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:rofl3: That is a brilliant understatement. Gets my vote for best of the day.

Not exactly; the modeling isn't that precise. In simple terms, modern modelers choose an acceptable level of risk (e.g. 1 in 10,000 dives using the model's profile will result in a Type II DCS hit) and set that point as the model's limit, and then back off of it with some arbitrary degree of...

PADI's Third Quarter Training Bulletin announced that instructors now have the option of teaching the Open Water Course with computers only or tables only. The change became effective in August 2009, and PADI's new quizzes for computer users became available on September 1, 2009. PADI's...

A quite proper response to your question is "you shouldn't miss decompression stops." If you miss a decompression stop, you better have a darn good reason for missing it; something other than poor planning or stupidity. At the Advanced Nitrox/Decompression Procedures level, TDI teaches the...

A mermaid turned me into a newt while on a deco hang once. But I got better. :D

A mermaid turned me into a newt while on a deco hang once. But I got better. :D

You'll get no disagreement from me on bouncing after diving or slow ascents. GI3 has his unique charms. I rolled my eyes and chuckled a bit about his statement that "you should never try what I do because I'm so vascularized and fit" when I first read it ago, but I certainly bow to his experience.

:rofl3: From the way I read Wienke, it's a "first dive" scenario AND it only applies to micronuclei having a certain radius. The bubbles that would result in a do-it-yourself PFO are already far larger than the critical radius. Ergo, no benefit (and quite a potential for harm) if you're...

Could be the chain around her, though. :D

Depth, exposure time, and the mix. Those are the factors you learn to manage and track (and learn why to track them) in a basic nitrox course. Nitrox and air tables are read the same way. Also, you can conduct nitrox dives with standard air tables by calculating the equivalent air depth...

1. Remember that a basic wreck course doesn't give you the skills to significantly penetrate a wreck. Stay within the daylight zone in view of the exit, and stay on your line. 2. Wrecks are intoxicating, and you'll be tempted to go in deeper. If a little voice in your head says "I can go...

If you don't mind taking a drive north of Four Corners, I came across what I think is a small, accessible, and diveable lake about an hour outside of Durango, Colorado. It sits at 10,000 feet. Probably pretty cold, but if you want to join the "Almost Two Miles High Club" it's probably a good...

Sections 10.9-10.11 in Basic Decompression Theory and Application discuss the idea. They state that micronuclei tend to collapse in on themselves below a certain critical radius. Assuming the nucleation process is heterogenous (parent medium and micronuclei content are different), then...

Now that I think about it, I believe it was in Basic Decompression Theory and Application among the sections relating to bubble models. I remember there's a pretty decent slug of math in that section, and I had to re-learn mathematics I haven't dealt with in 15 years to read it. I'll dig out...

I would think that whatever reduction in volume occurred on the spike would be reversed on ascent. However, I'd want to see the math before I'd outright dismiss the technique, since the stability of a microbubble is influenced by several factors. It could be that quickly crushing a microbubble...

No, mathematically it's true. A function bounded by an asymptote doesn't cross the asymptote, but only approaches the asymptote. It's actually a question of energy. You cannot exert enough force to overcome the repulsion of the two surfaces, so the molecules can't touch. Even then...

Mathematically, it is true. It's the concept embodied in the limit. Also, again to be hypertechnical, in your analogy with touching the table, the molecules of your fingers never actually make contact with the molecules of the table. What you perceive as "touching" the table is really the...

Being an exponential function, the saturation curve only approaches, but does not reach, the asymptote (complete saturation). Therefore, I suppose if you want to get really technical, the correct answer would be that saturation only occurs at the limit as exposure time approaches infinity...

There's a very simple solution to this problem: send me your tickets and reservation information. I'll have a good time for you, take some nice pictures, and tell you all about it. Then you'll be free to more important things like work.

My wife made the fatal mistake of commenting that she'd rather go on a trip to someplace like Cozumel than go on a cruise. Not being one to allow such a lapse in spousal judgment to go unexploited, I'm thinking of booking a few days on Coz for our anniversary. Although I'm an instructor, my...