"I refuse to dive with him!"

[Storm]

That ain't very good advertising there, Storm
Rick

OOPS!! It's been a long night. I've been at the keyboard for about nine hours straight today so I guess I'm getting a little word blind. I promise that I will try to do better next time.

Pobody's nerfect. (he whispers....we won't talk about that "ain't":05: )

In all seriousness, if you want a sober second set of eyes (at least they will be tomorrow morning) to go through your manuscript, send it along. Besides, I would like the article for my own information purposes.

Cheers and 'Gnite'.

 

[Rick Murchison]

Pobody's nerfect. (he whispers....we won't talk about that "ain't":05: )

Ahhhh... but I ain't an editor, nor do I play one on TV, so I can mutilate the language for effect at will and with ease
Rick

 

[ItsBruce]

I want to thank everyone who has posted here, and in particular Rick Murchison, for helping me formulate and solidify my thoughts re instabuddies and other buddies.

I am responsible for my own safety and as to my safety, a buddy is just a potential asset. However, I will consider myself responsible for my buddy's safety. In the event I feel I don't have sufficient assets to be comfortable with my safety, I'll thumb the dive. If I become worried about my buddy's safety, I'll thumb the dive. Unless the instabuddy with whom I'm paired is clearly an accident looking for a place to happen, I'll take whomever the DM assigns. If it shortens my dive, that is just a risk that comes with not bringing my own buddy. However, maybe in the process, I'll be able to help someone improve their own diving, and that will be adequate consolation.

I'll be a better buddy when I'm able to adopt all the good advice I see on this thread.

 

[redrover]

What is TS&M?

See Post #50. I spelled it wrong, TSandM, hope I got it right this time I’m not going back and look for it again.

This is my interpretation only, feel free to correct me. She is a newish diver that began a journal of her learning to dive experiences and often posts in the forums as well. She is an entertaining writer establishing a relationship with many of the more common posters with clearly viewable accounts of things like getting into and trapped in her gear when trying it out at home. I consider her contributions here well worth reading for educational, commiseration and entertainment value.

From what I’ve read, she was able to hook up with other divers willing to spend the time to share their wealth of experience AND in doing so, she adopted their approach.

I had that type of education when learning another similarly ranked (re: potential danger or serious) sport and did not fully appreciate it until learning to dive with nothing remotely comparable.

 

[TSandM]

Thank you, red rover! I have indeed been incredibly fortunate to make contact with some wonderful, generous people, and they have definitely shaped the direction my diving has taken. There are worse things

 

[Charlie99]

I will be a better buddy when I get better at avoiding perceptual narrowing when task-loaded (eg. when I can figure out a heading without forgetting to check on my buddy for a minute at a time )

In the typical insta-buddy dive, just someone who doesn't blindly fin off in random directions at high speed is sufficient to make it work if you are alert.

Someone actually attempting to pay attention to a buddy is nice. You are already ahead of the typical instabuddy if you are consciously trying to improve your situational awareness.

The very best insta-buddy dives were ones where, somehow, we were just on the same wavelength and agenda. The real life, easy and subtle check on someone's buddy skills is to stop, put your head up under a ledge and see how long it takes for him to come over to see what you found.

I typically watch my insta-buddy for every second of the initial descent. Within a couple of minutes it will be obvious whether or not the two of you can meander back and forth looking at stuff while at the same time keeping an eye on each other, or whether you will have to stay within "chasing down" range of the instabuddy.

 

[tiburon72157]

sorry to disappoint you scratch...but you don't know what you're talking about. obviously you don't know me...i've rescued myself in the past while participating in various activities and sustaining serious injury, where i couldn't rely on the help of others. as such, i've developed a very keen "survival" mentality over the years. i have never panicked under dangerous circumstances. just not in my genetic makeup. probably the main reason i'm still here. my dive buddies know in the back of their minds, they can count on me if things get dicey and their butts are on the line. hopefully, as your experience grows, so will your understanding of enlightened logic and survival. best of luck to you in your future diving endeavors.

 

[Rick Murchison]

I will be a better buddy when I get better at avoiding perceptual narrowing when task-loaded (eg. when I can figure out a heading without forgetting to check on my buddy for a minute at a time )

May I suggest that rather than trying to avoid perceptual narrowing (which is a normal and unavoidable response to stress) that you plan it... By prioritizing "what's important" before even getting in the water, when faced with stress you can drop those less important things first as you "shed the load" to handle the situation. This has the double benefit of assuring you keep the most important things within your perceptual field and reducing total stress because you know you're concentrating on what's important since you've planned it in advance...
I don't want to completely hijack the thread here; if y'all would like to explore this concept I'll be happy to join you in a new one
Rick

 

[Bottom Scratcher]

sorry to disappoint you scratch...but you don't know what you're talking about. obviously you don't know me...i've rescued myself in the past while participating in various activities and sustaining serious injury, where i couldn't rely on the help of others. as such, i've developed a very keen "survival" mentality over the years. i have never panicked under dangerous circumstances. just not in my genetic makeup. probably the main reason i'm still here. my dive buddies know in the back of their minds, they can count on me if things get dicey and their butts are on the line. hopefully, as your experience grows, so will your understanding of enlightened logic and survival. best of luck to you in your future diving endeavors.

Another TROLL

 

[The Chairman]

Gentle people: please remain on topic and stop the squabbling! Thanks in advance.