May 15, 2000

	There was a minuscule chance of there being some sloppy HP cells 
develop to our east today, but most felt that they weren't worth going for 
even if they were close (and they weren't).  Instead, we opted for doing dry 
runs of launching OZ, the camera and housing designed and built by Allan 
Detrich and Steve Chambers.  We have high hopes for OZ, and think that it 
will prove to be a valuable tool in filming severe weather events when 
conditions are too volatile for manned cameras.
	However, until today, we had never even attempted to deploy OZ, so we 
took a road out of town to a secluded cow path and prepared to do a few 
practices... getting OZ from its housing on the Isuzu Trooper, and anchoring 
it.  We were fortunate enough to run into a local land owner who was more 
than receptive to allowing us access to his acreage... 1500  acres of 
incredible pristine land.
	Our practice runs involved each person on the deployment team with a 
set task.  Our initial attempt was decent....1minute 5 seconds was trimmed 
down to a rapid 45 seconds with only a few tries. We were quite pleased with 
how easily the deployment went, and relieved to discover how firm the 
anchoring was.
	Having accomplished our primary objective, we were left with an 
afternoon of fair weather, sunshine and access to land that begged to be 
explored.  Now Allan's SUV was born to offroading, but the minivan?  Our 
Rocky Mountain boy, Brian McNoldy, needed very little encouragement (and was 
receptive to very little discouragement) and soon was piloting the Chevy 
Venture off-road in the tracks of Allan's Trooper....over terrain that would 
make a Land Rover pause.
	It was a glorious afternoon, as good as a fair weather day can get.  
Other than a few oil wells and Bill Steigerwald calling in press dispatches 
on his cell phone from the middle of a buffalo wallow, the views were much 
like what they must have been 500 years ago.
	Conditions for storm chasing have been improving all week, and we may 
actually give chase tomorrow... but we are keying on Wednesday.  We're all 
anxious, and beyond ready; the wait for big weather has been handled well by 
one and all, but like the atmosphere, we need something HUGE now to 
re-establish our balance.  We are, more than ever, ready to roll.
		We spent a somewhat quiet evening "in the house" in Medicine 
Lodge, Chris and Brian grinding out and analzying CIN, CAPE, LI, cloud cover, 
and did a hand drawn skewT, Allan editing footage, Bill talking to his editor, 
and Geoff marveling in yet another American cultural experience: professional 
wrestling.  I did my thing, trying to keep up with the forecasters, banging 
away at the keyboard, running back and forth to the van, and standing sentry 
over the fleet against a recent Bubba invasion here at the hotel.  As Geoff 
would say, "only in America!"


Nancy Bose
MESO     (http://www.mcwar.org)