CHANGES YOU WILL MAKE FOR NEXT SEASON

[Jay McCoy]

Well Jason obviously I am with you on this one.

1. Will NOT be chasing for KAMR this year after what they did to our met friends. The lady they brought in as chief is an absolute idiot!! She says she has been a met (and chaser) for 12 years working in OK city and Dallas and has both the AMS and NWA seals but she cant read an LSR and doesnt know what CAPE is!!!!! Good luck forcasting severe wx in the panhandle moron. Sortof sad since I grew up at KAMR. Been there since I was 4 years old when my dad did wx there for 30 yrs.

2. Finish rigging up my old partners chase vechicle with some of my own equipment. Always good to have a backup chase truck. I still cant believe nobody on here bought that truck. It was mostly loaded and ready to go. I am adding wxworx hookups and doing some rewiring so I can run everything without the engine on.

3. Replace windshield (hail and birdstrikes).

4. Hopefully my partner can join me on the road more in 2008 now that she had her baby. Now just to find a sitter

 

[Bill Hark]

My changes for 2008:

1) Study more forecasting. One can never learn enough.

2) Add GRLv3 to my home computer and laptop along with obtain better mobile internet access. I've been using WeatherTap and WxWorx and will still keep them.

3) Try to schedule trips out to the Plains during the possibility of severe weather. Sitting under a ridge for a week and a half or looking for scraps in North Dakota is expensive and not much fun.

I will eventually upgrade to HD but would like to see another generation of cameras with better low light capability. HD will also require upgrading my computers and television.

Bill Hark

 

[Brian Stertz]

1. Will NOT be chasing for KAMR this year after what they did to our met friends. The lady they brought in as chief is an absolute idiot!! She says she has been a met (and chaser) for 12 years working in OK city and Dallas and has both the AMS and NWA seals but she cant read an LSR and doesnt know what CAPE is!!!!! Good luck forcasting severe wx in the panhandle moron. Sortof sad since I grew up at KAMR. Been there since I was 4 years old when my dad did wx there for 30 yrs.

Yeah Jay if you want a tough gig...the Texas Panhandle can be really a challenge to the saltiest of mets...and certainly this a truly dumb move bringing somebody like that in. She'll need smelling salts if a more traditional May and June setup next spring in the Panhandle. Yikes.

I told a reporter one time what I consider the area that sees the meanest of the mean....and I said without any hesitation....the Texas Panhandle. If the road network was better, this would be my selection as the best place to chase....especially that Pampa-Wheeler area. Wow.

 

[Mike Peregrine]

Changes for 2008 ... none. In the past couple of years I've found an ideal mix of pure contentment and freedom. The sky is my playground again ... when I want it to be, on my own terms, and without a thought of what many seem to consider as success. I'm there to enjoy the experience no matter what it ends up being, with no thoughts of keeping up with someone else, posting in an internet forum, displaying a catch to the world, or selling a tape. It's mine every single time to enjoy as I please, and I have complete freedom.

 

[Forrest lambert]

changes for 2008? laptop, laptop, laptop. thats what i need to buy. and the wxworx software. right now im just using radars from websites which bites.

 

[Jonathan Whitehead]

Gotta get some parts and fix my anemometer. The guy that washed my van last drove it in to the overhead doors and broke it all to pieces.

I hope he pays for it all. Im sure you were pissed as ever. One thing I cant stand is stupidity...uggg dont get me started

Anyway I really dont have changes to make. I will be taking the Junior series classes in the spring, which means there will be at least one outbreak during an exam. I know it happens every year b/c a lot of my chase partners have been stuck during big days taking an exam. So my main focus is on my classes and if I have time and something looks good, always know ill be analyzing it 6 ways to Sunday the day before/morning of.

Also wouldnt mind having a reliable chase partner, always juggling chase partners. I welcome any offers from those in the area.

 

[David Drummond]

I hope he pays for it all. Im sure you were pissed as ever. One thing I cant stand is stupidity...uggg dont get me started

Unfortunately, no they didn't. I had taken it there once before and they did a great job. The second time, I made sure to tell the one that took it in, be SURE you watch that on top and the doors, or you will hit it. Said it several times. I used this place because they did hand washes, no machines.

When I came back to pick it up, they were finishing it up (should have been WAYYY done with it). Got to noticing that something didn't look right with the anemometer so I went over to the bay to get a good look. The guy had hit the door, which folded the anemometer back and almost broke the aluminum shaft in two. He had apparently got up there, too the retaining screws out and turned the shaft around so the anemometer would face the right direction. This of course made it upside down, so he had then taken the screws loose on on the anemometer head and rotated it 180 degrees so it was rightside up. To someone that didn't know better, it probably would have slid by on casual inspection. It's obvious he was trying to cover it up.

So I confronted him about it. He goes "oh there was a little accident". I was like "yeah, I would say so!" The girl that took it in was standing there, and she says, "I told him to watch out for it!" He says nothing else and I ask, "well, who do we need to contact to get this paid for?". He says,"I ain't payin' for that!" I said, "Come on man, I'm not giving you a hard time, you guys have insurance for this sort of thing."

Long story short, he got very belligerent and I finally had to threaten to call the police before he went and got the owner on the phone. He was telling him a completely different story. Then he didn't want to give me the owners name and number. I got my cell phone out and started dialing the police, he finally gives it to me, so I call the owner.

That guy was really nice and all apologetic, and told me to send him the invoice for what it takes to fix it and he would send me a check, that it was too small for his insurance. Gave me his fax number. I got home, ran up an invoice for the parts on the Davis website and tried to fax it. It was someone's cell number. I called him again, he gave me two other fax numbers. I successfully sent it TWICE to both of them. A week goes by, then another, I never hear anything. So I have tried to call him numerous times, but he never answers the call.

I did do a police report on it, but it was a civil matter so there wasn't much else they could do. I haven't really pursued it further.

 

[John Hudson]

One has to wonder when the C/S Plains will be truly getting back to normal. Damaging tornadoes in Oklahoma and not Manitoba, a June fizzle, and more.

I really never had a problem with damaging tornadoes in Manitoba, Brian. "Normal" weather patterns here have really gone out the window the last two summers, and it is a trend for the better.

Most changes I'll be making in '08 will be to equipment. On my want list is a new Canon lens for my XT, namely the EF 24mm f/1.4L USM. Also want to install wxworx for springtime.

More importantly, have to read, read, and read some more on forecasting. There is such an amazing amount to learn.

John
www.skywatch7.com

 

[Adam Lucio]

-The biggest change [although its not really a change] for me is going to be the studying. Im not the best forecaster but this year I have made allot of improvements, Ive tought myself everything I know and will be hitting the books and web-articles hard this winter. My main area of focus is going to be comparing different models more [right now I rely heavily on GFS and a little bit on NAM]

-I bought a laptop mount but have never installed it, that will be done as well.

-Like my partner Matt Fish mentioned, dash cam-mount. I also have an interesting idea I might try out that involves two reletively cheap waterproof cameras [therye designed for bicycle helmets] being mounted to each mirror of my van...need to see how plausible this really is.

-Chase more, Ive got about 8 chases under my belt this year, this is tough due to work and where I live, but Ive saved personal time off so that it will roll over next year and allow me to hopefully get out there for more weekday events.

-I would like to get a cell signal boost kit as well, Cingulars/AT&Ts card works well but once your west of Wichita...forget about it.

 

[Joe Zemek]

one goal

Move back to Denver by May, so that chasing supercells can be part of my life instead of the focus of one decreasingly affordable two-week gamble every May/June.

 

[Dustin Wilcox]

I wouldn't mind spending more time away from home, I dont neccesarilly mean chase more events, as I actually have been chasing everything it seems, but instead of the marathon Chases where you spend all day and then night on the road arriving home at 2am only to do it again 2 days later, I would like to stay out if things look promising in the coming days, position for that and check out some of that areas attractions. I should have a flexible schedule that I can dedicate to chasing, besides on the days I have tests during the spring I will have all spring and then all of May and June, now I just need to start saving!!

 

[Dave Gallaher]

I am going to drive more slowly this year, especially in the vicinity of good storm activity. On 3/1/07 I missed filming an amazing 'barrel-rolling" action, the best rotation around a horizontal axis I have ever seen, because I was driving at about 60mph as the storm crossed my past SW to NE doing about 50mph. The vid capture I got only shows a side view, missing the vertical doughnut. If I'd been doing 45, I could have stopped and gotten the image.

There have been a few other instances where I overran a good view by driving to fast.

In Alabama, there are rarely other chasers out and about--spotters are more frequently seen--so we don't have the CB traffic jams of tornado alley. Slower driving hopefully won't cause a chaser parade here.

 

[Terry Tyler]

first off, id like to begin by saying that this is a great thread, jason...

im not sure exactly what i want to do right now...this will be my third year in this game, and im going to start taking the whole, filming-chasing-editing-producing thing a LOT more seriously...

the first two years ive got me a couple decent still pictures, and a few video clips...but everything generally is low-quality, and un-salable...if watchable...i was alot younger, and i made alot of mistakes, but hey...you gotta mess up a couple times in order to recognize, and see where you messed up, and then go back the second time...working to prevent the same mistakes again...

a big thing for me this year...

i bought a truck, and it needs some minor work...but im gonna start working with my own vehicle (something new) and get it equiped with some things...

i plan on working towards my ham radio liscense sometime this year...learned a whole lot about radio in these books and online guides, but to be honest with you...its really not my bag...

i never got around to taking the test, but i think im just gonna get it over with before next spring...in addition to that, im gonna put in some radios, and whatnot...

one of the biggest things i learned this year is how much information plays a role in the chase...this year, i implemented libraries as an operational part of the chase...i had a road map, and marked all the libraries in the area with their phone number and hours of buisiness...we would go town-to-town, and eventually ween our way towards the warned areas...

im hoping on purchasing a lower-priced HP laptop, and a at&t wireless card...i noticed the prices have really come down over the past two years, and the performance has come up...ive also looked into firewire jacks that go into your PCMIA slot, and that would let me get the material out the door right after i shoot it...

back to the major defining difference this year will be to the previous years...like i said, im going to take this alot more seriously...im thinkin along these lines...you need to invest in your things...you get what you pay for...if i end up cutting corners on the quality of the cameras, then ill likely end up with cut-corners on the finished product...ive got my heart set on one of those PROLINE mini-dv cameras, its under 2-grand and ive seen alot of chasers and free-lance videographers using them before...

i want all my shots to be high-quality and tripoded, with minimal if any voice in the backround...

i have a whole lot of things i want to try this year, but personally...this is something really important in my life, like trying to start a small buisiness or something...its all about how you start, and your portfolio, and your buisiness image...

yeah, i know that the market for severe storm video is not there, but hell...ive been doing it for 2 years, and aint got one red-penny...and if i dont see a dime...that will be straight too...

the way i see it...all the old heads didnt get there over-night...if i do it straight, honest and respectable...with GOOD IMAGE, then i might be able to contribute something decent to the chasing community...

the key being IMAGE...a professionally designed website, and buisiness face...with something like that, hell...who knows what might happen...

the possibilities are endless!

 

[Craig Maire II]

Da$n David! I would definitely take them to civil court on principle (only costs about 50$ to get things rollin, in my area at least).

As for some changes I will make for next year:

1. New laptop and cell internet aircard
2. New camcorder
3. New digital camera
4. Will purchase a GPS unit finally (although I do like my atlas)
5. Save more $$
6. Will purchase an mountable anemometer for my car (tired of getting soaked)

Working 12hr days to pay the bills and get the above items done but I'm sure it will be worth it

 

[Skip Talbot]

The biggest change I will be making in '08 is learning to schedule my chases around 10 days of vacation time. I just started my first full-time, salary job. I won't be able to take all 10 days in May either as I've just started accruing the time at 6.67 hours per month. What I've lost in scheduling freedom though is made up for in financial freedom. I can afford to chase the distance now, and buy some new gadgets. Seeing that I only made it out there 11 times this year, I think I should be good with my vacation time. After 15 years, I'll have 20 days. I could spend the entire month of May driving around Kansas, living out of the van. In the meantime... chase hard on the weekends!