Fani blond włosej siostry Williams doczekali się w końcu combo video do ich postaci. Blonde Assassin to pierwszy film autorstwa Spigela.

źródło: forum TekkenZaibatsu

Drew either majored in African Studies or History.  Evan and I can never really remember.  Anyway, African Studies is now Africana Studies and Evan and I asked the expert for some clarification…

When Juan Pablo Montoya arrived for his first Indy 500, the story is that he took a tour bus around the track.

10 years later, the Colombian is probably the only driver to have raced at Indy in two different directions and three kinds of machinery.  Montoya won the Indy 500 in 2000, has competed in F1 races at the Brickyard (driving clockwise), and now competes in the Brickyard 400 as a Nascar driver.

Bus tours not included.

Name any other driver who can claim such a feat.  For good measure, throw in wins at the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona.  Say what you want about Jimmie Johnson and his four titles, Montoya is the most versatile and talented driver on the grid.  There is no arguing with Johnson’s dominance, nor that of his crew chief, Chad Knaus.  But for sheer talent and the raw ability to get into a race car–any kind of car–no one beats Montoya.

In Nascar, success begets success.  This goes a long way towards explaining the Hendrick team’s dominance in the sport (although it does not explain why Dale Earnhardt, Jr. continues to flail on the same team as a four-time champion).  Johnson is at the peak of his abilities right now, and his team is right there with him.  He finds a way to win, and he has learned to be consistent week in and week out (something Kyle Busch hasn’t grasped).  The Chase, contrived as it is, rewards consistency.

Montoya finished 8th in the Chase this year, but this year he delivered the goods.  Many thought Montoya was foolish to trade the rarefied air conditioning of F1 for the cold beer and corndogs of Nascar.  Why would anyone making tens of millions of dollars in F1 trade that for a grueling 36-race calendar?  Racers, that’s who.

This is a driver who won the Indy 500 in 2000, and was “traded” to the Williams F1 team for 2001.  In the Brazilian Grand Prix that year, Montoya forced world champion Michael Schumacher onto the grass in an overtaking maneuver that shocked and thrilled the paddock.  Wheel-to-wheel with one of the best racers in history, and no backing down.  Yet, after a few seasons, Montoya lost patience with Williams, with the utter Englishness of it all.  He joined McLaren.

McLaren was a terrible fit for Montoya, and many wondered what Ron Dennis was thinking with that move.  It was hard imagining Montoya in the cool calm collective that is McLaren.  It did not help Montoya’s case with the team that he also injured himself off track, under circumstances that probably involved reckless behavior.

At the US Grand Prix in 2006, Montoya collided with his teammate.  There are many forms of sin in racing, but the most unforgiveable sin is to take out your own teammate.  Montoya’s F1 career–his driving career–seemed done.

After a telephone chat with Chip Ganassi, Montoya announced a shock switch to Nascar for 2007.  He was ridiculed by those in F1 who said that Nascar was beneath his talents, and others who said he was beneath Nascar.  Yet, to his credit, Montoya produced a road win at Sonoma in his first year (although, in fairness, he took out his teammate for the win.  La plus ca change….)   He even joined Ganassi drivers for a win at the 24 hour race at Daytona.  Fast in any kind of machinery indeed…..

This year Montoya reached the next level and was competitive in the Chase up to the bitter end.  Perhaps Ganassi’s tie-up with the DEI organization made the difference, maybe it’s just maturity and experience finally showing through.  His driving remains aggressive, but he is showing more patience in races.

Montoya has won the Monaco Grand Prix in F1, the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona, and the Indianapolis 500.  He’s won twice in Nascar and regularly finishes in the top five.  Find me a more complete racer.

Juan Pablo Montoya is always on the limit.  And that’s why he’s a racer we like.

It's not quite this bad for pinball fans, but it's pretty close. (© iStockphoto.com/steinphoto)

Growing up in the ’70s and ’80s, I spent a lot of time in arcades and skating rinks. And I love pinball. Unfortunately, virtually all of the giant game manufacturers — at least, the ones still in operation — have discontinued the game. As far as I know, Stern Pinball is the only company in the United States still making machines.

Anyhow, last night I was listening to Marketplace on American Public Radio and I heard an interview with Jeff Ely, an economics professor at Northwestern University, who wrote about the economics of pinball for his blog Cheap Talk.

This isn’t an economics blog, so I’ll spare you the grisly details, but I had wondered what happened to all the pinball machines. After all, it’s fun. There are tons of computer pinball games. I still see them every once in a while in a hotel amusement room or at mall arcades (tucked way, way in the back, though). So someone must be playing them. Are people so thrilled with electronic graphics that they’ve become bored with mechanical games?

Ely actually met a pinball designer by chance at a party. In fact, the designer had created some of Ely’s favorite games, notably Black Knight and High Speed. So he figured he’d ask some questions. And as it turned out, both of those machines had a part to play in the near-demise of pinball as an arcade staple.

Black Knight, released in 1980, was among the first machines that incorporated digital displays, ramps and multi-ball play, according to Ely. And then came High Speed. Before this machine was produced, factory settings determined how a player could earn a free game. It was set, and that was that. But High Speed, Ely said, was the first to use a computer algorithm to adjust the free-game reward on a sliding scale based on the scores of those playing. Apparently, Ely said, the idea was to make sure that a certain subgroup of people, say the top 5 percent of all scorers, automatically got a free game. In time, the algorithms were adjusted for scenarios in which pinball masters couldn’t take advantage of free games from machines played primarily by inexperienced players, who, naturally, would get lower scores.

Here’s a video of a High Speed machine on YouTube, if you’d like to see what it looks like when it’s on:

And then there’s the match draw. If you’ve played newer pinball machines, this is where, after your game is finished, you see a two-digit number (a multiple of 10) pop up. The machine then randomly generates a second. If the two match, woohoo! Free game! If not, you’re gonna have to pay for another game. But the computer algorithm can also be adjusted here, too. Ely said if the machine sits unplayed for a few minutes, you’re more likely to get a match. If you keep pumping quarters (or tokens) in, it assumes you’re going to be playing anyway, and if you’re willing to pay to play…

Ely said that pinball players’ skills transfer well from machine to machine. This is a problem for designers — they had to keep throwing more bells and whistles into the machines to keep the fanatics pumping money into the machines. By the time High Speed came out, pinball games were competing squarely with video games, which could get progressively harder. Pinball, physical medium that it is, can’t.

So designers made the machines harder to keep wizards from scoring free game after free game. And new players couldn’t get into the games because they were so difficult. That cut down on the numbers of people playing pinball. Which brought in less money. And there you have it.

Are you a pinball fan? Do you miss the games?

If you’re interested in more about games, take a look at these related articles on HowStuffWorks.com:

How Pinball Machines Work
How to Build Your Own Arcade Machine from an Old Computer
Video — How It’s Made: Pinball Machines

With the unfortunate loss of Al Harris and Aaron Kampman for the season following the win over San Francisco, changes are going to have to be made moving forward to continue playing at the level we were at. Right now, more than ever, is when experienced coordinators with good football minds earn their paycheck. What sort of changes might we see out of Dom Capers?

Replacing Aaron Kampman:

Replacing Aaron might be easier than fans realize. This is one place where the 3-4 scheme really shines. The fluidity of the scheme allows for very different player types to be successful in the outside linebacker role, bringing different skill sets to the table. Many of the players that play OLB have to be hidden by scheme to some degree, and Kampman was no different. Clay is one of the rare 3-4 OLB’s that seems equally at home in virtually any role.

It was obvious that one of the places that Kampman was schematically hidden was in pass coverage. He dropped on occasion, but generally that was limited to little zone drops. He was not left in trail technique coverage on fast TE’s splitting the seam, and did not move over to press and bracket cover a WR. This is in very sharp contrast to Clay Matthews, who is trusted to do all of these tasks.

Kampman was also helped rushing the passer both by occasionally playing a 3-3-5 defense that put his hand in the dirt, and by overall maintaining a consistent launch point without an excess of twisting and stunting. In other words, things that he has been comfortable with. It has helped, though it has limited some of the overall defensive options.

Replacing Kampman most likely will be rookie Brad Jones, though Brady Poppinga and Jeremy Thompson could see time as well. Brad couldn’t be more different than Kampman, which could work to Dom’s advantage in a very big way. Hopefully this is where Dom Capers separates himself from former DC Bob Sanders. Brad is not the kind of player that can or should be plugged in to do the tasks that Kampman did the same way he did them. But on the flipside, he does open up a lot of things that were not previously possible.

Brad Jones is extremely fast and agile, and is especially noted for his ability to drop into coverage. Like Clay he can drop extremely deep from the 3-4 OLB position, and has the ability to stay with WR’s and TE’s, at least when he has some help. Dom almost surely will be much more comfortable with him in coverage, and won’t be consistently making an effort to have him rush the passer, limiting his coverage to the bare minimum as he was with Kampman. Of course the effect of this will be to enable more blitzing/zone blitzing. Clay will likely get to rush more, but I think that the biggest beneficiaries will be the ILB’s, I suspect that we will see them rush a good bit more.

Having been a 3-4 OLB, Brad likewise was not married to a small little plot of land on the line most of his career. I suspect that his launch point will not be as rigid as Kampman’s was, and be more like Clay, who moves around in the formation a great deal. This is greatly aided by the defensive line; they are playing at a level where the OLB’s don’t have to be extra DE’s on run plays, freeing the OLB’s up to shut down any attempts to bounce run plays outside, or pursue the tackle quickly. Every one of our top 4 defensive lineman can hold his ground in the face of a double team. Brad’s quickness will allow Dom to move him around a bit to probe for pass rushing weaknesses, and to allow for more stunting and combo rushing, where instead of an every man for himself, the LDE (typically Jolly) attempts to open a lane for the OLB moreso than plow through himself. The faster the OLB, the more effective that is.

While changes will be necessary, changes can be made to insert Brad Jones into the lineup without a big downgrade in defensive quality. Brad has a different skill set and will have to be used a different way, but the overall effect should hopefully be minimized. however it may change the way things “look”.

Replacing Al Harris:

This should almost be rephrased “replacing Tramon Williams”. Replacing Al should be the easy part, plug in Tramon, but replacing Tramon will be a task.

Dom can go two completely different directions with this. He can do exactly what Bob Sanders did, and literally replace Al with Tramon, placing him at the RCB spot over the split end on the sideline, or he can take the approach to keep Tramon doing what he has been doing, at least in nickle+ defense, only moving him over to Al’s spot on base defense. Either option should be equally viable, the route chosen will largely depend on how Dom adjusts to cope with the changes.

Al’s position at RCB is unique in that the route tree used by most teams is somewhat more limited. Few QB’s roll to their left. The timing of read progressions and pass patterns cuts out a good amount of intermediate routes, and if the QB turns to watch his split end, he is also watching his best pass protector, turning his back on some of his worst.

Though our defense plays all sorts of different coverages, if you had to group them into classifications, Al would be more of a man guy, Tramon more of a zone guy, and Woodson more of a rover. Al played the least amount of underneath zone of the 3. When rolling a S into the box or forward out wide, and using a CB as a S in a cover-2, 3, or 4, (forms of sky and cloud coverage), Al was typically a bail corner covering a deep zone, with LB’s or S’s covering underneath. Tramon bails much less, instead if one corner is used in the short zones more than others, Tramon is that guy. Whereas Woodson does a little of everything, generally in an effort to have him where the offense most wants to go.

When Tramon did fill in for Al last season, he did an excellent job basically doing Al’s job. In fact there seemed to be some differences where we might actually have had better pass defense, as we did run a little more zone during that time, not necessarily becasue Tramon is better in zone, but because he seems at home doing either, whereas Al definitely (at least in Sanders’ defense) was more at home in man.

One thing that we will likely see, with the hopeful return of Chillar soon, and Jones at OLB, is return to sparse dime defense. Prior to Chillar’s injury Green Bay rarely ran dime defense, even agaisnt 4-5 WR sets. The 4th CB did not see the field a whole lot.

If we do put Tramon in Al’s spot and replace Tramon, likely an increased amount of LB/S bracketing will be required. Which could mean less play in the box by Bigby and more zone drops by the LOLB. If we replace Al’s spot and keep Tramon in his, we are probably looking at 2 different players dedicated to the sideline, either CB shallow S deep, or CB deep S/LB shallow in distinct zones.

Whichever direction Dom goes, replacing Al wil surely stress our secondary.

The Potential Positives:

While the negatives of these injuries are obvious, some positives may be taken away.

Tramon will be a free agent again next year. This year he played for just over the tender amount. This is his time to grab hold of the starting job for good (even if Al returns, I don’t think that he will return as a starter). This gives Ted and his staff 6 games to determine just how much Tramon is worth, and if he is a viable starter. I’d like to think, if he makes the most of this situation that Ted will not tag him again, instead giving him a full starting CB contract while his value is still on the low end of starting CB’s.

It also gives Ted a chance to evaluate Bush as a defensive back. I doubt that he gets another chance. He’s been developing too long, this is a seize the moment or go away couple of games for him. If he can hold his own as the 3rd CB, he’ll likely stick. If someone else is given a shot after he is, because he didn’t seize the job, I suspect that this will be his last year. He have replacements at ST gunner now; his hold on a roster spot is much more tenuous than it has been.

With free agency on the horizon for Kampman, few Packer fans seriously thought that he would return to the team. The prevailing though being that he would be franchise tagged and traded (similar to Corey Williams) to a team that runs a 4-3 defense. With this injury he now has very little trade value and almost surely will not be franchised, chances are he simply leaves as a free agent.

This means that Kampman will need to be replaced long term this offseason. That task is much easier if Brad Jones (or Jeremy Thompson/Brady Poppinga) shows that they belong on the field this season, and that they are the long term solution. If not I suspect that free agency and/or higher draft picks will be used to fill this spot.

Young guys stepping up to fill an injury void and impressing is one of the primary ways that players become full time starters in this league. Lets keep our fingers crossed that we have the good fortune of that occurring at both spots for us. The players behind our lost starters are certainly physically talented enough to do so, it remains to be seen thather they put it all together.

Oxford, November 24, 2009. Following the recent announcement of part funding by the Government-backed Technology Strategy Board, the partners in the KinerStor project have today announced further details of their collaborative programme to demonstrate the viability of low-cost flywheel hybrid systems. The KinerStor project will be led by Ricardo and will comprise a consortium of industrial partners including CTG, JCB, Land Rover, SKF, Torotrak and Williams Hybrid Power. The project aims to demonstrate the potential of flywheel-based hybrid systems with the potential for 30 per cent fuel savings (and equivalent reductions in CO2 emissions) at an on-cost of less than £1000, thus enabling the mass-market uptake of hybrid vehicles in price sensitive vehicle applications.

The project will research and de-risk the principle critical flywheel sub-systems individually, then bring them together for system optimisation in two forms of proprietary device; a mechanical/magnetic coupled flywheel system developed by Ricardo (known by the trade name Kinergy), and an electrically coupled unit developed by Williams Hybrid Power. The flywheel systems being developed by the KinerStor consortium partners are ideally suited for potential applications in passenger cars ranging from small, price-sensitive mass-market models through to large luxury SUVs, as well as in low-cost compact energy storage systems for application in industrial and construction equipment. The KinerStor project team aims to design, build and test a number of prototype units such that on completion, the developed technologies are ready for vehicle-based installation, testing and demonstration.

The KinerStor consortium brings together a critical mass of relevant skills and expertise in specialist areas, including: advanced flywheel systems, focusing on new material technologies including low-cost composite fibres and specialist steels; continuously variable transmissions; bearing and coupling design; drivetrain integration; and volume vehicle manufacturing. The project’s structure will allow for the development of common core technology solutions which can be tailored to the individual needs of vehicle manufacturers, maximising potential fuel saving and CO2 emission reduction benefits.

Commenting on today’s announcement, Ricardo group technology director Neville Jackson said: “The development of highly optimised flywheel based technology offers the prospectof the effective and low-cost hybridisation of price-sensitive vehicle applications with consequent benefits to fuel economy and CO2 emissions reduction. Ricardo is pleased to be able to lead the KinerStor consortium which brings together a crucial mass of skills and expertise in this important area of future automotive technology.”

The KinerStor project is supported by an investment from the Government-backed Technology Strategy Board with balancing resources provided by the project partners.

Você anda meio entediado com a relação sexual com a sua namorada, mulher e afins? Já tentou de tudo para dar uma variada na cama? Então você está precisando conhecer Lauren Williams.

A britânica, de 29 anos, revelou no programa de Tyra Banks o caso inusitado. Lauren declarou que tem duas vaginas, dois úteros e um ciclo menstrual com duração de 21 dias. Mas a vida sexual dela é normalíssima (???).

Relaxa, eu também imaginei a mesma coisa!

As últimas notícias sobre o mercado já permitem aos adeptos da F1 traçarem um cenário razoável para o campeonato de 2010.

5 equipas já têm duplas formadas
Das 13 equipas que podem estar no pelotão na abertura do próximo mundial, no Bahrain, apenas cinco já têm as suas duplas confirmadas: McLaren, Red Bull, Ferrari, Williams e Toro Rosso.

Em contrapartida, três escuderias ainda não anunciaram nenhum piloto para a próxima temporada. Já outras equipas nem sequer têm participação confirmada no próximo ano, casos da Renault, que ainda não decidiu o seu futuro, e da Sauber-Qadbak, que até ao momento não recebeu uma posição da FIA a respeito da sua presença no pelotão.

Veja abaixo um prognóstico de cada uma das equipas que devem estar na categoria em 2010, com os pilotos já confirmados e os nomes mais cotados em cada escuderia.

McLaren
Jenson Button/Lewis Hamilton

Red Bull
Sebastian Vettel/Mark Webber

Ferrari
Felipe Massa/Fernando Alonso

Williams
Rubens Barrichello/Nico Hulkenberg

Renault
Robert Kubica
Cotados: Kamui Kobayashi, Vitaly Petrov, Romain Grosjean

Force India
Adrian Sutil
Cotados: Pedro de La Rosa, Nelsinho Piquet

Toro Rosso
Sébastien Buemi/Jaime Alguersuari

Mercedes
Nico Rosberg
Cotados: Kimi Raikkonen, Nick Heidfeld, Michael Schumacher

Campos Meta
Bruno Senna
Cotados: Vitaly Petrov, Pastor Maldonado, Roldán Rodriguez, Andy Soucek

Virgin-Manor
Timo Glock
Cotados: Lucas Di Grassi, Jarno Trulli, Heikki Kovalainen, Christian Klien, Anthony Davidson, James Rossitter

Lotus
Cotados: Jarno Trulli, Kamui Kobayashi

USF1
Cotados: José Maria Lopez, Johnatan Summerton, Jacques Villeneuve, Pedro de La Rosa

Sauber-Qadbak*
Cotados: Nick Heidfeld, Christian Klien

* Inscrição ainda não aprovada pela FIA

[Fonte: portalf1.com]

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Check out more Greg Williams’ photography here!

Novo sócio da Williams acredita que categoria está em “estado de mudança”

Aos 37 anos de idade, o austríaco Christian “Toto” Wolff já atua com desenvoltura no mundo dos negócios. E, sempre que possível, une o trabalho com sua outra paixão, o automobilismo. O novo sócio da equipe Williams conta nessa entrevista exclusiva ao Tazio a sua visão sobre a F-1 como plataforma de negócios. O ex-piloto também revela que Rubens Barrichello é um de seus grandes ídolos no automobilismo: “Quando comecei, ele era um herói para mim”. Confira!

Como surgiu a idéia de comprar uma parte da Williams?
Já estou envolvido no automobilismo há algum tempo. Sou um dos donos da HWA, a empresa que faz o trabalho da Mercedes na DTM, além de outras atividades (n.R.: Wolff também tem sociedade com Mika Hakkinen em uma empresa que gerencia carreira de pilotos). Há cerca de seis meses ocorreu um encontro casual com Adam Parr, o CEO da Williams. Falamos sobre vários assuntos, surgiu a idéia de assumir uma parte da equipe, as conversas ficaram mais sérias e chegamos a um acordo agora.

O que torna esse momento interessante?
A F-1 está num ponto de mudança. As grandes montadoras com orçamentos ilimitados, como a Toyota, saíram. O acordo de restrição de orçamento, junto com as receitas maiores da FOM, faz com que as equipes possam virar empresas que atuem com custos neutralizados ou mesmo que operem no lucro. Como um homem de negócios, faz sentido entrar agora nesse tipo de parceria. A F-1 é o principal evento esportivo do mundo do ponto de vista comercial. E a perspectiva das equipes passarem a dar lucro cria a condição ideal para que eu possa investir na categoria.

Mas vale a pena investir na F-1, mesmo com a guerra política que a categoria viveu em 2009?
Minha opinião é que a luta política surgiu porque montadoras como Toyota e BMW quiseram colocar seu ponto de vista sobre a redução no orçamento. Mas essas montadoras saíram da categoria e as que ficaram reconheceram que o momento agora exige mais cuidado com os gastos. A própria Mercedes-Benz admitiu com clareza depois da compra da Brawn que o objetivo é este mesmo. Vejo com otimismo esta volta ao espírito de competição do passado, com equipes independentes com tradição no esporte e com montadoras conscientes que não se pode queimar dinheiro indefinidamente.

E porque a Williams?
Fora da Williams, não há equipe com uma história igual, apenas Ferrari e McLaren. Eu não teria interesse em nenhuma das equipes novas. Também não quero lidar com a problemática diária de uma equipe e a Williams está muito bem servida nisso. Além da experiência de Frank e de Patrick Head, há a juventude de Adam Parr e de Sam Michael, todos com o mesmo espírito de trabalho.

Então você não tem o compromisso de ir às corridas?
Exatamente. Eu sou membro do conselho da equipe e há reuniões mensais na sede em Grove onde vou fazer o meu trabalho, nos pontos onde faz sentido atuar. Não vou me misturar ao trabalho diário da equipe e só vou às corridas onde achar que há possibilidades de fazer bons negócios do ponto de vista comercial.

O futuro de uma equipe passa inevitavelmente por seus pilotos. O que você acha da dupla da Williams para 2009?
Eu acho que foi uma boa decisão. E corajosa. Uma equipe tem duas opções: pegar um monte de dinheiro e comprar uma dupla como Alonso e alguém do mesmo nível. Ou tentar uma outra saída. E foi o que a Williams fez. Eu sou um grande fã de Rubens Barrichello. Quando comecei a correr de Fórmula Ford, me lembro de vê-lo correndo em Zeltweg de Fórmula Opel. Ele era um herói para mim. Neste ano, o Barrichello mostrou na Brawn que é capaz de brigar pelo título e foi mais rápido que Jenson em algumas corridas, uma prova de que não perdeu sua velocidade e sua motivação. Ele também nasceu no mesmo ano que eu, 1972, o que parece ser uma boa safra (risos)! Acho que a combinação dele com um jovem piloto como Hülkenberg, que além de rápido é inteligente, pode ser muito bem-sucedida e causar muitas surpresas.

Você os conhece pessoalmente?
Ainda não. Já vi o Nico Hülkenberg, pois sou muito próximo de Frederic Vasseur, o dono da ART. Mas não falei com ele e ainda não conheci Rubens Barrichello.

Além de ser um investidor, você também é um piloto. Deu para deixar a emoção de lado na hora de se associar a uma equipe de F-1?
Eu tentei em toda a negociação deixar a emoção de lado, porque isso no mundo dos negócios sempre dá errado. Nós discutimos por mais de seis meses e isso jamais veio a público, o que não é normal na Fórmula 1, um meio onde muito gente gosta de aparecer. Eu também tenho uma equipe que, junto comigo, analisou a transação do ponto de vista comercial e jurídico, dando uma visão relativa em todos os momentos.

E você pretende continuar correndo de GT ou em ralis?
Não, não vou competir mais. Eu me machuquei nesse ano. Foi uma “idéia imbecil” como o Niki Lauda me disse, palavra por palavra. Eu quis bater o recorde do Nordschleife em Nürburgring. Acabei conseguindo, mas na volta seguinte um pneu estourou. Eu estava a mais de 260 km/h e fui parar numa clínica em Frankfurt. Depois ainda fiz alguns ralis, mas a coisa não funcionou muito bem. Não serei mais competitivo e, agora que eu fechei esse negócio com a Williams, decidi que só vou correr por prazer. Talvez uma volta com um carro de DTM quando der aquela coceirinha, mas vou proibir que haja um cronômetro por perto.

Mas você não tem vontade de dar umas voltas com um F-1 da Williams?
Vontade eu tenho, mas eu sou realista! Não quero destruir completamente esse meu sonho de criança pegando um carro só para ficar me arrastando pela pista… (risos)

[Fonte: tazio.uol.com.br]

I’m going home soon.

I don’t know if I can handle it.  Where is my default hangout place at home?  Do the chapel bells play showtunes at home?  Who will bother me about math homework late at night at home?  What could replace Driscoll’s almond butter and delicious salad at home?  Is there constant and reliable wireless internet at home?  Will people hit on me ostentatiously at home?  Is there snack bar at home?  Can I see plays for $3 or less at home?  When I say, “That’s quote board worthy,” will people at home know what I mean? Is there Williams at home?

The truth is, I’m going home, and I’m happy about that.  But after break, I’m coming home too.

I’ve finally got 5 minutes to myself, so I thought I’d do a quick post on the movements of all the drivers for 2010.  Obviously, not everyone has been announced, but thus far, here are the teams and line-ups for the 2010 championship.

McLaren – Lewis Hamilton & Jenson Button (from Brawn GP now Mercedes)

Ferrari – Felipe Massa & Fernando Alonso (from Renault)

Brawn (now Mercedes) – Nico Rosberg (from Williams) & TBA

Red Bull Racing- Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber (no change)

Renault – Robert Kubica (From BMW Sauber) & TBA

Williams – Rubens Barrichello (from Mercedes formally Brawn) & Nico Hulkenburg

Force India - TBA & TBA

Toro Rosso – TBA & TBA

Manor GP – Timo Glock (from Toyota) & TBA

USF1 - Jose Maria Lopez (subject to securing sponsorship) & TBA

Lotus – One driver signed but not yet announced who & TBA

Campos Meta – Bruno Senna & TBA

BMW Sauber – Withdrawn

Toyota – Withdrawn

This still leaves quite a few F1 drivers without a confirmed seat so far.  These include ;

Heidfeld, Grosjean, Fisichella (quite likely to return to Force India), Sutil, Liuzzi, Kobiyashi, Alguersuari, Nakajima, Kovalainen, Raikkonen (sabbatical unless a championship winning seat is available).  Other possibilities include De La Rosa, Piquet, Bourdais, Davidson, Sato and Wurz.  I could continue, but it would make my list quite long.

There are several teams with one experienced driver announced, which could pave the way for them to sign a younger driver, or former F1 driver a second ‘rookie’ seat.

Campos have put their money in Senna and will want an experienced driver to direct the team into the 2010 season, which would leave the door open for drivers such as Heidfeld or even De La Rosa.  Either way, I’ll keep the list updated with any further announcements.

As for the 2010 calendar, that’s had some changes also, and there is still some debate if some of the tracks will still be participating.  Most notably in the United Kingdom, is the British Grand Prix.  It has been said my Bernie Ecclestone that Silverstone (who have been handed an offer due to Donington now in the hands of  administrators), has until the 9th of November to make their minds up or there is no British Grand Prix.

The Canadian GP is subject to completion of changes, Korean subject to completion and

Japonês, dispensado da Williams, tenta vaga em uma das equipes novatas

O japonês Kazuki Nakajima, dispensado da equipe Williams nesta temporada, afirmou que seu futuro dependerá da Toyota, que deixou a F-1 neste ano.

Apesar de nunca ter competido pelo time japonês, Nakajima faz parte do programa de jovens pilotos da equipe, que conduz sua carreira.

O ex-companheiro de Nico Rosberg, que estreou na Williams em 2008, teve certa dificuldade para mostrar competitividade nesta temporada e não somou pontos no campeonato. Neste final de semana, durante o Festival Automobilístico da Toyota, Nakajima disse que segue confiante de que obterá uma vaga no grid em 2010.

“Estive em processos de negociação para a próxima temporada mas, no momento, não há contrato, mas várias coisas incertas, porque novas equipes estão entrando e há algumas vagas”, disse Nakajima ao site “GPUpdate”.

“Tenho experiência dos últimos dois anos e uma sólida temporada como piloto, apesar de não ter obtido um bom resultado final. Estou mais confiante, então espero conseguir uma vaga para mostrar minha capacidade”, finalizou.

[Fonte: tazio.uol.com.br]

Quando tuto gira per il verso giusto sembra non avere rivali; cosi Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) vince il GP di Abu Dhabi, davanti al compagno di team Mark Webber e al neo campione del mondo Jenson Button (Brawn GP).
Il campionato si chiude quindi con la vittoria del baby fenomeno e la sensazione è che quest’anno Vettel abbia buttato alle ortiche (causa errori suoi e del team) una grande occasione per portarsi a casa il titolo.

Durante le qualifiche Hamilton aveva messo in riga tutti ma Vettel si era insediato in seconda posizione con una monoposto più carica di benzina dell’Inglese, facendo presagire una facile vittoria, mentre le Brawn GP di Barrichello e Button, in quarta e quinta posizione, seguivano la seconda Red Bull di Webber.
Male, anzi malissimo le Ferrari con Raikkonen 11esimo e Fisichella ultimo.

Allo start Hamilton tiene la posizione grazie al kers, con Vettel Webber e Button a seguirlo, mentre Barrichello in un contatto col compagno di squadra rovina l’ala anteriore, fortunatamente senza che ciò leda le sue prestazioni.
Fisichella recupera diverse posizioni, mentre Raikkonen ne perde una a favore del debuttante Kobayashi.
Nel primo stint di gara la sfida è tutta fra Hamilton e Vettel, con l’Inglese obbligato a costruirsi un vantaggio tale da poter ritornare in pista dopo il pit stop davanti a Vettel, ma il Tedeschino sebbene con una monoposto più pesante, gli resiste incollato ai suoi scarichi.
Al primo pit stop si fermano nell’ordine Barrichello, Kubica, Hamilton, Button e dopo tre giri anche Vettel, che nel frattempo, liberatosi di Hamilton timbra giri veloci a ripetizione.
Tornato in pista in testa, seguito da Hamilton, Vettel allunga ma proprio in quel momento il pilota della McLaren accusa pesanti problemi ai freni che lo obbligano al ritiro, il primo della sua carriera per problemi meccanici.
Vettel quindi non ha più nulla da temere visto che il secondo in classifica Webber, subisce da lui distacchi pesanti ad ogni giro; nelle posizioni di rincalzo, grazie ad una gara impostata su di una sosta, Kobayashi e Raikkonen risalgono il gruppo con il Giapponese in terza posizione ed il ferrarista in sesta.
Purtroppo per Kimi però le enormi difficoltà della F60 nello scaldare gli pneumatici lo obbligheranno a remare e perdere molto terreno dopo la sosta, vanificando ciò che di buono poteva fare; Kobayashi dal canto suo contiene benissimo il ritmo arrembante dei piloti su due soste e riesce ad installarsi in sesta posizione.

Nell’ultimo stint di gara, dopo la seconda sosta, le posizioni rimangono invariate, con Vettel al comando con un margine di una ventina di secondi su Webber, il quale negli ultimi giri deve fare i conti con l’arrembante Campione del Mondo Jenson Button che, montate le gomme morbide, recupera quasi un secondo al giro, piombando addosso all’Australiano nelle ultime due tornate.
Jenson ci prova, forza un paio di staccate, ma Webber resiste mostrando i muscoli e Button deve arrendersi e rinunciare al secondo posto.
Barrichello conclude quarto seguito da un costante Heidfeld, poi l’ottimo Kobayashi che si mette dietro il caposquadra Trulli e in ottava posizione Buemi della Toro Rosso.
Nulla da fare per la Ferrari per il terzo posto nel mondiale costruttori perchè nonostante lo stop di Hamilton, gli zero punti conquistati da Kimi Raikkonen e Giancarlo Fisichella non hanno permesso il sorpasso e la conseguente conquista di svariati milioni di dollari di premio.

Il mondiale quindi si chiude con un Vettel in piena forma e con le Ferrari mestamente ai box a coronamento di una stagione perlomeno fallimentare; unico momento positivo del 2009 per il team di Maranello è da considerarsi la vittoria di Kimi Raikkonen sul circuito di Spa, teatro delle imprese dei più grandi piloti della storia.
La Formula 1 volta quindi pagina, in attesa di vedere confermati i nuovi team che prenderanno parte al campionato del prossimo anno e in attesa di capire quali saranno i loro piloti.
La Ferrari, come già annunciato, schiererà Fernando Alonso e Felipe Massa, nella speranza di poter tornare a conquistare quel mondiale piloti che nell’era post Schumacher solo Raikkonen è riuscito a vincere.
o farà contando anche sull’esperienza di Giancarlo Fisichella come terzo pilota; un Fisichella deludente che negli ultimi 5 GP non è riuscito a conquistare nemmeno un punto mondiale (a fronte degli ottimi risultati di Kimi) e proprio di un punto la Ferrari non è riuscita a sopravanzare la McLaren nel mondiale costruttori.
A Maranello si libereranno di Kimi Raikkonen quindi, il pilota di ghiaccio che non ama parlare e fare polemica, il pilota che dall’uscita di scena di Massa ha conquistato tre podi ed una vittoria, trascinando da solo il team per tutta la seconda parte della stagione.

Nel 2010 probabilmente i valori in campo cambieranno; la Ferrari lavora da almeno 6 mesi al progetto della monoposto per il prossimo anno, mentre la Brawn GP a fronte delle poche risorse disponibili perderà sicuramente il vantaggio di svluppo avuto durante il 2009.
La McLaren con Hamilton sarà sicura protagonista mentre in Red Bull Vettel partirà con l’obiettivo di vincere il mondiale, ma gli errori del team dovranno essere ridotti a zero perchè a quanto pare le squadre in lotta per l’iride non saranno più solo due.

Robbie Williams back.

Tried to defy the Box slump.

Delves into worst disc.

Уилямс FW14 е болид, проектиран от Patrick Head и Adrian Newey за сезоните 1991 и 1992. След не особено успешните години ‘89 и ‘90, в които колите на Уилямс показват конкурентноспособност, но не и издръжливост, появата на FW14 е просто наложителна.Williams също така започват да губят позиции и в очите на своите френски партньори от Renault, за които няколко поредни сезона без успех не са сред поставените цели. Adrian започва работата по новата кола веднага след присъединяването си в тима от отбора на March в средата на 90-та година. Там той е проектирал поредица от ефективни аеродинамично болиди, разполагайки с повече от скромен бюджет, така че с доста по-сериозните ресурси нa Williams той успява да развие своите идеи и да ги приложи в новоразработвания състезателен автомобил. Предварителните впечатления, които болидът създава са достатъчно оптимистични , за да накарат пилота Nigel Mansell да се откаже от плановете си за оттегляне от спорта и да подпише договор с Williams за 1991 година, напускайки редиците на Ferrari. Задвижван от 3.5л V10 на Renault, FW14 се оказва най-усъвършенствата и прецизна машина на старта. В нея могат да се видят полуавтоматична скоростна кутия, активно окачване, тракшън контрол, а за кратък период и ABS. Ако към това прибавим и перфектната аеродинамика на Newey, болидът се оказва доста по-напред технически от конкурентните Mp4/6,  Ferrari 643 или Lotus 107. Въпреки това скептиците в началото казват, че колата е прекалено технологична и не е изключено цялата история да завърши с провал. FW14 прави своя дебют в състезанието за голямата награда на САЩ 1991-ва година. Несъмнено колата е най-съвършена технически от конкурентите си, но “детските” й проблеми в началото провалят някои състезания за пилотите и отбора. Mansell и Patrese успяват да запишат общо 7 победи, но шампион при пилотите става Ayrton Sena със своя McLaren, който, макар и не толкова добър,колкото FW14, разполага с единственото липсващо на английския болид качество – надеждност. В хода на сезона Williams успява да покаже, че има най-бързата и балансирана кола, като в средата на годината Mansell и Patrese записват повечето си добри класирания. Отпаданията поради технически проблеми обаче накланят везните в полза на надеждн McLaren. Mansell отпада няколко пъти заради повреди в още новата за отбора полуавтоматична скоростна кутия ( в повечето случаи докато води в състезанието). Patrese успява да впечатли с представянето си в няколко състезания, но и той отпада два пъти докато води колоната.В крайна сметка McLaren грабват шампионата под носа на Williams и ръкавицата за сезон 1992 е хвърлена, За следващата година по колата е свършена доста работа, усъвършенствани са скоростната кутия и активното окачване и резултатът не закъснява – FW14B е доминиращата кола, като никой друг болид дори не успява да се доближи като представяне до нея. Mansell печели рекордните за времето си 9 победи в един сезон, а Patrese добавя още една на Suzuka на сметката на отбора. Италианецът така и не успява да се сработи с колата си, като споменава неведнъж, че за неговия стил на каране неактивното окачване е за предпочитане в това шаси. Въпреки това в класирането на пилотите се нарежда на второ място след съотборника си, което показва доста ясно колко доминираща кола са създали Newey и Head. При конструкторите Williams успяват да вземат реванш от McLaren за миналия сезон, като за разлика от тях показват доста по-сериозно превъзходство над противника си. Сезонът свършва с голям успех, но и с доста напрежение в отбора. Оказва се, че Mansell трябва да освободи място за подписалия предварителен договор Prost, а Patrese се премества в Benetton за своя последен сезон в спорта. Равносметката от 17 спечелени състезание , 22 поул позишъна и 289 спечелени точки за 2 години недвусмислено поставят FW14 сред най-добрите и успешни болиди, правени изобщо в историята на F1. С оглед на последвалите забрани и ограничения, той си остава и до днес може би най-високотехнологичният състезателен автомобил, покорявал пистите по целия свят.

Ricky Williams has to be the Josh Hamilton of football.  A few years ago Williams was having some serious problems and looked like he was never going to play pro ball again.  After coming over to the Dolphins, he has really turned himself around.  In 1999, collectors were all over his stuff.  Then when he started having all the drug problems, his cards hit rock bottom.  Now his cards are starting to heat up once again.  Its going to be awhile before they reach 1999 status though.  But its a start.

Finalmente acabou a espera pelo clipe de brick by boring brick! Só achei os efeitos do clipe mal feitos, principalmente quando a criancinha cai no poço, lamentável. Mas assistam ao clipe mesmo assim.

Clique aqui para ver o clipe

Oxford, UK, 20 November 2009. Frank Williams and Patrick Head announced today that they have sold a minority interest in Williams Grand Prix Engineering Limited (Williams F1) to an investment company led by Austrian investor Toto Wolff. Mr Wolff also joins the company’s Board.