Episode 71 – You Know Things are Bad When it all Rests on Piquet
- Length: 46:25
- Size: 42.9 MB
- File: episode71.mp3
- Enhanced: episode71.m4a
- Transcript: episode71.pdf
- Torrent: episode71.torrent
This week is all about Hockenheim, and thus all about McLaren as Lewis Hamilton dominated the entire weekend. We make mention of everyone else though, including Glock and his accident, plus Massa’s inability to defend.
Intro
Another sporting injury obtained a ridiculous way, but can it beat Massa in a lift?
Good Week / Bad Week
Good week for Vettel as he’s snapped up by Red Bull, although will he find himself evacuated from the factory like Webber? Bad week for Abu Dhabi because Singapore is just too good.
News and Views
Just a quick mention of BMW and their KERS technology – ready and out in the wild world. They may be implementing it at the upcoming Jerez test, along with Honda and their updates, plus Force India and their new gearbox.
Qualifying
We evaluate the return to the Hockenheim circuit, Hamilton’s domination, the weather, and the grandstands.
The Race
Glock had a major crash, which threw everyone’s strategy out the window, but it worked better for some than for others. We try and understand the Safety Car rules, yet again. We discuss the vast difference between Ferrari drivers, McLaren drivers and Renault drivers.
Feedback
Three emails – one about yet another Sebastien, one small complaint for Mr Christine, and one asking about Bernie’s decision making.
...
July 21st, 2008 at 02:58 #1 - me said:
constructive criticism wanted, if possible.
a 45min show seems excessively long to my ears. i think i preferred the shorter ones we did earlier in the year. some of the length is down to trying to give each driver some airtime, but does that mean too much waffle?
for example, did rosberg really warrant a mention this week?
just curious.
July 21st, 2008 at 03:29 #2 - lou said:
Personally I love the longer shows
You are able to cover more and It’s great to hear your thoughts on most if not all of the drivers. The shorter shows are great too, but they seem to end as soon as they begin 
I have just laid on my bed listening to the podcast and the last 45 mins have flown by, you’ll hear no complaints from me about the length
July 21st, 2008 at 03:45 #3 - lou said:
Brilliant show guys, very funny, and I’m pleased you’re back on track.
Aww ‘me’ I am very sorry you hurt your back
, but swatting a fly? That’s a very unique sporting injury 
I hope you get better soon.
I’m sooooo pleased you’re going to do a blog post on the whole Jenson pit stop/ safety car fiasco, I like Christine am a little lost with it all.
Thanks for pointing out Vettel in f1racing. That made me laugh
. I haven’t had a chance to read this month’s yet, as i only got it this afternoon.
I am looking forward to the mini series
Ok i’m off to bed more thoughts later
July 21st, 2008 at 07:28 #4 - me said:
i’ll have you know, it was a particularly fast moving fly. he probably had a yellow helmet and everything
July 21st, 2008 at 08:23 #5 - Dank said:
Just about to listen to the podcast, but before I do, have we seen Kimi’s latest ‘altercation’?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGvoGqB-j_U
Opps!
July 21st, 2008 at 08:34 #6 - Scott in Italy said:
Hi all,
After a busy weekend not watching F1 I thought I’d just drop by and post another health warning about the most dangerous of all animals – the fly. I ended up with a pencil in my eye as a child because another kid was trying to stab a fly. my vision is unaffected so it’s all okay.
Hope your back gets better – is this an attempt to catch up to Christine in the sympathy stakes after her exposure to the British weather?
Hope you all had a great weekend. Now I’m back at work, I look forward to catching on the F1 news instead of work!
July 21st, 2008 at 09:02 #7 - Stuart Codling said:
Morning all,
Hope that shoulder gets better soon, ‘me’.
My cunning plan to depart from ‘oop north’ early enough to get home in time to watch the race failed, owing to a jam on the M1, and I ended up listening to the whole GP on Radio 5. Although I listen to their output a lot, especially over the Kangaroo while I’m at races, this was the first time I’d listened to an F1 race without pictures since the mid-1990s.
Mrs C griped that Crofty sounded “too excited”, but Maurice is from her part of the world so she soon settled down.
It’s an indicator of where F1 now stands in the sporting pantheon that Radio 5 now send four people to every GP (even if you were to be picky and exclude Maurice, since he writes for the Observer/Grauniad, that figure would only be reduced to three). Back when I was working in a restaurant on Sundays and had to listen to the GPs on the radio, they sent no one – Simon Taylor did it from a studio in London, commentating from the TV feed.
The depth and insight the broadcast provides is now significantly better. What a pity that editorial priorities dictated that they had to ‘throw’ to the golf at a critical moment – so while Lewis was chasing down Nelson I had to sit and listen to some old duffer describing Greg Norman’s trousers!
July 21st, 2008 at 10:12 #8 - me said:
cheers all. i suspect it serves me right for being mean to her earlier in the year. she’d probably say it’s poetic justice or something.
on the plus side, the pain reliever stuff has that “sportsman” smell, that makes me feel like it actually leave my desk once in a while
really? blimey, i had no idea. was there any background car noise, or just the silence of the studio?
yeah, tell us about it! on a quiet weekend, when no other sports happen to be on, the beeb’s coverage of the practice sessions, qually and race are second to none. as soon as anything else pops up on the radar though, f1 plays second fiddle.
lord only knows what’s going to happen next year, but our gut feeling currently is that the beeb just don’t care enough about f1 to do it justice for a whole season. i bet coverage for the first race is great, and probably the british gp… the rest is anyone’s guess.
July 21st, 2008 at 10:40 #9 - Mattw said:
I just enjoy listening – so if you have stuff to talk about, let it go to 45minutes, or even longer
The duration is not a problem (and you are not as loud as an F1 engine).
On the subject of Mclarens ‘team back at the office’ – we first heard about this at the 2005 Monaco GP, when they kept Kimi out during a safety car, which seemed crazy at the time, but proved to be spot on at the end of the race. I understand they guys at the office get all the telemetry etc.
Now, I really annoyed at missing live commentating for this race. Because I always thought Lewis was in the RIGHT thing to do. When the pit lane opened, I thought 30 laps and a heavy car was a big ask the soft tyres (which we were told were marginal) – Especially for Lewis. The reason Lewis had everyone for breakfast after his stop was because his tyres were fresh.
July 21st, 2008 at 10:52 #10 - Scott Woodwiss said:
BUTTON BUS!
http://www.autosport.com/gallery/photo.php/id/108448
July 21st, 2008 at 11:00 #11 - Gaulty said:
Could be worse, another F1 podcast I listen to does the same and goes on for another hour than yours.
Haha
July 21st, 2008 at 11:08 #12 - Rich said:
In truth he had everyone for breakfast at the start – and was only slightly lighter. He has put in two stellar drives in succession.
July 21st, 2008 at 11:42 #13 - Mattw said:
Yes, Lewis looked like he was in a completely different race, but his speed advantage seemed to be even greater at the end of the race than it was at the begining.
Perhaps it is too early to tell after just 2 races – but it is looking like Lewis has found an extra gear in that car. Can anyone else step up?
July 21st, 2008 at 11:51 #14 - lou said:
Ahaha! lol
July 21st, 2008 at 12:10 #15 - Stuart Codling said:
They had the world feed, so they could mix in the ambient sound. I heard that in the early days they didn’t have proper studio facilities and ST had to do some of it from under a desk so as to block out office noise…
Also, it wasn’t until the early-to-mid-1990s that the TV commentary team went to every race. For the more far-flung ones, Murray and James usually broadcast from London. F1 was a very low priority for the BBC. Until ITV took over the deal, you couldn’t be sure you’d actually see the race. If there was something else on – especially of the stick-and-ball variety – the GP either wouldn’t be shown, or it would be highlights-only, or a bizarre hybrid of the two.
Two examples spring to mind, both from 1990. Live coverage of the French GP was dropped because of rain at Wimbledon – they had to play on the middle Sunday. The first half of the Mexican GP was shown as highlights, then they cut to it live for the last few laps. The ‘jump’ caused Murray to be temporarily speechless.
July 21st, 2008 at 12:57 #16 - Steven Roy said:
I haven’t had a chance to listen to the show yet but 45 minutes is not too long. So long as the quality is good a longer show is fine by me.
Swatting a fly? To think I was slagging Clarkson off last night for ending up in an ambulance with a neck injury sustained in a road car at Fuji. It’s hard to think of a worse excuse for injuring your neck unless you did it while you were asleep.
I should have known Stuart was a Private Eye reader.
July 21st, 2008 at 13:11 #17 - Stuart Codling said:
I cherish the ‘With Compliments’ slip that accompanied my cheque for a tenner after I got a submission published in Pseuds’ Corner… I’m mildly disappointed that nobody has ever put any of my work forward – this despite some concerted attempts at purple prose…
July 21st, 2008 at 13:46 #18 - me said:
blimey, alonso’s accidentally picked up the trulliometer and it’s on a particularly low swing at the moment.
he really doesn’t like being beaten by his teammate does he?
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/69376
July 21st, 2008 at 13:50 #19 - me said:
can’t wait for 2009 now!
on the plus side, the polish coverage we were watching during FP3 was pretty darned good. it doesn’t really matter how bad a job the beeb do i guess, so long as someone broadcasts the whole race live, we should be able to catch it.
must remember to cut to the polish broadcast during itv’s ads though. for some reason it keeps slipping my mind.
July 21st, 2008 at 14:01 #20 - Mattw said:
To be fair, that was along time ago now, and the Beeb’s coverage was getting steadily better over the years.
Remember ITV doing the preview/analysis from a studio in London?
July 21st, 2008 at 14:02 #21 - me said:
yup, that i do remember! but i forget which race(s). suzuka maybe?
July 21st, 2008 at 14:08 #22 - lou said:
oh i feel sorry for him now
imagine what he would be like if he was at honda this year… i’m guessing suicidal.
July 21st, 2008 at 14:16 #23 - lou said:
If they feel the need to cover something else hopefully they will have the common sense to broadcast the feed on the red button, or over the internet…. I’m sure they will be faced with a lot of complaints if they don’t.
July 21st, 2008 at 14:19 #24 - me said:
technically there’s nothing stopping them from doing that now with 5live though is there? they have the capacity… whether they have the will is something else entirely.
July 21st, 2008 at 14:32 #25 - Steven Roy said:
Oh poor Alonso
He didn’t have much bad luck last year until he threatened Ron and ended back at Renault but I just can’t remember him taking time to say how happy he was. Talk about the grass always being greener. Now Honda is greener. I wonder if he would have a clause in his contract so that he didn’t need to wear those stupid trousers.
July 21st, 2008 at 14:42 #26 - me said:
haven’t had chance to look into this yet, but just to throw it up in the air:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?…mpoin121.xml
“The rules stipulate that any change in torque settings cannot be triggered by the same driver input as a gear change. Having two separate levers gets around that rule, while still allowing the change of gear and torque setting to take place simultaneously.”
are mclaren really the only team with a four paddle steering wheel? anyhow, will try and investigate later.
July 21st, 2008 at 15:46 #27 - Jordan Allen said:
Scorecard:
“me” 0 fly 1.
Go
July 21st, 2008 at 16:10 #28 - Stuart Codling said:
The pitlane snoop may have to investigate in Hungary…
July 21st, 2008 at 16:14 #29 - Ian Lockwood said:
45 mins is not really an issue if you have the content to fill it, but I wouldn’t feel the need to give all drivers some airtime every race.
Sorry to hear about your shoulder – next time you have a problem with flies, get a SWAT team in!
July 21st, 2008 at 16:21 #30 - Jordan Allen said:
Both of you in Sidepodcast Towers:
Well, being beaten up by a fly beats getting a neck injury form sleeping, although both are funny as hell.
Sadly, I do not think these injuries can be considered sporting injuries, or else I am sure you could have won whatever prize Taki Inoue rreceived for getting run over by the marshall’s car in Hungary 1995.
They are not making Japanese F1 drivers like they used to…..
July 21st, 2008 at 17:04 #31 - lou said:
I have just listened to Jenson’s audio blog for the GP and he kinda explains what went wrong with the pit stop, basically he pitted at the wrong time as they were unaware of the ruling that meant he would not be able to unlap himself… I think that’s it anyway…
Link: http://www.jensonbutton.com/#/Video/Latest/
July 21st, 2008 at 17:10 #32 - Becken said:
Great show guys,
About Nelson, For me, the most ironic thing above all was:
“The car was getting better and better and our set-up was working very well. Fernando even used a bit of our set-up as I think they went the wrong way a bit.”
(NELSON on the post-press after the race)
July 21st, 2008 at 17:50 #33 - Le BOL said:
Yep, he’s also missing from team celebrations photos, seriously, I thought he was a better person. He double-crossed Renault in 2005 by signing McLaren deal and then he double-crossed Ron. If I were in Ron’s shoes I’d make sure Alonso spent 2008 at home. But Bernard wouldn’t like that at all, fans come to see him (in less numbers it has to be said) and reminisce about their childhood days circa 2005 when that Renault was painted blue. We’ll soon see Fernando racing in Le Mans.
Flav in his official press release didn’t say a word about AlO’s race… How’s that?
He later told Autosport: “I think we have to be careful in this, because Nelson is very young but I think he is naturally very positive.
It was not the right race for Alonso. The start was not fantastic. And after that when you race and you are fighting, if you try and overtake somebody, somebody else can overtake you. But at least he was fighting.
It is great for the team that we got eight points.”
I think this quote says it all. Trying to keep his star driver happy but he didn’t sound content at all.
Not the right race? Not the right team maybe? The guy obviously has this clause about the team finishing in top 4 or whatever and he just wants to make sure he’s free to leave. I mean what I saw yesterday was similar to Rascassegate. C’mon, Piquet didn’t even spin and had no problems with traction and Alonso was all over the place in the same car? Suspicious. Maybe he liked it more with traction control? Not sure how he’s currently rated in the paddock but if I were a team manager I’d never sign him on the basis of that mess he did in 2007 and is busy doing right now.
And a funny quote from Brundle: “I cannot easily imagine Kimi as a businessman, a media person or a home-loving family man. So he would go snowmobile racing for fun, and occasional form suggests he might drink too much.”
Is it obligatory for ex-F1 drivers to become media people (although in Kimi’s case you can say he’s not very passionate about photography or images in general) or family men?
July 21st, 2008 at 18:02 #34 - Le BOL said:
One more thing but terribly interesting.
“The Safety Car went on longer than expected but Hamilton was ready. The only problem was one that went unseen by the TV cameras. Behind the Safety Car Lewis backed off a little to create some space between his car and the Safety Car in the kink between the Sachs Kurve and the final two corners. Hamilton put his foot down again but as he accelerated Maylander slowed. Eyewitnesses report that Hamilton only just managed to avoid impact with the back end of the Mercedes-Benz. Given what happened in Canada it would have a very different story if the McLaren had run into the back of a Mercedes in front of the German marque’s home crowd.”
from grandprix.com
July 21st, 2008 at 18:53 #35 - me said:
not true, the fly didn’t make it. that’s a draw in my book.
i likes the sound of that.
like getting the first podium wasn’t enough, he has to twist the knife
yes, but i said the same thing about silverstone. if hammy punted heikki off at the first corner – after the man scored his debut pole – we’d be slating the guy for months to come.
by the tiniest fraction of luck (and it was luck because no-way was that intended), lewis got away with it. he’s living on the edge, but it’s working for him at the moment.
July 21st, 2008 at 19:11 #36 - Steven Roy said:
Great show as ever. 45 minutes flew by. And glad to see the English being sorted out.
Buemi was quoted at the weekend saying that Berger wanted Senna in Vettel’s seat. The same story mentioned that Buemi may become the BMW test driver.
Speed Channel covers most races in the USA and the coverage is live and they have some excellent commentators. For some reason they have not shown the last three which have been on NBC? but they are showing all the races left this season.
I love Ernie. He should be refered to as Ernie from now on. Ernie Ecclestone has a ring to it. Sounds like a milkman too. Mind you it also sounds like a pseudonym Max would use.
July 21st, 2008 at 20:29 #37 - Tom said:
Are we talking mclaren fast or force india (without the seemless shift of course) fast?
July 21st, 2008 at 20:34 #38 - Ian Lockwood said:
Maybe Ernie Becclestone is Bernie’s long lost twin brother???
July 21st, 2008 at 20:46 #39 - Steven Roy said:
I can only assume the have been testing it on the Nordschleife because that is the only place where a seamless shift would get you 2 seconds. I assume they meant 2-tenths. The whole grid was covered by slightly over two seconds.
July 21st, 2008 at 20:50 #40 - me said:
i swear i saw a second silver helmeted fly wave past the number one fly (allegedly at the request of the daddy fly). so, erm, i couldn’t possibly say.
July 21st, 2008 at 20:52 #41 - Dan Brunell said:
The usual excellent show as always. Couple of random thoughts and rants…
If Bernie is Ernie, does that make Max Bert? I kind of like the nickname “Bert and Ernie” instead of “BernieMax” which sounds like some super warehouse chain store.
- For all the North Americans out there, here is a piece of advice. Don’t order Autosport, F1 Racing, or Motorsports via Amazon or online subscription house. For the last three years I have had subscriptions and they always come a month or two behind (they have the worse distribution house ever. Really, if I can get The Economist on time at work every single week, then why can’t I get these magazines on time at home once a month?) However, I have a solution. The store “Borders” always carry the most recent issues of Autosports, Motorsport, and F1 Racing on their shelves. I just discovered this today and I am chuffed to say the least.
- Speaking of F1 Racing, I think they are starting to suffer from the “O” syndrome. See, Oprah Winfrey always puts a photo of herself on the cover of her magazine. I always believe the easiest job in publishing was to be the cover designer for her magazine. You come in for a graphic meeting, your editor asks “what are we going to put on the cover?” All you have to say is “Oprah doing something related to our led story.” Then you pass it to the rest of the graphics department and take the rest of the month off.
F1 Racing is falling under that same syndrome with Lewis Hamilton as of late. I like to play the Lewis Hamilton emotion state game, where I guess what pose and reaction he will have on his face in the cover of the next issue. Will he have a blank, semi-sad look that teases a story into his hardships in F1? Will it be a folded arm Hamilton with article tell us why he is the new Jesus? Or will it Lewis spraying champaign? Or will it be he and his dad/teammate/Ron/rivals? If this continues I want that job. I would love to come in, say “Let’s put Lewis on the cover” and take the rest of the month off.
- Does anyone know a website that covers all the F1 TV deals, I am getting really angry with all the channel hopping that is happening in the US market. It is bad enough that I am grumpy because I missed a race by sleeping off a hangover, but when I find out that I Tivo’ed a infomerical instead of the race… well AAHHAAAHAAAHHH!!!!
July 21st, 2008 at 21:02 #42 - me said:
genius! bert and ernie it shall be
you sure you’re looking at this months cover? i see (a heavily photoshopped) kubica.
July 21st, 2008 at 21:05 #43 - Dan Brunell said:
Do they make different editions for different markets? Because I am looking at the July 2008 edition and has a standing Lewis Hamilton with his hands on his hips.
July 21st, 2008 at 21:07 #44 - me said:
that was last months issue.
we’re now onto the august 2008 edition in the uk, and it arrived on our doormat sometime during fp1 on friday i think.
July 21st, 2008 at 21:09 #45 - Dan Brunell said:
Rant withdrawn. At least now I’m only a month behind instead two to three with the magazines.
July 21st, 2008 at 21:10 #46 - me said:
where are you with autosport?
July 21st, 2008 at 21:19 #47 - Dan Brunell said:
I actually canceled my subscription because on it was near June when I received all my January, February, and March issues all at once. I couldn’t believe it. That was the biggest waste of $200 in my life which is a pity because I always liked reading it.
When I buy it from the store, they are normally two to three weeks behind, if they are there. They go pretty fast since I don’t think they distribute as many copies as F1 Racing and Motorsport. If I find 50% of the issues this year, I consider myself fortunate.
July 21st, 2008 at 21:31 #48 - me said:
bloomin’ heck. that is somewhat pointless.
i wonder (cough, stuart), if it wouldn’t be possible to make a PDF version available for subscribers to download a couple of days after the magazine hits the shelves?
there would no doubt be copyright concerns in this copy+paste society, but autosport do manage to secure their weekly PDF journal.
i’m assuming you’ve considered a journal sub?
http://www.autosport.com/journal/
July 21st, 2008 at 21:45 #49 - Jordan Allen said:
me said:
Well, okay me, but let us look at it from the fly’s point of view. Most people mow down flies left, right, and centre and never even damage their belongings. Hence the saying “Dropping like flies”. You’re hurting trying to breathe. That’s quite below form, there, me.
That fly may have kamikazed itself, but it appears that the good ship “me” is sinking fast. You might call it a draw, but while that fly is getting their verison of the VC, sadly, posthumourlessly, but its still getting a medal. You might be getting sympathy or mockery, but no medal.
Hail to to Fly!
That’s at least a points victory for the fly in my book. me….
July 21st, 2008 at 21:51 #50 - me said:
haha, granted, yes
thanks. thanks a bunch
July 21st, 2008 at 21:58 #51 - Jordan Allen said:
@Me, (use voice of Pat Morita here)
Your welcome. Next time Daniel-san, use chopsticks to catch fly. Now paint fence. Up, down., Up down…
July 21st, 2008 at 22:07 #52 - me said:
that’s where i went wrong, thank you
July 21st, 2008 at 22:18 #53 - Jordan Allen said:
No, No, No, Daniel-san. Paint fence….. Up, Down. Up, Down.
July 21st, 2008 at 22:25 #54 - me said:
with my back?
July 21st, 2008 at 22:41 #55 - Jordan Allen said:
Concentrate, Daniel-San!
I am getting you to stretch your back out Daniel-san. Once fence painted, Wash deck. left, right…; left, right.
Then Polish Cars; Wax on, Wax off….
I am getting hungary. time to head off to Arnold’s for a bite.
July 21st, 2008 at 23:07 #56 - Dan Brunell said:
Funny, you mention that. I am working on that exact same thing for my day job right now.
I actually don’t blame Stuart or anyone at Autosport, I blame whoever their stateside distributor service is. I get my fair amount of international and stateside publications (20-30 subscriptions, most because of work) and for some reason the magazine always came out that way. Apparently, I am not the only one.
I was not aware of that. Looks cool…
July 21st, 2008 at 23:09 #57 - me said:
have you learnt anything / come across show-stopping issues along the way?
July 21st, 2008 at 23:20 #58 - Le BOL said:
Estoril circuit website is currently announcing events for January 1970, that’s what you call imaginative and radical considering the track was built in 1972. Funny.
http://drop.io/sidepodcast/asset/estoril1970
July 21st, 2008 at 23:23 #59 - me said:
racing deloreans perchance?
July 21st, 2008 at 23:32 #60 - Le BOL said:
You bet! PTCC (port. touring car champ.)races in Estoril are normally accompanied by historic cars runs: Datsuns, Minis and just all kinds of smelly oil-burning artefacts.
July 21st, 2008 at 23:33 #61 - Steven Roy said:
Apologies to Timo Glock. It looks like Estoril have our TARDIS.
July 21st, 2008 at 23:34 #62 - Dan Brunell said:
Other than wanting to have a few poignant words with Mr. Adobe about his programs; not so far. The problem is that we put our a score card of our local politicians that we want to release only to our chamber members. One of the solutions I am working out is a flash-based application that would thumb through the scorecard/magazine like a book online. It would allow some sort of control when it launches require say like you online account login and password. From there you can read it online or print directly onto your computer. That way, you have some sort of control over who can read and print your publication.
July 21st, 2008 at 23:38 #63 - me said:
some fantasy racers stats have been posted on the facebook group by alex:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid…290
best one by far has to be this one:
hehe, cheers alex
July 21st, 2008 at 23:38 #64 - me said:
damnit. i was due to clock in today. night-shift for me then.
July 21st, 2008 at 23:43 #65 - me said:
ahh, that is interesting. a more secure solution than pdf probably.
the red bulletin use that idea too i think (although mostly because they’re flashy gits, rather than for security purposes).
July 21st, 2008 at 23:49 #66 - Alianora La Canta said:
BUTTON BUS!
{Scott Woodwiss – 45 comments ago}
~~~This Is A Public Announcement To All Passengers On Platform Pitlane—
The 2:00pm Red Bull Trains service to The Chequered Flag has been delayed by approximately 15 seconds due to a passenger-conveying road vehicle on the line. It is believed to be functioning as a clothing attachment. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause you.
Update To Previous Public Announcement
The 2:00pm Red Bull Trains service to The Chequered Flag has been cancelled due to a derailment involving a different passenger-conveying road vehicle. Please use the alternative train service from Toro Rosso, and use the delay to write to your MP to campaign for removal of level crossings. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause you.
I heard that in the early days they didn’t have proper studio facilities and ST had to do some of it from under a desk so as to block out office noise… {Stuart Codling – 40 comments ago}
Simply because I have to do that for my occasional forays into podcasting does not mean I expect such an august institution as the BBC to have ever needed to resort to that…
he [Alonso] really doesn’t like being beaten by his teammate does he? {me – 39 comments ago}
Too right you are. This has been one of Fernando’s biggest weaknesses; when a team-mate beats him, it can really get under his skin. That said, he’s also at his fastest when he’s properly riled up, so you can never dismiss him out of hand. It’s just that it leaves him open to being beaten by rivals that wouldn’t beat him normally.
yup, that i do remember [ITV in London studio]! but i forget which race(s). suzuka maybe? {me – 36 comments ago}
I think it was French qualifying 1999 as well (some dispute with Bernie), but I’m not 100% sure.
Incidentally, F1 Digital TV was also done from a London studio.
oh i feel sorry for him now
imagine what he would be like if he was at honda this year… i’m guessing suicidal. {lou – 35 comments ago}
Fernando didn’t seem too upset in the Minardi of 2001, so I’m not all that sure a bad car would feel too bad. As long as his team-mate was obviously worse at driving it (as was the case when Marques and Yoong were his team-mates).
If they feel the need to cover something else hopefully they will have the common sense to broadcast the feed on the red button, or over the internet…. I’m sure they will be faced with a lot of complaints if they don’t. {lou – 34 comments ago}
BBC didn’t have any problem covering MotoGP on Sunday despite it being in a prime TV slot, so I think other things will get moved to accommodate F1 rather than the other way around.
are mclaren really the only team with a four paddle steering wheel? {me – 31 comments ago}
I think Ferrari had four paddles in the early 2000s, but I suspect they had a slightly different function to McLaren’s.
The pitlane snoop may have to investigate in Hungary… {Stuart Codling – 29 comments ago}
Thank you!
Is it obligatory for ex-F1 drivers to become media people (although in Kimi’s case you can say he’s not very passionate about photography or images in general) or family men? {Le BOL – 24 comments ago}
No it isn’t – though it is true that those who don’t generally become either businessmen or go down the extreme-sports/alternate motorsports route. Kimi will be the latter, I think.
Eyewitnesses report that Hamilton only just managed to avoid impact with the back end of the Mercedes-Benz. {Le BOL – 23 comments ago}
That is scarily close to a Piquet Jr. victory. The Flavio gloat factor would have been unbearable…
Are we talking mclaren fast or force india (without the seemless shift of course) fast? {Tom – 20 comments ago}
McLaren fast, surely…
If Bernie is Ernie, does that make Max Bert? {Dan Brunell – 16 comments ago}
I reckon it makes Max Ax. Lethally dangerous to anything in its path and makes a mess of whatever it touches these days due to its previously sharp blade being blunted.
July 21st, 2008 at 23:58 #67 - Alex Andronov said:
But as Schumacher said, sometimes you have to make your own luck!
July 22nd, 2008 at 00:00 #68 - Alex Andronov said:
I was quite pleased that I became just “Alex” on the podcast. But now it looks like I have competition for the Alex mantle… I hope this doesn’t become like the whole Scott thing
July 22nd, 2008 at 00:03 #69 - Alex Andronov said:
hahaha
July 22nd, 2008 at 00:04 #70 - me said:
that is true, and heikki was also very lucky in that instance.
doh! sorry, should’ve said… those stats came from a female alex.
things are getting a bit confusing, aren’t they? x3 scotts, at least 3 keiths, x2 jordans and so forth. it wasn’t so long ago that we weren’t sure which dan was which either
July 22nd, 2008 at 00:05 #71 - Steven Roy said:
My first thought when I read this was the effect a Piquet victory would have had on Alonso’s stability. It would make the Trulliometer look stable.
July 22nd, 2008 at 00:06 #72 - Alex Andronov said:
I liked the podcast. I actually noticed it was longer. I don’t think you have to mention everyone. But I really like the groove you are both in at the moment. So it wasn’t too long. I got to near the end when I was nearing my office and then controversially actually finished the podcast in the office. Very rare. Glad I did as I got a mention right at the end
But seriously. If it had been wearing thin I would have waited to finish it on the way home.
July 22nd, 2008 at 00:08 #73 - Alex Andronov said:
The cost of popularity
I’ve been on so many blogs which have ended up with multiple Alex’s that I now always put my full name. I like being known by just the first name, but I always hope it won’t last in a way because it’s a sure sign the community is growing.
July 22nd, 2008 at 00:14 #74 - Alianora La Canta said:
I am getting really angry with all the channel hopping that is happening in the US market. {Dan Brunell – about 20 comments ago}
Even I can’t understand what Bernie’s trying to do there! It certainly won’t get him long-term viewers…
I actually canceled my subscription because on it was near June when I received all my January, February, and March issues all at once. {Dan Brunell – actually 20 comments ago}
I second me on that. Even I would find that virtually useless, and I use my F1 magazines for an archive as well as for current reading.
When I buy it from the store, they are normally two to three weeks behind, if they are there. {Dan Brunell – 20 comments ago}
Could you reserve a copy with the newsagent? That might help you get round the problem, and it works for Mum’s Horse and Hound magazine in the UK.
You might call it a draw, but while that fly is getting their verison of the VC, sadly, posthumourlessly, but its still getting a medal. {Jordan Allen – 14 comments ago}
Unless me’s injury allowed other flies to live long enough to reproduce, then all that’s happened is that yet another fly has met an untimely and foolish death, with unusual consequences for its killer. Folly doesn’t win medals – usually.
Your welcome. Next time Daniel-san, use chopsticks to catch fly {Jordan Allen – 12 comments ago}
If I tried that, the flies of the world would be declaring my house a national fly sanctuary. I have enough trouble catching grains of rice with chopsticks (and even then I can’t do it by following the instructions on the wrapper or demanded by etiquette…)
I am getting hungary. time to head off to Arnold’s for a bite. {Jordan Allen – 8 comments ago}
Estoril circuit website is currently announcing events for January 1970, that’s what you call imaginative and radical considering the track was built in 1972. {Le BOL – 5 comments ago}
They’ve obviously been visiting Sidepodcast and my wiki…
July 22nd, 2008 at 00:22 #75 - me said:
okay, so the general vibe on this thread is that the show length is okay. i do worry though, so if we’re going on a bit, please yell at the first opportunity.
i like the groove too. i think the season we’re having helps somewhat, plus the emails, comments and voicemails kick everything up a notch – week in week out.
that’s very interesting. hadn’t looked at it like that before.
July 22nd, 2008 at 00:24 #76 - Alianora La Canta said:
things are getting a bit confusing, aren’t they? x3 scotts, at least 3 keiths, x2 jordans and so forth. it wasn’t so long ago that we weren’t sure which dan was which either
{me – 5 comments ago}
Be glad some of us are using psuedonyms…
My first thought when I read this was the effect a Piquet victory would have had on Alonso’s stability. It would make the Trulliometer look stable. {Steven Roy – 4 comments ago}
I think the Alonsometer would have sunk so low it would never have restored itself. For him to not even be on the podium before a team-mate wins a race… …lucky Hamilton overtook Piquet Jr then!
July 22nd, 2008 at 01:00 #77 - Dan Brunell (don't use psuedonyms; that's all me) said:
I get the feeling that Bernie is testing the waters to see how much Hamilton-mania has reached the states. Unfortunately, he forgot that he screwed us out a race this year, did such a horrible job marketing, and selling F1 to America; that most people don’t know who Hamilton is because of Bernie idiocy.
The thing is; Hamilton is so marketable over here. He has the potential to be the best know British driver since Jackie Stewart. The sad thing is that Bernie might of ruined it to the point where all of this is a mute point.
July 22nd, 2008 at 01:06 #78 - me said:
now you’re going head-to-head with le bol for the longest name here
July 22nd, 2008 at 01:09 #79 - Jordan Allen said:
Well, I do not know about the other lass/lad, but I have my surname in the name field, plus I try to end my E-mails with either my surname, or team and sometimes both… (Jordan (Allen) F1).
Well, the less than original idea is to use the phontic alphla to identify each other. Jordan Alpha, Alex Bravo, Stephen Charlie, but that that is getting a little silly. We will start arguing over which country’s phonitc alphabet to use….
July 22nd, 2008 at 01:12 #80 - Gaulty said:
I log on at 1:12 in the morning and why is everyone talking about Alex Bravo and Jordan Alpha?!
July 22nd, 2008 at 01:14 #81 - Alianora La Canta said:
most people don’t know who Hamilton is because of Bernie idiocy. {Dan Brunell (don’t use psuedonyms; that’s all me) – 3 comments ago}
Apparently, people in my new library don’t either; the Lewis Hamilton autobiography was put in the cricket section, despite a Dewey decimal number to the contrary. And this is in the English Midlands…
July 22nd, 2008 at 01:15 #82 - Alianora La Canta said:
I log on at 1:12 in the morning and why is everyone talking about Alex Bravo and Jordan Alpha?! {Gaulty – 2 comments ago}
To try to tell the differences between the different Alexes and Jordans on the blog.
July 22nd, 2008 at 01:16 #83 - Gaulty (What the hell happens at 1 in the morning) said:
I think for children in need or something, you should do a 3 hour podcast?
July 22nd, 2008 at 01:17 #84 - Gaulty (What the hell happens at 1 in the morning) said:
Oh, thank god for only one Gaulty then.
July 22nd, 2008 at 01:20 #85 - me said:
oooh, interesting. it would have to be live, and we’re not quite ready for that yet. when is children in need this year?
July 22nd, 2008 at 01:28 #86 - me said:
btw gaulty, you seem to have sprung a website.
did i miss an announcement?
July 22nd, 2008 at 01:35 #87 - Steven Roy said:
Children in need is usually November.
July 22nd, 2008 at 01:38 #88 - Jordan Allen said:
Ali, I agree that the fly met an untimely death, but I would say that it had an extremly glorious death in that it inflicked disportionate and serve damage to the vastly superior enemy forces. (If that does not sound like a citation for a Victoria Corss, I do not what is…) While we may debate forever that folly may or may not win a medal, I think you will argee that folly on the part of a comanding officer is required to get a person into the mess the allows himself / herself a medal. Otherwise, the requirement for getting a medal would be as easy as proving that you just shot the mess cook….
In this case, it would seem that the fly more than carried out its orders from the fly commander to “harass” “me”, but it seems due to the back injury it inflicted, to have “surpressed” me as well.
Your welcome. Next time Daniel-san, use chopsticks to catch fly {Jordan Allen – 12 comments ago}
If I tried that, the flies of the world would be declaring my house a national fly sanctuary. I have enough trouble catching grains of rice with chopsticks (and even then I can’t do it by following the instructions on the wrapper or demanded by etiquette…)
Observe, young grasshoppa’ you steam the rice to make it a little sticky, and it clumps together. In this fashion, you pick up a clump of rice and not individual gains.
I am getting hungary. time to head off to Arnold’s for a bite. {Jordan Allen – 8 comments ago}
This was a joke from Pat Morita’s other main character (From a TV Show).
July 22nd, 2008 at 01:38 #89 - me said:
hmm, okay it’s on the 14th this year, which is post season. and it does give us time to figure out all the technical details.
we’d have to clear it with the boss lady, but if there’s enough interest then i’m up for it.
i wonder if we don’t need a more international charity though? cin is a bit uk centric isn’t it?
July 22nd, 2008 at 01:39 #90 - me said:
look, laughing hurts too, people. that’s enough!
July 22nd, 2008 at 01:45 #91 - Jordan Allen said:
Why can not we call you Gaulty Zulu, for Gaulty (0th comparison) then?
Jordan (Allen) F1 or Jordan Alpha.
July 22nd, 2008 at 02:26 #92 - Gaulty (What the hell happens at 1 in the morning) said:
No, just a quiet start to life. Nothing much, yet, hoping to make it look a bit more, appealing.
July 22nd, 2008 at 05:14 #93 - Kureb said:
First, hello from Brazil.
Second, I love your podcast. Every week I come here to check your sexy voice and the way you put me into the mood of my favourite sport.
Thanks.
PS.: Not good English, but I think you can understand
July 22nd, 2008 at 06:24 #94 - Alex Andronov said:
Which one of you is going to claim that?
July 22nd, 2008 at 06:26 #95 - Alex Andronov said:
It is good English
Don’t worry about that 
July 22nd, 2008 at 06:49 #96 - Kureb said:
So, now is time to start commenting here
July 22nd, 2008 at 07:15 #97 - Kureb said:
Hmmm Christine?
July 22nd, 2008 at 08:02 #98 - Stuart Codling said:
Morning all. What a busy evening of comments! I’d better click ‘rewind’…
Tsk, tsk. Now, I’ve droned on at some length elsewhere about the sound commercial reasons for Lewis being on the cover so I won’t bore everyone by repeating them all. We do get some negative feedback from our US readers about Lewis covers, usually along the lines of “There are 19 other drivers…” Trouble is, as I’ve written before, the majority of them don’t sell magazines – quite the opposite, in fact.
Our overseas editions can and do come up with their own cover treatments – the French version of July had a very nice Sebastien Bourdais image, for instance. But because of the nature of the US market (basically it’s a big country with a tiny audience for our product) we don’t make a bespoke US edition. They get the UK version.
Autosport did that a few years ago and for some reason it didn’t take off. But I hear that various tweaks to our website are being chewed over by the folk upstairs…
In other news, after yesterday’s mention of Private Eye, and some discussion a couple of weeks ago abot search engine optimisation, here’s an amusing entry in the Grauniad by the redoubtable Charlie Brooker:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/jul/21/charliebrooker.pressandpublishing
July 22nd, 2008 at 09:16 #99 - Christine said:
Hehe, the way it works is, I take all the compliments, and he gets all the complaints.
July 22nd, 2008 at 09:21 #100 - Alex Andronov said:
Good plan
July 22nd, 2008 at 10:11 #101 - Gaulty (What the hell happens at 1 in the morning) said:
Complaints? What do you want them by, e-mail or post?
July 22nd, 2008 at 10:33 #102 - Stuart Codling said:
Morning everyone,
I did compose a reply to the nocturnal comments but I think it disappeared into the moderation queue (owing to the presence of a URL, no doubt).
July 22nd, 2008 at 10:46 #103 - me said:
hi, sorry, found it now. tis five comments north of this one
July 22nd, 2008 at 10:51 #104 - me said:
post please. any issues regarding our presenting skills should be stamped and forwarded to the following location:
good grief my nan could do a better job,
fao james allen,
itv,
uk
don’t hold back now
July 22nd, 2008 at 10:56 #105 - me said:
i’m with alex, your english is better than mine kureb!
with comments as nice as your first one, please do
July 22nd, 2008 at 11:08 #106 - me said:
have to say, i didn’t quite appreciate the bravery of putting kubica on the cover, until i saw this months issue.
his looks aren’t, umm, naturally cover shoot material. and i’d sort of assumed he’d be wearing a helmet, but the end result does work well. here’s hoping he doesn’t aversely effect sales such that your stuck with one driver for the rest of the season
the other advantage of pdf is that it’s searchable, which would save hours of research trying to find that one article i know i read last year…
July 22nd, 2008 at 11:09 #107 - Stuart Codling said:
Ta – couldn’t face typing it all out again – I’ve got a Heikki Kovalainen interview to transcribe…
July 22nd, 2008 at 11:44 #108 - me said:
v.insightful that.
i think it’s about time we covered f1 poker tournaments in more detail. any chance we could convince lewis to date britney, even for an afternoon?
google’s as much to blame as anyone, their new tends page actively encourages this sort of thing:
http://www.google.com/trends
i love the idea of keyword stuffing “least searched” terms though
July 22nd, 2008 at 13:12 #109 - Alianora La Canta said:
While we may debate forever that folly may or may not win a medal, I think you will argee that folly on the part of a comanding officer is required to get a person into the mess the allows himself / herself a medal. {Jordan Allen – 21 comments ago}
I will agree with you on that. Strangely, commanding officers rarely seem to get much punishment for generating such situations.
Observe, young grasshoppa’ you steam the rice to make it a little sticky, and it clumps together. In this fashion, you pick up a clump of rice and not individual gains. {Jordan Allen – 21 comments ago}
I’ve tried that, and not only do I have even less success doing that than with non-steamed rice (because the clumps break apart the moment I apply the least bit of pressure), but the rice is then too hot to eat for another ten minutes. I take long enough to eat Chinese as it is…
sound commercial reasons for Lewis being on the cover so I won’t bore everyone by repeating them all {Stuart Codling – 11 comments ago}
What would happen if you had two covers of F1 Racing each issue? I think you did say at some earlier point One could have whoever was the big media attraction of the day for that particular market (naturally checking that there was something on that individual in the magazine!) and the other with whichever story the F1 Racing team thought was the item that they thought was the best. Where numbers for sale in a particular outlet merited it and for subscriptions, a choice would be provided between the two versions, otherwise the outlet would just have the commercially-attractive edition. There’d be a “Cover 1 (or 2) of 2″ in the corner by the month/year line so that people seeing both covers would know that they did in fact have the same content inside. Naturally, an issue where the main media personality had also provided what the F1 Racing thought was the best item would result in a single cover being made for that month.
Radio Times does a subtle version of this some weeks – for example, the week the Live8 concert was on, they had a selection of different covers, each featuring a different artist performing in the concert (the magazine included short interviews with all of them). The two-cover method strikes me as a good compromise between commercial and artistic/perceived balance considerations. A few people may well end up collecting both covers on a given issue, especially given the quality of the photography F1 Racing routinely has.
after yesterday’s mention of Private Eye, and some discussion a couple of weeks ago abot search engine optimisation, here’s an amusing entry in the Grauniad by the redoubtable Charlie Brooker {Stuart Codling – 11 comments ago}
That is hilarious!
I’ve got a Heikki Kovalainen interview to transcribe… {Stuart Codling – 2 comments ago}
Hope Heikki proved a good interviewee and that the transcription goes well.
July 22nd, 2008 at 13:24 #110 - Steven Roy said:
BAN KILLER KERS NOW
OK overstating the case a little. Following on from the Red Bull KERS fire that made Mark Webber grumpy a BMW mechanic today suffered an electric shock when he touch the sidepod of the car as it returned to the pits after a run. He didn’t actually die but he suffered a slight injury to his left arm and some grazing. Just as well it was only a KERS system and not a fly.
http://www.itv-f1.com/News_Article.aspx?id=43442
July 22nd, 2008 at 13:25 #111 - Stuart Codling said:
Ah yes. I think what it came down to in the end was that you can’t ensure an equal mix when it goes into distribution. But a separate cover for subscription copies isn’t out of the question.
He’s a thoroughly nice chap and I get the impression that he’s very popular within McLaren.
You’d be suprised at how little digital retouching went on – a tweak to the levels and some ‘mood enhancement’ and that was about it.
July 22nd, 2008 at 13:39 #112 - me said:
am i right in saying that emergency services suffer similar problems with hybrid cars?
not able to cut people out of vehicles after an accident due to risk of shock. it may have been in the early days of hybrids though.
oops, in that case apologies to robert.
July 22nd, 2008 at 13:45 #113 - Steven Roy said:
I don’t know about emergency services problems with hybrids but the first thought that crossed my mind when I read this is that maybe the teams don’t want to do KERS and a few very public disasters might persuade Max to pull the plug. Although I guess Max would probably be glad the bad publicity was about something technical for a change.
July 22nd, 2008 at 13:53 #114 - Scott Woodwiss said:
Someone’s comparing Hamilton to Senna again and for once it’s not James Allen:
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/69372
July 22nd, 2008 at 14:18 #115 - Stuart Codling said:
Perhaps the KERS system could be re-engineered as one of those electric fly-zappers?
July 22nd, 2008 at 14:27 #116 - Stuart Codling said:
When IRN rang up yesterday morning wanting me to wibble about Lewis I broke into a sweat, more so when they asked a leading question about where he stood among the motorsport greats. I knew I stood on the verge of being lampooned by any F1 blogger who happened to be listening.
So you’ll be pleased to know I said something along the lines of “He definitely ranks among the pantheon of British sporting talents, but given that this is only his second season in F1 it’s too early to compare him with the likes of Ayrton Senna and Jim Clark.” Which probably means they didn’t use it.
July 22nd, 2008 at 15:03 #117 - Jordan Allen said:
(Alianora La Canta – 7 comments ago)
I blame the British General Staff for that one. Far too many of your Generals have become famous by having a suitably glorious death that masks their hopeless unwinnable pre-battle positions.
And why is that? Well when a new officer school was being built in India to rival Sandhurst many British Generals wanted it stopped because it would develop a rival school of thought in the British Army. Lord Kitchner was shocked to hard that where was any type of military thought in the Britsh Army at all.
Getting it back to Formula 1, fof the past thirty years, I have never seen any type of serious thought on the part of a pit stratgy at Williams! And I have been on of their supporters.
July 22nd, 2008 at 15:13 #118 - Jordan Allen said:
Buy a rice cooker/steamer, young grasshoppa’! Pour in rice and water and plug into wall socket. Turn it on, leave for 30 minutes. Place rice in bowl and it will come out lumpy.
Finally. Use Japanese rice. It is a little softer than Chinese rice. The come in 20 kg sacks. (50 pounds).
Finally no force is required on chopsticks. You use chopsticsk like a shovel (or a spoon) and scoop clump of rice into your mouth.
Make a game out of it. Each time you spill rice, you must drink one cup of Sake…..
July 22nd, 2008 at 15:42 #119 - Jordan Allen said:
July 22nd, 2008 at 2:27 pmStuart Codling said:
Someone’s comparing Hamilton to Senna again
When IRN rang up yesterday morning wanting me to wibble about Lewis I broke into a sweat, more so when they asked a leading question about where he stood among the motorsport greats. I knew I stood on the verge of being lampooned by any F1 blogger who happened to be listening.
So you’ll be pleased to know I said something along the lines of “He definitely ranks among the pantheon of British sporting talents, but given that this is only his second season in F1 it’s too early to compare him with the likes of Ayrton Senna and Jim Clark.” Which probably means they didn’t use it.
So, Stuart….
How come you did not go out on a limb and call “Lewis Hamilton” the next Sir Stirling Moss?
July 22nd, 2008 at 15:47 #120 - Mattw said:
I don’t know. You could put a racing car on the cover and be radical
July 22nd, 2008 at 15:57 #121 - Steven Roy said:
A highly paid professional journalist is not prepared to stand up and give an opinion after 25 races. Disappointing. After 3 races last season I said he would dominate the next ten years and got slaughtered for it but at least I didn’t chicken out.
He is reminiscent of Senna but more and more he reminds me of Gilles and there is no higher praise. When Keke Rosberg was interviewed about Lewis when it was announced that he had the McLaren drive he said how quick he was then he said he is very brave, Gilles brave. Now I know Keke’s opinion of Gilles so that was a stunning statement to make about someone who hadn’t started a single GP. I can see why he said that although the timing was a bit early. Having seen Lewis’s wet weather prowess there is a similarity there too. And his ability to totally take apart a good quality teammate as demonstrated in the firs dozen laps of Hockenheim are also similar.
I guess all that is left is the 180mph drive in a car trailing its rear corner and taking a complet dog of a chassis into the points.
July 22nd, 2008 at 16:00 #122 - me said:
next time i do something stupid, i’m a gonna suffer in silence
hehe. it could be worse… f1wolf, when interviewed on the radio this week, tipped force india for a win in singapore:
http://www.f1wolf.com/2008/07/inter…n-singapore.html
July 22nd, 2008 at 16:06 #123 - me said:
thing is, you didn’t know, and still don’t know… you just took a punt.
that’s fine to a degree, so long as you don’t try and make out that it’s a fact and then ram your recently invented fact down our throats repeatedly during your weekend television show each and every fortnight
July 22nd, 2008 at 16:14 #124 - Stuart Codling said:
Fair enough, but you need studio conditions – 35mm action shots look rubbish because of low resolution and background clutter. And very few teams will let you loose with a current car once the season’s got going (confidentiality reasons, etc). There are ways to circumvent this: see our October issue – when it comes out!
July 22nd, 2008 at 16:23 #125 - Jordan Allen said:
Hey, me
I have good news for you! I have just worked out how you can get a back injury while chasing “flies” and call it a sporting injury and be repsected at the same time instead of being mocked. I am surprzied that Dan did not think of this first.
How you and Christine managed to get a hardball, a baseball bat, a baseball glove and a rules of baseball booklet in England is beyond me but it appears that not where you successful in throwning a pitch “down the pipe” but more surprizingly, Chrisitne seems to be a “Natural” hitter. Hitting the baseball with the bat and down into the back of the park, in waht is called a “fly ball”. I guess you must have managed to track down the ball in flight and when charging and jumping into the stdium wall with the flat of your back. Catching the ball for what is called a “Fly out” in baseball and killing your back the prcoess. Far from what being mocked, you have now suffered one of baseballs most common injuries, “catching a fly at the wall.”.
Now please measure the distance of Christine’s Fly (Ball) if it is 305 feet or more. I waant a 3% finders fee and a seat behind home plate in a place called “Fenway Park”. Christine you could be the next DH on a American Baseball team called the “Boston Red Sox”, especially if you are right-handed.
July 22nd, 2008 at 16:26 #126 - Steven Roy said:
Took a punt? I have watched his career since he was ten years old. I watched how quickly he adapted to F1 and to a team mate who was going to be the next Schumacher according to all the pre-season publicity. I would like to think I am a reasonable judge of a driver by now. And you make all my efforts and judgement sound like I stuck a pin in the paper. Alonso matched him on points in his rookie season and only managed that because of two disasters in the last two races.
The thing to remember is in every formula that he has done a second season in he has made a massive improvement from year one to year two so given that he was good enough to drive Alonso out of McLaren last season and he has improved on that I think I am on safe ground saying he will dominate. What we need to know is whether he will improve again in his third season because he has never done more that two seasons in the same category.
July 22nd, 2008 at 16:42 #127 - me said:
firstly i never heard nowt along those lines? most people were talking about alonso leaving the sport at the end of ‘07 with three championships to his name. so we were probably looking at different coverage. either way…
okay, you didn’t take a punt, rather an educated guess. either way, you still don’t know (unless you really have nicked that tardis).
July 22nd, 2008 at 16:45 #128 - me said:
i have no idea what in the world that means. however if the net result is i look less foolish, then i thank you
July 22nd, 2008 at 16:48 #129 - Steven Roy said:
OK I concede I dont know everything that will happen in the next ten years and Wayne Boyd IS on his way but I do know that by a very long way he is the best driver just now and has been since the day he arrived in F1.
Jordan a Red Sox fan? We need to have words. You can’t have a DH while you are still 4 games ahead of the Yankees.
You may be surprised to know that we get baseball on TV twice a week albeit late at night and there is a national baseball league here.
July 22nd, 2008 at 16:50 #130 - Christine said:
Surely not knowing something for sure because you don’t have a TARDIS is no reason not to have an opinion?
July 22nd, 2008 at 16:57 #131 - me said:
thing is, that isn’t important. there are people (some respected, some less so) within the sport who made some very bold proclamations early on, that may well turn out to be correct or they may not. no doubt we’ll never hear then end of it should the former occur.
it’s easy to get caught up riding the wave of the last two races, especially when pushed by someone with an agenda, but thankfully in the earlier case it was avoided. let’s not forget that a few races ago lewis was underperforming and looking a bit daft in the media to boot.
July 22nd, 2008 at 16:59 #132 - Scott Woodwiss said:
F1 German GP video edit is up on the f1 website. I like it!
http://www.formula1.com/services/play_video.html
July 22nd, 2008 at 17:03 #133 - Scott Woodwiss said:
hey, who left the fine looking f1 cars on drop.io?
July 22nd, 2008 at 17:03 #134 - me said:
i know that! i think somewhere i’ve gone down a commenting rabbit hole i didn’t mean too
July 22nd, 2008 at 17:04 #135 - Steven Roy said:
It is one of the problems with F1 that people change their minds after every race and for some reason all the problems of the sport didn’t exist 5 years ago. You have to take a broad view to have any level of accuracy. Just now people are writing off Kovi but you have to remember he was only available to McLaren because Alonso wouldn’t have him as his team mate.
My opinion of Lewis really hasn’t changed since his F3 days and if he does something stupid in the next two races it won’t change. The last time I was this confident about a driver was Senna (sorry for the comparison again)and like Lewis all through his junior career he looked like he was on a different level to anyone else. Even when he and Brundle were in F3 and Brundle was ahead in the championship there was never any doubt that Senna was special and Martin was only very good.
July 22nd, 2008 at 17:06 #136 - Steven Roy said:
Now that is the helicopter we need. (in dropio.)
Who did the panda video?
July 22nd, 2008 at 17:11 #137 - Steven Roy said:
Those cars are all the same but for the paint job.
July 22nd, 2008 at 17:11 #138 - Scott Woodwiss said:
i know, i just wondered who left them
could they be a clue towards the next mini-series?
July 22nd, 2008 at 17:33 #139 - Steven Roy said:
I have noticed today for the first time since the comment editting was changed that I am getting some redraw issues. It is minor and it is sorted in a second or two but you should be aware in case it occurs in a race weekend. I am not sure why there should be an issue now when I have seen no problems at all during the last two races.
July 22nd, 2008 at 17:34 #140 - Mattw said:
It’s not my magazine – but I don’t believe that you need studio conditions.
For an A4 magazine cover, any decent DSLR on the market today (10MP+) produce all the resolution you need.
Any pro motor sport photographer worth his salt will know where to go (and have access to) to produce a shot without clutter in the background.
Give me a media pass, and I will prove it for you (well, it was worth a punt
)
July 22nd, 2008 at 17:40 #141 - z-baumgartner said:
They look like former teams liveries on a 2008 car
July 22nd, 2008 at 17:53 #142 - Dan Brunell said:
Thanks Stuart for the insight,
Just make sure the next time Autosports negotiates with their distributor in the US, you might want to bring up some of the examples above of late shipment. Its’ unfair to you guys who work so hard to put out a weekly product that they screw it up by an insane delivery schedule.
After trolling the magazine isle this morning, I came to the realization that I am not half as sick of Lewis than I am of Danica Patrick. At least Lewis is competitive for a championship and has somewhat deserved the hype with his start.
July 22nd, 2008 at 17:57 #143 - Mattw said:
Lewis will not be hitting his ‘peak’ for another year or two yet. How good will he be when he can mix some experience in with that speed?
July 22nd, 2008 at 18:08 #144 - me said:
ahhh, shoot. we upgraded to wordpress 2.6 last night.
bugger
cheers for the heads up.
July 22nd, 2008 at 18:09 #145 - Lady Snowcat said:
Brilliant Mr Codling…
Actually he’ll be more of a great when he isn’t in the best car on the grid….
The guy is certainly good when he confident in his car… but that doesn’t make you an all time great…
I am waiting for Macca to give him a problem…
July 22nd, 2008 at 18:17 #146 - Steven Roy said:
At least that means there is probably a logical reason for it rather than something just going flaky.
If it helps I am running %£$”*** Vista and IE7
July 22nd, 2008 at 18:19 #147 - Scott said:
Really enjoyed the longer show, myself. Thought it worked very well.
It may not only be the US where trouble exists. I didn’t receive my last renewal for Autosport through the post. This didn’t really bother me, and I decided just to buy issues from the newsagents as and when there’s something of particular interest. Then, after a couple of weeks of having not received an issue, a renewal invitation turned up, but for 12 months (instead of 3) and at a much higher fee. I knew that the price of the subscription was to increase, but the pro rata amount detailed in this letter was much higher than had originally been stated.
I guess this kind of thing might be more of a concern for Autosport, due to the competition they have from Will Buxton’s new magazine.
I’ve written a post on the subject this afternoon. Hope it helps.
I thought that was not to be mentioned.
The Sunday Times should be playing it safe – no more law suits.
Did anyone catch Maurice’s lap of Hockenheim with Robert Kubica? I thought that was some of the finest radio I’ve heard for years.
As I’m not Sting, a Brazilian footballer or Madonna, it’s fairly safe to say that I can’t get away with not using my full name. Therefore, I don’t mind if you use it on podcasts or on the blog, if it makes things easier. The reason I no longer enter my surname in the name field is because I don’t necessarily want anyone who might google me (employers, for example) being presented with F1Break.
Cheers. That was hilarious.
Is this really an insurmountable problem, though? My reason for asking is that I’ve noticed another Haymarket title – FourFourTwo – uses up to four different covers.
I don’t believe that it was as clear cut as that. At the time, both were thought of as being very good, with plenty of potential. Even though Brundle was more experienced, there were a lot of people who thought that the only reason Senna had managed to overhaul him was that he’d bought a new, more powerful Toyota engine towards the end of the season; something Brundle was unable to afford.
Scott Dryden
July 22nd, 2008 at 18:33 #148 - me said:
ahem, don’t tell anyone, but…
http://drop.io/sidepodcast/asset/mauriceandkubicaontrack
umm, bottom right of f1break’s homepage… you might wanna address that
July 22nd, 2008 at 18:41 #149 - Scott said:
Excellent! Thanks very much.
Haha… is the likely to have much of an effect, though? I thought the main danger was using my full name within a link.
You might want to check out this. Could be useful next time you’re at an event.
July 22nd, 2008 at 18:49 #150 - me said:
i suspect so, but the ins-and-outs of search engine technology are sorta beyond me, so couldn’t be sure. better to be safe i say.
cheers, we got it, tried it and didn’t like it
at the moment it’s only good for posting. can’t edit comments or dig them out of moderation etc. no doubt it’ll come good, but it has version 1.0 written all over it at the moment.
on the other hand it is free, and by next summer it’ll be awesome
July 22nd, 2008 at 18:55 #151 - Alex Andronov said:
[geek mode]
I don’t know if you have any control over it – but it is recommended to have the CSS bits above any javascript if you want to avoid redraw issues. The problem comes from the javascript trying to find out information about the page before the css loads.
[end geek]
July 22nd, 2008 at 19:03 #152 - me said:
i didn’t know that. we do have some control and i’ll try swapping things around. ta.
July 22nd, 2008 at 19:05 #153 - me said:
having said that, the source code for the comment editing functionality is a right old mess. could be a looong night
July 22nd, 2008 at 19:15 #154 - Le BOL said:
Hmm, not sure if somebody mentioned it before but: A technical report published on the Daily Telegraph website said Hamilton is making use of a unique four-paddle steering wheel. With the conventional two paddles for changing gears, the extra two paddles allow the drivers to easily select different engine torque settings throughout the course of a lap, the renowned writer Mark Hughes claimed. The solution could be allowing McLaren drivers to limit wheelspin under acceleration out of corners, thus making canny use of the new-for-2008 ban on traction control.
“This is part of McLaren’s current performance superiority over Ferrari,” Hughes added.
So when will Ferrari protest? I’m betting on Thursday before Hungarian GP Friday FP.
July 22nd, 2008 at 19:20 #155 - Le BOL said:
“The Daily Telegraph says that while team bosses Ross Brawn and Nick Fry are not interested in a single-season deal as has been speculated, they Alonso as the ideal teammate for Jenson Button going forwards.”
It will not work out, if Jenson beats Fernando in qualifying Alonso will quit on the basis of preferential treatment for Button.
July 22nd, 2008 at 19:32 #156 - me said:
it is a decoy? should we looking for something else instead?
all seems a bit too public to me.
July 22nd, 2008 at 19:38 #157 - Le BOL said:
Like what? I’m also a bit curious as to the recent Ferrari troubles, remembering that they were doing fine in France a few weels ago it’s hard to explain.
July 22nd, 2008 at 19:41 #158 - Le BOL said:
Fantastic Mark Webber column (on BBC website) as ever.
“I do, though, see why Michael Schumacher used to use a private jet.
For a start, he was on massive money but it is more that. If you have his profile, it is a problem because you cannot travel around normally.
He was always playing that role. Imagine, everywhere he goes – check-in, baggage, security – everyone was asking for something. That is a bit of a bugbear. It wears you down.”
July 22nd, 2008 at 19:42 #159 - lou said:
Ahh I’m finally on the internet… well kinda… my internet connection died yesterday evening for some reason, so I’m kinda using my neighbours wireless connection…
but the signal is low so…. i can just about get check the news. Not sure how long my internet will be down for… I may not be around much…
July 22nd, 2008 at 19:49 #160 - Le BOL said:
“Fernando and Kimi are very good at getting themselves around under the radar. The way they dress, they have not got a thousand people with them, backpacks, sunnies, move around, job done.”
Massive writing skills from Webber!
This bit was reported everywhere but still…
“The safety car threw up a bizarre result and I think the rules are a joke. I was happy for Renault’s Nelson Piquet that he finished second, given the start to the season he has had, but F1 is more professional and better than the rules we have for the safety car at the moment. It looks very amateurish when the guy who nearly wins the race starts 17th and only overtakes one car, Kazuki Nakajima’s Williams, because he spun. For me, that is not what Formula One is all about. Nelson would be the first to agree that it was not a fully deserved second place. None of the drivers like the current system – we don’t like to get flukey results.”
Hmm, I think Mark’s got only one more podium to his name than poor Nelson who’s being slammed by every driver in the paddock because they’re pretty jealous of Piquet’s recent luck. Come to think of it: Mark was lucky to get his 2005 Monaco podium because ALO was having tyre problems and in 2007 in Nurburgring good half of the drivers were out, Kimi retired and Lewis started from the back. So, what’s wrong with luck?
July 22nd, 2008 at 20:01 #161 - Becken said:
“…The solution could be allowing McLaren drivers to limit wheelspin under acceleration out of corners, thus making canny use of the new-for-2008 ban on traction control…”
Sorry for always quotes you, Le BOL, but I can’t avoid it.
About that I bet that the recent fuss will fade when we all discover what that BUTTON, label with letters “TRQ” in Ferrari steering wheel means.
I guess TORQUE and you?
I guess that Ferrari optimized the use of the system in a button, much more simple, isn´t?. McLaren, that has now Ferraris as their “mate” again feels free right now to put on the road their improvements developed in the last months…
Just a guess…
July 22nd, 2008 at 20:19 #162 - Le BOL said:
Not much of a technical person myself, but it’s getting more and more interesting. Could somebody find more pics of the “backside” of 2008 F1 steering wheels?
http://drop.io/sidepodcast/asset/paddle
This one looks more like a spider with multiple legs.
July 22nd, 2008 at 20:26 #163 - Jordan Allen said:
Well, I have just modified a 2M video (*.avi format, no less) of who baseball people called outfields can get shoulder, back and frontal injuries while chasing flies. Where do I place ir?
And Steven, what is wrong with the Red Sox? it is not like we have invited the 3 and choke at the ALCS or something….
Jordan.
July 22nd, 2008 at 20:45 #164 - Steven Roy said:
The Sox have no chance this season. The final season the in the house that Ruth built. I can see a one year reprise of the curse of the bambino.
Just bought my F1 Racing and there were only two left on the shelf. Looks like Kubica can shift mags too.
July 22nd, 2008 at 21:09 #165 - Jordan I will accept F1, Allen, or Alpha said:
@Steven:
Is this the same “curse:” that was reveresed in 2004 or in 2007 or both? I must admit that cursed Tampa Bay is ticking myself off at the moment. If it is not the Damn Yankeees, then its Tampa Bay, never thought I would be saying that!
@Me:
The video of your expert fly-chasing techniques is now posted on drop io, me. As the fence was quite low, it does present you in a very favouriteble light, unless on that day you were on the visitors team….
That’s good to know. I was about to suggest to Stuart that F1 Racing should have a cover shot of a F1 Grid Girl and do an interview with her to find out exactly what they are supposed to do before the start of a Grand Prix. If Hamilton can outsell the Grid Girl, then all the people who come up with ideas for cover pictures should be tossed out of the window.
Jordan (Allen) F1.
July 22nd, 2008 at 21:19 #166 - me said:
http://www.drop.io/sidepodcast
July 22nd, 2008 at 21:19 #167 - Alex Andronov said:
I have to say that the 3G iPhone will deal with pages as long as the germany live comments quite well. You will want this though (it moves to the bottom a lot more quickly than scrolling a lot): http://www.firozansari.com/2008/04/03/iphone-scroll-bottom-bookmarklet/
Obviously no idea what the likelyhood of you getting 3G at Silverstone.
July 22nd, 2008 at 21:35 #168 - me said:
it was really good, except for when the grandstands were packed.
cheers for the iphone info, good to know.
July 22nd, 2008 at 21:37 #169 - me said:
that is exactly how it happened
July 22nd, 2008 at 21:54 #170 - Christine said:
It’s almost like we filmed it! It was about that graceful, anywho.
July 23rd, 2008 at 17:12 #171 - Dom said:
Bit of a late response, I know. I’m not gonna be around very much for the next few weeks. Looks likely I’ll miss the Hungarian race too
Imho, the 40/45 minute length is just about perfect. I wouldn’t worry too much about the length, if i were you.
I know this all depends on what market your selling to but worldwide The Kub seems to be the most popular driver this season. Where was it I saw that drivers popularity poll?
We’ve had the lucky podiums. With the current rules as they are it’s not gonna be long before we see a lucky (and probably undeserving) win by a mid-field team. Who’s it gonna be?
I’m not gonna join in with the abuse this week, for two average reasons. Firstly, it looks like you’ve taken quite a battering from the Sidepoddy community already and secondly I have also injured myself in a fly-swatting related incident a few months back. The insects have been relentless this year. (FYI: I haven’t been trying to think of a joke for the last 3 days and failed, honest).
July 23rd, 2008 at 17:18 #172 - Dom said:
Oh, here it is.
July 23rd, 2008 at 17:19 #173 - Stuart Codling said:
Our German edition arrived today; they’ve gone with Vettel on the cover instead.
I’m not sure how far you can trust the results of that poularity poll – there was a huge block vote from Poland. It’s as bent as the Eurovision Song Contest…
July 23rd, 2008 at 18:29 #174 - Dom said:
Okay, not a reliable source (although comparing it to Eurovision is a little harsh.) Still, Kubica does seem to have most F1 Fans in favour of him. Most of the newer drivers are certainly gaining more interest and popularity than the more experienced ones.
July 24th, 2008 at 00:18 #175 - Alianora La Canta said:
Perhaps the KERS system could be re-engineered as one of those electric fly-zappers? {Stuart Codling – 60 comments ago}
That’s a good idea, come to think of it. I find fly-swats pretty useless and the current stationary fly-zappers have to be plugged into the mains all day because of the electricity they consume. KERS could be useful there – though environmentalists would probably complain that killing flies isn’t very kind to the planet or something.
Getting it back to Formula 1, fof the past thirty years, I have never seen any type of serious thought on the part of a pit stratgy at Williams! {Jordan Allen – 58 comments ago}
I remember that Jordan once won a race based on a dream the technical director of the time had the previous night, which did make me wonder exactly how much thought the other teams (with the honourable exception of Minardi) put in their respective strategies…
Buy a rice cooker/steamer, young grasshoppa’! Pour in rice and water and plug into wall socket. Turn it on, leave for 30 minutes. Place rice in bowl and it will come out lumpy. { – 57 comments ago}
Having negligible knowledge of how to cook (as in I can’t even use the fryer control pad yet and find the microwave extremely daunting), cooking my own rice isn’t really an option at this time. I have to depend on what others cook for me (my only practise with chopsticks so far has been in Chinese restaurants). Also, the only types of rice on offer in my area are American, Basmati (i.e. Indian) or pudding rice. So I’m not sure how Chinese or Japanese varieties would compare.
Finally no force is required on chopsticks. You use chopsticsk like a shovel (or a spoon) and scoop clump of rice into your mouth.
Make a game out of it. Each time you spill rice, you must drink one cup of Sake….. {Jordan Allen – 57 comments ago}
How do I make a shovel out of a pair of chopsticks, particularly with the modified position I need to use to do anything productive to them?
As for sake, if this lacks the burning, bitter, overpowering aftertaste that every alcoholic drink I’ve tried so far has on me, then it would be worth a try. Otherwise the first sip I had of it would put me off the rice entirely. A novel way of sorting the problem, but not perhaps the result either of us had in mind. Sorry for all the moaning, but I don’t think my chopstick problem has any simple solutions…
f1wolf, when interviewed on the radio this week, tipped force india for a win in singapore: {me – 53 comments ago}
Wow! I’ve finally found someone more optimistic about Force India than I am
I was about to suggest to Stuart that F1 Racing should have a cover shot of a F1 Grid Girl and do an interview with her to find out exactly what they are supposed to do before the start of a Grand Prix {Jordan Allen – 10 comments ago}
That’s not such a bad idea. Much as I may baulk at the idea of scantily clad women on the front cover of a magazine, it would be interesting to see what exactly that side of F1 involves. And it would be a different cover…
I’m not sure how far you can trust the results of that poularity poll – there was a huge block vote from Poland. {Stuart Codling – 2 comments ago}
I noticed that too. Funny what effect having several national newspapers mentioning your poll does to the results
July 24th, 2008 at 00:25 #176 - me said:
you can get those though:
http://www.gadgetsuk.com/E…-p-16680.html
July 24th, 2008 at 00:56 #177 - Steven Roy said:
I think it is time you got really aggresive with those flies. How about a computer controlled missile launcher http://www.iwantoneofthose.com/office-toys/usb-missile-launcher/index.html or air to air combat http://www.iwantoneofthose.com/sky-challenger/index.html although those are a bit light on weaponry.
July 24th, 2008 at 00:58 #178 - Steven Roy said:
my last comment disappeared from view. It contained two links.
July 24th, 2008 at 01:03 #179 - me said:
ahh, now you’re playing with fire thinking double-linkage is an acceptable way to go about commenting
it’s all fun and games until someone loses a fly.
July 24th, 2008 at 16:29 #180 - z-baumgartner said:
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/69420
Force India’s new seamless shift gearbox brings two tenths of a second, not two seconds!!
If it had of been 2 seconds though, force india would be winning!
July 24th, 2008 at 16:41 #181 - Christine said:
Whatever I read initially said 2 seconds. Whether it was transcribed wrong, or whoever was quoted made a mistake, I don’t know.
However, if I had engaged my brain, I could have figured out that 2 seconds is a ridiculous claim.
July 24th, 2008 at 16:44 #182 - z-baumgartner said:
I blame ‘me’!
July 24th, 2008 at 16:45 #183 - z-baumgartner said:
Oooh. Honda anvil wing!!
http://www.xpb.cc/viewpicture.asp?id=261294
I think it looks pretty!
July 24th, 2008 at 16:47 #184 - me said:
if you engaged your brain, i’d have nothing left to say
July 24th, 2008 at 16:48 #185 - z-baumgartner said:
http://forum.planet-f1.com/index.php?t=msg&th=66316&start=160&
Arrgh! McLaren nose horn thingy ala-bmw!
July 24th, 2008 at 16:48 #186 - Jordan Allen said:
There’s a mean joke here but is way too easy to claim any credit….
July 24th, 2008 at 17:40 #187 - Jordan Allen said:
Ali, first of all pagan Druid/Celtic Scottish/Irish rituals are considered to be an excellent way of developing race strategies provided if of course you can speak/read Gaelic
Jordan F1 in Fantasy Racers is just merely comfirming this when a certain red-haired banshee told me in a dream that Kubica going to win in Montreal, followed by Heidfeld, …….., Glock, Massa, and Trulli. There was thunder when she mentioned the name of the third placed driver, but I should have asked her to repeat that as I was sure she said Barrichello….
Have not seen her since, my fault for asking her for a date….
How hard can it be? There’s an on/off switch. that it. In thirty minutes it stops. Some of the water that is used with the rice is turned to steam to heat teh rice, and the other is used to hyrate the rice grains. You then have to scoop out the rice onto your plate as the damn stuff even sticks in clumps to the the rice cooker/steamer, then it will stick to your spoon, but most of all it will stick to itself. Finally if you leave a 1 cm gap in your chopsticks, you can stab the rice with your chopsticks and scoop it up into your mouth, like you do with ice cream.
Do not worry about sake. I promise you will will not taste aits aftertaste… I figure you will be out like a light in mid gulp.
Chopsticks. Leave 1 cm gap between chopsticks. Like how you use a spoon to eat ice cream, stab, then bring up to mouth. You eat clumps of rice, not grains.
I must admit that however pleasing to the eye the Grid Girls may or may not be, exactly what purpose do they serve standing in front of a F1 car with a stupid banner that has the name, car number, and cut of the flag of the country of origin of the driver?
July 24th, 2008 at 18:26 #188 - Jordan Allen said:
Me, do you really think that Christine could have handled being absent-minded at on her wedding day if she were “engaged to her brain”?
Like since the brain to controll all movements of the body, I think it would hav been quite hard for Christine to walk down the asile with her brain waiting at the alter… The poor brain would have been ditched by her body…..
Better for her sake that you beat her brain to Christine.
I think we have all been watching those Coke Zero commericals one too many times…
July 25th, 2008 at 12:42 #189 - Alianora La Canta said:
you can get those though: {me – 13 comments ago}
Now that looks cool – maybe I can convince my mum to buy one
Force India’s new seamless shift gearbox brings two tenths of a second, not two seconds!! {z-baumgartner – 12 comments ago}
Would have been cool if it had brought two seconds…
Oooh. Honda anvil wing!! {z-baumgartner – 6 comments ago}
That looks stylish. Very like the Red Bull wing, except that this one improves the paint scheme instead of just being an extra to it.
Ali, first of all pagan Druid/Celtic Scottish/Irish rituals are considered to be an excellent way of developing race strategies provided if of course you can speak/read Gaelic {Jordan Allen – 2 comments ago}
Ah, now that explains everything!
How hard can it be? There’s an on/off switch. that it. {Jordan Allen – 2 comments ago}
My food processor supposedly has just an on/off setting and I still get that wrong. How come these problems do not transfer to computers is a mystery.
Chopsticks. Leave 1 cm gap between chopsticks. Like how you use a spoon to eat ice cream, stab, then bring up to mouth. You eat clumps of rice, not grains. {Jordan Allen – 2 comments ago}
When I’ve figured out a configuration of chopstick that allows me to hold the sticks 1cm apart, I’ll try that. At the moment, the ends must either be a long way from each other or braced on something, otherwise I can’t hold the sticks.
however pleasing to the eye the Grid Girls may or may not be, exactly what purpose do they serve {Jordan Allen – 2 comments ago}
I was hoping F1 Racing and the grid girl would be able to answer that one…