Tag: #lifeaquatic
on world views, and ‘overviews’
Having spent the last twenty days living and working within the surreal dimension of the island nation of the Solomons, I’ve had ample time to reflect on the underwater experience afforded from this pristine part of the Pacific‘s coral triangle. It’s difficult to call any field experience like this ‘routine’, though in many ways it…
Read MoreRising Seas – where should we go?
The September 2013 issue of National Geographic Magazine includes a beautifully developed and presented feature about ‘Rising Seas’ – the imminent threat of sea-level rise due to a variety of factors. The cover page includes a series of questions addressed in the article which read as follows: 1. What will we protect? 2. What will…
Read Morean underwater workforce
On a near daily basis, I end up engaged in inquisitive dialogue about my line of work as an undersea professional. My sense of normalcy is apparently a ‘wet’ dream for numerous others. While its far from all fun and games, the allure of the underwater world is indeed what keeps me motivated to explore its…
Read Morebumps, bruises, & the bends
Working dives are hard. There’s no way around it. Most often, the tasks we carry out are not with surgical precision – they are with a crowbar. Working divers are they themselves tools of the trade. Much like an ROV that is sent on a dive equipped to carry out a task, the diver is…
Read Morediving with ‘style’
In more recent time, especially now that my R&D shop is up and running, I’ve been paying closer attention to the equipment refinements that make the job of working underwater all the more efficient. In some cases, I’ve had to develop things from scratch, in others, its a matter of making minor changes to existing…
Read Morediving is a pain in the neck
Literally. Two weeks ago I woke up in the morning with that crick in your neck that prevents you from turning your head side to side without a radiating pain. Generally, as most have experienced, a few days rest and its back to business as usual. In my case, my ‘few days rest’ turned into…
Read Morethe six pound swing
Today was my first day in quite awhile to do a long 5+ hour underwater exposure. While the much needed winter break was appreciated to catch up on all things topside, the sporadic day of diving here and there did anything but quench my appetite for the life aquatic – nor did it do much to keep my…
Read Moreno more brick and mortar – bigger isn’t always better
A colleague recently shared an article with me that describes a new concept of inflatable additions for the space station or other space habitats. Idea simply being that one can pack all of the essential mission-critical infrastructure into a smaller package, then ‘inflate’ once on site to have a reasonably sized bubble to live and…
Read Morea new world view from the ‘bottom up’
Several year ago, I stumbled on an article by an MIT student that discussed the concept of ‘underwater camping’ – the simple ability to make a foray into the ocean, and stay for awhile. It was a compelling idea. My interests in ocean exploration have always leaned heavily on improving human intervention – advanced diving…
Read Morethe american eel
When the dinner table conversation turns to ‘what I do’, the typical response is one of surprise, with a hint of envy, and a honeymoon image of cruising over some coral reef every day to play with the fish. If it were only that simple. While I wouldn’t trade this life aquatic for any other, it…
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