Hi everyone.
It was good to hear that Endeavour landed safely. It is such a shame that the fleet is being retired with no direct replacement. Especially so when you see photos like these. They also make me realise just how fantastic the International Space Station really is.
Did you win any tickets to the Olympics? What will you be seeing? I didn't, not yet anyway. Is the first-round process over? Are they done? Looks like the second-chance sale is the next thing to try! Not that I mind too much as it means I can afford two days at Goodwood instead of one. I hope at least someone from here got something?
I wrote a few opinions about the Monaco GP. Tonight I plan to do the same about the Indy 500 and look out for a post from Leigh about that too. Must say I've fallen quite a way behind on everyone's writing, including my own, so apologies if I'm missing something obvious!
If you want to get a feel for just how big the Indy 500 is when there in person, these are some very well-written pieces from Steph and from Paul who experienced it in very different ways.
Racing
There's no F1 this weekend, but you can get a fix from any of these fine events:
- MotoGP - Catalunya, just two weeks after F1 visited, but without the injured Dani Pedrosa which may not go down well at one of his home races.
- FIA GT1 World Championship - The very first major series to use Silverstone's brand new pit facilities will be the FIA GT1, GT3 and GT4 championships this weekend, just as last year they were the first to try the new track layout. I was tempted to go but I need to save my pennies for Goodwood!
- DTM - All hail the return of the Osterreichring! Or the A1-Ring! Except it isn't either of those now, it is the Red Bull Ring and it is open for business with DTM and F3 Euroseries this week.
- Isle of Man TT races. The Superbike and Sidecar events are this weekend, with more happening over the following week.
- BTCC - Oulton Park, the old favourite.
- IRC - Yalta Rally is a Ukrainian event near the Black Sea and is new to the international calendar.
- GrandAm - 6 Hours of The Glen (Watkins Glen).
- NASCAR - the Sprint Cup and the Nationwide Series will be racing at Kansas this weekend.
- There is supposed to be a round of Superleague Formula at Assen, but who knows whether it'll actually happen or indeed if anyone will notice...
Now these is all well and good but this is the bridge between two epic weekends: Last Sunday we had Monaco, Indy and Charlotte. Next Saturday and Sunday we'll have Le Mans 24hr, Montreal (F1), Texas (Indy) and Silverstone (MotoGP). So I don't know about you but I feel like having a rest, I'm probably just going to watch the MotoGP this week.
What we need is a musical interlude
Lukeh's written about a few song choices and asks about your own little playlist. Christine is working through the 30 Day Song Challenge which Lukeh also finished recently.
When I want to distance myself from concentrating on something, or when I want to focus in on something, I find the best way is to turn off the shuffle feature and actually play an album straight through. I do love a good shuffle feature session as much as anyone but nothing is more effective at relaxing you and and taking you away from any frustrations than playing an album or two straight through. I have always preferred albums to singles though, so maybe that's me.
When Mr C, Lukeh, myself and a mate of mine went to see the Manic Street Preachers recently (and no, we won't stop going on about it 'cos it was awesome and we should arrange more), we also really enjoyed the support act. So the album I want to recommend today is The Big Roar by that support band, The Joy Formidable. I bought it earlier. We thought they needed a 'catchy' song to hang the others around but I have to say, listening to the album it isn't like that, it works much better as a 49-minute complete listen and there are plenty of catchy moments.
This is The Greatest Light Is The Greatest Shade by The Joy Formidable, I've chosen this one because that opening riff was in my head for ages afterwards.
Have yourselves a great Thursday.
Hopefully I didn't break anything when I renamed the post and title when I got the wrong date ;)
looks good to me Pat :D
Good stuff
Boo about your Olympics tickets, good luck in the next round :)
Thanks, it is a bit annoying because I thought there would at least be an email to say "you were unsuccessful".
Great daily but awesome photos Pat!
They are great photos. I forgot who mentioned it first.
Blimey, 2am already. They disappear fast these evenings. Bedtime.
you'll get that in a few weeks when the successful ones get told what they actually got.
Have you seen these recent posts on sidepodcast.com?
- Daily: 2nd June 2011
- Daily: 1st June 2011
- Monaco 2011 - Rate the race
- Positive points galore in Team Rankings this week
- Tonio Liuzzi gets some points on the board in Christine's Rankings
morning all
I'll just go get the final nail then, shall I?
I got my BOGOF voucher cut out the paper already!
... oh yeh, i got olympic tickets too... badminton I think!
I think I'm doing the Revival in September as opposed to the Fest of Speed - well, one day at the revival at least
Congrats... I think
One of the radio stations here want to make me a featured tweeter of the day...
What do i know!
..Although they do offer about 100 quids worth of vouchers.
How does that work?
They talk about a twitterer on air
Search for #DUBAI92TWITHEAD on this page
http://dubai92.com/breakfast-highlights/the-catboygeordiebird-breakfast-blog-june/
I'll have a look later - am in work at the mo
the FCO has lifted the travel advice against non-essential travel to bahrain http://twitter.com/#!/fcotravel/statuses/76247868918333440
Hmmmm...
Have you seen these recent posts on sidepodcast.com?
- Daily: 2nd June 2011
- Daily: 1st June 2011
- Monaco 2011 - Rate the race
- Positive points galore in Team Rankings this week
- Tonio Liuzzi gets some points on the board in Christine's Rankings
Hmmm. Stars are aligning for Bahrain, it seems. Coincidence?
Well, because the country has officially ended martial law, regardless of what fate awaits protesters...
No men's matches tonight, means an early night is achievable and I can stay up late to watch men's semis tomorrow since no alarm on a Saturday morning. Perfect!
Woot! Women's semi-final day = boooring :)
Does anyone else think this is a really bad idea?
They want confirmation, should i go on or bury my head in the sand?
Surely it depends if you like the radio station or not?
Oh yes, i listen to it in the car.
im fighting between
a) I will sound like an idiot
b) I guess being live on the radio/tv once should be on everyones bucket list
I say go for it. :)
#nothere
What are they going to talk to you about? TwitteR?
i think so, who you are, the things you tweet about who you follow e.t.c.
Ah ha, that's good. I'm sure you have opinions about that :) You'll be great.
I think i will do it
If i dissappear of the interwebs next week... you will all know why!
Ping: http://www.f1minute.com/news/nick-wirth-no-longer-technical-director-of-virgin-racing
Yes - Murray Walker documentary, this Sunday at 8pm on BBC2
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b011vnlj
Don't forget there's a Senna special on 5Live tonight too with Crofty and Maurice Hamilton
no career slam for Maria.
I think I want Li Na to win, quite the opposite to how I felt at the AO :)
The other lady won? I thought it was going to be easy for Sharapova. Damn me and my boring statement.
still kind of boring....I have no emotional attachment to any of these four at all.
I am contemplating FBFBing the finals at the weekend. Get some practice in for Wimbledon :)
ooooh wise idea.
Li Na's gotten a lot better lately, and while Sharapova's gone up the rankings, it's more because the competition isn't as good to be in previous years. The Sharapova of 3-4 years ago would be dominating this field. The fact she isn't is worrying.
Sounds like a great idea! :D
Don't know if anyone's seen this, but apparently kittens and World Series by Renault go together well...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhWdMb-qjPQ
:)
Excellent daily Pat, can't go wrong with a bit of the Joy formidable too :)
Hiya guys.
Wow, just seen the tennis stuff, am kind of surprised Li Na beat Sharapova! Another Open final for her :)
Enjoy a little something from the sidepodcast.com back catalogue.
- Japan 2009 - Schedule
Originally published 30/09/2009
Have you seen these recent posts on sidepodcast.com?
- Daily: 2nd June 2011
- Daily: 1st June 2011
- Monaco 2011 - Rate the race
- Positive points galore in Team Rankings this week
- Tonio Liuzzi gets some points on the board in Christine's Rankings
Looks good
Ta, yeah I'm really getting into the album :)
I had plans to cook something and write another blog post tonight, but now I'm home I'm feeling far too lazy ;)
That was supposed to be a :)
Lots of telly stuff to catch up on, may do that instead. 2 x Doc Who, 3 x Apprentice You're Fired.
How is The Apprentice this year? I decided not to watch because I don't really have time and it's the same old, same old. Although I saw they did some apps or something, which is very modern! :)
Can't listen to Debrief until I've had food, as it requires brain activity and I appear to have none..
The main show is pretty much the same as ever. I think people are a bit tired of it because it was only on in November (after that 18 month break). Some good characters though, and a slightly different aim - not to be an employee but to start a business with his funding, so he's looking for someone a bit different to the normal ones.
I like that Dara O'Briain does You're Fired now, vast improvement.
I just turned to look out of the window and felt a bit funny, definitely time to eat something. Trying to stop snacking after work but forget that it means I should eat dinner earlier.
I just realised tomorrow is Friday (keep forgetting). Will shove Dr Who to then, seems like ideal post-week wind-down stuff.
Now I'm babbling.
people are getting fired, and making fools out of themselves, same old :)
Hehe, as I suspected.
What I like is that Sugar tweets as the episode is broadcast, I didn't follow him before this series and will probably unfollow when it ends, but it is quite funny
Evening. It's a bank holiday in Denmark today, so I have my nieces over to stay this weekend (I'm taking tomorrow off too). We went to see the Little Mermaid, the Crown Jewels and the Zoo today. We are off to the amusement park tomorrow :D
Hi Gavin, hi Sidepodcast
Public holidays on a Thursday, that's hardly humane is it?
Taking Friday off is the sensible option though
Evening all
I had no idea he did that. I always watch on the iplayer but it may be worth digging out his tweets next week. I would love to know what he has against Jim because for me he has been the best candidate since the start.
I think the real difference this year is that there are so many anonymous contestants.
Hi Steven
How's sunny Scotland these days?
Odd. The later it gets today the sunnier it is. Wasn't great earlier now it's short sleeves and sunglasses
I always thought Brazilians could play football
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=2UtxP47TYSo
It's a great album, everyone should hear it. I think they are a really promising band and I really don't think you can go far wrong when your lead singer is called Ritzy :)
Has been a bit like that here too, like it's needed the sun to burn the cloud away and give us a touch of warmth later in the day
How can it take 3 years to carry out an inquest into a plane crash when the plane barely got off the ground?
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/91926
Takes long time to process info from flight data recorders and such, and can be delayed if they struggle to find it or the cause. No crashes are easy to solve no matter how long they were in the air.
I think I watched too much Air Crash Investigation today.
There wasn't one in this case, apparently.
Because when people get killed you have to be absolutely sure of the cause, all of the circumstances and how it could be prevented from happening again. Also there needs to be 100% certainty the wrong factor was attributed to the cause.
Inquests!
[NASCAR driver] Jamie McMurrays childhood bedroom. His door-which still has his handwriting on it-saved a woman's life. #Joplin http://twitpic.com/560rdv
via @MartySmithESPN
:D
I can see that it could take some time but 3 years for an accident like that?
That crash was a bit of a disaster for Scottish motor racing. David Leslie and his father were responsible for getting McNish, Coulthard, Franchitti and others making the step from karting to cars. He was also a really good driver who never had the budget to show how good he was. He won the European FF2000 championship but couldn't get funding to step up to F3 until years later when he did a season in a horrible car. That was the year Senna and Brundle won everything and most of the field including those two had Ralts. David Leslie had Magnum which was a manufacturer no-one ever heard of before or since and still managed to win the first race that season.
Likely that the AAIB report was not conclusive rather than 'probable'
Just found out through EmBearpark that Wirth and Virgin have parted company? http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2011/6/12129.html
We had that last night. From Autosport I believe. They are buying the ex-Arrows factory in Leafield
http://www.f1minute.com/news/nick-wirth-no-longer-technical-director-of-virgin-racing
Thanks... more reason to dislike Pat Symonds then. At least they'll stop the CFD only rubbish now then? And is Nick Wirth overrated or underresourced?
The new Bond film is to be premiered on October 26th 2012. It seems a bit early to be telling us. Although a new Bond film is always something to look forward to.
http://uk.movies.yahoo.com/blog/article/195767/bond-23-gets-release-date.html
You think? Maybe he told them what we've been saying for the last 18 months
Don't know about overrated but definitely under resourced
It's big news, especially since the legal wranglings have kept it on hold for so long
It's how you keep a brand alive in between 'events'
I can never make my mind up. He has been around motor racing for a long time and achieved nothing. A bit like Ben Bowlby. Big reputation based on nothing tangeable
I suppose it gets them some publicity
Evening :)
Hello. Is your mother still stalking you?
Hi Alison
I don't think so. Unless she's hiding. I'm just home from work #longestdayever
I'm very disappointed. Nick promised me a birthday present and it isn't here. There isn't even a card from the postie or anything :(
When did he send it? It may be in transit
Only Nick has the answer on this one
I need an early night tonight so tomorrow's daily is all done and dusted, I shall see you lovely people tomorrow :)
He didn't post it himself :P I'm pretty sure delivery estimate was 1/2 June so it's a shame it's not here. I won't be able to get it from sorting office till Monday if I miss it being delivered now....
Easy
NICK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Good night Lukeh
G'night fella
He's out having too much to drink
I think I have found the flaw in the process
Yes I suppose so. It was dispatched on Monday though so I don't really know why it's not here....
See ya man
Either is my tax disc.... I'm a bit worried my mail is being redirected again!!
Depends where it was dispatched from
The term '28 day delivery' is inexcusable in this day but still happens
I guess you have a phone cal, to make tomorrow then. Good luck
Eurgh really? What do I even say...?? My landlord used to live here and her mail with HER name on should be directed to her business address. She's had to bring round wadges of my mail before though, parcels and everything. I did ring Royal Mail then. How would they know they were doing it again though??
Ask them?
"I think you are unintentionally redirecting my mail, can you check please"
I'm sure you know the routine by now
I said that before and they had no idea they'd been sending my mail too. They said they'd flag the address so any redirected mail was reviewed. I don't know why they'd have records of things they've already redirected though?
I don't think even Sidepodcast can fathom the Royal Mail for you.
A very valid point.
Even if it has been called Sidepostcast by Croftie :)
:D
And Sir Maurice of Hamilton.
Heheheheh :D
Preparations under way at Le Mans
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150197029182912.319652.291763622911
Can you collar the postie on a day you aren't working?
Looking forward to next weekend's Motorsport. Another 2 cracking races to come, at least
Maybe on Monday I guess.
I'm trying to fill in an application form for a job I'm not even sure I want.... It's an internal thing and I have an interview on Thursday. How do I write an answer to "why do you want to be a manager" it's really hard.
You have been given an interview before you have submitted the application.
Chuck in they words and phrases they lap up. Personal and professional growth. Responsibility. Getting involved in the companies success.
The usual
You want to show you can handle more responsibility
You want to make progress in your career
You believe you can succeed in the position and you want the opportunity to prove to your boss that you can succeed at a higher level
Blah blah blah blah
I've been invited to apply. I'm not sure if they're interviewing anyone else or not.... I need to fax the form off by Monday but I want to talk to my area manager about what I wrote tomorrow... Typical disorganised Alison :P
All that kind of stuff
And if there are any particular responsibilities that go with that job tell them you can do them/have done them on a smaller scale somewhere else
Fax?
What century is it?
Call me cynical but my experience of dealing with any kind of manager over the last 15 years makes me think they filled in that form thusly:
"I am naturally bossy and enjoy overruling or ignoring the feedback of experienced staff in order to boost my own ego and assert my authority."
We don't have a computer at work. Fax machine is king!! :D
Corporations seem to still love the fax
We use it for certain things but then again, we are legally bound to archive maintenance records until he'll freezes over...
If they ask for suggestions about how you would improve things I think we have your first suggestion
Not necessarily at the current employer. Yet.
*or hell. Whatever :)
I might write that tbh :P
Especially since (IIRC) you ran the place while the manager was away anyway?
Maybe they will like honesty
Ours is used constantly, hardly ever quiet
It's hard. I have a good answer to "why you'd be successful in this role" but not for why I want to do it in the first place It's hard to put down in a sentence.
You have an interview. Make a short statement that'll suffice and state you'd like to expandon it in person if given the chance
Bed time, nearly Friday then woo hoo for the weekend!
Night folks
Night
Oh dear. I'm not sure talking about it is better than writing it down! Maybe I don't know why because I don't really want it. It'd just be for 3 months and I'm nt sure it's worth the hassle....
It would be good experience and will look good on a CV
Yes the fact of the matter is that I'm basically doing the job, I might as well have the money for it. That is the truth but I'm not sure I can write any ofthese things. Maybe google will help me with a cheerful clique
Can I write that I'm looking forward to taking on more responsibility and enjoying more freedom about how I do my work? Does that make sense?
Yes except you want more autonomy not freedom to do what you want :)