June 12, 2012
HSotD Ep10 Is Coming...
This episode is harder than all the previous ones combined... too much talkytalk, not enough zombie. Workin' on it.
This episode is harder than all the previous ones combined... too much talkytalk, not enough zombie. Workin' on it.
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June 10, 2012
F1 Update!: Canada 2012
A nigh-on perfect day for racing awaited the drivers of the F1 Circus as they waited for the lights to go out. Would it be a perfect day for pole-sitting Seb Vettel, who has never won in Montreal? Or would one of his title rivals, Ferrari's HWMNBN or McLaren's Canada specialist Lewis Hamilton, jump up over the young German? THIS is your F1 Update! for the 2012 Grand Prix of Canada!
*RED-HOT CONFUSION ACTION: Some races are defined by speed, guts, risk-taking and dramatic passes, a mere knifes-edge from disaster. Other races are decided by cold, calculated numbers, saying if a car does this and that, it'll end up here... the type of race that turns on a pitstop taking an extra tenth of a second to complete. Then you've got the 2012 GP of Canada, where what worked for one team didn't work for another, and even within a team, what worked for one car didn't work for the other. In other words, what should have been relatively straightforward turned out to be a total crapshoot.
*TIRES RULE THE ROOST: The race began with Seb Vettel's patented "run-away-and-hide" start, which got him out of DRS striking range, but not much farther than that. As the first round of pitstops occurred from Lap 17 on, HWMNBN took the lead on a fast stop, but on cold tires was quickly passed by Hamilton. Remember what we mentioned in the previous paragraph? The "total crapshoot" part? Here is where it applies. As Hamilton came in for his second pitstop (another of the now-common McLaren FAILstops, I might add), neither Vettel or HWMNBN batted an eye; they were clearly going for a one-stop strategy. So were the two Lotuses (Lotii?) of Mumbles Raikkonen and Lettuce Grosjean. As the race went on, Raikkonen faded away as Grosjean got stronger and stronger. Meanwhile up front, Hamilton, some 15 seconds back due to his stop but on much fresher tires, began to take a second per lap off the Red Bull and the Ferrari.
*SO THEN WHAT?: About what you would expect. Both Ferrari and Red Bull, seeing the difference a change of tires made for Hamilton, brought their drivers in for a new set of tires as well, creating a tight race for the finish between three world champions. Except that's not what happened. Vettel and HWMNBN stayed out on their worn and fraying tires, just begging to be picked off by the McLaren, which is exactly what happened. Vettel didn't even try to defend his position, and the Ferrari driver put up only the most token of defenses as Hamilton aimed for first place. At which point, Vettel made the tire equivalent of a "splash-and-dash" pit stop (a "tread-and-go"?), which allowed him to eventually catch HWMNBN... for fourth.
*WAIT, WHAT?: Where the one-stop strategy didn't work for Vettel and HWMNBN, it worked like a charm for Lettuce Grosjean and Sauber's Sergio Perez. Both drivers came steaming up from behind the two world champs and made them look slow... which at that point, they were. HWMNBN ended up in 5th place, having lead only 10 laps before, with Mercedes' Nico Rosberg a half-second behind and closing hard. All in all, a fitting end to a head-scratcher of a race. A race where what should have worked, didn't, except when it did.
*DRIVER OF THE RACE: Lewis Hamilton became the seventh driver to win in seven races, a F1 record. In doing so, he drove a nearly flawless race (marred only by his gagging in the first pitstop), never pushing his car or, more importantly, his tires, too hard. The victory, his third in Canada, also moved him into the lead for the driver's championship.
*TEAM OF THE RACE: Red Bull. Off the podium but still in the lead for the constructor's championship, their last minute call-in of Vettel for fresh tires allowed them to take a position off of Ferrari. A logical call, but logic wasn't much in evidence in some parts of the pit wall today.
*MOVE OF THE RACE: Around about Lap 40, Slappy Schumacher was clearly annoyed at being stuck behind the man who had become something of a nemesis, Gandalf Kobayashi. So, heading into the Hairpin, he decided to do something about it.
To say he held off until late on his braking would be something of an understatement. In truth, he held off until too late, flambe-ing his tires in an orgy of smoke, squealing rubber and hate. He was probably locked up for nearly 100 meters and the Mercedes staggered into the turn like a drunken sailor. Gandalf, in a momentary flash of logic and reason, moved outside to give Slappy a place to go when he failed to make the turn.
Except he didn't. Fail to make the turn, that is. Somehow, he found enough traction on his tortured tires to yoink the car through the opening stages of Epingle, a suprised Gandalf falling behind in his wake.
On the way out, the Mercedes again found traction on ruined rubber and powered his way onto the back straight, a marvelous example of car control at a time when that shouldn't have been possible left behind him. That Kobayashi repassed him in the DRS zone a few seconds later doesn't matter: Slappy either got really lucky, or he's still really good. Either way, he wins the Move of the Race.
*MOOOOOO-OOOOVE OF THE RACE: It looked like Ferarri's Felipe Massa had come back from his terrible start to the season. First, a good finish at Monaco. Then a good qualifying performance in Montreal. Now a great start had moved the Brazilian into 5th place with an eye cocked towards Mark Webber's 4th place. Then on Lap 6, with no external prompting whatsoever, it all went pear-shaped.
The spin flat-spotted his tires, dropped him to 12th, and we never heard from Massa again. Good jorb, here's your Moo!
*VERY SELECTED DRIVER'S QUOTES OF THE RACE:
more...
*RED-HOT CONFUSION ACTION: Some races are defined by speed, guts, risk-taking and dramatic passes, a mere knifes-edge from disaster. Other races are decided by cold, calculated numbers, saying if a car does this and that, it'll end up here... the type of race that turns on a pitstop taking an extra tenth of a second to complete. Then you've got the 2012 GP of Canada, where what worked for one team didn't work for another, and even within a team, what worked for one car didn't work for the other. In other words, what should have been relatively straightforward turned out to be a total crapshoot.
*TIRES RULE THE ROOST: The race began with Seb Vettel's patented "run-away-and-hide" start, which got him out of DRS striking range, but not much farther than that. As the first round of pitstops occurred from Lap 17 on, HWMNBN took the lead on a fast stop, but on cold tires was quickly passed by Hamilton. Remember what we mentioned in the previous paragraph? The "total crapshoot" part? Here is where it applies. As Hamilton came in for his second pitstop (another of the now-common McLaren FAILstops, I might add), neither Vettel or HWMNBN batted an eye; they were clearly going for a one-stop strategy. So were the two Lotuses (Lotii?) of Mumbles Raikkonen and Lettuce Grosjean. As the race went on, Raikkonen faded away as Grosjean got stronger and stronger. Meanwhile up front, Hamilton, some 15 seconds back due to his stop but on much fresher tires, began to take a second per lap off the Red Bull and the Ferrari.
*SO THEN WHAT?: About what you would expect. Both Ferrari and Red Bull, seeing the difference a change of tires made for Hamilton, brought their drivers in for a new set of tires as well, creating a tight race for the finish between three world champions. Except that's not what happened. Vettel and HWMNBN stayed out on their worn and fraying tires, just begging to be picked off by the McLaren, which is exactly what happened. Vettel didn't even try to defend his position, and the Ferrari driver put up only the most token of defenses as Hamilton aimed for first place. At which point, Vettel made the tire equivalent of a "splash-and-dash" pit stop (a "tread-and-go"?), which allowed him to eventually catch HWMNBN... for fourth.
*WAIT, WHAT?: Where the one-stop strategy didn't work for Vettel and HWMNBN, it worked like a charm for Lettuce Grosjean and Sauber's Sergio Perez. Both drivers came steaming up from behind the two world champs and made them look slow... which at that point, they were. HWMNBN ended up in 5th place, having lead only 10 laps before, with Mercedes' Nico Rosberg a half-second behind and closing hard. All in all, a fitting end to a head-scratcher of a race. A race where what should have worked, didn't, except when it did.
*DRIVER OF THE RACE: Lewis Hamilton became the seventh driver to win in seven races, a F1 record. In doing so, he drove a nearly flawless race (marred only by his gagging in the first pitstop), never pushing his car or, more importantly, his tires, too hard. The victory, his third in Canada, also moved him into the lead for the driver's championship.
*TEAM OF THE RACE: Red Bull. Off the podium but still in the lead for the constructor's championship, their last minute call-in of Vettel for fresh tires allowed them to take a position off of Ferrari. A logical call, but logic wasn't much in evidence in some parts of the pit wall today.
*MOVE OF THE RACE: Around about Lap 40, Slappy Schumacher was clearly annoyed at being stuck behind the man who had become something of a nemesis, Gandalf Kobayashi. So, heading into the Hairpin, he decided to do something about it.
To say he held off until late on his braking would be something of an understatement. In truth, he held off until too late, flambe-ing his tires in an orgy of smoke, squealing rubber and hate. He was probably locked up for nearly 100 meters and the Mercedes staggered into the turn like a drunken sailor. Gandalf, in a momentary flash of logic and reason, moved outside to give Slappy a place to go when he failed to make the turn.
Except he didn't. Fail to make the turn, that is. Somehow, he found enough traction on his tortured tires to yoink the car through the opening stages of Epingle, a suprised Gandalf falling behind in his wake.
On the way out, the Mercedes again found traction on ruined rubber and powered his way onto the back straight, a marvelous example of car control at a time when that shouldn't have been possible left behind him. That Kobayashi repassed him in the DRS zone a few seconds later doesn't matter: Slappy either got really lucky, or he's still really good. Either way, he wins the Move of the Race.
*MOOOOOO-OOOOVE OF THE RACE: It looked like Ferarri's Felipe Massa had come back from his terrible start to the season. First, a good finish at Monaco. Then a good qualifying performance in Montreal. Now a great start had moved the Brazilian into 5th place with an eye cocked towards Mark Webber's 4th place. Then on Lap 6, with no external prompting whatsoever, it all went pear-shaped.
The spin flat-spotted his tires, dropped him to 12th, and we never heard from Massa again. Good jorb, here's your Moo!
*VERY SELECTED DRIVER'S QUOTES OF THE RACE:
more...
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June 09, 2012
F1 Quals: Canada 2012
First let me extend apologies for the delay. F1U! Central has been without internet since 11am and it's only just come back. There was a brief power outage, presumably caused by the heat, and while everything else restarted (or was off for so little time that the outage wasn't noticed), some vital piece of electronica did not.
Now then, to the joys of F1. Here's the provisional grid for the 2012 Grand Prix of Canada:
Fastest in all three sessions of Qualifying, it's clear Mr Vettel was on something of a mission today. Accomplished, I presume, though I suspect he has plans for Sunday as well. One gets the feeling that the team needed this. They had been receiving flak for the past week as the RB8's floor had been ruled illegal after Monaco (no penalty, change before Montreal), and just the other day their wheel hubs had been found to be against the rules (something about them being aerodynamic aids and helping to cool the brakes, change immediately or risk exclusion). One could imagine Red Bull was feeling somewhat... abused... going into today.
Other than that, Jenson Button used all his super-soft tires just to get into Q3, including one set that he flat-spotted so badly they're completely unusable. Expect him to go forever on the soft tires he's currently on. He got to Q3 only by the (lack-of-)grace of Mer Maldonado. The Williams driver was on a very hot lap at the end of Q2... indeed, he looked to be faster than Vettel... until he reached the Wall of Champions. What followed was a broken rear suspension and a looping, spinning save of the highest level, bringing the FW34 to a halt without any more damage.
As much as it pains me to admit, Ferrari looks very quick this weekend. I don't know if they'll have anything for Vettel or not, but I'd expect to see HWMNBN on the podium at the end of the race.
F1U!, as mentioned before, will be delayed while I am attending a birthday party in Chicago. Again, if someone wants to volunteer to do the Update! this race, let me know in the comments. Otherwise, the Update! will be along when it's done... probably Monday night.
Now then, to the joys of F1. Here's the provisional grid for the 2012 Grand Prix of Canada:
Fastest in all three sessions of Qualifying, it's clear Mr Vettel was on something of a mission today. Accomplished, I presume, though I suspect he has plans for Sunday as well. One gets the feeling that the team needed this. They had been receiving flak for the past week as the RB8's floor had been ruled illegal after Monaco (no penalty, change before Montreal), and just the other day their wheel hubs had been found to be against the rules (something about them being aerodynamic aids and helping to cool the brakes, change immediately or risk exclusion). One could imagine Red Bull was feeling somewhat... abused... going into today.
Other than that, Jenson Button used all his super-soft tires just to get into Q3, including one set that he flat-spotted so badly they're completely unusable. Expect him to go forever on the soft tires he's currently on. He got to Q3 only by the (lack-of-)grace of Mer Maldonado. The Williams driver was on a very hot lap at the end of Q2... indeed, he looked to be faster than Vettel... until he reached the Wall of Champions. What followed was a broken rear suspension and a looping, spinning save of the highest level, bringing the FW34 to a halt without any more damage.
As much as it pains me to admit, Ferrari looks very quick this weekend. I don't know if they'll have anything for Vettel or not, but I'd expect to see HWMNBN on the podium at the end of the race.
F1U!, as mentioned before, will be delayed while I am attending a birthday party in Chicago. Again, if someone wants to volunteer to do the Update! this race, let me know in the comments. Otherwise, the Update! will be along when it's done... probably Monday night.
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June 08, 2012
F1 Practice: Canada 2012
The skies looked to open and dump rain in massive amounts upon the Ile Notre Dame all day. This never occurred. There were three major incidents during the two practice sessions, however, two of which brought out red flags. In P1, Heikki Kovaleinninninnie whapped the wall in Turn 9, doing bad things to the right side of his Caterham.
Later during P2, Bruno Senna got it very wrong going through the final chicane and wound up going backwards into the Wall of Champions. The car then rotated and smashed into the wall with the front of the chassis, scattering bits and pieces of the Williams hither and yon.
The third incident occurred at the end of P1, when HRT's Pete Rose ran over his lead mechanic during a practice stop. Craig Stubley was loaded into an ambulance with what was being treated as a broken leg. As it turned out, he escaped serious injury, getting away with bruises and a wrenched knee. Phew!
As far as actual racing went, McLaren's Lewis Hamilton was the fastest around the track in both sessions. Red Bull had some... interesting... sensors mounted to their cars.
Air flow sensors, they tell us. There were also a multitude of cameras strewn about the cars, looking at various bodyparts as they flexed and bent under the passage of air. You can also see some flo-viz paint on the rear of the car (the neon yellow/green stuff behind the sensor). Ferrari had enough flo-viz on their rear wings to make them glow green, not to mention enough to screw up the t-bar cameras of every car that got behind them.
Finally, as you know Montreal is hard on brakes. How hard?
About that hard. Quals in the afternoon, see you afterwards!
Later during P2, Bruno Senna got it very wrong going through the final chicane and wound up going backwards into the Wall of Champions. The car then rotated and smashed into the wall with the front of the chassis, scattering bits and pieces of the Williams hither and yon.
The third incident occurred at the end of P1, when HRT's Pete Rose ran over his lead mechanic during a practice stop. Craig Stubley was loaded into an ambulance with what was being treated as a broken leg. As it turned out, he escaped serious injury, getting away with bruises and a wrenched knee. Phew!
As far as actual racing went, McLaren's Lewis Hamilton was the fastest around the track in both sessions. Red Bull had some... interesting... sensors mounted to their cars.
Air flow sensors, they tell us. There were also a multitude of cameras strewn about the cars, looking at various bodyparts as they flexed and bent under the passage of air. You can also see some flo-viz paint on the rear of the car (the neon yellow/green stuff behind the sensor). Ferrari had enough flo-viz on their rear wings to make them glow green, not to mention enough to screw up the t-bar cameras of every car that got behind them.
Finally, as you know Montreal is hard on brakes. How hard?
About that hard. Quals in the afternoon, see you afterwards!
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June 07, 2012
Whar Wonderduck? WHAR?
Some of you may have noticed an odd lack of Wonderduckage on Tuesday. "Oh, but you just didn't put up a post," I hear you saying and could you turn your head a few degrees to the left to improve sound quality, "there's nothing unusual in that. In fact, if you could do that a little more often, we'd all be quite grateful."
To which I reply with lighthearted laughter and another note in the Duck Vengeance book. But enough of this entertaining but essentially pointless banter! The whole thing is that I usually do my F1 on SPEED/TV! post on Mondays. With the 70th Anniversary of the Battle of Midway being Monday, logically I should have moved the F1 on (MEDIA TYPE HERE) post to... Tuesday. Nothing of the sort occurred... it ended up on Wednesday, and not early on Wednesday either. When it comes to my F1 posts, that's quite the uncommon occurrence. So just what in the world was I doing?
more...
To which I reply with lighthearted laughter and another note in the Duck Vengeance book. But enough of this entertaining but essentially pointless banter! The whole thing is that I usually do my F1 on SPEED/TV! post on Mondays. With the 70th Anniversary of the Battle of Midway being Monday, logically I should have moved the F1 on (MEDIA TYPE HERE) post to... Tuesday. Nothing of the sort occurred... it ended up on Wednesday, and not early on Wednesday either. When it comes to my F1 posts, that's quite the uncommon occurrence. So just what in the world was I doing?
more...
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June 06, 2012
F1 On TV!: Canada 2012
Yes, you read that right: F1 on TV, not "...on SPEED!" It's that time of year once again, where coverage of the F1 Circus here in the US moves to FOX, though fortunately enough the Legendary Announce Team goes with it. And where does the coverage go but to Montreal's Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, the home of the Grand Prix of Canada! Let's take a look at the track map:
Usually the terrain dictates the shape of the track, and nowhere is that more evident than here. The track is built on a man-made island in the middle of the St Lawrence River, which is narrow at one end and wide at the other. Most of the circuit is closely bordered by walls, leaving little margin for error anywhere. Perhaps this is what Felipe Massa was referring to last race when he said that the Canada track was "very similar to Monaco."
Because in no other way is this track similar to Monaco. It's fast, but also has an incredibly slow hairpin in Epingle (which sounds like a potato chip). Brakes are at a premium around here, and indeed, this is the only place I've seen the carbon/carbon brakes used in F1 actually explode from overuse. If there was ever a place on the F1 calendar where a brake change would be appropriate, it'd be here. Of course, that'd take too much time for the value, so no... and besides, the old brakes would probably end up setting fire to something.
So it's a narrow, fast, dangerous circuit, and one that has traditionally given us a good race. Here's the scheduled coverage times for the weekend:
FRIDAY
9a - 1030a: P1 streaming
1p - 240p: P2 live on SPEED
SATURDAY
9a - 10a: P3 streaming
12noon - 130p: Quals plausibly live on SPEED
SUNDAY
1230p - 1p: F1 Prerace live on SPEED
1p - 3p: Grand Prix of Canada live on FOX
3p - 330p: F1 Postrace live on SPEED
This is where I'd normally say that F1Update! will be all over the weekend like fleas on a dog, but I can't this time around. On Sunday I'm attending a surprise birthday party in Chicago. To get there on time, I'll be leaving right around the time the race starts, and even if I just stay a couple of hours, I won't be getting back until 830pm or so.
So either 1) I get the F1U! up when I do, or 2) I find a volunteer to write it for me. Whaddya think, any volunteers?
UPDATE: Forgot to mention... on Monday night, some guy named Seb Vettel is scheduled to be on Late Night With David Letterman. Supposedly, he'll be driving the impending New Jersey circuit in a regular car with Dave, who is of course a part-owner in the Rahal-Letterman IndyCar team. Should be good for a chuckle; I'll probably do a write-up on it.
Usually the terrain dictates the shape of the track, and nowhere is that more evident than here. The track is built on a man-made island in the middle of the St Lawrence River, which is narrow at one end and wide at the other. Most of the circuit is closely bordered by walls, leaving little margin for error anywhere. Perhaps this is what Felipe Massa was referring to last race when he said that the Canada track was "very similar to Monaco."
Because in no other way is this track similar to Monaco. It's fast, but also has an incredibly slow hairpin in Epingle (which sounds like a potato chip). Brakes are at a premium around here, and indeed, this is the only place I've seen the carbon/carbon brakes used in F1 actually explode from overuse. If there was ever a place on the F1 calendar where a brake change would be appropriate, it'd be here. Of course, that'd take too much time for the value, so no... and besides, the old brakes would probably end up setting fire to something.
So it's a narrow, fast, dangerous circuit, and one that has traditionally given us a good race. Here's the scheduled coverage times for the weekend:
FRIDAY
9a - 1030a: P1 streaming
1p - 240p: P2 live on SPEED
SATURDAY
9a - 10a: P3 streaming
12noon - 130p: Quals plausibly live on SPEED
SUNDAY
1230p - 1p: F1 Prerace live on SPEED
1p - 3p: Grand Prix of Canada live on FOX
3p - 330p: F1 Postrace live on SPEED
This is where I'd normally say that F1Update! will be all over the weekend like fleas on a dog, but I can't this time around. On Sunday I'm attending a surprise birthday party in Chicago. To get there on time, I'll be leaving right around the time the race starts, and even if I just stay a couple of hours, I won't be getting back until 830pm or so.
So either 1) I get the F1U! up when I do, or 2) I find a volunteer to write it for me. Whaddya think, any volunteers?
UPDATE: Forgot to mention... on Monday night, some guy named Seb Vettel is scheduled to be on Late Night With David Letterman. Supposedly, he'll be driving the impending New Jersey circuit in a regular car with Dave, who is of course a part-owner in the Rahal-Letterman IndyCar team. Should be good for a chuckle; I'll probably do a write-up on it.
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June 04, 2012
Thoughts On What Didn't Happen: Midway 70 Years Later
Today is the 70th anniversary of US Navy's "Incredible Victory," that
"glorious page in our history," the Battle of Midway. In that conflict,
the three carriers of the Americans (and the planes off Midway itself)
engaged and sank the four carriers of the Imperial Japanese Navy.
I've gone into many, many elements of the Battle of Midway in other posts here at The Pond, such as "Timing Is Everything", "Tone #4," "Beginning The Miracle" "Midway Myths Debunked," "The Reason For Midway," "The Flight to Nowhere," and a bunch of others. Instead of rehashing that information, or go into the level of detail one can find in the plethora of good books on the subject, I'm going to deal with some lesser issues, ones that probably aren't deserving of posts in their own right.
So let's get to it!
more...
I've gone into many, many elements of the Battle of Midway in other posts here at The Pond, such as "Timing Is Everything", "Tone #4," "Beginning The Miracle" "Midway Myths Debunked," "The Reason For Midway," "The Flight to Nowhere," and a bunch of others. Instead of rehashing that information, or go into the level of detail one can find in the plethora of good books on the subject, I'm going to deal with some lesser issues, ones that probably aren't deserving of posts in their own right.
So let's get to it!
more...
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The Battle of Midway, 70 Years Later
The Battle of Midway
Much of The Battle of Midway was filmed on Midway Atoll as the attack occurred. Ford himself was
wounded during the fighting. The movie won an Academy Award for best
documentary in 1942.
Torpedo Squadron 8
After the Battle and most of VT-8 was dead, Ford and his crew
put together this tribute movie to them. Most of the footage was shot
shortly before Midway. Only 30 copies were distributed, all to the
family members of those squadron members flying from Hornet that day. It was never intended for public viewing.
They had no right to win.
Yet they did, and in doing so they changed the course of a war...
Even against the greatest of odds, there is something in the human spirit
- A magic blend of skill, faith and valor -
That can lift men from certain defeat to incredible victory.
-Walter Lord
Today is the 70th Anniversary of the
Battle of Midway, the greatest of all US Naval victories. While I
intend to have a larger post on this subject later this evening, until
then I leave you with the two classic movies from John Ford on the
topic.Yet they did, and in doing so they changed the course of a war...
Even against the greatest of odds, there is something in the human spirit
- A magic blend of skill, faith and valor -
That can lift men from certain defeat to incredible victory.
-Walter Lord
The Battle of Midway
Torpedo Squadron 8
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June 03, 2012
High School Of The Dead Ep09
Some of you may remember that, last episode,
everybody was about to die when the fire brigade arrived, led by Saya's
mother. The Fellowship was saved, hurray! Except for Saeko and
Takashi.
Them, they got separated in one final suicidal attempt to distract the zombie horde from their friends, which failed miserably, then when the Cavalry came riding over the metaphorical hill, they couldn't be rescued. Way to go, heroes! Now they've got to make their way across zombie-filled territory without supplies or assistance, all in an attempt to make it to Saya's house. Still, they're the two best melee fighters in The Fellowship, they should have a decent chance if they're careful.
...and then they jump off a railing. Takashi lands wrong, sprains an ankle, and is eaten a few moments later when he can't outrun a zombie. Saeko, having no idea where she needs to go now that her "native guide" is dead, gets lost and is trapped in a dead-end alleyway. Her corpse later reanimates and is casually shot in the face by Hirano, who doesn't even realize who it once was. So she's got that going for her. Which is nice.
Still... nimble little minx, isn't she?
more...
Them, they got separated in one final suicidal attempt to distract the zombie horde from their friends, which failed miserably, then when the Cavalry came riding over the metaphorical hill, they couldn't be rescued. Way to go, heroes! Now they've got to make their way across zombie-filled territory without supplies or assistance, all in an attempt to make it to Saya's house. Still, they're the two best melee fighters in The Fellowship, they should have a decent chance if they're careful.
...and then they jump off a railing. Takashi lands wrong, sprains an ankle, and is eaten a few moments later when he can't outrun a zombie. Saeko, having no idea where she needs to go now that her "native guide" is dead, gets lost and is trapped in a dead-end alleyway. Her corpse later reanimates and is casually shot in the face by Hirano, who doesn't even realize who it once was. So she's got that going for her. Which is nice.
Still... nimble little minx, isn't she?
more...
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June 02, 2012
T-Bird Saturday
So I'm sitting around Pond Central, pointedly not accomplishing anything, when I hear a haunting moan from outside. I immediately grabbed my camera and dashed to the balcony, for this is Duckford AirFest weekend, and that moan was the sound of the six F-16C (block 52) Fighting Falcons of the USAF Thunderbirds. Minutes went by, and I realized that this was probably not going to be a good day for them to overfly Pond Central: the wind was all wrong. My guess turned out to be correct; the route they took to clear the airfield wound up being to the south, instead of directly overhead. Which didn't mean that they didn't surprise me once. See, one of the problems with jet fighters is that from the front, they're actually quite quiet. They don't get loud until they're heading away from you and those big honkin' engines (F-110-PW-229, in this case) are staring you in the face. So when the Diamond blew past Pond Central just east of me, I didn't expect it... and then they curved around to the south at high speed, passing by a gap in the trees in about a millionth of a second (or so it felt). I raised my camera and pressed the shutter button... and hoped I got the shot.
Sometimes you get lucky. Here's what the full picture looked like:
Click on the pic to see it in full 3968x2232 resolution... and see just how lucky I got. The forecast for tomorrow isn't swell... though if it gets better, I might just head out, see what I can snap.
Sometimes you get lucky. Here's what the full picture looked like:
Click on the pic to see it in full 3968x2232 resolution... and see just how lucky I got. The forecast for tomorrow isn't swell... though if it gets better, I might just head out, see what I can snap.
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June 01, 2012
"You're Old!" Milestone #2 Reached
Milestone #1: turning 40. Did that four years ago.
Milestone #2: bifocals.
Or, in my case, progressive lenses. Three distinct zones: far away, not far away, and reading. Computer screen falls into the "not far away" category, but only barely. It's like looking at the world through a fishbowl.
I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. My last eye checkup was over six years ago, and I've noticed a distinct amount of fuzziness around objects for the past half-year or so. So I hied myself over to LensCrafters on Wednesday for a trip to the OptyDoc. She said "your left eye hasn't gotten any worse. The astigmatism in your right eye has, however." Just how much worse? One full diopter's worse. The technicians told me that I now have four times as much vision correction in that lens as I did. However, I was right on the edge of needing bifocals. My vanity, of course, said "nope, no bifocals for me!" And out the door I went with my new glasses.
...and immediately realized two things. 1) everything seemed farther away, and B) everything was sharper and clearer. Neat! And then I misjudged the distance to a curb and sprained my ankle when I stepped off a stride earlier than I expected. I went through all of Thursday with the glasses, and noticed that I was having problems seeing mid-range things... like computer screens, or the dashboard of the DuckMobile. I figured it was just a case of my eyes adjusting.
This morning, I realized it wasn't an adjustment thing, I needed something bigger than that. So back I went to LensCrafters this afternoon, where they took more of my money and gave me back a new set of progressive lenses... and boy, is it gonna take time to get used to these. On the way home, I stopped at Walgreens and realized that I was... nodding... as I'm looking at the shampoo, trying to figure out what part of my lenses I needed to look through to not be blurry. And walking through the aisles. And being rung up. And in my car. I feel like one of those drinking birds.
But at least I can see, right?
Milestone #2: bifocals.
Or, in my case, progressive lenses. Three distinct zones: far away, not far away, and reading. Computer screen falls into the "not far away" category, but only barely. It's like looking at the world through a fishbowl.
I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. My last eye checkup was over six years ago, and I've noticed a distinct amount of fuzziness around objects for the past half-year or so. So I hied myself over to LensCrafters on Wednesday for a trip to the OptyDoc. She said "your left eye hasn't gotten any worse. The astigmatism in your right eye has, however." Just how much worse? One full diopter's worse. The technicians told me that I now have four times as much vision correction in that lens as I did. However, I was right on the edge of needing bifocals. My vanity, of course, said "nope, no bifocals for me!" And out the door I went with my new glasses.
...and immediately realized two things. 1) everything seemed farther away, and B) everything was sharper and clearer. Neat! And then I misjudged the distance to a curb and sprained my ankle when I stepped off a stride earlier than I expected. I went through all of Thursday with the glasses, and noticed that I was having problems seeing mid-range things... like computer screens, or the dashboard of the DuckMobile. I figured it was just a case of my eyes adjusting.
This morning, I realized it wasn't an adjustment thing, I needed something bigger than that. So back I went to LensCrafters this afternoon, where they took more of my money and gave me back a new set of progressive lenses... and boy, is it gonna take time to get used to these. On the way home, I stopped at Walgreens and realized that I was... nodding... as I'm looking at the shampoo, trying to figure out what part of my lenses I needed to look through to not be blurry. And walking through the aisles. And being rung up. And in my car. I feel like one of those drinking birds.
But at least I can see, right?
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May 31, 2012
Regiment Time
While I work feverishly on getting the HSotD Ep09 review done (it's proving to be both easier and more difficult than I expected), I wish to play you the song of my people I wanted to say that the Phantom Regiment has come back to Duck U for the Summer.
These folks were gathered just behind the Duckmobile this evening, listening to a speech. It's days like this that must make their lives miserable: it rained all day, with a high of 47°. This past Sunday, it was 99°... a fifty-degree shift in four days? Aieeeeeeee! So what does it matter if the Phantom Regiment is practicing at Duck U? Well...
Turn your volume up. Do it. Oh, and get a kleenex, because it's gonna make you cry.
I heard that as I left work yesterday... and that's just a warmup piece; it's not even part of their routine. This does tend to put a smile on your face at the end of a long day.
These folks were gathered just behind the Duckmobile this evening, listening to a speech. It's days like this that must make their lives miserable: it rained all day, with a high of 47°. This past Sunday, it was 99°... a fifty-degree shift in four days? Aieeeeeeee! So what does it matter if the Phantom Regiment is practicing at Duck U? Well...
Turn your volume up. Do it. Oh, and get a kleenex, because it's gonna make you cry.
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May 30, 2012
The Obligatory Music Arguement Post!
Over in some Fark thread a few days ago, someone suggested (perhaps in jest) that The Who's Eminence Front was the "quintessential '80s song."
Naturally, I took exception to this assertion, despite the fact that Eminence Front is my favorite song by The Who, mainly because of the keyboards and John Entwhistle's bass line. No, I suggested that anybody who believes that Eminence Front is the quintessential '80s song is forgetting the only song that really qualifies for that title.
Seriously, when you throw the Miami Vice tie into the mix, is there really a song that screams '80s more than In The Air Tonight by Phil Collins? Don't get me wrong, this is not a putdown in any way; I'm quite fond of '80s music in general. It's just that nothing is considered too excessive for the recording, which is what makes it work, of course. It's brilliant in that way. It's also been overplayed to a hideous level, rendering it almost a parody of itself.
Of course, many would say that being the "quintessential '80s song" is something of a booby prize anyway. To this I say "Feh." FEH, I say.
Got an opinion on the matter?
Of course, many would say that being the "quintessential '80s song" is something of a booby prize anyway. To this I say "Feh." FEH, I say.
Got an opinion on the matter?
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May 29, 2012
Random Anime Picture #71: Why We Don't Live In Trees
-Blood-C, Ep04
I'm working on the writeup for High School of the Dead, Ep09, and while I've made fair progress, I needed to stop. So instead of that, you get a picture of a high school girl / vampire hunter falling out of a tree onto J Random Guy. The way she lands the poor guy should have been instantly fatal to him due to the rupture of various internal organs, but this is anime.
-Blood-C, Ep04
I'm working on the writeup for High School of the Dead, Ep09, and while I've made fair progress, I needed to stop. So instead of that, you get a picture of a high school girl / vampire hunter falling out of a tree onto J Random Guy. The way she lands the poor guy should have been instantly fatal to him due to the rupture of various internal organs, but this is anime.
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May 28, 2012
Memorial Day 2012
On Saturday, the USS Iowa was moved from San Francisco to Los Angeles. Thankfully, reader Vaucaunson's Duck and his friend, Zippy, were there with cameras. It seems appropriate to show the Iowa's final voyage on Memorial Day.
UPDATE: The Warrior:
Click the picture for a much larger one.
For all those who have served our country and given all they could, I
say thank you. It's not enough, no mere words could ever be enough, but
it's all I can do on this silly little blog. UPDATE: The Warrior:
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May 27, 2012
The Greatest Day In Motorsports
Every year, this particular Sunday is called "The Greatest Day In Motorsports." It's hard to disagree... you've got the Grand Prix of Monaco, the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 all running, one after the other.
I watched all three, and almost every lap. Out of a possible 1261 miles, I saw 1211. That's enough motorsports for one weekend.
I watched all three, and almost every lap. Out of a possible 1261 miles, I saw 1211. That's enough motorsports for one weekend.
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F1 Update!: Monaco 2012
An absolutely perfect day in the Principality of Monaco greeted the F1 Circus as they pulled their steeds onto the starting grid. Would we see our sixth winner in six races today? Or would there be our first repeater? And would those clouds hovering off the Cote d'Azur make their way over the circuit? THIS is your F1Update! for the 2012 Grand Prix of Monaco!
*GOOD LUCK... YOU'LL NEED IT!: When the lights went out to start the race, polesitter Mark Webber got a clean start with the man who shared the front row with him, Nico Rosberg, shuffling in directly behind. It stayed that way as the rumbling horde charged down towards Sainte Devote. We've gotten pretty lucky over the past few years, in that there hasn't been one of those legendary first-turn disasters that take out a quarter of the field. However, in the few seconds it took to send the 24-car field towards the first turn, the educated fan got an inkling that something was about to happen; we don't usually go four cars wide, after all.
*TOTAL CARNAGE: Slappy Schumacher was probably in a bad mood. He had been the fastest qualifier for the race, but was punted down to sixth due to a penalty earned at the Grand Prix of Spain. He is also something of a Monaco specialist, having won here five times. When the lights went out, he had a great start and went to the left of the Lotus of Lettuce Grosjean. Over on the other side of Grosjean, the Ferrari of Felipe Massa drifted towards the right side of the Lotus, trying to slip onto the racing line for Sainte Devote. Lettuce, knowing that while one can't win the Grand Prix of Monaco on the first lap, you sure as heck can lose it, moved to the left, towards Slappy. It didn't go well.
Grosjean, his rear suspension gone, staggered to the right, stretching across the circuit at the narrowest point on the front straightaway. Slappy got away clean, though he would retire with a fuel problem 65 laps later. With Lettuce blocking the circuit and the thundering herd bearing down on him, something bad was sure to occur.
Half the field dove inside the curbing to avoid the spinning Lotus. The other half squeezed as far outside as possible. And then, there was Gandalf Kobayashi. Trapped in a place where he could do neither, he wound up going over the rear tire of Lettuce. While his Sauber seemed to survive the landing, he wound up pitting twice by Lap 6 and retiring the car.
*SAFETY CAR: Amongst the many things that makes Monaco unique on the F1 calendar, one of the less-obvious is the incredible skill of the track workers. Made up out of the elite of the pool of European race track workers, they can make a wreck disappear nearly before the carbon fiber shards stop moving. As the HRTs swept past the broken Lotus, the track workers swarmed over the car... and discovered they had a problem. The nearest crane had been pre-positioned a little farther down the track and would take a minute or two to get to them. To exacerbate the problem, the Lotus was stuck in gear, and no amount of pushing of the "emergency neutral" button would allow them to shove the car around. As the track workers ganged up on the ruined car and began to shove it off the racing line by brute force, the thundering herd rocketed around the shortest track on the F1 calendar. Almost before anybody realized what was happening, the first lap was over and the Red Bull of Mark Webber, followed by the Mercedes of Nico Rosberg, was barreling down towards Sainte Devote... and there were track workers just inside the curb. A Safety Car had to be called out, and a near-disaster was only averted by the thinnest of margins.
*DEEP BREATH: Once the Safety Car went away and everything started over again, the race settled down. Oh, there was some drama early as rain was expected, but never materialized. When everybody made their first pitstops by around Lap 25 or thereabouts, the lead devolved to Seb Vettel, who didn't stop on the hard tires, and kept increasing his lead. At the end of the first stops, he had a 12 second lead. It got all the way up to 17 seconds as Lap 40 approached... and the "pit delta," or the time it took to enter the pits, get serviced, and leave the pits, was 20 seconds. And then Red Bull's strategy became clear as rainclouds began to move back over the circuit. But would any rain actually fall, and would it fall before Vettel burned the tires off his car? If it did and everybody needed to pit for Inters, he would win the race. If it didn't, he'd drop back into the pack, but Mark Webber, sitting in second, would win. Eventually, the tires could take no more and Vettel was forced to pit on Lap 46.
*IN THE END: It never did rain. While things got tighter and tighter as the tires on the cars wore at different rates, Webber stayed in front ahead of Rosberg, HWMNBN and Vettel... though it did look impressively close at the end.
The Aussie became our sixth winner in six races.
*DRIVER OF THE RACE: Mark Webber. He did everything right today, up to and including perhaps slowing the field down a touch so Vettel could extend his lead in case it rained. Fortunately for him, it didn't rain, he won the race fair and square, and did so impressively. Good job!
*TEAM OF THE RACE: Red Bull. This one was theirs no matter how the weather played out, it was just a question of which driver would get the winner's trophy. Brilliant strategy, and with a little bit of luck (a problem on a pit stop by Ferrari or Mercedes), they could have had both drivers on the (non-existent) Monaco podium.
*MOVE OF THE RACE: On Lap 35, we had a tidy little race going between the Sauber of Sergio Perez, the Lotus of Kimi Raikkonen, and the Force India of Nico Hulkenberg. All three were tucked behind the car in front, looking for any opportunity to try a pass on the tight streets of Monaco. As the three went into the desperately slow Rascasse, Kimi got his nose under Perez.
It wasn't so much that he was trying a pass, as he was maybe angling for a slight advantage somewhere down the line. Except there was a little problem...
...in that the Sauber was actually heading for the pit lane. Instead of accelerating out of Rascasse like most drivers would, he just sort of ambled towards the entry. This forced Raikkonen to jump on the brakes and scramble to the outside to avoid the Sauber that had suddenly come to a virtual halt in front of him.
As the Sauber slid into the pit lane and the Lotus floundered around, Nico Hulkenberg undoubtedly could not believe his good fortune. He just drove around the outside of the World Driver's Champion, opportunistically picking up two places at once. It wasn't a masterpiece of technical driving, to be sure, but it was my favorite move of the race... even if the Sauber later got a penalty for "late entry" into the pit lane.
*MOOOOOO-OOOOVE OF THE RACE: When your car isn't performing the way it really should be, a driver may be tempted to feel frustration and annoyance. When the driver is a former World Driving Champion and is a member of the McLaren F1 team running in the most important race on the calendar, they have good reason to feel that way. When Jenson Button found himself racing with the Caterham of Heikki Kovaleinninninnie for 13th place, having been stuck behind him for a dozen laps or more, his frustration was palpable. And then he tried to pass him in the Chicane...
...which was a dumb thing to try, particularly when you screw it up so badly that you wind up 1) spinning and 2) being unable to continue with seven laps to go. Good jorb, Jenson! Here's your Moooooo!
*SELECTED DRIVER QUOTES OF THE RACE:
more...
*GOOD LUCK... YOU'LL NEED IT!: When the lights went out to start the race, polesitter Mark Webber got a clean start with the man who shared the front row with him, Nico Rosberg, shuffling in directly behind. It stayed that way as the rumbling horde charged down towards Sainte Devote. We've gotten pretty lucky over the past few years, in that there hasn't been one of those legendary first-turn disasters that take out a quarter of the field. However, in the few seconds it took to send the 24-car field towards the first turn, the educated fan got an inkling that something was about to happen; we don't usually go four cars wide, after all.
*TOTAL CARNAGE: Slappy Schumacher was probably in a bad mood. He had been the fastest qualifier for the race, but was punted down to sixth due to a penalty earned at the Grand Prix of Spain. He is also something of a Monaco specialist, having won here five times. When the lights went out, he had a great start and went to the left of the Lotus of Lettuce Grosjean. Over on the other side of Grosjean, the Ferrari of Felipe Massa drifted towards the right side of the Lotus, trying to slip onto the racing line for Sainte Devote. Lettuce, knowing that while one can't win the Grand Prix of Monaco on the first lap, you sure as heck can lose it, moved to the left, towards Slappy. It didn't go well.
Grosjean, his rear suspension gone, staggered to the right, stretching across the circuit at the narrowest point on the front straightaway. Slappy got away clean, though he would retire with a fuel problem 65 laps later. With Lettuce blocking the circuit and the thundering herd bearing down on him, something bad was sure to occur.
Half the field dove inside the curbing to avoid the spinning Lotus. The other half squeezed as far outside as possible. And then, there was Gandalf Kobayashi. Trapped in a place where he could do neither, he wound up going over the rear tire of Lettuce. While his Sauber seemed to survive the landing, he wound up pitting twice by Lap 6 and retiring the car.*SAFETY CAR: Amongst the many things that makes Monaco unique on the F1 calendar, one of the less-obvious is the incredible skill of the track workers. Made up out of the elite of the pool of European race track workers, they can make a wreck disappear nearly before the carbon fiber shards stop moving. As the HRTs swept past the broken Lotus, the track workers swarmed over the car... and discovered they had a problem. The nearest crane had been pre-positioned a little farther down the track and would take a minute or two to get to them. To exacerbate the problem, the Lotus was stuck in gear, and no amount of pushing of the "emergency neutral" button would allow them to shove the car around. As the track workers ganged up on the ruined car and began to shove it off the racing line by brute force, the thundering herd rocketed around the shortest track on the F1 calendar. Almost before anybody realized what was happening, the first lap was over and the Red Bull of Mark Webber, followed by the Mercedes of Nico Rosberg, was barreling down towards Sainte Devote... and there were track workers just inside the curb. A Safety Car had to be called out, and a near-disaster was only averted by the thinnest of margins.
*DEEP BREATH: Once the Safety Car went away and everything started over again, the race settled down. Oh, there was some drama early as rain was expected, but never materialized. When everybody made their first pitstops by around Lap 25 or thereabouts, the lead devolved to Seb Vettel, who didn't stop on the hard tires, and kept increasing his lead. At the end of the first stops, he had a 12 second lead. It got all the way up to 17 seconds as Lap 40 approached... and the "pit delta," or the time it took to enter the pits, get serviced, and leave the pits, was 20 seconds. And then Red Bull's strategy became clear as rainclouds began to move back over the circuit. But would any rain actually fall, and would it fall before Vettel burned the tires off his car? If it did and everybody needed to pit for Inters, he would win the race. If it didn't, he'd drop back into the pack, but Mark Webber, sitting in second, would win. Eventually, the tires could take no more and Vettel was forced to pit on Lap 46.
*IN THE END: It never did rain. While things got tighter and tighter as the tires on the cars wore at different rates, Webber stayed in front ahead of Rosberg, HWMNBN and Vettel... though it did look impressively close at the end.
The Aussie became our sixth winner in six races.
*DRIVER OF THE RACE: Mark Webber. He did everything right today, up to and including perhaps slowing the field down a touch so Vettel could extend his lead in case it rained. Fortunately for him, it didn't rain, he won the race fair and square, and did so impressively. Good job!
*TEAM OF THE RACE: Red Bull. This one was theirs no matter how the weather played out, it was just a question of which driver would get the winner's trophy. Brilliant strategy, and with a little bit of luck (a problem on a pit stop by Ferrari or Mercedes), they could have had both drivers on the (non-existent) Monaco podium.
*MOVE OF THE RACE: On Lap 35, we had a tidy little race going between the Sauber of Sergio Perez, the Lotus of Kimi Raikkonen, and the Force India of Nico Hulkenberg. All three were tucked behind the car in front, looking for any opportunity to try a pass on the tight streets of Monaco. As the three went into the desperately slow Rascasse, Kimi got his nose under Perez.
It wasn't so much that he was trying a pass, as he was maybe angling for a slight advantage somewhere down the line. Except there was a little problem...
...in that the Sauber was actually heading for the pit lane. Instead of accelerating out of Rascasse like most drivers would, he just sort of ambled towards the entry. This forced Raikkonen to jump on the brakes and scramble to the outside to avoid the Sauber that had suddenly come to a virtual halt in front of him.
As the Sauber slid into the pit lane and the Lotus floundered around, Nico Hulkenberg undoubtedly could not believe his good fortune. He just drove around the outside of the World Driver's Champion, opportunistically picking up two places at once. It wasn't a masterpiece of technical driving, to be sure, but it was my favorite move of the race... even if the Sauber later got a penalty for "late entry" into the pit lane.
*MOOOOOO-OOOOVE OF THE RACE: When your car isn't performing the way it really should be, a driver may be tempted to feel frustration and annoyance. When the driver is a former World Driving Champion and is a member of the McLaren F1 team running in the most important race on the calendar, they have good reason to feel that way. When Jenson Button found himself racing with the Caterham of Heikki Kovaleinninninnie for 13th place, having been stuck behind him for a dozen laps or more, his frustration was palpable. And then he tried to pass him in the Chicane...
...which was a dumb thing to try, particularly when you screw it up so badly that you wind up 1) spinning and 2) being unable to continue with seven laps to go. Good jorb, Jenson! Here's your Moooooo!
*SELECTED DRIVER QUOTES OF THE RACE:
more...
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May 26, 2012
High School Of The Dead Ep08
It was only an episode ago that The Fellowship came to the conclusion that they had to be ruthless
to survive, and heaven help those who weren't them. Immediately after
deciding that, they galloped off on their trusty steed Humvee-kun and
rescued a young girl from the clutches of a front yard full o' zombies.
So much for ruthlessness. To be fair, however, if they hadn't've (am I
the only person who uses that double contraction?) saved Alice, there's
no question but that I'd've (again!) sent HSotD packing,
with nary a sou to its name and good riddance. So now they've got a
child and a Yappydog with them. Great, just great, that'll really help
their survival chances. So what wonders does High School of the Dead bring us with this new episode? Shall they rescue two koalas, a ferret
and an angry llama from the local zoo? And just what in the world is
the Japanese Ministry of Environment Supernatural Disaster Countermeasures Division doing to stop the zombie plague? It seems like this would be right up their alley.
In my years of watching this anime stuff, I've discovered that any time you see the White House or Air Force One in an episode, nothing good is going to come of it. Mark my words, readers, and mark them well: this is to be no ordinary jumbo jet. It is to be a 747 OF DOOM! DOOMY DOOM!
Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States, Skippy Henderson. President Henderson has a problem. Y'see, his wife and half of the Presidential aides became zombies on AF1, shortly after takeoff. His SecState was bitten, and is in the process of turning as we speak. Worse still, the entire press corps entourage turned as well... though to be honest, it seems to be an improvement in their case. Somewhere along the way, President Skippy got himself bitten on the hand and he's not feeling all that perky. SecState, doing his level best to advise his Skippy-In-Chief before he becomes a member of the Shambling Horde himself, says that the US should officially announce National State of Emergency Tactical Regulation 666D. Which, I assume, calls for kittens and balloons to be handed out to all citizens, with instructions on how to play with them for maximum calming effect. Or the firing of ICBMs at countries aiming at the US, one of the two.
President Skippy can't decide, and while SecState goes all grnfgrrrngrfzombiebrainnnns, we get a look at the current situation map. Europe is Zombie Heaven. Brazil is gone, much of Africa too. Japan and China are going down. A look at the insert map shows some interesting things going on in the US. There's a huge outbreak in NYC and Washington DC, not that anybody could really tell. Chicago, on the other hand, doesn't seem to have anything much, while St Louis has gone all zombo. Must be all the Cardinals fans mixing up the sensors. I'm amused, however, by the small outbreak in Minneapolis. "Yah hey dere, lingonberry goes great with braaaaaaaains dontchaknow?"
Minnesota zombies. I'm scared to death, you betcha.
more...
In my years of watching this anime stuff, I've discovered that any time you see the White House or Air Force One in an episode, nothing good is going to come of it. Mark my words, readers, and mark them well: this is to be no ordinary jumbo jet. It is to be a 747 OF DOOM! DOOMY DOOM!
Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States, Skippy Henderson. President Henderson has a problem. Y'see, his wife and half of the Presidential aides became zombies on AF1, shortly after takeoff. His SecState was bitten, and is in the process of turning as we speak. Worse still, the entire press corps entourage turned as well... though to be honest, it seems to be an improvement in their case. Somewhere along the way, President Skippy got himself bitten on the hand and he's not feeling all that perky. SecState, doing his level best to advise his Skippy-In-Chief before he becomes a member of the Shambling Horde himself, says that the US should officially announce National State of Emergency Tactical Regulation 666D. Which, I assume, calls for kittens and balloons to be handed out to all citizens, with instructions on how to play with them for maximum calming effect. Or the firing of ICBMs at countries aiming at the US, one of the two.
President Skippy can't decide, and while SecState goes all grnfgrrrngrfzombiebrainnnns, we get a look at the current situation map. Europe is Zombie Heaven. Brazil is gone, much of Africa too. Japan and China are going down. A look at the insert map shows some interesting things going on in the US. There's a huge outbreak in NYC and Washington DC, not that anybody could really tell. Chicago, on the other hand, doesn't seem to have anything much, while St Louis has gone all zombo. Must be all the Cardinals fans mixing up the sensors. I'm amused, however, by the small outbreak in Minneapolis. "Yah hey dere, lingonberry goes great with braaaaaaaains dontchaknow?"
Minnesota zombies. I'm scared to death, you betcha.
more...
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F1 Quals: Monaco 2012
No. No no no no no. No no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no. Here's the provisional grid for the 2012 Grand Prix of Monaco:
Good news! Slappy isn't on pole! Yes! YES! If you'll remember, he was penalized five grid spots for his Moooooo-ooove of the Race at Spain, when he drove into the back of Bruno Senna's Williams. For once, justice is served to Slappy, and it is served in heaping teaspoons of bile and spite... and it is AWSUM! Meanwhile, the winner at Spain, PratiprasthÄtr Maldonado, went insane during P3 and drove across the nose of Sergio Perez, much the same way he did to Lewis Hamilton last year. However, these extracurricular activities on Maldonado's part may have led directly to Perez wrecking in Q1 when it looked like his steering failed in the Swimming Pool. Maldonado was peanlized 10 grid spots.
The upshot of all this is that we've got a fine shot of having our sixth winner in six races on Sunday, as Mark Webber is promoted to pole, Lewis Hamilton to 3rd and Lettuce Grosjean to 4th. It'd take Lettuce winning to give us our sixth team winning as well, which I'm gonna guess is unprecedented in F1 history. How cool would that be?
Considering how this year has gone so far, I wouldn't bet against it happening. See ya tomorrow!
Good news! Slappy isn't on pole! Yes! YES! If you'll remember, he was penalized five grid spots for his Moooooo-ooove of the Race at Spain, when he drove into the back of Bruno Senna's Williams. For once, justice is served to Slappy, and it is served in heaping teaspoons of bile and spite... and it is AWSUM! Meanwhile, the winner at Spain, PratiprasthÄtr Maldonado, went insane during P3 and drove across the nose of Sergio Perez, much the same way he did to Lewis Hamilton last year. However, these extracurricular activities on Maldonado's part may have led directly to Perez wrecking in Q1 when it looked like his steering failed in the Swimming Pool. Maldonado was peanlized 10 grid spots.
The upshot of all this is that we've got a fine shot of having our sixth winner in six races on Sunday, as Mark Webber is promoted to pole, Lewis Hamilton to 3rd and Lettuce Grosjean to 4th. It'd take Lettuce winning to give us our sixth team winning as well, which I'm gonna guess is unprecedented in F1 history. How cool would that be?
Considering how this year has gone so far, I wouldn't bet against it happening. See ya tomorrow!
Posted by: Wonderduck at
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May 25, 2012
Good Memories, Those...
Remember when I used to blog about things other than F1? Good times, good times.
Maybe soon.
Maybe soon.
Posted by: Wonderduck at
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