I absolutely support Israel in their fight against Hamas, what happened on October 7 was an outrage. There was no doubt Israel was going to retaliate with disproportionate force, their whole defensive doctrine is based on a savage response. It was pretty clear Gaza was going to be flattened, if you let Hamas in to administer your territory, they can only bring hardship and pain to the people of Gaza. 

The Hamas leaders are cowards, they use human shields to protect themselves. They had years of planning this war, instead of building up Gaza, they diverted the funds to construct tunnels to fight Israel. Hamas staged a surprise attack on Israel and at time of writing, the Israeli citizens kidnapped had not been returned. The sexual assault of the Israeli women is an outrage, there needs to more said about this disgrace that was allowed to happen. 

I cannot say I am a fan of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, there were many failures of intelligence and it appears the government was distracted with other issues. What I am questioning is the nature of the Israeli response, could they have been more surgical in their approach? Could they have used small squads? Well, that is easy for me to say when I am not the one being shot at, but I need to ask the question. When you see Palestinians dancing in the street as the hostage are paraded around, they need to be a little more aware of the image they are portraying. 

Israel has the premier military in the region, they have the technological advantage and the weaponry. Israel has trained soldiers in reserve they can call up at short notice, they have citizens overseas who will come back and fight for their country. They have patriotic citizens who know what is at stake here, they know they face annihilation if they lose to Iranian funded terrorist organisations. Israel knows this is an existential fight for them, they also know the world is watching and they need to show some restraint.

I was working as an instructor for a dive shop, the owner wanted to promote deep and decompression stop diving so I was invited along for free to allow interested divers to view my kit of doubles with lean and rich staged decompression sling cylinders. This was a while ago before technical diving had been established in Perth dive centres, they had done some deep dives before and wanted my feedback.

Pre-dive, much to the surprise of the divemaster, I handed in my written plan on my own worksheet that included depths, planned stops, full gas consumption, CNS, OTUs and contingency plans of 3 metres too deep, 5 minutes over time broken down into minutes at each depth and runtime.These guys were strapping computers on, getting into deco with single cylinders and standard regulator set-up and of course, no training.

My dive was solo, I had 20 minutes at 40 metres with air as the bottom mix, EAN36 as a travel mix from 30 metres onwards, decompressing on EAN80 on the bottom mix table, not accelerated as the hang time wasn’t excessive as I wanted to practice skills during the hang including deploying my lift bag at 6 metres for the shallow stops.

I was to be first in the water as I had a) the longest runtime, b) the only proper plan, c) full extended range kit and d) they just wanted to get me out of the way with all my equipment. The skipper had put us out on a reef not to far from Horseshoe Reef on the North West side of Rottnest Island. A highly noticeable surface chop was running, not ideal surface conditions and a strong current running. The 15 metre dive boat was moored on anchor in 40 metres on a rope line, this was a square profile.

Amazing, not only was there no tension on the anchor rope, we had a loop in it as the wave chop was pushing us in one direction on the surface and the current was pushing the other direction cancelling out any movement. I hit the water with a negative entry deciding to do my s-drills below the surface making my way immediately to the anchor line.

My bottom time was uneventful, I made it back to the anchorline with 2 minutes to spare (18 minutes runtime) and pottered around before starting my ascent. As I came off the reef, I didn’t want to be too close to the ascent line as I wanted to practise a bluewater ascent, I was immediately swept away from the line with the current. I had been too lax and had to swim at maximum exertion to get onto the line whilst changing to EAN36 as per my plan at 30 metres.

I did make it to the line about halfway through my ascent, man was that a workout, lesson learned, extra resistance in the water with doubles and two stages and a decompression obligation. The rest of the dive was uneventful, switched to EAN80 at 9 metres and hung on tightly to the ascent line while feeling the sensation of being towed through the water. I never encountered an other divers during my ascent, I never noticed as I was concentrating on what I was doing after getting myself into a little bother. Upon surfacing, I climbed back onto the boat, I was the only diver to make it back to the boat at this stage, this was unusual as my total runtime was xx minutes and longer than anyone else on the dive.

I’m a diver, not a pilot so I don’t really feel I qualify to be a Bremont owner. The aviation inspired origins of Bremont is undoubtedly heritage styled despite being a young new age watchmaker. I have to admit, I really like the style of the Bremont aviation range despite not wanting to be a wannabe.

Their relatively short watchmaking history began in 2002 with a focus on World War II themed timepieces with the Spitfire inspired series. The U2 timepiece draws upon the uniqueness of the U2 spy plane operated by the US Air Force where pilots wear pressure suits and breathe oxygen due to the altitude of the aircraft. One presumes the marketing revolves around the watch surviving the extreme environments of high altitude flight where the pilots require the protection of pressure suits flying at 80,000 feet at temperatures of -50 degrees Celsius on reconnaissance missions. I have to admit, it’s pretty cool advertising.

Wandering the streets of Europe, as a watch enthusiast, I am keen to check out the timepieces they have for sale. Naturally, in a global retail environment we are able to purchase international brands. After all, the Swiss watchmaking industry wouldn’t survive without international sales.

Coming from Perth, we have a line of jewellers that carry the mid-range lines of Swiss watches but it is a little more difficult to find the premium brands. It is not impossible, however, we do not have dedicated Rolex, Omega, TAG Heuer, Longines and Tissot boutiques like I see throughout Asia. Now it is very clear to me why Cartier is not trailing Omega in sales by a great deal, the brand can be found in quality jewellers everywhere and dedicated retail outlets. Chopard is well represented, I really don’t see the brand that much in Asia or Australia. Baume & Mercier can be purchased in most reputable jewellers along with Rado, Longines and Tissot.

Then there are the ultra premium brands from Patek Philippe, Vacheron Constantin, Breguet, Audemars Piguet and A. Lange & Söhne. These brands really pop, when you see Rolex displayed in the store alongside these fine examples of horological excellence, their designs really look dated. I start looking at the German watchmakers from Mühle Glashütte, Nomos, Lang & Heyne, Moritz Grossmann and for me Union Glashütte. I see Sinn as a very popular brand, for my tastes I am not so impressed, yet I love the simplicity of Junghans – the bauhaus styling is brilliant.

In German stores brands such as Union Glashütte, Glashütte Original and Nomos Glashütte are very common and well represented. I think TAG Heuer displays well in jewellery stores but Breitling doesn’t and I really like the Breitling designs. I think Omega looks pretty good along with Longines, especially their heritage collection but not so with Rado. For me, when I see Vacheron Constantin, Glashütte Original and Breguet in the display case as opposed to catalogs, then you see the amazing finish and prestige these timepieces bring. I wasn’t really impressed by Vacheron Constantin initially, but when I saw their product displayed in the shop window I got it.

When I look at two totally different sports; I can’t help but sometimes make comparisons, in this case it is Australian Rules football and boxing. Both are physical sports requiring skill, technique, mental toughness and stamina.

I also like to make analogies between business and sport; it is my belief a comparison of the two sports in regards to scoring may be made. A championship professional boxing bout is divided into twelve three minute rounds utilising a ten points must system. The bout is scored from round to round with generally a trend occurring when the bout goes the distance; that is, there is no stoppage or disqualification and the judges must make a ruling to determine who is the winner.

A boxer may dominate in the early rounds with the middle rounds drawn and the opposing boxer finishing strongly. With this scoring methodology, a fighter is not disadvantaged for pushing hard early attempting to finish the bout before a decision is reached. Likewise, a boxer with a superior technique and endurance is able to either absorb a degree of punishment before taking advantage of their bob and weave before landing punches as their opponent tires losing both strength and hence knockout ability with their technique deteriorating under fatigue. Baring no knockout, the bout is scored on rounds won with either a unanimous decision, a majority decision or split decision awarded. A boxer may knock his opponent out and despite being behind on points still win the bout.

Australian Rules football is divided into four quarters with six points awarded for a goal and a single point awarded for a behind; that is a kick not passing through the goals or a kick being touched by an opposition player before the ball crosses the line. The leader of each individual quarter has no outcome on the bearing of the match, the quarter by quarter scoring allows coaching staff to develop strategies throughout the match to counter opposition strategies. In such a scenario, the team leading on the scoreboard when the final siren sounds is the winner. A team could be trailing all match only to hit the lead just before the siren sounds, there is also a provision the shoot for goals after certain circumstances but the end result still stands.

In a business scenario, this is what is exactly happening at my workplace with all the stalling and roadblocks placed in my path. However, unlike a boxing bout, no actual scoring is taking place. Apart from the psychological advantage they believe they are gaining, this actually strengthens my resolve. A similarity may be drawn on an Australian Rules Football match, you only need to be ahead on the scorecard when the final siren sounds and I am intentionally timing my run to record a decisive come from behind victory. I am up for this and I am more than happy to raise the stakes.

CEO and executive remuneration is outrageous, why are boards signing off on such packages? As seen in the chart average worker income has risen 26% since 1970, now while corporate profits have soared 250% in the same time frame, executive income has risen 430% during the same period – the numbers don’t stack up. This is shareholder profits, they are the owners of the business and the executive team is putting shareholder earnings at risk. The question is, how do shareholders reverse this alarming trend?

These are really disgusting figures, former Woolworths CEO Paul Simon once famously stated the the highest paid person in the organisation should be paid no more than 30 times the lowest paid person in the organisation. Paul Simon ran Woolworths for two decades up to 1994, he kept a tight hold on executive remuneration – his own included. In his final year as CEO, Paul was pulling $750,000 and second in charge was on $600,000 – unlike now Woolworths was a top performing business. An executive, unlike an entrepreneur takes on no financial risk of their own as they still get paid as the company fortunes decline.

The argument has raged for years, should an instructor teach dive tables to entry-level divers or should entry-level divers learn computer use during their certification course? There is still a need to cover basic table procedures for entry-level divers to adequately build the foundations of dive computer use; that statement may upset some members of the dive community.

What that doesn’t mean is actually teaching specific dive table use but the basic foundations of general dive table development. Is there is no need to assess table use? That argument will rage for some time but I argue a better grasp of dive computer use is achieved by knowing how dive computers calculate no-decompression limits.

If a diver is taught the PADI Recreational Dive Planner, NAUI dive tables, Buehlmann dive tables or DCIEM dive tables; are they qualified to plan dives using the BSAC dive tables? The answer is no, all the tables utilise different gas absorption models, procedures and rules. My experience with occasional divers is retention of specific dive table use, many divers can’t plan any further than NDLs for a single dive. They cannot calculate residual nitrogen uptake from previous dives instead planning repetitive dives using first dive NDLs instead of adjusted NDL limits; so the question is, if divers aren’t planning dives correctly using dive tables, why keep using dive tables?

Who really dives with dive tables these days? Sure, I plan square profile decompression stop dives using tables but that falls outside the recreational diving sphere anyway. If I am planning a multi-level dive on a wreck then I plan that dive using a computer or decompression software and execute the dive with the appropriate dive computer. The theory of dive tables supports dive computer usage, why would you limit your diving knowledge to just tables when everyone dives with computers.

The fight against totalitarian regimes is not fought in my native Australia; although many left leaning academics and wannabe socialists feel this is indeed the case, nothing is further from the truth.

My sojourn in Prague reinforced the values of a free and democratic society.; the champagne socialists engaging in the last bastion of union influence, the Australian public service now number just 12% of the Australian workforce, they are indeed a dying breed.

  

The socialist utopian dream of the sheltered workshop defying free-market influences that must be maintained at all costs is crashing down around them. Instead, a confident nation free from the shackles of protectionism is engaging globalism and free-market forces propelling the nation to the forefront of economic might.

Reflecting on the artwork and inscription at the base of Petrin Hill; the artist depicted the human form in various states of distress and decay, as we look further back, people are disintegrating physically and mentally under the total duress of the totalitarian regime. The victims of the communist regime is not just measured in deaths and prison terms for political dissidents; all society is affected by the discredited totalitarian ideals, independent thought and action, once controlled by the state are almost relics of history – North Korea, Zimbabwe and Burma stand alone as organised despot regimes.

Failed African and Middle Eastern states are far less organised, instead brutally controlled by warlords engaging factional forces against their own people intent on destroying the fabric of the human being. Democracy unfortunately is not viewed as a fundamental right for many world inhabitants by their undemocratic regimes intent on holding power using all means at their disposal to subdue their citizens to enrich themselves only.

The advertising of the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) tells divers to go deeper with the Advanced Open Water diver certification – bad idea. This is not the certification to undertake any forms of deep diving despite what PADI or your local dive centre tells you.

The performance objectives do not correlate to deep diving requirements; there are no additional equipment requirements different to standard scuba, no advanced dive planning and gas requirements or gas panning procedures taught. There is no real training should the diver accidentally slip into decompression and no contingency management planning. PADI perceives any dive to a depth greater than 18 metres as a deep dive so you can be qualified as a deep diver with a 19 metre dive. I used to frequently see divers certified at the 21 metre depth after diving in warm and clear blue water with 20+ metres visibility – not good enough.

Whilst I tend to gravitate towards the higher end brands with a heritage and pedigree dating back to the early 1900s and 1800s, I like to view what the younger set are wearing. TW Steel is a fashion watch first and foremost, that is their market and their slogan is Big in oversize watches – it is pretty accurate. They have their market and they are doing a good job servicing their market.

TW Steel is a brand that caught my eye when I was holidaying in South East Asia. Walking around the malls I noticed a number of boutiques where the brand was distributed. Naturally, I decided to wander in and try some of their watches on as I had a little time to spare and plenty of interest.

As I discovered, the brand is relatively new, founded in 2005 by father and son proprietors Ton and Jordy Cobelens in Amsterdam and now distributed worldwide. From my research, I learned that Ton already had plenty of experience in the watch industry via advertising accounts he managed before deciding to launch his own brand.

TW Steel didn’t invent the oversize watch market but were astute enough to identify the trend as an early adopter. Their timepieces are big, generally in the 46 mm to 50 mm range and although I prefer a larger timepiece on my wrist, I reckon the 42 mm – 44 mm sizing is about right. Still, this is what the younger set are wearing and this is fashion and trends so who am I to complain?

As a college lecturer, I take notice of what is on the wrists on my students and their general fashion trends, I’m just glad those silly baggy pants that always fall down are no longer worn. Will the oversize watch trend continue? In the short term, yes definitely, although the long-term trend may seen sizes reduce as men’s watches tended to be in the 37 mm to 39 mm size category and for most people, a couple of years wear at that price point is acceptable.