Sidepodcast

Daily: 2nd January 2010

We are well and truly into the new year now, the partying is over and it's time to start concentrating on getting back into a routine. It's my final weekend off before returning to work and it'll soon be time to try and remember to put 2010 on documents, instead of scribbling out 2009 for the next few weeks. Meanwhile, here are some of the things on our minds:

• We had just a little bit more nostalgia yesterday, as I posted a best of podcast for the Sidepodradio marathon. There are lots of great bits in there, including Mr C's efforts at cooking, snippets from the quiz, and some travel tips as well. Relive Sidepodradio as if it was yesterday, and get your thinking caps on for Sidepodradio 2.
• Our first non-daily post of the year went up in the form of a note about Jenson Button and his new McLaren outfit. Pictures and video are available of the man in his new uniform, and it'll take a couple of glances to get used to it, trust me. Take a look and let us know what you think.
• We are also ready to start asking for your predictions for 2010 - even if it is impossible to anything from just a glance at one man's new t-shirt. I have listed out a couple of my own thoughts for the new season, but I am rubbish at predictions and no doubt entirely wrong. Why not head over and point me in the right direction?

That'll do it for now, let us know what you're up to this weekend, and I'll see you in the comments.

Sidepodradio - Best of 2009

• Length: 20:25 
• Size: 18.9 MB 
• File: sidepodradio25.mp3 
• Transcript: Coming soon 
• Torrent: sidepodradio25.torrent 

With the end of year bringing so much nostalgia, it seemed only fair that Sidepodradio got it's own best of podcast. There was plenty of source material to work from, and I can present to you 24 hours worth of shows, whittled down to 20 minutes. Enjoy.

The magical moments of Sidepodradio are all included - remember when Mr C was confused about spoons, or when Steven revealed all about Major Tom? How about when Lukeh gave the FIA some pointers on how to make F1 more fun, or Sean cleared up some sporting confusion for us?

All that and more you will find in this round up of the marathon event, and if you're inspired by what you hear, why not put some thoughts down for Sidepodradio 2?

The Best of Sidepodcast 2009, and a Big Thank You

During 2009, Sidepodcast managed to publish 1,319 posts on this website. That's more content in the past 12 months than we managed in the previous two years of blogging combined. A considerable amount of that content came from over 20 guest writers who contributed their thoughts and ideas and to whom we will be eternally grateful.

To celebrate such a fantastic year, and because we're feeling more than a little nostalgic on this eve of '10, we've pulled together some of our favourite topics from 2009.

Thank You for the Memories

• An Audience With Mark Webber - January started well, meeting and greeting Mark Webber
• Always Look at the Bigger Picture - The big idea for '09
• Design and Share Your Fantasy Race Tracks - Anyone can do better than Tilke, right?
• Websites You Can Trust - F1 journalism comes under the microscope
• Episode 93 - KERS For 5 Year Olds - Everything you needed to know about KERS
• Character Cup - 2009 Winner, Fernando Alonso - He's quite the character
• McLaren Testing at Kemble - We knew they were in trouble from this point on
• When Did You Lose Interest? - An historical look at F1 supporters
• 2009 Australia Predictions Montage - How did you fare?
• A View of Sepang - Journeyer's visit to the Malaysian GP
• Heard It on the Radio - Christine talks to BBC national radio
• There's an Official Formula 1 iPhone App, and It Rocks! - F1 coverage changed for the better
• Winning Isn't Everything - Lou gets a cog too
• Circuit Cup - 2009 Winner, Spa - The best track by miles
• Print Is Dead - Our take on the future of media
• A Live Tour of Albert Park - Amy goes live from a deserted park in Australia
• We Heart Lukeh - Lukeh provided us laughs aplenty in 2009
• Sidepodfilmclub - Talladega Nights - The inaugural filmclub evening
• Will.i.am Wheelman - Possibly our best headline of the year
• 2009 Championship Contender - Jenson Button - A look at the man before he became the man
• Sidepodradio Gives You Wings for Life - Red Bull Racing liked the cupcakes
• Happy Birthday Daily Thread - One year on and still going strong
• When Giggles Met Murray and Stirling - He only went and messed up his tie
• Things I Learnt From Watching Franck - Everybody does it better than Formula 1
• Formula 1 2009 (Wii) Review - Finally a proper F1 game hits the shelves
• The Illustrated 2009 F1 Season Review - Currently the highest rated post on Sidepodcast
• Live: After Eight - The last live show of the year and a festive one at that
• F1 Advent Calendar 2009 - Roundup - The F1 season, all wrapped up

We've shared some fantastic experiences this past year and we're promised many more in 2010.

Thank You for the Music

As this is the one time of year when Christine allows me to give thanks, and running the risk of missing someone important, Sidepodcast would like to share the love. The two of us would like to extend a huge thank you to all guest writers, to everyone who's helped transcribe a show, especially Amy for leading the effort, and to every person who pledged a donation this year. Much appreciation goes out to anyone who took time to pick up the phone, send an email, or leave a comment, especially if you did so for the first time.

Thank you to the participants of Sidepodradio, to those who tuned in and anyone who gave so much to charity that day. A special note of gratitude to Steven Roy for volunteering anyone and everyone who dared show an interest and to RG for the initial inspiration. A huge Sidepodthanks goes to the bestest host of the parade lap, Alex (Giggles) Andronov, without whom there would have been no pre-race shows this year, and to Katherine and Hyde Park for opening their doors to us.

Major kudos to Lisa McCormick and to Rob Smedley for both being especially lovely. The same goes to the 5Live team for providing such fabulous coverage that saved the season. To Danny from Fantasy Racers, and to anyone who's plugged, promoted or shared the Sidepodcast word, we also say cheers.

I would like to extend a personal thank you to everybody who offered their support back in the summer of discontent and encouraged us to continue, we quite literally would not be here today without you. A hat tip must also go towards Racecar Engineering and F1 Racing for featuring our McLaren photographs and to Stuart C for providing an education in journalism at no charge.

A special mention goes out to Joe Saward, a man who has given so much to Formula 1 for so many years and who this year, extended a generous hand in our direction.

Finally I give a huge hug to Ms Christine Blachford, for producing what are by far the best F1 podcasts on the internet and also for putting up with her co-host for another year.

Lord knows I hope we haven't missed anyone from that list, but just in case, Sidepodcast raises a virtual glass to everyone - may Formula 1 be good to you in 2010.

Daily: 30th December 2009

In my research for daily facts and figures I have come across the best one ever. From the people's encylopedia, today is the day in 1853 when a dinner party was held inside the Iguanadon in Crystal Palace Park. We knew this! Mr Giggles took us to see those dinosaurs and told us that fact! In your face, Wikipedia! Eh-hem, here are some more F1 related things:

• I posted the Best of Debrief show yesterday - 2009 in Audio. It's a great trip through memory lane - the entire season crushed down into a twenty minute show with the best bits picked out by you guys. Thanks for all your submissions, and for the motivation to get the show complete. Couldn't have done it without you all.
• I'm contemplating the Best of Sidepodradio now, so if you have thoughts about what should go in that show, I am all ears. Simply post them in this thread and tag them #sidepodradio so I can pick them up later. Best of shows are hard work, but they are always worth it in the end!
• Mr C also wrote a brief update on some of the things we've been doing behind the scenes on the website. The graph included in that post is pretty cool, showing how much performance has improved since we started fiddling, and, well, basically stripping out Wordpress. Now things are so snappy round here, it's time to look at new stuff. Yay!

That should do it for now, let us know what you're up to and whether you have tired of your Christmas presents already. I'll see you in the comments.

Best of Sidepodpanel Series 2

• Length: 9:27 
• Size: 8.8 MB 
• File: bestof2.mp3 
• Transcript: bestof2.pdf 
• Torrent: bestof2.torrent 

This show takes a look at the highlights from the second series of Sidepodpanel - six fun-filled episodes of F1 thoughts, ideas, and impressions, plus a bit of singing thrown in for good measure.

Here are links to the original shows if you want to hear more:

1. Lewis... Call Me
2. Who Needs a Pinger When You've Got a Gavin?
3. I Lost My Count
4. Puddles
5. Holding Out For a Timo
6. Why Does God Hate Finnish People?

Don't forget, you can find out more about the Sidepodpanel shows both past and present on the wiki. There are pages of statistics, leaderboards, plus many ways for you to get involved.

Best of Sidepodpanel Series 1

• Length: 7:58 
• Size: 7.5 MB 
• File: bestof1.mp3 
• Transcript: bestof1.pdf 
• Torrent: bestof1.torrent 

Looking back at the inaugural season of Sidepodpanel, and selecting the best moments of the six episodes - including several sets of impressions, F1 game ideas, and environmental concerns.

Here are links to the original shows if you want to hear more:

1. The First
2. The Giggles
3. Two Tribes
4. Fernando?
5. Chrome Monster
6. Absolutely Stunned

There is plenty more information available about the show on the wiki, including ways to get involved, lots of statistics, and the all important leaderboard.