Horrible Divers Everywhere?

[NAUI Wowie]

I don't think it has anyone scratching their heads. When I got certified I paid to become a diver, AOW was to become a better diver. It was sold as such, but the fact is that's not what was sold. I didn't know any different at the time.

It's not that I mind spending money, it's that I do mind getting bamboozled. I have very expensive plastic in my wallet that as says so. The 3 basics (trim, buoyancy, and propulsion) were glazed over in my class but I didn't know. I remember them signaling "stay horizontal". How tf can I stay horizontal when my ass has 22 lbs and my top has nothing, lol? I said multiple times I don't think my weight is in the right spot....but I didn't know. I just listened to the DM and was pushed through the class.

I'm not upset about the money, heck I have a few things around my house that I look at and think ???? but I don't know what I don't know...all an experience, but I do wish I could say a good one.

my aow was 200 bucks. thats 4 hours of work for most people in california where im at. how many hours of work did it take for an equivilent to an aow card say in the 80s. id guess a heck of a lot more. lot of people saying its expensive for a nitrox or aow card on this thread and thats in a sport where good dive computers are 1000 bucks and great regs are 1500

perspective needed. you are in a rich mans sport whether you admit it or not. even if you can do it cheap trust me its a rich mans game if you include the travel and destinations and all the equipment.

 

[AfterDark]

ok so you are basing the cost on your memory of 1960s pricing. THAT explains everything.

I get it...in the early 90s i could buy a house in san jose CA for $110,000 ...now that same house is about 1.5 million dollars. Literally.

based on THAT an AOW card should probably cost you about 5 thousand dollars.

if you are as old as you say you are you should have perspective on costs and inflation. I know I do and im no spring chicken.

In another post I guessed my 1968 training cost about $1000.00 in todays money. I'm well aware of inflation. The AWO and nitrox courses were overpriced at any price because both were worthless to me. I got nothing from either except two cards that I seldom use. I have yet to use the nitrox card. After using nitrox a couple of times locally I found I derive no tangible benefit from it . The AWO card I used twice in 2011 on a charter then in 2013 another charter. 99% of my diving is shore diving where there is nobody to show a AWO card to. All sports these days are for the rich with the possible exception of basketball.

 

[AfterDark]

there was more violence back then just no cell phones or internet to advertize the fact. that and presidents getting assassinated with everyone pretending they dont know what happened....yea..... much kinder gentler less violent time the 60s compared to now......

There was? I remember my mother walking to the market and back without fear of violence. Kids would be able to play out side until the street lights came on without fear of going missing. Not saying this stuff didn't happen then but not on the scale it does today. The mass killings certainly were not as numerous as now. People were simply not as fearful as they are today. There have been no peaceful times in the history of mankind.

 

[chillyinCanada]

Because we're worth it

So there you have it. Don't need bpw or Shearwater, lol

 

[EireDiver606]

Now wonder people move on to tec. It's to get tf away from the masses?

One of the reasons I’m moving towards the tech route with GUE early on is because I want to get away from McDonald’s type diving, complacency, and the sheep mindset that goes along with that.

 

[chillyinCanada]

Uh oh, in coming!!!

 

[AfterDark]

One of the reasons I’m moving towards the tech route with GUE early on is because I want to get away from McDonald’s type diving, complacency, and the sheep mindset that goes along with that.

That is a big part of the reason I solo dive, peace and quiet at a site of my choosing. And if I see a crowd coming I can hide behind a rock until they pass.

 

[JHumbert15]

define "overpriced advanced card and expensive nitrox card"

The very beginning of your post makes people scratch their heads ....

you do realize scuba diving is ultra expensive compared to activities like jogging and tennis correct?

I don't think people are scratching their heads. It's more a comment about how some ops require the AOW card, so people HAVE to take the course and get the card. Just having that card doesn't make you a better diver, as you may be aware. There are threads on here that go into that exact point. People with an OW card and 100 dives are probably better than an AOW card with 70 dives. The AOW card is just one to have to 'prove' you're a better diver. That may not be the case in some circumstances. It's just something that's required to look like you're experienced. I can promise that's not always the case.

- Jake

 

[Bob DBF]

ok so you are basing the cost on your memory of 1960s pricing. THAT explains everything.

I get it...in the early 90s i could buy a house in san jose CA for $110,000 ...now that same house is about 1.5 million dollars. Literally.

based on THAT an AOW card should probably cost you about 5 thousand dollars.

Looking at prices of housing in a paticular place and time is not an indication of inflation of the dollar in the country as a whole. An example could be housing prices in Detroit and finding a different answer.

Try this:
$200 in 1968 → 2019 | Inflation Calculator




Bob

 

[CT-Rich]

There was? I remember my mother walking to the market and back without fear of violence. Kids would be able to play out side until the street lights came on without fear of going missing. Not saying this stuff didn't happen then but not on the scale it does today. The mass killings certainly were not as numerous as now. People were simply not as fearful as they are today. There have been no peaceful times in the history of mankind.

Not better, different. If you were a black guy dating a white woman in the sixties, it was a lot different. Being openly gay and trying to report getting beat up? A nice cop would ask you why you set yourself up like that and a mean one might arrest you. People (read minorities) were expected to stay in their lane, this was true in the north and the south. Redlining of neighborhoods was legal and common. Public lynchings occurred well into the 1950s.

The wide spread availability of cars and guns have changed things, too. More guns and easy access to the suburbs have had an impact. It was safe for you growing up because you were white suburban. If you were a black kid wanting to move into suburbia or go to a white college or get a traditionally white job, your experience may have been considerably different.