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Hello,

       My name is Bill, Some people think I'm a dare-devil, some think I have subconcious control issues,  some people think I'm plain crazy, but my confession is that chasing tornados isn't something I do by choice; I learned to accept and admit that my life had become unmanageable both to myself, and those close to me due to this compulsion. I came to believe, and admit to myself that I don't have control over my behaviour, and have given things up to my Higher Power, the mighty Nimbus.  I chase my storms one day at a time, and like the rest of us joined together here today (in this roadway overpass alcove) apply the serenity prayer to my compulsion.. and have come to realize that the answer my friend is blowing in the wind, the answer is blowing in the wind   

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Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".

Kappy you are an endearing nut...no fluff, no flirt, no bull

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"Be who you are and say what you feel... Because those that matter... Don't mind...And those that mind... Don't matter."

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Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".

Actually Kappy that's probably not too far from the truth - well, that is based on how one interprets some of what you said above. Then again, there is a lot that isn't true either.

Fundamentally I chase because I love the beauty of nature, and the dynamics and change of the atmosphere i.e. weather. I became interested in chasing after enjoying thunderstorms at home when I was a teen while living in the beautiful Austin Hill Country. It was more of a peaceful, harmony type thing. I got a bit addicted and eventually wanted to see what happened when the storms went over the hill or the next county. I wondered what I was missing. So eventually I just decided to follow. Somehow I got addicted to rare, severe weather. A supercell is fairly rare, and a tornado is much rarer, strong tornadoes are much rarer still. There are immense and amazing dynamics in supercell storms, and almost none look alike. Some are very beautiful. Take a look at some of Mike Hollingsheads photos. He shoots a lot more than me even though we chase about the same amount. Mike has some beautiful stuff, and sometimes the skyscapes and landscapes appear as though you are on an alien world.
http://www.extremeinstability.com/2004.htm

Here's a poem I wrote about chasing:
http://www.tornadoxtreme.com/Chase_Insp ... chase.html

Here is a link to my 'About' page that, toward the bottom describes how I got interested in chasing and my background.
http://www.tornadoxtreme.com/About___/about___.html

Oh PS: For me it really isn't about being a dare devil or taking risks. I love life, and am not trying to kill myself. I also have no desire to be seriously injured or maimed. I just love storms. It is a bit of an addiction, and it gets into you almost like a drug, like many other things. For many people it can take over your life, like any other addiction. I also have no desire to see things such as people or homes destroyed, it isn't about love of destruction although tornadoes are amazingly destructive, they are also unworldly and amazingly beautiful. As my friend Gene says...'It's about the clouds'.

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The Truth Is Out There

I'm here for you Bill !   Don't worry, Drugs and Alcohol were the EXACT same thing for me,  I too needed to see beauty, and experience "peace and harmony".  In fact,  I didn't even have to leave my room to see how amazing nature can be !    Somehow one thing led to another, like yourself, I got addicted too  :(   A lot of super cells came and went. Too much chasing and wetness eventually rotted the Belfry Tower.  Funny thing is between chasing, and shooting I felt as though I was on an alien world, Weird thing is people even looked at me as though *I* was the alien !

I'm here for you, and remember ONE DAY AT A TIME !  I have to admit, I do miss that "above the clouds" stuff though.

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Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".

Thanks Stephen. Nice to know there's someone I can count on when the chips are down.

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The Truth Is Out There

Bill, what's interesting about this (and I apologise to Eben for taking his post OT, we might want to consider this on a different thread however), is that everybody has a different threshhold of what gets their adrenaline going.  While some folks love to BASE jump, others can't tolerate the flooding of adrenaline they get JUST by crossing a bridge let alone jumping from one.  We all have different tolerances of whats exciting, over-stimulating (to the point of panic), and "fun".  While you find Tornado's fascinating, and look for them when there's a watch. Others become petrified and go into a storm shelter praying the storm is no place near, or no place that it can be heard or seen.. Just interesting differences in brain chemistry and body chemistry.  Some need to go to amusements parks and go on wild rides to get a "rush",  others get so carsick going into just a car as a passenger, they don't. Some can go into space in a small capsule,  others freak just going into an elevator, or closed in area.

I'd love to see an HONEST polling of what percentage of people in here WOULD in fact be willing to storm chase even with an experienced person assuming they knew actual risk statistics (which I don't). Such as

Would you chase and look for Tornado's ?

1)  No Way, I hide under the bed when I see one on Television
2)  Yes, I have enough confidence in my vehicle to outrun one if I see it
3)  Yes, but only with an experienced guide and a bottle of Valium
4)  Maybe, Don't really know
5)  Yes, for a million dollars


 Like you, I am absolutely fascinating with certain natural phenom.  I lack the guts to get close to it however.

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Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".

That's very true Stephen that we all have our levels of comfort, and thresholds of safety and desire. In fact, even our individual levels and thresholds change throughout our lives. Your words remind me of a song by John Denver - 'Children of the Universe', and the line "Some will never leave the nest, while some walk on the moon". Here are the words to 'Children of the Universe'.

A heritage of vision
Was given to us all
To smell the roses fragrance
To hear the songbirds call
To watch the distant moonlight fill
The coming of the tides
To understand that life is more
Than always choosing sides

And some have seen what can be seen
Of sailing ships and kings
And some are given feet of clay
And some are given wings
And some must struggle just to breathe
Some have a golden spoon
And some will never leave the nest
While some walk on the moon

And dont you know the life that lives
Within the silent hills
Is just as rich and beautiful
And just as unfulfilled
As man with all his intellect
His reason and his choice
Oh, whos to say the nightingale
Has any less a voice

The silver dolphins twist and dance
And sing to one another
The cosmic ocean knows no bounds
For all that lives are brothers
The whippoorwill, the grizzly bear
The elephant, the whale
All children of the universe
All weavers of the tale

So palomino lie back down
And dream yourself to sleep
The hawk flies with the morning dove
The lion with the sheep
As far away as you may go
Well never be apart
Its in your dreams that you will know
The seasons of the heart

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The Truth Is Out There

Back to Eben.... I'm sure I could confess on a number of occasions I've scared the crap out of myself.  LMAO I even have video to back it up, and why.

Would others confess they want to chase? I suspect most people could care less about the sky, the clouds, and weather. They would rather spend their time at the mall, or golfing, or hanging out with friends and family.

I like to do a lot of everything. Maybe I just get bored easy, and want to see what this life has to offer.

As for chasing, keep in mind (at least for me), that there is a lot more to it than appears on the surface. Chasing ties together many hobbies, interests, and activities. I've learned about severe weather and making my own forecasts, meteorology, videography, photography, auto mechanics, computers, and computer applications, navigation and map reading. You also experience many different types of geography and get to see a lot of different types of countryside, and towns - as well as various local cuisine. There is also the work of warning, and saving lives by calling in severe / tornadic events. As well as the social aspect of meeting and interacting with other chasers, and the public. Some chasers are also heavy into Ham radio. I've probably missed some stuff here, but most would admit that any of these subjects could take up all of a persons time to cover it in depth. Since I am interested in so many of these things, that is one reason it is addictive to me. One of my favorite aspects is being able to look at graphs, numbers, and charts days in advance of an event and predict / pick a spot for supercells and tornadoes to develop, and then actually go there before any of it occurs and see it all happen from a few wisps of vapor in the sky.

So I guess that is another confession.  :dancin: Sorry Eben wrong site for confessions I know.

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The Truth Is Out There

Hey guys, I have no problems with threadjacking. This has turned in to an interesting subject. Keep it up.

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Seize the day and SING!!!

Back to yet another side subject.

Gilly, I got my laptop finally. It took like 3 weeks to ship fromm Canada to here because of some customs problems.

Well, first of all I do love the laptop. However, it has French keyboard! The seller never said anything about it. They keyboard layout is different than English keyboard, not just letter differences. Not sure what I am going to do about it though. I may just buy an English keyboard and replace it myself, another $100 for that.

Then the seller lost the original discs! So, now I can't reformat the drive for a clean start. She can't find it so she said she will try to order it from Apple. The problem is some of the application she has reverts the OS to French. I can't read French well enough to use it.

Oh well, still it's a nice laptop.

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Seize the day and SING!!!

OK,  now back to the psychology topic  LOL


Do you folks recall early on in school learning about the 3 central types of conflict



Man vs. Self-        One person either/or conflicts. Double-blind situation.
Man vs. Nature-   (maybe Society lumped here too)-dealing with difficult situation
Man vs. Man-        Conflict between protagonist/antagonist.




Dealing with my own issues, and other people is all consuming for me.  Not sure if taking on nature would be a reprieve, or taking on too much (if not both).  Nature is pretty big.. People, and my own head keep me occupied enough.  :shock:

"taking on" might be getting to undestand, by getting as close as possible to topic of awed-fascination.  It need not be throw a lasso around the twister and bring her down !

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Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".

Hey Steven, if I sent you a webcam, would you be interested in being a regular contributor to the web site? I like the way you think and I think you would make an excellent commentator on life in general.

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Seize the day and SING!!!

Eben,  I have two cams.  One in my music studio, and the other on this desktop system.  The "Kappy-Kam" hasn't been getting much use as of late,  (confession coming)~ my self-esteem hasn't been the greatest the past few years.  I WOULD however be happy to participate anyway that is helpful on your site.  If Cam is what you prefer (and of course I can certainly understand this) let me give it some thought.  If you feel there's any other way I can assist at present, please feel free to let me know.   I'd be quite happy to assist you (although software and computereze isn't a great language for me, I'm just not good at programming).  

I'm just somewhat shy at this stage, and reticent regarding putting my "puss" in public view..  Sort've a fear that somebody might hang it on their wall as a means of scaring out even the most ominous of spirits.  (and I won't receive royalties per exorcism)

Seriously however,  let me think about the Cam thing, it'd likely be a good thing for me... Regarding the other offer, it stands..   I would be happy to assist you anyway I can regarding foot-work, bird-dogging possible talent, or you name it !  Whatever you believe would be an asset !  I have some time, not much, but enough I believe to help in some way.

(come to think of it,  putting a bag over my head might add some character to your site too)  :drinklaugh:



Once again,  I think you for the compliment.  Quite honestly,  I'd like to be spending more time living it, and less time analyzing it  LMAO

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Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".

I'd like to see my friends here in KS be very successful, and would be happy to help most that have goals.   (This doesn't mean I randomly write checks for hundred's of bucks, so those reading this.. Don't even think about it )*


*asking my definition of the term *random* will not likely be helpful for those making the inquiry*  

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Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".

yep I am walking proof of the generosity of "kappy the wealthy" he donated me 5000 points I am rich beyond my wildest dreams

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"Be who you are and say what you feel... Because those that matter... Don't mind...And those that mind... Don't matter."

I printed my points out, and brought them to CVS.  Damn pharmacy wouldn't take them when I needed to pay for my medication  :(

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Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".

Well, Steven, here is the run down. As you may have noticed on my web site, some of the videos have people's face covered up. Some I did it myself some, did it using the newer Logitech web cams, where you can download a bunch of face cover thingies.

We filed a patent on using Icons or Emoticons to provide anonymity to the video submitters on the Internet. We are working on the feature and should be available in a week or two. Meanwhile, people are using the Logitech webcam to submit some intersting video.

What I am proposing is that if feel uncomfortable about showing your mug, you can either wait for our feature or I can send you one of those cool Logitech webcams to use. I thought you would get a kick out it, as did many of my friends.

Just let me know. Thanks.

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Seize the day and SING!!!

Hmm...... Well, the French keyboard wouldn't be a prob. for ME... as you can simply set it in the prefs to ignore those keys, and use the US format (Just like, when I type in French, I switch to the FrenchCanadian setting, but switch back to the US for typing in here. If you are a touch typist, it shouldn't make a difference:) The ibook I just sold, I took off the keyboard, and sanded off all of the keys, because they irriated me:)

And, about the discs... why do you need them? Just use the OS install discs for another computer, no? Or, heck, I will copy mine, and send 'em to ya, through upload, or mail, if you want:)

See, i TOLD you it would have been easier to buy through the refurb site!!:)

-G

Yeah, it would have been but I rarely get disappointed through ebay, this was the first time. I think French is her first language and she doesn't speak, write or read English well enough so she neglected to mention the French keyboard.

A big problem with French keyboard is the key layout is different, not just the labels. It has smaller return key than English keyboard to accommodate extra keys. So, things like iskin for the laptop does not fit because of that.

She's ordered a new set of install DVD and sending them to me so that's taken care of. My Tiger discs won't work because I bought the OS before the Intel Macs came out. It will work with G5 processors but not Intel processor.

I also found out that she had Applecare so if she transfers that to me, I can get my keyboard replaced for FREE! Unfortunately, she had problems transferring AppleCare to me so now she's trying to get that done right.

It's been a bit of headache for me. I learned one thing, don't buy things from Canada, specially from French speaking Providence. Lesson learned.

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Seize the day and SING!!!