Ken Kurtis
Contributor
Is staying at home starting to feel normal??? . . .
SPEAKING OF THE NEW NORMAL - At least for the time-being, I'm eliminating the trip sked and the class sked that usually appear at the top. Especially with classes, there's no sense in listing things that I know will have to be postponed. Trips are slightly different but for now, we'll give that listing a break too, and I'll keep you informed of changes within the body of this weekly missive.
APRIL FOOLS - Thanks for all the kind words and hopefully you enjoyed the annual April Fools edition of the monthly newsletter. I'm a firm believer in using humor to get through tough times and if ever there was a time that called out for humor, this is it.
MIGHT TRY TO DO CLASSES VIA ZOOM - I'm toying with the idea of trying one or two of our class offerings - Fish ID should have been last Wednesday - through ZOOM. Since these are generally PowerPoint presentations, I can easily relay the material that way and using ZOOM allows for you to ask questions. I'll keep you posted.
CLUB TALKS THROUGH ZOOM AS WELL - Some dive clubs are starting to use ZOOM (or other platforms) to conduct their monthly gatherings without actually gathering. Great idea. And for those of us on the dive club speaker circuit, it's a great way to be able to give our talks AND we don't have to fight rush hour traffic to do it. I'll be speaking to SOCDC this Wednesday night, and then Antelope Valley Desert Divers next week on Monday, and Sharkbait next week on Tuesday. Join one of the meetings if you can.
BONAIRE IS POSTPONED - It simply doesn't seem likely that air travel will resume by May 15 so we're postponing the Bonaire trip. I don't have the exact dates worked out yet but late August or perhaps early September seem the likely candidates. Along those lines, as of right now, we're leaving the October Indonesia trip in place, and don't anticipate a problem with the January Socorro.
CHAMBER DAY KEEPS CHUGGING ALONG - We're not postponing that although we've made it a 100% virtual event. Give some thought to either signing up for the Flying Dutchman (our mythical boat) or grab a "seat" for Chamber Eve at the Reef Seekers virtual table. For the Eve, there will still be a raffle, though we're still working on logistics. Sign up at www.chamberday.org.
DEMA DIVER SURVEY - If you can take a few minutes out of your busy day . . . hopefully that elicited at least a groan . . . DEMA is conducting a diver survey and would like your input. Takes about 15 minutes to complete. (Ignore that it says 2019.) But it can provide some good info if you'd care to share. Here's the link: DEMA DIVER SURVEY.
COVID-19 MAP - I happened to check Weather Underground Sunday to see about this storm that's supposed to start at midnight and was intrigued to see that they not only had a box that said CORONAVIRUS but that there was a link in that box that says "View on WunderMap." If you're a data freak, this will be right up your alley. Although this specific link starts with SoCal, you can zoom out (or in) to look at other regions, states, or even the entire United States. But what you will see is that it lists every single county in the state/region/country and gives the number of confirmed and cases and number of deceased for each county. Fascinating stuff and you can really see where the clusters are: CORONAVIRUS MAP.
And that'll do it for now. Take a deep breath, wash your hands, have a great week, and let's go diving one of these days soon!!!
- Ken
SPEAKING OF THE NEW NORMAL - At least for the time-being, I'm eliminating the trip sked and the class sked that usually appear at the top. Especially with classes, there's no sense in listing things that I know will have to be postponed. Trips are slightly different but for now, we'll give that listing a break too, and I'll keep you informed of changes within the body of this weekly missive.
APRIL FOOLS - Thanks for all the kind words and hopefully you enjoyed the annual April Fools edition of the monthly newsletter. I'm a firm believer in using humor to get through tough times and if ever there was a time that called out for humor, this is it.
MIGHT TRY TO DO CLASSES VIA ZOOM - I'm toying with the idea of trying one or two of our class offerings - Fish ID should have been last Wednesday - through ZOOM. Since these are generally PowerPoint presentations, I can easily relay the material that way and using ZOOM allows for you to ask questions. I'll keep you posted.
CLUB TALKS THROUGH ZOOM AS WELL - Some dive clubs are starting to use ZOOM (or other platforms) to conduct their monthly gatherings without actually gathering. Great idea. And for those of us on the dive club speaker circuit, it's a great way to be able to give our talks AND we don't have to fight rush hour traffic to do it. I'll be speaking to SOCDC this Wednesday night, and then Antelope Valley Desert Divers next week on Monday, and Sharkbait next week on Tuesday. Join one of the meetings if you can.
BONAIRE IS POSTPONED - It simply doesn't seem likely that air travel will resume by May 15 so we're postponing the Bonaire trip. I don't have the exact dates worked out yet but late August or perhaps early September seem the likely candidates. Along those lines, as of right now, we're leaving the October Indonesia trip in place, and don't anticipate a problem with the January Socorro.
CHAMBER DAY KEEPS CHUGGING ALONG - We're not postponing that although we've made it a 100% virtual event. Give some thought to either signing up for the Flying Dutchman (our mythical boat) or grab a "seat" for Chamber Eve at the Reef Seekers virtual table. For the Eve, there will still be a raffle, though we're still working on logistics. Sign up at www.chamberday.org.
DEMA DIVER SURVEY - If you can take a few minutes out of your busy day . . . hopefully that elicited at least a groan . . . DEMA is conducting a diver survey and would like your input. Takes about 15 minutes to complete. (Ignore that it says 2019.) But it can provide some good info if you'd care to share. Here's the link: DEMA DIVER SURVEY.
COVID-19 MAP - I happened to check Weather Underground Sunday to see about this storm that's supposed to start at midnight and was intrigued to see that they not only had a box that said CORONAVIRUS but that there was a link in that box that says "View on WunderMap." If you're a data freak, this will be right up your alley. Although this specific link starts with SoCal, you can zoom out (or in) to look at other regions, states, or even the entire United States. But what you will see is that it lists every single county in the state/region/country and gives the number of confirmed and cases and number of deceased for each county. Fascinating stuff and you can really see where the clusters are: CORONAVIRUS MAP.
And that'll do it for now. Take a deep breath, wash your hands, have a great week, and let's go diving one of these days soon!!!
- Ken
