Alcatraz Island (CA 11/19)

See the island of Alcatraz and US Penitentiary in the San Francisco Bay! This island was home to a federal prison from 1934 through 1963.



You can check out the link provided below for more information on the wonders of Alcatraz...

www.sky-chaser.com/alcatraz.htm

Tropical Storm Noel (FL - 10/31)

Tropical storm Noel passed east of Florida on Halloween 2007 (October 31) but affected the east coast of southern Florida with very high waves and winds well over gale (tropical storm) forced. Check out the footage of this rather weak but interesting tropical system.



You can check out the link provided below for more information on this observation / coastal chase of tropical storm Noel...

www.sky-chaser.com/noel07.htm

Long Island NY (9/25)

Any hint on what the picture below is? Where is it? This is central Long Island, New York, viewed from an altitude of about 23,000 feet on a warm and clear Indian Summer day. The importance of this place is that it's where I grew up, went to school, and lived until I was 16 years old. If you look closely, you can make out a small lake just below the center of the image, that's Lake Ronkonkoma, and my surrounding home-town.



Flying gives one a whole new perspective on our world and where we live. Whether you are an avid pilot, or weary traveler, the view outside the window on that delayed flight just might give you a whole new way one can look at (and appreciate) our world miles below. I have a large collection of flying footage and pictures. You can click the link below to check out my section on flying ...

http://www.sky-chaser.com/flying.htm

Remembering 9-11-2001 (9/11)

REMEMBERING SEPTEMBER 11, 2001 ... It has been 6 years since America was attacked by terrorists on that fateful day of September 11, 2001. A good friend of mine described over lunch his horror of seeing the collapse of the World Trade Center from New Jersey 6 years ago on that fateful day.



In rememberance, please visit the link below to remember those lost as we will NOT forget all lost on that terrible day...

http://www.sky-chaser.com/america.htm

Eric Nguyen Passes (9/9)

Eric Nguyen, a close storm chasing associate of mine, passed away on September 9, 2007. Eric was a fantastic storm chaser, forecaster, scientist, and meteorologist and will be missed by many. He is survived by two kids, his wife, and many relatives as he passed at only age 29.



Our love and sorrow goes out to all, especially friends and family, after such a sensless and unfair passing of such a great and enjoyable person. Please visit the link provided below to see more information, including a special scholarship foundation in his name...

www.ericnguyengathering.com

Skydive Monterey Bay (9/1)

Cool trip to California this past Labor Day weekend of 2007 included a trip to Skydive Monterey Bay near Marina, California. Two jumps from over 18,000 feet were done, the second one a really nice 10-Way RW attempt!



Be sure to check out the pictures in my SKYDIVE section on this site. You can go right to the link by clicking the link provided below ...

http://www.sky-chaser.com/skydive.htm

Hurricane Felix (9/4)

Landfalls of category-five hurricanes are rare, and this is the second one this year. Before hurricanes Dean and Felix, hurricane Andrew was the last category-five hurricane to make landfall in the Atlantic basin back in 1992. The storm came ashore, ironically, near a town called Punta Gorda along the northeastern Nicaraguan coast. As one can imagine, anything in the path of the eyewall of a storm like this would be obliberated, period.



Another Category-Five hurricane! The two pictures above show Hurricane "Felix" with 160-MPH sustained winds slamming ashore in Northeastern Nicaragua during the morning of September 4, 2007. This is just two weeks after another category-five storm (Dean) came ashore farther north.

Lunar Eclipse (8/28)

A lunar eclipse took place on August 28, 2007 and is much different than a solar eclipse. Solar eclipses are caused by the Moon's shadow crossing the Earth, and since the Moon is much smaller than the Earth, the event does not occur planet-wide. A lunar eclipse, on the other hand, can be seen from anywhere on Earth that has a view of the Moon at the time of the eclipse.

An oberver on the Moon during a total lunar eclipse would also see the entire sun blocked out by the Earth from pretty much the entire surface within view of the Earth. The Earth's atmosphere also adds the red tint to the edges of the shadow of a lunar eclipse due to the scattering / filtering of sunlight.



Above is two pictures taken during the pre-dawn morning of August 28, 2007 in South Florida of the full lunar eclipse. To the left, a commercial airliner, leaves a trail of lights as it crosses the camera's view during a time exposure. To the right, the partial light refracted by the earth's shadow paints the face of the moon a red color.

Hurricane Dean (8/21)

Hurricane "Dean" made its category-five landfall with 160 to 165 MPH sustained winds just north of Chetemal, Mexico during the early morning of August 21, 2007. Winds under the northern eyewall included gusts near (or even exceeding) 200-MPH and a minimum central pressure of 906 MB was measured by aircraft prior to landfall. This makes for a rare event having a category-five hurricane, the highest on the Saffir Simpson Scale, to come ashore in the Atlantic Basin. The last category-five hurricane to make any landfall in the Atlantic Basin was hurricane Andrew in 1992. As you can imagine, the devastation under the eyewall of this storm is catastrophic.



In the pictures above, a close visible satellite of hurricane Dean's eye is to the left, showing an incredible "stadium" or "cup" effect. The picture to the right is an enhanced-IR satellite image showing the landfall of Dean in Mexico's Yucatan Penninsula near Chatamal in southern portions of the state of Quantana-Roo during the night / morning of August 21. No chase plans were done on this storm due to the dangers involved, a night landfall, and the threat of being "stuck" for a long time abroad. Some hurricane chasers I know already were held-up in Jamaica after the hurricane brushed them as they chased the storm there during the prior weekend.

Summerfest 2007 (8/3 To 8/5)

A special trip to the SUMMERFEST BOOGIE skydiving event was done during the weekend of August 3-5, 2007. This event was billed as the "WFFC Alternative" ... The WFFC in Rantoul, IL was cancelled this year to the disappointment of many skydivers. The SUMMERFEST event at Skydive Chicago had just about every event the WFFC had that wasn't for 2007.



Aircraft to skydive ranged from a Pitts Special to the Perris DC-9 commerical jet, plus many "standard" jump aircraft. Some pictures can be seen at the link provided below ...

http://www.sky-chaser.com/skydive.htm

Diabetes Can Be Deadly (8/1)

DIABETES KILLS! If not taken care of properly or out of control! Jacinto (Jose) Chong, pictured below, was a long-time friend and roommate of mine whom I knew since early 1994. He passed away after a long battle with kidney failure, paralysis, heart disease, and other diabetic complications. He passed away from heart failure on Wednesday, August 1, 2007 at Plantation West Hospital in Broward County, Florida after undergoing dialysis. His death was rapid, and ended about 5 years of excruciating pain. He was only 44 years old. Diabetes is a killer, fully hereditable, and insidious in many ways as damage is often done to the person before he or she even knows they got it!



After his death Jacinto was shipped to his home country of Panama for a formal funeral with his family and is survived by his mother, Sonia. He was a mix of Spanish and Asian descent, his father also succumbing to a similar fate at 45 years old. Jacinto was a hard working and good man who started from scratch after leaving Panama in the 1980's during political problems.

He worked his way from nothing in his "new life" in the USA to a career in computer engineering and never hesitated when the time came to give and / or help someone. He supported his large family back in Panama and brought his mother to the states when his health turned. Jacinto was a man who almost never said "no". May he rest in peace, as his suffering is over, and may God bless him to everlasting life and happiness.

A special memorial page, dedicated to this unfortunate victim, has been set up. It also contains important and useful information on diabetes and can be viewed at the link below...

http://www.sky-chaser.com/diabetes.htm

Back In Florida (7/20)

Back in hot and sunny south Florida just in time for Hurricane Season 2007! I have wrapped up my Dayton, Ohio computer project on-time as of the end of July 2007.



Once again, I am home in South Florida and currently working there at another IT job in Fort Lauderdale. The picture above is Florida at its oldest, Saint Augustine.

More Canada (7/6 To 7/9)!

A second trip to Canada was made on July 6 through July 9, 2007. This time, the trip to Toronto was made by flying in instead, to avoid any hassles experienced at the border during the last trip! During this trip, the worlds tallest free-standing structure, the CN tower, was visited with a height of 1,815 feet. Also, see the raging class-six rapids of the Niagara River from aboard a specially designed jet boat. Then, take a helicopter flight over the Niagara great gorge and see the falls from over a half mile up!



You can also view this trip as well as many others by checking out the OUTDOORS section of my web site. You can go right to the area for this trip by clicking the link below ...

http://www.sky-chaser.com/outdoors.htm

Trip To Canada (6/15 - 6/17)

The weekend of June 15 through June 17 was spent in the Toronto area of Ontario, Canada including a trip to Niagara Falls on the Canadian side then a trip to the city of Toronto. Toronto is located on the northwest side of Lake Ontario and is about an hour from Niagara Falls, which is south of the southwest side of the lake. Niagara falls is a spectacular waterfall system between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario where flows from one lake to the other takes place along the Niagara River. This area is also one of the most heavily visited tourist areas in the world. The city of Toronto is also the most ethnically diverse city in the World.



You can also view this trip as well as many others by checking out the OUTDOORS section of my web site. You can go right to the area for this trip by clicking the link below ...

http://www.sky-chaser.com/outdoors.htm

US / Canada Border Problem (6/15)

I had some problems when crossing from the United States into Canada on June 15 Due to "suspicious contents" found on my laptop computer, brought along for both GPS mapping and internet (email). I was detained and subsequently arrested. I spent about 6 hours at the facility, most of that time in a holding cell (aka: "Jail") in Windsor.

It was not until a special investigator scrutinized my laptop and all contents and deemed there was "nothing there" that was illegal. After this terrifying and seemingly un-fair wait, I was released and apologized to and continued on to my destination, with no more than frustration and a 6-hour delay.



The interesting details on how this unfolded can be seen by clicking the link to it provided below ...

http://www.sky-chaser.com/america.htm

High-Risk Chasing (MN / WI - 6/7)

A second and exciting chase day unfolded on June 7, 2007 through Wisconsin and parts of Minnesota and Illinois which was part of my chase trip to the US Great Plains and Midwest was during the period from June 5 through June 10, 2007. On June 7 a high-risk and rough chase landed myself with three tornadic supercell storms and my first experience seeing what GIGANTIC hail can do to a small Midwestern town that was hit by a tornado on one side and the hail on the other!



The chase log for the June 7 storm chase is also online and can be seen by clicking the link to it provided below ...

http://www.sky-chaser.com/mwcl2007.htm

Tornado In South Dakota (6/6)

A long-shot chase trip to the US Great Plains and Midwest was done during the period from June 5 through June 10, 2007. On June 6 a tornadic supercell storm was intercepted near Wanblee, South Dakota. This was the first sucessful chase day of the June 5-10 chase trip.



The chase log for the June 6 storm chase is also online and can be seen by clicking the link to it provided below ...

http://www.sky-chaser.com/mwcl2007.htm

Tropical Storm Barry (FL - June 1-2)

Tropical storm Barry decided to affect Florida with winds and torrential rains just as I was doing a routine visit there from Ohio, where I work (I live and have a house in Florida). The flight into Fort Lauderdale was pretty much rough-and-tumble turbulence through the feeder-bands (left picture) of TS Barry! In the center and right pictures, large waves, wind and rain affect Deefield Beach fishing pier. TS Barry weakened a day later on June 2 near Tampa, FL without much in the way of wind, but gave FL some much needed rains.



There is a small chase log for this storm, adn you can see it by clicking the link to it provided below ...

http://www.sky-chaser.com/ba07.htm

Storm Chase Bust (MN / WI - 5/26)

A chase trip was attempted on a potential setup near the tri-state region of Iowa / Wisconsin / Minnesota and did not really pan out as well as expected due to lack of instability. Such "busts" do happen, and are a part of chasing - Like going out fishing and not catching anything good - Same "hit" or "miss" scenario.



The chase log for this attempted storm chase is also online and can be seen by clicking the link to it provided below ...

http://www.sky-chaser.com/mwcl2007.htm

SVR Storms (TX, OK, & KS - 5/23)

A special trip was made during the mid-week of May 22-24 for a chase day in the Texas / Oklahoma panhandle area on May 23, 2007. During this special "spot-chase", a tornadic supercell was intercepted near Laverne, Oklahoma during the late afternoon of 5-23-2007 and a monster HP supercell storm later on farther southwest near Lipscomb, Texas!



This chase started by Leaving Dayton, OH near 9 PM via a flight to Kansas City, MO arriving at 11:30 PM. Picked up rental vehicle then headed west to Abilene, KS for the night. May 23 was a full chase day in the Texas and Oklahoma Panhandle regions. An all night drive back to Kansas City, MO ended the chase on May 24 with a 5:40 AM flight back to Dayton, OH at 9:40 AM - Yawn!!

The full chase log is now online and can be seen by clicking the link to it provided below ...

http://www.sky-chaser.com/mwcl2007.htm