Twisting... with Chubby Checker!

(ABOVE: Justin Wilfon, Deana Silk, and myself "twisting" with Chubby Checker on 2NEWS Midday.)

When I look back some day at the coolest moments of my career, dancing with Chubby Checker will rival anything.

The famous Chubby Checker stopped by KJRH earlier this month as he was in town for a concert.

If you're too young to know who is he is, click here for his 1950s classic, "The Twist." He's one of the biggest names in the history of early rock-n-roll.

Chubby Checker is a delight! You quickly get the feel that he's an old friend. He even knew my name and approached me after watching one of my weathercasts... wow!!

In an interview on "2NEWS Midday", the now 70-something year old legend spoke of his career and the lasting impression that his most famous song, "The Twist" had on America.

"It's a dance that anyone can do, at any age," he told us.

At the end of the interview, "The Twist" played from the loud speaker, and we all joined in dancing. (Had I known my feet would be on TV, I probably wouldn't have worn my usual tennis shoes...)

Thanks Chubby Checker, for being you!

(BELOW: After the interview, Chubby Checker handed me his cell phone! He wanted me to take a pic of he and Deana together.)

Cowabunga dude! Saturday morning run with Runner's World

(ABOVE: Turtle Trotters-- not to be confused with my Blazing Turtles group. Turtle power!!)

Today I ran my second longest distance ever!

I've been waking up early on Saturday mornings this month to "try something new" just because I can now!

I was promoted to a Monday thru Friday job at the beginning of the year after Julie Chin decided to retire from TV weather at Channel 2.

I love my job and working at KJRH, but after working weekends for 10 years in Tulsa, a new beginning felt welcome. I always looked forward to working the popular weekend morning show, but personally I felt like I missed out on zillions of outdoor weekend opportunities. So new year, new adventures every week!!

This morning's new journey: joining a Runner's World marathon training run. I found out about the run while surfing the Internet looking for new outdoor stuff to try.

A large group, several hundred folks gathered on the clear, cold morning along the Arkansas River. Today's run was a 5 miler. The distances and courses vary weekly. (The running groups are free and open to the public. Click here for their schedule.)

Before the run, group leaders held up signs marking the pace that each group would run.

I joined a group called "Blazing Turtles" which ran a 10-11 minute per mile average. That's a doable pace for me, maybe a tad slower than I usually run. But I'm not used to running five miles either!

I also learned that it's a big deal for runners to bond with other runners in their group, improve their performance and even work up to a faster group.

After a few announcements, the fastest group left first. The age range of my group averaged 30 to 50 years old, though I met a 13-year old who was running with her Mom!

The run felt awesome! The morning air, the quiet environment, healthy living.

The group run was my first since high school! I usually run a few miles alone on occasion, so this was a nice change. I think adrenaline set in too as I wanted to run faster with a group.

Runner's World provided water stops along the way and even snacks at the finish line-- pretty impressive for a free "training" event!

I felt great after running just over five miles which marks only the second time that I've run that far in my life. (I'm usually on a bicycle!)

Another goal blossomed for this year: Run in a Tulsa event.

I've never run in any event before, not even a 5K! (as running events are scheduled on weekend mornings when I used to work!)

Thanks Runner's World-- I had fun. I feel awesome, and I'll be back. Great way to start a weekend!

(BELOW: A large group met at River West Park for an 8am run. Runner's World even provided water and yummy snacks with icing! (last pic)

Eagle watching in Tulsa

(ABOVE: Paul Orosco took these pictures of a bald eagle taking flight just south of Tulsa near Morris, OK)

Last weekend I woke up before church time on a Sunday morning to eagle watch along the river-- I saw two of them!

The Tulsa Audubon Society partnered with the Jenks High School Ornithology Club during "Eagle Days" on January 14th and 15th.

The group set up high-powered binoculars for the public along the Arkansas River for eagle viewing. I smiled, watching folks bringing their children and grand kids to the event.

I parked at Helmerich Park located south of 71st and Riverside and followed the signs to the watch group.

A small crowd gathered that morning, and we quickly spotted a pair of eagles nesting across the river. It's one of the few times I have knowingly see an eagle in the wild!

We watched them soar across the river and return with fresh critters for breakfast. Through the binoculars we watched the birds interact in the nest-- my first time to see nesting eagles!

(ABOVE: The purple pin shows the location of the eagle's nest. We viewed it from the walking trail along the east side of the river. Another nest is across from 41st and Riverside.)


Their nest appeared huge even from across the river!

The eagles made their home in a tree top, probably 100 feet above the ground on the west side of the Arkansas River in a tree grove. We were located about a half-mile away.

Here's what I learned that day from the Tulsa Audubon Society:

• Bald eagles stand over 3 feet tall and weigh more than 10 pounds
  
• Their wingspan is the width of a car
• They can fly 100mph!!
  
• Eagles are seen together as mating pairs, and they remain with their partner for life
• At a glance, the female and male look the same. However, the female is larger
• They may have more than one nest
• Nests are usually found in tree tops near lakes and rivers
  
• And their nest may weigh 2,000 lbs!!
• Eagles are most active in the morning and during the winter in Oklahoma
• Since 1990, eagles have grown from zero to 90 known nests in Oklahoma

If you are interested in wildlife, then I encourage you to make friends with the Tulsa Audubon Society: www.tulsaaudubon.org.

If you've never seen an eagle before, check out their calendar for future events.

I'll be back!

(BELOW: Follow the signs set up that morning at Helmerich Park for eagle watching... The Tulsa Audubon Society set up high-powered binoculars for anyone to view the eagles... The bottom pic is a KJRH viewer pic of a pair of eagles along Avery Drive in west Tulsa.)

Julie Chin :)

(ABOVE: Covering severe weather-- at 1:30am. The KJRH 2 Works for You weather team in 2008. George Flickinger (me), Julie Chin, George Waldenberger, Dan Threlkeld)



I couldn't believe it when Julie Chin told us she was leaving TV. But at the same time I understood and wasn't surprised.

She informed us of her decision a while back. Her eyes filled with emotion. Mine did too.

....

There's no such thing as a 9-5 job in TV.

Julie's morning schedule is probably the most brutal. Wake up at 2 something in the morning for a 10 hour shift. She doesn't "get credit" from viewers for coming into work at 2:30am. Be ready for lights, camera, action by 4:57am.

She's always the first one in and the last one out on the morning shift.

Why arrive so early? It takes about two hours to make a forecast and prepare the data for the newscast. KJRH doesn't hire someone to do that work either as to a meteorologist, that's like someone else doing your homework. There are no "talking heads" in the weather department at KJRH.

If storms are on the radar, her alarm clock goes off earlier-- she arrives at work at 1:30am. Even going to bed at 7pm, that's less than 6 hours of sleep. If it's raining several days in a row, then wow! Lots of extra hours if the weather lives up to Oklahoma standards.

Julie never cut corners behind the scenes either. Better than anyone else in town she researched local events for specific forecasts, planned out exactly what graphics to show and why, searched for ways to engage the viewer on each individual weathercast. And she did it all with her signature smile and natural enthusiasm!

On top of that, everyone requests Julie! She loves her school talks, hosting duties, volunteering and public appearances. She will continue to be a community pillar after her broadcast career is over.

(ABOVE: Julie Chin (w Jason Grubbs) at one of her zillion events. From the Sand Springs Soap Box Derby. Check out the video! I strapped a camera to mini-Storm Chaser 2 to record Julie racing.)

...

Julie survived Tulsa TV for 9 years, and she did the job better than anyone. Need proof? Look at the results-- KJRH has grown to its highest morning ratings ever.

If Julie has future job plans, she hasn't told us what they are. She and her husband are staying in town, that's all she's saying for now.

Need a spokesperson? Hire her. Need a face for your Tulsa company? She's your woman. She'll learn your business plan better than you know it yourself!

KJRH would, of course, love her to stay on as a meteorologist, but she's too good! Her best days are ahead of her.

I think Julie might be smarter than the rest of us too-- she's now putting her life and her family first! (How fun of a Mom will she be?!)

I'll miss you, friend. After you catch up on some sleep, I'll see you around town. I bet you'll be smiling too, Jules! :)

BELOW: What you didn't see on TV-- Julie tucks her microphone pack out of sight into her sock, and she's two phone books tall! ;)

Lunar eclipse

(ABOVE: photo courtesy, Mike O'Neal in Sperry.)

One of the best job perks is KJRH viewers sharing their pictures with us. Our meteorologists then get to broadcast those pictures to you during our weathercasts.

This picture of the moon really caught my eye!

Last weekend a lunar eclipse was visible just before sunrise.

On the morning of December 10, 2011 the Earth cast a shadow on the moon. A lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth is positioned and nearly perfectly aligned between the sun and the moon.

If you are wondering why the moon turns an orange-red color, it's due to the effects of Earth's atmosphere.

Though the physical body of Earth lies in the path of the sun during a lunar eclipse, the Earth's atmosphere "sticks out" from the planet. The sunlight passes through the atmosphere scattering the light, making the light somewhat opaque. Earth creates an a orange-red shadow on the moon as a result.

Enjoy this picture from Mike O'Neal in Sperry took this picture.

Going "Viral": that wasp picture

(ABOVE: my 15 minutes of fame... forever on the Internet)

You have probably been forwarded emails of funny pictures before, right? How about seeing yourself in one of the pictures-- that's happening to me daily!

The wasp picture on the page was viewed over 600,000 times in one week on one web site alone! Most folks don't know or care who I am, it's just a funny pic of a wasp and a weatherman. It makes me laugh too!

Here's what happened-- last month a wasp flew into the camera shot during a "2NEWS Midday" newscast. The camera is located atop the BOK building in downtown Tulsa.

I've seen wasps and other critters a zillion times before on camera, and I didn't think it was a big deal when the critter flew into the shot. But I had fun with it, "Take cover Tulsa!!", I laughed on air!

Someone else thought it was funny too and snapped a picture of their TV. I don't know who started forwarding the picture. One month later, the picture "went viral" on the Internet.

Several web sites including: http://www.reddit.com/ and http://thechive.com/ picked it up. The picture went from a few hundred to 500,000 views in 24 hours.

I updated my personal Facebook page to the picture-- why not?!

Glad I made someone smile... I don't have choice either, I do BEElieve it's out there forever! ;)

(BELOW: I took this pic a few years ago in downtown Tulsa. The wasp picture was taken from a camera over the 52nd floor of the BOK building in the background.)

My results from 2011 Race the Rail, Watonga

(ABOVE: Beat a train, win a trophy.)

Here are my results from "Race the Rail" 2011 in Watonga, Oklahoma. Click here to read a description of the race.

The wind was the huge story of this year's race. I don't think I've ever cycled on such a windy day! Cyclists were faced with a south wind of 25-40mph. And of course when you are pedaling into the wind, that makes the resulting net wind speed worse. My face was red and raw from wind burn!
(ABOVE: Sean Orta from Bartlesville led our group. I could only keep pace with him for the first 6 miles. BELOW: Race the Rail nearly became Race the Rain!)



I needed to average about 20mph over 32 miles to beat the train, and I thought I had zero chance after the half way point. My average speed was only 13mph at mile 16!

I began the race with a group of eight cyclists, but I couldn't even hold 15mph with them due to the wind. I got dropped from the group, and my speed dipped to only 11mph riding solo. I caught on with the next group which rode about 14mph.

But the same wind which killed us rewarded us on the return trip.

To have a chance to beat the train, I knew I needed to average a ridiculous pace of near 30mph for the last half.

So what happened? I averaged 30.3mph and I beat the train by only 50 yards! I was the second to last person who beat the train. I did it!

(BELOW: More pictures and results. Note: the bar graph of my average speed tells the story: 13mph going south, 30.3mph going north!)

I did it!! :)