Formula 1 gained an enormous boost to its popularity with
the Netflix, made-for-television series: Drive to Survive. It gave insight into
what makes an F1 team tick even as it shone a spotlight on some of the drivers.
Who could argue that before this program, few would know who the Honey Badger
was or how popular celebrating a win with a shoey is. No driver benefited more
from all the attention than Australia’s own Daniel Ricciardo.
For much of the year, Margo and I couldn’t say we spent time
behind the wheel of our car with anywhere near the same level of intensity as
an F1 driver or that we tried drinking champagne from our sneakers but then
again, there were times when we might have been tempted to do so. Many days
driving beyond 600 miles only to see the next couple of days requiring us to
drive an additional 500 miles, both days. We can now attest to the fact that
the US is a big country.
Now that I have made that statement it should come as no
surprise to read that we have not just done the coast-to-coast drive once or
twice but three times this year. From the western shores of Florida to the west
coast of California. I would also like to write about how much we enjoyed these
vacations but that was not the case. The move from Colorado to Florida was no
vacation and as for the other times, it was strictly business.
Monterey Bay, Carmel by the Sea, the Great Salt Lake and the
traversing of the Missouri and the Mississippi among the highlights. As a
couple who moved to the US a long time ago and have previously traversed the
continental US, it still surprises us. Many times, we saw something we had not
seen before or simply looked at a town and noted the changes that have taken
place. St George, Utah; Mesquite, Nevada; Grand Junction, Colorado; Nashville,
Tennessee. All have grown and while some cities are major metropolises while
others are just villages, the message is the same. The engine of the US is
doing just fine and while we are yet to see EVs dominating the highways, it’s
getting harder to ignore their presence.
This month it’s been all about driving from Florida to
Colorado, checking on family and the mail, repacking and then heading to the
other side of the country to attend the annual HPE NonStop Conference that is,
NonStop TBC 2024, as the conference is now promoted. It was yet another
occasion for me to present and for Margo and me to play hosts to the NonStop
community during the event. We had reserved the primary hospitality suite, the
Spyglass Suite, and saw the number of attendees who stopped by to join the
conversation peak at 60 plus the last night of the conference.
We were supported by our client NTI who did an admirable job
of making sure Margo and I had what we needed in terms of beverages and
nibblies and without their support, I am not sure we would have been able to
provide a place of refuges at the end of each day. The plan is now to repeat
this support for the NonStop community in Dublin and then again in Houston as
2025 unfolds. We will be driving to Houston but unfortunately, we will be
flying to Dublin. You guessed it, few options here unless we wanted to take one
of the Cunard Queens on a trans-Atlantic voyage. Ummm … hold that thought!
Whenever we head to the west coast, we always find a way to
make sure the drive is a loop rather than simply a back-and-forth trip. Heading
west via Las Vegas and then to Southern California made sense as then our return
trip to Colorado was across the Sierras and then the Continental Divide. Some
2,825 miles all up over a 12-day trip where the conference ran for 5 days. I’d let
you know we averaged 65.7 mph while consuming gas at the rate of25.8 mpg (US).
In the latest Corvette, mind you, with cylinder deactivation. Yes, through Las
Vegas, LA and SF traffic!
One of the stops we try not to miss out on is at Mastro’s Steakhouse, Thousand Oaks. On each occasion we are joined by Brian and Jan whose mentoring we absorb at each opportunity. Brian and Jan are the owners of the highly successful B&K Construction company and how they secure new business, ensure follow-through from beginning to end, is a textbook case of doing everything right by the customer. A process we readily agree amongst ourselves is just further testament to the experience that they have gained through the years. So much about the way they conduct business can readily be applied to those in the tech industry and in this regard, not only do we absorb the stories but see how they can be applied to the work we do.
The return trip was without incident. A simple up and over
the Seirra mountains before crossing the high plans of Nevada separating
California from Utah. But before we began the trip through Nevada, we first
spent the night in Reno. Our hotel was across a lake from the city proper but
as the sun descended, it provided us with a highly photogenic landscape. It’s
been many, many years since I took photography seriously, but throughout the
1970s and well into the 1980s, you would have scarcely seen me without a camera
around my neck.
As we returned to our storage facility, with photography in
mind, I dragged out a storage bin that held Margo’s and my cameras. A
collection of Nikon and Minolta bodies with lots of lenses. And a flash, no
less. It is yet to be unpacked but it awaits our return to our Colorado condo
where I plan to sort out what might make sense as the camera best suited to
easing back into photography. They are a mix of film and SD cards – really old
tech – but it will be a start. And have no fear as I have already reiterated
this with Margo, this is not to be taken as a sign that retirement looms.
Rather, it’s a complementary pursuit to the creative side of writing.
Leaving the storage facility and looking back at our cars on battery tenders, it was a sad sight indeed. It may have been late September but it will not be until mid-January before we see them again. Even then, the weather might not be conducive to long drives up into the canyons of the Front Ranges of the Rockies. The plan is to eventually take the Corvette to Florida (I think it will fit right in with as many new Corvettes that we have seen), keeping the Jaguar as our summer car. With Florida summers as extreme as they are, the plan is to return to Colorado for the summers.
Good stories need bones. Fashion photographers will tell
viewers that someone has good bones, a reference to facial structures, and is
easier to photograph than others. Car restorers will likewise talk about a car
that is easier to work with as it is underpinned by good bones, in this case
being the chassis and key mount points. At other times it might be a home
improvement television show talking about a building’s good bones, a reference
to what is holding up the structure. When it comes to storytelling, there may
not be as many references to a storyline having good bones but experience has
taught me that all good stories follow similar templates or blueprints.
In so doing, it becomes easy for the reader to follow the
general direction that the story is taking. Recently Margo and I have been
celebrating our company’s fifteenth anniversary. Lesser known is how we started out business
blog a full year earlier and in hindsight, it contributed to the ease with
which we moved into consulting. Lesser known is that just one month before we
started our company, this social blog began and, in many ways, opened a channel
to many in business where alternate points of view could be made. As we look
back, it’s become easy to see how the bone structures formed and how today, for
us both, the good bones of business can be readily seen.
A photogenic business partner and wife, certainly helps
advance the storyline. Our move to Florida and to the Florida panhandle has
become one that includes building a new home. As someone who rarely takes a
step backwards, having come to terms with the process that begins with a lot
being assigned, time spent with designers, a builder appointed and construction
teams appearing onsite, we were told that such lots as we were interested in
wouldn’t become available for another year. So, our strategy changed, and we
rented a home in the development and simply hung out at the design center. When
we asked our salesman about buying an already-finished home from someone who
changed their minds well, that very day a lot opened and we liked it
sufficiently to grab it. It is now the first home built in this latest development
phase. Squeaky wheels can attract the good oil, after all.
Returning to the topic of hurricanes and before there is any
chance that you will be panicked by this news, perhaps it’s an opportunity to
talk geography. For those of our friends not familiar with Florida, it is a
very big state. How big? Think a length of 450 miles and, including the
panhandle, the width of 360 miles. If
you look at the map below – and yes, expand with your fingers for better
viewing – Way to the left that simple black dot is Panama Beach / Water Sound
where we are building out home. Inland from the ocean but alongside the
intracoastal waterway, we are about 50 feet above seal level. To the east of
us, where there is a distinct curve, this is “the bend” where of late, some
hurricanes have been forecast to make landfall.
Our drive down the length of Florida is about the same
distance as our former drives from Sydney to Coffs Harbor, NSW, Australia and
when the backend of a cyclone touches Coffs, then it is rarely noticeably in
Sydney. Rest assured, within our lifetime in the Florida panhandle we will face
a couple of hurricanes, that’s a given. But with advance notice, we will not be
second guessing where it ultimately crosses the coastline as we will be well on
our way to Colorado and to our Longmont condo. We will always be having an SUV
in the garage and as a matter of routine, we always keep our gas tanks topped
up, prepared for a hasty retreat if a situation develops.
Talking of SUVs specifically and cars in general, we have
now added a fourth vehicle to what you might find in our garage. With the lot
chosen and construction begun, we are now comfortable purchasing a golf cart.
Down here in Florida, these carts can get quite fancy and there are built where
VIN numbers are present as are seat belts, mirrors, lights and turning
indicators. There is even a glass info center that tells us everything that is
going on with the vehicle. And it is quite tall.
In the spirit of our former Range Rover convertible that
came in orange and we called Li’l Pumpkin, we are calling this cart,
Mini-Pumpkin. With speed maxing out at 25mph, we are quite simply having a
blast. Given how the distance between our rental and the new home is close on
ten miles, we are carting to the site every day. Surprised? As tempted as I was
to consider getting a Slingshot or even a motorcycle trike, we are both having
a blast tripping around the project in Mini-Pumpkin. Have I written about how
tall the cart is? Well, it’s 80 inches which is 3 inches taller than today’s
Tahoes, Yukons and Escalades!
There’s something about our attraction to red and orange
vehicles. Perhaps it reflects a time when we missed purchasing a Dodge Viper
ACR that sat on a dealer’s showroom for months. It’s color? Very Orange. When
we finally decided to buy it, it was gone from the showroom. Sold that very
day. Impulse buying might have its downside but we have never hesitated buying
a car we like, right there on the spot, ever since. But have to admit, the
garage now looks a lot more purposeful and we have the tools to handle whatever
might come our way. It took us about a minute to make the decision to buy
Mini-Pumpkin as it was the only orange cart delivered that day from the
factory.
Routines are now firmly established. We have warmed to our new location, warming being the operative word. We are building a home with good bones even as explore more of our new location. The Emerald Coast is a delight even if as yet, we haven’t put our toes in the ocean. But that will happen. Shortly, we will be entertaining the daughter, her husband and the kids for an extended Thanksgiving Holiday, and that will be a treat for Margo as one of the goals of picking the location, as we did, just happens to be due to an earlier stay by the family, giving us a report on how much they liked the place.
For now, we have a couple more weeks of home building ahead of us and
many more miles to add to the cart. With that and good bones aside, it’s time
to take in more of the afternoon sun as we enjoy dinner by the shore.
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