Real Time View

With the Indy 500 looming, leave it to legend Mario Andretti to talk about an up and comer we can relate to in the NonStop marketplace … It seems only fitting that at this time of year we include a reference to the upcoming Indy 500 race. Marketed as the greatest racing spectacle on earth, that despite contrary arguments from my colleagues in Europe, has challenged even the best of Formula One drivers through the ages. It looks so simple but even as someone who has pulled on a helmet, strapped himself into a “race-able car,” driven at 140 mph onto the banking of the Auto Club Speedway (Fontana, CA), I cannot comprehend what it would take to enter turn one of the Indianapolis Speedway at 240 mph as was the case this past weekend during qualifying. Every country has its racing heroes and there is none bigger in America than Mario Andretti. It was almost two years ago that I had the opportunity to sit in the “second seat” behind Mario in a Honda-powered Indy car for an inaugural two-lap “...

It’s all about your customer experience; NonStop community needs to step up and join the conversation! It was only a matter of time before I started writing for an automobile magazine. This shouldn’t come as too big a surprise to the NonStop community as for many years stories about cars have been liberally interwoven into story lines featuring NonStop systems. I am now writing a column for the National Auto Sports Association (NASA) magazine, Speed News. I have a really good professional editor in Brett Becker who is really helping me out when it comes to shortening my stream of consciousness and turning it into something you would want to read. If you belong to NASA you may want to check it out as I am now covering the High Performance Driver Events (HPDE) sessions NASA runs for those who simply want to take their own cars out onto tracks across America to have fun in a safe environment. Usually, you will find all the cars headed in the same direction which isn’t necessaril...

Race cars, wide open lapping days, the noise the smell and the color; what does it all have to do with NonStop? How about the ride and how NonStop has pushed hard to win the mission critical computing stakes!   After several years of being absent from track time on road courses, I took the plunge this past weekend and drove the company command center together with our red Corvette Z06 to High Plains Raceway. Located well to the east of Denver, outside the small township of Byers, this circuit is picturesque even as it takes full advantage of the rolling grasslands that create interesting changes in elevation. From top to bottom there is almost 100 feet of elevation shift and there are a number of corners that are on top of the undulating countryside where drivers’ approach them blind to what may lie beyond. I signed up for the Friday “open lapping” afternoon – four sessions, each of 30 minutes – as well as for the Saturday club day hosted by the National Auto Sport Associa...

Popular news publications talk of doom and gloom for technology behemoths but for those who choose NonStop, the journey continues – and it’s all good news! Back behind my desk, following the road-trip through the south-eastern states of the U.S. even as I work, the memories keep coming back. Apart from the destinations – Atlanta and New Orleans being the cities we spent the most time visiting – it was once again, about the journey. Over the years, we have managed to fill up the garages, so whenever we plan a road-trip one of the last questions addressed is always over which car we will choose to drive. As you can tell from the picture above, the Nissan GT-R proved to be the winner this time. The photo, courtesy of 129Slayer.com , captures us cornering rather aggressively along Tennessee highway 129, otherwise known as the tail of the dragon due to many corners that have been carved out of a very short mountain crossing. With me giving the thumbs-up then yes, it was Margo behin...

When was the last time you really wished NonStop systems would do something different? Support something extra? Or simply wished you knew more about its future? The third anniversary of “my three wishes for NonStop” is only seven months away … This past weekend saw me yet again at a car track. This time, it was a return visit to High Plains Raceway (HPR), just outside Denver, and arguable our home track. Readers of my social blog may recall in the most recent post, Getting much needed seat time – but will it be enough? I backed our Corvette into the wall at Sonoma and messed it up. Fortunately, it’s all sorted out now and we were able to enjoy our time at the track. That evening came the word that Saturday would see me taking an instructor on track who would then approve me for a higher group – something I have wished forever since taking up the sport. Then again, I was reminded of the need to be careful about what we wish for in case our wishes come true – there are always som...

With seven posts to the LinkedIn group, Real Time View, written while attending 2013 HP Discover, a week later I have had time to reflect on all I saw. And it really is game-on for NonStop! This year, the program we built around HP Discover unfolded in reverse as compared with our 2012 plans. Perhaps it was the prospect of doing something a little more challenging or simply a case of forgetfulness about just how stressful HP Discover can become. Perhaps too it was simply a huge mistake and one I would like to forget, but as for the event itself, it was well attended and the picture above shows the early attendees heading for the registration kiosks, Tuesday. Readers may recall that our trip last year to Las Vegas was via Rosamond, California, where we kicked off the week with a weekend laying down laps at Big Willow – much of this covered in the post of May 31, 2012, Java rocks! But no, this time it would be completely different. As 2013 HP Discover wound down, we headed for ...

Following posts (ATMmarketplace, realtime.ir and comForte Lounge, as well as commentaries to LinkedIn groups) on the $45 Million heist from ATMs, it is appropriate to wrap-up this story with input from a party directly involved … It is rare that I am ever at a loss for words, especially after alighting from a car following a quick dash through the countryside. However, this past weekend, the Memorial Day long weekend, I participated in our club’s three-stage fun “rally” deep in Moab, Utah’s, surrounding national parks where I proceeded to head in the wrong direction. However, there was nothing wrong with what we saw as we traversed the landscape! Margo and I were new to this club so when the instructions arrived, we saw there was incorrect information provided and confused as we were with what we saw, we pressed on regardless only to turn an easy, 53 plus mile segment, into a marathon 250 plus miles. I had to really drive hard to redeem some of my self-esteem so that I could face...

In my lifetime I have walked away from very little so talk of auto manufacturers walking away from what made them famous is a message to all within the NonStop community – who has fallen out of love with NonStop? According to a road test featuring the 2013 BMW 135is in the May 2013 issue of Road and Track, “The 1-Series is the last car that BMW engineered before the Germans, as a car-making culture, fell out of love with driving.” Of course, this really grabbed my attention so I kept on reading. Was Road and Track simply taking liberties with the truth? Had they crossed the line and what about the mighty BMW M3, the envy of every car enthusiasts? It was late last year and I just couldn’t resist taking this picture. It happened outside our local Starbucks and yes, the police officer was sharing a joke with someone who had apparently stepped over the line. It was Halloween, of course, and the other party was a fellow police officer. However, for just a moment, it sure did grab my ...

Surprises take many forms – some pleasant, some unexpected and even some that stop us in our tracks. What didn’t surprise me however were the many references made about NonStop at this year’s HP Discover event! It’s been about a month since HP Discover 2012 was held, and yet all that transpired during that week has remained with me ever since I pulled the RV and trailer out of Las Vegas and headed back to Boulder. For the duration of the event, the RV had been parked further down the strip and given the heat we all experienced I was glad we had a room in the Venetian. With really good air conditioning! There’s little that still surprises me even as automation continues to make inroads into our lives. As a technologist for several decades I associate automation and modernization as an integral part of progress and a contribution to simplifying my life. I have to say that to date, whether its automated car washes, automated check processing at an ATM (and now even cash dispensing i...