Went to an interesting new (new to me) dive club meeting tonight, and had two reactions:
1. There are lots of old farts who still dive. Everyone in the room was old. I heard joints cracking and muscles stretching all around the room. It was cool to know that I am young, and that if I get older there will still be folks older than me who also dive. Poor Joanne was the baby in the room. I'm guessing that there were at least a few catheter bags hidden under those loose shirts and Depends under the baggy pants.
2. An FBI guy was the guest speaker on homeland security. Tho not a diver, he presented some issues involving ports, cruise ships, and divers. In recent months there have been a couple of divers in Hawaii trying to enter secure UW areas, and two divers in FL who created alerts. The joint agency task forces (FBI, state & local law enforcement, Coast Guard) appear to have closed a lot of open doors that made the US vulnerable, but its clear that a lot of attention will have to be paid in the future. Issues include: sales of high tech UW equipment to people who will hurt us (equipment like rebreathers, DPVs, UW night vision scopes, etc), bogus official papers (for $50 you can gain a false captain's license), and other stuff.
Good meeting, good people, good info, and a lot to think about.
1. There are lots of old farts who still dive. Everyone in the room was old. I heard joints cracking and muscles stretching all around the room. It was cool to know that I am young, and that if I get older there will still be folks older than me who also dive. Poor Joanne was the baby in the room. I'm guessing that there were at least a few catheter bags hidden under those loose shirts and Depends under the baggy pants.
2. An FBI guy was the guest speaker on homeland security. Tho not a diver, he presented some issues involving ports, cruise ships, and divers. In recent months there have been a couple of divers in Hawaii trying to enter secure UW areas, and two divers in FL who created alerts. The joint agency task forces (FBI, state & local law enforcement, Coast Guard) appear to have closed a lot of open doors that made the US vulnerable, but its clear that a lot of attention will have to be paid in the future. Issues include: sales of high tech UW equipment to people who will hurt us (equipment like rebreathers, DPVs, UW night vision scopes, etc), bogus official papers (for $50 you can gain a false captain's license), and other stuff.
Good meeting, good people, good info, and a lot to think about.
