First of all, the Storm Chasers show on Discovery is well worth watching. Probably one of the best shows I've seen in recent times that is chasing related.
Next up? Wannabe yahoo chasers on TV. Not something I would like to see. I apparently just came across some info regarding a Wife Swap episode of a storm chasing family and a safety family. That should prove to be interesting! The "storm chaser"? Richard Heene. Ya you heard me, I just called him out. Seriously, this dude apparently loves to make chasing storms priority number one, over school and other important life issues. They have a megaphone to wake up their entire household to go chasing and they sleep with their clothes on. I can understand being really passionate about chasing, but come on? To make the kids skip school so they can chase tornadoes? Sounds like to me they have their priorities mixed up. I came across some videos of the family and they all need a wake up call.
I really have no idea what this guy is trying to accomplish, something about researching magnetic fields around storms (he thinks mesocyclones affect magnetic fields locally). He's been featured on several news segments, which make me think he is just in it so he can be on TV. He has no website that I know of and isn't anywhere to be seen on any of the storm chasing community sites such as Stormtrack. I guess that is a good thing because he would probably get criticized on there like what I am doing now.
Heene states that the risks is all in the name of research. You can tell that is a load of BS right there. He rides a motorbike into the storm. Here's a news segment. My point? People like him on TV make us devoted, safe real storm chasers look like idiots in the general publics' eyes and we need to end this nonsense.
A while ago, many of us received an email from Heene. A Stormtrack thread erupted in its wake.
We should take his so called magnetic field and repel him off the plains. Sorry Heene, this post had to be made.
Monday, November 17, 2008
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Let's face it this needed to be said. It's people like this that make chasers look bad. It also makes you wonder where CPS is when you need them?
ReplyDeleteIndeed, it is people like this who make storm chasers look bad. Real bad. Tornadoes kill people. Storm chasers consider the whole thing to be a sport. People like Heene do not accept that there is no scientific explanation for what causes tornadoes, and they are pushing the limits of what is known, in the interest of a better understanding, and ultimately, in the interest of developing a way of preventing tornadoes. People like that make storm chasers look like a narrow-minded, angry mob who just want to see homes, and lives, destroyed. So long as the storm chasers can chase storms "responsibly" (meaning that the chasers themselves are not in danger), then the storm chasers can consider themselves to be decent people. What's that about?
ReplyDeleteOh BTW, he does have a website:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.thesciencedetective.com/
For more information on the scientific theory behind their work, and the data that they have collected, see:
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0QRG/is_1_32/ai_n28031859
The only difference between what Heene et. al. are doing, versus what Sean Casey and Josh Wurman are doing, is that Heene is exploring a new idea, and because of this, has to work a bit harder at getting funding.
Dear Laura Duchebag,
ReplyDeleteYour quote: "I just called him out". WELL, I'm here!
Research published: The National Weather Digest July 2008. "Electromagnetic Fields Recorded in Mesocylones"
WEBSITE: http://thepsyiencedetectives.com
My Colleagues and interviews:
Dr. Harold Brookes SPC NOAA
Dr. Louis J Wicker SPC NOAA
Dr. Steven Baig NHC NOAA
Dr. Jim McFadden NHC. NOAA
Dr. Chris Landsea NHC NOAA
Dr. Eugene Podkletnov Russian scientist
Scott Stevens, TV meteorologist
Barb Slusser, scientist
Wallace Luchuck, Engineer, Arnold AFB
John Brophie, JPL, NASA
Dr. David Arnold, Ball State University
Dr. David Rust, SPC NOAA
Dr. Tony Cuthbert
Dr. John Hutcheson
Boyd Bushman Senior Scientist at Lockheed Martin
Dr. Bernard Eastlund, inventor of HAARP, Weather Modification
Storms chased: 100's
Dust Devils chased: 1,000's
Hurricane's measured: 7
Laboratory experiments: 100's
For more information about this new and exciting science
about: "Electromagnetic Fields Recorded in Mesocylones"
WEBSITE: http://thepsyiencedetectives.com
Laura: Advice... When eating crow, use lots of hot sauce.
Sincerely,
Richard Heene
BTW: Nice photo of you in front of the OK State sign. I'm sure it's a major contribution to science... Fatest person in front of a state sign... which will lightning strike first... no.. no.. I know... You were testing the barometric pressure of the sign... or perhaps you were on the cutting edge of which eats more, the sign, or you... oh... no, I know, I got it, You were trying to prove my "electromagnetic theory" in correct, your fat boobs do not modify gravity.
Wow, Richard, you really are a Dick.
ReplyDeleteLooks like you have some real class there, Heene. Glad you finally showed up. I have opinions and I voiced them. Free world ain't it? 100s of storms chased huh? You chase dust devils? Sounds like someone has a serious case of supercell deprivation syndrome. Where's your photos? Oh ya I forgot, you just like to be on TV. At least my fat ass keeps me on the ground.
ReplyDeleteIf that really is Heene, then his post totally discredits any "scientific merit" he might've had. Laura attacked his agenda, priorities, and judgemtn regarding his kids....but there was nothing attacking him personally, as a person.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Steve. Heene, you're a prick. Wontcha head on over to my blog later tonight and read some REAL scathing comments...unlike Laura, I disregard tact when discussing pieces of shit.
heene really is an asshat isn't he?
ReplyDeleteI saw this link somewhere (Shane's BLOG?) while traveling, and it was well worth the visit. Laura, you performed a service with your BLOG entry. It takes courage to speak out against prideful irresponsibility, especially when its purveyors occupy a pseudoscientific fringe of weather "study" and (through wanton self-promotion) have a far bigger bully pulpit from which to promote their misguided, misleading, patently unsafe and disturbing behavior.
ReplyDeleteWhy does this so-called "research group" need such over-the-top media promotion anyway? I have some sayings that apply here:
* True excellence is self-evident and needs no promotion.
* Good science speaks for itself. Bad science speaks of itself.
Or is it about the almighty dollar and ego instead? Self-concocted "research groups" in chasing seem a dime a dozen anymore, heretofore mysterious no-names with murky credentials crawling out of the baseboards to proclaim their worth in "science" into any open microphone. Such posers do a terrible disservice to legitimate atmospheric science, since there's little hope for most of any given TV audience to tell the difference. As Ms. Duchesne put it most succinctly, it's "a load of BS."
As for Mr. Keene's personal character, I'm not going to attack it. There's no need. Instead, his reaction to Laura's post speaks quite vividly for itself.
In general terms, however, I will say that anyone who lashes out with personal attacks against others' physical characteristics clearly has deeper rooted problems than mere disagreement or dislike. People who are secure about themselves and their ideas can take the heat without resorting to cowardly, playground style insults about a lady's private body parts. Despicable!
As for the shameless name-dropping: What does it say that this English-speaking "scientist" can't correctly spell the simple English names of at least two of his so-called "colleagues" and doesn't even have the correct affiliations for at least five of them? I wonder if that really is just a list of people who have bothered to respond to e-mails, instead of real "colleagues." I know a few of those guys well, and they wouldn't want to provide a flyspeck of credibility to most of that "research."
Also, just because a paper has been published after marginal and questionable peer review procedure doesn't mean squat either. Variations of that hand-waving, ill-substantiated rubbish have been rejected for other formal journals. How it wormed into NWA Digest is beyond me.
As for storm watching with kids, and as a storm observing parent, I can assure doubters that it can be done well and relatively safely, but not by emulating the examples this guy has shown.
I agree with Laura that irresponsible pseudoscientific behavior is a discredit to storm observers everywhere. And if this post makes me an "enemy" to yet another reckless clown, as it has before...than I welcome the hate with open arms, and will treat it as a badge of honor.
===== Roger =====
Richard, even though you sound like a Dick here, I hope your son is OK. Karma is a bitch though, ain't it?
ReplyDeleteGood Lord, Laura...You were absolutely right! Darn. The guy is a complete nut job!
ReplyDeleteWhat an aweful father and human being for putting his family through this sewer of a ballon hoax.
ReplyDeleteMayumi Heene on "Wife Swap"... "I have only one word to say, LOSER!"
She needs to dump that nutjob and move on with her life (whatever's left of it).
awful.
ReplyDeleteHeenes are going to be living in the streets after lawyer fees, court costs and punitive fines.
A reality show of the Heenes going from on homeless shelter to another... I'd watch that for a dollar!