Yesterday was bit a exciting, all things considered. Early on in the day Scott noticed Christine's recent diary entry was featured on YouTube's homepage, and then we finally had some actual Honda news to content with. Ross Brawn broke the silence by clarifying some key points about the teams future and confirmed initial talks have begun with Ferrari.
Key discussion points for today include:
- With a decision on Donington Park's planning permission due tomorrow, more news is trickling in as the local media outlets cover the story. Apparently 18 letters had been submitted to the council, raising issues such as increased traffic levels, parking and noise problems, but organisers remain confident plans will be approved.
- Mark Superman Webber appears to be confident he'll be fit in time for February testing. We were taking bets on the red bullog earlier this week on whether he'd recover faster than Schumi did in '99. Predictably, I'm saying he will.
- We could do with a couple more subscribers to the brand new Sidepodcast last.fm group, even though we don't really know what it's for yet. If you enjoy signing up for stuff, then this is a prime opportunity we're presenting you with here.
Finally, as if is you could forget, the F1 community needs your votes:
Don't forget you can vote once every 24 hours and Sidepodcast is nominated in two categories.
fyi: joe saward on twitter:
http://twitter.com/grandprixcom
suggests honda could use mclaren engines this year... maybe?
[via vee8]
Has grandprix.com gone through a few changes recently? They used to be the first with regards to speculation, but went off-the-boil a bit during last year and now they seem back to their usual good self?
Or is that just me noticing that? :-)
they were on the ball with the honda story. but they're absurdly confident about the donington gp. so, still 50/50 i say.
It's probably just you but it's a good thing that you have :P
maybe this helped:
http://www.sidepodcast.com/2008/06/21/live-commenting-france-qualifying/#comment-79371
and here's the full article from joe:
http://www.grandprix.com/ns/ns21079.html
nice to know he's still awake and writing :)
this'll please christine. ollie's been digging through the archives:
http://blogf1.co.uk/2007/01/17/sidepodcast-a-weekly-podcast-on-f1/
it's like i never even existed :)
I wonder if this is a covert suggestion of David Richards being involved in Honda buy out since he previously had a deal with McLaren
could well be. but are mclaren even able to provide engines for 6 cars this year? i guess they have to last a little longer, but that's a big step up isn't it?
But isn't it actually Mercedes supplying the engines? Unless Honda would get the full technical package the same as Force India.
GrandPrix.com guys have been off the target few times recently. Their stories used to be rather reliable but ... weren't they the first running the story about Peugeot/Citroen being in talks with Honda ? They were also the first ones to run the rumour about Kobayashi replacing Trulli in Toyota even one of the first suggesting Carlos Slim is looking into buying Honda ...
I give their suggestion about The Team Formely Known As Honda (TTFKAH) running on McLaren power about the same chance to turn out to be true as the above 3 stories. By the way, as Scott says above, even McLaren does not run on McLaren power ...
Given the lack of in season testing and the lack of development it should not be a problem. We are only talking about 60 engines. The top teams used to go through a couple of hundred a season not so long ago and rarely produced more than three or four without making some kind of change to the spec.
Hamilton's birthday today. Wonder what presents he'll get.
Surprised we haven't had a national parade and Lewis Hamilton Day...
Anyways, I was just reading something on F1 ITV here about Tommy Byrne. I've never really heard of the guy if I'm honest but it stuns me to hear he was compared to Ayrton Senna and managed to outpace some of the big guns in Formula 1 at the time with minimal experience... it's a shame he seemed to have no desire for the wonderful world of Formula 1. Bt it's just got me interested now if finding out more about his story...
I've found myself this morning whilst waiting for my new laptop reading every little detail in the F1 Yearbook that I've had every year since 97 now (when I first got properly into f1), such a good read. ^_^
Although last year's edition they were constantly harsh at Honda in it. How dare they! :(
I bought his book in the summer and read it in one sitting. Excellent read and I would highly recommend it. Bloody hilarious in places as well!
The main point of the story is about his test he had with McLaren which he believes Ron Dennis made as difficult as possible as Tommy wasn't the sort of character he wanted to drive for him. They went behind Tommy's back and altered the car setup without his prior knowledge to hamper his times, but he still did remarkably well.
Cheapest place to buy it appears to be Amazon at just a shade over £6.00.
Oh, and Tommy features in this Autosport forum thread: http://forums.autosport.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=74857
I did the same. Sat down to make a start on the book and didn't put it down even for a second until I had finished it.
The guy was an awesomely good driver and his ability deserved to have a better career but it is not unusual for a driver to look something very special in the junior formulae and not make any impression in F1. Allan McNish was always very highly rated and looked on as a certain world champion. His first proper season in car racing was a fully Marlboro sponsored Formula Vauxhall Lotus season as team mate to Mika Hakkinen. For the following season Marlboro only had one F3 seat available and gave it to McNish in preference to Hakkinen. That is how good he was. He came very close to winning the championship in his first season so Marlboro put him straight into their F3000 team and promoted put Hakkinen in F3. Because he had a year's experience of F3 in a lesser team he was able to beat Mika Salo to the title and get a Lottus drive in F1. McNish on the other hand was over 30 before he raced in F1 which was a criminal waste of his talent.
Mike Thackwell is in the same category. He dominated F2 for years and was so highly thought of by his team and Honda that they paid him so much money that he bought his own plane. Imagine an F3000/GP2 driver having his own plane. Thackwell was the youngest driver to qualify for an F1 race. He should have had a long and successful F1 career as should Byrne and McNish but in the end he entered only 5 GPs and started only 2. Again a criminal waste of talent.
There are quite a few drivers who have had the potential to be legends in the sport that the vast majority of fans have never heard of or have never rated because they have only seen them late in their careers. Some have failed to achieve their potential through being unable to get a drive others like Johnny Herbert have had accidents that stopped their career progression. To more recent fans of the sport Johnny Herbert is the happy go lucky guy who won a few GPs and was popular with the fans. Before his 1988 F3000 accident he was being compared to Jim Clark. No-one ever has been compared to Jim Clark but Autosport and the like constantly made that comparison. Rumour has it during his first F1 test Mansell pitted to find out who was driving that thing because he had never seen it go that fast. One leg smashing accident later and he is just another driver.
BAT Race quali is only 5 hours away and 2 people still have not done their practise runs
Wow. I think I need to sign you up for the Fantasy Racer reminders as well. You are good :)
The Autosport International BOGOF offer has now expired, just in case anybody was looking to make use of it this late in the day.
Trying to fathom out if the moist conditions in qualifying will mean I need to radically alter my dry setup?
more news on donny, they currently face a £40m shortfall in funding:
"Funding for the ambitious redevelopment, which will begin with improvements to the track and the construction of a new pit and paddock complex and hospitality suites, is not yet in place, and owners Donington Ventures Leisure Ltd have until this September to satisfy Bernie Ecclestone that plans are on course or risk losing their 10-year contract to stage the race."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/motorsport/formulaone/4142685/Donington-Park-in-a-race-against-time-to-stage-2010-British-Grand-Prix.html
People, I have just received the F1 Reader's Panel e-mail and boy is it a big one this time. It's probably one of the most hotly anticipated features. This time, we get to ask the questions to Lewis Hamilton.
And what have you gone for?
Just received it, so I'm yet to decide. Funny really, since I guess all of the big questions have already been answered via the media.
weblog award poll embedding is a bit, erm, complicated:
http://2008.weblogawards.org/docs/embedded-polls.php
am thinking we should just stick with the current buttons?
Hmm, what about:
Do you think the current selection of racing simulation games could bring through a new generation of racing drivers and if so would they be able to make it into F1?
singapore up for changes:
"We are modifying turns one, two and three because we want drivers to have more opportunities to overtake this year."
which is nice i guess. sadly, they can't help but keep fiddling:
"We want to reduce the bumps and smoothen out the circuit"
gah! the sparks were the best bit :(
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/72634
I agree! You can't take away the sparks! They were the best bit :(
winter pandas:
http://drop.io/sidepodcast/asset/pandas-playing-jpg
Pleeeeeeease?
no.
Mine is going to be: Do you get bored of being asked the same questions time-and-time again?
I wonder if I can convince Stuart to pop my question in there this time. He's got Dank's in twice so why not me? :P
You clicked on the link in the email you received? The page has no 'submit' button and the 'fresh' 'forward' buttons are marked 'null'?
:D
Dakar claims life of French rider :-(
Horrible news.
Singapore needed to change the first couple of corners and the last corner/pit entry. That area of the track was a disaster. I am all in favour of sparks but you need a safe pit entry and a pit exit that does not feed into a chicane.
I am surprised there have been so few deaths on the event. Still it looks like that article is only counting competitor deaths. Thierry Sabine who started the event and managed it was killed in a helicopter accident one year and I am sure there have been other deaths related to it. If people are going to drive flat out when they don't know what is round the next corner or over the next brow and on surfaces that were never designed for vehicles these deaths are going to happen. My view has always been for any motor sport that the competitors know and accept the risk so if they die that is acceptable. What is not acceptabe is for spectators or in events like the Dakar people going about their normal lives to be injured.
Prepare for a 5-way assault from moi on Fantasy Racers!
Joining Dumbo Flugel'd Kung Fu Marmots are:
Woodwiss Engineering
Team Aviva
Relentless Racing
Zero Downforce
:D
It looks like it; the winter is going to be long so they need to come up with something. They've got a different Mole so it seems, Stuart once told us who was the person behind this animal but I can't remember now, some Toyota bloke?
I think it affects you when you're doing the same thing for such a long period of time, even F1. And Super Lewis is no longer Nº1 on their news list. Good. I want a different champion in 2009.
Well, the average is one or two per Dakar, so you can wait for one more before the end (I hope not, but agree with you: it's a risky sport and the competitors should know that). The TV reports until know are pretty ambiguous, there is not certainty about the cause of the death.
Until now the other serious accidents have been a British team which crashed in second stage (they're in bad conditions at hospital) and a kid with a broken leg after a car lost control in first stage and went into the crowd. Don't know if in the latter the spectators were well placed, but with thousands of people in the roads to see the rally, it's going to be a tough one... (even if, until know, they seem to behave pretty well)
Scott has just jumped into my first batracer game... - I'm now preparing to get trounced :(
Ooh is that the one I just joined in the Super Aguri?
Yup... I'm the british renault driver.
Be gentle!
Mwaha, no chance! Only kidding :P :)
Two can play that game!
I give you, my five-team line-up!
Team Dank
Red Hyphen Bullog Dot Com
Scuderia Dank Rosso
Gives you Wiiiings!
Dank Bull Racing
Got to be in with a good chance of winning, surely?!! :-D
You're not able to change team names once you've created them are you?
Never mind, I've looked on the F.A.Q
Not a Red Bull fan by any chance?
I'd sign up for some more teams, but really, it would just be five times the embarrassment. :)
Brundle gives up driver management role.
i guess it might give you a chance of beating your other half this year ;)
talking of which, does lpg not fancy taking on andy in the league?
A) Is this going to turn into some massive 10-team multi war between myself and Dank? :P
B) Are you going to hide any of your teams' selections?
the coulthard gravy train reached its final destination then.
I meant that I was surprised there were so few in the history of the event.
I guess there is not enough money to pay both of them from their other drivers
Plus Blundell needs something to do.
Ah, OK.
http://www.pitpass.com/fes_php/pitpass_news_item.php?fes_art_id=36716
Nico Hulkenburg ha signed to partner Pastor Maldonado at ART for GP2. I guess this means Paul diResta is not doing GP2 next season as Lewis Hamilton was placed with ART when he won that title. so ART would undoubtedly have been McLaren's choice of GP2 team.
bit daft calling it 2MB now isn't it?
maybe we need to suggest alternate names for mark?
1MB.
ART are going to be ones to watch this season with a line-up like that. Hulkenburg is one of the great German talents around along with Vettel and Christian Vietoris (A1GP). Plus Maldonado is a great qualifier from my observations and is quite exciting to watch.
:)
Have uploaded an Excel spreadsheet everyone can use to help convert their BAT setups for changing conditions :)
By the way, I didn't create it, I found it on a BAT-related forums.
just listening to radio 2, steve wright wished lewis a happy birthday.
lewis who?
well, steve didn't say. much like sting, prince and bono, the man no longer needs a surname. not even outside f1 circles.
Merry Christmas everyone and a happy new year. *is slightly late*
and now stop commenting so that I can catch up!
hi kathi :)
oops.
Are we allowed to speak now? :P
I'm currently reading: http://www.sidepodcast.com/2008/12/27/a-different-kind-of-yuletide-saviour/
As long as you talk slower than I read, you may chat again :D
Erm....hellooo? *echoes*
I'm almighty :)
What time does the race start?
or quali or what have you?
I haven't practiced.
about 45 minutes :)
ahh, you you prepare for races like kimi :)
Ah right... I'm at work... Which means... I don't think I'll come third this time!
:)
I think our season race might be back on!
sounds like you're giving me a headstart, like mcnish.
Hi Kathi
OOPs just made another coment. Sorry
Just some advice for everyone on tyre selection depending on the weather. From what I've learnt when playing and browsing a few BAT forums, I've discovered:
- Hard compound is best to use in Bone Dry and Greasy
- Soft compound is actually useful in Moist conditions
- Inters work properly between Drizzle and Wet and Slippery
- Full Wets for Steady Rain onwards.
that looks like something I'll need to look at once Im done with this pesky work stuff
Less than 5 minutes people.
BAT racer won't let me n because there is too much traffic
Ditto. Perefct timing!
NOOOO! Why did that happen! :(
Not the traffic thing, qualifying :(
I guess they know when iur game progresses and if they make it painful enough people will donate.
What happened?
If you see above, I wasn't talking about the traffic thing.
I didn't make Q2 :(
How did I do?
Surprises of qualifying - Alenyaa in 2nd and Mr C in 12th! Great going you two.
Can you post the grid Scott?
5th
4th actually
Sure thing, gimme a sec
My high ridk quali strategy worked. Once i get back on I will send you the quali settings I used.
risk not ridk
I bet I Quali'ed last! I think I messed up my tyre choices! Oh, well lets see what I can do from the back!
Alex didn't practise at all so yu should beat him
Sepang Grid:
1st - Selidor (Ferrari)
2nd - Alenyaa (Honda)
3rd - Alianora La Canta (Force India) (!?!?!)
4th - Steven Roy (McLaren)
5th - Trig (Ferrari)
6th - Al (Toro Rosso)
7th - Dank (Red Bull)
8th - Dan Brunell (Williams)
9th - Lukeh (Renault)
10th - Jackie (Renault)
11th - Gavin Brown (Toro Rosso)
12th - Mr C (Super Aguri)
13th - Matt Kamalsky (Force India)
14th - Dom (Williams)
15th - Joe (BMW)
16th - Lynch (Red Bull)
17th - Scott Woodwiss (McLaren)
18th - R.G (BMW)
19th - Lou (Honda)
20th - Dave in NZL (Toyota)
21st - Christine (Super Aguri)
22nd - Alex Andronov (Toyota)
If I don't come last it will be a shock!
Right! Now for the come back!
Well done Ali. P3 in a FIF1.
Interesting variation in the performance of the Super Aguris.
Unlucky Scott. I used the same car setup so I guess it was a luck thing that meant you lost out in Q1. i am sure it will be different in the race.
I went with the hard tyres in Q1 to save my softs for the other two parts, but I guess this time it didn't pay off.
Oh thanks for telling me now. I went mad and put inters on the last session.
Thank you you evil, evil, evil person.
Aside from Scotty ;), Evenin all.
I think we know who the Nick Heidfeld of the grid is.
Three could play at that game. But I'm not rich guy ;)
I practised with one set of softs then used the second set for Q1 and Q2 and the new set for Q3. I hope the race is dry because I am going to have to race hard tyres.
Thankfully it is dry for the race. And anyway, as I've said before, when it's a dry race ALWAYS use the hards.
I only just remembered today! :P
And thats what they all say. Intresting wehn BATRacer can only cope with less than 800 people online.
When you load my setup for warmup, Steven, it's already been converted for the appropriate conditions so just make your runs and save the setup. I'll do all the rest converting it back to dry :)
I'm just being honest but whatever :P
Lots of people used inters including Selidor on pole and Ali in 3rd in a FIF1 so it seems to have been 50/50 which tyres to use.
In Q1 6 of the people who qualified used inters.
So why didn't I use them in the first one.
GAHHHHHHHHHHH
Excellent! Now time for me to throw it all away with a poor start ;)
Alenyaa seems to have bounced back from Melbourne very well!
Really thought the BMWs would do better - cmon guys you're supposed to have an upgrade!
Scott - you were probably impeded by a certain slow moving Toyota :P
Starting from the same place as last time, then.
I hate this stupid, stupid, stupid, evil, villianous monsterous horrid freaky murderous insensitve nauseous consignifigant bloody excuse for a game.
Just crashed in the warm up.
An upgrade? An upgrade? Whadya mean upgrade?
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH
hoho :)
Calm down R.G! Yes at times this games can become VERY VERY frustrating. I've gone through a season in a Force India without 1 upgrade and only scoring one point all season despite giving it everything. But trust me when it all comes together, it does give you unbelieveable satisfaction :)
I think I'm going to kill someone
I saw that mentioned adter the last race. BMW has an upgrade for this race.
You do know it is wet don't you. :)
I think Christine will kill him first when she finds out he is 5 rows ahead of her
I was on full wets.
I should read stuff.
Being unable to log in doesn't help that.
Any ideas why I'm asked to log back on every time I click on something on the batracer site? This has happened a few times now...
I know the very reason why Alianora's 3rd - the Wisdom trait she has allows her to push hard as hard as possible in qualifying without making any mistakes. So with it, you can put your qually sliders all the way to 100 and not have to worry. Have to admit, that was an intuitive selection with that car.
seems a long way from those initial runs that saw the beemers lock out the front row, eh?
It said BMW sauber would recieve an upgrade after Melbourne, and look at the car comparision section; your red performance bar should be extended by a small blue part - thats your upgrade. I think it makes your car the fastest in the field ;)
Sorry cant post a link, BATracer kicked me out for not having kool tools...GRR!
Actually I ended up 4th and finished that race 4th. For the love of god, god, please let it rain.
And if it could get any worse, the Inuits are beating us :(
Whaaaa! I'm in second?? SECOND???
And I who beat myself up for forgetting to change to intermediates :p
Scott, could this be my wet weather warrior trait or was tyre choice just 50/50 between slicks and inters?
I'm afraid Lou might have forgotten to convert to moist conditions...
It could very well be the WWW trait working there. Told you you'd be a dark horse in the wet ;)
I don't have the wet weather warrior trait so I guess it was 50/50
Congrats to Selidor fro grabbing pole with quite a margin.
And Mr C did a fantastic job in his Aguri!
Alianora just keeps amazing us :)
I've got the WWW trait? My guess is 33/33/car
Well, I'm a bit amazed it seems to be doing that for me even though it was only moist. Can't wait to find out how it does in heavy rain :p
Quick question: I am inclined to use inters from 18% wet to 54% wet, and full wets from 63% on. Do you think that is wise or do you recommend I start using them a bit later?
But I was on slicks, and the fastest to qualify on them. Don't know about you?
Just to move the subject for a second, is anyone going to Goodwood on the Friday?
I would have thought the WWW would stop you spinning in the wet warm up.
And batracer seems to be taking forever now.
Come on, I still have my second public race to check out!
Ryan, if you know, don't spoil it for me here :-P
I was second fastest slicks qualifier. The front two rows are split 50/50 inters/slicks
That is in July. I am barely organised for this weekend and you want me to think about July.
Ok, then I guess it's a combination of tyres, trait and set up.
Thanks for your feedback! :)
I'm more concerned if I've got sacked than the races to be fair.
Sorry. Just asking because me and Dad are going to try and sort something out and I suggested Goodwood on the Friday.
Yeah, it's rediculous, isn't it? Even the dude from Cyprus that came in fourth in his STR was replaced.
And the funny thing is they've all been replaced by players that have taken an Instructors role. I think they all have cool tools too.
Very, very suspicious.
Quick question: I am inclined to use inters from 18% wet to 54% wet, and full wets from 63% on. Do you think that is wise or do you recommend I start using them a bit later?
meh, damn school getting in my way of batracer commitments. Sorry to Alenyaa about my poor qualifying.
hey everyone, hope you all had a good day.
Indeed. I'm quite nervous to come home from school tomorrow to find out that I've been replaced by someone who has effectively more power than me.
Don't worry about me, I've calmed down now.
Use them from 27%, that's the wet factor when it's Drizzle, which is when they start working.
Man I knew BATracer was addictive but I had no idea you guys would get this involved into it. What
Finished.
erm.. good ;) i take it by reading back through the comments i'll understand more?
He didn't make it into Q2 and he, like eveyrone else it seems, is having trouble trying to get into the site.
Yes
Don't forget crashing during the warmup
aah i see, i had a little trouble when i got in, but by the time i had made myself a nice cup of tea it was working fine :)
ah, unlucky.
Where is this?
I qualified quite well. Woop!
And I think I just generally lost it.
will read back through the comments now ;)
Ha, I wondered why I just kept making mistakes in my runs, then I realised I had experimentation at 75 %.
Too high for even a wet weather warrior it seems.
But am in first for now. Yay :)
Lou, I'll let you know via team talk when I prepared a set up for you.
If it shuts me out again, I'll just let you know here when I'm finished!
same here :)
Thanks! i dont think it was that big really ;)
But you were THIS close to topping Q1!
sorry. website died the same time as yesterday. same people, same problems.
friends don't let friends use http://mediatemple.net/
Need some new folks dont ya?
I know! :-p
But obviously I'm very happy with second after coming in stone dead last in Oz :)
i'm working on it. it's on me list. we have no time :)
Also... they're all as bad as each other. We hated the last people too.
Right, nobody like sidepodcast.
Nice.
there are good people out there, expensive though.
:)
currently looking at: http://www.joyent.com/accelerator/
entry level system is $199 per year. problem is, if we need to scale, the next rung up the ladder is $1,250 per year. that's crazy!
thing is we need lots of bandwidth. and joyent offer 10TB per month which is a huge amount. no-one else appears to offer that much, at the entry level price.
will keep looking.
We'll have to do a fundraiser. I know someone who can bake a cupcake.
ha!
think we need a blue peter totaliser.
Haha. I can just imagine it
Can you do sponsored podcasting? Kinda like the opposite of a sponsored silence.
a podathon?
Sounds like an idea. Just need about 7 hrs of info to talk aboot
Sidepodathon!!
Yes!!
A Sidepodathon with a totaliser :)
just to show how tired i am, i originally read that as-
'think we need a blue peter toaster.'
XD
i need to get an early night tonight methinks. :P
oh god.
For some reason that got me thinking of related cereal
'Sidepodi-o's'
Mr C's Crunchy Cookies'
'Frosted Pandas'
Kellogg's Cog Flakes.
I am happy with my warm up runs. The set up is now pretty close. Shame the weather is going to change completely for the race and we have to guess at the changes to make.
You seem to be forgetting I have KT and the wet factors from the setup spreadsheet, so have to no fear, I know exactly what to do ;)
surely you can base your settings on the dry practice?
People, look on drop.io. I found a setup changing spreadsheet on a BAT forum which gives you the exact values you need depending on what your setup is like at the moment and the weather conditions. :)
We were struggling for a good set up in the dry practise which meant our quali set up was all over the place. I am amazed to be 4th so if Scott can convert the wet set up we should be good for the race.
Have done so just now, go load it up ;)
http://www.allf1.info/tracks/index.php
An interesting site to keep people from getting bored.
Thanks Scott. Loaded setup and pit stops
Interesting obvservation I've made from that site - Renault's 2006 engine went through 5 different specifications, each one gaining 10hp more than the previous incarnation, starting at 740bhp and ending the season with 780hp.
Woohoo, means I won't have to do it on paper anymore :)
How were you doing it before? I'm intrigued.
Calculator, doing it the same way the converter does it :)
If I remember correctly, you posted the bloody link to the converter guide yourself!
batracer question. wet warmup, but dry race. isn't it pointless doing a run? and how are people getting times in?
Not necessarily. If you convert the setup accordingly and do runs, then you gathering data towards an overall spot-on setup.
Oh yeah I remember :P
that sounds like a lot of maths. shouldn't adrian newey do all that for me? i'm just the driver.
Hell no, I just guess :D
gonna do that too :)
I thought you played the role of team manager? Now can you see why I didn't sign up?
i'm out there busting my arse in that car for 58 laps. i can't do technicalities as well.
Actually, your praying to god for 58 laps hoping you do well and others crash. Thats how I pretty much work it as well ;) Have you seen my qualifying :D
Use the spreadsheet, does all the calculations for you.
i think batracer may have just gone from:
"a bit of a laugh"
to
"this is taking things a bit too seriously for someone with no time on his hands and a new web host to find"
however, i'm taking the attitude that it's the taking part that counts. so i've picked the most random settings i can think of and we'll see where we end up.
christine... do not copy those settings :)
i just can't be arsed.
What Mr C said
I've put 5 teams in Sidepodcast as well.
LCM Dragons is the general purpose team, whose line-up will change every race according to who I think will score the most points.
LCM Barato is the team full of whoever is the cheapest at each race.
LCM Caro is the team with the top 3 drivers of 2008 (Hamilton, Massa and Raikkonen). This won't change all season, so feel free to use it as a barometer.
LCM Aléman is the team with all the Germans. This won't change all season unless a Germanic driver drops out or joins.
LCM Fire Lizard has the Force India drivers and Hamilton (who I support this year) plus the least experienced driver(s) I can afford. This may change from time to time depending on several factors, ranging from whether Button manages to join the fray to whether anyone gets a mid-season sacking.
Hopefully my surfeit of teams will enable you to assess how well your own strategies are working in comparison with some relatively static barometers.
Why not just have a good old rant about it? It's fun.
:D
At least you put some sort of strategy to it. But you can't go wrong with the good ol Scott in Italy plan. Chuck em in at the start, not give a damn and check how you do at the end.
Which references my points about not being arsed earlier as well.
wow. like a real life comparitor :)
true. although even i can stretch to picking 4 or 5 drivers every fortnight.
What about the likes of Aus-Mal, Chi-Bah and Eur-Bel?
Plus I'm Mr Forgetful (not to be confused with Mr C), and normally when you put up reminders I'm stuck at school doing English essays on the Friday. So that disadvantages me.
noted. i like scott's plan too :)
Which was...?
Am assuming this was from another day.
This Scott maybe?
correct :)
Thats kinda embarrasing
Just watched the ITV season review program. Gotta admit, I am impressed with the way the bias appeared to fade throughout the season. Still think their Brazilian Grand Prix coverage was very good.
But thank goodness I'll never have to use the itv site again.
Oh wait, where's the BTCC this year?
My strategy for the 5 teams will be:
DF'dKFM - My week in, week out team which will change depending on who's doing well at the time and on practice results.
Woodwiss Engineering - Drivers who finished in the top 10 but below the top 5 in last year's championship.
Team Aviva - The most expensive drivers at the time.
Relentless Racing - The top 3 drivers in the championship at the time.
Zero Downforce - My favourite drivers.
:)
I think Japan was their best race weekend coverage.
Still ITV as far as I know, but most likely going to be on ITV4 all the time instead of ITV1. Unless they do switch it now F1 is off their roster.
Wasn't that cos Steve Ryder wasn't there?
3rd - Alianora La Canta (Force India) (!?!?!) {Scott Woodwiss - 104 comments ago}
That sums up my reaction to the result nicely...
Ali - I don't get how you mean "How do I get RLB to work?" Do you mean, how do you join up?
Ooh, that's true. I guess I was comparing the Brazil coverage to 5live's, who completely failed to notice Glock.
Ah, ok. I have no complaints with ITV4's coverage anyhow. Although, does that mean Ted won't be presenter? (Probably discussed this before, but meh :P )
I know the very reason why Alianora’s 3rd - the Wisdom trait she has allows her to push hard as hard as possible in qualifying without making any mistakes. {Scott Woodwiss - 76 comments ago}
You know what? I had no idea what Wisdom did at the time I selected it. I just like experimenting with the different characteristics (except that I always select Thinker where possible, otherwise testing gets too frustrating for me). That was lucky of me...
Mr C, I'm willing to do some of the conversion for you if you want :)
I think somebody wants to see you succeed at a game... ;)
haha.
alenyaa, i appreciate the offer, but it's fine really. we're meant to do badly at these things, that's the way the world is :)
Yeah, it’s rediculous, isn’t it? Even the dude from Cyprus that came in fourth in his STR was replaced. {Alenyaa - 92 comments ago}
The BTCC public race I'm in had 10 sackings during the first race. It was because drivers were putting in their set-ups and then waiting for their e-mails to arrive before returning. BATRacer only gives you 72 hours between log-ins before opening your race seat out to other people, and if someone decides to take that seat, then the previous incumbent will be sacked.
And yes, instructors often do join in mid-season because it means they can choose whether it affects their World Ranking or not and doesn't get in the way of their more serious Public and Private games.
like a real life comparitor {me - 24 comments ago}
Something like that ;)
Ali - I don’t get how you mean “How do I get RLB to work?” Do you mean, how do you join up? {Scott Woodwiss - 9 comments ago}
That would be useful, but at the moment I can't get any of the pages on their forum to load...
Sign up to the forum and post an introductory roleplay about a made up racing background or an interview or a bit of both so that you make a good impression on the other members. Your initial race reports have gone down really well, so I'd love to see what you can come up with :)
post it in the Introduce Yourself section
But your intro RP can't have any references to racing or driving in F1 at all.
Scott just to say cheers for the convertor thing as otherwise my only runs would have been on completely the wrong setup.
I do think I may be out a tad as based on one of my numbers the convertor suggested that I change the slider to 103!!! So things might be a bit out!
Been and voted for the web awards thing
If you wanted to do a racing background, do something about going from karting through the lower formula's up to Formula 3 or so and then write aspirations of racing in Formula Trinity. Just a suggestion there.
oo will do my votes now.
that's the time? aww man.
Doesn't feel like to me though. Feels a bit earlier.
yeah, i've just realised it's a little early for my votes.
Sign up to the forum and post an introductory roleplay about a made up racing background or an interview or a bit of both so that you make a good impression on the other members. {Scott Woodwiss - 6 comments ago}
Thank you for that.
The next question is, how do I get the forum pages to load without putting up an error:
No Forum Found!
Address did not resolve to a forum.
I opted to do mine as soon as I get in from school. Easier for me and my sleep.
Sleeping of sleep, goodnight.
http://pow.ftlog.com/$23//-fh
Should work
Yes, I am that tired
Mod queue never goes to sleep does it.
night R.G
I have just realised what Christine get herself as an extra special (late) Christmas present for herself. Whenever Me gets mad about webhosting she could simply play him a track from the new album by Gabriella Cilmi.
Chill Me... Geddit?
Oh never mind ;)
are you putting in ftlog.org/rlbatracer?
Before I go.
I hate that album/song/singer. Drives me up the wall.
But I suppose, lessons to be learned and all
On that note. Good night all!
night to everyone.
night Alex
to be honest I haven't heard a single thing she's done. Except her name.
Hehe, ok then. If you change your mind, or in case Mrs Christine pounds on you for rejecting the offer, you'll know where to find me :-P
I see. Well if you don't log in for 3 days straight then ok, but on the other hand what if your computer fails and it takes a while for it to be repaired.
I think it's a bit harsh, but then again if you can't log in you are useless. I'll get used to it :)
do you think kathi's caught up yet, or is she still reading?
100,000+ views, and more than a hundred mean comments later - people are still watching christine's diary entry #11.
Have you seen any increase in site traffic as a result?
Diaries are popular. Personally I like them best after the regular sunday shows :)
never thought to check...
*goes of to check*
erm, no. not especially. the stats on youtube say more people are watching other sidepodvideos in increased numbers though.
I'm being told to stop voting for a few minutes. I must be marking too many down :(
hehehe :D
btw. just need one more signup for last.fm group and then it'll calculate some weekly group charts:
http://www.last.fm/group/sidepodcast
much like the group itself, i've no idea what weekly charts are, but with one more joinee we can all find out together.
Done. I've also voted on all the comments on the Youtube diary page that I considered needed to be given a thumbs down.
that is very appreciated. on both counts.
now, how bad is your taste in music...
hmm, genesis. would that be pre or post peter gabriel?
Hehehe. The current Arnel Pineda era is pretty good. :) Then again, of course I'd say that...
I'll add more later, but actually I like both flavours of Genesis. And Marillion.
do you know what... i NEVER made that connection!
I don't care what anyone says, Peter Gabriel's music is awesome :P
i'm not saying its not (well, actually i was, but you guys backed me into a corner).
what i'm now saying is genesis got better without him, and he got better without them.
cannot argue with that.
An interesting theory. Actually it's true. :)
I wasn't saying you did either, just making a point :)
Signed up to Last.fm just now so you can track my music tastes :P Mind you, I'm listening to all the tracks I've downloaded from iTunes this past couple of days which is only 30 songs.
have you upgraded them to the drm free equivalent?
i don't see you scott?
Just sent a friend request?
:D I must have a look at your list. I'm adding some more now.
How do I do that?
ahh yeah. add yourself to the group too ;)
in itunes on the right-hand-side. says "quick links". bottom of the list "upgrade my library".
in the store. not just in itunes. soz.
You have to pay the difference though.
true. although mine cost me about 90p.
Mine's £3.60 :/
wow! or maybe do it sometime... soon.
Excellent song you're listening to at the moment by the way. ;)
i have some taste. on occasion.
You'll see quite a bit of Joe Satriani on mine. Best guitar player I've ever heard.
used to read his column.
You know I meant Tears For Fears, not A-ha :P
i meant both ;)
Oh really, didn't know he had one. Somehow, I always tend to associate his music with motorsport. Maybe that's just me there, but it always sounds like something you could play to a video of a race and it would just fit perfectly. Yeah, it's probably just me.
:D
oh.my.god mine's £10.60... somehow i think i should talk to mum before i pay it on her card.
I hate it when the sun shines on the TV, you can't see the piicture properly.
Don't you have a card of your own?
:D So true.
doesn't that make it a beautiful day?
bloomin heck.
Only when it shines where the streets have no name ;)
If you feed animals in the zoo and then later a movie too, then it could be said to be a smashing day.
erm, no. I'm only 17, have no job, and am not allowed access to any savings my parents have put aside for my future. I literally have access to the money i can save, and atm that is going towards goodwood and silverstone tickets.
Definitely. Another word for you is: Backup. Make sure you have your downloaded tracks backed up as you can't download them again without paying for them again.
It's nice to see that Sidepodcast is an Aqua fan too :)
Our musical compatibility is VERY HIGH despite me not adding many bands yet. Spooky.
Ours is low at the moment.
i know i have downloaded a few songs since i got my ipod 4/5 years ago but i would not have thought 2 albums and about 30 songs would cost that much...
so what exactly does drm free mean? i'm a little confused... i would look it up but i'm sure you guys are better at explaining things :)
I'm off to watch tennis now, I'll speak to you guys tomorrow!
( Tour starts in New Zealand, that's why ;) )
Byebye!
see ya alenyaa.
you can play them on any device that supports AAC encoded music tracks. and you can do it without authorising them first.
drm is music still basically owned by someone else even though you already paid for it, you have to get permission to listen.
DRM is Digital Right Management. The normal iTunes tracks (79p ones) are protected i.e. they will only play on an authorised computer. You can have up to 5 computers authorised with one iTunes account.
Each computer can have several iPods synchronized with it. This makes Apple's DRM the most "lenient".
iTunes Plus provides better quality tracks with no DRM - you can download and use anywhere you like.
^^ what he just said :)
If you want more on DRM see the fount of all knowledge
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_rights_management
Oh okay that makes sense, i understand now. Thanks Andy and 'me' :) my friend told me something totally different today which kinda confused me. Anyway school in the morning, i should really get some sleep.
Night x
Rascal Flatts does some good music too. 2 tracks I'd recommend from them are Life Is a Highway from the Cars film and What Hurts the Most.
Night Lou.
see ya tomorrow.
Hmm Alice Cooper's Poison. Great video :D
http://pow.ftlog.com/$23//-fh
Should work {R.G. - 70 comments ago}
Thank you, it did. Expect a press release later today.
My thanking of R.G. is in the moderation queue.
sorted
Thank you, me :)
Looks like the RLB people are interested in having me in there.
Does anyone know where to find the schedule of times for the Batracer events? Otherwise I'm bound to miss another one?
Cheers!
Ps. the site just went down for a while (30 mins?)
On the right hand side of most of the game pages, beneath the information about your car there is a countdown to the next event.
I've finished 2008. Might take a bit longer.
Did you unmoderate my other comment as well and if yes can you point me towards it so I can check if you've answered :)
sidepodcast or batracer?
the torrent question? i unmoderated it and said "yes please!"
Does anyone know where to find the schedule of times for the Batracer events? Otherwise I’m bound to miss another one? {Alex Andronov - 6 comments ago}
The game moves on at the same time every single day. You get one day of practise before qualifying, then one day of practise before the race, then one before the next race's qualifying, etc.
Sidepodcast's league has a move-on time block of 16:35-16:40 GMT (I think - the games in a time block are moved on in chronological order, so it will get slightly earlier as the season moves on). Put it this way - if you consistently do your thing either before 4:30pm GMT or after 4:30GMT, you won't miss anything.
Real Life BATRacer Update
The press office is in the process of swapping documentation with the RLBFIA office in order to confirm my identity to the RLBFIA press office. Once this is done, I will submit my qualifying press release.
Sidepodcast
Thanks Alia
damn company. think i may have found a solution. will share more this evening, or tomorrow.