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T. J., I'll respond to the criticisms of your post - The simple fact of any technology is that quite often, the users of that technology learn the machine better than those who designed it. Case in point - your fighter aircraft. You didn't build 'em - I doubt if many pilots are capable of building a fighter jet - but by the same token, you sure as shit don't let the geek with the slide-rule fly the plane he designed. For that, you need ....... PILOTS! How about that. Well, lets compare it to rebreathers - many of the guys who use rebreathers probably know the units better than the designers. When they get trained to use the units, they are trained not by the engineers who designed them, but usually by people who have used the units extensively. Further, when you need retraining as a fighter pilot, it is because you are flying a $14 mil. machine that you don't own. In fact, you are an employee of the people of this country who own that particular aircraft. If you crash that plane, we, the people, are out some serious money, and if you happen to crash it over downtown LA, then we might just have some of the owners killed. Therefore, you will do as you are told, and be retrained as often as our supervisory employees (i.e. Generals, Majors, et al) tell you to. When you dive with a rebreather, YOU own the unit (unless you are fortunate enough to have one on loan from the manufacturer, or a stupid friend who lets you dive his). And if you "crash" only you will die. No harm, no foul to the rest of us. If you are NOT working for anyone else - then NO ONE can dictate how often you will "retrain" on the rebreather. If some manufacturer was stupid enough to put that computer "shutdown" in a rebreather, or any other piece of diving equipment that I am paying MY money for, I wouldn't buy it, and neither should you. And if the "shut-offs" were mandated by "Big Brother", I would rip them out using all means necessary. Bottom line - I will listen to those divers whom I can learn from, I will heed their knowedgeable advice - but NOBODY, and I mean NO-FUCKIN'-BODY tells me how dive. Especially the government... And since I work for myself, and make more money than Bill Clinton, I can tell 'em all to piss-off. Just my humble opinion. Kevin. HeyyDude (By the way - this is not intended as a flame toward you or your opinions - I'm just a true Republican NRA card carrying dude. I have a lot of respect for pilots too - as long as they remember who's plane they are flying...).
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