Oct.07

NO) GRENDEL AND ME (10/07)
Haloween

Stowaway

Not to worry, our ferocious feline, the scourge of Snow Owl, is in excellent form; he’s just away to kitty camp for some advanced training for 10/31. If successful he should have his co-pilot’s license. You might see him if the clouds don’t cover the moon.
We’re excited because he is a free agent as of 11/1; contract negotiations are underway, and if we close before then there is a lifetime catnip signing bonus.
Further, in the newsy portion of this little Chautauqua, I am composing it on a laptop, my first laptop, which I got in the same manner as my insanity: I inherited it from one of my sons, whom I am visiting in San Diego. It’s amazing what can happen to you if you live long enough. I am in a coffee house with a cell phone and a wireless internet connection tapping away at a miniature keyboard with a half dozen like-equipped denizens. In fact, everyone in here is bent over a laptop. For a silly moment I was thinking that I was at the cutting edge of technology, but a quick glance around and I see blinking blue lights sticking out of about half the ear pairs about me. “Oh brave new world that has such people in it.” (The Tempest)
I think this laptop may be the extent of my penetration into Geekdom. There comes a time when enough is enough. Already, half of my memory is on chips in different places. Names, phone numbers, pass words, addresses, things to do, etc. As for dive gear I refuse to venture into closed systems, as I am convinced I can get into enough trouble with a pair of 120 Nitrox tanks. Besides the learning curve for even simple things is getting steeper and I fear forgetting crucial information needed to survive rebreathers. If both my dive computers were to fail I might revert to depth and pressure gauges.
Don’t get me wrong; the new technology is wonderful, but it does tend to replace thinking and remembering the essentials. The more dependent we become on it, the less we can think our way out of a critical situation. I suppose that can be argued if you have a great memory, but still, narced crises depend on memory and reflex and not creative problem solving. Might be a good idea to use your dive tables once in a while to keep a clear vision of the big picture while you’re down. I did a shallow dive with a failed computer once and was quite accurate in gauging my air supply. (I was tight with my dive buddy who has very similar dive profiles.)
Technology is wonderful; brains are better.
I did not bring my dive gear out to the west coast for the first time. If I want cold green water with limited visibility I don’t have to travel three thousand miles with a ton of protective gear to find it. I find myself gravitating toward warmer waters where I can look up and see the dive boat, my navigational skills bordering on dementia. Brail diving does lose its appeal after a while. If fact I begin to recall taking up New England diving as practice for Caribbean adventures. Figured if I could do it here, I could do it anywhere. Let’s see if I got this right: I practice in high risk environments so I can be proficient in lower risk environments. Maybe the logic fails, but it’s always great to get wet. Just don’t want to lug heavy gear thousands of miles to do it.
Not a bad attitude for a “senior” diver but some of the younger pups could do well to avail themselves of the New England challenge. The more bottom time, the smoother the dives, the sounder the decisions.
Be wet, safely wet.