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I tried Mods. I really tried. But even as I cut entire paragraphs out I couldn't get it below the 10,000 word post limit. https://www.xoc-ha.com/post/eenie-meanie-miney

A few weeks ago I posted a whole blog thing about how to think about getting trim and buoyancy ultra dialed in so that one can hold perfectly still in the water. I posted this... you know... around. Every once in a while (read: when my wife reminds me to do so) I post something I've written to...

One in four women have experienced sexual assault to some degree in their lives. This is not to suggest that every fourth woman that you meet has been violently raped at knifepoint - but, statistically, you probably do know someone who has. Just because someone hasn't had a knife to their...

You know that moment when you're trying to hold absolutely still, but you wind up swimming around in circles? Or when you get to a safety stop and you know that you've been absolutely neutrally buoyant for the whole dive, but for some reason 15 feet seems especially tricky today? Yeah. You're...

Simple question with a complex answer. For background, I am asking as an instructor. I am not trying to take a class, not from this or that instructor or agency. I don't need to learn how to use this rebreather or that piece of awesome equipment you bought. What I'm asking is how instructors...

There were a handful of things that have been long in the making which are on their final prep to launch as of the last CREER meeting. CREER is the Comité Regional de Espeleobuceo, Ecología y Regulación. Figure out the translation on your own. It's a new-ish organization moderated by a board...

Folks always seem to get testy when I link to blog posts instead of copying the text here. Apologies to those of you it upsets. A- When I try to copy it the formatting goes haywire. B- It exceeds the maximum character count. Also, Mods: I couldn't quite decide on quite the right place to...

I am not even kind of raising money for myself. Every penny will go to CREER (Comité Regional de Espeleobuceo, Ecología y Regulación) If you like cave diving in the Riviera Maya (or just "normal diving" on the second largest barrier reef on planet Earth) a contribution to protect this uniquely...

You've left your Christmas shopping to the very last minute, haven't you? You figured, "It's fine! I'll just go to the scuba store tomorrow or the next day and get some regulators for that special diver in my life and they'll love them!" May I make a shopping suggestion, rushed though you may...

"No, really," I often find myself saying, "You're actually head heavy." "I'm not, though!" comes the cry, "I can't keep my feet up like you keep saying!" "Because you're actually head heavy," I say as the whilrligig of a conversation continues. So I wrote a thing about it HERE...

Here's a little ditty I put together as a blog post, but figure some of the ideas are worth distribution to a wider audience than the 10-12 misfits who have nothing to do other than read my blog. ------------------------------------- A great deal - if not the majority - of attention around...

Americans, let's take it as a given that the whole rest of the world uses metric. Whether you like it or not is irrelevant... it just is. You don't see me screaming about how gravity is corny and that we never got a sequel for Buckaroo Banzai, do you? No. Because I've simply accepted that it...

I did not expect this project to actually proceed. I fully thought my fellow cave instructors and guides were being alarmist and reactionary. Think about that: I thought people were being reactionary. (For those of you who don't know me... I'm pretty bloody reactionary.) "A train? Through...

https://www.xoc-ha.com/post/master-of-one-s-domain

Unfortunately, sometimes the answer is, "No one." https://www.xoc-ha.com/post/follow-up-the-quest

I have the same conversation with people pretty frequently. "I'd like to come down to do Cavern, Intro, and Full." And then I wind up writing a zillion word email on why that's a terrible idea. Usually people are receptive. I like to think that they're asking a cave diving instructor about...

I have the same conversation with people a lot. I wrote a thing so that maybe I could just say, "Here, read this thing," instead of having to repeat the exact conversation. Maybe it will help you not have to have the same conversation with someone, too...

I wrote a thing about a thing that I am baffled isn't taught more. Newer divers: do some math. Mentors: help them do some math. https://www.xoc-ha.com/post/two-plus-two-equals-purple

We're hunkered down here on the Riviera Maya and doing our bit to slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus, so I spent a day writing a tutorial about sidemount (complete with pictures) and how to troubleshoot common problems. Enjoy, and hope to see you all on the other side of this madness...

Looking for a handful of port plugs for the old Poseidon 300s. The plugs that people commonly think of as "metric" with the hex head and the little nipple at the end. I could use 1/2 dozen or so, but would be happy with more or less. If they happen to still be attached to a 300 first stage and...