browsing around the net, i found an article dating back to September, 2000, in which the results of a study testing the effect of two common drugs on divers was discussed. 

   basically, "divers" were put on a chamber to simulate a dive to 66 feet (3 atmospheres).  they were then tested for the reactions to pseudoephedrine, a decongestant many divers take to relieve pressure in the sinuses or middle ear, such  as Sudafed, and dimenhydrinate, the active ingredient in most anti-seasickness products such as Dramamine.

   the results?

Even without the drugs, the participants exhibited increased anxiety and decreased verbal fluency at conditions simulating 66 feet under water, the researchers found. Pseudoephedrine produced a slight increase in heart rate and interacted with the depth effect to increase the decline in verbal fluency, but overall, the authors write that "it is unlikely that pseudoephedrine adds significant risk to the diver."

Dimenhydrinate, on the other hand, was associated with much lower scores on a test that required the subjects to switch rapidly between two tasks and is a measure of mental flexibility. "We showed a definite impairment [from dimenhydrinate], especially in combination with narcosis, and the deeper you go, the greater your decline," says O'Toole, an experienced diver who directs the hyperbaric medicine program at the University of Pittsburgh. "I would not recommend that someone take this drug and dive."

  see full story

   so, it would appear that taking any drug containing dimenhydrinate  should be avoided by divers, as this study indicates that it increases the effect of narcosis.

  of course, no one has tested meclizine (the active ingredient in Bonine) to the best of my knowledge ... so ... i guess we take it at our own risk until someone tests it.

     here's a mystery for the ages:  this past june 27, while walking near a high school in Hesperia, California (located 35 miles north of San Bernardino, 90 miles northeast of Los Angeles), two friends discovered a four-foot shark had been dumped in an empty field:

this is the shark found in the desert

    strange, that ... finding a shark in the Mojave Desert.   at any rate, the local newspaper's theory is that someone caught the shark while fishing, brought it home, let it lose in a pool, and the shark died from the chlorine.

  now, i am not sherlock holmes, but the above-scenario has several problems, chief among them: if someone can keep a shark alive and bring it home from a fishing trip, surely they know enough about sharks to know that swimming in a pool will kill it.

  no, no .... we have a more nefarious motive at work here, methinks.  so far, these are my two leading candidates:

   1. someone had been keeping the shark in an aquarium, and for whatever reason, the shark died. or perhaps the shark was allowed to die, due to financial problems, an impending move, who knows what ... for whatever reason, a home aquarist has a dead shark in his or her hands.  what to do?  dump it in the empty field.

  2. someone caught the shark while fishing and brought it home to have it stuffed.  finding how much it cost (holy &*%%$*) they thought better of it and dumped the shark.  or perhaps they found out from the taxidermist that it was illegal to have such sharks stuffed.... again, panic (holy %(^&^))$) and a quick dump.

  whatever the reason, one hopes karma comes back to bite the perpretators of this hineous deed.

       ok, this is a really weird story ... please bare with me.

      a long time ago (15 years ago, to be exact), this rock producer named Sharon Tendler met a dolphin in Israel.  the dolphin was in one of those dolphin performance park things. 

     the dolphin's name was Cindy.  it was a male dolphin.  probably, it did not appreciate being called Cindy, but it really had no way of telling anybody about this.  or who knows, maybe it liked the name Cindy. who can say?  the heart of dolphins is a mysterious thing.

   apparently, so is the heart of rock producers named Sharon Tendler.  Sharon decided that she was in love with Cindy, and for the last 15 years came to "visit"  Cindy two to three times a year.  Sharon felt great peace while she swam with Cindy.

   last year, Sharon decided she wanted to marry Cindy.  they had a ceremony, and Cindy had some of his dolphin friends act as his groom's men.  Sharon wore white and a garland of flowers.  i kid you not:

  sadly, this love story has an unhappy ending.  Cindy recently became ill, and would not eat.  he was seen vomiting, and did not look healthy.  this past june 18, Cindy died.  Cindy was burried at sea by aquarium workers.

   See the full story here.

       this is too cool.  this guy built a scuba pack for his cat,

and the cat loves to dive.  the guy's dog also loves to dive.

     See Video

     another kind of scuba diving cat:

             ran into this footage of cave divers at Chac Mool, Mexico.

this is a relatively shallow cave (40 feet average), just south of the main

Puerto Adventuras entrance, between Playa del Carmen and Akumal,

Mexico.

      Watch the video here

           though the stalactite and stalagmite formations aren't huge,

they are there.  that means that these caves formed above water

and were later flooded.  caves like those in Florida that were

formed below water do not have stalactites and stalagmites.

  dumb joke:  what's the difference between a stalagtite and a

stalagmite?  one has an "m."

   real answer:  stalactites hang from the ceiling.  stalagmites sit

on the floor.