NPR didn’t really concede much with its correction. Here it is: Correction: An earlier tweet incorrectly stated there is limited scientific evidence of physical advantage. Existing research shows that higher levels of testosterone do impact athletic performance. But there’s limited research involving elite trans athletes in competition. To me, NPR’s statement is so stupid that “scientific research” is not required to refute it. Let’s look at some anecdotal evidence: Lia Thomas, a biological male, a total nobody as a swimmer in men’s competitions, won an NCAA championship when swimming against women. CeCe Telfer, a biological male, a total nobody as a hurdler in men’s competitions, actually won a national championship by a full second-and-a-half when competing against women. Tiffany Thomas (no relation to Lia AFAIK), a biological male, recently won a New York City women’s cycling race. Thomas is a Category 1 (i.e., elite) women’s cyclist, despite being 46 years… Read more →
EppsNet Archive: Swimming
Traffic Stops and Swimming Pools
We know that people can maintain an unshakable faith in any proposition, however absurd, when they are sustained by a community of like-minded believers. —Daniel Kahneman, Thinking, Fast and Slow When I was younger (we’re all very well-behaved now 🙂 ), I had several friends and family members who had unpleasant run-ins with police, where they were cuffed or arrested or beaten, the common thread being not that they were black (they were all white), but they were all wise-asses who didn’t respect authority and couldn’t find it within themselves to be compliant to a police officer. One day my 9th-grade gym teacher told us (again, all white boys) to be excessively polite to police officers — yes sir, no sir — have your day in court if it came to that, but better to be judged by 12 than carried by 6. In my experience, the narrative that only… Read more →
Happy Darwin Day!
“I’ve been walking three miles a day. I thought my cardio fitness was pretty good. Then today I tried swimming some laps and found out that my fitness level is not what I thought it was.” “Yes, well, it’s a good thing that complex life emerged from the seas so we can all spend more time walking and less time swimming. Happy Darwin Day!“ Read more →
Doing What He Loved
From a corporate alumni group on Facebook: We lost another good guy last night. [Name redacted] fell off his boat crabbing in the Chesapeake. He died doing what he loved. He loved falling off boats? That’s unusual. It’s too bad he didn’t love swimming. Or wearing life vests. Read more →
Stick Throwing Leads to Tragedy
EUREKA, Calif. (AP) — A couple died and their 16-year-old son went missing after being swept into sea in Northern California while trying to save their dog, authorities said Sunday. The family was at Big Lagoon, a beach north of Eureka, Saturday afternoon when the dog chased after a thrown stick and got pulled into the ocean by eight to ten foot waves, said Dana Jones, a state Parks and Recreation district superintendent. — Couple swept to sea in effort to save son, dog – Yahoo! News Hi, everybody! It’s me, Lightning! Folks: Don’t throw sticks into 10-foot waves. I’m not a stick-chasing kind of dog myself, but some dogs, like retrievers, are just born to fetch things. They can’t help it. So it’s up to you, the owner, not to throw something where it’s not safe for the dog to be. Another thing: the dog in this case actually… Read more →
Satan on Rodney King
Rodney King’s fiancee was not invited to his funeral?! This is too much! I’m still dealing with the shock of learning that he had a swimming pool. I saw Al Campanis this morning and he said to me, “I hate to say I told you so . . .” Read more →