Nas-Car

Well my wife and I recently attended our first NASCAR race. The Checker 500 held here at PIR last Sunday was the first NASCAR event either of us has attended. I first would like to thank Mark (with a subcontractor we're using on a current project in the valley) for providing the tickets. Overall it was a wonderful, though sobering, experience. We had a delightful time together, and I was pleasantly surprised at my wife's genuine interest the whole afternoon.

We set off for the track several hours before the 2pm start time. I wasn't sure what to expect as we came within miles of the track, which is located out in the southwest valley. Surprisingly the Sherrif's Dept had a well organized and planned out set of routes to brings cars into the enormous parking area. That made the self-parking less chaotic. Since we were arriving on Sunday for an event that basically started Friday afternoon, you can imagine how far away we had to park. Quite right - it was a 30 minute walk from our car to the ticketing gate. My wife quickly noticed how all the cars, RV's, campers, etc - seemed to be a "maze of metal."

The maze of metal soon morphed into a stream of flesh as we were swept along in the crowds of people moving toward their repsective seats as race time approached. A flash of ancient Roman colosseum with venders lined all around the outside selling their wares, the smell of food, crowds of people moving in all directions - anxiously awaiting the main event - came to mind. There was, as you would expect, no lack of alchoholic beverages available, together with your typical desert thirst-quenchers. It could easily be likened to a circus, carnival, fair, or any such event intended to overwhelm the senses and lure the weak into over-consumptions of all kinds.

We were fortunate to find our seats two-thirds up the grand-stands. This allowed a gracious view of the entire infield, along with the complete track. We were also positioned just at the end of turn four and at the beginning of the long main straight (long for a one-mile track). Unfortunately (at first anyway) it also allowed us an uninterupted view of the sun. Even in the mid-80's it can still be quite sweltering with no shade. Did I mention they don't allow umbrellas! Who would need one anyway - it rarely rains in the desert - right? Not. It wasn't long before there was an abundance of shade - and even a little rain to cool things off. Many complained as it brought the race to a halt for 20-30 minutes, but we saw the blessing in it and appreciated it.

As the race gets underway, the most obvious feature during the whole event is the SOUND! We were prepared with ear plugs, but the shear consistency of it was amazing. Equally amazing to my wife was the closeness of the cars at such speeds with so few mishaps. Though there were a few in this race - expecially at the end of the race - they mostly moved around the track, one after the other - like an endless chain of pearls. I must admit it was a bit like watching a carousel - almost hipnotic.

As you might imagine, the race continued lap-after-lap, much the same. An occasional yellow flag, due to debri, to shake things up a bit. There were occasions where cars bumped each other and one or both ended up in the wall. This provoked the mass exudos of the other cars from the track into the pits. It also generated some of the biggest shifts in position. Some benfitted - others didn't. Finally in the end it was Jimmy Johnson who one the race - after leading it for most the laps.

As we left the track, we realized it was an enjoyable experience, and are glad we had the opportunity. Have we been bittin by the NASCAR bug? I think not. But that doen't mean we wouldn't welcome the opportunity to experience it again.

Up to grade?

OK, I know I haven't been keeping up on this Blog. I've been a little over-whelmed with work and school. Fortunately mid-terms are over and I managed an A on one and a B on the other. I could have squabbled over a couple of marginal corrections to push the B to an A, but it seems rather trivial. The A in the other course at least allows me to skip taking the final - as long as I get the same grades on homework and quizzes. A worthy goal indeed!

Electric!

I came across a couple of articles that fit in with our previous Electric discussion. One discusses a new electric vehicle and hybrid-electric that can be run run for pennies/mile, and provide a range of over 120 miles on all electric.

Aptera Test Drive

The Aptera

The other article is about roof-top wind turbines of unconventional design.

This is very encouraging reading. Enjoy!

All Electric?

I recently received an email from my daughter about EV's and thought I would respond to it here.

Thanks for the article. I too have considered this as an option for my 914, but decided against it for the same reason - lead acid batteries and their lack of efficiency. I was researching electric vehicles back in the early eighties when I was working for Sandia Nat'l Labs and came to the same conclusion then. Much hasn't changed in those 20 years except that other avenues have been introduced (lithium & nickel-metal-hydride), but they still remain out of reach for the average person seeking to do a conversion. Also, the electronic controllers needed to manage the discharge and recharge cycles, electrical distribution, etc, are also costly ($4000-5000 and up).

The other question I asked back then and still have not had answered to my satisfaction is this: What is the environmental and cultural impact of shifting all the energy use from individual internal combustion engines to a central electric generation facility? As demands for oil go down with the increase in demands for electricity we will find ourselves tied completely to local utility providers - some of whom are already struggling to meet demand. There's an old saying I learned in High School science class that has proven to be true - You cannot do just one thing!

Thoughts?

Thoughts of Friends

I came across some pictures of my good friend - Hudson, and of course pretty - Bella, that I wanted to share. I sure miss them both, but especially my buddy Hudson.



I've found that horses are unique in the way humans relate to them, and they to us. Horses can't really be thought of, or approached, as pets. And yet I realize how they have drifted from being such a focal and essential part of our lives many years ago to being just that - pets?

You may not know it but Hudson and I had a somewhat rocky beginning. At one point he even kicked me in the upper thigh in frustration. But we became closest friends after that incident. He and Bella are both retired race horses, and although that might seem a cool at first thought, it's actually quite sad. Most race horses are not that well treated - by their owners or by the jockeys. We bought them both from a shelter for abused horses. Bella's back was so bad she couldn't even take a saddle without it causing pain. Thankfully we came a cross a very good vet/chiropractor for horses. It was amazing the difference it made.

Hudson was ridable, but only by the most experienced rider. He was poorly trained, if at all, and was very head strong. The first six-nine months we just spent spending time with them. We (Darla, Ashley, and I) would take them treats several days during the week, then again on weekends. We would clean their stalls, let them out to roam & run in the arena, groom them, and did I mention - give them treats.



I've never seen bigger "kids" than these two when it was treat time. They would ignore everything else and focus like an arrow to the bulls-eye. Their favorites were carrots, apples, and mint candies. They also liked most of the "horse treats" you can buy in 50lb bags.

All this time was necessary just to establish a relationship with the horse. Because horses are prey animals, not predators - as you might think, they function from a cautious and reactive posture. They actually make great mirrors of our (human) emotional states.

Once Jim, our border, relocated, we began the regiment of ground work necessary for their training. This, I believe, is what was missing before, and without the ground work everything else is questionable. This ground work was both enjoyable and frustrating. Enjoyable because I got to spend lots of time with them. Frustrating because I hadn't planned on training them before riding them.

During this training process you learn so much about the horse - and they learn about you. Hudson was so smart - almost too smart for his own good. Ashley aptly named him Hudson - the Momma's Boy. He came off as this big (which he was) tough guy - but was actually just a little kid.



And Bella is the sweetest thing - and she had the sweetest face to go with her personality. I noticed over time that Bella was especially cautious around men. I surmised it had to do with how she was treated and by whom. But I was able to overcome her fear with lots of love and patience.

I almost forgot that part of our ritual together in the arena was to let them eat the leaves off the mesquite trees that grew just outside the arena fence. I would even climb on the fence and pull down branches they couldn't reach. They sure seemed to enjoy that. I did too.

I love them and miss them both.