Have you ever watched a guy kick hard as hell and go nowhere? I read a piece from some tech diving guy a while back that said 90 percent of fin problems are really body position problems, and that matched what I saw on that boat. The greenhorn was head up, knees bent, basically doing a bicycle kick, so no fin on earth was gonna save his air. The other guy was flat in the water, legs straight, small slow kicks, same cheap fins, and he came up with half a tank. Stiff blades can help if your legs are already in the right spot, but they also make bad trim worse because you're fighting more surface area. So I'd say fix the trim first, then think about fins, because spending 150 bucks on blades won't do a thing for a guy who's basically swimming upright.

I do the same thing with cumin but for a different reason. My old roommate worked at an Indian place and he'd throw whole seeds in a pan until they started popping, then grind them right after. The smell alone was worth it. What got me was paprika. I toasted a batch of smoked paprika once and it turned almost sweet, which sounds nice until you put it in chili and it disappears. Now I only toast the cumin and coriander and leave the paprika alone. Lesson learned the hard way.