Well I am back from my down-south tour [1,313 miles total and none of that chasing ;(]. I wish that I could have seen each of you but next year perhaps I can try to get more time off and plan the CASI Meeting better so that more people can come. Highlights of the trip: WED.: Heavy Thunderstorm hit Boomer, NC the minute I arrived Wed. evening greeting me with 0.5" hail, high winds, and frequent lightning at the parents' house. Best storm I chased this year ;) SAT.: Did see a lot of old friends from school at the UNCA meteorology reunion in Asheville NC on Saturday. No, Kristina was not there :) She couldn't make it. But Scott Lawrimore, who is on TWC at 2am on one night a week, was there. Also present: were various govmt, NCDC, NWS employees. I was the only person there representing the Private Sector I believe. Doc said that, out of 186 graduates since 1983 (keeping in mind that NWS stopped hiring before the class of '95 graduated), 40% went into govmt. jobs, 30% into broadcasting jobs, 20% into non-meteorology jobs, and 10% into private firms. UNCA has placed graduates in meteorology jobs from Fairbanks, AK to San Diego, CA to San Juan PR, to Portland ME. Most amazing thing I didn't know: I have to go back to school to get a job with the NWS - they now require the high-level math course Differential Equations (usually taken after or with Calculus III). D'ohh!! I was pleased to learn that a number of people (graduates and professors) had visited the CASI site and one professor noted using some of our information for his Mesoscale Meteorology class. SUN.: The CASI South Meeting consisted of Tim Armstrong and myself. We both showed video of recent storms we had chased or intercepted, and Tim brought a couple of nice NEXRAD shots from ILM and discussed current job opportunities as he has just graduated. Since we were both at the NSSL when Scott taped that in '95 we did not rewatch that video. MON.: Looks like I got back just in time as there is a Slight Risk of severe storms in PA tonight and tomorrow morning. The only downside to the trip was that my cat became very ill while I was gone and the caretaker took him to the Vet for procedures, where he continues under care, so I may be in and out of HQ for the next several days as I take care of him. Now that I'm back, the CASICAM is being re-setup as we speak, and CASILIST messages can now be transmitted again. Amazingly, the CASI1 Weather Station continued to report to the web site while I was gone so I was able to keep an eye on the weather here, from NC. Love the technology!! -- ============================================================== Jesse Ferrell - Meteorologist/Web Dev. - j{at}weatherwatchers.org Central Atlantic Storm Investigators - www.weatherwatchers.org "And here a twister comes... here comes the twister." --Talking Heads || ICQ No. 136862 ||