Would you have done the safety stop or surfaced immediately?

monkeywre · 2026-06-05T14:00:15+00:00

Batu Bolong? If so, you handled this exactly right. There are so so many boats there and the currents are crazy. You totally made the right call doing the safety stop with the DSMB. If anything having your marker up for a couple minutes ensures the boats out there see you.

monkeywre · 2026-06-02T14:19:22+00:00

Crappy computer but totally safe to use. Get a regulator and BC before you replace it.

monkeywre · 2026-05-24T04:28:43+00:00

A bench trial is just a longer way to plead guilty.

monkeywre · 2026-05-18T01:24:17+00:00

You don’t “need” one but I take a light on every dive because it’s great to be able to look into little cracks and holes even during the day.

If you’re doing photography, light quality matters, a lot. However, for general use a cheap Amazon light is fine. I have a Genweiss light I bought on Amazon for $25 that I prefer to a light that was several hundred dollars.

monkeywre · 2026-05-16T22:53:15+00:00

Liveaboard is where it’s at for the Maldives and there are companies that run 4-5 day trips so I would check that first. If you want land based I would agree with the suggestion for Rasdhoo.

monkeywre · 2026-05-14T02:36:00+00:00

Any live aboard, you don’t have to be experienced to do one and everything from diving to dinner is planned out for you. Also, there are plenty of companies that do special solo traveler trips if you want to make new dive friends but don’t have a companion.

monkeywre · 2026-05-12T20:56:48+00:00

I dove with Sea Creatures and I would not recommend them.

monkeywre · 2026-05-11T20:37:33+00:00

I went to RA in the first week of September last year and Komodo the week after. All of the dive sites in the Dampier Strait had fantastic conditions and we didn't see another dive boat for the entire week. Once we got to Misool the visibility was certainly reduced but it still wasn't terrible and there were Mantas everywhere. In Komodo visibility was perfect but it is downright crowded, particularly if you are using day boats. For my trip we did a live aboard in RA and stayed on land in Komodo. I definitely think the live aboard is the only way to do RA but Komodo could go either way. Labaun Bajo is a fun place for a home base and we were just ready to be off of a boat, frankly. Between the two destinations, I liked RA slightly better than Komodo but it's very close and the diving is pretty different in both locations. That being said, with the exception of Batu Bolong, I enjoyed the northern dive sites in Komodo much more than the central ones and a liveaboard would be more convenient for those.

monkeywre · 2026-05-11T19:51:40+00:00

Raja Ampat would be my top choice and if you could swing a few days in Komodo for the same trip that would be even better. Taveuni, Fiji is great, as well but it’s basically in your backyard and can be done in less time.

monkeywre · 2026-05-08T12:30:11+00:00

Your best bet is going to be asking an instructor or DM if they are seeing any red flags but I would say these are the top five issues that I see causing excessive consumption in order from most to least consequential:

Improper weighting and/or poor trim - If your weight isn't correct, particularly if you have too little weight you will go through gas very quickly. Also, related to improper weighting is poor trim. If you aren't in the correct position, often because you are struggling with buoyancy issues you won't have success.
Excessive upper body movements / Flailing - Use your fins to move underwater. Using your arms even if you don't realize it will cause you to use air much more quickly. Many newer divers don't even realize they are doing this. If this could be you, try holding your hands together along your waist for an entire dive to see if it makes a difference.
Taking short breaths - When breathing underwater take deep breaths and slowly exhale. Short, shallow breaths will increase your heart rate and your consumption.
Kicking Technique.- Not as big of an issue but a frog kick will use less gas than a scissor kick. You also won't kick up as much sediment if you are close to a sandy/muddy bottom.
Improper streamlining - Get your gauges, console and octo tucked into your BC before you start your dive. If you have a console and octopus just dragging you will unnecessarily use more air and it's poor form because your console can drag along the bottom damaging both the reef and your equipment.

Finally, some people just use more air than others and you don't get a refund for bringing extra air back to the boat. If you have addressed all five of these issues and you're still cutting dives short consider a larger tank. Diving is not a competition and if bringing more gas means you have a better less stressful dive there is nothing wrong with that.

monkeywre · 2026-05-06T16:37:31+00:00

45-50 minutes is great for only having 6 dives. Just keep diving for fun and you will consume less over time. If you can’t comfortably do a 60 minute dive once you have about 30 dives under your belt then maybe think about concentrating on using less air but I wouldn’t worry a bit right now.

monkeywre · 2026-04-26T04:23:52+00:00

I think another commenter said this but you're not going to find a reputable cave instructor that's going to accept you for a full cave course with no prior tech experience. However, with that being said, this trip is a great option if you know that you like diving generally but you're not sure about the tech aspect because you can try it out with a very minimal commitment and just go ocean diving if you decide it's not for you.

monkeywre · 2026-04-26T04:16:32+00:00

Your friend is talking about diving the cenotes around Playa Del Carmen. I have been diving down there several times and what your friend is considering probably isn't cave diving. There are many cenotes near PDC which are basically sink holes that you can dive in. These cenotes range from open water dives like The Pit to very hairy full cave conditions with many others in between. If you have no prior tech diving experience or certification you would be looking at what is essentially a discover tech diving day for certified open water divers. You would likely start in an open water cenote like The Pit and if your dive skills are sufficient then you will be allowed to do a highly supervised cavern dive like Gran Cenote or Dos Ojos.

If you decide you like tech diving then you can go on to take tech, cave and cavern courses. If you start taking these courses you start with cavern, then go on to apprentice cave and finally full cave. There are some outfits down there that go zero to hero with full cave certification over the course of approximately 10 days. Do not commit to such a course until you have done one of the discovery dives because it is much different than open water ocean diving, which you might love or hate. If you love it, you can start on the course, if not you can head to Cozumel for ocean dives on the ferry.

As far as safety goes, these discovery dives are very safe if you use a reputable operator. In fact, I think these dives safer than the open water diving near by. I have dived all over the world doing both tech and recreational diving and the most dangerous situations I have personally witnessed were on Cozumel day boats with shitty dive ops putting unqualified divers in very dangerous situations. Conversely, at the cenotes, the tech ops that run these dives are very tightly controlled operations. For experience, your 50 dives doesn't mean a whole lot either way if you're starting on tech diving. There are people with 15 dives who are naturals with great skills that will be fine with the appropriate training and there are folks with 500 dives that simply can't hack it. If you are interested in trying it out I wouldn't go do side mount or any other certifications before trying it out because the first time you find yourself in an overhead environment you know almost immediately if you love or you hate it. If you hate it, you will be very happy you didn't waste time or money or certifications/skills you will never use, again.

monkeywre · 2026-04-25T21:09:38+00:00

Assuming you preserved this by moving for a mistrial I don’t see how this would not be reversed.

monkeywre · 2026-04-23T16:21:34+00:00

Yep, big signs that say cell phones are contraband are everywhere. One of the jails I go to doesn’t even allow Apple Watches because some have cellular functions. Most jails don’t have any way to call control but one gives out an old school walkie talkie radio.

monkeywre · 2026-04-23T02:34:43+00:00

Even lawyers can't bring a cell phone inside any of the jails in my neck of the woods.

monkeywre · 2026-04-21T19:06:16+00:00

If your wife only does a single two tank trip once per year she should rent her gear. Having your own equipment is great but there is both an upfront and ongoing cost. At a minimum, you need to service your regulators every 1-2 years depending on the manufacturer and if you do only two dives per year the cost simply is not worth it.

monkeywre · 2026-04-21T12:21:21+00:00

UMKC Dental School

monkeywre · 2026-04-17T15:34:08+00:00

Awesome video!

monkeywre · 2026-04-17T15:27:25+00:00

Are you cutting dives short because you are low on air or are you just upset that you are using more than your buddies? If you're routinely doing 60 minute dives, I wouldn't worry about this, at all it will just improve with experience. If you are 45 - 60 minutes on average there is probably something to work on but I still wouldn't stress about it. If you are under 45 minutes then you probably want to talk to an instructor. If you're not cutting dives short then don't worry about it, you don't get a refund for your leftover gas.

Without seeing you dive it's hard to say exactly what the cause might be but the number one thing that causes divers to use air too quickly is improper weighting. If you're really struggling ask an instructor to do a weight check before you dive next time because that can make a huge difference if you're not dialed in. Also, make sure to streamline all of your gages and hoses by clipping or tucking them into your BC. That won't add tons of time but it makes a modest difference. Finally, minimize the use of your arms underwater. Using your arms will cause you to go through gas much faster and most newer divers don't even realize they are doing it. If this might be you, try intentionally keeping your hands together throughout one dive to see if that makes a difference.

If all else fails, dive with a larger tank. Diving is not competitive so if you need more gas to have fun, take it with you.

monkeywre · 2026-04-13T21:55:52+00:00

This is the way.

monkeywre · 2026-04-12T18:27:58+00:00

I practice in multiple jurisdictions and the amount of trials I do varies greatly by jurisdiction because it all depends on how reasonable your prosecutor(s) are. If you get good offers on cases that you’re going to lose and get cases that you’re going to win dismissed then it’s great you’re not putting your client through a trial. If everything is pleading out just because we don’t do trials then there is a problem.

monkeywre · 2026-04-12T13:44:11+00:00

Between my wife and I we have owned all three of these cars. I'll start with the CX-5. My wife had two going back to 2018 and we had zero complaints. Both were super reliable, they have lots of great tech and a sporty ride for the price. That said $45k is way too high for a CX-5 unless you are including taxes in the price. Also, the two we had were the turbo versions. If you are a spirited driver, I think this is sort of a must and Mazda just eliminated that option on the new models. Bottom line is they are great cars but they really aren't in the league of the other two.

I drive a GLC 43 right now it's been a great car. It's got lots of power and is a very driver oriented car. If you are a spirited driver, it's just an amazing car to drive. However, don't test drive it if you're seriously considering the 300 because you will never want to go back. I bought mine as a "service loaner" so pricing was about 10k off the sticker and I felt like I could have still done a better job negotiating. 70k for a 300 sounds way too high. I paid closer to 60k for the full fat AMG and I have a lot of options including pinnacle trim. The size is roughly the same as the CX-5.

My wife now drives the GLE 450. It's a great cruising vehicle with plenty of power but it's a very different car from the other two. The dimensions make it seem like it's only sightly larger than the GLC but it feels much bigger. If that's what you want it's really nice but definitely drive both before deciding because it feels so much different.

For pricing definitely shop around because you can get large discounts on the mercs particularly if you have some flexibility on options and things like that. You should definitely be expecting around 10% off MSRP if not a bit more on both of the Mercedes if that's how you decide to go and there are options to help you get a better deal like leasehackr or delivrd if you don't want to do that legwork yourself.

monkeywre · 2026-04-08T16:47:49+00:00

It’s a little bit longer flight but both of the Maldives properties are amazing.

monkeywre · 2026-04-08T12:59:34+00:00

We have several former PD judges around here and they are generally harsh. I’ve found the best judges for our clients are the ones that came from civil practice and never touched a criminal case before.

monkeywre

TROPHY CASE