Pardon the off-topic intrusion, but wanted to write to you, Tom, and doing so publicly because the link may be of interest to other gearheads.
Two items:
1. My 08 STi has been easily the suckiest one of 4 of these things I've owned. Quite competent when it's working and despite softer springs and sways, it can hang with the older ones. But it's been a horrible experience: http://siliconinvestor.advfn.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=24881446
2. Sorry to be asking on such short notice, but I've rented MidAmerica Motorplex September 6th and am inviting my best track buds to join me there. Cost is $100 each and we'll be running from noon until 2 hours after sundown. Passing in turns will be permitted (only between drivers who wish to be part of that -- we'll label the "don't pass in turns" cars) with point-bys.
The track will have a Fast Friday open track event the day before my event and a one-day Porsche DE the day after if you want to get in 3 days to make the trip more worth it.
It'd be cutting it REAL close, but the new long block for my Mustang (Dad money-shifted it last year) is in the bed of my truck and I'm hoping to get it running in time for this event, so if you want to attend but don't want to haul or drive a car that far, let me know and I'll keep you posted on the Mustang's progress and you can use it and I'll pick you up at the airport. Or you can do like our ad sales rep did last year and rent a Pontiac Grand Prix GXP at the airport and give us a surprisingly good run for the money. But, my Mustang es su Mustang.
A few months ago, I had planned to do this event then go straight up to RA where they're doing two events like the last time I was out there, and you would've heard from me asking to impose on your gracious hospitality again and company at the track (another good friend is going), but it's now probably too late to get into the RA events and I have little confidence the Subaru would survive a track that's nearly twice as long as MAM, with great elevation changes to boot.
I'll get squared away on cars soon and really am going to move heaven and earth to do RA and BIR next year, hopefully in a GOOD STi (should hit its governed 155 mph on either of those tracks -- 305 horses to work with and the 227-horse WRX was doing just over 125 at both tracks).
Oh, and the day before Subaru told me they'd reimburse me for my engine, I VERY nearly traded it in (at a paltry price because there are so many new ones still on lots) on a new Mustang Shelby Cobra GT500. The sole thing that held me back is a call to my lawyer who told me to not sell it under ANY circumstances because it'd be the equivalent of shredding documents. If I were going to take SOA to court (planned to at the time and don't know for sure yet that I won't), I have to still have the car for the defense to inspect. Otherwise it'd be spoliation, kinda like how they supposedly didn't do an OBD scan to see what the computer could say about what happened before removing my blown-up motor.
Let me know as soon as possible if you're interested in doing MAM and which of those dates and I'll also make sure to get you a room at Ameristar while I'm getting mine. Just keep in mind that I hope to have a spare and very good car you can use, but I might not. It all hinges on how long it takes me to swap out the long-block. I don't even have the old engine out yet. Just torn down enough to find out what's wrong with it. Missing and bent pushrods and valves that're stuck open are a clue and a half. <g>
I don't trust the Subaru for double-duty and it wouldn't be as fun if we're not on the track at the same time. And right now I'm really wishing I hadn't traded in my 07 STi (which was a perfect track car) on my 08 1-ton Chevy a few weeks ago. But without the truck, I couldn't have brought two cars anyway.
Let me die in my sleep like my uncle; not screaming like his passengers.
What really came up short was the cash reserve end of things. I bought all the components I needed, but couldn't fund the cash reserve of each piece properly.
Possibly the low cash reserve under UBAHS isn't such a bad thing.
Much of how that strategy works is down to low correlations between the individual components smoothing out the overall.
I think this is reflected in how your IRA has been trading regularly.
As such a 80/20 stock/cash or even 90/10 might be sufficient cash reserve levels to carry across the whole. Which would also considerably reduce cash-drag effects.
I guess the only potential problem is not allowing any one failing segment to burn all of cash reserves under such a shared cash pool arrangement, ETF's reduce that risk significantly.
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