Well, that's gonna put a fucking damper on things

[Telarus]

First of all, I don't think PDX counts as a "halfway self-respecting metro area". Barely 2 million people, and a quarter of them live in Clark County. Some of them even live in Gresham.

And I've lived in alot of places and a fair number of big cities. Portland has the worst cops I've seen outside of San Juan and St. Thomas.

169% Truth

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

If I decided to be a cop, I'd HAVE to move. I don't have it in me to be a PDX cop.

ECH,
won't shoot unarmed black men, crazy homeless people, or teenage girls without a halfway decent reason

Yeah um, this is not the place to be a cop or work for the city if you're a decent person.

[Disco Pickle]

You're an Island kid, right?  and you're a water rat.  I'd suggest Commercial Diving, and learn Hyperbaric welding underwater.  It's a niche skill that has pretty high demand, allows you to stay on boats and on the water, and if you learn a bit about structural engineering and get some equipment that can produce thermal scans of things like a bridge support to identify cracks and damage, I know for a fact that there's only a hand full of companies nation wide that contract to inspect the underwater supports of bridges (train mostly) and if in need of repair, send a diver down with some steel plate and repair it.  The guy I was working for learning how to do this ran his own two man shop and pulled it in hand over fist.  I'd still be doing it if I didn't get a better offer.  It's still my fall back should this ever get stale, as I love boats and diving and really miss being on and in the water.

[LMNO]

Bar.
Studio.
Record Label.
Srsly.

[navkat]

You're an Island kid, right?  and you're a water rat.  I'd suggest Commercial Diving, and learn Hyperbaric welding underwater.  It's a niche skill that has pretty high demand, allows you to stay on boats and on the water, and if you learn a bit about structural engineering and get some equipment that can produce thermal scans of things like a bridge support to identify cracks and damage, I know for a fact that there's only a hand full of companies nation wide that contract to inspect the underwater supports of bridges (train mostly) and if in need of repair, send a diver down with some steel plate and repair it.  The guy I was working for learning how to do this ran his own two man shop and pulled it in hand over fist.  I'd still be doing it if I didn't get a better offer.  It's still my fall back should this ever get stale, as I love boats and diving and really miss being on and in the water.

What? NO!

Diving is not a life-long career unless you relish brain damage and an early death.

[AFK]

I think it can be a job that tends to put you under a lot of pressure.  

[Disco Pickle]

You're an Island kid, right?  and you're a water rat.  I'd suggest Commercial Diving, and learn Hyperbaric welding underwater.  It's a niche skill that has pretty high demand, allows you to stay on boats and on the water, and if you learn a bit about structural engineering and get some equipment that can produce thermal scans of things like a bridge support to identify cracks and damage, I know for a fact that there's only a hand full of companies nation wide that contract to inspect the underwater supports of bridges (train mostly) and if in need of repair, send a diver down with some steel plate and repair it.  The guy I was working for learning how to do this ran his own two man shop and pulled it in hand over fist.  I'd still be doing it if I didn't get a better offer.  It's still my fall back should this ever get stale, as I love boats and diving and really miss being on and in the water.

What? NO!

Diving is not a life-long career unless you relish brain damage and an early death.

when diving safely and correctly, not ascending too quickly, proper gas mixture, etc. there is little to no risk over a divers lifetime.  It's when divers get the bends that brain damage can occur.  You only get the bends if you're not doing it right.

[navkat]

Agreed.

However, I was in the Navy. I dated a lot of frogmen.SEALs, My best friend was a pro diver. I live in an area of the country where about 20% of the employed men are commercial divers for the Merchant Marines/Oil Industry. Shit happens. Regularly.

The point is: you're relying on too many human factors and too many mistakes. Improperly mixed oxygen lines, impatient Captains, poor safety/OSHA/Coast Guard adherence...it all equates to carbonated blood, days off work, teeth that go explodey in your mouf. It's a rough life that's rough on your body and most divers will tell you that eventually, they're gonna have to find something else to do because your days are numbered as a diver.

Am I wrong?

[Disco Pickle]

Agreed.

However, I was in the Navy. I dated a lot of frogmen.SEALs, My best friend was a pro diver. I live in an area of the country where about 20% of the employed men are commercial divers for the Merchant Marines/Oil Industry. Shit happens. Regularly.

The point is: you're relying on too many human factors and too many mistakes. Improperly mixed oxygen lines, impatient Captains, poor safety/OSHA/Coast Guard adherence...it all equates to carbonated blood, days off work, teeth that go explodey in your mouf. It's a rough life that's rough on your body and most divers will tell you that eventually, they're gonna have to find something else to do because your days are numbered as a diver.

Am I wrong?

nope, all those things do occur, likely way more often than is even necessary.  The good news is, after Bluewater Horizon, the coast guard is coming down a lot harder on all vessels on the water to stay in compliance with safety regulations.  It's still always going to really be on the diver to see that his safety comes first.  Only dive with a captain you can trust, run your own lines, watch your own time below the surface and know your shit when it comes to getting the nitrogen out of your blood safely.

And if you're running your own shop, there's no excuse to not be covering your own ass and only diving with a captain that knows what the fucking risks are of not doing it right. 

[Dysfunctional Cunt]

If I decided to be a cop, I'd HAVE to move. I don't have it in me to be a PDX cop.

ECH,
won't shoot unarmed black men, crazy homeless people, or teenage girls without a halfway decent reason

But that means St. Louis is not an option....

[The Good Reverend Roger]

Doesn't matter.  ECH is still gonna be a chef.

[LMNO]

Doesn't matter.  ECH is still gonna be a chef.

A LOVE chef.

[East Coast Hustle]

You're an Island kid, right?  and you're a water rat.  I'd suggest Commercial Diving, and learn Hyperbaric welding underwater.  It's a niche skill that has pretty high demand, allows you to stay on boats and on the water, and if you learn a bit about structural engineering and get some equipment that can produce thermal scans of things like a bridge support to identify cracks and damage, I know for a fact that there's only a hand full of companies nation wide that contract to inspect the underwater supports of bridges (train mostly) and if in need of repair, send a diver down with some steel plate and repair it.  The guy I was working for learning how to do this ran his own two man shop and pulled it in hand over fist.  I'd still be doing it if I didn't get a better offer.  It's still my fall back should this ever get stale, as I love boats and diving and really miss being on and in the water.

That's actually a hell of an idea.

[East Coast Hustle]

You're an Island kid, right?  and you're a water rat.  I'd suggest Commercial Diving, and learn Hyperbaric welding underwater.  It's a niche skill that has pretty high demand, allows you to stay on boats and on the water, and if you learn a bit about structural engineering and get some equipment that can produce thermal scans of things like a bridge support to identify cracks and damage, I know for a fact that there's only a hand full of companies nation wide that contract to inspect the underwater supports of bridges (train mostly) and if in need of repair, send a diver down with some steel plate and repair it.  The guy I was working for learning how to do this ran his own two man shop and pulled it in hand over fist.  I'd still be doing it if I didn't get a better offer.  It's still my fall back should this ever get stale, as I love boats and diving and really miss being on and in the water.

What? NO!

Diving is not a life-long career unless you relish brain damage and an early death.

I feel like I should point out that I have an almost pathological disregard for my own physical safety. Not out of some retarded sense of machismo, just because that's the way I'm wired.

[Disco Pickle]

You're an Island kid, right?  and you're a water rat.  I'd suggest Commercial Diving, and learn Hyperbaric welding underwater.  It's a niche skill that has pretty high demand, allows you to stay on boats and on the water, and if you learn a bit about structural engineering and get some equipment that can produce thermal scans of things like a bridge support to identify cracks and damage, I know for a fact that there's only a hand full of companies nation wide that contract to inspect the underwater supports of bridges (train mostly) and if in need of repair, send a diver down with some steel plate and repair it.  The guy I was working for learning how to do this ran his own two man shop and pulled it in hand over fist.  I'd still be doing it if I didn't get a better offer.  It's still my fall back should this ever get stale, as I love boats and diving and really miss being on and in the water.

well then, working with electricity, underwater, while breathing compressed gas sounds like just your thing.  If you can practice and get good at laying down a nice, clean weld, and get a few good jobs under your belt, the salary you can command is pretty fucking enticing.
What? NO!

Diving is not a life-long career unless you relish brain damage and an early death.

I feel like I should point out that I have an almost pathological disregard for my own physical safety. Not out of some retarded sense of machismo, just because that's the way I'm wired.