Scuba diving adventure no. 1

I went on my first scuba diving adventure post-certification last weekend. We went to the underwater dive "park" in Edmonds, WA. See more info here and at the official site here.

We did 2 dives. First one was at 12:00, next was 2:00. Each lasted about 55 minutes underwater -- since the max depth we hit was 35 feet, our limiting factor was our air supply. The water was a balmy 56 degrees, which is what it was back in July. After the initial 1-2 minutes of face pain, it was honestly a pleasant temperature. Showering at the outdoor shower (which was awesome to have) was the worst part, as the air temperature was only 60 degrees.

We saw lots of sunken things -- boats, coils of rope, metal towers, tanks, a torpedo.. We saw a fair amount of wildlife, although not as much as I had expected. Starfish, Sunflower stars, giant lingcod, and anemone-like-things were abundant. We swam right next to a seal for a portion of our surface swim, which was killer. I think the advice to get split fins instead of traditional fins is advice I should have heeded.

The diving was great fun! I can't wait to do it again.

Xbox Live wins an Emmy!

Wait, what? Xbox Live won an Emmy? I know it doesn't make much sense, but we did. Really. Technically, Xbox Live won for Outstanding Achievement in Video Gaming Technology And Applications, Development of Multiplayer Console Technology, which is a rather specific category, if you ask me.

My favorite picture is this group shot, but you can find the whole photo album on Lit's blog.