HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: fhd@panix.com (Frank Deutschmann)
Newsgroups: rec.scuba
Subject: Re: Sawtooth Profiles - Why not ?
Date: 23 Nov 92 21:43:44 GMT
Organization: PANIX Public Access Unix, NYC


Figured I should clarify this before it is flamed by one of the
self-appointed Guardians of the Scuba Truth out there:

In <1992Nov23.201549.27366@panix.com> fhd@panix.com (Frank Deutschmann) writes:
>underlying causes of both narcosis and O2 toxicity.  It is known that
>CO2 accumulation affects both (primarily through increasing acidosis
>of the blood), but it is not known why that has any more severe effect
>that experienced in (other) athletes (runners usually don't
>halucinate/convulse after running a 10K :)).  In the case of nitrogen,
>it is known that narcosis is not (substantially) related to the
>effects of Nitrous Oxide (whose effects seem similar).  It is

The acidosis (in the blood) I refered to is a direct result of
increased partial pressures of O2 (caused by saturation of Hb with
O2, which is a result of dissolved O2 [versus Hb-bound O2] satisfying
cell needs).  With Hb already tied up with O2, the blood and cells begin to
experience acidosis (accumulation of CO2, because the Hb is not
available to carry it), which the body's carbonate
buffer system can only stave off for so long (dependent upon time of
exposure, rate of CO2 production, ambiant pressure, and quantity of O2
delivered, as well as the condition/capacity of the buffer system).
From what I understand, endurance athletes experience localized
cellular acidosis, but they don't experience acidosis in the brain; in
particular, they don't experience Hb occupied with O2 on the venous
side of the circulation system, which is thought to be the primary
cause of seziures (by some researchers).

One of the thoughts relating to the way NO2 causes narcosis-like
symptoms is that it may locally increase O2 and N2 saturation in
parts of the brain, but this is widely disputed.  Not all researchers
agree with the implication of above-normal PO2 exposure (hyperoxic)in
narcosis (in other words, if air at 150FSW, say, resulted in some X
amount of narcosis, then replacing some of the O2 with another gas
[which is not narcotic at the depth] to produce a more normoxic mix
would result in some <X amount of narcosis).  In fact, current tri-mix
technology explicitly discounts this possibility, though some
researchers believe in the connection.

Just some clarification...remember that this is all theory, and, as
such, probably has little application to "normal" diving (in other
words, I would strongly discourage an attempt to increase O2
tollerance by strengthening your carbonate buffer system by way of
drugs, etc...).

-- 
-frank
(fhd@panix.com)
From: falk@peregrine.Eng.Sun.COM (Ed Falk)
Newsgroups: rec.scuba
Subject: good service from Wet Pleasures.
Date: 24 Nov 92 06:05:57 GMT
Distribution: ba
Organization: Sun Microsystems Inc., Mountain View, CA
NNTP-Posting-Host: peregrine

While we're on the subject of dive shops, I'd like to relate a
positive experience I had at Wet Pleasures.

Over a year ago, I bought a used BC from WP at their annual sale
for pretty cheap.  It was definately "as is".  It was missing a
buckle, and I thought I could fix it myself for just a couple bucks.

After a year of letting it sit in my garage, and not being able to
find the part, I finally bit the bullet and took it back to WP to
have it sent in for service.  I expected to pay about $20 (replacing
the buckle is *not* as simple as I thought it would be.)

WP loaned me one of their BC's while mine was in for repair.  When
mine came back, it was NO CHARGE.  I was pretty happy.

--
		-ed falk, sun microsystems
		 sun!falk, falk@sun.com
To be loyal to rags, to shout for rags, to worship rags, to die for rags 
-- that is a loyalty of unreason, it is pure animal (Mark Twain).
Newsgroups: rec.scuba
From: pyron@skndiv.dseg.ti.com (Dillon Pyron)
Subject: Re: Caffeine and Diving
Reply-To: pyron@skndiv.dseg.ti.com
Organization: TI/DSEG VAX Support
Distribution: usa
Date: Mon, 16 Nov 1992 23:44:15 GMT


In article <1992Nov16.191431.27842@vestek.com>, marcus@vestek.com (Mark Stephen) writes:
>     Does anyone have any info about the effects that caffeine can
>have while diving, or caffeine withdrawls ?
>
>     Marcus
>
High caffeine levels can cause severe aggitation, focus problems (eyes), short
term memory problems, increased BP and respiration and, most importantly, heart
palpitations.

Caffeine is also a powerful diuretic.  This means that, in addition to the wet
suit heating, you will need to worry about evidence that dehydration increases
your chances of a DCS hit.

I don't know the problems associated with a long term caffeine binge.
--
Dillon Pyron                      | The opinions expressed are those of the
TI/DSEG Lewisville VAX Support    | sender unless otherwise stated.
(214)462-3556 (when I'm here)     |
(214)492-4656 (when I'm home)     |"Pacts with the devil are not legally
pyron@skndiv.dseg.ti.com          |binding!"
PADI DM-54909                     |-Friar Tuck   _Robin Hood:The Hooded Man_

Newsgroups: rec.scuba
From: adb@herboid.uucp (Anthony DeBoer)
Subject: Re: Human bodies explode in vacuum?
Organization: Linda's Dragon Memorial Society
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 1992 18:55:50 GMT

Bill Mayne <mayne@cs.fsu.edu> writes:
>In article <1992Nov17.153453.7235@digi.lonestar.org> lvogt@digi.lonestar.org (Lee Vogt) writes:
>>In article <1992Nov16.145038.23449@geac.com> adb@geac.com (Anthony DeBoer) writes:
>>
>>>There are other problems, like oxygen toxicity, carbon dioxide buildup,
>>>hypothermia, breathing difficulty due to increased gas density, etc.,
>>>that also rear their ugly heads as you start getting really really deep,
>>>although your PADI course wouldn't have mentioned these in any great
>>>detail, if at all, since they're generally not factors yet at the 130'
>>>they warned you never to exceed.
>
>Has anyone here experienced breathing difficulty due to increased gas
>density? I don't doubt that it can happen at extreme depths, though
>replacing nitrogen and oxygen with helium as you need to do anyway
>coincidentally reduces gas density. I have never experienced any
>depth related difficulty in breathing, though I've been quite a bit
>deeper than 130 feet on air. I have remembered to pay attention, too.
>At what depth does this happen?

[ Newsgroups: line trimmed to rec.scuba only (adb) ]

As I understand it, this depends on the quality of your regulator and how
much gas it can deliver on demand.  The deeper you go, the more absolute
volume you're pulling in on each inhalation, and if your regulator can't
quite do it, breathing gets a bit difficult.

The best reference in this regard would be the NEDU (US Navy Experimental
Diving Unit) reports; if you tried to go past 130' with one of their
lower-ranked regs, you'd be sucking hard.  On the other hand, most
self-respecting technical divers have probably gone out and bought one of
the top two or three ranked ones, so they have no problems to complain
about.

>I don't think that decompression is the only or even the main reason to
>be cautious about going deep. I doubt that most peoplm could do a
>successful free ascent from 130 feet in case of total air loss, starting
>without a fresh breath. At least it would be risky. Also air supply goes
>quickly at depth and I'm told that some people actually don't have it
>together well enoug` to monitor their time, depth, and air supply.

I know a couple of divers who did an emergency ascent from 150' without
any further problems (one had a freeflow that they couldn't straighten
out, and the other was narked enough to follow his buddy when he went
ballistic), but yes, it is a risky thing.
-- 
Anthony DeBoer  <adb@herboid.uucp | adb@geac.com | uunet!geac!herboid!adb>
From: leej@diver.asd.sgi.com (Lee Jones)
Newsgroups: rec.scuba
Subject: Tiger shark hunt in Hawaii
Date: 19 Nov 92 23:24:56 GMT
Organization: Silicon Graphics, Inc.
NNTP-Posting-Host: diver.asd.sgi.com

For those of you that would like to *do* something about the tiger shark
hunt off Oahu:

Mr. William Paty
Director of Land and Natural Resources
P.O. Box 621
Honolulu, HI  96809

Fax : 808-587-0390

Here's the thing:  You can write to rec.scuba and bitch about it, but that
won't do any good.  Writing a letter to Mr. Paty may well do some good.

Regards, Lee
Newsgroups: rec.scuba
From: gregr@cs.su.oz.au  (Greg Ryan, g10b, xtn 4809)
Subject: Re: dangerous misconception (was Re: Human bodies explode...)
Organization: Basser Dept of Computer Science, University of Sydney, Australia
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1992 03:27:56 GMT

In article <1992Nov16.145952.5495@mailer.cc.fsu.edu>, mayne@phi.cs.fsu.edu (William Mayne) writes:
> While on the subject of dangerous misconceptions, oxygen toxicity
> doesn't kick in suddenly at 298', nor does it usually strike without
> any warning. One widely accepted standard is that anything over
> 1.6 ATA of O_2, which is 218 fsw on air, is risky, particularly
> if exposure exceeds 45 minutes. Even more conservative rules are
> prudent. Note that I said it doesn't *usually* strike without
> warning, not that you can count on getting any warning. But since
> it can happen at much less that 300' and there may be some warning
> symptoms it is wise to know the symptoms so if you are pushing the
> limits, or start to have problems within the usual limits (which is
> possible), you can abort the dive. Don't ignore or fail to recognize
> symptoms in the belief that there is never any warning.

I concur with all that Bill has said on this.

The current IAND teaching practice is to limit "recreational"
(their term) dives on Nitrox to a PPO2 of 1.5 ATA, and "technical"
dives (deep, staged deco, Nitrox and/or O2 deco) to a PPO2 of
1.4 ATA. 


				Greg Ryan	gregr@cs.su.oz.au

Newsgroups: rec.scuba
From: marcus@vestek.com (Mark Stephen)
Subject: Re: how much weight do I need; by original poster
Organization: Vestek Systems, San Francisco
Distribution: usa
Date: Mon, 16 Nov 92 16:58:24 GMT

     Well, I have seen a lot of discussion of this topic I raised, as
well as about 40 email messages. Just to conclude, I finally went diving
this weekend, at Monestary Beach in Carmel. Beautiful conditions, vis
was 25 to 40 feet, warm, sunny, and very low surf. I spent a few minutes
before the first dive adjusting my weight belt. I managed to dive fine on
22lbs. For the record, I am 6'2", 190lbs, wore a full 1/4" wetsuit, BC,
with an Alum80. It was a little tricky at depths less that 20', but 
otherwise fine. 

     Marcus
Newsgroups: rec.scuba
From: cofer@utkvx.utk.edu
Subject: Re: Diving in CA over Thanksgiving
Organization: U.T. Computer Center
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 1992 17:57:25 GMT

In article <1992Nov12.182139.4248@newssun.med.miami.edu> dbrown@newssun.med.miami.edu (Daniel Brown) writes:

>I'm planning to go to California this Thanksgiving and
>I want to knwo whether or not I should bring my gear.

I am also going to California over Thanksgiving.  I will be leaving for San 
Diego Saturday.  Any recommended sites or shops?  I also plan to drive up to 
Las Vegas, and perhaps over to the Grand Canyon.  I would not think these 
would be good dive locations, but never having been there, I don't know.  
Any suggestions would be appreciated.

This post is also testing my news reader package.  My correct email 
address is cofer@utkvx.utk.edu.

Thanks
Newsgroups: rec.scuba
From: gd@gehenna.sw.stratus.com (Greg Dawe)
Newsgroups: rec.scuba
Subject: Re: Which Nitrox certification?
Date: 19 Nov 92 14:03:09 GMT
Organization: Stratus Computer, Software Engineering
NNTP-Posting-Host: gehenna.sw.stratus.com

In article <1eebksINN6at@fido.asd.sgi.com> leej@diver.asd.sgi.com (Lee Jones) writes:
>I am interested in taking a Nitrox course and getting certified in its
>use.  However, I have difficulty telling which program is better, IAND or
>ANDI.  Could somebody who's been through one (or preferably both) give me a 
>"compare and contrast" kind of summary here?  
>
>Thanks, Lee

Last I knew both IAND and ANDI were using the same course materials (text),
which is the IAND "NITROX Diver Manual", developed by Dick Ritowski (sp?).

Of the two agencies, it seems as if IAND is the one which is moving more
quickly towards developing standards for training divers and instructors,
and ANDI is moving more quickly towards standardizing equipment, filling
procedures etc.  This may be only my perception, or perhaps both agencies have
decided to divide up the tasks of building a credible, responsible industry.
-- 
Greg Dawe                        | Disclaimer: I don't speak for my employer,
Voice : (508)-490-6666           |             nor they for me...
e-mail: Greg_Dawe@vos.stratus.com|
From: danbe@master.CNA.TEK.COM (Dan Beougher)
Newsgroups: rec.scuba
Subject: Re: Any information about Cancun or Cozumel
Date: 19 Nov 92 20:52:35 GMT
Organization: Tektronix, Inc., Beaverton,  OR.


>  b) I was told that from time to time, the currents that run off the
>     wall can be dangerous.  That if the conditions are right, it actually
>     can be like flushing a toilet, ie the current is so strong running
>     over the and down the wall that it will drag divers down even if
>     their BC is inflated?  Anyone else heard of this?  I also was told
>     by a local diver, not associated with Aqua Safari, that the best
>     way to get out of this down current is to swim towards the wall.
>     If this is true, this is the type of local dive info that is
>     important to have.  It seems that it can cause divers to panic
>     when you cannot stop your descent when your BC is full....

I just got back from Belize and heard a chilling story of the same
type related to me from a divemaster back at the shop after our
dive:

I asked him his most unusual experience (he had +7000 dives).  He
said he was with five people and his assistant instructor.  A freak
current pulled them over a wall and down to 150 feet.  At 150 feet
he discovered everyone but him was asleep.  (Comments from
the narcosis/O2 toxicity thread?)  He went around and clipped
everyone together with BC straps, slate string, etc., and started
up.  At about 100 feet his instructor woke up to help and after
a couple of safety stops made it to the surface with everyone
awake and safe.

I believed his story in that he wasn't a bullshitter type and
it seemed plausible.

dB
From: leej@sgi.com (Lee Jones)
Newsgroups: rec.scuba
Subject: Re: Shark Hunt to begin in Hawaii
Date: 18 Nov 1992 17:50:11 GMT
Organization: Silicon Graphics, Inc.
NNTP-Posting-Host: diver.asd.sgi.com

In article <102449@bu.edu> dunger@crsa.bu.edu (David Unger) writes:
>
>	Thats really too bad, I wish someone would hunt
>the statespeople so they could see how it feels.

Lani - could you please publish William Paty's address here?  I have it
at home but would probably forget to bring it in.  Maybe a few rec.divers
will write a letter to Paty (He's the Director of Land and Natural Resources
and the mensch responsible for this plan).

Regards, Lee
From: geary%cfa3.DECNET@cfa.harvard.edu
Newsgroups: rec.scuba
Subject: Need info on Grand Turk diving
Date: 16 Nov 1992 11:12:03 -0600
Organization: UTexas Mail-to-News Gateway
NNTP-Posting-Host: cs.utexas.edu

On a recent trip, I had the opportunity to make a couple of dives
on Grand Turk and was quite impressed with the wall topography and
fauna of the place. I am considering a return trip to do a more
extensive dive program and have a few questions that are not well
addressed in postings in the archives.

(1) There were places where the reefs seemed to start fairly near
shore (100 m or so). Does anyone have any experience with shore
diving on Grand Turk?

(2) Do any of the dive operations on Grand Turk offer 3 dives a day?
I hate to hang it up with just two dives after spending all that
money to get there and for lodging, food, etc.

(3) Does anyone have any experience (good or bad) with the new Off
the Wall dive operation?

(4) Are there any apartments/condos for rent? Rental cars?

Any answers, either private or by posting, would be greatly ap-
preciated.
From: awright@gssec.bt.co.uk (Alan Wright)
Newsgroups: rec.scuba
Subject: Re: Nitrox in the UK
Keywords: Nitrox courses uk
Date: 18 Nov 92 18:31:04 GMT
Organization: BT, Software Engineering Centre, Glasgow, UK

In article <1992Nov18.114642.18829@apricot.co.uk>,
peters@apricot.co.uk (Peter Smith) writes:

|> At the Dive 92 exhibition recently at the NEC Birmingham, I attended
|> a seminar on adventurous diving, which discussed the merits of Nitrox
|> and enriched/mixed gas diving. This was presented by Rob Palmer of the
|> European Association  Of Technical Divers(EATD), which is affiliated to
|> the International Assoc. Of Nitrox Divers.   
|> 
|> [deleted]

I think people in the UK are still failry new to Nitrox. Only one
shop in my area offers Nitrox and the owner will not supply it until
you have done a course. He was about to start EATD courses but decided
that he would like to take an ANDI course himself before runnning the
course for us. His impression is that the ANDI course is more
comprehensive.

I was planning on taking the EATD course this month but will now have
to wait until December/January for the ANDI course.

|>	[deleted] 
|> 
|>   	What is BSAC's stance on this subject?  
|> 	Are they for or against? 
|> 	Will BSAC be offering any reasonable priced courses for certification
|> 	in line with their current quality of training?
|>
|> Pete Smith (BSAC Advanced)
|>

The price for the ANDI course will not be set until after the instructor
comes back from his course. He told me that he is paying 150 pounds for
his course and he will be charging considerably less than that when he
teaches it. The course is supposed to consist of 6 hours of classroom work
and a minimum of two dives.

The other thing he seemed adamant on was that nitrox was here to stay,
due to the investment. It is expensive to get and maintain the gear
and transport the gasses. So there will be considerable commercial
pressure on the associations to endorse it if many shops install the
equipment.

Alan

--------------------------------------------
awright@gssec.bt.co.uk (Alan Wright)
BT, Software Engineering Centre, Glasgow, UK
--------------------------------------------
Newsgroups: rec.scuba
From: spindler@rcf.rsmas.miami.edu
Subject: Re: Caffeine and Diving
Reply-To: spindler@rcf.rsmas.miami.edu
Organization: RSMAS
Distribution: usa
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 92 16:05:59 GMT

In article <1992Nov16.191431.27842@vestek.com>, 
marcus@vestek.com (Mark Stephen) writes:

>     Does anyone have any info about the effects that caffeine can
>have while diving, or caffeine withdrawls ?

I can speak from personal experience on the effects of caffeine withdrawal
while diving.  The usual effects of withdrawal are headaches, nausea, and a
general feeling of tiredness.  If you feel like this while sitting on a dive
boat, especially if the boat is rolling the slightest bit, then you are highly
susceptible to a bout of seasickness (even if you are generally resistant to
motion sickness).

Unfortunately, I ran up against this when diving just after final exams, and
with all of the heavy coffee-drinking that that implies.  As a result I was
able to enjoy my breakfast twice that day 8-(.

My rule of thumb at the present time is if you are a regular coffee drinker,
then maintain your intake the day of the dive.  If you have a few days before
the dive, then you might want to decaffeinate yourself.  This of course is
strongly dependant upon the quantity of coffee that you consume on a daily
basis, and your sensitivity to caffeine.  As the saying goes, your mileage may
vary.

----
Todd Spindler                                  
TSpindler@rsmas.miami.edu                 RSMAS/MPO  University of Miami
Newsgroups: rec.scuba
From: rhouston@glacier.sim.es.com (Richard Houstan)
Subject: Re: Shark Hunt to begin in Hawaii
Organization: Evans & Sutherland Computer Corp.
Date: Fri, 20 Nov 1992 22:20:04 GMT

In article <phil.722127244@seidel> phil@seidel.ucsb.edu (Philip Papadopoulos) writes:


   I recall several years ago (maybe 10-15) thousands of Hammerhead Sharks were
   coming into 3ft of water at South Padre Island, Texas.  Some were 10-12 footers
   and mean.  I don't recall any talk of extermination.  Who would of thought that
                                                         ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
   Texans had more brain cells than Hawaiians ;).
   ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

   Phil

Maybe they don't, it may be that Hawaiians depend more on tourist dollars ;).
Sorry, can't miss a chance to get in a jab at the texans around here.


					Richard
From: falk@peregrine.Sun.COM (Ed Falk)
Newsgroups: rec.scuba
Subject: Re: Bad Air at Bamboo Reef???
Date: 24 Nov 1992 06:01:52 GMT
Organization: Sun Microsystems, Mt. View, Ca.
NNTP-Posting-Host: peregrine

In article <1992Nov18.182352.24133@hplabsz.hpl.hp.com> peterson@hpl.hp.com (Chris Peterson) writes:
>Bamboo Reef has a long-standing reputation for operating successfully in an 
>extremely competitive market in Monterey and the SF Bay area.

Plus, they're the only ones around who carry Force Fins.

Just thought I'd get that in.

		-ed falk, sun microsystems
		 sun!falk, falk@sun.com
To be loyal to rags, to shout for rags, to worship rags, to die for rags 
-- that is a loyalty of unreason, it is pure animal (Mark Twain).
Newsgroups: rec.scuba
From: jeffj@ultra.com (Jeff Johnson)
Subject: Need Info On Prescription Mask
Followup-To:  Sender
Reply-To: jeffj@ultra.com
Organization: Ultra Network Technologies
Distribution: ba
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 92 19:48:59 GMT

I'm a newbie who is just getting his feet wet (literally), and being near
blind without my glasses, I was wondering what the procedure is for getting
prescription lenses in my mask.  Do I go to an optometrist, or can a dive
shop take care of this for me?  Any recommendations on where to go in the
Bay Area to have this done?  Sorry if this is a FAQ, since I don't read this
group, and sorry if this post escapes the "ba" distribution (I tried).
Responses by e-mail, please, since I don't normally read this group.
Thanks!
/jeff
---
    Jeff Johnson    | Ultra Network Technologies | voice: (408) 922-0100 x284
  jeffj@ultra.com   |     101 Daggett Drive      |   fax: (408) 433-9287
...ames!ultra!jeffj |    San Jose, CA  95134     |   sex: (900) 976-4825
 The difference between ignorance and apathy?  I don't know and I don't care
From: leej@sgi.com (Lee Jones)
Newsgroups: rec.scuba
Subject: Re: Diving in CA over Thanksgiving
Date: 19 Nov 1992 19:21:41 GMT
Organization: Silicon Graphics, Inc.
NNTP-Posting-Host: diver.asd.sgi.com

In article <cofer.27@utkvx.utk.edu> cofer@utkvx.utk.edu writes:
>
>and perhaps over to the Grand Canyon.  I would not think these 
>would be good dive locations, but never having been there, I don't know.  

Son, it's one hell of a giant stride into the Colorado River.
Newsgroups: rec.scuba
From: John_Mitchell@psych. edu.ualberta.ca (John J. Mitchell)
Subject: LIGHTHOUSE REEF RESORT
Followup-To: rec.scuba
Organization: University of Alberta
Date: Sun, 22 Nov 1992 21:40:04 GMT

I AM INTERESTED IN SPENDING A WEEK AT LIGHTHOUSE REEF OFF BELIZE CITY. 
ANYONE ABLE TO SHARE INFORMATION WITH ME ON THIS DIVE SPOT?  MY MAIN REASON
FOR CHOOSING LIGHTHOUSE REEF IS TO DIVE THE BLUE HOLE, REPUTEDLY ONE OF THE
WORLD'S GREAT DIVE SPOTS.  CAN ANYONE PROVIDE ME WITH DIVING INFORMATION ON
(1) LIGHTRHOUSE REEF (2) THE BLUE HOLE.  Thanks.
Newsgroups: rec.scuba