Introducing David Shiffman to Underwater Thrills

A few months ago we began to take notice of a smart and prolific shark blogger at a site called Southern Fried Science.

The blogger as it turned out is David Shiffman. He is a Masters in Marine Biology student in South Carolina, and his research focuses on shark ecology and conservation. He is also an avid SCUBA diver and a supporter of responsible shark diving - our kind of guy.

David will be joining us from time to time here at UT as a guest blogger delving into the world of sharks, conservation, industry news and more. As this blog grows we are always looking for a "few good voices" to help move the conversation on sharks forward.

All our guest bloggers are independent voices. We are drawn to the world of sharks, conservation and research for a variety of personal reasons. The bloggers you read here are the ones we think have compelling, interesting, or noteworthy observations - and things to say about them.

Welcome to UT David!

Dive Site Of The Week

As we gear up for another month in the Bahamas to go play with Tigers this year-we just can't help pointing out other dive sites for your review.

A lot of shark divers think that you have to "go with the pro's" and that's just not the case. For example, this video was sent in to us today by Jillian and Tom. Apparently, this is Kuramathi Island in the Maldives- and from the looks of things we'll be diving here soon.

Not all sharks will allow divers to just jump in with them, but if this was us, at this site, we would be in there with those critters faster than Jimmie Johnson at NASCAR.

Grab a tank, snorkle, mask, and get in the water. The shark diving is fine:

Underwater Website Of The Week

Daniel Botelho is from Rio de Janeiro "Land of the Carnival".

It's also the land of truly vibrant colors, which would explain the images in Daniels website all of which you'll probably need a pair of old school Ray-Bans to look at.

If you're like us you measure your time underwater in glorious weeks spent in exotic locals with dollar beers and lot's of sharks. If you're not perhaps these images will lead you there.

Welcome to your Underwater Moment of Zen..Rio Style!

Steve Zissou: You Had Us At "Cousteaus Cronies"

Every once in a while along comes an underwater movie that you just have to buy...and then covet like that little grey critter from the Lord of the Rings. This is one of those movies, and this is one of this moments-check out the crew member "looking busy" in the background:

Shark Handler

The Shark-Corkscrew-Holiday Gift

With X-Mas just a few days away here's a gift idea that had the crew here at UT running to the store to buy some vino.

The good folks at "The Shark" sent us a few of these gizmos to test run over the past few days and nights.

We're here to report that the media hype is all that and more..this is one serious wine opener!

Top Three Vinos We Tested from Wine Spectator

1. Cuvee le Bec from Beckmen Vineyards (California). A blend of red grapes. "Blends are oftentimes a good value," says Rayyis. Vintners "are making good wines without getting hung up on particular grape varieties." He says this Rhone-style wine is "consistently really good."-Corks in these bottles are real and the shark thingy tears them out in no time.

2. Deadly Zins Zinfandel from Michael-David Vineyards (California). "It flies off the shelf and deservedly so," says Fredrikson. -Corks are plastic and the shark thing makes short work of them.

3. Banfi Centine, Rosso di Toscana (Italy). "A good Chianti Classico nowadays retails for about $18 and up," says McCarthy, who calls this "a great alternative." Good with tomato pastas or steak, he says. - Dry cork, shark thing works with a few pieces left behind..tasty vino!