Tuesday, April 28, 2009

A Serious Lap Swimmer Tries Being Waterboarded - Find out what happens

Here's a story about a guy who was a former lifeguard, free diver, and all around fitness nut (he does those 100 mile run things), who decided to find out for himself if waterboarding was all that bad. I know I for one have wondered the same thing during many a flip turn where I got water up my nose. The author, after ruling out trying it first on the wife and kids (what a family man!), went a bit further than me and tried them for real, exposing himself to increasingly dangerous methods.

I won't ruin the ending, but let me drop a hint ... this guy is one bad-ass, nut job.

Don't try this at home kiddies. Oh, and BTW, I don't endorse any of this.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Sound in Water - The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

No this isn't about waterproof mp3 players (I'll save that for another day), it's about how sound can influence the body in water.

The pool I swim at is part of a YMCA that recently underwent a massive renovation - except for the pool (never the pool). Seems like the construction guys were drilling or pounding most every day for about a year since they extended the footprint of the building by two, thus having to dig into the limestone rock to create a place to start the foundation.

What's all this have to do with swimming? Well, when they were pounding and drilling, you could hear it through the water. And on the pounding days, I could literally feel it rumbling my rib cage (the bad). I joked with friends that it was like lithotriptsy - which is how calcified kidney stones are destroyed by sending shock waves through a tub of water (the good).

Since the way shock waves travel through water is common knowledge, I'm confused why there is such surprise by the media when dolphins and other sea creatures spaz out where there are ocean shocks (the ugly) - think volcanic explosions, sonar testing (suspected), and other.

Monday, April 06, 2009

Dog Swims Six Miles - Ha Ha Jaws!



Other titles I considered ... "Why Lassie Should Have been a Cattle Dog", or better yet, "Aussie Dog Ready to Star on TV's Survivor".

In this true story, a dog fell overboard and swam about six miles through shark infested waters off the Great Barrier Reef to an island where it dined in rustic luxury waiting for someone to notice.

Very cool story. BTW, Sophie, you've been added to this blog's hero list!