July 15, 2009
It's An Ow-My-Back! Day
Gee, THANKS, Mr Trucker-Delivery-Person! It's nice to know that we get the value we pay for with your company!
130-some-odd boxes. Nearly two tons worth of books. I'm an achy little duckie tonight. Of course, tomorrow we get to open all these boxes, check in all the books, and put them on the shelves. Whee...
Blogging will resume Friday, after I stop being so whiney and complainy.
Picture Unrelated
We're crazy-go-nuts at the Duck U. Bookstore right now. We just got our Big McLargeHuge shipment of used textbooks for the Fall Semester (one month away, dear heavens!). Unfortunately, Mr Trucker-Delivery-Person decided that, since the loading dock was a couple of inches shorter than the back of his semi-trailer, he couldn't use his palletjack to bring the three pallets worth of boxes into the store... but he could stack the boxes on the loading dock just fine, and not one step closer to the Bookstore.Gee, THANKS, Mr Trucker-Delivery-Person! It's nice to know that we get the value we pay for with your company!
130-some-odd boxes. Nearly two tons worth of books. I'm an achy little duckie tonight. Of course, tomorrow we get to open all these boxes, check in all the books, and put them on the shelves. Whee...
Blogging will resume Friday, after I stop being so whiney and complainy.
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July 14, 2009
Once Again, A Virus... I Think
So Monday night, I'm visiting Instapundit's place, and my antivirus suite starts screaming at me. While I believe it thought it caught everything, and nothing showed up as bad on Malwarebyte's Anti-Malware, I just wasn't sure.
It seemed too easy.
So, remembering the nightmare I had last time, I just decided to skip all the headaches and jumped right to a full reformat. I began right when the first pitch of tonight's Major League Baseball All-Star Game was thrown, and after all the updating, installing, UNinstalling, pushing, shoving and weeping was through, it was just about four hours later.
Not bad, actually.
It seemed too easy.
So, remembering the nightmare I had last time, I just decided to skip all the headaches and jumped right to a full reformat. I began right when the first pitch of tonight's Major League Baseball All-Star Game was thrown, and after all the updating, installing, UNinstalling, pushing, shoving and weeping was through, it was just about four hours later.
Not bad, actually.
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July 12, 2009
Rubens Barrichello's Entire Post-Race Interview
Taken from the BBC's race coverage, this is a transcription of their post-race interview with disgruntled BrawnGP driver Rubens Barrichello:
Reporter: Where did it go wrong?
Rubens Barrichello: Well, I guess it's uh on the strategy, on the pit lane. Uhm it was a good show from the team how to lose a race today. For me it's um terrible upset with the way things gone because you know it uh... I did all I had to do. I had to go first on the first corner and that's all I did. And then uh and then uh they made me lose the race. Basically.
Reporter: What can you do from a driver's point of view? Will you sit down and talk about this because it's not the first time it's seem to have happened.
RB: I don't know. I mean if uh you know if uh... If it is really what's going on, it's uh we're gonna end up losing both championships and thats uh that's even more terrible, so (clears throat) I feel sorry for myself. I feel sorry for the team. Uhhhh... to be very honest with you, I wish I can get on the plane and go back home right now. I don't want to talk to anybody in the team because I don't wanna understand, it'll be a lot of 'blah blah blah blah blah' and I don't wanna hear that.
Reporter: Are you saying the team are definitely favoring Jensen?
RB: No, I'm not saying that, I'm saying that there was a good show how to lose a race today. I'm not saying that they favor anyone.
Reporter: Thank you.
Reporter: Where did it go wrong?
Rubens Barrichello: Well, I guess it's uh on the strategy, on the pit lane. Uhm it was a good show from the team how to lose a race today. For me it's um terrible upset with the way things gone because you know it uh... I did all I had to do. I had to go first on the first corner and that's all I did. And then uh and then uh they made me lose the race. Basically.
Reporter: What can you do from a driver's point of view? Will you sit down and talk about this because it's not the first time it's seem to have happened.
RB: I don't know. I mean if uh you know if uh... If it is really what's going on, it's uh we're gonna end up losing both championships and thats uh that's even more terrible, so (clears throat) I feel sorry for myself. I feel sorry for the team. Uhhhh... to be very honest with you, I wish I can get on the plane and go back home right now. I don't want to talk to anybody in the team because I don't wanna understand, it'll be a lot of 'blah blah blah blah blah' and I don't wanna hear that.
Reporter: Are you saying the team are definitely favoring Jensen?
RB: No, I'm not saying that, I'm saying that there was a good show how to lose a race today. I'm not saying that they favor anyone.
Reporter: Thank you.
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F1 Update!: Germany 2009!
What a confusing, irritating little race that was. THIS is your F1 Update! for the German Grand Prix.
*AUSSIE RULES: He shattered his leg and arm in an off-season bicycling accident. Since the last race, he had surgery to remove some screws from his leg, though the titanium rod is still in place. It took him 130 races to get his first pole position, a F1 record for both futility and perseverance. He had gone 130 races without a victory. Until today. Mark Webber, Australian, Red Bull driver, has finally... finally... won a Formula 1 Grand Prix. Even a well-deserved drive-through penalty for his contact with Rubens Barrichello at the beginning of the race, a penalty that he agreed with, could do little to slow him down.
*BRAWN DROOLS: After today's race, it has become obvious that the Brawns are no longer the fastest cars on track. What may very well be the case is that they may not be the second or even the third fastest. Toyota and Renault had faster laptimes than either Brawn, and Ferrari was on the podium. McLaren's weight-adjusted speeds in qualifying show them to have been faster than the Brawns as well. In past seasons, we've seen smaller teams, like Williams, come out like a house afire but by midseason the bigger teams have usually caught up. We may be seeing that here. For all their talent, Brawn just can't throw 200 people at a problem like Ferrari or McLaren or Toyota. We're not even sure they have 200 people in their factory. What was looking like a runaway season suddenly looks much, much different with eight races to go.
*DRIVER OF THE RACE: Well, gee, I wonder:
*TEAM OF THE RACE: Their third straight one-two podium finish, 18.5 19.5 points behind in the Constructor's championship, and looking as dominant now as Brawn did at the beginning of the season, Red Bull is looking like the team to beat the rest of the way. They're also the first team this season to have both their drivers each win a race.
*MOVE OF THE RACE: At first, we here at F1U! were pretty sure there wasn't going to be a MotR... if there was anything decent past the first lap, we didn't see it. It turns out that there was a very nice pass while our staff was in the loo. On lap 17, Jensen Button came out of the pits with fresh tires and a full load of fuel, but was behind Sebastien Buemi's Toro Rosso. Going into turn 2, he put himself on the inside of the rookie, and all the way through the turn 2-3-4 complex the two cars were side-by-side. Button had the better exit position from 4, however, and won the battle. A tidy little pass that made what turned out to be the Moooooo-ooove of the Race look even worse by example.
*MOOOOOO-OOOVE OF THE RACE: Adrian Sutil was flying high in his Force India. After qualifying seventh, he was looking pretty good for the team's first ever points-paying finish. He swooped into the pits in eighth. Coming out with new shoes and a full tank of gas, he found himself side-by-side with Kimi Raikkonen's Ferrari. Wanting to hold his ground and not let the red car go by, he nudged himself over onto the racing line... right into the side of the Ferrari. Carbon fiber flew as the left-front endplate of his front wing was torn off, completely destroying the front end grip of the Force India. Dreams of points disappeared into the night as Sutil had to limp around for an entire lap before he could get a new nose put on, rejoining the race in 18th. Yo, Adrian! Here's your Moooooooo-ooove!
*DRIVER QUOTES OF THE RACE:
more...
*AUSSIE RULES: He shattered his leg and arm in an off-season bicycling accident. Since the last race, he had surgery to remove some screws from his leg, though the titanium rod is still in place. It took him 130 races to get his first pole position, a F1 record for both futility and perseverance. He had gone 130 races without a victory. Until today. Mark Webber, Australian, Red Bull driver, has finally... finally... won a Formula 1 Grand Prix. Even a well-deserved drive-through penalty for his contact with Rubens Barrichello at the beginning of the race, a penalty that he agreed with, could do little to slow him down.
*BRAWN DROOLS: After today's race, it has become obvious that the Brawns are no longer the fastest cars on track. What may very well be the case is that they may not be the second or even the third fastest. Toyota and Renault had faster laptimes than either Brawn, and Ferrari was on the podium. McLaren's weight-adjusted speeds in qualifying show them to have been faster than the Brawns as well. In past seasons, we've seen smaller teams, like Williams, come out like a house afire but by midseason the bigger teams have usually caught up. We may be seeing that here. For all their talent, Brawn just can't throw 200 people at a problem like Ferrari or McLaren or Toyota. We're not even sure they have 200 people in their factory. What was looking like a runaway season suddenly looks much, much different with eight races to go.
*DRIVER OF THE RACE: Well, gee, I wonder:
*TEAM OF THE RACE: Their third straight one-two podium finish, 18.5 19.5 points behind in the Constructor's championship, and looking as dominant now as Brawn did at the beginning of the season, Red Bull is looking like the team to beat the rest of the way. They're also the first team this season to have both their drivers each win a race.
*MOVE OF THE RACE: At first, we here at F1U! were pretty sure there wasn't going to be a MotR... if there was anything decent past the first lap, we didn't see it. It turns out that there was a very nice pass while our staff was in the loo. On lap 17, Jensen Button came out of the pits with fresh tires and a full load of fuel, but was behind Sebastien Buemi's Toro Rosso. Going into turn 2, he put himself on the inside of the rookie, and all the way through the turn 2-3-4 complex the two cars were side-by-side. Button had the better exit position from 4, however, and won the battle. A tidy little pass that made what turned out to be the Moooooo-ooove of the Race look even worse by example.
*MOOOOOO-OOOVE OF THE RACE: Adrian Sutil was flying high in his Force India. After qualifying seventh, he was looking pretty good for the team's first ever points-paying finish. He swooped into the pits in eighth. Coming out with new shoes and a full tank of gas, he found himself side-by-side with Kimi Raikkonen's Ferrari. Wanting to hold his ground and not let the red car go by, he nudged himself over onto the racing line... right into the side of the Ferrari. Carbon fiber flew as the left-front endplate of his front wing was torn off, completely destroying the front end grip of the Force India. Dreams of points disappeared into the night as Sutil had to limp around for an entire lap before he could get a new nose put on, rejoining the race in 18th. Yo, Adrian! Here's your Moooooooo-ooove!
*DRIVER QUOTES OF THE RACE:
more...
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July 11, 2009
F1 Quals: Germany 2009!
Ladies and gentlemen, history has been made today in what might have been the most suspenseful Quals this season! Here's the provisional grid, and prepare to be amazed:
Q1 started out dry, but towards the end it began to rain, which pretty much put paid to some strategies. SeaBass and Glockenspiel were both waiting until the end to make their push for Q2 and wound up shooting themselves in the foot. To boot, Glockenspiel wound up blocking HWMNBN who was on a hotlap towards the end of the session. While HWMNBN still made it into Q2, Timo was penalized after quals was over and will actually be starting from dead last.
Q2 is where the excitement occurred. Everybody charged out of the pitlane on dry tires, but it took less than a half-lap to teams to realize that intermediates were the right way to go. First Kazoo Nakajima went spiraling off-track, followed quickly by Felipe Massa. Then into the exact same turn that sent the previous two drivers pirouetting, we had three cars go side-by-side in an impending pile of carbon-fibre wreckage. Miracles (or driver skills) do occur, however, and all fifteen cars made it back to the pits for Inters... except for Red Bull's Mark Webber, who decided to give drys a try for a hot-lap. It didn't work, and he wound up desperately crawling back to the pit, ego damaged but his car in one piece.
Everybody turned a lap or two on the Inters, but Brawn's Rubens Barrichello, maybe the best judge of weather on the grid, found a gap in the rain and slapped on a set of supersofts. His 1:34 wound up nearly a second-and-a-half faster than anybody else could manage as the rain began to fall again.
Meanwhile, Nelson Piquet Jr managed to do something he had never succeeded in doing before: he outqualified his teammate, HWMNBN. Look for Piquet to be found dismembered and eviscerated in the morning.
The story of Q2, however, was the history-making session of Force India's Adrian F'n Sutil. Never before has a Force India car made it out of Q2... in fact, on those occasions when they've made it into Q2, they've usually been 14th or 15th at the end. Not today. Sutil, driving on his home track, found a nice groove in the weather and managed to hoist himself into Q3 with the third best lap of the session. In doing so, he has earned himself a nickname: F'n, said in admiration. Amazing job... but it would only get better.
In Q3, it looked like it would be the usual routine: Brawns and Red Bulls fighting for the pole, and in truth, that's exactly what happened... but not before the reborn McLarens of Hamilton and Kovaleininninnie made it known that they had to be taken seriously. Perhaps not for a win, but the mere fact that both drivers were in Q3 means that the recent aero changes have fixed whatever ailed the Glare with Wheels.
A quick flurry of fast times in the last couple minutes of the session juggled the top four positions. Both Brawns and both Red Bulls were on pole at one time or another, but Mark Webber, the last to come around on a hot-lap, claimed his first ever pole position and looks to be the favorite for the race by far.
All of which, however, paled in comparison to the performance of Adrian F'n Sutil. Despite having more fuel onboard than the three cars behind him (678.5kg for Sutil to 673.5kg for Massa), he still brought his Force India home in seventh, the best ever for that team. Here's the best part: it's a legitimate result. We may very well be seeing the newest entry into annals of Bizarro Season... but it's great to see. Adrian F'n Sutil, we salute you!
Fuel loads show that Red Bull and McLaren have both apparently caught up with the Brawns. Where it was common to see them on pole with the most fuel, now Button and Barrichello both have nearly 10kg of fuel LESS onboard, and nearly 15kg less than the polesitter. That might be because of the cool track temps (the Brawn car is easy on the tires, but that also means that on cold tracks it's hard for them to get heat into the rubber, ergo less traction), or it might just mean that the team hasn't been able to keep up with the development pace of the other two.
Looks to be a promising race on Sunday... we might just see Webber get his first ever victory, and possibly Force India's first ever points-paying finish. The race is on Fox at 2pm Pond Time, so see you then!
Q1 started out dry, but towards the end it began to rain, which pretty much put paid to some strategies. SeaBass and Glockenspiel were both waiting until the end to make their push for Q2 and wound up shooting themselves in the foot. To boot, Glockenspiel wound up blocking HWMNBN who was on a hotlap towards the end of the session. While HWMNBN still made it into Q2, Timo was penalized after quals was over and will actually be starting from dead last.
Q2 is where the excitement occurred. Everybody charged out of the pitlane on dry tires, but it took less than a half-lap to teams to realize that intermediates were the right way to go. First Kazoo Nakajima went spiraling off-track, followed quickly by Felipe Massa. Then into the exact same turn that sent the previous two drivers pirouetting, we had three cars go side-by-side in an impending pile of carbon-fibre wreckage. Miracles (or driver skills) do occur, however, and all fifteen cars made it back to the pits for Inters... except for Red Bull's Mark Webber, who decided to give drys a try for a hot-lap. It didn't work, and he wound up desperately crawling back to the pit, ego damaged but his car in one piece.
Everybody turned a lap or two on the Inters, but Brawn's Rubens Barrichello, maybe the best judge of weather on the grid, found a gap in the rain and slapped on a set of supersofts. His 1:34 wound up nearly a second-and-a-half faster than anybody else could manage as the rain began to fall again.
Meanwhile, Nelson Piquet Jr managed to do something he had never succeeded in doing before: he outqualified his teammate, HWMNBN. Look for Piquet to be found dismembered and eviscerated in the morning.
The story of Q2, however, was the history-making session of Force India's Adrian F'n Sutil. Never before has a Force India car made it out of Q2... in fact, on those occasions when they've made it into Q2, they've usually been 14th or 15th at the end. Not today. Sutil, driving on his home track, found a nice groove in the weather and managed to hoist himself into Q3 with the third best lap of the session. In doing so, he has earned himself a nickname: F'n, said in admiration. Amazing job... but it would only get better.
In Q3, it looked like it would be the usual routine: Brawns and Red Bulls fighting for the pole, and in truth, that's exactly what happened... but not before the reborn McLarens of Hamilton and Kovaleininninnie made it known that they had to be taken seriously. Perhaps not for a win, but the mere fact that both drivers were in Q3 means that the recent aero changes have fixed whatever ailed the Glare with Wheels.
A quick flurry of fast times in the last couple minutes of the session juggled the top four positions. Both Brawns and both Red Bulls were on pole at one time or another, but Mark Webber, the last to come around on a hot-lap, claimed his first ever pole position and looks to be the favorite for the race by far.
All of which, however, paled in comparison to the performance of Adrian F'n Sutil. Despite having more fuel onboard than the three cars behind him (678.5kg for Sutil to 673.5kg for Massa), he still brought his Force India home in seventh, the best ever for that team. Here's the best part: it's a legitimate result. We may very well be seeing the newest entry into annals of Bizarro Season... but it's great to see. Adrian F'n Sutil, we salute you!
Fuel loads show that Red Bull and McLaren have both apparently caught up with the Brawns. Where it was common to see them on pole with the most fuel, now Button and Barrichello both have nearly 10kg of fuel LESS onboard, and nearly 15kg less than the polesitter. That might be because of the cool track temps (the Brawn car is easy on the tires, but that also means that on cold tracks it's hard for them to get heat into the rubber, ergo less traction), or it might just mean that the team hasn't been able to keep up with the development pace of the other two.
Looks to be a promising race on Sunday... we might just see Webber get his first ever victory, and possibly Force India's first ever points-paying finish. The race is on Fox at 2pm Pond Time, so see you then!
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F1 Quals: Germany 2009 is DELAYED
There must have been some lightning somewhere between Pond Central and SPEED, because the picture for their coverage of Quals was breaking up or freezing every twenty seconds or so. Completely unwatchable, so I'm currently downloading the BBC's version and I'll report on quals later today.
Please, no spoilers until I post about it here.
Please, no spoilers until I post about it here.
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July 10, 2009
F1 Practice: Germany 2009!
It's nice to have F1 back on the telly!
Now that we're halfway through season, it's just possible that we're starting to see the big teams beginning to catch up with Brawn and Red Bull. None other than Lewis Hamilton took fast-lap honors in P2 today, beating out Seb Vettel and Jensen Button. Of course, the usual warning about "trusting no time set in Practice" applies, but it was still kinda good to see McLaren back up front.
Never mind that Heikki Kovaleininninnie was 17th.
The current weather forecast for the race is cool and rainy, which is exactly the conditions we had today. Might make for a fun race, that.
Unfortunately, if you trust the rumors flying about, this is going to be the last F1 race for SeaBass. He's never quite gotten a handle on the series, which is quite puzzling considering the success he had in ChampCar. It's not the same type of racing, obviously, but it's not like he's Yuji Ide or something: SeaBass has talent!
Offtrack, there's been another falling out between FOTA and FIA. Someone said something, or the table was the wrong shape, or the team principals didn't like the water, or whatever it was, the FOTA teams marched out of a meeting with the FIA en masse. For all we know, the breakaway series is still possible. Tell you what... if there's any solid news, I'll report it, but until then just assume the two sides are grumbling at each other.
Feh.
Quals tomorrow!
Now that we're halfway through season, it's just possible that we're starting to see the big teams beginning to catch up with Brawn and Red Bull. None other than Lewis Hamilton took fast-lap honors in P2 today, beating out Seb Vettel and Jensen Button. Of course, the usual warning about "trusting no time set in Practice" applies, but it was still kinda good to see McLaren back up front.
Never mind that Heikki Kovaleininninnie was 17th.
The current weather forecast for the race is cool and rainy, which is exactly the conditions we had today. Might make for a fun race, that.
Unfortunately, if you trust the rumors flying about, this is going to be the last F1 race for SeaBass. He's never quite gotten a handle on the series, which is quite puzzling considering the success he had in ChampCar. It's not the same type of racing, obviously, but it's not like he's Yuji Ide or something: SeaBass has talent!
Offtrack, there's been another falling out between FOTA and FIA. Someone said something, or the table was the wrong shape, or the team principals didn't like the water, or whatever it was, the FOTA teams marched out of a meeting with the FIA en masse. For all we know, the breakaway series is still possible. Tell you what... if there's any solid news, I'll report it, but until then just assume the two sides are grumbling at each other.
Feh.
Quals tomorrow!
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July 09, 2009
The OCotP: An Update
I must admit to thinking that I wasn't going to see the Official Car of the Pond, a '96 Camry, in drivable condition ever again when it rolled away on the back of the tow truck this morning. The horrid sounds coming from the engine were just too horrid for me to think any other way.
Within an hour of it getting into Tom the Miracle Worker's hands, however, he gave me hope. The timing belt and its associated gizmos had gone south, he said. He continued by saying that they're rated for around 90K miles, and the OCotP has 97K and change on its odometer. So I had gotten good life out of it, but it needed to be replaced. Fortunately, there's a kit for that that's actually cheaper than parting it out, so that's good.
The horrid noise I had been hearing was the water pump, tearing itself to pieces. Tom said that he hadn't seen one fail quite this spectacularly in a while. Seems that the pump is driven off the timing assembly in my specific type of Camry, and when the timing belt slipped its gear and wound up being off-setting by about 10o, the water pump began to shed chunks of itself. That also caused the big puddle, as it began squirting radiator fluid hither and yon.
Repairs (well, replacing) both devices would be pretty straightforward, though not particularly easy considering the layout of the Camry's 4-cylinder engine in the compartment. It's pretty well packed in there, with no real elbow room to work. Still, The Miracle Worker said that he didn't expect any problems doing it... and I believed him. The family has been going to his shop for 20-some-odd years; if he's talking about cars and he says something is so, it is so.
The bad news was that he couldn't actually run the OCotP's motor long enough to tell if the disintegration of the water pump and the terrible timing had caused serious damage to the internals, like driveshaft bearings and the like. "Best not to think about it right now," he said, sending a shiver of fear up my feathers. "It's at least a 50-50 chance you'll be fine, probably a lot better than that. If the OCotP was my car, I'd go ahead and do the repairs."
Okay. About seven hours later, he calls me at work. "Want some good news? There's no damage to the engine, she's purrin' like a catgirl." (note: he didn't actually say "catgirl")
In fact, the car was almost ready to be picked up. It would have been, except as they were refilling the radiator, they discovered that there was a crack in the plastic overflow reservoir, and they had applied a good squirt of industrial strength epoxy to it. It'll be like new, except it'll take overnight for it to dry.
What with towing and taxes and such, it'll come to just over $1000, but that's a damsite better than what I had been fearing... and I get my car back! My wonderful, happy, comfortable car... the OCotP is coming home!
Within an hour of it getting into Tom the Miracle Worker's hands, however, he gave me hope. The timing belt and its associated gizmos had gone south, he said. He continued by saying that they're rated for around 90K miles, and the OCotP has 97K and change on its odometer. So I had gotten good life out of it, but it needed to be replaced. Fortunately, there's a kit for that that's actually cheaper than parting it out, so that's good.
The horrid noise I had been hearing was the water pump, tearing itself to pieces. Tom said that he hadn't seen one fail quite this spectacularly in a while. Seems that the pump is driven off the timing assembly in my specific type of Camry, and when the timing belt slipped its gear and wound up being off-setting by about 10o, the water pump began to shed chunks of itself. That also caused the big puddle, as it began squirting radiator fluid hither and yon.
Repairs (well, replacing) both devices would be pretty straightforward, though not particularly easy considering the layout of the Camry's 4-cylinder engine in the compartment. It's pretty well packed in there, with no real elbow room to work. Still, The Miracle Worker said that he didn't expect any problems doing it... and I believed him. The family has been going to his shop for 20-some-odd years; if he's talking about cars and he says something is so, it is so.
The bad news was that he couldn't actually run the OCotP's motor long enough to tell if the disintegration of the water pump and the terrible timing had caused serious damage to the internals, like driveshaft bearings and the like. "Best not to think about it right now," he said, sending a shiver of fear up my feathers. "It's at least a 50-50 chance you'll be fine, probably a lot better than that. If the OCotP was my car, I'd go ahead and do the repairs."
Okay. About seven hours later, he calls me at work. "Want some good news? There's no damage to the engine, she's purrin' like a catgirl." (note: he didn't actually say "catgirl")
In fact, the car was almost ready to be picked up. It would have been, except as they were refilling the radiator, they discovered that there was a crack in the plastic overflow reservoir, and they had applied a good squirt of industrial strength epoxy to it. It'll be like new, except it'll take overnight for it to dry.
What with towing and taxes and such, it'll come to just over $1000, but that's a damsite better than what I had been fearing... and I get my car back! My wonderful, happy, comfortable car... the OCotP is coming home!
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July 08, 2009
Four Years!
Exactly four years ago today, Wonderduck's Pond opened for business on MuNu!
Along the way, though, I think I've managed to put some decent posts together. Posts like "In The Church of Speed" or "YOUR F1 Glossary", the "Dear Dad" letters for the Sky Girls OVA and the Sky Girls TV series, and the "Dear Son" reply for Zipang!. Then there were the more serious What If...? posts What if the Enterprise was in Pearl Harbor on Dec 7, 1941? and Midway: Timing Is Everything, the two of which I consider my best work here.
But people come for the F1 Updates, and I've had a couple of good ones in the 80-some-odd races I've covered. Races like the 2008 Belgian Grand Prix, or my collection of posts for the 2005 US Grand Prix from the Bl**ger version of The Pond. There's also been a quick history of the Tire Wars and the study of "Clean vs Dirty".
One personal highlight was the creation and release of my AMV, "...Angel". The youtube version still gets comments every now and again, and has been watched over 12000 times and has an "awesome!" rating to boot. One of these days, I've got to do a DVD quality version...
Of course, there's been some darker days as well. There was The Cardiac Incident, the death of my Grandmother, and the death of "my" cat Rumpole. Blogging made these events go by a little easier.
And that's thanks to you, my readers. You've made the past four years fun... now let's aim for year five!
Partytime at The Pond
Pulled from the ghetto that was Bl**ger by Big Poppa Pixy himself back when he was out hunting talent (as opposed to now, when talent begs to be let in), a lot has happened since then. Since that simple first post ("Honey, I'm home!"), there have been 1222 other posts (this is number 1224), 3176 comments, and a whole lot of lame attempts at humor.Along the way, though, I think I've managed to put some decent posts together. Posts like "In The Church of Speed" or "YOUR F1 Glossary", the "Dear Dad" letters for the Sky Girls OVA and the Sky Girls TV series, and the "Dear Son" reply for Zipang!. Then there were the more serious What If...? posts What if the Enterprise was in Pearl Harbor on Dec 7, 1941? and Midway: Timing Is Everything, the two of which I consider my best work here.
But people come for the F1 Updates, and I've had a couple of good ones in the 80-some-odd races I've covered. Races like the 2008 Belgian Grand Prix, or my collection of posts for the 2005 US Grand Prix from the Bl**ger version of The Pond. There's also been a quick history of the Tire Wars and the study of "Clean vs Dirty".
One personal highlight was the creation and release of my AMV, "...Angel". The youtube version still gets comments every now and again, and has been watched over 12000 times and has an "awesome!" rating to boot. One of these days, I've got to do a DVD quality version...
Of course, there's been some darker days as well. There was The Cardiac Incident, the death of my Grandmother, and the death of "my" cat Rumpole. Blogging made these events go by a little easier.
And that's thanks to you, my readers. You've made the past four years fun... now let's aim for year five!
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July 07, 2009
I Get It, I Get It, ENOUGH ALREADY!!!
It's been a bad day.
I woke up this morning with blood coming from a place that blood shouldn't ever be coming from. I managed to get a doctor's appointment on short notice, and drove there this afternoon... about 40 minutes away at highway speeds from the Duck U. Bookstore.
After being poked and prodded and peered into ("Moooooooooon Riiiiiverrrrr..."), I was given more-or-less good news, though with one caveat: don't lift anything heavy for a while.
Oh. With our big shipment of used books coming next week. Oh dear.
After that, I drove to the Old Home Pond, to have dinner with Momzerduck and Ph.Duck.
On the way home after that, I was almost back to Pond Central when my engine suddenly started sounding like someone had put a can full of gravel into it. I parked, went in, and called Ph.Duck, he of the high level of car knowledge... he said he'd be over as soon as he could.
So, I relaxed for a few minutes and checked the blogs of some of my online friends... where I found that Steven unintentionally trolled me. Me, the KyoAnimaniac.
Then Ph.Duck pulled in and, when I joined him in the parking lot, said "well, that trail of fluid isn't a good sign... and neither is that puddle of fluid under the front of the car."
Oh, fsck.
So I have to call Ricotta's tomorrow and figure out how to get the Official Car of the Pond towed there, without me having to be present, as I have to work... and then brace myself for the possibility that I'm going to have to get another car, as the OCotP is 13 years old and may not be worth repairing, depending on the diagnosis.
Enough already, I give up.
UPDATE: Yes, I know I'm whining. Yes, I know it's not good fodder for a post. I don't care, I needed to do it.
I woke up this morning with blood coming from a place that blood shouldn't ever be coming from. I managed to get a doctor's appointment on short notice, and drove there this afternoon... about 40 minutes away at highway speeds from the Duck U. Bookstore.
After being poked and prodded and peered into ("Moooooooooon Riiiiiverrrrr..."), I was given more-or-less good news, though with one caveat: don't lift anything heavy for a while.
Oh. With our big shipment of used books coming next week. Oh dear.
After that, I drove to the Old Home Pond, to have dinner with Momzerduck and Ph.Duck.
On the way home after that, I was almost back to Pond Central when my engine suddenly started sounding like someone had put a can full of gravel into it. I parked, went in, and called Ph.Duck, he of the high level of car knowledge... he said he'd be over as soon as he could.
So, I relaxed for a few minutes and checked the blogs of some of my online friends... where I found that Steven unintentionally trolled me. Me, the KyoAnimaniac.
Then Ph.Duck pulled in and, when I joined him in the parking lot, said "well, that trail of fluid isn't a good sign... and neither is that puddle of fluid under the front of the car."
Oh, fsck.
So I have to call Ricotta's tomorrow and figure out how to get the Official Car of the Pond towed there, without me having to be present, as I have to work... and then brace myself for the possibility that I'm going to have to get another car, as the OCotP is 13 years old and may not be worth repairing, depending on the diagnosis.
Enough already, I give up.
UPDATE: Yes, I know I'm whining. Yes, I know it's not good fodder for a post. I don't care, I needed to do it.
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July 06, 2009
F1 on TV: Germany 2009!
*tap tap tap* Is this thing on? It is? Okay, good.
*ahem*
FINALLY. It's been three weeks since the last race (or at least it will be, on Sunday), and the layoff has been driving me bugnutty. I even watched the entire NASCAR race on Saturday night, and I never do that (bring back the name "Firecracker 400", NASCAR... what's wrong with you guys?). But, finally, we're back to the real stuff.
And, even better, we're returning to a good track in Germany. The last time we were at the Nurburgring GP-Strecke, aka "Nurb Jr", it was the 2007 European Grand Prix. There was a spot of rain and Markus Winklehock's Spyker (wow, a Spyker siting!) wound up leading by over 30 seconds after the first couple of laps. (Trivia point: Winklehock is the only driver in F1 history to start both last and first in the same race, thanks to the red flag that came out while he was leading)
Ah, but that was then, and this is now. Spyker is now Force India and Winklehock hasn't driven a F1 car again. But we're back at the Nurb Jr, and all is right with the world. Let's take a look at the track map:
It was the Dunlop Kehre that we had the most fun in 2007, as it sits at the bottom of a fairly steep downhill section and cars would be swimming completely out of control at that point.
Alas, Nurb Jr isn't a patch on the infamous Nordschleife, aka "The Green Hell," but it's a helluva lot safer. For those who might be interested, here's an onboard video from 2007 when Nick Heidfeld took a BMW F1.06 around the Nurb at about 2/3rds speed. Here's a better video of the track at full speed, with other cars.
Oh, yeah, the race. It's a fairly decent high-speed circuit, with the added bonus of not really having a "technical" section (though turns 1 thru 4 basically serve the same purpose). However, the turns fairly scream for a car with good grip, so this would be a "low-medium" downforce track. I'm guessing the FIA'll be using the supersoft/medium compounds again.
We'll get to see Practice 2 LIVE on SPEED this Friday, from 7a to 840a. Quals will be plausibly live on Saturday from 7a to 830a, also on SPEED.
But the race will be Sunday, from 2p to 4p, on FOX. Check your local listings!
See ya then!
*ahem*
FINALLY. It's been three weeks since the last race (or at least it will be, on Sunday), and the layoff has been driving me bugnutty. I even watched the entire NASCAR race on Saturday night, and I never do that (bring back the name "Firecracker 400", NASCAR... what's wrong with you guys?). But, finally, we're back to the real stuff.
And, even better, we're returning to a good track in Germany. The last time we were at the Nurburgring GP-Strecke, aka "Nurb Jr", it was the 2007 European Grand Prix. There was a spot of rain and Markus Winklehock's Spyker (wow, a Spyker siting!) wound up leading by over 30 seconds after the first couple of laps. (Trivia point: Winklehock is the only driver in F1 history to start both last and first in the same race, thanks to the red flag that came out while he was leading)
Ah, but that was then, and this is now. Spyker is now Force India and Winklehock hasn't driven a F1 car again. But we're back at the Nurb Jr, and all is right with the world. Let's take a look at the track map:
It was the Dunlop Kehre that we had the most fun in 2007, as it sits at the bottom of a fairly steep downhill section and cars would be swimming completely out of control at that point.
Alas, Nurb Jr isn't a patch on the infamous Nordschleife, aka "The Green Hell," but it's a helluva lot safer. For those who might be interested, here's an onboard video from 2007 when Nick Heidfeld took a BMW F1.06 around the Nurb at about 2/3rds speed. Here's a better video of the track at full speed, with other cars.
Oh, yeah, the race. It's a fairly decent high-speed circuit, with the added bonus of not really having a "technical" section (though turns 1 thru 4 basically serve the same purpose). However, the turns fairly scream for a car with good grip, so this would be a "low-medium" downforce track. I'm guessing the FIA'll be using the supersoft/medium compounds again.
We'll get to see Practice 2 LIVE on SPEED this Friday, from 7a to 840a. Quals will be plausibly live on Saturday from 7a to 830a, also on SPEED.
But the race will be Sunday, from 2p to 4p, on FOX. Check your local listings!
See ya then!
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July 04, 2009
Darth Bernie Is An Idiot
I suppose it isn't any surprise to hear that Bernie Ecclestone is an idiot. What is a surprise is just exactly how much of an idiot he is.
In 2005, Ecclestone insulted Danica Patrick and women racers in general saying that "(He's) got one of those wonderful ideas ... women should be dressed in white like all the other domestic appliances." A few years earlier, he said that a female racer "...would have to be a woman who was blowing away the boys. ... What I would really like to see happen is to find the right girl, perhaps a black girl with super looks, preferably Jewish or Muslim, who speaks Spanish."
In 2008, he laughed off Spanish fans that wore blackface and were audibly shouting racist remarks at Lewis Hamilton, saying "I don't think it was anything to do with racism. There were a few people in Spain and that was probably beginning as a joke rather than anything abusive. I think people look and read into things that are not there. All those things are all a bit of a joke and people are entitled to support who they want to support. I don't see why people should have been (insulted by it). These things are people expressing themselves."
However, we've discovered that Darth Bernie believes that Adolph Hitler was a great leader who "got things done," and that "...we did a terrible thing when we supported the idea of getting rid of Saddam Hussein. He was the only one who could control that country. It was the same (with the Taleban)."
He went on to say that Hitler really wasn't a dictator because he might have had to have been convinced to do "things". Things like, oh, I dunno, the Holocaust, Bernie? Obviously someone's never read Mein Kampf.
Darth Bernie said these things in the context of an interview regarding the Emperor Max Mosley, saying that he'd do a "super job leading Britain. He's a good leader with people. I don't think (Mosley's) background would be a problem."
It's curious that Ecclestone is talking about dictators like Hitler and Hussein while speaking about Mosley, who's recently been accused of being a dictator himself.
I'd call all of this part of the F1 Bizarro Season that's ongoing, but to be honest it's truly par for the course for Ecclestone. Sadly, this moron has at least as much power as Mosley in F1.
Adequate representation of me as I think about that fact.
Just once, just one time, I'd like to believe that the leaders of F1 weren't trying to kill off the sport. Yet it's impossible for me to come to any other conclusion. What the hell is going on here???
In 2005, Ecclestone insulted Danica Patrick and women racers in general saying that "(He's) got one of those wonderful ideas ... women should be dressed in white like all the other domestic appliances." A few years earlier, he said that a female racer "...would have to be a woman who was blowing away the boys. ... What I would really like to see happen is to find the right girl, perhaps a black girl with super looks, preferably Jewish or Muslim, who speaks Spanish."
In 2008, he laughed off Spanish fans that wore blackface and were audibly shouting racist remarks at Lewis Hamilton, saying "I don't think it was anything to do with racism. There were a few people in Spain and that was probably beginning as a joke rather than anything abusive. I think people look and read into things that are not there. All those things are all a bit of a joke and people are entitled to support who they want to support. I don't see why people should have been (insulted by it). These things are people expressing themselves."
However, we've discovered that Darth Bernie believes that Adolph Hitler was a great leader who "got things done," and that "...we did a terrible thing when we supported the idea of getting rid of Saddam Hussein. He was the only one who could control that country. It was the same (with the Taleban)."
He went on to say that Hitler really wasn't a dictator because he might have had to have been convinced to do "things". Things like, oh, I dunno, the Holocaust, Bernie? Obviously someone's never read Mein Kampf.
Darth Bernie said these things in the context of an interview regarding the Emperor Max Mosley, saying that he'd do a "super job leading Britain. He's a good leader with people. I don't think (Mosley's) background would be a problem."
It's curious that Ecclestone is talking about dictators like Hitler and Hussein while speaking about Mosley, who's recently been accused of being a dictator himself.
I'd call all of this part of the F1 Bizarro Season that's ongoing, but to be honest it's truly par for the course for Ecclestone. Sadly, this moron has at least as much power as Mosley in F1.
Adequate representation of me as I think about that fact.
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Independence Day 2009
Resolved, that these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved.
-from Richard Henry Lee's resolution of Independence
Resolved, that these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved.
-from Richard Henry Lee's resolution of Independence
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July 03, 2009
Oh, I Gotta Get A Wii Now!
From GameStop's webpage:
I bet they'll sell a million of 'em!
Is it just me, or does anybody else think it'd be bad to take a Wii (or any other videogame console, for that matter) into the bathtub?
I bet they'll sell a million of 'em!
Is it just me, or does anybody else think it'd be bad to take a Wii (or any other videogame console, for that matter) into the bathtub?
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July 02, 2009
Thank You, Nozomi!
About a month ago, I wrote a post entitled "Anytime, Nozomi", wondering when the third of the ARIA series was coming out, and hoping that Arietta, the OVA, would be included when it finally was released.
Today at AnimeExpo, Nozomi came through for us.
ARIA the Origination and the OVA, "Arietta", have been licensed and is "Coming Soon in 2010."
That's a while away, but at least we know it's coming... and it's a happy day!
Of course, the best part is that we'll finally get the finest episode of anime ever on DVD. I can't wait!
...and neither can Alice!
Today at AnimeExpo, Nozomi came through for us.
ARIA the Origination and the OVA, "Arietta", have been licensed and is "Coming Soon in 2010."
That's a while away, but at least we know it's coming... and it's a happy day!
Of course, the best part is that we'll finally get the finest episode of anime ever on DVD. I can't wait!
...and neither can Alice!
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Anime Bowderlization
Throughout the history of anime in the United States, there's been a tendency for some shows to be... well, not censored exactly, but toned down or outright changed a bit for the English dub. From Sailor Moon removing the yuri aspects of Sailor Uranus, Pokemon losing a lot of its more mature aspects, and of course the horrific bastardization of Card Captor Sakura that was Cardcaptors, American dubs have done some truly lousy jobs of translation, either intentionally or not.
However, since I've pretty much only ever watched my anime subtitled, I've managed to miss out on those changes entirely. Until tonight.
Tonight, The Librarian came over for dinner and anime. She brought with her a show she was thinking about showing to her library's anime club, a show I had only heard about, never seen: Kodomo no Omocha, better known here as Kodocha.
And dear god, what a frenetic and flat-out exhausting show it is. Funny, but in a "did I just see what I think I saw" sort of way, as opposed to a "ha-ha" way. However, and here's where the whole bowderlization thing comes around, the library anime club doesn't watch subs, only dubs. We were going to watch to see if it was suitable for 11-to-17 year olds.
The subs are not suitable for younger adults, that's for sure. The main character, Sana, a sixth-grader, calls her agent her "boyfriend and pimp." Sana is a tv star, and the studio's hairstylist is pretty stereotypically gay, and has a thing for the agent. It has moments of flat-out hilarity that is completely inappropriate.
And we kept pausing the show, backing up, and watching it again with the English dub... and we were amazed at the changes Funimation made in the dub! Gone is the "pimp" line altogether, replaced by something less "offensive". The hairdresser no longer shows any sign of being gay (except for a slight lisp), and instead of drooling over the agent, he simply expresses shocked disapproval of Sana calling him her boyfriend. There are other changes as well that simply take a lot of the edge off the humor.
To be honest, I'm not sure I liked Kodocha. It's funny, but it's also on crack. Sana obviously manufactures and takes speed. Her mother is a famous author with a chipmunk in her hair. It goes on and on. Unfortunately, when the show does slow down, it loses a lot of its humor. We only watched the first four episodes out of 102, so perhaps they get the balance right later on. I have to admit to being somewhat disappointed with the show... it had such hype behind it in 2006, even being nominated for "best comedy" in the American Anime Awards.
Still... eh.
However, since I've pretty much only ever watched my anime subtitled, I've managed to miss out on those changes entirely. Until tonight.
Tonight, The Librarian came over for dinner and anime. She brought with her a show she was thinking about showing to her library's anime club, a show I had only heard about, never seen: Kodomo no Omocha, better known here as Kodocha.
And dear god, what a frenetic and flat-out exhausting show it is. Funny, but in a "did I just see what I think I saw" sort of way, as opposed to a "ha-ha" way. However, and here's where the whole bowderlization thing comes around, the library anime club doesn't watch subs, only dubs. We were going to watch to see if it was suitable for 11-to-17 year olds.
The subs are not suitable for younger adults, that's for sure. The main character, Sana, a sixth-grader, calls her agent her "boyfriend and pimp." Sana is a tv star, and the studio's hairstylist is pretty stereotypically gay, and has a thing for the agent. It has moments of flat-out hilarity that is completely inappropriate.
And we kept pausing the show, backing up, and watching it again with the English dub... and we were amazed at the changes Funimation made in the dub! Gone is the "pimp" line altogether, replaced by something less "offensive". The hairdresser no longer shows any sign of being gay (except for a slight lisp), and instead of drooling over the agent, he simply expresses shocked disapproval of Sana calling him her boyfriend. There are other changes as well that simply take a lot of the edge off the humor.
To be honest, I'm not sure I liked Kodocha. It's funny, but it's also on crack. Sana obviously manufactures and takes speed. Her mother is a famous author with a chipmunk in her hair. It goes on and on. Unfortunately, when the show does slow down, it loses a lot of its humor. We only watched the first four episodes out of 102, so perhaps they get the balance right later on. I have to admit to being somewhat disappointed with the show... it had such hype behind it in 2006, even being nominated for "best comedy" in the American Anime Awards.
Still... eh.
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July 01, 2009
Ducks In Anime: Was There Any Doubt?
-Hidamari Sketch x365, DVD extra
When I saw that there was a new HSx365 episode available, I was positive I'd be doing a Ducks In Anime post tonight. Sure enough, Yuno came through for me once again!
No doubt about it, HidaSketch takes the Lifetime Achievement Award for the promotion of rubber duckies in modern society. I'm pretty sure there was at least one rubber duckie sighting in every episode.
Oh, the show? Yeah, the show is awfully good too. Practically no chance it'll be licensed in the current state of anime, but I'd buy it in a heartbeat.
-Hidamari Sketch x365, DVD extra
When I saw that there was a new HSx365 episode available, I was positive I'd be doing a Ducks In Anime post tonight. Sure enough, Yuno came through for me once again!
No doubt about it, HidaSketch takes the Lifetime Achievement Award for the promotion of rubber duckies in modern society. I'm pretty sure there was at least one rubber duckie sighting in every episode.
Oh, the show? Yeah, the show is awfully good too. Practically no chance it'll be licensed in the current state of anime, but I'd buy it in a heartbeat.
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In The Works
Haven't posted anything recently, but mostly that's because I'm working on what might turn out to be a really nice "What If...?" post. It also needs a lot more research than the earlier ones, though, so that's ongoing.
I'm also trying to catch up on my anime. While I'm up-to-date on Saki and K-On!, I'm four or five episodes behind on Hatsukoi Limited. Then there's the second season of Haruhi and the Clannad After Story special, which I'm expecting to see over on TT when I get home from work. But, surprisingly, SpoonSubs finally got around to subbing the Hidamari Sketch x365 DVD Special! FINALLY! That'll be fun to watch.
So while there's a lot of silence at The Pond, there's stuff in the works.
I'm also trying to catch up on my anime. While I'm up-to-date on Saki and K-On!, I'm four or five episodes behind on Hatsukoi Limited. Then there's the second season of Haruhi and the Clannad After Story special, which I'm expecting to see over on TT when I get home from work. But, surprisingly, SpoonSubs finally got around to subbing the Hidamari Sketch x365 DVD Special! FINALLY! That'll be fun to watch.
So while there's a lot of silence at The Pond, there's stuff in the works.
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