New Jersey Scuba Diving

September 30, 2022

A Nice Upgrade

September 30, 2022

I did some php programming in my custom WordPress theme, and gave it a new ability. Now on each page I can embed related pages, which previously only appeared as links in the sidebar ( and still do. ) While it is possible to embed anywhere, the sensible place is at the end, after all the content. Embedding a page in the middle of another page would probably be confusing. Actually, when a page is embedded, only the beginning of it is displayed, with a link to the whole thing. Then I got an even better idea, and added the page's 'parent' to the list. I also made some formatting changes so that each embedded page is clearly a separate entity.

What is really cool about this for this website is that now every dive site's page now includes the relevant charts. This is something I always had in the back of my mind, but I never thought of an easy way to do it across hundreds of pages, until now. Once the code was finished, it took just a single change in the WordPress setup to make it happen.

Embedding works for both pages and blog posts, anything can be embedded in anything else. The actual php coding was knocked-off something I wrote a long time ago, and was really not at all difficult. I don't know why it took me so long to think of it.

October 23, 2022

I fixed up the auxiliary navigation 'bugs' at the lower-right edge of the screen. I added a 'home' bug and a 'search' bug, so those two functions are always available, no matter how far down you have scrolled. That pop-out search box has been itching in the back of my mind for a long time; turns out it was pretty easy - it uses the same code as the sidebar search box. While I was at it, I fixed up some form formatting issues, and even added 'Tool Tips' to the 'bugs'. The 'Random' bug now has a 'random' icon.

With a site this size, every kind of navigation helps. My 'theme' takes WordPress way beyond its intended purpose of posting pictures of your lunch. Unfortunately, if I submitted the theme to WordPress, they would reject it for not conforming to their 'standards'. I tried submitting the slideshow plugin, but eventually I got tired of fixing their nitpicks and gave up. They would really hate what I've done to the WP back-end, my version is completely different from 'stock'.

Uncategorized, 09/30/22

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Buoyancy Compensator

The Buoyancy Compensator or BC is thought of primarily as a flotation device, and for warm-water divers with not much more than a single tank and reg, this is pretty much all it needs to be. However, for cold-water divers, the BC serves another and equally if not more important function: it is the base around which all the rest of your gear is assembled. For cold-water diving, a BC may be called upon to support multiple tanks, weights, gauges, bags, and myriad accessories - much more equipment than a tropical diver would ever carry. And not all BC designs are equally good at this.

BCs come in essentially two styles: the jacket style, where the entire BC is sewn into something like an inflatable vest, and the "tech" style, which consists of a web harness to which a back-mounted air bladder is attached for floatation. One thing that most beginners do not realize is that if you planned your dive and weighting correctly, you should be carrying very little air in your BC during your dive; especially true if you use a drysuit. Therefore, many of the manufacturer's big selling points of "interconnected three-dimensional air cells" and the like are more specious marketing hype than useful features, and the old inverted-U back bladder ( clearly descended from an automobile inner tube ) will work just as well as the much more complex and expensive designs, and sometimes better.

More: Buoyancy Compensator ...

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I make no claim as to the accuracy, validity, or appropriateness of any information found in this website. I will not be responsible for the consequences of any action that is based upon information found here. Scuba diving is an adventure sport, and as always, you alone are responsible for your own safety and well being.

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