Posts by Dan

First thanks for reviewing The Wrestler. I saw the ads and thought I might enjoy it, I still think I will. I like watching Rourke work since I saw 9 1/2 weeks. What amazed me here was his appearance for this role. The transformation seems incredible just for a film and prompted me to read about him. It appears that Rourke had an unusual career and was in and out of boxing two times, the second time when he was well into his acting career. The injuries sustained that time required reconstructive surgery to his face the result of which is the transformation of his features.

I respect the boxing bit. The dog part I'm not so sure. A couple of quotes from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mickey_Rourke

Quote

In addition to his faith and his psychiatric treatment, Rourke has publicly attributed his comeback to his dogs. He is well-known as a pet fancier, particularly fond of small-breed dogs. A spay/neuter advocate, Rourke participated in a protest outside of a pet shop in 2007 and has done a public service announcement for PETA.

Quote

In addition to those dogs and several other past pets, Rourke currently owns a chihuahua named Jaws who appeared with him in his 2009 PETA ad.

Rourke 57 now BTW.

I saw Burn After Reading with Brad Pitt, George Clooney, and a bunch of other great actors. Pitt was entertaining as always in his role as the idiot. The scene where Clooney shoots him in the forehead is priceless. The film makes no sense whatsoever but I guess that's the point. I enjoyed it.

Oh I agree with those people. You can have that once in a lifetime experience although I don't wish it on you.

Mountain climbing <img src= " class="smiley" srcset="https://spearfishing.world/forum/images/smilies/emojione/1f606@2x.png 2x" height="23" width="23" loading="eager" data-tooltip="biggrin" aria-label="biggrin"> Try to get me off the couch to climb a hill.. Spearfishing in a way is a lazy man's pastime, much more so when done from a boat as compared to beach diving. Or maybe it just seems that way because when something is a passion it doesn't feel like work. Maybe a mountain climber feels the same enthusiasm and doesn't perceive the difficulty or risk. Still looking at it objectively how can you compare the weightlessness and letting yourself gently glide down to the depths, to hanging off a rock face straining your fingers white to not lose the hold.

Are you saying that it's easier for people to accept as fair and reasonable if it's done freediving?

Spearfishing being viewed negatively is such a cultural issue. In Cuba for example I've never seen or heard of anyone speaking negatively of spearfishing. Someone with spearfishing gear on a public bus for example is not an unusual sight, almost as common as someone with a fishing rod. Mind you most people there fish with just a spool.

To me ethical has nothing to do with legal. But the two do match on some points.

Some leeway though is given to beginners who's better judgment is often clouded by excitement. Also I've come to realize that a lot of my calmness in spearfishing is due to my confidence that if the fish are there I'll get them. Maybe a beginner doesn't have this feeling. Like it or not I operate from the POV that spearfishing is easy. This is by no means to say that I consider myself some hot shot spearfisher.

I've never yet had to deal in person the "spearfishing is bad" thing. After a beach dive a couple of weeks ago I left Oscar with the gear and fish and went to get the car. When I got back he told me that some hippie bitch drove by and called him a killer. I would've liked to be there because that sounded funny to me. All my experiences have been curiosity from people that see me come out of the water with fish. Too bad I'm usually tired and short on patience to answer all their questions which follow the same pattern. I thought Florida was pretty good this way, not like what I read about California.

Thank you Pucho.

The kind of viz we had this day is what keeps me coming back. Unfortunately it looks like windy days ahead and poor conditions for diving. I'll try to keep the memory of that blue water in my mind. But as we well know there's no rhyme or rhythm to visibility off Miami.

It's good to see that this issue is important to others.

Thanks Marco.

Seinfeld was the best. Back when I had time to watch the boob tube.

Hey buddy!

If I saw that swim up to me I'd shit myself from fright! <img src= " class="smiley" srcset="https://spearfishing.world/forum/images/smilies/emojione/1f606@2x.png 2x" height="23" width="23" loading="eager" data-tooltip="biggrin" aria-label="biggrin">  <img src= " height="23" srcset="https://spearfishing.world/forum/images/smilies/emojione/1f606@2x.png 2x">

BTW queen triggers have the same flesh as ocean triggers. I used to catch them in Cuba. There they're called cochino (pig). You can't shoot them here though they're considered ornamental.

Beauty!

You've heard of the queen triggerfish right? <img src= " class="smiley" srcset="https://spearfishing.world/forum/images/smilies/emojione/1f606@2x.png 2x" height="23" width="23" loading="eager" data-tooltip="biggrin" aria-label="biggrin">

Sounds like a nice haul hau

I think they're ocean Triggerfish because they didn't have the long tail fins. The one on the right was a good size. I think I just read someone on SB shot a possible world record triggerfish today.

Ocean triggerfish.

Gray Triggerfish

I'm not a big fish eater, most of the time it's all the same to me be it cuda or snapper. I don't like hogfish and mackerels. But today I'm reminded again that fresh triggerfish could very well be the best tasting fish of them all. I score the fillet and marinate in Italian dressing for no more than 10-15 minutes, then on the grill it goes. Great stuff.

Depth on this day was 40-50ft. I gut my fish at the surface. The current takes it away before it ever gets to the bottom. The only thing I've seen this attract is mackerels. Many times the current doesn't permit us to stay over one spot.

Now some observations about the performance of the DiveR fins. My first dive with the DiveR blades was a beach dive. The depths not exceeding 30ft. I found the DiveR to be absolutely stress free on the ankles. My ankles are normally the first thing that starts to give during a dive, no such thing here. The blades are quiet on the surface, every kick not breaking the surface and very easy to maintain good straight form. Bear in mind these observations are made by me having used the straight waterway blades for years. This is where all positive things about the DiveR end.

One of the simplest observations to make was the following, the blades are too damn long. Being used to long fins I plan my movements underwater ahead of time to be able to maintain proper form. Still there are times when position changes are necessary that require sculling and other leg movements that are not consistent with a streamlined form. The DiveR proved to be a chore in that case. It was a PITA to maneuver them underwater in any way that wasn't perfectly linear. Now everything is relative. I'm not saying that they're not usable, but I definitely don't want to deal with that aspect of it. After this dive I was about to cut 5" off the front of the blade but then figured they would completely lose any resale value and changed my mind. I also wanted to see how the blades perform on deeper dives from a boat.

Another interesting observation on that dive was that later in the day my hamstrings hurt. I'm using the word hurt for lack of a better term to describe the sensation. I'm talking about what you get after not having worked out for a long time and then going to the gym and doing ham curls. A numb sensation that appears later that day or the next day, that is somewhat pleasant letting you know that you did your work. Only it was surprising for me to get it from swimming with fins, I've never had that before. More about this later.

The next dive was from a boat doing depths from 45-60ft. I was surprised to see that as long as the DiveR blades are the propulsion on the ascent wasn't very good. I had all the psychological confidence in the blades but they felt heavy and slow. While my form was good the ascent was slow and draining. Keep in mind this is all relative. If they were so slow and draining as to not be usable I wouldn't have made it up. Having confidence in the blades though kept me relaxed which diminished the effect a little. Trying to increase the rate of ascent by kicking harder and faster did not increase the rate of ascent in a way that was proportional to the effort I was exerting. All this I felt, and had an idea of some of the factors that caused it, but didn't see the big picture until I compared the DiveR in a pool with these new carbon blades that I was testing.