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--------------49C5599E244E6E0842936A34 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Hello again everyone: Well, I want to thank you all for not inundating me with flames for my recent post quoting Jim Cobb. One person asked if the intent of my post was to troll. No, I was in earnest. It is not often that I post to this group, because I am really not an impulsive person. But I did take Mr. Cobb's statement at face value, and was infuriated by it. But we have cleared up that misunderstanding; I have made my apologies to the man; I trust that he has accepted; and as far as I am concerned, that matter is over. But, allow me to address another issue: To be honest, it's becoming harder and harder to tell the difference between straight up information and spoof on this list. The recent talk about Solo Diving is an example. I read the article on Rodale's website. And some groups are actually thinking of offering - or are now offering - Solo Diving courses. Well, I am still waiting for someone to pop up and say: "Fooled ya!" The same with re-breather training. My understanding of the technology is that, if the CO2 scrubbers stop working, well, you die. And at present there is no monitoring device available to tell you whether or not the scrubbers are working. Well, I wouldn't dive on open circuit without a submersible pressure guage telling me how much life supporting air I have left. So, why are people risking their lives TODAY with re-breathers. Why not wait until someone develops the necessary monitoring equipment that will tell you that you are breathing O2, and not CO2? How long could the wait possibly be? Two years? Unless I was diving for a living, I wouldn't risk it. And even then, I would probably challenge the boss' request under OSHA. Another example was that great picture of the fellow rigged up with about 8 tanks on his back. (I'm sorry, I dont't remember his name. Sadly, he died about 2 weeks later - apparently diving with his rig.) Someone here referred us to the website. Well I surfed on over and had a look. I really didn't know what to make of it. Again, was it a spoof, a recommendation, 2 thumbs up, 2 thumbs down? Today I fully know the point that you were making. But at the time, it left me confused. I am a rec diver. I joined tech diver because you are the people in the fore - front of diving. I look to you and your experiences for Leadership - to draw lessons to make my diving, and the diving of all rec divers safer. And I have to believe that I am not the only one lurking on this group for that reason. Recently, one fellow posted a message that, after 2 weeks of reading this list, he was leaving in disgust. A few of you jumped all over him. Well, if you entered a room full of bickering, shouting, arguing people, would you stick around? And he was the only one willing to actually speak up and tell us his reason for leaving. I am sure that thousands have quietly joined and left this group for precisely the same reason. Why am I still subscribing to tech diver? Because I have learned. I learned about DIR, recognized it as the simplified and logical system that I had been seeking for almost 10 years, and adopted it. I learned about Halcyon and Extreme Exposure, two relatively unknown and unadvertised gear companies that sell really good stuff. I love the back plate and wing configuration, and I love the HID canister light, even if I will only use them for rec (and wreck) diving. (I have asked about their products at dive shops up here in the Toronto area. They don't know about them.) I found a group of DIR divers up here in Ontario, and hooked up with them. I like the team philosophy. And I like the idea of always diving with people whom I know. I understand their abilities, their limitations, their preferences and their fears. And they understand mine. I own my gear because I want to be intimately familiar with the equipment that will keep me alive. I want to be just as familiar with my buddy and team mates. (Well okay, ignore the "intimately", but I at least want to know them well.) I too am tired of diving with a "rent a buddy", someone who just happens to be going diving at the same time as me. But here are some words of advice that I would like to offer to you, the Leaders and Teachers on this group. And that includes anyone who is an experienced tech diver: There are people on this list, who do not have your experience, who are listening to you. When you post, you need to consider that they are also part of your audience. They too may take your remarks at face value. You never know who else might be reading this list. Misunderstandings happen - as happened with me. There may be certain authorities (i.e., police or regulatory people) who may be reading too. They may not be amused by the humour and irony of some of the posts. I don't think that we want to draw the interest of any Regulatory bodies. Focus on the positive aspects of you message. Don't automatically launch into personal attacks upon the people with whom you disagree. Penis size, speculation that a male might have female genitalia, genetic history, sphincter muscles, the fact that someone may not know who his father is - none of this has anything to do with safe diving. If you have an excellent point to make, keep repeating it. It takes a while for people to accept contrary viewpoints. Be patient. Give the other party time to get used to your idea. Let them accept it. Don't try to push it on them. Well, thank you for indulgence. And to all those who have grown weary of my posts, I now return to my lurker status. Sincerely, Norm Nopper --------------49C5599E244E6E0842936A34 Content-Type: text/html; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit <!doctype html public "-//w3c//dtd html 4.0 transitional//en"> <html> Hello again everyone: <p>Well, I want to thank you all for not inundating me with flames for my recent post quoting Jim Cobb. One person asked if the intent of my post was to troll. No, I was in earnest. It is not often that I post to this group, because I am really not an impulsive person. But I did take Mr. Cobb's statement at face value, and was infuriated by it. But we have cleared up that misunderstanding; I have made my apologies to the man; I trust that he has accepted; and as far as I am concerned, that matter is over. <p>But, allow me to address another issue: <br>To be honest, it's becoming harder and harder to tell the difference between straight up information and spoof on this list. The recent talk about Solo Diving is an example. I read the article on Rodale's website. And some groups are actually thinking of offering - or are now offering - Solo Diving courses. Well, I am still waiting for someone to pop up and say: "Fooled ya!" <p>The same with re-breather training. My understanding of the technology is that, if the CO2 scrubbers stop working, well, you die. And at present there is no monitoring device available to tell you whether or not the scrubbers are working. Well, I wouldn't dive on open circuit without a submersible pressure guage telling me how much life supporting air I have left. So, why are people risking their lives TODAY with re-breathers. Why not wait until someone develops the necessary monitoring equipment that will tell you that you are breathing O2, and not CO2? How long could the wait possibly be? Two years? Unless I was diving for a living, I wouldn't risk it. And even then, I would probably challenge the boss' request under OSHA. <p>Another example was that great picture of the fellow rigged up with about 8 tanks on his back. (I'm sorry, I dont't remember his name. Sadly, he died about 2 weeks later - apparently diving with his rig.) Someone here referred us to the website. Well I surfed on over and had a look. I really didn't know what to make of it. Again, was it a spoof, a recommendation, 2 thumbs up, 2 thumbs down? Today I fully know the point that you were making. But at the time, it left me confused. <p>I am a rec diver. I joined tech diver because you are the people in the fore - front of diving. I look to you and your experiences for Leadership - to draw lessons to make my diving, and the diving of all rec divers safer. And I have to believe that I am not the only one lurking on this group for that reason. <p>Recently, one fellow posted a message that, after 2 weeks of reading this list, he was leaving in disgust. A few of you jumped all over him. Well, if you entered a room full of bickering, shouting, arguing people, would you stick around? And he was the only one willing to actually speak up and tell us his reason for leaving. I am sure that thousands have quietly joined and left this group for precisely the same reason. <p>Why am I still subscribing to tech diver? Because I have learned. <p>I learned about DIR, recognized it as the simplified and logical system that I had been seeking for almost 10 years, and adopted it. <p>I learned about Halcyon and Extreme Exposure, two relatively unknown and unadvertised gear companies that sell really good stuff. I love the back plate and wing configuration, and I love the HID canister light, even if I will only use them for rec (and wreck) diving. (I have asked about their products at dive shops up here in the Toronto area. They don't know about them.) <p>I found a group of DIR divers up here in Ontario, and hooked up with them. I like the team philosophy. And I like the idea of always diving with people whom I know. I understand their abilities, their limitations, their preferences and their fears. And they understand mine. I own my gear because I want to be intimately familiar with the equipment that will keep me alive. I want to be just as familiar with my buddy and team mates. (Well okay, ignore the "intimately", but I at least want to know them well.) I too am tired of diving with a "rent a buddy", someone who just happens to be going diving at the same time as me. <p>But here are some words of advice that I would like to offer to you, the Leaders and Teachers on this group. And that includes <i>anyone</i> who is an experienced tech diver: <p>There are people on this list, who do not have your experience, who are listening to you. When you post, you need to consider that they are also part of your audience. They too may take your remarks at face value. <p>You never know who else might be reading this list. Misunderstandings happen - as happened with me. There may be certain authorities (i.e., police or regulatory people) who may be reading too. They may not be amused by the humour and irony of some of the posts. I don't think that we want to draw the interest of any Regulatory bodies. <p>Focus on the positive aspects of you message. Don't automatically launch into personal attacks upon the people with whom you disagree. Penis size, speculation that a male might have female genitalia, genetic history, sphincter muscles, the fact that someone may not know who his father is - none of this has anything to do with safe diving. If you have an excellent point to make, keep repeating it. It takes a while for people to accept contrary viewpoints. Be patient. Give the other party time to get used to your idea. Let them accept it. Don't try to push it on them. <p>Well, thank you for indulgence. And to all those who have grown weary of my posts, I now return to my lurker status. <p>Sincerely, <br>Norm Nopper</html> --------------49C5599E244E6E0842936A34-- -- Send mail for the `techdiver' mailing list to `techdiver@aquanaut.com'. Send subscribe/unsubscribe requests to `techdiver-request@aquanaut.com'.
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