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When I did my OW in Koh Tao, after classroom work, we did pool the next morning, then lunch, then open water dive 1. It felt fast to me and I didn't know any better. I thought it was standard. After finishing dive 4, I realized that OW is just an introduction/exposure to skills and no way a...

It's an observation on my part... a quick squibble/slash by the documents check agent onto the boarding pass, no extra check. Something written, and then directed to a line for extra screening. Extra screening could just be backscatter body scanner versus just metal detector. And anyone in...

There's an agent that checks the ID/passport and flight documents. That is the person that does the visual screening and decides whether there's enhanced screening or not, even before x-ray screening. This agent directs which line is to be followed or writes a code for another agent pull the...

My input on price tag... When I went in 2017, flights direct from SFO weren't available yet, or just recently so, so I had to fly in/out of LAX. That added another $220 to the airfare. I used airmiles, but didn't have enough, so had to buy more points, which resulted in about a $750 plane...

My scuba gear usually gets acknowledged as scuba gear, but I have one of those little handy credit card-sized tools, which is just a flat piece of metal with built-in ruler, bottle opener, and flathead. (It was convention swag.) It usually gets flagged, then cleared. I've since removed it from...

I have a Sony a7R. I have the original Sony battery and a few off-brand, since they were cheaper and offered more capacity. At some point, the shutter started getting stuck. I almost got to the point of buying a new shutter mechanism and installing it on my own because professional repair would...

I noticed from watching Apple's latest Watch announcement that it's rated "WR50". I've not heard that term before. Garmin, for example, says 5 ATM. Many other watches are rated in ATM as well.

It all depends on how many deaths are deemed "acceptable". If the levels drop to flu levels and hospitals can operate as normal, then maybe that's the line. If you're fully vaccinated and inconvenienced because people at locales want to reduce deaths, then that's really their choice. As you've...

Goal now is to have people not die or get severely sick as to overwhelm hospitals, thus preventing other services.

Herd immunity probably works pretty well if the system is closed, but if you even have 100% vaccinated and keep introducing infected people, it'll break down, as vaccinated can still be carriers. 100% vaccinated population will be likely safe from death, but transmission still happens, as...

I've also found tolerance to be tied to surface temps. In Thailand and Japan, it was hot above water so I warmed up quickly on surface intervals. In French Polynesia, I got cold on the boat and actually would have preferred staying in the water in shorts and rash guard.

There's probably a mixture of different Series in the reports, with the earlier models likely the ones being found flooded.

I have a Sensorcon, purchased before going on a liveaboard, because I was potentially going to cabin by the engine room. I was mainly concerned about exhaust leaking in the room, not so much testing the tanks. Upon arrival, they put me in the room at the bow, so I tested and didn't read...

Before the Descent, there was an unofficial app that turned the higher-end Garmin watches to dive computers. It looked pretty promising and the app sold for something like $30. There are photos at depth and some reports from testers. I think the developers were shut down, though I hope they did...

If the Apple Watch is like iPhones and other modern touch devices, then the touch technology is capacitive, where the touch location is determined by the change in capacitance between point sensors embedded in the screen. The older resistive touch technology detected location based on the change...

My guess is 2026. The 1918 pandemic went til 1921, with 50-100 mil deaths, no vaccine. We have vaccines, so it'll slow the spread down, so an extra three years... of course, maybe another variant will speed that up. It's just a guess with no real basis...

I think quite a few people think that by declaring that the pandemic is impossible to solve think that "living with it" means we just go back to normal - no more masks, social distance, etc. This would be the case if we're okay with letting mass numbers of people die, from Covid or otherwise. If...

The battery in the Sealife would start to degrade as soon as it's /manufactured/, even without use. It's just the way the chemicals in the battery work. Whether four years of use is reasonable, or not, is the question. I went with a Canon G12 with Canon housing which initially had a...

By the Aquarium of the Bay, San Francisco... about 3-4' tall...

I had the opposite experience. Bora Bora diving was okay. Anau did have one or two Mantas and mostly Spotted Eagle Rays. (I had better Manta experience from Ishigaki, Japan.) Moorea diving was more exciting at Les Pointes Blanches, where nine feet Lemon Sharks would approach since they think you...