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Anyone Have a Spare $10 Million Racing Yacht Mast Lying Around?
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Anyone Have a Spare $10 Million Racing Yacht Mast Lying Around? |
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11/08/09
Shit like this raises Socialist hackles on my back. #larryellison
11/08/09
It's kind of like the current rant against private jet ownership. That kind of money is made to be spent, and it goes back into the pockets of a lot of people working for a living in the form of salary. #larryellison
11/08/09
11/09/09
But, I don't begrudge Ellison his $10M yacht masts. Hell, he's one of the fun billionaires, and I'd keep him around just for the lulz. It's those *boring* billionaires, the ones who are snorting gold dust and crack cocaine off of an 18-year old's ass, then wiping their nose off on another 18-year old's ass, and not telling me about it. They fail to amuse me one bit. Who needs 'em? #larryellison
11/09/09
My perception is that people react to the indulgence of the rich with a mixture of disgust and envy, preventing an objective look at what their money does in the economy.
I'm not going to debate economics (I'd lose), however it's fair to say that with the government's perpetual orgy of spending, any trickling down is probably coming from an orifice best unnamed. #larryellison
11/08/09
11/08/09
We're not talking about your run of the mill bamboo or wood mast lovingly goldplated by virgins. Rather, it's going to be a hand built composite mast where every single inch of it is designed for optimal performance.
A formula 1 car can cost a good 15 million. The handbuilt engine, about $8mill worth, is good for maximum two races and then needs to be scrapped. Ferrari could build it to last 15 races, but then it wouldn't get the revs and power that they need to win a race.
Often performance and durability are on opposite ends of a design scale. For a racing team on the ground or in the water, it's an art to figure out where the balance between the two is for any given application. #larryellison
11/08/09
I get your point though. I'm a M.E., a F1 fan and I grew up in Newport RI. :) #larryellison
11/09/09
11/09/09
There you will find exactly what kind of a race it is.
Just because a race is one on one does not mean it's any less of a race.
Going back to the F1 analogy, a lot of people would gladly eat their livers to have seen Ayrton Senna vs. Schumacher head to head, or even more recently Alonso and Schumacher one on one with nobody else on the track.
Come to think of it, the F1 analogy to America's Cup isn't bad. Both are as much fundraising and organisational efforts as they are actual racing. Maybe that's fair or maybe not, but it is what it is and people are obsessed about both sports. #larryellison
11/09/09
11/08/09
11/08/09
You want to see some catastrophic yacht racing damage? Check out some of the footage of this year's Volvo Ocean Race. Nothin' like replacing an exploded rudder, in the middle of a freezing ocean, getting dunked in the drink!
[www.volvooceanrace.org] #larryellison
11/08/09
11/08/09
I think these guys are getting ripped-offs... #larryellison
11/08/09
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