GoBoB Chasing

Oklahoma Burning
Well Oklahoma is on the national headlines. As usual the subject is weather related. This morning Tulsa slipped to 14 inches below the climatologically mean rain fall for the year. That is a huge amount of rain.

Here is a quick little exercise. A one mile square is 5,280’ x 5,280’ or 63,360” x 63,360” which is a 4,014,489,600 square inch area. There are 231 cubic inches in a gallon (Scary, I did not even have to look that one up). So let’s look at that one square mile of parched Earth: 4,014,489,600 in^2 x 14 in of rain = 56,202,854,400 in^3 of rain. 56,202,854,400 in^3 / 231 in^3 per gallon = 243,302,400 gallons

Nearly a quarter of a million gallons per square mile. Yeah you read that right! That is a lot of rain “Green Country” did not get!

For the love of all things non-inferno, let’s not turn Oklahoma into more of a Hell on Earth. No flicking cigarette butts, no fireworks, brush hog a moat around your domicile if you live in a rural tall grass area, “don’t drive into smoke”, wound arsonists on sight. You will note I said wound and not kill. I understand that burning to death is by far one of the worst ways to die. Wound them and lash them to a large cedar tree about a ½ mile downwind.
To learn more about the situation, I’d encourage you to check out my chase partner Steve Miller’s blog.

Let me first off apologize for the reprehensible job I have done of late with updates. I have been traveling every week for the past month. I planned to update last night with an experience unique to Dallas. Texas, and the Dallas metroplex have a patchwork of liquor laws that make ordering a drink or purchasing a bottle either an enormous challenge or too easy depending on exactly where you are. There are unicards, private clubs, dry cities, dry counties, beer/wine stores, and liquor stores. Someday I’ll try to expand this, but much more research will be required.
Last night I was filling up the rental car at a shell station at the intersection of The George Bush and Jupiter. I wanted some gum so I went in and they are having a wine tasting at a gas station. This was slightly smaller than the average Quick Trip. All but three aisles were wine. Over 70% of the normal sundries were replaced by wine. The refrigerated cases lining the walls were full of import beer. The gal is actively trying to get customers to taste her products. After she talk this kid into trying, she realizes she better card him. He was legal by three weeks. It just struck me as odd.
I’m glad to be back in Tulsa. It was interesting on the flight how no one paid any more attention the preflight safety briefing than they ever do. I have never flown on a carrier the day after an accident. It was pretty much routine. I’m not sure if they pissed off an Air Traffic Controller, but we taxied to 13L-31R at DAL and sat there for fifteen minutes. I have never had this kind of a wait at Love Field when we were the only plane in queue.