Oceans of Opportunity

Author: oceanopportunity

scientific diving – a value add

As my career has evolved, I’ve found myself involved in progressively more challenging environments to work in and under – part of this has been out of personal interest, and part has been out of necessity to take science forward [and deeper]. This pursuit brings out one critical and common thread which needs to be…

Read More

tech tips: think subject illumination, rather than ‘lighting’

As recently as two days ago I was mucking about at the bottom of Narragansett Bay to identify and recover debris that may have posed a problem for a dredging operation. While at it, I made the effort to do some tests with a recently launched underwater LED light. The design was pushed by your…

Read More

bah humbug to our failed state

‘Tis the season and that time of year, where the consumerism that now resides deeply embedded within our American heritage is at the forefront and is cause for nothing short of hysteria and pandemonium on the streets. Sounds like a bad movie but it’s actually just the Christmas shopping season. Bah humbug I say to…

Read More

Oak Island | shedding some light on the value of discovery based science

I am first to admit that I stayed up late last night to take in another new episode of History Channel’s Oak Island. Oak Island itself is fascinating – ranking up there with the Pyramids, crop circles, the Bermuda Triangle, ancient alien theory, Atlantis, ‘the Flood’, and so on. Any of these taboo “science” topics…

Read More

Alveoli and Ravioli

As we have trod onward through this life aquatic, among the most evident principles in managing a human presence underwater is a fundamental appreciation for basic human needs – food, water, shelter, and of course air to breathe. Remove any of these and the human struggles to climb Mr. Maslow’s hierarchical pyramid of human performance…

Read More

’tis the season, for Black Beans

Friends and readers around this watery planet, it is that time of year yet again. My annual shameless plug for a proud piece of paperback literature that has soared into double-digit sales last year: Black Beans, Mean Business, by yours truly. The book is the perfect stocking stuffer for the budding entrepreneur in your life…

Read More

tech tips: offboard diluent gas addition for rebreathers

With a growing population of rebreather divers, subsystem level components are in need of being standardized to enable cross-unit compatibility within a dive team. One such area, of critical importance, is cross-compatibility of offboard gas distribution systems. All members of a dive team should be able to share or utilize any other members’ offboard gas…

Read More

The a[l]lure of an Aquarium on Ice?

Just when you thought you’ve seen it all… A Japanese theme park tried to draw visitors by freezing 5,000 fish beneath its ice rink, but a public outcry forced it to close the attraction after just two weeks. Source: Aquarium on Ice, a Lure for Skaters in Japan, Appalls Them Instead – NYTimes.com From an…

Read More

tech tips: hot water valves for divers

Most divers are at least familiar with the concept of a drysuit. Idea being to keep water off of the diver‘s body, which has a cooling effect. Within the suit, an insulating undergarment is worn to retain the diver’s body heat and provide some lasting comfort while diving in coldwater. It’s tried and true, though…

Read More

Matt Johnston’s Diving a Dream – 10 Years Later

Today marks 10 years since Matt Johnston’s pioneering first ocean dives in the Florida Keys – becoming the first person in history to dive while dependent on a ventilator resulting from challenges faced with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. Link to Diving a Dream website For all who have contributed in any way big or small, again…

Read More