Okay, so I couldn't resist; I checked the status of the Kona slot auctions. My private skepticism over the plausibility of someone paying $10K to go to Kona has proven unfounded. With over 5 days to go in the auction most of the slots have bids. If this is truly a means of raising revenue for a charity, ebay really screwed up by not breaking the slots out into 5 year age groups, at least in the 30-55 age range. I also question the wisdom of providing multiple 60+ slots. Does the WTC really want someone 60+ out on the course if they could not have simply beat the other 11 60+ athletes in their AG at a qualifier and thereby earned a slot? (I choose 11 because there are currently 18 in the 60-65 AG, 5 in the 65-70 AG, and 9 in the 70+ AG for 1/2 IM Cali, so I took 11 as my average; the numbers for Utah are even smaller). Anyway, thats my .02.
At least once I see the winning bid in the 30-39 AG, I'll have some hard numbers to justify future expenditures to my wife. "Babe, I know that he Zipp 404 seem expensive, but they are far below the actual value of the slot I am pursuing, which has been shown to be $XX,XXX. Therefore, the wheels should be considered an investment that stands to accrue substantial value by the time we 'cash out' with a Kona slot." Of course, she will simply retort: "That is all well and good dear, but the Zipp wheels only offer you the chance at a Kona slot, and are thus better thought of as a lottery ticket, at best. And, given that even with the Zipp wheels, your chance of qualifying improves from negligible to de minimus, the cost of that ticket can hardly be justified by the remote possibility of a payoff." Too which I reply, "Oh; okay. I'd better go do some more hill repeats."
Actually, my wife is much more supportive than depicted above and would likely indulge me my reasonable extravagance and trust the my fiscal super-ego would eventually show-up and slap my id into shape.
At least once I see the winning bid in the 30-39 AG, I'll have some hard numbers to justify future expenditures to my wife. "Babe, I know that he Zipp 404 seem expensive, but they are far below the actual value of the slot I am pursuing, which has been shown to be $XX,XXX. Therefore, the wheels should be considered an investment that stands to accrue substantial value by the time we 'cash out' with a Kona slot." Of course, she will simply retort: "That is all well and good dear, but the Zipp wheels only offer you the chance at a Kona slot, and are thus better thought of as a lottery ticket, at best. And, given that even with the Zipp wheels, your chance of qualifying improves from negligible to de minimus, the cost of that ticket can hardly be justified by the remote possibility of a payoff." Too which I reply, "Oh; okay. I'd better go do some more hill repeats."
Actually, my wife is much more supportive than depicted above and would likely indulge me my reasonable extravagance and trust the my fiscal super-ego would eventually show-up and slap my id into shape.
$10,000.00[/i] 
