The Impostor Syndrome and the Social Worker

Whether it is referred to as a feeling of fraudulence, impostor syndrome, or a false sense of self, it is a psychological state that makes our work difficult, uncomfortable, and dissatisfying.

from The New Social Worker Online — the professional social work careers magazine http://ift.tt/29aGJ9L

The Imposter Syndrome and the Social Worker

Whether it is referred to as a feeling of fraudulence, imposter syndrome, or a false sense of self, it is a psychological state that makes our work difficult, uncomfortable, and dissatisfying.

from The New Social Worker Online — the professional social work careers magazine http://ift.tt/299sd6a

Hamper Use for Infection Prevention

Infection prevention is everybody’s job in all kinds of healthcare facilities.  In fact, the scope of infection prevention concerns has expanded such that the acronym HAI no longer refers just to “hospital acquired infections”, but now to “healthcare associated infections”.  These HAIs are not restricted just to hospitals, but also to skilled nursing facilities, rehab facilities, ambulatory surgery centers, clinics and even physician offices.

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Self-Care Summer 2016 Project: Call for Submissions

Self-Care Summer 2016 is a project of The New Social Worker magazine and The New Social Worker Press. Please join us in our commitment to self-care for all social workers and other helping professionals!

from The New Social Worker Online — the professional social work careers magazine http://ift.tt/292QBjX

Drinks for Divers: Blue Ocean Spritzer

Sometimes we just can’t get to the ocean, and our best mechanisms for coping with diving withdrawal are music, food, and beverages that remind us of the sea. The feeling is best described in the song, “Ocean is my Potion,” by singer and songwriter Mishka. The lyrics are a great accompaniment to this refreshing sparkling “Blue Ocean” spritzer, inspired by the sea.

“Ocean is my potion; I need vitamin sea. So if you’re trying to find me, look out there by the reef…if you’re a sailor, swimmer, deep-sea diver then you know what I mean…”

Fresh, great-tasting drinks for divers are often high in calories, especially in the form of sugar, and sometimes in the form of alcohol, which goes almost directly to stored body fat. In hot weather, on dive trips, or landlocked, the following refreshing spritzer is big on nutritional benefits and taste, but low in calories and sugar.

Drinks for Divers

Blueberries create the sparkling blue color of this ocean-themed beverage, but any berry or citrus combination will satisfy. It’s easy to make and the ingredients are readily available. After juicing or muddling the berries, place all ingredients in a shaker. Shake for a few seconds and pour over ice. Calorie count for the blueberries in this recipe is about 75, and the small amount of citrus and sparkling water make this drink less than 100 calories.

1 cup of blueberries (juice or muddle)

1 cup of sparkling water

1 mint sprig (muddle)

1 teaspoon fresh lemon, lime or orange juice

A few drops of liquid Stevia

Note: If you’d like to make this an alcoholic spritzer, adding 8 oz. of white wine instead of sparkling water increases the calorie count by 185 calories, making it closer to a 300-calorie beverage.

Blueberries are best when locally grown, but wherever they come from, they freeze well for enjoyment year-round. Blueberries are an excellent source of vitamin C, an important antioxidant. It helps the growth and repair of body tissues, and makes the collagen essential to maintaining healthy skin, cartilage, tendons, ligaments and blood vessels. Vitamin C also helps heal wounds and repair and maintain bone and tooth health.

 

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4 Tips for Cleaning Roller Blinds

Cleaning methods for your roller blinds depend largely on the material that your blinds are made of. Here’s how to keep your roller blinds looking their best.

Image Source: Flickr

Below are 4 tips for cleaning roller blinds:

Checking
It is important that you follow the care instructions of the blinds, to ensure that you are washing your blinds in a way that won’t damage them.

• If the care label indicates that you can wash the blinds (plastic/vinyl blinds), or your blinds are very dirty, you can thoroughly clean the blinds in a bathtub.
• If the care label indicates that the roller blinds cannot be washed, you’ll need to spot clean them, meaning you’ll only clean the spots that are visibly dirty. Source: wikiHow

Removing
Remove the rolled up blind from the mounting hardware. I’m sliding a knife behind the bracket to release it. This is a Level or blind and they can be removed in a SNAP! (they’re 12 yrs old btw)
Be sure to remove the roller mechanism if you can. You want to safeguard it from the water to avoid damage. Source: SnapGuide

Vacuuming
If your roller blinds will not stand up to being washed, you’ll need to spot clean them. This is where you only clean the bits that are visibly dirty.  You can start by vacuuming your blinds as outlined above to remove most of the surface dust and dirt. Source: HomeImprovementPages

Washing
Use the brush attachment on the vacuum to gently brush over the surface and vacuum away any loose dirt, dead bugs, etc. Next, fill the bathtub about half full of warm water.
Add some laundry detergent to the water and mix together until a few suds begin to form on the surface. If the blinds are white, a small amount of bleach can be added to the water as well.
Next, carefully lay the blinds in the tub. If the blinds are long, it is okay to loosely layer them in an accordion fashion. Allow them to soak in the soapy water for a couple of hours.
Next, start at one end of the blinds and gently wipe them back and forth with a soft cloth or sponge. This will help remove any remaining dirt and/or stains. For tough stains, scrub them gently with an old toothbrush. Drain the sudsy water from the tub.
Fill with clean water and rinse the blinds. Repeat until all of the soap is removed. If soap residue remains on the blinds, it will act as a magnet quickly collecting dirt and dust.
If a partner is available to assist, the blinds can be held up and rinsed with a shower sprayer for quicker soap removal. Lay the blinds over a drying rack or outside on a clothesline until they are completely dried. Attach them back onto the roller and reinstall them over the window. Source: HowToCleanStuff

For more tips, don’t hesitate to contact us here:

Contact:
Universal Blinds
601 – 1550 W. 10th Ave
Vancouver, V6J 1Z9
Canada
Phone: (604) 559-1988

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Diving Aliwal Shoal

Of all the fantastic diving in South Africa, Aliwal Shoal counts as some of the very best. The shoal lies within a marine-protected area, running in a north–south direction on the inner edge of the Mozambican current. The remains of an ancient sand dune, the shoal sits at an average 64 feet (19.5 m) of depth, is about a mile (1.5 km) wide, three miles (5 km) long, and approximately 2.5 miles (4 km) offshore from Scottburgh. Aliwal formed when sand and other deposits washed into the ocean from area sand dunes. Over time, this runoff formed the calcium-carbonate compound that laid the foundation of this sandstone reef. Heavy rainfall later drowned this sand-rock structure, and a variety of coral species moved in to colonize it.

The reef itself has a pinnacle ridge and gradually drops off on both edges until it hits a sandy bottom. The reef’s uneven structure is bursting with gullies, cracks and overhangs, and is home to at least 1,200 tropical and sub-tropical fish species. Divers will also see eels, turtles, rays and a variety of sharks.

Diving Aliwal Shoal with Crystal Divers

Crystal Divers is my go-to operator when it comes to diving in Aliwal Shoal. The shop is conveniently located at the newly renovated Blue Marlin Hotel in Scottburgh, South Africa. Crystal Divers is a PADI Five Star IDC Center, which offers all sorts of dive training as well as fun dives. In fact, I took part in their PADI IDC in 2015.

Crystal’s impeccable service, knowledgeable staff, and experienced skippers leave you feeling comfortable and in safe hands. You’ll dive all around South Africa from beach launches, meaning that you’ll have to hop onto the skiff on the beach, wade the boat into deeper water, and then head out through the surf. So a great crew and experienced skipper can make a huge difference during any South African diving experience.

After Diving

When your dive day is done, the Blue Marlin offers guests an incredibly comfortable stay. The food is fantastic and the rooms are newly renovated. Perched on top of a hill and offering panoramic views of the Indian Ocean, the hotel offers a spa, private walkway to the nearby beach, and onsite swimming pool. Blue Marlin will take such good care of you that you won’t feel a need to leave the hotel, which is fine as Scottburgh is very quiet at night.

If you are looking for a fun, safe, comfortable and affordable experience while diving Aliwal Shoal, you can’t go wrong with Crystal Divers South Africa and the Blue Marlin Hotel.

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What I’m reading: Vol. 63.

What I’m reading:

A Desperate Fortune by Susanna Kearsley. I read this on the plane home from Vegas and I loved it. Granted, I was sleep deprived and somewhat medicated (I don’t like planes). But I always enjoy Susanna Kearsley’s novels, regardless of state of mind. This was a fun one.

Gambled Away: A Historical Romance Anthology from Rose Lerner, Molly O’Keefe, Joanna Bourne, Jeannie Lin, Isabel Cooper. A selection of hand-picked romance authors each submitted a gambling-related short story – a real short story, not a snipped of a larger book that makes no sense in context – to this excellent anthology. It’s rare to see a collection where all of the writing is so equally good. Be aware: there’s some serious sex in some of these stories.

Internets:

Three little boys rocking out Schuyler sisters’ style.

The wacky hats of Royal Ascot. I will never not click on something like this.

A Bit Of Afternoon Cheer: Google Charmed By Grandma’s Polite Searches.

Stray kitten photobombs a live newscast, becomes most popular kitty ever.

Skydivers playing a realistic game of Quiddich in the air!! Heroes.

Remembering the creator of the beehive hairdo. Because why not?

For more reads, check out my Amazon recommended books store. This post contains affiliate links. 

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Public journalism gives meaning to audience engagement

We're all figuring out new ways to engage our audiences, but what exactly are we actually trying to achieve? Rather than aiming for likes, clicks, or much-needed revenue, public journalism gives purpose to audience engagement: to integrate journalism into the democratic process.

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Shark Diving in the Bahamas

Shark diving and the Bahamas have become almost synonymous. For the past two years, I’ve been working on a new shark-ecotourism and conservation project called Shark Business. One of last year’s goals was to learn as much about the shark-diving industry as possible from its most prominent operators. High on the list of must-visit destinations was the Bahamas.

Sharks have been fully protected here since 2011, when the Bahamian government acknowledged the value of shark tourism. Henceforth, the government banned all commercial shark fishing in its waters. Shark diving is now the most popular underwater activity in the Bahamas. One of the activity’s pioneers, and first people to ever dive with sharks here in 1978, was Stuart Cove.

Since then, Stuart and his team have created one of the world’s busiest and most successful dive companies. Stuart Cove’s offers numerous water-based activities, including snorkel trips and reef dives, but is undoubtedly most famous for its shark-feeding dive.

Every day at around 2 p.m., Stuart’s Cove takes excited guests to the Shark Arena. This shallow site is easily accessible for divers of all levels. Here waiting for them is a group of around 30 Caribbean reef sharks. Divers kneel in a circle and, in the center, a chainmail-clad feeder arrives with a box of fish and the action begins.

Within seconds, there are reef sharks buzzing all around. One-by-one they jostle for position and a snack from the chum box. Sharks are incredibly intelligent, and in this situation only ever focus on one thing — the food. The sharks that visit the Shark Arena have been conditioned over hundreds of dives to receive food, presented to them on a metal pole. They pay little attention to the divers nearby, which allows for up-close encounters that many would have never thought possible.

Introducing people to sharks in this way can have a profound effect, and I have seen attitudes transformed after just 40 minutes in the water with these animals. People who began with fear go away with a better understanding and more realistic perception of sharks. This can only be a good thing in the ongoing battle to protect shark populations around the world. I would encourage anyone who still has doubts about the safety of shark provisioning to visit Stuart and his team and try it out for themselves.

Shark diving in the Bahamas takes place year-round, and Stuart Cove Dive Bahamas is open 365 days per year. The shop can also organize trips to see many other types of sharks, including lemons, tigers, oceanic whitetips and great hammerheads. There really is no better place for shark diving in the world than the Bahamas.

By Daniel Norwood

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Online comments prove valuable in wake of Brexit

The flood of reader comments that emerged after the UK referendum decision to leave the European Union underscored the value of building a healthy comment environment, an engaged audience and alert editors.

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Maximizing Your BCD’s Real Estate

You love your new BCD: It’s comfortable; it fits like a glove; and it lets you effortlessly control your position underwater. Now to tie it all together, you must find a home on it for all of your accessories. Whether your BCD has ample pockets, no pockets, plenty of D-rings, or just a few, we can help you find a place for all your gear and still keep you streamlined. First, let’s say…

Your BCD has pockets

Your BCD’s pockets are an ideal place for accessories that you won’t use consistently during a dive. For example, since you’ll generally only reach for your DSMB and reel as you near the end of your dive, you can comfortably leave these in a pocket until then. Other accessories you can keep in a pocket include your pocket mask, your slate, or your torch — obviously unless you’re on a night dive, in which case you’ll keep it at the ready. But what if your BCD has small pockets? Or no pockets? Does that mean you have to leave all that gear behind? Well, not if…

Your BCD has D-rings        

Again, let’s compartmentalize your accessories: Do you need them to be easily accessible for the duration of your dive? You can clip anything you will not continuously need to the D-rings at the bottom of your BCD. If you’re worried that you won’t be able to grab at those bottom rings, you can invest in coil lanyards so that you can stretch anything you might need right to up to you. For those of you still after the security of a pocket, or turned off by the idea that your stuff will flail freely in the open water, worry not. There are remedies: You can secure your DSMB with a bungee cord or keep it in a mesh pouch, for example.

Free up the rings at the top of your BC for any piece of equipment that you’ll need to be immediately available, such as your whistle, your tank banger or even your torch. Remember that some of your stuff is small enough to share a single D-ring, so you can afford to be stingy with your ring real estate. But wait: You still can’t manage to find space for all your accessories? There are solutions yet…

Accessories for Your Accessories

Do keep in mind that you don’t have to attach everything to your BCD; you can attach some things to yourself. Your compass is happy to live on your wrist, as is your flashlight. If you cannot secure your knife to the side of your BCD or to your power inflator, you can always strap it to your leg. Some slates are even designed to wrap around your forearm, just as some tank bangers can stay tied to your tank.

Now let’s say you’d really like to store all your equipment on your BCD (a BCD with no pockets and few D-rings). How can you make the most of your limited space? Buy some inexpensive accessories for your accessories, such as lanyards to tie things and double-sided clips and carabiners to encourage your gear to share a single ring. If you struggle to find a spot for your alternate second stage, you can get an octopus holder to solve that problem as well.

There you have it: Now you can find somewhere to keep anything you might need on your dive, and remember: you probably don’t need to bring everything with you every time. Yet, if you simply cannot do without all of your gear, you no longer have to. Even if it has no pockets or rings, with our tips you can make the most out of your BCD’s real estate.

By guest author Lorena Espin

 

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The Las Vegas Antique Jewelry and Watch Show.

Happy Monday, kittens! I finally have my photos all edited and I’m ready to show you what I saw at the The Las Vegas Antique Jewelry and Watch Show!

Unlike most antique jewelry shows, the Las Vegas Antique Jewelry and Watch Show is not open to the public: you have to be a dealer (or registered attendee of the JCK or Couture trade shows, or a lucky member of the media) to attend.

This means that almost everyone there is there to get down to serious business, rather than just admiring the pretties. It’s a high-energy environment that attracts a lot of top-shelf dealers with exquisite pieces to offer. I had a marvelous time.

Because the show attracts such great jewelry, there were a lot of fun jewelry people around, too! I was lucky enough to have pre-show breakfast with the lovely Beth Bernstein, Susan of Circa 1700, and Anya of GemFever, all of whom brought fierce jewelry game to the breakfast table. That’s Beth’s bling on the right, Anya’s on the left.

The Las Vegas Antique Jewelry and Watch Show is what I would call a medium-sized antique jewelry show: it’s one casino ballroom – about half the size of the Baltimore Summer Antiques Show. Doable in one day if you’re okay with not seeing everything. I only gave myself one day there, and while it was hard to tear myself away knowing I wasn’t coming back, I did see a lot of amazing pieces.

I made a beeline straight for Lowther Antiques: not only are Pat and Virginia two of my favorite jewelry-dealing ladies to chat with, they also have a dependably mind-blowing selection.

Just look at these glorious Georgian jewels from Lowther Antiques.

These caught the light like nobody’s business. Extraordinary condition for pieces of jewelry that have been around more than twice as long as any living human.

One of my favorite things about the Las Vegas Antique and Watch Show was the combination of serious quality and incredible variety of the pieces present: I went straight from admiring three hundred year old treasures at Lowther Antiques to having my mind blown by this insane vintage Buccellati beetle at D.K. Bressler. Solid gold, textured in Buccellati’s signature style. Ridiculously amazing.

HOLY Art Deco bracelets, Mr. Gatsby. Triple perfection from Keyamour.

One with onyx, one with filigree, one with sapphires. All diamonds in platinum, all perfect. Please can I have these? I will love them forever.

You know I love a good antique snake. This beauty – which I thought was pendant, but which I believe is actually a brooch – features ruby eyes, an emerald head, and plenty of chunky old cut diamonds. At Humphrey Butler.

Two rings from the 1700’s, both spotted at Roy Rover. The pink ring is paste, the other is chrysolite. Wonderful color from both.

Two Georgian seed pearl brooches in staggeringly perfect condition. Look at those teeny tiny, impeccable pearl designs over vivid blue enamel. So sentimental and beautiful.

There were lots of remarkable Georgian pieces at the Las Vegas Antique Jewelry and Watch show. These were from Landsberg and Son Antiques.

Gorgeous Victorian amphora/urn earrings at MaryAnntiques!

These beauties are a great example of the Etruscan Revival of that era – you can see it in the Greek-feeling blue and white enamel, the textured details that recall granulation, and the classically inspired silhouette.

Another beautiful and rare piece from from Lowther Antiques.

This is a coque de perle necklace, which is a term I had never heard before Virginia pulled this baby out and said “Here something you’ll like.” This particular example dates to around 1820-1840. Coque de perle necklaces are made from polished Nautilus shell nacre (mother of pearl) accentuated with cut steel – like in this piece – or marcasite. These beauties aren’t particularly durable, which makes them especially hard to find. This one was utterly pristine.

Anyone familiar with my ever-growing love for Victorian Renaissance Revival pieces will be unsurprised to learn that I was obsessed with this brooch. Look at the delicate whorls of the design, the careful enamel polka dots, the whispers of pink at the edges!!

Unsigned, but clearly the work of someone with great skill. At Humphrey Butler.

Truly spectacular Burma ruby and diamond earrings from M. Khordipour. They’re Edwardian era and they make me weak in the knees.

(You might be familiar with M. Khordipour’s other, engagement ring-focused business, Estate Diamond Jewelry, whose killer rings are featured in this article.)

The loveliest Edwardian diamond bracelet! So delicate, and so gorgeously articulated. The fine folks of Humphrey Butler think that this piece started life as a diadem – a platinum and diamond headband.

Two exceptional little pieces from Lowther Antiques. These each have a flaming heart motif on one side and a Lover’s Eye on the other. The one with a date is a mourning piece, the other one may have just been a love token.

This incredible find is also from Lowther Antiques. The brooch is circa 1840’s-1860’s – and features woven seed pearls centered by carefully braided hairwork. It comes in a custom antique brooch with a very special note sewn in: the note, dated 1928, identifies the brooch as “Gran’s silver strands.”

I don’t know how such a meaningful heirloom became separated from its family, but I hope the right collector will come along to buy this wonderful piece and preserve it exactly as it is. One of my very favorites from the Las Vegas Antique Jewelry and Watch show.

I’ve learned I have a weakness for Portuguese earrings from the 1700’s. This glorious pair features chunky old amethysts in marvelously worked gold, and are even better in motion so be sure to check out the video on my Instagram. I flipped one over for those of you who love to see how things are put together.

Spotted at Spicer Warin.

Two Georgian crowned heart rings from Lowther Antiques. This is one of my very favorite antique ring styles, romantically rendered here in ruby and diamond. The ring on the left is 1820’s-1840’s, the other from around 1800.

The ring on the right is the piece I most wanted to bring home from the Las Vegas Antique Jewelry and Watch show, but alas, it’s not in my current freelance writer/blogger budget.

Oh, wait. That crowned heart ring may have been the piece I wanted the most IRL, but this ring was the ring of my dreams. An 8.18 hexagonal diamond in a pristine and lacy Belle Epoque platinum setting…and it’s basically never been worn.

How is that possible? Well, this ring was purchased in Paris in 1910. The unfortunate buyer immediately bet the ring in a game of cards against a Duke, and lost. The Duke then took the ring home and misplaced it. It was believed to have been stolen until the 1990s, when the Duke’s granddaughter found it while searching the house for her lost pet hamster.

Can you even? The backstory’s as good as the ring, and the ring is insane. Take my money, Simon Teakle.

This piece is so good that it was actually pictured on the cover of the Las Vegas Antique Jewelry and Watch show directory. It’s circa 1880’s, with classic Victorian Renaissance revival enamel work and a truly extraordinary cameo.

Closer! Yum.

It’s another M. Khordipour treasure (I’m going to be writing more about this fantastic dealer soon, don’t you worry). This piece isn’t just beautiful, it’s signed: it bears the mark of renowned French goldsmith, Froment-Meurice.

So there you have it. If you’re a jewelry dealer or if you attend the other major June jewelry shows in Vegas, the Las Vegas Antique Jewelry and Watch show is well worth a visit. The only downside is that I was too busy looking at everything to remember to try to find myself a souvenir!

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Innovative new French publication offers antidote to high speed news

New online publication L’imprevu, winner of a French prize for media innovation, has time at the heart of its editorial mandate: giving its audience time to read in-depth and explanatory stories, and allowing journalists time to create them. As one of many new online publications that launched in France over the last two years, it offers a unique, forward-thinking approach to journalistic storytelling.

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3 Blackout Shade Options

Looking for different types of blinds available that offer the benefits of blackout blinds? Below are 3 types of blackout shades you can choose from, including: blackout rolling shades, blackout cellular shades and blackout curtains.

Image Source: Flickr

Blackout Roller Shades
Blackout roller blinds can be used anywhere but are especially useful in bedrooms, where those who struggle to doze off with the presence of natural light can remove this barrier to sleep. They also prevent the intrusion of car headlights and street lamps during the darker hours of the day, offering full control over the amount of illumination in the room.
Blackout blinds are also the most effective way of preventing draughts that rob rooms of heat during the winter, so can result in a warmer space and a potential saving on heating bills. But in order to achieve this, it is vital that the roller blind completely covers the window opening. Our bespoke service provides made to measure blackout roller blinds to fit all window dimensions – large or small.
These blinds are also available in a wide range of colours, allowing you to fit them in with your existing colour scheme or create a colourful feature in the window space. What’s more, they’re simple to install, making them an easy and stylish way to take control of the light levels in any room in the home. Source: DirectBlinds

Blackout Cellular Shades
It is available in a corded design that helps larger shades operate smoothly and a cordless design better suited for smaller shades. The shade comes in a variety of sizes to fit different window measurements. A durable polyester fabric resists stains and fraying. Users can raise the blinds completely for an outdoor view, and the outside color is white to coordinate with any exterior paint job. Day and night options are available with two shade linings for varying levels of opacity. Source: eBay

Blackout Curtains
Blackout drapery panels add a light-blocking application to the classic look of draperies. For the best in light blocking, you can add a blackout drape over a blackout shade to get all the benefits of multiple types of window treatments. Source: Blinds

Now that you know some options for blackout shades, it’s time to choose which best fit your home and your needs. For more information contact us now!

 

Contact:
Universal Blinds
601 – 1550 W. 10th Ave
Vancouver, V6J 1Z9
Canada
Phone: (604) 559-1988

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Top 10 Tips for Drift Dives

Drift diving is broadly defined as diving in a current, wherein the diver is transported from point A to point B by the water movement rather than by their own power. Drift diving makes for some of the best underwater “flying” sensations and can be truly exhilarating. Divers can also cover a much larger area while drifting in the current. On some dive sites, the current attracts bigger fish and you can witness some serious hunting or feeding — there are dozens of great reasons to drift dive. However, if you’re new to drift diving or uncomfortable in a strong current, here are a few tricks and tips to make these high-speed dives more enjoyable.

Photo by Mark.murphy

Carry and use an SMB

Even if you’re not a regular drift diver, you should always carry a surface marker buoy (SMB) with you. Plan for safety. If you drift too far away from other divers in your group, you will need to be able to signal on your own for a safe ascent. Carry an SMB and learn to deploy if from depth — which means you should also have a reel — so you can safely use it if necessary. Practice deploying it in easy conditions so that you’re ready to launch it in more difficult conditions if need be. 

Know the local area

If you’re unfamiliar with where you’re diving, pick up some literature about local sites and currents. You need to know information such as tidal movements, specifically, dive sites to avoid on rising or falling tides. Those who are new to drift diving, or just unfamiliar with the area, will probably want to dive with a guide. Preferably a good guide, which brings us to the next tip…

Choose your dive operator carefully

If you’re diving somewhere that conditions can be challenging, don’t settle for anything less than an excellent dive operator. If you’re renting, check the gear; check the reviews on the Internet; ask about their first-aid supplies and missing-diver protocols. You do not want to cheap out when you’re diving in strong currents. Look for experienced crew, a knowledgeable captain and an excellent dive guide – you need to know that they’ve got your back should the current get the best of you.

Know what to do in case of separation

This is a standard procedure for diving in general: if you lose the rest of your group, look around for one minute and then ascend slowly to the surface and signal to the boat for help. Your dive guide should mention this in the dive briefing; make sure your buddy is familiar with this procedure as well. And if for any reason this does happen during a dive, especially a drift dive, you should absolutely follow this procedure.

Triple check your equipment

Of course you should always dive with equipment in perfect condition, but when a fin strap breaks in a current, it’s a bit more challenging to deal with than on a standard dive. If you’re going to be doing a few drift dives, make sure all your gear and safety equipment is in working order before you jump in the water.

Do not get distracted

Try to concentrate on just the dive — you need to be hyper-aware of your surroundings and changing conditions during a drift dive. Taking a large, bulky camera might not be appropriate in some currents. Trying new dive equipment, such as a mask you just bought, can also be difficult, as it will take your focus away from the dive. Stay in your comfort zone and work on your technique until you feel confident.

Carry a reef hook

Ask the dive guide about local regulations and recommendations for using reef hooks; in some areas they’re not allowed, and on some dives, they’re required. In strong currents, a hook can allow you to rest or hold your position without becoming overexerted. A properly placed reef hook can also allow you to stay off the reef comfortably without damaging corals.

Do not fight the current

Learn to read the current and then work with it, not against it — the ocean will always be stronger than you. The water movement is slower the closer you are to the reef or bottom, so try to stay as low as possible. Watch your dive guide and see where they place themselves underwater; do as they do. If you need to slow down or stop to wait for the rest of your group to catch up, get close to the bottom and gently fin against the current, or find a big rock to hide behind. Avoid exhaustion, which can lead to a low air supply, panic or a bad dive experience.

Take a specialty course or get experience

A lot of training agencies offer specialty courses in drift diving, which can be quite useful to help hammer home the basics, but nothing beats experience. So if drift diving appeals to you, before throwing yourself into the “Vortex” or whatever that crazy-strong-current dive site is called, treat yourself to a few days of drift dives with good professionals in current that you can handle.

Trust your instincts

If you get to the dive site, or if at any point during your dive you suddenly feel that you need to get out of the water, it might be your instincts telling you the conditions are unsuitable for you that day. Getting out of your comfort zone and a bit of apprehension is fine, but don’t take a giant leap into a situation that scares you. Be cautious — if you feel a certain dive is way too much for you, it probably is. Don’t let anyone pressure you into doing a dive you’re extremely uncomfortable with, and don’t pressure yourself. Know your limits when it comes to currents; respect them and your abilities, and soon you’ll be drift diving like a pro.

The post Top 10 Tips for Drift Dives appeared first on Scuba Diver Life.

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3 Important Factors in Choosing your VA Medical Equipment Distributor

Purchasing the most appropriate medical equipment solutions for any healthcare facility often presents challenges for administrators.  However, when it comes to VA facilities, many purchasing managers are confronted with additional, particularly difficult issues, which require an elevated level of expertise with regard to federal regulations and contracting / procurement processes.

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Diving Diary: Long Island, Bahamas

As we made our way across the tarmac to the tiny 19-seater plane,  we knew were finally stepping off the beaten track. We had been waiting at the Nassau, Bahamas, airport for several hours. Strong winds buffeted the departure lounge windows and made takeoff impossible. After our luggage was finally loaded, the plane’s front propeller shuddered to life and it was time to leave for Long Island. This thin strip of land, one of the Bahamas’ Out Islands, features spectacular white-sand cays and shallow reef on one side, and plunging ocean walls on the other.

Getting to Long Island

After a nerve-wracking take-off, the 45-minute flight to Deadman’s Cay was scenic. Cotton-candy cumulus clouds rose in white banks on all sides. Between them, stretches of white sand ringed by turquoise water promised incredible things to come. By the time we landed, our excitement levels were at a fever pitch. We rented a dilapidated island car and drove north toward Salt Pond. Oor destination was the charming guesthouse at Grotto Bay, home for the next 10 days.

It didn’t take long for us to realize the extent of Hurricane Joaquin’s damage. The storm hammered Long Island for three days last October. Everywhere, tangled carcasses of rusted cars and shattered boats littered the bush, flung into the trees by the storm’s force. Joaquin leveled businesses and homes, decimating livelihoods and lives. And yet, we found Long Island in the process of a slow renaissance. The people were incredibly welcoming and amazed us with their generosity.

Hurricane Joaquin’s chaos, however, couldn’t hold a candle to Long Island’s natural beauty. Glistening limestone headlands carved into fantastic shapes by the foam-crested waves; white-gold cays surrounded by water the color of sea glass; and sunsets that disappeared into the ocean via the famed green flash — all vied for our attention. We ticked off a bucket-list item when we snorkeled in Dean’s Blue Hole, the deepest of the world’s freshwater blue holes. One moment, we were standing waist-deep in a shallow bay, the next, we were snorkeling over impossible depths.

The Daily Grind

We got up with the sun and went to bed long after it set. We spent our days casting for bonefish on the flats, or feeding tarpon at the Flying Fish Marina. We ate our fill of coleslaw, fried plantain and conch salad. We stayed up late drinking coconut rum and swapping stories with our islander friends. Unfortunately, although the sun shone with magnificently every day, the wind that had plagued our arrival persisted throughout our time on Long Island. We had hoped to dive every day, and in particular, to experience the Bahamas’ oldest shark dive, pioneered by local dive center Stella Maris. Upon contacting the center, however, it became apparent that the weather had rendered the dive boats unable to launch.

We had a single window to go diving, on a morning when the wind died down briefly. We visited the closest (and therefore most protected) dive site, thrilled to be underwater at last. We met our divemaster, Robert, at the Stella Maris Marina. While we waited for him to declare the boat ready for departure, we sat on the jetty admiring a sardine school weaving its way around the structure’s submerged pillars.

Photo by Ton Engwirda

Our Dive Day

The journey out to deep water was lovely. There is no blue quite like the blue of a Bahamian sea, and we found ourselves mesmerized. The wind was still at full force, and as we cruised over the choppy seas the spray coursed in great rivulets through the boat’s unsealed windows. When we finally arrived at the dive site, it took only moments to get ready, and soon we were descending through 30 feet of crystalline water to the seafloor, where the sunshine filtering from above dappled the reef in vivid color. We discovered a landscape of swaying purple sea fans, adorned with leopard-spotted flamingo tongue snails. Coral columns stretched towards the surface, their misshapen shoulders studded with Christmas tree worms. Schools of bright yellow snapper and inquisitive goatfish cruised over the reef in shining squadrons.

I spent several minutes finning alongside a red-and-cream striped trumpetfish, one of the largest I’ve ever seen. An enormous southern stingray made itself known by the sight of its spiracles gently inhaling and exhaling, causing a miniature avalanche of sand. When I swam next to it to take photos, I realized that with its tail, it was easily longer than my own 5’9” frame. Halfway through the dive, we abandoned the reef for a tour across the wave-sculpted seafloor. Here, a colony of garden eels protruded curiously from the luminous sand like meerkats from their burrows.

We didn’t see any of Long Island’s famous sharks on our dive, although we saw plenty from boats and from the marina jetty. We found deep overhangs packed full of gargantuan lobster, and coral heads crowned by shoals of fluorescent blue baitfish. We saw grouper waiting open-mouthed in hidden crevices. Ultimately, though, our single Long Island dive confirmed that the Bahamas Out Islands hold myriad treasures.

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Innovation is top priority at El Colombiano

Newsrooms looking to survive the digital age must incorporate technology and a flexible mindset to ensure their product is profitable, according to Martha Ortiz Gómez, Director of the award-winning Colombian newspaper "El Colombiano". A constant evolution of the traditional newsroom structure is essential for forward-thinking success, she said.

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Diving Verde Island with Marco Vincent Divers

If you’re not squealing with delight as your body moves to and fro between gullies, reef, and thousands of fish, then maybe the aptly-named Washing Machine dive site at Verde Island isn’t for you. But that’s okay; there are other sites around this amazing spot in the Philippines that are less pushy. Nearly all of them do have some current, though, so experienced divers will be happiest at Verde Island.

MV Divers

Diving Verde Island

The famous island is about an hour by boat away from White Beach, Puerto Galera. Here you’ll see the biodiversity of the Coral Triangle in its full glory. Recently, the California Academy of Science conducted a survey around Verde Island and identified 100 species of fish, coral, and nudibranchs, so during our stay with Marco Vincent Dive Resort, we decided to drop down and see what we could find.

From the moment we sank beneath the surface on our first dive, millions of brilliantly colored basslets and red anthias engulfed us; so many that it was impossible to take a photo without them. Squadrons of surgeonfish danced in the distance, butterflyfish and anemonefish fluttered about, and there were some schooling jacks for good measure. While mesmerized by the fish life covering the reefs, don’t forget to look down and survey the nooks and crannies every now and again, as you can find loads of blennies and gobies peeking out, expertly camouflaged frogfish and vibrant nudibranchs scattered throughout. You’ll have a hard time keeping up with fish identification when it comes to diving Verde, but if you’re up for the challenge, you won’t be disappointed.

Dive Sites

At The Wall, divers descend on a steep wall, covered with corals and gorgonian fans. Schools of smaller fish keep the eyes busy and the camera lens full. Due to the currents and depth, some larger pelagics sometimes make an appearance, such as tuna, mantas and eagle rays.

The Pinnacle, otherwise known as the Drop Off, is a massive reef that narrows as it approaches the surface on the eastern side of the island. Known for occasionally strong down-currents, the site is suitable only for experienced divers. The pay-off for taking the slightly risky plunge is an amazing view of an unusual vertical reef, corals in riotous color, schools of pelagic fish out in the blue, and volcanic bubbles seeping through the coral.

And then, as mentioned, there’s the adrenaline-charged Washing Machine site. During ebb tide, the influx of water swirls and pushes through gullies and swim-throughs, ranging from 20 to 45 feet (6 to 14 m) deep. You’ll want a good guide for this site; those from MV Dive are top-notch. Divers will be pulled and pushed in multiple directions, watching their bubbles go everywhere but up most of the time. You can dive here at slack tide too, which turns it into a normal, but gorgeous, canyon reef dive.

Regardless of which sites you choose at Verde Island, you’re guaranteed a mask full of fish, a rainbow of color and the excitement of unpredictable currents. Dive with Marco Vincent Dive Resort and the guides will make sure you see the best of this legendary location.

By Kenzo Kiren

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Stefan Hafner’s Aria collection.

Good morning, darlings.

There’s been a lot going on IRL in Beckyland this week and so we’re going to keep it light today. I hope you don’t mind seeing some pretty pictures with very little actual discussion from me, because that’s what’s about to happen.

Behold the glorious Stefan Hafner Aria collection! Spectacularly colorful gemstones in masterfully crafted gold, by a renowned Italian jeweler. I believe I saw the rings from afar in Vegas, but sadly didn’t have a chance to take photos for you (or touch them myself). But they’re too cool to not share with you.

Let’s admire:

Look at that color combo! Explosive and glorious. Beyond vivid.

Most of the collection is rings – and oh, what rings they are. Putting these vibrant color combinations into the smallest, most versatile genre of jewel – the ring – makes these bright beauties easier to wear.

Have you ever seen colors juxtaposed like this before? It’s blowing my mind.

Gorgeous.

What do you think of these color combinations, my dears? They get pretty outside the box – I think they’re wonderful, but it might be a little hard to style some of them.

What do you say?

The post Stefan Hafner’s Aria collection. appeared first on Diamonds in the Library.

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Real World Clinical Blog: Deciphering Trauma

One week after the mass shooting in Orlando, we are faced with the difficult work of managing the resulting trauma. Part of this management requires us to delineate between the presentation of trauma and other mental health struggles.

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5 Key Resources for your Non-Acute Capital Equipment Purchasing Decisions

Healthcare and medical service providers across the nation are continuing to experience dramatic growth both in terms of the number of facilities, and in the quality of care being delivered.

Coupled with the increased emphasis being placed on developing Integrated Delivery Networks (IDNs) to accompany this expansion, administrators in these organizations are frequently facing new types of capital equipment purchasing decisions that will impact their services for years to come.  Many times the hospital administrator and purchasing team are burdened with outfitting off-site clinics or other non-acute facilities.  This is unknown territory to many of them.

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Shell Canada Donates Oil Permits to Protect Arctic Wilderness

At a World Oceans Day event on June 8^th, Shell Canada announced that it would donate 30 offshore oil permits to the Nature Conservancy of Canada. The permits, which cover 3,320 square miles of wilderness to the north of Baffin Island in the Canadian Arctic, will likely help create a much larger marine-conservation area in the near future.

Protecting Lancaster Sound

Lancaster Sound, known for its unparalleled biodiversity, is included in the area. Large concentrations of microscopic organisms attract everything from Arctic cod to polar bears to the sound. The area is particularly important to two of the Arctic’s most iconic cetacean species, with 75 percent of the world’s narwhal population and 20 percent of the world’s beluga population migrating through the waters each year. Both belugas and narwhals are classified as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List.

In light of Lancaster Sound’s environmental importance, the Canadian government and the local Inuit communities have tried to formally protect the area since the 1980s. Plans reached a stalemate over the permits, though, because Canadian law does not allow oil or gas exploration within a national marine-conservation area. The previous government suggested a smaller protected area that left out the region covered by the permits, but the Qikiqtani Inuit Association refused to approve those boundaries. Local Inuit communities and the territorial government must grant approval before a national marine-conservation area can be formalized.

Now that the permits have been relinquished, executive committee member of the Qikiqtani Inuit Association Olayuk Akesuk says the association’s goal “is to make sure the marine conservation area is in place sooner than later.” He also underlined the cultural and environmental importance of the area, saying that “it is something we want to protect [to] make sure our great-great-grandchildren have a place to hunt and live off the land.”

Shell Canada’s Motivation

Shell Canada has not requested compensation for the donated permits, and yet some believe their motives are not entirely altruistic. In April, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) filed a federal court case claiming that the oil company’s permits had expired in 1979 and were never renewed, meaning that the company no longer had any legal claim on the land. Shell Canada president Michael Crothers claims that the lawsuit did not inspire the decision to donate the permits, saying that the company initiated talks with The Nature Conservancy of Canada several months before litigation.

Either way, the permit transfer is an unequivocal win for the environment. According to WWF, less than 1 percent of the Canadian coastline is currently protected from commercial activity, but approval of a Lancaster Sound national marine-conservation area would almost double that figure. If finalized, the new protected area would help the current administration fulfill their promise to protect 5 percent of the coastline by 2017 and 10 percent by 2020.

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An Introduction to the Coral Triangle

Have you ever dived in Malaysia, Indonesia, or the Philippines? It would be no surprise if these were some of your best dives. These three countries, plus Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and East Timor, are in the heart of the Coral Triangle. This global epicenter of marine biodiversity surprisingly covers only 1.6 percent of the planet’s oceanic area.

Effectively managing the Coral Triangle resources

Diving hotspots such as Sipadan in Malaysia, the Derawan Islands in East Kalimantan, Indonesia, and Tubbataha Reefs National Marine Park in the Philippines, form part of an essential marine ecosystem. If we compared this area to any land-based region, the Coral Triangle could be thought of as the Amazon of the seas.

The world is experiencing extreme climatic changes, both on land and underwater. Although coral reefs are remarkably resilient, their very survival is in question. Coral Triangle reefs face not only global stressors, such as overfishing, pollution and climate change, but also a localized stressor — an influx of divers from all over the world.

Scuba diving is one of the biggest activities in the region. In countries like Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines, nature-based tourism is a crucial part of the national income. The industry has diversified and improved local livelihoods. As part of the diving community, you have a firsthand view of diving and tourism impacts, and to continue enjoying this region sustainably, conservation initiatives such as Green Fins are crucial.

What is the Coral Triangle worth?

Unfortunately, it’s always easier to justify the “worth” of something — especially if it’s an animal or a plant — if we assign it a monetary value. For this reason, and to raise awareness about the importance of natural ecosystems, an economic value has been estimated for the world’s coral reefs. This has opened the door for better management, which will foster more sustainable use and long-term prosperity.

Coral reefs have a global value of $9.9 trillion USD. The total net benefit per year of the world’s reefs is estimated at $29.8 billion; tourism and recreation account for $9.6 billion. Coral reefs are not only vital for marine ecosystems and life on Earth, but they also provide people with many more benefits, usually referred to as ecosystem values and services. Healthy, thriving coral reefs give subsistence to local communities. They provide natural barriers from storm surges and waves. They offer tourism and recreation sites, and support nursery habitats for many species.

Worth in terms of biodiversity

While the above are mostly human-centered values, delineating them helps us understand why we need coral reefs. Aside from these values, however, coral reefs — and especially those in the Coral Triangle — play an immensely significant role in the world’s marine biodiversity. This small area accounts for a staggering amount of productivity, holding:

• 76 percent of all known coral species
• 37 percent of all known coral-reef fish species
• Six out of the seven marine-turtle species
• 33 percent of the world’s coral reefs
• The greatest extent of mangrove forests in the world

Understanding both the economic and natural value of the Coral Triangle reefs means that, as divers, we must do everything we can to protect and conserve them. This is where the Green Fins Initiative comes in.

The Green Fins Initiative

Currently three out of the six countries in the Coral Triangle (Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines) are implementing Green Fins’ environmentally friendly guidelines to promote a sustainable diving and snorkeling industry. Although the threats posed by our industry aren’t near those of climate change or overfishing, direct impacts such as anchoring on corals, touching coral and marine life, and pollutants sullying beaches and waterways do impact how coral reefs can cope with the larger threats. Think of the last dive trip you took. If there were 10 divers on your boat and three boats at the dive site, three times a day, for 365 days a year, that would result in 32,850 divers per year on that site. If each diver accidentally touches the reef just once, that amounts to approximately 30,000 hits per year. Suddenly these numbers start becoming more significant.

What can you do?

As part of the diving community, you’ve most likely seen damage like this first-hand, but until now, you may not have perceived it as significantly detrimental to coral reefs. What can you do to counteract it? As a guest, you can request that a dive shop implements more sustainable practices. Tip the guides who provide environmental briefings (and let them know why), and ask about the regulations implemented on the dive site. Choose dive centers that follow environmental guidelines and ones that try to protect the reefs. If you’re in the diving industry, watch for initiatives that will help lessen the environmental impact and make your operation as environmentally friendly as possible.

Although these actions may seem small, by doing your part you’re helping reefs build resilience. Research dive operations and locations before you choose your next dive destination to help create demand for sustainable diving. Only by working together can the diving and snorkeling community help save our reefs.

By Juliana Corrales, project coordinator, design and communication, Reef-World Foundation

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The Last Adventure of Constance Verity by A. Lee Martinez.

The Last Adventure of Constance Verity by A. Lee Martinez.

This book is: truly strange but rather delightful.
Other elements: ninja thief ex-boyfriends, alternate universes, rogue fairy godmother ghosts trapped in pens, destiny, friendship.
Read it: if you’re in the mood for a totally off the wall tall tale of a novel.
Overall rating: 7.5/10

I’m going to start my review of The Last Adventure of Constance Verity by doing something I almost never do: copying and pasting the description on the back of the book.

Constance Verity has been saving the world since she was seven, and she’s sick of it. She sets off on one last adventure to assassinate her fairy godmother and become the one thing she’s never been: ordinary.

Ever since she was granted a wish at birth by her fairy godmother, Constance Verity has become one of the world’s great adventurers. It all began at her seventh birthday party when she defeated a snake. She has become a master of exotic martial arts, a keen detective, and possesses a collection of strange artifacts gathered from her adventures. But Constance has spent the past twenty-eight years saving the world, and she’s tired of it. All she wants is to work in an office and date a nice, normal guy. And she is finally figured out a way to do it: she’s going to kill her fairy godmother and reset her life. The only problem, though, is that saving the world is Constance’s destiny. She’s great at it, and there are forces at work to make sure she stays in the job.

Then again, it’s also her destiny to have a glorious death.”

Hell yes. This book is so far out of the ordinary that there’s no way to explain it without showing you an excerpt. Fairy godmothers, murderous genetically modified twins, alternate universes, engines of ultimate control – there’s pretty much no element from the Science Fiction and Fantasy cannon that doesn’t at least make an appearance in Constance Verity’s life.

For 95% of The Last Adventure of Constance Verity, I enjoyed the story’s constant flow of improbable events and the characters’ self-awareness that they were in a world where strange things happened. Every once in a while, though, it felt too over the top. But 95% delight and 5% eye rolling is still a pretty great experience.

If you’re in the mood for light, different, and entertaining, The Last Adventure of Constance Verity is exactly what you need. This would be a truly perfect vacation book.

For more reads anytime, check out my Amazon recommended books store. This post contains affiliate links.

My thanks to Del Ray for providing me with a copy of The Last Adventure of Constance Verity for review consideration.

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The Panama Papers boost trust in journalism

The Panama Papers, the biggest leak of internal documents in recent history, uncovered important stories that had been hidden from the public. Since publication started nearly three months ago, the project has spurred readers around the world to regain trust in the media – one of our industry's greatest challenges.

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