MOAR PICS

[John Picard]

Shouldn't you be hiding in your basement?

Funny thing about Oklahoma -- these people don't understand what a basement is. They got really pissed at me when I stated, after the infamous May 5th, 1999 tornado, that storm shelters should be required by building code. That received the standard response of, "IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT -- MOVE!!!"

That looks too damn close, and absolutely terrifying!

That's about 2-3 miles away. And yes, my "Oh SHIT!" meter was pegged at that point.

 

[RoJoHen]

Shouldn't you be hiding in your basement?

Funny thing about Oklahoma -- these people don't understand what a basement is. They got really pissed at me when I stated, after the infamous May 5th, 1999 tornado, that storm shelters should be required by building code. That received the standard response of, "IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT -- MOVE!!!"

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't Oklahoma in Tornado Alley? Don't tornadoes happen there often? Not having shelter for them just seems ridiculous.

 

[John Picard]

Shouldn't you be hiding in your basement?

Funny thing about Oklahoma -- these people don't understand what a basement is. They got really pissed at me when I stated, after the infamous May 5th, 1999 tornado, that storm shelters should be required by building code. That received the standard response of, "IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT -- MOVE!!!"

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't Oklahoma in Tornado Alley? Don't tornadoes happen there often? Not having shelter for them just seems ridiculous.

Yes, not having a shelter is ridiculous. I'm from Illinois, so the best way I can describe these people to you is by asking if you've watched King of the Hill. Most people here are also like Cletus the Slack-Jawed Yokel, from The Simpsons.

Tornado Alley has actually shifted over the last 20 years, and Oklahoma, although it experiences a lot of tornadic activity, is not part of Tornado Alley. Kentucky, Georgia, Tennessee, and others comprise TA.

 

[RoJoHen]

Yeah, I'm from Illinois as well (grew up in Plainfield, which you may have heard of only because of the giant tornado we had back 1990 that destroyed the entire town).

You know, now that I'm thinking about it, I travelled to Oklahoma a few years ago for Habitat for Humanity, and I remember being completely baffled that the houses we were building didn't have basements.

 

[John Picard]

Yeah, I'm from Illinois as well (grew up in Plainfield, which you may have heard of only because of the giant tornado we had back 1990 that destroyed the entire town).

You know, now that I'm thinking about it, I travelled to Oklahoma a few years ago for Habitat for Humanity, and I remember being completely baffled that the houses we were building didn't have basements.

I was gone by then (grew up in Roscoe). Are you old enough to remember when Barneveld, Wi was wiped off of the map?

 

[RoJoHen]

Just looked it up. That was the year before I was born.

 

[Yeoman Randi]

This is the desk of a nerd:

If i wasn't already married i would propose!

John Picard, those pictures are soooo amazingly SCARY! I'm so glad you are safe!

 

[Kestra]

What is that trooper doing to Yoda?

That was my only comment on the pic as well.

 

[Kira's Mom]

That looks too damn close, and absolutely terrifying!

Agreed!

A couple of years ago, a tornado missed my neighborhood by 6/10 of a mile. I heard it (while cowering in the basement) but had no idea how close it was until I saw the news later that night!

 

[Marc]

What is that trooper doing to Yoda?

That was my only comment on the pic as well.

Though the lightsabre poking out the stormtrooper's back was pretty obvious?

 

[Goliath]

What is that trooper doing to Yoda?

That was my only comment on the pic as well.

Though the lightsabre poking out the stormtrooper's back was pretty obvious?

Not as obvious as the Yoda poking out of the Stormtrooper's codpiece.

 

[DarkHelmet]

So I finally has this bad boy custom framed and just picked it up (bought the double-sided poster at a con in '09).

I figure it'll go nicely in my office with these:

 

[doubleohfive]

Shouldn't you be hiding in your basement?

Funny thing about Oklahoma -- these people don't understand what a basement is. They got really pissed at me when I stated, after the infamous May 5th, 1999 tornado, that storm shelters should be required by building code. That received the standard response of, "IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT -- MOVE!!!"

That looks too damn close, and absolutely terrifying!

That's about 2-3 miles away. And yes, my "Oh SHIT!" meter was pegged at that point.

Holy crap ... I've only gotten close to one of these once in my life, and that one time was enough... and while I say close, I doubt it was anywhere near as close as you were.

In DC every once in a while --usually over the summer-- we'd get really bad thunderstorms, flood watches, and hurricane warnings. One out of every maybe fifteen storms, my mom would freak out and make us turn everything off and huddle in my dad's office in the basement for an hour or two, at least until the worst of the storm passed.

Usually it never amounted to anything, but every couple of years it would prove worthwhile. The house next door that caught fire a week or two earlier ended up collapsing to the ground. A neighbor's house up the street got zapped by lightning. A tree in our backyard came toppling down, narrowly missing our sun room.

Sometimes, it pays to be cautious...

 

[Dorian Thompson]

John Picard, I'm glad you live. I was thinking about you on Monday night as the baseball size hail was coming down. Luckily, that's all I had to deal with. Glass can be replaced. I knew the funnels were near your location. I was wondering if you were without power.

Ahhhh, May 3, 1999. It evokes such fond memories. Near death experiences always make me puddle up. That F-5 missed my house by 6 blocks.

So glad you're well.

 

[M'Sharak]

That looks too damn close, and absolutely terrifying!

That's about 2-3 miles away. And yes, my "Oh SHIT!" meter was pegged at that point.

I can imagine. That's closer than I ever want to be to one of those things. I'll be perfectly happy to take my chances with the earthquakes instead.

 

[doubleohfive]

So back in December, I got a call from my friend Kay. She and I had many mutual friends back home and had both, separately come to Los Angeles on our own to further our career aspirations in film and television. Kind of a crazy story actually about how I know her, but that's for another time.

Anywho, so Kay calls me up because another friend from back home who lives in L.A. is having a birthday bash -- a '20s-themed party down in Venice, and Kay wants to go but she doesn't want to go alone. Seems Kay hasn't seen Amelia since high school graduation, which is ironic because I hadn't seen Amelia since 8th grade. So, being the good people we are, we dressed up and went to the party. It was hilarious as Amelia, who had already had a few drinks and was quite enjoying herself became elated to see Kay. After a few minutes talking, she turned to me and began to introduce herself as if we'd never met.

And then...

"OH MY GOD! DOUBLE OH FIVE!!!" after which I found myself awash in much hugging and kissing and catching up as well. Naturally, I made sure to get a photo before the evening was up.

Then, a few days later, our executive producer decided to take us all out to lunch the Friday before we all left for the holidays. While we were gone, I got an IM from another old friend from my high school, someone I hadn't seen in nearly 12 years. "Hey doubleoh, what do I do to kill a few hours in Burbank?" the IM read. Luckily, not too much time had passed by the time I found it so I wrote back stating simply, "Easy! Come to ABC and hang out with me!"

So I texted her directions and within 20 minutes, my friend Edith arrived and I got to give the grand tour of the offices and studio, introduce her to writers -- both famous and up-and-coming, and basically catch up, reminisce about being in band, and update each other on all our mutual friends. Good times.

Much as I love my new life and my friends here, it's very nice to re-connect with people from home every once in a while.

 

[Yeoman Randi]

Yes it is! I'm glad both experiences were so positive. BTW, you know some very beautiful women!

 

[John Picard]

John Picard, I'm glad you live. I was thinking about you on Monday night as the baseball size hail was coming down. Luckily, that's all I had to deal with. Glass can be replaced. I knew the funnels were near your location. I was wondering if you were without power.

Ahhhh, May 3, 1999. It evokes such fond memories. Near death experiences always make me puddle up. That F-5 missed my house by 6 blocks.

So glad you're well.

Thanks for thinking of me, Dorian!

That looks too damn close, and absolutely terrifying!

That's about 2-3 miles away. And yes, my "Oh SHIT!" meter was pegged at that point.

I can imagine. That's closer than I ever want to be to one of those things. I'll be perfectly happy to take my chances with the earthquakes instead.

Can't hide from an earthquake, and there's no advanced warning Would you believe that the meteorologists called these storms almost to the ½-hour over a week ago?

 

[opali]

OdoWanKenobi,

I love Tom Servo. He's such an acerbic cutie.

 

[Kira's Mom]

Yes it is! I'm glad both experiences were so positive. BTW, you know some very beautiful women!

Haven't you heard of the 005 harem?