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Terry McCracken sez: > Part of why I want to dive Deep is the chalenge (only part so no flames, at > least I am honest), very few chalenges here in front of the terminal. Why should anyone flame this? IMHO, there is nothing wrong with doing anything for the challenge of it -- life is ours to spend as we will. For some, being a couch potato is what life is all about. For others, seeking challenge. To each their own -- I don't see that either attitude is something to be ashamed of (not that I can understand the couch potato attitude, but...). It is up to each of us to decide where our limits are, where the bounds of acceptable challenge versus outright suicide lie. In the end, we are all responsible for spending our life as we see fit! There should be no shame in seeking to be challenged. Bruno Gouvy (a French extreme Snowboarder, quote below) lived an intense life, seeking challenge (and even what may be termed "outright risk" by some) at every turn. But he lived and died the way he wanted to, and his actions caused no one else any harm. While some may argue that Bruno's actions caused a loss of access to ski areas for snow boarders, I would argue that he was simply used as a scapegoat for such issues. After all, the problem was not Bruno Gouvy's boarding, but rather the people who carelessly seeked to imitate him. That people seek to imitate a person like Bruno is not his problem; the imitators make their own decisions, and likely would not even think twice if Bruno had made explicit admonitions to not follow his way of life. "But how can you say that the imitators were careless, wjile Bruno himself was not?" you ask. Simple: experts make it look easy. What we don't see is how much effort and planning they put in; all we see is the outrageous challenge. Gouvy was meticulous about choosing descents; he looked at them from every angle, and eliminated as much major risk as possible. But we don't see that side. Unfortunately, most psycho imitators don't see the careful planning either, but there is little that anyone could do to change this -- aside from creating a substantial information flow surrounding the extreme activities, so that potential imitators could see more of what goes into these things. Hopefully, by opening up and discussing all of the issues and planning which go into technical diving (or extreme snowboarding, for that matter), we will create an atmosphere where ventures such as Exley's are seen more as the carefully engineered challenges that they are, and less as suicidal stunts. After all, the difference between a challenge and a suicide mission lies in the details. > Terry McCracken GEC ALSTHOM Information Technology > Software Support Engineer Ph: 61 2 415 0509 > terrym@ns*.co*.au* Fax: 61 2 417 8635 -frank -- fhd@pa*.co* | Sure there is a chance I might be killed. But in exchange, 1 212 559 5534 | I have such a powerful sense of being alive. 1 917 992 2248 | -- Bruno Gouvy on snowboarding 1 718 746 7061 | (Died during an extreme snowboarding descent of Chamonix.)
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