September 24, 2011
F1 Quals: Singapore 2011
Well, that was an interesting result. I don't know that I've ever seen this before. Before we get into it, let's take a look at the provisional grid for the 2011 Grand Prix of Singapore:
Q3 was very weird. First, Seb Vettel went out, turned one hot lap then parked it, in effect saying "take your best shot, kids." Of course, nobody could touch him... or at least, nobody handicapped by their teams' mistake. Lewis Hamilton put up a decent time, good enough to put him second, was pushed into the garage for tire changes and strategy... McLaren was going to send him out at just the right time, so he'd be the last man on track.
Except... um... they forgot. As the clock ticked down to 2:00 remaining, Hamilton was sitting in his car, waiting to go back out. There was no urgency in the garage, until people realized "hey, it takes 1:44 to do a hot lap, what'll it take to do an out-lap?" Whoops. As the clock ticked past 1:50 remaining, Lewis ripped his gloves off angrily and exited his car, any chance he had to improve his time gone. Immediately, his teammate beat him for second, then Mark Webber shoved them both down to the second row.
But at least he protected his tires. Slappy Schumacher can't even say that. Mercedes sent him out for his only run, but too late. The session clock expired when he was entering sector three, with about half a lap left to go. So no time for Slappy and a set of tires with unneeded wear... good jorb, guys!
The Force India team got both their cars into Q3 for the first time this season, then promptly said "we can't really do any better than this" and kept their cars in the garage. While they were probably right, it still seems... unseemly... to do that. Still, strategery goes a long way in F1.
The part that I was surprised by, however, was the uniformity of the top 10: each row is a different team! Red Bull on row 1, McLaren on row 2, Ferrari makes up row 3, Mercedes holds row 4, and Force India row 5. While I'm sure that's happened before, I can't recall when.
Oh, and Red Bull's sweep of pole position for the season continues. That's 11 for Vettel, three for Webber, 14-for-14. If Vettel wins and HWMNBN finishes off the podium, Seb gets his second Driver's Championship.
F1 Update! will come along tomorrow afternoon sometime; see you then!
Q3 was very weird. First, Seb Vettel went out, turned one hot lap then parked it, in effect saying "take your best shot, kids." Of course, nobody could touch him... or at least, nobody handicapped by their teams' mistake. Lewis Hamilton put up a decent time, good enough to put him second, was pushed into the garage for tire changes and strategy... McLaren was going to send him out at just the right time, so he'd be the last man on track.
Except... um... they forgot. As the clock ticked down to 2:00 remaining, Hamilton was sitting in his car, waiting to go back out. There was no urgency in the garage, until people realized "hey, it takes 1:44 to do a hot lap, what'll it take to do an out-lap?" Whoops. As the clock ticked past 1:50 remaining, Lewis ripped his gloves off angrily and exited his car, any chance he had to improve his time gone. Immediately, his teammate beat him for second, then Mark Webber shoved them both down to the second row.
But at least he protected his tires. Slappy Schumacher can't even say that. Mercedes sent him out for his only run, but too late. The session clock expired when he was entering sector three, with about half a lap left to go. So no time for Slappy and a set of tires with unneeded wear... good jorb, guys!
The Force India team got both their cars into Q3 for the first time this season, then promptly said "we can't really do any better than this" and kept their cars in the garage. While they were probably right, it still seems... unseemly... to do that. Still, strategery goes a long way in F1.
The part that I was surprised by, however, was the uniformity of the top 10: each row is a different team! Red Bull on row 1, McLaren on row 2, Ferrari makes up row 3, Mercedes holds row 4, and Force India row 5. While I'm sure that's happened before, I can't recall when.
Oh, and Red Bull's sweep of pole position for the season continues. That's 11 for Vettel, three for Webber, 14-for-14. If Vettel wins and HWMNBN finishes off the podium, Seb gets his second Driver's Championship.
F1 Update! will come along tomorrow afternoon sometime; see you then!
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September 23, 2011
F1 Practice: Singapore 2011
The day night dawned fell clear and dry as the F1 Circus prepared to take to Singapore's Marina Bay Circuit for Friday's 1st Practice session... and then the teams waited. And waited. And waited some more. What was going on?
The curbs installed around the track were coming up! Before the practice began, a support series session brought the problem to light. As a result, Practice 1 was delayed a half-hour as the marshals attempted to rectify the situation, then gave up and completely pulled the curbing off the track at four different turns. Then the F1 guys took to the streets of Singapore... and it happened again. Felipe Massa straddled a curb and... well, the above picture was the result. Out came the marshals, off came that curb as well. This is just a weird situation. It's the fourth time the Singapore GP has been run, and there's never been a problem like this before. Oh sure, the drivers complained about the height of the curbs after the first race (with Massa describing them as "little tortoises that would wreck the car"), but having them come up? Never before. What's going to happen overnight is that the marshals will remove the curbing at Turns 3 and 7 altogether, paint a white line where they were and the drivers will be told that crossing the line will be seriously frowned upon. At Turn 14, the entry curb is to be removed entirely. Finally, at Turns 10 and 13, they intend to repair the problem and make sure it doesn't happen again. Whatever it was; nobody has said what caused it in the first place. I'm sure the drivers are all super-confident now.
There were no repeats in P2, though the curbing did manage to catch out Gandalf Kobayashi.
One does tend to lose grip when the tires aren't on the track surface. Amazingly, this little maneuver did not end in a pile of carbon fiber and tears. Somehow. It did point out how little margin for error there is around this circuit, however. There are no runoff areas around this place, and precious few escape roads at the end of the fastest portions of the track. You make a mistake at, say, Turkey, you have miles of asphalt to go before you hit anything. Here, you make a mistake and there's a wall right there, all set to eat you... which happened a couple of times today.
Surprise surprise, Seb Vettel was fastest in P2, go figure. He was two-tenths of a second faster than the King of Singapore, HWMNBN (two wins and a third place in the three races here). Lewis Hamilton was third, with Massa fourth. Mark Webber was 5th, .891 seconds behind Vettel. Everybody else was at least two seconds slower. Now of course this is practice, which means you can't really pay any attention to the times, but yeesh.
Quals start at 9am Pond Central time on Saturday... we'll see you here right afterward, okay?
The curbs installed around the track were coming up! Before the practice began, a support series session brought the problem to light. As a result, Practice 1 was delayed a half-hour as the marshals attempted to rectify the situation, then gave up and completely pulled the curbing off the track at four different turns. Then the F1 guys took to the streets of Singapore... and it happened again. Felipe Massa straddled a curb and... well, the above picture was the result. Out came the marshals, off came that curb as well. This is just a weird situation. It's the fourth time the Singapore GP has been run, and there's never been a problem like this before. Oh sure, the drivers complained about the height of the curbs after the first race (with Massa describing them as "little tortoises that would wreck the car"), but having them come up? Never before. What's going to happen overnight is that the marshals will remove the curbing at Turns 3 and 7 altogether, paint a white line where they were and the drivers will be told that crossing the line will be seriously frowned upon. At Turn 14, the entry curb is to be removed entirely. Finally, at Turns 10 and 13, they intend to repair the problem and make sure it doesn't happen again. Whatever it was; nobody has said what caused it in the first place. I'm sure the drivers are all super-confident now.
There were no repeats in P2, though the curbing did manage to catch out Gandalf Kobayashi.
One does tend to lose grip when the tires aren't on the track surface. Amazingly, this little maneuver did not end in a pile of carbon fiber and tears. Somehow. It did point out how little margin for error there is around this circuit, however. There are no runoff areas around this place, and precious few escape roads at the end of the fastest portions of the track. You make a mistake at, say, Turkey, you have miles of asphalt to go before you hit anything. Here, you make a mistake and there's a wall right there, all set to eat you... which happened a couple of times today.
Surprise surprise, Seb Vettel was fastest in P2, go figure. He was two-tenths of a second faster than the King of Singapore, HWMNBN (two wins and a third place in the three races here). Lewis Hamilton was third, with Massa fourth. Mark Webber was 5th, .891 seconds behind Vettel. Everybody else was at least two seconds slower. Now of course this is practice, which means you can't really pay any attention to the times, but yeesh.
Quals start at 9am Pond Central time on Saturday... we'll see you here right afterward, okay?
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September 21, 2011
F1 on SPEED!: Singapore 2011
Take the narrow, confined layout of Monaco, then mix in the hot and humid atmosphere of Malaysia. That's what racing on the Marina Bay Street Circuit at Singapore is like for the drivers. Oh, but there's a unique twist, too... let's take a look at the track map for the 2011 Grand Prix of Singapore!
The unique twist? The whole race is run at night under the lights, adding another layer of stress and headache to the drivers' experiences. Then there's the fact that, unlike Monaco, the city doesn't shut down for the race. As you can see from looking at the map, there are highways that fly over the circuit at a couple of points. All of that lends itself to a visual spectacle unmatched in Formula 1.
It also creates a completely unheard-of problem. At one place on the track, a length of subway runs under the circuit. In the past, Red Bull's gearbox has suffered malfunctions from the electrical impulses coming from the trains! Other teams may have had similar difficulties, but haven't mentioned them. Because of all of this, many drivers have been quite outspoken in their dislike for Singapore. Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa in particular have been harsh in their assessments of the layout.
However, it looks great on TV. What else can we ask for? Well, how about something that's never occurred in the long history of F1? We've never had a wet night race before, but that's what we're looking at this weekend. All three days of the race weekend are forecast to be occurring under stormy skies. At least the teams will get plenty of practice on how their cars behave in such conditions. We're still going to have a ton of retirements if it rains, though.
We'll get to see it all thanks to the good burghers at SPEED, thankfully! Here's the weekend schedule:
Friday: 1st Practice: 430a-6a streaming; Practice 2: 830a-1010a live.
Saturday: 3rd Practice: 6a-7a streaming; Quals: 9a-1030a live.
Sunday: 2011 Grand Prix of Singapore 630a-9a live; 2p-430p replay
Of course, we'll be all over it all, right here at The Pond! See ya then, see ya here!
The unique twist? The whole race is run at night under the lights, adding another layer of stress and headache to the drivers' experiences. Then there's the fact that, unlike Monaco, the city doesn't shut down for the race. As you can see from looking at the map, there are highways that fly over the circuit at a couple of points. All of that lends itself to a visual spectacle unmatched in Formula 1.
It also creates a completely unheard-of problem. At one place on the track, a length of subway runs under the circuit. In the past, Red Bull's gearbox has suffered malfunctions from the electrical impulses coming from the trains! Other teams may have had similar difficulties, but haven't mentioned them. Because of all of this, many drivers have been quite outspoken in their dislike for Singapore. Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa in particular have been harsh in their assessments of the layout.
However, it looks great on TV. What else can we ask for? Well, how about something that's never occurred in the long history of F1? We've never had a wet night race before, but that's what we're looking at this weekend. All three days of the race weekend are forecast to be occurring under stormy skies. At least the teams will get plenty of practice on how their cars behave in such conditions. We're still going to have a ton of retirements if it rains, though.
We'll get to see it all thanks to the good burghers at SPEED, thankfully! Here's the weekend schedule:
Friday: 1st Practice: 430a-6a streaming; Practice 2: 830a-1010a live.
Saturday: 3rd Practice: 6a-7a streaming; Quals: 9a-1030a live.
Sunday: 2011 Grand Prix of Singapore 630a-9a live; 2p-430p replay
Of course, we'll be all over it all, right here at The Pond! See ya then, see ya here!
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September 20, 2011
The Day Everything Changed
It's been two years since Momzerduck passed away. It's amazing how much of that day and weekend remains crystal-clear in my memory, like it happened just yesterday... and how much of it remains just a grim haze. I remember the Bears beating the Steelers that afternoon. I remember having pancakes for brunch at a crowded Greek restaurant. And above all, I remember the last hour or so in that room at the U of Chicago ICU. I can close my eyes and experience it all again, which I really don't enjoy.
But most of all, I remember how much Momzerduck loved me and how very much I miss her.
It's been two years since Momzerduck passed away. It's amazing how much of that day and weekend remains crystal-clear in my memory, like it happened just yesterday... and how much of it remains just a grim haze. I remember the Bears beating the Steelers that afternoon. I remember having pancakes for brunch at a crowded Greek restaurant. And above all, I remember the last hour or so in that room at the U of Chicago ICU. I can close my eyes and experience it all again, which I really don't enjoy.
But most of all, I remember how much Momzerduck loved me and how very much I miss her.
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September 19, 2011
Patrol, Bomber, Consolidated Aircraft
There was nothing particularly revolutionary about the PBY Catalina's design. It had a long range and was fairly sturdy, but it was neither fast nor maneuverable. Yet the Consolidated Aircraft design Model 28 was produced in greater numbers (at least 4000) than any other flying boat, served in the militaries of 29 different countries, is one of the best-known and most-loved planes of all time, and is still flying today. What was it about the Cat?
The answer: versatility.
more...
The answer: versatility.
more...
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Ahoy Ye Scurvy Ducks!
Whitebill the pirate wishes to remind you that today is International Talk Like A Pirate day.
Whitebill the pirate wishes to remind you that today is International Talk Like A Pirate day.
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Blogcleaning
Well, I don't know if the writer's block is gone or not. The "big guns" I mentioned in the last post was going to be a full-on episodic review of Rio Rainbow Gate! Ep01, but I discovered that I couldn't bring myself to do it. The reactions I had in the first five minutes were enough to put that thought out of my mind: cold sweats, shaking, nausea, and the sudden urge to hurt someone... anyone... and a sudden bout of self-loathing for willingly attempting to inflict the show upon myself and others. I just couldn't do it.
I ordered another graphics card, a GT240 by SPARKLE, this evening. 1GB of GDDR5 should make it pretty good for a low-power card (it draws its power from the PCIe slot only; no extra connections needed). It's probably the best I can do considering my system is five years old and its design only allows for a single-slot card. I could have put a 9800GT in... with liberal use of a dremel tool (which I don't have) and a willingness to hack bits out of the back of my case (which I also don't have).
I have Monday and Tuesday off. The reason for that will be revealed soon enough.
With any luck, I'll actually get the PBY post done on Monday. I've run through it enough in my head that it should be fairly straightforward, though time-consuming, to write... except for one thing. I can't seem to get it to flow well. Eh, either I'll figure it out or I won't. It'll be a voyage of discovery for us all.
Suddenly, the Hosho appears!
I'm going to bed.
I ordered another graphics card, a GT240 by SPARKLE, this evening. 1GB of GDDR5 should make it pretty good for a low-power card (it draws its power from the PCIe slot only; no extra connections needed). It's probably the best I can do considering my system is five years old and its design only allows for a single-slot card. I could have put a 9800GT in... with liberal use of a dremel tool (which I don't have) and a willingness to hack bits out of the back of my case (which I also don't have).
I have Monday and Tuesday off. The reason for that will be revealed soon enough.
With any luck, I'll actually get the PBY post done on Monday. I've run through it enough in my head that it should be fairly straightforward, though time-consuming, to write... except for one thing. I can't seem to get it to flow well. Eh, either I'll figure it out or I won't. It'll be a voyage of discovery for us all.
Suddenly, the Hosho appears!
I'm going to bed.
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September 17, 2011
Writers Block? ME?
Sunuvabeetchmartin. I've got writer's block. I've sat here for the past hour trying to put something interesting on the screen, and it ain't happening. Words aren't flowing worth a darn, every bit of verbiage is a struggle. I've had blogblock, where I can't come up with something to write about, before but I've got something to post this time... and it isn't coming.
I'm afraid there's only one cure: more cowbell drop the subject I'm working on for a while and pull out the big guns... like this one.
Yup, that big.
I'm afraid there's only one cure: more cowbell drop the subject I'm working on for a while and pull out the big guns... like this one.
Yup, that big.
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September 16, 2011
Graphics Card FAIL!, Part Two: The FAILening
In our last installment, Our Intrepid Hero ordered a dual-slot graphics card instead of a single-slotter. Chagrined but infinitely wiser, he then began researching graphics cards that would actually fit into his computer, power supply and budget. A few hours later and a decision reached, the order went in for Nvidia GT240 as released by PNY. Only 512mb of video ram, but it's GDDR5. Various benchmarks and tests suggest that it was faster than the 1gb of GDDR3 on many of the other GT240s out there. And $59 with a $30 rebate? Score!
The order was accepted, the credit card was charged, and all was right with the world. Until Monday evening, when I still hadn't received a notice that the card had shipped. Nor on Tuesday morning. When I looked back at the above linky, it now said the item was backordered. Huh?
A quick call to TigerDirect confirmed that yes indeed, the card was backordered, but that an order had been placed with PNY to get more in, and if I hadn't heard anything else by Friday, I should call back. Which I did, at lunchtime today. And lo, I was informed that "there is no delivery date." Ah.
In my many years of experience working retail, I've learned that when I hear "no delivery date," that means that there's a very good chance that there will never BE a delivery date, ever. And so, I've canceled that order. So two weeks after I first placed an order for a graphics card, I'm still without one. I suspect that if I order another one from TigerDirect, it'll be eaten by a Pale-throated Three-toed Sloth or something before it ships.
The order was accepted, the credit card was charged, and all was right with the world. Until Monday evening, when I still hadn't received a notice that the card had shipped. Nor on Tuesday morning. When I looked back at the above linky, it now said the item was backordered. Huh?
A quick call to TigerDirect confirmed that yes indeed, the card was backordered, but that an order had been placed with PNY to get more in, and if I hadn't heard anything else by Friday, I should call back. Which I did, at lunchtime today. And lo, I was informed that "there is no delivery date." Ah.
In my many years of experience working retail, I've learned that when I hear "no delivery date," that means that there's a very good chance that there will never BE a delivery date, ever. And so, I've canceled that order. So two weeks after I first placed an order for a graphics card, I'm still without one. I suspect that if I order another one from TigerDirect, it'll be eaten by a Pale-throated Three-toed Sloth or something before it ships.
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September 14, 2011
Sugar. Spice. And Everything Nice. These Were The Ingreedients Chosen To Create The Perfect Ducks In Anime.
-Powerpuff Girls Z, Ep21
The original Powerpuff Girls was an intelligent, engaging, entertaining and funny romp of a show, one that never failed to make me laugh at its aimed-at-adults humor. The Japanese, seeing it as homage to Super-Sentai style anime, thought it would be a good idea to remake it in their own unique way. Thus was born Powerpuff Girls Z. It was a magical girl show, with three normal little girls becoming "Hyper Blossom," "Rolling Bubbles" and "Powered Buttercup." It was also turned into a kids show. In short, it was everything the original was not... in particular, it was not funny or clever in the least. But it did have a rubber duck in one episode. In fact, the rubber duck was even the main "villain" of Ep21 "Quack Quack Attack". Given life by the "black light" that created monsters, the duck eventually grew to enormous size.
But hey: rubber duckie. That's the only worthwhile thing to come out of PPGZ, right there.
-Powerpuff Girls Z, Ep21
The original Powerpuff Girls was an intelligent, engaging, entertaining and funny romp of a show, one that never failed to make me laugh at its aimed-at-adults humor. The Japanese, seeing it as homage to Super-Sentai style anime, thought it would be a good idea to remake it in their own unique way. Thus was born Powerpuff Girls Z. It was a magical girl show, with three normal little girls becoming "Hyper Blossom," "Rolling Bubbles" and "Powered Buttercup." It was also turned into a kids show. In short, it was everything the original was not... in particular, it was not funny or clever in the least. But it did have a rubber duck in one episode. In fact, the rubber duck was even the main "villain" of Ep21 "Quack Quack Attack". Given life by the "black light" that created monsters, the duck eventually grew to enormous size.
Left: Steven's worst nightmare. Right: PPG fans' worst nightmare.
The duckie wound up accidentally terrorizing the city of Townsville as it tried to find its owner, which it loved very much. All it wanted to do is be reunited with the little boy that dropped it one day. Eventually it was, it returned to normal duckie size, and all was right with the world. The End.But hey: rubber duckie. That's the only worthwhile thing to come out of PPGZ, right there.
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September 13, 2011
The Duck Collector's Holy Grail
I'm sure that most of the readers of The Pond are aware that I collect rubber duckies. The Flock is nearing 500 members, so I've got all shapes and sizes of duckies: huge duckies, tiny duckies, devil duckies, cast iron duckies, the list goes on and on.
It's also no surprise to my readers that I'm a fan of anime. In particular, I tend towards what are called "slice-of-life" shows. In recent times, the best slice-of-life show to air was called Hidamari Sketch, which starred a rubber duck and six art-school students. This particular rubber duckie, called Yuno's Duckie, is quite possibly the duckie I wish to have in The Flock the most... but that's a personal thing, my own wish and desire.
However, for serious American rubber duckie collectors there is one particular style of rubber duckie that is very difficult to obtain. It's called a Tolo duckie, so-called because of the maker, Tolo Toys. They're a UK company that sells children's toys and playthings... and they don't sell here in North America at all. Back in the days when the internet was fresh and new, I stumbled upon a website that, amongst other things, had a "webcam" of a rubber duckie doing things (sitting on a balcony, sitting on top of a computer monitor, sitting in a combat boot, stuff like that). That particular duck was my first exposure to a Tolo duck (though I called it a "chubby duckie" instead), and I immediately wanted one... and this predated my heavy-duty duckie collecting!
How hard is it to get one here in the US? Over at The Web's mecca for rubber duckie fans, Duckplanet.com, there was a forum thread where the participants wound up getting a dozen or so of them from a shop in New Zealand, but only after places in the UK and Australia wouldn't do it. So a chubby Tolo duckie is, truly, the Holy Grail for any rubber duckie fan.
Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, friends, Romans, countrymen... I have gained the Holy Grail.
According to Ph.Duck, this was the only rubber duckie anywhere in Northern Europe. Y'see, he was visiting family in Sweden last week, and went looking. As he put it, he purchased the duck from a British toy store chain in a Danish city using Swedish kronor while waiting to get on a French-made airliner to fly to America. I would have loved to have seen the look on the customs agent's face when Ph.Duck answered "A duck" to the usual question "Do you have anything to declare?"
Even better, Ph.Duck had no idea there was anything particularly special about this duckie, had no idea that I would practically wet myself with excitement when I pulled it out of the bag at dinner last night.
It's actually hard for me to believe that I have my own "chubby duckie", after all these years. Thanks, Ph.Duck!
It's also no surprise to my readers that I'm a fan of anime. In particular, I tend towards what are called "slice-of-life" shows. In recent times, the best slice-of-life show to air was called Hidamari Sketch, which starred a rubber duck and six art-school students. This particular rubber duckie, called Yuno's Duckie, is quite possibly the duckie I wish to have in The Flock the most... but that's a personal thing, my own wish and desire.
However, for serious American rubber duckie collectors there is one particular style of rubber duckie that is very difficult to obtain. It's called a Tolo duckie, so-called because of the maker, Tolo Toys. They're a UK company that sells children's toys and playthings... and they don't sell here in North America at all. Back in the days when the internet was fresh and new, I stumbled upon a website that, amongst other things, had a "webcam" of a rubber duckie doing things (sitting on a balcony, sitting on top of a computer monitor, sitting in a combat boot, stuff like that). That particular duck was my first exposure to a Tolo duck (though I called it a "chubby duckie" instead), and I immediately wanted one... and this predated my heavy-duty duckie collecting!
How hard is it to get one here in the US? Over at The Web's mecca for rubber duckie fans, Duckplanet.com, there was a forum thread where the participants wound up getting a dozen or so of them from a shop in New Zealand, but only after places in the UK and Australia wouldn't do it. So a chubby Tolo duckie is, truly, the Holy Grail for any rubber duckie fan.
Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, friends, Romans, countrymen... I have gained the Holy Grail.
According to Ph.Duck, this was the only rubber duckie anywhere in Northern Europe. Y'see, he was visiting family in Sweden last week, and went looking. As he put it, he purchased the duck from a British toy store chain in a Danish city using Swedish kronor while waiting to get on a French-made airliner to fly to America. I would have loved to have seen the look on the customs agent's face when Ph.Duck answered "A duck" to the usual question "Do you have anything to declare?"
Even better, Ph.Duck had no idea there was anything particularly special about this duckie, had no idea that I would practically wet myself with excitement when I pulled it out of the bag at dinner last night.
It's actually hard for me to believe that I have my own "chubby duckie", after all these years. Thanks, Ph.Duck!
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September 11, 2011
F1 Update!: Italy 2011
A bright, beautiful sunshiny day met the F1 Circus as they formed up on the grid at Monza. The Red Bull of Seb Vettel sat on pole for the 10th time this season, but seemed to be down on speed. Would either of the two McLarens be able to disrupt his plans, or would he run away and hide on the fastest track of them all? THIS is your F1 Update! for the 2011 Grand Prix of Italy!
*LIGHTS OUT: At the front of the field, the leaders had perfectly acceptable starts, but things were different down towards the back of the grid. HRT's Daniel Ricciardo went into anti-stall, jammed in 3rd gear, then stalled anyway. Since he was starting 23rd, there was nobody to run into the back of him other than his teammate Vitantonio Liuzzi, who managed to get past easily. We'll come back to Liuzzi in a moment. Back up with the leaders, Seb Vettel was passed heading into the first turn. The surprise came from who did the passing. Ferrari's HWMNBN, the hopes and dreams of Italy propelling him forward, sneaked by the Red Bull on the inside and led the Thundering Herd into the first turn. Just for a moment, the cheers of the partisan crowd drowned out the screaming of 23 V8 engines turning at 18000rpm.
*TOTAL CARNAGE: Vitantonio Liuzzi either had God's Own Start or a RATO unit stuffed up the tailpipe of his HRT, for he had passed five cars right off the bat and was heading to the inside of victim number six with a big head of steam. Then two things happened: first, the RATO unit ran out of oomph. Second, victim number six decided that he didn't want to be passed by a HRT, even one with an Italian driver at Monza, and moved over enough that the opening up the inside was no longer there. Liuzzi, being a hot-blooded son of Italy, decided to try and pass anyway and wound up with his right wheels on the grass. The car immediately snapped to the left. Now at this point, a great driver would gather the car up and continue on with maybe a slightly elevated pulse rate. A good driver would save the car, maybe spin, and rejoin the field at the back of the pack, wiser and still racing. But this was Vitantonio Liuzzi. He immediately overcorrected and found himself sideways on the grass, moving around 150mph and not slowing down in the least... just as the Thundering Herd filtered through the first chicane.
Nico Rosberg had to be feeling pretty good about his chances today. He had a car that had shown a good turn of speed through the weekend. Further, he was on an alternate tire strategy from everybody else in the top ten. He had started the race on the prime tire (medium rubber), and if he could manage to stay in contact with the leaders, he'd be able to attack on the option rubber when everybody else switched to the prime late in the race. Meanwhile, Renault's The Red Menace looked like a definite contender for points today as well. As the two of them guided their steeds through the chicane side-by-side, neither of them saw what was bearing down on them from the right side.
Liuzzi slammed into the side of the Renault, which was then driven into the side of the Mercedes. All three cars were ruined and came to a halt in a pile of carbon fiber in the center of the track. Rubens Barrichello's Williams had nowhere to go, but he somehow managed to get whoa'd up in time to avoid becoming the fourth victim of the wreck. He came to a stop completely blocked by the pileup, but he was able to eventually continue. Liuzzi was hit with a five-spot grid penalty for the next race for being a dumbarse causing an accident with his lousy driving. Berndt Maylander was duly summoned to the track, and a three-lap Safety Car period commenced while the Italian track marshals went on strike broomed the carbon fiber off the track.
*GAME ON, RACE OVER: When Maylander pulled over and the race resumed, HWMNBN and Vettel jumped away from the rest of the field, led by Lewis Hamilton. Hamilton has shown that he has no idea how to react on restarts in the past, and he hasn't improved a jot since. Vettel was all over the back of the Ferrari for one lap, during which time the two McLarens and the sole remaining Mercedes managed to close the gap. Then going into Second Lesmos the inevitable happened and the Red Bull passed HWMNBN. By the end of the lap Vettel had over a second on the Ferrari. By the end of three more laps, he had a 10 second lead and the race was functionally over. The only hope the rest of the field had was that the Red Bull pit crew would make a mistake. They didn't, despite the psychic attacks of F1 fans the world over (minus Germany and Austria). The remaining 30-odd laps were merely formalities to discern who would finish second. That honor went to Jenson Button, nearly 10 seconds back after Vettel went into cruise mode with five laps remaining. HWMNBN finished third with Lewis Hamilton all over the back of him. Slappy Schumacher finished fifth.
*THREE INTERESTING STATS: If Seb Vettel wins the next race, he will clinch the Driver's Championship with four races left to go. Sometime during this race, Vettel led his 500th lap of the season. Nobody else has led as many as 100 laps. Finally, the first five finishers were all past World Driver's Champions, with 12 trophies between them (Slappy 7, HWMNBN 2, and one each for Lewis, Jenson and Sebby).
*DRIVER OF THE RACE: Seb Vettel. There's no question that Vettel is a good driver, but one knock on him is that he can't race in a crowd. Well, he put the lie to that when he passed HWMNBN for the lead. The best car + one of the best drivers = pure gold.
*TEAM OF THE RACE: McLaren. Even though they made a fundamental error in car setup, running too much rear wing and therefore hamstringing their top speed on the fastest track in F1, the team made it work. The drivers compensated, and the pit crew performed amazingly. At one point, they got Hamilton in-and-out in three seconds flat. Red Bull has claimed that they've done a sub-3.0 second stop in practice, but that's not under race conditions. Three seconds is probably the best you'll see all year. A second/fourth finish is about as good as anybody could hope for these days.
*MOVE OF THE RACE: Seb Vettel saw his race strategy ("Get in the lead, get over a second ahead, cruise to victory") blowing up in his face. One of the toughest drivers to pass, HWMNBN, was in front of him and three drooling silver cars were snapping at his heels. If he didn't get ahead of the Ferrari, he was going to be in trouble fast. So for a lap and change after the Safety Car came in, he harried the Spaniard like there would be no tomorrow. Then going into the Second Lesmos, he saw a narrow opportunity and jumped on it. Difficulty: it was to the outside of the Ferrari. Probably muttering "In God and Adrian Newey I trust," Vettel steered himself into the gap.
Even the incredible amount of downforce generated by the body of the Red Bull couldn't keep Vettel from sliding wide as he pulled alongside the Ferrari, and he put two wheels into the grass.
Remember what happened to Liuzzi back at the start? Vettel simply gathered up the car and continued on as if nothing happened. Then it simply became a drag race down to the Variante Ascari... and Vettel was on the inside.
After this pass for the lead, the race was over. A helluva nice move with a fine example of car control thrown in... yeah, that's a Move of the Race!
*MOOOOOOO-OOOOVE OF THE RACE: Since Lap 1 incidents are not eligible for either MotR or Mooo-otR awards, Liuzzi's attempted shortcut across the first chicane can't win this. Eagle-eyed readers might have noticed the complete absence of Seb Vettel's teammate Mark Webber from this F1U!. That's because he took himself out of the race early. At the same time that Vettel was working on HWMNBN, Webber was trying to get past Felipe Massa's Ferrari. Unfortunately, the Australian tried to pass Massa in the first chicane. He was on the outside of the first bend, which would put him to the inside of the second bend, but Massa had the racing line and squeezed Webber hard. Instead of backing out, Webber tried to make it work anyway. He hopped the curb and plonked right into the side of the Ferrari. Massa spun, and Webber's nose went bye-bye.
Keep an eye on that wing endplate marked "Total". Webber continued on, hoping to make it back to the pits to get a new nose. Perfectly logical, the car was still moving and tires didn't seem to be cut... and hey, around Monza not having a nose wing probably helps on the straights! Unfortunately, there are some turns around this circuit, and heading into Parabolica, Webber got a little carried away.
Oh look, there's that endplate again! It was jammed under the chassis, taking even more downforce off the car. Steaming into Parabolica, Webber couldn't get slowed up at all and drove right off the track, through the kittylitter and into the tire barrier. Congrats, Mark Webber, you earned yourself the Mooooo-oooove of the Race by self-inflicted stupidity!
*SELECTED DRIVER QUOTES OF THE RACE:
more...
*LIGHTS OUT: At the front of the field, the leaders had perfectly acceptable starts, but things were different down towards the back of the grid. HRT's Daniel Ricciardo went into anti-stall, jammed in 3rd gear, then stalled anyway. Since he was starting 23rd, there was nobody to run into the back of him other than his teammate Vitantonio Liuzzi, who managed to get past easily. We'll come back to Liuzzi in a moment. Back up with the leaders, Seb Vettel was passed heading into the first turn. The surprise came from who did the passing. Ferrari's HWMNBN, the hopes and dreams of Italy propelling him forward, sneaked by the Red Bull on the inside and led the Thundering Herd into the first turn. Just for a moment, the cheers of the partisan crowd drowned out the screaming of 23 V8 engines turning at 18000rpm.
*TOTAL CARNAGE: Vitantonio Liuzzi either had God's Own Start or a RATO unit stuffed up the tailpipe of his HRT, for he had passed five cars right off the bat and was heading to the inside of victim number six with a big head of steam. Then two things happened: first, the RATO unit ran out of oomph. Second, victim number six decided that he didn't want to be passed by a HRT, even one with an Italian driver at Monza, and moved over enough that the opening up the inside was no longer there. Liuzzi, being a hot-blooded son of Italy, decided to try and pass anyway and wound up with his right wheels on the grass. The car immediately snapped to the left. Now at this point, a great driver would gather the car up and continue on with maybe a slightly elevated pulse rate. A good driver would save the car, maybe spin, and rejoin the field at the back of the pack, wiser and still racing. But this was Vitantonio Liuzzi. He immediately overcorrected and found himself sideways on the grass, moving around 150mph and not slowing down in the least... just as the Thundering Herd filtered through the first chicane.
Nico Rosberg had to be feeling pretty good about his chances today. He had a car that had shown a good turn of speed through the weekend. Further, he was on an alternate tire strategy from everybody else in the top ten. He had started the race on the prime tire (medium rubber), and if he could manage to stay in contact with the leaders, he'd be able to attack on the option rubber when everybody else switched to the prime late in the race. Meanwhile, Renault's The Red Menace looked like a definite contender for points today as well. As the two of them guided their steeds through the chicane side-by-side, neither of them saw what was bearing down on them from the right side.
Liuzzi slammed into the side of the Renault, which was then driven into the side of the Mercedes. All three cars were ruined and came to a halt in a pile of carbon fiber in the center of the track. Rubens Barrichello's Williams had nowhere to go, but he somehow managed to get whoa'd up in time to avoid becoming the fourth victim of the wreck. He came to a stop completely blocked by the pileup, but he was able to eventually continue. Liuzzi was hit with a five-spot grid penalty for the next race for being a dumbarse causing an accident with his lousy driving. Berndt Maylander was duly summoned to the track, and a three-lap Safety Car period commenced while the Italian track marshals went on strike broomed the carbon fiber off the track.
*GAME ON, RACE OVER: When Maylander pulled over and the race resumed, HWMNBN and Vettel jumped away from the rest of the field, led by Lewis Hamilton. Hamilton has shown that he has no idea how to react on restarts in the past, and he hasn't improved a jot since. Vettel was all over the back of the Ferrari for one lap, during which time the two McLarens and the sole remaining Mercedes managed to close the gap. Then going into Second Lesmos the inevitable happened and the Red Bull passed HWMNBN. By the end of the lap Vettel had over a second on the Ferrari. By the end of three more laps, he had a 10 second lead and the race was functionally over. The only hope the rest of the field had was that the Red Bull pit crew would make a mistake. They didn't, despite the psychic attacks of F1 fans the world over (minus Germany and Austria). The remaining 30-odd laps were merely formalities to discern who would finish second. That honor went to Jenson Button, nearly 10 seconds back after Vettel went into cruise mode with five laps remaining. HWMNBN finished third with Lewis Hamilton all over the back of him. Slappy Schumacher finished fifth.
*THREE INTERESTING STATS: If Seb Vettel wins the next race, he will clinch the Driver's Championship with four races left to go. Sometime during this race, Vettel led his 500th lap of the season. Nobody else has led as many as 100 laps. Finally, the first five finishers were all past World Driver's Champions, with 12 trophies between them (Slappy 7, HWMNBN 2, and one each for Lewis, Jenson and Sebby).
*DRIVER OF THE RACE: Seb Vettel. There's no question that Vettel is a good driver, but one knock on him is that he can't race in a crowd. Well, he put the lie to that when he passed HWMNBN for the lead. The best car + one of the best drivers = pure gold.
*TEAM OF THE RACE: McLaren. Even though they made a fundamental error in car setup, running too much rear wing and therefore hamstringing their top speed on the fastest track in F1, the team made it work. The drivers compensated, and the pit crew performed amazingly. At one point, they got Hamilton in-and-out in three seconds flat. Red Bull has claimed that they've done a sub-3.0 second stop in practice, but that's not under race conditions. Three seconds is probably the best you'll see all year. A second/fourth finish is about as good as anybody could hope for these days.
*MOVE OF THE RACE: Seb Vettel saw his race strategy ("Get in the lead, get over a second ahead, cruise to victory") blowing up in his face. One of the toughest drivers to pass, HWMNBN, was in front of him and three drooling silver cars were snapping at his heels. If he didn't get ahead of the Ferrari, he was going to be in trouble fast. So for a lap and change after the Safety Car came in, he harried the Spaniard like there would be no tomorrow. Then going into the Second Lesmos, he saw a narrow opportunity and jumped on it. Difficulty: it was to the outside of the Ferrari. Probably muttering "In God and Adrian Newey I trust," Vettel steered himself into the gap.
Even the incredible amount of downforce generated by the body of the Red Bull couldn't keep Vettel from sliding wide as he pulled alongside the Ferrari, and he put two wheels into the grass.
Remember what happened to Liuzzi back at the start? Vettel simply gathered up the car and continued on as if nothing happened. Then it simply became a drag race down to the Variante Ascari... and Vettel was on the inside.
After this pass for the lead, the race was over. A helluva nice move with a fine example of car control thrown in... yeah, that's a Move of the Race!
*MOOOOOOO-OOOOVE OF THE RACE: Since Lap 1 incidents are not eligible for either MotR or Mooo-otR awards, Liuzzi's attempted shortcut across the first chicane can't win this. Eagle-eyed readers might have noticed the complete absence of Seb Vettel's teammate Mark Webber from this F1U!. That's because he took himself out of the race early. At the same time that Vettel was working on HWMNBN, Webber was trying to get past Felipe Massa's Ferrari. Unfortunately, the Australian tried to pass Massa in the first chicane. He was on the outside of the first bend, which would put him to the inside of the second bend, but Massa had the racing line and squeezed Webber hard. Instead of backing out, Webber tried to make it work anyway. He hopped the curb and plonked right into the side of the Ferrari. Massa spun, and Webber's nose went bye-bye.
Keep an eye on that wing endplate marked "Total". Webber continued on, hoping to make it back to the pits to get a new nose. Perfectly logical, the car was still moving and tires didn't seem to be cut... and hey, around Monza not having a nose wing probably helps on the straights! Unfortunately, there are some turns around this circuit, and heading into Parabolica, Webber got a little carried away.
Oh look, there's that endplate again! It was jammed under the chassis, taking even more downforce off the car. Steaming into Parabolica, Webber couldn't get slowed up at all and drove right off the track, through the kittylitter and into the tire barrier. Congrats, Mark Webber, you earned yourself the Mooooo-oooove of the Race by self-inflicted stupidity!
*SELECTED DRIVER QUOTES OF THE RACE:
more...
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F1 Update!: Italy 2011 ARRRRRGGHHHHH!!!!
Because my right thumb touched a button on my new wireless mouse, I just lost my F1U! for Monza. It was nearly done, too, after three hours of work. Excuse me while I nip off and shoot myself.
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September 10, 2011
Graphics Card FAIL!
When did the Nvidia 9800GT go dual-slot without me noticing? Looks like my choices are now the GT240 or stick with onboard.
This is the first time I've ever regretted getting a BTX-style computer.
UPDATE: Just to clarify, the title of this post really should be "Reading Comprehension FAIL," since it's my own darn fault. There were pictures at TigerDirect and Amazon that would have made it perfectly clear that the 9800GT wouldn't fit into Chiyo-chan, I just didn't bother. Wonderdumbarseduck, that's me.
This is the first time I've ever regretted getting a BTX-style computer.
UPDATE: Just to clarify, the title of this post really should be "Reading Comprehension FAIL," since it's my own darn fault. There were pictures at TigerDirect and Amazon that would have made it perfectly clear that the 9800GT wouldn't fit into Chiyo-chan, I just didn't bother. Wonderdumbarseduck, that's me.
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F1 Quals: Italy 2011
Monza. Where speed is king, and everything else is just rubbish. Would the Red Bull boys continue their sweep of the pole position? Or would someone... anyone... knock them off? Well, let's check! Here's the provisional grid for the 2011 Grand Prix of Italy:
Nope. Red Bull makes it 13-for-13, and Seb Vettel becomes only the second driver in F1 history to have at least 10 poles in a season more than once (he did it last year, too). The performance was so dominating that both McLarens aborted their final runs at pole position, though to be honest Hamilton backed off because he screwed up a chicane, smoking a tire in the process.
Then just to add insult to injury, Vettel finished his final lap even though he knew both McLarens had given up... and made the final difference an even half-second. Yeesh.
Even though the best he could do was fourth, HWMNBN and Ferrari have to call this one a win. They fully expected their best to be the third row of the grid. There's a lot of pressure on the Red Team; it's their home race, after all, and "Italy expects...". Last year, HWMNBN brought the tifosi a win. This year? I'll be stunned if anybody can catch Vettel, but as they say, "that's why they run the races."
The race is tomorrow... see ya then!
Nope. Red Bull makes it 13-for-13, and Seb Vettel becomes only the second driver in F1 history to have at least 10 poles in a season more than once (he did it last year, too). The performance was so dominating that both McLarens aborted their final runs at pole position, though to be honest Hamilton backed off because he screwed up a chicane, smoking a tire in the process.
Then just to add insult to injury, Vettel finished his final lap even though he knew both McLarens had given up... and made the final difference an even half-second. Yeesh.
Even though the best he could do was fourth, HWMNBN and Ferrari have to call this one a win. They fully expected their best to be the third row of the grid. There's a lot of pressure on the Red Team; it's their home race, after all, and "Italy expects...". Last year, HWMNBN brought the tifosi a win. This year? I'll be stunned if anybody can catch Vettel, but as they say, "that's why they run the races."
The race is tomorrow... see ya then!
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September 09, 2011
F1 Practice: Italy 2011
Practice sessions are only rarely interesting, and on those occasions when they are it's rarely because of what's happening on track. I mean, I've stated that the only reasons I watch Practice 2 is to get myself refamiliarized with that race's circuit (after all, we only see the tracks once a year) and in case something odd happens, for good or ill.
Well, during today's Practice 2 session, the "odd" happened. For the first session, and the first hour of the second, everything went according to plan... except for the two McLarens being much faster than everybody else, to the tune of 1.5 seconds. Despite some astonished reactions from websites and individuals, there's nothing we can really take from this. Never trust anything you see in Practice, speed-wise, since we haven't the faintest what teams are actually trying to accomplish. For example, it's quite possible that, say, Red Bull, were doing fuel runs the entire session, trying to get good mileage estimates for the race, while McLaren were doing full speed runs.
In P2, Lewis Hamilton looked to still have the fastest car during that first hour. Speculation is rife that the Glares On Wheels are running more rear wing than their competitors. This would give them a huge amount of downforce (in comparison) in the turns while not costing them in the least over the rest of the track during Practice and Quals, when the DRS can be used at any place on the circuit. During the race, this could come back to haunt them as they'll be quicker through the turns, but slower on any non-DRS straightaway (there will be two independent DRS zones at Monza... I guess Bernie coughed up the cash for another Dell!).
Then, with sixty minutes gone in the session, the odd things began to happen.
more...
Well, during today's Practice 2 session, the "odd" happened. For the first session, and the first hour of the second, everything went according to plan... except for the two McLarens being much faster than everybody else, to the tune of 1.5 seconds. Despite some astonished reactions from websites and individuals, there's nothing we can really take from this. Never trust anything you see in Practice, speed-wise, since we haven't the faintest what teams are actually trying to accomplish. For example, it's quite possible that, say, Red Bull, were doing fuel runs the entire session, trying to get good mileage estimates for the race, while McLaren were doing full speed runs.
In P2, Lewis Hamilton looked to still have the fastest car during that first hour. Speculation is rife that the Glares On Wheels are running more rear wing than their competitors. This would give them a huge amount of downforce (in comparison) in the turns while not costing them in the least over the rest of the track during Practice and Quals, when the DRS can be used at any place on the circuit. During the race, this could come back to haunt them as they'll be quicker through the turns, but slower on any non-DRS straightaway (there will be two independent DRS zones at Monza... I guess Bernie coughed up the cash for another Dell!).
Then, with sixty minutes gone in the session, the odd things began to happen.
more...
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Mashup Madness!
While we all wait for my brain to decompress enough to get around to writing up the Friday Practice post for the Italian GP weekend, I've gotta share these excellent mashups I've stumbled upon recently.
First up, Sad But Superstitious:
First up, Sad But Superstitious:
Stevie Wonder and Metallica... who wouldathunkit?
Second, One Of These Heatwaves:
Martha & The Vandellas and Pink Floyd... who wouldathunkit? Actually, I have a confession to make... this was probably the first mashup I ever heard. I've had the mp3 for quite a few years. So it's not something I stumbled upon recently. So sue me.
Third, from the game DJ Hero, We Will Robot Rock You:
Stick with it... the first 40 seconds are a little slow. I have a feeling that Freddy would have loved this. Oh, almost forgot... Queen and Daft Punk... who wouldathunkit?
Finally, Casbah Circulation:
The Clash and an image song from Bakemonogatari? Who woul... nevermind, you know the drill. Too bad about the "glitchy" parts, as the masherupper calls them... the mp3 doesn't haven't 'em, by the way.
Off to get my brain working again, back in a while.
Second, One Of These Heatwaves:
Third, from the game DJ Hero, We Will Robot Rock You:
Finally, Casbah Circulation:
Off to get my brain working again, back in a while.
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September 07, 2011
Why Blog?
A few days ago, I got to wondering just why I blog in the first place. It surely wasn't for the public acclaim, fortune and fame. It wasn't because I had something important to say... or indeed, anything to say at all. So why do I do it? Why do I spend hours staring at a computer screen, trying to convey... something... to the various denizens of the intartubes, most of whom don't care what sort of effort and research I may put into a post?
I started The Pond all those years ago because the Official First Reader of The Pond, friend Mallory, suggested that maybe some other people might find the e-mail I sent her after every F1 race funny too. After some poking and prodding from her, I finally gave in. After a short post about Azumanga Daioh caught the eye of Big Papa Pixy Misa, founding father of MuNuVia (and later MeeNuVia), he invited me to join his burgeoning empire. And here I've sat, ever since. I reconnected with The Official First Friend of The Pond, Vaucaunson's Duck, more or less through The Pond, an amazing feat since we pretty much hadn't spoken much since our time in high school.
Somewhere along the way, Steven Den Beste started to linkify me for reasons that baffle me to this day. Via that connection, I starting conversing with the Brickmuppet off-blog. My expansion into WWII history brought in The Old Man, flatdarkmars, David, Peter the not-so-great and readers too numerous to mention. Various and sundry anime posts caught the eye of Siergen, Avatar, Ed, Author, Ben, Don, Ubu Roi, Jeff Lawson, and Robert from the Anime Corner Store every now and again... and plenty of other people as well. GreyDuck and Colleen started dropping by when they found out about the rubber duckies... I think everybody else just tolerates the ducks, otherwise. Heh.
But the F1 Update! has always been the heart and soul of The Pond, I suppose. The Official First Overseas Reader, Flotsky, dropped in because of them. People have said that they didn't give a rat's hindquarters about motorsports at all until they started reading the F1U!s. And hey, The Pond started because of Formula 1. But as of late, F1 has also been my bane; it takes a lot of time on race weekend to adequately cover a F1 race: just watching Practice 2, Quals and the race itself is six hours more or less, not to mention the hours it takes to do the writeups for them... and the F1U! itself usually takes as long as any two or three other posts combined, somewhere in the vicinity of three or four hours.
So why do I do all of this? Surprisingly, the answer is pretty simple, and can be boiled down to one word:
Friends.
Friends like Pixy, Steven, 'Muppet, The Old Man, flatdarkmars, David, Peter the-not-so-great, Siergen, Avatar, Ed, Author, Ben, Don, Ubu, Jeff, Robert, GreyDuck, Colleen, Flotsky, Mallory, Vauc, and all the other myriad readers of The Pond I haven't named. You guys make it worthwhile when the jerks come out. When I don't have the energy to write much. And you understand when I don't write at all. And I never would have met any of you if it wasn't for The Pond.
That's why I blog.
Thanks, all you lot.
PS - If you weren't named, don't take it personally... there aren't enough pixels in the world for me to thank everybody the way I'd like to - Wonderduck.
Kinda like this, except without the pencil. Or the paper. Or the android. And with more ducks.
So really, nothing like this at all.
I've read that the primary reason that bloggers blog is narcissism, that they think so much of themselves that they figure that everybody will be enthralled by their every word. I suppose for some (most?) that's the case: look at the preponderance of "I Love Me!" blogs, facebook pages and tweets out there. Anybody who knows me would immediately start laughing at the thought of me being a narcissist... probably to the point of hypoxia. So really, nothing like this at all.
I started The Pond all those years ago because the Official First Reader of The Pond, friend Mallory, suggested that maybe some other people might find the e-mail I sent her after every F1 race funny too. After some poking and prodding from her, I finally gave in. After a short post about Azumanga Daioh caught the eye of Big Papa Pixy Misa, founding father of MuNuVia (and later MeeNuVia), he invited me to join his burgeoning empire. And here I've sat, ever since. I reconnected with The Official First Friend of The Pond, Vaucaunson's Duck, more or less through The Pond, an amazing feat since we pretty much hadn't spoken much since our time in high school.
Somewhere along the way, Steven Den Beste started to linkify me for reasons that baffle me to this day. Via that connection, I starting conversing with the Brickmuppet off-blog. My expansion into WWII history brought in The Old Man, flatdarkmars, David, Peter the not-so-great and readers too numerous to mention. Various and sundry anime posts caught the eye of Siergen, Avatar, Ed, Author, Ben, Don, Ubu Roi, Jeff Lawson, and Robert from the Anime Corner Store every now and again... and plenty of other people as well. GreyDuck and Colleen started dropping by when they found out about the rubber duckies... I think everybody else just tolerates the ducks, otherwise. Heh.
But the F1 Update! has always been the heart and soul of The Pond, I suppose. The Official First Overseas Reader, Flotsky, dropped in because of them. People have said that they didn't give a rat's hindquarters about motorsports at all until they started reading the F1U!s. And hey, The Pond started because of Formula 1. But as of late, F1 has also been my bane; it takes a lot of time on race weekend to adequately cover a F1 race: just watching Practice 2, Quals and the race itself is six hours more or less, not to mention the hours it takes to do the writeups for them... and the F1U! itself usually takes as long as any two or three other posts combined, somewhere in the vicinity of three or four hours.
So why do I do all of this? Surprisingly, the answer is pretty simple, and can be boiled down to one word:
Friends.
Friends like Pixy, Steven, 'Muppet, The Old Man, flatdarkmars, David, Peter the-not-so-great, Siergen, Avatar, Ed, Author, Ben, Don, Ubu, Jeff, Robert, GreyDuck, Colleen, Flotsky, Mallory, Vauc, and all the other myriad readers of The Pond I haven't named. You guys make it worthwhile when the jerks come out. When I don't have the energy to write much. And you understand when I don't write at all. And I never would have met any of you if it wasn't for The Pond.
That's why I blog.
Thanks, all you lot.
PS - If you weren't named, don't take it personally... there aren't enough pixels in the world for me to thank everybody the way I'd like to - Wonderduck.
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September 05, 2011
F1 on SPEED!: Italy 2011
Speed. Either one has it, or one doesn't. A car can be nimble, a car can be quick, a car can jump over a candlestick make lightning starts, a driver can wring the most possible out of a car... but when it comes to racing, ultimately if it can't go fast, it's rubbish. In Formula 1, nowhere is that basic tenet more true than at "La Pista Magica". The Magic Track. Monza.
I have often joked of "The Church of Speed" here on The Pond, with its patron saint, Fangio The Quick. If such a religion existed, Monza would undoubtedly be its Holy Land (the NASCAR schism would surely designate Daytona as theirs, with St Earnhardt the most important figure. Woe be unto them, for they know not the true meaning of Speed). Possessing the fewest turns in F1, seven of which were added solely to slow the cars down (blasphemy!), Monza is the ultimate in low-downforce, low-drag setups. The fastest ever recorded F1 lap (162.949mph) was set here in 2004. It is the crucible all F1 chassis must go through: if you can't be fast here, you can't be fast... period.
Yet Monza is also one of the prettiest tracks you'll ever find as well. Set into a national park, trees line the sides of the circuit in many places. It's this location that is also one of the dangers inherent to Monza. Since it is in a national park, there's a limit to what modifications can be made. Extra runoff area is impossible to come by since that would mean cutting down trees. Many turns (such as Parabolica, above) still have kittylitter instead of safer asphalt runoff zones. But then, it wouldn't be Monza if it was totally safe.
However, you can be perfectly safe at home watching the 2011 Grand Prix of Italy, thanks to the good offices of the Legendary Announce Team at SPEED, who as always will be bringing us live coverage of the race weekend's action. Here's the lineup:
Friday: Practice 1: 3am to 430am streaming. Practice 2: 7am to 840am live
Saturday: Practice 3: 4am to 5am streaming. Quals: 7am to 830am live.
Sunday: 2011 Grand Prix of Italy: 630am to 9am live. 330pm to 6pm replay.
Of course, F1U! will be all over the race like kittylitter in a graveltrap. See ya then!
I have often joked of "The Church of Speed" here on The Pond, with its patron saint, Fangio The Quick. If such a religion existed, Monza would undoubtedly be its Holy Land (the NASCAR schism would surely designate Daytona as theirs, with St Earnhardt the most important figure. Woe be unto them, for they know not the true meaning of Speed). Possessing the fewest turns in F1, seven of which were added solely to slow the cars down (blasphemy!), Monza is the ultimate in low-downforce, low-drag setups. The fastest ever recorded F1 lap (162.949mph) was set here in 2004. It is the crucible all F1 chassis must go through: if you can't be fast here, you can't be fast... period.
Yet Monza is also one of the prettiest tracks you'll ever find as well. Set into a national park, trees line the sides of the circuit in many places. It's this location that is also one of the dangers inherent to Monza. Since it is in a national park, there's a limit to what modifications can be made. Extra runoff area is impossible to come by since that would mean cutting down trees. Many turns (such as Parabolica, above) still have kittylitter instead of safer asphalt runoff zones. But then, it wouldn't be Monza if it was totally safe.
However, you can be perfectly safe at home watching the 2011 Grand Prix of Italy, thanks to the good offices of the Legendary Announce Team at SPEED, who as always will be bringing us live coverage of the race weekend's action. Here's the lineup:
Friday: Practice 1: 3am to 430am streaming. Practice 2: 7am to 840am live
Saturday: Practice 3: 4am to 5am streaming. Quals: 7am to 830am live.
Sunday: 2011 Grand Prix of Italy: 630am to 9am live. 330pm to 6pm replay.
Of course, F1U! will be all over the race like kittylitter in a graveltrap. See ya then!
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September 04, 2011
(Not Quite A) F1 Update!: Belgium 2011
So, some thoughts and notes about the 2011 Grand Prix of Belgium, from the vantage point of a week later.
*For the first time this season, we actually saw Seb Vettel win a race where he had to fight for it. To be sure, he led for much of the day, but it was never one of his "thirty seconds and a cloud of dust" wins. He had tire troubles, probably because he was set up for a wet race and had excessive camber on the fronts. (JARGON ALERT: Camber is when a tire is tilted in or out when you look at it from head-on. Streetcars generally have no camber whatsoever. F1 cars usually have some positive negative camber, where the tops are tilted in just a tad. This helps get heat into the inside edge of the tires in exchange for lowering the amount of tire making contact with the road. Negative Positive camber is just be weird and would probably result in a serious accident within one turn. Apparently it makes turning effort easier, so if there wasn't power steering it might be useful. Or something.)
For whatever reason, Vettel suffered from severe blistering of his front tires, something that practically never happens. You'll see it on the rears, sure, but it's strange to see it on the fronts... and quickly, too. The problem actually started during his pole lap in Quals and Red Bull petitioned the FIA's tech director, Charlie Whiting, to allow him to start on a fresh set of soft tires. Whiting, quite correctly, told Red Bull to get lost. You start on what you qualified on, unless it's completely unsafe... and if it's unsafe, why is it the RB7 is having problems and nobody else is, hmmm? Vettel actually had to pit for a new set of tires on Lap 6 (of 44). He wound up being out of pit sequence of everybody else, which has its good points and bad. Good, obviously, is that you're on fresh tires when everybody else is running on old rubber. The bad is that when everybody else pits, suddenly you're the one on old rubber. The Safety Car brought out by Hamilton's wreck solved that, and Vettel pretty much led from there... but not in the usual dominating fashion.
*Vettel's teammate Mark Webber really needs to learn how to keep revs in his engine when the lights go out. He really upped his game this time around, abandoning his usual patented Lousy Start©s for a variation: the Hideously Awful Start®. He sat third on the grid, but was somewhere around 15th by the time the thundering herd reached La Source. It looked like he was a tiny fish being engulfed by a horde of much larger, faster fish. Only some of the dumbest driving I've ever seen in a first turn prevented him from falling farther back. To call the first turn "total mayhem" would be overstating things a bit, but it wasn't exactly tidy.
Everybody was bouncing off of everybody else, the Lotuses spun each other, NKOTT went out with self-inflicted damage, and Jenson Button suffered damage to his rear wing when Tim O'Glockenspiel forgot how to use the brake pedal. He ALSO suffered damage when debris from someone else "went through (his) front wing and sliced off (his) right mirror."
*In contrast to Mark Webber, Nico Rosberg had one of the best starts of the year. This is odd, because while the cars were sitting on the grid, his Mercedes looked like it was fogging for mosquitoes, what with all the smoke it was putting out. It's not uncommon to see a little bit of smoke come from a F1 car on the grid, but this was something else... more like a destroyer screening a battleship. Still and all, he jumped from fifth on the grid to second by the end of the first turn, then easily blew past Vettel down the Kemmel Straight. It didn't last long, as he was passed by Vettel for the lead on Lap 3 then was swallowed up by the rest of the heavy hitters shortly thereafter, but it was a glorious moment in a lackluster year for the Mercedes team.
*There would be two contenders for the Driver of the Race. Jenson Button had a miserable Quals and started the race from 13th... and ended up third, behind Vettel and Webber, and given a few more laps he could have made a go at 2nd. The other contender would be Mr 20th Anniversary himself, Slappy Schumacher. He started dead last... and ended up fifth. In the end, I'd give it to Button, but more because he had to pass HWMNBN for 3rd place towards the end of the race, no easy task. Schumi had to pass his teammate, who had to conserve fuel, for 5th. Still, great runs for both of them, and if you said that Slappy had a better race, I wouldn't argue.
*The Move of the Race... well, look: in F1, there are many truths. Cars go fast at Monza, slow at Monaco, Hungary is dull unless it rains, so on and so forth. One unspoken truth is that you can't go side-by-side through Eau Rouge. It's too narrow, the compression does odd things to the handling, you stand a great chance of finding yourself in hospital, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. So when Mark Webber had a go at HWMNBN in Eau Rouge on Lap 9, you could hear sphincters slamming shut all around the world. They got kinda close to each other.
Now to be fair, HWMNBN had just come out of the pits and was on cold tires, so it's not like there wasn't a big speed differential between the two. In fact, if it were anywhere else, it would have been merely a pass, no big deal. But this was Eau Rouge.
I can only assume that HWMNBN believes he has something left to live for, and Webber does not. Honorable mention goes to the BBC announce team, for they were classic during this pass. David Coulthard's Chin had to be coaxed back to the microphone after, in his words, "having to turn away, I was sure there was to be an almighty coming together." Martin Brundle replied with "Let's watch the replay, maybe from behind a pillow..."
*The Moooooo-ooove of the Race belongs to Lewis Hamilton. He had a serious chance at winning this race, and by not checking his mirrors at the end of the Kemmel Straight, he threw it all away.
He had dispatched Gandalf Kobayashi just prior to Eau Rouge, but down the straight the Sauber got an almighty tow from the McLaren. That, combined with some serious late braking, put Gandalf on the racing line for the turn while Hamilton was just to the inside, not having retaken the line after the pass. Hamilton, obviously not checking to see if it was safe, began to move over to the racing line and ran into Kobayashi. This sent the McLaren pivoting away into the barriers.
It also sent whatever hopes Hamilton had for catching Vettel in the world championship race into the wastebin.
So, that's it from Spa. We've got Monza next week, the standard F1U! format should be back at that time. See ya then!
*For the first time this season, we actually saw Seb Vettel win a race where he had to fight for it. To be sure, he led for much of the day, but it was never one of his "thirty seconds and a cloud of dust" wins. He had tire troubles, probably because he was set up for a wet race and had excessive camber on the fronts. (JARGON ALERT: Camber is when a tire is tilted in or out when you look at it from head-on. Streetcars generally have no camber whatsoever. F1 cars usually have some positive negative camber, where the tops are tilted in just a tad. This helps get heat into the inside edge of the tires in exchange for lowering the amount of tire making contact with the road. Negative Positive camber is just be weird and would probably result in a serious accident within one turn. Apparently it makes turning effort easier, so if there wasn't power steering it might be useful. Or something.)
For whatever reason, Vettel suffered from severe blistering of his front tires, something that practically never happens. You'll see it on the rears, sure, but it's strange to see it on the fronts... and quickly, too. The problem actually started during his pole lap in Quals and Red Bull petitioned the FIA's tech director, Charlie Whiting, to allow him to start on a fresh set of soft tires. Whiting, quite correctly, told Red Bull to get lost. You start on what you qualified on, unless it's completely unsafe... and if it's unsafe, why is it the RB7 is having problems and nobody else is, hmmm? Vettel actually had to pit for a new set of tires on Lap 6 (of 44). He wound up being out of pit sequence of everybody else, which has its good points and bad. Good, obviously, is that you're on fresh tires when everybody else is running on old rubber. The bad is that when everybody else pits, suddenly you're the one on old rubber. The Safety Car brought out by Hamilton's wreck solved that, and Vettel pretty much led from there... but not in the usual dominating fashion.
*Vettel's teammate Mark Webber really needs to learn how to keep revs in his engine when the lights go out. He really upped his game this time around, abandoning his usual patented Lousy Start©s for a variation: the Hideously Awful Start®. He sat third on the grid, but was somewhere around 15th by the time the thundering herd reached La Source. It looked like he was a tiny fish being engulfed by a horde of much larger, faster fish. Only some of the dumbest driving I've ever seen in a first turn prevented him from falling farther back. To call the first turn "total mayhem" would be overstating things a bit, but it wasn't exactly tidy.
Everybody was bouncing off of everybody else, the Lotuses spun each other, NKOTT went out with self-inflicted damage, and Jenson Button suffered damage to his rear wing when Tim O'Glockenspiel forgot how to use the brake pedal. He ALSO suffered damage when debris from someone else "went through (his) front wing and sliced off (his) right mirror."
*In contrast to Mark Webber, Nico Rosberg had one of the best starts of the year. This is odd, because while the cars were sitting on the grid, his Mercedes looked like it was fogging for mosquitoes, what with all the smoke it was putting out. It's not uncommon to see a little bit of smoke come from a F1 car on the grid, but this was something else... more like a destroyer screening a battleship. Still and all, he jumped from fifth on the grid to second by the end of the first turn, then easily blew past Vettel down the Kemmel Straight. It didn't last long, as he was passed by Vettel for the lead on Lap 3 then was swallowed up by the rest of the heavy hitters shortly thereafter, but it was a glorious moment in a lackluster year for the Mercedes team.
*There would be two contenders for the Driver of the Race. Jenson Button had a miserable Quals and started the race from 13th... and ended up third, behind Vettel and Webber, and given a few more laps he could have made a go at 2nd. The other contender would be Mr 20th Anniversary himself, Slappy Schumacher. He started dead last... and ended up fifth. In the end, I'd give it to Button, but more because he had to pass HWMNBN for 3rd place towards the end of the race, no easy task. Schumi had to pass his teammate, who had to conserve fuel, for 5th. Still, great runs for both of them, and if you said that Slappy had a better race, I wouldn't argue.
*The Move of the Race... well, look: in F1, there are many truths. Cars go fast at Monza, slow at Monaco, Hungary is dull unless it rains, so on and so forth. One unspoken truth is that you can't go side-by-side through Eau Rouge. It's too narrow, the compression does odd things to the handling, you stand a great chance of finding yourself in hospital, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. So when Mark Webber had a go at HWMNBN in Eau Rouge on Lap 9, you could hear sphincters slamming shut all around the world. They got kinda close to each other.
Now to be fair, HWMNBN had just come out of the pits and was on cold tires, so it's not like there wasn't a big speed differential between the two. In fact, if it were anywhere else, it would have been merely a pass, no big deal. But this was Eau Rouge.
I can only assume that HWMNBN believes he has something left to live for, and Webber does not. Honorable mention goes to the BBC announce team, for they were classic during this pass. David Coulthard's Chin had to be coaxed back to the microphone after, in his words, "having to turn away, I was sure there was to be an almighty coming together." Martin Brundle replied with "Let's watch the replay, maybe from behind a pillow..."
*The Moooooo-ooove of the Race belongs to Lewis Hamilton. He had a serious chance at winning this race, and by not checking his mirrors at the end of the Kemmel Straight, he threw it all away.
He had dispatched Gandalf Kobayashi just prior to Eau Rouge, but down the straight the Sauber got an almighty tow from the McLaren. That, combined with some serious late braking, put Gandalf on the racing line for the turn while Hamilton was just to the inside, not having retaken the line after the pass. Hamilton, obviously not checking to see if it was safe, began to move over to the racing line and ran into Kobayashi. This sent the McLaren pivoting away into the barriers.
It also sent whatever hopes Hamilton had for catching Vettel in the world championship race into the wastebin.
So, that's it from Spa. We've got Monza next week, the standard F1U! format should be back at that time. See ya then!
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