How to Obtain Certification for Diving

Where to Learn to Blow Bubbles

Four ways to get yourself certified

Most countries require that you be certified before you strap on your tanks and dive in, and for good reason – mishandled equipment or an error in judgement in the lower depth can lead to a life-threatening case of the bends. Here are three ways to get certified, and a fourth way to dip your toe into diving without making a three-week commitment.

Certification classes: They are usually offered at the local dive shop or YMCA> The three to six week programs combine classroom instruction, pool-time, and open-water dives in an ocean or other body of water with currents and waves. Look for programs certified by one of the two largest American diving associations, the National Association of Underwater Instructors (NAUI), or the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI), Both set clear standards for everything from equipment to instructor credentials. Also, try to meet your instructor before committing to the class. Diving is a high-risk activity; a novice needs to feel comfortable with the instructor. Tuition, equipment, and textbook should run about $500.

Resorts: Most resorts that offer diving also offer on-premise certification classes. They usually last three to four days and cost hundreds of dollars. You should make sure that the program is certified bu NAUI or PADI before signing on. 

At-home Instruction with On-site Dive: A combination program for those who live in cold-weather climates. You do all your instruction at home in an indoor pool, and then do you open-water test at a resort. With a referral program. Costs vary widely.

Passport program: For people who want to try diving but don't want to commit the time or money to getting certified, these half- or one-day programs review the basics and conclude with an open-water or shore-dive accompanied by the instructor. The cost is usually about $100.

Learning to blow bubbles. Photograph by Elena.

Best Places to Take a Plunge

Best Places to Take a Plunge

Whether you're a novice or expert, here are some spots not to miss:

Diving has gone mainstream. These days, wet suits are so fashionable that women's swimsuit designers often take their cues from the fluorescent colors and slick shapes of diving wear. That means more outfitters, schools, and resorts than ever before. We asked the executive editor of Scuba Diving magazine, for his recommendations of the half-dozen best-spots for divers of varying abilities to take the plunge.

Novice Divers

John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, Florida Keys. Best time to go: May through September.

Clear, calm, and warm water; rich, varied animal life, plentiful reefs that are mostly protected by state parks and marine sanctuaries make the Florida Keys the most popular dive destination in the world. Par officials estimate that 1.5 million tourists visit John Pennekamp State Park; most of them are divers. Dive operators and lodging: The park's in-house dive operator is Coral Reef Park Rental Company.

Washington-Slagbaii National Park, Bonaire. Best time to go: October through April.: A part of the Netherlands Antilles just off the North Coast of South America, Bonaire has one of the first and most successful marine parks in the Caribbean. There are dozens of dive sites that slope gently from down, 60 feet or more and are covered with a psychedelic array of mounding corals and purple and yellow, human- sized tube sponges. Dive operators and lodging: Most hotels operate their own diving operation or have an agreement with one. The dive center at the Sand Dollar Condominiuem and Beach Club, was given five stars by the Professional Association of Dive Instructors (PADI).

Paradise Sea. Photo by Elena.

Intermediate Divers

The Cayman Islands, Best time to go: October through April. The three islands of this British dependency make up the tip of a submarine ridge that plunges more than a mile into the Caribbean. The best dives are at depths of 60 to 90 feet. Sights include huge basket sponges, sheet coral, and plenty of big fish. Dive operators and lodging: One-week dive packages at the Grand Bay Club Condominiums on Grand Cayman can be reserved through Sea Safaris Travel, Inc. Divers also can consult the PADI Travel Network for other dive operators and lodging on the Caymans.

Cozumel, Mexico. Best time to go: December through August: Cozumel is particularly popular with Americans. Intermediate or experienced divers are drawn to a deep wall that starts at about 60 feet below sea level and is a sheer drop as far as the eye can see – and lateral visibility in this clear water ranges 150 feet or more. Big fish abound and evolving coral can be seen in huge spirals and pinnacles. Divers should be careful of the powerful current along the wall, though. Dive operators and lodging: Dive Paradise in Cozumel offers half-day dives. The Galapagos Inn is popular with divers and offers one-week diving packages.

Advanced Divers

Chu'uk Lagoon, Micronesia, Best time to go: Good all year: Most people know this Pacific lagoon as Truk. In 1993, though, the state legislature changed the name to its native roots, Chu'uk. In 1944, the U.S. Navy caught a huge fleet of Japanese merchant ships at anchor in the lagoon and sank them. Divers who are comfortable with depths of a hundred feet and more can see airplanes, trucks, tanks, and other war remnants. Dive operators and lodging: The Truk Continental Hotel and the Micronesia Aquatic Dive Shop offer seven-day lodging and dive packages. For reservations call Sea Safaris Travel.

The Galapagos Islands, best time to go: October through May: The Galapagos Islands are part of Ecuador, located off the west coast of South America. The warm Humboldt current named for the German explorer who discovered it in 1800, collides with colder Pacific waters all around the Galapagos, making for a mélange of wildlife. Divers can see tropical parrotfish, penguins and one-of-a-kind sea-diving iguanas. The islands a national parks. As to the hotels, divers must live on specially designed live-aboard boats. Dive operators and accommodations: See and Sea Travel in San Francisco specializes in live-aboard diving trips. It offers trips to Galapagos Islands. Divers looking for other life-aboard outfitters should consult the PADI Travel Network.

Scuba-diving waters. Photo by Elena.

Homes on the Range

Homes on the Range

Dude ranches offer everything from luxury living to cattle herding

In the move City Slickers, Billy Crystal plays a thoroughly urbanized man who transcends a midlife crisis by spending a week in a working castle ranch. The movie was a fantasy, but the idea is catching on; aging baby boomers have been rushing west with an abandon not seen since the Gold Rush of 1849.

Dudes (those not ranchers or descended from ranchers) searching for  traditional ranch activities like horseback riding and cattle driving have plenty of ranches to choose from. Frontier outposts, they're not  - many offer hot tubs, gourmet cooking, and professional massages after a long (or short) day in the saddle.

Following are some of the outstanding ranches highlighted in Gene Kilgor's Ranch Vacations, the most comprehensive guide to America's ranches currently available and which lists over 200 ranches.

Dude ranches

Bakers Bar M, Adams, Ore:  Teddy Roosevelt fished here. Later guests can still enjoy the river and a hot springs pool on this 2500-acre ranch on the Umatilla River in the Blue Mountains of Northeastern Oregon.

Crossed Sabres ranch, Wapiti, Wyo: Established in 1898 as a stagecoach stop, Crossed Sabres exudes Old West ambiance. The ranch requires a minimum stay of one week.

Klicks' K Bar Ranch, Augusta, Mont: One of the best and oldest ranches in the West. Getting to this high country hideaway requires a half-hour float plane ride across Gibson Lake or a ride by saddle horse on a mountain trail.

North Land Ranch Resort, Kodiak, Ala: Located in the emerald green Kalsin Valley with the Pacific Ocean on one side and mountains on the other, North Land is a 31,000-acre cattle and horse ranch with spectacular Alaskan scenery. The mood is low key and the wildlife is first rate. Excellent fishing and riding.

Skyline Guest Ranch, Telluride, Colo.: The owners have deeded this ranch nestled in the high meadows ans aspen-rich peaks of the San Juan Mountains to the Nature Conservancy.

A wild space. Photo by Elena.

Pack Trips

Rimrock Ranch, Cody, Wyo.: Five- to 10-day pack trips into nearby Yellowstone National Park and Shoshone National Forest. Also great fishing in the North Fork of the Shoshone River and on Buffalo Bill Lake. Guides cook the trout you catch on an open fire.

Old Glendevy Ranch, Glendavey, Colo: Glendevy combines pack trips with a stay at the ranch. There's excellent fishing as well on 3 miles of private shoreline at Mclintire Creek.

Seven Lazy P, Choteau, Mont.: A low-key, family-owned ranch specializing in pack trips and located on the North Fork on the Teton River.

Working Cattle Ranches

Bar H Bar, Soda Springs, Idaho: Bar H. Bar has 2,000 head of beef cattle on 9,000 acres in the Bear Range of the Wasatch Mountains, bordering the Caribou Cache National Forest. Guests participate in calving, branding, fence mending, cattle drives, and salting and doctoring beef for market.

Cheyenne River, Douglas, Wyoming: A working cattle and sheep ranch with over 8,000 acres in the wide-open prairie of eastern Wyoming. Usually only one family or couple at a time stay at the ranch and participate in cattle drives, changing pastures, calving and sheep sharing (in April), and branding and lambing (in May).

Ponderosa Cattle Company and Guest Ranch, Seneca, Ore: A historic 120,000-acre cattle ranch located in a magnificent valley in eastern Oregon. Dudes can herd, change pastures, check fences, and practice roping.

Spanish Springs, Rovendale, Calif: A working cattle ranch, Spanish Springs boasts 5,000 cows and 20 horses and 70,000 acres in Northern California's rugged high-desert country near Nevada. Wild horses also are seen on occasion.

Fly-Flashing Ranches

Big Hole River Outfitter, Wise River, Mont: One of the best fly-fishing outfits in North America. A maximum of 10 guests receive personal attention and instruction suited to their ability, with one guide to no more than two guests.

Crescent H Ranch, Wilson, Wyo.: An upscale ranch with an international fly-fishing reputation. Guides take guests to the ranch's private spring creeks, the nearby South Fork in Idaho, or the Firehole and Yellowstone rivers in Yellowstone National Park.

Crystal Creek Lodge, Dillingham, Alaska: For people who like to fish, like to fly, and who don't like to rough it, this is the place. A premier lodge with upscale amenities, and daily fly-in/fly out fishing in five planes and two helicopters at remote site.

Elk Creek Lodge, Meeker, Colo: Offers extensive private land and fishing water in northwestern Colorado – over 100 log-dammed pools in Elk Creek, on six private miles of the White River, and on Trapper Lake, the second largest natural lake in Colorado.

Cross Country/Snowmobile

Fraying Pan River Ranch, Meredith, Colo: Thousands of acres of untracked snow in the Rockies. Excellent but challenging back country skiing as well as a winter fly-fishing program. There's an outdoor hot tub, too.

One Mountain Ranch, Big Sky, Mont: Seventy five kilometers of meticulously prepared trails for every ability level. High-level tours include all-day ski trips into the Yellowstone Park.

Vista Verde Guest and Ski Touring Ranch, Steamboat Springs, Colo: A romantic winter getway with indoor-outdoor hot tube, sauna, and exercise equipment.

Luxury

Alisal Guest Ranch, Solvang, Calif: A secluded 10,000 acres, 40 miles northwest of Santa Barbara. Thirty miles of riding trails, a par 72 championship golf course, and seven tennis courts.

  

Rancho de las Caballeros, Wickenburg, Ariz: One of the premier ranch resorts with an 18-hole championship golf course First-rate service.

Triple Creek, Darby, Mont: A luxurious, adults-only mountainstop guest ranch with a romantic atmosphere and gourmet cuisine.

Family and Kids

Cherokee Park Ranch, Livermore, Colo: Offers a tremendous diversity of activities for all ages and three full-time counselors for ages 3 through 12.

Paradise guest ranch, Buffalo, Wyo: A traditional dude ranch full of children's programs. Kids under 6 will be completely supervised if parents desire.

Peaceful Valley Lodge and Ranch Resort, Lyons, Colo: A two-to-one staff to guest ratio and an extensive program for kids three and up, with a nursery and supervised children's program in the summer.

White stallion ranch, Tucson, Ariz: Some 3,000 acres surrounded by rugged desert mountains. Kids will enjoy the ranch's petting zoo.

Don't forget that rodeo, the circus of the west, has its roots in the hard work of everyday ranching; those rodeo clowns don't just entertain the kids, they also keep the rodeo pit safe by distracting unruly broncos when the stars hit the ground. Rodeo organizers try to make the danger worth it by competing to offer the biggest purses and draw the biggest stars.

A big tree. Photo by Elena.

Toronto's High Park

Toronto's High Park

Within a city, trees are important not only for their aesthetic value, but also for their role in maintaining a healthy environment and atmosphere.

Among other things, they are vital to the absorption of carbon dioxide; the reduction of heat accumulated from buildings, pavement, roads, and vehicles; and the control of stormwater runoff.

Trees within a city on private and public lands are collectively referred to as the “urban forest”.

Toronto’s urban forest has a mixture of native and non-native tree species, with thousands of different cultivated varieties. Trees of different species and ages growing throughout the city, on streets, in parks, and on private property, reflect the trends and fashions in planting at different periods of the city’s history.

All the pictures have been taken by Elena.

Spring in High Park. Its well drained acid sand supports prairies and savannah vegetation, characteristic of 4,000 years ago, when the area was warmer and drier.

The plant communities offer the opportunity to view many rare species of plants and wildflowers including Black Oak, Wild Lupine, Cup-plant and Sweet Flag.

Orange, yellow and brown flower (sunflower), close up.

Multicolored flower bush.Presented to the citizens by the Rotary Club of Toronto.

A magnifying glass isn’t necessary when exploring  natural spaces but it can help you get a closer look.Very brightly colored red flowers. Pink flowers, bush, close up.

The park contains Toronto’s largest pond and approximately 110 acres of remnant oak woodland communities, once common on the Great Lakes sand plains.

There is no provision for lighting on the nature trails. These trails are intended for daytime use only. 

There are different levels of difficulty: from Asphalt Path (easy, level terrain) to Woodchip Path (moderately slopped terrain) and Footpath (not maintained). Flowers white buttons - Pretty beige flower bush.

A fictional character with bright fuchsia hair and lips hidden behind the leaves.

The booklets which were developed by Toronto City Planning can help you uncover the broad diversity of spiders, birds, trees/shrubs, butterflies, fishes, mammals, reptiles and amphibians found in High Park and other Toronto’s parks.

Two loonies in Grenadier Pond.

The High Park administration recommends that you enjoy secluded areas in the company of friends.

You’ll be amazed at how many animals and rare plants you’ll see.

Keep your eyes open and listen carefully while exploring Toronto's Parks and Trails.

Sakura in winter. 

Nature in the City: You can also find an incredible Biodiversity Booklet Series available online and at Toronto Public Libraries. Flowers of sakura Purple blue flower (petunia), close up

High Park : Animal Paddocks, Baseball, Colborne Lodge, Dream Site, Fishing, Food Concession Grenadier Restaurant, Football, Hillside Gardens, Howard Tomb and Monument, Information Map, Lawn Bowling, Nature Trail/Foot Path, Outdoor Pool, Parking, Pedestrian path (paved), Picnic Areas, Playground, Road (vehicular access), Road (no vehicular access), Sculpture Symposium Site, Skating, Soccer, Stairs, Streetcar Stop, Subway Station, Summer Music Festival, Telephone, Tennis Court, Trackless Train Stop, Wading Pool, Washroom.For more information on area of the High Park history, inquire at the Runnymede Branch of the Toronto Public Library. For more information on parks and parks programs, please call 416-392-1111.

Immortal Life

Immortal Life

By Stanley Bing

Core Dump

“Okay,” Arthur said. “I wanna take about fifteen minutes to hear all the shit that's fucked up around here. And don't bullshit a bullshitter. I was laying it on people before some of you were born, and that's really saying something.” He looked around the table expectantly.

“Okay, Artie,” said Jerry, very, very respectfully. “We were prepared with some brief material in anticipation of this meeting. We just weren't sure if you'd be interested in the granular stuff.”

“Not too granular,” said Arthur. “Just granular enough.”

“We might as well start with the workforce issue,” said Jerry. “Allie?”

“Here, Jer.” said a young woman, practically baby, maybe only in her mid-fifties, who was standing near the smoked salmon display on the sideboard, sipping on a cup of coffee. She was tall and athletic, wearing a suit much like the one sported by the rest of her cadre except that where they had pinstriped pants, she had a pinstriped skirt that fell just above her knees. Her cranial implant was alabaster white and glowed behind her ear like an illuminated jewel. The only other gender-defining touches were a white silk scarf tied loosely around her throat and the pile of light-blond hair gathered at the top of her head. She was wearing large horn-rimmed glasses, which she pushed to the top of her head as she eagerly took center stage.

“Artie, this is Alessandra Morph, our head of Human and Artificial Resources. “She's going to scare the shit out of you.”

“Better men than she have tried,” said Arthur, and some in the room may have wet themselves, such was the intensity of their mirth.

“That's not much of an introduction, Jerry,” said Morph as she strode forward. She took a position behind the installed podium in the corner just pas the end of the table, and waved her arm in the vague direction of the wall behind her, which immediately disintegrated, turning into a translucent screen. On it were the words “A Workforce in Crisis.” Under that chilling title, a smaller subhead: “The New Employee: Dedicated, Industrious, and Incapable of Independent Thought.” 

Immortal brides. Photo by Elena.

«Well, that's not good,” said Arthur.

“You have no idea.” She stood near the wall that was now a display and let the headline sink in. “The situation is this,” she began. “A significant number of the citizens in Athena have evolved.”

“Evolved?” Arthur was mystified. “You mean... spiritually? Socially?”

“Genetically,” said Morph. There was a brief silence as people chewed, swallowed, and then digested this gristly nugget. “that in itself is not the issue,” Morph continued. “It happens. The circumstances of life change, and people change with it. This, however, appears to be progressing in a way that is unexpected over such a short time frame. And it has implications for the company in both upside and downside.”

A sequence of tedious graphics now accompanied the presentation to give people something to look at, with headlines and bulleted subordinate points.

“There are several factors that contribute to this weird development,” she said. “First, there is almost no functional limit to the age people can attain. People simply... cure unto a very advanced state. More people die in household accidents than die of old age.” There was a general murmur around the table. This was their ultimate fear: to break an artificial limb in a fall down the stairs or electrocute one's head in the shower.