Sunday, December 21, 2008

Scuba!


Scuba!
Originally uploaded by pschwarz.
Hilo, HI

Finally got my second dive in. It was much more interesting than the first one. There were an incredible amount of fish as well as a number of sea turtles. The turtles made my day, really.

Of course, I'm still pretty new at this, so I'm spending much of my time watching where I'm going, looking where my group is, concentrating on my breathing, etc. It pays off...unless you have no idea what you're doing. I hadn't really had any training using my Buoyancy Control Device (BCD). This resulted in me over compensating and therefore shooting up to the surface, followed by a quick drop back to the bottom...twice.

Lessons learned, though. I got the hang of it after the instructor gave me run down of the equipment again (at thirty feet below the surface). I did end up skipping the second dive planned for the day. I've gotten old enough to know when not to push myself.

Yeah, my right ear hurts like hell now. I'm told it'll go away in a day or two. I'll be back in the water after the Holidays.

Monday, December 08, 2008

From the Archives...


Served
Originally uploaded by RobFargo
These ping pong tables are permanent structures in the Dortmünd parks. All you need to provide are paddles and balls.

Not for the easily vertigoed...