First Blog in a long time (2 short dive trips)
I just realized I hadn’t written a blog since last August.. People that know me, know I’m not known for keeping quiet, so to go this long without talking about something is unreal for me.. :) Since the last blog we’ve actually done two trips. Our yearly mantee trip to Crystal River, FL and a a quick trip to Rainbow River while I was TDY to Tampa for a couple weeks. Our yearly Manatee trip was great. Althought it didn’t start our on a good note. WE had so many people drop out of the Friday spring...
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Customer Service Review
Customer Service is HUGE with me. I work in a field where I have to provide a service to my users. (Users are customers that don’t pay you for your service) I try and give the best service I can to my people, and, in turn, I expect to get good customer service when I deal with a business. When I get great customer service, I am quick to tell people about it. When I get crappy or non-existant service, I don’t yell it from the roof tops, but if anyone ever asks me about the business, I’ll tell the...
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Needless Death
We had a local scuba death here on 19 July. Here’s what we know from the paper/radio reports: A 48 year old Warner Robins man drowned in Lake Tobosofkee while testing out some new scuba gear to get ready for a trip to the Bahamas. He jumped in the water with his air turned off. He was certified O/W at our LDS back in 2002 and had taken no other classes from them after that date. No one knows how much or how little diving he has done since then, but his mother said he was a "very experienced dive...
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Key Largo Dives
I went TDY to Homestead ARB, FL for two weeks and was able to do my first “post-op” dives since my neck operation back in April. I dove with Ocean Divers in Key Largo ( www.oceandivers.com ) after being referred to them by Brion (GypsyDiver.) Since I was testing my neck to see if it would hold up under the weight, pressure, etc, I decided to forgo any wreck diving in the area and just do some reef dives. Which was hard because of the Duane, Spiegel Grove and, now, the Vandenberg being in the Key...
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Ever used DAN for just advice?
I recently had some surgery on my neck. I was diagnosed with "degenerative disc disease" and 4 layers of my neck (C4-T1) had collasped on themselves cutting off the majority of the flow of impulses, etc to my left arm. (I’m not a Dr and don’t know all the technical jargon, so these are my words not the Docs) The last three fingers of my left hand stopped working back in January and my left arm muscles had atrophied over the course of the couple months they were trying to treat me. After all the ...
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Newest Dive Buddy
Just had to announce the arrival of my newest Dive Buddy.. Riley Kaitlyn was born 0755 on 7 Jan 09. 7lb 6 oz.and a head full of hair. (Unlike her old man) Both daughter and mother are doing great!! Dale...
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Blue Grotto : Over and Above
I just had to pass this along. For those that don’t know me, I wear a "Killed In Action" bracelet in memory of a good friend of mine I stationed with that was killed in the Oklahoma City Bombing. She was a gorgeous girl, both inside and out and I miss her as much today as I did the 19th of April 1995. I NEVER take off my bracelet. It’s black anodized aluminum. And, because I never take it off, it’s pretty worn from the years. But, I am never seen without it. This past weekend, we had a small gro...
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Manatee Trip Report
Wow!!! Talk about a trip NOT to miss!!! We had 18 people say they were going on this trip. As the way things normally work, when it came down to the day to go, we were down to 4. Myself, Bill F. (F10) Mark M. (M2) and Dee. So, the 4 of us loaded up in Dee’s RV and headed out at 0700 on Friday. First stop was Blue Grotto in Williston, FL. We signed in, got our fills and headed in. M2, F10 and I headed straight for Peace Rock and the cavern while Dee stayed closer to the platforms. There were very...
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Manatee Trip Details
I just made the reservations for the Manatee Trip.. Here are all the details and who to call.. A group of us will be leaving on Friday morning, 12 December to dive the Blue Grotto/Devil’s Den area. After a couple dives there, we will head to Crystal River to stay the next two nights. We’ll head back this way after lunch on Sunday.. Manatee Snorkel (7:00 am December 14th: Sunday) Bird’s Underwater 800-771-2763 Price is $37.10 and you will need your credit card when you call. You can mention my na...
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PCB Dive Report 31 Aug 08 (sort of)
Every year, we take family to Panama City Beach for the Labor Day weekend. This year, we hung around for most of the following week because the wife had friends that were also down for a quick get-away. Of course, this year, Hurricane Gustav looked like it was going to rain on our parade the entire week. However, Gustav’s path veered more West and the effects were barely noticed. Except for a couple a days, one of which we had planned to dive… We had planned a two-tank inshore dive on Sunday wit...
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NC OBX Dive Report 14-17 Aug 08
This was a most excellent trip (as Bill and Ted would say) Only two other people were able to join me on this trip (Bill and Kat). Thursday: 0600 Bill picks me up at my house and we head to Covington to pick up Kat. After picking up Kat, we head to Morehead City. We arrived in Morehead City around 1530 and went straight to Olympus Dive Center to do our paperwork, pay for the fuel surcharges and our NITROX fills for the weekend. Checked into the Buccaneer Inn and then to eat at Sanitary Restauran...
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CSI Dive 2
For those that aren’t aware of my CSI dive, here’s a brief history: Back in January, there was a retaliatory shooting done in my local area. During the shooting an innocent woman was killed. After the shootings occurred, the alleged suspects stayed at a KOA campground North of our area. At this campground is a football field sized pond and the rumor was, they might have thrown the weapons into the pond to get rid of them. So, we were called in to dive the pond and look for the weapons. We dove i...
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Holy $!% They Bite!!!
This past Sunday, I helped Scuba Steve with a Rescue Diver Course. When I “help,” for the most part I play the victim for the Rescue students to respond to and “save.” I act anywhere from a tired diver to a passive panicked diver to a blown-out aggressively panicked diver. It can be a lot of fun and it can put the students through the paces if it’s done right. I’m still learning the nuances of being a victim, but I’m getting a little better each time. I can also be a buddy to any student that is...
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Cooper River Dive Report for 17 May 08
Dove Cooper River on 17 May 2008. We left our town around 0400 in the morning for the 5 hour drive up to Cypress Gardens in Monck’s Corner, SC. Got to the boat landing around 0900 and met with our Charter, Capt Phil Myers with Backwater Diversions. (www.backwaterdiversions.com) The first thing we noticed at the boat ramp was the sign pictured. We loaded the boat and were on the water by 0930. Capt Phil took us to our first location and gave us our briefing. Since none of us had done this before,...
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Gear Configuration Change?
I’m seriously considering a gear configuration change. I want to go with the 7 foot primary and a bungee for the octo. I had thought about doing it last year, but since I was helping in O/W classes, I didn’t do it because I had to look, more or less, like the students did in the class. I haven’t been able to help out in classes in some months now and even if I did, I could just use a set at the dive shop instead of my own, so that’s a non-issue now. I look at a few pictures of me and, at times, ...
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Not Exactly a Dive Report
But, if you are a diver and you like marine life, this will still interest you... Last week, we went on a short “Family” vacation to Orlando. Since I have a non-diving spouse, I promised her there would be “zero” diving related activities during the week. And, unfortunately, I kept my word. Although I didn’t dive, I did participate in something that was just as cool and would be very interesting to anyone that dives and likes marine life. For my first Father’s Day back in 2007, my wife gave me t...
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Scuba: CSI
I received a call last week from my Scuba Instructor, Steve. Steve has been my instructor through every stage of my diving progression. I’m even doing my DiveMaster Candidate under him. Of course, over the years, he has become more than my scuba instructor, he’s also a good friend. Steve is on the Police Force in the city just North of us. He is part of the CSI team and a member of the SWAT team. Steve asked me to put together a small team of advanced divers that were comfortable with their skil...
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Dive Trip Report for 15-17 Feb 08
Our dive "club" went on a weekend trip to Florida for some diving and a manatee visit. Our numbers ranged fomr 6 on some dives to 12 on others during the weekend. Friday, 15 Feb, we left middle GA around 0900 and headed down to Ginnie Springs. After stopping for gas, food, etc, we arrived at Ginnie around 1400. Being a Friday, the place was almost deserted. We got in two dives that afternoon. Both dives for me and my buddy were in the main Ginnie Spring. He was on dives # 2 and 3 after certifica...
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