Dive 180 - Valve Drill

So last night we hopped into Union Lake at about 9:30. No boats were to be seen and the viz was pretty decent. Quite a few fish were about including one hiding in a cooler inside one of the sunken boats. Surface water temps were in the high 50s and dropped as we descended, with a very marked thermocline separating the warm(ish) from the cold water layer.

We kicked out to the Model T and then followed the lines out to the north boat, ending up in 40 feet of water and then I did a valve drill for practice.

A valve drill involves maniplating each valve in sequence, showing that you can reach, shut down and reopen each valve on your doubles. The valve drill demonstrates that you can safely shut down a post that has failed thereby saving your breathing gas supply and that you can isolate one tank from the other, preventing an irreperable blow out of one tank from consuming all of your breathing gas.

The sequence goes: right post shutdown, switching to the backup reg that's on your left post and clip off primary regulator, right post opening, check primary regulator to ensure its on and unclip, isolation shutdown and opening, left post shutdown, switching to primary, left post opening. Check all valves, check pressure gauge and done.

Here's an example of how its done (with a slight variation from our technique described above, see if you can spot the difference):



Valve drills are good practice for valve manipulation, but not easy to do while keeping your buyancy and trim under control. Typically when you breathe your primary down after you shut down the right post, you don't have air left in your lungs so you drop a bit until you get the left regulator in your mouth and start breathing again.

In other words, I dropped quite a bit, then stabilized and got on with it.

Its also a pain doing it while using drysuit gloves and with a sore shoulder, but practice makes the drill go better.

We then headed back to the shore, did a slow ascent with stops and ended a good dive. Trim and buoyancy were much better than before and I'll keep working on it.

A Little Levity Break

Too Good not to share: Transterrestrial Musings has a posting with links to some hilariously bad ad placements and some funny answers allegedly from students.

Well worth your clicking and eyeball time.

One final thing, I'd advise against drinking anything while viewing the links, the monitor and keyboard you'll save may be your own.

Surf And Turf On Your BRIDGE Card, Sir?

The Lansing State Journal: Lobster, steak, Mountain Dew on Bridge Card no urban myth

So someone used a Bridge card (here's an image of the receipt), Michigan's version of food stamps to buy a case of Mountain Dew, 6 lobsters and a couple porterhouse steaks in Menominee Michigan.

Living large on the state, baby.

Obama's trial balloons burst yet again

Most competent administrations use underlings to float trial balloons on policy. Then, when the trial balloon bursts and the administration needs to disavow that particular proposal, the President doesn't look like an inexperienced incompetent.

President Obama sadly lacks or feels no need for such a competent administration.

That's why he announced a push for Israel to concede to have the 1967 borders as a starting point in negotiation and offered a contiguous Palestinian state. That of course, would be an unmitigated strategic disaster for israel and just emboldend both Israel's and the US' enemies in the Mid East.

Thankfully Prime Minister Netanyahu gave the American people a solid dose of reality. You could tell Obama was annoyed to find that not everyone wants to roll the dice on survival for a promise of hope and change. (via the excellent Thunder Tales). Hopefully the staunchly Liberal Democrat wing of American Judaism just had a "WTF?" moment.

So what does Obama do after this particular foreign policy balloon pops? He backs away from it a bit at the AIPAC conferenc, claiming he was "misunderstood".

Hardly misunderstood, he was just caught yt again pushing his unpopular left wing agenda.

This administration seems determined to change the Presidential March from Hail to the Chief to "Send in the clowns"

Update: The Palestinians certainly have recognized the new course set by obama - Palestinians reject Netanyahu peace outline

Nabil Shaath, an aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said Netanyahu's insistence on keeping key parts of the territories the Palestinians want for their state is a "declaration of war against the Palestinians." ... "What Netanyahu said in his speech tonight is a clear rejection of the suggestions of President Obama concerning the borders of 1967," said Abbas spokesman Nabil Abu Rdeneh.

In other words the Palestinian negotiating posture just changed based on Obama's statement to "first give us everything we want, then we'll consider peace with you".

Bandit! 9 O'Clock Low!

This little masked bandit turned up in our backyard 9 am this morning:

Apparently he didn't get the message that racoons are supposed to be nocturnal.

15 Years Ago Today I Got Married....

And I've been happily hitched ever since.

Thanks to my darling wife Natasha for 15 wonderful years together and two of the best kids in the world. The time has certainly flown by and looking back I wouldn't have spent these past 15 years any other way.

If you run, you only die splattered.....

Yet another example of why running from the police is just a dumb and often fatal idea.

Lansing college student dies on I-96 after 140-m.p.h. motorcycle ride, crash into cop car

A 20-year-old Lansing Community College student was killed when his motorcycle struck the back of a patrol car during a high-speed police chase on I-96 in Livingston County early today.

The fleeing deceased's speed during the chase reached at least a clocked 114 mph and since he easily outran police cruisers doing 127 mph they figure he was doing 140 mph! The guy had no record and obviously no reason to flee police.

At 140 mph (heck even at 114 mph) on a motorcycle your margin for error is zero, and he slipped outside the margin with fatal consequences. Its a damn shame the man is dead for a stupid reason.

Look, when the flashing lights come on behind you, it means the game is over.

Come to a stop, take your ticket and fine like a man. You're speeding, you got caught and the ticket is the cost. Deal with the consequences and get on with your life.

Fleeing adds criminal charges that are far more serious than your initial speeding offence to the mix, and you run the risk of losing your life. Neither criminal charges nor death offer an improved result over what's going to happen if you just pull over.

Pull the other one, its got bells on....

Gates: 'No evidence' Pakistani leaders knew bin Laden was there

U.S. officials have “no evidence” that current Pakistani leaders knew Osama bin Laden had been holed up near their capital city for half a decade, but they suspect someone — perhaps a retired official — did know about the al Qaeda leader’s whereabouts....Amid passionate calls from Capitol Hill for the Obama administration to get tough with Pakistan after the revelation bin Laden had been hiding there for up to five years, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Wednesday he has seen “no evidence at all that the senior leadership knew.”

Gates told reporters during a Pentagon briefing that “I’ve seen some evidence to the contrary.”

In fact, Gates said, U.S. officials “have no evidence yet with respect to anybody else” knowing bin Laden was hiding in a compound about 30 miles from Islamabad.

Still, the former CIA director added, “My supposition is somebody knew.”

No kidding. Its rather unlikely that "senior leadership" had no idea Osama was operating from and hiding beside a major military base. His presence was a little bit too explosive so to speak for this to be the work of some low-level functionary. More than likely someone high up in the government leadership knew, and the ISI certainly knew and supported his living there.

Gates kind of covering for the Pakistanis is what happens when you rely upon unreliable "allies" like the Pakistanis and Saudis, both of whom are at least playing double games to undermine the US. However, as the US has put itself in a position of having to rely on these unreliable regimes expect more of this soft-shoe approach where a far sterner approach would bear better results.

Detroit 1-8-7 star gives a classy good-bye but really mixes up his metaphors

Actor James McDaniel wrote a farewll letter to Detroit after learning Detroit 1-8-7 would be cancelled. He should have seen it coming as using California's penal code section 1-8-7 for murders taking place in Michigan was always a bit Hollyweird.

However, Mr. McDaniel's letter starts off with a rather inapt description:

Dear Paris of the Midwest,

We will miss you.

Methinks he meant the Beirut of the Midwest and he was confused because Beirut used to be called the "Paris of the Mid East" a long time ago.....

Afghan Pro-Insurgent Protest Against Violence Leads to Violence

In the Afghanistan feel-good story of the day, after NATO forces on a raid killed 4 insurgents, a protest against the raid of 1,500 people turned violent.

The AP via Findlaw: Protest over NATO raid turns violent; 11 killed
Note in the article that the 4 "civillians" reported in the first paragraph as being killed were, according to NATO, shot after pointing weapons at NATO forces during the raid in the sixth paragraph.

The protest turned violent as some in the crowd started looting shops and throwing stones at a small German base in the city.

So the protest over the deaths of 4 insurgents led to the deaths of 11 of the protestors protesting.

Insurgent supporters of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan must be adepts of the new math.

Interesting Headline Word Choice

The Associated Press (via Findlaw): French agape over treatment of jailed IMF chief

agape: /ˈæɡəpiː/ or /əˈɡɑːpeɪ/; Classical Greek: agápē; Modern Greek: αγάπη [aˈɣapi]) is one of the Greek words translated into English as love, one which became particularly appropriated in American Christian theology as the love of God or Christ for mankind. Many have thought that this word represents divine, unconditional, self-sacrificing, active, volitional, and thoughtful love. Although the word does not have specific religious connotation, the word has been used by a variety of contemporary and ancient sources, including Biblical authors and Christian authors. Thomas Jay Oord has defined agape as "an intentional response to promote well-being when responding to that which has generated ill-being."In his book, The Pilgrimage, author Paulo Coelho defines it as "the love that consumes," i.e., the highest and purest form of love, one that surpasses all other types of affection.[citation needed] Contemporary philosopher Slavoj Žižek refers to it as "political love".

Considering that IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn faces criminal sexual conduct charges, the headline was either unintentionally ironic or some headline editor is having a bit of homographic fun. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Local Idiocy Of The Day: Win the Lottery, Stay on Food Stamps.

The Detroit News: $2M Michigan lottery winner defends use of food stamps


So if you won $2 Million from the State Lottery, how many of you, dear readers, would stay on food stamps?

Lottery winner Leroy Fick (sadly of Michigan) has no problem doing so:

A Michigan man who won $2 million in a state lottery game continues to collect food stamps 11 months after striking it rich.

And there's nothing the state can do about it, at least for now.

Leroy Fick, 59, of Auburn won $2 million in the state lottery TV show "Make Me Rich!" last June. But the state's Department of Human Services determined he was still eligible for food stamps, Fick's attorney, John Wilson of Midland, said Tuesday.

Eligibility for food stamps is based on gross income and follows federal guidelines; lottery winnings are considered liquid assets and don't count as income. As long as Fick's gross income stays below the eligibility requirement for food stamps, he can receive them, even if he has a million dollars in the bank.

One shame on Mr. Fick for ficking around and continuing to draw on public largess after winning that kind of money. I don't know a lot of people that would even consider receiving public assistance after winning 2 million, but apparently its ok by the state and Mr. Fick.

Also, I'm rather amazed at the stupidity of a federal and state system that doesn't consider liquid assets as part of the calculation for eligibility for public assistance. Liquid assets by definition are liquid and can be used to support oneself without reliance upon the public purse.

The mind boggles at the sheer idiocy of the system in action.

California: Land o' Fruits, Nuts, Flakes, Bad Judicial Decisions, and Gun Bans

Federal judge rules against Calif. gun advocates

A federal judge ruled Monday there is no constitutional right to carry a hidden gun in public - a decision that dealt a setback to gun-rights advocates who had challenged how much discretion California law enforcement officials have in issuing concealed weapons permits.

U.S. District Court Judge Morrison England Jr. in Sacramento supported a policy by Yolo County Sheriff Ed Prieto that says applicants must have a reason, such as a safety threat, to legally carry a concealed weapon in his county northwest of Sacramento.

. . .

England signed the ruling Friday and it filed in court on Monday.

. . .

[Alan] Gura filed a notice Monday saying the groups will appeal Judge England's decision to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco.

Gura had argued that Prieto's policy gives the sheriff arbitrary discretion over a fundamental constitutional right to bear arms.

England countered that California law currently lets gun owners carry an unloaded weapon so it can be quickly loaded and used in self-defense if needed.

As a result, "Yolo County's policy does not substantially burden plaintiffs' right to bear and keep arms," England wrote in his 16-page decision.

Talk about ignoring reality, the Constitution, Heller and MacDonald. Thanks Judge. Glad I'm not in California.

With luck, and acceptance of certiorari, this case will push forward through the 9th and up to the Supreme Court and get this lousy decision, that essentially restrict Heller to bearing arms in the home then decides the ban is not a substantial burden on the right to keep and bear arms, reversed.

In the decision, the judge also concludes that a decision to issue based on "Good Cause" and "Good Moral character" is not void for vagueness and then it is not a violation of equal protection as some might meet these undefined requirements and some might not. Well, ok then.

The decision is (available for viewing here).

But wait, there's more: The Judge's dubiously-reasoned decision is absolutely predicated on the fact that California allows unloaded pistols to be openly carried and thus people aren't substantially burdened. So what does the California Assembly do the very same day the decisions comes out?

Calif Assembly bans open carrying of unloaded guns.

California.

Why Can't the answer be: "Both"?

Religious obsession or psychological disorder? Mental exam ordered in Warren shooting death

A Minnesota man who police say killed his 20-year-old stepdaughter in Michigan because she left home and wasn't following Islam will get a mental evaluation.

Lake Huron Dive Cancelled Due to Storms

The only thing worse than a cancelled Great Lakes Wreck Dive would be an unanticipated Great Lakes Wreck Dive when your dive boat sinks and you get to dive on it.

Discretion being the better part of valor, and the good captain not wanting to lose his boat or us divers in a storm, the awesome lineup of three wrecks at an average depth of 100 feet was cancelled this morning when 4 foot swells were reported with even nastier storms and waves coming in. Drat.

The wrecks: Checotah (possibly the most sunk vessel in the Great Lakes - 4 sinkings and three name changes), The Col. A.B. Williams and the New York, none of which I've dove before.

Luckily they'll still be there when the weather clears and we can get out and try them again. Hopefully soon.

Instead we did Union Lake for a 70 minute dive to burn up the 32% Nitrox mix in the stage bottle I rented from the shop along with Rob and Keith. A good dive, but Union Lake with its sunken speedboats is a far cry from the Great lakes and Great Wrecks of Lake Huron.

Whither Romney the RINO?

Vodkapundit ably and eloquently lays out the case against Romney for consideration this primary season and I certainly agree.

As I commented over there, as Romney is a squishy and beatable RINO I expect the MSM to pile on praise for him through the primaries and push for him to win as they did with McCain.

Then, on the off chance he wins the primaries (this could happen if the GOP powers that be figure its his “turn” a la Bob Dole and McCain), expect the MSM to replay September Dawn (Mountain Meadows massacre movie) on primetime TV prior to the election. Then watch the MSM nail him for this Romneycare and other squishiness and then assail him for conservative views on other things and being out of touch etc.

This is one RINO that needs to be put on the endangered species list during primary season and sent back to his natural habitat -- far, far away from the race for the Republican nomination.

In the wake of Federal banking reform to help defaulters, fees go up for all. Who knew?

Who indeed? Its not like this wasn't a predicted consequence of reducing charges on those who don't pay their credit card bills on time or overdraft their accounts.

The Detroit Free Press: Banks hit customers with higher fees -- and more of them

Well, Prof Todd Zywicki of the Volokh Conspiracy certainly did. He gets one free "I told you so" to everyone that claimed it wouldn't happen. However, that doesn't make the increased fees any more palatable.

As usual with this administration, and Democrats in general, the responsible are stuck with the increased costs and those who are irresponsible are relieved of, or get reduced, consequences for their actions as everyone pays for their failings.

Update: A similar and thoughtful post from The Blogprof: Thank a Democrat: Banks hit customers with higher fees -- and more of them because of increased government regulations

GM to spend $109 million, create or save 96 jobs

The Detroit Free Press: GM to pump $109 million into Flint, Bay City plants

General Motors says it will invest $109 million in its Flint and Bay City, Michigan, operations, keeping or creating 96 jobs.

That's over a million dollars per job saved or created.

At this rate, it would take GM spending $589,811,111,111 to create enough jobs to fully employ all 487,000 of Michigan's unemployed (Source State of Michgian's labor market Information website) assuming these were all for jobs created not just "saved".

And you wonder why, with that kind of job creating power and efficiency, wags call it Government Motors.

The Obama Administration Really Intends That It Means It This Time......

Reuters: Attorney General vows to close Guantanamo

Although we have not closed Guantanamo within the time period that we initially indicated ... it is still the intention of the president, and it is still my intention, to close the facility that exists in Guantanamo," Holder told a joint news briefing with French Interior Minister Claude Gueant.

Well, at least Holder and Obama still intend to do it, so perhaps the headline that Holder is vowing to close it is a bit of an overstatement. Good and noble intentions, after all, are all that matter when every promise comes with an expiry date.

When pressed for an exact date of closure, Holder allegedly replied "ad kalendas graecas".

Dive # 177 One Dive Over Two Days

We got into Union Lake on May 6 and got out on May 7.

Crossing midnight underwater was kinda cool. Visibility was excellent. There was a ton of mudpuppies to be seen and quite a few very large fish. The water was calm, not a boat to be seen and Keith, Chad and I had a great dive. I had my heated best on and it worked very nicely so I was not feeling cold during the dive. We saw the various boasts including the farther off north boat. The dive felt pretty good, but I'm unconsciously waving my right hand while diving which is a habit I need to break, but other than that the five was great with good control.

The details:

Time: 45 minutes
Max depth: 40 feet
Water temperature: 50 degrees
Gas consumption: 700 psi.