So, for most of the world who isn't obsessed with tornadoes and storm chasing, you may not have heard about the controversial event that occurred on Wednesday (5/19).  Ok, now I'll assume that you may be familiar with the Discovery Channel show, "Storm Chasers", that has had three rather successful seasons, all of which I have watched.  My dad and I have always been intrigued by Sean Casey, and his TIV, Tornado Intercept Vehicle.  And even as I watched the show, I recognized the recklessness of this individual and his disregard for science. 

Joshua Wurman, of the CSWR (Center for Severe Weather Research), has always been the scientist behind the TIV on "Storm Chasers", telling Sean where to go, so that he can get his money shot for his IMAX movie, many years in the making.  Wurman issued a statement today about how the TIV is not at all associated with the VORTEX2 project, that is occurring through the beginning of June.  This was in response to a video posted on YouTube that shows the TIV and his crew driving recklessly.

See the video here:
The final vehicle in the armada has a CSWR decal on it, which Wurman made sure to state was not an authorized vehicle. 

There has been a lot of critical discussion in the last 48 hours since the event occurred.  Other folks have come out concerning the recklessness of inexperienced chasers, as well as chasers who do it for the thrill, and not for
science.  Experienced forecasters and chasers are saying that the main danger of chasing right now is other chasers, not the storms themselves.  As much as I would love to be out there chasing, I know to do it intelligently.  There are too many unprofessional chasers out there who don't know what they are doing and being completely unsafe and potentially endangering others.

I have no idea how to prevent this from happening, or how to regulate those on the road.  Except to continue to stress the safety impacts that inexperienced chasers can bring to the table.  And to cancel shows like "Storm Chasers".  Yes, its great entertainment, but its also encouraging people to pursue severe weather in an unsafe manor.  The Weather Channel and all sources of media in
general, need to stop the superfluous coverage that attracts thrill-seekers.

My dream is to one day chase tornadoes in the Midwest.  I just hope that whatever comes from this weeks events doesn't hinder me from reaching my goal.  I'd love to hear anyone's opinions on this occurrence, and I can provide you to any further links/information.  Have a great day.
 
Today was the first REAL day of summer field projects (EFP) today, for me anyway.  I have "class" Tuesday - Thursday, with a mandatory 8am meeting every Monday morning.  The days are scheduled from 8am - 5pm each day, and how much of that time is used is determined by the professor in charge.

My schedule is as follows:
     Tuesday -- Mr. Splitt -- Precipitation
     Wednesday -- Dr. Lazarus -- Dune Meteorology
     Thursday -- Dr. Irlandi -- Beach Renourishment Effects

So today, we started out at 9am and had a one-hour brainstorming session.  We were broken up into two groups, one to design a horizontal rain gauge and the second (my group) to design a sand-transport gauge, which basically collects sand as the wind blows to determine the general movement and transport of the surface sands at the beach.  We came up with designs and headed to Home Depot, where, two and a half hours later, we came away with the necessary items to build our devices.  (Though our design had changed DRASTICALLY.) 

We then headed back to school, took a lunch break, and began building after lunch.  I'll make sure to take pictures of our finished design tomorrow and in the days to come, as we need to make some adjustments to it.  We are taking it out for a trial run tomorrow.

Here is the collection part of the apparatus.  They are made out of a plastic section of rain gutter, with an adapter in one end, and the other end ducktaped closed, in order to hold the sand.  Unfortunately, they are also fun to play with...
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They will be held in place in the four cardinal directions on a 2ft x 2ft wooden board.  We sent it downstairs to get the necessary holes drilled into it, and it managed to take several hours because of a couple of screwups, such as needing new blades for the jigsaw cutter...  So with nothing to do for a long period of time, Splitt gave us something to do- calibrating the rain gauges that the school owns.

First, we had to do a calculation to determine how much an inch of water would be in the rain gauge, then put water in and determine the actual amount and compare it to our calculated value. 

The following picture shows Skyler pouring water in the 8inch diameter gauge to calibrate it.
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So, all-in-all, today was actually really fun.  Hands-on research and work is fun, and so far I'm really enjoying it, even though I like to complain because its often times boring, takes a long time, and the end result isn't always what you were hoping for.  I just hope the rest of the summer is as enjoyable as today was.

Anywho, Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals tonight; I BELIEVE IN MAGIC!!!  Have a great day.
 
Hello All,

So I've never really blogged before, but I decided to do it as entertainment this summer since I'm going to be bored a lot, well at least in the next few weeks.  And anyone who chooses to follow this, can keep up with me a little bit.

Yesterday I moved into my summer residence...and well, its not very appealing, pretty, exciting, or clean.  I have at least one roommate as far as I know (I think one moved out last night, but I have NO IDEA.)  I'm also the closest to being completely on my own as I was when I started at Florida Tech.  Oh, and there's no cable.  Which means Sarah can't watch sports, or any tv for that matter.  Oh, and the Eastern Conference Finals are happening right now (GO MAGIC!).  So it's fun...not.

My room is still a work in progress, though I'm not sure that I'm going to really unpack anything else, unless I need something in particular. 

Here's a couple of pics:
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My bed
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Ignore the huge pile of crap to the left of the desk...the girl I'm renting the room from didn't COMPLETELY move out.
To sum up the basis of this post:  I'm bored and lonely.  I desperately miss my friends and family who aren't in Melbourne.  One in particular who is going through some trying times, and I worry that I'm bothering on the rare occasion I get to talk to him.  But, as the saying goes, I must "press on regardless."

Expect sports, music, and weather analysis to come!  Have a great day.