This will probably be the last one of these I order, but I do want to collect some more commemorative stuff. I wonder if they're minting coins, like they did for the bicentennial. I still have a few of those somewhere around here.
Anyway, I also ordered another garden flag.
I'll need to pick up a hanger when I go to Walmart next, and I think I'm going to hang this one in my fairy garden. Which is looking very nice, by the way.
The flag will look right nice in that front right corner, I think. What say you, Gentle Reader?
Speaking of my garden, look! My little tomato is really coming on like gangbusters.
Putting it into the big garden was exactly the right move. It hasn't hurt that we've gotten more than 1 1/2" of rain over the last 24 hours, and have more to come. In fact, it's raining right now. It won't be enough to relieve the drought, but it will ease my water bill just a bit.
While we're on the subject, I watched that new show on Discovery Channel, In The Eye Of The Storm: Chasers. It was pretty interesting. All of the footage was shot by storm chasers -- in this episode, it was in South Dakota sometime last year. I'm telling you, that highway looked like a dadgum parking lot from all of the storm chasers out there.
The next morning, one of the local guys posted this on his Facebook:
Every one of those red dots is a storm chaser. (He also said this is why he pretty much sticks to Dixie Alley to chase -- and besides that, it's home.) A few moments later, I saw a post from another chaser -- I can't remember who it was -- that said in the storm that passed in Nebraska a few days ago, there were more than 7000 storm chasers on the ground. That's astounding. I didn't even know there were that many chasers.
This morning, Kenny Shenk posted this:
Category 1: The Serious Chasers.
The last thing I got was a garment bag for Brennan's wedding dress, which I need to go put into it and hang it up.
I don't really have a dog in this fight, but still, it seems to have gotten completely out of hand. These days, literally anyone with a car and a cell phone can call himself a storm chaser and get in on the action. It's kind of the in thing right now.
It kind of got me to thinking. Now, what I'm about to say is completely my own opinion, based strictly on anecdotal evidence from what I have seen myself.
It seems to me that storm chasers fit into one of three categories -- though there can be some overlap.
Category 1: The Serious Chasers.
These are the ones who actually have meteorology degrees, or who have at least taken some meteorology classes at an accredited university or studied in non-traditional ways -- such as online courses.
Point is, they're educated in the science of weather. They've studied. They've learned. They have all the equipment to collect scientific data. Many of them have an affiliation with local TV stations or with the NWS and send information in to them. Or they're partnered with someone like Ryan Hall or Max Velocity. They're serious about this stuff. Unlike those in
Category 2: The Thrill Seekers
The thrill seekers can be divided into a few sub-categories, the first of which is the adrenaline junkies. These are people who put themselves into dangerous situations to get that rush of adrenaline -- much like those who jump off cliffs or free climb or whatever. They're in it for the excitement, not for the science. These are the dangerous ones, the most likely to get killed or get someone else killed because they don't know what they're doing.
By the way, if you hear someone saying he's a "certified storm spotter," that doesn't mean a blame thing. Anyone can become a "certified storm spotter." I'M a certified storm spotter. You, too, can become a certified storm spotter. All you have to do is go to the NWS website and take the online class. It's about an hour long. When you're done, they'll send you a PDF you can print off, frame, and hang above your fire place. Wood stove. Whatever...
The second sub-category is those who want to be heroes. They want the attention, the pats on the back, the glory that comes from helping someone out of the rubble of a destroyed house, or taking someone to a local hospital. Oh, don't get me wrong. Serious chasers do this, too, but they don't do it for the attention. They do it because it's the right thing to do. To be a decent human being.
The next sub-category is the know it all, who just wants to one up everyone with his superior knowledge about updrafts and convective currents and what not. They watched a few Ryan Hall videos and memorized the jargon, and toss it out like candy at a Christmas parade. They're the most annoying ones, in my opinion.
The final subcategory is the content creators. These are the ones who are in it for the likes or click or views or whatever. They're after the little dopamine hits they get when they get that notification that someone liked their post or video. Again, they're not serious about the science. They're serious about themselves. Unlike those in
Category 3: Reed Timmer.
There is no need to say more. The man is in a class by himself.
Some people are saying there should be more regulation on storm chasers, but I don't know if that's the answer. I don't see how you can tell someone not to follow his dream if that's what he wants to do. At the same time, something needs to be done. I wouldn't know what, though.
I'll bet you never knew there was so much drama in the weather community, did you?
OK, back to my Amazon order. I needed new coffee, so I got this.
The last thing I got was a garment bag for Brennan's wedding dress, which I need to go put into it and hang it up.
I guess I've chuntered on enough for today, so I'll stop boring you with my drivel.
I have an idea that I might regret later on. And that idea is, YOU come up with a topic you want to hear my opinion on. Just not politics. I try to keep politics off the blog for the most part, so let's avoid that topic.
Anything else is fair game. Almost.
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