I've been hanging around on Scubaboard for a couple of years now and I spend most of my time just talking. For a change I want to take a moment to thank a few people who have made an impression on me and to let these people know that I was also paying attention.
I'm taking a risk doing this because there are definitely people who I will forget. Please don't take it personally if I missed you and rest assured that I learn something from everyone and that the invaluable sense of community on scubaboard flows out of the contributions of every single one of us.
I'm hoping to do this in some kind of alphabetical order. It's bound to become a long rambling post but i hope some of you will find it interesting. :
Archman;
I love the "Name that Critter" section and I've learned a lot by listening to you. There are others who have vast knowledge about marine life but somehow the teacher in you "talks" to the student in me.
Amanda;
Serious & introspective. Your openness is tantalizing but incomplete. The wondrous depth and breadth of your personality are transparent even through the murk of the written medium. I missed you when you were gone and I'm happy you're back.
biscuit7;
You make an impression on me. Your quirky sense of humor love of life make you 3-dimensional to me. Your friends are lucky to have someone like you in their lives.
boomx5;
Demanding, perfectionist but clear-headed. One of the DIR crew who don't think that the rest of the world is make up of wannabe's and idiots. You give me hope.
CancunMark;
Sharp, efficient and self-confident. Indoctrinated into PADI to the 9th degree. In some ways everything I want to be and an some ways nothing I want to be. You've taught me to appreciate the possibilities that the system offers. The Girl in Panic pictures will stay with me forever.
Dee;
Your photos are outstanding. You're one of those down-to-earth members who reminds me of how absurd one-up-man-ship is.
Doc Intrepid;
I think you might literally be better at everything than I am. You're like the black-belt that we all aspire to be.
El Orans;
In the four stages of competence you are all over the map. In some ways the teacher, in some ways the student, in some ways just talking to yourself out loud. I enjoyed diving with you. You have passion and ambition. A winner.
freediver;
Your screen-name implies that you must be insane but you're asset in every sense of the word to this community. You have a wonderful balance of passion and clear-headedness.
H2Andy;
You're hilarious. It seems to me that you could care less if I lived or died but the feeling is not mutual.
JBD;
It's been 5 months and counting. I miss you.
Lightningfish;
I love you, man.
Mania;
Straightforward take-it-or-leave-it honesty. So many people on the internet are fakes. You are not. I hope to meet you some day.
MikeFerrara;
What can I say....I've never met you but you're as much of a mentor to me as any "real" person could be. Your uncompromising rejection of the incomplete, imperfect and incompetent is a constant challenge to my tendency to accept these things as human nature. You push me (and many others, I think) to be sharp, focused and demanding. Without people like you, progress would be something we put off until tomorrow. I would love to dive with you although I would be very much afraid of letting you down.
NetDoc;
Oddly, despite the many things you've written, the things that I remember the best are the sea-horse races and the down-and-dirty cat-fight with Genesis. The fight with Genesis was amusing but the sea-horse races will be with me forever.
NWGratefuldiver;
Thoughtful, analytical, a team-player pure-song. This community is incomplete without you.
ShakaZulu;
You're the class clown. You're never serious about anything, which makes me realise how much I'm overly serious about everything..... I read most of your posts. I never get anything relevant out of them but they always make me think "I wish I'd hae thought of that...."
SubMariner;
If you were a chocolate then Forest Gump would describe you not as 'you never know what you might get' but as 'you never expect what you get'. You're one of my favorite people on scuba board and I read your posts with great interest, not only for the content of the posts but for interest in the person that wrote them.
Uncle Pug;
There is something transcendental about you. The human element, the technical element and the spiritual element all wrapped into one. You're an enigma but a very interesting one to me.
Walter;
I first wrote you off as an arrogant PADI basher but after listening (and believe me it was not easy) I started to realize that your skill as an instructor is second to none. Your hatred of PADI still shows through in everything you write but you have a lot to offer to newbies like me and I appreciate that you take the time to say it over and over again.
R..
I'm taking a risk doing this because there are definitely people who I will forget. Please don't take it personally if I missed you and rest assured that I learn something from everyone and that the invaluable sense of community on scubaboard flows out of the contributions of every single one of us.
I'm hoping to do this in some kind of alphabetical order. It's bound to become a long rambling post but i hope some of you will find it interesting. :
Archman;
I love the "Name that Critter" section and I've learned a lot by listening to you. There are others who have vast knowledge about marine life but somehow the teacher in you "talks" to the student in me.
Amanda;
Serious & introspective. Your openness is tantalizing but incomplete. The wondrous depth and breadth of your personality are transparent even through the murk of the written medium. I missed you when you were gone and I'm happy you're back.
biscuit7;
You make an impression on me. Your quirky sense of humor love of life make you 3-dimensional to me. Your friends are lucky to have someone like you in their lives.
boomx5;
Demanding, perfectionist but clear-headed. One of the DIR crew who don't think that the rest of the world is make up of wannabe's and idiots. You give me hope.
CancunMark;
Sharp, efficient and self-confident. Indoctrinated into PADI to the 9th degree. In some ways everything I want to be and an some ways nothing I want to be. You've taught me to appreciate the possibilities that the system offers. The Girl in Panic pictures will stay with me forever.
Dee;
Your photos are outstanding. You're one of those down-to-earth members who reminds me of how absurd one-up-man-ship is.
Doc Intrepid;
I think you might literally be better at everything than I am. You're like the black-belt that we all aspire to be.
El Orans;
In the four stages of competence you are all over the map. In some ways the teacher, in some ways the student, in some ways just talking to yourself out loud. I enjoyed diving with you. You have passion and ambition. A winner.
freediver;
Your screen-name implies that you must be insane but you're asset in every sense of the word to this community. You have a wonderful balance of passion and clear-headedness.
H2Andy;
You're hilarious. It seems to me that you could care less if I lived or died but the feeling is not mutual.
JBD;
It's been 5 months and counting. I miss you.
Lightningfish;
I love you, man.
Mania;
Straightforward take-it-or-leave-it honesty. So many people on the internet are fakes. You are not. I hope to meet you some day.
MikeFerrara;
What can I say....I've never met you but you're as much of a mentor to me as any "real" person could be. Your uncompromising rejection of the incomplete, imperfect and incompetent is a constant challenge to my tendency to accept these things as human nature. You push me (and many others, I think) to be sharp, focused and demanding. Without people like you, progress would be something we put off until tomorrow. I would love to dive with you although I would be very much afraid of letting you down.
NetDoc;
Oddly, despite the many things you've written, the things that I remember the best are the sea-horse races and the down-and-dirty cat-fight with Genesis. The fight with Genesis was amusing but the sea-horse races will be with me forever.
NWGratefuldiver;
Thoughtful, analytical, a team-player pure-song. This community is incomplete without you.
ShakaZulu;
You're the class clown. You're never serious about anything, which makes me realise how much I'm overly serious about everything..... I read most of your posts. I never get anything relevant out of them but they always make me think "I wish I'd hae thought of that...."
SubMariner;
If you were a chocolate then Forest Gump would describe you not as 'you never know what you might get' but as 'you never expect what you get'. You're one of my favorite people on scuba board and I read your posts with great interest, not only for the content of the posts but for interest in the person that wrote them.
Uncle Pug;
There is something transcendental about you. The human element, the technical element and the spiritual element all wrapped into one. You're an enigma but a very interesting one to me.
Walter;
I first wrote you off as an arrogant PADI basher but after listening (and believe me it was not easy) I started to realize that your skill as an instructor is second to none. Your hatred of PADI still shows through in everything you write but you have a lot to offer to newbies like me and I appreciate that you take the time to say it over and over again.
R..
