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Monday, December 26, 2011
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
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Wednesday, December 7, 2011
PADI Advanced Open Water Course - Underwater Photography
Creating art is one thing, creating art in a different universe is taking it to a new level, and the lower you go, the more fun it is with the PADI Advanced Open Water Course; Underwater Photography. Telling people what you saw when diving in Bali, compared to showing them what you saw while scuba diving Bali, really makes the old axiom shine that a pictures says a thousands words.
The brief for the Advanced Open Water Underwater Photography dive should cover the planning, organization, procedures, techniques, problems and hazards of underwater-photography diving, you will also learn some photographic principles, composition, film types, flash /available light photography and camera-handling techniques as well as the preparation, care and maintenance of photographic equipment. In the PADI Advanced Open Water Course you will do one dive for Underwater Photography this dive can apply to the Underwater Photography PADI Specialty which will require one more dive.
The main idea of the PADI Underwater Photography Specialty is to get you comfortable with a camera while scuba diving. Shooting pictures underwater offers lots of challenges you have to take into effect the fact that water and air have different properties and so behave differently, as you descend deeper into the water you lose colors first the reds then the yellows then the blues.
The part that most divers have difficulty with for getting the best pictures is the distance from the object you are shooting & getting the light right. Getting the light and distance correct will take some practice. A great thing today is that many underwater cameras are digital so you can shoot as many pictures as you like. I tell students to shoot many more pictures than you will want and to check as you are shooting.
Another consideration is your safety, many times divers concentrate so hard on the photography that they can potentially hurt themselves because they are not paying as much attention to the environment as they should, which is a strong reason for doing your first dives with a camera under a PADI Open Water Instructors supervision.
The course will teach you the correct way to prepare your camera for submersion and how to clean you camera after your dive. Making sure that you prepare your camera and more importantly, your camera housing before a dive is critical; as a flood of your housing almost always results in the camera being ruined. A camera can flood for many reasons with the main reason being something like a hair or a single grain of sand in the seals, which can be enough for the housing to leak, which is why great care is always taken in this step to be extra vigilant of foreign debris on the o-ring or the o-ring seat. You should also examine the camera for cracks or "spidering" which usually means that you need to get a new housing. Some divers go so far as to bring magnifying glasses to inspect the seals and the camera before a dive! Actually having a magnifying glass underwater is a great idea for looking at the detail on some of the small stuff like nudibrachs and small crabs and shrimps!
Underwater lights & strobes are a common feature on expensive underwater cameras that can cost upwards and beyond ,000 dollars. For the advanced lights and strobes preparation and care is a whole separate area of study. Some underwater lights burn so hot that you cannot turn them on outside of the water, or they will burn up! These advanced lights and strobes need large battery packs to support them underwater which have their own special considerations. For most simple underwater lights and strobes following the basic care of the camera will also work for them, mainly making sure that the seals are clean, greased and properly installed.
The taking of photos underwater is fun in itself but the photos afterwards increase the enjoyment and the value of your dive adventures as you remember the faces and the wildlife that that just reading your log book just can't compete with as the pictures will bring you back to those special moments underwater that you have captured and reviewing them will reinforce the pleasant memories for many years to come for you and your friends.
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Beijing Central Airport in China
Compared to the mess that was Shanghai, Beijing was a snap getting in and out of while not nearly as pretty and modern as some of the other main airports in China like the modern newer airports in Xiamen, Xian or Lhasa. The passport control was busy and the customs are through, but they process you in a reasonable amount of time. The airport had everything that you would expect, except for one very notable flaw; there is no train into the city, which is unfortunate. They do a have a expressway that goes straight into Beijing from the airport, so the cheapest way to get to Beijing, if you are a single, is to take the bus, the problem with this is that you have no idea where they are dropping you off, so you are at the mercy of the taxis from there and they are quite mercenarily in the pricing if they know you don't know the lay of the land. The terminus for the airport bus into Tiananmen Square was at the Raffles Hotel, so they charged us as much to go 2 miles as we paid to 30 KM from the airport to Tiananmen Square 30 Yuan. The Taxis were quite expensive compared to other parts of China, at over 100 Yuan for the 20 minute trip., the cost was right around 100 Yuan with a foreign exchange rate of 7.66 to the US dollar works out to around .00
As would be expected the largest presence at the airport is the national carrier Air China, as Beijing only has one airport, the regional carriers are all here as well, such as Xiamen Air, Southern China Air, China Eastern, Hainan Airlines and Sichuan or SCAL as they are abbreviated. Beijing is serviced by all the big airlines as well from the west, like JAL United, American Cathy Pacific and many other international flights flying in and out of Beijing Central Airport.
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Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Google IPv6 Implementors Conference: Opening and Access Networks
Google IPv6 Implementors Conference Opening Session and Access Networks Session June 10-11, 2010 Opening remarks 00:24 Opening remarks -- Vint Cerf, Google Access networks 10:56 Yahoo! Broadband's strategy for IPv6 transition -- Masato Yamanishi, Softbank BB 32:02 IPv6 Internet access over the NTT NGN -- Ichiro Mizukoshi, NTT East 47:15 Comcast IPv6 trials -- John Jason Brzozowski, Comcast Full Conference Agenda and Links at sites.google.com
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Sunday, November 27, 2011
12 Vacation Tips for Westin Grand Bahama Island Our Lucaya Resort
Tip 1. Food at the hotel itself is ok. Breakfast buffet is great if you are looking for a lot of food. I would recommend going across the street to Port Lucaya for most meals to save some cash. There are a few higher end places to eat that will give you a better meal than some of the hotel food. The food on the resort is kind of expensive. Also, they do not accept cash in most places so you are forced to either charge to the room or use a credit card
Tip 2. Buses to town are inexpensive frequently boarding by the police station near the hotel. Nice local restaurants: Becky's (try the guava duff for dessert) and Geneva's. Had excellent dinner at the hotel Restaurant Iries and Sabor across the street - sunset view was beautiful.
Tip 3. Lucanio's at the Marketplace is great for a nice dinner. Zobra's has great food for all 3 meals reasonably priced. 'Pieces' has the best pizza, better than the states. Also, go to The Stoned Crab at Taino Beach. The food was delicious and reasonably priced. Plus drinks are about half the cost of the hotel.
Tip 4. The Marketplace is where to go for cheap drinks and no rowdy people here...very quiet and laid back.
Tip 5. The gym had some up to date equipment and was very clean. And best of all, there was no additional charge to use the gym.
Tip 6. The market across the street has some good restaurants tucked away in the back behind all of the touristy gift shops. Churchill's restaurant on the resort is the best but expect to pay 0-0 for two adults, including drinks.
Tip 7. Make sure to hit the market across the seat and grab a fresh ''conch salad'' for a snack, from the vendor by the waterfront.
Tip 8. I would recommend spending a day at Paradise Cove for snorkelling. It's a more private beach with a great reef, and lunch is included in the price.
Tip 9. Make reservations at the resorts restaurants for prompted service. Otherwise walk-ins will take some time.
Tip 10. If you want to gamble there is a nice casino on premises and in Port Lucaya area across the street is great. Live music on weekends.
Tip 11. On Friday nights they have live entertainment in the square located in the marketplace.
Tip 12. Best shopping on island is just across the street! I grabbed a fly fishing rod from AdvancedFlyFishing.com (great prices on travel fishing rods that pack small) fished west end on a rainy day very nice bone fishing!
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Shanghai Trains Don't Miss the Attraction in China!
Shanghai is missing a trick by not listing its maglev train as a tourist attraction. What a rush to go 431 Kilometers an hour. In 8 minutes you go 30 kilometers with a very comfortable ride. The speed of the train makes it just as good as any amusement park, without the long lines. Maglev stands for magnetic levitation, the train raises off the tracks because of magnetic polarization, as the train is not on the tracks it takes away a lot of the friction caused by gravity, which makes the train able to go so fast. The price of the ride was very fair at 80 Yuan, just a little bit over USD. The maglev runs from Pudong airport to the Southwest corner of Shanghai. Something to keep in mind is that Shanghai has two airports on opposite sides of the city.
Shanghai like all great city's has an excellent commuter train system that is fast and cheap, most rides on the metro are under 1USD, most are in the 3- 6 Yuan range for moving around inside the cities inner rings, which is where most tourists will spend there time in Shanghai. We found the metro system to be easy to navigate with out help from the locals. The train system was developed by Siemens and was very similar to the trains in Singapore as well as Bangkok. The route maps were everywhere and were in English as well as Chinese they also had a lot of other maps showing the landmarks near the train stations with the exits well marked on the maps as well. Shanghai has 4 commuter lines and the maglev line which is separate and needs a different fare.
Monday, November 21, 2011
Scuba Diving Adventures Lost at Sea Help the Searchers!
A basic concept in most rescue diver courses is self rescue to keep your self from being lost at sea dive, training is important but should it happen having 4 pieces of scuba diving equipment with you will make you chances of being rescued significantly higher and they are useful tools on most adventure scuba diving trips. Like the Boy Scouts say be prepared!
Plastic Whistles, Safety Sausages, Snorkels and a Light.
The 4 best things to have are a loud plastic whistle, a long safety sausage, a snorkel and a light. The good thing is this dive equipment will all fit in a dive pocket quite easily, and are relatively cheap dive gear to buy, so there is no reason not to have them.
Plastic whistles
Plastic whistles don't rust and they don't run out of air to sound them until it becomes moot. Sound carries a real long way on the water, especially at night. Most modern "BCD's" Buoyancy Control Devices have one built in, usually attached to the low pressure inflator, right next to where your mouth is. Another option is air powered horns also attached to the low pressure inflator mechanism in a variety of ways. Air horns are even better at producing signal, put are not fool proof as they are mechanical and can have any number of things make them non-operational, and you will eventually run out of tank pressure to sound them. 50 bar of air will give you a lot of bursts, but as the pressure in the tank decreases, so does the volume.
Safety Sausages
Safety sausages are mostly orange with some being yellow. Searchers can spot these on the surface from a long way off for 2 reasons, one they are orange which instinct makes you pay attention to as it is usually associated with danger in the wild. The 2nd reason is that they are out of the water, in the air, and can be made to wave which further increases there visibility; again humans are hard wired in our reptilian brains to see things that move for food and safety. The main draw back is that they can not be seen at night unless, they are illuminated some how. As they have no movable parts or batteries they are Kiss simple provided they don't have a leak, and even with a leak they will float so can still be seen from the air, or decks on boats that are elevated. It also a good idea as a diver to mark where you are coming up at so boats doesn't run over you. Many safety sausages will also have a plastic whistle attached to sleeve that stores them, a good feature to look for when you are shopping for dive gear.
Snorkels
You want to get me worked up try telling me why you are such a pro that you don't need a snorkel! What a load of smelly poop, with the exceptions of night manta dives, or penetration dives on silt layered wrecks or caves, I always have my snorkel attached to my mask! I have been in flat seas more than once with no wind, and came up with a thunderstorm that was over the horizon at the start of dive, whipping up 2.5 meter seas in 45 minutes. If you come up away from the boat or the boat can't see more than 100 meters, you could be in for an exhausting 20 minutes or more fighting for breathe while swallowing and puking Neptune tea.
A Pocket Light
A LED pocket light is very handy for looking in holes in the day time for pipe fish and crabs and nudibrachs. I am especially drawn to extended battery life that the LED's provide, most go almost 8 hours before you need to change the battery, this could be the difference that gets you found if you are a drift on the open ocean at night. They can be used in a couple of ways, placed inside the safety sausage which will stand out as a beacon for a long way at night, again elevated, moving and out of place will get it seen. The 2nd way is to point it at boats, planes and helicopters and do the classic SOS, Save Our Souls, 3 long, 3 short, 3 long. Remember do this by moving your hand over the lens, not by turning the switch on and off which heightens the possibility of an equipment failure when you need it least.
Military, rescuers and commercial vessels, including high flying commercial flights will all respond to an SOS if they see it, if fact, are required by maritime law and tradition to respond if it does not put them or their ships in danger. With the long burn time of a LED you should get one maybe even two nights or more out of the batteries. A light turned on pointing at a boat in the day time can be seen for a long way off, and when the batteries die you can use it as a mirror in the day time to flash people a long way off to bring attention to you including planes and helicopters.
As usual the best defense is a good offence, keep the software in your head engaged, stay within your dive abilities and training, be aware of strong currents, monitor local weather forecasts, keep your dive gear in good order and plan your dive and dive your plan . These will always be your best bet from being Lost at Sea.
Where to Stay in Paris on a Budget
In many ways Paris is an excellent holiday location for people trying to enjoy high life and culture on a budget. It's very close to the UK, and fine dining needn't come at the cost it does over here. The point where people often struggle is finding a reasonably priced hotel that will allow them to see the sights of this wonders of the city without breaking the bank. Having lived and worked in the city giving Paris airport transfers for most of my life, I've learned a thing or two about where to go to save cash. Here are some of the better rated hotels in Paris that won't cost an arm and a leg:
Hotel du Square d'Anvers
Just a 2 minute stroll from a Metro station, Hotel du Square d'Anvers is a cheap and cheerful way to see the city. The staff are polite and friendly, the rooms are comfortable, and it's so close to the centre that you can see the top of the Eiffel Tower from some of the balconies! Fair enough, it can get quite hot and the rooms are a little on the small side, but you really won't want to spend much time in your room when you're in a city as marvellous as Paris. My shuttle passengers are generally positive about this one - don't expect the Ritz and you'll get excellent value in a superb location.
Hotel Rive Gauche
Another cheap hotel that boasts an excellent location with just the right mix of locals and tourists. Just across the river from the Louvre, this is a great location for visitors looking to see the classic sights of Paris. The rooms are basic, and you may find the street noise a little much with the windows open, but for the price it's a good deal for exploring the city.
Hotel Chopin
For the price of a night at the Hotel Chopin, it's hard to imagine anything better! Local to the Louvre and with a fine selection of old world shops and restaurants nearby, the hotel is best described as quaint and charming. The staff aim to make guests feel like friends and family, and they succeed admirably. If you're looking for modern facilities like wi-fi internet and cable TV, you'll be sorely disappointed, but for the price it offers a perfectly good room in a splendid location.
Hotel Britannique
Placed 5 to 10 minutes from Notre Dame and next door to Les Halles Metro stop, it's hard to imagine a better location in the entire city. In terms of value for money, it's excellent and unlike a few of the others in the list is air conditioned, meaning you won't have to risk noisy streets with the windows left open in the night. Its average price is a little higher than some of the others, but if you intend to go in the off-season, this has possibly the best value for money. According to some of my Paris airport transfer passengers, it compares favourably to some of its more expensive rivals!
Hotel Langlois
At around 70 Euros per night, you can't beat the Hotel Langlois. Just a short walk from the Metro station with spacious rooms and oozing with character, this is the budget hotel that gets the most praise from my Paris shuttle customers. It has many features you'd expect from a more expensive hotel including cable TV (with English channels!) and free internet. One thing though - watch out for the lift, which can be a very tight squeeze. If you're in a large group, you may have to take a few trips!
Sure, not every Paris shuttle driver will know where these are (bring a map!) but, if you're looking to save a few quid without having to settle for squalor, you can't go wrong with these. Having successfully ferried hundreds of passengers in my Paris airport transfers, I have a good idea of which hotels to rate and which ones to avoid, and all of these get a solid thumbs up for travellers of a thrifty disposition!
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