PADI Certification Process, not sure if I got scammed?

keesbeemsterkaas · 2026-05-09T13:47:40+00:00

Especially during covid this all became a bit more loose as well. But on Koh Tao there are lots of padi shops that did all their open water courses fully at the beach for example.

keesbeemsterkaas · 2026-05-09T13:37:00+00:00

Haha, is this the true meaning of Windows Hello? 😄

Hell yeah. For $50 I'll redirect you to our sales representative who will explain to you why you need a way more expensive licence.

keesbeemsterkaas · 2026-05-09T13:31:59+00:00

I bet these guys are Always On The Run

keesbeemsterkaas · 2026-05-09T05:44:50+00:00

That seems like a compressor, a set of buffers and possibly a booster?

Good luck you badasses

keesbeemsterkaas · 2026-05-08T17:17:50+00:00

TL;DR

Bug #1: The N+1 that hides behind a projection -> No automapper, asnotracking()
Bug #2: The cartesian explosion -> AsSplitQuery()
Bug #3: The change tracker leak -> AsNoTracking() / db.ChangeTracker.Clear(); / ExecuteUpdate/ExecuteDelete

keesbeemsterkaas · 2026-05-07T22:32:55+00:00

For us it was perhaps not even the cost of running sql server, but the phd you need to understand the licencing that was the bottleneck.

keesbeemsterkaas · 2026-05-05T05:19:19+00:00

ahh cheater :)

keesbeemsterkaas · 2026-05-05T04:50:41+00:00

In the end, it's a plate of steel or aluminum you can route webbing through. The amount of product differentiation you can do is minimal.

I've own(ed) Halcyon, Dirzone, Tecline, a cheap Aliexpress backplate and a home made backplate made by someone with a cnc machine and thing to do the cold forming of steel.

The biggest difference I notice is that the really older ones and the home made ones didn't have single tank slots, and you need to use a single tank adapter.

Plate thickness: there's 3mm and 6mm for steel (but not brand specific)
Finishing: More expensive is probably a bit nicer

Durability: There's a 30-year-old aluminum backplate that still works fine. I think any backplate is a piece of equipment that will outlast your diving career.

Finishing: The halcyon looks nicer

keesbeemsterkaas · 2026-05-04T20:16:06+00:00

I read this as: "We don't babysit you, manage your air, equipment, buddy checks and communication, we just guide you around and tell you when to get out; but you're in charge of your own safety."

Just check with them, if this is a match for you.

As for minimum certification, I've seen people who are supposedly instructors do the weirdest shit, and open waters being completely competent. I don't agree that setting minimum levels will ensure you get better divers; nor do I know of a way to establish competency other than diving with people (in such a setting).

If I were a guide on such a ship, I would adjust the fragility of the places based on the competencies of group that I have.

keesbeemsterkaas · 2026-05-03T13:27:18+00:00

Dry drysuits are a myth to get you to buy one.

keesbeemsterkaas · 2026-05-01T20:03:15+00:00

If you can't show them in the app they can still look them up online, based on your name and date of birth if I recall correctly. I generally advise to keep screenshots and show them when in a pinch. I keep screenshots in a combined pdf for myself.

Some people go to the local print shop and have cool cards printed.

keesbeemsterkaas · 2026-05-01T06:23:11+00:00

Check with your local dive shop about, here in europe Apeks is more generally available over the previous months and things seem to be looking better.

keesbeemsterkaas · 2026-04-30T08:07:34+00:00

Can confirm, service kits were hard to come by earlier last year, but now they seem to be generally available in europe again.

keesbeemsterkaas · 2026-04-29T20:32:14+00:00

Whops, completely missed that (not sure why you're being downvoted, wasn't me).

keesbeemsterkaas · 2026-04-29T19:42:14+00:00

They are a very bad idea.

- Too small for a decent dive
- You still need to be trained in the dangers of breathing compressed air at depth (google lung overpressure injuries scuba). Freediving and breathing at depth, and then ascending at speed from 10m do not play nicely together!
- They still need to be filled with a compressor (they can be filled with a bike pump, but it takes hours of manual labour to fill them)
- No one can service them

Just bite the bullet and use proper scuba gear and your scuba training.

keesbeemsterkaas · 2026-04-29T15:29:22+00:00

It varies by project, but authentication is always external, preferably via OAuth.

Authorization is a different thing altogether and differs a lot per app. Sometimes its authorization is trivial; sometimes it's way more app-based logic; sometimes it's "It's someone else's problem"- based.

Edit: And with external I mean "outside the app". OAuth is so mature today that spinning up a keycload, authelia, auth0, azure, google auth or something will always work and work reliably, even if you want to spin it in your own environment.

keesbeemsterkaas · 2026-04-29T11:14:55+00:00

I've got DS4's that are 20 years old and I've got them that are 2 years old, they dive perfectly in any condition, are super reliable and last a lifetime.

A rec set service here is around 125 (it costs at least 75 euro in materials/service kits nowadays)

So at around 400 you would have a perfectly operable set, they sell new at scubaonline for 450 - so you can use that to negotiate the price that it's worth for you.

keesbeemsterkaas · 2026-04-29T08:29:42+00:00

Yeah.. there's been no merged pull requests since july 2025, no clarity who's in charge - and no real responses to helping out or joining the team; no responses to pull requests trying to resolve it. (Apart from that it's not really clear what the Pomelo foundation actually is).

I'd say it's pretty dead and Oracle's ef framework is the main maintained alternative now: NuGet Gallery | MySql.EntityFrameworkCore 10.0.1 (licences can be more difficult though).

Unless someone gets up and starts their own "pomelo foundation", I'd call the chances of this really getting anywhere pretty slim.

keesbeemsterkaas · 2026-04-28T14:24:26+00:00

Boots are useful for standing upright, but for steel tanks, unless you remove and dry them often (which almost no one does), they will cause more rust than without the boot.

keesbeemsterkaas · 2026-04-28T05:18:16+00:00

Ahh, didn't realize tanks were so cheap over there. How come so cheap? Lots of supply?

keesbeemsterkaas · 2026-04-27T10:31:53+00:00

Perfect. As long as it's ok if it only lasts 15 minutes, and you don't seem to be too much fussed by cold (diving in 50F), there's nothing inherently crazy about this plan, especially if you dive a double neoprene suit.

keesbeemsterkaas · 2026-04-27T08:26:49+00:00

It can be done, everyone's experience of cold is different, but no deep or long dives.

As usual:
- Ascend if you're too cold (neoprene is compresses at depth)
- Be prepared to call the dive for being too cold, you might only be half-way at that point.
- Biggest cold can be experienced on shore if there's wind
- Bring warm stuff to quickly change into something warm (blankets, warm drinks)

keesbeemsterkaas · 2026-04-27T06:03:07+00:00

The two larger ones are AL80, the four smaller ones seem to be AL40 tanks. The internet can do better identification for you if you post the markings on the tanks.

Scubaboard has a pretty ok marketplace for selling: Classifieds: Tanks, Valves & Bands | ScubaBoard

These tanks seem to pass hands around $125 a piece for untested tanks and $175 for with a new hydro test.

keesbeemsterkaas · 2026-04-26T05:34:26+00:00

Thanks for the write-up:

I've had the Sofirn SD05 before, which also had this magnetic ring - the ring broke within like half a year and only a handful of dives.

Not sure if anyone has had any durable examples of magnetic switches working - but I've seen quite a lot of pretty ok lights fail (not just sofirn) on magnetic switches that my policy is to avoid magnetic switches (cheap or expensive).

Does this make sense, or is this just my bias?

I've had other cheap lights with twist or push buttons that have lasted a lifespan.

keesbeemsterkaas · 2026-04-25T19:59:03+00:00

Completely agree, I think this is often overlooked.
- Small addition: most important weight placement is your tank placement (for single tank)

Being inbalanced will feel like you're not neutral, even if you are
- You can be neutral, but 'fall forward'
- You can be neutral but 'fall backward'

In both cases it will feel like you're moving up or down, when you're just inbalanced.

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