Ken Kurtis
Contributor
49ers vs. Chiefs on February 2 should make for an interesting Super Bowl . . .
LEAVING FOR THE PHILIPPINES ON WEDNESDAY - Laurie & I are off on a FAM (familiarization) trip on Wednesday to Atlantis Puerto Galera & Atlantis Dumaguete in the Philippines. And we'll drive right by the Taal volcano to get there. Assuming no further volcanic activity . . . The idea of the trip is to see if we'd want to do a Reef Seekers trip there at some point down the road. So we'll be diving each day as well as looking at their facilities but I'll also be posting Daily Top 10 Pix (I hope - depends on the Wi-Fi signal) each day through Facebook and my SmugMug page. So be on the lookout for those so you can enjoy the trip with us vicariously. I'll be gone through February 2 (but reachable by e-mail if you need me).
OTHER TRIP UPDATES - If you were at all interested in Socorro, please note I've shifted that from a December date to January, 2021. Specific dates TBA. These trips tend to fill up for them and the conundrum is I'm trying to get enough people to commit so that I'm not investing deposit money and then finding that it's something you folks are not interested in. If Socorro's on your list and if January works for you, let me know.
CLEANUP ON FEBRUARY 22 - We've got our spots at the Green Pier reserved and now all we need is you!!! If you'd like to join us as part of the Reef Seekers team for the annual Avalon Underwater Cleanup, shoot me a note or give me a call (310/652-4990). $150 covers you for the event, the boat, and additional dives or gear storage. Funds raised from the event benefits the Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber and the Catalina Conservation Divers, two worthy entities.
AMAZING FISH TRICKS - A book I read some time back was called "What a Fish Knows" and the basic theme was that they're smarter than you'd think. That theme continues as researchers outfitted cuttlefish with 3-D glasses to test their depth perception and it turns out they're pretty good. There's an article on this but even if you're not that interested in the topic, you've got to see the pix of the cuttlefish with the 3-D glasses on. (The glue they used dissolved in a couple of days so the cuttlefish went back to normal). Pretty interesting I thought: CUTTLEFISH WITH 3-D GLASSES.
STUPID HUMAN TRICKS - Not too sure about this one. Concerned about rising sea levels one group of researchers is working on artificial gills for humans and has actually created a 3-D printed model.But it may not scale up as it seems one that would work for humans needs close to 400 square feet of gill, which means something 20'x20'. Think about swimming with something that big wrapped around you. But here's a CNN story on the project: ARTIFICIAL GILLS FOR HUMANS.
MORE PROOF THAT CONSERVATION METHODS WORK - Nassau Groupers used to be pretty commonly-seen in the Caribbean but not in the last 20 years or so. This is seemingly due to over-fishing. But a just-released stuff from REEF about their Grouper Moon Project outlines how in the last two decades, through management techniques that include a ban on fishing for the animals during their spawning period, critically endangered grouper aggregations in Little Cayman and Cayman Brac have tripled. And it makes sense on a very simple level: Stop removing fish from the ocean and let them spawn, and their numbers will increase (sometimes dramatically) which can then allow for limited fishing to resume. You can read the published study here: GROUPER CONSERVATION.
ENDING ON A SAD NOTE - I'm very sorry to have to tell you that we've learned that Bonnie Cardone, former editor of Skin Diver Magazine and a longtime Reef Seekers diver and friend, passed away recently. I saw this on her Facebook page and have not been able to get any specific details in terms of date or cause. Bonnie had mobility issues in the last few years, had not been diving lately, and had concentrated for the last 10 years or so on her writing. She published a number of diving-themed mystery novels. But she made many great contributions to the diving industry over the years and not only left a mark, but will also be sorely missed by many, including us.
And that'll do it for now. Have a great week and keep an eye out for photos from the Philippines!!!
- Ken
LEAVING FOR THE PHILIPPINES ON WEDNESDAY - Laurie & I are off on a FAM (familiarization) trip on Wednesday to Atlantis Puerto Galera & Atlantis Dumaguete in the Philippines. And we'll drive right by the Taal volcano to get there. Assuming no further volcanic activity . . . The idea of the trip is to see if we'd want to do a Reef Seekers trip there at some point down the road. So we'll be diving each day as well as looking at their facilities but I'll also be posting Daily Top 10 Pix (I hope - depends on the Wi-Fi signal) each day through Facebook and my SmugMug page. So be on the lookout for those so you can enjoy the trip with us vicariously. I'll be gone through February 2 (but reachable by e-mail if you need me).
OTHER TRIP UPDATES - If you were at all interested in Socorro, please note I've shifted that from a December date to January, 2021. Specific dates TBA. These trips tend to fill up for them and the conundrum is I'm trying to get enough people to commit so that I'm not investing deposit money and then finding that it's something you folks are not interested in. If Socorro's on your list and if January works for you, let me know.
CLEANUP ON FEBRUARY 22 - We've got our spots at the Green Pier reserved and now all we need is you!!! If you'd like to join us as part of the Reef Seekers team for the annual Avalon Underwater Cleanup, shoot me a note or give me a call (310/652-4990). $150 covers you for the event, the boat, and additional dives or gear storage. Funds raised from the event benefits the Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber and the Catalina Conservation Divers, two worthy entities.
AMAZING FISH TRICKS - A book I read some time back was called "What a Fish Knows" and the basic theme was that they're smarter than you'd think. That theme continues as researchers outfitted cuttlefish with 3-D glasses to test their depth perception and it turns out they're pretty good. There's an article on this but even if you're not that interested in the topic, you've got to see the pix of the cuttlefish with the 3-D glasses on. (The glue they used dissolved in a couple of days so the cuttlefish went back to normal). Pretty interesting I thought: CUTTLEFISH WITH 3-D GLASSES.
STUPID HUMAN TRICKS - Not too sure about this one. Concerned about rising sea levels one group of researchers is working on artificial gills for humans and has actually created a 3-D printed model.But it may not scale up as it seems one that would work for humans needs close to 400 square feet of gill, which means something 20'x20'. Think about swimming with something that big wrapped around you. But here's a CNN story on the project: ARTIFICIAL GILLS FOR HUMANS.
MORE PROOF THAT CONSERVATION METHODS WORK - Nassau Groupers used to be pretty commonly-seen in the Caribbean but not in the last 20 years or so. This is seemingly due to over-fishing. But a just-released stuff from REEF about their Grouper Moon Project outlines how in the last two decades, through management techniques that include a ban on fishing for the animals during their spawning period, critically endangered grouper aggregations in Little Cayman and Cayman Brac have tripled. And it makes sense on a very simple level: Stop removing fish from the ocean and let them spawn, and their numbers will increase (sometimes dramatically) which can then allow for limited fishing to resume. You can read the published study here: GROUPER CONSERVATION.
ENDING ON A SAD NOTE - I'm very sorry to have to tell you that we've learned that Bonnie Cardone, former editor of Skin Diver Magazine and a longtime Reef Seekers diver and friend, passed away recently. I saw this on her Facebook page and have not been able to get any specific details in terms of date or cause. Bonnie had mobility issues in the last few years, had not been diving lately, and had concentrated for the last 10 years or so on her writing. She published a number of diving-themed mystery novels. But she made many great contributions to the diving industry over the years and not only left a mark, but will also be sorely missed by many, including us.
And that'll do it for now. Have a great week and keep an eye out for photos from the Philippines!!!
- Ken
