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President's Message
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 --by Bill Dally,
GGR President
Thank you Switzers for the new timing system.
Like many members of the club, I am extremely grateful to the many
volunteers who work tirelessly to put on our events and to make them run
smoothly. All of these volunteers deserve our hearty thanks.
Of the many volunteers who make our club function, our autocross chairs,
Carl and Matt Switzer, and our time trial chair, Andrew Forrest, deserve
special thanks for the long hours they put in to put on an entire series of
events. They work tirelessly to put on one event and before it
is over they are already starting preparations for the next one.
The Switzers deserve special thanks this month for their initiative and
efforts in putting together a new autocross timing system. As former
autocross chair myself, I have painful memories of all of the difficulties
caused by the old system - and in particular caused by failures of the
timing cables. Carl and Matt have acquired a new system that includes
wireless links from the timing lights to the timing trailer - eliminating
the troublesome cable. The system also includes computer software
that records each car's run directly into electronic timing cards -
eliminating our paper timing cards and greatly simplifying trailer
operations. When the system is fully deployed, it will include a bar
code system. Bar code labels will be printed and attached to each
car, and a bar code scanner will scan the labels to identify the cars as
they approach the start. This will further automate timing and
scoring and make our events run even smoother.
Being personally familiar with Murphy's Law, I was amazed at how well the
new system worked during its debut performance at the July autocross.
This was no accident. In addition to the hundreds of hours Matt and
Carl have spent researching the system and acquiring the pieces, Matt spent
countless additional hours trying it out, debugging it, and entering data
on 400 participants. It was this tireless preparation that led to a
smooth event.
At that autocross I did hear a few grumbles. I have trouble
understanding people grumbling on a beautiful day at Alameda with views of
the city, the sound of Porsche engines exerting themselves, and the smell
of exhaust - but, maybe some people aren't getting enough sex. The
grumbles I heard had to do with delays in the event and the number of
runs. The delays were largely due to people not following directions
- and getting their data entered in the system at registration, and the
number of runs was due to a course with a late crossover that slowed our
tempo to half of its normal value (a car every 40 seconds vs 20 seconds).
Still, it's a free country, and people can complain if they want to.
However, they need to remember the first rule of complaining: if you
complain about something, be prepared to step forward and volunteer to do
something about it.
Serve on the board
Four PCA/GGR board positions will become vacant at the end of this year:
vice president, competition director, social director, and membership
director. The board is currently looking for individuals to nominate
for these positions. Nominees will then be voted on by the
membership. If you are interested in getting more involved,
here's your chance. Send an e-mail to the board to volunteer
or for more information.
The Allure of the Older Car
Enough with club business. Now I can get down to what I like to do as
club president - writing a column about my passion for Porsches.
As a bicycle commuter, I don't drive every day. However several days
a week, when I have occasion to drive, I face a tough decision: which
Porsche should I put through its paces that day. More often than not,
I pick my 1964 356 SC.
Why do I pick the 64 with its 1.6L four over my Boxster S with its 3.2L
six, A/C, and heated seats? Its hard to pin down, but on many days I'm
drawn to the 356 because its just fun to drive. (I have to confess
that on nice sunny days, I often opt for an open car - and not having an
open 356 I choose either my 1973 914 or the Boxster).
Part of the allure of the older car is simplicity. The Boxster is a
complex car with lots of systems, ECUs, PSM, etc.... The 356 is a
very simple car. The only transistors in the car are in the Blaupunkt
Frankfurt radio. There is something refreshing about driving a car
where you understand every part (and have removed and serviced most of
them).
Nostalgia is another factor in choosing to drive the older car.
Driving the 356 brings back memories from days long past when I rode in
similar cars. The memories are triggered not just from the sight of
the car and its interior, but also from the feel of driving it and the
sounds the twin Solexes make. The large thin steering wheel, the
austere instrument panel, and the feel of the shifter all add to the
vintage driving feel.
One also gets a lot of attention driving an older Porsche. You get
many envious glances and lots of people come by as you park at the bank or
the grocery store to ask questions and leave compliments. This is
even true of my 356 which can best be described as a "driver" in
need of new paint.
Perhaps the allure of an older car is a lot like the allure of an older
woman. Familiarity, comfort, sophistication, and stability win out
over energy and the promise of vicarious youth.
Bill
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Letter from the Editor
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--by John Celona, Nugget Editor
Two-Year Anniversary Bonus Issue!
This issue actually marks the close of the second year that we've been
publishing The Nugget as an email newsletter rather than a printed, mailed
magazine. I hope the progress since those early issues has been evident. We
must be doing something right: there is a steady stream of new people subscribing
to The Nugget each month. New subscribers receive a welcoming email and an
invitation to join GGR. Hopefully, some of them will.
Of course, we couldn't afford to offer a free subscription to The Nugget if
we were still printing and mailing. Actually, we couldn't afford printing
and mailing to members, either! Perhaps this isn't widely known to the
members, but the change to an email newsletter happened to come just in
time to avoid what would have been a severe financial problem for the club
with dropping attendance at the Drivers' Ed and Time Trial Series (a
problem Andrew Forrest has been resolutely working to remedy. See his
article in this issue).
Some members still opine that they would prefer a printed Nugget. Most
Porsche Club members seem to feel otherwise, as evidenced by all the
regions in Zone 7 going to some sort of electronic distribution, with a few
still printing and mailing for those willing to pay extra for that. GGR was
the first, as in many other things. From my perspective, what we're now
able to do with The Nugget in terms of content, color, links, and instant
delivery simply isn't possible with printing and mailing.
Then there's this bonus August issue. Traditionally, The Nugget didn't
publish two months out of the year (August being one of those months) to
save money and give the editor a break. But doing The Nugget this way, we
can publish an issue every month without wrecking the club's budget or my
free time.
Such a deal.
As always, thanks for reading.
Cheerios,
John
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Competition Corner
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--by Dan Thompson, Competition Director
Dan is up to his cones this month with setting everything up for the two
days of autocross at the Marina Airfield near Monterey this weekend. He'll
be back next month. -Ed.
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Board of Directors
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--by John Celona,
GGR Secretary
GGR Board of
Directors
Meeting Minutes for July 23, 2008
The meeting was held at the residence of the President, Bill Dally. The
meeting was called to order at 7 p.m. Present were Matt Switzer, Bob
Murillo, Bill Dally, Dan Thompson, Andrew Forrest, Larry Adams, Mark
Powell, Jeff Kost, Claude Leglise, and GGR member Kevin Webster.
Call for agenda changes: none
Call for calendar changes: none
Approval of May minutes: already approved via email.
Postmortem of events
5/24-25 DE/TT 3 Buttonwillow: weather was great and turnout was good.
6/7 Boxster Brunch
6/15 Beginners auto X school at Monster Park: it was a lot of fun.
6/20 Friday Night Social
6/21 Alameda Autocross #4: there were difficulties with the trailer
arriving late, which made for a late start, plus a course layout issue
which required rerouting that part of the course. Add these to the lessons
learned.
7/18/08 Friday Night Social
7/19 Alameda Autocross #5: first tryout for the new timing system. There
were a few glitches, but it basically worked. The system does require
accurate data: correct numbers on cars, all cars in the system, etc.
Turnout was really good for this event and people liked the course.
Directors' Reports
President: nothing to report.
Vice-President
Upcoming event status report:
7/26 Ground School: moved to the time trial venue at Thunderhill on 8/16
8/2/08 Marina Autocross #6
8/2 Boxster Brunch 10am at Alice's Restaurant
8/10 Carlsen concours
8/15/08 Friday Night Social
8/16;8/17 Driver's Ed & Time Trial #4 Thunderhill & Ground School
8/30 Ground School
Certificates are ordered for the following events:
9/6 Bear Valley Auto X and Wash and Shine, Picnic
9/13 Auto X at Alameda have been requested to be added to the existing
certificate.
Certificates are in place for the following events:
7//27 Vasona Picnic and Wash and Shine
8/2/08 Marina Autocross #6
8/16-17DE/TT #4 Thunderhill
Treasurer
Bill Benz is somewhere in Lake Huron (hopefully above water). Bank balances
are stable and Motorsports Reg is back to working the way it should be.
Secretary: nothing to report
Social
7/27/08 First Annual Family Picnic / People's Choice Wash and Shine
Concours
- We have 19 cars, 43 adults
and 8 children registered ($860.00)
- Armadillo Willy's confirmed
for 50 people ($1,230.09). Need to order some extra side dishes to
accommodate vegetarians attending the event.
- Awards plaques purchased
($106.63)
- Party favors purchased
($34.98)
- Insurance in place (thanks
Bob!)
- Vasona not classified as
"Special Event" ($231.00)
- Still need to purchase
picnic supplies, snacks, games.
- Need volunteers to help
- Need to be reimbursed for
expenses.
01/11/2009 GGR Year End Banquet
- Hiller Aviation Museum
reserved for Sunday January 11, 2009 from 11 AM to 3 PM
- Check for $500.00 deposit
submitted (thanks Bill!)
- Zone 7 has now scheduled
their Awards Banquet for Saturday January 10th.
7/??/09 Second Annual Family Picnic / People's Choice Wash and Shine
Concours. Request authorization and funds to reserve Vasona for next year
and have classified as a "Special Event". ($331.00). Motion to
approve this passed unanimously. And, if we decide to cancel, there's only
a $6 cancellation fee.
Membership
Membership remains stable at about the same number. Jeff also wants to
survey non-renewing members to inquire about that. Motion to approve the
new members was unanimously approved.
Competition
Proposed rules changes should already have been communicated to the
membership director (Dan Thompson). Please get yours in if you have one.
Some work is still being done to write up actual wording for proposed
changes, so a summary would do at this point.
The Marina autocross will include a 914 shootout, with about 35 914's
showing up, including a number of Parade winners and some SCCA national
guys. It should be quite a show.
The next time trial at Thunderhill August 16 and 17 is at close to
break-even, which means it's not full and is a great opportunity to get
some good driving time in. Plus, there are not a lot of students, which
means instructors would get good driving time also.
Webmaster: not present
Topics for discussion
Nomination of officers for 2009: next year, we'll need membership,
competition, and social directors, plus a vice-president. Jeff Kost
(membership) and Bob Murillo (vice president) both agreed to run for a
second term. The President will call for nominees for all positions in the
next issue of The Nugget.
Friday Night Social: motion was passed to remove the Friday Night Social
from the calendar due to low to nil attendance. Folks are still free to
show up, of course, as they like.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:50 p.m.
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June Membership Report
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--by Jeff Kost, Membership Director
Total Members: 2524
Primary:
1476
Affiliate:
1047
Life:
1
New Members: 21
Transfers In: 2
Transfers Out: 4
New
Members
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Bob Baron
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Millbrae
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1999 996
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Eric & Valerie
Brown
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Morgan Hill
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2005 911
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Marc Buehlmann
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Mountain View
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1997 Twin Turbo
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Grady & Dee
Carter
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Vallejo
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2002 Boxster S
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Eddie Chan
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San Jose
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2008 Cayman S
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Alison Drury
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San Francisco
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Mary Heacox
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San Jose
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John & Mary
Lee
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San Francisco
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2008 911 S
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David Miller
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Danville
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1995 911 993
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Pilar Miranda
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Morgan Hill
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2004 911 GT3
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Jon Moss
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Palo Alto
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2008 997 S
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Soninha Petri
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Oakland
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Lamar Potts
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Los Gatos
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2008 Cayman S
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Elliott & Brad
Roberts
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San Francisco
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2004 996
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Hamed & Ameen
Sajjadi
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San Jose
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2007 997 GT3
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Mark & Shirley
Schneckloth
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Cupertino
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2008 Cayman
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Ash & Victoria
Shaalan
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San Jose
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2008 4s
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Scott & John
Stocker
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Santa Cruz
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1996 993 C4S
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Paul Tan
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San Francisco
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2003 Carrera 4S
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Kelly Thompson
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Los Altos
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2005 996 T S
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Andy Tzelepis
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Redwood City
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1980 924
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Robert & Sean
Woods
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Alameda
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1972 914
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Jon Yap
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San Jose
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2002 Carrera
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Anniversaries
40
Years
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Terry Zaccone
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Saratoga
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1968 911
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25
Years
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Norma Ong
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San Francisco
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Danielle Ringen
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Los Altos
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1978 911
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20
Years
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Rebecca Harwell
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Los Gatos
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Dan Lofgren
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Milpitas
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1987 911
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15
Years
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Dora Brown
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San Mateo
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Lyn Mehl
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San Jose
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10
Years
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Douglas Ambrisko
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Mountain View
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1987 911
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Jan Coon
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Clovis
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Andrew Fulgham
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Pacifica
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1996 993
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Barbara Grimm
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Piedmont
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Kathy Hutchinson
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Oakland
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Michael Ingegno
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Oakland
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1996 911
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Vanessa Owyang
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San Jose
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Susan Smith
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San Jose
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Emily Williams
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Cupertino
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Ronald Davis
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San Jose
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1989 930
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Steve Nakajima
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San Francisco
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1998 986
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Jack Puls
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Burlingame
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1993 911
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Ronald Seger
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Mountain View
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1997 993
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5
Years
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Peter Bruce
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San Francisco
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1958 Speedster
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Thuy Curran
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San Carlos
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Pierre De La Rocha
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Saratoga
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1999 996 Coupe
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Chris Depuy
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Hillsborough
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2003 Boxster
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Martine Hoefnagels
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Novato
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