Loopy meterologists
The weather here has been violent all day. The day started with tornado warnings, ominous foretellings of heavy hail, and reports of houses getting their roofs ripped off. It's all bad news.
As a result, a local news station has been playing nothing but "LIVE POWER DOPPLER" action all day. There are two meteorologists, Katie Horner and Ted Textor, who have been on the job since 8am. God bless 'em.
I can't imagine working that long and having to be on TV and look/act professional for (as of right now) 14.5 hours. I'm pretty sure I couldn't do it without saying something stupid on camera at least once. As it turns out, it's difficult for even the most professional of professionals to do as well. I've been watching these two for the past couple of hours off and on with increasing interest. They're obviously professionals, but they look exhausted. They keep saying strange stuff to each other: commenting on the names of towns, ("That's 'O' see-ole-a, not 'Ah' see-ole-a"), getting stumped by the computer, and going off on tangents about weather radios. They're doing a fine job considering the circumstances, but it's still pretty funny to watch the cracks appear. One of the best parts was an exchange between Ted Textor and the fire chief of a small town near here called Creighton:
TT: So, you've got another storm moving in, and have had some severe damage already.
FC: Yes, there are a couple of homes here with their roofs missing. Fortunately, we've only had a couple of injuries, and those people have been taken to the hospital.
TT(sporting a sad, "so very tired" look on his face): So... um...(pause)... Is there anything we can do?
Is it just me, or was that a really dumb question? Actually, I think it's just me. I remember asking almost exactly the same lame question once. At the time, I was more interested in ending the conversation I was in, while trying to be helpful and cordial. Maybe that's what I found so funny about what I heard. You could see it on Ted: The "Can I PLEASE go home" look on his face, and the general look of exhaustion. While he was saying "Anything we can do?", I bet he was thinking "What do you want from me?"
Sleep deprivation is no fun!
As a result, a local news station has been playing nothing but "LIVE POWER DOPPLER" action all day. There are two meteorologists, Katie Horner and Ted Textor, who have been on the job since 8am. God bless 'em.
I can't imagine working that long and having to be on TV and look/act professional for (as of right now) 14.5 hours. I'm pretty sure I couldn't do it without saying something stupid on camera at least once. As it turns out, it's difficult for even the most professional of professionals to do as well. I've been watching these two for the past couple of hours off and on with increasing interest. They're obviously professionals, but they look exhausted. They keep saying strange stuff to each other: commenting on the names of towns, ("That's 'O' see-ole-a, not 'Ah' see-ole-a"), getting stumped by the computer, and going off on tangents about weather radios. They're doing a fine job considering the circumstances, but it's still pretty funny to watch the cracks appear. One of the best parts was an exchange between Ted Textor and the fire chief of a small town near here called Creighton:
TT: So, you've got another storm moving in, and have had some severe damage already.
FC: Yes, there are a couple of homes here with their roofs missing. Fortunately, we've only had a couple of injuries, and those people have been taken to the hospital.
TT(sporting a sad, "so very tired" look on his face): So... um...(pause)... Is there anything we can do?
Is it just me, or was that a really dumb question? Actually, I think it's just me. I remember asking almost exactly the same lame question once. At the time, I was more interested in ending the conversation I was in, while trying to be helpful and cordial. Maybe that's what I found so funny about what I heard. You could see it on Ted: The "Can I PLEASE go home" look on his face, and the general look of exhaustion. While he was saying "Anything we can do?", I bet he was thinking "What do you want from me?"
Sleep deprivation is no fun!
posted by Kelly @ 10:42 PM
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