Useless Conversation

[Yegolev]

Done.

[Oban]

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053084/

 

[NowhereMan]

I'm going scuba diving this weekend in Scotland. I'm hoping I don't come back frozen.

[Righ]

Yeah, it's really not the weather for that. Take a submarine.

[Ironwood]

I'm going scuba diving this weekend in Scotland. I'm hoping I don't come back frozen.

Seriously, are you fucking insane ?

Postpone this.

[Yegolev]

I'm going scuba diving this weekend in Scotland.

They have a tunnel to France now, just head south a bit.

[lac]

You people just don't understand the magic of scuba diving in the blistering cold during a snow storm.

[Ironwood]

Fuck that - I'm more worried about travelling to GET THERE, never mind the fucking dive.

Postpone this !

[Yegolev]

Well, to Ironwood's point, head over to the Awesome Pictures thread and take a look at the Isles from space.

[Righ]

You people just don't understand the magic of scuba diving in the blistering cold during a snow storm.

I understand. It's the magic equivalent of cutting yourself. Even Scotland has therapists these days. Get fixed.

[Engels]

Let's assume for a moment that Scotland is a balmy 20 C today and there's nary a cloud in the sky. Why would someone want to scuba dive off the Scottish coast? I mean, of all place. I'm not judging here, I honestly have no idea, but it sounds a bit odd.

[IainC]

Let's assume for a moment that Scotland is a balmy 20 C today and there's nary a cloud in the sky. Why would someone want to scuba dive off the Scottish coast? I mean, of all place. I'm not judging here, I honestly have no idea, but it sounds a bit odd.

He might be wanting to take a look at the German navy.

[Murgos]

He might be wanting to take a look at the German navy.

Isn't there also a large remnant of the a Spanish navy somewhere around there as well?  Sure the battle was in the channel but they lost most of their ship in a storm trying to get around the top of the UK and back down.

Regardless, since that I doubt that at this time of year you can see more that a couple of feet under the North Atlantic I still don't get it.

[Viin]

I'm going scuba diving this weekend in Scotland. I'm hoping I don't come back frozen.

Dry suit wreck dives? Sounds fun!

[Mosesandstick]

UK has some of the best wreck diving in the world. Scapa flow being one of the highlights. Vis is usually pretty crap, divers learn to deal with it. It's a whole different kettle of fish compared to diving in the tropics.

[Endie]

Scotland, with many hundreds of miles of savage coastline and as part of a long-standing nautical nation, has a huge number of wrecks to dive.  And the west coast doesn't hugely change in temperature round the year once you get down a little, since we sit on the Gulf Stream (thus why you get tropical microclimates in pockets of the west coast).

Speaking as someone who walked through snow to get to the North Sea in order to surf for the first time, however, I think it's daft.

[Yegolev]

I'm not going to make a thread about it, but I need to say something.  I watched Postal, the movie, and found it pretty funny.  More than that, it is a better film than El Superbeasto.

[schild]

I'm not going to make a thread about it, but I need to say something.  I watched Postal, the movie, and found it pretty funny.  More than that, it is a better film than El Superbeasto.

I liked Postal. I think most people that saw it did.

[Yegolev]

I'm not going to make a thread about it, but I need to say something.  I watched Postal, the movie, and found it pretty funny.  More than that, it is a better film than El Superbeasto.

I liked Postal. I think most people that saw it did.

Oh, good.  Other than the crap monologue at the trailer park, I found it entertaining.  Way, way too much of Dave Foley's penis, though.

[NowhereMan]

Hah, back and alive to boot. Main reason we were going up was to fetch a RIB we'd left up there in a kind soul's drive but the weather was (barring temperature) perfect for diving. Absolutely calm Saturday and only a slight breeze on Sunday, no rain. Freezing cold but Scotland has some amazing scenery for diving and after all this cold, still weather the vis was pretty good. We took it slow going up and when we got to Seil Island found that there wasn't actually much snow about and we'd largely managed to avoid taking iced roads (one big advantage to knowing people who live up there). Missed out on the wreck diving this time but hopefully going to go up there again in a month or two when it's warmed up some.

It was more expensive than anticipated since I discovered on Saturday that my dry suit has a substantial hole in the neck and I spent Saturday soaked from head to foot (good themals defy belief) and borrowed one of the guy we know up there's spares. I now own it and need to sell my old one to maintain anything like a budget.

Also anyone who lives up near the Scottish coast should really give diving a try if only because it's so easy to get to some really amazing sites. One of the guys on our trip moved from London to Aberdeen for this year mainly so he could go diving most weekends up there.

[Fraeg]

I'll bite, what is a RIB?

Red Invertebrate Beast?

Glad the dive went well and you came back in whole.   My test dive for my open water cert was in northern Maine in January    I had to have my dive instructors husband help me get out of my wetsuit and help me dress.  Nothing like having a random 65+ year old man help you put on your underwear

*edit* might make a bit more sense if I add that we were not in drysuits, and once you got out of the water the cold hit you so hard that your hands pretty much became useless meat sticks

[Signe]

I used to live in a marina!  I know that!  Rigid Inflatable Boat.  The man next door used to have some and he'd zip over to France from Porstmouth for wine before we'd bbq sometimes.  It would take him about an hour or so.  They're awesome fast. 

I get so happy when I know something.   

[Mosesandstick]

You're lying. Who's ever heard of something being both rigid and inflatable. Sheesh.

[Yegolev]

Who's ever heard of something being both rigid and inflatable.

Your mom.

[Murgos]

I used to live in a marina!  I know that!  Rigid Inflatable Boat.  The man next door used to have some and he'd zip over to France from Porstmouth for wine before we'd bbq sometimes.  It would take him about an hour or so.  They're awesome fast. 

I get so happy when I know something.   

They're quick but I don't think you can get from Maine to Europe in an hour in one.

[Yegolev]

I expect he was just zipping to a liquor store near a wharf somewhere.

[Signe]

[NowhereMan]

*edit* might make a bit more sense if I add that we were not in drysuits, and once you got out of the water the cold hit you so hard that your hands pretty much became useless meat sticks

Heh, I did my training open water dives in a quarry in Lancaster in January in Semi-drys (for those playing along at home these are thick wetsuits that are actually completely wet). In an effort to save money we actually only rented half the number of suits since we only had enough instructors to take in half the students at a time. Changing and swapping suits in a car park is one of the less pleasant moments of my life (fortunately I could then dash to the hot shower to prevent hypothermia). I don't even want to know how cold it was in Maine.

Also yay Signe for knowing stuff!

[Signe]

My sister has always wanted to live in Maine.  I don't know why.  She doesn't eat lobster, she bitches about shoveling snow, she doesn't do any sort of winter sports at all and she doesn't read Stephen King novels.  What else is there?

[NowhereMan]

Maybe she wants to become a crime novelist and solve murders?

[Nebu]

My sister has always wanted to live in Maine.  I don't know why.  She doesn't eat lobster, she bitches about shoveling snow, she doesn't do any sort of winter sports at all and she doesn't read Stephen King novels.  What else is there?

History and tons of natural beauty.  I had a job interview in Maine two years ago and am really sorry that I didn't get the position.  Maine has all the advantages of living on the east coast coupled to some beautiful country.  You just have to adjust to the rural feel.  Having lived in the mountains of Wyoming, Maine felt like a better version.  

[schild]

Maine has all the advantages of living on the east coast

So, piss poor weather, two full grey seasons, a few nice leaves, and mediocre food (with decent shellfish and select seafoods, but none of the good seasoning) above the mason-dixie. Word.

[Signe]

Living in Taos was awesome when I was young and a ski nut and the tons of snow didn't bother me a bit and the 7K elevation was exhilarating.  I'm so over it, now, though.  Having said that, I could live in Maine or Taos or Nepal if someone else shoveled my snow, walked the Yak, and ran out to the shops for me.  There are so many other places that are beautiful and totally convenient to live in.  Of course I completely understand this is just me not wanting to bother with all that crap anymore.  Don't ever let anyone tell you people can't change!

[Nebu]

So, piss poor weather, two full grey seasons, a few nice leaves, and mediocre food (with decent shellfish and select seafoods, but none of the good seasoning) above the mason-dixie. Word.

I was referring to:

- Proximity to Boston and NYC

- Proximity to great national parks

- Proximity to the ocean

- Proximity to (tiny) mountains

- 4 seasons

- 18th century historical buildings and feel

- Some damn fine universities

- then the gray weather and shellfish!

[Sky]

Wish I had the money to buy back the family land grant in Maine. Great country up there, not that some southron would know it. No character building down there.

I do get a laugh out of the way most people judge weather, it's completely off my own scale. I love a sunny day, but I also love a whiteout with a wicked wind and huge snowdrifts. Isn't there a beauty in both? What good is warmth without cold? Why live in a warm place only to live in air-conditioning? Going out to the woodpile and working up a sweat splitting wood and bringing it in to have a nice toasty house for the family while the bitter wind whistles through the eaves is in my definitions of a perfect day.

Also, New Englanders. Despite living in NY, I have definitely bred true to my heritage.