Believe it or not your hosts still dive and are still threatening to do the show.

Keep an eye on this site over the next day or two…..

Wollongong’s original dive centre, United Divers, recently completed its first PADI Instructor Development Course since becoming a PADI 5 Star Instructor Development Center.

Under the guidance of PADI Course Director Des Paroz (Co-Host and Producer of the Surface Interval Show podcast), two candidates undertook a PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor Program. The 6 Day OWSI Program was conducted on a part time basis over 3 weekends, and included a free PADI Emergency Oxygen Provider Instructor Course.

Candidate Teddy Haryjanto was certified as a PADI Assistant Instructor in Singapore in 2007, and the part time program appealed to his busy schedule as an accountant in a Sydney company. Fellow candidate,
John Chichkan, learned to dive in 1983, and has completed all diving courses from Open Water Diver through to Assistant Instructor in 2007 at United Divers Course. John’s hectic life as a professional marketer, father and graduate student meant the part time structure of the program made most sense.

Having completed the PADI Instructor Development Course, John and Teddy are now ready to take the final step to becoming a PADI Instructor – the 2 day PADI Instructor Exam.

Having pioneered many diving activities in the Wollongong area, United Divers directors Suzanne Fenwick and Leon Friend were proud to be able to host the program, commenting that they “were looking forward to
this next stage in their dive centres development and excited at the opportunity to be involved in training “quality” diving educators”. Established in 1976, United Divers offers a full range of dive equipment sales and service, training and regular boat and shore diving activities in the Illawarra. A hydrostatic test station,
United Divers offers clean air and enriched air fills.

Des Paroz became a PADI Course Director in 2008, after having originally become a PADI Instructor in 1996 and a PADI Master Instructor in 1998. Since his very first course, Des has taught at United Divers, and is proud to drive the professional development programs there now. Des stated that he “couldn’t be happier with the efforts put in by Teddy and John. Their excellent results were achieved through a lot of focus and attention to key points. I believe they both having the makings of being excellent dive instructors”.

United Divers has scheduled 4 PADI Instructor Development Courses in 2008, with a combination of full-time and part-time schedules to suit different lifestyles. Various PADI Specialty Instructor Training
Courses can be be offered on demand, along with EFR and EFR First Aid at Work Instructor Courses.

For more information on our PADI Instructor Development programs, please visit www.dive-instructor-training.com, or call United Divers on (02) 42285962.

Its been a while since the last episode of The Surface Interval Show podcast was released.  While we don’t have a good excuse, there are a number of reasons.

We’ve actually recorded about three shows that technical gremlins have got in the way of and we couldn’t post.  One was recorded live and the sound quality was non-existant.  Another was lost on a hard drive crash.  You get the picture.

As producer and co-host, I (Des) have been off becoming a PADI Course Director.  If anyone is interested, I am offering PADI Instructor Courses in Wollongong, through United Divers.  I may be offering programs in other locations shortly, so please drop me a line if you’re interested.

The Podcast Network (TPN) has also had a number of major server difficulties.  Thanks to TPN CEO for his tireless work (and investment) in getting the network back up and running.

There are episodes now in the pipeline.  Can’t say too much at the moment, but I hope our return will be marked with a very very special guest appearance.

Dr Mercola has a terrific blog that discusses various issues relating to health and nutrition.

A blog post today discusses the 8 Most Poisonous Animals in the world.  The top 3 are marine animals found in Australian and other Indo Pacific oceans – The Box Jellyfish, the Marbled Cone Shell and the Blue Ringed Octopus. 

Number 5 is also a local marine animal – the Stonefish.

Continuing its dominance in the top 8, Australia also plays home to number 6 and 7 – the Sydney Funnel Web Spider and the Inland Taipan (Snake).

With all these dangerous creatures in our waters, and on our land, its surprising that Australians ever leave the house, let alone go diving ;-)

In reality, “attacks” by any of these creatures are rare.  But the mere presence of them adds more reasons why every individual should have at least a basic knowledge of CPR and first aid.

The 8 Most Poisonous Animals – Articles.