Scubafriends Network

No, I’m not talking about those “dive adventure” helmet trips to the bottom of a 10′ snorkel site. And I’m not talking about super-discount trips on a submersible. I’m talking about Endless Ocean for the Nintendo Wii.
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Wow. Someone has finally invented an underwater digital camera that anyone (yes, anyone) can use. Due for release in March, this cool little device integrates directly into the mask. So if you are one of those people that travels with just one mask (and maybe a spare), it’s the perfect camera. Just face your subject, reach up and push the button. No more worrying about extra gear hanging off you, no more badly framed photos (thanks to the crosshairs carved into the mask glass) and no more funny looks when you dunk your mask in the camera bucket..

5.1 Megapixels, good to 30 meters, and it even takes video. 16MB of built-in storage, expandable via micro-sd (not another random format…sigh) and best of all, its only $99USD. Anyone want to get one and report back?

(Via CNET)

I finally gave in and switched to WordPress. Part of why I haven’t been posting recently (..ok, its been about 5 months) is the old interface and the constant need to update Drupal. Unfortunately, accounts haven’t been migrated over, so you’ll need to reregister. The good news is its much easier to post now, so I should have something up every few days. (And I can queue posts ahead of time when I expect to be busy, yay..)
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Moray eels have a second set of “jaws” at the top of their throats, reminiscent of the movie Aliens. A study has shown exactly how the double-jaw action works during feeding. While most fish use suction to eat (suddenly expanding their mouths to grab food and water together) moray eels use the unique second set of jaws to secure food in a method unlike that in any previously studied animal.
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A fascinating algae that is the primary food supply for coral around the world has started to yield secrets. It is a very unique lifeform, with 100x the DNA of humans and a unique non-chlorophyll-based photosynthesis method. It even has an impact on global warming by soaking up atmospheric CO2.
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Looking for a winter vacation? Consider one of the most remote islands in the world – Midway Atoll. As part of the new national marine monument in Hawaii, the island is being opened for ecotourism to help raise awareness as well as remove trash and foreign species.
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In all senses of the word. We didn’t go to Pensacola but we had a decent time in Folly Beach, SC instead. It was a good break from life for a while, and a nice chance to get unplugged from email/web/work/etc. Also, as you probably noticed, the site is back and functioning. (Due to some purely non-technical policies, the back of the house is basically covered in Verizon fios boxes. They won’t do static IP on any residential lines, period, and they won’t give residential-class tv/phone on a business account, so there are now two fiber lines – and associated hardware – on and in the house. Oh, and they won’t unblock port 80 on non-static accounts.)

OK, I lied earlier, the .mobi version should be working fine now. So you can also visit us from your portable device of choice at http://scubafriends.mobi/ or http://letsdive.mobi.

Update (Feb 9, 2008): With the new software, any of the URLs should automatically redirect to the mobile version on mobile devices.

So we’ve been down a while because Verizon FIOS filters port 80 (sigh) but I’ve got a hack in place until the upgrade to full service. (That’ll be next Thursday.) We aren’t going on the Oriskany trip – Sie came down with my sinus infection and won’t be able to dive. Instead we’re going to spend the weekend at Folly Beach. And we’ve got some site news after the break.
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So it looks like that Dean will be long gone and the potential storm will peter out before our trip. Cross your fins!
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We reported on a similar story (before the site update, unfortunately) but it seem the first diving-related death has occurred on the Oriskany.
Updated: The comments section of the Pensacola News Journal article has a post from someone claiming to have been present on the H2O at the time. The details (such as they are) are below.
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