First Charles River One-Mile Swim
It’s happening! It looks like we, the Charles River Swimming Club, are holding the first (possibly annual) Charles River One-Mile Swim on September 9, 8am. More information, including registration information, will be available within the next few days at Charles River Swimming Club.
The curse of long course swimming
Long Course Attention Deficit Disorder
Occurs annually during the transition from short course training to long-course training in late spring. Sprinters are known to be more susceptible to this disorder than distance swimmers.
Symptoms:
- Swimmer forgets workout mid-way through the pool, due to shortened attention span
- Swimmer gets bored out of his/her mind half-way through the 50m stretch and can’t continue to keep up the desired level of intensity
- Swimmer swims workout thinking that one length of the pool equals 25 yards.
- Swimmer is irritable and unable to focus on the workout
Treatment:
- Total immersion therapy: prescribe practice every day until swimmer has adjusted to long-course.
- If symptoms persist for longer than one month: suggest the swimmer train in the teaching pool.
Prevention:
- No preventative measures have been employed successfully. Mental preparedness training is currently being tested but has shown a very limited success rate.
Suppose the local transit authority announced a hefty fare increase. Suppose you are upset and would like to let them know that you feel a fare increase is unfair. Suppose you decide to speak at a public meeting. Fine idea, perfectly valid. Nobody is excited about paying higher fares. Here are a few things to keep in mind:
A) Anybody will understand that you’re frustrated, that doesn’t exempt you from being civilized.
B) Trust me, you will get a better reception and consideration when you speak or write respectfully rather than spewing off one insult after another. Because, honestly, when was the last time that worked for you?
C) Don’t cut each other off mid-sentence, you’re a grown-up and I am sure want to be treated like one, so act like one. If I hear one more time how disrespectful young kids are today, I will dedicate a whole blog rant to the topic of rude self-righteous adults. Some of the most civilized & respectful people I have seen at public hearings are high school students.
D) Don’t start crying (see C about being a grown-up).
E) A transit agency can’t be all things to all people. Yes, you have a right to be heard, but sometimes the answer is going to be that it can’t be done.
F) All the improvements people want to see cost money, if you are against a fare increase, many of those are unlikely to happen - ever.
G) People (native English speakers, I might add) complain about lack of signage in languages other than English to serve immigrant communities. I’m sorry, is it really so outragously preposterous to expect that immigrants to this country get a basic grasp on the language? People who have lived here for several years and don’t speak enough English to read signs should get language lessons, not be catered to by having everything translated into their language.
H) If you’re going to compare a public agency with a private business in terms of operating efficiencies etc, you have to concede that private businesses have the authority to raise prices without your input or an analysis of how that would affect low-income folks or the environment (and they constantly do so, have the prices of cars not gone up? milk? bread? clothes? Where is the public outrage?).
I) The public transit authority is not the cause of nor the solution for low minimum wages and social security payments.
J) Even if it can sometimes appear that way, public officials are not in the business of making your life miserable.
K) And, as always, think before you speak. Well presented constructive criticism and arguments are always welcome.
The events alluded to in this blog entry are not fictitious. Any similarity to actual events at recent public meetings is entirely intentional.
Reason # 592 for owning a Mac: Apple recently announced that it will offer a free computer take-back and recycling program starting in June 2006.