More About Me

2004-08-14

An article from the Daily Record.
  Correction: This paper is out of Parsippany, NJ

Michael Phelps Count Up.

One.

Day One Dandy.

You can get the results anywhere. I will just say that being there was nerve-racking. Some incredible racing, and a couple of medals for Team USA. Get results here.

Lax in the Journal Dept.

See, I have this thing called the Olympics coming up. I try my best, but the journal may have to wait somedays. It is not the most insightful entry to date, but I did get one up there this morning.

Just One Hiccup

This morning's prelims session went by with just one snafu. In the women's 400 Individual Medley, the flags were set at the wrong distance, and after quite a bit of confusion and a missed back-to-breast turn, they were moved. Pay close attention to the location of the pole in photo one and two:

 

I Make Good News

2004-08-13

What can I say. Here is a great article in the Newark Star Ledger today on the Star Ledger website, and an editorial in the Kansas City Star, that was also picked up by Fort Wayne .com.

Once a Swimmer...

They say always a swimmer. Tim Duncan gave a chuckle when I asked for a picture with two swimmers in it.



More photos in my Opening Ceremonies album.

Fantasy Swimming

Check it out at Speedo.com

American Ingenuity

Here is a fine example of american ingenuity fixing greek engineering. Seems that the shower is now fixed (notice the use of duct tape), after leaking profusely all over the floor for the past few days:

   

Not Automatic

As I have come to find first hand, even with a silver medal in hand, is that this report from ESPN.com, is quite untrue.
"U.S. swimmers automatically have an endorsement advantage because they win more gold medals than any other individual sport..."
Yet this is not the case, as we lag behind many sports in the financial compensation that may be due to us. We have consistently been the best in the world, but it seems no one in the U.S. really cares enough to reward us. Many have to work a second job to make a living. The public sees us medal winners as athletes who make a very substantial living, but it is certainly quite the contrary. I personally sometimes just make minimum wage, and companies always look past us, it is time for that to change.

Have You Seen This?

2004-08-12

Let me know if you have.

Short Leash

More details on the IOC's restrictions on athletes in the Olympic Games.
-Update: There are some decent comments on this issue here.
-This article shows just how strict the IOC is, and how much they are not sharing with the athletes.

Yo. No...

Yao. Ming that is.
While the USA B-Ball team is incognito, Yao Ming has time to do it the "Olympic Way", by being a real Olympian and eating and living in the village. I saw him in the dining hall at lunch and dinner.

Yesterday

This morning started too early for me. I wanted to sleep in pretty badly, but needed to be on the 8am bus. Now you may say that at 25 years old, I can make my own decisions, but hey, when you have a swim coach here, no matter how old you are, you follow directions.
  - Read On

Helping Friends

It seems that the suite across the hall has not heeded the warning above their toilets ("Please Do Not Throw Any Paper in The Toilet"), and both broke on them yesterday afternoon. My question is: Where do you put the paper if you should not flush it? The bathrooms already smell like $%#&*.

Small World

Seems, it is. I was greeted at the pool this morning, by a gentleman (Brian Murray), who lived in Morristown, New Jersey and swam in high school with Dan Dougher (a friend).

Greek Delicacy?

I wondered through about 5 or 6 meals when the Greeks would liven up the meals with some baklava, souvlaki, or gyros...maybe there was too much interest in the full-service McDonalds. Today, though, out came some baklava, and man was it good.

Bring Out the Big Guns

Seems that the Israeli delegation has their own complex here in Athens. Surrounded by a large blue mesh fence and armed guards, it seems no chances will be taken. I have not photographed it yet, as I am not in favor of my camera being confiscated, but I may give a try later today because that is the way I am.

And The Athletes Are.

2004-08-11

From the USA Today, courtesy of the Home Depot.

Food and Wine

Thought this would catch your attention Bill. I plan on doing an expose of the delicacies available to us in the village, but since we are on "the code", I am unable to sample anything else.

Technical Difficulties

I want to apologize, as it seems that the captions from my albums are reseting daily. We are working on a fix, but the pictures are still up to be viewed, though some without captions.

Now Up.

Photos from the first day at the pool are now posted.

Down, but Not Out

You were worried that the blog was over...if you did, I sure fooled you. The internet has been down most of the day, and I have an ear infection that has zapped a lot of energy, but I have alas found a way to post, and the blogging goes on.

Minor Glitches.

The elevator is now working in our apartment, but it seems the air conditioner does not like me. At around 2am, my roommate Nate Dusing turned up the AC, and to my surprise I was greeted by a steady flow of dripping water onto my bed.

Preparations Are Started

I have begun work on a charity auction benefiting the Melanoma Research Foundation. I will continue to post more information as it comes in, but right now news is positive, as I have tentative donations from Ian Crocker and possibly Lance Armstrong (let me reiterate, possibly...do not want to get hopes up). I will soon dedicate a separate page of my site to this auction, so keep watching!

To Turner Creek

5th graders. Cool! Keep watching and reading, have fun, and maybe I will bring a medal down to Raleigh for you all to see!

Blown Away

The response has been huge. I never expected such a response, and have received email from seven different countries. Heck, I guess I should try for every country competing at these Games! I am now having trouble keeping up, but hey, it's blogging as usual, so I am going to try. If I were to link by hand, every site that has referenced, linked, or syndicated my blog, it would take me hours. So, here is what I will do. Contact me with the html code for your link and I will review it for content, then post (I cannot just be linking to anything, right?) it to my site. We'll give this a try and see how it works.

2003 Olympian?

2004-08-10

Seems the the Home Depot store at Interstate 35 and Ben White Blvd in Austin, TX has a poster or two of me up in their store...only thing is they say I was a 2003 Olympic Silver Medalist. Has anyone seen these posters or any others, in any location across the U.S.? Please let me know.

A Day Lost.

Well, I skipped a day. Could not be helped. I will catch you up though. Yesterday we had a cheer meeting, but it was nothing new. We just went over some old cheers. So the "rookies" could know them. I was expecting that we would have to make up some new ones, but that was not the case. I am kind of happy about that, as I am not a good cheer maker.
  - Read On

Charity Auction.

Work has officially begun on a charity auction to benefit the Melanoma Research Foundation. Check back for updates.

First Amendment's Finest

Check out my full response to the stories pertaining to the possible ban on blogs from Athens.

Send me Your Best.

Head over to David Liss's blog at NJ.com and read what is going on with my blog!

All Clear

After further investigation with media officers at USA Swimming. I cannot report on news that has otherwise not been released to the public, and I do not do that, nor will I. I am not a journalist, nor do I pretend to be. So the Blog Goes On.

Olympic Blog Banning?

2004-08-09

The story goes:
David Akin first reported this news, and it was noticed by Boing, Boing, who was noticed by Biz Stone, who sent me an email about it. After reading Akin's story, I instant messaged Akin himself, and he told me he heard the news from a colleague. Is your head spinning yet? Trying to learn more, I could not find USA Swimming media coordinators, but figure, if I was not told, then it must be an odd-rule only enforced north of the border. I will definitely look into this issue further. If true outside of Canada, it certainly impedes on my first amendment rights.   Any thoughts?.

Take Note

Are you a blogger from Blogger.com? Log in to your account, and take a look at the 'Blogs of Note'. Thanks to Biz Stone, I am the 'Olympic Blogger'. Almost makes me sound infamous...

Coming August 13

The Home Depot 2004 Olympic commercial is scheduled to first air during the Athens Opening Ceremonies. You can catch it after that date at The Home Depot Olympic website. While you are waiting for the commercial to air, take a break from staring at the television and check out my bio on the website as well.

Front and Center

Front page. NJ.com. Send me an email.

Sunday is For Swimming?

Usually Sunday is the day off, but not on this Sunday. With the swimming competition just around the corner there are no days off, so I was up around 8am to head to the pool. I was one of about six that were at the pool this morning.
  - Read On

K.C. Olympic Connections

2004-08-08

Article found this morning in the Kansas City Star.

Dinner and a Raw Steak

We all had an interesting dinner, or so I thought, Lenny had a raw steak, and pictures are now posted from our trip to Valldemossa. Hope you enjoy your meal.

Media Day

This morning started with a relaxing 3,500 meter practice. That was all that was relaxing about it. Well, to be exact, I was relaxed, but the media that was no deck for media day was quite intense. Unfortunately, not for me though.
  - Read On