Cut and paste from my post to the northeast list:
I just wanted to express my thanks to Larry and the sponsors for this years Poker Rally, I had a blast. It was great seeing everyone again and meeting some new faces. As most of you heard, I'm getting married a week from yesterday and the guy that came with me was my fiance's matron of honor's husband. He is now trying to figure out how he can get an NSX (I had to promise I'd give him back the mechanic's engine cover thingy he won when he gets his (thank you Honda Acura World). His highlight of the day were the four lane twisties leading up to the park with the monument, and I had to agree until....... damn you Don Gallo!!
What can I say, I've never been in forced induction NSX before. Don first took me for a ride in his, and from the passenger seat, it felt quick but I really wasn't getting it, then he pulled over and told me to drive. It sort of took some getting used to, I'm used to turbo vehicles with gobs of torque (450+ lbs at the wheels) that just suddenly kick you in the ass at certain poiints, so it's sort of a lurching exercise. There was none of that here, I was just suddenly going REALLY REALLY fast. This was also the first car with short gears I'd driven and I'm hooked on those as well now. The thing just stays in the power band and just keeps accelerating. Driving his car also made me realize I think I need new shocks (what are you running in yours Don?)
I'd like to say this purchase is on my short list, but as many of you now also know, two weeks after my wedding, I'm off to federal prison for 15-18 months for "conspiracy to commit copyright infringement", and after I get out I'll be paying legal bills until I'm 200 years old (at the rate I'm paying them now). I'm the first person in the US ever to go to prison for this, lucky me. Prior to me, even people SELLING pirated software on ebay just received probation (which I was in no way doing, that's clearly wrong and is a crime). I realize now what I did was wrong too and I was stupid for being involved, but the punishment doesn't fit the crime thanks to groups like the SIIA, SPA and BSA throwing millions at congress. The whole thing is pretty ricockulous (as Doug H likes to say) but there you have it. You're welcome to read the WSJ article about my case at
www.nema.com/wsj .My next event will probably be NSXPO 2004, so I will miss you all, and the lists and the forums and my car and most of all my fiance until then.
As asked for, my address there is
XXX-XXXXX (my prisoner ID which I don't know, email my fiance after 9/1 to get it at
[email protected])
FMC DEVENS CAMP
PO BOX 879
AYER, MA 01432
I'd also like to make a couple of suggestions for future events:
1. It would be great when whoever is making the route map if they could bring a GPS and record the route, and then upload it so others can download it to their GPS' to avoid getting lost like run groups yellow and blue
.
2. Lunch was fantastic, but it would be greatly appreciated if we had it at lunch time rather than dinner time
. We were STARVING (as were many others). Part of that was because we got lost which delayed everything,
which idea one should help avoid. Thank you Larry's family for helping out so much and preparing everything for everyone.
3. My fiance's idea (nobody actually said anything about this, but it just made sense): How about each person being able to play a poker hand (just provide different decks of cards to each person in the car to avoid trading). My guest paid as much as I did to be there, the poker game is a lot of fun, it just makes sense that each person would get a poker hand.
4. Again my fiance's idea (nobody commented on this either, and while I personally could care less, it again did made sense so I'll put it out here as food for thought). If there is a per car park entrance fee, and the event registration costs are covering that, then cars with two people should get a slight discount.
Thank you again Don for letting me enjoy something I will probably not be able to afford for a very long time, it was truly my highlight of the event and the week (last week that is, the new week started today and I'd better say that my highlight this week is my wedding or I'll suffer
). See you all in 2004!
Cheers, Rob
