the water temperatures in the Caribbean (from Key West to the US Virgin Islands) have reached their seasonal high two months ahead of time.  Normally, the waters do not get this hot until September.  this

means that for the next two months, water temperatures will likely climb above their normal highs. see full story.

bleached coral may not recover if high water temperatures persist

   this is bad news for coral.  when water gets too hot, corals will lose their resident algae and "bleach" (turn a ghostly white).  if the algae do not return, or if repeated exposure to warm water kills the algae off, the coral will die.

   already early in the year Caribbean coral was in trouble and dying at alarming rates.  this follows the pattern seen in Australia's Great Barrier Reef earlier in the year, and is not good news for coral.  as sea temperatures continue to rise, watch for more and more stress to pile on coral, with possibly devastating results.

    sadly, as sea temperatures continue to rise, i am not sure there's much we can do about it at this point.  we may be the last generation of divers to see corals in their full bloom.

     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.

      you know, i understand that it's in the name of science (or at least tv ratings), but this idea of building a replica of a great white shark with which to study sharks in the wild is a bit ... well ... weird.

    but here it is:  a replica of a great white shark built by Fabien Cousteau to shoot film for his CBS special Sharks: Mind of a Demon (not that that's an inflamatory title or anything):

fabien cousteau (inside the fake shark) is lowered from deck

    Fabien gets into the shark geared up as for a regular scuba dive (using a rebreather).  the shark is then flooded, and he drives it along.  i can't figure out from the story if the shark is electrically powered.  anyway, here's a picture of Fabien inside the shark, before they close it up:

   maybe Fabien will next build a replica of a scientist so he can investigate first hand what goes on in that milleu.

See Full Story

     i took this video on my trip to Roatan, June 2005.  nothing fancy; i just used the video feature on my Canon SD-110.  sorry, no external lights, so the colors aren't that great.

    watch video

   i stayed with the CocoView resort: great crews, great staff.  i'm not sure if i'll go back to Roatan, but if i do, i'll defeintely go back to CoCoView.   why i ain't going back to Roatan (tongue in cheek) (apologies to Bob Dylan):

i ain't going back to Roatan no more,

no I ain't going back to Roatan no more,

it's hot and is humid,

the dining room's got no AC,

and the sandflies and bugs

have left nothing of me

the itch and the pain i just can't ignore

no, i ain't going back to Roatan no more

i ain't going back to Roatan no more

no i ain't going back to Roatan no more,

the guys at the bank

pack loaded shotguns,

the crazy taxi driver

just absconded with my funds

despite my best attemps to build rapport

no, i ain't going back to Roatan no more

i ain't going back to Roatan no more

no, i ain't going back to Roatan no more,

(repeat ad nauseam)