The last few days have taught me just how much I take some things for
granted. In this case, my e-mail went down (proving once again that even the
"big guys" can screw up once in a while) as my service provider, the largest
in Canada, lost their e-mail server. The closest analogy that fits is that I
felt "deaf and dumb" during that period (yeah, I know, that description
fits me most of the time according to some people).
I could see what was happening on the 'net, but couldn't tell whether
anyone was "talking" to me or respond to them. I guess I am truly addicted
to the web now, as I felt like a junkie hungry for his next e-mail "fix" and
couldn't wait to open the mail box again. God knows how I'm going to deal
with the inevitable crash of my own computer system one day. I can picture
myself banging on someone's door at three in the morning and offering them
any amount of money to get it up and running again.
After all the anticipation of waiting for all the pent-up mail to come
flooding in, I ended up feeling like a kid at noon on Christmas Day. "That's
all there is?..." Along with a few welcome messages, the usual barrage of
spam was all that awaited me. It used to annoy me to receive much of that
trash, just like the junk mail that takes the place of eagerly awaited racing
magazines in the snail mail, but now I'm only mildly irritated and sometimes
amused by the trash that people keep trying to push over the 'net.
Schemes that would never justify the mailing costs before the internet
came along seem to have multiplied and grown online. After all, with a few
"robot" programs to gather e-mail addresses and a cheap e-mail connection,
almost anyone can be an online marketer. Whether they have a real product to
sell or not.
There really isn't time to do a proper update this evening, so I'll
pass along some good news (for a change) and drop a "small" hint about our
racing plans for 1999.
ISKY Racing Cams has come through for us and will exchange our camshaft
for one that will work with the wedge heads. Even though the receipt was lost,
(thanks Rob), they had no hesitation in making the exchange. AND, they're even
entertaining the possibility of some sort of sponsorship of Northern Thunder.
Sometimes when you're up to your armpits in a manure pile, you find a lucky
penny, or a gold ring, or at least a new camshaft....
With all the roadblocks confronting us these days with the engine assembly,
the planned departure date for Australia is in jeopardy - again. If you can
remember when it was first announced, we were planning to ship the container
out in November and arrive in January ('99). Then it was pushed back to an
April arrival. Now . . . the bookings have been made for the end of February
to ship out and April 3rd to fly out, BUT it looks like we may have to "modify"
the plan yet again. No firm decisions have been made either way, but before
this week is out we'll have to make them.
All that gloomy news aside, we'll still be downunder with the new race
car, ready to run at the Winternationals in June. We might not have our 42
foot trailer with us, we might not have a lot of spare parts or money, but
we will be there and prove that we aren't (what the Aussies refer to as)
"gunnas". (As in: "we're gunna do this, we're gunna do that").
It hurts to write about yet another possible delay, but better to do it
now than make excuses when the time comes due. So, if the next time you
check in to the "What's New" page, you notice that the numbers on the
"Scoreboard" have increased, you'll know why. More and firmer news later in
the week.