Go deep, stay long

Backyard macro

It has almost nothing to do with diving, but it is a lot of fun.   Water conditions have not been conducive to photography of late, so I just wanted to take some shots to keep up the camera skills.   Once the heat broke a bit, I headed into the back yard for practice.  Val has been very busy with the garden this year, so there is a lot blooming.   Even the frogs in our pond came out and posed for a while.

Working with various lenses, and waiting for the right light angles, makes for some interesting shots…

Well, I find them interesting.

Click on the image for a quick slide show.

Each year the Dina Dee II has a crew day and BBQ.  This year was as fun as usual.  However it was a little hotter than most.   The dive was my standard 2 hour dip on an inshore wreck.  No flat fish this year, but a few lobster, and a lot of anchors came up.   I only send up the new anchors with price tags attached.   Others sent up some rust.   Either way.  It was a fun dive, and a great BBQ.   Lobsters and seabass were put on the grill, and there was even a beer or two passed around.

A great group of divers, and some of the most friendly captains and crew around.   A good time is always had on this boat, and I get to see my family on the way home.   What else could you ask for.

2010 BBQ

Some good friends invited us to a brunch at a local Cuban restaurant in the area.   When we parked, we walked past an open air street and deck that brought to mind many a Caribbean bistros.

Between Val and myself, we had one of the best brunches we’ve ever experienced.   The food was out of the world.   It was very simple yet bright with fresh ingredients, and fantastic combinations.   It’s hard to describe how such simple flavors can be so “out of this world”.   We’ve been to all kinds of fancy/expensive restaurants, but this was so simple, and soooooo good.    Just so fresh!   It was exceptional.

On top of all this, the servers dealt with a bunch of SCUBA divers (not a small feat).  They were also exceptional in their work.   A fantastic experience!

Afterward, we headed out to have an afternoon at the pool.   On the way to the pool, many had made various sidetracks that will remain unmentioned….

Somewhere along the lines, at the pool, we ended up playing some card games that ended up with interesting clothing configurations.   Let’s just leave it at that.

All in all, a great day with great food and hospitality shared with some great friends and dive buddies.

Back in my collage days, my parents owned a place up in New Hampshire. My dad had built a summer cottage on a hillside with a gorgeous view of Mount Washington (the tallest peak in the Northeast). After taking up skiing, I went up there during the winter breaks to hit some of the slopes just 15 minutes away. As a summer cottage, it was not well insulated. The strategic purchase of a quality sleeping bag made the stay tolerable. On one trip, we found out that gasoline will not evaporate below -45 degrees (F). How did we determine this? It was -45 degrees and the cars would not start. Once the sun came up a little higher in the sky the temps soared to a sweltering 20 below.

After surviving these winter trips, the sleeping bag has stayed with me for years. It has came in very handy. One weekend, I decided to stay on board, and the temp outside dropped to around 20 degrees. A few other crew members had also decided to stay the night, and seemed to be more affected by the cold. Keep in mind that a boats fiberglass hull does not have much insulation. If you’re planning on staying on a boat overnight, make sure you have the proper gear for the task.

The same can be said about keeping warm underwater. A quality wetsuit or drysuit / undergarment will keep you warm! This past weekend I was diving in 38 degree water for over an hour. I was comfortable the whole time. Other divers were complaining of about the cold. If you purchase the proper gear, and maintain the gear properly, it should keep you warm, and last for years.

This was a weekend of rain and high winds. Between rain storms, I was able to sneak in some yard work (we have this weird green stuff all over the yard, and it’s not algae).  After said yard work, I’m proud to announce that I have the largest leaf pill on the block. Even though much of it blew back onto my yard last night. There were also some indoor tasks on the “honey do” list, but after it all, I was still bored, bored, bored. While my wife watched Jimmy Johnson drive his way into history, I jumped on the computer, and performed a few upgrades to the website.

• Upgraded application servers
• Changed themes
• Added a “comment filtering” (now I don’t have to dig through 50 + spams a day)
• Added Gallery software
• Reformatted the more recent posts to use the Gallery viewer
• Updated the reporting
• Installed RSS feed software (to be displayed once I’ve worked out the theme)

With the time remaining I created an online store for another site (opening soon).

I apologize if this caused any odd behavior over the weekend (not me, the web site).

I’m still trying to figure out the best way to integrate the photo galleries into the site. I like having the images in with the text, of the individual dive descriptions, but the slide show does not link in as well as I would like. It might have to be a “click here for the gallery” scheme, but I’ll keep working on it. Personally, I’d prefer if the slide show appeared in a new window, rather than redrawing the screen.  It just does not seem to fit right to me.

However, now that it is gallery based, it’s much easier to upload images.  I’ve got more shots to integrate in. It was just difficult to do before.

Check the gallery slideshow