almost missed it - statistics update

[Dirk Hohndel]

On Sun, Sep 28, 2014 at 12:42:31PM +1000, Rick Walsh wrote:
> Sorry to revive a 10 day old conversation, but I was sorting through
> old (paper) mail and just read something interesting in PADI's
> Undersea Journal.
> 
> On 19 September 2014 07:53, Dirk Hohndel <dirk at hohndel.org> wrote:
> > A completely different approach would be to work with the certification
> > agencies to have them introduce computer dive logging as an alternative to
> > the paper log book. As you learned in Brazil that's an interesting
> > challenge as many of them are very much into this whole "you sign your
> > logbook entry and your buddy or the dive guide / dive shop signs as well
> > to make it 'valid'". If we can come up with a way to do THAT with
> > Subsurface and have it be recognized by PADI or CMAS or SDI/TDI or GUE
> > or... now that would be a game changer.
> >
> 
> Maybe the game is already changing.  PADI's professional magazine, the
> Undersea Journal (2nd quarter 2014, p108), discusses changes to
> procedures relating to the instructor signing training dives.  It
> notes that a signature is not required for a digital log.  The
> relavent information is: date, time, location, depth, profile,
> instructor name and PADI number, course and name of dive.  All of this
> is supported by Subsurface.

Definitely. And we could easily make this more explicit by having a "how
to log a PADI training dive" example in the manual and on the web site.

> The definitive text concerns changes to the Paperwork and
> Administrative Procedures section of General Standards and Procedures
> in the PADI Instructor Manual.  It reads:
> "Please add the underlined text to the Documentation section number 5:
> 5. Have student divers log open water dives.  Sign each diver's log
> <u>(unless it is a digital log)</u>"

So Subsurface is indeed valid. Cool.

> Another idea if we want to work with PADI.  They have a online dive
> logging and sharing website, scubaearth.com (and I'm sure other
> similar sites exist).  I can't say I've been inclined to sign up or
> try to use it, but I saw nothing in their promotional video or FAQ
> saying they supported downloading information from dive computers.
> They might see that as too difficult for them to support directly
> seeing there are so many different computers and formats out there.
> But if they could read the subsurface HTML export, or the XML file,
> maybe they'd be interested.

That is a very cool idea. I assume that several people here are PADI
instructors... do we happen to have a PADI Master Instructor or even a
Course Director on the list? That might make it easier to reach out to
PADI. I will ask a good friend who is an SDI and TDI master instructor to
try and get me in contact with them.

/D