Colorado Chaser Convention: You going?

[cdcollura]

Good day,

I think I will be going again this year like I did since 2002. Just wanna make sure I will be able to first as I am fighting some family / personal stuff right now.

But besides that, the main reason I go is to share my thoughts, feelings, and experiences on weather and storm chasing with people at my same level, who never think I am "crazy"!

The chaser convention, if you have not gone, is a mix of professionals as well as amateurs like many of us, all rolled up into a party like atmosphere, but mixed in with serious and excellent presentations just like a thousand-dollar-a-day weather conference!

There is great vibe at every convention, and I never, ever, had a bad time there! It is the people (yeah, us chasers) that make this event what it is ... For example, having lunch with Tim Marshall and Howie Bluestien, with you and your chase partners - just like if you planned a get-together!

Also, show off your best video for the video night too.

I always flew in for the ice breaker night, then take the convention for saturday, dinner banquet, and sunday morning. Usually, sunday afternoon, and if I can, monday my chase buddies (weathervine) and I usually go skiing or hiking in the snowy mountains ... Remember, we are from Florida, so snow is a special treat for us ;-)

I look forward to also sharing our other "half" of our chasing lives - Hurricane chasing - And we really brought that to town last year!

Anyway, hope to see you all out there again, and if you never went, go at least once, as I highly recommend this convention.

Chris C - KG4PJN

 

[David Drummond]

I've also got to meet a lot of greet people who I haven't had the privilage of meeting out on the chase, and even got kicked out of the Holiday Inn lobby last year (right David and Graham?)

Mike

Indeed we did Mike, quite a few of us! :lol: A great time that was! 8)

 

[David Drummond]

BTW I have posted a poll up on the convention site about whether you are attending or not if you guys want to go over there and vote.

 

[Joey Ketcham]

I REALLY would love to go, and every friggin' year I say I'm going to go and then I end up getting the flu and can't go. So chances are, I probably won't.

 

[Charles Kuster]

I am pretty sure that I will be going this year. I went last year and it was awesome! This year's schedule looks amazing also. $79 is not bad, it is definitely worth it. I can't wait till February!

 

[Mike Hollingshead]

9:00 p.m. - midnight THE FAMOUS CHASER VIDEO NIGHT

Sigh.

I wish that aspect would change.

 

[Doug_Kiesling]

9:00 p.m. - midnight THE FAMOUS CHASER VIDEO NIGHT

Sigh.

I wish that aspect would change.

You mean 9PM? Yeah its getting up their in the evening.

It will be fun to be there this year and I'm going to make a long overdue vacation out of it.

Doug
The Weather Paparazzi

 

[Jay McCoy]

9:00 p.m. - midnight THE FAMOUS CHASER VIDEO NIGHT

Sigh.

I wish that aspect would change.

I think that should start on Friday night since there is usually so many videos to go through. No better way to break the ice than to gather and watch video. Staying up until 3am saturday night just to turn around and get up at 7 for sundays events are a bit tough. Last year I slept in until like 10am and missed a few things.


Kanani and I will be attending this year (less 1 damn wheelchair)

 

[Mike Hollingshead]

Yeah 9pm start time or 13 hours after the convention starts. It seems what was the main gist of the deal(pre-convention) is now something to shove almost into nonexistence. Most won't care to stay for it and those that do care will be tired and leave early. That leaves little reason to bother bringing any video at all.

I'm sure the talks will be great however, for those that enjoy them.

 

[Amos Magliocco]

I think the icebreaker is great the way it is. In fact, I'd almost say it's the best part. The icebreaker is where I heard Tim Marshall tell some amazing hurricane stories--never knew he had so many to share, and the icebreaker is where I talked with David Hoadley for thirty minutes about why on earth we spend so much time and money to see clouds. He's been thinking about that question for forty years and I was eager to listen. To me, an icebreaker involves talking with others. Nobody talks during a video session. It's actually worse than a talk because not only are you expected to pay attentoin, but the lights are out.

I was never a fan of traditional chaser video parties anyway, at least not the way they worked for many years. You sat there for eight or ten hours watching video after video, and invariably someone failed to grasp the term "edited" and everybody was forced to endure lengthy clips of chasers driving through the rain. What a beating! Listen, I don't like to watch *myself* drive through rain in REAL LIFE. I sure don't care to watch others do it on video. Trimming the video session to a few hours and making sure nobody has more than fifteen minutes is the only way to avoid a marathon torture fest.

That being said, it might be cool to have it earlier in the day, or to break it into two sections of 90 minutes each, so that video has an equal footing and chance for attendance as the talks. For my money, I'd rather hear what Jon Davies or Paul Markowski is thinking these days about tornado forecasting so I can maybe see more of them myself next spring (even as tempting as all that rain video might be! LOL). That's what I can get from a conference like Denver that I can't get at home. Chaser video I can buy whenever I want.

 

[Doug_Kiesling]

Yeah 9pm start time or 13 hours after the convention starts. It seems what was the main gist of the deal(pre-convention) is now something to shove almost into nonexistence. Most won't care to stay for it and those that do care will be tired and leave early. That leaves little reason to bother bringing any video at all.

I'm sure the talks will be great however, for those that enjoy them.

You got a point Mike, the whole chaser party thing that started the convention was all about a get together at Tim's house to have fun and watch chaser videos.

 

[Mike Peregrine]

While I love most video, I have to agree that my butt gets downright sore after hour three of sitting there watching Jonny's video of intense downdraft. If chasers edited their video to show a couple minutes of structure plus the two minutes the tornado was actually on the ground, seems like these videos would be a LOT shorter and a lot more interesting. Between the camera shake and the shots of the floorboards of chaser cars, I usually end up leaving the video portion of these gigs early - and only come back if I know something really cool is coming up or someone tells me to get my butt in there and watch. The contest last year would have been better, just because every video was edited and polished up.

Plus, there are SO MANY videos out there these days ... every chaser and his cousin Joe Bob have a video they want to show ... why not have a private viewing area cordoned off where videos are constantly playing, along with a schedule of which video will play at what time ... that way if we know that so-and-so's super vid will be on at 9:00 a.m. a person has a choice between lecture or video. (UNL did this last year) ... the only thing would be making the tough decision when both the lecture AND video are equally good.

 

[Edward Ballou]

I hate to bust the group rate bubble, but if you get your airfare and hotel together, you can save up to $30 per night. But that was for the most flexible schedule.

With a more desireable schedule, I could save around $10-20 a night.

I am still debating. I really want to go but I think I will wait to see what airfares do in January.


Per the video night comments: I too, was very tired at the end of the day last year and retired early.

I arrived late Friday night and missed most of the ice breaker so another chance to just sit around at chat would be fun.

Per Mike -

... every chaser and his cousin Joe Bob have a video they want to show

Those are the best ones though! Anyone remember last year's video of the guy who made his own probe? (No offense to you if you are reading this) They went to deploy it and the tornado turned so they backed up down the road picked it up again, and redeployed it, only to find themselves a little too close. Absolutely hilarious!

 

[Mike Peregrine]

Originally posted by Edward Ballou
Anyone remember last year's video of the guy who made his own probe?

There's a good convention idea ... a 'build your own probe' contest. Everyone could come up with the latest and greatest shapes and sizes, colors and functions for next year's turtles.

We could follow that by a probe-chucking contest ... whoever can throw one of Tim's turtles the furthest wins a free convention pass.

I think I know whose video Edward might be referring to ... I met up with a couple of guys from the Ozarks with their own probe last season. Their probes were a two man operation, though ... no way one person could deploy by himself.

 

[Jay McCoy]

As I recall last year there was actually some video being shown during the icebreaker. People standing around talking and watching the video. I agree maybe a few video sessions of 60-90 minutes spread through the weekend would help instead of a marathon.

I havent looked at the hotel setup this year. Will there be a bar or something similar to last year(gathering place) for the icebreaker or will it be in a meeting room? The more casual the better.

The guys with the probe..that was one of the funniest videos I have seen.