Sunday, February 2, 2014

Crunch Month

Its February. 2 great things happen this month. 1 - Football ends. 2 - March is within 30 days the entire time.

Since I apparently love a challenge, this is going to be a chaotic month as I get everything ready for chase season. I've had a long list of projects for months and as always it will come down to the wire. It wasn't all my fault this time though. The biggest setback I suffered was a hard drive failure that delayed the production and release of my 2nd DVD by nearly 2 months while I dealt with the lengthy and costly process of data recovery. Luckily that had a happy ending, and Im pleased to see that sales of the DVD are getting close to offsetting that cost. The support has been great, and again I thank you all for that.

Those sales funds are what is needed for my biggest upgrade this year and that is a new laptop capable of doing very fast, in the field video editing for upload to media. I don't chase just to make money, but lets be real. If I can make a good buck, and therby giving myself the ability to chase more, I am going to do it. My old laptop, while reliable could not handle editing the HD video, and it would always take me 8+ hours to get video online. Anyone whos dealt with ENG video knows, that is 7hrs and 59 minutes too long.

That and the laptop will better run the live stream and software programs, hopefully without random crashes like the old one.

I've also ordered a wind filter for my camera. I hate wind noise. It is just as annoying as squeeky windshield wipers. A hard problem to avoid since tornadoes are obviously surrounded by wind, so hopefully this filter will help reduce that issue.

I began to finally study for my HAM test, but that is being currently interupted by some side work I picked up. I'm basically building an entire basement. We've been at it 1 week and will be at least 1 week more. My day job is seasonal so I don't work in the winter, and thus funds are always tight since throughout the year I typically just save up enough to pay my bills and eat. So the extra money this side gig is bringing in couldnt come at a better time, especially if March decides it wants to start out active...which right now it doesn't look like its going to.

So, back on point, once I am finished with this side work, studying for the HAM test will resume, as well as getting at least the laptop setup. I am also probably going to upgrade my data plan to a 4G one. I havent figured that out yet, but that is another change coming. My current provider now only offers mifi devices, something I wasnt thrilled to learn, as Ive used one in the past and hated it, but Im told theyve improved quite a bit since then so I may give it another go.

I also need to wire up my 1000 watt power inverter to the battery, and install some toggle switches to flip it on and off along with a new set of fog lights since my last ones got smashed by hail. THEN, if I pass the HAM test. I will need to buy and install the radio equipment. The list is forever growing.

IF I can wrap all this up, with time and money leftover, I plan to finally tap into the SLR world. If not before the season, then probably during the season once I am back to working my normal job and the bankroll is fruitful once again.

I have no idea what this season will bring. This winter has probably been one of the harshest of my life. Doing a bit of history digging I've found that springs and summers that follow winters like this have swung both ways, either extremely boring or extremely stormy, there didn't seem to be much of a middle ground. All I can say is now...we'll just have to wait and see.

I plan to stick to my new agressive chase plan. 2013 was a season of rebirth for me. 2014 will hopefully be the year I add some steam to that momentum. Up close and personal is the name of the game this year. Like it or not, its the way its going to be done! The way 2013 ended is the way 2014 will hopefully begin.