Storm-chasers are those with the interesting yet dangerous hobby of literally chasing storms—they use the weather reports to go where it’s the worst and travel as the storm travels so they stay in the very worst part the whole time. They do this for a combination of science and adrenalin, and I imagine each individual would have a slightly different answer as to their personal reason-ratio between the two. I like that we can try to predict the weather, and if storm-chasers can help with that, I’m glad they are there, but that is not something I would be able to do. Clearly, not for everyone.
But storms happen. While the storm-chasers party through them, the rest of the neighborhood has battened down the hatches, so to speak, and areas prone to storms have storm cellars literally created for the purpose. We build and prepare to be at our strongest when the storm hits and minimize it’s impact on our lives because we all hate pain. That’s it, plain and simple.
I don’t want to be uncomfortable, I really don’t want to be hurt, and if you can tell me ahead of time what to do so I can avoid any and all semblance of suffering, I’m in. Movie night is when we watch fictional people suffer a myriad of problems from the safety of our very comfortable couch. The cupholder in mine lights up. Totally ridiculous and I love it. I don’t even suffer passive darkness, while the characters on my screen may be running from bloodthirsty werewolves, or forgetting to wear pants to school. I observe and appreciate their discomfort for my entertainment whilst myself refusing to be uncomfortable in any way. That’s the goal, and I know I’m not alone in this.
Unnatural disasters happen too, like when something in the computer decides it’s all done working now and won’t turn on again. That’s the sort of disaster that can have ripple effects for many projects and people, and while there’s no storm cellar for that, there are steps people take to stay on top of things—back-up files regularly, etc. If your company or your project hinges on this technology and any data or equipment loss could be catastrophic, you need a bit more to batten down your hatches than a thumb drive. At that point, think of a maintenance contract with a qualified engineer as part of your weather service and your local emergency preparations team—you have to be able to see the storm coming and have the cellar built for you in the first place before you can hope to weather it well, and in the fast-paced world of creative content, it’s always storm season.
Most of us would rather be safe at home then soaked and wearing a hat that says “I love Tornados,” but to each their own, and good for them if they’ve found their happy. Me, I’ll be as comfortable as the given circumstances allow, and I hope to make others just as comfortable so we can avoid suffering together. I want a cushy maintenance contract to keep the proverbial storms at bay for me, and if a storm has to come, I want my storm cellar to be an exact copy of my room so I am not impacted in the slightest. With mirroring, that translates to back ups and copies of back ups of important files, and a fail safe that switches over in microseconds so I don’t even notice. I am spoiled and not in a big fat hurry to change. If you were honest with yourself, you’re not looking to experience the adrenaline and character growth that can only come from a complete system melt-down and loss of data either.
Or maybe you are. Hey, storm-chaser, you do you. Tell me when your show comes on and I’ll watch it. From my couch, with a blankie.