Feeding the Spotted Eagle Ray
Feeding the Spotted Eagle Ray
Cameron giving dad a high-five and a kiss
26 sharks, 6 different species, one happy diver
Dive is overTuesday, August 21, 2007
Shark Dive
On Monday I got to dive the 750,000 gallon shark tank at the Maui Ocean Center. What a truly amazing experience. I was allowed to feed a Spotted Eagle Ray and swim with 6 species of sharks. This includes a 6 1/2 foot male tiger shark. My dive was about 50 minutes long and I even found a sharks tooth on the floor of the aquarium.
Cameron giving dad a high-five and a kiss
26 sharks, 6 different species, one happy diver
Dive is over
Cameron giving dad a high-five and a kiss26 sharks, 6 different species, one happy diverDive is over
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Haleakala Sunrise
So the gang decided that we would hit Haleakala first thing. The reason behind this madness is that the Haleakala summit is 10,023 ft above sea level. We left our condo in Kihei around 3:00 am so we could be at the summit before the sunrise. We made it, it was still dark when we got there, it was also about 50 degrees if we were lucky, it was cold. Watching the sunrise above the clouds that mashed against the west side of Maui made it all worth it. The whole event was over by 7:00 am.
On the way back to Kihei we decided to have breakfast at the Kula Lodge. Breakfast was fantastic and the view from the dining area was incredible. You could see all of the Maui valley. Fro breakfast I went with a local favorite, Loco Moco. It starts with a bed of sticky rice, I am beginning to think sticky rice is the only rice you can get on the islands and I am ok with it. Next is a hamburger patti or two, then a couple of fried eggs. Finally it is all topped with brown gravy - man is it good!
Aloha for now!
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Shark Finning
This is a copy of an email sent to one of the diving community news groups I am a member of. Shark finning is the process of catching large quantities of sharks, and while they are still alive, cutting off their dorsal and pectoral fins then dumping the remaining, still alive, shark over board to drown. The entire shark is simply disguarded to save room for the prized fins.
Sharks are at the top of the food chain in the worlds oceans with no natural predators. They are responsible for consuming aging and sick fish and are a vital part of the ocean ecosystem. Over fishing of any kind is an irresponsible act, but shark finning is an immoral one.
Sharks are at the top of the food chain in the worlds oceans with no natural predators. They are responsible for consuming aging and sick fish and are a vital part of the ocean ecosystem. Over fishing of any kind is an irresponsible act, but shark finning is an immoral one.
Hi All,
As you know we have been working on Yahoo! and it's sister company Alibaba.com to stop selling /thousands of tons/ of dried shark fins through their web sites. With the success of our ABC News piece last month at guadalupefund.org we worked with Bruce from Business Week to produce this latest article. This is a global slaughter on an unprecedented scale, and those of you who dive for a living know this first hand.
Hopefully Yahoo! will see the light and change tactics here.
If you can blog this, or pass it one to someone who can carry the torch there's 75 million sharks that will thank you next year...and several marine protected areas that might still have sharks next year as well.
Let's go shark diving!
Cheers,
Patric Douglas CEO
www.sharkdiver.com
www.sharkdivers.com
www.guadalupefund.org
415.2359410
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Normal, Il
Mackenzie's Softball Team (American Athletics - Ordos 14U) qualified for ASA Nationals, so she and I are heading to Normal, Il for a week of softball with about 120 other teams from around the US. Recently her team placed 8th at the State Championship for the Southern Region, 2nd at the State Championship for the Sacramento Region, and 4th at the second chance tournament in Tulare where the temperatures reached 106 degrees. The team qualified, however, out of Virgina when a tournament we were signed up for was canceled and we were awarded the birth by default.
If you would like to sponsor Mackenzie's team please use the link above and contact Alan Ordos (alan@americanathleticssoftball.com).
If you would like to sponsor Mackenzie's team please use the link above and contact Alan Ordos (alan@americanathleticssoftball.com).
Cameron Jumping
My sister took these pictures of Cameron jumping in his jumper back in June. I am finally getting them posted.
Monday, June 18, 2007
Ashley's Dance Concert
Ashley had a dance concert for a class she was taking as part of her gymnastics work. Three of the girls on her team were all in the same class, which was dedicated to teaching them dance for gymnasts. They did a great job and you could tell they really enjoyed what they were doing.
Mackenzie's Eigth Grade Awards
Mackenzie did very well at Vista del Mar Middle school for the three years she was there. In the fall Mac will be moving on to San Clemente High School. But first she won a few awards. I sent out an email and it was requested that I post what I wrote, so here it is.
Mackenzie took home awards for Presidential Fitness, 2 years of 4.0 GPA (missed the third year - 6th grade - with one B in PE for arguing softball rules with the PE coach who "read the book"), and an award for top ASB student for the last three years. All of Mackenzie's teachers praised her work ethic and attention to detail as well as her enthusiasm and willingness to take on any task, she must get that from her mother. I was really happy to see that her ASB adviser had high praise and comments. This is the same person I had a run in with last year for threatening to lower her grade and citizenship because she had a softball tournament to go to and would not be able to help with last years eighth grade dance. I am very proud of her accomplishments at Vista Del Mar and hope that she can continue the success in High School - I am sure she will do fine.
... and some pictures.
Needless to say both Nicole and I are very proud of Mackenzie and her accomplishments.
Mackenzie took home awards for Presidential Fitness, 2 years of 4.0 GPA (missed the third year - 6th grade - with one B in PE for arguing softball rules with the PE coach who "read the book"), and an award for top ASB student for the last three years. All of Mackenzie's teachers praised her work ethic and attention to detail as well as her enthusiasm and willingness to take on any task, she must get that from her mother. I was really happy to see that her ASB adviser had high praise and comments. This is the same person I had a run in with last year for threatening to lower her grade and citizenship because she had a softball tournament to go to and would not be able to help with last years eighth grade dance. I am very proud of her accomplishments at Vista Del Mar and hope that she can continue the success in High School - I am sure she will do fine.
... and some pictures.
Needless to say both Nicole and I are very proud of Mackenzie and her accomplishments.
American Athletics place 8th
Mackenzie's Softball team, American Athletics 14U, finished in 8th place at the State Tournament held June 8th-10th. Mackenzie didn't play for the first 2 days of competition other than to pinch run. On the last day she was a designated hitter and walked twice, scored twice, and had some very well struck balls.
Friday, June 08, 2007
Cameron Pictures 5 Monthish
OK. Cameron is 5 1/2 months in these pictures. For the most part he is a very happy boy. And he is all boy. Very different from the girls in respect to being squirmy and constantly on the move. The only time he cries is if he is hungry or board and sometimes when he is really, really tired. He and I are having a great time together, but unfortunately my time with him will soon be lessened as I have to go back to work - :( I guess that will simply make the time I do have with him that much more meaningful.
Same Picture as Above, Just in Black in White.
Same Picture as Above, Just in Black in White.Thursday, June 07, 2007
The absent minded blogger
Wow I can not believe I have not had anything to post for almost a month.
Lately I have been interviewing for full time positions, I am over the whole owning your own company thing. While I will probably keep the company, I will scale it back to a meager existence. One of these days I will get off the stick and begin developing one of my software ideas, then I may revive the company again.
School is almost out for the kids. Mackenzie will be going on the obligatory 8th grade Washington D.C. trip the day after school gets out. Ashley is now beginning to wind down from gymnastics for the summer, she will still practice 4 times a week, but at least she can afford to skip a day or two. Mackenzie's softball season is in full-swing (pun intended) with most games scheduled around the state and a few out of state tournaments planned including Kentucky and Illinois. So we have some traveling to do.
I just got back in touch with a dear old friend of mine. He is doing well which is great to hear!
I have not scuba dove for some time now, I think the last time I was underwater was before my last post in May. I did however see that my first ever Open Water Scuba student did in fact get his certification card. Congratulations to Tyler Lee!
Lately I have been interviewing for full time positions, I am over the whole owning your own company thing. While I will probably keep the company, I will scale it back to a meager existence. One of these days I will get off the stick and begin developing one of my software ideas, then I may revive the company again.
School is almost out for the kids. Mackenzie will be going on the obligatory 8th grade Washington D.C. trip the day after school gets out. Ashley is now beginning to wind down from gymnastics for the summer, she will still practice 4 times a week, but at least she can afford to skip a day or two. Mackenzie's softball season is in full-swing (pun intended) with most games scheduled around the state and a few out of state tournaments planned including Kentucky and Illinois. So we have some traveling to do.
I just got back in touch with a dear old friend of mine. He is doing well which is great to hear!
I have not scuba dove for some time now, I think the last time I was underwater was before my last post in May. I did however see that my first ever Open Water Scuba student did in fact get his certification card. Congratulations to Tyler Lee!
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
La Jolla Cove
With the recent and long lasting red tide we are experiencing here in Orange County, my buddy Jeff and I decided to drive to San Diego to dive La Jolla Cove. Neither one of us had dove there before so we had to formulate our dive plans on the fly.
When we arrived the water looked deceptively appealing. Standing at the top of the stairs at the cove we were able to see sand, rocks, and orange colored Garibaldi's through the blue-green water. There were no waves and the waves that did make it to shore were more like stray boat wakes. We watched as the swimmers made their way from the beach to the half mile buoy and back. We sighted a large patch of kelp out by one of the Scripps buoys and decided that this would our first destination. We suited up and made our way to the water.
The water of the interior reef was surgy and visibility looked about 10-12 feet. We snorkeled out a bit took a compas heading and descended in 15 feet of water. Underwater we were greeted by the usual suspects including kelp bass and garibaldi. Our first dive took us through the large beds of kelp and rock quarries split by valleys of course sand. We zig-zag our way to the reef looking for things to see. 63 minutes later I had successfully navigated underwater back to our exact entry point - pretty cool!
During our surface interval we meet the local game warden. The warden was a scuba diver and had dove the area often. He checked to ensure we had not taken any game and then gave us so reconnaissance on where we were diving next - La Jolla Caves. We switched tanks and made our way back to the beach. We again snorkeled out past the tourists and made our way east along the cliffs. We dropped in at 15 feet of water and continued east. This dive was exciting from the start. There were lots of nooks and crannies to find small critters. We found a couple of shovel nosed guitar fish resting in holes. We had a curious California sea lion do a fly by to check us out and blow bubbles at us. The visibility was poor so we decided to go deeper.
Unfortunately as we swam out towards the canyon we were meet by the very red tide we were trying to avoid. We did get below the red tide and swam through the kelp forest. The kelp canopy was thick and turned back the sun to create a dark eerie dive. We decided to swim out of the tide and back towards the caves. As we came out of the sea of red something to the left caught my eye. A very large giant black sea bass, requiring a double take, had caught my eye. It scared the *#%@ out of me. This gentle giant swam up to us to get a better look, just then and second an even larger giant black sea bass arrived on the scene. It was amazing. We stayed for a bit as the two large fish circled us to get a better look, coming so close as I could reach out and touch them - I did not however.
When we arrived the water looked deceptively appealing. Standing at the top of the stairs at the cove we were able to see sand, rocks, and orange colored Garibaldi's through the blue-green water. There were no waves and the waves that did make it to shore were more like stray boat wakes. We watched as the swimmers made their way from the beach to the half mile buoy and back. We sighted a large patch of kelp out by one of the Scripps buoys and decided that this would our first destination. We suited up and made our way to the water.
The water of the interior reef was surgy and visibility looked about 10-12 feet. We snorkeled out a bit took a compas heading and descended in 15 feet of water. Underwater we were greeted by the usual suspects including kelp bass and garibaldi. Our first dive took us through the large beds of kelp and rock quarries split by valleys of course sand. We zig-zag our way to the reef looking for things to see. 63 minutes later I had successfully navigated underwater back to our exact entry point - pretty cool!
During our surface interval we meet the local game warden. The warden was a scuba diver and had dove the area often. He checked to ensure we had not taken any game and then gave us so reconnaissance on where we were diving next - La Jolla Caves. We switched tanks and made our way back to the beach. We again snorkeled out past the tourists and made our way east along the cliffs. We dropped in at 15 feet of water and continued east. This dive was exciting from the start. There were lots of nooks and crannies to find small critters. We found a couple of shovel nosed guitar fish resting in holes. We had a curious California sea lion do a fly by to check us out and blow bubbles at us. The visibility was poor so we decided to go deeper.
Unfortunately as we swam out towards the canyon we were meet by the very red tide we were trying to avoid. We did get below the red tide and swam through the kelp forest. The kelp canopy was thick and turned back the sun to create a dark eerie dive. We decided to swim out of the tide and back towards the caves. As we came out of the sea of red something to the left caught my eye. A very large giant black sea bass, requiring a double take, had caught my eye. It scared the *#%@ out of me. This gentle giant swam up to us to get a better look, just then and second an even larger giant black sea bass arrived on the scene. It was amazing. We stayed for a bit as the two large fish circled us to get a better look, coming so close as I could reach out and touch them - I did not however.
Mother's Day 2007
Mother's Day 2007 was a hit. I prepared a Mexican themed late lunch that consisted of Carnita's, Chicken Enchilada's, and Lamb with all the fix'ns. We had Margarita's flowing and everyone had a great time.
Johanna, Nicole, & Jenny
Moms and Kids
Mac, Ash, & Cam
Great Grandma Nelson & Cameron
Cameron 4 & 1/2 months
Johanna, Nicole, & Jenny
Moms and Kids
Mac, Ash, & Cam
Great Grandma Nelson & Cameron
Cameron 4 & 1/2 monthsTuesday, April 17, 2007
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Big Surf Pictures
Here is a link to a photographer that took some pictures of The Wedge in Newport Beach today.
Thursday, April 05, 2007
I can teach you to blow bubbles...
It was just confirmed. I am now a teaching status PADI SCUBA Instructor. So if anyone wants to learn to SCUBA, I can teach you. This goes along with my Emergency First Response instructor rating where I can teach CPR & First Aid. Next I want to get my DAN instructor rating, this will allow me to teach more advanced diver first aid classes including O2, Advanced O2, AED, and Hazardous Marine Animal First Aid.
Thursday, March 29, 2007
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