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I gotta throw the bulshit flag on this one! I first "met" George =
Irvine over "the net" and some of the flaming we did to each other makes =
your whining look like a 2 year old tantrum. We eventually took it offline =
and (with the help of a third party) came to an understanding (Basically, =
I wouldn't jerk his chain anymore and he wouldn't kill me...but that's =
another story) October 15, 1995 I arrived at Wakulla to see the operation =
and meet the infamous George. I wasn't too certain that the whole thing =
wasn't a set-up to save him the hassle of driving to South Carolina to =
kill me and let the gators dispose of the evidence. We met when he =
returned from a dive in Sally Ward spring and immediately after getting =
out of his gear, came over and nicely told me what was wrong with my gear =
and why while he fixed up what he could. Giving up on that hopeless task, =
he gave me one of his rigs and told me to go try it out. Over the years =
I've come to realze that he really does care and is absolutely hilarous to =
be around (When a reporter asked him why didn't Bill Stone use some of the =
WKPP divers to "map" Wakulla, George's response of "That would be like =
giving Edi Amin a SEAL team" had me spitting coffee (decaf) all over the =
table.) So, almost 5 years later, I'm diving in the best caves in the =
world with the best divers in the world- people you can rely on, period. =
Go figure. And I'm not an isolated case; many of the team members are =
fellow converts. The antagonism comes from the psudo-authorities (instrokte=
rs, and dive shop monkeys) who believe, teach, and sell that any fat slob =
can buy their way into tech diving regardless of their attitude.
On rare occasions a sport makes a quantum leap forward because of =
some innovation that redefines the way things are done. At the 1968 =
Olympics Dick Fosbury shattered the high jump by 2.5 inches with an =
inovative backward jump called the Fosbury Flop. Most of the world quickly =
embraced the new style because the advantages were so obvious. Without a =
clear bar to compare the advantages of DIR vs Strokedom, it is difficult =
to convince newcomers (and old dogs) that DIR- streamlined, minimalist, =
in-shape, and proper attitude, is better than the D-ring super redundant =
dual bungie techno marvel. However, when you look at the two DIR projects =
(WKPP and GUE's Brittannic expedition) and witness the strength of the =
system compared to the typical weekend (or in some cases- three month) =
fiascos that constantly occur on some of the most simple dives, the =
evidence speaks for itself.=20
If you don't like George Irvine, big deal. Look at what's happening =
in diving and decide for youself if we are in the midst of an innovative =
change. Of course, not every high jumper changed to the Fosbury flop, but =
no one remembers any of them.
George Irvine- Director of the highly successful WKPP, experienced in =
deep cave and ocean diving with no ties to "the industry" vs Mike Black- =
Opthomologist, Vice President of some recreational dive club, with no =
experience in cave or deep diving. Hmmm... seems like a no-brainer to me. =
Thanks for the insights on LASIK Mike- now, take a seat and shut up.
Chris Elmore
College of Liberal Arts
Univ. of SC
(803) 777-1534 office
(803) 348-3055 mobile
Please use this address for all email: chris@sc*.ed*
>>> "Michael J. Black" <mjblackmd@ya*.co*> 05/26 12:12 AM >>>
DIR: Myths & Realities (3rd update)
Myth 9: George Irvine, DIR's founder, really cares about people and
wants to help others recognize the error in their ways. Reality: Mr.
Irvine is recognized worldwide first as a man who verbally attacks
anyone who disagrees with his ideas, and secondly as the man who
developed the DIR system of diving. His internet postings are indicative
of a paranoid sociopathic personality disorder, and typically such an
individual has little or no conscience, and is not capable of caring
or helping.
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