Wednesday, July 19, 2006
George Bush singing "Sunday Bloody Sunday"
| Thanks to http://onegoodmove.org and Rx @ http://thepartyparty.com/ | |
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
From Ralph Figuroa...
Lobster mini-season is the last Wednesday and Thursday of July; this year it's July 26-27. The regular lobster season starts on August 6th and runs through March 31st. You can find the state's official guidelines here:- http://marinefisheries.org/lobster.htmAssuming you are properly licensed, each "hunter" must have a lobster measuring device and have their license with them to allow FWC to do an inspection at sea. Hand nets, tickle sticks, and certain snares are allowed for use by people in the water. Other equipment is allowed for people hunting from land or aboard a boat.You must PROPERLY measure and inspect the lobster BEFORE taking it. That is, it must be legal size, no egg-bearing females, from a legal location, and cannot exceed bag limits. Penalties are VERY harsh and can include confiscation of any and all equipment used to obtain the illegal lobster. This means you can lose your car, boat, trailer, scuba gear, etc. The FWC don't play.I like using the tickle stick/net system better than the snare method, but YMMV. I rig my lobster bag to hang like a stage bottle. Also, we discovered last year that very thin metal rods (about 1/8 in) make better tickle sticks than the ones you can buy in a dive shop. It seems the lobster think its another lobster's antenna and don't get spooked by it.Plan on wearing gloves to avoid the flesh-shredding spines on their carapace. Fortunately, the spiny antenna comes in handy when you're cleaning the lobster.In a nutshell,- Hunters must have valid license and measuring device.- Bubble watchers don't count toward the limit. You must be "actively involved in harvesting".- It's stricter in Monroe county and don't even think about taking lobsters in a protected area.- If they catch you with too many, you'll get a ticket and might lose everything.- If they catch you with a short lobster, you'll get a ticket and might lose everything you own.- If they catch you with egg-bearing female, they beat you like a piata.- Read the website for the details.Ralph
Lobster mini-season is the last Wednesday and Thursday of July; this year it's July 26-27. The regular lobster season starts on August 6th and runs through March 31st. You can find the state's official guidelines here:- http://marinefisheries.org/lobster.htmAssuming you are properly licensed, each "hunter" must have a lobster measuring device and have their license with them to allow FWC to do an inspection at sea. Hand nets, tickle sticks, and certain snares are allowed for use by people in the water. Other equipment is allowed for people hunting from land or aboard a boat.You must PROPERLY measure and inspect the lobster BEFORE taking it. That is, it must be legal size, no egg-bearing females, from a legal location, and cannot exceed bag limits. Penalties are VERY harsh and can include confiscation of any and all equipment used to obtain the illegal lobster. This means you can lose your car, boat, trailer, scuba gear, etc. The FWC don't play.I like using the tickle stick/net system better than the snare method, but YMMV. I rig my lobster bag to hang like a stage bottle. Also, we discovered last year that very thin metal rods (about 1/8 in) make better tickle sticks than the ones you can buy in a dive shop. It seems the lobster think its another lobster's antenna and don't get spooked by it.Plan on wearing gloves to avoid the flesh-shredding spines on their carapace. Fortunately, the spiny antenna comes in handy when you're cleaning the lobster.In a nutshell,- Hunters must have valid license and measuring device.- Bubble watchers don't count toward the limit. You must be "actively involved in harvesting".- It's stricter in Monroe county and don't even think about taking lobsters in a protected area.- If they catch you with too many, you'll get a ticket and might lose everything.- If they catch you with a short lobster, you'll get a ticket and might lose everything you own.- If they catch you with egg-bearing female, they beat you like a piata.- Read the website for the details.Ralph
Monday, July 17, 2006
Robbie and I went out for a shore dive at Datura.
I ran him through the paces in true GUE fashion. That is to say, when ever you do something wrong, something else is going to happen to push the snow ball a little further down the hill.
I also videoed some of the skills for Robbie could see for himself. I do not have a fancy camera, but the MPEG video shot by most cameras does the job. First we did all the kicks and he got it and I helped him figure out the backwards kick. He practiced it several times while I was taking photos.
Next step was valve drills. He did that well too, but it took him a little too long. I believe the skill still has to be done in 90 seconds. On the forth try, I asked Robbie do a valve drill WITHOUT his mask, the buoyancy was better and he did it in 90 seconds.
I don't want to give away all my secerts, but Robbie also got to hear and feel what its like to have a first stage failure.
I made some notes during the dive of good discussion topics to be reviewed. I know most of these topics are in our SFL-DIR archive as they are mostly questions I asked when I started diving doubles. I could use some help pulling them out of the archive (I can never find the darn MSG in the yahoo archives).
This dive also reminded me on how important it is for experienced divers to mentor new divers to keep their own skills fresh. I asked Robbie to do a primary light failure (aka, stow and get out a backup). He shrugged his shoulders at me and showed me his empty harness. I missed "1 primary and 2 backups" in the equipment check before the dive. I assumed he had them and never reviewed it at the check. That was my bad!
I had a flag line, Robbie shot a lift bag, while securing the spool, with his wet notes in his hand I ran an OOA drill. Once I got a reg, I took my mask off and just floated there. This level of stress is WAY beyond Fundamentals, but it is a heads up as to what is to come with Tech 1. After trying to push me in one direction, I thumbed the dive and he brought me up for 13ft with a controlled ascent. On the surface, our lines were tangled together and we had to sort them out.
On the surface Robbie said, "What a boondoggle!"
I said, "Hey we didn't die!"
He said, "I shooting for a higher standard than NOT dying!"
I thought to myself on the swim in, "Good, that is what DIR is all about, striving for a higher standard."
I ran him through the paces in true GUE fashion. That is to say, when ever you do something wrong, something else is going to happen to push the snow ball a little further down the hill.
I also videoed some of the skills for Robbie could see for himself. I do not have a fancy camera, but the MPEG video shot by most cameras does the job. First we did all the kicks and he got it and I helped him figure out the backwards kick. He practiced it several times while I was taking photos.
Next step was valve drills. He did that well too, but it took him a little too long. I believe the skill still has to be done in 90 seconds. On the forth try, I asked Robbie do a valve drill WITHOUT his mask, the buoyancy was better and he did it in 90 seconds.
I don't want to give away all my secerts, but Robbie also got to hear and feel what its like to have a first stage failure.
I made some notes during the dive of good discussion topics to be reviewed. I know most of these topics are in our SFL-DIR archive as they are mostly questions I asked when I started diving doubles. I could use some help pulling them out of the archive (I can never find the darn MSG in the yahoo archives).
This dive also reminded me on how important it is for experienced divers to mentor new divers to keep their own skills fresh. I asked Robbie to do a primary light failure (aka, stow and get out a backup). He shrugged his shoulders at me and showed me his empty harness. I missed "1 primary and 2 backups" in the equipment check before the dive. I assumed he had them and never reviewed it at the check. That was my bad!
I had a flag line, Robbie shot a lift bag, while securing the spool, with his wet notes in his hand I ran an OOA drill. Once I got a reg, I took my mask off and just floated there. This level of stress is WAY beyond Fundamentals, but it is a heads up as to what is to come with Tech 1. After trying to push me in one direction, I thumbed the dive and he brought me up for 13ft with a controlled ascent. On the surface, our lines were tangled together and we had to sort them out.
On the surface Robbie said, "What a boondoggle!"
I said, "Hey we didn't die!"
He said, "I shooting for a higher standard than NOT dying!"
I thought to myself on the swim in, "Good, that is what DIR is all about, striving for a higher standard."
Wednesday, July 05, 2006
Whis is a PFO in Layman's Terms?
Great question!
The short answer (Google PFO) or look it up on the list for LOTS of reading material, is this:
When your a baby, you have a hole in your heart so your mothers blood circulates through your body. When your born, that hole closes creating the 4 chambered heart that now pumps your own blood.
In 30-50% of normal people, that hole does not completely close or is not sealed. No problem for normal life, until you start to dive.
After a dive, your body bubbles Nitrogen out. Small bubbles flow through your body, to your heart, your heart sends it to the lungs where the bubbles are filtered out and exhaled, clean bubble less blood then is pumped back out to your heart, brain, spine, and body.
If you have an unsealed PFO or do something to make the whole bigger or break the seal, a bubble can pass through the heart, skipping the lung filter and get stuck in the heart, brain, spine (Type II DCS hit). This how you get a real bad case of bends "without doing anything wrong in terms of diving or profiles".
Free diving after diving can push a bubble through the lung filter. Your bubbling after a dive, you free dive to 10ft adding pressure and shrink the bubble so it gets past the lung. Then your ascend and the bubble expands on the other side of the heart and gets stuck. Bingo, instant Type II hit.
Let me hit on your next good follow up question?
Why doesn't everyone get tested for PFO?
Because short of opening your heart up and inspecting the hole, there is no way to know it is sealed? All the other tests can tell you IF you HAVE a hole, but a negative result just means they can't FIND the smaller hole that MIGHT still be there.
Scared yet?
Don't be, for most divers doing recreational profiles this is not a concern, there are that many bubbles and these divers are not jumping off the 2nd floor deck during the surface interval.
This is just one of the many things you need to be AWARE of. When you read accident reports or here stories of "mysterious" Voodoo, random bends hits, usually, its a PFO. Especially when the victim didn't do anything "wrong" and they got a really bad Type II hit.
A type I pain hit is not nearly as dangerous. Its like a runner spraining an ankle from too much exertion. Marathon runners worry about that, me going for an hour walk doesn't. I just stretch out and wear good shoes.
This topic is continually repeated so as you read the list it will appear again and again.
If you want to do a good deed, go back to your instructor and educate them on PFO's after you've read a bit more and ask that they tell everyone they teach about them!
Great question!
The short answer (Google PFO) or look it up on the list for LOTS of reading material, is this:
When your a baby, you have a hole in your heart so your mothers blood circulates through your body. When your born, that hole closes creating the 4 chambered heart that now pumps your own blood.
In 30-50% of normal people, that hole does not completely close or is not sealed. No problem for normal life, until you start to dive.
After a dive, your body bubbles Nitrogen out. Small bubbles flow through your body, to your heart, your heart sends it to the lungs where the bubbles are filtered out and exhaled, clean bubble less blood then is pumped back out to your heart, brain, spine, and body.
If you have an unsealed PFO or do something to make the whole bigger or break the seal, a bubble can pass through the heart, skipping the lung filter and get stuck in the heart, brain, spine (Type II DCS hit). This how you get a real bad case of bends "without doing anything wrong in terms of diving or profiles".
Free diving after diving can push a bubble through the lung filter. Your bubbling after a dive, you free dive to 10ft adding pressure and shrink the bubble so it gets past the lung. Then your ascend and the bubble expands on the other side of the heart and gets stuck. Bingo, instant Type II hit.
Let me hit on your next good follow up question?
Why doesn't everyone get tested for PFO?
Because short of opening your heart up and inspecting the hole, there is no way to know it is sealed? All the other tests can tell you IF you HAVE a hole, but a negative result just means they can't FIND the smaller hole that MIGHT still be there.
Scared yet?
Don't be, for most divers doing recreational profiles this is not a concern, there are that many bubbles and these divers are not jumping off the 2nd floor deck during the surface interval.
This is just one of the many things you need to be AWARE of. When you read accident reports or here stories of "mysterious" Voodoo, random bends hits, usually, its a PFO. Especially when the victim didn't do anything "wrong" and they got a really bad Type II hit.
A type I pain hit is not nearly as dangerous. Its like a runner spraining an ankle from too much exertion. Marathon runners worry about that, me going for an hour walk doesn't. I just stretch out and wear good shoes.
This topic is continually repeated so as you read the list it will appear again and again.
If you want to do a good deed, go back to your instructor and educate them on PFO's after you've read a bit more and ask that they tell everyone they teach about them!
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