Boring

RE: Boring

Former Member — Tue, 07 Oct 2003 16:22:39 GMT

Kennedy came from a family with some money, so in the earlier part of the 20th century when public pools were scare he had more opportunities to learn to swim. Nixon probably didn't learn to swim. The area he was born and grew up in Yorba Linda and Whittier was very rural and the nearest public pools in those days was probably in the city of Los Angeles about 35 miles away and there were no freeways until the 1950's.

RE: Boring

michaelmoore — Tue, 07 Oct 2003 10:40:31 GMT

Nixon removed the White House pool to install something else (putting green?) Many years ago I had the opportunity to attend a White House daily press briefing (I dont want to say how long ago it was, but it was the day the Chinese Ping Pong team visited the White House). As I recall, the area where the press corp had there cubicles, was the area of the swimming pool. The swimming pool was not filled in, it was just covered up and a floor laid over the pool. michael

RE: Boring

Former Member — Mon, 06 Oct 2003 14:42:38 GMT

That must be the distance and open water approach to swimming. Kennedy was a varsity swimmer at Harvard, and used his swimming skills to become a true hero of WWII. Nixon removed the White House pool to install something else (putting green?)

RE: Boring

mattson — Mon, 06 Oct 2003 10:19:56 GMT

Originally quoted by Rob Copeland ”... He sees the world as a swimmer sees it.” Is this a college swimmer after a *serious* party (21 or older, no underage drinking)? Or a distance swimmer with no goggles in a heavily chlorinated pool?

RE: Boring

Rob Copeland — Mon, 06 Oct 2003 08:45:25 GMT

Hey!! we already had a swimming president, Ronald Reagan. He swam for Eureka College. And while he never, at least that I know of, swam Masters, he is part of our swimming family. There is an interesting quote from Dutch: A Memoir of Ronald Reagan, by Edmund Morris that seems appropriate here: ”Often I have marveled at Reagan's cool, unhurried progress through crises of politics and personnel, and thought to myself, He sees the world as a swimmer sees it.”

RE: Boring

Former Member — Sat, 04 Oct 2003 13:59:02 GMT

Well, Gerald Ford was the last to lap swim. He had a pool built at the white house.

RE: Boring

Former Member — Sat, 04 Oct 2003 12:50:00 GMT

Originally posted by Jc2000 However, one political/swimming question does come to mind. Would the US be better off if we had a dedicated lap-swimmer President? I'd like to think so--and it would certainly help get more people interested in swimming. According to Newsweek, there is a dedicated swimmer running this year -- Wesley Clark. Since Gen. Clark seems to be a front runner, as of now, there's a possibility we may get "swimmer president." Just for information and not necessarily an endorsement (so that this post isn't considered to be too overtly "political" :p).

RE: Boring

Former Member — Sat, 04 Oct 2003 11:34:36 GMT

I keep my eyes on several discussion groups, and I've noticed that they all seem to have "bad" times, times when I wonder why I bother keeping an eye on them. Then, they swing back to being good, and I remember why I keep coming back. In general, I think politics should be minimized. There are many good places to discuss current events; there aren't as many for swimming. However, one political/swimming question does come to mind. Would the US be better off if we had a dedicated lap-swimmer President? I'd like to think so--and it would certainly help get more people interested in swimming.

RE: Boring

Former Member — Fri, 03 Oct 2003 15:36:53 GMT

ok, call me lost...but what did Ion do or say that was controversial? (I've read some of his postings...but apparently I've missed what Laineybug and some others are talking about.) TGIF, Jerrycat ;)

RE: Boring

Former Member — Fri, 03 Oct 2003 14:22:48 GMT

I think that when Ion was talking about how good he was as a swimmer and he compared himself in freestyle to middle aged women is because he felt a little inferior. There's a lot of men in the 45-49 year old age group that made nationals back in the 1970's and having them beat him 10 seconds in a 100 yard free made him feel bad. But he would be in the top 10 in women in the 45 to 49 year old age group. Maybe, he should of thought that way. I understand some of his disappointment. After coming back in the sport I'm a lot slower but I was a very average swimmer as a kid, some strokes A times and some strokes B times.

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Former Member — Fri, 03 Oct 2003 14:05:01 GMT

Arcuni: good one :p

RE: Boring

Former Member — Fri, 03 Oct 2003 13:45:16 GMT

Here is my two cents, 1) Political subjects are polarizing and emotionally charged. I get my fill of the political debates from the radio, work and newspapers. I come to this site to escape that stress and support the swimming community. I enjoy the debates on Nationals and TI. I read the workouts. I'm inspired by the stories of the brand new swimmers, the national record holders and those returning to the sport after many years. 2) As to Ion - Some of his posts went over the line and I question his point of view. He has a right to his opinion and I have a right to ignore it. However, he does not have the right to personally attack people. As long as he isn't being abusive or using this forum to promote inappropriate subjects, he should be allowed to post. If he (or anyone) can't abide by common rules of civility - they should be banned. Haven't we all been taught that if you don't have something nice to say - don't say it? I swim because it makes me feel better and I enjoy being part of a community that isn't politcal or religous. Our common bond is the water. We shouldn't let this board become a forum for political debate or personal attacks. Michael

RE: Boring

Former Member — Fri, 03 Oct 2003 13:44:36 GMT

There are occasional lulls, but on the whole I do not find this discussion board to be boring. In any case, I certainly have found the advice to be helpful. As to political discussions, there are two issues. First, the owners of this discussion board have every right to set forth the rules of engagement, and delete posts and ban posters in accordance with those rules. This should not be misconstrued as (the evil form of) "censorship", a term that only applies when the *government* tries to squash protected speech. Secondly, there's the question of whether we really want to go down that road (i.e., political discussions). I've seen a couple other forums seriouly disrupted by political discussions -- long-term members leaving, new members being turned off, e-friendships strained. (I admit I was one of the culprits, but I won't tell you which way I lean.) I believe we ought to keep this board dedicated to swimming related topics only, broadly construed, with moderators actively enforcing the rules. With some reservations I would suggest opening another board, unmoderated, open to all topics (of course, nothing unsuitable for minors, and nothing that would result in racketeering indictments).

RE: Boring

Former Member — Fri, 03 Oct 2003 13:14:02 GMT

Its not Ion's opinions that need censoring. His attitude needs to change. That plus the fact he was trying, imho, to get a public apology when none was necessary was just the last straw in a lot of folks minds. Heck, even me, the defender of all water aerobersizers, floaters and little ole ladies everywhere got ticked off and came down very hard on him. Lainey

RE: Boring

Former Member — Fri, 03 Oct 2003 12:19:45 GMT

I for one agree with the admin folks on this one! I come here to read and talk about swimming! Maybe they would let you all start a separate Forum to talk about political issues, that way if and when people want to get in on it, they can, and it wouldn't be taking up room in this one.

RE: Boring

Former Member — Fri, 03 Oct 2003 08:49:20 GMT

I think the 200 IMer is the best all-around swimmer because the race requires 1. all 4 strokes 2. a combination of speed and endurance The 400 IM is too much an endurance race to get my vote for best all-around test. BTW, I am not an IMer at all. what's all the fuss about going off-topic into politics, etc.? Swimming talk can get boring in a hurry.

RE: Boring

Former Member — Fri, 03 Oct 2003 08:21:11 GMT

An apology? After reading lots of Ion's posts, I get the vague impression, reading between the lines, and thinking about it a lot, that he wants us to say that he is the greatest swimmer since Johnny Weismuller. I could be mistaken, however . . .:confused:

RE: Boring

WaterRat — Fri, 03 Oct 2003 07:17:04 GMT

I’ve always thought of the 400 IM as the King of Swimming but your right the 200 IM does require the blend of both speed and endurance while obviously requiring proficiency in all 4 strokes. I wouldn’t call myself an IMer either although I do enjoy the 100 IM. The 200 fly still gets my vote for most physically and mentally tough event. My goal is to do a 200 fly in competition. I don’t really care about the time because I know there will never be a second one.

RE: Boring

Former Member — Fri, 03 Oct 2003 07:10:47 GMT

I want to make it clear... I never read a post where he actually demanded a public apology, but it was a reoccuring theme in his posts during the last thread he participated in. Wanting an a public apology was the impression I got from reading between the lines. (Being a psychologist I'm pretty good at hearing the unspoken meaning. I have been wrong before and I will be wrong again, however.)

RE: Boring

Former Member — Fri, 03 Oct 2003 06:43:03 GMT

Hey Jerrycat, chances are if Ion's plug got pulled because of something in his posting, thenI would bet his posting was pulled too. Jeff

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Former Member — Fri, 03 Oct 2003 06:19:42 GMT

Well, Michael Heather wrote an in-joke about immirgants in California and it was remove. Some of it was a little poor taste.I hope Ion can comeback

RE: Boring

Former Member — Fri, 03 Oct 2003 06:14:02 GMT

Ion a guy. He has a foreign name. Maybe you already knew that. People think that I and Ion are the same people,we ain't. .

RE: Boring

aquageek — Fri, 03 Oct 2003 05:22:42 GMT

My sentence was confusing. I meant to say I enjoy Lefty's posts. Sorry for the confusion.

RE: Boring

Former Member — Thu, 02 Oct 2003 14:59:48 GMT

Was Ion kicked off, or has he decided not to post on this forum any more ? This is a quiet time of year, we seem to have a lot of new posters who are new to swimming and are looking for very basic advice. We do have the Olympics next year. There should be some interesting stuff then. Boring, we could always talk about TI again !!!

RE: Boring

Former Member — Thu, 02 Oct 2003 12:15:37 GMT

I've been trying to parse aquageek's sentence - he enjoys your what greatly? But I think I have it figured out. He *meant* to say: "If they do, I'm fully supportive of his prohibition, although I *did* enjoy yours greatly." And I don't think lefty should be flattered. ;)