Extra time = Blog reborn(for the meantime)

So according to my last post it has been 6 months since the last time I posted. That's due mainly to the fact that time has been about as easy to find as the fountain of youth, el dorado, the holy grail, a unicorn, or watermelon flavored sour straws. The latter one is the most difficult by far.

So here is what you've missed in a nutshell...

1. Alabama went 10-3 and lost to Auburn. A long period of loss induced football depression followed.

2. I was accepted into Alabama grad school full paid, plus a monthly paycheck. This takes up most of my time by the way. 

3. Everyone I know is getting married.

4. Ezra got another puppy.

5. My golf game is better.

6. A tornado wrecked my town. 

I'll focus on the last one for now because it has had the most impact on my life lately and frankly who the hell wants to here about the other stuff? And who reads this anyway?

Here is my story to be added to the others about that day that we will all remember.  It isn't as dramatic or spellbinding as some of the others you may have heard. I didn't have to crawl out of the ruins of my house and look for my roommates, or be rescued from a freezer with 9 other people. I didn't lose anyone close to me or have them ripped form my arms by the storm. I am not homeless, carless, unclothed, or hungry.  Other people are, but I was lucky.
       My day started like any other Wednesday. I woke up and prepared my lesson plan for the lab that I teach on Wednesdays. I went to class at 9 am ate lunch and then went to my office for office hours.  I had heard several days in advance that the possibility of extremely strong storms may affect the area, but honestly thought nothing of it. I had heard it before and nothing had come of it. I will not make that mistake again. 
     The two hours of office hours went by as usual, with no students coming in as was the theme for the whole year. So went about my business working on my assignments.  3 p.m. rolled around and I went to the lab room to proctor the lab final for my class. By this time a severe weather watch had been issued for the University and all my students were praying to whatever gods that would listen that they would have to be dismissed and not have to take the final.  I imagine they would take those prayers back now if they could.
     Shortly after this the first of many tornado warnings was issued and we had to move to the basement of Smith Hall.  Much to the dismay of my students, I told them they could just bring their finals with them and complete them in the basement.  One by one they finished and so we just sat and talked until the warning was lifted.  At this point the warning was lifted, but no sooner had it been lifted than another was issued.  The storm was just now entering the county, all of my students but two elected to go to their homes.  I told them that this was the safest place to be and that I would stay, but they left anyway.  I still haven't heard from some of them and I hope they are ok. 
      So now it was just me and two of my students who happened to take my advice and stay.  We decided to pull up the James Spann on one of the students computers and keep track of what was going on.  At this point in the day the devastating tornado had gone through Cullman and I looked at the images and watched the videos from the town I had called home for most of my middle school and all of my high school years. I have yet to make it up there but I would like to so i can see the place. 
      At this point though, coverage turned to the storm headed our way.  A storm spotter had an eye on the tornado in the county and the video was being streamed to the news station.  All i remember is James Spann commenting on how huge it was, saying that it was over 1 mile wide and very dangerous.
     At this point he also said that it looked to be headed on a straight path for the city of Tuscaloosa.  We still didn't think much of it bc we had all heard this before. I called Ashley my girlfriend and told her to be prepared to get to her safe place with her roommates.  Had I known just how close it came to her house I would have insisted they come to Smith Hall.  Hindsight is 20/20. We kept watching the feed on the computer and as the minutes passed we saw that the storm was indeed headed to the metro area. I called Ashley back and she told me that the power was out and they had no radio to listen to the weather.  This put me on edge and I probably called her 20 times in that hour.
      The storm moved closer and closer and eventually a video feed came up from on top of the RBC bank here in town.  I will never forget the video from that camera.  We were now joined in the basement by the employees of the museum who share the building with us and we were all gathered around the screen watching as a low lying cloud approached the city.  As it drew closer we saw that it wasn't a low wall cloud like we thought, rather, it was an extraordinarily large tornado. I remember the words of the newscaster like it was yesterday, when he saw the tornado.  "This is a once in a career storm. I have never and will never see another storm like this." And the other meteorologists commented that it was "a wicked storm capable of tremendous and violent damage." You normally do not hear things such as weather described in such an anthropomorphic way.  It struck a note in me that really let me know just how serious the situation was.
     The storm continued to move closer to the city.  It crossed highway 69 and then we saw the truly devastating punch that it was about to land on the city.  The mood up until this point had been excited and lacked too much seriousness.  People were amazed at how "cool" the storm looked from far away.  The mood in the room as the tornado barreled into the city was anything but excited.  We all stared at the screen, not in amazement, but in fear.  We watched as it impacted the city and tore apart everything in its way.  I distinctly remember how quiet everyone was.  I looked at their faces and they weren't smiling in excited amazement anymore. They were genuinely afraid. The last image we saw before the power went out was a still image of the tornado when it was headed down 15th street. The lights went out we lost internet feed and people began to panic.  I ran to the window to see if I could see anything.  I remember  looking at one of the huge 100 year oaks on the quad and every leaf was deathly still. I looked up into the sky and was amazed.  The clouds weren't just swirling, they were chaotic. Moving in a huge circular motion. I could hear something in the distance, at the time I didnt realize what it was, thinking back on it now I know. As I looked up into the sky I saw "things" in the clouds moving with the wind. As I looked closer I realized that though they looked small they were several hundred feet above me and that they were actually very large.  What I was looking at were pieces of houses, walls roofs, doors. I saw 2x4's and pieces of fences, sheetrock, and other things that were too hard to make out.  I listened to the distant roar and ran and got my bike and headed for Ashley's house.
Thats all I have time to tell now. I'll try to get more on tomorrow.

Big Pimpin...

Well it's time to fire Nick Saban, he lost a game. Let's get Shula back!....well that's blasphemy. But we did lose, finally.  After 19 straight SEC victories and 29 straight season wins we dropped one. I thought this might be the weekend and it was. Here are the reasons it happened. 

1. GMac held on to the ball WAY to long trying to make a play when he should have just thrown it away.

2. S.Carolina's terrible QB had the best game he has ever played. EVER. and will never play again. 

3. Our heads might have gotten a little too big. 

4. Mismatch at receiver and corner. That SCAR receiver was amazing and up there with AJ Green. 

5. We had no run game and didnt try hard enough to establish one. 

It's just one loss. ONE. In the long run there is a very good chance that we may still go to the big game bc teams ahead of us will lose and we'll beat AU and LSU. So if the cards are played right, the quest for 14 could still be a reality. 

What's new in the life of JB? Well not too much.  I nearly peed all over myself today bc I went scouting and wasnt looking where I was walking and nearly stepped on a 4.5 ft timber rattler. Maybe my Dad was onto something last week. This thing was awesome and I almost brought my camera with me, but on a last second whim I left it at home...damn. 

I'm trying to fit in an impromptu beach trip with the Griffin Gang this weekend, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to make it bc of work. We'll see though. Plus there is always hunting as a back up plan.  But those beach trips are awesome fun.  

I cant really think of anything else except that the HP movie comes out in a little over a month and I'm siked. So I guess that's about it. Here is the pic of the week. I shot this one on a hike up Wheeler Peak in NM. It's the highest point in the state and measures in at just under 14k. The hike took all day bc it was around 24miles round trip. I saw this guy in a cirque on the way up and luckily had brought my zoom lens so I could sneak up close and get this awesome pic.  I wish he would have turned to look that would have made for a once in a lifetime shot, but I still like this one. This fellow was the alpha of his heard and had a whole posy of hoes. Big Pimpin' that's what I named him. He is a Rocky Mountain Bighorn sheep and they are really rare to see. So needles to say I like this one. The pic below it I got a few minutes later and I can't decide which one I like better. The sheep in the the bottom isnt the leader of the heard, but the pose is way better. Let me know which one you like better, bc I cant decide. 

Running Naked in the Woods...

So it's been a while once again since I blogged so this may be a little lengthy.

Chronologically here's what's going in the life of Mr. Bishop.

I went scouting the other day because bow season comes in on the 15th.  Of course I forgot my OFF spray ( which turned out to be a huge mistake). Anyway, I started scouting and about thirty minutes later I got a text from she who shall not be named that said " Have fun hunting. I hope you find some good marks".  I'm not quite sure what marks are, but I found some pretty good sign. I thought it was kinda funny.

Anyway, I talked to me Dad several times while I was out, but being in the middle of nowhere, I naturally lost service.  Over this span of approx. an hour and a half I was presumed "to be dying in the woods because of a copperhead bite and I was laying somewhere in the middle of nowhere, helpless" ( the words my Dad told my Mom).  Needless to say my Dad overreacted a bit and was on his way down to begin the search party for my lifeless body.  On a scale of one to dead I asked my Mom what I was and she replied i was a solid 9. Freak out mode for ol Pops was nearly full swing.  When I got back to service I my phone EXPLODED. I had like 12 missed calls and 5 txts.  This is nothing new for the Bishop clan, however. A few months before the terrible death of yours truly, my dear cousin Patrick also sadly passed away due to a tragic boating accident/lake monster/fiery car crash/ or alien abduction.  On this occasion i was placed on a prayer chain hoping he hadn't befallen one of these terrible fates.  On a scale of one to dead Patrick was full on worm food.  Apparently, it was quite the scene. I know this because i have seen the reenactment performed by  Steven of my Nanny Teresa.  I wont go into the details bc she would kill me, but it was good...somewhere between the YMCA and the wave... This was not the highlight of the day though. No, that honor belongs to the TICKS.

When the rumors of my crossing over to the other side were proven false I was able to focus ont he current situation.  I happened to look down at my blue jeans and the sight I saw freaked me out royally. What I saw still makes me itch. I looked down and saw not just a few, but hundreds of ticks crawling on my pants. I didnt notice them at first, bc they were extremely small (about like a freckle), but upon further inspection in was an army and armada.. and invasion.  So what was I supposed to do. I was in the middle of nowhere, no shower for miles. Naturally I did what anyone would do...maybe. I stripped.  Yes I took every article of clothing I has on, but my socks and hightailed it back to my car.  If there was anyone around or any game cameras set up. They are in for a real surprise when they see my skinny ass butt naked in a couple of their pictures.  I just hope they dont make it on the internet.  Well, I made it to my car...naked and drove about 15 miles to our club house....naked.  I passed several cars on the way, including quite a few 18 wheeelers, who had a good few down in to my small civic. So I am sure I really made some skinny loving perverts day. I got to the club house and showered, but still had no clothes. So I made the due with what I could find. A raincoat. Yes, I made the 40 mile trek back to Tuscaloosa in  nothing but a raincoat. I'm sure my neighbors think I'm a real creeper. Or some sort of flasher. O well at least they wont bother me...

I heard there is a new Harry Potter book coming out. YES it is true. The time is unknown, but JK said it would be sometime within the next 10 years. I'm thinking sometime in the next 5.

Now we have caught up to present time. Today I had a meeting with a professor here at UA. She actually contacted me saying she was recruiting potential grad students and would like to speak with me. So i took the morning off and met up with her.  It was an awesome meeting. She is a geophysicist that has research based in Africa and Antarctica.  We talked for quite a while about what she was looking for in a student and what I was looking for in research.  She seemed genuinely excited about the potential of having me as a grad student...this is good.  If she decides to bring me on as a grad student she said I would most likely take a trip to ANTARCTICA next winter to do some research. That would be amazing to say I did that.  A lot of her research is very computer intensive so i would have to polish my computer coding skills, but I think I can do it.  At the end of our meeting she said she was going to check around the department and see what kind of options we have and she would get back to me in a week or so. I left the meeting feeling very encouraged. Hopefully this is progress with the grad process.


This novel is making my fingers hurt so it's time to kill it off with the picture of the day. I took this one at Mesa Verde National Park.  I was coming up the mountains and this terrific rainstorm was in the valley.  I was able to get about 3 pics and stitch them together to make the panoramic. If you look close you can see the banding in the rain where the sun is coming through. The contrasting dark and light colors really make it cool too.

Dove Hunting

Shout out to my Nanny Teresa on this one who made me sit my butt down and write some more on my blog.

I'm just gonna continue on with my last post bc there were more happenings in my "boring" week than I had originally thought.  One of these things being a dove hunting trip with my Dad.  We met up after I got off work and drove down to Aliceville. As soon as we got there it was non stop.  I was pretty accurate on the day and shot 17 (2 over the limit). My Dad needs glasses, regardless of what he says, and only got 9. So needless to say I just got one more notch on the ol' man.  I'd like to go one more time bc it was a lot of fun and I haven't done it in a while. But things are busy so we'll have to see.

I went golfing this past weekend with my cousin Patrick and his sister's husband Sean. It was a pretty rough day for ol' Patch.  I'm still trying to break in my new clubs, but overall it was pretty good for me. Sean "tigered" it up as usual...jackass. ;) I'd like to go again this weekend, weather and money permitting. So again, we'll have to see.

TGIF. That's all I have to say about this week.  It wasn't entirely bad; it was just long.  I did receive some good news on the grad school front though. After countless meeting and emails ( most with no response). I finally made some headway with a professor.  He told me that he would  be able to accept me as a graduate student and that I need to apply to the department and get all deadlines. Also he would lobby for funding for me and it would be his top priority. He has some very interesting research and I really hope I can join in. This is good news bc the grad road has not been easy so far. Hopefully this works a out and I'll start in January. Cross your fingers.

Pic of the week? Well this one was taken at Great Sand Dunes National Park.  It's in Colorado and is totally awesome.  We camped here for a night and played stickball on the sand flats below the dune.  The dunes were actually over 700ft tall and they are in the middle of the high plains in CO, kinda crazy. I like this one bc the mountains behind the dunes really add some perspective to the shot. The afternoon shadows are pretty sweet to. Enjoy.

Football menu this week:

A close win by Alabama and I'm calling a loss on AU. I think they are good, but I just dont think they have been consistent enough to beat SC.  The Bama game scares me bc our secondary is so young. They are supremely talented, but young. If they can hold up against this pass attack then I'll have faith in them for the rest of the year.  We'll see. Roll Tide!

Boring week

So it's been a pretty boring week, nothing much going on at all. Footballwise, it was as to be expected, Alabama blew Duke off the globe and Auburn barely survived. The gauntlet for Alabama starts next week with a road trip to AR, then at home agains FL and on the road again against SC. If we can survive those games we'll go undefeated again. But anyway, back to my boring week...

It was one of the longest weeks ever recorded.  I stared blankly at compensated neutron density logs which are  really long sheets of paper ( sometimes 10-12ft)  that geologists use to interpret stratigraphy. They are used, like everything else in geology to see if a well will produce oil or gas. Boring stuff  I know. After I finished this action packed task I was left with nothing to do, so naturally I went and bothered the secretary.  I have made it a point to go and cheer her up from time to time bc she has to put up with everybody's crap and I honestly dont know how she does it. It would drive me nuts. I guess that's why she goes home and drinks a six pack every afternoon....

In the past I have sent her funny emails about cats or dogs or paged her desk claiming to be some random celebrity. You know anything to make the day go by a little quicker.  Anyway, I was actually working in the front office one day last  week scanning a bunch of oil and gas forms. And as I would scan them in she would make sure that they came through ok.  That's when my brilliant idea came about...

Here I am staring at the scanner/copier after about 450 scans and I decide to mix up the monotony.  Naturally the only thing to do was plaster my face to the glass, hit scan and send it to the secretary. So that's exactly what I did. Please see the picture below.

It was one of my greatest moments to date and it is only trumped by such great events as the infamous yelling of "bow chicka wow wow" during the kissing scene in Harry Potter, but that's a story for another day. I think my face  really sums it up. Needless to say it was the major highlight of my incredibly boring week. I'm awfully proud.


Now to a better picture.  This is the new picture of the week I took this one in the mountains of New Mexico near the Inn that we called home for nearly a month.  Water shots like this one are always cool, but the rock in the middle really frames this one perfectly.  The only thing that would ahev made it better would be a little sunset light but that is pretty much non-existant at 10,000 feet in the rockies, bc it is almost always cloudy. Anyway, here it is hope you like it (all three of you who read my blog) ;)

10 things I thought about today

Ok. Short sweet and to the point today

1. Lady GaGa makes me want to vomit.

2. Lady GaGa made me vomit.

3. I like vomit more than Lady GaGa.

4. Alabama is on its way to #14. Roll Tide.

5. I can be a real grump.

6. People in general stress me out.

7. Hide your kids, Hide your wife

8. And hide your husband too, because they rapin' everbody out herrr.

9. I really can't wait to get this grad school thing worked out.

10. Pic of the day.  I shot this one out of the door of my tent in Silverton,  CO. The reflection really makes the picture.

Silverton, CO

I can smell the pigskins...

First off a big thank you to my one and only follower ,Kate, who mentioned my measly blog in her awesome blog. Thanks for the shout out.

Second, it's been too long since I posted anything, but things are busy.  The great graduate school debate continues. I swear by the time I'm done I will have talked to every damn professor on this campus. The guy I talked to today was pretty awesome. He is a climatologist that studies hurricanes.  He works extensively with GIS which is what I would like to focus on in grad school. Geographic Information Systems or GIS integrates hardware, software, and data for capturing, managing, analyzing, and displaying all forms of geographically referenced data. 


I think that GIS coupled with my geologic science background could be a deadly combination and everyone needs that in this economy, bc we are not all smart enough to be lawyers... Anyway, I'm finally starting to make some headway (knock on wood) as far as grad school goes, so wish me luck. 


In other news this weekend is the anniversary of my escape from the womb, some 23 years ago. I feel really really old.  You know, at 20 you are still a "kid" bc you are just a year out of your teens.  21 is not really considered an age, more of a milestone really,  bc you can drink whenever you want and not get in trouble for it.  22 is pointless, but you are still young, bc you are fresh out of 21.  23 on the other hand, 23 is old! Not quite the "geezerish" 25, but still its pretty ancient. And this time Sunday that's what I'll be. Below is a picture of me, aged two years, to my geezerish state of 25. 

The best recent news, however, is the onset of FOOTBALL SEASON!!! I've been waiting for this day since we dominated Texas in January and it really has been too long.  I research everything Alabama football whenever I get bored at work. That means I research everything Alabama football a lot....and all the signs point to an amazing year. The questions all the "experts" pose about our defense will disappear by week 2.  Our defense may be young, but they are stacked. I mean, they are good, really really good.  Offense is going to be tremendous, but that goes without saying. The only weak spot I can see is the special teams, specifically, kick off and punts.  The only reason I say that is bc they are totally unproven. So we'll see how that goes.  My guess for the score this weekend is 49-10. 


In more Alabama news, I saw a shirt at Alumni Hall last night with my unnamed girlfriend that I have to get. I tried to find a pic of it, but i couldn't.  It's a plain gray t-shirt with text that says:
                      
                                    "So I created tiger's. Nobody's perfect..."
                                                                          -God




Ok, now to the picture of the day.  I took this one in New Mexico and at the time I had no idea it had this type of potential.  Anyway, I laid down on the road, which was about 150 degrees to get it and I'm glad I did. I think it looks great, but I'm biased...

Well, that's all for now. I apologize for any grammatical errors. I'm in a hurry, bc I'm headed to SUMMMER SNOW!!!!