Is that my cell phone, or am I having heart palpitations?

Records aren't their strong suit now
Posted: Saturday, May. 15, 2010

You may have missed this bulletin, but the technological arms race in swimming is over. FINA, the world governing body of the sport, decreed in 2009 that the high-tech bodysuits that contributed to more than 100 world records over the past two years would be banned in 2010.

That means the space-age suits - which sliced through the water more efficiently than human skin and also made it easier for swimmers to float - are no more.

And that's a good thing.

"I think swimming is actually swimming again," said Michael Phelps, the 14-time Olympic gold medalist who set numerous world records in the bodysuits. "Now it's not who is wearing what suit and who has what material... It's going to be more challenging to be able to swim that fast. We've got to be in better shape. Stronger. We'll have to do a number of things to get back to those times, but I think the people who want to get back to those times will."

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/05/15/1437064/records-arent-their-strong-suit.html

IMHO today, this shows some genuine integrity. If you’re talking about breaking a record, than it seems you should all be playing on an even playing field.

With today’s advances in sports sciences, not to mention the illegal enhancements that permeate certain formerly sacred American past times, it’s nice to know we haven’t surrendered all reason in the name of “advanced technologies.

With all the advances, my telephone is now my address book; calendar, alarm clock, road map, friend updater, music storage, movie and fact finder, bank book, camera, photo album and I can even talk to people. Do these things really make my life, better, more complete; more effective? I have wasted many hours setting up programs and files I have never used; many hours plastered onto a social network, and afterwards wondered what had I actually done.

I think the reason Shakespeare is still relevant is because humans don’t really change. Our terminology does, our technology does, but as a the human race, I think we are very much the same.

We need food, water, shelter, love, & fulfillment, a sense of value for our lives. Technological advances and terminology can’t replace them. But they might diminish, or distort our enjoyment of them.