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Howdy All,

I would hardly classify myself as a technical diver. I've been
diving about 7 years now, most of it within the definition
of recreational diving.   I mostly dive in the northeast although
I try to get away to somewhere warm every year. I do occassionally 
exceed the sport diving depth limit, get into mild decompression, 
and dive solo, but that's about the extent of my non-recreational
diving.

One of my main interest in this mailing list is redundant equipment.
I use the guideline that I don't want to be in a situation
where a single-point equipment failure will reasonably likely
cause serious injury or death.  I'm never in decompression
long enough that I couldn't fully decompress plus some
on my pony bottle. 

The other is really the effects (and ways to minimize the effects)
of nitrogen narcosis.  I only dive on air.  I've yet to 
be convinced that nitrox is worth the trouble.  For shallow
depths, I would run out of air or get cold, long before I would 
get any benefit from the reduced nitrogen level of nitrox.  For deep 
dives, there's a pretty severe depth limitation even with nitrox I.  
It's only those depths in between that I think it would be useful, 
and it seems only marginally useful.

On a final note, I don't want to come off preachy here, but I
would like to make one editorial comment.  I accept that
technical diving exists and has a right to exist.  I even
grant that we all have the right to say whatever we want about the 
joys of technical diving. I do feel we have an obligation to not
encourage or entice those who are unable or unwilling to assume the
added risks associated with technical diving.  I think that the 
current limits on recreational diving are reasonable for the average 
recreational diver. The libertarian in me wants to make sure that those 
guidelines remain exactly that -- guidelines, not laws. 

Happy diving!

		Maria

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