It is ex-F1 driver birthday central today, with Bertrand Gachot celebrating his 47th birthday today. He seems to have raced for every team that has ever appeared in the Forgotten F1 Teams series, including but not limited to Onyx, Jordan, Coloni and Pacific. It also appears that Michele Alboreto was born on this day. The Italian raced for Ferrari and Tyrrell in the 80s, and died in 2001. Anyway, on to more current things:
- It was a busy day on the site yesterday, as Steven was inspired by a BBC documentary and wrote up some more fascinating facts about Jim Clark. The numbers really are incredible, the post is definitely worth a read and don't forget to rate it as well!
- The edited version of the 2009 Sidepoddie Awards emerged yesterday. If you missed the live show, we of course recommend checking that out first, but if you only have thirty minutes to spare, you can digest all the awards we handed out in the audio version of the show.
- Meanwhile, in F1 news, Alonso has been bigging up his chances for the 2010 season, by saying he is in the best form of his life. I'm not sure how you can tell things like that after a pretty poor year out on track and it being the middle of the off-season. However, it is good to hear. Confidence is half the battle.
That's all for now. I don't know about anyone else, but I'm counting the hours until the holiday begins, but while I do, I'll see you in the comments.
ooh, howdy wednesday.
yay for days off
you were talking about people who could make good f1 stewards the other day... what about Bertrand Gachot?.. i've nooooo idea who he is... but he is a new name i will try and learn about today :)
its friday!
He's the one arrested for assaulting a taxi driver, CS spray was used, and his 1-race replacement at Jordan just signed a 1yr deal with Mercedes.
I love how F1 goes around in circles. I bet the Daily was written before the MS thing broke.
He is responsible for Schumacher getting into F1. He was a Jordan driver who objected to something a London taxi driver said and pulled a pepper spray on him. The police arrested him and he ended up in prison just before Spa 1991 and Schumacher got his drive.
You could say Gachot is responsible for Schumacher's comeback
ahhh right (still no idea who he is) :D
grrrrrrrr to Gaschot!! he can not be a race steward.. :P
okay busy busy day for me tomorrow. if i survive it i'll be back tomorrow evening :)
night all! xxx
Night
Evening all ! How are we?
Night Lou
Hi Scott
Evening Scott
just catching up on the days news - i see another inexperienced driver got signed for a new team.
I feel like I should be doing something
Yeah, c
like what? shampooing and conditioning?
oops, accidentally deleted then hit send..
Yeah, could be a disaster, could be fun...
Dunno, something productive. Probably because I was thinking of blogging then the MS stuff came out and distracted me
was wondering if I'd missed some new SPC abbrev where c stood for something. I'm looking forward to an interesting season but I'll have to deal with it without decent tv coverage and early morning starts.
The early starts could be a pain but at least it will be in English, or a version of it
well you can chat to me for 10 minutes when I'll head home, but then you'll be left to your own devices. So start making some blog notes and then go full tilt after. not that i'm selfish :)
I can't afford Speed, so I'll be tuning in to the BBC just like ye olde times in Italy (well before I understood the italians). Might invest in a british VPN to guarantee things work a bit better than justin tv. this country is great for putting tv on the net, legally speaking, so its really easy to catch up on past shows on most of the networks. i still don't own a tv and in no hurry although watching things on the laptop is losing novelty value. fast.
:-)
I was going to watch Long Beach and make blog notes on it but I'll do that tomorrow. Trying to clear the massive backlog. I don't care if nobody is interested, I'm stubborn
watch what? a tv show? sorry but i have no idea...
I don't suppose you'd have access to TSN from Canada, either.
I watch some BBC shows on the computer and sitting at the computer desk does get annoying when you want to collapse in front of the telly.
IndyCar from months ago
no Canadian tv I guess, but I'm pretty close - I could string a few cables together and see what happens. I'm going to miss (in a way) receiving tv from three or four countries (Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Germany). was great for F1 - when one went to commercial, just flick to another. i got reasonably good at understanding f1 in foreign languages. i couldn't ask for bread in a shop but i learn german for dumbelflugel...
aah. i thought it was some hip new show the young people are watching. I vaguely keep an eye on that sort of thing :)
just noticed james allen's site has a toolbar. anyone used it/discuss it previously? it takes a lot for me to bother adding things toolbar wise so won't bother unless highly recommended. i've been here two months now and still not set up properly the new computer.
That's a useful trick! I used to do something not quite the same back when I had Eurosport and they showed something at the same time as another channel.
it was great for sports coverage, eg Euro2008 because i could watch almost any game that was happening, same for champions league etc. i got annoyed when they all showed the same game, but it didn't happen often.
time for me to head home and unlike previous times where i've commented on the way home, i need gloves now (-1 Celsius outside now) so can't use the iphone. they need a glove friendly interface....
That's pretty cool. I like having choice but sometimes it can be fun to compare how different networks do it. Maybe that's just me..
See ya..
nope. I did it too! Austrian f1 had wurz and he was funny. I never knew what he said, but they laughed. Bye!
you can buy iphone gloves! They have wee knobs on the fingertips.
Morning. Sorry for the delay, been talking to a comedienne by the name of Sarah Millican, who was on Live At The Apollo last week...
:-)
Oh I should get around to watching that.. Where did you talk to her?
Twitter! I found her earlier, and briefly mentioned to my followers that she's one of my favourites. She saw and replied back. We've had a bit of a conversation! :D
Pretty cool
I have seen her on TV a couple of times. She's good
Oh yes!
He makes me worry sometimes, could have sworn he said something similar last year.
Joe, JA, and AUTOSPORT are reporting that Bild is reporting that Schumi's coming back.
Especially for Joe and JA, that isn't their style of reporting news, so while it looks likely it will happen, I wonder if they think something could still trip this up.
Also - unless they managed to pull off the impossible (i.e. get Schumi to do a test with a GP2 car or an old F1 car somewhere), I can't believe Merc is actually signing him to a 1-year race deal without doing said test with Schumi.
Bild reported the story a few hours ago. Just like the old days it looks like Weber is leaking to them
Schumi on the grid, privateer teams, no refuelling, 26-strong grid... it's like Back to the Future F1-style.
The general opinion seems to be that this has really ruined Rosberg's Xmas
...and Heidfeld's.
I wonder a couple of things:
1. Is Schumi quick enough to beat Nico regularly?
2. Will Nico accept being a Number Two, or will he act as a spoiler for Schumi?
Schumacher is not going to be any slower than before. He will be at the same level.
I would expect Rosberg senior to get involved if Schu and Brawn go back to their old ways and hid Schu's data etc and give Nico 2nd best treatment
I'm not fully certain of this. Unless he's been driving an F1 car semi-regularly over the past year, he'll need time to get used to driving F1 cars again. The neck (even if it's fully healed) might also be a bit stiff at the beginning.
He can only get involved if Nico is beating Schumi or is at least close to him. If Schumi is whooping him, I don't see how Keke can get involved without getting embarrassed.
These guys only need a few laps to get up to speed. His neck is a different matter. I did suggest Nico's best tactic was to book Schu a ride with the Red Arrows.
That depends. It could be that they start hiding data even from testing then Keke or Nico has to have a word with Mercedes and if that doesn't work make the info public.
Although will the public care that much? We knew that was happening with all his previous teammates (except Felipe), but it didn't really change anything.
Bottom line: either Schumi contends for the title, or he walks before they get to Silverstone.
The public won't but Mercedes don't want bad publicity and stuff like that being leaked will not please them.
Depends how much he enjoys it and how hungry he is. He has signed for one season but he must be thinking about more than that.
That doesn't really help Nico's cause then, does it? Although I wonder... if, say, Schumi does well, will they extend beyond the 1-year contract now, but still chase Vettel anyway? And if they do, they'd probably have to drop Nico, right?
I'm very surprised that there isn't at least a mutually-agreeable option for a second year in there.
Vettel is at Red Bull till 2012.
It helps Nico if Mercedes apply pressure to Brawn.
...so they say. But I can easily see anyone of Ferrari, McLaren, or Mercedes buying him out a year early, especially if, say, RBR's 2010 car stinks and they don't fulfil any performance clauses they may have in the contract.
His contract runs till the end of 2012. I don't think he is going anywhere
If so, why just sign Schumi for 1 year? If he doesn't renew, they'll have to get another one-off for 2011? I don't think that's what Merc have in mind.
Reminds me of David "I will contend for the title this year" Coulthard.
I guess he refused to sign anything longer and they thought he was worth the risk. He has to be planning on coming back for longer but there is no reason for him to sign for more than one season. That way he can issue loads of demands before he signs his second contract and if things don't work out he can walk away after a year.
*sigh* speaking as a Schumi fan, I have a bad feeling this will end in tears.
joe said something similar.
#amstillworkingonit.
I think he and Mark Webber are the only 2 F1 drivers to appear on the current version of top gear that haven't won the championship.
Adventure bar = Scientologists!
Arrrgghhh!!!
oh noes.
My wife is playing guitar hero. And I can hear it.
Did you buy it?
If so, you only have yourself to blame
Yeah, I bought it, Last Christmas. On her insistence.
She hates when I always beat her at the game because I never play it.
today has been stupidly slow. How can i have 4 hours left? I swear i feel like ive done a whole shift :(
I think you need to start a mash potato fight
that would be grand. No potato here though. I do have a cup of scalding hot coffee?
You need to fake a scalding
or, ideally, get your collegue to do so
Normally, it's "haven't you people got homes to go to?"
Oh no, this place walks the floor with dried chiilis
I LOVE chilli
4 or 5 was probably a mistake!
Anyone else reasing F1 live, there are some major things on that site. Stefan F1, according to bernie will replace usf1 and/or campos.
i need the coffee to try to keep me awake. Zzz.
I thought F1 Live was dead
We never took much notice of it when it was breathing, no reason to now
Will wait till the real world reports it
Double espresso & a large bar of chocolate for the sleepy lady at the front
it's all change sir. espn have rebranded, sans gmm. they have an editorial team and features now.
full of confidence bassano
And?
So... ?
F1 Live... gone?
ESPN... we await your credentials
we've been reading discussing them for about three weeks. they seem okay.
thus far, they haven't broken any news, but haven't got anything wildly wrong. the writers maybe have a bit to learn but it 1000x better.
espn didn't choose gmm, they inherited them. and they've opted to move in an different direction.
http://joesaward.wordpress.com/2009/12/21/fiddling-about-with-rome/#comments
Yeah whatever about F1 live. its all good.
any one read Steven Roys comment on joes page re the rome GP?
Couldnt have said it better myself, Tilke is more responsible for ruining the sport than Max could ever lay claim to.
Agree, but am skeptical
they used to be one of the worst sites on the web. so i know where bassano is coming from. am very glad they're history.
Am not disagreeing with you but am just wary of calling this fact
Kudos to you if this is breaking news... I'm just waiting
Very true
Apparently I have 2 pictures of Jim Clarks rookie indy 500 car.
It's also apparent I need a wider angle lense.
oooh. do you have a flickr account?
I use smugmug, and I'm working on posting all the pictures I took at the indy museum this very moment. I'll send a link when done.
good man.
Seriously, who does that?
*expletive*, *expletive*, fricking *expletive*!
just catching up with comments. what happened?
NIce
Michele Alboreto (23/12/1956 — 25/04/2001) would complete 53 today.
A fine driver and a fine gentleman he was. God let him rest in peace!
Formula 1 and the sport world in general need a lot more of serious competitive but fair-players like he was.
Miss him a lot!
In a bar [which I have reservations about - more about that later]
Kicking out time, folk are drinking up [all fine so far]
Guy comes round with a bowl of chillis
I like chillis, so am cool
[this is obviously a ploy to get people to leave, I think]
I don't like backing down on chilli
3 or 4 is fine
[friend bails on 1, so we leave]
Would rahter they just said: we're closing please leave
Am I wrong?
hey joão, michele is a name i haven't heard for a very long time.
thank you for the reminder.
It just doesn't seem like 8 years since he died
i don't remember the last time the name came up in conversation. i shall request christine consider the man for her next mini-series.
He was killed in an Audi sports car I think
i can't say i've ever been in such a position before. however, it's christmas so i'd tend to err on the side of forgiveness. if only because they probably want to go home.
that is the oddest way of getting people to leave i have ever heard.
I've no issue with being told it's home time. Honestly, I've been there once or twice.
Was a bit like family making you feel uncomfortable to get you out of the door. Anyway....
Tell me about it!
.
.
Am still convinced they are Scientologists but that another story!
Ahh... I remember the days when I didn't have any kids and would occassionally close down the bar ;)
So, you get into the seasson of goodwill but not the other stuff?
[Not that I disagree with you, am just curious]
{This may be suitable for another time}
yeah, he's a total jerk the rest of the year! :D
You run a bar JP?
no, that's just the term we sometimes use (in the states) when we're there until the place closes.
i appreciate it means a lot to other people, so i can see why someone might want to close early or not come in at all.
plus, the end of the year allows a little nostalgia with which i can hug people and thank people and not get grief from christine ;)
:D
And feed them chillis to leave
When can anyone stop you hugging? ;)
Hugging rules, btw
The world needs more of it
like amy, i cannot fathom that logic, but i'll take your word.
(hugs)
I thought this place was weird before, this just upheld that view
[hugs] back :)
;)
Usually the best way to get me to leave is to say "we will no longer serve you any beer!"
...you drank the barrel dry.
See, I usually have at least 2 full drinks by that stage
[I've done this before]
It's not that unusual for them to say to me "this is the last of (insert name of rare and exotic beer here) we have"
i dont hug. Dont hug me at my heathrow welcome party, it would be an awkward start :D normally when i am at a bar and they want us to leave they start putting the chairs on the tables. Sends a clear "closing" message.
Oh, I always get my last order in. "The oldest Thomas Hardy's or JW Lee's harvest Ale you have, please!"
i can't not hug?
We'll have to have an Amy effigy
in that case i shall attempt to hug back but i promise nothing.
How do you stop 40 people from a group hug?
Hugging rocks, but you can be a passive participant if you wish
i can handle group hugs. Ive just never been a big one on one hugger. Unless you are my mum or my boyfriend :D
That's
fair
Mr C gives great non-threatening, neutral hugs though
You just can't help yourself, you'll see
I'm with you. I always find it slightly creepy when a non-family female wants to hug me. Males don't get no hugs if you're not family, period!
hehe!
Not even man-hugs? ;)
You don't know many Italians, do you?
Even when he's [relatively] sober
*thinks of when he's ever said goodbye to Mr C when sober.... err, never*
oh dear.
We only meet at celebratory times?
[that's my excuse anyway]
spa may be the fir... erm, nope. not even there.
one of my good friends wants to hug me everytime she sees me. Even if its only been a couple of days. I find it odd. I also got lots of hugs from old colleagues when i called into my old job. Odder.
Maybe after a long night of drinking. I'm a very happy drunk.
Spa = baptism of fire ;)
Monza = Oh my god, you have no idea
Amy, if you don't mid me asking, whre are your folks from
Dunedin Scots?
silly europeans!
You get used to it
You don't thnk you will ,but you do
Here they are. Unfortunately I didn't have a wide angle lens and there's really not much room in the museum to backup and take a picture:
http://pancoast.smugmug.com/Cars/Indianapolis-motor-speedway/
2 of Jim Clark's indy 500 rookie lotus, 1 of Graham Hill's Turbine powered indy 500 lotus, and 2 of a 1991 benetton F1. Plus a few of my kids and other various alfa's, ferrari's, corvette's, and porsche's.
my mum is half welsh but the rest of my heritage is your typical commonwealth mixed bag of english and scottish. I think.
Europe is gonna be an awesome time for you
I'll never forget my first trip to Italy
oh wow! when did you take these, and could we tempt you into a guest post describing some of the pics?
they're amazing!
I took them end of summer break this year. We have family in Indianapolis. I can try and whip up a guest post sometime soon, maybe this weekend. Took a bus ride around the track and all that. It really is a pretty cool place.
Why thank you!
i am soooo looking forward to it. Thank you spc for giving me a reason to go. :D otherwise i probably wouldnt have come til i was 40 or something. I was going to trawl the archives and find the thread where i went from wanting to go to spa to being 50% to 100% in the space of about 15 minutes.
Nice pics.
People think Italian cars have always been bright red but the Maserati is the real original rosso corse.
http://pancoast.smugmug.com/Cars/Indianapolis-motor-speedway/10732221_xezF9#747796719_j7yrA
heh, I'm 100% wanting to go to Montreal next year. But I'm also 100% wanting to see a shuttle launch before they're retired. Understandably, the wife is "one or the other", so I'll probably have to put off Montreal.
You mean you are not a Maori?
I would love to read that.
Not many shuttle launches to go unless NASA do the sensible thing and give it an extension but I don't think they will get the budget for that. Seems crazy to plan for America to have no way to put a man in space for 7 years
me too!
and thank you for motivating us not to give up ;)
agreed on all counts. There are only a couple launches left.
well, anyway, it's bedtime for me. later all.
no maori blood in me. Would have been nice, the government would have given me free money for my 4 years of uni. My flatmate in 07 got it and she is the whitest person ive ever met.
g'night.
There are 5 still to go. Next one is STS-130 which should fly Feb 7th and the last mission is STS-134
Good night
Same here
G'night peeps
[keeping that leaving in pairs thing alive]
Looks like NASA are planning on running the last two shuttle mission ever in the wrong order. How can they plan to be out of sequence so far ahead.
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/index.html
Good night
good night those who are leaving.
am still here. aside is exporting, will listen to it with fresh ears in the morning, should be up around lunchtime.
which reminds me i have not finished transcribing aside 15. More work to do on the plane!
hehe. did you get to the end of the awards show?
i did. It all seems so unnecessary. I do it as a favour not for a reward!
i know. but we want to and it's the least we can do.
job done. i bid you all a good morning.
i shall triple my output to say thanks.
(hugs)
Gran Turismo has BOTH shades of red for their Ferraris. Bright red is Rosso Scuderia, while scarlet red is Rosso Corsa. I pick Rosso Corsa every time. ;)
Did Amy help save SPC? :)
Awww, darn, I missed Mr C by 10 minutes! Still, I guess he'd answer this with a yes. :D
Meanwhile... Maybe I should try calling Shanghai again.
The man needs to re-adjust his internal clock I say!
That IS his internal clock. Remember when it got all screwed up after the Giggles Party, and he started waking up at 5 AM rather than sleeping at 5 AM? We were all thinking he'd gone mad! ;)
you still haven't given up ? :-)
No. :D But my call keeps getting cut (not even a busy tone).
Morning all,
Last day at work before Christmas today! w00tage!
hooray! My day took forever to finish but I have just got home. Now I get to do fun things like iron and pack!
Hoping that's the case here. There's rumours of a mid afternoon finish, but I won't believe it until I see it.
Morning everyone :)
Morning P-Giggly :D
morning
morning Alex. People are saying the schumi announcement is due by noon today. Looks like the daily will be the happy place for a lot of people today.
He says with tongue in cheek?
I am not sure if it is a good or a bad thing...
actually, I'm not so keen on him coming back - I don't think it's the right decision for him. But I will support him all the way.
it depends on who you are and what you think of F1 from 2007-2009.
I think I agree with you. As much as I dislike the man, I don't want to see him humiliated.
Well it has been great - could have been better but that's regardless of Schumi's participation. I just think this is like the extra movie sequel - everyone seems to want it and yet we all know it will disappoint. Schumi's had his time.
I think Journeyer means the daily will have to be used as the happy place because the breakout thread will be depressing.
Ah right. Sorry for the misunderstanding. In my defence, I have only had one coffee ;)
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/80649
Who is the dude driving the car and why have they made him look so silly?
I am listening to the live party this morning!
I like Christine saying, "festive frivolity".
my thoughts exactly. Shame on you, mr c! Hehehe.
again, my thoughts exactly. And for Schumi fans like me, in particular those who are expecting he's still at the peak of his powers, it'll be even more disappointing.
I think he retired too early, but he has come back too late. He would have won 07 and 08, I am sure of it.
given how Kimi won and Felipe almost won, I'd agree with you.
Hello all. just popping in to say I won't be around in the comments for the next few days due to relatives. Seasons Felicitations to all. If you are a Christmas person have a wonderful celebration. If you are not, enjoy the break. Comment with you soon. :)
You too Mrs Lion!
Hi Janna! Have some lovely felicitations :)
A collegue here at work already lost a bet with me because he claimed that Kimi would score more points than Alonso next year.
On today's news he's decided that he wants to have a bet that Michael will score more points than Alonso.
Mercedes will announce their new driver at 1030 today apparently.
just under 2 hours time, then. It'll be interesting to swing by the different F1 fora and see the reactions there.
It's gonna be chaos I reckon!
I know! That's why I wanna take a look-see. :D
If anyone finds anything particularly mental, I'd appreciate a link ;)
I am loving the Rrrrrubish clapping :)
will do. Am out for THREE Christmas dinners in a row though, so I'll do it when I get home.
THREE! That's quite a lot!
Wow, have fun dude!
so Schumi will end up racing for team sort of set up by Jacques Villeneuve :-)
Morning, dontcha just love getting excited texts tellingn you breaking news and being able to text back ' i know, ive known for weeks' ;)
on anothere note, can someone explain todays giggles advent as i havent a clue
I don't think the daily will need to be a happy place too much, there was already quite a discussion on Schumi while you were slumbering (I assume) and no one was too upset. Except Lou.
it's a particularly rrrrrubish one today. Sorry.
In contracts you have subordinate clauses and also in just grammar generally: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subordinate_clause
Indeed. If you were a fan of Brawn there's not much to keep you as a Mercedes fan...
only Mr Brawn
He is my man of the year, not for his results, but for the fact that he bought Brawn GP for £1 and sold it for millions. Clever Man
You're just saying that so you can blag a few quid off him ;)
many Brawn fans are also Schumi fans, so many will stick around.
would love to be his kid this year ;)
:D
Wednesday fun:
I'm sick of Christmas movies. Quite frankly they're crap and just there to take a quick buck. Can you guys give me some alternative ideas? I'm starting with The Life of Brian...
Die Hard?
good call1
Yes! More like that please!
Cool Runnings?
Die Hard 2
Die Hard 3
Nah bro, number 3 is in summer! That would only work in weird countries like NZ :D
this reminds me that I bought a box set of all 4 months and months ago and haven't watched them. I really should because I've never seen 1,2 or 3 in their entirety and people judge me when i tell them that :D
I was a Brawn Fan (second after Sauber) - but they have lost me totally as a fan. Hopefully Nick gets the Sauber drive. To think only a few months ago Ross why change drivers and they lost both.
I have all 4 on DVD. It's a toss up between 1 and 2 but I like them all!
hmm. ummm.
Any James Bond film?
both ;)
I have all the bond films too. I told the missus about the traditions of Bond films on UK TV at Xmas and she's keen to keep that tradition going ;)
woop.
Grand Prix :-)
I do have to mention that my favorite Christmas movie is Muppet's Christmas Carol
we watch that as a family every year
I have that too - this list is looking good so far!
1) Life of Brian
2) Die Hard 1 or 2
3) A bond movie
4) Grand Prix
5) LOTR
6) Ben Hur (haven't seen it yet)
7) The Snowman (if I can find a copy as my wife has never seen it)
I'll have to find that one - turns out my wife likes the muppets, which is very surprising as she's not got a silly sense of humour ...
I have watched that the last four nights in a row :D
I was going to suggest you to watch that huge racing sequence. wheel to wheel racing at its best
Tropic Thunder.
Montezemolo says "However, we were aware that something else was needed for the way we operate and therefore, we opted for Alonso."
Anyone else thinking that he's saying that they dont have the engineering power/ingenuity to do it alone like McLaren?
Have that one too - added to the list!
If your into life of brian, follow up with the holy grail, or an indiana jones movie
Downy Jnr was robbed of that Oscar
We saw the holy grail a while ago. Mrs. Goat was not impressed :(
Not impressed? really?
How could you not like the line "I'm a shrubber"
Like I said, not her kind of humour. She thought it too silly!
i can understand that. mrs kerbrider is the same
Moi aussi. Mrs C sat stony-faced throughout when I took her to see The Producers.
Right – I done blogged, Steve, and now I've got to wrap Mrs C's xmas pressies.
http://www.stuartcodling.com/2009/12/schumacher-back-for-no-good/
Oh dear Stu, you've made me all grumpy after reading that.
Conclusion: No good can come from a Schumi comeback :(
My biggest fear is the ratio of plonker-spectatorss at the races will go up, Not good when I am doing more races than usual!
What is it about Schumi that attracts the irrational plonker to the sport?
my theory is the most "famous" name in a sport always seems to attract those who just want an excuse to get drunk and obnoxious at a public event without having any real interest in the sport.
They can go along and drink their slab and go 'yeah! Schumacher!' and use inappropriate language around nearby children, continually kick the back of my seat and end the evening punching each other.
mr noble tweets Schumi confirmed
Bah humbug :(
here we go.
Fwiw, this means Nick should be confirmed soonish at Sauber. If he decides to go to Renault (although I doubt that), Fisi should get the other seat.
I don't understand how Fisi went from Ferrari test driver to everyone expecting him to get a drive somewhere. I must have been AWOL at some stage :D
breakout coming...
I wanna post a proper reply to it (basically asking why so many casual fans are excited at this comeback) but Im out and Stuart has chores to do anyhow. Again, to do for me when I get home.
no use having a 3rd driver if he gets too rusty I guess. See mr badoer.
Sauber is Nick's second choice - but once again he is a bridesmaid this time to a rather old and shop-spoiled bride. I am not sure Renault is on the radar - but I think it would be a good choice if Robert is there as well. They push each other really well.
Apparently Michael has said: "I'm ready for some serious stuff."
go crazy: http://sidepodcast.com/2009/12/23/michael-schumacher-to-make-f1-comeback/
I'm trying to get back into Christmas mood after the Schumacher announcement by sticking "Christmas" into the last.fm radio.
Listening to the Sidepoddie awards... I really want one day for somebody to turn up and collect an award!
Anyone else reasing F1 live, there are some major things on that site. Stefan F1, according to bernie will replace usf1 and/or campos. {Comment #79}
That's an elaboration of the story where Bernie said he doesn't think USF1 or Campos wouldn't make it to the grid. I'd wait until either of those teams fails to make the grid before getting too excited about Stefan F1's chances. That's another arrival that could end in tears...
Couldnt have said it better myself, Tilke is more responsible for ruining the sport than Max could ever lay claim to. {Comment #88}
Since it was Max and his predecesor who laid down the circuit rules that bind Hermann Tilke's hand so much, and Max who made Hermann the preferred circuit designer due to his safety and compliance records, I'd dispute that. Max made the Tilke problem like he's made so many others.
How do you stop 40 people from a group hug? {Comment #133}
Screaming usually works (I find hugging fine except when 40 people are doing it, one of them invariably gets the urge to tickle/poke/push me... ...which isn't).
Not a great way to start a fun get-together though...
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/80649
Who is the dude driving the car and why have they made him look so silly? {Comment #200}
Andrea Bortolini. It says at the end of the article that he was the first person to try the simulator out.
As for why they've made him look so silly... ...I can't answer that.
I don't understand how Fisi went from Ferrari test driver to everyone expecting him to get a drive somewhere. I must have been AWOL at some stage {Comment #267}
On the Monday after Fisi took the Ferrari test driver role, Luca di Montezemelo said he would allow, and even encourage, Fisi to drive elsewhere in conjunction with being test and reserve driver. Once Force India got ruled out due to it having arch-rival Mercedes engines, Sauber became the next most likely target.
What I can tell you is that Fisi has ruled out joining any new teams, so he won't be joining Campos or USF1 (or Stefan GP if the rumours are true).
Home time - w00t!
Morning. Tip: Whisky not good for head. Whisky good for sending you to sleep for hoourrs. I have day off.
Right, I need to wake myself up, tidy this place and do lots of things I was going to do. Will blog the news a little later..
Guys, I am so happy right now. We've had 3 more cars come
into the workshop for the Autosport show and one of them us Ayrton Senna's 97T. Yes - Senna's actual car! And the best thing is - I got to push it into the workshop! The other cars are the 102 with the Lamborghini V12 and the 88 twin chassis car.
And because they're in the workshop, there will be pictures! :D
I think tonight will be one of those nights where I'm so scared of sleeping through my alarm and missing my plane that I just won't be able to sleep.
You did remember not to push it by the wing right? ;)
guest post, guest post, guest post, guest post ;)
Awww I get like that and then I don't sleep the whole night until about 2 hours before I'm supposed to get up. Then I'm really at risk of sleeping right through...
Funnily enough, one of the guys told me to do just that!
that man should be fired ;)
I'll see if I can put something together tonight ;)
I say pushed it, more like pulled it by the wing. It felt strong enough though. I just can't believe I've pushed a car driven by my hero. :D
it will be strong enough, but it could always weaken it a bit or something.
Right something cheerful for you all... Jeremy and fourstar on the Kazoo from Ronnie Scott's yesterday: http://drop.io/sidepodcast/asset/img-3619-mov
On the Kazoo...
fourstar really has had alot of practice?
He is a saxophonist and has grade 8 flute... But has never played the kazoo professionally!
ah. it all makes sense
I'm playing 'Seat Roulette' right now - will I be able to stay in my seat without getting kicked out?
There's a dude sitting opposite me - he's a classic beatnik, skinny, Heaney and earphones to boot. Weird thing is, he has a tattoo in Latin that says 'Fortune favours the brave'.
Why???
you can read latin?
Heck no. I googled it ;)
if fortune favours the brave, and he has a desk job. is he chicken?
(Ex or off duty) forces then... or obscure indie singer...
he's too skinny to look like a soldier.
Probably into Heavy Metal - they do some songs in Latin!
he looks more like a musician than a desk jockey TBH...
eee has not arrived in time for my trip :( i shall have to take a full size laptop on the plane, oh the horror.
The children request that I tell you all (but especially Christine) about www.panfu.com
Apparently pandas feature large :-)
I was trying to hold off telling until tomorrow, but have been made to do so today because with todays news you will need it for light relief....
Catching up on comments. Nice to see Michele Alboreto get a mention in the Daily and in the comments early this morning.
I am still listening to the live show... Things keep getting in the way... I am glad to receive my best handling of pub food award :)
Nice pics!
right, I have set three alarms, I think its safe to get my 4 hours sleep before they all start going off. I shall mobile doohickey from the airport, please be prepared to Amysit ;) #stupidboringairports
You have obviously watched a recent top gear episode! Have a good trip and sorry your eee did not arrive in time.
But airports are a world of fun!
Aw, short sleeps aren't good. Have a good trip!
Good evening, all.
I get to work from home/hotels tomorrow whoop!
Ho Ho Ho!
Hahah, I love this!
Evening
Mr C... Not sure if you are about... but remember that guy from the other day that did the GF1? He's done a video review too: http://craigmod.com/journal/gf1-fieldtest-video/
Very cool :-)
Why thank you!
cool. i'll watch later.
Afternoon all.
Gavin....it's a good question. I don't think we'll ever know the answer. However, Brawn (as they were) were dragging their heels at the time.
Even more F1 news: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/8428807.stm
Bob Bell (inventor of the bell crank) isn't going to remain team principal. It will instead be Eric Boullier
Please somebody... Off season... no news... you know.... cummon1
No offense, but... Eric who?
Never heard of him
I suspect that's it for F1 news for 2009. The next news cycle should begin on the 4th of January.
Article says he's a former team principal at DAMS, which is a GP2 frontrunner.
Interesting that Lopez has decided not to be principal himself.
Just a thought - Kubica might be disgruntled at Renault, but with Schumi now at Merc, he has no choice but to stay,
Happy Christmas Eve Eve everybody...
Evening everyone, hope all is well in Sidepodland.
i think, i may have a spare five minutes to upload "aside".
don't hold me to it though schumacher may announce something else before i finish.
aww bugger! is that breakout worthy, or is there nothing to discuss?
why.won't.they.take.a.holiday
This is the most insane 'off-season' I have ever known. Not just in F1 too, there was a GP2 driver announcement today (probably the wrong day..)
am waiting for a press release on the 25th.
I've never heard of him but the article says he was the MD of DAMS and I've heard of them, they are good, so he could be a good choice.
Time to wrap presents, back later..
Evening all :)
Evening.
ooh I've just remembered I have time now to see the add-ons for google chrome mr c introduced me to!
there is no good time to release this when schumacher is stealing all the headlines, but the latest episode of aside is now up.
http://sidepodcast.com/2009/12/23/an-aside-with-joe-he-makes-a-yo-yo-look-reliable/
if you enjoy it, please tweet, facebook and share with all your might ;)
he talked about Schumi, right? it's the perfect time to release it.
Right, time to get those pics of the 3 new Lotus' in the workshop onto Flickr.
I counted how many we had in, regardless of what state they were in and we have 13 cars in the workshop! 13! You literally cannot move for historic Lotus F1 cars in there. Love it :D
he did, but two days ago.
jealous!
Will listen shortly!
Do we have a Thursday Thoughts question yet?
scott's turn i believe.
Scott tomorrow, me next week.
You get the best spot yet - the last day of the decade. Make good use of it! ;)
Second last day of the decade isn't it?
Nope - Thursday 31st December.
Ok. Just that I very likely won't be around tomorrow except when I'm at work, so I was hoping to write something later :-)
...
Good job I'm not left in charge of dates.
:D
when scott gets back from his pics we'll see what he has planned :)
Why is it always the day before I go on vacation, everyone tries to get me to do stuff at the last minute for them, thus making me stay late...
GRRRRR.....
#blameschumi
New pics are up. Hope you like 'em :)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/sets/72157622875849415/
good man. can we hassle you for thursday thoughts whilst you're here?
Of course.
I was thinking something simple, along the lines of "If the regulations were completely opened up, what would be your ultimate F1 car design?"
ooh, interesting. for me that would be tough to write about, because i'm quite clueless about that sort of thing, but am happy to have a go.
ugh i need caffeine.
have ya made it?
The caffeine or to the destination?
:)
i think amy is airport bound.
i am awake which was the first step. The radio man just said "its three past six in the morning and its 30 degrees" no wonder i feel it was too hot to keep properly
Hey all... And official news on andy shov?
Off to bed. Good night!
Ooh, testing shots of the January Car Pack for Forza 3 have been leaked! The cars for it are:
2010 Aston Martin One-77
2009 Audi RS6
2009 Audi R8 LMS
2010 BMW Motorsport M6 Coupe
2010 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport
2010 Ford Shelby Mustang GT500
2009 Holden HSV w427
2009 Lotus 2-Eleven
2010 Pagani Zonda R
2010 Porsche Boxster S
2010 Saleen S5S Raptor
Me likey :D
night chap.
hey lou, we come to you for that info.
Nope - although I've seen a couple of people say he'll be Schumi's race engineer next year.
Like Schumi or not, being his race engineer has tended to become a stepping stone to greater things, from Pat Symonds (pre-Crashgate) to Chris Dyer, and everyone in between.
A bunch of Top Gear has showed up on Netflix (US). Series 10 can be streamed, others look to be on their way. Unfortunately it looks like the edited US version *grrrrrrr*
oh... Was hoping someone would be Able to break news to me without me needing to look through the gmm stories I saw earlier.
No
i stopped for some mountain dew so i missed my tram. Luckily there are two routes at my stop and the second one takes me where i need to go too. I think i am going to be super early.
i have never seen so many people waiting for the skybus. Airport is going to be busy!
oh god the queue goes around the corner. I am so going to have to wait for the next one
skybus?
skybus is the shuttle from city to airport
oh. thought it might be a monorail or something :(
Mono...doh!!
official: have to wait 15 minutes for the next one. And the queue is already big enough to fill it. I think they need to start their "every 10 minutes" service earlier than 8am :D
:D
hooray i am on the bus. I even got a seat. 20 minutes to the airport now. :D then i can get some breakfast!
can we choose it for ya?
Heeeeeeeelllooooo People of Sidepodworld
My sister is also on an airport adventure today. Last I heard she'd landed at Gatwick (from Spain) and the plan was sat on the runway. This was hours ago.
evening
I am fighting the urge to throw my iPod at ted on the tv... Stuuuuuuuupid f1 2010
You'll love it.
I think emily likes ted... Heikki may have some competition... Lol :)
Ted says f1 has missed Schumi!!!!! I may scream
It has Sauber in it. Whats not to love?
I don't blame you. The amount of crashes that app has makes the game almost as unplayable as the steering.
you can maybe choose it for me because at the moment i dont know what i want so help would be good. I know i dont want a bagel because thats what i had last time.
what else is on offer?
to be fair Ted is awesome.
Heikki... not so much.
#sorryamyemilyheikkiandfinland
#andlordi
i was talking about next season hehe I like the app :)
hehe she says she love heikki so don't worry :)
:D
i dont remember. The video on the bus just told me there is a substantial food court. And that the airport is the same size as 1031 MCGs
(hugs) ollie:
http://blogf1.co.uk/2009/12/12/new-points-system-for-2010/comment-page-1/#comment-73098
small check in queue hooray!
i just remembered what i forgot to bring. A pen to fill in my departure and arrival cards!
ok...so me and my brother need help....
Each year we make something huge out of gingerbread...
What can we do (you're not allowed to say an f1 car) it needs to be a building or monument or something similar
GOGOGOGO. ta ;)
La Sagrada da la Familia Cathedral
i am going with fruit salad for breakfast
you're a funny funny guy ;)
The FA Cup
What!! I reckon it'd make a fun gingerbread project! :P
Not my fault it's architecturally incredible!
Abu Dhabi hotel
...[it started being built in] 1882 and is not expected to be complete until at least 2026....
so a building thats going to take 144 years you want me to build in 2 days from gingerbread
!!!!
ooh and some eggs benedict
You can do it!! Just don't do what Gaudi did and step back to admire your work only to get run over...
How about a massive gingerbread man? Or a gingerbread Stig?
Well, with that type of attitude you're definitely not going to be able to build it in that time!
Don't you mean Mr. C.?
The gerkin
The Tate Modern
The Festival Hall
Angel of the North
ooooo how about Anthony Gormley's Field for the Britsh Aisles (family edition :-)
Oh - that would be at http://www.studio-international.co.uk/studio-images/Gormley/Gormley1b.asp
Ahh, nothing better than coming home and seeing that.
More fitting to be made of Angel Delight though...
Sorry RG I really have to ask this
Is Byker Grove a real place?
You need the gingerbread for the support (and the rust effect)
Yes. It has one of the premier pub folk venues in the UK...
There is a place called Byker.
Awesome.
*happily sings Byker Grove theme to self*
As long as you sing that and not the 'other' song that series is responsible for!!
Just think - if the beeb had cancelled that show after season 2 (as they were going to) Saturday night tv might be a better place...
Watch us wreck the mike,
Watch us wreck the mike,
Watch us wreck the mike,
Psych!
Also home of the Newcastle Diamonds.
#uselessfact
you got there before me ;)
last year we did big ben.....
http://drop.io/sidepodcast/asset/img-0164-jpg
Sorry! Haha
Oh my god I have no idea how you haven't jumped face first into that
holy cow!
it collapsed, didn't last too long. partly as we ate it and the other part because the big ben bit collapsed
I'm thinking of Chocolate Land from The Simpsons. Looks, sooooo, edible.
What the chuff???!
That's epic.
Sugar induced coma...GO
In awe of that, I say build Tower Bridge. Or whatever that moving contraption they built over the river down south.
http://sparkledental.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/tower_bridge__by_night_.jpg
What about http://bit.ly/6fZIs7 ?
This is one of the more random news stories of the day:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/6857398/Police-hunt-supermarket-bottom-sniffer.html
You could make it out of chocolate fingers, and mini rolls.
good choice.
although i don't remember being asked.
Evening all.
i recall you making that.
but not at xmas, right?
Howdy
nope, was at christmas
Hi Christine
Evening
odd. i thought it was around easter.
nope, we did it in time for new years eve
Evening
the world is moving too quickly.
hey. i remember you.
the year has gone scarily quickly
Terrible three days! This is the first time I've opened my laptop all today. This must be what it's like for normal people.
It's Christmas Eve. This is the first time I have worked on the 24th in ages.
I'm liking the fact I've taken 3 days holiday next week and I have 10 much needed days off of work.
This should happen with all holiday I think. Buy one get one free.
We get all next week free, which is quite a good deal.
That is also acceptable!
I've taken today, and two days next week. Have to do a stock take on NYE morning.
I feel like I am back in school. Today we have to "clean our desks and throw away any old paper". :D
Evening.
Just watched the Snowman, as my wife had never seen it. Lovely program!
Evening
that would take me less than three seconds.
clean your desk and throw away any paper?
are you sure you havent been sacked?
Oh! I never thought of that. I better check that email again.
....it was all staff right?!
I agree.
I'll tell 'em "Christine off the Internet said it was ok"
Yup. Send 'em my way.
Hmm. It's not yet 9am and I'm finished. What to do for the day????
from looking around this gate lounge my plane is 75% screaming children. In good news though, I got a new memory stick at the duty free store.
Do you think that will keep them busy?
If used as a pacifier or a weapon, yes!
How long is the flight?
Read the comments.
I could try catching up on the past 2 weeks I suppose. I wonder if anything happened.....
http://sidepodcast.com/2009/12/23/an-aside-with-joe-he-makes-a-yo-yo-look-reliable/
Time difference, I hate you.
I think my mum and dad have got confused again and forgot to call me when they said they would!
It has been pretty quiet to be fair.
An Aside and a GP+? The man is a legend. The Chrissie holiday is sorted.
Since my world revolves around Sauber, Kobayashi *groan* joined. Apart from that, who knows.
88 pages!
They did what? Still, at least they have drivers, unlike certain un-named non-european based teams.
You'll be eating with chopsticks and writing haiku by this time next year, I promise you ;)
and 2 years of back issues. Now I know how I could have used a Kindle.
Does Kindle read PDF?
No idea. I thought it was an obvious thing. Maybe not?
The new one does.
It's DRM'd to heck, I know that...
cant board. Plane hit by lightning. Boo. Internet signal here rubbish. Doohickeying hard.
Boo!
yikes.
I had a birdstrike once, but the story is not as funny unless I tell it in person!
hooray plane apparently wont kill me so they have let us on. Only half an hour delayed, i hope they make it up so i land on time :D
The plane I was meant to board had one coming from Newcastle to Verona. Stuck in Verona airport for 8 hours. I was this close to killing someone.
we were in italy once and after many hours they cancelled the flight. it was at night and everything. boo
Ever been delayed 12 hours because of an erupting volcano? I have :)
Now you are just showing off :)
Well it was a bit of an ordeal!
Saw the thing erupting as we flew by it too!
By the way I had a pizza for dinner tonight. Verdict: Deep Pan, crisp and even :D
oh dear oh dear oh dear
ho ho ho ho ho
Hey that's my line ;)
Does this mean a hasty re-shoot of tonight's advent video?
Oh yeah it was!
Well Mrs. Goat liked it anyway ;)
I think I already did that one? I can't remember now!
Tonight's was done after the team do at Ronnie Scott's yesterday!
Anyway... Just popped in to see if anyone had been after me. Off to bed now!
Why does Santa have three gardens?
so he can ho ho ho
Guess that one didn't make the cut then ;)
theres still 3 days left ;)
There is? Did someone move Christmas?
Actually I think "what's santa's favourite garden implement? His ho ho ho" was in there right near the beginning?
Ok maybe 2
I dunno, but Christmas is tomorrow AND Friday in Denmark!
You tell me, I'm still getting over 6xGiggles and Subordinate Claus!
Same here (tomorrow being Friday and all) ;-)
I had fish, chips and giant spring roll for tea. Yummy :)
My guess is day 6 but I can't check
Anyway... NIght!
Top tip for Christmas shopping - leave it to the absolute last minute. I could not believe how few people were shopping at 7pm last night.
I will not sleep until I finish my post on fuel effieciency!
big picture pluggie:
http://www.f1minute.com/category/f1-big-picture/
Oh dear.
must.resist.comment.
"how did you get someone so small to fit in?"
Just a little blog post I felt like putting together:
http://woodwiss.wordpress.com/2009/12/23/believing-in-yourself/
outstanding! Thank you!
You may want to read about a man called Coach Carter and the visionaries steve jobs and Ron Dennis.
who?
how long? if you're quick you might make the daily.
A few moments...
good man. have stopped the presses ;)
#mfc
Some iplayer figures: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8428096.stm
It also mentions these new Dr.Who episodes are on BBC America..
Thank you :)
Here it is: http://f1numbers.wordpress.com/2009/12/23/2009-in-review-fuel-use/
(hearts) graphs.
I would like some feedback on them from you guys as I have changed to Excel 2007 which is much prettier - so please let me know so I can set new visual templates ;)
will study them in depth in and let ya know.
can anyone else post links to the SPC facebook page?
http://fb.me/sidepodcast
just thinking it might be another place to plug your posts.
not in the same way you can no
Roge-O, just did ;)
what happens when you do? have set every setting to "open".
will try.
Goes into 'just fans' tab on the wall...
have changed the default view. give it a refresh.
Better!
groovy. another place to plug.
#confidentialfromgiggles
Have taken the idea RG gave and tidied the Questions for Joe page, http://wiki.sidepodcast.com/page/Questions+for+Joe. With everything from 2009 moved to here: http://wiki.sidepodcast.com/page/Aside+with+Joe+2009
:)
I think I know what I am talking about there.
Oooh, RG the Wiki-master is teaching you everything he knows :)
Indeed ;)