I think about death a lot. Not in a dreading, fearful kind of way (although once in a while), but more of a pensive type of thing. I wonder about all the people who believe in the christian god and all the people who believe nothing, and everyone in between. I wonder which group is right, and what might happen to the group that's wrong (I suppose the answer to that question depends on who is right/wrong). And all I ever garner from these thoughts is "I really don't know."
Maybe getting older manifests itself differently for different people. Maybe there's not always an easily-identifiable template of psychology that one can quantify. Perhaps that's what a "mid-life crisis" truly represents, that unique state-of-mind induced within each individual as they reach a certain point in life. In my particular case, I'm 41 years old and have no desire to buy a sports car, date a woman half my age, or go base jumping. I don't think I'll ever be the classic, stereotypical mid-life case because I've never been a stereotypical personality. Instead of a Porsche or a 22-year-old, I just think a lot more about the end. I wonder what it's going to be like. I wonder if I'm even in the ball park. I wonder if I'm wrong about the end, if I'll be right about god or whatever conscious being awaits. But maybe mostly, I think about the fact that regardless of all my thinking, death is inevitable. There's a strange comfort in knowing I can't mess that up.
The reason I'm writing about death is because there's been so much of it lately in the chasing world. Creeping infections, suicide, traffic accidents, tornadoes themselves, and terminal illnesses. As it does every day across the planet, death has arrived in many forms and shaken the chasing community. And it seems that as the years pass, its visits become more frequent. Even people who are still alive are being ravaged by diseases that systematically kill the spark of personality and character, as the memory steadily fades to the point of oblivion. To use a cliche, life hangs by such a tiny thread.
Another thing reaching middle age has done for me is make me realize there are likely fewer days ahead than behind. That thought does two things to me. The first, obviously, is that it somewhat alarms me to think that I'm on the downside of life. Just the thought that I've probably lived over half my life is rather unsettling when I'm in that certain state-of-mind. But mostly what it does to me is make me even more determined to see as many tornadoes as possible. I don't slowly lose my lust for chasing as I get older, replacing it with the need for financial and social stability. Oh, I desire those things as well, but they are below my passion and fire to be out there on the Plains, driving a long stretch of open road, craning skyward, all the while my mind racing with the possibilities of what wonderment I might be fortunate enough to witness later that day.
Getting older for me is basically like time is a person, who's always with me, always reminding me that I'm running out of it. This makes me want to keep doing what I've been doing almost all of my adult life. I've never felt pressure (true pressure) to be successful at chasing tornadoes, but I do feel it when I think about the fact that time is running out. I've seen fellow chasers taken away far too soon, some even before they've reached their prime. Along with the initial shock and sorrow this brings, it's also another example how anyone could be next, including me. This thought lights a fire in me to keep this thing going. I don't make a living from it, I don't get respect for it, and it doesn't really provide much tangible evidence to show what I've done with my life. But it's the thing I love, it's what I do, and for me, it really is my identity. Not as in "Shane the chaser" but "Shane the guy who did what he loved and didn't worry about what the rest of the world thought about it." It's not about chasing, it's about finding a chance at happiness and grabbing it with both hands and to hell with everything else.
I hate hearing about chasers I knew or knew of who die. I know everybody dies, but I always think "they had so much more in front of them." And they did. I think about the legacies these folks left behind and how they were cut short. I think about my own legacy and the burning passion inside me to keep building it. Each moment when time runs out for another, serves as a poignant reminder that time is always right beside me, but at any moment when I turn to face it, it could be gone.
Sunday, August 11, 2013
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
Twitter Exile
Obviously, social media is nothing more than a conduit for information. All kinds of information, depending on what a person decides to share. It seems to be generally geared towards two distinct demographics: business and personal. It sounds easy enough, but for me the problem lies in between. I'm definitely not a business, and I certainly don't use social media for the purposes of finding friends, romance, or just an anonymous audience to recount my entire day to so I feel important. It was simply another way to promote my chasing. I got on board with social media years after the fact, in all avenues (MySpace in 2006, Facebook in 2009, Twitter in 2011). The only social media tool I got in on early was Google+, and two years later it's still a ghost town.
MySpace died and was replaced by Facebook, which has stood the test of time fairly well considering the age of no attention span in which we live. Because of this, on Facebook, I've got the most contacts, and the most contacts I know to some degree. So posts that have nothing to do with chasing are quite common, as often I seek to simply entertain others with my random, meaningless posting. I'm trying to incorporate G+ in much the same way, albeit a stronger effort to keep it mostly chase-related. But then there's Twitter.
I scoffed Twitter for years because of, like probably many others before me, the 140-character limit. It always seemed pointless to me, because I can provide text with links on FB and G+. But then I started considering how much I could broaden my audience, and eventually took the plunge in October of 2011. We'd had a pair of Twitter accounts since 2009 that Bridget started for the show and for us as chasers, but they had been mostly ignored. I decided to kill the show account, and turn the chasing one into an active resource for information on us and chasing; tweets, links to chase summaries, images, videos, etc. I started a "FROM THE VAULT" series which were random tweets, usually twice daily, that featured a storm or tornado image. I felt it would be a cool way to drum up more interest, and expand beyond our FB following.
For about a year it was good, but then as we collected more and more followers, suddenly the Twitter feed itself, which I had completely ignored for years, was getting busy enough to start being interesting. I had only posted in the year and a half I'd been active on twitter; reading the tweets of others (and interacting with them) had never occurred to me. The big eye-opener was Sally. I logged onto Twitter the night of that historic event, and watching my Twitter feed was almost like watching a live chat. Suddenly I had this new pipeline for networking with limitless new people, some of which might eventually become fans of my work and maybe even buy a video. I knew the percentages would be maybe one in a thousand at best, but I still couldn't resist the temptation of introducing the Twitter world to storm chaser Shane Adams. I was brand new to these folks.
Well, that worked for a little while, until the abrasive asshole side of me (mentioned in another blog entry about a week or so ago) reared its head on what had become my new Sunday evening pass time of drinking beer, reading my feed, and responding to random tweets. This was my way of trying to actually interact with some of the people who followed me, an olive branch of sorts that said "Hey, I see you following me. I read your stuff, and sometimes I have an opinion or a reply to what you say." I thought people might relate to me more (and in the process get even more into the chasing side) if I actually paid attention to them and showed interest in what they were up to. It was a great idea, and for a while it worked. But then I discovered Twitter had the same sad drawback as every other thing on the world wide web: trolls. Or as they were called before the internet, assholes.
I had a lot of opinions about some of the things being said about chasers, most of which were coming from the Sunflower state (as most anti-chaser sentiments have since 2007). Suddenly, some Kansas followers didn't like me so much, and said so. The problem wasn't that they voiced an opinion, but that they had made their points, but felt it necessary to continue to attack me personally. Even that was tolerable, because some people just need to lash out at others to get through the day. I get it. But then people who I didn't follow, who didn't follow me, were suddenly jumping into the conversation, without analyzing it at all. I was now the bad guy, the jerkoff, the asshole, in a debate in which the root of my opinion lay in the fact I value human life (a fact I repeated more than once but was lost on everyone else). Screen shots of my home address were being tweeted, along with messages like "Here you go" and "Have fun with this guy" and the like, to which I very quietly and seriously replied "Careful what you do with that information." After all, any dumbshit can access domain registration info on GoDaddy. But the fact it was being posted maliciously bothered me.
By the end, just before I jumped Twitter ship for good, it was a half dozen or so people threatening to hack my website and criticizing Bridget for life choices she spoke very candidly about in a blog that had been written almost five years prior, but was still live on the net. Because nobody can heckle with me online, the back-and-forthing was pointless. These people were shit, losers, and would keep coming back as long as I served them up. So the choice was made to dump Twitter, because it became obvious that more than likely these few dingleberries represented the majority of what was following me. It would've been too much work to cherry pick over 1400 followers to trim the fat, so I decided "fuck it" and simply deleted my account. I tried a brand new twitter account for about two weeks afterwards, adding only people I know and trust, or anyone who mentioned weather or chasing in their bio. But I realized all Twitter had become for me at that point was just a carbon copy of my Facebook feed. I just didn't need it.
So, I've learned my Twitter lesson. I just don't care enough to argue with the asstards that will surely surface whenever I tweet an opinion they deem wrong, harsh, or simply attention-seeking. And cutting them off means cutting off the only reason I tried Twitter in the first place, which is to gain new followers who are interested in my chasing adventures. So chock up yet another marketing failure for this guy. However, learning that quality over quantity isn't just hyperbole was well worth the experience. I'll take the few dozen folks who've always shown interest and supported me throughout the years over the several hundred who clicked "follow" because they're sorta interested in a picture I posted but mostly addicted to clicking "follow."
MySpace died and was replaced by Facebook, which has stood the test of time fairly well considering the age of no attention span in which we live. Because of this, on Facebook, I've got the most contacts, and the most contacts I know to some degree. So posts that have nothing to do with chasing are quite common, as often I seek to simply entertain others with my random, meaningless posting. I'm trying to incorporate G+ in much the same way, albeit a stronger effort to keep it mostly chase-related. But then there's Twitter.
I scoffed Twitter for years because of, like probably many others before me, the 140-character limit. It always seemed pointless to me, because I can provide text with links on FB and G+. But then I started considering how much I could broaden my audience, and eventually took the plunge in October of 2011. We'd had a pair of Twitter accounts since 2009 that Bridget started for the show and for us as chasers, but they had been mostly ignored. I decided to kill the show account, and turn the chasing one into an active resource for information on us and chasing; tweets, links to chase summaries, images, videos, etc. I started a "FROM THE VAULT" series which were random tweets, usually twice daily, that featured a storm or tornado image. I felt it would be a cool way to drum up more interest, and expand beyond our FB following.
For about a year it was good, but then as we collected more and more followers, suddenly the Twitter feed itself, which I had completely ignored for years, was getting busy enough to start being interesting. I had only posted in the year and a half I'd been active on twitter; reading the tweets of others (and interacting with them) had never occurred to me. The big eye-opener was Sally. I logged onto Twitter the night of that historic event, and watching my Twitter feed was almost like watching a live chat. Suddenly I had this new pipeline for networking with limitless new people, some of which might eventually become fans of my work and maybe even buy a video. I knew the percentages would be maybe one in a thousand at best, but I still couldn't resist the temptation of introducing the Twitter world to storm chaser Shane Adams. I was brand new to these folks.
Well, that worked for a little while, until the abrasive asshole side of me (mentioned in another blog entry about a week or so ago) reared its head on what had become my new Sunday evening pass time of drinking beer, reading my feed, and responding to random tweets. This was my way of trying to actually interact with some of the people who followed me, an olive branch of sorts that said "Hey, I see you following me. I read your stuff, and sometimes I have an opinion or a reply to what you say." I thought people might relate to me more (and in the process get even more into the chasing side) if I actually paid attention to them and showed interest in what they were up to. It was a great idea, and for a while it worked. But then I discovered Twitter had the same sad drawback as every other thing on the world wide web: trolls. Or as they were called before the internet, assholes.
I had a lot of opinions about some of the things being said about chasers, most of which were coming from the Sunflower state (as most anti-chaser sentiments have since 2007). Suddenly, some Kansas followers didn't like me so much, and said so. The problem wasn't that they voiced an opinion, but that they had made their points, but felt it necessary to continue to attack me personally. Even that was tolerable, because some people just need to lash out at others to get through the day. I get it. But then people who I didn't follow, who didn't follow me, were suddenly jumping into the conversation, without analyzing it at all. I was now the bad guy, the jerkoff, the asshole, in a debate in which the root of my opinion lay in the fact I value human life (a fact I repeated more than once but was lost on everyone else). Screen shots of my home address were being tweeted, along with messages like "Here you go" and "Have fun with this guy" and the like, to which I very quietly and seriously replied "Careful what you do with that information." After all, any dumbshit can access domain registration info on GoDaddy. But the fact it was being posted maliciously bothered me.
By the end, just before I jumped Twitter ship for good, it was a half dozen or so people threatening to hack my website and criticizing Bridget for life choices she spoke very candidly about in a blog that had been written almost five years prior, but was still live on the net. Because nobody can heckle with me online, the back-and-forthing was pointless. These people were shit, losers, and would keep coming back as long as I served them up. So the choice was made to dump Twitter, because it became obvious that more than likely these few dingleberries represented the majority of what was following me. It would've been too much work to cherry pick over 1400 followers to trim the fat, so I decided "fuck it" and simply deleted my account. I tried a brand new twitter account for about two weeks afterwards, adding only people I know and trust, or anyone who mentioned weather or chasing in their bio. But I realized all Twitter had become for me at that point was just a carbon copy of my Facebook feed. I just didn't need it.
So, I've learned my Twitter lesson. I just don't care enough to argue with the asstards that will surely surface whenever I tweet an opinion they deem wrong, harsh, or simply attention-seeking. And cutting them off means cutting off the only reason I tried Twitter in the first place, which is to gain new followers who are interested in my chasing adventures. So chock up yet another marketing failure for this guy. However, learning that quality over quantity isn't just hyperbole was well worth the experience. I'll take the few dozen folks who've always shown interest and supported me throughout the years over the several hundred who clicked "follow" because they're sorta interested in a picture I posted but mostly addicted to clicking "follow."
Sunday, August 4, 2013
Project Update * Tornado: Icing or Cake?
After about a week of tinkering with and discovering the limitations of Windows Movie Maker, I think I'm pretty much done with pre-production. After several versions, cuts, additions, and tweaking, the video is pretty much set. I always know when I reach that point, because I have every edit memorized by audio cues. I could literally erase the project, reload all the raw clips, and have it re-edited in the time it takes to physically make the changes. Now I'll just sit back and wait to see if we score anything in the Fall, and if we do, I've already got "Plan B" lined out regarding what's going to get chopped to make room. Other than that, the only thing remaining are the credit details, which themselves can be a little taxing.
One thing I've always prided myself on, is the ability to remember the people who have helped me along the way, and to recognize them. Before I even made one DVD, I always knew I would have to have extended credits, because there were so many people I wanted to thank. There still are. Even the most insignificant-seeming action or experience can be, to me, a very memorable moment that I appreciate and don't forget (Steve Miller OK made the 'LOVE' credits for simply stopping alongside the highway one time to see if we needed any help). But with giving credit where it's due comes the task of remembering all those little moments on cue, altogether, which can sometimes be impossible for me. I can randomly remember them all, just going through my day, but sitting down with a pen and a notebook and forcing myself to write down every name like a school roll call, that can be daunting. Not because writing down names is difficult, but because of the fear of unintentionally omitting one or two (like Scott Bennett on the 'Out of the Blue' credits, a huge oversight because he supplied the phone for The Debris Show which added an incredible dynamic to the show).
So this time around I'm doing it differently. In the past I've always waited until production, and made the list up in a matter of minutes, literally while sitting in front of the computer staring at the storyboard. Cramming, basically. I figured this time, why not just start now and add as I remember them naturally. Just before I began writing this post, another name came to mind that I didn't write down yesterday, so it's working LOL. I know the people themselves might not care whether or not their name appears on an obscure DVD credit roll, hell they might not even remember the things that earned them their place. But it means something to me to recognize those who, as far as I'm concerned, helped me out in some way, shape, or form during the period of time the DVD covers. Offering me a ride, stopping to see if I need help, buying us dinner, or just hanging out with us one night after a chase, just enjoying the company. When you live to chase, it all means something to you. And it's all worthy of a "thank you" at the end.
Jumping topics now, I've been seeing the old familiar chaser phrase "who needs a tornado when...." popping up a lot lately. I intentionally left the end of that open because, in my opinion, it doesn't matter why they're saying it, just that they do. One of the most rehashed subjects in the world of chasing is the "tornado" versus "storm" chaser conversation. The overwhelming perception is, the storm chaser is a noble, humble breed who will take great structure over a tornado, and actually prefers it. The reality is, the storm chaser is pretty much like any chaser, except he/she will take structure on a day when they don't see any tornadoes. There are some pure structure storm chasers, who will actually target areas where they expect to see great storm structure, with no regard to tornado potential. But most of those I would consider photographers first. This is not a slight, just an observation and subsequent opinion.
The reason the words "who needs a tornado when..." bother me is because it means the person saying them feels they need to somehow justify that they (1) missed a tornado, (2) didn't see any tornadoes because there were none, or (3) don't hold the tornado as the ultimate prize but merely icing. If it's the first one, who cares? So you missed the tornado but got great structure - congrats!!! If it's the middle reason, again, who cares? You got great structure and didn't miss any tubes because there weren't any - congrats!!! If it's the last one...who cares? So you don't chase for tornadoes. This means your success rate is about 4-5 times higher than most chasers' - congrats!!!
There are chasers out there who, when experiencing one of the first two situations described above, are truly, perfectly happy coming home with just great structure. There are chasers out there whose chasing agenda and philosophy match the third description. And none of these chasers ever utter the words "Who needs a tornado when..." This is just my opinion, but I believe the people who do use that term are doing nothing more than attempting to sooth themselves after coming home with no tornado. If the tornado isn't the single most sought-after, polarizing phenomenon chasers hunt, then why must it be referenced every time a chase ends with anything just shy of it? If all these chasers truly consider the tornado "just icing" (and if you peruse the net and look at enough chaser bios you'll see this is a recurring theme) then why even mention it when it doesn't happen? Because at the end of the day, what every chaser who speaks the term "who needs a tornado when..." really wants, is a tornado.
One thing I've always prided myself on, is the ability to remember the people who have helped me along the way, and to recognize them. Before I even made one DVD, I always knew I would have to have extended credits, because there were so many people I wanted to thank. There still are. Even the most insignificant-seeming action or experience can be, to me, a very memorable moment that I appreciate and don't forget (Steve Miller OK made the 'LOVE' credits for simply stopping alongside the highway one time to see if we needed any help). But with giving credit where it's due comes the task of remembering all those little moments on cue, altogether, which can sometimes be impossible for me. I can randomly remember them all, just going through my day, but sitting down with a pen and a notebook and forcing myself to write down every name like a school roll call, that can be daunting. Not because writing down names is difficult, but because of the fear of unintentionally omitting one or two (like Scott Bennett on the 'Out of the Blue' credits, a huge oversight because he supplied the phone for The Debris Show which added an incredible dynamic to the show).
So this time around I'm doing it differently. In the past I've always waited until production, and made the list up in a matter of minutes, literally while sitting in front of the computer staring at the storyboard. Cramming, basically. I figured this time, why not just start now and add as I remember them naturally. Just before I began writing this post, another name came to mind that I didn't write down yesterday, so it's working LOL. I know the people themselves might not care whether or not their name appears on an obscure DVD credit roll, hell they might not even remember the things that earned them their place. But it means something to me to recognize those who, as far as I'm concerned, helped me out in some way, shape, or form during the period of time the DVD covers. Offering me a ride, stopping to see if I need help, buying us dinner, or just hanging out with us one night after a chase, just enjoying the company. When you live to chase, it all means something to you. And it's all worthy of a "thank you" at the end.
Jumping topics now, I've been seeing the old familiar chaser phrase "who needs a tornado when...." popping up a lot lately. I intentionally left the end of that open because, in my opinion, it doesn't matter why they're saying it, just that they do. One of the most rehashed subjects in the world of chasing is the "tornado" versus "storm" chaser conversation. The overwhelming perception is, the storm chaser is a noble, humble breed who will take great structure over a tornado, and actually prefers it. The reality is, the storm chaser is pretty much like any chaser, except he/she will take structure on a day when they don't see any tornadoes. There are some pure structure storm chasers, who will actually target areas where they expect to see great storm structure, with no regard to tornado potential. But most of those I would consider photographers first. This is not a slight, just an observation and subsequent opinion.
The reason the words "who needs a tornado when..." bother me is because it means the person saying them feels they need to somehow justify that they (1) missed a tornado, (2) didn't see any tornadoes because there were none, or (3) don't hold the tornado as the ultimate prize but merely icing. If it's the first one, who cares? So you missed the tornado but got great structure - congrats!!! If it's the middle reason, again, who cares? You got great structure and didn't miss any tubes because there weren't any - congrats!!! If it's the last one...who cares? So you don't chase for tornadoes. This means your success rate is about 4-5 times higher than most chasers' - congrats!!!
There are chasers out there who, when experiencing one of the first two situations described above, are truly, perfectly happy coming home with just great structure. There are chasers out there whose chasing agenda and philosophy match the third description. And none of these chasers ever utter the words "Who needs a tornado when..." This is just my opinion, but I believe the people who do use that term are doing nothing more than attempting to sooth themselves after coming home with no tornado. If the tornado isn't the single most sought-after, polarizing phenomenon chasers hunt, then why must it be referenced every time a chase ends with anything just shy of it? If all these chasers truly consider the tornado "just icing" (and if you peruse the net and look at enough chaser bios you'll see this is a recurring theme) then why even mention it when it doesn't happen? Because at the end of the day, what every chaser who speaks the term "who needs a tornado when..." really wants, is a tornado.
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
Identity Crisis * Blogs: Endangered Species?
For the whatevereth time, I'm attempting to maintain a blog that both (1) supplies frequent material and (2) is worth reading. That balance hasn't been easy for me since I first began with the blog format nearly eight years ago. Part of the problem, at least for me, is that in my opinion blogs aren't timeless. I've gone back more than once over the years, read some of my older stuff, and thought "this just isn't relevant anymore." Not that the piece wasn't well-written and entertaining, just dated. Topics that inspire my entries often are "current events" within the world of storm chasing, and as everything in the world today, have a shelf life. Chase summaries aside, I see no reason to leave a blog up after so many years.
Originally, the reason I began to go back and delete older posts was because blogger.com has a data limit, which I somehow used up within a few years by merely posting text-only entries. That of course pissed me off, so I just stopped blogging. But eventually my creative juices began to flow again, and I wanted that voice back. I created the second incarnation of the Passion Twist blog, which was very active from late 2007 through all of 2008. After an extended break, during which the blog title and direction changed, I started again in late 2009. That version lasted until the beginning of this month, and its demise is where this one begins.
I'll admit it. I've spent way too much time worrying about my blog identity. I have two distinct sides, and they don't really work well together. I'm either the boring, nerdy statistician who posts mostly vanilla offerings that reflect my pure chasing results/projects (such as what the body of this new blog consists of thus far), or the abrasive, opinionated asshole which the former personality keeps in a darkened basement, feeding it only enough to sustain its life until its next burst through the padlock and out into the world again. The nerd is more akin to who I truly am, day to day, in the world (or at least what I allow the world to see). However the asshole is also very much alive each and every moment, but is kept much more at bay. I've been trying to make the two mesh successfully online forever, and it's still a work in progress. Or maybe the solution is, that is my identity, and I should stop thinking so damn much and just write.
It occurs to me just now that I've completely gone off into left field and forgotten the entire point of this post: are blogs dying? When I first embraced the blog format in 2005, it was the latest craze. A fresh new platform that was both aesthetically pleasing and user-friendly, and something that lured many chasers into abandoning the traditional website for this new animal. Eventually, so many chasers jumped to the blog format that they started referring to their blogs as websites. To me, as a pure website enthusiast and user, this was crap. Abandon the website for the blog if you must, but you're not going to tell me one is now the other. It's a blog dude.
Not long ago, while searching out storm chasing blogs in an attempt to build a links page on this thing, I discovered that about 90% of all the blogs I clicked on were either gone or hadn't been updated in years. Not unlike it's always been, but with the advent of social media, it seems as if the pure blog platform may be suffering much the same way the pure website platform did at its hand nearly a decade ago. I guess what I keep wondering is, what's gonna kill social media? I don't think I want to know.
Originally, the reason I began to go back and delete older posts was because blogger.com has a data limit, which I somehow used up within a few years by merely posting text-only entries. That of course pissed me off, so I just stopped blogging. But eventually my creative juices began to flow again, and I wanted that voice back. I created the second incarnation of the Passion Twist blog, which was very active from late 2007 through all of 2008. After an extended break, during which the blog title and direction changed, I started again in late 2009. That version lasted until the beginning of this month, and its demise is where this one begins.
I'll admit it. I've spent way too much time worrying about my blog identity. I have two distinct sides, and they don't really work well together. I'm either the boring, nerdy statistician who posts mostly vanilla offerings that reflect my pure chasing results/projects (such as what the body of this new blog consists of thus far), or the abrasive, opinionated asshole which the former personality keeps in a darkened basement, feeding it only enough to sustain its life until its next burst through the padlock and out into the world again. The nerd is more akin to who I truly am, day to day, in the world (or at least what I allow the world to see). However the asshole is also very much alive each and every moment, but is kept much more at bay. I've been trying to make the two mesh successfully online forever, and it's still a work in progress. Or maybe the solution is, that is my identity, and I should stop thinking so damn much and just write.
It occurs to me just now that I've completely gone off into left field and forgotten the entire point of this post: are blogs dying? When I first embraced the blog format in 2005, it was the latest craze. A fresh new platform that was both aesthetically pleasing and user-friendly, and something that lured many chasers into abandoning the traditional website for this new animal. Eventually, so many chasers jumped to the blog format that they started referring to their blogs as websites. To me, as a pure website enthusiast and user, this was crap. Abandon the website for the blog if you must, but you're not going to tell me one is now the other. It's a blog dude.
Not long ago, while searching out storm chasing blogs in an attempt to build a links page on this thing, I discovered that about 90% of all the blogs I clicked on were either gone or hadn't been updated in years. Not unlike it's always been, but with the advent of social media, it seems as if the pure blog platform may be suffering much the same way the pure website platform did at its hand nearly a decade ago. I guess what I keep wondering is, what's gonna kill social media? I don't think I want to know.
Thursday, July 25, 2013
May 29 Tornado
OUN has confirmed a brief tornado south of Erick, OK from May 29. On that day we observed what we thought was a small area of outflow dust, even though I was somewhat suspicious at the time. Nevertheless, I thought nothing of it until a few days later when I saw a Facebook post by JR Hehnly showing the same feature but from the opposite angle. Another person commented that the Doppler radar guys had observed a low-end tornadic circulation in the same place at the same time. This was enough to get me to submit my video to OUN as a possible tornado.
I never heard anything back, so I decided to email Doug Speheger directly, the person who's been responsible for Oklahoma tornado data for several years now. After another few weeks, Doug replied, got my information, and said he'd get back to me. Within a few days, he'd researched the radar data and discovered a velocity increase - for just one volume scan - in the same spot as my report. After learning about the Doppler observations, he asked to see my video (which I'd taken down a few weeks before). I put the clip back up on Youtube, and after seeing it, Doug was convinced. He sent me an email yesterday to let me know it was being added to the 2013 OK tornado count. Not a prize catch by any stretch, but important nonetheless because it keeps the data that much more in tune with reality. So a big thanks to Doug for his efforts in coordinating the archived data with my observations to help get this event sorted out.
Sunday, July 21, 2013
New DVD Project
I'm pleased to report that there will finally be a new DVD coming at the end of the year. Needless to say, it's been a pretty lean stretch the past few seasons, so it's taken me a while to accumulate enough material to make a DVD I deem worthy of existence (and considering my standards are much lower than most folks', that's saying something). But alas, after three long years (the longest gap ever between DVDs for me) the follow up to "Out of the Blue" will be seeing the light of day sometime towards the end of this year.
The first rough demo is done, and just the raw video alone runs at around 97 minutes. No doubt some trimming will be in the works, as with additional bells and whistles such as titles, transitions, and a menu page, I'll be pushing my time limit of two hours (I like everything on a single DVD). I still shoot in standard definition video, simply because I can't afford the hardware necessary to store hours and hours of HD video. The laptop I'm writing this entry on is my only computer, and it just doesn't have the space (or power) to handle that type of storage and still be functional. I'm well aware how unpopular SD video is these days, and how far behind the 8-ball it puts a person who's throwing product out there to compete with the HD Vegas and Premiere using people, but I have no choice. This is what I can afford, and this is what I'll move forward with.
This is going to be a very raw, straight-forward DVD, like all of my others. There's a lot of imperfections. I've already discussed the format "limitation", but that isn't the extent of its amateurish charm. There will be little editing, which means a lot of running in/out of the car, frantically grabbing and setting up tripods. There will be some shakiness, as my low-end, lightweight equipment is often battered by strong inflow winds. But within all of that, I feel there is a nostalgic type of quality that, to a person with an open mind who isn't blinded by format and technological superiority, will make this a charming little "homebrew" of a DVD. Very modest, very real. I believe the lack of technical prowess will be overshadowed by what's in front of the camera.
As far as content, this DVD will consist mainly of just two events. There are a total of seven events that make up the first demo, but I can already tell you at least one of those isn't going to make the cut. Should we have a great Fall chase later this year, other smaller events will be in danger as well. April 14, 2012 and May 18, 2013 (barring an incredible Fall event later this year) will be the meat of the DVD. The Rozel, KS clip is one of my all-time favorite tornado sequences I've ever shot, and IMO will be the flagship tornado of the DVD. The flow of this video so far reminds me of older tornado videos or television specials. I can't really explain why, but I just get that "90s" feel when I watch it, which I love.
So anyway, there it is. New DVD in the works. I will be posting more on this as it gets closer to fruition, with more details such as the title (which I've had for over a year now) and the latest cutting room floor casualties. Thanks to all of you who read this blog and follow my chasing exploits. Your interest is appreciated more than I could ever say.
The first rough demo is done, and just the raw video alone runs at around 97 minutes. No doubt some trimming will be in the works, as with additional bells and whistles such as titles, transitions, and a menu page, I'll be pushing my time limit of two hours (I like everything on a single DVD). I still shoot in standard definition video, simply because I can't afford the hardware necessary to store hours and hours of HD video. The laptop I'm writing this entry on is my only computer, and it just doesn't have the space (or power) to handle that type of storage and still be functional. I'm well aware how unpopular SD video is these days, and how far behind the 8-ball it puts a person who's throwing product out there to compete with the HD Vegas and Premiere using people, but I have no choice. This is what I can afford, and this is what I'll move forward with.
This is going to be a very raw, straight-forward DVD, like all of my others. There's a lot of imperfections. I've already discussed the format "limitation", but that isn't the extent of its amateurish charm. There will be little editing, which means a lot of running in/out of the car, frantically grabbing and setting up tripods. There will be some shakiness, as my low-end, lightweight equipment is often battered by strong inflow winds. But within all of that, I feel there is a nostalgic type of quality that, to a person with an open mind who isn't blinded by format and technological superiority, will make this a charming little "homebrew" of a DVD. Very modest, very real. I believe the lack of technical prowess will be overshadowed by what's in front of the camera.
As far as content, this DVD will consist mainly of just two events. There are a total of seven events that make up the first demo, but I can already tell you at least one of those isn't going to make the cut. Should we have a great Fall chase later this year, other smaller events will be in danger as well. April 14, 2012 and May 18, 2013 (barring an incredible Fall event later this year) will be the meat of the DVD. The Rozel, KS clip is one of my all-time favorite tornado sequences I've ever shot, and IMO will be the flagship tornado of the DVD. The flow of this video so far reminds me of older tornado videos or television specials. I can't really explain why, but I just get that "90s" feel when I watch it, which I love.
So anyway, there it is. New DVD in the works. I will be posting more on this as it gets closer to fruition, with more details such as the title (which I've had for over a year now) and the latest cutting room floor casualties. Thanks to all of you who read this blog and follow my chasing exploits. Your interest is appreciated more than I could ever say.
Saturday, July 13, 2013
2013 Review
I think it's safe to say enough time has passed that I can now do a true season review. This has actually been true for over a month now, as try as I might, I can never seem to get out there after May 31 anymore. But that's another entry for another time. As for the moment, here's a look back on what was a rather strange year for us.
Typically my tornado successes have always been spread out fairly evenly throughout a given year, even in years when I only had a few tornado days. There have been occasional clusters of success, but those have always happened within an overall even keel type of year. But 2013 was different. This year was basically three months of nothing followed by three days of awesomeness. Literally. By mid-May, 2013 was, bar none, the worst season of my career. I had only chased six times, seen no tornadoes, and no real tornadic storms. It wasn't just a numbers fail, it was an opportunities fail. There simply had not been much to chase after. It was a year that had reminded me much of 2004, when things were more or less dead until the middle part of May, and then it became one of the best seasons ever. I held out hope throughout 2013's drought that it could do the same to some degree, if for no other reason, to insure my sanity for a bit longer. Eventually it did, although I was not able to capitalize on it as much as I did in 2004.
Our big break finally happened on May 15, and that began what would be our entire year: a five-day, three-chase run of tornadic success. The 15th was a backyard chase that nobody really saw coming, but we were able to take advantage of it due to the close proximity which allowed us to sit and monitor mesoscale trends and get a better idea what was happening before bolting out the door. Although several chasers were on this event, we somehow ended up getting tornadoes and angles no one else did, a hallmark of my chasing career since inception. Despite the fact we missed the main show earlier and later than our tornadoes, our exclusive earned us a couple of video sales. So after three months of bleh, we suddenly had tornadoes under our belts, extra money on the way, and even better opportunities right in front of us. This changed 2013 from my worst season ever to potentially one of my best. I was pleased but not surprised; I had been extremely patient and calm during what became the longest tornado drought of my life, but through it all one phrase kept ringing true in my mind: "It only takes one day." And sometimes, in regards to the world of chasing, that's not just hyperbole.
After a few days off, during which we saw King's X live and missed another local tornado because we had to pick Adam Reagan up at the airport, it was off to Kansas to start a three-day chase trip. May 18 started things off, and would end up being the highlight not only of the trip, but of the entire Spring. More or less nailing the forecast, we were on our storm from birth, and followed as it produced a pair of tornadoes, the first of which ranks up in my top-ten all-time. A majestic, 25-minute dream. The colors, the company, the moment, and the tornado itself. It was one of those times when you realize how special something is as it's happening; you don't need a day or a week to look back and think "wow." You just know right then. The twenty magical minutes we spent in that lonely Kansas field watching this amazing twister spin away as the sun gradually bled out onto the horizon are some of the most cherished of my entire chasing life. Every heartache, every missed opportunity, every scream, every tantrum of failure. It's all worth it, for as long as it lasts, just to get a glimpse of happiness on that sort of level. Even in great tornado years, those don't just come along every day.
May 19 was the dessert to the previous day. My original forecast was off, as I realized upon walking outside the first time that morning, but we were in a great position to adjust and did so quite nicely. We were able to get on the first storm of the day, and see the first tornado of the day. However, it was downhill from there. But the brief tornado early on helped ease the frustration. Despite that, this would be our last tornado success of the Spring.
After two consecutive years in which we chased less than 15 times each, it's become obvious to me that my days of 25-30 chases a year have come to an end, at least for the short term. We simply don't have the resources to be out that many times. But we also don't have to be. I used to think that more chasing equaled more success, simply through the law of averages. But I chased many times in my formative years and saw nothing. Days I could've stayed home and saved my money and time for better opportunities. But back then that was an impossible decision, because I didn't know enough to make that kind of choice. I had to chase everything. I had to grab every opportunity to get out there, because I wasn't good at it. I needed the law of averages to help me see stuff. Fortunately for me, exposure and time can do quite a lot for someone who simply doesn't learn well through typical means. I can't sit down with a book and read up on something and then be able to do it. I have to try to physically do it, fail, fail some more, and eventually I'll either get it or quit. As far as chasing goes, I finally got it. That allows me to sit back today and be more picky, to scrutinize, to make those sometimes tough choices. I can see now in 10-15 tries what it used to take me 25-30 to accomplish. So despite the fact chasing might be slowly becoming less of my life, as far as the time per year I get to dedicate to it, my success isn't waning. One Rozel can get a guy like me through a lot of long, boring, trying times in regular life, until it's time to get back out there and start doing it again the following year.
I don't need 70 chases and 50 tornadoes, I just need as many opportunities as fate hands me in a given year. I'm all about body-of-work. I'm not out each year trying to set records inside of that particular calendar. I don't need or want to be the best or most popular or whatever chaser of the year. I'm building something bigger than that, something I watched chasers like Jim Leonard and Tim Marshall build as I stood wide-eyed on the sidelines, only dreaming of such wonders for myself. Something they continue to build today, as I join them in my own adventure. Something every chaser who's in it for the storms and tornadoes and who stays around long enough eventually builds. Call it a career, call it a legacy, call it a life's work. The name isn't important, just that it exists.
Typically my tornado successes have always been spread out fairly evenly throughout a given year, even in years when I only had a few tornado days. There have been occasional clusters of success, but those have always happened within an overall even keel type of year. But 2013 was different. This year was basically three months of nothing followed by three days of awesomeness. Literally. By mid-May, 2013 was, bar none, the worst season of my career. I had only chased six times, seen no tornadoes, and no real tornadic storms. It wasn't just a numbers fail, it was an opportunities fail. There simply had not been much to chase after. It was a year that had reminded me much of 2004, when things were more or less dead until the middle part of May, and then it became one of the best seasons ever. I held out hope throughout 2013's drought that it could do the same to some degree, if for no other reason, to insure my sanity for a bit longer. Eventually it did, although I was not able to capitalize on it as much as I did in 2004.
Our big break finally happened on May 15, and that began what would be our entire year: a five-day, three-chase run of tornadic success. The 15th was a backyard chase that nobody really saw coming, but we were able to take advantage of it due to the close proximity which allowed us to sit and monitor mesoscale trends and get a better idea what was happening before bolting out the door. Although several chasers were on this event, we somehow ended up getting tornadoes and angles no one else did, a hallmark of my chasing career since inception. Despite the fact we missed the main show earlier and later than our tornadoes, our exclusive earned us a couple of video sales. So after three months of bleh, we suddenly had tornadoes under our belts, extra money on the way, and even better opportunities right in front of us. This changed 2013 from my worst season ever to potentially one of my best. I was pleased but not surprised; I had been extremely patient and calm during what became the longest tornado drought of my life, but through it all one phrase kept ringing true in my mind: "It only takes one day." And sometimes, in regards to the world of chasing, that's not just hyperbole.
After a few days off, during which we saw King's X live and missed another local tornado because we had to pick Adam Reagan up at the airport, it was off to Kansas to start a three-day chase trip. May 18 started things off, and would end up being the highlight not only of the trip, but of the entire Spring. More or less nailing the forecast, we were on our storm from birth, and followed as it produced a pair of tornadoes, the first of which ranks up in my top-ten all-time. A majestic, 25-minute dream. The colors, the company, the moment, and the tornado itself. It was one of those times when you realize how special something is as it's happening; you don't need a day or a week to look back and think "wow." You just know right then. The twenty magical minutes we spent in that lonely Kansas field watching this amazing twister spin away as the sun gradually bled out onto the horizon are some of the most cherished of my entire chasing life. Every heartache, every missed opportunity, every scream, every tantrum of failure. It's all worth it, for as long as it lasts, just to get a glimpse of happiness on that sort of level. Even in great tornado years, those don't just come along every day.
May 19 was the dessert to the previous day. My original forecast was off, as I realized upon walking outside the first time that morning, but we were in a great position to adjust and did so quite nicely. We were able to get on the first storm of the day, and see the first tornado of the day. However, it was downhill from there. But the brief tornado early on helped ease the frustration. Despite that, this would be our last tornado success of the Spring.
After two consecutive years in which we chased less than 15 times each, it's become obvious to me that my days of 25-30 chases a year have come to an end, at least for the short term. We simply don't have the resources to be out that many times. But we also don't have to be. I used to think that more chasing equaled more success, simply through the law of averages. But I chased many times in my formative years and saw nothing. Days I could've stayed home and saved my money and time for better opportunities. But back then that was an impossible decision, because I didn't know enough to make that kind of choice. I had to chase everything. I had to grab every opportunity to get out there, because I wasn't good at it. I needed the law of averages to help me see stuff. Fortunately for me, exposure and time can do quite a lot for someone who simply doesn't learn well through typical means. I can't sit down with a book and read up on something and then be able to do it. I have to try to physically do it, fail, fail some more, and eventually I'll either get it or quit. As far as chasing goes, I finally got it. That allows me to sit back today and be more picky, to scrutinize, to make those sometimes tough choices. I can see now in 10-15 tries what it used to take me 25-30 to accomplish. So despite the fact chasing might be slowly becoming less of my life, as far as the time per year I get to dedicate to it, my success isn't waning. One Rozel can get a guy like me through a lot of long, boring, trying times in regular life, until it's time to get back out there and start doing it again the following year.
I don't need 70 chases and 50 tornadoes, I just need as many opportunities as fate hands me in a given year. I'm all about body-of-work. I'm not out each year trying to set records inside of that particular calendar. I don't need or want to be the best or most popular or whatever chaser of the year. I'm building something bigger than that, something I watched chasers like Jim Leonard and Tim Marshall build as I stood wide-eyed on the sidelines, only dreaming of such wonders for myself. Something they continue to build today, as I join them in my own adventure. Something every chaser who's in it for the storms and tornadoes and who stays around long enough eventually builds. Call it a career, call it a legacy, call it a life's work. The name isn't important, just that it exists.
Sunday, July 7, 2013
Something New
You might notice this is a new blog page. The reason I created it was because I got really tired of having to log in and out of multiple accounts. When Google took everything over, that included all my accounts linked to my long-standing yahoo.com email address. This happened before I ever had a G+ or a gmail account, which meant once I decided to go all-in with Google and have everything (email/blog/youtube/etc etc) linked, I had to start brand new profiles in everything. Yesterday I created my new Youtube account. Today it's my new blog.
Anyway, I just chose the basic template I thought looked the coolest and went with that. The days of customizing this thing to death are over. I'll trust in the stylings of the more than competent designers that work for Google or whoever. Admittedly, I did throw in that cheesy purple streaky background, but the name is "Passion Twist" so why not. The main purpose of this post is simply to see what it looks like on the settings I've chosen. There may be changes forthcoming depending on how I like it.
I'm using this for just chase-related news. My opinions and other rants, etc (even those pertaining to chasing and /or weather) are a thing of the past on here. I lead the pack for years when it comes to controversy and telling it like it is, and to be frank, I really don't have the stomach for it anymore. I'm older. I want to really focus on the storms and tornadoes. I want to get good tornado video. I don't care what other people are doing anymore, at least not enough to blog about it or talk about it on some web show. So, while the opinions and thoughts you've come to expect from me are still alive and well, they'll remain with me, making appearances only during real-world, face-to-face conversations.
So there you have it. This is the new chasing blog. I'm not going to promise timely updates or even interesting content. But, if you're interested in my chasing endeavors, you probably won't be disappointed.
Anyway, I just chose the basic template I thought looked the coolest and went with that. The days of customizing this thing to death are over. I'll trust in the stylings of the more than competent designers that work for Google or whoever. Admittedly, I did throw in that cheesy purple streaky background, but the name is "Passion Twist" so why not. The main purpose of this post is simply to see what it looks like on the settings I've chosen. There may be changes forthcoming depending on how I like it.
I'm using this for just chase-related news. My opinions and other rants, etc (even those pertaining to chasing and /or weather) are a thing of the past on here. I lead the pack for years when it comes to controversy and telling it like it is, and to be frank, I really don't have the stomach for it anymore. I'm older. I want to really focus on the storms and tornadoes. I want to get good tornado video. I don't care what other people are doing anymore, at least not enough to blog about it or talk about it on some web show. So, while the opinions and thoughts you've come to expect from me are still alive and well, they'll remain with me, making appearances only during real-world, face-to-face conversations.
So there you have it. This is the new chasing blog. I'm not going to promise timely updates or even interesting content. But, if you're interested in my chasing endeavors, you probably won't be disappointed.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)