Credit: Gavin Brown
Stepping Stones
Hiya. I seem to be having a week of Thursdays at the moment, it isn't going well, though I do like to think I get them out of the way in one go so that I can then have a nice long run of good Thursdays! I hope yours will be good.
I like to use my Dailies as a little diary of what I've been up to since last time we met here, but you've caught me just when I'm feeling a bit pressured from work and other things. I've so much I want to get done especially with blog posts and associated projects, I'd made big plans for it this winter and haven't been able to touch it really what with moving and everything, most frustrating. After a hard day at work it is far more enjoyable to fall into the comments or Twitter and just hang out for a while! Absolutely nothing wrong in that of course.
And I'm really sorry that all of us bloggy people collectively missed the proposed VivaF1 bloggers' quiz by not sending any info despite Alex's valiant plea last week. Must try harder.
Let's relax with today's music recommendation, We Were Promised Jetpacks with 'Keeping Warm'.
Goings On
- If you are in the UK on Saturday you have to come to the Sidepodpubbing Meetup! It is at about 8pm in Central London, probably The Coal Hole on the Strand unless we find somewhere with better (er, some) wi-fi access - all suggestions welcome. Not that we necessarily mind too much, it is a good pub.
- Amy met Muse! That's amazing, to get such good seats and then actually meet them is just brilliant, especially since they seemed like actual normal people rather than having 'rock superstar' egos. I think we know at least one jealous person.
- I liked this piece on the UK Ordnance Survey measuring up the new London Olympic site, which is still being built (it even has an unnamed road called 'White Space Avenue'!). Their mapping tolerance is 2.6cm! That's accuracy for you. What caught my eye about this story was that the photo of the red map features my town, which never happens.
Racing Notes
- The Lotus saga rumbles on with the press meeting Dany Bahar on Wednesday. He says he understands why the media will refer to his team as Renault next year, reinforces that he doesn't want the connection to Team Lotus, and that long-term they are looking to develop their own F1 engine alongside their own IndyCar engine and road car engines! Interesting stuff and I have to say I am coming around to their point of view now we are actually hearing things from that camp. Stuart Codling puts forth a very convincing argument on that very point. I still love the Fernandes/Gascoyne team, just perhaps my opinion of them using the Lotus name may be changing. That said, Bahar does say he'll have a big presence at the Autosport Show, and that headline last week surely can't be unrelated.
- It looks as though Rally Ireland may make a return to the WRC, good on them as I think the previous two events were quite successful.
- Ever wondered how they lay asphalt on an oval? Daytona was notoriously bumpy having not been repaved in at least 30 years, the 2010 Daytona 500 had to be stopped while a pothole was patched! Clearly it needed repaving but how do you resurface a track with 31-degree banking, among the steepest in top level motorsport? Well.. like this!
- Daytona now has a shiny new surface the teams took to the track to test it out in a drafting session/tyre test. Expect to see track records broken at the 2011 Daytona 500.
- Speaking of records, IndyCar Superman Randy Bernard says he wants to return the tradition of breaking speed records at the Indy 500 as soon as this May. I happen to think that's going to be dangerous in these cars and they should wait for the new ones. Tomas Scheckter prefers a bit of danger and has a pop at Graham Rahal too. That'll be the Rahal expected to have a Ganassi ride announced today, jealous much?
I do really like that song. Odd yet heartwarming lyrics and a long solo, just my kind of thing. If you want something a bit more peppy I like this from them too, Roll Up Your Sleeves for winter.
See you later.