tweek! june 9, 2010

[ljjames]

same place as last week, just south of the spectrum dance theater in madrona park... Lake Washington, leschi neighborhood...

http://maps.google.com/maps?client=safa ... CBYQnwIwAA

arrival time between 6:30-7p

[Sea Goat]

Hey Laura,

We'll be there! Scooters or no?

[ljjames]

Scooters are welcome, but i can't guarantee you'll have anyone to scooter with.

We'll be setting up a video area so that I don't have to chase people who want their kicks and skillz filmed around... Yanno, a course or something, kinda like in fundamentals People can practice running a reel to set/remove it... Maybe we'll even blow out one portion of the course so those who want to practice following a line in a silt out can have a bit of fun doing that as well

don't worry kids, we'll remove the stuff we put in nothing permanent... (well, except the measured 1/4 mile for scooter speed testing that we still use periodically, but that's been there for a year and no one's noticed)

[LCF]

I'm pretty sure Peter and I are going to come. Nothing fancy; valve drills, S-drills and some bottle passing drills would be good.

[ljjames]

most excellent!!!!!!!!!!!

Lights, camera, ACTION!!!!!!!!

[LCF]

Thank you, Laura, for spearheading this! We had really good viz in the lake (until we mucked it up, anyway) and great, quiet water conditions for skills practice. I really appreciated the opportunity to get out and just quickly run through valve and air-sharing drills, and get at least some oral feedback on how things looked -- next time, we'll have enough time to go watch the video.

For anybody reading this -- this is a great opportunity for some practice in a very benign site with easy access and exit, and good parking. And the barbecue sauce at the little fast-food shack past the theater is REALLY smoky and good!

[ljjames]

I had a BLAST at the tweek tonight!!! HUGE thanks to Case, Alex, Madison, Lynne and Peter (yes PETER!) for showing up tonight and giving me some people to film!!!! You guys and gals are awesome and it was a pleasaure getting out with you!!! Looking forward to next week, THURSDAY! Highlights at 11

We had divers with 50 dives, a young'n (get to raise em up right?), all the way to thousands of dives... and everything in between! truly all are welcome!

I'm watching the video now, and there are some beautiful shots... 5 divers in the water with nice bright lights is always a true pleasure to shoot around

Madison doing her gas switch practice looks like a movie set with everyone lighting her up... it's darn near EPIC!!!

I am so stoked about having such cool peeps to hang with in the water, and hopefully out of the water as soon as I fill up the fridge in the divers den with refreshments to ply you all with

I also really look forward to heading out with everyone as we come together as a 'team' (hope hope hope) and do some real dives as well (I gotta get you all out on the valiant or bomber to light it up!!!)

one thing i totally loved about diving with y'all is the second half of the video, when you guys were throwing OOG's and gas switches, i have all 5 divers lighting things up, everyone is in a gaggle, and the vis is pristine for the whole 20 min of film!!! In lake washington even!!! silt-o-rama land!!! I think i need a bigger HD TV!

[LCF]

I have to say, my recent experience on the Valiant was fantabulous . . . and I'm in the process of trying to put together a dive on the bomber for next week!

[Peter Guy]

Laura, For me, the best part of the experience was listening, and watching, you in "teacher mode" -- as a newbie instructor it was a treat to watch a pro give advice and commentary.

[ljjames]

aww shucks, thanks peter... *shuffles feet* I'm really rusty, and caught myself "telling" as opposed to teaching at one point, and you probably also saw me back peddle and try to start over...

it was probably the hardest thing for me to learn, how to be constructive without insulting a way of doing something that someone has probably spent a lot of effort and time learning how to do... I did my ITC when i was still pretty young and immature, so i made the "telling someone how to do something as opposed to educating and letting them make their decision" more times than i can count... and i'm sure you can imagine how a 40something educated adult would take being 'told' how to do something (like, say.. .tech diving?) from a 22 year old who looked 17. I still have a lot to learn, and there are people out there that have super ninja skills in this regard.... I try to study them as best I can. You'd LOVE to watch my dive buddy Larry Mclean teach. HE has a gift... he's so good that even if you thought you were gonna resist and do it your way, you end up doing it his way without realizing it...

Also working as a medical rep for a while helped, as I really had to learn to modulate my approach in a manner that allowed the doctors to learn as opposed to resist. (something you might have experience with i imagine) *grin*

teaching is an art, and I am but a pupil... every interaction teaches me a) how much I have to learn, and b) how to try to be better next time...

[lamont]

hmmm... june 9th... wednesday...

'splains why nobody was there when i swung by tonight...

lack of situational awareness...

[LCF]

That's all right, Lamont. Nothing is ever going to top me driving all the way to Hood Canal for a dive . . . a month early.

[lamont]

That's all right, Lamont. Nothing is ever going to top me driving all the way to Hood Canal for a dive . . . a month early.

Yeah, at least I didn't miss a dive, though, since I would have just hobbled around anyway...

Still not quite healed yet....

I meant to come out and lend some moral support though...

(and i think it takes me less than 5 minutes to get there, not quite the commitment that driving to hood canal is... you may have set a record there...)

[ljjames]

next tweek is THURSDAY, a week from today, June 17....

i'm going to try to alternate them so that peeps with different schedules can make it at least every other week *grin*

[LCF]

I won't make the next two. I'm working this coming week, and the next one, I'll be in LA.

[ljjames]

Hope you have a great time in LA! Hope work stays calm and you know, that Q word

you'll have to tell us all about the LA trip when you get back! (take some pictures, will ya?!)

[Peter Guy]

take some pictures, will ya?!

Yes, pictures will be taken with my new (and much loved) E-PL1. Who knows, I may even try my hand at some video (although I don't have the flashy lights certain peeps use).

A couple of days with daughter and the grandkids and then 3 days of diving in the Channel Islands. Looking forward to it.

[ljjames]

Here it is!
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9b7oSJg2TM[/youtube]

[Peter Guy]

Thank you Laura.

[LCF]

Muffled "thank you" coming from Lynne's head, which is buried under her hands in shame . . . Why hasn't anybody TOLD me my trim sucks?

[ljjames]

its those tanks! even bob said they are untrimmable for your slight frame

but, on the bright side, this is what video is good for!!!

your trim in the video with bob is quite good though

its good for me as well, getting steady and solid with the camera, and finding the good angle to show the drill in progress

[LCF]

No, those are my beloved 85s, which DO trim out just fine -- although I took five pounds off my back for diving in the lake, and that might be the difference. Or I may just have gotten sloppy because nobody's told me I'm slowly developing a head up posture -- that's what video is good for!