I’ve been playing around with Tumblr lately, and I’m thinking about using it to post blog entries from now on, either in compliment to or instead of this Wordpress blog. Wordpress is a great publishing platform with tons of features and plugins. But, I think the simplicity of Tumblr will make me post much more often (or at all). For now, you can catch my Tumblr posts here.
April 20th, 2008
My dive buddy Josh, aka Nailer99, offers up his account of our recent COPIS Megalodon CCR training from Silent Scuba instructor Mel Clark. All day, every day for a week solid - this was some of the toughest dive training I’ve ever done - but the end result is that we can now stay down for hours on end, and this opens up our NDLs tremendously so that we can stay deeper for longer. With virtually no bubbles, fish and other marine life came right up to us. I can’t wait to shoot some stills and video with the mCCR. I’m looking forward to doing many dives with my new COPIS. It wasn’t cheap (in terms of time or money) but the training corresponds to the higher level of proficiency and diligence needed to dive a Closed Circuit Rebreather like the manual Megalodon from Innerspace Systems.
Continue Reading November 23rd, 2007
Newsvine has been acquired by MSNBC, and I personally would like to thank all Newsvine users who have helped make Newsvine what it is - the most vibrant and active community of users on the digital news media landscape. In addition to being one of the most powerful and unique publishing platforms on the web - the open dialogues, the free and creative expression of ideas and the genuine manner in which all of you participate on the site are some of the foremost reasons that msnbc.com found Newsvine to be an attractive company to partner with. As Newsvine.com has developed and grown, so too have you users gelled into a community that can (and does) stand alongside professional journalists and the mainstream media. This has been the objective all along, to give citizens a platform to share their ideas, experiences and access to events - by delivering their stories to the greatest number of people - all the while allowing readers to decide what makes it to the Top of the Vine.
Continue Reading October 7th, 2007
After taking a few videos of sixgill sharks lately, I realized just how lacking my Casio EX-Z1050’s video capabilities are. So, I decided last week that it was time to take the plunge and so I’m delving into the world of underwater high-definition video. I won’t tell you much about it yet, since I haven’t even gotten this rig wet yet - but I’ll leave you all with some photos that should make your mouth water.
Continue Reading October 4th, 2007
Tuesday evening a couple of dive buddies and I came across an 8 foot SixGill shark in Cove 2. We followed the shark for about five minutes (which seemed like an eternity). The two SixGill sharks I’ve encountered thus far both didn’t exhibit aggressive behavior (actually, the first one seemed sluggish). The shark swam gracefully while I captured the video of her. It looked as though she had been tagged at one point, but that the tag had since been dislodged. Also on this dive, I found a mask belonging to a diver who passed away the night before in a dive accident that is still under investigation.
Continue Reading August 4th, 2007
The exposure suit is perhaps the biggest difference maker when it comes to enjoying your dive. Even with the best equipment, dive buddies, location and experience - if you have an inadequate exposure suit for the conditions you’re diving in, you won’t have fun. In the worst case, you may not even be able to safely dive without the proper thermal protection. After diving a starter suit for a year, I finally threw down the duckets and bought myself a custom suit from DUI. With more available options than a Wall Street broker, the CF200x is simply the ultimate drysuit.
Continue Reading July 20th, 2007
Finding an iPhone at the 6PM launch yesterday took some creativity. Using the iPhone though is absolutely a dream, compared to previous phones I’ve owned. The iPhone sets a new standard for smart devices and I probably won’t be buying another make of phone for as long as Apple keeps making iPhones. Having three Macintosh computers in my life, the compatibility factor just can’t be ignored. The interface is beyond slick, the size and weight are pocket-friendly and the web, music and video capabilities are unlike anything I’ve ever seen, short of a desktop computer.
Continue Reading June 30th, 2007
Today we launched ElectionVine, a distributed election widget designed to poll the readers of many sites across the web. To see how it works, just take a look at my sidebar. I have it set by default to display the results of the readers of my site. Right now Ron Paul is in the lead, but just moments ago it was Al Gore (facebook people must’ve shown up here). Speaking of Facebook, that’s where we first tested the waters with our Facebook Election 08 Application.
TechCrunch did a nice writeup about ElectionVine, and Mike Arrington is running the widget on that post. It looks like TechCrunch readers support Obama at the moment. This will be interesting to watch public opinion unfold as we approach the primaries, and eventually as we run into the general election in 2008.
Continue Reading June 27th, 2007
The jellyfish are invading the waters of the Pacific Northwest. Not the life-threatening type, like the box jellyfish, but still venomous enough to provide an unpleasant sting on the upper lip as you run into a translucent tentacle during your safety stop. Though the tiny box jellyfish is one of the most deadly in the world, the cool waters of the Pacific Northwest are home to some of the largest jellyfish on Earth, including the Lion’s Mane Jellyfish and the Egg-Yolk Jellyfish. Growing up to a massive diameter of 7 feet, with tentacles up to 120 feet in length - these aren’t creatures you want to tangle with.
Continue Reading June 6th, 2007
In the past I’ve written about the great diving on the Caribbean side of Mexico, the Mayan Riviera, Cenotes and Cozumel. Though the Pacific side of Mexico is generally thought to be much worse in terms of visibility and marine life, I found diving out of Cabo to be better than I expected. If you can get past the fact that you’re asked to buy a time share 4 times an hour in this town, you’ll likely also find some great fun to be had in CSL, including some pretty good boat diving. With steep walls that seem to go on forever, sand falls dropping perilously into underwater canyons and waters filled with hundreds of species of tropical reef fish and invertebrates - Cabo offers more than tequila and beaches.
Continue Reading May 26th, 2007