We spent most of last night watching some ARCA racing which was very confusing but also kinda fun. I don't know that we'll be following it particularly closely but sometimes it's nice to watch things that are a bit different. It was certainly interesting to see Piquet bashing into people. Anyway, here are some of the things we're talking about:
- Whilst catching up with the Quotes pages on F1 Minute, we introduced a new feature called Tweets of the Week. It does what it says in the title, by grouping together ten of the best F1 related tweets of the week, from our Twitter lists of journalists, drivers and teams. It's nothing revolutionary, but it's a nice way to keep up with what's happening from those who know.
- Yesterday also saw the debut of the brand new item on Sidepodcast - Christine's Rankings. In an attempt to rank the F1 drivers from best to worst, I have taken it upon myself to work out a very scientific and not at all superficial method of scoring them each week. It's going to be fun, and you can help. Find out more here.
- I've heard call for round-ups of the testing and launch action from the past week for those who were busy, and although I would always recommend F1 Minute first and foremost, it looks as though Adam Hay-Nicholls has written a collection of his thoughts as he catches up with all the happenings of the week. There are some interesting snippets in there, so get reading.
That should do it for now. Don't forget to sign up to Danny's new Fantasy WRC championship. You can't know any less than myself and Mr C, so it's just a bit of fun. After you've done that, I'll see you in the comments.
hello sunday!
How? Where did the evening go?
Hello. :D
i love "tweets of the week"!
I love American medical adverts
Why?
They are just so weird. We have nothing like those
All the disclaimers
:D
Just the fact that they have and advert sayong how many catheters a month you can have. Weird. The disclaimers are awesome too.
So is everyone going to watch the Bud shootout?
No and a good thing too! Last thing we need is patients demanding branded drugs....
A lot of the stuff they advertise are things that you get on the NHS and never need to think about. Who needs to advertise catheters and how can the richest economy in the world have a system where people are only allowed 4 catheters a month?
Hmmm... Probably not. Did wanna watch the ARCA one earlier, though. Would've woken up earlier if I'd known it was on. Oh well. :)
I'm not sure. I had to turn off the channel for this pre-race show, it was annoying me. I'm feeling pretty tired but I may watch the start
And healthcare is still stuck in the US Congress. Sad.
I am not tired but I need to get up early because NASA is launching the shuttle in 9 hours
I only accept Glaxo cathetars I'm afraid. Please take your generic non-branded ones away from me!
I guess I should go and get some work done!
Words fail me on this one:
http://drop.io/sidepodcast/asset/uss-enterprise-jpg
Still at work? Is this your shift time?
Who works at half past midnight?
Yah. I started at 5pm.
I'll be here until about 2.30ish
Wow... why so... late?
That is awesome. I wonder how many cans they drank before they decided that was a good idea. If only it was a panda.
Ouch
Just is. I don't mind it really. I work well at nights....
On a weekend too?
Like Mr C, then? Hehe.
Shift work and weekend don't belong in the same sentence very often :(
True story! Anyways I am going to go get something productive done now....
See ya Alison.
As for me, breakfast. See y'all in a bit.
Don't work too hard
Hello!
Byee Alison
Hi Jon
morning all
We (the US) sent two pandas back to China on Thursday. One from a zoo in Atlanta, and one from the National zoo in DC.
Hello
Looks like shift change time
Hi Jon, Hi Amy
Bye Alison
it sure does. or as I like to call it, I just woke up time.
I saw them on the news. I didn't realise that China has the right to reclaim pandas it has given to a foreign zoo or their offspring
You missed Piquet doing NASCAR
and we're about to watch Montoya do it too
I think it's always a "loan" deal. Which I don't really mind.
what a shame. Did he suck?
That;s what they said on the news. China only ever loans them.
He pushed Danica into a spin and then fell back to 27th - so yes, but he was entertaining with it!
They're preempting it in our area (supposedly) for more snomageddon #2 coverage.
We don't need to be told it's snowing when we've been shoveling it all day.
He was quite good them had a few minor collisions.
so,b asically, he's fitting right in?
I would say he went a little bit Piquet towards the end.
Well if rubbin' is racin' he was racin'
:) :)
For anyone who wants to watch Montoya and co race. Due to start very soon
http://www.justin.tv/bumpdraft
half watching, hald coding.
#sidepodspace update
They have started fueling the shuttle
Tweet from DP:
Did you all see that craziness?! It was so much fun!
DP?
:)
Danica
I assumed she would be punching lumps out of Piquet by now
Interesting that they didn't use the driver labels and some of the camera angles for the ARCA race
I think Connie Montoya is tweeting from Juan's account?
Tthe wife here!! I will do my best on updates....I just sooooo nervous!!!!
good point.
Amazing she still gets nervous
Home sweet home. I have escaped a bit early!
Well done
I'm bored of this one, heading to bed.. I think I can only watch NASCAR in highlights form!
The first part of the shootout is dull. I only realised I had seen it before when they started talking about competition yellows and ten minute breaks,
I think that 25 laps took 20 mins or so, the next 50 will probably take 40 mins.. think I'll leave it. it isn't a points race anyway.
I will watch the start of the second part. I would watch it all but I want to get up to see the shuttle launch
I am going to bed now while NASCAR clear up the mess.
NASA TV is already covering the launch preparations for anyone who is really bored but there will be nothing much to see before around 7am.
Launch details and proper countdown http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html
NASA TV http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html
#sidepodspace.
Good night to anyone who is still awake.
wonder if anyone is still awake?
I would like to stay at the iPad in Melbourne for the Grand Prix but it is already booked out :-(
http://www.theipad.com.au/index.html
Plus, I wont have an iPad by then anyway...
I am compiling a setlist of Backstreet Boy songs in the same order as their setlist for their tour so I can prepare myself. Because I am that cool
Morning everyone :)
Morning all and what a horribly early time of day it is
#sidepodspace
Looks like the crew is loaded on to the shuttle and they are preparing to bolt the door shut. 2 hours till launch
didn't you just go to bed?
That was 5 hours ago
#blamenasa
Where are the crew off to today Steven?
ISS for 13 days. They have a new section to bolt on that amongst other things has a big bay window.
You know those pictures that the Astronauts were twitpicing back to earth? How would they have taken them? I was assuming it wasn't through a window.
Unless they are on a spacewalk they take them through the window. I don't know if they have any remote control cameras bolted on the outside which could be an option.
That's some zoom they've got on that camera then no?
I know they have lots of camera gear up there but I have no idea what other than they have a 400mm lens and an 800mm lens they use to photograph the heat shield on the shuttle when it does its back flip. There must be an equipment list somewhere though.
#sidepodspace
Weather has been 80% good in the forecasts and now they are reporting 30% chance of good weather.
#nothappy
The guy isn't saying to his wife before he goes... "I've got to remember to take the long range lens this time. Last time I got up there, I'd carried that whole DSLR through customs and realised I didn't have any of my lenses with me."
I think all the camera gear went up on one of the very early flights. I can't remember any mention of any new bits going up on any of the missions I have watched
I guess the don't really get to pack their own suitcase anyway.
By the way... I will be going live on my radio show later today... 4pm to 6pm ish :)
Today is D?
D indeed. It's been the hardest one yet... I went through the song selection and picked songs at the rate that I normally would. After doing that for the other letters I have had about 2 and a half hours of songs. Which I have then trimmed down to make the show.
This time I had 4 and a half hours of songs! There seem to have been a lot of really really good songs that start with a D.
I have cut down but it was really really hard.
Sounds like it should be a good show then
I think so... The problem is that I like people to be surprised by some of the choices. Which means that some songs that people really love that start with a D have to go for songs that in a straight fight you might say were slightly weaker but are rarer or more interesting so they win for the show. It's become quite an interesting process.
Also for the first time this week I have the great honour of having made the Sidepodcast Calendar: http://sidepodcast.com/calendar/
Presumably you are not going to stop after 26 shows so you need to keep a few good ones from each letter for the second run through the alphabet
Absolutely. There's always more for each letter. For example I already know which song I'll be starting the Z show with! :)
That is way too organised
Non-sequitor. What I meant by that was... I am always planning ahead for next time. And I even know what the Z show will start with.
heh :) I am a bit like that though. It takes a lot of preparation to fall apart so convincingly on the night ;)
:D
#sidepodspace
Looks to me like this launch is not going to happen. Everything is good apart from low cloud over the launch site. That wouldn't stop a lauch of an old fashioned rocket stack but the shuttle needs a much higher cloud base in case it hits problems early in the flight and has to try to land at the launch site.
#sidepodspace
1 hour till the scheduled launch time. Everything other than weather is looking good. Unfortunatley unless the weather improves drastically they are going nowhere.
We have clear skies here, can we not send that over?
With all their technology they should be able to knock a hole in the cloud by now
Good morning all.
Gosh I've sent Christine 6 e-mails this morning! Sorry Christine!
Morning!
#sidepodspace
30 minutes till launch
The weather is improving slightly and is currently green although that can change back very quickly. There are no technical problems so only the weather looks like affecting the launch. In the event of a trans-Atlantic abort the prime site is Zaragoza in Spain for this mission.
Good morning
What does this mean?
I am sure she enjoys getting fanmail
Heh :)
What I should do is gather together all of my thoughts before I send something off! But that is far too sensible.
There are a number of abort options if they run into technical problems and can't make orbit. First they have the return to launch site option but if the problems occur later in the flight rather than try to turn the shuttle round and lose oaa the momentum there are three trans-Atlantic abort sites. Istres in France and Zaragoza and the unfortunately named Moron in Spain. Should the technical problem occur too late to make those they do what NASA calls the abort once around where they don't go to orbit but fly once round the world and land at the launch site or Edwards air force base in California
oaa?? should be all
I thought there was more than three? Or have I been making up stuff.
There are only three I have ever heard mentioned or have read in any of the mission press kits.
The only other landing sites are Kennedy Space Centre in Florida where they launch from, Edwards air force base in California and they have the option of using the White Sands Space Harbour in New Mexico.
According to the press kit there are only three. They don't even have Edwards as an option on an AOA abort
http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/423514main_sts130_press_kit_2.pdf
They just polled the flight directors and weather is a no go just now. The shuttle training aircraft will make another pass before they make a final decision
10 minutes til launch
Launch cancelled
Not content with making me get up early they took the count down to 9 minutes and we have to do the same thing again tomorrow or Tuesday.
I wonder how much money they have spent today when for a lot of the time there was only a 20% chance of weather
Morning :) I've just been told that we are finally going to do to the zoo today! Wohoo :)
Yaay :) Have fun there.
Morning. I haven't slept so I've opted to stay in bed instead of going to work.
Hello folks.
Wow. Only 40+ comments since I left. Quiet Sundays don't happen too often.
Morning everybody.
Awesome!
Morning Lukeh and hello Journeyer
Can't we just skip the next 5 sundays or so? :P
Indeed. 5 weeks to Bahrain for all of us, 10 weeks to Shanghai for me.
It's way too far away... :(
To quote The Simpsons...
Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet?
No.
:D
So how are you, Mr Lukeh?
Doh! A deer a female deer.
I'm OK thanks. Yesterday was pretty much a disaster combination of really bad things all in 1 day so it wasn't one to remember but it happens. Luckily having a certain fellow commentor to help talk to was extremely useful :)
A certain fellow commentor, indeed... ;) You seem to be doing quite well together. :)
I'm sure Lou won't mind me saying that it's going really great :)
Wedding? Haha! Kidding. :)
Out of curiosity, though, did you actually meet here in the comments?
Awwwww good times :)
We met more between conversations with an old commentor (Joe, not of the Saward variety) on messenger and just got to know each other more and more. Bit of an odd way to meet really but it's the 21st century :P
I like that. Hmmm... Most interesting. :D
Yay for Sidepodcouples! :)
Well Mr Lukeh... Things are looking up... I mean you're going to have a giggles radio show to listen to from 4 ;)
And I have time to listen today, woohoo!
hurrah!
Poor Christine and her F1 website....
:D Have you ever seen any other F1 website talk by itself under the name 'me'? No wonder Christine's married to her own website. ;)
Morning all.
Morning Christine. :) How goes your Sunday?
Hullo Christine.
Morning :)
Uh, it only just started. Good so far.
Hello Mrs C
Good to hear! ;)
It was rather quiet here last night... 5 more weeks. The wait is getting tougher.
I am now at the barbers... Good to look god for the radio ;)
Typo good! Good!
I appreciate you want to look your best but God? That's ambitious! :P
:D
hey all. couple of updates this morning for you.
firstly, we've added the calendar to lclt (although christine maintains hers is invisible).
secondly, we've made post content appear by default in doohickey. admittedly this might become a usability nightmare, and we're only trialling it to gauge reaction at the moment.
give em a try and let us know what you think.
Hmmm. Not sure if I'm a total fan of this, as I did like seeing the comments from the get-go. But I'll give it a try.
A question, though: do we still have to refresh like before if there are new posts?
interesting. The doohicky one seems fine on iPhone.
what does she mean by invisible? i can see it.
Hmmm, not too keen at the moment. Seems to add a bit too much onto the page. I think I liked it better when it popped out.
That works. As now I can say happy birthday to Christian Klien
It's useful but I'm not sure if it works... the big white space next to it is a bit... I dunno. Odd. It is useful mind you.
As with all our updates, the design isn't finalised yet. We're talking functionality here.
hehe. Margin issues? Maybe if that's sorted, it wouldn't take up as much space, and it would be more workable.
Ahh, true enough.
I can see this & think it's good.
I like this because it means I can stay in doohickey & read a new post when it's pinged
Hi. No golf for me today so I'm watching yesterday's England game before heading to Mum's see her new dog.
I can't see it. Just get a white space in the box. FF3.6 on XP.
I like the idea of including the original post.. but its a really long way to scroll to get to the thread changers and tbh I was on the verge of saying it was too far as it was, if you were 10 or 15 comments behind..
Also, hello all & I've tried both out on my phone (HTC Hero using Android) & they both work there
I was wondering if there was a way to keep the thread selector visible while you scroll. Usually I don't like that sort of thing but I think here it would be really useful.
It's awkward to get the screen set up though. You can't just scroll right up to get back to the top.
I don't know how complicated it would be but could there be a hide button for the post content? This would mean it would be there when you first joined doohickey (or changed threads) but once you've read it you could hide it for convenience and then unhide it for reference.
Oooh. I like that idea!
Hmmm I'm in real need of snacks. Complete diet fail.....
You're on a diet?
I'm trying to be healthy! I can see myself getting chubby. I'd rather it didn't happen :P
Hehehe. I'm sure Nick would rather it didn't happen as well. ;)
Nick would keep his mouth shut if he knows what's good for him..... ;)
:D Touche.
very easy if people were logged in, and that is coming soon too.
as everyone is effectively anonymous, it's almost impossible right now.
how strange :(
strange, indeed. considering i'm also on FF3.6 on XP, and it works just fine.
I see, I do like have the post there, I think it would help me with thread fail too.
so did i. however, almost no-one read it.
that's the second key reason for doing it.
reason #1: most people now seem to visit the realtime page first, and miss all the post content. this leads to comments repeating stuff that's in the post, or worse, asking questions already answered in the post.
reason #2: it's now much more obvious which thread you're commenting on.
Oddly I just closed the tab and opened another and it worked
re: the whitespace on the right of the realtime page. a couple of things could go in there:
- the contributors and topic lists, currently found at the bottom of the page
- the existing sidebar as found on the blog page
- a thing we're working on, that gavin suggested - basically a list of recommended links people have found recently.
the third option is still a little way off though.
Any of those would work. ;)
Of the three, I think I like number 2 the most. Will go well with the rest of the site.
Hmmm I'm gonna have some soup.
I'm pretty sure I'm going to need to head to Tesco for some ice cream and crisps....
But doesn't Janna mean it only stays hidden in the single session if you refresh the page comes back.
so litterally a javascript hide div would work. And whenever you change a thread in the dropdown it would force the section to show again?
ok. but at the moment you still have to refresh every time we ping a new post.
it'd be more annoying if you tell something to go away, and it came back anyway, than if you never had the choice in the first place?
much better, i'd say, if you were logged in and could say - "mark as read", and it stays read forever.
Calendar works for me
Not sure I like this but it may make more sense for new people
It's annoying me at the moment sat there.... I think I have OCD or something but I really like the page being scrolled to the top... I don't think it'd be too much hassle to close it when you refreshed.
Yeah you may well be right. It's actually weirder for you, I bet, because you close and restart the doohicky multiple times in a day... I bet most other users don't.
hadn't considered that.
i just have mine scrolled somewhere near where the comments come in.
You told me yesterday you didn't have OCD
About the fridge.... Incidentally Nick is ill. I'm sure it's down to fridge hygeine!
right.. but if you just hit 'home' it takes you back to the top if you just want to see the latest comments.
home?
#sidepodspace
Following this morning's complete waste of getting out of bed at a stupid time NASA are going to have another launch attempt at 9:14am UK time tomorrow.
This is what I meant, I can't see it being a big hassle, I only refresh if there's a new post I want to comment on. I'd rather it was there and people who find it annoying could hide it for now.
Ping: http://sidepodcast.com/2010/02/07/sunday-afternoon-giggles/
The button between Insert and PgUp on the keyboard.
Someone will say something that refers back and I might not have paid attention to the original reference, so I scroll down to find it and hit Home to get back to carry on the conversation.
Either that or worry about whether to send you something next week. It's very confusing being a man and trying to decode what a woman means when she says she doesn't want a present. He will probably end up proposing
Didn't know that
ooooooooh. i possibly have never used that button.
This is what I like about having the post in the doohickey. Just read Christine's post and still kept up with the comments :)
don't you just hit reply there and then?
But then I couldn't quote the comment I'm replying to, I'd have to quote the thing they were referring to.
got ya.
Afternoon all
Err, Mr C
You've been tinkering Sir
I wonder if there is milage in using the pop up window you had before so when you load the page the pop up is there (as though you had pressed, "active thread" and then you could close the box with the x?
But then that's just back to the same kind of thing as it not remembering you wanted to dismiss it I guess.
Also in another strange moment... I just tried to click to quote from the page content - I'm not sure it's very often that people will want to do it though!
Afternoon :)
*cough* Hungover! *cough* ;)
:D
Is fridge hygeine a euphemism for hungover now?
It is in Nick's world ;)
The Daily Post takes up almost a full screen before comments start in Doohickey now. Is this to get people to read it rather than the hidden but clickable variety before?
Apparently Alison tried to explain to him that putting fresh meat on the top shelf and cooked meat on the shelf below it was a bad idea but he didn't beileve her. He does now
Yes
That's good. This first came up because he didn't believe me when I wrote about it in my book, The Book With the Missing First Page
Subtle, but effective. I like it.
That book is like a sidepodcast verion of the Hithhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. It gets refered to in the most extraordinary ways
It doesn't say, "Don't Panic" on the front cover though.
Maybe you should do that for the next re-print
Incidentally Alex, do you aim to get that into the iBookstore?
I aim too... I have no idea what they are doing with their licences... Also note to Amy I have found out that there is a way for me to non-exclusively get the book onto the Kindle so I will be doing that in the next few weeks. There are two different kinds of contract and it's not at all obvious about that from Amazon. (Unsurprisingly for the non-exclusive one I get less money but that's not much of an issue).
Ooooh. Doohickeys changed.
Evening
Afternoon John, I was just mentioning the changes too
it's basically a less extreme solution than throwing doohickey out of the window in frustration. try it for a week and we'll see how it works out.
What changes are there meant to be? Just the daily post
the alternate one is new, isn't it?
Whats wrong with Doohickey?
lots.
You can't throw out the doohickey. It is a brilliant idea.
Of course.
What was your issue with the last incarnation of D?
the commenting in the wrong threads would be hte main thing i guess?
what else?
i tried before, and no-one would let me.
it's both a blessing and a curse. it has driven me loopy during testing.
Jon, are you trying to convince us that 'H' doesn't exist? ;)
My name is Jonathan, so it dosent :P
It's very confusing for me because I am watching the rugby and there is a huge H at each end of the park
So what is that 'h' looking shape after t then?
So that's not an 'H' in Jonathan then?
- questions repeatedly being asked that had already been answered in the posts
- links to pictures being posted, when the very same pics had been embedded in the post
- same as above with youtube videos etc
There is an H in there
:)
Ah, but there is no H between the O and the N!
All quite valid
better?
That'll be fine.
So, wouldn't Jon 'without an H' Waldock be more accurate?
Or that
another alternative is to give up writing separate posts altogether and just put everything back in the daily.
that's sooo much easier for us, but impenetrable to all but regular commenters.
I wonder if that's the nature of a live discussion. I know this isn't a 'chatroom' but I think most treat Doohickey like it, including me. So people are just treating it the same as walking into a room and asking what's happening instead of reading the notices.. which they do in real life too...
Is that perhaps to do with the post being updated and people not refreshing?
Yeah, that does become a daunting minefield
Ooh, the Calendar's in LCLT as well :D
absolutely. the issue i guess is we had/have a pub full of regulars, but new people were peering in the window and walking straight on by because finding the door was impossible.
now there are plenty of entrances and signposts, but the regulars are still using the secret door... and missing them all.
erm... i think?
Wha???
oh.
A fair analogy
Trust me to understand the pub version :)
That makes sense surprisingly
I think that's it exactly :)
Is it worth putting a mini-hickey on the front page?
As long as we don't call it that ;)
:)
heheh :)
Actually that'll just add to the issues because more people would do it.
that actually makes sense.
One thing I have learned from watching 3 minutes of rugby. Tackling with your face is a very bad idea
Is it possible for Doohickey to open with the post at the top and for it to be 'non-collapsable' for a certain time period, say 15 mins?
I like having the post out there in the open, it just might some time to get used to scrolling back to the top, then down a bit
maybe. but at the moment it has the secondary advantage of being very clear which thread you're commenting on too.
Ping in advance of 4pm: http://sidepodcast.com/2010/02/07/live-giggles-radio-d/
That is definitely a good thing
I hit F5 when that comment appeared and the screen refreshed with that comment at the top of the page so I need to scroll up to see the post. Can it be made to show the top of the doohickey so that it is obvious to new people that there is a new post at the top of the page
Can I just say how much I like the calendar. I had an update to my phone software yesterday so I had to back things up & logged into Google when I had installed, I now have all the F1 info I need on my phone :lol:
Well, it was only a matter of time for this
http://www.funnyordie.co.uk/videos/d2b714361c/hello
:D
I heart Funny or Die
eh?
yay!
when you refresh, FF remembers where your scroll bar was and automatically moves to that bit of the refreshed page.
oooh good idea, never thought to do that on my ipod touch...
it does? oh right, i check.
When I refresh I get the comment that was at the top of the screen re-appearing at the top of the screen. The point of refreshing is to show the actual post so it would make it easier for new people if they refreshed and the post appeared on their screen rather than off the top of it. I have no idea if you can do this or not.
What he said
tricky one. also, the new post doesn't appear, the daily one does. shall have a play though.
which post were you expecting to show up?
daily.
Is the daily set as a default? Regardless how many posts have been added after it the doohickey seems to always show the daily when I open it.
that's what i saw when i refreshed.
We can choose the default of daily post or live post depending on the situation.
but you refreshed to see the new post so you know it's there. Why does it matter if it's on screen or not?
That is clever
It doesn't to me but I can imagine someone new asking what the ping meant and being told to refresh and only being able to see exactly what they saw before they refreshed.
Mr C wrote a custom bit of Wordpress admin: http://twitpic.com/11wgw8
I don't know what the flood delay thing does, but we are on Rockall so it's probably useful.
You need lots of warning of a flood and if it can be held up for a while then that is a good thing. Of course that means you are relying on media temple to save you from drowning
Ooo very nice :D
:)
prevents people from posting 100's of comments in quick succession. way back in 2008 people might remember errors saying:
"you're posting too quickly"
it's set to zero to prevent that, but if the database is struggling to keep up, i sometimes up the value to two seconds to give it some breathing room.
I used to get that all the time
We have our own sidebar heading as well which is kinda groovy: http://twitpic.com/11wi7d
One thought on the new active post setup: I can listen to Giggles Radio and comment on doohickey at the same time now they're on the same page (i.e. no pop-ups).
true!!
morning/afternoon/evening (chose the appropriate according to your time zone)
Hello :)
Hi Guille
but you have to leave it if you want to comment into another thread :-(
my opinion of the new doohickey: I like the idea but I agree with Janna in that it would be nice to have the ability to hide it like in the lclt. besides that, in the current format I think that putting the post above the selector/e-mail/filter thing would be more user friendly.
Still morning in the land of Frozen Tundra.
First off. For the "Interesting" section, Is there going to be a "live" show today? I sort of miss trying to figure out how long the podcast is going to be, and being a little bit PK about it.
Second off, as you can see, I am now starting to play with my own blogging web site. Once I start getting comfortable communicating, I plan to switch over to making a full blown web site. So far I just my Fantasy Racers 2010 selections on the site and plan to follow their progress in PR style format.
I do however, have an Artist's conception of what my 2010 car would like, The cut and pasting's okay but the paint job's very PK-ish...and as to the Sponourship sticker on the front wing endplate, well, I have a purchase order for that space from a Monsieur Bibendum and what appears to be a Stuffed Panda paw print !
So if more people want to kill a few hours why not come up with what your Fantasy racers livery would look like?
Hi Jordan
Giggles Radio is Live now
*jumps back to the daily*
Hello again, Daily
Woah, Mr C, don't change things like that without prior warning!!!
ummm... surprise?
I have to depart and see Katherine... See you later
hi katherine!
Bye Alex
Haha, yeah, as much! Seems a bit better!
It was a bit of a shock when it first changed earlier but I'm starting to get used to it now. I think once a decision is made regarding what is put in the white bit (users commenting or the sidebox from the homepage as mr/mrs c discussed earlier) it'll look better
Maybe looking at Alex in the new bit for 2 hours has made it seem like it never changed in my eyes :)
Have been playing the lite version of Call of Duty: Zombies all weekend
Am forking up £6 for the full game, I'm a bit addicted
It's OK but I got bored of the Lite version quickly. I don't have the attention span to justify paying £6 for an iPod game :P
I really liked it on a friend's Xbox so I knew I'd stump up the cash eventually
I'm mostly playing Broken Sword at the moment on my iPod, it works absolutely brilliantly on a touch screen. Noticed the F1 game's price has gone down now too.
Damn I missed Alex's show, that will teach me for going to the pub on a Sunday afternoon!
You can see it at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/alexandronov
Cool thanks Steven, will catch up after dinner :)
I'm not much of a fan of adventure type games. Pick it up and shoot [or drive] is where I am most of the time
You can see it here: http://sidepodcast.com/2010/02/07/live-giggles-radio-d/
Have updated with replay of the video plus tracklisting.
Evening all. Like the doohickey upgrade!
Evening
Stuart's done Alex's plugging course
http://www.stuartcodling.com/2010/02/books-books-book/
Thanks Christine :)
Indeed!
#sidepodspace
Just found out that there is an Englishman in the crew for the current shuttle mission.
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/21/20100207/tuk-briton-set-for-shuttle-lift-off-6323e80.html
Everning :)
Evening.
I'm so sleepy. I'd have thought today would fix me but apparently not.
I did manage to resist making my icecream run.....
Right, so after spending all day in Germany, today we travelled to Copenhagen and spent all day looking at apartments. We may have found something too...
Get in, Sniff!
http://www.sniffpetrol.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/schumachers10021.jpg
Oooh are you moving?
Wot 'e sed!
Hi guys, how be we?
Hopefully.
See the thing is, I have a 2 hour commute to work because we moved in to the city where my parents in law live, because her family helped set us up.
I got used to the commute but I am sick of it. Mostly it is because of the mind-boggling ineptitude of the train company and the fact that I am so tired when I get home these days - this is why my blog has had no new posts in nearly a month now.
So we have decided to move to Copenhagen. The ironic thing is, if Mrs. Goat keeps her old job in Odense here commute will be shorter than mine!
Yeah. I hope that works out well for you. It's no good not having any time or energy for anything.....
Thanks Alison ;)
We have found a place and we can move in 3 months, but for sanity's sake we want to check another one out on Friday. The place we saw today is fantastic, but a little out of town, while Friday's is in Ørestad which is right next to the Metro and a big Shopping Mall called Fields...
Oooooh I want Nick to move next to the metro! Super fun!
Right, evening all, just popped in for some help...
If you were selling Corporate Hospitality for Motorsport events, what type of company would you send your direct mailing too? examples of companies from those industrys too if you feel like it!
Just finished recording the show. Can I just have it permanently recorded that Mr C said... out loud...
"We touched base on that road map..."
While talking about the Castrol Rankings.
The mind boggles.
...I don't get it.
What on earth does it mean? Crazy management talk.
Ron Dennis in disguise?
Slap him! Before it gets out of hand!!!
Mr. C. has attended too many meetings this week ... I kinda sympathise with him, I do the same too!
Again?
Is there going to a special 'Castol Rankings' jingle next time?
Ooh I see. So you're as confused as I am? Good to know (in a good way) :P
We only touched upon it to introduce some much more important rankings.
You know you've been busy when the first chance you get to see MOTD is 10pm Sunday Night!
sidepodcast is my tranquility base.
you might say we touched base.
Roger that, Houston...
How do you touch base on a road map? Surely you touch base at a base?
I hear sales guys mouth that on the telephone all the time... it drives me up the wall!
Maybe touched base is another word for reaching where you want/need to get to.
Perhaps he just wanted to sync with you before he moved forward with your concept?
Mr C, shall I explain what it actually means to her, or just leave it there?
You should hear some of the things the engineers at my work say - once I heard once of them say "If you keep doing that, you'll get a Kick in the Annulus!"
He did mention helicopter views as well, but I think by that point he was joking (I hope!)
:D
roflcopter?
Perhaps he was expecting you to revert with ameliorations before close of play?
I have monthly meetings with a lady who insists on asking if we're ready "to action" various agenda points. It annoys me a fair amount....
:D
Funnily enough, it gets even worse when you work at a foreign company with English as their business language because they think it's how you're supposed to talk!
Blimey. I can't bring myself to imagine worse. It makes my head explode.
Oh yeah, one more thing about the apartment... you'll like this one:
We were worried that the apartment is so cheap because it will be noisy as there is a small supermarket underneath it. We saw a similar apartment but not the actual one as someone still lives there.
So when we got home, we discussed it with my parents in law, who were a lot more worried than we were. We were deciding what to do when my mother in law decided to look the address up in the white pages, found the guy that lived there and phoned him up to ask him about the noise...
Turns out he was a lovely guy who couldn't stop talking ... apparently the apartment is really nice, so we were very relieved to hear that.
Only in Denmark could you ring someone up like that and you get someone so helpful ;)
Awww if someone phoned me up and asked about my house, I'd be very suspicious.
That's what I thought - but he was really friendly and helpful!
When does Daytona start?
I'd be frightened you were scoping the place out to rob me or something.... That or selling something. I don't get normal people ringing me ever.
Looks like it's not far off. I found a live stream.
http://www.justin.tv/freddy49usa#r=IDNFIzc
Evening.
tonight? it's superbowl night?
The Shootout was last night, and the Daytona 500 is next week.
Superbowl and Daytona on the same night. American channels know how to schedule the great events, eh? :D
Oh.
phew. the is a repeat.
zak brown just popped up again. worst startyourengines evah.
Photos form last night's Bud Shootout: http://digitalsportsdaily.com/racing/20847
(Big Piccy Stylez)
*cue roger daltrey scream*
And ginger sunglasses?
I blogged about my day out today - http://photofinishblog.wordpress.com/2010/02/07/a-kentish-safari/
more photos here-
http://www.flickr.com/photos/loujohnson/sets/72157623248986163/
I need to work on more subtle plugging.
If it were a CSI episode, sure :P
which reminds me...
www.epiconeliner.com
I'm the same. I am still learning from the master Alex (note - not literally The Master, as the last time I said this he turned into a Dr Who villain)
wowsers!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/loujohnson/4338030679/in/set-72157623248986163/
:) hehe we had to climb a very very steep hill to get to them but it was totally worth it! i love elephants, and have wanted to get a shot like this for months!
It's fantastic!
Agreed. I wiah I could take photos like lou!
aw :) i think i really needed today. it felt so good to be able to just relax and take photos again.
Good god Lou, that's incredible!!! :O
Do you think it shows in your work at all?
It always amazes me when she'll take a random photo (or at least it'll seem random to me with my lack of photographyness ;)) looking at something, but it turns out looking incredible on her photos. There are plenty of examples on her twitter, it geniunely blows me away.
I like this one the best: http://www.flickr.com/photos/loujohnson/4338028853/in/set-72157623248986163/
Because I never realised that Zebra stripes look like rings from behind - it's an excellent alternative viewpoint!
Like a fingerprint!
Indeed!
me being relaxed? i'm not sure. when i go out taking pictures i don't often think about anything else, it almost just takes over. It's never a chore or stressful, and once i've come home i always feel so much better. It's almost the opposite to my textiles which always seems so difficult and time consuming, where as hours and hours can pass without me noticing when i take photos.
awww :)
I meant on your flickr, doh. Not twitter.
;)
Good evening all!
So many ways of sharing these days its confusr!
It;s quite big this internet thing!
Evening Tom
Cor, gorgeous. Simply gorgeous. Love em. Well done again lou :)
I has icecream and Die Hard 4.0. I is a happy TM!
Awesome!
I dunno whether to watch a film in bed or live comment the superbowl if people here are going to. Keeping in mind I have absolution NO idea how American Football works
Having just read your Twitter feed I think the film sounds the best option for you. :)
Think of it as Rugby League where they throw it fowards as well as backwards, they wear pads and tights and take a break every 40 seconds :D
In my eyes American Football is the MLS so I'm probably no use.
I'm staying up for Super Bowl, not sure if I can comment though.
I'm off to bed now because I walked about 7km today and got up at 7. Enjoy the fake rugby ;)
Its not like Rugby League. That is the best form of throwing a ball.
I mentioned to Tom in the comments the other day how much I knew about the sport. It was quite embarrassing to say the least. Something about a quarterback and a man going hut hut pizza hut.
I was just wondering what to do, myself.. I don't really understand much other than it is a game of claiming ground from the other side in order to get a touchdown... or something. Can be fun, can be overwhelming.
Or I might just watch some racing or general telly
Oh yes...
Night Gavin
Night Gavin.
Except for Rugby Union!
thanks RG
Oh come on, really? League is the proper form of Rugby, and you all know it.
I don't understand it. I only get Union....
League has pansy tackles. Union's for MEN!
League's when you get 4 phases before you have to give the ball up, isn't it? Similar to the Downs in American Football.
Pansy, ha. League's for proper men. Which is why the London side got beat 58-0 today.
*runs*
Oooooooh......
That probably wasn't the cleverest thing to say...
I did have a block of icecream in my gob, and it was the first thing I could think of.
Ah boooo I wish I'd gone out for ice cream earlier! I really want it now....
Jake's presentng the Superbowl!
Evening all. Had a nap and now rady fo Jake
ready for.
My fingers are still napping
Naps are for the elderly, you just had a horizontal life pause
[thanks tweet faves]
am i the only one who is not going to watch the superbowl?..
#confidential i don't even know what it is... *ehem*
It was on as I walked into the room
I'll probably watch some, it goes on for DAYS!
I know that someone is not really going to watch the game but only the halftime show with the Who.
#confidential
I believe it's a step up from Goodbowl but not quite Awesomebowl. It's just a Superbowl.
#notthebestpersontoask
5Live are doing alternative commentary too
Jake sitting and talking is not as good as walking and talking. But to make up for that there is no EJ
Are CBeebies doing a cammontary for kids?
riiigghhhtt :)
oh btw Lukeh, i finally got round to watching 'love the beast.' and now i want to a) watch it again.
b) go and see the targa rally and
c) buy a classic car...
2 of those things are going to cost me lots of money ;)
are croftie and ant doing it? if so i may tune in, they can make the most boring thing interesting, Abu Dhabi is a good example #sorrynick
I hope so, I'd like to see them explain the concept of 4 Downs
Yay!
A) is achievable! (I want to watch it too :P)
b)... yes that might be expensive
c) yep, I can see now what you mean by expensive ;)
I doubt it
I have that on DVD too! Great film. :P
bad times ;)
Something about duvets/pillows?
i may also be slightly in love with eric bana... sorry about that :P
I read that as eric bananas... which was initially confusing. But no, so you should. :P
actually we have a classic car in the garage.. so all i need to do is get it working, which saves some money. :)
;)
Just realised that I have no idea who won the NASCAR race last night. Does anyone know? Not the Piquet crash fest but the proper race
okay time for me to head to sleep now. night all! xx
Night :)
Good night
Literally just finished under yellow on the re-run. It was Harvick.
I watched the first 30 odd laps and don't even remember him being in the race
Who was that warbling the national anthem?
Why does it always sound like an American Idol audition?
Former American Idol winner Carrie Underwood
It seems to be the thing with American sports that the person singing the anthem thinks they are the star and they try and stretch it to 20 minutes.
That would explain that then :)
The coin toss ceremony?
Blimey!
Just to show how everything about this is a big production. The coin they tossed flew in the last space shuttle mission
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts129/super_bowl_coin.html
Smelted and then cooled with unicorn tears
Made of the gold recovered from the teeth of 10 dead presidents
Is it starting now?
Just kicked off
Kinda
Man, I'm confused already. They cut to adverts or something?
I'm not even watching and it's got me confused....
For anyone who doesn't know the game they have 4 plays called downs to make 10 yards or lose possession. Basically they have to get the ball over the yellow / orange line which is on the TV picture but not in real life
OK. American Football is like Rugby. But with helmets, shoulderpads, unimaginably complicated rules and convenient breaks in the action (perfect for adverts). Actually it's completly different to Rugby.
All you need to know is that it's not actually football.
We won't see the ads but there are lost of breaks in play.
New Orleans had three downs and didn't make the ten yards so they chose to punt(kick) the ball up the field so the Colts have a lot further to go
And if they fail to do so, they turn the ball over to the opposing team at the line of scrimmage (i.e. wherever the ball is at the last down).
Most things are more confusing if you can't see them
Wait till we get to the challenges...
Morning, folks.
And none of the major sports networks are covering it here - because some minor obscure channel (which we don't have) got the rights this year! Grrr.
There are only 11 players on the field at a time per team but there are 45-ish per team on the sidelines and there are constant substitutions
Yay they got a down!
Colts have made a better start than the Saints
There are 3 sub-teams: offense, defense, and special teams. Offense and defense RUN the ball, while special teams usually KICK the ball.
They got a first down not just a down
As expected.
Indeed. They need to keep getting first downs to score a touchdown. Or at least get close enough to score a field goal.
"specialises in takeaways"
Mine's a rogan josh
dumb newbie question, is it being streamed?
:D
Definitely will be somewhere. Most games are
http://www.tvcatchup.com/watch.html?c=1
live on BBC1 so should be on iplayer
Probably somewhere
thanking ya.
Good call.
There's always tvcatchup.com too
Where it says 2nd and 12 at the top of the screen means it is second down and they have to make 12 yards to get a first down.
Now it is 3rd and 5
Yes, I've just looked at that link :)
wow that guy is 42! That must be quite old for an american footballer surely?
Now it is 4th and 5. Very rarely will a team try to make a first down when they have a 4th down because they risk losing too much if it doesn't work. So they either kick a field goal like the COlts just did or they punt the ball as far away as possible
Kickers can be quite old because they don't really get involved in any contact
Ironically, the BBC are showing an event that tradionally calls for the highest advertisng rates
The other thing you need to know is that to score a touchdown you don't need to touch the ball down like rugby. You just need to carry or catch it over the line
How has it gone 3-0?
3 points for a field goal
That means they played 3 downs and then had to kick it without ever making a first down. Going 3 & 0 is very bad
Ahh, mustve missed that..
That was when they kicked the ball through the posts.
Different 3-0. The old guy scored a field goal. Ignore 3&0 until it happens again
I went to get a drink and came back to 3-0 :)
how is it possible for one person to know so much about so many sports?
I have spent a lot of years watching a lot of sports
Misspent youth
Like Stephen, I remember when Ch.4 began covering American Football
At the time I was working with a load of people who liked the game and a few who played
Saints are now 4th and 7 so they will punt
I've never liked European football, alternative sports always appealed to me
Good punt so now the Colts get the ball 4 yards from their own goal line and need to go 96 yards to score
Sports rock.
Same with me. In a previous life I spent hours just dossing around in my flat with Eurosport on in the background while all kinds of stuff came on.
2 plays 26 yards.
That's the way to do it
btw this is how I got into watching all sorts of different racing... 500cc bikes (as MotoGP was), European touring cars (as it was), CART, Tour de France. about 10 years ago. scary.
Quarterbacks read the defence like a general reads a battlefield and find weaknesses. Manning is as good as anyone at that
In case you couldn't guess btw, Indycar teams/drivers are supporting the Colts on Twitter..
I remember Channel 4 did Sumo for a few years. That was a facinating sport and very technical
I am going to agree with anything Steven says I think
I suppose that is obvious but I didn't think of it
Don't do that. Argue. Tell me I am talking rubbish
You could be for all I know, I don't know what's right or wrong! That guy ran really far. That I know. I think.
I was surprised at how interesting and technical the bobsled was. Looking forward to the Winter Olympics.
and ski jumping
I always think Peyton Manning looks like Harrison Ford when he has a helmet on
I remember Transworld Sport on Channel 4 on Saturday mornings, always used to watch it and see all these awesome sports as a child
Touchdown!
Running far is good. But the touchdown was better
I like ski jumping. I disapprove of the style marks though. I think if you land with all your limbs attached that should be enough....
I loved that program
To me it should be about distance and being able to walk after it.
I remember that! I kept missing it and being annoyed at that.
Just realised we didn't explain scoring
Touchdown 6 points
Point after touchdown (conversion) 1 point - it is kicked from the middle of the field regardless where the touchdon is scored.
Field goals 3 points
Yes. I'd be aiming for a style that lets me jump the furthest....
That would seem obvious. I wonder if there is a way to get fabulous style points but only fly 6 feet
There is lots of shouting
I think you'd break your neck. The first bit of the slope is like a vertical drop.
There are 7 officials on the field and if any of them see something they don't like the chuck a yellow flag on the ground
Jake is posting live twitpics :-)
http://twitpic.com/11z877 - My QB and the 49ers star man!
There are very few sports that I wouldn't try but ski jumping has always been one of them
Where's Claire williams? ;)
Gotta love Jake
Yeah. I might join you in the non-trying of that!
A man for all sports, he is.
I agree - I always like watching things that I know I wouldn't do because it makes them look even better :)
I get bored watching all the cross country skiiing though. I understand it's very hard work but that doesn't make it enjoyable to watch.
There are four quarters in the game. The second quarter is a continuation of the firest except the teams change direction. So if it is 2nd & 6 at the end of the first it is still 2nd and 6 at the start of the second.
The third quarter is treated like a proper half time with a fresh kick off then the 4th quarter is a continuation of the third.
I feel the same about Golf
Especially when it goes on for 50 miles or whatever it is
I find it hard to work
The half time break is long enough to make food and do the washing up
that bag gets heavy
I meant watch. Too busy watching TV and typing at the same time
Someone said earlier, the Super Bowl half time is longer than a normal one.
Oops there was a foul
It is a lot longer. I am surprised there are not a lot of injuries at the start of the second half due to muscles getting cold
A personal one too, I think someone said something about someone else's mother
I tend to leave it on in the background all day and then only the bigger events. I like the Open.
Do that in football and a french player will headbutt you
Saints have woken up
Mayne that's why they are wearing helmets
Definitely :)
That is called sacking the quarterback. That just cost the Saints
Wow, he toook him down!
If they get near the QB they will do anything they can to get him down before he can unload the ball
Now David Beckham is playing
I can tell, yikes..
Now you know why hey have those Dynasty shoulderpads
Sometimes they end up with three players going after them like that. The defence blitzes the QB to put him off and prevent him having enough time to pick out his pass
The BBC are going to have so many trailers on tonight
Got to fill those gaps :)
Better than watching in America and getting all those medical adverts
This is true
What if I need someone to tell me what brand of catheter to harass my doctor about?
:lol:
The catheter advert wasn't for a brand. It was for a health care plan that let you have 200 a month instead of 4 but no mention of a brand
How could he drop that
Fumble!
He has butter on his hands I reckon
Some countries are very odd. I can't believe how many decisions they trust people with. People are pretty dense on the whole....
When I was in Dubai, I needed some antibiotics. In the UK they'd be strictly prescription only and they'd ask you 5000 questions before they dished them out. I was able to buy them in the supermarket.....
Great pass from Manning and he was planning his run before he caught the ball. That could have been another touchdown instead of a punt
Pre-game pancakes, no doubt
At least you should have some idea what to ask for.
It's understandable. What with pancake day approaching people need to prepare.
In Thailand you can get full-on sleeping tablets over the counter
Yes. I asked the man for the drug I wanted. He didn't ask anything though. The box had all over it that it was prescription only.
Maybe there is a Gregg's in Miami
He has the superbowl in his haircuit!
Freeney doesn't look injured to me
It's mad though. Many people can't even be trusted to take paracetamol properly....
Darwin awards in practice
How can they let them make 2nd and 17?
Ahhh they nearly got there
People would hassle their GP much less often if they could sort minor ills with the pharmacists help
Blown coverage + too good QB.
Yes but most minor ills cant be solved with medicine. That's what people don't like.
One of the Saints players moved before the ball was snapped. Once they are set they can;t move or it is a penalty
Shame our GPs don't feel the same
They have a compulsory break with 2 minutes to go in each half. These are expensive advertising slots and they don't want to risk the game getting in the way of the ads.
I'm horrified by how many people see their GP when they have a cold.... What are they going to do about it? Perhaps tell you to go to bed....
People are idiots. Sad fact of life
Bad time to lose your footing
Saints should've jumped over the defense, I think.
Will they settle for the FG?
Indeed
Nah
Go for it, time is short
It is now 4th and goal. They can either try for the touchdown or kick a field goal.
This may be one of the few times a team goes for it on 4th down because if they fail to score the Colts get the ball back a yard from their own line
I remember William Perry going straight through, years back
He was huge
Bugger!
Now we get to watch Manning do what he does best. 2 minutes to go the full length of the field
They came, they saw...
They were stopped!
Colts ball.
The Who is doing halftime? Not bad.
One thing to watch out for now. If the play stops by someone going out of the sideline the clock stops. If the play stops with the ball carrier on the field the clock keeps going.
No malfunctioning wardrobe? That is all I really know about the superbowl.