Uncle Pug once bubbled...
Does your *puter* (whatever that is Seajay has one too)
<snip>
No, I have a
'puter. I do not have a
puter. The difference is the apostrophe. That symbol, in the English language means that something has been left out, or shortened, on purpose. The same rule makes the word's "can't," "don't," and "won't" valid words as well.
Of course, since the English language is a constantly growing language (which would otherwise be dead and uninspired), the creation of new words are not only permittable, but desireable, especially when describing a new device or action. Without this characteristic of modern language, words such as "email" and "netiquette" would never have been created, either.
In fact, for someone to create a word such as "puter" and then use it, without ever having explained it or defined it, (yet still express the meaning of the word wonderfully) borders on brilliance. We all knew exactly what he meant, and we all knew exactly how to pronounce the word. It was brilliantly executed... And we all "got it" when he used it.
The implications of using the word "puter" go even further... By using the word, he implied that he belonged to a cultural group familiar with computers enough to call them "puters." He implied an intimate association between himself and the electronic device. He also implied that he was "hip" enough to use the word, and "modern" enough to use the word correctly. To boot, he managed to shorten a word, thereby creating simultaneously less work in writing it and less work in reading it.
Likely, too, his use of the word "puter" probably means that he has participated in other discussions in the past where a computer was referred to as a 'puter... Which implies that he is educated on the discussions about 'puters as well.
In one word, he managed to imply education, hipness, familiararity, and social association. Not many other words could have implied so much with so little said.
Brilliant, I say.
That must really be a cool device... how does it work and where do you get them?
I am sooo tempted, at this point, to use a little Adobe magic to create a sort of Spare Air/Puter thingie ("thingie" is not really a word, either) and post it, just to joke around with you.
Fact is, most divers do not plan their dives the way they are "supposed" to... I think you would agree with me on that factoid (another "new" word). I would argue, too, that there are more people who "dive their computer" than who "dive their plan."
That said, how then can the statistically low occurrence of DCS or OOA emergencies be explained?
My point is that while there is no device that's going to suddenly give you more air/gas than before (as you jokingly described), the implication that this statistically increases the chance of an OOA is unsupported. Common sense tells us that not diving the plan increases risk... But even with all of the *horrible* things going on out there, diving is still a very safe activity.
I'm not saying that we should all forget the plan... Or dive deco without knowing what's going on. I don't feel that way at all... All I'm saying is that these sort of comments can give a reader the impression that if you don't dive a certain way, you're going to die... And that's just not statistically supported.
I liken it to wearing your seat belt... Of course it's safer to wear it than not wear it... And everyone should. But I truly believe that there are more problems caused by safety zealots and "save the children" yellers (another made-up word) regarding safety belt laws than by the non-belt-wearing (another) public.
If the general idea of scuba diving is FUN (and let's face it... Isn't that the point?) then anything NOT FUN is detracting from it. While death certainly would be the most NOT FUN activity that I can think of, there is also a lot of NOT FUN going on when people preach or impose their ideas of "safety" on others.
...For that matter, I likewise consider the word "puter" FUN... And applaud the use of it.
Of course, you're entitled to your own opinion.
And while I'm asking questions... is your signature line a reference to micro bubbles and/or DCS? 
I know you were kidding, UP, but I don't think that gkwaldee had much FUN with your comment.
