Posts by 75th

Thanks for the good review, Bruce... and prompt! :thumbsup5: You're right, too. You're a better dive buddy for it. What was your breath-hold before the class?

Always a pleasure, brother! :toast2:

YoudaMAN! Get some! :thumbsup2:

I don't know how experienced you are, but since you're researching, I'll give you as much info as I can. If you get an open cell 7mm, err to the larger side if you're torn between 2 sizes. My Sporosub 7mm top is a bear to get off because it could be just a tad bigger. Its 5.5mm bottom is not a problem, as they're easier anyway. 7mm's don't have much stretch, period -and tops could use any stretch they can give you. This link has helped me immensely by studying it the first few times I donned and (especially) doffed my top: en_Vestizione Study it before and after the first few times and you won't damage your top like most do (by pulling the beavertail in frustration). I was still learning from those instructions after the 4th or 5th time! It's in the details/technique.

Movement's not the same, either. It helps if you've been working out to get all your muscles (-ALL of them, especially ones you don't usually use) strong. P90X, plus working the neck works for me. That attached hood is ON there and will tax neck muscles soon if they're not yet strong. YMMV.

Take a serious look at Dan's weight vests, too: diving weight vest They're priced much better than the competition and you'll need a fair bit of weight to weigh a thick suit down enough just to duck. It's nice to have the weight spread out away from the belt because it'd feel a lot more balanced. (I experimented with a weighted camel-back a couple times.)

Use barely enough weight to duck, as the thick suit compresses and becomes less buoyant the farther down you go (which helps) and you DEFINITELY don't want to be over-weighted on the way back up. Weight yourself so you have to fight just a little to duck down, but not enough to wear yourself out. If you can't float up top, you're over-weight. It's horse of a different color.

FWIW, my 7mm top/5.5mm long-john bottom is mostly over-kill for me (as I just don't feel like freediving or even swimming in winter anyway), but would be perfect/required for you up there.

If you've got questions, ask away. There's a wealth of knowledge here on SpearDiver, as these guys are the real deal. I'm just a beginner. :thumbsup5: Hope this helps with your research.

G'Duy & welcome, Lee! What's the water temp up there right now?

Excellent. Please do. Let us know your max breath holds before and how much Jon's teaching helps it, etc. Be as lengthy and detailed as you like, brother.

I'm on a job down here at Homestead, FL and wanted/had the chance to take the FII 1 this weekend, but I'm so not trained up (O2/CO2 tables) right now. I brought my gear and I'm doing tables again at the room, so I'll get some fun in before the wife and I return home to Tallahassee. I'll pick up some more gear while here, too. I hope to be down here for a couple months and it won't be the last time, either. I dig what yall got down here and see why you live here. Nice!

I like them on forklifts. I could see it on a boat, too. -Makes good sense. To each his own at any rate. As an SCCA driver, it's like undewater earphones to me. We'll still be friends, though. In fact, even if you put one on your Viper GTS, I'll still be happy to take it out for a few laps, so it's all good. lol Post a pic if you put one on your Viper. I'll use it as an avatar. :thumbsup2:

It looks (from the background) like this cat's STANDING UP. Yikes... Oh, hell no! Gurney-city for me! He's obviously in pretty good shape so he'll stand the best chance... but, dayum! I wonder if they had to slice him from side to side so that everything (like his multiple lower intestine perforations) can be safely closed back up... and CLEANED up. Infection/sepsis after removal would be my biggest worry. I'm thinking Dan's on the money with it being cut, but even zipping through it as fast as possible, I Mr. Happytrail got some "warm fuzzies" in his tummy. There's no story to go with this pic, Bulit?

Edit: After looking at the pic sideways, I think he's laying down. The sheet's agreeing with gravity... and us. I'd hope nobody could be dumb enough to stand him up anyway.

Howdy Roy. I call Tallahassee home now. Hit me up if you're looking for a freediving buddy, as I might be in town. I've was freediving off various beaches of Panama City while I was taking the OSHA 30 four day course last August. Mixed results. The current (W to E) is noticeable, visibility hampered by green algae specs and rashguard or wetsuit (depending on time of year) is a good idea (little jellyfish stings, but nothing major). I was limited on time but got out there at least once a day for at least a few hours a time. I know there's some better spots, as I've heard there was a nice little ~35ft deep wreck... but I think a boat's needed to get out there. Again, hit me up if you're feeling froggy. -Glad you served and glad you joined here.

Welcome to the forum Jonathan. 'Glad to have you. I'm jealous of your location. Good attitude! :thumbsup2:

Welcome Pepe. 'Good to have you. I had a Japanese girlfriend in Australia. That was some soft hair... and it was good. lol

Welcome Fordguy. 'Good to have you.

Welcome Bruce. 'Good to have you. I just past through your area. Where will your class be?

Welcome to the forum Will. 'Good to have you.

Merry Christmas all. Happy New Year, too.

On the chinook were mostly SEAL's (reports say some ST6), a few Air Force SOF (CCT's for CAS or maybe PJ's) and five were the army crew-members (maybe TF160). That was one (uncommonly) HUGE 55 gal. drum of whoop-ass QRF that was heading in. This time it was Rangers that called in the QRF and not the other way around. I'm trying to check if we lost Rangers too, as it's likely. The Taliban might've had some amount of planning in that they'd take a shot at the QRF, if called, but this was some insane luck on their part. To say they "planned it" is absolute BS. Sometimes, luck runs the wrong way, also. I feel like Don, too. When I first heard (was in lumber liquidators), I thought it was a news blunder, as it was too much deja-vu from a few years ago. I'm sure Spectre was orbiting in very short order. -A bad day for everyone, us included. RIP brothers.

Welcome Davide!

Papaa, I can tell you've been burnt up, too! :frustrated1: Sometimes, it's just :bs2: part of the job. If it has to do with tubes (high pressure/high temp), boilermakers do it, waterwall or anywhere else, big or small -usually 100% x-ray'd. To my knowledge, I've not "shrunk" tubes, though... at least, not on purpose anyway. lol

Don, coumadin?? Really? Damn, that's hard. I know about coumadin from my mom dying of cancer in hospice. She called it rat poison, but it was used as a blood thinner to stop her from getting a fatal clot -up until she died (ironic). In vodka, no less? Who knew? It sounds like something only "professional Polski" or "professional Russian" should try. "Don't try this at home..." lol

For instance, this is real "Professional Russian":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8IGDIujijQ

Wait for the, "C'mon, don't be beech". :laughing3:

Who doesn't love Marines? -Taliban, that's who! :thumbsup2:

Semper Fi, brother.

Vivat Na Zdrowie Don! :alchohol1: How did you know how to make my mouth water? I like "whodka", as it's definitely a heritage thing. Lunker's probably the same. I'll bet Bison's a smooth one, too. I see it's genuine "Polski". I'll have my eye out for it now, as I'm usually looking to try something different just about every trip to the liquor store (which isn't as often as it used to be --raises your cholesterol and can decrease one's awesomeness if used too often). That said (for those that haven't heard it:), "NAHZ-DROH-vyeh"!! :toast2: It sounds good just saying it, doesn't it? "WHODKA!" "c'mon, don't be beech!" -Good times!!

I agree with blackbeard, too. Wire feed is easiest to learn and easiest to get good weld appearance, it's true. Tip: (especially if you're just starting out) It helps to have an auto lens for more accurate/better looking starts, as where ever you have that gun pointed when you pull the trigger, it starts depositing weld metal RIGHT THEN, RIGHT THERE, like it or not. There's no time to "figure out where you are". It CAN be the "easiest"/least frustrating/most user-friendly (and most cost effective) process for most people. I like it for its forgiveness and ease of welding thin metal, just so long as you move your tacks around to spread the heat. -Can't be beat for autobody, especially. You can also weld a bead as long as your body positioning(s) and relative comfort will allow: one start, one stop. There's nothing like slag (from gasless flux-core wire) peeling off in 20" sections on its own. I often try to stay away from the stainless-only jobs, though. Burns from stainless take forever to heal (and you WILL get burned with stick or wire-feed, especially in BS tight spaces, odd angles, etc -no avoiding it sometimes -especially arc-gouging) It's got a high arsenic content for one, thus the OSHA-required respiratory protection if there's no fresh air. If I'm not buddy/tube-welding, I usually wear a respirator under my hood, regardless of weld process or material. Besides keeping your insides cleaner, it also stops people from talking you to death while you're working. They'll bother you less if you're "darth vader". Respirators and conversation don't mix. Respiratory protection doesn't mix with vodka either, though. (Maybe a tube from a beer-hat that would work with a hood? -That's a lodda vodka. Appearance would eventually suffer anyway.) Props to the stainless keg-grill. I like it.

I agree with the cost point. If you or anyone on SpearDiver need any welding or other heavy industry pointers, I'm here to help any way I can. The only dumb question is the one not asked, so don't worry, I enjoy helping others any way I can, even with those little questions, too. Mention SB for a free hangup, though!:thumbsup2:

Edit: Oh, btw, you can TIG with your DC welder you've got now (if you ever want to play with it). Just connect the ground to positive/+ and connect any used air-cooled tig torch to the NEG/- side and connect the torch hose to an argon bottle with a flow-meter. No need for a foot pedal or anything crazy. Just set the heat low, start the gas, scratch start and away you go, keeping the tungsten just off the puddle... add wire to the molten puddle. 3/32" 2% thoriated tungsten is fine (the one with the red paint on the end).