Today!

[DivemasterDennis]

I too do not believe a single word of dumpster's post. It's like a fictional fact pattern professors made up as exam questions when I was in law school that invariably ended with the directive "discuss all issues." To discuss all of the issues in dumpster's post would be too exhausting. I am going to watch the football playoffs instead.
DivemasterDennis

 

[dmoore19]

I think this is the meat of the post. Anyone who has taken a 15 year old out for a drive can handle the dive described with no problem. Riding with a 15 year old learning to drive ain't for wussies.

But did I mention the scary part of the day? I let him practice driving on I-95 on the way to the dive. Damn if the 15 yr old didn’t drift across a lane, over corrected in the wrong direction (as I provided strong vocalizations), and just missed clipping another car at 60 mph. Driving scares me sometimes.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I do the same thing on shallow water shore dives in areas I know well. If I were going to use a computer I would also be using a watch and depth gauge to back that up.

... that's the DIR approach.

Do you also eschew an SPG in favor of a J-valve? After all, when you learned how to dive, that's how it was done.

Do you still type on a manual Underwood typewriter instead of a computer and keyboard? Dunno about you, but that's how I learned how to type.

Do you still drive around in an old Chevy with three on the column? Wouldn't want to grow dependent on a modern car with an automatic transmission and power steering, after all.

Personally, I embrace technology. It doesn't by any means imply that I've grown dependent on it, or couldn't live without it. It means, simply, that I consider it silly to live in the past and do things the same way they were done decades ago.

Being "old-school" doesn't by any stretch make you the superior diver ... it just means you didn't have those things available when you learned how to dive.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

---------- Post added January 19th, 2014 at 09:18 AM ----------

I too do not believe a single word of dumpster's post. It's like a fictional fact pattern professors made up as exam questions when I was in law school that invariably ended with the directive "discuss all issues." To discuss all of the issues in dumpster's post would be too exhausting. I am going to watch the football playoffs instead.
DivemasterDennis

... a good story doesn't have to be true ... it simply has to be entertaining. Personally, I like DD's stories ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Rich Keller]

I have no problem embracing technology, my point is that most become so dependent on it that they can no longer function without it and that puts them at greater risk when diving. Being old school may not make me a better diver but it dose make me more versatile and less dependent. It is a Ford pickup by the way, I shift my own gears, hand crank down the windows and have to reach all the way over to the radio to change the station. That does not mean that I can not drive my wife's car that has every button and gadget imaginable only that I am capable of doing without if needed.

 

[redacted]

Personally, I embrace technology. It doesn't by any means imply that I've grown dependent on it, or couldn't live without it. It means, simply, that I consider it silly to live in the past and do things the same way they were done decades ago.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

That is great as long as you can recognize the difference between technology that actually provides the user a useful performance advantage, technology that reduces production cost, and technology that simply serves as an excuse to increase retail prices.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

Too bad I didn't let the head cam run the whole dive. This is the Hero 3 plus with a head strap - no filter.

[video=youtube_share;tJYxrv6nNQA]http://youtu.be/tJYxrv6nNQA[/video]

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

That is great as long as you can recognize the difference between technology that actually provides the user a useful performance advantage, technology that reduces production cost, and technology that simply serves as an excuse to increase retail prices.

Does it really matter? Sometimes we forget that we're talking about a recreational activity here ... something we do to make us happy. If buying a pink "dry" snorkel makes you happy, who cares whether you actually need it or not?

You can sit back and make arguments all day about whether people really need convenience features, whether it's the air-integrated computer, the mask with a HUD display, the BCD with the elevator button, or any number of other features that are completely unnecessary, but attract a certain audience. And in the end the only relevant argument comes down to whether or not it makes the buyer happy.

I'll grant that it's not a good idea to rely on a dive computer without understanding what the numbers are telling you ... or without some kind of bailout plan if it fails. But the arguments about not "needing" a given piece of equipment usually boil down to "I wouldn't use it, therefore you don't need it either" ... which is little more than chest-thumping.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[krawlings]

I too do not believe a single word of dumpster's post. It's like a fictional fact pattern professors made up as exam questions when I was in law school that invariably ended with the directive "discuss all issues." To discuss all of the issues in dumpster's post would be too exhausting. I am going to watch the football playoffs instead.
DivemasterDennis

That is what I am dong .GO BRONCOS

 

[Doc]

I let him practice driving on I-95 on the way to the dive.

That's just plain crazy.

 

[jadairiii]

You're not really an instructor are you?