First of all, I'd like to send out a congrats to
Shane Adams as his Steelers easily defeated the Denver Donkeys to advance to Superbowl 40 to meet Seattle. And to all those Denver fans who gave me shit all week for my Redskins losing... HAHAHAHA! Welcome to the losers couch! And before you give me crap about how the Donkeys made it further than my Skins... allow me to return that shit back to you..
Before I even begin, I know what you all are saying. "We made it further than you (Redskins) did!" Yes, yes you did! You went 1-1 in the Playoffs just like us. But I know... I know... you made it further. Before you start reminding me about how we lost to Seattle after traveling clear across the country to play the number 1 seed in their house and lose by 10 points, allow me to remind you that you were embarrassed AT HOME by the number 6 seed by 17 points (and you were favored, too, BTW). By the way, none of this matters cause like me, you lost and will be watching the Superbowl at home... JUST LIKE US. So you survived one more week cause of a bye, took the division title, and made it this far. Guess what, it means nothing. You're no different that the rest of the losing playoff teams; you made it in, but aren't in the big show. Oh yeah, would it be fair of me to also point out that three years in a row, you've made it and choked something fierce and have lost three games by a combined score of 124-51. Yeah, I know.. I know... at least we've made it three years in a row and you haven't. As I keep hearing from local media, Denver hasn't won a Superbowl since John Elway. Guess that, three years of playoff appearances... you STILL haven't made it to the Superbowl. Maybe it's time to ween Elway back onto the playing field. Cause as you all have said about me, Brunell ain't your answer. Ya know what, after Plummer commits 4 turnovers, I'd be thinking the same thing about you. Maybe that Van Pelt guy can do it? So with that, I say congrats on a solid season! Aside from beating the defending world champs and becoming the heavily favored Superbowl pick. I'd say you ended it in BEAUTIFUL fasion getting embarrassed in front of hometown fans by the 6th seed in the AFC. My thoughts... you were lucky as hell the Colts lost because I'm sure another 40 point loss would've been in the cards. But I think the loss at home was icing on the cake. In any case, pull up a seat, grab a beer, and enjoy the Superbowl! You're a loser now.. just like me! And Shane, I'm pulling for your Steelers! They're 200 miles from my Ohio hometown, so I'm rooting for my "home"team!
So with that, some chase-related stuff... was having a back-and-forth email conversation with
Verne Carlson this afternoon about me heading up to his place to get my ride setup. During our back-and-forth exchange, he remarked about how a breaking-in chase would be nice. Give us a chance to get the new vehicles (he's in a new one as well) on the road and see what their limitations are. It had me thinking with the talks in ST about a possible late week setup about taking a long-shot March chase trip (no intentions to even blink at the talked-about setup which last I checked was all but gone).
My pre-season starts on March 1; mainly because that's when I begin to do those last items on my chasing checklist; car maintanance, buying up the last of my gear, etc. And with all that, prepare to sneak out just in case something does decide to taunt us in March. April then comes around and marks my official start to the season. Last April proved to be my busiest April thus far in my chasing career, and its early chase on
April 10 proved to be my best tornado chase of 2005. In any case, the lack of chasing in March left myself and Verne stranded enroute to our overnight destination for the April 5 setup. Fortunately, such an issue came out in the first chase as opposed to hot on the trail of a tornatic supercell later on, but I learned the value of early season chasing.
While it does have its cost in terms of time and money, it has its perks. Especially this year for chasers like Verne and I who will be breaking in newly aquired chasing vehicles this season. It gives us a chance to check out are interior setup, see how the vehicle performs, and obviously puts our butts in our new seats for hours on end. And of course, if Nature works with us, we'll get to see how she does around the weather we chase. Its one thing to drive a vehicle out to Kansas and back; its a totally different thing to race her across dirt roads, drive in blinding wind-driven rains, and the obvious threat of big hail. I, as a chaser, would like to know those things before I make my month-long trip so I have a better idea what to expect. Right now, my biggest issue is finances, and other than around town, I have NO CLUE at all how my new ride drives on long trips, her gas mileage, anything. I can't even budget my trip all that well with what little I know. She gets about 21mpg in the city, and I'm hoping for 25mpg on the highway. Again, I don't know. I've flirted with the idea of driving her out to Limon and back just to see on open roads how she does. But again, to get what I really want, I need to chase her.
I think I'll find myself fishing after smaller catches early on, just as an excuse to get out and shake the new ride down. After I get my gear installed, I'm going to want to know how convienient it is while I'm on the road. Is the Jotto high enough? Can I easily reach the mics? Yaddi yaddi yaddi. Some of that I'll know just by being in the seat, but again, its a whole other issue when you're chasing. I'm going to want that first chase NOT really as a cure for SDS, but as a break-in period for the vehicle and its setup. Anything I find I don't like I'll be able to change out prior to the main part of the season. Including whether or not I'll be able to stay out the entire month if my gas efficiency isn't what I'd like it to be. As I told Verne, I want close to 400 miles from a tank; definately more than 300, but upwards of 400. The book on the van says its a 20 gallon tank... I have yet to fill it close to that, leaving me thinking closer to 15 gallons give or take 1 in either direction. If its a smaller tank, I'm fine. As along as I'm getting 23-25mpg, I should be fine.
So will that March chase arrive? I really don't know. I thought about using the TESSA conference as an excuse to give her a road trip at the least, but with news of the taxes I owe on the van, I'm thinking of backing out of TESSA to save that couple hundred bucks in travel expenses for my chasing, especially if I con myself into an early season chase to break everything in. Money could be very tight come May for me in terms of chasing if I am going to stay out the entire time I've set aside, otherwise I'll be picking and choosing. In any case, I'm sure like previous years, I'll see action in April and early May before my actual vacation kicks off. Its usually pretty inevitable, but I typically plan for that well as school and work obligations keep me pretty leashed as to when I'll actually venture out.
So in conclusion, expect to see me bite on a pretty marginal early-season setup mainly as an excuse to break everything in. Maybe if I'm lucky, I'll see something similar to 2004's March 27 chase day. But any convection would be worth while if I manage to satisfy myself in terms of the vehicle's performance. Anytime prior to March would be pushing things, but after March 1 passes, I'm game.
Preseason starts in just over a month... the regular season kicks off in 67 days. I will be ready to roll.
