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     A little about myself.
     
     I recently subscribed to this email service and was asked to provide some 
     background information to the readers, so bear with me ...
     
     I began diving while I was in Florida 2 years ago.  I was more by accident 
     than by design.  I had only been in the Jacksonville area for several 
     months, and I had some disposable income to part with.  Reading the
Florida 
     magazines, I found an interesting 'trip' to snorkel with the Manatees in 
     the Crystal River area.
     
     Being I only just discovered that Manatees were a 'real' creature several 
     years prior at Dizzy World, I couldn't wait to flop in the water with
them. 
     And, not even knowing how to use a snorkel properly, I ended up at the
dive 
     shop Friday evening to 'sign-up'.  "Sorry, all the trips are full", except 
     a combination snorkel & scuba trip to Rainbow River.  It turned out I 
     picked the weekend of the Manatee Festival (or whatever they call it) and 
     every trip had been full for months.  I was lucky to get a room.
     
     I was the only snorkeler.  Everyone else wore a 'ton' of equipment to
drift 
     down what turned out to be one of the most beautiful experiences of my 
     life.  (If you ever get to this part of Florida, I would recommend the 3 
     miles drift of Rainbow River, I've been back several times as a
diver.)But, 
     I was on 'top' and everyone else was swimming amongst the things I could 
     only see the top of.
     
     On my Sunday drive back to Jacksonville Beach, I passed a dive shop which 
     sported a banner '$150 - Learn to Dive'.  Not that I went to 'that' dive 
     shop, but, I spent the next week researching what I found to be multiple 
     organizations which offered certifications and their associated dive shops.
     
     Going with PADI, I ended up with my first $1000 worth of equipment before
I 
     even finished the 'open water' course.  By the time I finished my 
     'advanced' class, I had another $1000 invested.  But, every weekend I was 
     off and running to some place in Florida and the money was well worth it!
     
     Fortunately, in Florida, you can dive warm year round.  Upgrading my
novice 
     purchases, I continued to make dive manufacturer's better off than before 
     my trip to Crystal River.  And, I went on to PADI's 'rescue' course and
got 
     my Nitrox card from a little-known guy in Key Largo called Dick Rutknowski.
     
     Well, he was little-known to me, but I wanted the 'green' tank on my back 
     because all the seasoned divers were making claims that 'it cured 
     hangovers', 'you could stay down longer', 'it made you a better lover', et 
     cetera.
     
     And, then came cavern diving.  Guess what ... more money for the scuba 
     gods.  I was just about to go for cave certification when I ended up
(back) 
     in Northern California last year.
     
     A long weekend on Catalina Island convinced me that my 3 mil wetsuit was
no 
     match for 70x water.  I also noticed that all the dive masters and 
     instructors were donning dry suits, something almost unheard of in Florida.
     
     So, for the last 2 months, I've been driving down to Monterey and trying 
     out different exposure suits.  I'm catching on ... I get to spend another 
     couple of thousand dollars to dive the coast of California.
     
     I recently enrolled in a PADI diver master course.  About the only thing 
     it's taught me so far is how to perform as a slave for the instructor.  I 
     get to act confident when leading young victims out to sea (in the cold 
     water).  Boy, does it get any better than this!?
     
     So, technically I'm NOT a technical diver.  I'm a want-to-be.  I'll be 
     asking those questions of all of you that you've long since dismissed as 
     foolish ... like, "Do I really need a zipper there?".  And, because of my 
     lack of experience, I probably won't have a lot to offer, but I'm a great 
     listener.
     
     Does PADI really stand for 'Put Another Dollar In'?
     
     And, what 'archive'?  Is this an FTP location, or do I request it somehow?
     
     Jim McLeod          mcleodj@he*.co*

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