I don't know how many other Philadelphians are going to the Winter Olympics in Turin this weekend, but I know of only one who is going to hold the flag for his country.

A former professor of mine from Drexel University, Dr Prawat Nagvajara is!

He saw a cross-country skier from Kenya named Philip Boit, dead last and completely exhausted, collapse into the arms of the gold-medal winner, Bjorn Daehlie, who had crossed the finish line in the 10-kilometer event 20 minutes earlier.

For some reason, it all looked like fun to Nagvajara, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at Drexel University.

"He's my hero," Nagvajara said of the Kenyan. "So I had a goal. It became my endeavor that I should start training and maybe go to the next Olympics."

From Sunday's New York Times...

AFTER years of losing population, the downtown region, known as Center City, is booming, with developments going up and old buildings being transformed into lofts and condominiums.

The construction, fueled by tax breaks, has succeeded in halting the city's 40-year population decline. Center City, which has the nation's third largest downtown residential population, behind New York and Chicago, is experiencing its fifth straight year of increased housing starts, both new and rehabilitated units. Center City's population grew to 88,000 by the end of 2005 from 78,000 in 2000. Even more striking, the number of households rose by 24 percent, according to figures compiled by the Center City District, a business-improvement group.

Capitolwire (sorry, subscription) ran an article on Pennsylvania political bloggers and their impact on local politics. The reporter, Alison Knezevich, spoke with a number of Philly bloggers.