Sidepodcast

Webber Reverses His Fortunes on Christine's Rankings

This week, I've been very impressed with Mark Webber, particularly after his debut onto the rankings last time around - with a minus score. The Australian not only updated his website, making full use of YouTube, but he also jumped headfirst into the Twitter-universe. Already he has used the word "arvo" and therefore I am awarding him plenty of plus points.

I also took several suggestions this week, as I hadn't managed to keep an eye on what everyone was up to. Hopefully I've credited everyone involved and there are links underneath the table to all the required supporting evidence.

Notes:

1. As pointed out to me by MrDavidCameron on Twitter here and here.
2. Lou let me know that Heikki has either had a haircut, or found a way to style his barnet better. Photo evidence here. The amusing conversation between Mike Gascoyne and Heikki Kovalainen, resulted in my favourite tweet of the week.
3. F1 Minute: Rosberg puts Mercedes on top, whilst Schumacher revises his opinion.

Testing is over now, so we might face a quiet week until the drivers start bigging up their chances for the Bahrain Grand Prix. Please keep your eyes peeled for fun and unusual things our boys might be up to. You can leave a comment, email me christine@sidepodcast.com or drop me a note on twitter: @mrschristine. See you next week!

Daily: 22nd February 2010

Another week is ready to get going, although it seems like all the fun stuff is towards the end of it. We've got testing in Barcelona plus a meetup with Joe, but that doesn't kick off until Thursday and Friday. I'm sure we can keep ourselves amused until then, though, and here are some of the things we've been up to:

• It was guest post central this weekend, as we had four posts over the course of three days. I've mentioned some of them already in previous daily threads, but in case you missed them, here's the full run down of the guest posts we had. It started with Lady Snowcat's In Search of the Iceman, then on to Lewis with Silverstone vs. Silverstone. Lukeh got us feeling optimistic with Approaching the Start Line and finally Brawn2bwild spent A Sunny Saturday Afternoon in Jerez. If you've got a story you want to share, please get writing and forward it to christine@sidepodcast.com.
• If you're looking for more to read, Jackie has a great selection of posts to peruse in her Something for the Weekend roundup. I love reading the roundups in case there is something I have missed, which there usually is. Definitely worth checking out.
• SpeedTV's Adam Cooper has written an interesting post about the possibility of a return to F1 by Jacques Villeneuve, although it really is more about the likelihood of Stefan GP making the grid. I can't believe there are so many team changes this close to the season beginning, but it's certainly giving the journalists something to do!

That should do it for now. There'll be an F1 Debrief podcast along at some point this evening, and until then, I will see you in the comments.

Daily: 24th January 2010

We have reached Sunday, and for anyone looking for the live show, we must apologise. The live server is still not ready to rock and roll yet, and we weren't planning on doing any podcasting this weekend. However, we did record a Debrief episode yesterday, so look out for it in your feeds at some point today. Now, moving onwards:

• We've been busy creating new pages again, with a new Sidepodcast Elsewhere page to have a look at. An expanded way to find where we are on the web, there are links to our Twitter pages, the Facebook Fan page and where we store some of our videos and photos. Have a look and let us know what you think.
• While we're on the subject of Twitter, Mr C discovered yesterday that he retweets Lukeh more than he does me! This is so unfair, considering that I retweet the Sidepodcast account way more than anyone ever! I don't tweet enormous amount, though, so I can sort of see how this would be the case. Must try harder.
• I know we've done nothing but talk about the Sidepodcast Calendar recently, but it's worth pointing it out again, as we've made the main embed a little bit bigger so you can actually see the items involved. It's just that bit wider, and just that bit longer and I like it this way. What do you think?

Anyway, let us know what you're up to today, and as ever, I'll see you in the comments.

Daily: 21st January 2010

It's Thursday once again. So far this year, I haven't found Thursdays too bad, but I can only imagine the bad vibe is waiting round the corner for me. To battle it, it turns out it is National Hug Day today. I'm not that good at hugging, but make sure you celebrate the day for me, and give someone a big ol' hug. Anyway, on to F1 things:

• There's been a nice comment over on F1 Minute, from Mike of Sweet F1. I am already married, of course, and I am also slightly concerned about the word "us" used in the proposal, however, I can certainly manage a link or two. It looks like the site is on hiatus at the moment during the off season, but it will be racing time once again before you know it.
• Whilst we're linking to things, the Forza Toro Rosso blog has an interesting post about the team's decision to sack Bourdais, pondering whether they were right to do such a thing. The post is generating quite the discussion, and I just know we all have opinions on the subject as well. Add yours!
• Finally, RG wrote a pretty awesome guest post for us yesterday, taking a closer look at how easy it is to make up news on the internet. Although an ultimately harmless experiment, RG's made up headline actually got passed on as fact, so it's definitely worth reading how that turned out.

That's all for now, let us know what you're up to today, and how the weather is where you are, and I will see you in the comments.

Welcome to My Wiki World

We've had a couple of new people pop up and say hi in the comments recently (hi!), and I noticed some attempts to persuade them to join the wiki. We talk about the wiki a lot, I know, but it is a great way to make Sidepodcast even more collaborative and even more of a community. I wanted to take a minute to talk about the wiki and encourage you to join.

What is the wiki for?

Originally, the wiki was a place to host some of the fun games we shared in the comments, plus plan some of the upcoming shows. When we're in the midst of a run of Sidepodpanels, it's invaluable for guests to sign up, and the scores to be recorded.

Since than it has ballooned into the best place for the community to share and plan together. We've got a dictionary of words born out of the comments, we have guides on everything from how to sleep better to making a microwave chocolate cake. There is information about past Batracer leagues, plus a roundup of both the Fantasy Racer competitions we've participated in, and top five league positions for each race.

There's documentation on how this website is taking shape, plus space for requests and bugs to be tracked. Live Commenting instructions live on the wiki, in case anyone is struggling with the doohickey or LCLT, and there are lots and lots of links. From teams, to drivers, to bloggers, to journalists, we're compiling the best of the web.

What can I do?

If you're not sure where to start, the best place is the SPC Regulars page. Registration for the wiki is free, and then you can create a sub-page of the Regulars page for yourself. Your own little home on the Sidepodwiki. You can put as many or as few facts about yourself as you'd like, but make sure to update the birthdays section, so I can add you to our calendar. Also, don't forget the Listener Map to pinpoint your country with a pretty red pin.

Why not help us fill in some of our F1 information pages? We've got plenty of missing info on the links pages - both drivers and teams. We're trying to keep track of who is going to be in which team for 2010, and who is being left on the sidelines, so if you hear something we don't, then please fill it in.

We also have some of the games that start in the comments, such as the Numbers Game page - where we list F1 facts by ever increasing numbers. We're up to 80, but there must be more, I'm sure we can get to 100. Or perhaps you would prefer the ideal three sectors game, where you select your perfect circuit with the best bits from the entire calendar.

Ultimately, the wiki is huge, and there's a lot to take in, but the best way is to sign up, start browsing, and then just hit that edit button. It's super easy to do, you don't need to learn any new codes or languages, it's a pretty simple editor. If you're looking for a particular page, don't use the search on the wiki, it's not very good. Either use the super Sidepodsearch on the top right of this site, or visit the Sidepodsitemap to find what you're looking for.

Where do I start?

Here are a couple of the pages mentioned above to help you get started:

• SPC Regulars
• Listener Map
• Driver Links
• Team Links
• Numbers Game
• Ideal 3 Sectors
• Sidepodsitemap

Once you've dived in and had a go, come back and tell us how you got on. We love the wiki and we want you to love it too.

Daily: 6th January 2010

We are halfway through the week and there is snow in the UK causing traffic chaos all around. That's why we recommending staying indoors! There is plenty going on in F1 for now to keep you occupied. Here are some of the things we're talking about:

• Flavio has managed to overturn his ban, although the FIA aren't at all happy about the ruling and are considering their options. We had a breakout thread with the news, and I also wrote a post about Renault's timely announcement of their new team principal. Share your thoughts in both threads!
• There's been a lot of discussion about Heidfeld and where he might fit in the 2010 grid. The man himself is acutely aware that the seats are being snapped up from under him, but says he is prepared for the unexpected. After the last few years in F1, so are we all!
• Dank has an interesting post encouraging you to invest some time in watching a series other than F1, and see how you get on with it. He makes some good arguments and it's worthwhile giving it a shot. I am not yet convinced though.

That's all for now, keep us updated on how your week is going, and as ever, I will be round and about to see you in the comments.

We Talk About F1 Too, Honest

With the introduction of the daily post, and the permission granted to go off topic at will, there have been a wealth of comments about a variety of topics. Sometimes there are moments of genius, and a comment gets picked out as a contender for the Best Comment of the Year. RG even started a wiki page to compile what turned out to be an enormous list of potentials.

The initial plan was to have a poll and select the Best Comment of 2009. However, there are so many good ones that I think it would be too hard to choose. Instead, we'll pick out some of our favourites, and point you in the direction of the wiki to enjoy the full list.

Don't forget to keep your eyes peeled when you are in the comments this year, as we have started a new page for 2010, and there are already several candidates on there already. We're only three days in! For now, though, it's back to 2009 for a few of the great comments.

It's the Way You Tell 'Em

Before the long and drawn out process of picking a new FIA President was fully underway, we were discussing Max's decision not to stand for the position for another term. Max has said this a few times, and you can never be sure if he means it. When the question arose: "Are we taking [Max's decision] with a pinch of salt or is it the real deal?" Nick replied:

Max's promises come ready salted.

When Stuart went away from home to cover the WTCC at Porto, he still found time to share a couple of comments from the paddock. We were questioning the setup for media types at the touring car events, and wondered whether there was wifi available. Stuart replied:

Sort of - it comes and goes more than the Karma Chameleon...

Now, there is plenty of proof littered through the comments that Steven Roy's keyboard hates him. Some of the typos that occur are quite amusing, and even create some of the words that make it to the Sidepoddictionary. When a conversation occured about the film Deep Impact, Steven wrote: "Just decided this film is utterly unrealistic. They spotted the comment a year before impact. The last thing that came close to the Earth was spotted a week in advance."

Rachel read the movie review and replied:

Must have been one explosive comment.

Next up, at some point during the summer Mr C and I were very much in the mood for heading out of doors. It doesn't happen that often but at one point, Mr C revealed that for the third day in a row, he was going outside. Amy wasn't all that impressed:

This is becoming far too frequent. This is not outsidepodcast.

Nick was in Abu Dhabi during the Grand Prix weekend and claimed that it had hosted the best race of the year. Despite our best efforts, we couldn't shake his belief. Jackie turned up in the comments asking after him: "Is Nick back from his travels yet?" And Steven, no doubt exasperated by the positive GP reviews, replied:

No, he is still on a different planet.

Finally, Jon was struggling to get his links to work in the live comments. It became an established fact that Jon's links weren't functional and he said: "I have an ability." To which Boston Red Scott replied:

You see dead links?

Those are just a couple of our favourites but make sure you head over to the entire list and have a read through. It's a year in crazy comments, and seeing some of them taken out of context just makes them even more amusing. I can't wait to see what we come up with in 2010.

Daily: 10th December 2009

Hello all. It is apparently Human Rights day for the United Nations, and also International Animal Rights Day. I am going to combine these two, and suggest that I have the right to have a baby panda, and a baby panda has the right to come and live with me. Sounds like the proper way to observe these events to me. Now, on to the Formula 1 stuff:

• Jake Humphrey has finally blogged again, after leaving us hanging following the final race of the season. There are thoughts in there about interviewing the drivers, finding out about Button's move to McLaren, and of course, the BBC Sports Personality of the Year. Mr Humphrey is hosting, and says he'll have lots of backstage gossip for us.
• Ollie has written up an interesting post about the noise coming from the Monaco Forum at the moment. It's all about media and how Formula 1 portrays itself to the fans, and at the moment, it seems like a real nudge in the ribs to Bernie. Will he pay attention though?
• F1 Wolf has posted another liveries post - lots of lovely pictures of cars from 1991 and their beautiful colour schemes. Eh-hem. I have to say hurrah for the off-season allowing bloggers times to delve into these great topics.

That should do it for now. Let us know how your week is going, and as ever, I will see you in the comments.

Daily: 27th November 2009

Ah-ha, the end of the week at last, and another weekend just around the corner. It's been a nice slow end to the week in terms of F1 news, but I have a feeling (and Joe said) it's all going to start kicking off again next week. Meanwhile, here's what we're focusing on instead:

• We started turning our attention towards the Sidepodparty yesterday, and came up with the Christmas Carol that will replace the 12 days of Christmas. Last year, during the party, we all took turns to sing an F1 themed 12 days, and this time it's all about Jingle Bells. Naturally, we've set up a wiki page for alternative lyrics and volunteer voices.
• Yesterday's Thursday Thoughts was a good one, taking a closer look at the possibility of a group launch by FOTA rather than the individual team launches we know and love. We had some great answers from Lukeh, Jackie, Pat, Sean and Lady Snowcat. Mr C said he was writing one, but I haven't seen it yet, so it will have to be a Friday thought instead.
• Finally, we did a bit of an F1 Minute catchup yesterday, posting two of everything. There are two delicious shows about Donington and FOTA, whilst the Big Picture took a slight turn away from normal programming to feature DTM cars and politicians.

That's all for now, I think. As ever, let us know what you're up to over the weekend and if you have anything exciting planned. Watch out for the Friday Fun game appearing later in the morning, and I will see you in the comments.

Daily: 22nd November 2009

I had a bit of an idea, concerning the daily, in that guest writers could come along and take over the threads for a while, promoting their work and linking to the stories of the day that they find fascinating, rather than you always hearing from me. I've set up a wiki page for volunteers, and although the details are sketchy at the moment, let us know if you'd like to get involved.

• In charity news, long-time commentor Andy is growing a moustache in November and encouraging donations for doing so. We've given a little bit to support the cause and you can do the same here. Also, if you want to see the moustache in progress, here ya go!
• It is the second roundup of posts from Pitlane Fanatic, with Something For the Weekend II. I really like these recommendations, and particularly enjoy the roundup of Thursday Thoughts. Excellent stuff from Jackie, keep it up please!

That'll do it for now. There should be a live debrief later on today, so if you have an hour or two to spare on a Sunday night, we should be going live about 7ish. Don't hold me to that and we'll be in the comments to keep you updated. See you there.