The sea completely kicks my ass

I have never, ever been this tired in my life. Today goes into the record books as "Yes, it can be worse than the time we tried a shore dive in Myrtle."

First off work called me at 4:00 AM because the idiots in Atlanta forgot to forward the on-call phone to the guy that was really on-call. Naturally I couldn't get back to sleep.

I get up at 5, have some waffles and juice for breakfast, wake Julie up, and we head out. So we get to the place by 6:30 blissfully unaware of just how bad the seas are.

By 7:00 - 7:15 we've cleared the channel and are in the worst seas I've ever experienced. Experienced sea faring folks may scoff at today, but all I could do was hang on for dear life and try not to puke. Others were not so lucky. There were 11 men and 2 women divers not including the staff, and roughly half puked over the side before the day was over. Some repeatedly. I wasn't one of them, but I certainly wasn't feeling well.

The dive site is naturally 22 miles out in these heavy seas so going through these seas to get there is going to take a while. It felt like the longest two hours of my life. When we finally got there I felt like shit. Honestly I was just exhausted from trying to just hold on and maintain.

Dumb, but determined, I donned my equipment and did a giant stride. I had some trouble getting down, and I'm shocked to tell you that 21 pounds wasn't enough to get me down. The dive master did say it was (I think) much, much saltier than other dive sites and would take more weight than normal. He was right. I planned on going with 18 pounds, which is the most I've ever needed before. When he told me 24 I thought he was nuts, and just added a 3 pound weight. Note to self: Trust your dive master, that's what he's paid for.

The wreck itself was nothing spectacular. Saw your typical sea life for this area around it, but certainly nothing worth enduring that trip out for. Had a good time while I was there, but when it was time to come up there was a momentary brain fade of "Empty your BC a bit as you go up because you were almost 80 feet down" and that did not help my assent. Add to that the aluminum cylinder now being positively buoyant, and my planned safety stop at 15 feet saw me bobbing on the surface for a moment. I fought to get back down to 15 feet, and I was head down kicking to try to maintain even after emptying every last bubble out of my BC. (Again, Dave, listen to your dive master about proper weighting!)

When it was time to surface I was lucky in that getting back onto the boat in those seas actually wasn't as bad as I was expecting. Once I got back onto the boat though, I just collapsed after taking off my stuff. I was completely exhausted. I sat there for who knows how long - an hour? More? - just blocking the sun with my arm trying to rest my head, and again trying not to yak.

When most others were gearing up to go back for their second dive, I did the wave off. Even though I felt better in the water than I did on the boat, I knew that in my condition that going back in was a very, very bad idea. I wasn't alone either. There was one casualty on the deck before I even surfaced. He was just hanging over the side almost lifeless. He gets idiot of the day because while I and one other guy didn't go in, were at least smart enough to stay out once we made that call. Moron # 1 after everyone else is down and has been down says "I'm going in." The dive master on the boat told him that they don't allow solo divers, but if he was determined he had to go down the rope, stick to the group, and surface when they did.

Sure enough when everyone else surfaces, no one says they've seen him and now everyone starts looking for him. I'm a poor judge of distance but probably 200 yards away we see his head bobbing in the surf, no where near the boat or line that they've said repeatedly to stick near because the current was strong today. (Another factor in my fatigue.) Out goes the life ring, and a whole bunch of rope. The poor dive master that thought he was done for the day gets to go fish out this moron.

Finally he's back on the boat, the dive masters grab the lines back in, and we're on our way. Did I mention that by now the seas have calmed to what they were the day we dove Barracuda Alley? Yeah I was so thrilled because if they'd been this way all day I probably wouldn't feel this way. I take a seat on a bench by a wall behind the cabin and proceed to pass out. I drift in and out of sleep for the next hour and a half.

Not long after I wake up we find ourselves back in port, and it's time to go. Julie got delayed in traffic, but no big deal. After she picked me up we went home, and I proceeded to sleep for three more hours. At this point I know I'm going to sleep well tonight.

Man what an adventure this turned out to be. Definitely not the way you want your first dive of the year to go.

UPDATE: Almost a month into the no cable experiment

We've been without cable for almost a month, so I thought I'd provide an update.

What has life without cable been like? Honestly I think I watch just as much TV as I did before, and my habits are much the same. "What's on the Tivo that I'd like to watch?" The big difference is that now everything is in HD, and where I typically would put on MASH or 3rd Rock From The Sun for mindless background noise I now put on Seinfeld or That 70's Show. The important change is that I'm getting this entertainment for free instead of paying $50+ a month.

You may be asking "Wasn't everything HD before?" and the answer is no, it wasn't. The majority of what I could receive from our local cable provider was standard definition TV signals. With an inexpensive antenna on our roof, we get fifteen different channels that are all in HD. Here's what we receive in Conway, SC using our antenna:

3-1 WWAY (ABC)
3-2 WWAY Weather (24x7 weather channel)
6-1 WECT (NBC)
6-2 WECT Weather (24x7 weather channel)
13-1 WBTW (CBS)
13-2 WBTW2 (MyTV)
15-1 WPDE (ABC)
21-1 WWMB (CW)
21-2 WWMB2 (CW)
23-1 WHMC (PBS)
23-2 WHMC2 (PBS)
23-3 WHMC3 (PBS)
26-1 WSFX (Fox)
26-2 WSFX2 (ThisTV - starts 2/2/09)
32-1 WMBF (NBC)
43-1 WFXB (Fox)

So all these HD channels are nice, but the question probably is "Do I miss cable?" The answer is no. All of these channels give me most of my entertainment, and what I don't get here, I predominantly get through Netflix. Netflix has a good collection of streaming movies, and what they don't stream they'll send me in the mail.

"You still must be missing some things though." Yes, there are some things that I don't get between the antenna and Netflix, but the few things that they do not provide me are taken care of by online streaming. In fact, I can get more info, webisodes, and full episodes of "The Office" online than I can by watching it on regular TV. Here's my list of links that I've compiled of places I can watch shows online:

• ABC
• ABC Family
• Adult Swim
• A&E
• Bravo
• CBS
• The Daily Show
• Discovery Channel
• Fox
• fX
• History Channel
• Hulu (In my opinion, one of the best places for online viewing)
• Joost
• Make:
• National Geographic Channel
• NBC
• Revision3
• South Park
• Spike
• TBS
• TV.com
  
• TV Land (So I can still watch my 3rd Rock episodes!)
• VH1

I'm sure people have suggestions for additional sites for online viewing of full episodes of their favorite shows. Please send comments with your suggestions so that I can add them to this list.

In the end, I'd call the move away from cable to antenna and web based entertainment a big success. I do not in any way regret dumping cable, and I'm very pleased with this decision. If you're in an area where you can get a number of signals (check HERE for info for your area), and you have high speed internet available for streaming of videos, it's definitely worth considering.

The "We don't need no stinkin' cable" experiment

Well, for the second time in my adult life I'm living without cable TV. The first time was for financial reasons when I was living in Ogdensburg, NY. This time it could be argued that I'm either very cutting edge, or still cheap. (No matter how many times my father corrects me, "It's not cheap, it's frugal!" I can still admit to being cheap.)

I dropped off the cable card from the Tivo to HTC yesterday, and a tech from HTC was by today to install the filter that removes all channels from our cable signal.

So what's so different about now compared to ten years ago when I decided to go without cable? First off, the great digital switchover is coming in February 2009. That will be a benefit because the digital signals should be clearer. I can already see this from the Fox affiliate we receive. The digital signal is much clearer than the analog signal. I've already ordered an HDTV compatible antenna that should arrive on Friday, and I hope to have it installed that afternoon. With basic rabbit ears we already get Fox, CW, and PBS. The antenna with incorporated booster supposedly has 5 times the range, so NBC, ABC, and CBS should be in the mix then.

Compared to 10 years ago, that's everything but CBS in - all Canadian stations out. (Moving from Ogdensburg, NY to Myrtle Beach, SC does tend to have a negative impact on the ability to pick up CBC, CTV, etc. over the air.)

...but the biggest difference between 1998 and 2008 is the availability of shows online. I don't even remember if YouTube was around in 1998, but no one was broadcasting complete shows online ten years ago. Today you can get almost everything you want to watch over the internet for free. The shows I love the most are The Office and My Name Is Earl. Both are available on NBC.com and hulu.com.

I also really like watching 3rd Rock From The Sun on TV Land. No problem - they're streaming as well from tvland.com.

So what did I watch regularly that I'm missing? So far two shows: Mythbusters and MASH. Neither are major losses to me.

This experiment is just beginning for us, but if anyone else is interested in making the switch from cable TV to a combination of broadcast TV and streaming video from the internet, here are some links to get you going:

http://abc.go.com/

http://abcfamily.go.com/abcfamily/path/section_Home/page_Home

http://www.adultswim.com/video/index.html

http://www.aetv.com/

http://www.bravotv.com/

http://www.cbs.com/

http://www.thedailyshow.com/

http://dsc.discovery.com/

http://www.fox.com/

http://www.fxnetworks.com/

http://www.history.com/

http://www.hulu.com/

http://www.joost.com/

http://makezine.tv/

http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/

http://www.nbc.com/

http://www.southparkstudios.com/

http://www.spike.com/network/spike

http://www.tbs.com/

http://www.tvland.com/

http://www.vh1.com/

It's important to note too that these are streaming on the viewer's schedule, not on some "I'VE GOT TO BE HOME AT 9:00 PM ON THURSDAY FOR THE OFFICE!" schedule. Very DVR-like, and very convenient.

I also must add that we've rejoined Netflix due in large part to their streaming of movies. While they may not have all the new releases streaming, their selection is very good and very much worth the $8.99 a month that we're paying. In my opinion, that's far more bang for the buck that anyone gets for their HBO / Cinemax monthly fee.

Stay tuned. I'll try to post a follow up in a month or so with how things are working out.

It's Ubiquity Hug Day!!

We'll get back to the lives of Julie, Dale, and I some time soon, but 'til then I want to pass along the following from Dereck Wonnacott of the Ubuntu Bug Squad.

If you're a linux user - especially an Ubuntu user - please participate in this!

It's me again, filling you inbox with what I know you've been waiting for, this week's HUG DAY info!!

This week's target is *drum roll please* Ubiquity!
* 80 New bugs need a hug
* 80 Confirmed bugs just need a quick review

A bug in the Ubuntu live CD installer (Ubiquity) might stop someone from even trying out Ubuntu, so it is crucial that we at least help the developers best we can give the best first impression possible!

Bookmark it, add it to your calenders, turn over your egg-timers!
* Thursday July 31st
* http://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuBugDay/20080731

Can't stress it enough: everyone can help!

Bug Control Members! There are tons of confirmed bugs here that can't go much further without YOU!

BLOG IT! Especially those on the Planet! There are people who want to help but don't know how and sit on the sidelines of the blog-o-sphere reading; I need your help to get those eyes from blogs to bugs. "Bug work is a fun way to get involved!"
* Publish about the Hug Day Thursday July 31st to get everyone excited.
* Hug some bugs and add yourself to the HugDay's wiki for your readers!

Make a difference: Join the Hug Day on Thursday the 31st. We will be in #ubuntu-bugs (FreeNode) all day and night, and will be ready to answer your questions about how to help.

If you're new to all this, head to http://wiki.ubuntu.com/HelpingWithBugs

~Dereck
(from the BugSquad)

The Sponge Cake or "Why I died at the hands of my co-workers on April Fools Day"

SEE UPDATES AT THE BOTTOM FOR HOW THIS WORKED OUT!

Yes, I'm a perpetual wise-ass and I enjoy having fun. I like April Fools Day as much as any guy, but I don't usually go for something that'll get the entire office. Then I saw an article that inspired me.

Our intern, who we affectionately call Opie, is 22 and has a 22 year old metabolism. He thinks we should have cake once a day, not once a month for birthdays as we do now. When I saw the April Fools Day cake idea I loved it, and my initial thoughts were to get just him. Well why get him when you can get the entire office?

I went shopping Sunday night and purchased the necessary parts. It was difficult not to talk about this at work, and as soon as dinner was over Monday night I set about my evil plans.


I'd purchased 4 two packs of sponges, three cans of frosting, and one bottle of sprinkles. We're going to make my friendly co-workers "A SPONGE CAKE."

Pink (who doesn't love cherry or strawberry cake?), then yellow, and pink again layers sounds nice. Let's start with the first one.


Let the frosting begin!

...and here's how it came out:


Great now let's add the other two layers and frost between them accordingly:


Okay let's frost the top:


Now the sides:


Two sides done:


Almost done. Need to touch up a bit:


...and the finished product:


I hope my co-workers enjoy this on Tuesday. For those like myself who are diet conscious, if you remove the frosting it's very low in calories and high in fiber. ;)

I'll post some results if I can capture any without getting caught.

UPDATE!

So I went into work this morning, and not a soul was around. Considering I go in for 7:30 AM and most everyone else gets there at 9:00 AM this isn't a huge shock. I took the sponge cake straight to the break room and cleared a spot for it.


Hmmm.... Let's make it more inviting.


Yup. There we go. Plates, forks, and a serrated knife to cut it.

I disappear and do some work 'til about 9:00 when Jim gets in. "The cake's in place. Don't get coffee yet. Opie should be here soon."

Sure enough, a few minutes later, in strolls Opie. "Hey Jim. Let's get some coffee, and hey Opie there's a giant cake in the break room. Looks pretty good." He responded with enthusiasm and followed us to the break room.

We get in there and he sees the cake. Oh yes, he must have a piece. Jim and I are both trying not to laugh. Others are also in the break room, although no one but Jim and I are in on the joke. Opie starts to cut into the cake. "It's a little hard to cut."

I start to crack and have to leave the room. Jim tells him it was probably left out overnight, and it should be fine in the middle. I return to see that more people have gathered, and hard as it is to cut, Opie is undeterred because afterall - it's cake!

Finally he gets a corner piece out, and it's tasting time. "I can't even get a fork into it." So he scoops up a piece and...


"It tastes like sponge."

"Yes Opie, it's a sponge cake!"

Those in attendance then roared with laughter including Opie. He wasn't done though.


Yes, he carried it back to his desk. Why? "The frosting's pretty good!"


What can I say? The boy loves his cake.

Thank you Opie. You continue to remain in good spirits through an onslaught of abuse from Dan, Jim, and I, and I personally thank you for it.