Gotta' Have A Good Attitude!

In the television business, you need to always be in a good mood when the camera comes on! It's not something you can fake... you need to genuinely have a good attitude going into a show. This morning it was hard to get in a good mood, but Tonya gave me a pep talk when I got to work. Why you ask???

Here's the deal... On my way to work I not only got run off the road by some "genius", but noticed when I got to work that my tire was going down. Now I have a flat tire that I am about to go take off and get fixed. As you can see, it hasn't been the best of mornings! HOWEVER, our morning producer, Amanda, reminded me that God did give me a few blessings this morning... I didn't get in a wreck and my tire stayed up until I got to work! She made some valid points!

Anywho, I jacked the truck up and loosened the lugnuts during the show while Tonya was doing the news. (I bet that surprises you!) Now I am off to go get it fixed and I am actually in a good mood! Imagine that! As always, feel free to email me at rvaughan@wsfa.com

Quick Update (8:45): I found out that I have "Road Hazard" coverage on the tire, so it will be a free repair! My truck is now sporting a very stylish "Dinky Donut" until after work!" Changing a tire is always so much fun!

PS-I may update the blog later today to write about an intense badminton game from yesterday! Maybe some friends of mine will email some pictures I can post too!

Memorial Day

I hope you have had a great Memorial Day so far. It's hard to be at work when everyone else is off work. With that said, let's not forget what Memorial Day is all about... Our soldiers; past and present. If you know a soldier, give him or her a big hug today!
Chances are, you will be hugging that soldier at a cookout or "cook-in"! With rain falling across the state, outdoor plans will be limited. Let me say this... The Vaughan's are still keeping their outdoor plans. We are just keeping them REAL flexible! We are planning on an intense game of volleyball, followed by an intense meal! I could be a little bloated tomorrow morning. I also might have a bruise on my forehead from a vicious spike of the volleyball! Wish me luck...

Anywho, everyone have a great holiday... be safe... don't drink and drive.... and don't grill inside the house! As always, feel free to email me at rvaughan@wsfa.com

PS- Don't forget... you can get the latest image from Super Doppler 12 on the left side of this page along with the latest watches and warnings!

Rain!!!!!!!!

A good part of the area will finally get some rain! Below is a look at the current radar and satellite....

Some of the storms could get strong... Click the lightning on the left side of the page for the latest warnings! See you tomorrow, if not sooner... Jeff is monitoring the storms in StormCenter 12. As always, feel free to email me at rvaughan@wsfa.com

PS- Look under "Other Blogs" and click on "Nashville Weather". There is an amazing picture of a honeybee nest! I HATE BEES!!! There is also a cool picture someone took from the sky!

20,000 Hits Today!

This could be the day we hit 20,000 hits! Everyone get up and dance!

The counter to the website is under the Hurricane information on the left side of the page. Anywho, I hope everyone has had a safe holiday weekend so far. If you have yard work to do, you better do it this morning. Rain chances are really going up.... It's also a good time to throw out some fertilizer!

In other news, all of us from WSFA will be out at Jubilee today. Tonya and I will be out there at the WSFA tent from 3:00 until 5:00. After that, I'm off to go watch some LIVE music! Hope you have a great weekend... Be safe!

"We Gonna See Some Rain?"

It's one of those days when EVERYONE watches the weather to see if their holiday weekend will be filled with rain. I'll say this... there is a 40% chance you will get wet at any given point on Saturday and Sunday and 60% chance on Monday. Those percentages do not mean the 40-60% of the day it will be raining or that 40-60% of the area will see rain. It means there is a 40-60% chance anyone within our viewing area will have rain. Checkout this little article about rain chance percentages.... click here.

The map above is the 5 Day QPF (Quantitative Precipitation Forecast) map from HPC (Hydrometeorological Prediction Center). Do you see why we use Acronyms!?!?! This map shows how much rain they think will fall over the next five days. For those needing rain, this map brings good news! This map says we will see 2.50" to 4.00" of rain in the next five days. I know I could use that "Free Water" in my yard! Click the picture to get a better look at the map.

I will say this... I am not canceling my outdoor plans yet. I am going to Jubilee all three days and I have a cookout on Monday. My plans are still on! As always, feel free to email me at rvaughan@wsfa.com and don't forget to checkout this week "Spotlight Blogger" below! Scroll down to find out how you can be in the spotlight...

GEOCACHING.... I think the Geocaching County Road 12 will air tonight. For more on Geocaching click here. Posted: 12:30 pm

UPDATE (6:20pm): It didn't air... maybe next week. I guess there was so much Jubilee stuff, it got moved again to next week.

Blogger Spotlight #2

Hey everybody... it's Christmas in May! Our second Blogger Spotlight takes us North.... WAY NORTH! LOL Here's the email I got this week:

Yes we too enjoy reading the morning blog......all the way up here in....Slapout, Alabama !!!!
----Nana & Santa Claus
(Carl & Beth Nelson)

You can be in the "Blogger Spotlight" by sending a digital picture and a short paragraph about where you blog! Email me at rvaughan@wsfa.com

That's A Big Fish!

You have probably seen this fish by now. It's the new 124 pound World Record Blue Catfish! If you missed the story this morning about the fish click here to get numerous articles about it. Here in Alabama the record is 104 pounds and you can find out more about Alabama and the Blue Catfish by clicking here.

Can you imagine catching this monster! The largest fish I ever caught was a Striper (called Rock Fish in TN) and it was almost 30 pounds. I can't imagine pulling in a 124 pound fish! Wow!

In other news... I can't persuade anyone but Danna to be the spotlight blogger of the day!?!?! She is the only one to participate! I guess the 19,000 hits I have go on my blog have all been Danna, my mom, and my boss to spellcheck it!

One last chance... I want a digital picture emailed to rvaughan@wsfa.com and a short paragraph about you and why the heck you read this "rambling" every morning! It can be a picture of you, you and your family, or you and your friends.....

I have a hunch that nobody wants to admit they read the blog! OR they read at work and don't want the boss to know they surf the web!

Cool Things On The Web!

A couple of weeks ago I posted a link on the left side of the page titled "Weather Message Board". It's a link to www.talkweather.com, where weather enthusiast talk about the weather! I found this picture there this week taken by "Carrie" from Auburn. This storm was dumping some heavy rain in Macon County and made for a great picture from Lee County. Occasionally you can find some really cool pictures from around the area on this website! Check it out sometime... It's linked on the left side of the page.

I got something else linked to me last week in reference to the "Soda, Pop, Coke" topic I in the blog. Click this link to see another "Where Ya'll From" website! http://www.alphadictionary.com/articles/yankeetest.html

Anywho, I'm signing off to go learn a new computer in StormCenter 12... Stay tuned for more info on that! As always, feel free to email me at rvaughan@wsfa.com

Beach Bums

These little guys loved the beach this past weekend. As promised, I brought in my memory card this morning. Watch the clicker on the left side of the page. It goes up faster when you put kids on the blog! We all had a great time and look forward to going again in a couple of weeks. I love the beach! In fact, one of the emails I got about a new name was influenced by my love for the beach. Here are a couple of emails answering my question yesterday:

Ryan,
Since you're spending so much time at the beach...how 'bout Rip Tide???
---Carole

How about "Sunny Smiles"? It fits you, I think. :)
I watch Today in Alabama every morning, and really enjoy it. I think ya'll are some of the best personalities on TV. You always get my day started with a smile. Thanks bunches guys!
---Jan

I like both of these names! I would have to change Sunny Smiles to Sonny Smyles so that it would appear like it was my real name! I'll run it by the bosses! I also need to ask them if I can shave my head for the summer...

Anywho, Thanks for the emails... Don't forget, I am looking for pictures of you, you and your family, or you and your friends to post on the blog. Email me a picture and a short paragraph about yourself so that you can be the Spotlight Blog Reader! Email me at rvaughan@wsfa.com!

PS---These pictures should also remind you to put sunscreen on!!! The stuff works... We spent hours at the beach and none of us are burned. My neighbor who went to Panama City this past weekend was as red as this text!!!

Good Monday Morning!

I was going to put some pictures from the beach on here, but I left the memory card at home! Oh well, instead you get a funny cartoon! I hope everyone had a great weekend. The family and I were at the beach and had a lot of "Sunshine Time". We're getting into that time of the year when I go to the beach quite often!

In other news, I ran across a list of names that meteorologists have which are weather related. I'm guessing many (or all) of them are fake "stage" names, but interesting none the less... Here are some of them:

Amy Freeze- WCAU
Dallas Raines- KABC
Storm Field- WWOR
Paul Goodloe- Weather Channel
Larry Sprinkle- WCNC
Sonny Meriwether- Unknown Station

I'm sure there are many more! I wonder what I could change my name to??? During Ivan, Judd called me Vipir Vaughan because of the radar we used. Can you think of a new name for me? Email me at rvaughan@wsfa.com

Have a great Monday!

Update From The Beach...

Good Sunday morning everyone! The family and I are at the beach this weekend. It's nice to have in-laws that live in Destin! I was reading some blogs this morning and ran across James Spann's (Birmingham Meteorologist). He has a nice little write up about "Rip Currents". Look on the left side of my page under "Other Blogs" to check it out.

Anywho... I just wanted to bring that to your attention. See yah tomorrow morning unless I call in sick! *wink,wink*

좋은, 얌전한, 친절한, 선량한, 완전한, 행복한, 적합한, 유능한, 유효한, 충분한, 강한 아침, 초기

It's a big day across the state and country! Former President Bush wouldn't be here if it wasn't a big deal! I got the opportunity to drive by Hyundai a few weeks back and was shocked to see how big that building is...wow!This car factory has brought a lot of jobs to the area and will likely bring more in the future. It's hard to believe that Alabama makes Hondas, Benzs, and Hyundais.... It's like we are the new Michigan of the South! In the Nashville Area, the street that the Nissan plant is located on has blown up with businesses! Look for Hyundai Blvd to do the same in the next couple of years! I predict several restaurants and some shopping to be there in the very near future... By the way, did you notice the Korean title to today's blog post?.... ALL of that stuff for "Good Morning"! How long does it take to write a letter in Korea?!?! LOL (I understand some computers will not show the Korean letters... so if you see little rectangles, your computer can't show Korean letters!) Anywho, the news department has some great coverage ahead for today's event... Rich and Jeff will be in Storm Center 12 waiting for storms to fire up. (I've got to leave work early this morning.) Some of the storms could be strong today, so keep a close eye on Super Doppler 12. It's down on the left side of this page now! Just click it for a larger image. So have any of you checked out the "other blogs" on the left side of the page? If so, what do you think? Email me your thoughts at rvaughan@wsfa.com ALSO, our featured Blog Reader of the week can be found below! Check it out!!!

Blogger Spotlight #1

I told you I would be spotlighting blog readers from time to time, so meet Danna!

My name is Danna Goodson, and I am 62 yo. I work at Home Depot (come see me, I'm the greeter). I have lived in Montgomery about 28 yrs, and I've lived in the same house in Woodmere for 17 yrs. I have 2 daughters, 4 grandchildren, and 5 cats. I love reading and gardening. And, yes, I'm a weather freak. I look forward to reading the blog every day.
Danna

Everyone give Danna a big round of an applause! She is this week's Blog Reader! Send me a digital picture of you, you and your family, or you and your friends to rvaughan@wsfa.com ... Attach a little paragraph with it and maybe you'll be on here in the coming weeks!!

Are You Sleepy Jeff?

When you work the early shift, dinner (breakfast) breaks are used for sleep instead of eating. This was Jeff on his break this morning. When he wakes up, I think I'll catch a few zzz's as well. Actually he just woke up and noticed his picture on the blog! LOL

Anywho, rain is finally on the way it looks like! All of us here in Storm Center 12 have had several phone calls and emails about outdoor graduations and the Grand Opening of Hyundai. All I can say is that there is a 70% chance these events will be wet. Beyond that, only *ONE* knows.

I had several people respond to yesterday's blog post. Here are a few of the emails that I go about using the 500 mb Height map:

I have learned many things about the weather from you, Ryan. You have a way of teaching little bits of information at a time that adds up to understanding why the weather acts as it does.
I am interested in other parts of the weather forecast other than “what the temperature is, and when it might rain”.
Thanks for all your weather forecasting and the personal touch you add to it.
---Nancy

Hey globs are good. Keep up the good work. We need more globs and blogs. If you get a chance, we need some help with fishing forecasts. Any help is appreciated very much.
---Steve

WSFA Storm Team,
Keep those maps. Years ago I used to be terrified of bad weather. Now because you have taught so many things to the viewers about weather, I understand it better and can know the weather when storms, etc. approach.
Thanks, you're the greatest.
---Donna

Dear Ryan, I do not have the opportunity to view your forecast because I work 3PM til ? and don't awake til 1PM. However, in this area, everyone is very interested in the weather. Farmers to Aircraft Techs, like myself, count on an accurate forecast. Right now I have over$300 mil. in aircraft and I need to know if they haveto go inside and locked down. Weather babes are cute, but I need someone I cancount on. I read your reports and check your radar often. If people want a quickie 50/50 forecast they can tune to the weather channel at 8 past the hour. We need the full story in order to prepare.
---Dave

Thanks everyone for the emails, even those that didn't make it to the blog. It's good to get good email, but feel free to yell at me too! I'll post the bad emails as well! I have before! LOL Have a great day and as always, feel free to email me rvaughan@wsfa.com

Look At The Pretty Colors!

There is a movement in the News industry to "dumb down" the weather. There are actually weather guys and gals at stations across the country that can not show "cold fronts" on a map, can't say "dewpoint", or can't say "Upper Level Low". These stations only want their weather people to tell the viewer if it will rain and what the temperature will be that day.

As you can see in the above picture, we're not one of those stations. I wasn't trying to teach you everything about this 500 millibar level map this morning, I was just showing you that the little round "yellow and blue glob" is heading south in our direction! AND THAT MEANS RAIN!!! YAY! I feel it is something the viewer can clearly see and it gives the viewer something to back up "why" I think it will rain Friday.

So what do you think? Should I leave out the "Upper Level Forecast"? You tell me... email me at rvaughan@wsfa.com If you didn't see the forecast, click on the Storm TEAM 12 Weather Page on the left side of this page and look under Featured Videos to see this mornings weathercast.

PS- Apparently nobody wants to be featured as the "Spotlight Blog Reader". I didn't get any emails, even though hundreds read yesterday! One last day to see if anyone is interested!

PSS- Check under "Other Blogs" today for James Spann's blog. He has some good information about some Tropical Weather that might move into the Caribbean!

Roast Judd & Some Email...

Well it looks like someone overslept this morning! This is Judd's chair at 4:30 am... No Judd. We all give each other a hard time about many things... so Judd's empty chair makes the blog this morning. He still was as smooth as ever when the cameras shot that image back to your TV at 5:00 am though!

Now a follow up to yesterday's blog. Apparently many people feel the same way I do about our lawmakers. Eileen Jones was too busy yesterday to give us an editorial, but hopefully she will later this week. Here's what some of you had to say about the issue:

Ryan,
The answer to your question is that we continue to elect the same people time and time again. IF you look, the leadership of the House and Senate has been relatively the same for many years. They have no incentive to pass a budget because if they don't, they get to come back for a special session and they get paid for it. Until the voters make it clear they are fed up, it will never change. We put up with it so this is what we get.
-Gordon

Thank you, thank you, thank you for bringing up our lazy lawmakers!!!! I to am sick & tired of them not getting things done and having to call a special session. I don't think you would get a "special session" if you ran out of time for the 7 day forecast...I know I don't get a "special session if I don't get my work done, I have to find time on my own to get it done & I certainly don't get paid any extra.
I am pretty sure you will get plenty of email replies on this matter...Thanks again for bringing it up!
Sincerely,
April

Perhaps viewers should check the book "Alabama in the Twentieth Century (Modern South)"Wayne Flynt;
It might be a real eye opener.....
"Evil triumphs when good men say nothing"
-Anonymous

Thanks for the emails everyone. I always enjoy reading what you have to say! I am thinking about starting something new for each Friday. I'd call it "Blogger Spotlight" and I would pick a certain blogger to highlight for the week. Anyone interested? If so, email me a picture of you and a little paragraph about you and where you read the blog to rvaughan@wsfa.com

Git -R- Done!

I warned you that there would be days that I "snap" about something... Here it goes!

Why are the lawmakers always running out of time? Why do they waste time talking about laws and bills that do not matter (State Bird, Tree, Liquor?) Why is it that every time I see video of the State House, there is someone talking and nobody listening? Why did they have time to listen to Miss America (or USA?), but they may not have their work done today? I am far from being an expert of Alabama politics, but I am getting a little upset. Are there blog readers that can answer these questions? If so, email me at rvaughan@wsfa.com

To other news... Did you notice I changed the blog a little? I added links to the side (and categorized them!). I added Super Doppler 12 to the left side and also added a link to the latest watches and warnings. In the next few weeks, I will be adding Hurricane Information too! I hope you like it. If there is anything you would like added to the blog, send you suggestions to me at rvaughan@wsfa.com

Back to politics... Maybe Eileen Jones will sit down with me and explain some things to me about the State House. Maybe she'll give us and editorial to post on the blog! I'll ask... She is really good at Alabama politics.

As always, feel free to email me at rvaughan@wsfa.com

Good Saturday Morning!

First off, the County Road 12 segment did not air last night because we had A LOT of news on the BRAC information and the area military bases. Therefore you will learn about Geocaching next Friday night! In the meantime, check the link I left in yesterday's blog to find out what Geocaching is all about...

Now to today... We might get some rain over the next 36 hours. I have held off on using the sprinkler in my yard in the hope of seeing some Free Water. My term for rain! Below is the current satellite and radar picture with area temperatures too! (more text below)

Today, rain chances are rather low, but they'll increase a little tonight and tomorrow (Sunday). Tomorrow is Gerber's birthday, so I'll be on the air tonight so that he can hang out with his family. Everyone email Jeff and wish him Happy Birthday at jgerber@wsfa.com !!!

Well, I'm off to enjoy my Saturday... I hope you plan on doing the same. Feel free to email me at rvaughan@wsfa.com

OH NO! IT'S FRIDAY THE 13TH!!!

Are you a superstitious person? Does this black cat freak you out! Not me... I'm not a superstitious person. However I do find the history behind urban legends to be interesting. If you have ever wondered what story is behind all of these things that cause "bad luck" I have a website for you! Click here to get all of your answers! If you have a better website email me and I'll change the link.

Well I have a busy day today. We have our online chat from 8:00 am to 8:26 am today. After that chat, I will be working on County Road 12. I have a friend that introduced me to Geocaching! It's cool and "high tech" game of hide and seek. Here's a website about Geocaching... Click here. I'm real excited about this story too. I found my first "cache" yesterday and also found some ticks in the woods!!! Watch County Road 12 tonight on WSFA 12 News at 6:00. I hope I can make the story make sense in a minute and a half! Wish me luck.

As always, feel free to email me at rvaughan@wsfa.com

PS- That's not my cat... he's still missing. I gave up by the way!

PSS- The guy that runs "Talkweather.com" sent me an email thanking me for linking his Weather Message Board from the blog. I encourage all of the weather junkies to check it our sometime! Links are on the left side of the page...

Looks Like Me Eating!

Well the youngest dude is now eating cereal! Before you know it, he'll be shoving pizza down his throat like my other boy. I don't think I can say it enough times... They grow up fast! I have some friends that will be having a baby soon and they really are going to be in for a treat. Since George is my second boy, I knew that the days fly by. I just want all the new parents or soon-to-be parents to make sure you take in every moment. I hope that when my boys are teenagers they will still run up to me and give me a big hug when I come home (like my oldest does today). I understand that those hugs don't come as often when they are teenagers!

I tell my dad I love him everytime I talk to him. I'll admit that I didn't always do that when I was a teenager. I suppose when you are a teenager you don't really know what matters most in life. Family ranks right up there with God... (If you are reading....I love you too Mom, but we're talking about Father/Son realtionships today!)

Anywho, I'll quit with the sappy stuff for the day. If you are reading this dad... stop crying YOU SISSY!

As always, feel free to email me at rvaughan@wsfa.com

Guys Only Show & Some Email

No Tonya today... She was on "assignment". Sometimes that would mean she just has the day off, but not today. She is actually working! I can't tell you where she is today, but let's just say she's "Living For Today"! Over the next couple of weeks you will see exactly what I am talking about. Let's just say we are going to be having a lot of fun!

I got some email from some of you yesterday regarding yesterday's blog. Here are a couple of them:

Hey, Ryan…
I just came across your blog and thought this post was funny, so I thought I’d write. I never say “pop” but I do say “soda”. My grandmother is from Minnesota, and my mom has always said “soda,” which is probably why I say it. My husband makes fun of my Yankee roots! I know Southerners also say “drink” which sounds more like “drank” when you throw in the Southern drawl. I do say “Coke” sometimes, but that is because I only drink Coke, as in, Coca-Cola, because Pepsi is unfit to drink. That’s just my two cents…
Have a great day!
-----Carol

Ryan,
I grew up in Green County, MO - in the southwest part of that state where, it appears people now call it Pop. My grandfather called it "Bellywash". I don't think that response was in the survey.
----Harvey

I am an Alabama transplant living in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. There is one soft drink term the map is missing. Most people here call them "soda pops". Sounds goofy to me. Especially since they pronounce the "o" in a funny way. Of course, they are always making fun of the way I talk, and my Southern drawl ain't that strong. My coworkers usually repeat any word I say that has a long "i" sound in it. There are also some Southern sayings like "fixin' to" that they think are funny.
----David

Thanks for the emails, they are very interesting! It's cool to know that people all across the country are reading the BLOG! I'm fixin' to go grab a COKE! As always, feel free to email me at rvaughan@wsfa.com

PS- In college, our friends from the North made fun of "fixin' to" also!

Tease For Tomorrow: 5 month old starts eating cereal! Picture tomorrow!

Coke, Pop, or Soda?

Every now and then I run across a cool thing to pass along to you. The above map is a geographic study on the generic names for soft drinks.... "coke", "pop", or "soda". Here's the link to see more information on this study... click here. I am southern boy... everything is coke! Even if it is Mountain Dew... it is yellow coke! LOL

Anywho, I told you folks to email me a link if you have a blog. I have had a couple of links emailed to me, but I'm going to look over them before I pass the links along to everyone. I need to make sure they are PG 13!

Speaking of links, I occasionally change the links on the left side of the page, so check them often. Yesterday I added the Weather Message Board. This is a message board where a lot of weather enthusiast from around the state chat about the weather. Feel free to check it out!

As always, feel free to email me at rvaughan@wsfa.com If you live in the south and call soft drinks "pop", email me and tell me how often people look at you weird! LOL

Have a great day folks!

For Children 12 And Under!!!

Here's a picture of a kid that's a little too old to be on a Slip 'n' Slide and another playing on one for the first time! I was having a great time and it was a lot of fun, BUT now I am in PAIN. My chest is bruised up, my shoulders hurt, and my neck is as tight as concrete! Chances are, I will do it again this summer. I will have to wait until I forget about the pain I am in today.

I hope all of the mothers out there had a great day yesterday. We had Parent/Child Dedication yesterday at church. We dedicated both of our boys to the church and promised to raise them in a Christian environment. It was an awesome service and even the two year old didn't act up too much! He did yell up to our friend Adam in the balcony and picked his nose a little... but that was to be expected! LOL

Anywho, I hope everyone had a great weekend. As always, feel free to email me at rvaughan@wsfa.com

I NEED YOUR HELP!!!

This is our last day to take donations for Relay For Life! So far I have a wopping $0 of online donations! That's where you come in. You can click here to donate... Typically 200-400 people read the blog in the morning. If everyone pledged $10, we would have $2,000-$4,000 dollars raised in one day! How cool would that be!

If you are like me, you have known someone that has been hit by cancer OR you have been hit by cancer yourself. This is a great opportunity to help toward finding a cure. My stepmother found out that she had cancer over 10 years ago and she is still with us here today thanks to the knowledge of a lot of smart people and the technology of treatment.

I want to also invite you out tonight to AUM for Relay For Life. We will be out there off and on between noon today until noon tomorrow. Come out and say "howdy"!

Don't forget to check the video clips of the people we have highlighted this week leading up to Relay For Life. You can see those stories by looking at the "Featured Videos" on the Today In Alabama page.

As always, feel free to email me at rvaughan@wsfa.com

Sorry the blog is late today... it's been a stressful morning! I thought I had lost a tape for a "County Road 12" segment that airs tomorrow! Not only would I have not had a segment to air tomorrow, but I would have wasted the time of the guys I interviewed. I knew I had brought it in.... I looked on my desk (several times), I looked in the car (several times), I asked my wife to look around the house (several times), and Jeff Gerber and I turned Storm Center 12 inside out (several times)!

I had an even larger problem because I didn't have the tape labeled. Do you know how many tapes are floatting around the newsroom! I found it though.... Since it wasn't labeled (my fault) our morning photojourmalist Darren Gilley *GilleyCam* picked it up to use today. Luckily he heard I was looking for a tape.

So the tape is in my hands and you will get to see a cool little story about the longest running program at the Parattville YMCA tomorrow night... It's called "Elbows For Lunch Bunch". Look for it tomorrow night at 6:00 pm and keep in mind that it almost didn't make it to air! That's your little scoop into WSFA for the day!

As always, feel free to email me at rvaughan@wsfa.com

PS- Feel free to click the image above to make it larger, print it off, and use it as needed.

Does This Mean You're Old?

I got a good chuckle from Tonya today in the newsroom. She had one of these drug organizers on her desk and she said, "Look what I've got now... I'm getting old!". Needless to say, I started laughing! The only people I know that have these are my parents! With that said, I think I need one too! I don't have daily prescriptions, BUT if I had one of these would I be more likely to take vitamins? (Probably not)

Anywho, that's my random thought of the day! Thanks for all of the emails in response to yesterday's blog! They made me feel very confident about the decisions we make during our severe weather coverage!

I talked last week about the addition of links to the left side of the page. Today I added the website for Prattville CityFest 2005. If you are looking for something to do this weekend, head over to P'ville. I'll be around there from time to time throughout the weekend.

As always, feel free to email me at rvaughan@wsfa.com

PS- Do any of you have a blog? If so, email me the link and I might post the link on my blog!

We Were In The Newspaper!

Did you miss the Sunday morning Montgomery Advertiser? If so, you missed an editorial written about the storm coverage from "The Storm TEAM". I'm guessing the writer was talking about WSFA since we are "WSFA Storm TEAM 12". Here's the editorial for those of you that missed it:

Letters to the editor
Weather team needs calmer conditions

In recent memory a local television station changed the name of its weathermen to "The Storm Team," and since then Montgomery's weather has become a threatening, sometimes frightening presence.
After The Storm Team was born, many springtime showers are predicted to be "heavy rain with a chance of baseball hail." Most thunderstorms are "severe, and bear the seeds of a possible tornado," every windy day constitutes an ominous threat.
If this TV team were broadcasting in England a few years before Shakespeare was born, Thomas Tusser could never have brought himself to think that "Sweet April showers/Do spring May flowers," and a few years later it would not have occurred to Shakespeare to notice "The uncertain glory of an April day!"
Lighten up, Storm Team. Some of us, while appreciating your good intentions and real value, fear that this overselling and excessive zeal on your part could keep central Alabama hunkered down in our storm cellars so long that we will miss springtime this year entirely.

Tom Fitzpatrick
Montgomery

Maybe this guy is right, maybe he is wrong... I'm not sure. When I see video of people's homes thrown all over the place (see above photo) I feel we don't do enough! We get tons of emails from folks thanking us for our coverage, but I wonder how many viewers think we should NOT break into regular programming? What do you think? Drop me an email at rvaughan@wsfa.com Have a great day folks!

PS- You can send your own Letter to Editor at the Montgomery Advertiser by clicking here. You can also get your Storm TEAM 12 forecast everyday in the Montgomery Advertiser.

Behind The Scenes at Talladega

This weather guy became a part of the WSFA 12 Sports Team yesterday. Derek and John were nice enough to let me tag along to help bring Talladega home to the viewers. As a race fan, I must say that it was a VERY cool experience. I spent most of the race in the Photo stand in Pit Row. The balcony that I stood on was right above Elliot Sadler's pit. To see a pit stop that close was amazing! Below are a few pictures that I took yesterday. If you want to see highlights of the race watch WSFA 12 News at 6:00 tonight! Don't forget to check the link to the left for Judd's Digital Diary. He also went to the race and has some pictures on his page too! As always, feel free to email me at rvaughan@wsfa.com

This is shortly after Dale Jarrett was introduced. He is walking to his car in this picture. Click the picture for a larger image.

Gordon's car had a Star Wars theme... some visitors were messing with his car before the race!

After "The Big One", there were a lot of cars in the garage. As I walked around the garage, I was really impressed with how hard Marlin worked on his car! Many of the drivers didn't help at all! (I won't list any names!)

This picture is for all of you Little E fans. This is before the race... Click the picture for a larger image

This picture is for my sister who reads the blog daily. If you are a Gordon fan too, click on the image for a larger one... then save it as your wallpaper if you want!

This is after the race... How would you like to have a billion cameras shoved in your face after driving 500 miles in a car with no air conditioning! I see why Tony Stewart is sometimes a grump! Click the picture for a larger image. You can then make the picture your computer wallpaper.
If you are reading Jamie... you know you want Tony Stewart wallpaper!!!