I knew it would take a mathematician or a scientist to decode the new gymnastics new scoring system for me. This Slate article (thanks, Erica!) attempts to explain it in the simplest terms:

This year, competitors get two scores, each from its own panel of judges.

The A score measures the difficulty of the routine. A relatively easy move like a one-handed cartwheel on the balance beam adds 0.1 to your A score, while bringing off the astonishing Arabian double front layout rakes in 0.7. Performing two or more elements in close succession tacks on “connection value” of up to 0.2 points per transition. The way to max out your A score, then, is to cram the toughest possible moves into your routine and pack them as tightly together as you can manage.

The downside of all that: In the middle of your painstakingly computed, ultra-difficult, absolutely seamless routine, you might fly headfirst off the end of the beam. That’s where the B panel comes in. The B score starts at the top of the scale rather than the bottom, and every mistake takes you further from a perfect 10.0. The new system imposes a kind of mandatory minimum sentencing; after years of complaints about unobjective scoring, judges on the B panel now have less discretion about how many points to deduct for a given miscue. The standard penalties are also harsher than they used to be—a fall that would have cost a half-point in Athens now means a 0.8-point deduction.

The final tally is the sum of the A score and B score; since the difficulty of the current batch of Olympic routines tops out in the 7s, you can expect medal-winning scores to be somewhere in the 16s. And that’s one thing opponents of the new system don’t like. “A perfect 16.9″ lacks the ring of “a perfect 10.”

The photography technique in the image above is called stromotion, which I learned all about yesterday from Pret a Voyager. Technology is pretty remarkable, isn’t it?

(image via nbcolympics.com)

Another night of marathon Olympics-watching, only this time I peeled myself off my couch and went over to my friend Eric’s house to watch with him. The poor boy has chicken pox! Can you imagine being in your 30s and having the pox? I hear they are way more uncomfortable when you have them as an adult. I was in pre-school when I had them, and I remember my mom letting me play “Connect the Spots” with calamine lotion. I think she stuck my younger sister in the same room as me with hopes that she’d come down with them too. You know, to get ‘em out the way when she was little.

So Michael Phelps, who won two more races today, has now earned more gold medals than any other Olympian ever–11. And the women’s gymnastics team had to settle for silver after team captain Alicia Sacramone fell off the balance beam and stumbled through her floor routine. It’s not really fair to blame one person for a team’s loss, but in this case… You could see on Alicia’s face how disappointed she was with herself.

And what about those Chinese gymnasts? I find it really hard to believe that all of them meet the age requirement of 16-years-old…

(image via flickr)

Wexford Girl asks the question that’s on everybody’s mind: How do the female Olympic swimmers fit their boobs into swimsuits that are cut so narrow across the chest?

And I would like to know: Do they realize that their swimsuits make them look like they have back fat?

(image via Wexford Girl)

Same scenario, different night: Me, planted on my couch, watching hours of Olympic coverage, including women’s gymnastics. It’s addicting.

I grew up doing gymnastics, going to classes weekly for years and years. I never amounted to much, though, because I had too much fear. You need to be fearless to fly through the air.

Anyway, I was excited to finally watch that girl from the Hy-Vee commercial, Shawn Johnson, in action.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTDVadf4_EE]

But I have a couple of questions:

1. Does anybody understand the new scoring system? What happened to achieving a perfect 10?

2. When did the vault change from a simple horse to something somewhat elliptical? It’s seems like gymnasts have an advantage over past vaulters because they have more surface area on which to put their hands. 

3. Is USA captain Alicia Sacramone the love-child of Kristen Cavallari and Jessica Simpson? (That’s her all the way on the right.)

(image via New York Times)

4. Can you imagine being a 33-year-old on a team with girls half your age like the gymnast from Germany? These are her 5th Olympics!

(image via New York Times)

Have you been watching the Olympics? When I returned from SF on Friday, I thought I had missed the opening ceremony because of the time difference between here and Beijing. I didn’t realize that NBC was going to air it pre-recorded in primetime. Although my plan was to go to sleep early because I barely slept the night before, I stayed up to watch the entire thing.  It was mesmerizing. 15,000 individual performers. Impeccable synchronization. Lavish costumes. The technology, the fireworks, the pride. 

Then the countries began to make their way into the stadium. What a great exercise in geography. It’s amazing that there were delegates representing countries that could fit inside the 91,000-seat Bird’s Nest with thousands of seats to spare.

(image via New York Times)

And the outfits! To be honest, I was disappointed with Ralph Lauren’s look for Team USA. They would’ve looked much better in one of these outfits designed by the contestants of Project Runway. 

(image via Bravo)

But my absolute favorite moment of the evening? Watching the 9-year-old who rescued two of his schoolmates after the earthquake in China walk in with Yao Ming and then stay by his side for the rest of the night. He said that he went back to save his classmates because he was a hall monitor, and it was his job to help. What a sweet little boy. 

(image via Sports Illustrated)