Double hose modifications

Well, I decided to rebuild one of my Healthways single stage regulators recently, and add a few improvements in while I was at it. The air from the Healthways comes out of the valve body at a 90 degree angle to the lengthwise direction of the lever assembly. I first had a machine shop drill and tap a new set of holes which would place the air flow towards the inhalation port. I then took a 1.5 inch washer, drilled a set of mounting holes and used a dremel to cut a flap, which I bent upwards slightly to block the air on the opposite side of the valve body and direct the stream into the hose, hopefully creating a nice venturi effect.

A scary proposition

If this is remotely true, then the White House is considering using nuclear weapons against Iran. This insanity is spiralling out of control.

Record Coral die offs

According to this article, the coral reefs are dying off. Go reef diving now, cause at this rate, it won't be long.

Brrrrrrr

Man, and I get whiny over 40 degree water.

Glad we invaded that country

A man is currently on trial in Afghanistan for the crime of converting to Christianity. I'm glad we helped install such a tolerant and non-violent regime there. And who says that Islam is not a religion of peace?

What we have here is a lack of trust

You know, I voted for Bush twice. I didn't like his foreign policy, especially his war, but I considered him better than his opponents. Perhaps I was wrong. Bush has just reinterated his support for the doctrine of pre-emptive strikes. This is not sane foreign policy. I also disagree with how the Jose Padilla case was handled. If you can charge a man with a crime, then do it. If not, set him free. End of story. I am appalled by the almost complete lack of regard that this administration has for liberty and justice. Unless something radically changes, the Republican party has lost my vote for the foreseeable future.

Update: In an interesting twist, Iran is backing down and indicating that it wants to open talks with the US on it's nukes.

Thieves and divers

It's sad that some divers can't see the value of historical wrecks. I admit, the idea of cracking open some underwater treasure is tempting. But, do that, and the whole diving community
is all the poorer for it.

what the kids are up to

Time for a quick family update.
Phillip has learned how to ride without training wheels.

Tyler just turned 5. He asked for a Godzilla
theme. Have you any idea how hard it is to find Godzilla party stuff?


Jonathan is just plain onery.

Hey, it's the year of Linux on the Desktop! Again!

Well, Novell seems to think that they can break Microsoft's monopoly with the new version of Suse. Color me skeptical, but I think until someone kills X or overhauls it, and pushes for a real underlying conformity to Linux distributions, we won't see the giant fall. Xegl is a promising step. I've been tinkering with porting Y to the egl rendering model. If I ever get some more free time to get some of my code cleaned up, I'll post it.

Vintage Diving

One of my interests is vintage diving. That's simply diving with vintage style equipment, such as double hose regulators and horsecollar style bouyancy compensators. It also entails the use of older style techniques, with an emphasis on training and fitness instead of using your gear to overcome training deficiencies.

There are several annual meets which focus on this facet of diving, one of those being the Sand Dog meet in Ocala, Florida. A few of us will be diving prior to the main meet at Destin, FL. If you are interested in this sort of diving, log onto the Vintage Double Hose forum, and get more information.

Furry Lobsters

The sea is an amazing place. Where else would you find a "furry lobster"?

Hello

Well, it's been awhile since I had a blog. I happened to run across an old link on google to my last one. Time for a new one.

Currently, workwise, I am doing Perl coding for a company in California. Some cool stuff I haven't got to play with before, like chart generation from DBD::Chart. Hacking on GNATS right now.

In a couple of weeks, I'll be doing some vintage diving in Florida. I've got 95% of my gear assembled. Part of my excitement is the fact that I get to see some of my old stomping grounds. I've got my DA Aquamaster rebuilt, and tuned up.

I'm getting ready to throw my old GS550 on ebay. Maybe, since I am getting real paychecks now, I will be able to purchase a bike that fits me a little better. We'll see. I'd rather dive than ride, so for now, bikes take a backseat to my favorite hobby.