If Bangalore were to host an F1 Street race then what would be the track?
Quikmaps.com has a cool application that allows you create your own maps. To answer the above question, I used it and here's what I got. link.
The start-finish would be on Cubbon Road. Turn 1 is a very interesting turn because not only is it quite sharp, it also dips. Turn 2 is actually in front of Queen Victoria's Statute and it would make a nice feature in the race. Its actually not as sharp as it looks and for F1 cars, it should be a fast ride all the way through Turn 3 till Turn 4. The road is downhill from Turn 2 to Turn 3 and is flat till Turn 4.
Turn 4 is an interesting place - Richmond Circle. There's a flyover at the side of Turn 4 and by setting up some spectator stands on the Flyover, one could get a nice view.
Turn 5 to Turn 9 is the tricky, undulating part of the circuit. Turn 6 has a roundabout (circle in Indian Parlay), one the cars would have to go around it. That makes it almost at 180 degree turn before heading up to turn 7. Turn 8 to Turn 9 is quite exciting as the road really dips as it curves to the right.
Turn 9 too is going to be nasty as the road dips sharply. Soon after Turn 9, the road head up the hill on Residency road, till Mayo Hall on Turn 10 and onto MG Road. Turn 11 should be pretty straightforward and its back onto the start-finish straight.
How long is this circuit? I'm not sure, but I'm guessing around 4-5 kms. That would make it 50-60 lap circuit.
Myopic view of f1, formula1, fantasy, bangalore
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
Interested in Plays?
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
Someone's prayers have been answered
A lake in Poland has turned to Vodka. Yup! That's what today's wish-this-would-happen-to-me story is about. link. (via)
Myopic view of funny
Chemist Robert Wilczynski, used specialist equipment to test the alcohol levels in the Bracholinskie lake in Wielkopolska and found it was pretty much neat spirit.Omigod!! What will happen if birds/animals drink from this lake? That's a different story. Don't drink and fly, I always say.
Myopic view of funny
Mutiny in the ranks
A British Army regiment has demoted its mascot, a goat, from the rank of Lance Corporal to a Fusilier. link. True Story!!
But the quotes are just hilarious.
Sample these one.
What did the poor goat do? The eyewitness account takes the cake.
Myopic view of funny
But the quotes are just hilarious.
Sample these one.
Since the goat's demotion, soldiers of a lower rank are no longer expected to salute Billy as a sign of respect, Coates said.I'm trying quite hard to imagine which is sillier? A Private in the regiment saluting the goat or the Captain of the regiment demoting the goat. Was there a court-martial?
What did the poor goat do? The eyewitness account takes the cake.
Capt. William Rose, a soldier present at the parade, said the goat "was trying to head-butt the waist and nether regions of the drummers."
Myopic view of funny
Charity begins at home
Ever since Bill Gates announced that he was going to reduce his involvement in Microsoft and focus on his foundation, Philanthropy has been on a high. Warren Buffet too is giving his money to charity. Both of these are pretty amazing, and yet an even more amazing story is about a grocer in New York, who quietly gave away millions without announcing it to the world. link.
That reminds of a story from the Indian Epic - Mahabharata.
The story goes that The Emperor Yudhisthira, performed a great sacrifice and gave away all his wealth to charity. On that day a Mongoose came to the grounds and tried to roll on some of the grains that were scattered on the ground. This Mongoose had half its skin in gold and the other half normal. When people say what the Mongoose, they asked it why was it trying to roll on the ground and why was half its skin gold. The Mongoose told them the story behind the magic.
Years before, there was a famine in the land and it so happened that a family of four were starving. One day, the father managed to get a little rice from somewhere. He took it home and was about to share with his wife, son and daughter-in-law, when a stranger came by. The stranger was a traveller from far, and was hungry. According to Hindu tradition of treating guests like gods, each member of the family decided to give up their share of the food so that they can treat their guest well. The next day, all four died of starvation.
It so happened that the Mongoose came by their house afterwards and saw a bit of rice on the floor. It rolled on the rice and found that half its skin turned to gold. It then spent the rest of its time going from place to place trying to find a sacrifice that was equal to the family's. Since Yudhisthira's sacrifice did not turn the other half of its skin to gold, the Mongoose concluded that this was not as great a sacrifice as that made by the family.
Myopic view of charity
Waldemar Kaminski, who quietly ran a food stand in Broadway Market for more than 50 years, has been revealed to be a self-made millionaire and philanthropist who anonymously gave millions to Buffalo charities and neighbors in need.
That reminds of a story from the Indian Epic - Mahabharata.
The story goes that The Emperor Yudhisthira, performed a great sacrifice and gave away all his wealth to charity. On that day a Mongoose came to the grounds and tried to roll on some of the grains that were scattered on the ground. This Mongoose had half its skin in gold and the other half normal. When people say what the Mongoose, they asked it why was it trying to roll on the ground and why was half its skin gold. The Mongoose told them the story behind the magic.
Years before, there was a famine in the land and it so happened that a family of four were starving. One day, the father managed to get a little rice from somewhere. He took it home and was about to share with his wife, son and daughter-in-law, when a stranger came by. The stranger was a traveller from far, and was hungry. According to Hindu tradition of treating guests like gods, each member of the family decided to give up their share of the food so that they can treat their guest well. The next day, all four died of starvation.
It so happened that the Mongoose came by their house afterwards and saw a bit of rice on the floor. It rolled on the rice and found that half its skin turned to gold. It then spent the rest of its time going from place to place trying to find a sacrifice that was equal to the family's. Since Yudhisthira's sacrifice did not turn the other half of its skin to gold, the Mongoose concluded that this was not as great a sacrifice as that made by the family.
Myopic view of charity
One for all the teleconferences
In an increasingly global world, the one thing that we have been missing has been a quick way to get the current time in different parts of the world. gchart.com is asks - What time is it? (via).
Just click and get the time!
A real time saver.
Myopic view of cool, tool, time
Just click and get the time!
A real time saver.
Myopic view of cool, tool, time
Monday, June 26, 2006
A list for writers
Canadian 2006 GP Winners Losers
Winners
1. Alonso. Top of the list of winners as usual. He is dominating this season in the same manner that MS just to dominate a couple of seasons ago. Kimi mentioned in the press conference that he doesn't care about 2nd or 3rd since he is out of the running for the championship. That is quite a compliment to Alonso and Renault this season.
2. MS. Kept the pressure up in the 2nd half of the race and was rewarded with a 2nd place.
3. Trulli. Good drive. Though the cameras were focussing on his teammate Ralf, they were for all the wrong reasons. Trulli did not spin, did not lose it while braking etc... and in the end came home with solid 3 points
4. DC. Good drive by DC yet again. Showed the world yet again that Jenson may have a faster car (in theory) but its still DC the top dog as far as British drivers are concerned.
5. Kimi. I was tempted to put him in the loser's list, but that would have been a bit harsh. Ideally, McLaren, Renault and esp. Alonso would have wanted Kimi to finish ahead of MS, but in the end it was a combination of a failing car and a driver error that made him lose 2 points.
Losers
1. JPM. What on earth was he doing? He didn't qualify well and he didn't drive well either. I don't think there have been more than 2 races where both the McLarens have finished. This time it was clearly driver error rather than a brittle car.
2. Ralf Schumacher. What can I say? Amusing or Heroic? Take your pick. Either way he didn't do much this race and considering the fact that Trulli was light years ahead of him this race made it look worse.
3. Honda. They started the season on top but have rapidly gone backwards. Yet another race of poor results from Honda.
Myopic view of f1, formula1, canada, 2006, gp, winners, losers
1. Alonso. Top of the list of winners as usual. He is dominating this season in the same manner that MS just to dominate a couple of seasons ago. Kimi mentioned in the press conference that he doesn't care about 2nd or 3rd since he is out of the running for the championship. That is quite a compliment to Alonso and Renault this season.
2. MS. Kept the pressure up in the 2nd half of the race and was rewarded with a 2nd place.
3. Trulli. Good drive. Though the cameras were focussing on his teammate Ralf, they were for all the wrong reasons. Trulli did not spin, did not lose it while braking etc... and in the end came home with solid 3 points
4. DC. Good drive by DC yet again. Showed the world yet again that Jenson may have a faster car (in theory) but its still DC the top dog as far as British drivers are concerned.
5. Kimi. I was tempted to put him in the loser's list, but that would have been a bit harsh. Ideally, McLaren, Renault and esp. Alonso would have wanted Kimi to finish ahead of MS, but in the end it was a combination of a failing car and a driver error that made him lose 2 points.
Losers
1. JPM. What on earth was he doing? He didn't qualify well and he didn't drive well either. I don't think there have been more than 2 races where both the McLarens have finished. This time it was clearly driver error rather than a brittle car.
2. Ralf Schumacher. What can I say? Amusing or Heroic? Take your pick. Either way he didn't do much this race and considering the fact that Trulli was light years ahead of him this race made it look worse.
3. Honda. They started the season on top but have rapidly gone backwards. Yet another race of poor results from Honda.
Myopic view of f1, formula1, canada, 2006, gp, winners, losers
Monday, June 19, 2006
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
Joe's Goals
Fun facts about bangalore
Monday, June 12, 2006
Welcome to our world cup winners
According to an article in Gulfnews, two students have created a program that predicts that Brazil will defeat Italy in the Finals of the world cup this year. It also predicts England and Nederlands reaching the semis and that England would defeat Argentina in the Quarters. link.
At the same time, someone told me that the odds on Trinidad and Tobago winning are 5000 to 1. A real long shot, but perhaps worth putting a couple of bucks on.
Myopic view of football, software
At the same time, someone told me that the odds on Trinidad and Tobago winning are 5000 to 1. A real long shot, but perhaps worth putting a couple of bucks on.
Myopic view of football, software
Cool illusion
British 2006 GP Winners Losers
Winners
1. Alonso. Controlled the race from the start to the end and did not put a foot wrong. It looks more and more likely that he will be the WDC this year as well.
2. MS. Good drive and took his chance at the second pitstop.
3. KR. Looks like he's finally getting the McLaren to work, however, they are a long way behind Ferrari and Renault both in terms of Reliability (traditionally McLaren's Achilles heel) and Speed.
4. Fisi. Good second half of the race. I loved the moment where his race engineer got on the radio and reminded him about Japan last year.
5. BMWs. Both BMWs in the points and ahead of the Williams. More importantly, they got the points without anyone from the top 3 teams losing a car.
Losers
1. JB, RB and Honda. WTF? Button Qualified 19th and gave a lame excuse. Rubes qualified pretty well but as usual went backwards. Honda are still a quantum leap away from winning races let alone challenging for the championship.
2. Williams. Really disappointing given that the British GP is a home race. Both Williams were disappointing throughout the weekend. Doesn't look good for Canada.
Myopic view of f1, formula1, british, 2006, gp, winners, losers
1. Alonso. Controlled the race from the start to the end and did not put a foot wrong. It looks more and more likely that he will be the WDC this year as well.
2. MS. Good drive and took his chance at the second pitstop.
3. KR. Looks like he's finally getting the McLaren to work, however, they are a long way behind Ferrari and Renault both in terms of Reliability (traditionally McLaren's Achilles heel) and Speed.
4. Fisi. Good second half of the race. I loved the moment where his race engineer got on the radio and reminded him about Japan last year.
5. BMWs. Both BMWs in the points and ahead of the Williams. More importantly, they got the points without anyone from the top 3 teams losing a car.
Losers
1. JB, RB and Honda. WTF? Button Qualified 19th and gave a lame excuse. Rubes qualified pretty well but as usual went backwards. Honda are still a quantum leap away from winning races let alone challenging for the championship.
2. Williams. Really disappointing given that the British GP is a home race. Both Williams were disappointing throughout the weekend. Doesn't look good for Canada.
Myopic view of f1, formula1, british, 2006, gp, winners, losers
Monday, June 05, 2006
Video showing tragic deaths in F1
Herman.ca has an exceptional post about different drivers who have died inside a F1 car. link. They also link a post on livejournal that has a thread going. link.
The video from the post is jaw dropping and really disturbing. link.
Just seeing the video makes one realize how far F1 has come in terms of safety. I remember seeing Senna's accident live and it makes sick even now. I was in Residential School at time and had got a Sunday off to go back home. I was really excited about the race, especially since it looked like Senna had a young upstart to contend with. What I saw that day, shocked me and I gave up seeing F1 for nearly 2 years.
This brings back one of my favorite points on Senna and Schumacher. Had Senna not passed away, what would have happened to the 94 and 95 championships? There were a number of allegations made against Benetton and MS in 94. If anything, I doubt whether Senna would have just sat back. Its very likely he would have raised his voice as well, and the FIA would have perhaps done something different.
95 would have been close. MS won it on a canter and its just a fantasy to see what would have happened had Senna raced. Alonso is now the young upstart and MS is the current Superstar and yet he won the 2005 WDC. Would it have been the same then as well? What about MS's move to Ferrari and their subsequent revival?
However, the most poignant scene was to see Alain Prost as a Pallbearer at Senna's Funeral. Equally poignant was the Brazilian Football team dedicating their win to Senna.
Myopic view of f1, formula1
The video from the post is jaw dropping and really disturbing. link.
Just seeing the video makes one realize how far F1 has come in terms of safety. I remember seeing Senna's accident live and it makes sick even now. I was in Residential School at time and had got a Sunday off to go back home. I was really excited about the race, especially since it looked like Senna had a young upstart to contend with. What I saw that day, shocked me and I gave up seeing F1 for nearly 2 years.
This brings back one of my favorite points on Senna and Schumacher. Had Senna not passed away, what would have happened to the 94 and 95 championships? There were a number of allegations made against Benetton and MS in 94. If anything, I doubt whether Senna would have just sat back. Its very likely he would have raised his voice as well, and the FIA would have perhaps done something different.
95 would have been close. MS won it on a canter and its just a fantasy to see what would have happened had Senna raced. Alonso is now the young upstart and MS is the current Superstar and yet he won the 2005 WDC. Would it have been the same then as well? What about MS's move to Ferrari and their subsequent revival?
However, the most poignant scene was to see Alain Prost as a Pallbearer at Senna's Funeral. Equally poignant was the Brazilian Football team dedicating their win to Senna.
Myopic view of f1, formula1
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