deskthority

I met my second keyboard enthusiast today!

As part of xmits customer care outreach plan (more on this later), I met up with DilbertProgrammer and his wife. Had a great evening! Couldn't have asked for better company,

It's the Isle of Man, and the TT is on. The normal population of the Island is about 80,000, during the TT we get an extra 30,000 to 40,000.

If you haven't heard of the TT, it's a motorcycle road race with a circuit that's 36 miles long, an over 300 corners, Along those roads are stone walls. It's a pretty exciting spectacle.



I'm on the right.

Happy to oblige, mate! I'm always willing to go the extra mile(s across the pond) for the community!

Oh neat! I'm so glad this happened! It made my day.

So, a quick back story here for anyone who might be confused. I held a fundraiser for elecplus a few months ago for an IBM M15 keyboard. hoggy here was the lucky winner. When I saw he was on the Isle of Man (!!), I packed the board extra well, tossed on an international mailing label, and hoped for the best.

A couple of months later, DilbertProgrammer here was visiting the Austin area with his then-fiancee (now wife, unless I have the date wrong...). He's a motorcycle racing enthusiast and said he was going - of all places - to the Isle of Man!

Immediately, I got to thinking what a fun joke it could be. I could PM hoggy and say that, as someone who purchased a high value item, I would be dispatching a keyboard expert - in person, from the US, to the Isle of Man - to check on the board. After we had a good laugh I PM'd hoggy. He quickly said, sure, he'd love to meet DilbertProgrammer and grab a beer. hoggy lives right on the race course.

I've only heard two Isle of Man stories from my well-traveled friends. One is that it is something of a tax shelter. Two is that the race is quite brutal and someone often dies. Yikes! What a fascinating place.

Perhaps one day I can check on the M15 myself, wouldn't that be something. Until then I'll live vicariously through my friends without small children.

Thanks for organising! Your pm made me chuckle to myself for a few days.

Brutal is a good description, slightly over 100 years of races has claimed over 250 lives.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of ... fatalities

PS, you'd be more than welcome to visit!

hoggy wrote: ↑
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of ... fatalities

OMG!

A native who has traveled these roads for a lifetime would know, at least, what was coming up.
I certainly hope that "foreigners" are taking plenty of practice laps!

Favorite category: "Fatalities During Parade Lap"

Sadly, the Simon Andrews memorial lap, dedicated to the riders who have lost their lives to the races, had to be cancelled due to a crash before the roads were closed for it.