It is Thursday and whilst that is usually a bad day around Sidepodcast Towers, it has been tempered during this off season with the ever-excellent Thursday Thoughts. Today it is Gavin's turn to host the question, so keep an eye on his blog for your prompt this week. Now onto some F1 things we're talking about:
- Massa returned to the track this week, getting behind the wheel of the F2007 again, to continue his training for 2010. He completed just under 100 laps over two days, and afterwards said that although it was a different car, he felt comfortable in there, his driving style hadn't changed and he was still pretty quick.
- Scott has the opportunity of a lifetime, working at the fabled Classic Team Lotus on a voluntary basis at the moment. Some excellent work experience, some great sights to be seen, and famous faces to be met! He's blogged about his first few days on the job and it sounds like an amazing time already.
- Of course the big news of yesterday was Renault's announcement, but I was very intrigued to read about Kubica and his manager's concerns over the changes. It makes perfect sense that he signed up for one thing and now it's different he has questions. I am interested in how this one works out.
That'll do it for now, assuming we all get through Thursday together, then Friday is just around the corner and that's always good times. I'll see you in the comments.
welcome thursday.
Hello Thursday. You'd better be nice!
Hmmmm....
not good?
Time to head off I think. Night all. :)
night lukeh
I'm just not sure where my day's gone.
night Lukeh
me too. i blame... fourstar.
hooray you have reached the same day as me. I have enormous fear of commenting in the wrong day without noticing.
What do you mean?
it's not the kinda thing to keep you awake at night though right? we can just move them, we have the power.
I have to go shopping today :(
xmas shopping?
yep, which isn't as bad because i'm not buying anything for myself, but i'm not a fan of shopping. I'm not a fan of the crowds and i just don't enjoy it.
....
...
....
visiting the technology or book depts is another matter though :)
i mean sometimes i am involved in a conversation and it goes midnight in uk so the default thread changes in mobile doohickey and i dont notice and end up commenting on the same topic in 2 different days. I know you can move them mr c but i hate to cause work for you! I dont lose sleep over it though. I reserve that for thinking about how much money i need for my trip ;)
I have done officially none of mine. Some things are sorted but only because I split the cost of things my sister chose and bought.
genius!
#ineedasister ..... :)
i did all of mine online. Not leaving the house rules.
Yeah. You can share mine if you want? She's the bestest person ever.
:D
i suppose i should get some sleep before i have to head off outside in the morning and shop... send me good vibes! it's not going to be fun.
night all! xxx
night lou.
Good luck!!
hooray i have picked up hours at work til 11pm on new years eve. Now i have a good excuse to not do anything for it! (i hate new year eve. Irrational hate)
that'll help your budget too.
ooh yes. Not only do i get the overtime pay the guy giving the shift away offered $50 in bribery money to get someone to do it. I would have done it without the bribe but i wont turn it down!
yeah im not a new years eve fan either amy.
bring on Bahrain. we should hold a new F1 years eve party!!
although bahrain can be stricken because the track is just wrong. I wish Tilke would quit!
thursday is already a good day!
last year, we hung out in the comments. i can see that happening again this year :)
right. must sleep.
http://en.espnf1.com/redbull/motorsport/image/4334.html?page=4
Can anyone shed some light on this? what is Adrian up to?
I looked at that at the time and I am clueless. Benetton used to run a wing with wires like that in the mid 80s but that wire was structural. Clearly since they have run all season without wire it is not needed structurally. I am not even sure it is legal to race with the wire in place as I suspect it crosses some exclusion boxes.
yeah the wire i assume is a stabilisation mechanism until it can be fited properly.
the device on teh nose is what im curious about. maybe RBR have come up with an idea to place a camera ratehr that the cameras set up beside the nose cone. removing the side cameras would free up air into the sidepods and befrore that the suspension etc.
it could also just be a balast point? cant wait to see if it sticks. Knowing adrian, i think it will
Definitely not ballast. They want the ballast as low as possible for the centre of gravity and next year the front tyres are narrower so they won't need ballast in the nose.
The teams love the side cameras and use them as flow conditioners so they won't ask for them to be moved. It could be a camera housing to get pictures from the test for promotion or launch video.
You will often see a similar housing under the nose which house a laser which measures ride height but a laser in the high position wouldn't give them any information.
Far out Steven! You have given me something there mate. lasers for ride height measurments etc. I like it. never considered it, never knew about it. like i said press coverage here is minimal, so no need to mention tests never get a go on the news.
never really thought it would be ballast for the same reasons you gave, but this is adrian, who knows what he has going on at the rear of the car.
Promotional video seems the likely scenario for me though.
Another thing, has geoff Willis been snapped up again yet? i rate geoff highly.
The laser ride height measurement is only used in testing.
The only reason for the ballast moving forward this year was because the FIA demonstrated its usual ignorance. When they changed from grooved tyres to slicks they kept the same width tyres front and rear without realising that there was a different percentage of groove across the width of the two tyres so they ended up with a higher ratio of front to rear contact patch. So they are making narrower front tyres for next season to sort out the mess.
Haven't seen anything about Geoff WiIlis. I am amazed he has not been snapped up.
Yeah i knew all that about the tyres. The technical aspects are what attract me to the sport the most. id be as bold to say, i could tell you what car was what and what year it was if the liveries were stripped back to white.
maybe Geoff is enjoying the time off. he may end up at Virgin, or back BAR/brawn/Mercedes.
Normally someone will post a series of white pics of ever car once a season as a quiz. Some times I get all of them other times I fail miserably. We are going through a spell now where the cars look quite different to each other but there have been times when most of the cars looked nearly identical.
i cant tell you what year a car is even with the livery on it.
Not even a Brawn?
I've arrived. The plane, that is docked at our gate, is covered in ice. Meep!
You have arrived in Germany?
i hope im around to see that quiz. thatd be fun.
Nope. Helsinki airport
Horrible time to fly but I guess the afvantage is that the airport is not so busy.
My Thai friend pointed this out to me: http://ilifetv.truelife.com/tvonline-player.jsp?channel_id=panda
It's the big brother panda channel. We talked about here before, right? Or was it on Christine's blog.
I like it because I can take the overnight bus to the airport. It's quicker and quieter.
I don't remember it.
i cant tell you what year a car is even with the livery on it.
thats becasue your watching the helmets Amy. LOL seeing if you can see heikki's finnish blue eyes.
LOL @ steven "not even a brawn"
I can see the advantage in that
i dont watch the helmets i just watch the race as a whole and dont look au amy particular car in great detail :D
It's a 24/7 Panda channel
I was just joking Amy.
24/7 panda channel. sounds as exciting as real big brother.
if i wanted to watch people eat grass all day i'd hang out at my hippy mates place, or create another woodstock. :-)
I remember some zoo pandacams. I just don't remember this one. No doubt when Christine appears she will tell us when it was mentioned.
pandas not exciting? You must be new here ;)
Booooo random middle of the night awakeness = bad times
I don't know why I'm not tired.
go to bed alison! You are feeling sleeeeepy
yeah newish. I know about MArs C and her panda monium. LOL
I've had about 4 hours. I just woke up for no reason.... Maybe I just don't need to sleep!
plane is slightly less icy now. Maybe we will survive
safe travels kathi!
thanks. you too. I'm hoping I will have internet before you leave but who knows with those underdeveloped countries.
Oooh where are we going? :D
to my parents' for Christmas
Ah I see is that in Germany or did I just make that up?
oops yes in Germany. about 100km east of Munich
Ah well have a good flight :D
Haven't seen anything about Geoff WiIlis. I am amazed he has not been snapped up.
As of October he was set to join Sauber according to Autosport. Not sure if they will go through now.
Rich - thanks for the heads up mate. Woever gets him will be better off for it. he did a great job at BA under Dave Richards.
And you must be the Rich who likes heidfeld.
I am a Nick fan - but in all honesty he is the ONLY F1 driver I have actually met - a really nice guy, pity people do not rewatch races and see just how good an over-taker he really is, just his smooth style does not make qualifying very good.
Mr Hartley still thinks he'll make it to F1.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/motorsport/3171457/Hartleys-F1-breakthrough-still-alive
Interesting to see his team mate is Mr Ricciardo, who if I remember rightly was very impressive in the young driver testing.
i do watch the races again, and again and again etc. ive got about 98% of the races since 97. I really dont rate him. I think my dislike stems from when he was wrongly given credit for beating Webber when they were at williams. That really peeved me coz webber is 10 times the driver.
nice find Amy. that will be a great battle to follow. Go Go Disco!!!
its a trans-tasman battle for the ages.
Agree totally Journeyer. That was my only sad bit about losing toyota.
Disco and Fartley battle will be mega!
Good Morning!
Made it to work - took me 3 hours because of the snow - but it was fun and I have great pics!
OK guys - the Jenson has been pushed - so here is this week's Thursday Thought: "What do you want to get F1 for Christmas?"
Have fun and I can't wait to hear from you - I will write a post later ;)
@ rubbergoat. I want to get F1 a chance to swap Bahrain, for a street nightrace in Paris. And also to swap "Hi its me, Al the swarmy" (let me know if that needs explanation) for Disco Dan Ricciardo.
More Finns.
Like who?
no one in particular, just more Finns.
Juha Kankinnen
Finns ain't what they used to be
+1 Sir! I was in nappies when I saw him for the first time!
It's got rid of Max, isn't that enough for one year?
I gotta admit, i like the finns too. And not just for their excessive use of the letter 'K'. Always have great drivers. Hakkinen the greatest of all time, but tommi makinnen, now hirko mirvonen (i doubt that spelled correctly) the list goes on
Happy thoughts, Mav ;)
Far out rubbergoat. you just made me discover your page and you blew my mind. Just looking at abu dhabi consistency blog, and i gotta say, this is right down my alley. Loving it.
Cheers mate, glad you liked it. My 2009 reviews are in progress too - something a little different and full of pretty graphs of course ;)
Id love to de la rosa back. i think he can be pretty solid, and yeah, a typical Sauber season. thats why i said it :-)
@rubbergoat. Cant wait for that mate. I keep my own spreadsheets aswell, but not nearly as detailed as yours. Kudos. great stuff.
ooh, autosport have a GT academy promo running. last year they found some real racing drivers on their sofa:
http://sidepodcast.com/2009/04/09/turning-virtual-dreams-into-reality/
anyone thinking of taking part?
http://www.facebook.com/GTAcademy#/GTAcademy?v=app_4949752878
Seriously rubbergoat, have you ever seen how Homer Simpson drools at a donut? Im doing that now at your blogs. Im a big fan of graphs, and im excited, can you tell? LOL
oooh just because its on the ps store I want to download it. And then come last because I don't like/suck at sim racing.
ping:
http://sidepodcast.com/2009/12/17/kobayashi-confirmed-at-sauber/
@ Lorenzo I agree. he wont be going back to Hinwil. It will be Merc if anywhere, but i think he'll stay put, the Merc seat has gone.
Kerbrider....Merc seat has gone?? you surely can't be suggesting that a certain 7x WDC might be strengthening his neck muscles over the euro winter, now could you??
Trust me, its gone.
Yes but in a way better car - you need to judge a driver based on his equipment (look at how well Jarno was qualifying?). Nevertheless I think neither other drivers mentioned would be on my shopping list.
Compared to team mates across Toyota, STR and Renault. Kobayashi compared well to an experienced, and known to be quick driver. Grojean spun more than a lobster on a lazy susanne, and the spanish fella was flogged like a rabid dog by Buemi
Come on Kerbrider! you can't lead us to water with a comment of that gravity and not push our faces in and force us to drink... (well that's how it happens in my family anyway).
Thats hilarious. All that im saying, is give it a chance. no one is saying hes a champion. he is just an exciting prospect is all. and its all down to his great move on button in abi dabbi
if so, how come sauber didn't announce nick today?
Morning all.
Just what everyone needs:
http://twitter.com/thepaddockmole
Someone else playing the anonymous insider game. In other news:
http://www.stuartcodling.com/2009/12/flavio-lobbying-pardon/
because Nick thinks there is a remote chance of a seat at Mercedes!
Several F1 Secrets will soon be unearthed!!!
haha, is that one exclamation mark for each secret?
that was my assumption.
Its waiting on teh result of a certain medical test. Its a formality really.
omg!
http://twitter.com/ClaireVWilliams
(hearts)
MS to Mercedes is based on
a) neck strength and medical clearance
b) getting out of a contract with Shell
c) discussing with wife (who is not keen on him resuming a full F1 programme all the while there is any concern with the neck)
d) MS's own will to compete for 19 races in a full season (he might like the curries too much!)
It might just be that MS wants to drive but not full time - be a test driver developer.
All the while MS is in the news and making media headlines the merchandising is going well so why deny?
Wot he said (maybe).
Another legend joins the massive!
i'd keep it going until january at least.
are sauber keeping a seat free for nick or could he be left standing when the music stops?
With any injury to a vertebra and or spinal column you cannot be certain - putting the neck into high G situations is still a risk - same applies to Felipe - but he is younger which helps.
Mercedes is playing on this to get media coverage - so hence they will not announce until the last minute.
I think that Kubica might be the real goal.
Always a possibility. After all, the music is still going and there are plenty of dance partners out there until the lights go on and the cleaning lady arrives...
If Fisi is the second driver yes - but if there is a (remote) chance of Kubica going back to Sauber rather take whats on offer.
Kubica is not likely to risk waiting for a Mercedes drive too long (has more to lose than Nick).
Not so many dance partners and some are just not so nice!
Kubica will stay, MS will drive the merc, nick will be at sauber, and why wouldnt windsor want JV at USF1. great marketing for them. the name is big in nth america
Depends on how desperate for a union the dancers are.
This metaphor is the gift that keeps on giving.
don't get your hope too high on MS - I think it still more publicity making.
Three years out of a car and he was past his best when he retired (lost two championships while in the best team) plus a car that is realistically only going to be fourth best!
or what other dance floors you could move to!
you're applying common sense to the argument. if the man comes back, it's because he's not thinking straight.
i still blame jenson.
The 2005 car was no way the best car
Hopefully his wife is thinking for him - and I blame Jordan for this he started it even before Jenson moved!
twas the best car at indy :)
safety car might have given it a run for its money
It was not better than the Renault - I still think he was past his best - MS is also really not good when mixed up in the traffic - he needs the best car to win. He actually makes quite hash of overtaking on too many occasions.
There was no race at Indianapolis in 2005. Just like there was no race at Austria in 2002. My mind cannot remember either of them, just a picture that says 'Scene missing' ;)
I do think Schumi was a product of his era - his wings have been clipped by the refuelling ban
well that silenced y'all! :-D
see, now i'm torn. i don't like the refueling ban, but if it makes schumi's life more tricky...
Schumacher has already raced in non-refueling F1 races though so he knows how to handle them
Also remember the FIA then stood for Ferrari International Assistance - it was period when the Renault Mass dampener was banned and Alonso got punished fro impeding Massa by being on the same straight as the Ferrari driver.
If MS returns to race - it will be miserable for the guy if not outright embarrassing. The scene and circumstances have change too much - and I keep saying Brawn was in a huge capital shortfall to develop next year's car - so it is unlikely to be better than fourth.
He knows how to handle them but it's not his forte that gave him an edge
True enough.
if he takes a title winning car and manages 4th - 8th, i shall be quite amused. i assume though that if he gets in the mercedes it'll be because he brawn have managed to cook the rule books again.
We think alike but Brawn's success was a combination of fortunate circumstance - how would the season have been if their rear diffuser got banned and they lost results of the first two races? A brawn flaps its wing and.....
I got my second First :D
It wouldn't have been the right decision though - that's not fortune, that's just fair
Yay well done
I swear my uni must be the only place that doesn't do assignments in firsts/seconds/etc but nore A-F grades in a 16 mark boundary. The degree is declared in first/second/etc though of course. Plus my uni sucks. ;)
That is a bit odd!
The FIA is not always fair - I happen to agree it should have been banned - but I also think it was unfair to have banned the Renault Mass Dampener.
It's the percentage that matters though, right?
#MFC: Guy gets to direct a Hollywood movie after uploading a YouTube clip
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8417789.stm
They all go into the final degree grade, yeah, apart from the first year where not one mark matters but as far as I know that's quite common. I don't mind, I repefer it like that with a bondary of F1 up to A16 (The only time where I'd hate F1 ;)) if I'm honest.
Why? It didn't break any rule? Just this whimsical "spirit" nonsense and show me a team that doesn't do that (you'll find them at the back of the grid if you do fancy going to look)
yep, which isn't as bad because i'm not buying anything for myself, but i'm not a fan of shopping. I'm not a fan of the crowds and i just don't enjoy it. {Comment #15}
I don't like shopping much either - luckily I did the last of my Christmas present shopping this morning (next week will be a nightmare in town, so I'm avoiding it as far as possible). Now I just have to help out with food shopping...
Flipping heck!!
That's amazing!!
yeah im not a new years eve fan either amy. {Comment #29}
Seeing as I have a review meeting at the JobCentre on New Year's Eve (possibly the only thing happening in that place all day, resulting in grumpy staff as well as me being grumpy) so I'm not a fan of it this year either. Until it gets to midnight and I can watch a whole town's worth of fireworks from a bench outside with a glass of lemonade...
that sounds lovely!
There are a lot of humbugs around here. Why all the Xmas and New Year hate?
You lot need to get jobs working offshore so that you can be away from it all!
I hate New years Eve because I get a year older on the day! I'm allowed to! :P
Christmas however is awesome. ;)
I have to work right through to 3am on New Years Day.... I think that has made me somewhat humbugish!
Because other teams took the same idea for pre-approval and the FIA turned it down! One rule one consistency - Brawn got away with it because the entire season could be sold as David vs Goliath of course it was not it was a Super Goliath (in terms of development) slaying two other Goliaths - the real David of the season was Red Bull. Sure the team made mistakes, the drivers made mistakes but is was the best package and even though it is not my team I rather hope they win the championships (either) next year.
I do not have very strong feelings though - but there was an element of unfairness which is my real point.
What kind of shop do you work at with those hours?
I think my dislike stems from when he was wrongly given credit for beating Webber when they were at williams. That really peeved me coz webber is 10 times the driver. {Comment #74}
The trouble was that statistically Nick did better until his accidents...
A STUPID ONE!!!
There are a lot of humbugs around here. Why all the Xmas and New Year hate?
You lot need to get jobs working offshore so that you can be away from it all! {Comment #153}
I like Christmas and New Year.
I don't like hassle and being messed about (which next week in town will be because of all the shoppers and this year's New Year's Eve will be because my adviser gave me a meeting date that even other JobCentre staff thought was odd).
Besides, I can't get a job working anywhere, which might be where part of the stress is coming from!
What kind of shop do you work at with those hours?
A STUPID ONE!!! {Comment #159}
How true! I think this can be labelled as "Shop Completely Missing the Point Of the Holiday"...
Surely it's not open for business at that time?
pubs are. that would be similar hours. nightclubs and garages too.
i don't mind working through the holidays.
although, unlike amy i don't get $50 for doing so.
Good job too, because you have quite the list to get on with.
In NZ you got an extra day's holiday if you worked a bank holiday...
yes indeedy!
Sort of. I queried the rota when it first came through. Our opening hours are more or less centrally dictated. I figured it must be a mistake but apparently not..... Someone is having a Scrooge moment. I can't imagine it being a profitable experience for them. They have to pay us triple time for the privilege.
Yo are being too analytical - Mark being 10x times better is emotional not based on real evidence.
Nick had five less races that season due to the accident9s)-politics got on the podium three times and got pole position once. Against this Mark got one third place (where Nick happened to finish second) and no pole positions. Mark also originally started out as the numer 1 driver - Nick was only confirmed after a late season shoot-out with Jungle boy as the second driver! Mark cannot overtake - Nick is amongst the best!
Because other teams took the same idea for pre-approval and the FIA turned it down! {Comment '156}
Because they were looking at the rule book the wrong way and therefore asked the wrong question. They then interpreted the answer more widely than was meant. Had they been paying attention when Ross Brawn brought up the loophole the previous May, they could have had double diffusers (after all, Force India were evaluating the concept and only waited until Bahrain to install it because they were an update behind where they intended to be through the engine supplier change).
The real unfairness is that Brawn were a Goliath-recently-turned-David rather than a pure David, up against two Goliaths (McLaren and Ferrari) and one medium-sized being (Red Bull). Being Goliath and going back to being David is not the same as being David all along...
Hehehe, I must admit I really love the photoshop I've made for part of my thursday thoughts from Gavin's idea... all will be revealed soon :P love the question this week though
Oh, what have I done? ;)
I think the Brawn would still have dominated the start of the season even if it did not have a double diffuser. It is far too simplistic to think that was the only difference. People seem to attribute magical properties to the double diffuser because the Brawn dominated with it. That ignores the fact that two other teams had them and they were decidedly average.
I thought Toyota and Williams were better until the others got DDD's?
I remember Williams being widely described as having missed the boat to exploit their "advantage" that came with their diffuser.
Several F1 Secrets will soon be unearthed!!! {Comment #107}
Will this include the secret of why so many people feel the need to be secretive over nothing or very little?
Also, that many exclamation marks makes me think this might be the work one of THAT Woman's fans...
as long as they don't reveal them after the event with a big "as predicted by me..."
Oh yeah, today I predict it will snow, or it might not.
They had the same jump on the others Bran had and finished something like 5th and 7th in the championship. If you look at the first few races where Brawn dominated you had 6 cars with double diffusers so if having a double diffuser was the crucial factor those cars should have locked out the points but that didn't happen. Heidfeld, Webber and Vettel all finished second in one of the early races therefore the diffuser was not all powerful.
You can't hedge your bets. You have to predict one or the other (and then conveniently forget your prediction if wrong)
the common denominator is the engine
I think the Brawn would still have dominated the start of the season even if it did not have a double diffuser. It is far too simplistic to think that was the only difference. {Comment #173}
John Owen, Brawn's chief of aero, said in the January 2010 edition of F1 Racing (plug alert) that the front wing design was more important and they thought the double diffuser was a neat distraction...
In fact, if Brawn were in anyway lucky, it was in not getting stuck with the Honda lump
I thought the secret was to predict both in different comments then when the answer was known to refer back to the correct prediction.
Oh yeah, today I predict it will snow, or it might not. {Comment #178}
Given that I had snow in my hair when I got back from shopping this morning, I think that's a pretty safe prediction even without the last phrase!
That doesn't surprise me.
Its waiting on teh result of a certain medical test. Its a formality really. {Comment #109}
How so? Schumi failed it last time...
I predict Schumacher will not return, as he doesn't want to do a full season, and that Benson/Jordan will have egg on their faces.
I so hope I get to do the whole "as predicted" thing on this one
OK then - It will snow later.
It may not snow later ;)
That contributed hugely - I remember Rubens saying how more driveable the car was with the Merc engine - especially the smooth power delivery.
The front end was pretty trick on the Brawn - but I think without the dd Red Bull would have been in the hunt earlier into the season and they would have had both championships.
Hopefully his wife is thinking for him - and I blame Jordan for this he started it even before Jenson moved! {Comment #126}
:D Well, if Jordan wants the credit for everything he must also take the blame...
I just don't see the point of coming back for one season. The only reason for someone with his record to come back is to win another championship. It took him 4 seasons with Benetton and 5 with Ferrari so the odds of doing it in one year with Mercedes are slim even if Ross Brawn has done a lot of the things Schumacher would want the team to do. I see no point in him coming back unless he is prepared to commit to 3 seasons.
Hi. Can people stop giving me work please
OK ;)
I predict Schumacher will not return, as he doesn't want to do a full season, and that Benson/Jordan will have egg on their faces.
I'm hoping for a Schumacher non-return - and EJ is (unfortunately) pretty used to the egg/face scenario even if Andrew Benson isn't.
I predict Schumi won't return.
grr trying to get the end of month done without all the info..
Coming back and replacing Massa for a few races was fine, no pressure, go out and have some fun - Schumacher said as much himself. A whole season is a completely different matter.
I predict MS will not return since he only wants #1 status in the team, the best car/team package, a weak team mate and the FIA to overlook all of his cheating. I cannot see any of these becoming true!
There was no race at Indianapolis in 2005. Just like there was no race at Austria in 2002. My mind cannot remember either of them, just a picture that says 'Scene missing' ;) {}
As far as I'm concerned, there was a race at Indy 2005... ...but there were only two cars involved. The Ferraris were still engaged in team orders, which was the straw that broke Rubens Barrichello's back with regard to being at Ferrari and the Minardis drove like they didn't want any part of the mess and felt compelled to be there because of the Jordans (which was of course the truth).
When you support the one team that actually treated the US GP 2005 as a race instead of a political toy, stuff like that tends to stick in the memory. The fact there was a massive thunderstorm over my house through the entire broadcast helped the memorability stakes too.
I discovered today that my dad is a Shumi fan. I found it a little distressing...
Hence my comment about the curries - see the Top Gear interview when he played the Stig.
Morning peeps :)
Afternoon, rather.
You need to de-program him
Gavin, I would do your TT question but my computer broke and I can't do it at work, sorry...
Have you considered adoption?
Aww :(
I swear my uni must be the only place that doesn't do assignments in firsts/seconds/etc but nore A-F grades in a 16 mark boundary. The degree is declared in first/second/etc though of course. {Comment #142}
Are you studying at a Sims 2 university (only place I've heard of outside the USA that uses that marking system without a direct converter)?
I can do it delayed at the weekend..
That's fine by me ;)
I was thinking murder - but you are too nice to do that sort of thing! Both my parents were Shumi fans!
Yeah. I think he was a little shocked that I had actual knowledge all of a sudden. I said he'd retired with his tail between his legs in 2006 and coming back like this wasn't the way to finally get the better of Alonso. My dad got quite annoyed :P
that sounds lovely! {Comment #152}
It is! Lots of pretty patterns and I don't have to set up, pay for or protect my ears against them :) It was especially great for the Millenium celebrations...
Mixed feelings on New Year. I've had a couple of good ones and plenty of bad ones.
I was thinking murder - but you are too nice to do that sort of thing! Both my parents were Shumi fans! {Comment #213}
My dad was a Ferrari supporter until Brawn turned up. It was somewhat ironic because I ended up borrowing his hat for the final few races of this season...
Schumacher fans are generally a bit touchy t any criticism of him
Mixed feelings on New Year. I've had a couple of good ones and plenty of bad ones. {Comment #216}
I've had some fairly good ones and one memorably bad one (1998/1999). My parents and I were invited to a party full of people I didn't know. The music was loud and there was nothing to do - until everyone started using party poppers at midnight with me stuck in the middle of the room. Suffice to say it was a bit of a disaster and the experiment was never repeated...
like he was fairly useless when he got mixed up in the middle of the pack and really need the FIA to assist in his winning.
He's not hardcore. Either that or he's so hardcore he's blocked all memories of Alonso out of his head....
i hadn't noticed.
Woo, here's my thursday thoughts for this week :)
http://gridwalktalk.wordpress.com/2009/12/17/thursday-thoughts-f1-christmas-present/
I wonder how many people are getting Muse albums
*runs*
Force India have teamed up with a subsidiary of TATA to do CFD research.
Can I ask why, if it's not too personal a question?
Well done Lukeh - that was a fantastic post! Thanks for adding a link on my blog too.
Have you got a bigger version of that pic? I love it BTW...
I did have a bigger version, lemme check if I saved one.
http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q127/Lukehmuse/bigxmas.jpg
That one is a bit bigger and clearer.
That is really cool - were they all wearing caps in the original?
Yep, it's just the normal picture from Melbourne but with lots of Santa hats and the background taken out completely and replaced :)
i would imagine not ;)
oh! caps, not hats
nevermind :D
:)
Just couldn't remember if they were allowed caps/hats/headgear in the 'class photo'...
The odd thing about that photo was that it was fine fitting christmas hats to everyone except Kimi. Honestly, I had to adjust allsorts to find one that fitted Kimi as ironic as it sounds
That is an interesting investment.
I love it!
On very close inspection you can tell - silly hat Kimi!
If Lotus start using it will they complain that they nicked it? :D
that makes if funnier, because of the way it sits compared to the others and is out of character, and he's got his serious face on :-)
Today is an odd day
Wassup? It is a thursday
have a look at twitter
Of course! That's why it took 3 hours to get to work!!!
I.. uh...
What on earth?!
mmmm
I don't follow?
http://twitter.com/jonwaldock
Have you been hacked? Change the password!
I think Jon's just being silly
ummm, nope, that was me ;)
?
Have a cuppa tea and a lie down!
I'm in a very odd mood today
If anyone with a PS3 is interested, there will be a Gran Turismo 5 demo available today
It's been available for a while as Prologue, right?
Yeah but Prologue is, what, 1/2 years old now? This'll be much more towards the final GT5 game. I'll download it and see how different it is to prologue, as in if it actually has damage ;)
I am so tired of waiting for it to come out. All the cars will be 3 years old!
Thats Gran Turismo for you!
They've said it'll be out early in 2010 but only in japan, maybe the US. Still no idea when it'll be out in the UK or Europe :(
Fire alarm.
Woop. Grrrr
As long as F1 2010 is good my racing fix will be satisified.....for now....
Can I ask why, if it's not too personal a question? {Comment #227}
It's OK to ask me, I just wasn't sure anyone wanted to be burdened with the details...
Me + loud noises = very bad reaction (I have very sensitive ears and being around loud noises with insufficient ear protection hurts - which is why I sometimes need earplugs even in libraries).
Being stuck in a fairly small room when about 40 party poppers are in use simultaneously (plus loud cheering and clapping) = very loud noise (at least as far as my ears are concerned).
In this particular instance, I ended up in a small ball on the floor, covering my ears and screaming (and I can scream pretty loud when hurt). While this resulted in things getting quiet again, I don't think it did much for the party atmosphere for anyone else...
The odd thing about that photo was that it was fine fitting christmas hats to everyone except Kimi. Honestly, I had to adjust allsorts to find one that fitted Kimi as ironic as it sounds {Comment #236}
I can imagine - how many Santa hats have completely flat hems when placed on someone's head? Good work for figuring a way around this design problem :)
Wow - so how did you cope with the F1 when you went? Did you have those big ear defender things?
If Lotus start using it will they complain that they nicked it? :D {Comment #240
Um... ...I hope it doesn't come to that - the wind tunnel thing is (probably) causing enough legal work for one year...
(and no, it won't help me get into F1 as a legal assistant because my college's exam board no longer does the Legal Word Processing qualification!)
You can only do time trials at Indy GP circuit in a Nissan on this demo, boo. I just want to play the Top Gear circuit!
It's snowing here in Wymondham! :D
Although, as im sure you can imagine, it looks absolutely mindblowing.
Wait till I get home later - we had lots of snow too!
I had to push a foot of snow out of the way just to get the bike out of the shed - and it was pretty scary riding the bike to the railway station!
Tata Nano Force India Edition coming soon?
Wow - so how did you cope with the F1 when you went? Did you have those big ear defender things? {Comment #265}
Big red ear defenders (available from good DIY shops) combined with a decent pair of earphones with thin cables for the radio (which went under the ear defenders - the seal was so bulky and flexible that they still kept the sound off my ears despite the cables). Worked a treat :) This is not a million miles from the arrangement I'll need for my audio typing exam in March, which should give you a clue as to how awkward my hearing can be for some things.
Earplugs work fine for rock concerts but not for graduation events (I think it's the particular pattern of bass/mid-range sounds produce by clapping that are a particular problem for my ears because my hearing seems to be particularly magnified at that part of the sound range).
New favourite computer components site: www.scan.co.uk
They are sending me email updates as my order is accepted, payment authorised, item picked, item despatched. They've done the first three and it was only ordered 10 mins ago.
ebuyer cancelled my order yesterday when my card details didn't match my address. scan went straight through, no trouble. ebuyer can get stuffed :-)
My card details don't match only because I haven't updated them yet (the bank thinks my signature has changed)
Talking of snow in the UK: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8416010.stm
I use earplug style earphones for the train - and I have found that it doesn't block the noise as such, but there is a lot less noise pollution so there is leff interference for what you want to hear. Works great in traffic too ;)
oh that's embarrasing, I read the email wrong. missed the 'stage 1 of 4'
Tata Nano Force India Edition coming soon? {Comment #271}
:D
Also, does this mean Narain Karthikeyan has a chance of a drive (he's allied with TATA, which is rumoured to have caused problems with him getting into FIF1 in the past)?
This must get frustrating.
Weren't they hooked up with Williams not so long ago?
Snow has got to Birmingham! (We'll see if I'm still excited when I'm trying to get home)
Could be fun for many..
Lovely sunny day today.
very good site. doesn't hold a great election of brands, is my only complaint.
*selection
Carriage is cheaper too
I dunno how I'm gonna get to work in all this snow
http://twitpic.com/tvknx
Hehehe. Darn it, it would be a good excuse.
I was wondering how I was going to get home, took photo but dunno where to put it :-)
I had so much fun this morning - got to take loads of pics too!
If only my boss knew what an email was, I could photoshop snow into that photo...
http://drop.io/sidepodcast/asset/image135
I'd be careful in all that snow
Terrible business. Nearly broke me neck.
You definitely need gloves, hat, scarf, crampons for all that snow
Aww man, I'm dying to send you my pics now, but I can't get them off the phone yet :(
email them to drop.io
I have no idea how to email using this phone!
set up a new contact in the phone book called 'sidepodcast drop'.
don't give it a phone no but put sidepodcast.drop (at) drop.io
then go to pic and send it to the contact
Done. But I'll download them and drop them later ;)
Odense Railway Station, 6am in the snow :)
cool :-)
apparently you commute through a Bond film?
Eh?
Now I definitely can't get to work
http://twitpic.com/tvpby
looks somewhere Bond is trying to escape from Russian spies
not necessarily in russia
Ah I see. Yes, it kinda was like that TBH!
:-)
HOLY!
cool :)
That looks like a Christmas Card picture.
Were the trains running?
I see a business opportunity...
:P
After about an hour, and rather slowly!
Me + loud noises = very bad reaction (I have very sensitive ears and being around loud noises with insufficient ear protection hurts - which is why I sometimes need earplugs even in libraries).
This must get frustrating. {Comment #278}
Sometimes it does. Not as often as it used to do when I was obliged to go into noisy environments such as school without earplugs, because as an adult I can now carry a pair of earplugs discreetly and use them when I think they are needed. The people who interact with me on a frequent basis are used to it.
In case you're wondering, there is a technical term for this - "sensory defensiveness".
Weren't they hooked up with Williams not so long ago? {Comment #279}
They were, between 2006 (when Karthikeyan tested for them) until 2008 (the year after Narain stopped).
After which they moved to Ferrari.
After which they moved to Ferrari. {Comment #315}
Hmmm... ...Ferrari didn't hold onto them very long, did they (unless this is a non-exclusive deal)?
Could be. But even at Ferrari, TATA were minor sponsors/partners at best, so it's probably not much of a loss to either side.
i survived christmas shopping!!
Woop!
hello all :)
Do you have snow? We seem to be on snow-watch today.
err...no... we had a few flakes yesterday. We are meant to get some overnight i think. What about you?
I saw some flakes earlier but it has come to nothing.
i'm really not feeling that bothered about christmas this year.. snow may help, but all i can think about is universities and Alevels..
How is everyone today, other than being on snow watch?
You said that last year as well.
did i?
To the archives!
it was massive at the time wasn't it:
"For the first time an Indian brand will appear on the Ferrari," president Luca di Montezemolo told Italian media. "It's historic."
that deal hasn't fallen apart has it?
http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE4BG3NR20081217
oh, Lukeh, the new greggs in our town high street is open.
no idea why i feel the need to tell you that :)
Woohooo!!
i'm thinking maybe the christmas build up isn't for me then... lol :D
i think last year we put it down to the honda thing.
maybe this year we can blame jenson?
ah yeah.. that upset alot :( stupid honda.
uurmmm... you could... can i blame mclaren instead?.. i'm good with blaming my exams though :D
HERE IT IS: http://mobile.sidepodcast.com/2008/12/23/daily-23rd-december-2008/#comment-166126
Didn't really spend all that time looking. Nope. Not me.
Omg! i don't even remember writing that! The archives are scary, but also awesome :)
reading down the comments has reminded me about Dom! I wonder what he thinks of the whole Brawn = Mercedes, Jenson moving to Mclaren thing..
:) hehe thank you for looking :P
Dom has submitted a season review, so he is still about, if not commenting. :)
oooh, funky.
yay!
...
*thinks about the season review she kinda forgot about*
....
eeeek!!! sorrrry!!!!
*looks down in shame* :(
Don't tell RG cos he'll say I'm like Bernie, but there is still time.
yay! thank you!
will record it straight away... cant promise it will be very long though :)
I am shocked that anyone could miss the deadline. Just can't believe it.
Bad time to walk in?
Hi all.
Mine was 2 mins 22s so yours dosn't need to be too long to beat that
Any length is acceptable, I have plenty of longer reviews to sift through :)
Gah. Can't get away with nothin'.
Hi RG
Do you have snow as well?
Yeah, not lying since it poured down yesterday. Just survived a hailstorm.
I think AUTOSPORT knows nothing about drivers now. I am rapidly coming to the conclusion that there is only me with any idea. They did their own top 50 drivers across all championships for 2009. Franck didn't make the top 50 and was only 6th in their sportscar list. McNish was only second in sportscars. Stupid people
Is bluetooth supposed to not work or something? I am trying to connect my phone to my Netbook and apparently my netbook needs a password?
GRRR!!!
Hello everyone, back from my unintended F1 sabbatical.
I'm giving USF1 a 1 in 4 chance of being on the grid the way things are going.
Me neither since this Xmas has been written off due to issues of having to re-design computer labs - it has just become too complicated for my poor little mind. Changing a venue from having only a single class to up to four classes simultaneously and the room is a silly shape with lots of columns and vertical Air-Con units - so it now has to have 100 computers, 4 data projectors, 4 X 46inch LCD panels each having to work for a combination of 92, 79, 66, 53, 52, 39, 26 or 13 seats controlled from up to four points of instruction. It it looks like an under-ground car park cos everything is grey and it IS half-way under ground. I have finished the design of the seating and its being cleared for fire evacuation that is about as far as it has got. The factory is having to work through Xmas as well as me so they are grumpy! and did I say it looked like underground parking!
It really does! I hope you are going to paint some spaces on the floor.
Hi Dan. Those are not good odds!
That looks like a bomb shelter with all those supports.
I think you are being polite but sure feels like one - yep 100 PCs are to go in there and I have to spend five hours each day lecturing/supervising in that hole! Lovely prospect for 2010 - apologies for being grumpy. I have not told anyone yet but the tables are going to pistachio green (he he) and to be shaped like a sea-bean (my revenge!)
oh I am planning my revenge don't worry!
This is an excellent Christmas message from 'Mark Webber'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8JC81xWJ4o&feature=player_embedded
Also, one from 'Vettel' :P
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgTkTFPMRyg
IIRC, it's an access code. Enter it on your Netbook, then enter the exact same code on the phone. That should establish the connection.
and to think the artist's impression is this and its not a computer lab but a collaborative learning centre!
:) If SidepodcastTV is ever going to put together a Christmas Special Spectacular, we have to invite these two on. We can schedule it in right after Christine and Maroon 5 do a cheesy holiday rendition of "Felipe Baby" with special guest Feliple Massa coming down the chimney on the final verse.
Bradley Lord's AUTOSPORT column had me shaking my head in disbelief today. In the new cost saving F1 some teams have admitted that they are spending two hours a day practising pit stops because the time it takes to change wheels will affect race time. Considering how headcounts have been slashed you would think teams could not afford all those man hours to be spent on pit stops but it gets better. The pit stop mechanics have all been doing gym work to make sure their wheel changing muscles are in optimum condition and they have physiotherapists working on them to make sure they don't pull muscles.
Such a complete waste of money having 16-18 people spnding all their time doing this.
thats how it's always been?
The change is because there is no re-fuelling the wheels have to be changed as fast as possible. According to the column the teams have had pit stop crews doing two hours a day since Abu Dhabi. Normally pit stops would be practised a feww weeks before the season not six months. I have never heard of mechanics having personal trainers and physios working with them every day.
I wonder if that applies to cost-sensitive Virgin or do they simply get discount at the Virgin health & wealth centres!
The pit crew have always had personal trainers and physios.
Swimming has been cancelled due to snow, so I'm going to be on my computer for this evening this evening. Perusing a catalogue of races which arrived in the post this morning and from which I will order absolutely nothing...
He was talking about Williams and Force India but I assume most teams are doing the same. I am not sure it works with teams that don't actually have cars.
One interesting snippet is that there can be no repeat of the Renault wheel falling off issue because the manual engagement of the wheel retaining safety pin thing is out an it is now automated.
I have never read that before
How is everyone today, other than being on snow watch? {Comment #325}
I'm fine, thank you. Staying nice and cosy at my computer :)
Won't they have to get fit before the season though - unless your are USF1 of which we have heard suspiciously little from recently.
HERE IT IS: http://mobile....-2008/#comment-166126
Didn't really spend all that time looking. Nope. Not me. {Comment #335}
Totally random reminder generated by that link - the venue for my karting competition has insisted there be 15 people, so I've got 3 spaces left. The event will go ahead even if they're not filled, but I might as well have people in as empty karts...
Please e-mail me if you're interested.
yay! thank you!
will record it straight away... cant promise it will be very long though :) {Comment #341}
You don't want to try beating mine because I think I might have rambled on a bit too much in the one I submitted...
All the teams will need to practise pit stops but I guess the new teams have priorities other than taking half a second off their pit stops in their first season.
I think AUTOSPORT knows nothing about drivers now. {Comment #349}
In that case I will pat myself on the back for not spending £4 on that issue. I can spend it on a hopefully better issue in the New Year instead.
I just uploaded a lot of snow photos for you guys on drop.io ;)
There's a picture on Facebook showing Lotus' 2010 F1 on a CFD computer. Let me see if I can grab it.
Promo-photo?
We can schedule it in right after Christine and Maroon 5 do a cheesy holiday rendition of "Felipe Baby" with special guest Feliple Massa coming down the chimney on the final verse. {Comment #362}
I heard the first few notes of what I thought would be "Felipe Baby" when in a bookshop this morning and was really disappointed when they weren't followed by the sound of Mrs C's voice (it turned out to be the original version of the tune with "Santa Baby" lyrics on it).
OK guys, here are my Thursday Thoughts - have you done yours yet? http://f1numbers.wordpress.com/2009/12/17/thursday-thoughts-what-f1-needs-for-christmas/
http://drop.io/sidepodcast/asset/10847-214994066399-24814686399-3722782-4677825-n-jpg
Why, yes I have.
http://onetimoglock.wordpress.com/2009/12/17/thursday-thoughts-what-to-give-timo-glock-for-christmas/
cool, did you take that?
:D Nope, I spotted it on a post from the F1 FB group.
cool
The change is because there is no re-fuelling the wheels have to be changed as fast as possible. According to the column the teams have had pit stop crews doing two hours a day since Abu Dhabi. Normally pit stops would be practised a feww weeks before the season not six months. I have never heard of mechanics having personal trainers and physios working with them every day.
The pit crew have always had personal trainers and physios. {Comment #367}
They have had some input from trainers and physios (at least since the introduction of refuelling and probably before then for the richer teams), but before now it wasn't so intense because pit speed was largely determined by the lollipop man plus the fuel hose people (and of course the amount of fuel in a given stop). Doing it correctly was more important for most members than doing it quickly, so once the procedure was mastered, there was relatively little gain from additional practise. Now every single member will influence pit stop time for every single stop, so there is more to gain from extra practise.
I have 17 Google Wave Invites! Anyone want one?
Has anyone found a use for it yet?
Umm...?
#MFC Skype used to broadcast during a rally.
Cool - much better than yakking to the olds ;)
who the hell did they put in front of mcnish?
Would you believe Sarazzin?
One of the Peugeot Le Mans winners?
WHAT?
yup
Did they rank it in order of style of name?
!!!!
complete madness.
Top 10 prototype drivers
Sarazzin
McNish
Brabham
Pagenaud
De Ferran
Franck
Mucke
Bourdais
LaPierre
Pla
No TK
news to me.
i know last year we were laughing at renault because they did their practice last minute and in civvies.
None of the top 5 have ever finished in the top 3 at Le Mans whilst sporting a broken foot. Franck has. He deserves to be higher up than that.
I'm all for not pulling muscles stupidly...
me too :D
not without seeing it, no. are they mental?
de ferran??
Looks like it. Lou won't be happy that Jenson only made number 2 in the overall thing
Won by Loeb?
yayyy
Won by Hamilton
thats yay that jenson didnt win, not that lou wont be happy
i would agree with that
have i missed something?
"Has Mosley shot himself in the foot responding to comments from Briatore we knew nothing about?"
http://twitter.com/MauriceHamilton/status/6765895560
Hamilton
Button
Jimmi Johnson
Vettel
Loeb
Franchitti
Webber
Scott Dixon
Kubica ???
Alonso ??
Me too
well....actually
Sarah Moore is my driver of the year!
Hahahahaha. Where to start, well, Nick Heidfeld scored more points in the same car.
I know nothing
shall investigate. what cane we read into this:
They are now Corina Schumacher comments at Express about MS : I have faith that he will calculate the risks and that he will find his fun
he's going racing without her permission maybe?
http://twitter.com/f1enigma/status/6763272026
I assume Max's comments are in his Telegraph article which has not been discussed here at all as far as I know.
Sorry, Jimmie Johnson ahead of Loeb, Vettel and Alonso? Sorry, but that is complete BS.
#sidepodspace
While NASA is all excited about finding a bit of water on the moon someone has found a planet totally covered in the stuff. This is a huge step.
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/5/20091216/tod-waterworld-is-most-earth-like-planet-870a197.html
might be this:
"The FIA have repeatedly given him the benefit of the doubt. It did so when prohibited software was found in a car under his control; again when a component was removed from his team's refuelling equipment; again when his team failed to declare properly the purpose of a particular suspension component, and most recently when they were caught with information illicitly acquired from another team."
http://en.espnf1.com/f1/motorsport/story/5288.html
We knew all of that though
true. in that case i have no idea how max has shot himself in the foot?
Those aren't entirely different from my recent '09 list I featured on my blog. Though Jimmi Johnson in the top 10? Hmm.
might be but we already knew all of this. nice of him to finally admit he was incompetent all the same.
The four you have in your top ten they don't they have in the following positions
Hirvonen 11th
Bianchi 26th
Hülkenberg 13th
Meeke 25th
Yeah, but what do AUTOSPORT know eh? :-)
It depends on what you think of the Chase. But remember, this guy has won 4 NASCAR titles in a row - against a pretty deep field too.
But the number 1 driver isn't even the champion in his own formulae...!
Just because we knew it didn't mean it could be used in the courts. Now that Max has come out and said it though...
Exactly. I worry about them. Wonder if Stuart got to vote on this list. Unusually for them it doesn't say how they arrived at their list.
why not? He wasn't as consistent as Hamilton. I'd agree with that order tbh, Jenson had an incredible year, and if it wasn't for the middle of the season i'd have him as the best driver. ;)
see... i'm not 100% biased all of the time :) hehe
Why are you in such a good mood?
i'm not sure... i've been listening to coldplay most of the evening, maybe that's it :)
i've also been editing photos :)
Blimey. Coldplay makes me depressed!
Coldplay makes me go to bed.
Even their more recent stuff?
Coldplay are my favourite band ever :) they have the same effect on me as Muse do on Lukeh :)
That's good.
one of the reasons they make me so happy is because listening to them atm reminds me of their gig at Wembley i went to in september - one of the best evenings of my life! so amazing! :)
From sdryden on Twitter:
Actually, he's on now...
Key notes from Max:
"Things which interest the public is not necessarily in the public interest."
ummm...
"Merely because someone's well known and famous doesn't mean their private lives should be open to everybody."
Max cites Tiger Woods. "Whether it is justifiable to expose his private life is very questionable." He's not famous because of his family, he's famous because he's a great golfer.
He means that just because the public wants to know about it doesn't mean that the public needs to know about it.
Tiger "shouldn't be condemned without being given a chance to present his side"
Question: If a sportsperson wanted to hide not a sexual preference, but rather a political preference (say, the BNP), is he allowed to keep it a secret?
i got that. it sounds kind of... fascist.
I couldn't type down the answer quickly enough, but basically Max says, as long as he doesn't use it for personal gain, he should be.
Nine times out of ten, the public would rather not know about it.
Very interesting... they called it "public interest" vs. "public curiosity".
he got rich because people want a piece(s) of him. if he was "just" a great golfer, he could've decided not to do any publicity. no-one buys a gillette razor to because it will improve their swing.
read that statement again, this time out loud:
"Things which interest the public is not necessarily in the public interest."
ummm....
They actually got to the Michael Phelps example as well.
Although the ultimate point Max might've missed here is that these people don't want to reveal them, but media manage to reveal them anyway.
FWIW, the hosts agreed.
curiosity born out of the publicity which he courted.
max could easily have been an anonymous face at the FIA. he choose to lead a public life and then decided he wanted out when it suited him.
what did they say?
That makes sense right?
Just because you want to know about something doesn't mean you need to know about it. I don't know of an example, but there must be some
Something along the lines of, "we agree completely, Max."
it sounds like suppression to me.
i see.
of course. but some things should be kept privately and not in the public arena
i am all for privacy. you might have guessed by my name.
my point is that if people choose not to be anonymous, but instead to seek fame and fortune in the public eye, they can't suddenly decide to switch that off when it suits them.
In lighter news - I've finished all my work deliverables. I am officially on vacation for the next 2 and a half weeks. :D
yay!
i agree but disagree....for example....
Timo Glock does something, no idea what, but it's of huge public interest. He isn't famous beacuse he wanted to be, it comes with the territory.
he took the sponsorship deals though? he signed the t-shirts, appeared on tv. it's slightly different for max, who had no reason to be in the public eye at all, but i think it still stands.
are we talking the sponsorship privately or from the team?
he has to do media things, do what the team needs him to do, that's definitely part of the job description.
From f1scoop:
We know - Scott told us about it YESTERDAY. :D
I agree with that
:D
:D
you agree with max?
It's a job that he chose though. You can't say, I want to be an F1 driver but I don't want anyone to know who I am.
They are like so behind with the times.
Or, he just read sidepodcast a bit late, happens sometimes.
nor can you say: "you may print this about me, but not that".
or scott's blog.
i'm looking at you mr r.schumacher
If this is what we're talking about, it might be time to bring up Kimi Raikkonen. He definitely likes driving very fast, but just because he wants to be an F1 driver doesn't necessarily mean he wants to be famous. Kimi seems to be that way at least sometimes.
of course, but the original point was you cant choose fame and fortune and then switch off the media when you want too. he chose the job because it's what he's good at and because he's worked for it for years.
he can't say "no i dont want that" if he does something, but he didn't choose to be famous, he chose to be an f1 driver and it's something that comes with it.
i agree with you both, but it's not always the case
I agree with the statement. Things that are in the public interest are things that the public need to know for example things like MPs fiddling expenses, Max doing dodgy deals with Bernie etc.
Just because the public is interested or curious about something doesn't make it in the public interest. Public interest is a long held concept that goes with an open society and a demoracy.
Max is technically correct but as usual he is twisting it to his own ends. Unfortunately people are more interested in his hobbies than the fact that he screwed the FIA out of a fortune as well as long term financial security by giving Bernie the commeercial rights to F1 for $3 million a year.
but what he does want is as much money for as little commitment as possible.
On this note, the January 2010 cover of Golf Digest already wins the award for the bad timing cover of the next decade.
agreed
max got careless, and got busted. end of story.
if he wanted to keep a lid on it, he should've been more careful.
i agree. but he doesn't seem interested in doing that.
he should tweet more.
He did present his side, and his side was taking a step back from golf to spend more time with his family.
The thing is a lot of famous people don't get harassed by the media and most of those who do seek out the media attention in the first place. I remember an interview where some journalist or photographer was getting pelters for photographing someone at their own house. He pointed out that the only reason he knew where that person lived was because in the past that person's agent had planted a story or two and told the photographer to be at that location.
He then said something that I found amazing. He said that there are famous people who don't get harassed because they are not constantly turning up at celebrity events. The example he used was Nicholas Lyndhurst. Despite being in Only Fools and Horses which was th biggest program on TV for years and countless other successful shows he lead a private life and the photographer saif he had no idea where he lived.
and i agree. max put himself in the public eye to feed his ego and sense of self importance.
now he regrets that.
He also refused to speak to the police about the accident for several days so that for example had he any alcohol or social drugs in his system they would have become undetectable. And he could only do that because he is famous. The first time any of us are asked to speak to the police about an accident I can imagine the reaction if we said we wanted to wait a weak frst.
No in these days. Like it or not, as soon as you make yourself a public figure. Once you run for an elected office, decide to become a professional athlete, and a spokesperson; it's fair game. Is it fair... probably not.
The biggest problem with Tiger Woods is that people knew absolutely nothing about the guy before this all broke. When it broke, it painted a picture of the guy that we were wondering about the guy for the last 15 years.
it is if you know that's the deal before you start.
I am amazed in this day and age he managed to keep it quiet. Especially given the number of women involved.
Trust me, it is something I have to tell people who want to enter politic. You will have to give up your privacy whether you like it or not.. That the price for fame these days. It's not fair. Like Clint Eastwood said, deserving has nothing to do with it.
That was in response to:
has this been mentioned:
Court Announces New System for F1 Appeals
not sure i understand it though?
http://www.fia.com/en-GB/mediacentre/pressreleases/ica/2009/Pages/ica_new_system.aspx
Looks like instead of the FIA deciding who judges these things the teams are now allowed to nominate judges. This should result in slightly more sensible rulings and stops any thoughts of decisions being made up front.
ooh. lil'jean is doing well isn't he?
I never thought I would be saying this:
Todt is doing the right thing.
At least there is movement to make changes with the stewards and appeals process. The question is if it is going to be impartial? Otherwise this who thing is just rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.
Doing better than Max. We will find out what he is really like once the season starts.
I know he has made changes with the stewards as well. I hope it will lead to a more "proactive" approach instead of the "we'll figure it out later" attitude that has been there the last few years.
*faints*
Here is the link to my post for Thursday's blog topic "What F1 Needs For Christmas?”
http://f1centric.wordpress.com/2009/12/17/my-xmas-present-to-each-2009-f1-driver/
Did Mr C just praise the toad, or am I seeing things?
i did. well, whilst questioning my sanity.
ooh. must.get.cracking.
In the same week you looked forward to the potential Schumi return?
*starts to dial 999*
First he wants MS to come back and now he likes what Jean is doing with the FIA.
OK, who are you and what have you done with the real Mr C? Should we start a missing persons campaign to find him?
it's for the best ;)
Yes. You can describe him to the photofit artist
"Well, he's ninja with no face and an iPhone strapped to his chest."
:D
i've just got round to watching Jenson's interview on the one show! eheh he can conduct himself very well in interviews :)
Right, I'm off to bed. Do check out my Thursday Thoughts on the Timo blog, and nighty night all. lotsa love.
these thursday thoughts?
http://onetimoglock.wordpress.com/2009/12/17/thursday-thoughts-what-to-give-timo-glock-for-christmas/
:) night RG
That be those Thursday Thoughts :D
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siQgD9qOhRs
Iron Man 2 trailer - complete with a teaser of the bits they shot the week before the Monaco GP with Stark in an IndyCar.
I love this line: "I have successfully privatized world peace."
I like the new theme.
morning all. I spent my evening on my flatmates eee pc and now i cannot escape desire to own one. It would be so perfect for my holiday :D
They are very nice from work I got the real baby 701 but actually it is more practical to get the MSI wind netbook which weighs the same but has a 10 inch screen.
my normal laptop is only 11 inches so if i got a smaller one a 10 inch aint small enough. I might go investigate after work because if i get one before i fly to nz i can get my tax back at the airport.
701 is a bit limited on screen real estate. It is the sub 1KG I like about netbooks.
*waves* evening all
ah i just want small footprint for travelling, weight doesnt bother me
I use my netbook the whole time - so in the office I just hook up to a big monitor. My 701 is very nice - I was given it to record my lectures into Podcasts - it is very well built and also ideal to view photos etc. I can recommend it. It actually works better than the Lenovo S10 which was a disappointment.
evening :)
See
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvvsbVZXNuA
I got an MSI in Silver and there is no finger-print problem.
ping:
http://sidepodcast.com/2009/12/17/thursday-thoughts-what-do-you-want-to-get-f1-for-christmas/
Evening everybody :)
Katherine is wondering how Ben is doing...
why is no one amy sitting? I need 6 more hours of entertainment!
uh-oh. i have on my list:
- charge camera for chirstine to take photos of ben
i took a photo of the two together... i think..
i was blogging. that took 4hrs :)
Who is Ben?
ah-ha. that may save me a job. also on my list:
- sort camera photos for lou
i may be a bit busy.
:)
Katherine did just say, "I want to know how Ben is adjusting to his new home - but don't put that if it makes me sound insane"
I probably shouldn't put that though... right?
confused. #notinonit
Erm yeah, what he said.
i don't know how good it is.. but i remember taking a few on christine's orders :)
:D
Well if Mr C charged the camera... you'd know ;)
i think there may be arguments with panda when it comes to screen time...
i think she should crochet Ben a little camera so he can send photos back to er... your monster (i'm sorry i forgot his name!)
Ben is the other monster... As in not Giles (our monster)... But Christine's monster.
it was you that said.., monsataaaaaaar!
Uh oh... a rivalry! It's a tricky business...
...erm...okay...
#confused
I'm sure it will all become clear on Sunday...
Giles! that's it...
#sorrykatherine
both are incredibly cute, and Katherine is very talented. i tried to crochet once... it didn't go well. i'm worse at crochet than i am at knitting, and i didn't think that was possible!
it's a tough one. you don't want to be bringing a monster into the house and having him get all the attention. on the other hand, panda did bump bibendum.
We have a monster... Called Giles... And now Christine and Mr C have a monster called Ben... Here they are together...
Giles is more blue and Ben has a tie...
http://drop.io/katmonsters/asset/p1080607-jpg
http://drop.io/katmonsters/asset/p1080634-jpg
http://drop.io/katmonsters/asset/p1080662-jpg
It is a different skill set I guess. Katherine much prefers crochet to knitting I think.
You should be an equal monstering employer.
Ohhhhhhh I see!
i thought Mrs C was adopting Ben not hiring him?
Ooo. It's Mr Classic Team Lotus.
Just read your blog Scott. This is the coolest thing I have read (almost0 this year.
Congrats.
Indeed. But Mr C clearly wants to put Ben to work down the podcasting mines.
luxury.
i suppose he is kinda dressed for work with his little tie..
http://georgehart.com/bagel/bagel.html
just the latest in a series of mathematical but otherwise useless links to post on SPC... all this talk of crochet reminded me :-)
That's true :)
I didn't expect to be called that when I got the work experience. :P
Thank ya sir, much appreciated :)
A monster to 'elp with ya podcast? When I were a lad we used to throw coconuts at the listeners to express sound.
The Lotus 49 is my favorite F1 car ever. I've never seen one in the flesh. I'm so jealous :D
:P:P
ah the monster. i was most distressed to see it before the guests arrived with the #classified and then not be able to see the actual reveal to christine!
:D :D :D
Classic Team Lotus had a stand at Autosport International last year with a 49, a 79 and a Ducarouge designed Senna era car - I think 93T.
If it was a Senna era car, it would have been either a 97T, 98T or 99T.
All we need is an Autosport show in sunny Oz, and I'm set. ;-)
The one they have at the workshop is the 49C, the final evolution in Gold Leaf colours. It really is a thing of beauty. It's funny that the closest I've ever got to it in the past was driving it in Grand Prix Legends, and now I walk past the real thing several times a day on my way to the backroom with all the merchandise. It's crazy.
I could never track the Lotus numbers when they got into the 90s
The only question remains... when you were a lad did you have African swallows? We only had European swallows... Coconuts didn't go as far back then ;)
Someone had a 48 in Gold Leaf colours at the show last year. First time I have ever seen one of those. The 48 was the F2 car Clark was killed in.
The 93T would probably be a Mansell/de Angelis car, one of the first turbo Lotus F1 cars.
I don't think I have ever sen a 48.
okay bed time for me, night all! xx
Night Lou
Me too I'm sick... And I recorded tonight's (18th) http://gigglesadvent.com under a cloud of manflu!!!
im going to need christine to go to giggles house and reenact the moment ben entered her life so it can be streamed to me. I am serious.
Such a trouper
oh no :(
is there any chance giggles and kat can come here?
i can't face london traffic.
Do they have a boat?
i can post them a paper one.
I am so glad I'm going to ASI this year:
WOOOOHOOOO! :D
that is also acceptable. As long as there is streaming.
Oh. Pit lane style?
I'm not surprised. It's rubbish!
exactly that.
He is going to struggle to get the throttle half way down on that thing in there. I have seen Stig do a few of these things and he will be spectacular. He would be spectacular in a Sinclair C5
If it's just the Sport Quattro then that'll be great but if it's the S1 winged monster I will literally die and go to heaven and back. :D
You might join Lou on the moon?
Probably :D
If anyone wants to know why I love the Quattro just listen to this. Actually watching it is optional but the sound is more important. :D
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEK7POxpVeE
Love. it.
I dunno. 5 cylinders is just wrong.
Must. resist. urge. to. get. angry.
Philosophically it is just wrong but mechanically it is as near perfect as you can get.
Specifially why? link?
I assume you mean the mechanical rather than the philospohical. With 5 cylinders 145 degrees out of phase you only ever have one piton changing direction at a time rather than 2 in a 4 or 6 cylinder or 4 in a V8 so the engine is much more balanced.
Balance. and then Audi put it in front of the front axel line.
That was insane. It didn't matter when they introduced the Quattro because no-one else had turbos or 4WD but once Lancia, Peugeot etc got their cars sorted it was impossible to make the Quattro work because the engine location was so stupid.
That makes sense. I'd just never thought of it.
Now - I need an animation to show this so that I can (attempt to) enthuse the children and further their education :-D
Maybe you could make a Lego model?
Lol
Although I did just realise that Skwish looks a lot like a molecular model. Brought on my seeing this - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0hDX7LtSxk&feature=sub
It's 144 degrees not 145. Just realised I couldn't count.
Try this for starters. No animation but basic info
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straight-5
Straight 4 and radial 5 animation but no straight 5
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firing_order
You counted every degree?
No I divided 720 by 5 and failed
Yay!
Thank you!
If you are teaching them mechanics you need to cover the Stirling engine. It is 200 years old and is the future. And there are animations.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stirling_Engine
:-)
Stirling engines are on the list. I have a friend who runs their whole house on a couple (taking turns) - completely off grid and everything, although not so much in summer as they use their PV more then - who we plan to be off to see once the weather improves (and we have the ness. funds to get to the wilds of scotland).
Thats very cool. I wish I had the money to put in PV at my place. I'm sure i could run the house all year, and we get very good rates for feed-in electricity. I just don't have the money to pay for the cells. :-(
I'm told that ebay is a good source, and that there are plenty of secondhand cells around atm.
Alternatively Maplins do a kit (think its 100W) that comes up for sale for around £250 at some point most years.
But then for £300 you could get a stirling engine...
They charge the car from the PV in the summer as well, and just stay home in the winter....
I know a guy who used to work for a company that made a stirling engine that ran of the excess heat from central heating boilers to recover huge amounts of energy but they couldn't get the finance to put it into production. He used to have a little one which sat on top of his tea cup as a demonstration.
Here in Australia, especially facing north, PV is a viable option. However I would need about 1.5 to 2 Kw system, which would cost about $15,000 to start. I could do my own, but to feed in to the grid you need a "certified" system. Grrr.
Forgot to say - its not uncommon to see *good* 2nd hand cells selling at around £100 a Watt (and sometimes a lot less, but damage may well have done for half the potential production on those). That sounds very little for a lot, but if you can get your household useage down to around 20KwH a week you'll be feeding back to the grid in the summer (june/july/aug) from most of the UK (assuming south or sse and unobstructed of course) on around 100W of installation
Ah sorry - didn't realise you were southern hemisphere... does the whole system need to be certified, or just the inverter/grid tie part of it?
The whole system to get money. It's all part of a grand government plan to make jobs for installers. I was chasing down the eBay route until they changed the rules.
phooey.
We don't have much of a feed in here (although our power co. is one of the few that offer more than a penny a unit) but as we too don't have the ness cash to do it 'properly' lolol its a moot point.
Cutting usage is the first line anyway (LED bulbs! You can get those for cars too, just to drag it back to SPC-land). After that we have various bits of gadgetry - and I have my eye on a solar briefcase for next year with some thoughts of experimenting with getting my computer unplugged :-) Although as I can't currently find a router that can be powered by the phone line that's a moot point as well (although I have found a 12V one so....)