Wow Mark, you're getting as bad as Tom :P
BTW, some very valid points, well said.
Rafe Mc
On Thu, 23 Aug 2001 03:11:54 -0600, "mark jeangerard"
>Just so you know that I sympathize to some extent: I think I know where you
>are coming from Tom as I have a real problem with the term 'compression'
>being used in place of 'data reduction' when referring to audio. The result
>of which, if you take the long (and very real) way around, leaves me with 20
>years of extremely hard earned experience in my field going to no good
>effect. I'm obsolete. Nobody wants what I'm offering. Kaput. I'm not sure
>you would care about my plight when trying to figure out how to email Uncle
>Herb the latest Staind song. My point is only that - people will think and
>do what they like. (For the most part, this post is babbling. But you got me
>thinking.)
>That being said, I use GPLRank to judge my performance. Absolutely. My buddy
>list is comprised of people that I know intimately from newsgroup
>discussions, people I race with often on VROC, people who's articles I read,
>and Huttu. (The later simply for the purpose of shocking my heart into
>action on mornings that we run out of coffee.) My fastest laps are all race
>laps. That's all I do. I run race setups at racing pace. I can reproduce
>every time to within a few 10ths any day. I race in two full damage leagues
>and guess what? I practice with full damage, even on new tracks. Some of the
>people on my buddy list do the same, some don't. I know who's who and that's
>why GPLRank is a good for me. It really is a gauge for me of how well I'm
>progressing. It's just like using a single lap time to see if a setup or
>driving style change worked. Only longer. I think speed is definitely one of
>the skills that a race car driver must possess.
>Chaz Wood started a thing a couple of years ago that was really cool...
>while it was... In case you are unaware, it was an invitational league. The
>GPLRC I believe, and if someone suggested you be added to the list then all
>you had to do was race a public race with Chaz or one of his appointees to
>see if you made the cut. The only qualification was that you were clean. You
>could race when ever you wanted as long as it was on the official server and
>all results were compiled daily. It was excellent. I remember starting 10th
>or 12th on many nights and going through Curva Grande or Eau Rouge without
>seeing a single wreck. Granted, some raced more often than others, but it
>was very clear who were the most successful racers. I'm not sure what
>happened, but I would guess that administration got to be too much, how
>could it not? In the end, the only ones who could be judged by it where the
>ones racing on it. As many entrants as there were on the roster I'm sure it
>left out a fair number of good, solid sim racers. If that means anything.
>I have at least a little of each of the skills that you list as those
>indicative of a good race driver. I know where I am weakest and try to work
>on that point. When it overshadows the next point I have a new project. I
>know all my league cohorts have the same skills and that they consider them
>skills and think of them consciously because I have talked to them about
>them. Many of us use GPLRank in many of our discussions and consider it a
>great tool. We don't consider GPLRank as racing, not that I've heard
>directly, but we include it in many discussions about racing. Can't see how
>we'd separate it sometimes.
>Some days, I don't race as clean as I would like. I'm me, a guy enjoying a
>hobby and the dangers of a wreck are minimal. If I had even one sponsor, no
>matter how much the deal was worth, I'd put in my best every inch of the
>way. But, that simply isn't the case. I think many of us here 'race' like
>that.
>PS Anyone who enters any chat room or newsgroup anywhere should expect the
>lowest of low. I find VROC and R.A.S. to be quite a ways above that. High
>even. If you are introducing someone to an online community who has no prior
>experience... a quick briefing might be in order?
