you know what i mean ... when they do something **so** nice that you nearly start to blub !!.
the other day angharad had gone out and i was joking with the kids that with mum gone, they could have a pint of beer with me if they wanted (to see what they would say).. liam (7) told me in an earnest voice "dad, i don't think i'm old enough to drink beer yet.
i think i have to be 16" (16 = grown up to him for everything ... he's already sussing out how old he needs to be to drive).. well, i told him how i was proud he was so sensible and wasn't afraid to stand up and say "no" and that i was really looking forward to when he was old enough to take me out and buy me a pint of beer (ok, father-son moment ... i was getting emotional already).
I'm 44 years old, rapidly approaching ex-redhead status as I gradually turn gray.
A few weeks ago, in a discussion about hair color in our family, my 6 year old daughter Zoe said this:
"Mommy's hair is brown. Rhys' hair is red, my hair is red, and Daddy's hair is... (squinting at me) Daddy, you're turning Blonde!"
God bless her.
Steve
.
this is going to sound crazy.. where we live we heard and saw demons over that time of the child abuse bit.. we also heard 3 million people walked out it was only balanced by 3 million newbies is that true does anyone know ?.
it must be verified of course.. i suufered severe injuries with attacks including police ambulances etc.. there seems to be an awful lot of people outside can we get a damage report to know whats wrong .
On August 3rd I discovered the cure for demons. Make sure you have a full charge in your plasma rifle and BFG9000, and get in there Marine! This works equally well on Earth as it does on Mars ...
Now that's funny. Steve
a couple surfaces from their scuba dive and the boat is gone.
there is nothing around them but the wide open ocean.
oh, wait.
Jerry,
Did you read "The Last Dive" about the father and son who died on that U-boat wreck? Really good, and a reminder that you can't get careless with scuba diving.I gave that book the "National Geographic" examination (pictures and captions) at Barnes and Noble. "Shadow Divers" covers that incident well, with frank detail of the tragedy and sensitivity toward the father and son. John Chatterton and Richie Kohler relate that experience within the context of the discovery of the U-boat's identity, over a five year period.
You'll like "Shadow Divers", I'll bet. A sobering read.
Now get out there and have fun.
Steve
a couple surfaces from their scuba dive and the boat is gone.
there is nothing around them but the wide open ocean.
oh, wait.
Ross,
I've seen one guy do the "Polaris Missile" impersonation where he cleared the surface all barring his fins!!!
That would have been quite a sight! Our divemaster related the converse experience during our last class. He was guiding a group in Hawaii, off Molokini Crater. The drop location may as well have been bottomless. One of the divers, unfamiliar with his rental equipment and well out of practice, neglected to inflate at all on the descent. The shocked divemaster plunged with all speed, and retrieved him around 85 feet. The diver was not atttempting to resist his uncontrolled descent in any way, and was plummeting like a statue. In the book "Shadow Divers", they referred to that as a "dirt dive."
Jerry
Of course, this is the same dive master who told me about skip breathing as a way to get more bottom time off my tank, which can make a dive go really wrong really fast. Steady breathing is the way to go, short dive or not.
You said you were thinking about investing in a bike? Just my two cents, regular aerobic activity is the best way to get more bottom time off your tank. I bike and swim, and have seen a big benefit to my diving. My regular dive buddy had to switch to a high pressure 130 cubic foot tank (3600 psi) in order to have surplus air when I reach the limit on my low pressure 80 cubic foot tank (2400 psi).
He's biking now.
Steve
a couple surfaces from their scuba dive and the boat is gone.
there is nothing around them but the wide open ocean.
oh, wait.
Hey Jerry,
LOL. A sprinkler system does not count as a toy. Anything for the maintenance of the house or yard does not count.
However, if the husband purchases said toy, i.e., Excursion SUV, but it is acquired by wife, it becomes the wife's toy. Therefore, the husband is due a toy credit, is moved back up to the head of the toy line and qualifies for more toys, i.e., new bike, dry suit.
Thanks for the plug!
Your lake-diving experience reminded me of a similar dive while on Orcas. Randy and I decided to dive an inland lake at Moran State Park. We'd been there swimming and snorkeling with our families, noted that the water was quite warm, and dove wearing our shorties, mine just a 3ml suit.
We couldn't descend more than 35 feet. Our hands and heads were forming ice.
We did encounter a lot of curious Brown Trout, Bass, Bluegill, and other fish who seemed to have no objection to our intrusion. I found a lot of neat old bottles, and we enjoyed the dive from 30 feet and up.
We'll suit up properly next time.
And Ross,
Very concise advice on the use of a drysuit. You might add a reminder to exhale all the way to the surface, should the user find themselves in an uncontrolled ascent (I don't yet know how to add a winking icon here...). New users corking to the surface are a common event around here, sometimes newsworthy.
It seems to be the best way to enjoy diving here year 'round, I know I'll have to bite the bullet soon. Or start timing my surface intervals after I stop shaking!
I hope I can join you two on a dive someday.
Steve
a couple surfaces from their scuba dive and the boat is gone.
there is nothing around them but the wide open ocean.
oh, wait.
Jerry,
Is the diving you're going to be doing later drysuit diving? Do you need a course in using a dry suit if you haven't used one before?
I sure as hell hope it will be. But if the fates won't allow, my wetsuit will be sufficient. The ships are resting upright on the bottom at 100' feet, with the interesting stuff around the deck well above that. No decompression bottom times won't allow us enough time to go hypothermic.
I understand that drysuit courses are recommended. Our local dive shops include an orientation dive with any drysuit purchase, but one of my favorite charter guides offers a two-tank drysuit instruction dive as a PADI specialty course, in case I land one from E-bay.
You can rent a drysuit from the charter we'll use in the San Juans, but I believe they require an orientation dive or specialty cerfication before they rent out the suit. Check out their site, www.divesanjuan.com
Having two gear-intensive hobbies (diving and cycling) pretty well insures I'll be well outfitted for neither.
It looks like our plans for Mexico have disintegrated; Air fares for the family are approaching $3000. We'll look into it again in the spring or summer, I'd love to dive those Cenotes.
I'm looking forward to those Pics,
Steve
after months of promising my seven year old son, i have finally set our computer up with dsl.
that isn't such a big deal since we have had broadband cable for at least a couple of years.
the big deal is, i set up a wireless router and connected both computers to a network so we have both computers set up with dsl internet access.. so, after hours of total frustration i gave up.
It must have been the scotch...
Steve
a couple surfaces from their scuba dive and the boat is gone.
there is nothing around them but the wide open ocean.
oh, wait.
Hey Jerry,
I just read the reviews in the McPaper (USA Today). They said, "Low budget, but intense."
I'll have to see it.
Have you read "Shadow Divers" yet? I brought it on vacation, read it, and then logged 5 hours of bottom time on the trip. A great read.
I think that accounts like "Open Water" and "Shadow Divers" should be required viewing/reading for anyone involved in the sport. They're quite sobering.
By the way, we had some great diving up at Orcas Island. We'll be going back sometime in the fall or winter to dive the McKenzie and Church, two Canadian naval vessels sunk in the channel off Sydney. Great viz then, Jerry. Sometimes up to 100 feet, they say, at that time of year. But ccccccccold. Wanna go?
Steve
i have only been watching sp for the past year or so, so i'm sure there's a lot of episodes i haven't seen, and i'm obviously a little late getting on the bandwagon.
but a couple of weekends ago they did a "25 most outrageous episodes" thing, and one of the episodes was where cartman had this j-lo hand puppet where he recorded songs and did some *ahem* other things involving ben affleck.
i don't remember laughing at anything so hard in my life.. oh, and of course the episode with mr. hankey and his drunken, verbally abusive wife.. so what's your fave?
I love South Park. I have to extend my personal boundaries of offense almost every time I see it.
My favorite, absolutely over the top episode, was the one featuring Christopher Reeve, biting the heads off fetuses, sucking out stem cells for their curative powers (he was no longer a paraplegic).
For pure entertainment value, I give the Mormon episode my number one.
Steve
lance armstrong spit on by german spectators.. where is the french authorities crowd control?.
should all euros be tainted by americans for the actions of a few?
if so, then why, since most euros think all americans are bullies, based on the actions of the president.. any comments?.
Hey L_A_,
Crowd "participation" in Euro cycling events is the norm, including cheering, jeering, encouraging or obscene gesturing, flag waving, running alongside and in front of, physical contact between fans and cyclists, etc.
One of the race updates I've received said that, while uncommon, spitting on a rider is not unheard of. Given that we're seeing a super dominant rider of historic stature, in a context where nationalistic emotions often flare, I think the incident is being overblown. It certainly seems as though Lance has moved on.
I don't believe the incident reflects the opinion of the majority of riders or European fans, either. Armstrong was congratulated yesterday by none other than Bernard Hinault, France's 5 time Tour de France champion. While I watch the race on OLN, I see huge crowds of folks cheering Lance on, and going berserk after his stage victories. Those can't all be Americans.
While the crowd participation can be shocking to a neophyte (and I'm not saying anyone here is), I think I like it.
Imagine how much more interesting a golf tournament would be, if the crowd could really get into it. Instead, we have "Stepford" spectators, and anyone who steps out of line gets their camera smashed.
I love cycling, and I love watching this event. And I believe that Lance Armstrong is the best American Ambassador we've got. I'll be up at 5:00 a.m. tomorrow to watch the final time trial before we split for Orcas Island. If Lance takes it at 6:30, my screams should be sufficient to wake the kids, and we'll be on our way.
Steve
