Last Words about MJB aka icediver...
Udo_NYC
This is my second and last post regarding Mr. Michael J. Black's demise.
Dr. Black was a part of this group, he was a pain in the ass (if he is
still alive, then he is still a pain in the ass.)
Often, I looked at his posts just for entertainment purpose, but in
general I thought that he had some busted o-rings somewhere and I
honestly don't care what kind of mental problems he had.
Obviously he had some extreme need for attention and that reflected in
his posting style, but I am not a psychiatrist, nor do I care to heal
him when he was alive or posthume.
I was curious to meet him in person, to see if he is in real life the
same as on the net (although I've got confirmation from people who
actually met him). That's why I invited him several times to come to the
Seahorse dive etc. but he never even responded to that particular
invitation.
So, I thought it was interesting to meet him finally at the showdown in
PA in February, well, it may not happen if he is indeed not among the
living anymore.
I actually propose that we all meet on the initial date in Pennsylvania,
regardless of Dr. Blacks participation (I still consider his death as
not confirmed), because it gives us all the chance to meet anyway. Would
be another event we have to thank MJB for bringing rec.scubans together.
Maybe we should just make a choice of different location, so that we
could actually go diving together as well (Sheepshead Bay in NY could be
a good one). ***Sorry, I just couldn't hold back*** :-)
The ones not equipped for cold water diving can come regardless, because
afterwards we all go for brunch together... or dinner...
After all, MJB was a fellow diver, who had his very own opinions and
whatever happened to him, we should respect at least that fact, if there
is nothing else to respect.
For my part... I may miss him for his entertainment value, but certainly
do not consider him as a loss of valuable contribution (of knowledge) to
this community.
So, let him rest, or whatever, but what do you think about the
February/Dive/Get Together?
Udo
Udo_NYC
> Dear rec.scubans;
>
> Obviously he had some extreme need for attention and that reflected in
> his posting style, but I am not a psychiatrist, nor do I care to heal
> him when he was alive or posthume.
I meant "postmortem" of course.
Udo
Greg Mossman
news:3DE77CDA...@hydronautics.org...
> So, let him rest, or whatever, but what do you think about the
> February/Dive/Get Together?
I don't like it. I was relieved I wasn't going to have to fly back east to
be with my client for the judging.
Udo_NYC
Yeah, but now it's for pure fun and not dreaded work :-)
Greg Mossman
Yeah, but now I can't take the deduction.
GWB
newsgroup. He reveled in the abuse he brought on himself. He wanted to be
famous, and became the most infamous personality in the history of rec.scuba.
How many threads were dedicated to him? Nobody is celebrating his demise, but
we're not shedding any alligator tears either.
Angel
snip
>
> I was curious to meet him in person, to see if he is in real life the
> same as on the net (although I've got confirmation from people who
> actually met him). That's why I invited him several times to come to the
> Seahorse dive etc. but he never even responded to that particular
> invitation.
>
I may not be remembering the correct person, but wasn't Black responsible
for the Seahorse Dive--the one who challenged George Horn's claim to have
seen the little critters off the coast of NY? If this is so, then even Black
did something good for the dive has served to raise some money for a
deserving charity.
Dan Bracuk
:Maybe we should just make a choice of different location, so that we
:a good one). ***Sorry, I just couldn't hold back*** :-)
Palau would be nicer.
Dan Bracuk
Toronto Canada
Never use a big word when a diminutive one will do.
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Udo_NYC
Hey Angel;
Too much Turkey yesterday or what?
If you continue to read my article, you'll see that I referred to
exactly that event and if we meet in February regardless than this would
be another event that brings rec.scubans together.
Later
Udo
Dazed and Confuzed
> Dear rec.scubans;
>
> This is my second and last post regarding Mr. Michael J. Black's demise.
>
> Dr. Black was a part of this group, he was a pain in the ass (if he is
> still alive, then he is still a pain in the ass.)
>
> Often, I looked at his posts just for entertainment purpose, but in
> general I thought that he had some busted o-rings somewhere and I
> honestly don't care what kind of mental problems he had.
>
> <shnip>
>
> For my part... I may miss him for his entertainment value, but certainly
> do not consider him as a loss of valuable contribution (of knowledge) to
> this community.
>
> So, let him rest, or whatever, but what do you think about the
> February/Dive/Get Together?
>
> Udo
Well said
--
Stress in life is caused by the mind overriding the body's basic desire to
choke the life out of the asshole in front of it.
Angel
No. I'm exausted from studying and working. I've skipped a lot of the
posts here but did skim a few (including yours) that I thought would be less
hateful and more thoughtful to see what was going on. I will be glad to get
that trip to warm places my Sweetie has arranged in a couple of months.
Salty
<snip>
> So, let him rest, or whatever, but what do you think about the
> February/Dive/Get Together?
Udo...if y'all have a get-together somewhere for lunch or dinner in
Delaware regardless of Black showing up, and if you would be so
gracious as to invite me, then I would attend !! But you should know
me well enough by now to realize that I won't dare to try diving
anywhere off the east coast in Feb in my lil old custom-made Fathome
wetsuit. <grin>
John Francis
I happen to have a nice little bitty drysuit here that should fit you
perfectly. A friend has asked me to try to sell it. I'm sure she
wouldn't mind you borrowing it.
JF
Udo_NYC
Barb;
As much men fear the effect of cold water on their intimate parts
(George Constanza'a "Shrinkage") as much do they enjoy the effect of
cold water on womens nipples...
Be our guest and wear a white t-shirt... ;-)
Udo
Popeye
>Date: 11/29/02 2:58 PM Eastern Standard Time
>Message-id: <20021129145856...@mb-mq.aol.com>
What he's doing is laughing his ass off.
Popeye
It may be that your sole purpose in life
is simply to serve as warning to others.
John Francis
wrote:
>>
>
>Barb;
>
>As much men fear the effect of cold water on their intimate parts
>(George Constanza'a "Shrinkage") as much do they enjoy the effect of
>cold water on womens nipples...
>
>Be our guest and wear a white t-shirt... ;-)
I guess we could cut off the top of the drysuit
JF
Ted Pfirrmann
>Delaware regardless of Black showing up, and if you would be so
>gracious as to invite me, then I would attend !! But you should know
>me well enough by now to realize that I won't dare to try diving
>anywhere off the east coast in Feb in my lil old custom-made Fathome
>wetsuit. <grin>
>
Well then I'll make it official. the dinner on Feb 1 is still on, everyone's
invited.
Until next time,
Ted
"If we were logical, the future would be bleak indeed. But we are more than
logical. We are human beings, and we have faith, and we have hope, and we can
work."
- Jacques Cousteau
Reef Fish
> He went way out of his way to become the most hated personality on the
> newsgroup. He reveled in the abuse he brought on himself.
> Nobody is celebrating his demise, but we're not shedding any alligator
> tears either.
I've been around rec.scuba longer than most (since before 1990), so
I'm more or less immuned to flames (I've owned an Asbestos Drysuit
<tm>
since about the 1990 too, and had donned numerous times in
"discussions"
and some had even mistakenly, VERY mistakenly, equated my posting
style with that of MJB. ;-)
I continue to judge everyone anywhere on a CASE by CASE basis, and
only on the merit and demerit of a post (IMO). Thus, while I'm well
aware (mostly through heresay) of the dis-reputation of one MJB (aka
Dr. Michael J. Black and icediver) long before this year, I have no
difficulty judging him based SOLELY on what I read, in his postings.
I have far often agreed with what I've read of his postings regarding
SCUBA matters, and have defended his positions with which I agreed..
E.g.,
Dec 27, 2001, icediver posted his Ten Rules in
http://groups.google.com/groups?selm=21ee0662.01122...@posting.google.com
Dec 29, 2001, I defended icediver's Rule #3 against Old Salt:
http://groups.google.com/groups?selm=c348280b.01122...@posting.google.com
On New Year's Eve 2001, I commended icediver's re-phrase of his Ten
Rules, in
http://groups.google.com/groups?selm=c348280b.01123...@posting.google.com
RF> More concise, yet more precise! Well done.
Jan 3, 2002 I defended icediver's Rule #6 against Brian Wagner:
http://groups.google.com/groups?selm=c348280b.02010...@posting.google.com
My first encounter of the DARK SIDE of icediver was on Jan 4, 2002
http://groups.google.com/groups?selm=c348280b.02010...@posting.google.com
over my exchange with Ross Begley, on what Ross revealed:
Ross> Did anyone else notice the venom in the doc's response to my
post?
Ross> Even when I had nothing but positive things to say about how he
started this thread...
RF> I did, as a disinterested observer.
Ross> Now I'm almost sorry that I followed Bob's message back
Ross> to read the doc's ten rules (not really, they remain good
advice).
And my concurrence with Ross about icediver's "good advice" (on
diving)
and my tribute to Ross's unwaivered objectivity on icediver's Ten
Rules:
RF> Well done, especially your parenthetical remark, in the light of
RF> present and past animosity between you two!
On October 18, 2002, icediver finally convinced me to declare:
RF> I have NOT jumped on EVERYONE else's bandwagon against YOU,
RF> EVER, before.
RF>
RF> But you've convinced me, through your present TWO postings alone,
RF> that you DESERVE everything Popeye and EVERYONE else in
RF> rec.scuba have been saying about you
On October 19, 2002, my remark in
http://groups.google.com/groups?selm=8fb7380b.02101...@posting.google.com
which was the 2nd earliest response to a thread started by icediver,
which ran 243 posts in Google, till the end of October 2002:
icediver> But nobody could be so stupid, vulgar, and uncivil, and
actually
icediver> be a physician. It just doesn't seem possible. >
iceduver> Icediver
icediver> (Michael J. Black, M.D.)
RF> You have just given proof in the four lines above that it IS
possible!
pretty much shared the sentiments of nearly everyone who posted in
the thread, and earned a beer from Ross, who first revealed the dark
side
of icediver, to ME,
Ross> I owe you a beer. I haven't laughed that hard in a while.
At first I thought posts about icediver's MIA and other rumors were
just
some black <pun intended> humor, but I've come to the realization that
it
was REAL, and a sad reality in the scuba world at large.
To ME, posters in ngs and lists are every bit as REAL about the
posters,
as people I meet in real life, when there are sufficient posts over a
period of time to reveal what that person is like.
I open my home to many without hesitation, based SOLELY on what I've
learned about them through their postings, over a period of time,
without having a need to have met them IN PERSON before.
In that respect, I feel I've known "icediver" without having dived
with him in person, and while I share what Trace and others had to
say about MJB, on the positive side, I can also share the negative
side of what Popeye and others have said about him.
I am a DIVER, and an indepdent THINKER who marches by my own drumbeat.
To me, the irrational behavior and demise of icediver is just another
sad reality in the cyberspace of life, to be soon forgotten, Both
his GOOD and his BAD are in the archives for everyone to see, for
those
who care to find out, to make their own judgments.
It's THEIR bitness, not mine -- the same I say about all the deep-air
divers who died, the techdivers who died, and all those incompetitent
divers who died diving shallow, for whatever reason.
In Scuba, as in Life, one must be Self-Responsible and EARN the
respect
or disrepect from others through his/her own act! Nothing we say, or
can say, really matters, once the person is gone, be it MIA or
moribund.
To which I say to icediver: May you R.I.P.beyond cyberspace and Life.
-- Bob.
OldSalt
> I happen to have a nice little bitty drysuit here that should fit you
> perfectly. A friend has asked me to try to sell it. I'm sure she
> wouldn't mind you borrowing it.
JOF... I've never used a drysuit. I have zip experience with one and I
don't wanna hurt myself by borrowing a suit some little gal had that
might fit me on a day that we're getting together to meet up for
dinner. Who's gonna teach me ?? Come on now. I'd rather freeze in my
wetsuit if a dive must be done. But maybe I'll try a drysuit in the
spring at Dutch... somewhere I'm familar and can take my time. I may
be a stroke but I'm not always silly. :) However, thank you for the
offer. And...perhaps if I like it, I'll buy your friend's suit if it's
still for sale. I'm afraid I've turned into a WWW though.
OldSalt
> Barb;
> As much men fear the effect of cold water on their intimate parts
> (George Constanza'a "Shrinkage") as much do they enjoy the effect of
> cold water on womens nipples...
> Be our guest and wear a white t-shirt... ;-)
Hahahahaha !! Well Udo...here's the thing - if us gals get too cold,
the effect on our nips is painful. It hurts !! So, as much as I'd
love to wear a white t-shirt just for you... I'll pass !! LOL !! See
ya in Feb you silly man... and I'll be fully dressed and not diving !!
Though... I might still wear my 'chauffeur outfit' out of respect
for Black. Looking forward to seeing you and Ms L again for sure. :)
OldSalt
> Well then I'll make it official. the dinner on Feb 1 is still on, everyone's
> invited.
Please keep me posted re: place and time. I would also like to know
how many ppl are going to show up for the meeting as I wish to bring a
very small gift for all of those in attendance. Thanks Ted. :)