Ken Kurtis
Contributor
Am I the only one who wakes up each day and has to remind himself what day of the week it is . . .
RUSH TO OPEN? - There now seems to be some people itching to "reopen" our country despite warnings from the medical professionals that it may still be too soon and that the very stringent mitigation regulations they're protesting are the very reasons that it seems safe to resume life and that the restrictions are onerous. I've seen a number of analogies about this but the two I like the best are that it's like saying, "My parachute has slowed my rate of descent so I don't need it anymore," and "I've taken the antibiotics for two days now and feel better so I don't need to keep taking them for another twelve days." There's no question that the economic repercussions are huge (and obviously not just within the diving industry) but there are ways to make that money back either through government assistance or increased demand once businesses start up again. But if you move too quickly in hopes of reversing the economic impact and people start getting sick again, there's no cure for dying. (And don't get me started on those idiots who have said another hundred thousand deaths will be a small price to pay. Not for those who die or lose a loved one it won't.) Save money or save lives. Pretty clear choice IMHO.
SOME BEACHES REOPENED - Ventura County beaches opened again over the weekend with officers watching to make sure people observed social distancing and the like. It seems in general they did. Florida beaches also reopened around Jacksonville and it seems there people didn't wear masks, flocked to the beach, and gathered in small clusters. It'll be interesting to see if, in 5-7 days, Florida sees a spike upwards in terms of new cases.
ZOOM DIVE CLUB MEETINGS - As I mentioned last week, many dive clubs have now taken to Zoom (or other similar platforms) for their regular meetings. I gave two talks last week to the Antelope Valley Desert Divers and to Sharkbait. The methodology seems to work out very well and you can even do Q&A at the end. If you need a speaker for any of your upcoming meetings, let me know and we'll see if we can agree on a topic and time.
CHAMBER DAY IS A LITTLE OVER TWO WEEKS AWAY - I'm pleased to report that Reef Seekers is still leading the pack in terms of how many people we have put on the Flying Dutchman. (But there's room for plenty more.) And we're doing OK on Chamber Evening as well. Overall, we assume we're going to take a financial hit this year and we're doing our best to make it as minimal as possible. Whatever you can afford is appreciated. You can go on line and sign up directly through this link: CHAMBER DAY 2020.
CHAMBER DAY FACEBOOK LIVE UPDATES - We're trying to do those now every Monday and Friday at 3PM PDT for about 10 minutes. Just go to either the Chamber FB page or the Reef Seekers FB and you should be able to watch. You can even ask a question or just type a message through the comments section. And if you miss the live transmission, they're archived and available on the respective FB pages. For me, it's like being back at KCET and doing the Pledge Drives again, only with less production values.
TRAVEL PRECAUTIONS FOR FLYING - I don't know if this will become the standard down the road, but if you're flying on Emirates out of Dubai, before they will allow you to get on the plane, you'll have your blood drawn and they'll confirm that you're COVID negative. This is not a joke: EMIRATES BLOOD DRAW BEFORE FLYING. Whenever travel resumes, and at whatever level, expect there will be some precautions in place. Perhaps a note from your doctor will be required, or you'll fill out a form attesting that you're healthy. In terms of scuba travel, the key factor will be what the entry requirements are for the various countries we fly to. If anyone institutes, as some do now, a requirement that you quarantine in-country for 14 days after arriving and before starting your vacation, unless you can do a 3-week vacation, that's going to be a non-starter for most travelling divers. We shall see.
BIOLUMINESCENCE - We've probably all experienced bioluminescence in the ocean. Waving your hand or making quick movements through the water - fin kicking or the wake of a boat - excites plankton in the water and they give off a glow, which is usually greenish. (One of my divers used to call it "making pixies.") But last week in Newport Beach, it was blue. And there are photos and video to illustrate this. Really looks cool: BLUE BIOLUMINESCENCE.
YOUR FEEL-GOOD VIDEO - If this doesn't put a smile on your quarantined face, we'll have to have a chat. The Pacific Marine Mammal Center in Laguna Beach recently released two rescued sea lions back into the ocean and the video is very cute, especially a few seconds in when the first one circles back to make sure the second one is following and gives it a little kiss: RELEASING SEA LIONS.
And that'll do it for now. Take a deep breath, wash your hands (the Lio cartoon in the Sunday L.A. Times illustrates this perfectly), stay safe, and let's go diving one of these days soon!!!
- Ken
RUSH TO OPEN? - There now seems to be some people itching to "reopen" our country despite warnings from the medical professionals that it may still be too soon and that the very stringent mitigation regulations they're protesting are the very reasons that it seems safe to resume life and that the restrictions are onerous. I've seen a number of analogies about this but the two I like the best are that it's like saying, "My parachute has slowed my rate of descent so I don't need it anymore," and "I've taken the antibiotics for two days now and feel better so I don't need to keep taking them for another twelve days." There's no question that the economic repercussions are huge (and obviously not just within the diving industry) but there are ways to make that money back either through government assistance or increased demand once businesses start up again. But if you move too quickly in hopes of reversing the economic impact and people start getting sick again, there's no cure for dying. (And don't get me started on those idiots who have said another hundred thousand deaths will be a small price to pay. Not for those who die or lose a loved one it won't.) Save money or save lives. Pretty clear choice IMHO.
SOME BEACHES REOPENED - Ventura County beaches opened again over the weekend with officers watching to make sure people observed social distancing and the like. It seems in general they did. Florida beaches also reopened around Jacksonville and it seems there people didn't wear masks, flocked to the beach, and gathered in small clusters. It'll be interesting to see if, in 5-7 days, Florida sees a spike upwards in terms of new cases.
ZOOM DIVE CLUB MEETINGS - As I mentioned last week, many dive clubs have now taken to Zoom (or other similar platforms) for their regular meetings. I gave two talks last week to the Antelope Valley Desert Divers and to Sharkbait. The methodology seems to work out very well and you can even do Q&A at the end. If you need a speaker for any of your upcoming meetings, let me know and we'll see if we can agree on a topic and time.
CHAMBER DAY IS A LITTLE OVER TWO WEEKS AWAY - I'm pleased to report that Reef Seekers is still leading the pack in terms of how many people we have put on the Flying Dutchman. (But there's room for plenty more.) And we're doing OK on Chamber Evening as well. Overall, we assume we're going to take a financial hit this year and we're doing our best to make it as minimal as possible. Whatever you can afford is appreciated. You can go on line and sign up directly through this link: CHAMBER DAY 2020.
CHAMBER DAY FACEBOOK LIVE UPDATES - We're trying to do those now every Monday and Friday at 3PM PDT for about 10 minutes. Just go to either the Chamber FB page or the Reef Seekers FB and you should be able to watch. You can even ask a question or just type a message through the comments section. And if you miss the live transmission, they're archived and available on the respective FB pages. For me, it's like being back at KCET and doing the Pledge Drives again, only with less production values.
TRAVEL PRECAUTIONS FOR FLYING - I don't know if this will become the standard down the road, but if you're flying on Emirates out of Dubai, before they will allow you to get on the plane, you'll have your blood drawn and they'll confirm that you're COVID negative. This is not a joke: EMIRATES BLOOD DRAW BEFORE FLYING. Whenever travel resumes, and at whatever level, expect there will be some precautions in place. Perhaps a note from your doctor will be required, or you'll fill out a form attesting that you're healthy. In terms of scuba travel, the key factor will be what the entry requirements are for the various countries we fly to. If anyone institutes, as some do now, a requirement that you quarantine in-country for 14 days after arriving and before starting your vacation, unless you can do a 3-week vacation, that's going to be a non-starter for most travelling divers. We shall see.
BIOLUMINESCENCE - We've probably all experienced bioluminescence in the ocean. Waving your hand or making quick movements through the water - fin kicking or the wake of a boat - excites plankton in the water and they give off a glow, which is usually greenish. (One of my divers used to call it "making pixies.") But last week in Newport Beach, it was blue. And there are photos and video to illustrate this. Really looks cool: BLUE BIOLUMINESCENCE.
YOUR FEEL-GOOD VIDEO - If this doesn't put a smile on your quarantined face, we'll have to have a chat. The Pacific Marine Mammal Center in Laguna Beach recently released two rescued sea lions back into the ocean and the video is very cute, especially a few seconds in when the first one circles back to make sure the second one is following and gives it a little kiss: RELEASING SEA LIONS.
And that'll do it for now. Take a deep breath, wash your hands (the Lio cartoon in the Sunday L.A. Times illustrates this perfectly), stay safe, and let's go diving one of these days soon!!!
- Ken
