Hey!! What happened to HUE!?

[scubashawn123]

Your description of your skills/ training was probably insufficient for him to feel that you are a safe diver. I'm pretty sure that rule #1 referenced previously by Jeff is that they aren't supposed to dive with anyone who is not DIR trained.
<Quote://wiki quote: Another aspect of the dispute is that one of the rules of DIR diving is to not dive with anyone with a poor or unsafe attitude, sometimes referred to with the derogatory term "strokes".>
It was really nice of you to try to be friends, Shawn.

WOW Some really good insight for me. I have no experience with DIR.

Two times I met people claiming to be DIR divers, one in Quarry in Illinois and the other was Windy Point Mexico. Both times I was taken back by their attitudes. You have enlightened me again. It's starting to make sense.

If this is their philosophy and attitude they are elites and not open to diver discretion or FUN diving. So much they are missing out on. I am so grateful we are open to all divers of all ages and skills and passions to see them succeed in the sport we all enjoy.

 

[ianr33]

Your description of your skills/ training was probably insufficient for him to feel that you are a safe diver. I'm pretty sure that rule #1 referenced previously by Jeff is that they aren't supposed to dive with anyone who is not DIR trained.

Actually I think rule #1 is :

"Dont dive with unsafe divers"

the alternative version is "Dont dive with strokes"

Non DIR does not equal unsafe,although I am sure some will disagree.

 

[k-valve]

Thanks for sharing my olive branch i laid out, and bridge I was building.


Note: Hue has not even taken the olive branch or walked the bridge.


I'm still a great GUY............don't you miss me....

You shoulda taken that olive branch and whipped 'em with it IMHO.

 

[RumBum]

:yelclap:

I am so grateful we are open to all divers of all ages and skills and passions to see them succeed in the sport we all enjoy.

I agree whole-heartedly. It doesn't matter what you wear as much as your attitude. :369:

 

[scubashawn123]

:yelclap:
I agree whole-heartedly. It doesn't matter what you wear as much as your attitude. :369:

There is enough water for all of us to enjoy the pond :59:

 

[ZzzKing]

There is enough water for all of us to enjoy the pond :59:

TREE HUGGER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[k-valve]

There is enough water for all of us to enjoy the pond :59:

Good Lord, your California is showing, Shawn. For all our sakes cover it, man, cover it fast! You will not make headway with those guys. First of all they have no respect for you and the way you dive. Your Navy Diver experience means squat to them. You are what they refer to as a "stroke." Don't feel bad though...so am I.

DIR Rule #1, which they consider to be, and I quote, "...the most important piece of wisdom in the diving world..." says simply, "Don't dive with strokes."

BTW, since I know you'll ask, a stroke refers to someone who, knowing there is a better system, chooses to dive using a lesser system. For these guys anything not DIR is less than optimal. Any hardcore DIR diver won't dive with you, me, or anyone else we know, buddy. Your olive branch won't be taken and your bridge won't be crossed. Sorry to hurt your west coast feelings my friend.

 

[chrispete]

To give an example of strokery at its finest: some hard core DIR divers wouldn't dare dive with Zinc simply because he has yellow webbing on his plate instead of black. Some of them are that fanatical. He could have everything else perfectly DIR including training and there would be those who claimed that we was an unsafe diver because he wasn't "conforming to DIR standards."

Don't get me wrong, I've been around DIR/DIRish divers before who were perfectly willing to dive with competent non-DIR divers and who were all around great people and great divers. I have a lot of respect for people with common sense. I've also run into a couple of DIR fanatics who told me in as many words that they'd be kind enough to clip my dead body to their left hip d-ring (isn't that the DIR mandated place to attach a body?) because I was going to end up dying diving my configuration. I have no respect for that kind of idiocy.

 

[chrispete]

This is an oldie but a goodie that explains the thinking behind the philosophy, to quote an unknown source:

"I converted to DIR about 6 months ago and I have found that the philosophy extends way beyond diving. I think most people tend to view DIR as a gear configuration or diving objective type of thing but it really is a philosophy that you can use in other parts of your life. For instance, below are just some of the ways I've extended the DIR way of doing things into other areas of my life.

Last week some of my buddies came over to my house. Now, not all of them are divers but they do understand the DIR philosophy. So, first off, we all drink the same beer. This avoids any situations where you might be enjoying a lager and accidentally pick up an ale (or the other way around). That can be very uncool. That could quickly lead to a panic situation so we avoid it all together.

We also drink only from cans, no bottles. And we never put the beer in the refrigerator. It always goes in the ice chest in my living room. 47% of Drinking Related Incidents (DRI) occur when someone is going to the fridge for another beer so better to be safe than sorry. Of course, this is all rigged up while we're still 100% sober so there's no impaired judgment once things get cooking.

All of us wear a bungee necklace with a full beer on it just in case someone experiences an Out Of Beer (OOB) emergency. I can offer my already opened beer to my buddy and simply reach down and grab the backup off my beer necklace. And, without exception, we always use the 7 foot hose on the beer bong.

Of course, we don't stay in every night so when we do decide to go out we make sure we're still DIR. All of us wear exactly the same clothing:

* Levi's 501 Jeans (button hole, straight leg)
* Gap Black T-Shirt
* Haynes boxer shorts, black
* Gold Toe socks, black
* Kenneth Cole shoes, Brad Pitt style
* G-Shock watch, black band
* Nylon belt, black, with military buckle
* Black Leather Jacket (optional, depending on weather conditions)

This may sound a bit silly or overdone but believe me, when you're penetrating a night club, knowing exactly what you buddies are dressed like can make all the difference in the world if you're hoping to snag some hottie. Let's say I see some cutie and just before I get up to go talk to her a waitress spills a drink in my lap? No problem, because I can always swap pants with my buddy. I don't have to worry if they match, because I know he's wearing Levi's 501's. Bam, swap pants and I can still complete my objective.

Editors note: Although not specified in this email I received, I believe it is important for each person to have the T-Shirt in size XL and the pants in 34 waist, and 34 inseam, shoes size 10 - independent of your actual size.. Keeping this standardized will make sure we all know exactly what our DIR friends have on.

One thing to keep in mind about night clubs is that you seldom want to penetrate a club on beer. I know, some of the macho jerks do this and brag to all of their buddies but believe me, it's not DIR. You have to do it on mixed drinks. Obviously the mix will be different on different nights but a good vodka tonic mix is pretty standard. Again, there's a right way and a wrong way to do this. You can't just order any old vodka or depend on some bartender to get the mix right. That's what the strokes do. No, you order Stoli vodka which has an excellent reputation in the DIR partying community. The correct blend is 2oz Stoli with tonic water poured over ice in a highball glass (lemon or lime optional). I always bring a testing kit with me and if the blend is off, I send it back. It's just not worth the risk and it's not DIR.

So you penetrate the night club and you've got a good mix, now it's time to meet the ladies. I should have said this earlier but watch your drink consumption. It's a well known fact that women look 25% - 30% better in a night club and if you get all narc'd up on vodka tonic, it increases your chances of a coyote ugly blackout. You have to keep your wits about you.

If it's early, you probably have pretty good viz. Later in the evening when the smoke silts up the room it'll be harder to make out the women on the other side of the club so get your headings early. On a few occasions I've had to bust out the wreck reel just to get to the bathroom and back.

If you are lucky enough to hook up with a nice hottie, this is when doing it right really can pay off. Now, let's face it, there's a certain degree of danger involved here that I don't want to downplay. You need to minimize your risks by using the proper equipment. I carry 2 condoms. One I put on . . . well you know, and the second I put on a bungee that goes around my waist. If there's a malfunction on my primary, I can quickly go to my backup without hardly skipping a beat.

So, as you can see from these pretty basic examples, DIR is not just for diving. It's something you can use in all areas of your life."

 

[scubashawn123]

Good Lord, your California is showing, Shawn. For all our sakes cover it, man, cover it fast! You will not make headway with those guys. First of all they have no respect for you and the way you dive. Your Navy Diver experience means squat to them. You are what they refer to as a "stroke." Don't feel bad though...so am I.

DIR Rule #1, which they consider to be, and I quote, "...the most important piece of wisdom in the diving world..." says simply, "Don't dive with strokes."

BTW, since I know you'll ask, a stroke refers to someone who, knowing there is a better system, chooses to dive using a lesser system. For these guys anything not DIR is less than optimal. Any hardcore DIR diver won't dive with you, me, or anyone else we know, buddy. Your olive branch won't be taken and your bridge won't be crossed. Sorry to hurt your west coast feelings my friend.

I have much thicker skin than that

PS: my skin depth is dependent on whether I am diving wet or dry......get it...
from one stroke to another.......................