EDITORIAL Update November 2011/12
Neville Coleman OAM
"It is my opinion that scuba diving is the greatest
adventure activety on the planet!"
Here we are, another 8 months along the way and still managing.
My predictions in my last editorial (March 2011) regarding my planned activities for assisting dive industry, dive travel and scuba diving education have been implimented and are well on the way to fruition.
In only 6 months we have entered the age of electronic eBook production and have successfully written, designed, developed three eBook titles and by the end of this month will have published 3 major educational, conservation based titles based around my original "Dangerous Sea Creatures" book.
Due to all the updates in knowledge, additions to the number of species and changes in various precautionary advice and first aid amounting to over 1000 pages, it was necessary to write a separate book for each section.
Resulting in a Dangerous Marine Life eBook, Venomous Marine Life eBook and Poisonous Marine Life eBook, all able to be downloaded for iPad and most other tablets and electronic devises, such as iPhone and Android from the Apple iTunes store at minimal prices.
The combined resources of these eBooks amounts to over 1000 images and over 150,000 words. Making them the largest combined resource of images and text published on the subjects.
Dangerous Marine Life-Venomous Marine Life-Poisonous Marine Life
The purpose of these eBooks is to promote the philosophy that in regard to accidental injuries from Dangerous, Venomous and Poisonous Marine Life:
“Prevention is Better than Cure!”
I've written and produced the three part series Dangerous, Venomous and Poisonous Marine Life e-Books, not to frighten people away from our fascinating World of Water.
On the contrary, the purpose of this series is to encourage people to part take in the amazing adventures of scuba diving, snorkelling and reef walking.
This series has been produced with the best of intentions, to share personal accumulated knowledge and experience that I've obtained over many years of diving, snorkelling and reef walking, knowledge gained that helped me overcome my fears of the World of Water and it's inhabitants.
By being able to recognize potential harmful situations, people are in a better position to understand the consequences of their actions and are able to take preventative measures.
It's of vital importance to realize that we are merely guests visiting the World of Water and it's inhabitants. We need to respect the Marine Life and become aware of our impact on them and consequently their instinctive behaviour towards us.
The more we improve our knowledge of the Marine Creatures, the more we'll be able to appreciate the uniqueness of these animals and understand our role and responsibility towards their conservation, ensuring that future generations will be able to enjoy the beauty on our Oceans and it's inhabitants.
Join me and discover for yourself the wonders of our Oceans, armed with the understanding, that safety comes first!
Neville Coleman's Marine Life Identification eGuide iPhone App
Available for download in the Apple App Store!
Now available: Android ~ Blackberry ~ Symbian (Nokia) ~
Windows Phone 7 ~ Windows Mobile
Neville Coleman’s Marine Life ID eGuide is a comprehensive electronic field guide for the Asia/Indo-Pacific region that complements Neville Coleman’s vast library of printed guides.
- The eGuide features 1700 species with over 2000 stunning colour visual identification images
- Includes 16 major Marine Life Groups from Algae to Marine Mammals
- Each Phylum with its Classes has a natural history page with Features; Lifestyle; Reproduction; Associations and Identifications.
- Colour coded Main Menu allows instant access to the different groups
- Species within each group arranged in alphabetical order
- Each image represented by a caption which includes Family Genus, species and Common name, Habitat, Size, Location Distribution and Remarks
- Quick Search function based on Genus species and Common name search. A simple and intuitive interface that puts all the information at your fingertips.
My List - Log Function with Species, Location, Date and Notes enables the diver to use this for daily Dive records, Fauna surveys, species notes, natural history observations and in conjunction with Neville Coleman's Project AWARE Underwater Naturalist Courses.
Neville Coleman OAM
Medal of the Order of Australia
For service to conservation and the environment through the photographic
documentation of Australian marine species.
ABC Science
The Order of Australia
The Order of Australia, instituted by Her Majesty The Queen on 14 February 1975, was established as "an Australian society of honour for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"
November 2011/12
Neville Coleman OAM World of Water Advertizing
From March 2011 I can announce that we will be accepting advertizing on the website and focussing on promoting the Dive travel Industry.
I have been working and learning how to improve the website and have uploaded quite a lot of new material in all the sections, especially the DIVE TRAVEL (see all Loloata Island Dive Sites) and JOURNAL "Nature in Focus"
We have added several hundred new identified images to IMAGE BANK and at this point there appears to be around 2000 identified images on the website and this is a lot of work, but very nice to see it coming together at last.
We have had some very nice comments about the new website from around the world and this has been very encouraging, to say the least.
There is lots of work coming along behind the scenes with thousands of slides being scanned catalogued, named and prepared in readyness to be added to the new titles of our Marine Life Guides eBooks series.
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CHRISTMAS GREETINGS TO ALL
Reflections on Perceptions - 2011/12....Inspirations for ever
Neville Coleman OAM
Happy Xmas to the world from Neville Coleman and Christmas Island divers to all divers and like minded peoples across the world. We wish to remind everybody that diving is the greatest adventure experience on the planet and if all around seems to be falling to pieces.....do what Neville has done in the past, GO DIVING. Its amazing just how one dive can make all the difference and changes our perspective and give us the inspiration to "never give up" ( photo: Neville Coleman)
World of Water 2011/12 AUSTRALIA WIDE PROJECTS
Despite all the forebodings across the world I will continue to improve my Underwater educational products and services to the diving industry and to this extent I will be producing and participating in the following projects to continue my support and dedication to the Greatest Adventure Activity on the Planet, Scuba Diving!
Marine Life Identification eGuide for iPhones and iTouch, Androds and iPad is now available at the Apple iTunes store.
1. I will be working to update and improve all the services on my new website, adding more and more articles on diving, photojournalism and critters, to the World of Water Journal.
2. We will continue to work hand in hand with PADI and Project AWARE for the conservation of our oceans and encouraging one and all to look to the future in regard to our marine resources and in altering the world's atitudes towards the importance of sharks and continued surveilance, attracting attention and encouraging divers to join Project AWARE and assist in clean up campaigns and the marine debris problem acros the Asia/Pacific region.
A Happy Xmas and a prosperous New Year
to the divers of the world. Remember, make every day a Christmas day, its always a time for giving.............Don't let your troubles get you down " give them away", do someone a good turn and generate good will. Its a shore way to elevate your spirit.
Best wishes Neville and JoeY
CONCLUSION
The World of Water has reached a cross-roads and we as divers are the only ones that can alter attitudes and demonstrate that we care enough to use every means possible to educate those who are in a position to make the difference.
We are a minority in numbers, but by supporting those who already have a voice (Project AWARE) we can put the World of Water and its many worthy subjects out there in the public forum and bring attention to their plight. By supporting the social media sites and posting images of fantastic marine life we can share our connected passions and demonstrate that"Nature is all we Have" and its up to us to save it.
Perhaps I will have to 'sell my house and eat grass' as Roger Steene suggested in regard to my paying for the printing of NUDIBRANCHS ENCYCLOPEDIA and if that's what it takes, then that's what it takes.
After all, I was born into the aftermath of the last Great Depression and I remember as a kid what my parents had to do to try and make ends meet. Security I never really knew, and stopping to ' smell the roses' was not an alternative. My life has been a continual struggle against my abusive past to try and make something of my self I could be proud of....the rest, was just hard work!
After all, in half a lifetime, I have achieved more in my fields of expertise than any other single person in the history of the world.
I'm not the slightest bit inclined to bow to false modesy. I know what it took to do it!
Take care and remember, "Learning is the Greatest Adventure!"