).