Where I’ve Been for the Past Few Days

Well, I’m back. Apologies for the long absence, but a full day at a conference (Thurs), a CA to MA red eye (Thurs PM / Fri AM), and a half day consultation (Fri) will do that to you. By the time I was done with Monday’s IBM consult and caught up for a bit with my colleague, I was pretty well cooked. So it was back to the hotel room for a couple of hours of sleep, and then on to a most…unique weekend.

Friday evening, as previously mentioned was the Sox game, and unfortunately was a complete shellacking. Bad guys won 15-3. Straight from Fenway a bunch of friends and I hopped in two rented RV’s and went to Loudon, NH for my first NASCAR event. There’s just one word for that: wow.

I may not have Shakespeare’s 300,000 plus word vocabulary, but I think even he would have been challenged to accurately describe what we encountered amidst the acres of RV’s parked around the New Hampshire International Speedway for days. The world of a NASCAR event is as removed from my normal existence as is that of Balinese fishermen. You may see a couple of the pictures not featuring my friends (per my privacy policy) from the event trickle through my Flickr account, but beyond that I have little to say by way of description. You simply have to go to an event; it’s literally indescribable.

One thing that was clear, however, during my one (and only?) race was that NASCAR understands its target demographic. Near perfectly. Everything they do is geared at marketing the sport; drivers are highly approachable and fan friendly, technology is employed – not fought – to make the experience more intimate, the PA announcers are candid and brutally honest, and they’re even capable of poking fun at themselves – Talladega Nights posters were all over the place.

While I can’t see myself ever becoming a fan of the sport (and if there’s a form of entertainment with more negative impacts environmentally, I don’t know what it would be), I have a lot of respect for the minds behind the business of the sport.

Anyhow, today’s been busy with a consult this morning, some related research, and then I’ve got a new toy to play with that I’ll have more on shortly. Have a couple of posts I’d like to get up tomorrow at the latest, however, so look for those.