So, what the gosh darned rooting tooting is that title all about then?
I am a fan of Formula 1. Any sport that can end in serious pain if you make a mistake gets my attention. Formula 1 has the added draw of having a large amount of information flowing throughout the year and not just on race day.
Crashes are not uncommon but generally do not alter the final result as they either happen at the first corner to some back markers or later on in the race to a couple of cars who are fighting for position and then take each other out.
There are some famous crashes such as Roland Ratzenberger and Ayrton deSilva Senna's fatal crashes (in the same weekend), as well as Michael Schumacher taking himself or nearest competitor out, and a couple of beauties when cars went, literally, flying over others.
That's not the point though. The level of danger involved is the point.
Any crash involves pieces of car flying at high speed in all directions. This allows the energy in the crash to dissipate without harming the driver. But it also means that basically, bits go flying everywhere. Tyres have landed in the crowd killing spectators and we are coming to terms, in F1, with the fact that Felipe Massa is going to be out for the rest of the season because he was hit in the head by a piece of debris that fell off another car in front of his during a practice session.
He was hit in the helmet with a 800g piece of coiled metal at over 180mph that left him unconscious. He is recovering now and has a beautiful scar (above) to tell the tale.
And that is where today's revelations leave me with my mouth agape and my mind not comprehending what happened.
Nelson Piquet Jr.'s intentional crash, in the the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix.
Today it was revealed that one team, Renault, had asked one of its drivers, Nelson Piquet Jr., to crash on purpose. The FIA stated that Renault had planned and carried out actions:
to cause an intentional accident with the aim of causing the deployment of the safety car to the advantage of their other driver, Fernando Alonso, who went on to win.
The team stated
“The ING Renault F1 Team will not dispute the recent allegations made by the F.I.A. concerning the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix,”
Which is pretty damn shameful, dangerous and ultimately, suicidal for the careers of those involved.
So what also gets my goat here, and you may notice that I'm still very annoyed and shocked by it all, is that they actually thought that they could get away with it.
In an industry where millions of dollars hang in the balance for every point a driver can make people are going to be ruthless. And they are going to have very long memories.
The chap on the left, Flavio 'Flav' Briatore, has been in Formula 1 for a very long time. He helped to bring Michael Schumacher into the limelight. He was teh Team leader for Renault.
The chap on the left is Pat Symonds. He too has been in F1 forever and he was Flav's no. 2 man.
Today they both left their current (and probably last) Formula 1 team after the team admitted that these two individuals had in fact conspired with their no. 2 driver, Nelson Piquet Jr., to alter the outcome of the race.
Mrs J and I just went to the local mall to pick up our new iTouch which we won in a lottery. Any hints and tips about accessories, plug-ins, add-ons and other detritus which surrounds the iTune?
I had an exceptionally long day doing nothing of any relevance (the highlight of the day was cleaning out the communal garden of dead leaves - yeebloodyha).
On the assumption that there might be a Star Wars fan or two out there, let me invite you over to Damn Cool Pics where there are some amazing pictures from a Korean fan's apartment;
I guess this is by the front door to scare away intruders.
Today will mark 8 years since the attacks of World Trade Center I and II, The Pentagon, Shanksville, American Airlines Flights 11 & 77, and United Airlines Flight 93 & 175.
On that day 2,996 people were ripped from their lives. But as the media and society tend to do, they have focused on the killers. We’ve all learned more about them than we wanted to. On that day many of us made a pledge to never forget what happened.
Some of us bloggers are trying to keep that promise by learning about the people who died that day. Use the link below to visit their sites and read about the people they have chosen to remember.
http://project2996.wordpress.com/
Frank Bennet Reisman
When Frank Reisman was single, mountain climbing was his passion. The summer after the end of college, he hiked the Appalachian Trail alone from Maine to Pennsylvania, picking up dry food that his parents, George and Evie, mailed to him at post offices along the way.
After Mr. Reisman married, family was his focus. Every evening around 6:15 he returned home, where his wife, Gayle, and their two children, Kasey and Dillon, always waited for him to have dinner.
Living in Princeton, N.J., and working at Cantor Fitzgerald on the equities desk, Mr. Reisman, 41, was the perfect suburban daddy, his wife said. He coached Kasey's softball team and took Dillon to golf on the weekends. He taught them how to download music from the Internet and ferret out useful information. Because he left home before the children got up for school, he always sent them online messages from work.
On the morning of the attack, he phoned his wife, who happened to be out jogging. He reached his mom. "He said: `I'll be fine. Don't panic, Mom. I love you,' " Evie Reisman said, as tears welled up in her eyes.
REISMAN-Frank Bennett, 41, cruelly and tragically taken from his dearly loved and loving family and friends in the terrorist attack September 11 on the World Trade Center.
Frank is survived and will be sorely missed by his cherished wife, Gayle, his darling children, Kasey 11 and Dillon 9, and by his loving parents, Evie and George.
Wherever he went he made friends; with his kindness, sweet nature, sense of humor, intellectual quickness, and sincere interest in people he was the exemplar of the term ''GreatGuy''.
Frank attended The Elisabeth Morrow School, he graduated in '77 from Dwight-Englewood School and earned a B.A. at Skidmore College in the Class of 1981. Following college and a ''tune-up'' of winter mountaineering in the Adirondacks High Peaks he hiked the Northern section of the Appalachian Trail from Maine to Pennsylvania and then joined his family's manufacturing company, Natalie Lamp & Shade Corp. Afterwards, he was an equities trader with Franklin Resources and for the last 5 years has been at Cantor Fitzgerald's trading desk on the 104th floor of the WTC.
1. More often than not, when someone is telling me a story all I can think about is that I can’t wait for them to finish so that I can tell my own story that’s not only better, but also more directly involves me.
2. Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you’re wrong.
3. I don’t understand the purpose of the line, “I don’t need to drink to have fun.” Great, no one does. But why start a fire with flint and sticks when they’ve invented the lighter?
4. Have you ever been walking down the street and realized that you’re going in the complete opposite direction of where you are supposed to be going? But instead of just turning a 180 and walking back in the direction from which you came, you have to first do something like check your watch or phone or make a grand arm gesture and mutter to yourself to ensure that no one in the surrounding area thinks you’re crazy by randomly switching directions on the sidewalk.
5. That’s enough, Nickelback.
6. I totally take back all those times I didn’t want to nap when I was younger.
7. The letters T and G are very close to each other on a keyboard. This recently became all too apparent to me and consequently I will never be ending a work email with the phrase “Regards” again.
8. Do you remember when you were a kid, playing Nintendo and it wouldn’t work? You take the cartridge out, blow in it and that would magically fix the problem. Every kid in America did that, but how did we all know how to fix the problem? There was no internet or message boards or FAQ’s. We just figured it out. Today’s kids are soft.
9. There is a great need for sarcasm font.
10. Sometimes, I’ll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger and suddenly realize I had no idea what was going on when I first saw it.
11. I think everyone has a movie that they love so much, it actually becomes stressful to watch it with other people. I’ll end up wasting 90 minutes shiftily glancing around to confirm that everyone’s laughing at the right parts, then making sure I laugh just a little bit harder (and a millisecond earlier) to prove that I’m still the only one who really, really gets it.
12. The other night I hit a new low at an open bar. I had already hopped on highway blackout when, inevitably I had to find a bathroom. Eventually I decided it was probably on the other side of the bar so I tried to walk over there, but ran into a guy coming the other way. We played that, Both go left, Both go right game to no avail, so I finally put out my hand to guide myself past and that’s is when I realized, yup, that’s a mirror I just tried to walk through. And the guy on the other side is me. Even cats can recognize their own image.
13. How the he!! are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?
14. I would rather try to carry 10 plastic grocery bags in each hand than take 2 trips to bring my groceries in.
15. I think part of a best friend’s job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.
16. The only time I look forward to a red light is when I’m trying to finish a text.
17. A recent study has shown that playing beer pong contributes to the spread of mono and the flu. Yeah, if you suck at it.
18. Was learning cursive really necessary?
19. Lol has gone from meaning, “laugh out loud” to “I have nothing else to say”.
20. I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.
21. Answering the same letter three times or more in a row on a Scantron test is absolutely petrifying.
22. My brother’s Municipal League baseball team is named the Stepdads. Seeing as none of the guys on the team are actual stepdads, I inquired about the name. He explained, “Cuz we beat you, and you hate us.” Classy, bro.
23. Whenever someone says “I’m not book smart, but I’m street smart”, all I hear is “I’m not real smart, but I’m imaginary smart”.
24. How many times is it appropriate to say “What?” before you just nod and smile because you still didn’t hear what they said?
25. I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars teams up to prevent a d**k from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers!
26. Every time I have to spell a word over the phone using ‘as in’ examples, I will undoubtedly draw a blank and sound like a complete idiot. Today I had to spell my boss’s last name to an attorney and said “Yes that’s G as in…(10 second lapse)..ummm…Goonies”
27. What would happen if I hired two private investigators to follow each other?
28. While driving yesterday I saw a banana peel in the road and instinctively swerved to avoid it…thanks Mario Kart.
29. MapQuest really needs to start their directions on #5. I’m pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.
30. Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.
31. I find it hard to believe there are actually people who get in the shower first and THEN turn on the water.
32. Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.
33. I can’t remember the last time I wasn’t at least kind of tired.
34. Bad decisions make good stories
35. Whenever I’m Facebook stalking someone and I find out that their profile is public I feel like a kid on Christmas morning who just got the Red RyderBB gun that I always wanted. 546 pictures? Don’t mind if I do!
36. Is it just me or do high school girls get s!uttier & s!uttier every year?
37. If Carmen San Diego and Waldo ever got together, their offspring would probably just be completely invisible.
38. Why is it that during an ice-breaker, when the whole room has to go around and say their name and where they are from, I get so incredibly nervous? Like I know my name, I know where I’m from, this shouldn’t be a problem….
39. You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you’ve made up your mind that you just aren’t doing anything productive for the rest of the day.
40. Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after DVDs? I don’t want to have to restart my collection.
41. There’s no worse feeling than that millisecond you’re sure you are going to die after leaning your chair back a little too far.
42. I’m always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten page research paper that I swear I did not make any changes to.
43. “Do not machine wash or tumble dry” means I will never wash this ever.
44. I hate being the one with the remote in a room full of people watching TV. There’s so much pressure. ‘I love this show, but will they judge me if I keep it on? I bet everyone is wishing we weren’t watching this. It’s only a matter of time before they all get up and leave the room. Will we still be friends after this?’
45. While watching the Olympics, I find myself cheering equally for China and USA . No, I am not of Chinese descent, but I am fairly certain that when Chinese athletes don’t win, they are executed.
46. I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello? Dang!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voicemail. What’d you do after I didn’t answer? Drop the phone and run away?
47. I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.
48. When I meet a new girl, I’m terrified of mentioning something she hasn’t already told me but that I have learned from some light internet stalking.
49. I like all of the music in my iTunes, except when it’s on shuffle, then I like about one in every fifteen songs in my iTunes.
50. Why is a school zone 25 mph? That seems like the optimal cruising speed for pedophiles…
51. As a driver I hate pedestrians, and as a pedestrian I hate drivers, but no matter what the mode of transportation, I always hate cyclists.
52. Sometimes I’ll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.
53. It should probably be called Unplanned Parenthood.
54. I keep some people’s phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.
55. I think that if, years down the road when I’m trying to have a kid, I find out that I’m sterile, most of my disappointment will stem from the fact that I was not aware of my condition in college.
56. Even if I knew your social security number, I wouldn’t know what do to with it.
57. Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket, hitting the G-spot, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey – but I’d bet my ass everyone can find and push the Snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time every time…
58. My 4-year old son asked me in the car the other day “Dad what would happen if you ran over a ninja?” How the he!! do I respond to that?
59. It really pi$$es me off when I want to read a story on CNN.com and the link takes me to a video instead of text.
60. I wonder if cops ever get pissed off at the fact that everyone they drive behind obeys the speed limit.
61. I think the freezer deserves a light as well.
62. I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lites than Kay.
63. The other night I ordered takeout, and when I looked in the bag, saw they had included four sets of plastic silverware. In other words, someone at the restaurant packed my order, took a second to think about it, and then estimated that there must be at least four people eating to require such a large amount of food. Too bad I was eating by myself. There’s nothing like being made to feel like a fat b@st@rd before dinner.
In today's vein of gun-blogging here is a nice little discussion point from Say Uncle.
...we should make guns illegal because a man with a gun and restraining order against him (illegal) violated that order (illegal) and shot his family (also, illegal). Why, if only one more law could make it a bit more illegal, then it would never happen.
Talk amongst yourselves for a bit. Then go and buy a gun!
The Arizona Rifleman blog has this amazing ID poster (above) to enable journalists and 'news-people' to accurately report the facts about local or national crime without scaremongering.
Mrs Pyne said: "He was in so much pain, I was ready to let little Lucky go, but Lucky, wasn't ready to give up. He was shoving himself around on his two back legs. He was not going to quit."
LONDON — Three British Muslims were convicted Monday of plotting to murder thousands by downing at least seven airliners bound for the U.S. and Canada in what was intended as the largest terrorist attack since Sept. 11.
Oh, and as an aside, why are we not all scared silly that these terrorists nearly got away with it too??
What an interesting view on freedom of expression!
In an interview in Al Arabiya today, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana refused to condemn the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet's blood libel against Israel, saying that what the paper did falls under freedom of expression and one is free to agree or disagree with it.
He seemed to denounce Israel's attacks on the newspaper, asking Al Arabiya's readers to defend freedom of the press even when one disagrees with what is written.
I am glad to hear Solana say that, because there are unsourced reports that Solana rapes little boys every night to help him go to sleep. Of course, Solana must butcher them in the morning to ensure that they don't talk about it. I believe that this news needs to be publicized as widely as possible so that a proper investigation can occur after everyone reads about it. And if he is upset about such accusations, he does not have the right to attack any newspaper (or blog) that publishes this story, because of the sanctity of freedom of expression.
I'm a fan of Formula 1 car racing and follow it quite seriously. Recently 2 of the best drivers this century helped launch Johnnie Walker's responsible drinking campaign 'Join The Pact'
Here is a mockumentary of how it all began, with Mika Hakkinen and Lewis Hamilton.
Basically anything that takes your mind and eyes off the road for a second is dangerous. Do it continually and there will be a nasty accident. As a volunteer policeman I routinely went to car crash sites, I even watched a few happen in front of my eyes, and they are never pretty. All parties involved are scared, shocked, hurt and basically feral. Things to be avoided if at all possible.
A school in the UK, as well as their local council, put together a rather graphic advertisement about why its best to stay alive also known as not texting whilst driving.
My previous post, I So Juicy, was so controversial and stimulating for the plethora of readers out there that I have been forced to research how to avoid mosquito bites altogether.
Here are a few ideas...
* You pretty much have to stop breathing to not attract the attention of a mosquito, a big attractor for them is the carbon dioxide from your breathing. * It also seems mosquitoes are attracted by scents like perfumes, sweat, body odor as well as body heat. Unless you stop using shampoos, soaps, deodorants and detergents–it’s hard to be scent free. * From what I understand, DEET has proven to be the most effective mosquito repellent. DEET is pretty crazy stuff though, so if you’d like to try less harsh solutions, there are plenty of tips below for you to give a shot.
Something to keep in mind:
Since some people seem to be a mosquito magnet (c’est moi!) while others around them don’t get a single bite (Her Indoors), I have the suspicion that there could be a personal body chemistry factor involved. And that could explain why a remedy that works for one person, may not work for another.
I suspect that’s why some people swear by the Bounce sheet method, or the Avon Skin So Soft solution, while others have a different experience. Bounce nor the Avon SSS did a thing for me btw, but I did include them in the list below. I know a few people who SWEAR by them.
Basics for Mosquito Bite Prevention
* Wear light colored clothing, mosquitoes are attracted to dark clothes * Keep your body covered as much as possible (including wearing a hat), although mosquitoes can find their way through the fabric–it does cut down on bites * Some things to rub on yourself to keep the buggers away
Rub these on yourself to smell good, and keep mossies away
* Vanilla Extract: A few different recommendations for this one, each contradicting the other. Some say to dab Vanilla Extract on your pulse points, others say to rub it all over your skin & dab your clothes. Some say the cheap stuff is what you have to use, others say the real, pure Vanilla is the only thing that will work. Some say to apply it full strength, others say you can dilute it with water and spray it on. Play around with Vanilla to see what gives you best results–there are plenty of believers for this one as a mosquito deterrent so I think there’s something to it.
* Garlic: This isn’t a favorite thing to do day-to-day, but if you’re going camping or hiking through heavily mosquito infested areas, try a garlic powder and water paste.
Apply to pulse points, behind knees, on shoes and ankles and a dab or two on your cheeks or somewhere on your face and neck. Remember–keep out of eyes. And maybe stay out of public places too * Essential Oils: Mix choice of essential oils with rubbing alcohol, or witch hazel, or distilled water and spritz on body or directly on cloth to rub on body (shake before each use). Or add a few drops in baby oil or olive oil then rub on skin. You can also apply drops along a strip of fabric (cotton) and tie around wrist.
*Make sure to avoid mouth and eye areas when using essential oils.
* Citronella oil * Lavender oil * Catnip oil
* Eucalyptus oil * Pennyroyal oil *Seems to be strongly recommended * Tansy oil *Seems to be strongly recommended * Basil oil * Thyme oil * Cedar oil * Tea Tree oil * Peppermint oil * Lemongrass oil
Plants That Repel Mosquitoes
Break off leaves and crush them roughly, rub them all over your clothes and skin. Toss the bruised leaves around the perimeter of your deck or patio. Also plant these in pots and arrange them around the patio. You could also infuse these in water and then use that as a spray.
* Avon’s Skin So Soft (straight or mix 50/50 with rubbing alcohol) * Bounce Sheets (hanging out of a pocket or waistband) * Listerine (mixed 50/50 with household vinegar then sprayed all over body) * Vicks VapoRub * You can purchase citronella torches to stand in the ground or set on table tops
Household Hack
* Spray garlic powder and water all over the yard and bushes. Use a fertilizer hose attachment. Will need to be done bi-weekly (approx) or after a heavy rain.
Items to Eat
*Daily
Apparently the smell that comes out of your pores from a steady diet of the below deters mosquitoes. The items aren’t meant to be combined, they’re just different suggestions.
The other evening I was sorting some of the boxes from The Move, in the 2 * 2 strip of grass we call a front garden. And I was bitten 4 times on the feet.
I decided that if I am to work at all in the garden I need to go out midday - seem sensible? I thought so too. So yesterday I went to organise some the detritus in the garden at around 1 pm. And got bitten on the crotch (YOWZERS!), the thigh and the neck.
A bit of Le Target's anti-itch creme and all is right with the world.
This morning I met with a friend at a small, local, cafe to go over a few aspects of my CV / resume. We had a cup of unpleasant, watered down coffee and chatted for nearly an hour.
We walked to my car and stopped in the shade to go over something - and I was bitten on my arm and hand.
I SO JUICY!!
I got home and asked Her Indoors where the anti-itch creme was and showed her the bite on my hand. It had swollen to scary proportions, but praise be to Le Target, their creme returned the finger to near normal size.
Yesterday I wanted to blog about the 70th Anniversary of the invasion of Poland by Germany which was the wake-up call that started World War 2. I was worried that it might be a bit too serious, even morose, so deferred it for a day whilst I thought about it.
The Times newspaper of London gave me the push I needed to start the blog when I saw today that they were offering free ring tones of Winston Churchill's famous speech 'We shall fight them on the beaches'.
Bad taste? Modernity gone mad? I think its a sign of the times (no pun intended) when no news source that I read (Fox, Sky, Times, Telegraph, YNet, CNN*) even mention the anniversary of the beginning of World War 2.
German forces have invaded Poland and its planes have bombed Polish cities, including the capital, Warsaw.
The attack comes without any warning or declaration of war.
Britain and France have mobilised their forces and are preparing to wage war on Germany for the second time this century. 2. Dame Vera Lynn - an icon of the struggle and fortitude of the British public through the blitz, rationing, the blackout and the sending off of the menfolk.
So go forth and read about the beginning of the war and spare a thought for the fact that the War changed the world in so many ways, for good and for bad.
kthanxbai!
* EDIT: some news agencies mention the marking of the anniversary but do not contain articles about the start of the war itself
