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First post to NASA Speed News; recalling how it all began.

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As I said in the previous post, there will be one additional post published each month in this blog that are re-postings of articles I wrote for the National Auto Sports Association (NASA) digital publication, Speed News. These posts cover outings in High Performance Driving Events (HPDE) over the course of almost a decade. Having been asked how to access these articles and realizing the magazine was a NASA members-only benefit, I have elected to publish them all here in order for there to be a more reader-friendly way to check them out. If you have ever had thoughts about taking the family car onto a race track to circulate for lap after lap with like-minded enthusiasts, then it’s very clear that you have to start somewhere. The value proposition that came from joining NASA is that they provided instructors along with a ladder up which you could progress until you reached a point where you could choose a race group to join. Or not! Readers may recall that I started posting about the
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Pictures can tell a story …

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  This post, which I suspect will be a little shorter than what you normally come across in this blog, could have easily been written as a series of comments to other posts already published. However, it turns out that there is a common theme even if you have to look hard to find it. We have just dodged another snowfall – somehow it’s taking place well to the south of us – but it is mid-January and we have weathered seven snowfalls so it seems as though we should be preparing for the worst to happen deeper into 2021. The picture above may have appeared in previous posts, but I am not sure. Its inclusion here is for no other reason than I wanted something that depicted changes and this kind of fits the bill. Taken less than two years ago, we no longer have anything depicted here; not even the trailer in the background or the garage itself. But then again, spending as much time at home as we have now done, we keep wondering if we should have held on to the RV. And what about the motorc
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Shame China; your loss our gain!

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  While it would be so easy to launch into an examination of all the poorly executed recent initiatives that are mostly reactive to decisions being made outside of China, there is one program that for Margo and me stands head and shoulders above all others. Believe it or not, China is restricting its import of Australian wines and indeed penalizing the Australian wine producers. After years of investment in the China marketplace, often times at the expense of catering to other markets, China has now snubbed one of Australia’s best industries putting in place a trade embargo. Many of Australia’s wines are world class have been caught up in this action with perhaps none more highly regarded globally than Penfolds. China may have something to do with fireworks as I recall, as they invented the firecracker but even so, they cannot put on a show to match that of Sydney when it’s time to celebrate New Year’s Eve. Once again, China Pandemic not withstanding – and yes, I have to admit, I bel
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Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New year!

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With 23 posts already published to this blog in 2020, this being the 24 th , and another   39 posts already published to our business blog, Real Time View (with the likelihood that we will close out 2020 with   40 posts), it’s time to simply sit back and yes, be truly thankful for what happiness we were able to realize this year. It’s been a very difficult time for all of us whether directly impacted by the COVID-19 global pandemic or simply been on the outside, looking in. As you can see from the picture above, Margo and I continue to practice social distancing. We were fortunate in that when we built our home in Windsor, Colorado, we made sure there were offices for each of us. Not surprising to read that at times, I can be a bit disruptive when on calls especially now as nearly all of our calls are on ZOOM. But enough about the practicality of our situation the really good news is that we continue to test negative for that dreaded coronavirus. Like nearly everyone we talk to we
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The world has changed …

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  Walking out onto our upstairs patio there are signs everywhere that the mild fall Indian Summer that we have been fortunate enough to enjoy for the past month – yes, convertibles have been sighted numerous times as have motorcyclists – has become little more than a memory. Catching sight of thermometers that have dropped deep into the blue zone telling us that it’s now well below freezing - just one more indication that Mother Nature has began its annual hiatus. Changes abound and yet, there are reminders everywhere you turn that perhaps, tucked away in pockets, there are indications that life simply continues unabated albeit on a lesser scale. To simply highlight how much the world has changed isn’t a good enough introduction to another post to a blog. To shine a spotlight on the magnitude of the tragedy in which many of us are caught up doesn’t tell the full story. Even as hope is mounting that there is an effective vaccine about to be distributed there is still that gnawing sens
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Monumental Weekend ... and it's not Christmas yet!

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This weekend took away some of the punchlines of a post I have already written for the February blog. You may recall that at that time of year, when business is a little slow and the opportunities to drive somewhere are limited, I write about the makeup of our garage with an often times whimsical look at what we might upgrade to at some point in the year. What made this upcoming post rather unique was how I spent time praising our virtuous decision not to buy a car during all of 2020. How, with travel bans being enforced for most of the year, 2020 turned out to be a time to pause, to look around and to take stock of what might transpire as we move deeper into year 2021. Well, we almost made it! But who knew that living next door to the owner of the biggest Chevrolet dealership in Ft Collins would make the perfect pitch for us to end our new car buying hold-out. With less than a month to go, we handed over the credit card and there it was! Confirmation of a transaction that would even
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June to November; Colorful Colorado shines

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  While it might be traditional in some countries to track events from May through to September, put it down to a later start or to simply thinking about it during June. No matter what turned out to be the catalyst, on the tenth of each month as summer approached on through to late fall, I was able to take these photos of how the seasons affected us. Without any preplanning involved I took each photo on the tenth of each month and the overall impact of seeing the transition one photograph to the other not only reinforced the passage of time but unfortunately marked our steady trek, one more time, around the sun.   Maybe it’s being out on the deck grilling something tasty, but it struck me that I really hadn’t ever tried to capture the light and shade that came with each ever so subtle change in the weather. I hadn’t even really thought about this being something worth writing about. And yet, after six months and with the onset of the traditional holiday season, it is a way to highlig
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