Sidepodcast

Daily: 9th March 2010

Tuesday has arrived and before I do anything, I must point you towards yesterday's F1 Debrief. The show itself is marvellous, of course, but in the show notes there are some rather excellent outtakes - if such a thing exists. Actually, I might just post them again now anyway. Mr C and I could do with the embarrassment.

Now, on to other topics:

• Adam Hay-Nicholls has an unusual post on his Metro F1 blog - spending some time with Tamara Ecclestone. She has some rather forthright views on Jenson Button, but if she's anything like her dad, I don't suppose she worries about what she says.
• I mentioned yesterday that Mr C had spent some time watching NASCAR, and it looks as though that sport has just as much politics as F1. There was an incident involving Carl Edwards that he admits he caused on purpose, to try and knock his opponent out the way - revenge, if you will, for an early incident. Leigh has some thoughts on the concept of on track payback, and suffice it to say, it's not a good idea!
• Today is the last day for the Joe Saward competition, where we are offering you the chance to win a signed copy of his book The Grand Prix Saboteurs. We've had tons of entries, but there's still time to get yours in, and you never know, luck might be on your side.
• Finally, a quick plug to the TOTAL 2010 Grand Prix Travel Guide. It's clearly a marketing ploy, but has plenty of useful information in there including: "Where to stay in Korea? Where to get a drink in Bahrain?" The things you need to know.

That should do it for now. I hope your week is going smoothly, and as ever, I will see you in the comments.

Daily: 8th March 2010

Ah, Monday again, but there's no chance to be miserable this week as it's the return of F1 and that can only be a good thing! Yesterday, Mr C got caught up watching Montoya doing some NASCAR thing, and threatened to watch more during the year. Thank goodness F1 is coming back. Here are some of the things we're talking about:

• As ever, don't forget to check out Jackie's fabulous Something For the Weekend series. Although it's not technically the weekend anymore, it's always worth browsing through the links on there, as they always select the best stuff over on Viva F1. I should also do a quick shout out for the quiz-formerly-known-as Pitlane Fanatic. It's returning in a new VivaF1 shape, so stay tuned to Viva F1.
• I'm offering up a quick shout out on behalf of Mr C to Vanquish's blog. There are some fabulous stories on there, with the last one being all about Sir Stirling Moss. The entries are quite long, so you need to grab a cup of tea and a biscuit, settle down and get reading.
• On a self-promoting tangent, I posted an unusual item on Media Future Change yesterday. Mr C and I had been having a conversation, but he was too busy to turn it into a blog post so instead I recorded his words and turned them into a transcript. At some point he will be appearing on the podcast with me, but for now, it's a great way to be a fly on the wall as we discuss media future changey type things. I like the way it's turned out, let me know what you think!

That should do it for now. With the weekend over, it's time to focus fully on the countdown to Free Practice on Friday. Let me know how you're passing the time, and I will see you in the comments.

Daily: 14th February 2010

Today is Saint Valentine's Day, which is traditionally a time for celebrating love and stuff. As the Sidepodcast Daily Post is well into its second year, it means last years random act of kindness has come back to haunt me in the shape of "an annual tradition". So here I am writing another one.

According to the official Sidepodcast Calendar, today is also Milkybar Day. A day when I offer the gift of Milkybar in place of anything requiring much more thought, effort or expense. I'm a nice guy like that.

While I nip out to buy one, here are some things that have caught my eye this weekend.

• Yesterday we spent the evening watching the very lovely Danica Patrick take part in her first NASCAR Nationwide Cup race. Unfortunately the poor girl managed just 69 laps before getting caught up in another racing incident ahead of her, and that saw the end of her day's running. It also marked the end of our interest in the race. Did I mention how lovely she is?
• In Jerez on Saturday afternoon, Claire Williams said goodbye to the Twitter masses, as she boarded a plane for England. Boo for less tweeting next week, but at least she'll be able to poke the people running the teams website into action. Did I mention how lovely she is?
• Jenson Button's girlfriend Jessica Michibata appears to be dropping our favourite World Champion a hint or three with this tweet yesterday. She points out that "a guy has to ask a girl what she wants and be willing to give it to her". Clearly Jessica's got her sights set on a Milkybar too. Did I mention how lovely she is?

I think tradition states at this point in the daily post, I say I'll see you in the comments. Unless there was anything else?

I guess I should mention Christine too.

Of course, I cannot pass up the opportunity to show my love for Ms. Christine Blachford. I get to spend heaps of my free time, day in day out, working closely with her on all sorts of fun projects, including this one, and she is a fantastic girl to be around. I cannot imagine writing or recording or working on things alone ever again, because everything we do and have done for the past three (and a bit) years has been a joint effort in every way and the results really do speak for themselves.

Everything that Sidepodcast has become is a direct result of Christine's amazing personality, she is gorgeous, and fabulous and brilliant all at once, and I really hope she understands that nothing I buy her today can show just how important she is to me - so a 49p chocolate bar will just have to do. I still have no idea why she agreed to marry me, but I'm so very glad she did. Did I mention how lovely she is?

Happy Milkybar Day, Christine x

Just Another Brick in the Wall

Following up on his fantastically well received 2009 Season Review, Stuart Taylor from the wonderful Chain Bear returns with his take on the news that Nelson Piquet Jnr might be competing in NASCAR this season.

Daily: 13th December 2009

I'm writing this slightly ahead of schedule as I have no way of knowing when we'll be back from the Sidepodxmas party. That means I only have half a days worth of goings on to share with you, but I will do my best. Here are some of the things we're talking about:

• The FIA gala took place on Friday, which means Bernie can now rest at ease - Jenson is officially the 2009 World Champion. There are snippets of news and pictures all over the place, but the Autosport Gallery is a good place to start, if you want to see lots of men in black suits.
• Lucas di Grassi, known around these parts as di licious, says he definitely has a deal with an F1 team, although he has not yet said which. Everyone assumes it is with Manor GP/Virgin Racing, alongside Timo Glock, which would make quite the pairing, in my opinion. Lotus have said they will be revealing their drivers on Monday, as well, so a good part of the entry list will be cleared up soon.
• It looks like Piquet Jr will be having another go at NASCAR, participating in a second test with Red Horse Racing. Does this mean the Brazilian has a chance behind the wheel of a completely different series? How would he fare going round in circles all the time?

That'll do it for now. I hope your weekend is going okay, and assuming that we recover in good time from the party, I will see you in the comments.

Daily: 23rd November 2009

Here we are then, another Monday is upon us. Don't forget that if you would like the chance to write a daily post at some point in the future, then the option is there! I am taking volunteers for a series of guest written daily posts, and it's a good excuse to plug your own blog, or links that you like. We've had a great response so far, but there's always room for more.

• It seemed to be the weekend for F1 visiting NASCAR as both Vettel and Kovi attended the race. Vettel was particularly outspoken about things F1 could learn from the sport, highlighting the spectacle that fans get, both visiting and on TV.
• F1 Wolf has some rather stunning and you might say amusing photos of the Macau Grand Prix, which didn't exactly get off to a great start at all. Mr C and I both looked at the video of the start and wondered if David Coulthard had got in the car by mistake. Oops, sorry DC.
• In Sidepodscience news, the Large Hadron Collider was relaunched on Friday and is apparently doing a lot better than it did first time round, in terms of research and stuff. Clearly I don't know what I'm talking about, but I know it hasn't killed us all. We did have quite a bad live show last night though... Hmm. Anyway, the original and best Big Picture has some great photos of the LHC if you haven't seen them already.

That's all for now. After two days off last week, I'm back at work and probably faced with piles of paperwork to sort through. Nevertheless I will see you in the comments.

Sidepodfilmclub - Cars

Welcome to the second Sidepodfilmclub event, where we all grab our laptops and live comment our way through a film. This week, we're watching Cars, the Disney/Pixar spectacular, which is all about NASCAR. We've only done two films and they've both been about NASCAR. We'll have to address that soon!

To participate is simple. Head on over to the Live Comments and wait until 8pm GMT. There's a clock at the top of the page, to make sure we're all on time, and when we all hit play at the same moment, nothing can go wrong. Last time there were a few problems with different versions of the film, and the best advice I can give is not to panic. We're just here to enjoy the film and comment together. It's okay if we're a few minutes apart. Mr C and I will probably be behind, because let's face it, we're always late!

Here's some more information about the film:

• Name: Cars
• Stars: Owen Wilson, Paul Newman, Bonnie Hunt
• Director: John Lasseter, Joe Ranft
• Duration: 1:51:44

Mr C and I have both seen the film before, but that just means we know it's a good one, so I hope you can join us this evening. See you there.

Daily: 11th November 2009

We are in the middle of the week now, and it is Gil de Ferran's birthday today. Part time racer, part time director, we're a fan of Ferran after meeting him at the Honda quiz a few years ago. Anyway, here are some of the more F1 related things we're talking about:

• The team who are allowing Trulli into their NASCAR test say they are taking things very seriously, even if Jarno himself says it is just for fun. Apparently they like bringing drivers in from other series' to see how they got on and they want him to be as fast as possible. They do know it's Trulli, right?
• Meanwhile, Trulli's teammate may not have much in the way of a drive at the moment, but he does have a fan. RG has written up the first of a three-part series on Glock's best drives of the year. I really like the idea of reviewing a drivers best performances, particularly when it's written with such passion.
• There were a couple of conversations about how qualifying will turn out next year, and here are Jackie's thoughts on the subject. A great post which weighs up the pros and cons of the regulation changes for 2010.

A couple of things to finish: we also featured a great post from Chris about his weekend at Top Gear Live, and whilst that show returns to TV this weekend, we'll be watching Cars during the Sidepodfilmclub. That'll do it for now, I'll see you in the comments.

Daily: 8th November 2009

We have reached Sunday, and it is the first weekend of the off season. No racing to watch, but at least a chance to have a lie in, and relax. There was talk of feeling depressed at the lack of action yesterday, but there is no need for that. We have a great doohickey, lovely people to talk to and plenty of fun and games planned for the next few months. Be happy and savour the down time so the action is even better when it gets going again next year. Now, what comes next? Oh yes, things we're talking about:

• In the comments, I mentioned a news item about Montoya, who was say he didn't think the NASCAR title was in his grasp anymore. Now, I know nothing about NASCAR and have a t-shirt that states it was boring, but I do care how Montoya is getting on. Does anyone else find that? If a driver from F1 moves series, do you still follow them? Or at least keep an eye on their progress even if you couldn't care less about their new gig?
• Whilst we're on the subject of NASCAR, Toyota have said they are committed to that series, despite pulling out of F1 with little warning. They have had more success over there, of course, and will likely feel they are getting more value for money.

That's all for now. A few of us are off to the Mercedes-Benz day at Brooklands today, so keep an eye on the drop for pictures. I will see you in the comments.

Daily: 9th October 2009

Yesterday was a relatively quiet news day, compared to those we have seen over the past few days. Things are slowing down momentarily, just before everything ramps up again for Brazil. Meanwhile, here's what we're talking about:

• Trulli is going to test out a NASCAR drive, which he says is just for fun. Of course, this leads to epic speculation that he is on his way out, with Mr C announcing that if the Italian does make the jump, he might actually start watching the sport. Weird.
• We learnt yesterday that Massa would be waving the chequered flag at Brazil, his home race. That's going to be kinda tough for him, knowing how difficult the race was last year, and being frustrated that he can't be in the car this time round. However, he says it's an honour, and I'm sure he'll do a fab job.
• Alguersuari is preparing for the final Renault 3.5 series race towards the end of this month, but he is adament (again) that it isn't interfering in his Formula 1 participation. Why do people keep asking him about this? The man himself admits that the cars are different, but surely all racing is good racing, as you will always be learning?

That'll do it for now. The phrase thank god it's Friday has never been so apt as this week, however, things are looking much more positive now. Let us know what your plans are for the weekend, and if they are as exciting as ours (moving furniture). I will see you in the comments.