SpeedWeek 2014 - the event per se

[Glen]

And talking you do quite well, Glen.  Your typing, OTOH, needs work (I can see why you don't text).

Fat Fingers Jim.

[Bob Drury]

   I heard Glen has to use tweezers to pick his nose........... just sayin....................

[gman7]

I hope someone from the SCTA Board is reading this and makes a serious effort to add push notifications/SMS/alerts to the communications channel.

When it comes to down to measuring your speed they don't use handheld stop watches or smoke signals....why are then acting like FB its the answer and the website is the back up system? Most of us got the emergency alert on our smartphones on Wednesday at 7:43 pm about the flash floor warning...I was in a restaurant at the Montego and many phones sounded the alert. As someone said, I bet that if you can have the option when you send in your registration fee to get a cell phone notification update for $5 extra, most of us will sign up to save thousands of $ on Hotel and travel fees.

Entry Fees:
I also heard from many folks that we should expect refunds? Is this true even due to weather cancelation?

[Sumner]

One thing we have to remember is that Joann, as far as I know, is pretty much alone in the office.  Keep that in mind when we suggest taking 500-700 phone numbers and setting them up in a manner to text people and do it in a way where these numbers are not out in the public domain.

As some have mentioned some of this has to fall on our shoulders and we need to network with each other.  Once things got started the FB updates did the job and yes I hate FB, but I can't expect them to use what I like.  If you can't get on it in a situation like this then network with a friend that is at home that can and have them text or call you. 

This hopefully was an unusual year and hopefully won't happen again for some time.  Still I don't remember any time in the past where we would of had as much information at our disposal as we had this year.  Thanks SCTA and thanks to all of the unlucky souls that had to go out there and tear everything down in that water.  Compared to what they had to go through our problems were minor and Jon thanks for this site and the info that was available to us here,

Sum

[jdincau]

Well put Sum

[gman7]

One thing we have to remember is that Joann, as far as I know, is pretty much alone in the office.  Keep that in mind when we suggest taking 500-700 phone numbers and setting them up in a manner to text people and do it in a way where these numbers are not out in the public domain.

Everybody on this website knows how to post...all it takes to have one new page set up on the SCTA website, which allows individuals to add their phone number for special alerts. If this is started today, you will have almost 90% of all racers and crew signed up by next Speedweek. Nobody else sees this number other than SCTA staff. Then you have 1-2 people with access to this page and the possibility to send email alerts to the list. It is not complicated and expensive to set up....one just needs to want it and make live easier for Joann if she is this person who would do this.

[Stan Back]

I've heard that if you go outside you can tell if it's raining.  Where you are.  Not five miles away.  No batteries needed.

[joea]

I heard that you can go outside to see if there is a tornado as well, but getting a warning that one is 5 miles away might be helpful in having the opportunity to  put down the beer, get off the stool, and take cover...

[sirstude]

BTW, If I don't get notified because of my computer/phone choices, that is my problem, not the organizers.  I was pretty well kept up, just took the chance early Saturday morning before any decisions were made.  I found out within half an hour of the posting.  As Sum said, we need to network with each other.  Hope it does not have to happen again though.

Doug


For all the good people here: 

[RichFox]

We were loaded and ready to leave at 5 AM Thursday morning. Sometime Wednesday evening we got the word about the postponement. So we all decided to leave at 5 AM Sunday. On Friday evening we got the word not to leave. I m not good on computers and can not find SCTA on FB without the link posted here. And everything worked great for me. So in my opinion, if you didn't get the word it was due to a lack of due diligence on your part

[F104A]

I think you may be able to wangle a cap, in that if you had paid an entry, shown up, started to set up your pit and then realized that you had forgotten your fire suit or some such, and had to race home to get it and broke down on the way back, only to arrive just as the meet was ending, I think you would still be able to get a cap.


I think....

OTOH it may be that you get that stuff after you've passed tech......   Did you get teched in one of the parking lots?

(So many questions... so little REAL information)

I didn't get the pleasure of getting tech'd in the parking lot. I guess I was in the wrong parking lot. I was in the one across from the Nugget, next to the expo hall. I did pay my entry fee but all I received was a member sticker, which is the same one you get for joining BNI. When I asked at the trailer if I get my bag of stuff, they said no and that was final. Even if I get my entry back (minus the $100) it would be nice to get a participant sticker for my $100. After 26 years of entries, you would think I could at least get a doggone sticker!

[Bob Drury]

  The problem is that relying on friends or "I heard's" is sometimes far from accurate as are website tweets.  It is to darn easy for 2nd hand info to distort news.
  I am not proposing Joanne answer the phone.  Why cannot a separate phone message only line (possibly mobile) be set up by the SCTA accessable  by SCTA officials that is only used before and at SCTA/BNI meets including El Mirage.  What is so Dodge hard about a single number with a immediate updated recorded message that any dufus can dial up on request?  You know, people like Stan, Stainless, and Me and possibly you.
  I do not have a problem with that same message being put on Facebook, Twitter, Billboards or even sex chat sites.  What no one here has answered is the question I asked in my very first post:  WHY THE HECK ARE WE NOT POSTING THESE UPDATES ON THE SCTA WEBSITE... you know, the one where you get event dates, entry forms,
event results, rule book info or where to get one.  Is this that fu*king hard?
  I don't get it and from the phone and text message support I have received, neather do several other racers and a few SCTA workers whose names I won't divulge here.
                                                                                    Respectfully, Bob Drury

[Glen]

Maybe if you let the SCTA/BNI staff get home and have a meeting to discuss this and come up with something that will work for everyone. Joann was on the way or at the salt as well as  a few others hoping to make the meet come off. I have been thru 4 total rain outs and a couple of shorten meets over the years. El Mirage is no different with rain outs and ugly wind and dust storms 3 this year. The tear down team has to pick up miles of wire, pick up a thousand cones and all has to be washed and stored for the next event, the trailers require cleaning and brakes cleaned and serviced
as well. Give them a break and let the get home and have a a meeting. I'll bet they will come up with something. Landracing.com, the SCTA web, Facebook are good sources but someone has to be there to do the inputs.

[Sumner]

 The problem is that relying on friends or "I heard's" is sometimes far from accurate as are website tweets.  It is to darn easy for 2nd hand info to distort news.
  I am not proposing Joanne answer the phone.  Why cannot a separate phone message only line (possibly mobile) be set up by the SCTA accessable  by SCTA officials that is only used before and at SCTA/BNI meets including El Mirage.  What is so Dodge hard about a single number with a immediate updated recorded message that any dufus can dial up on request?  You know, people like Stan, Stainless, and Me and possibly you.
  I do not have a problem with that same message being put on Facebook, Twitter, Billboards or even sex chat sites.  What no one here has answered is the question I asked in my very first post:  WHY THE HECK ARE WE NOT POSTING THESE UPDATES ON THE SCTA WEBSITE... you know, the one where you get event dates, entry forms,
event results, rule book info or where to get one.  Is this that fu*king hard?
  I don't get it and from the phone and text message support I have received, neather do several other racers and a few SCTA workers whose names I won't divulge here.
                                                                                    Respectfully, Bob Drury

First, good to see you Bob at the event  .

As has been noted a couple times already almost anyone can post a message to FB but very few have the software or know how to create a web page or edit one and then get that uploaded to a server.  That is probably why things are posted much faster to a FB page vs. the SCTA's site.

If you can get to the site web page why can't you get to the FB page?  Once either have been saved to your favorites either can be accessed with one click.

I never tried the office land line but thought I had read somewhere here that the message was changed at some point, but there again who is at the office and is it easier or harder to do that than do what they did do for us.  

As far as the friend deal, with us John called a couple times and read verbatim the FB message posted by an official.  That can't get too screwed up,

Sum

[Bob Drury]

  Thanx Glen, I sure didn't mean to imply that change of some sort would not be forthcoming.  We can't change the past and I certainly feel confident that they will look at everything.
  I think we all are appreciative of  the many volunteers do and have done to make it possible for the rest of us to live our dreams.
  I only wish that they would put you back where you belong.............. The timing tower.
                                                                                                   
                                                                                                             Bob