Recently my students went out to get certified and also to participate in the Pumpkin Carving contest. Below is the video slideshow of the event. Enjoy

The quahog clam (insert Family Guy joke here) is suspected to be the longest living animal in existence. The clam is was found off of the coast of Iceland and is suspected to be between 405 and 410 years old. It now enters the Guinness book of world records beating out a 220 year old clam.

Link from Science Daily

For those of you who don't know, a DPV is a Dive Propulsion Vehicle. More commonly known as a scooter. I really want one. But the one that I want is out of my price range for now. That, and I don't really know what I would do with it once I got it.

Anyways, this is a video of what diving with a scooter should look like.



This is a video of some guy trying to develop a new scooter. Its a little sad.

Labels: dpv, scooter, scuba diving, testings, video

I ran across this story a couple of years ago. When I first saw it I thought it was a bad idea. Now that a couple of years have gone by I don't think it is going to happen at all.

A person has decided to create a new club in England called Club Narked. It is an alcohol and drug free club that will get people narked. They are going to convert a bank vault into a pressure chamber. Then, while people are dancing and partying, they are going to increase the pressure like you are diving. After being narked for a while, they will bring you up for a safety stop and then the night is over.

Here is why it is a bad idea. Lots of forms to fill out (waviers). You are stuck there the whole ride, you can't leave early without risking the bends. Possible chance for the bends. And last but not least, no alcohol. I need to drink to be able to dance.

The picture on top is club logo. I think it is very appropriate as it shows that people doing this are crazy.

Website - Club Narked

Labels: bends, club narked, Clubbing, decompression sickness, deep diving, narked, nitrogen narcosis

_Treasure of Cutlass Reef_

Labels: flash game, time waster, Treasure, video game

Sorry if you haven't been seeing updates for almost a week. My website host decided to change hosting requirements and never told me about it. I have a couple of topics I hope to post this week so you will have some fresh content soon.

Labels: blogging, errors, websites

I have always wanted an underwater scooter. They go fast. Well, it looks like Seabob (no I have never heard of them before, has or is soon, going to release a new scooter. The Cayago Magnum which is a limited edition scooter will be able to operate up to "extreme depths" and run for up to 4 hours will start at around 14,000. To sweeten the deal it also comes with a "comprehensive navigation and location technology system." I take that to mean is has an underwater compass built in.

There are no other specs for this model but the other models while they can go deep, are limited to an hour run time and about 120 feet. I do like the face that there is no propeller for things to get caught in but I don't know if its worth my $14,000 just yet.

You can check out their website here.

There is also a video of there lesser models here. They actually go deep about 2 minutes into the video.

Labels: cayago, Cayago Magnum, deep diving, reef, scooter, seabob, snorkeling

Somethings just should be done. In this case, it is the scuba diving cat and dog. The owner of the cat wanted to combine his love of his animal with his love of scuba diving. To do this he put together a helmet, small tank, and regs for this to happen.

My favorite part of this video is when the owner says, "She just hangs there and expects me to do the driving." Thats because the cat is freaked out of its mind and doesn't want to be there. It is almost frozen stiff.

Well, judge for yourselves.

Labels: cat, dog, nature, pool, scuba diving, video

Are you ready to go on a trip for free? How about win some great prizes? Do you have a camera? If you have answered yes to these questions then you are ready for the "Our World Underwater: 2008" competition. This years competition is being sponsored by divephotoguide.com and wetpixel.com. There are categories for both still photography and video. If you are interested in participating head over to http://www.underwatercompetition.com/owu08.php and check out the rules. Deadline is January 13, 2008
Categories for the compeition are below.

A) Still images

1. Macro Traditional
2. Macro Unrestricted
3. SuperMacro Traditional
4. Wide Angle Traditional
5. Wide Angle Unrestricted
6. Compact Camera
7. Environment and Conservation

B) Video:

• Underwater Video (General)
• Underwater Video (Conservation)

Labels: contest, photography, prizes, trip, underwatercompetition.com, wetpixel

Once in a while I spend some time at the bottom of the pool just to relax. If I get really bored then I start blowing bubble rings. Now, I am not bad a blowing bubble rings. But after I saw this video, I knew I need a lot more practice before I am great.

The really neat stuff happens in the last minute of the video.

Labels: bubble rings, pool, video