In February, Erlene Grise-Owens refrains from making non-essential purchases. She invites you to join her in a “Frugal February” reflection. If a month is too much, consider doing Frugal Fridays or another modification.
from The New Social Worker Online — the professional social work careers magazine http://ift.tt/2jUkKdP
Tuesday, January 31, 2017
Healthcare Equipment Procurement Tips for New Construction
Although capital equipment procurement is a critical aspect of new construction, this function often falls into no-man's land. Clients believe it's the responsibility of the architectural and design team, while A&D teams consider this the client's prerogative. What usually happens is that equipment vendors pick up the slack.
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Dive Site: Harbor Reef, Gili Air, Lombok
When you get off the ferry from Lombok on Gili Air, the busy harbor may not seem like a great place to do a shore dive, And it’s true during the day when the boat traffic does indeed get in the way of diving. But give it a few hours — the fish life and topography of Harbor Reef on Gili Air offer great conditions for an easy, yet amazing, night dive.
Harbor Reef on Gili Air
Walk down the beach and into the water, where you’ll enter along a sandy slope. Here you’ll find patches of reefs with branching corals and a pinnacle. If your dive guide knows the area well, you will probably spot some shy mandarinfish, which flit among the coral pieces at dusk each night, looking for mates. In the branching corals you might also find the elusive ornate ghost pipefish, a favorite among many divers.
Going slowly along the slope and looking in the sand you can also find lots of macro life, such as seahorses, small frogfish, cuttlefish and squid, as well as various species of nudibranchs.
As the site is quite shallow, it’s a good spot for beginners, or for a first night dive experience. Experienced divers won’t be disappointed though, due to the incredible variety of marine life on hand. The sandy bottom and usually quiet conditions also provide the perfect opportunity for photographers to get some great shots.
Finally, thanks to the easy logistics, the harbor also offers a pleasant way of diving compared to boat dives in Gili Air: just don your gear, walk to the beach and into the water, and off you go.
Average water temp: 79 to 82 F (26 to 28 C)
Average visibility: 16 to 65 feet (5 to 20 m)
When to go: Year round
Average depth: 40 feet (12 m)
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Ocotpus and Moray Eel fight
An octopus going for the equivalent of a bucking bull-ride? Not exactly. This short clip shows rarely seen aggressive interactions between a moray eel and octopus. With the octopus on the defensive.
From NatureFootage contributor Harrison “Skip” Stubbs.
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A new shadow over freedom of the press
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Monday, January 30, 2017
Dive Site: Oro Verde, Grand Cayman
When it comes to wrecks on Grand Cayman, the Kittiwake immediately pops to mind, but the wreck of the Oro Verde is worth a visit as well. The Oro Verde, which means “green gold,” was originally a U.S. Army transport ship. After conversion to an environmental research vessel, the ship was next reborn as a banana boat. It spent 10 years hauling bananas between Ecuador and Miami.
The boat acquired its current name during its banana-hauling days. Rumors flew that the ship’s cargo included substantial quantities of marijuana in addition to bananas. The Oro Verde eventually ran aground in 1976 on the reef surrounding Grand Cayman, allegedly due to mutiny by the crew, who wanted part of the illicit profits.
The ship sat on the reef until 1980, when the local dive community adopted the wreck. It was moved into shallower water and purpose-sunk, now functioning as an artificial reef in 60 feet (18 m) off Seven Mile Beach. Divers can reach the wreck via a long swim from shore, but it’s more relaxing as a shallow second boat dive. It’s also a good spot for a night dive, with the scattered wreckage providing shelter for octopus, lobster and eels.
The Oro Verde today
Various hurricanes and storms have dispersed the wreckage over the years, so there are two moorings and a wide area to explore. Engines, pistons and other ship parts lay about. Given the wreckage dispersal it’s not a penetration dive, so novice divers can easily enjoy the site.
Plentiful overhangs hide crabs, eels and lobster. Parrotfish and schooling chubs, horse-eye jacks, snapper, goatfish, blue tangs and the occasional barracuda all hang around, looking for a meal. Rays and turtles frequently pass by, feeding on the soft coral. Visibility is usually very good, although a storm or large dive group can churn up the sandy bottom. The shallow depth means the colors are quite vibrant as well. As an added interest, several discarded mountain bikes populate the site, and make for amusing photo opportunities.
Water temperatures in Grand Cayman range from 76 to 82 F (24 to 28 C), peaking around September. A 3mm wetsuit will be plenty for most people, especially on shallow dives like the Oro Verde. Hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30, with the most active months being October and November. May and November can be quite rainy, although you can experience some remarkably calm conditions even in the height of hurricane season. The most popular time to visit is February to April.
By Jez Snead
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What I’m reading: Vol: 76.
I’ve decided to start writing you little notes in these posts! It’s been an interesting couple of weeks, hasn’t it?
Last week, I marched alongside 100’s of thousands of people who are as concerned right now as I am. Some of you let me know on Instagram that you think it’s inappropriate for a jewelry blogger to hold political opinions. I disagree! I’m going to keep sharing my opinions when I feel like sharing my opinions.
Continue reading What I’m reading: Vol: 76. at Diamonds in the Library.
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Sunday, January 29, 2017
We DO Weddings → How to Grow Your Bridal Business
A magical day that will be memorialized in photos for years to come, BIG Day hair and beauty is BIG business. Brides, and her attendees, want to look perfect for wedding day photos. As a beauty business, you are in the ideal position to help everyone look and feel their best. If you want more brides walking through your salon door, try these 8 tips to grow this profitable niche for your salon.
1. Add a Bridal/Wedding Services Menu
Create a separate Bridal Services Menu and tailor studio, salon, or spa services for the bride-to-be. It is a time when a bride-to-be feels the center of attention, so make them the center of YOUR attention.
- Bridal and Attendees Makeup Application
- Bridal Eyelash Extensions
- Bridal Spray Tan
- Bridal and Attendees Hair/Up-dos
- Bridal and Attendees Manicures and Pedicure
- Bridal Facial Package - facial services to help brides achieve a flawless wedding complexion.
- Bridal Massage Package - massage series to help brides achieve pre-wedding stress-relief.
- Bachelorette Spa Parties
To Do Tip: Offer a "Bridal Brow Rehab" as a bridal package, a series of shaping, threading, sugaring, or waxing services. Corrected brows are a Big Day must-have, it can take from 3-9 months to perfect and correct a bride's brows.
2. Add a Wedding Services Tab
Add a separate Bridal/Wedding Services page to your web site. Along with the bridal services menu and pricing, feature professional images of gorgeous brides and bridal parties - if they are your own, even better!
To Do Tip: Add a bridal image to your salon homepage slideshow. Your homepage is like your digital salon doormat - by adding an image of a bride you are communicating that your salon offers bridal services.
3. Share Bride Testimonials
Share wedding testimonials on both the salon website and social media channels. Testimonials demonstrate a proven track-record. To post to social media create a branded graphic image with the testimonial as a quote. Then share away.
To Do Tip: If you don’t have any testimonials, contact past clients and ask if they will write just a couple of sentences about their experience.
4. Target Brides Social Media Strategy
Create a social media strategy to target brides by posting a stream of bridal content for several months (January - June). Share bridal themed posts from beauty how-to’s, to bridal hair inspiration, to wedding planning tips.
To Do Tip: Facebook ads are a great place to start advertising special bridal offers and services.
5. Get The Word Out
Get the word out in your community that your salon offers bridal hair and makeup services to wedding planners, photographers, caterers, and popular local wedding venues. Word of mouth and referrals are one of your best wedding salon marketing tools.
6. Referral Cards
Provide key outlets and your team with branded bridal referral cards - hand out referral cards to the bridal party and friends of the bride. Weddings can be catching, so catch the next one!
7. Bridal Consultation
Trust is crucial for attracting brides to your salon. To build trust and put her at ease offer complimentary bridal consultations and a trial-run as part of your bridal package. It’s a bride’s big day, make her feel confident she will be camera-ready and picture-perfect.
To Do Tip: Request the bride to bring inspiration photos of desired hair and makeup.
To Do Tip: Request the bride to bring any headpieces or veils to be worn on head.
To Do Tip: Create a "look book" of bridal hair and makeup inspiration for reference during consultation, this, again builds trust.
8. Charge Generously
The secret to a lucrative wedding hair and beauty business is to charge correctly. If you offer exceptional bridal services charge generously for it. The key is to attract well-heeled clients who are happy to pay the right price for the right service.
To Do Tip: The value of your bridal services should be based on the fact that Saturday is the busiest day for a salon and the most popular day for weddings - so charge accordingly.
To Do Tip: If services are performed on-site they involve travel and convenience - so charge accordingly.
Vow to make this year’s bridal season the most successful one yet, attract the right brides to your salon for their big-day beauty needs.
In wedding hair and beauty, bridal business strategy, wedding business ideas, salon bridal marketing, bridal referral cards, bridal social media Tags beauty salon bridal business, salon bridal business ideas, salon wedding business strategy, wedding marketing strategy, wedding marketing ideas for salons
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What to Bring on a Dive Boat
To get the most out of a day on the dive boat, you’ve got to be fully prepared, with everything from working gear to charged-up camera batteries. Knowing what to bring with you will make your trip more relaxing and enjoyable. Prepare a packing checklist so that you don’t forget any essentials, and read on for our tips on what to bring on a dive boat.
Don’t forget your gear — all your gear.
First, don’t forget your gear. While it may seem obvious, assuming you’ve got your mask or computer and then realizing you don’t when you’re 45 minutes from shore is no fun. Before you get on the boat, double- and triple-check your equipment for any missing or broken pieces to avoid this mini-diving disaster. It’s also smart to pack spares, just in case, as well as a dry swimsuit and clothes if you need to change for any reason.
Second, don’t forget your camera, and make sure everything is charged and in working order. Dive centers and resorts often have rental cameras if you don’t have one (or forgot it) and would like to take pictures.
Consider your health and hydration.
It’s always a good idea to bring along a small first aid kit, just in case. Although most boats have one that remains on board, it can’t hurt to bring one of your own. On another health-related note, be sure to treat your body right throughout the day. Diving, especially in extreme weather such as hot sun, cold wind and rain, or harsh current, can take a toll. Heat exhaustion or hypothermia are real concerns and risks you definitely want to mitigate. Bring high-energy snacks that contain carbohydrates and sugar for energy that you’ll need between dives. Feed your body appropriately to avoid fatigue. Energy bars, chocolate, and carbohydrate-filled snacks such as sandwiches are perfect for keeping your body nourished all day.
After you’ve got your snacks sorted out for the day, it’s time to consider hydration. Although most boats (if not all) have water, tea and coffee readily available, it’s a good idea to bring your own water bottle. And, as a plus, you can either refill it from the boat’s water or avoid using a disposable plastic water bottle. Even better, bring liquids containing electrolytes so as to properly hydrate and balance your body.
In addition to hydration and nutrition, consider your personal needs. If you take any medication, or have prescription glasses or sunglasses, pack those as well. If you get seasick, remember to bring your remedy of choice. Create a short checklist if necessary to remember all the little items.
Any other essentials?
Always bring a dry, clean beach towel. Although boats sometimes have them on hand, it’s more likely that they won’t. It’s nice to dry off between dives to preserve heat and warm up, especially if you get cold easily. And if the weather is windy or rainy during your trip, you’ll thank yourself for bringing that towel. Other necessities include sunscreen, a hat that covers your face, and perhaps a lightweight windbreaker to cover your shoulders from the sun.
Finally, consider packing a few more essentials if you’re traveling with others. Think about what your non-diving friends or kids may need for the day, such as extra towels, hats, sunscreens, snacks and drinks. Kids may also appreciate portable gaming devices, books, board games or coloring books. That way, you can enjoy your dives and the non-divers can relax on the boat or beach. Even better, the non-divers may want to snorkel while you dive, so pack extra masks and fins.
Proper preparation and double-checks go a long way toward ensuring a good day on the dive boat. Knowing what to bring on a dive boat ensures maximum comfort, safety and enjoyment on the trip. And as the saying goes, it’s better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it. All of the above-listed items are essentials in many divers’ opinions, but you’ll need to decide for yourself what you can’t dive without.
By guest author Lauren Feather
The post What to Bring on a Dive Boat appeared first on Scuba Diver Life.
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Saturday, January 28, 2017
Top Tips for Great Marine Life Interactions
Photographers sometimes become frustrated that they just can’t seem to capture a photo of a particular creature; trying to do so becomes a hunt and the subject becomes the prey. How do you think that makes your subject feel? Here we’ll take a look at how a diver can facilitate better marine life interactions by focusing on the diver’s behavior.
Most underwater animals are wary of strange creatures that fall from the sky, spewing bubbles from their heads, not to mention traveling together in packs. If you wish for positive marine life interactions, you must appear not to be a threat. A rebreather is one option, and the reduction of bubbles definitely helps, but this is only one part of the puzzle. Even those on an open-circuit system can get much closer and make animals comfortable.
Staying calm and relaxed yourself is a huge part of maintaining the calm on a reef. We’ve all seen the inconsiderate or inexperienced diver who darts all over a dive site, chasing every animal for photos. Ever notice that it doesn’t just affect the animal that person is chasing? The whole reef goes on high alert and becomes much more cautious.
Another great reason to move slowly and calmly underwater is that not even Michael Phelps on freediving fins would be able to catch an animal with its back turned to him if it doesn’t want him to. Better to let that one elusive subject go and focus on the creatures that are sticking around and not on high alert.
When it comes to noise, divers will remember from their entry-level course that sound travels better in the water. Your heart makes sound, and when it races due to exertion, anxiety or excitement, the creatures in the water notice and respond accordingly. In turn when your heart rate is low, it means quieter breathing with smaller bubbles.
Proper spacing between divers can also make a big difference in marine life interactions. Although we should stay close to our buddies, and no one wants to miss out on an exciting sighting, when it comes to the underwater world, large groups of a species typically get together for three reasons — for protection, for mating, or to increase their chances for feeding. By allowing a bit of distance between your buddy team and other teams, you increase your chances of good interactions with the resident marine life. If everyone is hanging around a section of coral waiting for a mandarinfish to show, just wait a little while. The other divers will move on, and when they do, head over to the same area and you will likely notice that little fish become much braver with fewer people around.
Waiting for an animal’s curiosity to override its fight-or-flight response also helps. Marine animals are immensely more intelligent than they are given credit for and they are curious. If they don’t feel as though they are being hunted or pursued, they may wish to investigate the strange being that has entered their realm. Take a second to settle on a sandy patch nearby or just hover in place as calmly as possible.
If something you want to see hides, hang out nearby and appear to be focused on something else. The subject will often reappear to relocate or simply check to see if the coast is clear. Trying to get close to a shark? Ignore it. Turn your back and take your eyes off of it. Just be mindful of the species you’re trying to interact with — not everything is shy.
To blend in, follow the example of many underwater predators, which often use camouflage. Use the terrain. Hang close to the bottom or against a wall, where your shape is less discernable than if you’re hanging in the water column. Use bommies, rocks, overhangs and corners to conceal your presence. If you need to close the distance, move slowly and steadily towards your subject. Think of yourself as a ninja cuttlefish.
I often see divers chasing pelagics out into the open ocean, but these animals will only come as close as they feel comfortable. If you leave the protection of cover, you’re much more clearly visible, less interesting to animals, and easier to avoid. When you enter the blue, they often become uncomfortable and are much more likely to move on.
Finally, one of the best ways to increase your odds of a positive interaction is to observe an animal’s flight patterns, from a distance if possible. When we obstruct the pattern, the animal changes the path. When gathering around a cleaning station, for example, make sure to avoid the entry and exit paths. If hooked in on a wall, do not sit right on the edge; leave an open route for the sharks to travel. Once you see the patterns, simply place yourself near the animal’s path and wait patiently. If someone is ruining the pattern by blocking off the path or pursuing the animal, don’t get upset and focus on where the creature was; instead, focus on where it will be next.
Hopefully these tips will help you in your pursuit of photos or quality marine life interactions. Be polite and respectful, just as you would if visiting a friend’s home, and you’ll find that animals are far more willing to welcome you to theirs.
By Adam Straub
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Friday, January 27, 2017
Five Common Tropical Marine Life Injuries
Traveling to abroad often means we’ll have to contend with the potential risks from untreated tap water, mosquito bites or excessive sun exposure, among other things. But divers face risks underwater as well. Different diving environments often present unique hazards, specifically with regards to marine life. Here we’ll address five common tropical marine life injuries — how to avoid them in the first place, and how to treat them if you’re afflicted. Disclaimer: Keep in mind that this article is not intended to replace professional medical treatment. If you are seriously injured, seek medical care.
Jellyfish
There are hundreds of types of jellyfish, and a sting is one of the most common tropical marine life injuries. Reactions vary from person to person, but can include none at all, numbness, a mild itch, or severe pain. You can even die from some particularly potent stings. The sting occurs when skin comes into contact with jellyfish tentacles that have microscopic barbs, which release toxins into the skin. Divers should beware of floating, transparent shapes in the water.
Even broken-off tentacles washed up on a shoreline can release toxins if stepped on. Wearing a full-length wetsuit or rash guard helps protect vulnerable areas. If stung, do not rub the wound, as this will intensify and possibly spread the affected area. Instead, irrigate the area with household vinegar. Remove any tentacles with tweezers and gloves, and rinse with salt water. A hot pack of around 113 F (45 C) can help reduce pain as well. Physicians may recommend painkillers, anti-inflammatory meds and topical anesthetics.
Coral scrapes
Coral scrapes are also very common tropical marine life injuries, but you can easily avoid them by staying aware of your surroundings. Excellent buoyancy control is also key here. A full wetsuit or dive skin can protect your skin, but do not use it to compensate for poor buoyancy skills. Macro photographers are particularly at risk when they get close to the reef and corals to photograph subjects. Watch for signs such as redness, swelling, inflammation and tenderness.
Symptoms will vary depending on the scrape’s severity, but can include pain, burning and itching. If coral scrapes you, clean the area immediately with soap and water. This will prevent further inflammation and infection, which is a common side effect of a coral scrape. If you’ve touched a fire coral, try hot water or a hot pack, again around 113 F (45 C). If irritation persists, a physician will typically prescribe an anti-inflammatory or an antihistamine.
Sea urchins
In addition to causing puncture wounds, sea urchin spines are often venomous. If a diver or snorkeler stands on or touches an urchin, they may feel immediate pain, burning, swelling and numbness. If not treated properly, infection is also a further risk. Avoid touching urchins — avoid touching anything on the reef — or getting close to them while diving. Wear booties when shore diving and take special care when moving through surf zones near rocks. If you are stung by an urchin, elevate the injury, remove spines with tweezers, irrigate the area and clean with antiseptic lotion. Break down the spines remaining in the body by soaking the wound in hot water with Epsom salts on a daily basis. For more complicated infections, apply a pressure dressing to prevent venom spread and seek medical care.
Stingrays
Stingray injuries are thankfully quite rare for scuba divers. Swimmers and snorkelers walking in shallow water at the shoreline are at a much higher risk, and injuries usually occur on the feet and lower legs when the accidentally step on a stingray. Although individual reactions vary, if stung the pain can be intense. Victims may require treatment for shock. Irrigate the wound in salt water to remove any stingray spines and remove any foreign bodies with tweezers. Apply a dressing to stop bleeding and soak in hot water for up to 90 minutes. Then, clean the wound with soap and water. More severe cases will require a doctor visit, as stings can be fatal if taken in the torso region.
Lionfish
Just as the other hazardous marine life injuries we’ve addressed, lionfish stings are best prevented in the first place. Practice good buoyancy control and keep a respectful distance from lionfish. In recent years, Caribbean divers have reported the most injuries from stings while spearing the invasive lionfish, which is not native to the region. Any divers engaging in spearing or containment activities in the Caribbean should get proper training and, in some regions, licenses.
If your skin is punctured by any of the animal’s 18 venomous spines, you’ll usually feel immediate, intense localized pain and throbbing. The most important thing during this situation is to calm your breathing and response, slow your ascent rate and ascend safely to the shoreline or boat. First aid involves removing the spines with tweezers. Even broken-off spines can contain venom, so take care with removal and disposal. Clean the wound with fresh water and disinfectant, and apply antibiotic cream if possible. If the wound is bleeding, apply a direct-pressure bandage to control blood flow. To alleviate the pain and break down the venom and toxins, soak the injured area (or apply soaked pads) in hot water around 113 F (45 C) for about 30 minutes. Many dive operators that engage in lionfish containment activities will have commercial hot packs on site.
Prevention is always better than cure when it comes to common marine life injuries, so avoid getting too close to aquatic life. Maintain good situational and environmental awareness, practice excellent buoyancy control, and never, ever touch anything underwater. But because stings and spines stuck in the skin can lead to infection or tissue necrosis, victims should always seek professional medical assistance after conducting first-aid treatment.
The post Five Common Tropical Marine Life Injuries appeared first on Scuba Diver Life.
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ASWB Seeks Licensed Social Workers To Help Set Passing Score Standards for Social Work Licensing Exams
The Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) seeks social work subject matter expert volunteers to participate in reviewing performance standards and recommending passing scores for new social work exams to be released in 2018. Deadline 3/1/17
from The New Social Worker Online — the professional social work careers magazine http://ift.tt/2jcbi6S
from The New Social Worker Online — the professional social work careers magazine http://ift.tt/2jcbi6S
Thursday, January 26, 2017
Conservation Spotlight: Marine Megafauna Foundation (SE Asia)
Originally an independent organization founded to research manta rays in Indonesia, Marine Megafauna SE Asia is running several conservation and education programs in and around Indonesia. They have a strong focus on manta-ray protection. Today we’re chatting with Helen Mitchell, one of the founders of Marine Megafauna Foundation SE Asia.
What do you do?
“Our primary focus is always conservation,” says Mitchell. “So now that we have helped get manta rays nationwide protection in Indonesia, we are keen to pioneer, participate and help with any other issues that affect the marine environment, and especially these gentle giants.”
How and why did it all start?
Peter Bassett and Helen Mitchell started the project on Nusa Lembongan, Bali, as Aquatic Alliance. Mitchell explains, “We had an intense period of training with Dr. Andrea Marshall and Dr. Simon Pierce at the Marine Megafauna Foundation in Mozambique.”
Bassett and Mitchell are not scientists, and became involved in conservation after switching careers. Drs. Marshall and Pierce trained the two budding conservationists on research methods to identify mantas, how to take ID shots and use databases, and how to evaluate conservation efforts in the area.
“We had dived with the mantas of Bali before and loved it here,” said Mitchell. “So when we were offered support from one of the local dive shops on Nusa Lembongan to come and take a closer look, we jumped at the chance.
Big Fish offered us some work space and the use of their facilities to run free lectures. They also offer logistical support to dive the manta sites. Soon a lot of other Nusa Lembongan shops took us diving for free to help our research so we could go and ID manta rays.”
After a few years of conservation work around Nusa Lembongan, Bassett and Mitchell joined Marine Megafauna Foundation to work under the same name. PhD researcher Elitza Germanov joined the project as well. Germanov was already building a database of manta rays in Komodo National Park, and started her research there. Germanov is studying the potential ingestion of plastic debris by large filter-feeding fish. She studies manta and mobula rays, as well as whale sharks.
Her research focuses on the smallest plastic debris, or microplastics. The primary research sites are in Nusa Penida and Komodo National Park. She also collaborates with researchers in the Philippines and Tanzania.
What are the MMF Southeast Asia’s main areas of focus?
“Within the Nusa Penida marine park, the team keeps baseline data on marine megafauna, the health of the coral, and how many boats are at the dive sites every day,” says Mitchell.
“We also have several educational programs of varying sorts, such as weekly lectures for tourists and divers, coloring books distributed to local schools/communities and Code of Conduct training sessions for the local dive industry.”
Thanks to these efforts, most of the area’s dive professionals have received training on proper manta-ray interaction and the local ecosystem’s importance to the manta rays. Several dive shops on Nusa Lembongan offer dives to Manta Point and Manta Bay. They routinely give away their free spots on the boat to members of Marine Megafauna. This way they can dive, take pictures of the mantas for ID, and collect samples that could be valuable to Germanov’s research. When on the dive boats, MMF members can also discuss conservation and manta-ray behavior with other divers.
Where does MMF SE Asia operate?
In addition to Nusa Penida and Komodo, MMF SE Asia is expanding its efforts to Raja Ampat, Indonesia. Two PhD students, Stephanie Venables and Rob Perryman, have recently begun projects there in partnership with Papua Explorers Dive Resort. Venables is also focusing on manta-ray population genetics. She is developing genetic techniques to be used as conservation tools for global species and population assessments.
Perryman is looking into the social structure and behavior of reef-manta populations. He’s using social-network analysis to answer new and unique questions about sociality within populations. The Raja Ampat project will continue to collect data for ongoing photo ID studies, adding to regional and national catalogues. Most importantly, researchers are working with local communities and tourism stakeholders to promote sustainable and minimal-impact manta ray tourism in the area.
How can people help?
Become a “citizen scientist” by uploading your manta-ray ID shots to the first worldwide manta-ray database. Begun by Dr. Marshall, it’s the only forum open to all manta-ray scientists for sharing and comparing sightings. You can also help fund research and continued protection of these ocean giants with a contribution here.
Volunteer positions open regularly. If you would like to spend some time on Nusa Lembongan, helping with manta research, get in touch with the team.
The post Conservation Spotlight: Marine Megafauna Foundation (SE Asia) appeared first on Scuba Diver Life.
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My January Bidsquare wishlist.
Today we’re going to have an other edition of one of my favorite pastimes: looking at jewelry I want to buy through Bidsquare!
When I feature auctions, the temptation is always to show you the most spectacular, mind-blowing pieces. We’re still going to do a little of that today. But my main focus is going to be on highlighting the achievable Bidsquare pieces: the ones that a person like you or I could potentially afford and wear in real life.
Continue reading My January Bidsquare wishlist. at Diamonds in the Library.
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Wednesday, January 25, 2017
Local Activists Decry Thailand’s Dolphin Bay Phuket
Phuket, one of Thailand’s most popular tourist destinations, is famous for its beaches, clear waters, and rollicking nightlife. As a region that sees more than 3 million tourists annually, Phuket offers much more than this. But not everything is as sunny as the beaches. Dolphin Bay Phuket is a relatively new aquarium, built in 2014. The facility has come under fire for housing captive dolphins, conducting daily dolphin shows, and offering swim-with-the-dolphins experiences in enclosed pools. Visitors can also have their picture taken with a dolphin on a “stage.”
What’s wrong with captive dolphins?
So, what’s the problem? As with any tourist attraction that includes direct contact with captive wild animals, that it is not how these animals — be they elephants or dolphins — are meant to live their lives. Living in captivity and being forced to perform is stressful harmful, and disrespectful to them. They can’t swim freely, hunt for food, or fulfill any other natural instincts. These are key to their mental and physical health. According to the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDC), captive whales and dolphins are prone to mental and physical stress. This stress impairs their immune systems. Despite living in an environment free of predators and other natural risks, captive animals live far shorter lives than their free counterparts.
The shorter life span also means that aquariums must often bring in new animals to replace those that have died. Capturing these animals from the wild is often far from ethical, as evidenced by the award-winning documentary “The Cove.”
Adding people to small pools to swim with the animals and take photos only makes matters worse. There is no comparison between swimming or diving with wild dolphins — who may freely seek out human interaction and are free to leave — and forcing animals to “play” with humans in enclosed pools.
The problem with Dolphin Bay Phuket
At Dolphin Bay Phuket, the holding pools are much too small for the animals to stay healthy, per many observers including local dive instructor and activist Natasha Eldred. While there are separate isolation pools for ill animals, there is no direct channel between the main pools and the isolation pools. This means that the animal handler can, only with great difficulty, transport the sick animals to the isolation pools. The entire place, says Eldred, meets only the bare minimum of regulations. The facility looks like a throwback to a 1980s animal-show design. And since even the best, most updated of these cetacean entertainment facilities is unsuitable for long-term animal keeping, Dolphin Bay Phuket is likely to be detrimental to the health of its dolphins.
There have been local protests against the dolphinarium since it opened, but these have proven unsuccessful. And as public protests are illegal in Thailand, there is only so much local activists can do. The best — and effectively only — way to ensure the facility fails is to educate the locals and tourists. Urge them to not give their money to such a venue.
As scuba divers, or simply as human beings who care about animal welfare, we should never visit venues that offer direct interaction with animals in captivity, such as elephant rides or swimming with captive dolphins. And we should be skeptical of any tourist offerings including animals, from zoos to whale-watching trips. Do your research before you participate in any activity like this. And if you’re traveling to Thailand any time in the future, do the dolphins a favor and strike Dolphin Bay Phuket from your must-visit list.
The post Local Activists Decry Thailand’s Dolphin Bay Phuket appeared first on Scuba Diver Life.
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3 Ways Window Treatments Can Make Your Living Room Better
Having a high-end looking home can be difficult, especially if you have a tight decorating budget. Fortunately, there are ways window treatments can help make your living room better. Read on!
Image Source: Flickr
Floor-to-Ceiling Sophistication
Floor-to-ceiling drapes are in high demand right now. Long drapes are more prevalent as homes are being built with higher ceilings and loft spaces become more popular. These drapes offer a sophisticated look, and at many places, can be customized in bright, contemporary hues for an updated appearance. According to Janet Barragan, senior vice president of window design at Curtainworks, “Eighty-four-inch curtains are the U.S. standard, but we now offer 95-inch curtains, and get requests for even longer curtains, from 108 to 120 inches, to accommodate today’s homes.” If you’re searching for long curtains for your windows, don’t be afraid to go custom and get the perfect window treatments that truly fit the unique size of your space. Photo courtesy of Curtain works. Source: HGTV
Establish a Color Palette
The fabric you choose for window treatments helps establish a color palette for the entire room. In this case, the window panels are a solid aqua, but a patterned fabric could be just as influential. The watery shade coordinates with the celadon rug and concrete gray walls, providing a colorful backdrop that’s also soft enough to let bright accents in fuchsia, purple, and pumpkin stand out. Source: BHG
Swing Arm Curtains
Swing arm curtains are one of the more unique window treatment ideas, and they haven’t seen much use in the United States in recent years. They require a special hinged curtain rod that allows you to move the curtain to stand out at a 90-degree angle from the window. Swing arm curtains are a brilliant and surprisingly inexpensive solution for bedrooms where you want to be able to block light easily without having to worry about ruining a carefully pleated or artfully scrunched curtain fabric with daily adjustments. Source: Freshome
If you want to know more about window treatments that can best fit your home style, contact us now!
Contact:
Universal Blinds
601 – 1550 W. 10th Ave
Vancouver, V6J 1Z9
Canada
Phone: (604) 559-1988
The post 3 Ways Window Treatments Can Make Your Living Room Better appeared first on Universal Blinds, Shades & Shutters.
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Tuesday, January 24, 2017
The Number One Partner Every Medical Equipment Planning Group Should Have
Building a healthcare facility takes time and money. But careful planning by the right team with the right tools can provide savings to both.
As medical technology grows more complex, so does the planning and building of a medical facility. That's why persons involved in medical facility and equipment planning can benefit from the building information modeling (BIM) program.
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Top Shark Diving Tips
Sharks still suffer from media misinformation, often characterized as dangerous eating machines. In reality, they are reserved and cautious about approaching divers. The risk of harm from a shark encounter is incredibly low and you can minimize it even further with sensible diving practices. Here are our top shark diving tips for safe and enjoyable interactions.
Seek safety in numbers
Many shark species are ambush predators and, when investigating novel objects, prefer not to be seen in order to maintain their own safety and advantage. If they know they’re being watched, it can deter them from coming too close unexpectedly. Diving in a group is a great way to ensure there are always pairs of eyes not only looking for sharks but also monitoring the sharks’ and divers’ behavior.
Time your dive
It is best practice to avoid diving at dawn and dusk, as that’s prime hunting time for many types of sharks. Likewise, avoid murky water at all times. If the shark cannot see a diver clearly and vice versa, there is an increased risk that the shark will mistake a diver for food, or of the diver surprising the shark and causing it to react defensively.
Avoid marine mammal colonies
Avoiding marine mammal colonies is especially important when hoping to see larger shark species, such as great whites, which feed on those mammals. When a shark is hunting, there is a possibility it could mistake a diver for a seal or view that diver as competition for the food source. It is never sensible to be near any wild animal when it is feeding or hunting. Respect their territory and dive in another location.
Choose a responsible dive operator and buddy
Choosing a reputable and environmentally-focused dive operator is a key consideration with shark diving. Many operators adhere to strict codes of best practice to ensure both the animals’ and divers’ safety, and that the divers enjoy the experience. It is also important to choose an operator and/or dive buddy you can rely upon to not mistreat or aggravate sharks with inappropriate behavior.
Learn shark behavior
Before diving with sharks, get to know their behaviors. Sharks are intelligent animals that will display warning signals if they feel threatened by a diver’s presence. These subtle signs are a diver’s cue to move away from the shark, and include mouth gaping, an arched back, the pectoral fins being dropped and overall exaggerated body movements.
Know the environment
Understand the dive environment before you enter the water. This is important not only when it comes to safety, but also for finding sharks in the first place if you’re diving with just a buddy. Note the best spots to find sharks, the topography, currents and depths prior to diving to maximize the opportunity for an enjoyable encounter.
Keep your breathing steady
Seeing a shark underwater for the first time is hugely exciting. It often involves a rush of adrenaline, a mad dash for the camera, kicking of fins and alerting dive buddies. You may also be trying to breathe and maintain proper depth. Take a moment to slow your breathing and check your dive gauges so as to avoid any unexpected depth changes. Do not rapidly ascend or plummet in pursuit of the shark. Stay calm, breathe and enjoy the encounter.
Wear the right gear
It is best practice to choose dark and neutral colors for shark dives. Avoid shiny cameras and jewelry, as they can mimic the appearance of fish underwater and attract a shark’s attention. Hold cameras close to the body and consider whether or not strobes are necessary. The noise and light of the flashes can entice sharks to take an investigatory bite on expensive equipment.
Follow safety procedures
Whether diving as a buddy pair without a guide or diving with an operator, pay attention to safety procedures. Dive buddies should plan what to do if they see a shark and unexpectedly feel uncomfortable. Common sense is to descend to the reef floor (or equivalent) if possible until the shark has passed, or to slowly retreat with eyes on the shark and exit the water. Always remember the ocean is the sharks’ environment and treat them with respect. If you’re on a guided dive, listen to the safety briefing. Follow instructions while underwater. If it’s a baited shark dive, stay where you’re told during the encounter. This will ensure that it’s safe and enjoyable for everyone.
Enjoy
While shark diving does require extra safety considerations, the risk of an accident occurring is very low. People return to shark-diving hotspots year after year because, put simply, it’s so much fun. So if you’re planning your first shark dive or your next, make sure to relax and enjoy the encounter.
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Springer launches Fussball Bild, a print daily football newspaper, across Germany
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Monday, January 23, 2017
Study Connects Dental Problems and Scuba Diving
In a report recently published in the British Dental Journal, 41 percent of surveyed divers said that they had experienced dental problems underwater. Vinisha Ranna, a student at the University of Buffalo’s school of dental medicine, led the study, entitled “Prevalence of Dental Problems in Recreational SCUBA Divers.”
Per Ranna, the clenching action required to keep a scuba regulator in place combines with changing pressure to exacerbate latent dental issues. This means dental problems and scuba diving often go hand in hand.
Dental Problems and Diving
Ranna, a certified rescue diver, thought of the study in 2013, when she first learned to dive. During her introductory dives, she experienced barodontalgia, an acute toothache caused by the increase in pressure underwater. Curious to find out how common her symptoms were, Ranna began to research the effects of diving on dental health. She soon discovered that existing studies focused solely on military divers, and so decided to study recreational divers.
After crafting her survey, Ranna distributed it online to 100 certified divers. Potential candidates had to be healthy, over 18 years old, and free from decongestant medication. Of the 41 percent that reported dental problems, the most common issue was barodontalgia, which accounted for 42 percent of affected respondents. Participants also reported jaw and dental pain, caused by clenching the regulator mouthpiece too tightly. The latter problem is especially prevalent in cold-water divers, inexperienced divers, or those who feel nervous underwater.
Results of the Study
Five people complained of a loosened crown, while one unfortunate respondent suffered a shattered filling. Ranna also noticed that of those surveyed, dive professionals seemed significantly more susceptible to dental problems. She hypothesized that this is likely because instructors spend quite a bit of time in shallow water, where they most acutely feel pressure changes.
The pilot study’s limited sample means that its results offer more of an informed indication than conclusive proof. But Ranna hopes to build upon her initial findings with a study group of over 1,000 divers. In the meantime, she asserts that regular dental check-ups are especially important for divers. “An unhealthy tooth underwater would be much more obvious than on the surface…100 feet underwater is the last place you want to be with a fractured tooth.” Those who have recently undergone a dental procedure should also get a checkup before diving.
Perhaps in the future, new divers will have to answer questions about dental health on the compulsory medical questionnaire. In addition, scuba-equipment manufacturers might develop mouthpiece designs that further reduce the need for clenching. This might make it easier to minimize the effects of changing pressure. For now, the study’s results suggest that regular dentist visits should become part of our scuba-health routine.
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Meet your AGTA Gemfair Gembassadors!
I’ve been hearing about the annual AGTA GemFair in Tuscon, Arizona for years. It’s become mythical in my imagination: I picture it as a vibrant desert oasis piled to the clouds with rainbows of precious stones and heaps of colored gemstone jewelry.
I have to imagine what it’s like because I’ve never seen it firsthand. But that’s about to change: I’m thrilled to announce that I’ll be attending the 2017 AGTA GemFair as one of the AGTA’s very first official Gembassadors.
Continue reading Meet your AGTA Gemfair Gembassadors! at Diamonds in the Library.
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Sunday, January 22, 2017
Accessing Inner Worlds - Photos as a Social Work Tool
Expressive techniques such as photography, writing, and other arts are tools for both the client and social worker to benefit from by accessing inner worlds and processing thoughts and feelings.
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German tabloid Bild sues Focus Online over “stolen” content
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The Difference Between Scuba Diving Gas Mixes
Many new divers incorrectly call their diving cylinder an oxygen tank. For some, it’s just a turn of phrase; they know full well that the standard diving gas is good, old-fashioned air. But divers can breathe other gases, including the commonly used nitrox, as well as technical mixtures. What’s the difference between all these scuba diving gas mixes anyway?
Air (79 percent nitrogen, 21 percent oxygen)
It almost seems silly to mention air, but some readers may want to start diving and haven’t yet signed up for an open-water class. Air is the gas of choice for every dive resort in the world. Why? It contains enough oxygen to sustain us underwater, and since it’s all around us, it’s cheap. The downside is that during our descent and bottom time, our tissues are absorbing nitrogen. On ascent, tissues release this extra nitrogen in a process called off-gassing. The nitrogen load limits recreational divers’ bottom times and how fast they can ascend. There are depth limitations too, as nitrogen becomes narcotic the deeper you go. This becomes increasingly debilitating, so the maximum depth for recreational diving is 130 feet (40 m). Oxygen itself becomes toxic as we go beyond 184 feet (56 m).
Availability: Hopefully everywhere
Best used for: All recreational diving down to 130 feet (40 m).
Cost: Always included in the price of a course or fun dive at resorts. Dive shops will charge a small fee to fill a cylinder.
Nitrox (up to 40% oxygen)
Nitrox contains from 22 to 40 percent oxygen. The most common mixes are 32 percent and 36 percent oxygen, also known as EAN32 and EAN 36. Many people think that nitrox allows you to dive deeper and stay down longer, but this is simply not true. Nitrox is a shallow-diving gas. While it can extend no-decompression limits (NDLs) compared with air, you still breathe at the same rate, so you’ll still breathe the tank down at the same rate.
Because nitrox contains more oxygen, it contains less nitrogen. This means that your body absorbs less nitrogen at a given depth compared with diving on air, which explains why you can extend your NDL. But staying down for longer with less nitrogen in the tank will still produce the same decompression risk as using air for a shorter amount of time at a given depth. Because oxygen becomes toxic with increasing depth, every nitrox mixture has a maximum depth for a particular dive, with shallower maximums than air.
Availability: Of the scuba diving gas mixes, this is one is most widely available at busy resorts. More remote diving locations may not offer nitrox. Check ahead if you’d like to use it. Remember to show proof of certification to dive this gas.
Best used for: Repetitive and multi-day diving, such as on a liveaboard. The nitrox specialty course covers everything you need to know to use nitrox safely.
Cost: The cost will be included in your nitrox course and you’ll often pay a small fee per dive at a resort. Dive shops will charge per cylinder.
Trimix
Now we’ve firmly entered technical-diving territory. Trimix is a mixture of oxygen, nitrogen and helium. Why add helium? Well, we know that nitrogen becomes narcotic as we go deeper. Helium is an inert gas, meaning it does not react with our bodies at conventional scuba depths. So if we replace some of the nitrogen with helium, we can go deeper and still have a clear head. So-called normoxic trimix does allows divers to do just that. A common mixture is 21/35, which has 21 percent oxygen, 35 percent helium and 44 percent nitrogen. Another common mixture is 18/45, with 18 percent oxygen and 45 percent helium. These mixtures allow technical divers to hang around at up to 197 feet (60 m) — and actually remember their dive.
Dives any deeper than 197 feet require hypoxic trimix. In this mixture, helium replaces some of the nitrogen and oxygen content. Doing so reduces the risk of oxygen toxicity at depths of around 328 feet (100 m). A typical hypoxic mixture at this depth would be 10/70 (10 percent oxygen and 70 percent helium).
Availability: Widely available since the mid-2000s, but only for technical divers at resorts that offer technical diving courses as well as fun diving. Divers need to complete numerous tec courses before doing a trimix course. Remember to show proof of certification to dive this gas.
Best used for: Dives beyond 130 feet (40 m), or if you have a high susceptibility to narcosis.
Cost: Helium is quite expensive, and the cost of filling tanks will vary greatly depending on the depth and equipment configuration. People who do a lot of deep diving use rebreathers to keep gas costs down.
Decompression gases: Nitrox 40 to 99 percent and 100 percent oxygen
If you’re decompression diving, using air for your deco stops is a bad idea for many reasons. Mainly it’s terribly inefficient — your deco stops will be quite long. For reasons beyond the scope of this article, all the nitrogen your body accumulates during a deco dive can be teased out a lot faster if you breathe high percentages of oxygen on your shallow deco stops. Common mixtures are 50 percent or 80 percent nitrox and 100 percent oxygen. However, you must be a trained technical diver to understand the risks and benefits associated with breathing higher percentages of oxygen, and obtain the skills necessary to dive safely.
Availability: Only available to qualified technical divers at resorts that offer technical diving courses. You’ll need to be qualified as an advanced nitrox/Tec 40, or decompression procedures/Tec45 diver to rent tanks. Remember to show proof of certification to dive this gas.
Best used for: Decompression diving
Cost: Slightly more expensive than nitrox
Commercial and exotic gases
The commercial diving industry commonly uses heliox in place of trimix. This mixture of helium and oxygen can be used at depths of up to 984 feet (300 m). Any deeper than that requires divers to replace helium with hydrogen. Helium becomes narcotic at these depths, and the body becomes susceptible to High Pressure Nervous Syndrome (HPNS). Hydrox is a mixture of hydrogen and oxygen. Experimental commercial divers, laying oil and gas pipeline at a depth of 1,752 feet (534 m), used this gas. But that’s nothing if your name is Theo Mavrostomos. He achieved a record simulated dive of 2,300 feet (701 m) in an onshore hyperbaric chamber.
Availability: Ask Doc Brown
Best used for: Fun diving the Titanic in the 22nd century.
Cost: Make sure your great-grandchildren are sitting down
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The Longest Living Sea Creatures
With a bit of luck and good lifestyle choices, the lucky among us can hope for 100 years on Earth at most. But that’s just a drop in the bucket for the planet’s longest living sea creatures. For many marine animals, attaining 100 years just puts them into adolescence. What are the world’s longest living sea creatures? Here’s a list of the top 10, from shortest- to longest-lived.
Red sea urchin
The red sea urchin is our first entry. They inhabit the Pacific Ocean from Alaska to Baja California and typically live more than 30 years. They can, however, reach 200 years of age. A vital part of the West Coast ecosystem, these spiky creatures eat (and can devastate) kelp beds. Sea otters, in turn, predate on the urchins and all three players (otters, urchins and kelp) are vital for a healthy ecosystem.
Rougheye rockfish
Like the red sea urchin, our next fish is a golden oldie. The rougheye rockfish, which can grow to over three feet (1 m) long and can weigh around 14 pounds (6.3 kg), is one fish that refuses to die young. This impressive marine swimmer can live as long as 205 years.
Photo by Olga Shpak
Bowhead whale
The enormous bowhead whale weighs an astonishing 100 tons. At around 66 feet (20 m) long, this creature is by far the largest on our list. The bowhead lives in the Arctic Ocean, and tends to remain in the Northern Hemisphere’s chilly waters around Greenland, Canada and Russia. Impressively, its expected lifespan is double its own weight. That’s right, this gigantic animal has been known to live 211 years. Unfortunately, these gentle giants have experienced dramatic decline in numbers since the 17th century, mainly due to whaling, habitat loss and ocean pollution.
Photo: Charles Fisher
Lamellibrachia tube worm
The next of our longest living sea creatures is a strange-looking one. The Lamellibrachia tube worm lives along hydrocarbon vents at the bottom of the ocean. Many live for around 170 years, however, recent studies have shown that some of these odd-looking critters have reached a whopping 250 years of age. Studies are ongoing as to what keeps these worms alive so long.
Greenland shark
The nearly blind, cold-water dwelling Greenland shark is thought to be the world’s longest-lived vertebrate. The shark lives mostly in the cold North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, and specimens have been known to reach over 200 years old. Amazingly, a recent study on one shark found that it was anywhere from 272 years to 512 years old.
Ocean quahog clam
The next specimen that defied death for over 500 years was an ocean quahog clam, nicknamed Ming after the Ming dynasty during which it was born. Poor Ming unfortunately died in 2006 at 507 years old after it was dredged off the coast of Iceland. Scientists think that Ming would still be alive if it had been left in the ocean.
Antarctic sponge
Perhaps the most immobile creatures on Earth are the longest-lived. The Antarctic sponge, as its name suggests, lives in the freezing waters of the Antarctic Ocean. Its immobility and slow growth rate mean it can live for centuries. Studies conducted on some of the oldest-known sponges estimate them to be over 1,550 years old.
Giant barrel sponge
Another stationary creature, the giant barrel sponge is one of the longest living animals on the planet. Scientists estimate that the largest specimens in the Caribbean are over 2,300 years old.
Black coral genus, Leiopathes annosa
Identified in 2015 in the Hawaiian Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, the black coral Leiopathes annosa can live for over 4,000 years. Scientists gave the samples an estimated age of 4,265 years. These slow-growing corals are found at depths between 1,000 and 1,600 feet within the monument and throughout the Hawaiian Islands.
Photo by Bachman
Turritopsis dohrnii jellyfish (immortal jellyfish)
Finally, our list of the longest living sea creatures concludes with something that lives even longer than the aforementioned black coral: an immortal jellyfish. The Turritopsis dohrnii jellyfish is also known as the immortal jellyfish, and left scientists baffled when they discovered that the jellyfish appears to change its age at will. When it reaches adulthood, the T. dohrnii can revert back to its immature polyp stage if faced with illness, physical assault or environmental stress. It can then resume growing into a mature adult once more. It’s unsurprising that scientists plan to examine this critter in numerous studies and experiments, with the goal of figuring out how to live forever.
By Lauren Feather
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Friday, January 20, 2017
Valentine's Day Last Minute Gift Card Strategy
Cupid's Day is quickly approaching, planning to implement a last minute gift card email campaign can add some love to 1st quarter revenue.
Rescue Procrastinators
Remind your guests about the convenience of gift card giving and offer an online gift card promotion. Email marketing gets your gift card promotion straight into client’s email boxes.
To strike the most inboxes begin scheduling last minute gift card promotion 1 week prior to February 14th. The premise is simple, the more people that are aware of your Valentine's Day gift cards, the more you will sell; the last 24 hours are the most popular time for Valentine's gift card sales overall. We recommend you schedule your email campaign something like this:
Email 1: February 7: Last Minute Gift Card Offer
Email 2: February 11: Only 3 Days left!
Email 3: February 13: Last 24 Hours
Create a Strong Campaign
The first step to a strong campaign is the right offer, the right message, and the right image. A focused theme and catchy headline with attention-grabbing images increases open and click-through rates.
Share the Love
In addition to emailing, share your last minute gift card special across all social media channels. Email and social media used together are a marketing partnership made in heaven.
Tip: The premise is a simple one; the more people that are aware of your gift card special, the more you are going sell.
Keep the Love
Gift card promotions give beauty business owners the opportunity to turn a “gift card guest” into a repeat and loyal client. A solid first impression with their Valentine’s Day experience will make them more likely to return.
1. Ask each gift card guest to fill out a client card to allow future correspondence.
2. Treat each gift card guest like a VIP.
3. Re-book gift card guest for a follow-up service at end of experience.
Show Some Love to Clientele
Create a special Valentine's Day greeting to your clients, February is a great month to show your clientele some love.
Need a Valentine's Day promotion and haven't planned it out yet? Let BeautyMark help with our pre-made Valentine's Day promotions. Don't miss out on another revenue-generating holiday opportunity. Click here to learn more!
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Sweet Tips for Valentine's Day Merchandising
Valentine's Day has become a retail giant. The day of love is a beauty businesses dream, the perfect time for selling Valentine's Day services as well as promoting products and services as gifts. With some love and creativity you can create a salon experience that guests won’t find elsewhere.
Valentine Mirror Messages
When done properly, your salon logo can appear on client selfies, almost like an automatic watermark! It's no secret that guests love to photograph themselves after a salon visit - when they are feeling beautiful. Affix Valentine's Day messages like XOXO, SMOOCH, LOVEor graphics like HEARTS, LIPS, CUPIDS with your salon logo and hashtag to each station mirror - or a frequently visited mirror - this encourages clients to take a photograph and post it (fingers crossed)!
Valentine's Day Themed Selfie Station
Add a Valentine's Day themed Selfie Station in your salon to play up the holiday. What is a Selfie Station you ask? It is a cool staged place or space in your salon specifically designated for clients to take selfies of their fabulous new do’s and doll ups.
A Valentine's Day selfie station can be as simple as a red heart on a white backdrop – just make sure you include your logo and hashtag. Or, get creative! Create the shape of a heart from pink or red objects, hang strands of heart shaped garland from an umbrella, adorn your wall with heart shaped paper plates, or cut out lips. Add in fun selfie sticks with lips, hearts or xoxo. The ideas are endless...
Branded Merchandising Look
Determine a Valentines "look" for your beauty business and express it by choosing decorations and retail products that tell a story in your special branded way. Theme everything to the "story" – color choices, merchandising support elements, point of purchase signs, seasonal merchandise offerings – should all further visually support the theme. Mix retail with merchandising support elements - these are the little details such as candy boxes, cards, vintage books, or trinkets that make your displays specials.
Seasonal Merchandise
Don’t limit your Valentine's Day to retail your salon normally stocks. Load up your retail space with fun Valentine's-Day-themed merchandise such as headbands, clips, sunglasses, makeup, nail lacquer, jewelry, and cute valentines day cards (perfect accompaniment to a salon gift card). These items will add to the salon experience and give your guests extra gifting options.
Point of Sale Signs
Tell your story clearly with themed point of sale signs or shelf talkers mixed into retail displays. Point of sale signs clearly state prices, products, packages, or specials you wish to highlight which both informs and encourages purchase.
Fresh Flowers
We love to use fresh flowers mixed into displays - for such a little cost, fresh small bouquets in varying mini vases filled with pink or red roses or peonies add zest to any retail display.
Branded Valentine Window Displays
Red and pink is the traditional symbol for love and Valentine's Day. A huge heart on the window, strings of hearts in varying colors, hanging vintage postcards...? Pick a theme, be bold.
Social Media Love Quotes
On February 1st begin posting branded love quotes to your social media channels, it’s a fun way to make a lasting impression.
Make your guests love struck when they visit your beauty business the month of February.
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What I’m reading: Vol. 75.
Today’s quite a day.
If you’d like to read about the Inauguration, please visit any other part of the internet. If you need a break from politics, please step right up and enjoy any of these lovely suggestions for relaxing reading material.
What I’m reading:
Kushiel’s Dart by Jacqueline Carey. This book is SO GOOD and so weird. I’ve never read anything like it and I loved it.
Continue reading What I’m reading: Vol. 75. at Diamonds in the Library.
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Best Vancouver Dive Sites
As a hedonistic scuba junkie, Vancouver qualifies as pretty much my perfect city. Within 30 to 40 minutes of the downtown core are a huge variety of world-class dives, all of which leave me lots of time to make it back to the city each day to enjoy fine dining, great entertainment and 5-star hotels. What’s more, I’ve been diving the area since the late 80s. I’ve put in dozens of dives around Vancouver and Howe Sound and I’ve yet to exhaust the possibilities. And the best part is that it needn’t be expensive to enjoy Vancouver diving. If you’re willing to put in a little effort, you’ll find plenty of great shore dives that cost you nothing but the time it takes to explore. With that said, here are a few of the best Vancouver dive sites.
[See image gallery at scubadiverlife.com]Whytecliff Park
This is the must-do Vancouver shore dive, just around the corner from Horseshoe Bay, where ferries depart for Vancouver Island. Drive time from downtown is about 20 minutes, depending on traffic. So far I’ve found three separate dives here, all staged from the same location. Local divers do a lot of training at Whytecliff, so don’t be surprised to see groups doing their basic open-water certification. Regardless of traffic on the surface, I’ve never felt crowded once I descend. Once you get down to the main bay, you can break right or left. Each way takes you along the shore and out to deeper water, where you’ll find some nice walls and drop offs. You can also enter the water at a smaller, separate bay a little west of the main park and work your way back to Whytecliff.
I’ve seen virtually every critter imaginable over the years at this spot, including the occasional harbor seal and giant Pacific octopus. Keep close tabs on your gauges, as although much of the diving is in the 40 to 60-foot (12 to 18 m) range, heading out past Whyte Islet or the Day Marker can put you in 200 feet (61 m) very quickly.
VT-100
I’m not sure that everyone would agree that this is one of the best Vancouver dive sites, but for a few reasons I really enjoyed diving this wreck. It’s actually the remains of an old minesweeper, the HMCS Cranbrook. After the war, it was re-designated as Vancouver Tugboat 100. In the late 1950s, someone started a fire on board and the boat burned and sank in Indian Arm. These days, VT-100 is an easily accessible shore dive. It actually took my buddy and I a few dives to find the wreck. We swam past it in bad visibility on our first attempt.
When we returned the next day, we found it with no problem just a few hundred feet off shore in about 40 to 50 feet of water. The wreck has seen better days, but we took our time looking around and found an abundance of white nudibranchs crawling along the rusted metal parts of the ship. Lots of sea perch were hanging around and, on the sandy bottom, were lots of Dungeness crabs and flounder. We also saw (and nearly swam into) a few large red jellyfish — beautiful, but steer clear. The drive time to this site from downtown is about 40 minutes.
Porteau Cove
I count my two dives at Porteau Cove as among the most enjoyable I’ve ever done in the Vancouver area. The long surface swim out to the main diving area wasn’t high on my list of “must do again,” but the work I put into the dive was more than rewarded in terms of what I saw when I finally submerged. The area is a marine park and, over the years, three artificial reefs have been scattered around the bottom. Depths range from 30 to 90 feet (10 to 28 m). This has resulted in one of the most impressive arrays of Pacific Northwest sea life I’ve ever encountered.
Massive lingcod lay casually about on most every outcropping. These fish, between three and four feet long, were not the least bit shy. They’d grudgingly move when I got within a few inches, but up to that point they were quite content to give me a contemptuous stare and try to ignore my presence. There was also a healthy collection of various rockfish. My favorite, the copper rockfish, looks like it belongs on a coral reef. Of course there’s the usual collection of plumose anemones and starfish, but if you take some time checking out the pylons, you’ll also find dainty little decorator crabs. I put in two dives and still made it back to Vancouver for dinner at a new brewpub.
If you’re less enthusiastic about shore diving, don’t despair. For a modest sum, you can jump on a charter boat out of Horseshoe Bay and explore some really amazing walls a little further away from downtown Vancouver in Howe Sound.
Bowyer Island
We dove both the north and south ends of the island, both in about 80 feet (24 m) of water. The bottom terrain on the south end really stood out. We dropped down into a lovely channel in the rock that took us out to an impressive drop-off. Just as we reached the edge, a large wolf eel swam slowly out from its den toward us, and then turned and disappeared over the wall. There were lots of sea urchins on the bottom — probably why the wolf eel hangs out there — so watch where you touch down.
Worlcombe Island
This very nice finger reef starts in about 10 feet (3 m) of water and hits close to 80 feet (24 m) by the time it peters out. The Sea Dragon charter boat dropped us off at the deep end of the reef and after heading to the bottom, we had a nice, slow swim up to the shallow water. This dive is dependent on the tidal conditions, as the current can be brutal if the tide is at full flood or ebb. Highlights include some nice tubeworms feeding in the gentle current, lots of sponges and a surprising variety of nudibranchs.
Hutt Island Wall
The charter dropped us off fairly close to the edge of the island and we descended right away to a very deep wall. We leveled off at about 80 feet (24 m), and there seemed to be endless darkness beneath us. One spot that positively bloomed with massive numbers of plumose anemones, as if the wall were covered a gently swaying aquatic cloud. We also spotted a nice clump of rare glass sponges. These live mostly in deeper water, but you’ll find the odd colony along the walls of Howe Sound.
When it comes to the best Vancouver dive sites, you’ll find a nicely balanced underwater experience. You can play around in a variety of depths, work your way along walls, or explore underwater peaks. You’ll never run out of options. With another trip planned next year, stay tuned for more.
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Thursday, January 19, 2017
Guiding Experienced Divers
Guiding experienced divers can be a bit of a challenge, but even well-traveled divers want to be impressed. Here we’ll offer a few suggestions to help you dazzle the diver who’s seen it all.
Talk to them
You can’t know what someone wants or expects if you don’t ask. Find out what brought them to your area. Is there a certain creature or dive they’re looking for? Find out if they’re shooting photos or video and if there’s a particular shot they’re looking for. The more you get to know them at the beginning of the trip, the better you’ll be able to fulfill their expectations.
As they start telling stories, listen for hints and clues. Someone might have 5,000 dives, but if you’re diving in caves and none of their experiences have been in an overhead environment, they may need some assistance.
Set expectations
After the introductions and getting a little bit of information from your guests is the time to set proper expectations. A dive operation will always put images of clear, beautiful water and every possible fish on their website, but it’s important to let guests know if certain creatures are only seasonal. Once you set realistic expectations, make sure that you follow up with all the amazing things you can guarantee from their dives. It is also important to discuss what to expect from the weather during their trip.Finally, make sure to cover your procedural bases. Give guests plenty of warning about their proper behavior above and below the water
Know when to back off
Everyone loves an attentive dive guide, ready to help them with the smallest tasks when needed — the key is knowing when the time is right. Ask your guests if they’d like help donning their equipment. If they say no but continue to struggle, be nearby and offer your assistance again. If they still say no, you should offer assistance to other guests and allow the more independent parties to come to you if they so choose.
Underwater can be a bit more difficult as miscommunication can lead to misunderstandings. Sometimes you and a guest will have no problem, and at other times it will be best to wait until you surface and have the conversation in private.
Spend topside time with them
One of the best moves a guide can make is to spend time with their guests after a dive. People want to tell you what they saw, and what they got the most excited about. This information is invaluable when it comes to planning the next dive, and builds rapport as well.
On the flipside, find out if anything happened on the last dive they didn’t care for that you can correct. This is your time to shine. Make them feel comfortable and reassure them that you know what you’re doing.
Stick to your guns
An experienced diver respects a guide who knows what they’re doing and holds to their principles. If you promote conservation, don’t ignore the guests that are chasing marine life or damaging the reef. If you set a depth or time limit for a dive, don’t go over it. In a diver’s eyes, you’re there to run the dive, so run it. Execute your dive plan, and if there are variables that may change the plan, let guests know up front.
Finally, you may someday have guests that you just can’t make happy. Try your best, but don’t take it personally. Spend your time with guests who are there to benefit from your expertise. You can’t please everyone, all the time, but most vacationing divers are predisposed to be in a good mood, so be enthusiastic and upbeat, and you’ll impress even the most experienced diver.
By Adam Straub
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Wednesday, January 18, 2017
Some Things Can’t Wait for Resolutions
Some things simply can’t wait for resolutions. To clarify, we are talking about New Year’s resolutions. That mythical “starting line” that occurs on January 1 each year can be recreated in any month on any day that you choose. As parents, we all want our kids to be happy and healthy so we try to put them in position to be active through a variety of programs. However, sometimes we fail to realize that while that is good, the best way to motivate our kids to be active is to give them a good example to follow.
There’s no selfishness in putting a priority on your own fitness as a parent when the reality is that the healthier you are the more you are able to give to your child. Give…meaning time, interest, attention, and motivation. It’s only half the equation when you encourage your child to exercise and don’t keep up. Kids will do what you say because they have to, but they will do what you do because they learn to.
Notice that when airlines are giving their pre-flight safety instructions, they always say to “secure your mask first”, because if you don’t you simply will not be able to help the person depending on you most. Don’t you think it’s time to apply that same philosophy to keeping yourself active and healthy? Sounds like a great New Year’s resolution right? Wrong. It sounds more like a resolution to begin no matter what day tomorrow is.
Here’s an article with some more thoughts aimed at getting you moving as a busy parent!
The post Some Things Can’t Wait for Resolutions appeared first on JumpBunch, Sports and Fitness Programs for Preschoolers and Young Children, Preschool Fitness Program Franchise.
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