Dante and diving - 2010

In this new year of 2010 I would like to open up the basic discussion Dante and diving to see if the New Year has given you pause to think about humanity and the place of scuba divers in it.

Specifically, this thread is stimulated by the existence of Dale Harry Batt (DOB: 12.19.1962) who is an avid scuba diver, and, according to http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/no...ver-arrest-warrant-dale-batt-please-read.html , a wife-beater and torturer.

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/attachments/non-diving-related-stuff/67523d1257602360-scuba-diver-arrest-warrant-dale-batt-please-read-dale-batt-1.jpg

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/attachments/non-diving-related-stuff/67524d1257602349-scuba-diver-arrest-warrant-dale-batt-please-read-dale-batt-2.jpg

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/attachments/non-diving-related-stuff/67525d1257602369-scuba-diver-arrest-warrant-dale-batt-please-read-dale-batt-3.jpg

My reflections as a diver in this New Year is that I am struck at how well Dante describes Hell for those who are guilty of sins of violence (wife-beating and torture surely qualify) - of Hell's nine circles, the seventh is reserved for those who committed violence against people and property. In this circle, sinners guilty of violence are immersed in Phlegethon, a river of boiling blood, to a level commensurate with their sins. I wonder to myself - what would the implications of Dante's Divine Comedy be for Dale Batt?

I dearly do not want to see this thread relegated to "non-diving related." Thus, in addition to posing a question about humanity and the place of scuba divers in it (and in addition to drawing your attention to Dale Batt), I would like to ask your opinion - If you were diving in the river Phlegethon, what kind of gear would you use? Split fins or jets? A rebreather, or tanks? Doubles, or singles? Air, nitrox, or trimix? A computer, or tables? Why?

MODs - although the question may be hypothetical, it surely deserves the weight and attention that the basic scuba diving forum affords.

Cheers, and happy 2010!

mpetryk:

I dearly do not want to see this thread relegated to "non-diving related."

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Obviosly this belongs on one of the gear forums

:d

Someone here has a mental problem.

RJP:

Obviosly this belongs on one of the gear forums

:d

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I must respectfully disagree - the discussion also pertains to dive physiology. For example, the diving would clearly be taking place at a low elevation (below sea level at any rate) and the diving medium is of a higher density than salt water. The risk of nitrogen narcosis is therefore likely to be increased over that of diving in the sea (given the circumstances not a bad outcome), but the risk of the bends is not as great (assuming prompt arrival and submersion, therefore no time for N2 equilibration) since tables are designed for surfacing to atmospheric pressure at sea level.

Food for thought.

Garrobo:

Someone here has a mental problem.

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If you refer to the OP, I have never made any claims to the contrary.

Oh, and thanks for referring to "mental problem" in the singular

Newt suit.

I'd be in a woollen wetsuit, wool stops fire right? Phlegethon is the fire river I thought... not the bloody one.

Nitrox all the way. Even if Im in hell.

Cabin fever in Canada?

dkktsunami:

Cabin fever in Canada?

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All work and no play makes Jack a....