Category: Urbania | Beneath City Streets
Overpopulation Nation. Do we need a Sea Station?
This is a refreshed op-ed from its original publication in 2017; to expand on context related to modern and future subsea habitation as we reflect on the historical significance of the Sealab Program on its 60th anniversary. Call it one of those quirky fateful twists – as I started up my truck this morning [January…
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Dive #5000 | reflections & ten unsolicited tips
This morning I looked down at my weight harness for an extra few seconds as I contemplated throwing it over my shoulders yet again…as hard as we work to make things easier, some parts of the process are here to stay. I went ahead with it, for the 5000th time – today I completed my…
Read MoreOut of Sight, Out of Mind
They say “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure”, and that may well be the case for pickers galore, or even for we subaquatic pickers – wreck hunters, salvors, and history nerds. But it’s not all fun and games… In some cases, underwater wreckage is actually a watery grave, and must be treated with the…
Read MoreLurking in the Shadows of September 11
Today will forever be one of those days where every American will reminisce a bit and contemplate where and how we are moving forward. In my case, today the dive supervisor reminded me that this was the 4th anniversary of Lyle passing away. Lyle Smith was the owner of Coastal Diving in Middletown, RI –…
Read MoreBoring worms aren’t that boring
Ahh, the glamour and high life promised to we commercial divers – international travel, becoming part of fabled sea stories, mega-buck paychecks – boils down an inconvenient truth; boring worms aren’t (or at least shouldn’t) be that boring. For every one of those fabled sea stories that turns into a reality, there are at least…
Read Morea diver’s life hangs in the balance
Acceptable risk. This is something that is widely variable from person to person, from diver to diver, and can ebb and flow based on the current state of affairs, and even day to day state of mind. Earlier this week, while conducting a fairly routine activity underwater – fully accepting the risk – I was…
Read MoreMaking waves, in Compost!
Yesterday, our local news featured a piece about Stop & Shop’s regional compost facility in Assonet, MA. This is such an amazing facility, and hopefully becomes a model of efficiency for other large companies: http://turnto10.com/news/local/stop-shop-facility-turns-food-into-energy Some might ask how in the world this seems to excite me? Well, environmental advocacy aside, I’ve been up close…
Read Morediving in the background
This week was one of those weeks – a marathon stretch of hard mud diving every day which equated to just shy of 30 hours underwater within a 5 day stretch, with one day including a 7 hour dive. I’ve had lots of weeks like this, for better or worse, and they always manage to…
Read Morerecollections from the bottom up
When the phone rings, it could be just about anything… I’ve answered calls that have resulted in gearing up and on a flight to Central America within 2 days, headed offshore on a rickety fishing boat within 2 hours, and asked to review a major construction project that is 2 years out. You never know…
Read Morethe smells and the sounds of a day welding in the mud
As hard as the days can be, the entire experience of a days worth of diving in the mud is nothing short of value packed. And after a hard days work, the level of appreciation for having the opportunity is always elevated. This past week’s activities: wet welding. I’ve written about underwater welding a few…
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