J-Cam Archive

This is an archive of amusing shots from the J-Cam, a live camera aimed at Jesse Ferrell's desk at AccuWeather. Along with the pictures, I link to my blog so you can see what was going on the day the pictures were snapped.

The J-cam was one of the first personal webcams on the Internet in 1995 (you can still see the amusing archives). Then, it went offline for 10 years until it was resurrected in 2005. Read more about the J-Cam, its history, and why it was resurrected.

November 19, 2005

It's Saturday so I'm home but I left the cam on to catch the maintenance guys replacing the desk.

Maintenance removes the desk.

Desk returns with new foot.

Maintenance finishes up...

Randy tests the new desk for stability.

All done! See you Monday.

November 18, 2005: Harry Potter Premiere & Moving Friday III

We were having some technical difficulty with the office furniture so after moving and having the desk installed, I had to clear it again to have it replaced.

Harry Potter shows up on CNBC (premiere day) while I'm joking around with my cohorts. I could care less about the magical british kid but the wife and kid are into him.

I prepare to move stuff off my desk (again).

A shot to remind me how I had everything laid out when I have to reassemble it. CLICK ON STUFF IN THE IMAGE FOR SURPRISE LINKS

Another shot -- note Rock'em/Sock'em frog at left.

Closeup of Davis Weather Station Console, Bird, and Dilbert Tie.

We have partial disassembly! Note it's now past 6 o'clock on Friday night. The wife and kid are at the movie.

And I'm OUTTA HERE!

All clear.

November 17, 2005: Blast From The Past: Striped Shirt Day

This probably deserves its own blog entry but I'll have to clear a path through the junk in my storage room to get to the photo albums first.

The last time I bought clothes I tried not to get so many striped shirts / alligator shirts / other nerd-wear. The clothes of my life can basically be described as:

1985-1990 (High School): Florescent 80's Stuff
1990-1995 (College): Jean Jackets & Weird Dark Stuff
1995-2000: Nerd-Wear (evidence: the Original J-Cam)
2000-2005: Nerd-Wear & Hawaiian Shirts

Instead this time I opted for more Hawaiian or one-color shirts. But this striped shirt slipped in this week because I was out of comfortable shirts when I needed one.

Typing faster than the speed of light... or at least the speed of this camera.

Mmmmm... turkey sandwich.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...

Closeup of the striped shirt - see above.

November 16, 2005: Code Red!

A couple of things to note about this day: 1. Henry also has this exact same shirt; fortunately we have not yet worn it on the same day. 2. The Code Red Mountain Dew seen in the earlier shots has been emptied before lunch. Like Carl, I've been trying to drink less soda but when you have to show up for the "State of the Company" address at 8:30 a.m. (and they have free donuts), it's a must to start the day.

<Hmmm... interesting...>

Hmmm... even MORE interesting...

<scared look> Huh? Who goes there? I really look disheveled in this photo. I think this was because I was sporting some 5 o'clock shadow (and also 6-12 o'clock) because I didn't shave that morning.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...

Actually I'm guessing that I was not in fact nodding off but rather looking through a box of papers here.

November 15, 2005

No, I'm not breathing fire, it's just an interoffice envelope oddly placed in the background.

Man it's hard to type and talk on the phone at the same time. I was helping one of our trainers who was onsite with a client.

Huhuhuhuhuhhuhuhuhuhuhuh...

Perusing the WeatherMatrix Forums and either biting my fingernails or beatboxing (actually, both of those are unlikely).

I may not have my finger on the pulse of the nation but I've got it on my eyedrops bottle. Stupid contacts and dry eyes.

November 14, 2005

<scared look> Who said that??

November 10, 2005: TPS Reports: Rock 'Em And/Or Sock 'Em

This day was classic because during the afternoon I had to print & collate several hundred sheets of paper -- and Carl of course couldn't resist training the J-Cam on me while I'm doing it. Despite what I said in my blog, they weren't TPS reports but rather training manuals for clients.

One of my cohorts returned from Ceasar's Palace with RockEm-SockEm collectible pens for all.

Put 'em up!!!

Choosing to stand while talking on the phone for some reason.

An hour later and still standing... for the life of me I can't remember why.

Busted... watching "W" on FoxNews

November 9, 2005: Feels Like Friday Already

<clutches chest> If it looks like I'm about to have a cononary here it's because the boss just asked me to train a client for two weeks out-of-state. I don't travel well.

Let the collating begin... Carl turns the J-Cam around and watches (but doesn't help out) while I (and our customer support specialist) print out hundreds of training manuals.

Makin' copies... copyrama... copy-o-matic

Bring me more reams!

Carl: Hey Jesse? Me: What? Carl: <clicks cam capture button>

Sigh... still going...

I think my help may have left by this point.

The 5'o'clock whistle has blown and I'm stiiiiill staplin'

November 8, 2005: Attack of the Squeezy Heads

The jury's still out on what I'm doing here... playing a harmonica? Donning a fake mustache? Blowing my nose?

Talking to Carl, who sits to my left.

We received a "treat bag" for customer service Month here at AccuWeather, which included one of those really gross eye-popping squeezy heads. So, it was a natural for the cam. We had enormous amounts of fun with those things.

One more silly shot...

15 minutes later and still laughing...

November 7, 2005: Munchin' On Oreos

It's the day after severe storms hit & you can bet that Henry's shown up to trade photos and stories.

Right after this picture was snapped I received this email from an old buddy of mine who used to sit right next to me at AccuWeather: "...munchin' on some grub on the J-CAM!! :-) at 12:35:00 That's freakin' great!!!"

Undaunted, I continue to munch on Oreos(R).

Pondering a blog entry... or still hungry.

November 4, 2005: Friday Again!

It's Friday again and I'm sporting yet another Hawaiian shirt and apparently engaging in some Friday-morning humor.

<Yaaaaaaaaawn> Is it lunch time yet? I have been convinced by the co-workers to go out to the Waffle Shop. We call it the Waffle House down south.

Almost 5 on a Friday... if this one last graphic would just go online I could go home!

Sigh... 5:15 and I'm still here. The background on my computer is Carl's Wall of Stitches photo he took at Disney.

November 1, 2005: A Visit From Randy

Yawn... ?

A rare visit to J's Desk from someone... I think it's Randy again.

October 30, 2005: Day after Corn Maze / Setting up the New Desk

It's the day after the Corn Maze and I come in (on a Sunday) to setup my new desk.

In a t-shirt nonetheless! The Dress Code Policy writers would be aghast!

Yes, Master Bird? Where would you like to be placed?

October 28, 2005: Sue Leaves Us, And So Do My File Cabinets

It's Friday again, the day after our farewell lunch for Sue but we're still saying farewell. As are my filing cabinets, which have served as a temporarly home for some equipment since the move earlier in October. A desk is being installed over the weekend.

Here I am laughing again -- this has been an overall humorous week apparently.

Mmmmmph... lunch is apparently finger-licking good.

Good times are had by all on this last Day of Sue.

I take down the Katrina Poster I just put up earlier in the week, and start taking stuff of the filing cabinets and moving them. A great shot of the Flamingo Shirt.

I grab the last stuff off the floor and prepare the area for the desk installation which will happen over the weekend.

All clean and ready for installation. That's Carl's desk to the left by the way. I actually left the webcam on, to see what happened, not anticipating them cutting the power off to our department (so no interesting cam shots!)

October 26, 2005: Snow in Fall

It's the day after our unseasonably early snowfall and I'm uploading photos to the gallery.

Here I am laughing again -- this has been an overall humorous week apparently.

Operators are standing by... and holding the phone with the wrong hand. If you're wondering what the dot on my phone is, it is a sticker that says "Lift for More News". I think it was from an Information Week magazine or something a while back. I also have the Six Flags Old Man on the phone console, to remind me to smile while on the phone.

J's A Little Teapot -- and he was in 1995 too.

October 24, 2005: Tracking Hurricane Wilma

Hurricane wilma hits Florida.

Something's amusing!

Another awesome shot of Wilma on radar appears on the laptop, now on the East Coast of Florida.

Something's still funny, 5 hours later, and it must have audio because I'm fooling with the speakers!

Time for a litter pondering before the day is done...

October 21, 2005: Friday & Katrina Poster

On this Friday my Katrina Poster arrives while I track Hurricane Wilma pounding the Caribbean and Mexico.

It's Friday and I'm sporting a classic Hawaiian shirt, while putting up the Katrina Poster I made.

Note that the Dilbert tie & mousepad have been moved to the lower right.

October 19, 2005: Wilma Most Powerful Ever

I came in early to track Hurricane Wilma, which just become the most powerful storm to ever be tracked in the Atlantic.

It's 11 am and I've already downed a Code Red Mountain Dew (lower right) and have a strange look on my face. Wilma just made history. The Waterspout on the top monitor is this one.

October 18, 2005: Wilma Comes Into Play

The Hurricane Wilma comes into play as I watch from my computer. At this time there is no hint that she will become the most powerful storm to ever be tracked in the Atlantic.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz....

Finally plugging in the speakers...

A nice shot of an organized desk. The radar shot on the bottom laptop is this one.

October 17, 2005

The move is complete and I begin to reassemble my computers on this Sunday afternoon.

Fooling with the cam... OK it's on me now but where's the Parrot?

I'll just do a little adjusting...

Hmmm... let's check out some interesting information on this screen...

Every day at AccuWeather, we encounter a few head-scratching problems.

(Oh Phone) Let me just open my water bottle and see if I can help you.

4:00, time to lean back & relax...

October 15, 2005: Setting up at the New Desk

The move is complete and I begin to reassemble my computers on this Sunday afternoon.

Trying to setup the weather stations. Whyyyyyy is this not working??

Plugging in the appropriate wires into the WeatherHawk weather station junction box.

That's the Davis Weather Station Console on the right.

Let me just carefully slide this a little more back... crash!

I'm going to have to talk to Forensics about those trays hovering above our department.

The wife calls, requesting take-out for dinner.

Jesse the Parrothead? All setup with new decorations purchased during my vacation to the Beach in August (a plaster parrot and a plastic palm tree).

October 14, 2005: Moving Friday!

This day you got to witness the deconstruction of my desk area in preparation for moving.

*ALL-DAY ANIMATION MOVIE ABOVE*

The calm before the storm.

The J-Cam zooms out for a wide view.

Watch that pile of papers on the left... it's the first to go.

Can people not bother me on the phone today??

Sorting papers. Paper sorting man. Paperama.

Big-stack-o-papers at left now officiall gone.

Racks gone, putting books away.

Taking the posters down...

One section done. Phew!

Ordering Pizza!

Taking apart the main computer...

One poster left... honestly not sure what I'm doing here.

All wrapped up and ready to go! What a day!

It's a world of wires as I finally have to take down the camera.

October 13, 2005: The Fifth Dimension & Northeast Floods

The Northeast U.S. floods again as I watch from my computer.

Uhhh... there's a 5th dimensional alien ship on my screen... or maybe it's just a Windows screen saver.

Mmmm... lunch at the computer...

Speaking of the 5th dimension... I think I am shifting to it after lunch.

Lean back for eyedrops!

I think one of the co-workers was fooling with the cam again and snapped this shot.

October 9, 2005

Sporting a new haircut, I slip in on Sunday to get some work done.

October 3, 2005

Mmmm... lunch...

Working intensely on the weather station. Yes, ladies, you can see by the ring that I am in fact taken (or was that Taken?).

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz....

Slipping in and out of this dimension... or headbanging... or working so fast you can't see me? Probably the former.

Operators are standing by...

September 30, 2005: Hawaiian Shirt Friday #399

Since I almost always take part in Hawaiian Shirt Friday, it stands to reason that I've experienced approximately 400 Fridays since I started working at AccuWeather in 1997.

Sporting a not-quite-outrageous Hawaiian shirt for this Friday

September 29, 2005: Big Storm

Our biggest storm in months powers through town.

Eyedrops... ahhh the joys of wearing contacts.

Doing a quick computer check after lunch...

I can pat my head and talk on the phone at the same time!

September 28, 2005: Community Launches

This day will forever live in infamy here at AccuWeather, for this is the day that my Community Section launched.

This shot of the screens is unusually clear... that's the Community section on the left screen.

September 27, 2005

Pbpbpbppbpbbppbbbbbbb....

Stern face... trying to convince somebody of something.

September 26, 2005

It's a dreary day, our first rain in weeks, as Hurricane Rita visits us.

Sporting the low-key Monday Hawaiian shirt.

September 21, 2005: An Easy-Going Day

This was an enjoyable day with jokes from the coworkers (see below) and leaving early to help Elliot install his weather station.

Coworkers joke over lunchtime.

Alllllllright... gotta get back to work now, you jokers.

September 20, 2005: Hurricane Rita

Hurricane Rita is threatening the Gulf.

An A-Team comic gets left at my desk. Thanks so much Gregg. I'll hit Ebay.

Uhhh... why is the WeatherMatrix server so slow...

<scared look> Huh? What was that??

Uhhh... Henry, we have a problem. WeatherMatrix server is bending under traffic to the recon reports. Better regroup.

D'ohh! Stupid late lunch! Mmmmm... soup....

September 19, 2005: Stitch Attacks.

Stitch attacks and Hurricane Opehlia continues to churn off the Carolina coast.

Monitoring Ophelia...

September 15, 2005: Stitch Attacks.

Stitch attacks and Hurricane Opehlia continues to churn off the Carolina coast.

Monitoring Ophelia...

My daughter's seemingly benign McDonald's Happy Meal toy makes his presence known on the cam.

Stitch getting closer!

September 14, 2005: Hurricane Ophelia Continued

Hurricane Opehlia continues to churn off the Carolina coast. I seem particularly frazzled this day. Maybe it's the long hurricane season.

I think I already have a headache...

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...

AhHa!

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...

Hmmm... A hurricane eh... you don't say...

Hoboy... what a long day.

September 13, 2005: Hurricane Ophelia Continued

Hurricane Opehlia continues to churn off the Carolina coast.

Time to go get some lunch...

September 12, 2005: Hurricane Ophelia

I monitor Hurricane Opehlia, off the Carolina coast... and make a lot of funny faces.

Hmmm... (that's Hurricane Ophelia on the right)

Hrmph... <gives programmer a "yeah right" look>

Hmmm... (that's Hurricane Ophelia on the left)

Mmmm... soup...

September 9, 2005: Feed the Children!

Apparently, I need to Feed the Children.

Hmmm...

Either I'm doing a dance or that's not my hand and someone to my right is explaining something amusing.

Thinking makes my head hurt.

September 9, 2005 : Coworkers Discover The Cam, Part II & Hurricane Ophelia

I am oblivious to the appearance of Minnie Mouse...

I still have no clue she's there...

"Hey J, Check Your Cam!" ... ... HA!

Flamingo... FLAMINGO!!

Flamingo Backs Off...

No Joking Matter: Monitoring Hurricane Ophelia

Clearly, I am not thinking outside the box.

Everybody needs a little "Peps"

Don't close the privacy screen! Noooooooooo!

Mmmm... cookies....

I am approached by a Homie®

September 7, 2005 : Coworkers Discover The Cam, Part I

Superman makes an appearance...

I make a dive for the cam as someone tries to move it

My coworkers made me do the wave...

September 6, 2005 : Setting up the Weather Station

Working on the weather station display software...

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz....

Hmmm... <scratches chin>

Talking to Brian The Programmer about the AccuCam

Man this Davis Instrument is hard to configure...

September 3, 2005 :

Mmmm... Working on Saturday...

September 1, 2005 : Hurricane Katrina news... still going....

It's Jesse of Borg! Or is it just earbuds?

Trying to configure laptop - J-Cam giving me trouble...

Uhhh... just resting my eyes ;)

August 31, 2005 : Hurricane Katrina news flows in.

So many screens, so little time...

Turning off the J-Cam for the day

August 29, 2005 : First J-Cam Transmission and Hurricane Katrina Landfall Day. These were esentially the first J-Cam photos. I had on my "Red Alert" shirt and came into work at 5 a.m. to track Hurricane Katrina.

Man, that laptop is hard to type that far up...

Showing off the "Red Alert" hawaiian shirt

Pondering the latest satellite loop... Althought there were a few test pictures ahead of it, this was essentially the first J-Cam photo since the Original J-Cam closed in 1997.