How I lost 6 pounds overnight @ Kohala Divers Ltd.
My Henderson Gold Core lasted me 8 years before the zipper broke in the middle of our trip here on the Big Island. The folks at Kohala Divers had told me about their new Lava Core neutrally buoyant suits that seemed more like a liner for a dry suit than a wet suit. I tried two sizes the XL and L, I'm 6' 2" 185 pounds give or take, at first I thought the XL was the right size due to the way it felt on me in the shop, the Large felt to snug initially but after looking at the sizing chart I decided that would be the correct one for me. Now the next step, how much weight can I shed using an Aluminum 80,,,,, after talking with the always helpful folks at the shop I decided to go from the 14 pounds I had been using to 10,,,,,, no problem with the 10, the next dive I went down to 8 again no problem and was able to have better buoyancy control from 10 ft to the surface than I ever had before and that was with the Aluminum 80 with under 500 pounds. So I decided to go one step further, 6 pounds, I can honestly say I've never felt so in control of my buoyancy in the water before, just loving it, same thing on the shallow diving, great control under 500 pounds of air between 10 ft and the surface . Ok I did try to go to 4 pounds and I can say that was fine until I got down to about 700 pounds and I was pretty much turned into a snorkeler. It's a lot lighter than the neoprene, the inside is a soft comfy fleece material. I don't know what the outside material is, I have knelt down a couple of times in the rock and sand on a couple of shore dive exits and it doesn't seem to have left a mark on it. The only thing I could think of and maybe there is a reason they didn't do it would be to put some type of rubber on the knee area. I've got about 6 dives with the Lava Core now and am very impressed. One other thing that is different is the zipper is in front, going on it's sooooooooooooooo easy,taking it off seems a little difficult pulling it off my shoulders, but it's very doable without assistance. You can't just let it hang down like most traditional suits, but if you sort of loop the arms of the suit around each other in front it stays like that just fine.... Did I mention how comfortable it feels compared to a traditional suit, well it's very comfy. It's also a lot warmer than I thought it would be, my Henderson Gold Core 3mm was pretty warm, this if it's not as warm it's within 85 to 95 percent as warm. The one word of caution I would have is to make sure you get the right size, if it doesn't feel to tight in the shop, it's to big for you. Another thing is it's a lot more flexible and your movement is NOT restricted near as much as with a traditional neoprene suit.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Dive Report 6/13/2011 Puako, Big Island, Hawaii
We went out at Paniau aka End of the Road at Puako about 9am, hadn't been there in a few days. As usual an easy entry, with my new wet suit I tried using just 4 pounds of weight, going down no problem at the beginning of the dive. On the way out on the upper shelf nothing really unusual the normal suspects. I dropped down a little early on the upper shelf instead of the canyon to be sure I could go down with such little weight, I left 4 more pounds on shore near the entry in case I could submerge, but didn't have to go get it. Shortly after entering the Canyon I was looking at the walls to see what was around, I saw a small Yellow Margin Eel looking out the bottom of a coral head that was hanging over the top of the canyon from the upper shelf. got a nice video of that one and saw some little clown fishes, since there were 3 of them together decided to try to get a video of them, they are quite shy and good little hiders, got a few pics of them and noticed a small school of some very bright colored fish about a half inch long or so, got them in the video as well and mixed in with them were some of the smallest baby rock mover fish I've ever seen about an inch long it appeared. Finished up that video and moved on out to the buoy, we had discussed our dive plan before hand and decided we'd go to the first buoy then over to the second one and see if we could find any sharks sleeping in the caves or areas under the reef by the sand. Well no disappointment this day, popped over the coral just before the buoy and there was a white tip about 4 to 5 ft long just resting on the sand. I looked back to let Pam know and she saw it just after i did, I got one still pic and thankfully noticed I had the camera on pic not video mode and switched it over to video mode and slid down closer to the shark as Pam stayed put as not to scare the Sea Kitten away (so she said ), I was able to get about 10 to 15 feet away before it got annoyed and scurried off. We've seen sharks when we've been diving before but this by far was the best shark encounter we've ever had. Here is the Video. Moved out toward the other buoy but didn't see any more sharks. I did see some tangs and Big Eye's in a small cavern and crack in the reef so I began videoing them and followed them into the crack when I noticed a real big thick yellow/goldish oh,,,, it's a big Yellow Margin Eel I could see the gills where it expels the water it takes in and this thing was huge, I just stopped there and watched as the other fish scurried around and one ran into the Eel and he made a real quick move towards the tang which was also toward me,,,, ah, yes it well I'll say startled me, I wish I could have kept the lens pointed toward the Eel longer than i did but you can see his head just before I reacted. We decided to move out a little deeper and away from shore and circle back to our exit, saw a group of fish we see a lot of eating in the sand and I got a video of them and they let me get real close, I should know the name of them but I don't bigger fish that are black with orange/reddish accents. Off of the sand flats and on the thick deep coral I saw Pam about 20 yards ahead of me upside down taking a photo of something, I got a little closer and saw she found a Feather Duster, no wait two Feather Dusters right next to each other moving with the currents as beautiful as can be, I got the video rolling and slowly approached until she backed away and was able to get pretty close to them and captured them retreating back into the safety of the reef they were attached to. Well as I mentioned with my new wet suit I started out with just 4 pounds of weight, I had gone from 14 with my old Henderson Gold Core 3mm to 6 pounds and it worked so good with 6 I thought I should try 4, well after a few minutes of cruising in on the reef at 15 to 20 ft I motioned to Pam to trade Cameras, the video is 2 to 3 pounds of negative buoyancy and her's is pretty neutral, well when she started sinking and I started floating almost uncontrollably to the surfaced I knew 4 pounds wasn't enough weight my Aluminum 80 still had 900 pounds of air and it would only get worse, we both quickly adjusted and I took my camera back and gave her's back and was able to stay down until I got to about 700 pounds and was pretty much reduced to snorkeling back in. On the way back in I saw a Jack and figured the way it was moving it was working with an Eel for a late morning breakfast and sure enough there was the white mouth under him in the reef. I got a video but it's not a great one. I snorkeled the rest of the way into our exit while Pam stayed submerged, we ran, almost literally in to Mary & Sebastian who we've seen a lot this trip, we stopped to talk to them for just a minute as they were heading out. 8 video's and 6 or 7 pretty good ones. All things considered, this was probably one of the best dives of all time for me.
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Attemp at a food/cooking blog
Pam and I were talking this weekend and decided that we will start a food blog this year. We are still deciding on a name and other details. It will consist mostly of what we do and how we go about our preparing our meals. We eat pretty well and keep the cost down. I (Jim) love to cook and try new things. Some of the items we've had so far this year are
New Years Eve, Steamers and a Fillet (fillet courtesy of Kory a very good friend) used manila clams about 3 pounds first I sauteed some onions in EVOO Extra Virgin Olive Oil and butter then added some fresh garlic after it got a little love in the pan with the onions I added some fresh basil and parsley (dried would be fine too) then put in about a cup of wine let it come to a simmer/boil and added the clams and put on the lid until most of the little fellows opened.
New Years day was another food fest Scallops with a new sauce, kind of a sweet sesame balsamic sauce. The scallops were seared on my favorite cast iron pan I'd be happy to provide the details of the sauce if anyone is interested, let me know,,,,, it would have made a bumper taste good.....
Today was total pig out day,,,,, Garbage Omelet,,,,, today's included left over ham, mushroom, onion (onion is a big staple in my cooking, it adds so much base and flavor to almost any dish with a little sauteing, the more it's sauteed the more sweet flavor comes out)some cheddar cheese inside and on the top when it was finished. While I was preparing the omelet I noticed that there was some leftover gravy in the fridge, so I took out one of the frozen chicken fried steaks (yeah it was one of those store bought things,,,,, but I still love em) nuked it for 30 seconds on each side and just as the omelet was finishing up I slid it in a hot pan of canola oil for a minute or so on each side,,,,,,, oh the calories,,, both were outstanding.
I made a small batch of roasted garlic today
New Years Eve, Steamers and a Fillet (fillet courtesy of Kory a very good friend) used manila clams about 3 pounds first I sauteed some onions in EVOO Extra Virgin Olive Oil and butter then added some fresh garlic after it got a little love in the pan with the onions I added some fresh basil and parsley (dried would be fine too) then put in about a cup of wine let it come to a simmer/boil and added the clams and put on the lid until most of the little fellows opened.
New Years day was another food fest Scallops with a new sauce, kind of a sweet sesame balsamic sauce. The scallops were seared on my favorite cast iron pan I'd be happy to provide the details of the sauce if anyone is interested, let me know,,,,, it would have made a bumper taste good.....
Today was total pig out day,,,,, Garbage Omelet,,,,, today's included left over ham, mushroom, onion (onion is a big staple in my cooking, it adds so much base and flavor to almost any dish with a little sauteing, the more it's sauteed the more sweet flavor comes out)some cheddar cheese inside and on the top when it was finished. While I was preparing the omelet I noticed that there was some leftover gravy in the fridge, so I took out one of the frozen chicken fried steaks (yeah it was one of those store bought things,,,,, but I still love em) nuked it for 30 seconds on each side and just as the omelet was finishing up I slid it in a hot pan of canola oil for a minute or so on each side,,,,,,, oh the calories,,, both were outstanding.
I made a small batch of roasted garlic today
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Polar Bears Refute Al Gore's Warnings
Polar Bears Refute Al Gore's Warnings
The polar bears that climate change alarmists claim are endangered by global warming are doing just fine, thank you.
Al Gore and other alarmists have warned that higher global temperatures due to greenhouse gases could lead to the melting of the polar ice caps. That would threaten the polar bears' efforts to find food and survive.
But due to colder than usual subarctic weather this year, healthier polar bears are being spotted along the Hudson Bay coast in Canada, according to a release from PR Newswire.
"The late break-up of ice this year on Hudson Bay means the polar bears, which rely on sea ice to live, have been given more time during spring and summer to hunt and eat seals, and this has allowed them to gain important weight to live off of until freeze-up," said Robert Buchanan, president of Polar Bears International.
Daryll Hedman, a regional wildlife manager for Manitoba Conservation in Canada, said polar bears remain on the Hudson Bay ice for as long as possible so they can feed, and this year the ice was so thick that they stayed there for an extra two weeks, resulting in fatter, healthier bears this summer.
On a related front: With many Democrats still clamoring for cap-and-trade legislation to curb carbon emissions in response to global warming fears, the outgoing leader of the environmental group Greenpeace has retracted an assertion about Arctic ice.
In a July 15 release entitled "Urgent Action Needed as Arctic Ice Melts," Greenpeace said there will be an ice-free Arctic by the year 2030 due to global warming.
Under questioning by BBC reporter Stephen Sackur, Gerd Leipold, the retiring Greenpeace leader, stated, "I don't think it will be melting by 2030 . . . That may have been a mistake."
Courtesy of NewsMax.com
The polar bears that climate change alarmists claim are endangered by global warming are doing just fine, thank you.
Al Gore and other alarmists have warned that higher global temperatures due to greenhouse gases could lead to the melting of the polar ice caps. That would threaten the polar bears' efforts to find food and survive.
But due to colder than usual subarctic weather this year, healthier polar bears are being spotted along the Hudson Bay coast in Canada, according to a release from PR Newswire.
"The late break-up of ice this year on Hudson Bay means the polar bears, which rely on sea ice to live, have been given more time during spring and summer to hunt and eat seals, and this has allowed them to gain important weight to live off of until freeze-up," said Robert Buchanan, president of Polar Bears International.
Daryll Hedman, a regional wildlife manager for Manitoba Conservation in Canada, said polar bears remain on the Hudson Bay ice for as long as possible so they can feed, and this year the ice was so thick that they stayed there for an extra two weeks, resulting in fatter, healthier bears this summer.
On a related front: With many Democrats still clamoring for cap-and-trade legislation to curb carbon emissions in response to global warming fears, the outgoing leader of the environmental group Greenpeace has retracted an assertion about Arctic ice.
In a July 15 release entitled "Urgent Action Needed as Arctic Ice Melts," Greenpeace said there will be an ice-free Arctic by the year 2030 due to global warming.
Under questioning by BBC reporter Stephen Sackur, Gerd Leipold, the retiring Greenpeace leader, stated, "I don't think it will be melting by 2030 . . . That may have been a mistake."
Courtesy of NewsMax.com
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Health Care Reform, my point of view
I think the most vital thing that needs to be done with our health care system before we turn over the payment system to the federal gov. is to ask and get answers as to why it is so much more expensive than other countries per person.
I think the top two reasons in my opinion are (and not in any order of importance)a
1. Tort reform, we live in a country that if you don't like the way your dry cleaner pressed your pants you can sue them for $2,000,000.00 if you spill hot coffee on your lap because you are a clutz you can sue the company you bought it from.
Doctors are forced to do tests on patients as defensive medicine and do extra CYA paperwork.
Some changes need to be made here.
2. The consumer is so far removed from the payment process and feels little or no responsibility for containing costs or getting the best value for his dollar. Most health insurance plans today if you did a comparison to the benefits to your auto insurance would be like having auto insurance that covered your tire ware, oil changes and any other mechanical problems that occurred.
I don't think this is realistic but if companies were not involved in providing group policies for their employees and people, individuals/families purchased it on their own and it would have some positive effects on the overall cost of health care.
The free market system works until the government over regulates it and that may be a third issue that should be looked at.
For those who want a universal (federally controlled) health care system, could you point out one well run federal government plan? (other than our military) The federal gov. already has programs which are in the process of leading our great nation into financial ruin now. Social Security, Medicare/Medicaid how in any logical thought process does giving an institution that's proven over and over they can't manage money our entire health care system?
Support my blogging habit, www.VLSsports.com
I think the top two reasons in my opinion are (and not in any order of importance)a
1. Tort reform, we live in a country that if you don't like the way your dry cleaner pressed your pants you can sue them for $2,000,000.00 if you spill hot coffee on your lap because you are a clutz you can sue the company you bought it from.
Doctors are forced to do tests on patients as defensive medicine and do extra CYA paperwork.
Some changes need to be made here.
2. The consumer is so far removed from the payment process and feels little or no responsibility for containing costs or getting the best value for his dollar. Most health insurance plans today if you did a comparison to the benefits to your auto insurance would be like having auto insurance that covered your tire ware, oil changes and any other mechanical problems that occurred.
I don't think this is realistic but if companies were not involved in providing group policies for their employees and people, individuals/families purchased it on their own and it would have some positive effects on the overall cost of health care.
The free market system works until the government over regulates it and that may be a third issue that should be looked at.
For those who want a universal (federally controlled) health care system, could you point out one well run federal government plan? (other than our military) The federal gov. already has programs which are in the process of leading our great nation into financial ruin now. Social Security, Medicare/Medicaid how in any logical thought process does giving an institution that's proven over and over they can't manage money our entire health care system?
Support my blogging habit, www.VLSsports.com
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Gun Laws, History and the 2nd Amendment
Whether you agree or not, it's an interesting lesson in history.
Something to think about:
In 1929, the Soviet Union established gun control. From 1929 to 1953,
about 20 million dissidents, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and
exterminated.
------------------------------
In 1911, Turkey established gun control. From 1915 to 1917, 1.5 million
Armenians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.
------------------------------
Germany established gun control in 1938 and from 1939 to 1945, a total
of 13 million Jews and others who were unable to defend themselves were
rounded up and exterminated.
------------------------------
China established gun control in 1935. From 1948 to 1952, 20 million
political dissidents, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and
exterminated.
------------------------------
Guatemala established gun control in 1964. From 1964 to 1981, 100,000
Mayan Indians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and
exterminated.
------------------------------
Uganda established gun control in 1970. From 1971 to 1979, 300,000
Christians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and
xterminated.
------------------------------
Cambodia established gun control in 1956. From 1975 to 1977, one million
'educated' people, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and
exterminated.
-----------------------------
Defenseless people rounded up and exterminated in the 20th Century
because of gun control: 56 million.
------------------------------
It has now been 12 months since gun owners in Australia were forced by
new law to surrender 640,381 personal firearms to be destroyed by their own
government, a program costing Australia taxpayers more than $500 million
dollars.
The first year results are now in: Australia-wide, homicides are up 3.2
percent Australia-wide, assaults are up 8.6 percent. Australia-wide,
armed robberies are up 44 percent (yes, 44 percent)! In the state of Victoria
alone, homicides with firearms are now up 300 percent. (Note, that while
the law-abiding citizens turned them in, the criminals did not, and
criminals still possess their guns!) While figures over the previous 25
years showed a steady decrease in armed robbery with firearms, this has
changed drastically upward in the past 12 months, since criminals now
are guaranteed that their prey is unarmed. There has also been a dramatic
increase in break-ins and assaults of the ELDERLY. Australian
politicians are at a loss to explain how public safety has decreased,
after such monumental effort, and expense was expended in successfully
ridding Australian society of guns. The Australian experience and the
other historical facts above prove it.
You won't see this data on the American evening news or hear our
president,governors or other politicians disseminating this information.
Guns in the hands of honest citizens save lives and property and, yes,
gun-control laws affect only the law-abiding citizens.
Take note.....before it's too late! The next time someone talks in favor
of gun control, please remind them of this history lesson.
With guns, we are 'citizens'. Without them, we are 'subjects'.
Author Un-Known
Something to think about:
In 1929, the Soviet Union established gun control. From 1929 to 1953,
about 20 million dissidents, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and
exterminated.
------------------------------
In 1911, Turkey established gun control. From 1915 to 1917, 1.5 million
Armenians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.
------------------------------
Germany established gun control in 1938 and from 1939 to 1945, a total
of 13 million Jews and others who were unable to defend themselves were
rounded up and exterminated.
------------------------------
China established gun control in 1935. From 1948 to 1952, 20 million
political dissidents, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and
exterminated.
------------------------------
Guatemala established gun control in 1964. From 1964 to 1981, 100,000
Mayan Indians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and
exterminated.
------------------------------
Uganda established gun control in 1970. From 1971 to 1979, 300,000
Christians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and
xterminated.
------------------------------
Cambodia established gun control in 1956. From 1975 to 1977, one million
'educated' people, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and
exterminated.
-----------------------------
Defenseless people rounded up and exterminated in the 20th Century
because of gun control: 56 million.
------------------------------
It has now been 12 months since gun owners in Australia were forced by
new law to surrender 640,381 personal firearms to be destroyed by their own
government, a program costing Australia taxpayers more than $500 million
dollars.
The first year results are now in: Australia-wide, homicides are up 3.2
percent Australia-wide, assaults are up 8.6 percent. Australia-wide,
armed robberies are up 44 percent (yes, 44 percent)! In the state of Victoria
alone, homicides with firearms are now up 300 percent. (Note, that while
the law-abiding citizens turned them in, the criminals did not, and
criminals still possess their guns!) While figures over the previous 25
years showed a steady decrease in armed robbery with firearms, this has
changed drastically upward in the past 12 months, since criminals now
are guaranteed that their prey is unarmed. There has also been a dramatic
increase in break-ins and assaults of the ELDERLY. Australian
politicians are at a loss to explain how public safety has decreased,
after such monumental effort, and expense was expended in successfully
ridding Australian society of guns. The Australian experience and the
other historical facts above prove it.
You won't see this data on the American evening news or hear our
president,governors or other politicians disseminating this information.
Guns in the hands of honest citizens save lives and property and, yes,
gun-control laws affect only the law-abiding citizens.
Take note.....before it's too late! The next time someone talks in favor
of gun control, please remind them of this history lesson.
With guns, we are 'citizens'. Without them, we are 'subjects'.
Author Un-Known
Monday, July 6, 2009
Here are some things to ponder.
When this country started it had a weak federal government with few regulations and people were allowed to and almost forced to be self employed and self sufficient. The States or Colonies were the primary regulators of individual law. The USA grew from a band of Rebels to the most powerful and wealthy nation in the world without or very little aid from a LARGE federal government.
Now we have a LARGE federal government mandating, regulating and controlling the majority of things that are a mess in our country. Education, how are all the federal regulations helping that? If someone can explain how one way will work best for 50 states and 300,000,000 people feel free to try and explain that to me.
The Federal Government did very little (outside of a fine military) to build this country into the best, wealthiest, most powerful and most envied nation on earth, people in the past came here for a chance, yep just a chance at an opportunity to have the freedom to be independent. Now they are attracted here to become dependent on all of the government handouts.
I personally think there is plenty of evidence based on history what needs to happen to correct things or more accurately stated, what needs to be stopped.
Our founding fathers said that government needs to be most powerful at the lowest level.
Why do we now think they were so wrong?
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