Skywarn Certification

Last night I got Skywarn certified again. One needs to do so every 2 years, and realistically should take the course work every year. In the past couple years, I kept forgetting to fill out the paperwork, so I wasn’t legit, and stayed in when the weather was bad. This time around, I made it a point to go.

It was cool, this was an advancec class. We went into detail on lifted indexes, as well as a detailed discussion on hook echos. It was a great class.

Unfortunately, my car’s transmission is on the ground. So instead I took my old 77 Station wagon. It has some electrical issues, and its not the best for driving at night anymore. As I rolled into the parking lot… I realized I better be one of the last to leave. There were a ton of squad cars. Yes, law enforcement officers have to get certified as well. We had firemen, police officers, emt’s, in addition to the ham folks such as myself. As such, pulling out of the place with possible flickering lights amidst a bunch of squad cars was not prudent.

The other thing was the class was held at a bar… Yes, powerpoint presentations, flyers, handouts, and a few fellow students drinking beer filled up the place to capacity. If you’ve ever hung out with firemen, you find there is a reason for the sterotype of a big jovial fellow that can be dead serious, yet knows how to have fun as well. It was a great class, one of the better one’s I’ve been at since 96 when I started. It was a win-win for all.