I am good at doing pre-dive checks. I check the conditions carefully: currents, waves, boat swing, and, in particular, my buddy's gear. And I make sure they check my gear.

Although I know I should, I often don't have a definitive dive plan. I like to wander. Sure I take currents and the like into consideration, but other than that, I need to plan better and talk about it with my buddy.

Speaking of buddies, I often don't have one, either by design or accident. That's not a good thing.

I plan my depth, well, sort of. I don't want to get bent, after all (been there, done that). But I depend too much on my computer. I didn't use to do that. Even so, I am conservative.

I keep my dive gear clean. I beach dive a lot and realize the importance of rinsing equipment thoroughly. And I do it immediately. You'll find my gear hanging within just a few hours after a dive without a speck of sand or salt crystal.

I do not, however, maintain my gear well. Jocko, the local gear tech, reminds me often and often harshly. I know I need to take in my regulator, console and BC for regular checks, but just never seem to get around to it. And I only seem to get around to it when the item of gear is not working right. If it wasn't for the fact I HAVE TO get my tanks VIPed every year, they'd probably go neglected as well. It's a good thing I rinse my gear well. I abuse my gear with a lot of underwater hours and beach diving, then treat it well by rinsing it thoroughly and promptly, then abuse it again by not having it maintained. I hope it all balances out.

I've not taken a "continuing education" class in probably seven years. Some of that is arrogance. I do, after all, know a lot because I read a lot (yea, right). And I am, after all, an ex-commercial diver. (I can't stand arrogant divers, can you?) Although I know it all already, I am going to take some more classes soon just to see if they are teaching it differently. They are, you know, teaching it differently. Twenty-two years ago I learned mixed-gas and decompression diving at a commercial diving school. Now they teach it at the local scuba shop as "technical diving."

So what is this, some kind of confession? I suppose so. Maybe it's just a more realistic look at my approach to diving. I am going to make some adjustments. I'd like to encourage you to make the same realistic look at your diving discipline. What are you good at and, more importantly, what areas do you need to improve upon. We all have room for improvement.