Well That Sucked

We had a major wind storm move through the area earlier today. It hit our house about 445 pm. A hellacious storm developed just north of here with 80 to 90 mph winds reported. It was bad enough that the city of Omaha sounded its tornado sirens, even though it was only straight line winds. Two weeks ago to the day, our new trees were planted in the back yard. I was worried whether they'd be able to withstand the wind. One fared OK, the other was blown down as the support straps gave way. Thankfully, the tree only got toppled over, pulling the whole root ball out of the ground. The top of the tree also looks like it's been permanently bent, and not sure it will ever recover. I was able to put the root ball back into the ground, but may have to have the nursery come back out and replant it. We didn't have any damage to the house though, and am thankful for that. Other's in Omaha weren't so lucky. There were thousands of trees down, a LOT of property damage, and about 126,000 people without power. Several homes were completely destroyed. All in all, I'm getting very tired of the extreme weather, and wouldn't mind the dog days of summer to commence.

Planting Trees in the Back Yard

I should have done this 5 years ago, but there was always something else that always had priority. Finally, this spring, I decided that I'd better get some trees planted before I wasted another 5 years of growth. We've got a really big back yard, and probably have room for 6 or 8 trees. I've thought a long time about what to plant, and wanted a combination of shade, fruit and flowering trees. Given that I've already given up 5 years of growth, I also wanted to spend a little bit more to get some really big trees.

In the end, I opted for a couple of Maple Northfire trees. They are 3" trees, and probably already 20 feet tall. They will make a nice barrier to the homes to our east. I also wanted to possibly get some trees that aren't common. I settled for an Aspen tree, an Elberta peach tree, 2 apple trees (Honeycrisp and Freedom), a Cleveland Select Pear, and 2 dwarf Lilac trees. The huge Maple trees are being planted by the nursery, and I've planted the others as time allows. When it's finished, it should look nice. I've kept the center of the yard open in hopes of someday putting a pool there. Ha. I can always dream. But, if I can't get a pool, a grand, tiered fountain surrounded by a courtyard, and a circle of rose bushes would be awesome. That's probably doable over the next few years. I'd also like to add a couple of cedar arbors here and there, get some climbing roses and ivy to cover them, along with a yard swing, and maybe a butterfly or humming bird garden sometime in the future too!

Ah, just lots more outdoor stuff to keep my busy over the next few years.

No Chase Today, But Enjoyed a Good Movie

As expected, I didn't chase the tornadoes today. I was just so tired when I woke up this morning, I decided to just head home. Plus, the storms were expected to fire in the same exact spot as yesterday, and some of the roads I was on were horribly bad with nothing but mud. I didn't want to put up with that again. In fact, there was an EF4 tornado that I missed, but I'm OK with that. I got home about 4pm and found out that my daughter was spending the night at a friend's house. At the last minute, we decided to go out for dinner then go to the new Indiana Jones Movie. So, it turned out to be an awesome day after all since I got to enjoy a great date with my wife. While we enjoyed the Crystal Skull movie, we're not sure it was a good as the previous Indy movies, in other words, it's probably not a movie we'd want to see over and over again. Plus, the story line was quite the stretch of the imagination, and the suspension of reality in several scenes was probably a little over the top. But, it was still a good movie with a few funny scenes too.

Bagged Another Tornado

Well, I did see another tornado today, near Grainfield, KS. It was a good, high-risk chase day, although I was awake for 30 straight hours. I had intended on getting an hour-or-two nap in somewhere on the road, but storms fired quicker than I thought. It was an elephant trunk tornado that I captured from the beginning to the end. It was beautiful! The number of chasers out on the roads was horrendous. Way to many people doing things they shouldn't have been doing, breaking traffic laws, and just overall being quite annoying. I guess there's no way around it though. At nightfall, I decided to call it a day, even though there were a couple of strong storms that were continuing that were producing tornadoes. I drove for about 2 hours in very heavy rain and winds of 50 to 60 mph. It was horrible. And, to make matters worse, I almost munched my wife's car in BIG hail twice. Ugh. That would have been bad. All in all, it was a fine day! There is another moderate risk of severe storms tomorrow, likely to be upgraded to a high risk as well. Although, I'm not going to chase it. I'll probably head home to get some rest since I'll have my own outbreak of severe weather to deal with Saturday and Sunday.

To Chase...Or Not

Well, my severe storm chase target for Thursday, May 22 really hasn't changed. The computer models are still indicating southwest Nebraska or northwest Kansas will be the best area to see anything good (tornadoes). But, since it's going to be such a big event, and since we're in the midst of many storm chaser's "chase"cations, I'm beginning to think it's going to be a zoo (circus) with so many people out and about. Plus, with gas now getting dangerously close to $4/gallon, perhaps I need to rethink this plan. On the one hand, I could easily not chase the event and watch it from the comfort of my home, while eating some pizza and drinking a beer. Plus, I'm sure someone will be streaming the storms live from their cars too. And, it's not like I haven't seen tornadoes before, in fact, I've seen many, many tornadoes. But, on the flip side, if something big happens and I missed it, not because of prior work or family obligations, but because I decided to just stay home and save the hassle and be lazy, I'd be extremely upset. Dilemma, dilemma. Plus, this could really be my last big chase for awhile, do I really want to give that up? Friday will also be a big day, and I'd almost hate to give up two good chaseable days.

Love, Love, Love My Car

Did I mention that I love my car? LOL! Honestly, it's great, and there are so many features that I really appreciate. Those HID headlights are awesome at night. I always curse when I see them on someone else's car because they are so bright, but they make a huge difference and really light up the highway much more than standard lights. I hooked up my phone via Bluetooth this evening, so now I can make and receive phone calls through my car. How cool is that? I can also hook up my Ipod and play music through the Bose 264W, 9-speaker stereo system. Awesome! The smart key (with accompanying push button start) is really the bomb. Still got 25 mpg on this last tank of gas, so perhaps that might be the average. Really, there are only 2 features that seem to be lacking (versus our Honda Accord), and that's power passenger seats, and automatic locks when you lock the driver door. Also, I'm finding that it will be incredibly hard to keep the Majestic Blue clean. When it's freshly washed, it's absolutely gorgeous. But about 10 seconds after that, it really starts to show the dust. Ah, lesson learned I guess. When I get a new car in 10 years, I won't go so dark. Oh well, if that's all I've got to complain about, life is good.

Storm Chasing...Hmm, I Just Can't Give It Up

Well, after considerable thought, I just can't quite storm chasing cold turkey. It's like a drug. Quitting cold is hard to do. So, I've made a couple of concessions, but am willing to take my wife's older car out for chase trips, but would be even more judicious about what I'd drive into. I never trashed my old beater car when I was storm chasing, so no reason to believe I'd trash my wife's car. And, if it comes right down to it, I'd certainly back off it meant that I'd be putting the car in jeopardy. Plus, I do have the technology available to know where the storm is, where it's moving to, and where the most dangerous part of the core might be.

For me, it's not so much about getting into the core of the storm, but just getting out on the open road to see a few sites and to glimpse what Mother Nature has to offer. I don't particularly enjoy driving long distances or traveling on gravel/dirt roads when the chase is on, but just like to get out of the city.

It looks like storms will fire on the high plains later this week. I do have chase opportunities on both Thursday and Friday of this week before I have to be back at work on Saturday. Right now, it looks like southwest Nebraska or northwest Kansas for Thursday, May 22, then again in perhaps western Kansas Thursday.

Window Tint is Great

The window tinting on my new car turned out great. There still are a couple of water bubbles, but hopefully, the next few warm days will iron those out. All in all, I'm very pleased with the new car. The first tank of gas averaged 25 mpg, so hopefully once it gets broken in, I can boost that up just a bit.

Catching Up

Well, indeed, my alternator on my old car was replaced last week and I was soon on my way. I did do a bit of storm chasing in western Kansas, but it was all "crap"vection, and nothing really interesting ever presented itself. Driving home Tuesday, I debated about whether I wanted to get a new car now, or try to nurse the old car along. I also debated on possibly starting to finish our basement. In the end, the idea of a new car won out. On my way home through Lincoln, I stopped at the Nissan dealership and talked shop for a bit. After driving a 2008 Altima 3.5SL, and then talking money, after about 3 hours, I walked out with a new car. Going in, I told myself that if I could get them down to the invoice price, I'd buy it on the spot. Well, they came down to $49 above invoice which was close enough to not pass up the deal. Woohoo! Who knew that buying a car could be so easy!

Last Wednesday, I went to work. I got off at 4pm and thought since it was such a nice day that I'd clean up my old car and get it ready to sell. I washed and vacuumed it, then placed an ad on Craig's List around 630 pm. By 815 pm, it was sold. It all happened so fast that it left me without transportation the next day since I couldn't pick up the new car until Thursday evening. It was almost comical.

On Thursday, I picked up the new car, and man is it sweet. I'm so happy I almost can't contain myself. The new car is smokin hot. It's a V6 with 270 horsepower. Definitely more than I need, but I'm at the point in my life where a little excess is OK. It has a low growl when you fire it up, has a smart key with a push button start, high intensity xenon headlights, and just all-around a hot car. It's totally awesome and I'm very pleased with how it all has turned out.

The only casualty will be my storm-chasing hobby. Unfortunately, I'm not going to drive a brand new car on dirt roads into a supercell thunderstorm. Initially I was a little bummed about that, but now, a week later, I'm OK with that. Storm chasing was fun while it lasted, but it's almost as if, "I've been there and done that" as I've seen some incredible sights. So, in the end, I get a new car and can go out on a personal high.

I'm getting the windows tinted today, which should complete the package. I was going to add a rear spoiler, but believe I'll let that go and just enjoy the ride.

Sitting in a Familiar Spot

Well, here I sit in the automotive repair shop, awaiting a diagnosis on my car, in anticipation of a chase day. I was hoping to catch a few storms on my way home through western Kansas today, but first have to get my car repaired.

Yesterday, after letting the car sit, it started just fine, not once, but 4 times. It did finally die though, so I'm guessing the alternator has flaked out. I'm not very comfortable with getting car repairs so far from home, but have no choice. It's not like I can band-aid it to make the 600 mile trip home.

So, after they get the battery charged, they'll be able to run a diagnostic on the alternator and hopefully in a couple of hours, I will be on my way.

I did have an awesome trip to Colorado. I went to a Cinco De Mayo Party, had lunch with my brother, sister, niece, and their families, and just enjoyed a great day.

Quick Trip to Colorado

I decided to take a quick trip to Colorado today to see my brother and sister. Also, I'm setting myself up for one more storm chase in western Kansas on Monday on the way home, so it just made sense to drive out to Colorado in the meantime for a visit.

The drive out was OK, although it was a comedy of errors the entire trip. I got a late start leaving Omaha as I realized I forgot to send 50th birthday cards to my brothers! Happy birthday guys! Then, I realized I only had 1 stamp, but had 2 cards to send. So, I had to stop and gets stamps too. I decided to stop in Kearney to get some lunch, but had to go to the bathroom first. There was only 1 person in line at the Subway, so I thought it would be OK. Upon exiting the bathroom, a family of 11 (3 adults and 8 kids) were now in line. Ugh, it took 30 minutes to get sandwiches made for that brood. By the time I got my sandwich, I was torked. Needless to say, since I was running late, I hit the road. Because of the high gas prices, the truckers seemed to have slowed down to 60 to 65. I guess they're just trying to save a little money by driving a little slower. That's not a problem, unless you get stuck in a convoy and get past them. I got stuck in 3 separate convoys throughout the day. It was only slightly annoying. Plus, I was on a deadline and had to be at my brother's house by 5pm. Time was running low. Then, about 50 miles outside of Colorado Springs, my battery light came on. Damn. I guess the alternator probably blew. This happened just outside of Simla, CO, and I was too worried about the battery light to realize that I had gone from 65 to 55 to 45 to 35 in the span of about 2 blocks. So, I got pulled over for doing 60 in a 35. I pleaded with the officer that I had a "legitimate" excuse, even though he's probably heard it hundreds of times. Funny thing, he actually believed me. We popped the hood to make sure the belt was on, it was, and he said to get going. I was very thankful that he understood. It's a bad feeling to have your car break down hundreds of miles from home.

So, after a very eventful day, I arrived at my brother's house on a wing and a prayer. The battery died about 2 miles from his house, and I literally coasted onto his street.

It's always something with that car. Well, with almost 170,000 miles, what else would you expect. I guess I shouldn't get so bent out of shape when the car breaks down, I've sure experienced my fair share of them. You have to have transportation, there's nothing else you can do "but" repair the car. I'm beginning to think more and more that now is the right time to get a new car. I was trying to nurse this one along for as long as possible, but it's becoming an increasingly difficult challenge.

What a Great Storm Chase

Yesterday was such a roller-coaster of emotions. After spending most of the day at the repair shop trying to fix my car, I was pretty upset that I'd missed a big storm chasing opportunity. I did finally get on the road by 345 pm and chased storms up by Sioux City. I wasn't hoping for much, but at least wanted to salvage part of the day. Actually, I ended up chasing an EF2 monster of tornado. I actually got some great video and some awesome pictures. So, after going from a low of dealing with my car repair, I was soon experiencing something that I've never seen before, and also reaching an ultimate high. Wow, what a great day afterall. And, I wouldn't have captured that tornado if the sequence of events didn't happen as it did, so perhaps it was fate that I spent most of the day on the sidelines. I've got a review of the chase here.

We Just Lost the Moon

That's a quote from Apollo 13, after the astronauts realized that they weren't going to be able to land on the moon. That's exactly how I feel. I'm still sitting in the service center at 130 pm, with work still being done on my car. The IAT sensor was bad, so they replaced that. But, it didn't fix the problem with the car. Then they thought it must be the ignition module since the crank shaft sensor wasn't throwing any codes. That didn't solve the problem, and they finally got the crank shaft sensor to fail. So, am finally waiting for that part to arrive. But, it's too late for reaching my chase target in southeast Kansas where a big event will likely occur later this evening. I'm about 6 hours away, and at this point, even if I left right now, I'd be arriving likely after things were already popping. Storms will continue well after dark, but chasing after dark doesn't have the reward for me. So, I feel like I've just lost the moon. I know it's not the end of the world, but it's also very frustrating at the same time. There is still some potential here, perhaps in northeast Nebraska, but it's certainly not going to be as impressive of a show as the southern target. But, as I said before, I really didn't want to be stranded hundreds of miles from home either with a car that wouldn't start.

Car Acting Up Again

Well, it's been awhile, but my car started acting up again yesterday. It wouldn't start at the mall, but it eventually did. Last night, it wouldn't start at Menards, but it eventually did. So, this morning, I decided to get the fuel filter replaced (it needed it anyhow). That didn't help, and it wouldn't start after that. So, there's a new problem developing. Three years ago, I had to have the crank shaft position sensor replaced, and I wonder if this isn't the same problem. I'm sitting at Tuffy's now having it diagnosed. It could also be an ignition coil, who knows. But, I was also heading out today to do some storm chasing, and having a car that won't start is not a good thing if a supercell is bearing down on your position, or getting stuck in the middle of nowhere hundreds of miles from home.

Date Night

Our daughter headed off to Outdoor Education today so we had a free evening tonight. We decided to go out for dinner to Red Lobster (haven't been there in a long time). Then, we went to the movie "21", which was about the MIT students who tried to beat Vegas a few years ago. It was a good movie, and a great evening out with my wife!

Third Mowing of the Season

Well, the third mowing of the season is under wraps. Another 200 gallons of yard clippings. Wow, can't believe my yard is growing so much. Well, the lower notch on the mower helps too! I emptied the mower bag 34 times today. Basically the same as last time, one pass down the yard and about half way back and I'd have to empty the bag. On about half of those dumpings, the blade was bound up with clippings, so I'd have to tilt the mower up to dig them out. The yard looks pretty good though. There's still a lot of dead thatch though, really wishing I would have gotten the chance to dethatch earlier this year. So, the yard, when mowed, still looks a little yellow due to the dead thatch. But, it looks great when the grass grows over it.

On a side note, my landscaper came late last week and remulched the beds. It looks great! It was a little pricey, just over $200, but it saved me the hassle of getting the mulch and doing it myself. I don't have a truck anymore to get it, so would have had to pay a delivery fee anyway. Money well spent, since I didn't really have the time to get it done.

I also got my sprinkler system fixed. Indeed, the backflow valve had broken. That repair was $85, but no way to avoid it. Things break, and if you don't fix it, you can't use it.

Storm Chasing

A couple of days ago on April 24th, I had the opportunity to do some storm chasing in northwest Kansas. I had the day off from work, and thought if something did develop in my own area, I wouldn't be needed. I left home around 1030 am, after a fitful night's sleep the night before. I guess I was just giddy about the first chase of the season. All data continued to point to severe development across southwest Nebraska or northwest Kansas. There was some debate among chasers that southern Kansas would be the hotspot. Indeed, the weather parameters were off the charts there, but alas, it remained capped, and nothing happened down there.

I arrived in Arapahoe, NE by mid afternoon, about 4 hours in advance of anticipated development. This was also the first chance I had to use my new data connection through Alltel. It worked great. Upon arrival, I analyzed the mesoanalysis data for about an hour, and decided that I needed to shift further south toward, Norton, KS. Upon arriving in Norton, KS, I waited for another hour, and started to drive to Hill City, KS, but stopped and decided to head west. This proved to be the right choice as I intercepted the second warned cell of the day, which would eventually develop into a moster supercell that would roll eastward across Kansas for the next 5 to 6 hours.

I encountered a couple of hail cores, both about 1" in diameter, and also was able to position myself directly under the wall cloud. It was very cool. I also was blasted with rear flank downdraft winds in excess of 60 mph, which created a horrendous amount of blowing dust. I also heard this weird, howling sound, which was likely the RFD, but it almost sounded as if a sound engineer were somehow adding the sound effects from Twister.

After chasing the supercell storm for about an hour, darkness fell, and I realized I couldn't see the character of the dirt roads anymore. I couldn't tell if they were wet or dry, couldn't see the ruts, etc. I attribute this to my recent LASIK surgery. I may never have "good" nighttime vision again I'm afraid. So, I decided to get back onto paved roads and follow the storm east. The storm actually followed Highway 24 exactly, so was able to follow behind one or two miles for another couple of hours.

By late evening, I was very tired, and decided to let the storm go. In another one to two hours, it produced a 15 mile long tornado after midnight. I doubt I would have been able to follow it as it veered off the main highway, given my poor nighttime eyesight.

All in all, it was a great day. I put about 825 miles on the car, had a great chase opportunity, and overall had an awesome time. My equipment worked well, and I estimate that I had a cell phone data connection 95% of the day. The new mobile computer desk worked great. I do need to gery-rig some supports to keep the laptop from sliding off, but that's an easy fix.

Sigh, I'm Still Fat

After working very hard over the previous 7 months, having lost 43 lbs, I realized today that I'm still fat. My body fat percentage is still in the lower 20s despite my best efforts to make it go any lower. I still have love handles that hang over the side of my shorts, and I have moobs' (man boobs). Overall, I've reduced my clothing size from a size 36/38 to a size 31/33 and have lost 43 lbs, but I've still got the same old trouble spots that I had before, it's just that they're in slightly different proportions, but nevertheless still there. Needless to say, it was a real downer. I guess I just need to accept the fact that I'll never be that buff dude that is smokin' hot. I never have been, so not sure why I've got this delusion that I ever would be.

Nothing is Ever Easy

I dusted off my bicycle last night in hopes of getting out and getting some great exercise. The tires were flat, and the batteries were dead on the tail light and the cyclo computer. I did have new batteries, but the screws were so small in the Specialized Elite computer that I had to go to the store to buy a jeweler's set. Thankfully, it was only 94 cents at Walmart. LOL. But, one of the screws is set so tight, I've stripped the heads. Damn. Now I'm stuck, and have no way to get that stupid screw out. Ugh. Nothing is ever easy.

I also got a call from the guy that aerates my yard each spring and fall. He's coming tomorrow so I had to flag the sprinkler heads so he doesn't run them over. Typically, I just run the sprinklers on each zone for a couple minutes so I can drop the flags. This was the first time I've opened up the valves this year, and upon doing so, saw a huge stream of water flowing down the check back-flow valve. Crap. Have to get it replaced. I have no idea (let alone time) how to replace it, so will call the sprinkler guys tomorrow to get them out for a service call. Nothing is ever easy.

Then, after walking in the house, my wife said she couldn't access the part of her website that sends out her weekly newsletter. Upon some quick debugging, it appears my web provider is having trouble with their MySQL server. I opened a trouble ticket, but they have no idea when it will be fixed. Nothing is ever easy.

And, I've been having a tooth ache off and on for the last month. The pain is actually coming from the tooth that I had the root canal and subsequent crown put on at the beginning of the year. It must be referred pain from the tooth next to it, so I need to call the dentist to have it check. Nothing is ever easy.

The moral of the story? I guess Murphy was right. If there's any chance that something can go wrong, it usually will.

Hate, Hate, Hate Yard Work

The saga continues today. After getting off work at 4pm, I decided to get the remainder of the yard work done this evening since it might rain tomorrow. I quickly regretted lowering my mower one notch, as I had to literally change the back with each single pass through the yard. My back yard is about 100 feet out, and the bag was full of clippings at the end of a single pass. Yowza, that was a lot of work. When I normally mow my yard, I'll create about 100 gallons of clippings. Tonight, about 200 gallons were produced. And, with every bag dump, I had to flip the mower up to clean out the grass that was binding the mower blade. Ugh. It was a horrible job.

Then, I decided to move re-arrange my reed grass. I moved 4 clumps from the back yard to a huge bed I have in the front yard. It previously had 3 clumps, but now it has 7. I need to grab 2 more clumps from the side of the house. This was no easy job. The reed grass is 5 years old, and about 18" in diameter. I had to dig up the clump, then carry it to the front yard. Each bunch weighed about 75lbs. And, I had to relocated the existing 3 bunches in the front yard. Needless to say, it was a LOT of work, and I'm not done. But, it should improve that bed in the long run.