Well, it's that time of year again, time to renew the web hosting. And for those of you that don't know, that has become a lot more expensive than it used to be. Fifty dollars a year is now several hundred. Not to mention the price of domain names has gone up ten-fold.
And I just found out that the nice folks at PayPal disabled all my Support buttons, and I never got a notice (although that may be my fault.) In any case, it is all working again now, so if you would like to make a small donation to help defray these costs, it would be greatly appreciated.
Armor plating makes most warships top-heavy compared to other vessels, and as a result, they flip over when they sink, just as the San Diego has. The old hull is more or less intact, but rusting through in many places, allowing access to new parts of the interior all the time.
The ship is still full of live ammunition, and every so often some idiot will bring a piece of it up, resulting in a very interesting day for the local bomb squad. Explosives generally become more unstable with age, and being immersed in the water does little to change that. Souvenir shells from the San Diego could go off from a tap, or even just from drying out!
Since the Navy claims ownership of the San Diego, and because of its status as a war grave, it is strictly illegal to "salvage" any artifacts from the wreck anyway. In addition, the San Diego has recently been declared a "National Historic Site."
I am confounded by the illogic of many of those who try to defend the buddy system, even the spokesperson for a training agency such as PADI - the same folks who preached the dangers of dive computers and Nitrox a few years back. Here is some of the nonsense I've heard and why it is just that:
The buddy system makes diving more fun and practical
Of course, neither has anything to do with the buddy system. Fun is touted as sharing the dive and the after-dive experience with your buddy. Practicality means helping your buddy lug around equipment, get suited up, and other niceties. These benefits can be enjoyed with any dive companion without that person being a "buddy" for whose safety you are legally responsible.
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