Flotsam & Jetsam

The Power of Prayer. A 48-year-old protestant priest in Umkomaas, South Africa, accidentally shot himself in the head with his own speargun. He was knocked over by an unexpectedly big wave and the gun went off, firing the spear into his face. It passed through his right cheek and out by his left ear, crucially missing both his eyes and brain. Doctors were able to remove the spear after he was airlifted to the hospital. He puts his survival down to a miracle.

Some MacBook Pros Banned on Flights. Apple says the battery in the 15-inch model (sold between September 2015 and February 2017) can overheat, potentially swelling or igniting. The FAA has banned them from carry-ons and checked luggage on U.S. airlines, including cargo carriers, and airlines flying to or from the U.S. To see if your laptop is affected, visit Apple's recall page for details.

DAN Fund for Conception Families. Divers Alert Network, in conjunction with a number of sponsors, including Undercurrent, has set up a relief fund to help the families of those who lost their lives in the tragic fire that destroyed MV Conception on September 2. All donations are tax-deductible, and one hundred percent of all donations goes directly to the families in need. www.diversalertnetwork.org/TheConception

Scuba At Home? You can if you can afford it. Slated to list for $11.8 million, an 18-acre property for sale outside Kansas City, previously owned by a mega-rich scuba enthusiast, has a network of scuba tunnels with grottos and pop-up holes leading to a 30-foot-deep outdoor pond. Or you could buy a less ambitious property and spend the money going diving somewhere much nicer. https://tinyurl.com/y6rqpham

Personal CO and Smoke Alarms. These are inexpensive, small and lightweight, and prudent travelers in remote areas carry them nowadays. A self-adhesive pad will allow you temporarily to fit it high up in your hotel room or boat cabin. An ear-piercing screech will tell you if something's amiss.

Here Come the Tourists. In a major change in foreign policy, the Solomon Islands has broken ties with Taiwan in order to establish diplomatic relations and build a trading relationship with China. No doubt we'll see a big influx of Chinese divers into one of the last untouched scuba paradises.

Air Supply Prank Not Funny. A Chinese man has been forced to apologize for turning off other divers' air supplies two days running while they were at depth, diving from Puerto Galera in the Philippines. He said later it was just a prank, done without thinking of the consequences. Nobody was hurt, but neither was anybody amused.

A Tragic Last Request. On September 21, Steven Weber, Jr. (Zachary, LA) dived into the ocean to pop the question to his girlfriend, attorney Kenesha Antoine (Baton Rouge, LA), through the window of their submerged hotel room on Pemba Island in the Indian Ocean, Tanzania, Africa. Video footage she later posted on Facebook showed him pressing a piece of paper against the glass with the message: "Will you please be my wife?" He then opened a ring box before swimming up out of view toward the surface. But he never got to hear her answer because he tragically drowned, perhaps a victim of shallow water blackout, during those precious moments of their once-in-a-lifetime vacation.