Month: December 2013
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Obligatory End-of-Year Post (A Summary of 2013)
Because (a) It’s pretty much in the rules of blogging to make an end-of-year summary post, and (b) 2013 was full of great diving and photo ops. From technical wrecks to nudibranchs: a photographic summary of my underwater exploits in 2013.
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Creepy crinoids and the camouflaged critters that colonize them
What stalks across the seafloor and ripples around the reef? What looks like a plant, but then GRABS you when you swim past? What has no brain, an anus next to its mouth, and a bunch of sticky arms that reach out and attach to you? What’s beautiful and terrifying all at once? The crinoid.…
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Wednesday Link Roundup: Bucket list sea life, unexpected dive destinations, Bali diving
In Diver’s bucket list: 6 rare marine creatures and where to see them, Christina Koukkos outlines her top six “bucket list” sea creatures. Of these, I’ve seen four…
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Garden Eels are Maddening
Trying to catch a garden eel out of its hole is a maddening task.
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Diving the UB-88 Submarine Wreck
Part of the allure of technical wreck diving is getting the opportunity to experience bits of history that very few others, not even many other divers, get to experience. This is why when I received an invitation to go dive the UB-88, a German WWI U-boat off San Pedro, California, and the only U-boat wreck…
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Wednesday roundup: Feliz Nudidad! Benthic ecology on lost shipping containers!
An animated GIF of a nudibranch in the snow might be the funniest thing ever.
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In Pursuit of Pygmy Seahorses
The scene is a hotel room in Anilao, Philippines. Our heroine is standing over a console table, assembling an underwater camera, when her husband enters the room with news from their dive guide. HUSBAND: The boat is going looking for pygmy seahorses today. How big are they, anyway? Our heroine looks up, instinctively making a…
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How to Fall in Love with Nudibranchs in 12 Easy Steps
It is no secret that I love the nudibranch. But it may come as a surprise that not everyone shares my branchophile tendencies. Fortunately, I have devised a twelve-step program to convert even the most reluctant slug-lover lover into a nudi connoisseur.
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Frogfish are basically sponges with mouths
How to find a frogfish? Look for sponges. Look at all the sponges. If a sponge looks like it has a mouth, it might be a frogfish. If it doesn’t look like it has a mouth, it might still be a frogfish. Maybe poke it. If it moves, your chances that it is a frogfish…
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The Saddest Seahorse
You may be guilty of anthropomorphizing marine life when you find yourself asking a seahorse, “Why the long face?”