Path: ...!news.mixmin.net!eternal-september.org!feeder3.eternal-september.org!news.eternal-september.org!.POSTED!not-for-mail
From: Alan <nuh-uh@nope.com>
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.advocacy
Subject: Re: What is going on with 2024 the SCCBC season?
Date: Wed, 10 Jul 2024 13:05:15 -0700
Organization: A noiseless patient Spider
Lines: 213
Message-ID: <v6mphr$2131k$5@dont-email.me>
References: <v5ev3p$1krq8$2@dont-email.me> <v5kg3d$2so01$1@dont-email.me>
 <v5mjo9$3clpa$1@dont-email.me> <v5nj1v$3iok7$1@dont-email.me>
 <v69dg2$3cp2n$1@dont-email.me> <v6ca7t$3ucbp$1@dont-email.me>
 <v6m759$1ur0u$3@dont-email.me> <v6mn1r$21ics$1@dont-email.me>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=flowed
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit
Injection-Date: Wed, 10 Jul 2024 22:05:16 +0200 (CEST)
Injection-Info: dont-email.me; posting-host="e6f8fd290421ea0703f5db84774c6ce7";
	logging-data="2133044"; mail-complaints-to="abuse@eternal-september.org";	posting-account="U2FsdGVkX18+yJdAEsLAVRkcQzevKjNWp6uG/ZILwuE="
User-Agent: Mozilla Thunderbird
Cancel-Lock: sha1:nToARUi9uli2u4n96Y4UdUc7/cM=
In-Reply-To: <v6mn1r$21ics$1@dont-email.me>
Content-Language: en-CA
Bytes: 10626

On 2024-07-10 12:22, -hh wrote:
> On 7/10/24 10:51 AM, Tom Elam wrote:
>> On 7/6/2024 4:42 PM, -hh wrote:
>>> On 7/5/24 2:19 PM, Tom Elam wrote (plus merged posts):
>>>> On 6/28/2024 8:04 PM, -hh wrote:
>>>>> On 6/28/24 11:10 AM, Tom Elam wrote:
>>>>>> On 6/27/2024 3:55 PM, Alan wrote:
>>>>>>> On 2024-06-25 10:34, Tom Elam wrote:
>>>>>>>> Dear Alan,
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Last year, 2023, April-June, there 3 weekends, 9 races at SBBC. 
>>>>>>>> Total unique CW driver entries were 97, OW 37. These are typical 
>>>>>>>> for an entire season for 2021-2023. In April-June 2024 unique 
>>>>>>>> driver entries are 14 OW and 49 CW, about half prior years.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> These stats are from the SBBC season championship records.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Wow, quite the drop. What's going on, Alan?
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> And, BTW, you entered 11 out of a 71 2021-2024 races. None last 
>>>>>>>> year of course, but also none this year and 11 out of 34 in 
>>>>>>>> 2021-22. Have you retired? I thought you were looking forward to 
>>>>>>>> getting back this year. Not so much?
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> So great to see you taking such an interest in my life, Liarboy!
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> I wonder if I might take a little interest in yours.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Done much flying lately?
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Well, yes. Two very different flavors. Full scale last 6 months, 
>>>>>> 36 hours logged including 2 family visit trips to Georgia, some 
>>>>>> CAP hours, and just passed a VFR checkride. The Christmas return 
>>>>>> flight from Georgia was IFR all the way home and an instrument 
>>>>>> approach into Indy Metro. 
>>>>>
>>>>> Christmas of 2023, of course.
>>>>>
>>>>>> Now good for 2 another years on my BFR, taking me almost to my 
>>>>>> 80th birthday. At this time I am also IFR current and capable, but 
>>>>>> those are perishable skills. I'll be taking an IFR skills test 
>>>>>> checkride before the end of September.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> RC model flying has been active since the weather improved in 
>>>>>> April. Some of that is documented on my YouTube channel available at:
>>>>>>
>>>>>> https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcvZXi-36GQkeHr0FdB4cTg
>>>>>>
>>>>>> My latest YT video is rendering as I write this. That one is on 
>>>>>> programming my 3 meter Fox sailplane for solo hand launch. It will 
>>>>>> be up on the channel by end of today.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Tomorrow I am scheduled to go to the AMA annual Fun Fly in Muncie 
>>>>>> and do some instructing with beginning RC pilots. I also just 
>>>>>> passed my Part 107 Remote Pilot/commercial drone license FAA 
>>>>>> refresher, and good for another 2 on that front years too.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> So yes, done a lot of flying. Some airline flying in the near 
>>>>>> future too!
>>>>>
>>>>> Because even 36 hours droning along at a Cessna's 125mph cruising 
>>>>> speed is just 4500 miles: enough to cross the pond once...but not 
>>>>> back.
>>>>>
>>>>>> We will be flying to Vancouver next month to catch a train to 
>>>>>> Calgary then flying home from there. August takes us to France, 
>>>>>> Luxembourg and a Viking river cruise to Basel. Flying home from 
>>>>>> Zurich. Ten day trip in all. So still traveling too.
>>>>>
>>>>> Oh, so now its a ten day trip for what previously was a twelve day 
>>>>> Paris-Rhine cruise claimed back in February?  /s
>>>>>
>>>>>> How about you, doing any racing lately? I know the answer to that, 
>>>>>> at least for SBBC events. Null, zero, nada since 2022. Going 
>>>>>> anywhere outside Canada this year?
>>>>>
>>>>> Life invariably takes different turns.  My last travel comment here 
>>>>> was in early 2023, that we were looking (in 2023) to be making up 
>>>>> for our CoVid travel lull, but that doesn't mean that it all went 
>>>>> as had been hoped for: indeed, it could have changed.  Cancelled 
>>>>> outright, or even perhaps upgraded to be in First Class instead of 
>>>>> Coach on all of that year's international flights! /s
>>>>>
>>>>> Same applies for 2024 as well, for life invariably throws curve 
>>>>> balls; this is why the advice was to 'do the hard stuff' while 
>>>>> one's body (& finances) are healthy enough to be still able to do 
>>>>> what one wishes. Otherwise, one can be pushing 80 and renting a car 
>>>>> is no longer trivial, so one can get increasingly constrained to 
>>>>> guided tours on cruise ships.
>>>>>
>>>>> In any event, a week on the Rocky Mountaineer and the 
>>>>> aforementioned Rhine cruise sounds to be in the rough ballpark of 
>>>>> ($7500+air)/pp, so it does seem like Tommy is perhaps finally 
>>>>> breaking out of his prior fiscal constraint, as I'd long advised.  
>>>>> Yay, you!.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> -hh
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>> Ten was a wrong number for Europe. It IS 12 days plus 2 for to-from 
>>>> travel that I did not include in a prior post.
>>>
>>> But also plus +3 days pre-tour in Paris, as you've mentioned before 
>>> and mentioned again below.
>>>
>>>
>>>> The Canada trip is a package tour via a local company. It includes 
>>>> several side trips, most meals, air, and several nights in the 
>>>> Fairmont Banff Springs and others of similar quality prior to Banff 
>>>> Springs. Check the rates on that hotel. $11,990 for 2. Sadly, one of 
>>>> the people, a good friend at that, was scheduled to go but died very 
>>>> suddenly. The wife has to cancel. It may still be an open 
>>>> reservation for two. Interested? Starts July 20.
>>>
>>>
>>> We've been meaning to get back to the Canadian Rockies, but that 
>>> start date hits a schedule conflict.  Plus we learned last month that 
>>> we're out of shape for any decent hiking in the Rockies (not that 
>>> this rail journey would really have much), so not enough pre-trip 
>>> prep time either.
>>>
>>>
>>>> The Europe trip including air is a bit over $10,000 plus 3 nights on 
>>>> our own in a Paris hotel at $300/night, plus meals, local 
>>>> transportation and sundries. Likely to also come to about $12,000.
>>>
>>> Figured about that, as a cabin on Viking is ~$3800/pp on its own.
>>>
>>>
>>>> Your $7,500 pp is spot-on but includes airfare.
>>>
>>> As you know, there's several rail journey options to choose from, of 
>>> varying lengths; I'd conservatively parameterized to a higher end 
>>> tour than what you actually chose.
>>>
>>>
>>>> We also just this week scheduled a trip to Luddington MI to spend a 
>>>> week with some good friends at their cabin. I'll be flying us up 
>>>> there, only about $600 R/T for air plus taking them out to a VERY 
>>>> nice restaurant or two.
>>>>
>>>> We also have the annual ski trip of course. 2024 is a bit of a 
>>>> splurge but not that different from many prior years.
>>>
>>> I've not chatted skiing lately with a colleague who spends 2-3 weeks 
>>> in Vail each season to know current rates, but I'd expect that the 
>>> Epic is still just ~$1K/pp and that condo/AirBNB rates are quite 
>>> variable.  Even so, $10K probably covers ~3 weeks when driving.  So 
>>> without the ski trip, ballpark $25K for 2024, including the Florida 
>>> bit (next below):
>>>
>>> {merge}
>>>  >
>>>  > Second reply. I just updated the 2024 travel diary and forgot to
>>>  > include 2 January Florida weeks. We stayed with friends week 1, so
>>>  > that kept the cost down. I think the whole trip was only maybe $3-4k
>>>  > all-in.
>>>
>>>
>>> {merge}
>>>  >
>>>  > Back again. FYI the club 182 cruises at 160+ mph, not 125.
>>>
>>> So its an 5,760 miles upper limit.  That's still not enough to cross 
>>> the pond & back...and one still can't nap (safely) when at the controls.
>>>
>>>
>>>  > It's a little over 2.5 hours including taxi time, with no headwind.
>>>  > Delta makes it in 1:30 of droning on in a B737 but them you have a 
>>> 1+  > hour drive to my sister's place in Woodstock, TSA hassles, ...
>>>
>>> TSA Pre makes airport security pretty trivial.  And since someone 
>>> else is driving, its easy to take a nap, watch a movie, read a book...
>>>
========== REMAINDER OF ARTICLE TRUNCATED ==========