Not within the realms of sanity

[ronski101]

IF this story is true, we can all throw away our computers and tables and dive pretty much as deep and as long as we want without worry. All we need is a spare half filled bottle and reg tied off at 20 ft. Good reading though.

 

[archman]

Here it is.
It's f...ing hilarious: "Hypothermia-induced Tourette Syndrom"

"It feels like we're swimming in piss."

Now that's classic.

 

[Ice9]

Here it is.
It's f...ing hilarious: "Hypothermia-induced Tourette Syndrom"

Bahaha! That was so funny I had to watch it twice!!!

 

[tridacna]

No, he isn't. And of course the notorious "Hypothermia-induced Tourette Syndrom" documentary features him in the starring role.

Richard is one of the most brilliant ichthyologists around. No question. So was JLB Smith. I have read both their work. But Prof Smith never (almost) died chasing the coelacanth!! Some of Pyle's exploits are just plain suicidal. The second major hit far more so than the first. Because he KNEW and he wasn't a teenager that time. It's NEVER worth taking a hit for a bagged fish. Even if you lose naming rights. That's why I call him crazy.

That video is hilarious.

 

[archman]

It's NEVER worth taking a hit for a bagged fish. Even if you lose naming rights. That's why I call him crazy.

Oh come on, you haven't met a scientist that wasn't obsessive about their field of study? Pyle just happens to get his scary stuff caught on video. Good popcorn stuff, that.

Hell, if we talked about half of the fruity stuff we've done in the field or lab, we'd end up hip-deep in OSHA forms... or worse.

Pyle's also "old school". Successive generations are bigger pansies.

 

[tridacna]

Actually, I had a clam named for me!

 

[mello-yellow]

Richard Pyle is one of the great pioneers of diving. His risk tolerance and willingness to experiment with his own body for the sake of discovering new deep coral reef species is beyond belief. Alot of what has become SOP in today's technical diving was first tried by him. E.g. he practically invented the deep stop.

"Practically"? I thought he did invent it, against all the conventional wisdom of the time.

 

[deepreef]

Hi All,

I happened to be surfing the web this evening (errr...very early this morning...), and stumbled on this thread. I want to start by thanking everyone for the very and various kind words! I also wanted to remark on a couple of items:

Richard Pyle should be here in May, i should get to meet him i hope.

Hi, Mike! I'm looking forward to meeting you when we get there (probably more like late April). Do you happen to know where Brian is right now? If so, tell him to check his email! (I'm guessing -- based on your locale and knowledge of our plans -- that you know him??)

http://www.deepcaves.net/diving/confessions_II.html

Thanks for that! I took the time to read it again for the first time since I wrote it, and frankly it scared the wee-wee out of me (again). A good reminder of a good reminder.

IF this story is true,

Scout's Honor!

It's NEVER worth taking a hit for a bagged fish. Even if you lose naming rights. That's why I call him crazy.

Two things:
1) I couldn't agree more with the first two sentences! Though I am as candid as I can be about my mistakes, I am happy to report that ...well....there's not much to report along those lines since 1998. Lotsa new fishes, though.

2) Regarding the last sentence, I once wrote an article describing the differences between "brave", "crazy" and "stupid"; and the conclusion was unambiguously that my endeavors fell squarely into the "crazy" category. Thus, I again couldn't agree more.

"Practically"? I thought he did invent it, against all the conventional wisdom of the time.

There is NO WAY I can accept credit for "inventing" deep stops. Yes, it was true that I discovered them for myself, in the sense that nobody ever told me about them; and yes, it is also true that it was against the conventional wisdom of the time -- but only if you restrict "conventional" in this context to what most recreational divers and instructors were thinking. The fact is, harvest divers in the Torres Strait and Mediterranean (and no-doubt elsewhere) had figured them out on their own long before I was ever diving (indeed, before I was born). Several noteworthy publications discussed them early on (Brian Hills' work on divers in the Torres Strait -- leading to the thermodynamic approach to decompression, and David Yount's development of the VPM model come to mind). If I should get credit for anything (no, I did not coin the name "Pyle Stops" -- that was something Will Smithers started), it would be that I happened to write a short article on the subject at a time when technical divers were ready to think about it.

Gad Zooks! Look at the time. Must sleep.

Aloha,
Rich

P.S. Now, what's all this stuff about "Tourette Syndrome" that people keep emailing me about? I'm sure I don't know what any of them are talking about.... :54:

P.P.S. Jesus, there are a lot of emoticon options on this forum!

 

[genenaples]

Great Read - Dive Safe!

 

[heliflyer]

deepreef,
Glad you found us here on SB. I'ts nice to see real icons of the industry on the board.
I hope you visit more often and give us some of your great insights on diving,dcs,etc.

Lanny