citius * altius * fortius

LE FastCounter

About Me

I'm a computer networking consultant working in the Washington, DC metro area. In my spare time I enjoy learning about other cultures and languages. My biggest interest is Mexico, especially Mexico City. I am also very fond of southern Italy and the Caribbean, especially the US Virgin Islands. I enjoy cooking, home brewing, reading and listening to all kinds of music when I have time at home. Sports activities I really like are swimming, bicycling, skating, hiking, orienteering and camping. I enjoy hard science-fiction but I'm also a fan of The X Files, Star Trek, Sailor Moon and James Bond. I have a pet rabbit named Hamlet and I collect Olympic pins and Beanie Babies. I sometimes spend my free-time playing in the Society for Creative Anachronism, an international organization of hobbyists who study and recreate the European Middle Ages and early Rennaisance. These interests keep me pretty busy.

Rodney Mark Jones

December's Featured
International Federation


International Ice Hockey Federation

Marc Hodler, the IOC member heading the committee overseeing the preparations by the Salt Lake Organizing Committee for the 2002 Winter Games, has revealed allegations of bribes and kickbacks that may have helped the Salt Lake City Bidding Committee win the 2002 Winter Games. Mr. Hodler will pursue the issue at this weekend's IOC Executive Committee meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland. The bribes were apparently offered in the form of scholarship payments to relatives of IOC members during Salt Lake City's campaign for selection as the 2002 Winter Games host city.

Sema Choosen as Technology Sponsor

A European computer company, Sema, has been choosen by the IOC to provide computer technology and results systems for the Olympic Games to be held in 2002, 2004, 2006 and 2008. IBM withdrew its sponsorship of the Olympic Games following a redefinition of sponsorship terms by the IOC earlier this year. IBM provided technology, web services and results systems for the 1996 Atlanta Summer Games and the 1998 Nagano Winter Games. IBM is also sponsoring the 2000 Sydney Summer Games. But the IOC has changed the ground rules for technology sponsorship and IBM was unable to justify the significantly increased costs associated with the new Olympic Information Technology Group restructuring. Sema is a European computer services and defense technology firm with over 16,000 employees. They provided information systems for the 1992 Barcelona Summer Games and also provided services for the 1994 World Cup and 1998 Commonwealth Games.

Japan Prepares for 2008 Bid

The city of Osaka has received government approval to form an offical bid committee for the 2008 Olympic Summer Games. The approval allows the central government to provide direct financial support to the bid committee in preparation for the IOC selection of a host city. Osaka faces stiff competition for the honor, however, from another Asian city. Beijing, which narrowly lost the vote for the 2000 Olympic Games host city to Sydney, has some strong support among current IOC members including IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch. Paris has also announced an official bid and joins a growing list of candidate cities that includes Seville, Toronto, Istanbul and Kuala Lumpur.