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Achieving target…

At the onset of this year, I vowed to do 50 dives this year. I’ve only done 24.

My wife’s finally confirmed her trip to Beijing. 12th thru 16th of September. I’ll be going to Tioman 9th thru 11th, hopefully to do 10 dives. Now the problem is an instructor friend of mine is organising a trip to Redang island. Even there I can do another 10 dives. But my wife’ll be away during then. Who’s to look after the kids?

Repulse trip, hopefully I can log another 6 dives. Then I would have achieved my 50-dives year…excluding my planned trip to Pulau Payar and Mataking.

Problem-solving time…

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USS Lagarto (SS-371)

There’s been a legal wrangle between the US Government and divers in Thailand who found and solved the final mystery of the submarine USS Lagarto (SS-371), that was reportedly sunk by the Japanese in the Gulf of Thailand on the 3rd May 1945. The US Government says it is a war wreck and no one should be allowed to dive it and charges the Thai divers as “grave-robbers.”

Did the sub carry gold bullion? Are divers going to retrieve skulls and bones and hang them up on the dive shop’s wall?

Do US laws apply to non-US citizens?

Try telling that to the Brits whom have been diving the HMS Prince of Wales and the HMS Repulse. They’re not supposed to dive there.

Sketch of the wreck of the USS Lagarto

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One Diver Less (Update)

This is an update of my earlier posting: One Diver Less

The guy died of poor health. The Rhode Island Medical Examiner’s office said that Stephen Hardick died as a result of “saltwater drowning associated with upper gastrointestinal bleeding due to cirrhosis of the liver, cardiomegaly and urolithiasis.”

Cardiomegaly is the medical term for enlargement of the heart and urolithiasis refers to mineral deposits or “stones” in the urinary tract.

The Rhode Island Medical Examiner’s office told CDNN that Stephen Hardick died as a result of “saltwater drowning associated with upper gastrointestinal bleeding due to cirrhosis of the liver, cardiomegaly and urolithiasis.”

Cardiomegaly is the medical term for enlargement of the heart and urolithiasis refers to mineral deposits or “stones” in the urinary tract.

The Rhode Island Medical Examiner’s office told CDNN that Stephen Hardick died as a result of “saltwater drowning associated with upper gastrointestinal bleeding due to cirrhosis of the liver, cardiomegaly and urolithiasis.”

Cardiomegaly is the medical term for enlargement of the heart and urolithiasis refers to mineral deposits or “stones” in the urinary tract.

Hardick’s wife, Kay, said that her husband had not been feeling well recently, however, they did not think his condition was serious.

The Marine Safety Office, a division of the U.S. Coast Guard is also investigating the accident and has reported that Hardick’s scuba diving equipment was functioning properly.

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$70 A Barrel

It’s time for the government to review its petrol-subsidy policy. Instead of the government forking out money to help the rakyat, the oil companies should do this out of their fat coffers.

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I love you, Malaysia

Hmm…hate to bring your celebration spirits down. Malaysia will only be 42 years old next month. Tomorrow we’ll be celebrating the 48th anniversary of the independence of Malaya.

I’ll spend this day thinking of my friends, my squadmates, who are still patrolling the skies: Gabriel Buja Joel (my squadmate, ex-air force helicopter pilot, rescuer of British SAS at Mt Kinabalu, Hornbill Skyways pilot who died in a crash in Sarawak last year), Lt Hamir Fizar (my squadmate, died in PC-7 crash during a Light Attack Squadron exercise in the east coast in 1990), LtM Thulasiram a/l Subramaniam (my squadmate, very good friend of mine, died in the first fatal PC-7 crash in September 1989), Mohd Jamil Abdul Aziz (my squadmate, ex-air force transport pilot, passed away early this year while in employment with Air Asia), Sjn Ali Ahmad a.k.a Ali Boon (he helped me a lot in my preparation for the North Pole expedition, died in 2000, trying to help his student in distress while freefalling at Terendak/Sg Udang camp), Mej Kamarul (my former instructor who died in an Augusta helicopter crash on 31st December 1993), Mej Kamaruddin (my neighbour at the Officers Quarters in Alor Setar..I rescued him in a plane crash in 1994..he died in another plane crash with his student in 1995), and Mej Tan Boon Eap (cool guy, good pilot, devout Buddhist…died of lung cancer in 1996).

Of course we shouldn’t also forget the 6,000 over policemen, military personnel and civilians murdered by the communists during the first emergency (1948-1960)…and those murdered by them after that right up till 1989.

We shouldn’t also forget the unsung heroes of the Malaysian Security Forces..the ones who died in Somalia, Bosnia Herzegovina; and former members of the Home Guards and the Special Constabulary.

Remember, being free now does not mean being free forever. Always remember history, learn its lessons, and be prepared.

SELAMAT MENGHAYATI ERTI KEMERDEKAAN (Happy digesting the meaning of Independence).

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One diver less

Scuba diver dies off Rhode Island coast – CDNN report.

This guy was THE guy in scuba-diving. 60 years of age, he taught safe scuba techniques. He was diving at the wreck of the submarine U-853, some 37 meters underwater. He was with friends who were filming the wreck.

Seriously, at 37 meters, if he was doing a normal air dive, he would have had 11 minutes at that depth for a non-deco dive. I’m pretty sure he was on Nitrox to enable him to stay below longer.

Could it have been exertion? Or some cardiac problem?

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Now I cannot stop

Now that I’ve started, I cannot stop. Before you, any self-claimed Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, Hindus, Jews or whatever have you, want to commit murder against other human beings, please see these pics first and think:

Dead kids
Imagine when they were babies, how their parents used to cuddle them, and how their smiles always make people happy.

Dead teenager
This teenager would have been the only breadwinner for the family.

More dead children
A heartbroken father pining for his children.

Have had enough?

Now replace those dead children’s faces with that of your children..and the wailing father with that of yours, you stupid ignorant asshole.

I hope you have the capacity to think!

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Islam 2, Mad Mullahs 10,999,998

MAOBI

There are a lot more people who would speak up against extremism practiced and terrorism conducted by those who claim they are Muslims (sorry to those assholes who support these two groups: Islam professes moderation and IS a peaceful religion), and are doing it in their own ways and at their own time. I hope my non-Muslim friends can understand the article I had written in the Utusan Malaysia column.

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Here at Alamanda

Here I am at the Starbucks Coffee at Alamanda, Putrajaya, just after a meeting at the Ministry. And this is the first time I am using my TMNet Hotspot account (the other being Airzed which I use a lot).

If anyone watched NatGeo last night, I think it was called Primal Fear or something, about these two guys who swam with the Great White Sharks, that was interesting. It shows how such a “beast” can interact well with human beings.

Let it be known that about 100 million sharks end up at the bottom of the sea without fins, to die of drowning, because some people want to make US$240 million a year. Great Hammerheads, Whale Sharks, Great Whites, are among the sharks already on the endangered species list.

Without them, the marine environmental equilibrium will be greatly affected…and when they’re gone, we won’t have any fish left.

Think.