randomenglishyoudontknow

[raceweek]

alex albon worst podcast host ever... took like 5 minutes for me to figure out who leah was... gonna need him to sharpen up for his future gig at sky

he is the worst podcast host ever truly but also. statistically there are maybe more people who care about seventeen year old rally sensation who has just switched to single seaters for the first time lia (1.1 million instagram followers) than formula one driver logan (770k instagram followers)

[cheriladycl01]

Could you do fic for James Vowles with wife reader? I've an ideas : Person A and person B get asked the question of when the other person fell in love. person B's face lights up with mischief and begins to tell the most embarrassing story ever while person A has their head in their hands. You decide who is who. Just something fluff and fun. Thanks!!

The night we first met - James Vowles x StrategistWife! Reader

Plot: You are being interviewed for a Podcast that you and James were asked to do ahead of the 2025 season an get asked about how you guys first ever met.

Credit to jamesvowles for the GIF

"Here today, we've got two incredible people in the motorsport world and may i say one of the most iconic couples in motorsport with us on the Podcast. We're so thrilled that they are here, James Vowles and Y/N Vowles!" the interviewer exclaims and you both smile to the boys who'd invited you onto their podcast.

"Hello, how are you boys?" you smile at them kindly. You'd actually watched this specific F1 podcast for a while so when you saw a DM from them you begged James to come on with you.

"We are good, happy to have you here!" The other interviewer exclaims and smiles back at both of you.

"So, lets start with Y/N, your career into motorsports has been a bit of a roller-coaster right? Similar to your husbands actually!" he smiles looking at his card of notes and you smile before looking over at James.

"Well I unlike most I think who end up where I am now started actually driving. I did karting from ages of four to fifteen before i took part in British Single Seater which i ended up winning" you smile before looking down and sighing.

The boys pulled up a picture of you on the screen behind you, from 1997 when you were around 13 years old standing on a P1 podium place with a mini trophy in your hand.

They then switched to one which must have been taken in around 2001 when you'd won your first championship in a feeder series to F1.

"And this one taken in 2001 correct and you were 16, and you won here? James, in 2001 as well you'd just made your debut into F1 fresh out of university working for Honda BAR correct?" one of them asks and he nods.

"Yeah, i mean i was fresh out of uni in what then was a standard midfield team. Life was great!" he smiled taking you hand and kissing the back of it.

"So what happened. You should have been in F1 by now surely" he exclaims looking at you making you sigh.

"Well, everyone knows that F1 has always been a sport for the rich, even more a rich mans sport. People like Lewis Hamilton and Esteban Ocon can take the risk when they don't have the funds for it as it's way more likely for a man to be able to do it than a woman"

"My dad always told me I'd never make it and you know like most daughters i believed him and really lost my spark for it! And I think it's so amazing how far forward the sport has come with F1 Academy and the Driver Development Programme, like if I'd had the financial backing of a team then i would have had the confidence to do it" you explain and they both look really sad for you, and it was sad. It was the hardest choice you'd ever made.

"That's so sad, I think i can speak for the large majority of fans when i say you for sure would have been one of the first women win an F1 race!" one of the interviewers says and you just smile, you didn't often like to think what could have been if ... because you'd made your choice and you couldn't change that and right now with the life you had it wasn't something you would ever want to change.

"Yeah, I mean I'm happy with my life now and don't often like to think of it. I have James, I have the kids and my life is incredible and you know maybe if i was in F1 i wouldn't have bumped into James the way I did... and well" you giggle quietly.

"Yeah? How did that happen?" he asks.

"Well..." you start to laugh and James forces his face into his hands out of embarrassment.

"Please don't, it hurts my soul every time you tell this story!" he laughs awkwardly before you just laugh and continue with the story.

"Well it was 2006 and I was set to join Sauber BMW for my placement year in university. Despite no longer driving i still wanted to make my way into F1 and the only way I could now do that was through my brain. Come June 2007 when i was set to leave obviously because the University year worked differently I'd suggested an upgrade that I'd been thinking off all throughout university and it paid off as Sauber were P2 in the constructors by the end of the year" you start to explain.

"2007 in ... I want to say February at pre-season testing was the first time I met James. He was stranded at the track and i offered to drive him back to his hotel and at this point Honda were starting to struggle for money and we were talking about the teams and the possibility of a move for him. I was so concentrated on driving that there was some questions he was asking me twice!" you chuckled making the others all laugh around you.

"As we were about to cross over a intersection, our light had just turned green. I was being cautious because it was dark and there wasn't too many people around and the car behind me bibbed me to get a move on... bare in mind our light is still green and as im crossing a car coming across who had skipped the red light and a car crashed into our front spinning us around so we were facing the other way" you say calmly remembering the incident.

"I was so so embarrassed, even though James was convincing me that it wasn't my fault!"

"And it wasn't, we saw the dashcam footage which circled the internet after the whole altercation" the guy nodded in agreement with James thinking the crash definitely wasn't on you.

"I didn't end up talking to him until I joined back in post graduation with Honda, just before they turned to Brawn and I'd just finished my masters! in 2008"

"So why were you wanting to join a team that was severely financially struggling ..." one of them asks.

"Well, what can i say I've always liked an underdog. It was one of the teams i was trusted to be put in a high enough position without the experience. It was for a lower salary but i though we could really really do something"

"You were a massive part in the £1 team winning the championship correct?" he asks and you blush making James lightly elbow you.

"Stop!" you laugh at him.

"You were though, you pushed us through many months of hardship where we thought we weren't going to survive!" James admits, having also worked in Brawn.

"So now that you were back together what happened?" he asks and you looked over at him.

"Oh we argued all the time, we really got on Ross' last nerve!" you laugh and James nods in agreement.

"He was chief strategist and i was an engineer, would we blame each other and you'd often see us neck to neck in the paddock when something went wrong" you giggled.

"Yeah thats where the iconic picture of Jenson Button holding you back as your trying too ... I don't even know what you were trying to do honesty" he chuckles looking at the picture making you both chuckle.

"I think she was trying to strangle me... and now that we are married I can for sure tell you guys this time was defiantly my fault" he nods looking down a little bit.

"So how did you guys end up dating. You started dating after Mercedes overtook Brawn and you guys both remained there correct?" he asks and you both nod.

"I think, as much as we enjoyed our time at Brawn there was so much anxiety and pressure on and off track... and I think there was a lot of tensions" James says and you nod.

"I'd always looked up to James but i was still pretty embarrassed about the whole car crash incident and with all of the stress in the team I think for me it just turned into a self defence mechanism..." you grin, knowing this was the bit where James always got embarrassed.

"We were at the celebrations in Abu Dhabi and when we were celebrating knowing we'd one James ... kissed me ... on the lips and it was so random and quick. He pulled back looking so awkward and for a few moments was panicked ... i still don't know why!" you laugh looking over at him.

"Thought you were gonna report me to HR... but I'd had feelings for you since the car accident and I never stopped thinking about you even in our loss of contact..." he smiles pulling you into a small forehead kiss.

"Woah, thats so crazy we never knew there was a whole story since what 2007 behind the pair of you!" the interviewer smiles and you nod.

"Yeah we got married in 2016... the year i became Nico's race engineer as a promotion. Massive year too where we won constructors and drivers. I don't think Lewis spoke to me for a whole year after that" you laugh remember 2016 to 2017 being awkward.

"Is that what made you make the move later on?" he asks, once Nico left you became Valterri's race engineer when he joined.

"Not at all, I loved my time at Mercedes but there were other challenges out there for me. James understood that and once i saw Lando join McLaren i knew there was a good thing starting there. It was a British brand so you know it wouldn't effect me, or the anyone else so it was the perfect opportunity and i was at the same level as James so it was like we were competing" you laugh.

"And you became chief strategist, which is so so impressive you've really had the incredible career haven't you?"

"You know, I don't know where i'd be if it wasn't for the night we first me" you say looking over at James tears welling in your eyes a little. He drove you to be better at your job... he and the life you'd created with his was the most important thing ever to you.

Taglist:

@littlesatanicassholebitch @hockey-racing-fubol @laura-naruto-fan1998 @22yuki @simxican @sinofwriting @lewisroscoelove @cmleitora @daemyratwst @lauralarsen @the-untamed-soul @thewulf @itsjustkhaos @purplephantomwolf @chasing-liberosis @summissss @gulphulp @starfusionsworld @jspitwall @sierruhhhh @georgeparisole @youcannotcancelquidditch @tallbrownhairsarcastic @ourteenagetragedy @peachiicherries @formulas-bitch @cherry-piee @spilled-coffee-cup @mehrmonga @bigsimperika @blueberry64857959 @eiraethh @curseofhecate @alliwantisadonut @dark-night-sky-99 @i-wish-this-was-me @tallrock35 @butterfly-lover @barnestatic @landossainz @darleneslane @barcelonaloverf1life @r0nnsblog @ilove-tswizzle @laneyspaulding19 @malynn @viennakarma @landosgirlxoxo @marie0v @yourbane @teamnovalak @nikfigueiredo @fionaschicken @0picels0 @tinydeskwriter @ironmaiden1313 @splaterparty0-0 @formula1mount

[schumachersricciardo]

Shiver

Chapter Three - You Came, You Called

♡ Mick Schumacher x Reader, Best friend!Danny Ricc x reader

♡ TW: Swearing, inaccurate timeline of F1/F2/F3, NOT CURRENT/ACCURATE representation of 2024 Grid, badly translated German using Google, HEAVY ANGST, hurt, inebriation via alcohol, talking about being drunk, MENTIONS OF CHILD ABUSE, not proofread, a lot of crying, arguing, yelling, etc. idk i think i got everything

♡ She/Her pronouns are used, nothing descriptive about reader except that her hair is long enough to pull back into a ponytail or braid, no reader insert, timeline skips. ALSO: WARNING!!!! I will barely be mentioning Michael Schumacher. I do not presume to know what he is thinking, or would say in these fictional scenarios. I am trying to be respectful of their privacy and not make any assumptions!!!!!! He will be mentioned here and there, but I do not believe any dialogue will be associated with him. If you do not like that, then do not read it. :)

♡ 4k words

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

based on the song “you should probably leave” by chris stapleton

There was something about being in the Mercedes paddock during a dominating season. Lewis Hamilton was consistently winning races, and Mick was consistently scoring points. Nick hadn’t gotten a podium yet, but you had a gut feeling that he was due soon and by soon, you really felt it was going to be this race.

It was the Miami Grand Prix (GP) and there were rumors everywhere about this GP being the GP that Mick will get onto the podium. He qualified P4, and Lewis was going to be starting from the pole position. You were clad in your Mercedes gear, prepared to watch the race from the comfort of your own team’s garage. You didn’t have your own Formula Two race this weekend, so naturally you were asked (more like demanded) to show up and support your teammates. And of course, you had no objections.

The race continued on, and you remained watchful as you sat in the garage. Lewis was easily defending his first place finish, while Mick struggled to get past Checo Perez in front of him. You couldn’t lie either - You desperately wanted Mick to overtake him and take the podium. He had worked so hard to make sure that he made a name for himself, and that his efforts and success were his. You couldn’t imagine the pressure he was under as he carried the legendary last name, while continually also having to defend it. Who were you? You weren’t anybody. Sure, you were the first female reserve driver (ever) for Mercedes, and had fought tooth and nail for where you were today… But you didn’t have any added pressure, or expectation set by literally every single person and their mothers in motorsports. You were just you. And the just you was watching with bated breath as Mick fought for a spot on the podium.

“SCHUMACHER TRYING HIS HARDEST TO OVERTAKE PEREZ”

“PEREZ IN THE RED BULL IS NOT GIVING UP”

“SCHUMACHER IS DOING HIS BEST TO INTIMIDATE THE RED BULL IN FRONT OF HIM”

“PEREZ SEEMS TO BE HOLDING HIM OFF FOR NOW”

“PRESSURE FROM SCHUMACHER SEEMS TO BE GETTING TO PEREZ”

“CAN SCHUMACHER OVERTAKE THE RED BULL ON THIS NEXT TURN?”

“IT LOOKS LIKE…”

“PEREZ REALLY HAS NO OTHER CHOICE…”

“AND SCHUMACHER OVERTAKES PEREZ COMING OUT OF TURN 11 - SECURING HIS THIRD PLACE”

The Mercedes garage was going absolutely mad. There were cheers and applause everywhere you looked and listened. You couldn’t help but join into the celebrations yourself. You excitedly punched the air, a grin taking over your entire face. The camera panned to you as you were caught doing a celebratory mini-dance, but you certainly couldn’t care less. If anyone deserved this, it was Mick.

After things seemed to calm down, the garage realized there were still fifteen laps to go. Lewis was still leading, and Daniel Ricciardo was doing his best to close into Hamilton.

You had gotten quite close to Daniel in the last few months. He was sunshine personified, and for some reason… People like that always seemed to navigate their way towards you. You loved his accent, and the lightheartedness he brought to such a demanding sport. He was truly like the older brother you desperately wish you still had. It was bittersweet, really. There were so many of your brother’s qualities you saw in Daniel. The passing and fainting good memories you had of your brother were so similiar to the great memories you were currently making with Daniel that you honestly wanted to make sure you saved them for a rainy day.

“RICCIARDO SEEMS TO BE HAVING AN ISSUE FENDING OFF SCHUMACHER”

“MUCH LIKE THIS FATHER BEFORE HIM, SCHUMACHER IS SHOWING SOME OF THE BEST, MOST SKILLED, BUT ABSOLUTELY RELENTLESS DRIVING TODAY”

“COULD SCHUMACHER POSSIBLY OVERTAKE RICCIARDO AS WELL IN THE LAST TEN LAPS?”

“SCHUMACHER - PRESSING RICCIARDO AS THEY MAKE THEIR ROUNDS COMING INTO LAP EIGHT…”

“RICCIARDO IS DOING HIS BEST TO WATCH THOSE CORNERS”

“SCHUMACHER IS DRIVING THE BEST HE HAS EVER TODAY”

“RICCIARDO AND SCHUMACHER COMING AROUND THE SAME TURN THAT SCHUMACHER OVERTOOK PEREZ”

“CAN HE DO IT…”

“DENIED! THIS IS SOME OF THE MOST BRILLIANT DRIVING WE HAVE SEEN FROM RICCIARDO AS HE DENIES SCHUMACHER THE OVERTAKE”

You knew that Mick would be happy with third and a spot on the podium. After such a horrendous last season at Haas, he’s doing an amazing job showcasing his talent - Something you always knew he had; Something that was never tied to his last name and something that he worked for and earned on his own.

“AND THATS THE MIAMI GRAND PRIX! HAMILTON TAKES FIRST, RICCIARDO SECOND, AND BY SOME OF THE BEST DRIVING WE’VE EVER SEEN FROM HIM, SCHUMACHER IN THIRD!”

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

You were exhausted. You couldn’t lie. The shower steam was finally dissipating as you made your way into the bedroom to get ready for bed. The race was one of the best ones you had ever seen, and even better got to witness in person. The podium celebrations were high in excitement and emotion. How could you not be emotional? Your two teammates made it onto the podium, and one of your best friends did too. And sure, it was Miami, so of course you knew the boys would go out to celebrate. You expected nothing less, and wanted nothing less for them either. Putting on your pajamas pants and T-shirt, you moseyed on over to your bed, thrilled to be able to get comfortable and watch some truly bad television. You loved hotels and their comfy beds. You always loved being tucked in so tightly it felt like you were being mummified. And as you climbed into bed, turning the tv on for some auditory comfort, you realized you were a lot more exhausted than you thought.

Sleep must have overtaken you soon thereafter, because you were abruptly awoken by someone viciously slamming their fists on the hotel door. Groggily, you made your way to the door and opened it. Using Daniel’s shoulder as support, Mick was clearly drunk as Daniel grinned his famous smile at you. He was also probably drunk, but you knew for a fact that Daniel could definitely hold his liquor better than Mick.

“I think… this belongs… to you!” Daniel trudged through between hiccups.

Mick grinned a toothy grin at you, his cheeks pink with inebriation. You tilted your head and exhaled.

“He has his own room, Dan.” You crossed your arms over your chest trying not to laugh at the two clumsy idiots in front of you. “And where’s Lewis? Hopefully you didn’t ditch him.”

“Lew-Lewis is… Around. I think he’s with a lady.” Daniel shrugged. “And Mick was begging me to b-bring him to his lady! So here we are.”

Your eyes darted from one boy to the other as you contemplated taking in your drunk friend. Rubbing a hand over your face, you conceded and opened your hotel door wider.

“Just… Uh, put him on the couch. I’ll grab him some water…”

“Wait! The mini bar. Don’t touch anything there, they’ll charge you sooooooo much!” Daniel placed Mick on the couch, Mick giggling to himself and mumbling in German.

“Dan, it’s cute that you think I’ll be paying for anything in this minibar after having to care of……… that.” You motioned with your hand towards the entity that was Mick Schumacher sprawled out on your couch now.

“Ha, yeah, that’s true.” Daniel ruffled his curly hair and made sure Mick was fully on the couch before making his way back towards the door. “He’s gonna be hungover, ya know.”

“Yeah, it’s okay though. It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve taken care of him while he’s drunk.” You shrugged your shoulders, grabbing a water and Gatorade from the minibar.

Walking over to where Daniel stood at the doorway, you placed a chaste kiss to his cheek and thanked him for watching out for your friend.

“Will you be okay making it to your room on your own?”

“Yeah, I’m not as blasted as he is. I’ll be right.” Daniel smiled again, giving you a hug and making his way out of the door. He made a mental note to possibly use Mick’s drunken state as ammunition for a good joke later.

You and the Aussie driver exchanged goodbyes and soon enough you were left to take care of Mick. You took a deep breath, and exhaled, making your way over to the couch. You stood in front of the couch and smiled softly.

“Maus, du musst dieses Wasser trinken. (Mouse, you need to drink this water)”

“I like it when you call me that…”

Mick hummed famously, as he tried his best to sit up from his current horizontal position. His hair was tussled and his cheeks still flushed. Doing your best to help him with one arm, you finally got him to sit up and hold the water bottle.

“How much did you have to drink, Mickey?” You watched him carefully to make sure he was actually drinking the water.

“Deutsch…” Mick mumbled into the water bottle that was pressed against his lips.

“That’s not a quantity, Mickey.” You chuckled softly as you continued to look at him drink water.

“No… No… I like it when you speak German… It makes me feel all… Warm inside…” Mick drunkenly pointed to his stomach, his eyelids heavy with intoxication.

“I know you do, but I’m afraid if I speak in German, you’ll respond in a very drunken German stupor, and that I won’t be able to understand you.” You scooted next to him on the couch, resting your head on his shoulder.

“That’s fa-fair…” Mick hiccuped.

Silence again loomed in between you, as he rested his head on yours. You could hear him humming to himself.

“I’m really proud of you, Mickey. You were amazing out there today.”

“I know, I saw the footage, Schätzen.” Mick grinned again, his tone of pure pride and happiness engulfing you. “It was cute when you celebrated for me.”

“I’ll always celebrate for you, Mickey.” You moved your head out from under his and lifted it. “I’m so glad I got to be there to see it in person.”

A soft smile appeared across his face as he sat up and turned to face you. Rubbing his eyes, he took a deep breath and met his baby blues with yours.

“Marry me.”

Suddenly, your face fell and you felt as though the four walls that surrounded you were going to eat you alive. You were no longer maintaining eye contact as you did your best to stop yourself from getting emotional. Your eyes fell down and landed onto your fidgeting hands. “He was drunk, in fact he was very drunk… He doesn’t know what he’s saying,” you kept repeating yourself in your head, looking for a plausible reply while the only other audible thing was Mick’s steady breathing.

“We can’t do that, and you know that.” You finally croaked out, refusing still to make eye contact.

“I love you, though. And you love me. What more is there to it?” Mick moved your chin up with his index finger, the pad of his thumb gentle caressing your chin.

“I can’t marry you, Mick.”

“Can’t or won’t?” You could tell he was trying to ease the tension by wiggling his eyebrows, but you honestly felt as though you had been run over by a semi truck and all the air in your lungs was sucked out of you.

“Mick, I’m serious.”

“Und du glaubst nicht, dass ich es bin? (And you don’t think I am?)”

“I know that you are and that’s what the scary part is!”

You jumped up and off of the couch. You were pacing. It was never a good sign when you’d begin to pace. Glancing at the hotel’s microwave you could see that it was almost three in the morning.

“We have been friends since we were 7 and 8 years old Schätzen, and I have known I have loved you since. Why will you not marry me?” Mick’s voice was tense, his anger becoming apparent.

“You’re drunk, and you’re way too drunk to have this conversation.” You rebutted as quickly as he did.

“Drunk or not, I still love you!”

You were facing away from him now. You could hear him getting up from the couch, and stepping towards you.

Do not cry. You’re not allowed to cry. Crying is for little girls and you are not a little girl.

You continually repeated that in your head as you could hear him approaching you.

“What do I have to do to get you to see that this is real for me? Do I have to get down on one knee? Do I have to give up everything just to show you how serious I am? Because I will! Whatever you say, I will do, and you know that.”

Slowly, you turned around and saw Mick was standing just a few feet away from you. He had tears in the corners of his eyes and his hands were shaking. He was doing his best to calm down as you saw him take a few deep breaths. You didn’t have the wherewithal to deal with this right now, and frankly it was getting too late as well. You were exhausted, you were sure as drunk as he was, he was even more tired than you were. But pleadingly, he stepped slowly towards you, closing the gap. You refused to look up, knowing that if you saw him as he was you would break down. And he knew that. He would never force you to look at him, or do anything you were uncomfortable with doing.

“Smidge… Please, I know that you have been hurt before, by someone you thought would protect you… But I am here now, and have been here. And you know I would protect you with everything I am. Please… Just give me a chance… Give us a chance.”

His voice was cracking as he knelt down in front of you. His arms were around your waist and his head was pressed up against your stomach. Instinctively, you moved your hands to his head took a deep breath. He was just a little boy in this moment, so small and in himself as he gripped onto your shirt with dear life. He knew what it was like firsthand to have someone within arm’s reach, yet never being able to touch them. And yet, you remained stoic and your eyes affixed to the wall behind him. You couldn’t allow yourself to feel the way you wanted to towards him. You made yourself promise that a long time ago.

“I think you should go back to your own room, Mick.” You spoke above barely a whisper as you separated yourself physically from him.

Stepping back, Mick hand landed on the floor as he remained crouched down. You could hear him begin to cry and nothing broke your heart more than that.

“Smidge… Please…” Mick begged as he looked up at you from the floor. You had never seen him look so tiny, so vulnerable.

“I think it would be best if we got some space from each other.”

“W-What?…”

You didn’t respond, but Mick could hear your breath hitch in your chest. You were trying to stifle your upcoming tears. Mick stood to his feet, and ran an anxious hand through his hair.

“I think we should just… Get some space from each other. I won’t be at the next race, but I’ll be at the one after that. We should take this time to just… live our lives, ya know?”

Mick cocked his head to the side while his eyebrows pulled into a tight line. You could see he was clearly clenching his jaw.

“I am sorry, I do not understand. Why the fuck would we need to do that?” Mick was floored as he tried to go through reasons in his own head for a break.

“We’re just… always together, Mick… I think it would be good if we got some… space.” You shrugged your shoulders, trying to play it off as best as you could.

And just like that Mick started… laughing? Maybe it was the alcohol and it was making him delirious, but he genuinely could not believe the words that were coming out of your mouth.

“Give me one good reason, and it better be a damn good FUCKING reason, why we should take space from each other?” Mick wasn’t yelling at you, no he’d never do that, but he was definitely yelling now. “We have been inseparable since age eight, and now you want some space because you cannot admit that you love me too? When has that ever stopped you from being in my life, Schätzen?”

“That’s why! That is exactly why, Mick!” God, now you were yelling. “I… I don’t… I can’t… I can’t love you. Yet, every time I call you, you come. Every time I need something, you’re there! I just… I need to be a big kid and… and… And not rely on you to fix all my problems!”

“But I do those things, because I want to. Can’t you see? Can’t you see how much I want to do those things and how much I would give up just for you to admit that you love me too?”

You couldn’t hold your emotions back any more. Your breath was catching as you began to sob. There was something wrong with you, there had to be - you thought over and over again. He loves you and has loved you since the day you sat next to him at lunch. He was consistently there for you, while he was going through a multitude of his own problems. Why couldn’t you just admit it? Why couldn’t you take the leap and admit that you too loved the boy who has loved you since you were just kids.

“You shouldn’t be with someone that you have to convince to love you back, Mick. You deserve a lot more than that.” You finally replied calmly.

“I do not want anyone else.”

“You deserve it, though.”

There was a painstaking, and deafening quiet that wafted between you two now. It seemed like it was hours that had gone by before one of you had moved from the spots you two were standing.

Mick made his way silently over to you, wiping the tears from his cheeks as he did so. Taking your face in his hands, you looked up at him with an emotion you couldn’t quite place…

“Du hältst mein Herz in deinen Händen (You hold my heart in your hands).” Mick spike barley above a whisper as he pressed his forehead to yours.

“Ich weiß, dass ich es tue (I know I do).” You closed your eyes and hoped that this was just a bad dream.

“Und ich werde eine Ewigkeit warten, um dein Herz in meinen Händen zu halten (And I will wait an eternity to hold your heart in my hands).”

Soon enough, his soft lips met your trembling ones and with the gentlest of movements, he pulled away and kept his eyes closed. You had a feeling he was going to save this moment for a rainy day.

Moments later, he had left you in your hotel room alone, respecting your wishes for space…. for now. And as you stood alone in your hotel room, trying to find the words to describe the night or some semblance of comfort in the emptiness of the room now… All you could hear in the back of your head was the terrifying and gnawing sound of your own self esteem issues. He was right. You were too afraid to admit you loved him. You were too afraid of relationships in general. Mick was one of your first friends when you moved to Germany, and now he was one of your best friends. And you knew you had feelings for him, maybe even loved him. But there was a deep seated problem and the part of you that never allowed you feel vulnerable ever again, would always take over and win.

It was the voice of your father, always nagging at you and reminding yourself that you would never be good enough for anyone. Fuck, you weren’t even good enough for your own father. Emotionally, mentally, and physically he would beat you into submission - into making yourself believe that you were never going to amount to anything or be a good enough person for anyone to love. He reminded you day in and day out that you were just his offspring, and nothing that you could say or do would make him feel differently about you.

So why… Why the fuck would anyone else in the world be different?

Why would anyone want someone who can’t even seem to want themselves? Maybe YOU were the stupid one… God. This was going to be a very long two weeks.

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

The next week went by, and you and Mick did your best to keep your distance from each other. Geography certainly helped. And of course, he’d always text you once in the mornings and once at night to make sure you were still alive. It was one of his best qualities… To be able to actually listen and respect your wants. He was mad at the time when you said you wanted space, but he always respected your feelings and validated them through actions and words.

INCOMING CALL: Mickey 🐭

You sighed heavily, as you ignored the call.

You: I’m in a team meeting, can I call you back later?

Mickey 🐭: Sorry! Yes, call back whenever. But I just wanted to tell you that for Silverstone, we will be racing together!

Soon, every ounce of resentment and anger you may have been feeling, disappeared. Your dream had come true. Unfortunately, Lewis was going to be unable to race his home race due to personal matters, and so naturally the job went to you.

You and Mick had always dreamed of getting to Formula One together, and more so, racing together. So in four races, you’ll be the one in the driver’s seat, right next to the boy you’ve grown up with and dreamed about that moment with for your entire childhood.

Maybe this was the universe trying to tell you take a chance, on Mick… On everything. Yet, there was still that nagging feeling of it being too good to true. The fact that you were just a reserve driver, and Hamilton was at the top of his game…. There had to be a catch.

Soon after your meeting, you dialed your best friend and excitedly awaited his response.

“We did it, Smidge! We did it!” Mick’s voice was giddy, and you could tell that he was just as - maybe even more excited than you.

“It’s crazy, Mickey. This is crazy. We’ll get to race together!” You responded, trying to gather your things and head towards the elevator. “Is Lewis okay, though? I’m sure this is a major bummer.”

“He definitely is having a tough time with it, but there are more important matters he needs to tend to. I do not think he would give up a race, let alone his home race if it were not dire.” Mick’s tone was reassuring as he hummed waiting for your response.

You got into the elevator and pressed the ‘Garage’ floor button.

“I guess I should start training then. Hopefully it’s not going to rain.” You joked, waiting for the doors to open to the garage.

“Smidge, it is Great Britain. Of course, it is going to rain.” Mick laughed to himself.

Finally, the doors opened and you made your way to your own vehicle. Getting comfortable and switching to bluetooth, you took a deep breath and grinned. This was everything you could’ve wished for and more.

“Well, if it’s between P1 and P2, make sure you make room for me, Mickey.” You joked.

With one more breath as you started your car, you could practically feel Mick smiling back at you. Maybe he was right. Maybe this was your chance to make a change in your life.

“Just a smidge. You get just a smidge.”

“And that’s all I could ever ask of you.”

[myimaginarywonderland]

This is going to be different than my usual posts but it has to be said especially now that I am coming up on 500 followers (can't believe that so many of you guys would willingly listen to my takes lol.)

I am not big. In the grand scheme of F1 or even motorsport content creators, hell even Tumblr blogs I doubt I would be anywhere close to the top 1000.

But I have people that do follow me and that listen.

And so has anyone who has even just 10 followers.

Your voice matters.

Someone hears what you are saying.

Someone might be helped by you even reblogging something without any tags or more in depth research.

Motorsport is growing , becoming more mainstream like every week. Content creators for it are growing.

However what has sadly not evolved yet is the mindset of silence that surrounds it. F1 has sadly made 0 progress when it actually comes to standing up as a sport. Every act that could be seen as activism gets immediately shut down. I know that there are individuals that are trying to move us forward, that are trying to lend their voices but the number is so small and the actions often sadly the bare minimum.

But because of how F1 is becoming more involved in social Media and how fans are being more accepted, we now have to lend our voices. We can not continue to stay silent in an environment that is already silencing most small actions.

It is on us as fans now to make sure that if the drivers will not speak up, if the organisation will not make a stance, that if no one is taking action, that we do.

We have to be better and not let that blanket of silence fall on us too.

We life in an age of digitalisation. We life in a time where any of us can check information, can confirm via multiple sources or can form our own opinions.

We life in a world that still hasn't learned from history. We live in a time period where the consequences of capitalism, racism etc. are now more open to see than ever before.

You can not say you didn't know. You can't say you aren't informed enough.

You are lazy. If you can not spend a few minutes, even seconds just reading up on some of the things that are happening you are staying willfully ignorant.

I know how hard it is to try to talk about everything that is going on in the world or to even know about it. I know how difficult it can be to unlearn a western perspective on some things, to realise how much out media here still is biased. I know how draining it can be to see all the suffering.

I know.

But that is never an excuse.

It is never an excuse to not put in effort, to at least even try, to lend your platform to just one voice that deserves to be heard. It is not an excuse when you can just turn off your electronic devices and have silence while the people in Palestine, Sudan, Kongo etc. can't because it is their life, their reality.

I am not perfect. There are many conflicts I am not fully educated about and probably never will be. There are many conflicts that I am just learning about because anything about them gets immediately shut down or black listed etc. I am for from a good source of information.

But I am big enough that my posts will reach people. Even if it's just one person.

I am big enough that people have reached out. I will never stay silent, I will never let a voice go unheard.

I will always need to do better.

But at least I won't rest in the knowledge that I haven't tried. And neither should you.

[il-predestinato]

PEOPLE Exclusive Interview with Charles Leclerc:

Charles, you've talked before about not feeling nervous while racing. Where did that fearlessness come from, and was it something you had to work on?

I did work on it when I was younger. Around 11 years old, I went to a center in Italy that was taking care of athletes for the physical preparation, but also for the mental preparation, and just to be at 100 percent all the time. Obviously, there are moments where you are more under pressure, and in these moments you need to be able to give your 100 percent, and not leave anything on the table, because especially at such a high level in Formula 1, you need to be able to be on your "A" game every lap you do.

So there's been preparation on that, but it's also part of me, and it's my mentality. It's always been my mentality, just focusing on the job, and I've always told myself that the pressure won't give me anything more to put into the car, so I'm just trying to think about optimizing everything that I have in control. I am confident then that if I do everything the way it should be done, the results will come.

Charles, your late father, Hervé Leclerc, also raced cars in Formula 3. How did he influence your career?

My father was always a huge help for me since the beginning, he gave me a passion for the sport, and he helped me massively in the first years, especially when I had to learn all about the basics of the sport.

What my father also taught me is, to be honest with myself. And this is, for me, the most important. Especially when you arrive in Formula 1, you've got a lot of people around you, not because you are a nice person, but because you are a Formula 1 driver. And you always hear nice things about yourself, which is not always helpful. He taught me to be honest with myself, to look in the mirror after a race and say, "Okay, Charles, what could you have done better in this race?" This allows me to be critical of myself, and try to learn from it.

Of course, there is an inherent danger in motorsports. Charles, you experienced tragedy when your close friend, Anthoine Hubert, died in a crash during an F2 race in August 2019. How do you balance your passion for racing with the risks?

I just love this sport. I think I knew [from an early age] ... that it was very dangerous, even though it has improved massively in the last years. But it is still, and it will always be, a dangerous sport because of the speed we are going. Of course, I wish none of that happened, but it didn't change my view on the sport that I love. I love the adrenaline I get, I love the feeling of being in control of a car that is going so quick.

The competitiveness there is in the paddock, and just trying to gain the last thousandths of a second to get in front of the others — this is what drives me. Every time I wake up in the morning, every time I go to sleep the night, I only think about where can I gain those last thousandths to be a better driver.

Let's talk about the thrill of racing — there are only a few people on the planet who will ever know what it's like to be in an F1 car. How would you describe it?

For me, it's the adrenaline. I couldn't live without adrenaline in my life. It just feels very, very special. It's difficult to put into words what we feel. The best way to describe it is a roller coaster that you can control, and we are going at speeds that are just incredible. You just need to always think ahead of where you are on track because things are going so quickly.

Ferrari is the most successful team in Formula 1 history, but teams like Red Bull and Mercedes have been dominating for more than a decade (the last time a Ferrari won a Constructors' Championship was in 2008). How do you two take the team to the next level? What qualities will be important in becoming a future F1 champion?

I think there are different ways to become successful, and a season like this year is a good example of it. You've got two drivers that have different qualities that are fighting for the title, which are Lewis [Hamilton] and Max [Verstappen].

Lewis is very calm, very consistent, very quick all the time, not so aggressive, but strong. And Max, on the other side, is very, very aggressive, but strong, too. And they are two different types of drivers, but you can make it work in both ways.

What's most important in Formula 1 is to be able to build a group. This may be something that is not clear for someone that is new to Formula 1. You see two cars racing, but don't think how many people are working behind the scenes. We've got thousands of people in Maranello, working to develop one car. And as a driver, you need to be strong to put all these people behind you, and for them to be motivated enough to design the best car possible. That for me is what a champion needs to have.

(X)(Carlos’s part)

[vetterrari]

about my blog! i was tagged by @sunshine-ricciardo! Thank you Cara! SEVERAL WEEKS LATER

1. Why did you choose your url?

I really liked the show girl code as a kid. Also grid code refers to the technical requirements to link up to a power grid to get power, the F1 grid uses power etc

2. Any side blogs?

this is in fact a sideblog! I have another couple blogs but this is the most on topic.

:: readmore ::

3. How long have you been on tumblr?

since 2012! I deleted and remade since then

4. Do you have a queue tag?

I do not because I want it to have a good name and I don't have one. If I do anything it's clear out my likes so "clearin out my likes" is my tag for that

5. Why did you start your blog in the first place?

I wanted a dedicated space to be delusional about motorsport

6. Why did you choose your icon/pfp?

I drew it and was proud of it

7. Why did you choose your header?

the edit @/ferrqri (idk if you wanna be mentioned here i can edit it mwah) made passed across my dash and I asked them if I could use it because it just captivated me

8. What's your post with the most notes?

pretty sure it's my drawing of half-elf bard charles

9. How many mutuals do you have?

probably in the 40s-50s if I am accounting for sideblogs right but I don't talk to most of them regularly (even though I should because they're great folks)

10. How many followers do you have?

82 on this blog

11. How many people do you follow?

602 altogether (I follow lots of old accounts I can't let go of)

12. Have you ever made a shitpost?

every original post I have made has that potential

13. How often do you use tumblr?

a few hours a day, mainly use it as a brain break between stuff and during cardio

14. Did you ever have a fight/argument with another blog?

not that I remember

15. How do you feel about "you need to reblog this" posts?

some of them have good information but I personally get very uncomfortable when they say stuff like "if you don't reblog this you're x thing"...

16. Do you like tag games?

yes so much! but I often don't get notified and then do them like a month later

17. Do you like ask games?

I think they're so fun! I love learning about people. Sometimes it's hard to find good ones to choose for people I don't know well.

18. Which of your moots do you think is tumblr famous?

Cara and Franziska at least have also said it but the one Ames made about Seb I think is the post with the most notes. And I think a moot had a post about Spotify wrapped do numbers

19. Do you have a crush on a mutual?

i love all the ones I have interacted with dearly but if you mean in a romantic way no. I am very slow to do so for irl people, please check on me in a year lmao and even then no guarantees

tags: i forgot this in my drafts

[weraceasone]

Hi Elle (and anyone who reads this)!

This is going to be a long ask/rant so get your snacks and drinks ready (sorry in advance)

What does it mean to be a “real man” or how does one act like a real men? I’m really confused. Yesterday I tweeted that I love seeing the new generation of F1 drivers being friends and complementing each other and even hang out together outside of racing. All of a sudden I get a couple of tweets of people being mad about what I said: “they should act like real mean instead of showing their soft side everytime.”

So I asked one of them on Twitter: what do you mean by they should act like a real man? To this question I got a lot of ignorant answers like: They should man up, stop being shy, handle criticism like a man and stop crying about negative comments. (PS: What’s wrong with being shy?)

I’m half Dutch (hallo daar!) and I know that in our culture we can be very straight forward and honest (maybe too honest). We can also be very critical but what’s wrong with showing your REAL emotions when a comment hurts you? F1 drivers have a lot of pressure like we all know and of course it’s a hard world (bla bla bla) but that not an excuse to kick them when they’re down.

Seeing drivers being disappointed or even sad about their race or the comments people make on the internet does not make them less of a man (whatever that means). I mean how would you feel if almost everyone on social media is clowning you or laughing at your results? Ignore it?? St some point it’s impossible to ignore it when it’s presented right in front of your face. We put way too much pressure on these boys. At the end of the day they are human beings with real feelings.

When I see people hate on a certain driver it makes me so sad. You can be critical, nothing wrong with that, but let it be constructive criticism, something they can use to better their driving skills. But things like “you suck as a driver” “you don’t deserve to be in F1” is in my opinion mean. Look how people treat pay drivers. I think it’s disgusting how they talk about them.

I really hope that in the near future the F1 community will talk more about this topic and mental health since FIA wont do shit about it. It’s very important because the way some of us are ralking about these drivers can cause some serious damage to their mental health. Isometimes have to check myself when I talk negative about a driver.

Speaking on mental health actually applies to any sport and not just F1.

Thank you for coming to my TED talk. This was weighing on my heart and I had to vent about it lol. I know this is all over the place but I hope that you and anyone who is reading this will get what I mean and I'm very curious what you think about this.

Ik wens je alvast een gezond 2021! ✨

hey Anon!

you know… lots of men have been angry with me on the internet before. one time somebody screenshotted a post of mine that pointed out the differences between people on Twitter reacting to Kimi’s radio messages and people on Twitter reacting to Lewis’ radio messages, and that person put it on Twitter without my permission and without my context. I had to read through hundreds of tweets calling me all sorts of degrading words and everything they insulted me with somehow always came back to me being a girl. it was the core of every insult they wrote. and you know, it’s funny until it isn’t. it’s funny until I decide; “this is going too far, and this is where I draw the line”. yet, I told myself to be thankful because it is nothing like it could be. I am thankful because they don’t actually know who I am, or where I live. I am thankful because I guess those men are good men, after all. they are good men because even though they said all those things, I know they will not act on it. they are good men because even though they just dehumanized me for being a girl with an opinion, they will still kiss their unknowing wives goodnight and they care for their daughters in a way they one day didn’t even believe was possible themselves.

when a driver shows even a sliver of emotion it’s “girly” or “he’s acting like a woman”, because apparently there’s nothing worse than being a girl. I remember Ziggo Sport making fun of Lando’s laugh because “he sounds like a girl”. however, the comparison with a woman is never made in a positive way, because being a woman is a pitiful state of being for these people. yet the phrases “be a man” and “grow a pair” will always refer to a state that we should aspire to be in.

and when I dare to write about it; I am the eternal man-hater. I am a man-hater, because pointing something out and the only conclusion being sexism, is my fault. it is my fault that writing about women in motorsport will somehow always end up on the topic of sexism. it is my fault that not writing about it, is somehow still writing about it. but the truth is; I don’t blame these men for the things they were told, I blame them for not looking beyond that. I blame them because I know the things they say on the internet will somehow always find a way to translate back to real life and I already feel sorry for the kids who will get their dad a tie or shaving cream or a fishing kit for father’s day, for Christmas, for every single birthday, because they never made a true emotional connection with him, because that’s stupid and unnecessary. I blame them because they don’t realize that the things they write, the thoughts they share; do have an impact on the people around them. I blame them because ever since I have gotten into this sport, there’s always a voice in the back of my head telling me that I don’t know enough, that my opinions aren’t good enough, because I’m a girl and I’m a girl and I’m a girl.

being an F1 driver isn’t easy, especially in this day and age where you don’t just have to deal with the pressure of being and staying in the team, but also with the unwarranted for opinions from people all over the internet, who think showing emotion is synonymous with being weak. but, at the end of the day; why do we watch this sport? would we still watch if it weren’t for the joy we get out of it? where would we be as fans, if we didn’t hope for the best? why are we only allowed to talk about the happy emotions?

the things we say on the internet, the thoughts we put out there; they always find a way to plant certain thoughts into our minds. and I’m not asking for anybody’s sympathy, because I can care for myself. I can braid my hair and neatly fold my clothes and I let myself sing off-tune and I let myself have an opinion on this sport, regardless of those men on the internet. but the thing is; the way we are online, is a reflection of the real world. if there’s never a man who dares to talk about his feelings; I will keep crying at videos of men doing nice things and your daughters will too. we will see a man quitting his job to be with his kids, a man speaking out about feminism, a man cooking dinner for his family and we will all keep on saying “you know, he doesn’t have to. he doesn’t have to”. because somehow, they never have to.

(I’m sorry this basically turned into a rant, Anon. this is also the longest answer I have ever written. it was a whole page long in Word. ik wens jou ook een gezond 2021, en allemaal fijne en leuke dingen🧡)

[weirdstuff-blog]

Me and stephanie dancing up Christian

"ROB SIMS presents KellyMBentley.Com in 2008! "

Female 26 years old ATLANTA, Georgia United States

Last Login: 4/13/2008

I love models and everything to do with the glamour industry. I am seriously into photography. I love to dance and I am currently learning to sing. I am crazy in love with my American Pitt Bull Terrier "Layla" and I love spending time with her playing freesbee with her and my loving fiance Django. I love fast cars preferrably American Muscle. My favorite would be a Trans Am. Long live Cassondra

Music I love all types of music, but my favorite is Classic Rock including the Grateful Dead, Bob Dylan, Doors, Def Lepard, AC/DC, Primus, Nine Inch Nail all kinds of artists. I love dancing to hip-hop, but I really don’t have any favorites.

Movies I love chic flicks and cartoons. I’ve never really been a fan of horror flicks. My favs include Notebook, Ratatouille, Sweet Home Alabama, Youve Got Mail…you get where this is going.

Television I love reality shows. I was on the Coyote Ugly Reality Show but I hated it. My favorites shows include Pussycat dolls, ANTM, Ghost Hunters, Dirty Jobs, Rock of Love, Make me a Supermodel….well all of them except American Idol…hate that shit!!

Books I dont read anything but war books and Cosmopolitian magazine. Oh yea and the Bible of course. Heroes All of our American Military men and women especially those close to me….Andrew Goldman, Jason Edmondson, Chris Willis, and my sweet uncle Kurt. Love and appreciate you guys. If you have a friend or relative serving I send me their name and I will post it here to show my appreciation.

The Kelly M. Bentley ‘s Details

Status: In a Relationship Here for: Networking, Friends Orientation: Straight Hometown: Alabama Body type: Slim / Slender Ethnicity: White / Caucasian Zodiac Sign: Libra Smoke / Drink: No / No Education: College graduate Occupation: Model

The Kelly M. Bentley ‘s Schools Southern Union State Community College Wadley, AL Graduated: 2002 Student status: Alumni Degree: Associate’s Degree Major: Computer Science

2000 to 2002

The Kelly M. Bentley ‘s Companies NOPI Motorsports Atlanta, Georgia US Nopi Chic Model

Construction Cuties Atlanta, Georgia US

M Bentley Productions Atlanta, Georgia US

The Kelly M. Bentley is Taking Over the F*cking World!

The Kelly M. Bentley ‘s Latest Blog Entry [Subscribe to this Blog]

Rob Sims and Kelly Bentley 2008 (view more)

RIDE FOR LIFE…..Relay For Life Charity Event (view more)

Coyote Ugly Episode 5…Thank God its Over! (view more)

National Glamour Showcase Florida (view more)

Coyote Ugly Episode 4 (view more)

[View All Blog Entries]

The Kelly M. Bentley ‘s Blurbs About me: Its hard to describe myself because I am constantly changing. So to start, above all else, I am a bad ass bartender. I bartend at OPERA Nightclub here in Atlanta, Geogia. Its the biggest and hottest club in Atlanta. I also bartend at the Irish Bred Carrollton where I can fulfill my bar dancing passion to AC/DC, Buckcherry (Crazy biotch!), and Def Lepard. I love serving up cocktails with a little sassy shake some come by either place and check me out!!

Second, I am a model and one of the hottest female entrepreneurs on this planet. In modeling, I specialize in glamour, fitness, and promotional modeling. I always have something going on somewhere. I’m partnering up with NOPI as a NOPI CHIC for 2008. I love doing charity work so keep updated on my events and help us out. As an entrepreneur, I own half of a calendar production company with JM Polsfuss that is responsible for the hottest calendar coming out in 2009 Construction Cuties. Watch for it!! I also just teamed up with get this…yes…The Rob Sims….which we will have my website launched by the end of Spring to help heat up the summer for you. Also watch for all the magazine covers, layouts, spreads, etc. coming soon…I told you guys I’ll be taking over the WORLD!! Lastly, I am a regular girl that had a dream and am still forcing it to come true come hell or high water. I’m from a small town, but I’m working hard to fulfill my big city dreams as well as those of other girls who want to be models with MODELICIOUS. So if you want to try modeling, don’t listen to people when they tell you that you cant do it, they said I couldn’t, and I look at me…so don’t listen, contact me and lets see what we can do. I DONT DO ANYTHING FOR FREE….so don’t ask. I have a small network of professional models I use and promote because they have become friends. Don’t ask for my contacts, because I work hard in promoting and networking myself so why should I just hand over my hard work to you. If you want my network, you pay for my network.

THINGS YOU WOULDN’T GUESS ABOUT ME: No one would ever guess that I used to be in the Army National Guard. I used to be on Active Reserve as the RA for SFC Robert Cornett. I got out in 2005. I also used to wiegh 170 lbs. I gained a huge amount of weight when I quit drinking and smoking. Yea a lot of you thought it would never happen. I quit cold turkey and the turkey went to my ass. I lost 50 lbs. on the Subway diet. I was recently on the Coyote Ugly Reality Show on CMT and hated every minute. I also have a degree in Political Science and Computer Science with a minor in Military Science. Just some cool quirks about me. TELL ME ABOUT YOURSELF – The Survey Name: Kelly M Bentley Birthday: October 7th Birthplace: Anniston, Alabama Current Location: Atlanta, Georgia Eye Color: Green Hair Color: Blonde/Brunette..hell I don’t know Height: 5’5" if I’d stand up straight Right Handed or Left Handed: Right Your Heritage: Irish/German &..39;The Shoes You Wore Today:’ My beloved flip flops Your Weakness: Your Fears: airplanes, elevators, and scurrying vermon Your Perfect Pizza: cheese/pepperoni without any sauce Goal You Would Like To Achieve This Year: Be at 8% Body Fat by the end of the year Your Most Overused Phrase On an instant messenger: I dont even know how to set that shit up… Thoughts First Waking Up: What in the hell are the Backyardigans? Your Best Physical Feature: My big ghetto booty Your Bedtime: When ever my mind decides to quit thinking Your Most Missed Memory: No clue..too much memory lost Pepsi or Coke: Caffeine free coke MacDonalds or Burger King: both are some nasty shit…I dont put it in my body! Single or Group Dates: Cant remember my last date… Lipton Ice Tea or Nestea: I don’t drink any tea Chocolate or Vanilla: Just hand over the chocolate and no one gets hurt Cappuccino or Coffee: Caffeine free Coffee Do you Smoke: hell no Do you Swear: I swear I cuss too much Do you Sing: Did you catch my show? Think I’ll stick to the shower. Do you Shower Daily: more than once Have you Been in Love: Only twice for sure Do you want to go to College: Been there done that Do you want to get Married: Umm….when I’m too old to know better Do you belive in yourself: more than anyother person besides Roy Do you get Motion Sickness: Do you think you are Attractive: No but others tend to disagree Are you a Health Freak: Absolutely Do you get along with your Parents: depends on the day of the week Do you like Thunderstorms: love them Do you play an Instrument: In the past month have you Drank Alcohol: don’t drink alcohol In the past month have you Smoked: I quit when I was 20 In the past month have you been on Drugs: hell no drugs are for weak people In the past month have you gone on a Date: I havent gone on a date in the past few years In the past month have you gone to a Mall: No..I hate the mall..I’m in need of another personal shopper In the past month have you eaten a box of Oreos: yea right…my trainer would shoot me In the past month have you eaten Sushi: I don’t eat fish In the past month have you been on Stage: too many times In the past month have you been Dumped: No In the past month have you gone Skinny Dipping: I wish In the past month have you Stolen Anything: No but someone stole two of my damned portfolios Ever been Drunk: Plastered on many occassions Ever been called a Tease: What girl hasnt Ever been Beaten up: No but I got launched off some steps one time Ever Shoplifted: no I only steal hearts How do you want to Die: at 200mph on the Autobahn What do you want to be when you Grow Up: I’m doing it but not grown up yet What country would you most like to Visit: Ireland In a Boy/Girl.. Favourite Eye Color: Any that don’t lie Favourite Hair Color: any that I can run my fingers through Short or Long Hair: either Height: all heights Weight: weight doesn’t matter Best Clothing Style: clothes dont make the man Number of Drugs I have taken: Don’t do drugs Number of CDs I own: not too many Number of Piercings: ears and belly button Number of Tattoos: 1 Number of things in my Past I Regret: only 1…if you know me you know what it is

CREATE YOUR OWN! – or – GET PAID TO TAKE SURVEYS!

Myspace Layouts – Myspace Editor – Image Hosting

Who I’d like to meet: TO ALL MODELS AND PHOTOGRAPHERS: Now that I am partnered up with Robs Sims who is the most published photographer on the planet also owner of FitBeauties and FitModels International Magazines, photographer for Oxygen, MuscleMag, InStyle, American Curves, Maxim, FHM, Mens Health…okay I’m tired already. Too many to list. Google him for the rest…lol. Rob and I will be offering photoshoots to ambitious models with the guarantee to be published. Yes there is a catch. 1)like I said I don’t do anything for FREE 2) Neither does he 3) you have to be approved by me first. Sorry ladies…I have to be picky. Feel free to submit to me for shoots with Rob. I will be honest and give you feedback. WE ARE THE ONLY ONES THAT CAN GUARANTEE YOU PUBLICATION IN MAJOR MAGAZINES.

Posted by dcsmith2752002 on 2008-06-23 13:19:11

Tagged: , KELLY , M , BENTLEY , IN , ATLANTA , GA , NIGHT , LIFE , BASIC , BLACK , FORMAL-WEAR , AND , CASUAL , -WEAR , ATTIRES

The post Me and stephanie dancing up Christian appeared first on Good Info.

[perkeletar]

Okay. It was such a emotionally and mentally exhausting weekend that I just have to get some of these feelings out of my system. Please, bear with me: this is going to be a long one because fuck, I don’t think I’ve ever been this glad that a weekend is over.

When I got back into F1 about a year ago, everything was so positively exciting. Highs were extremely high, lows were as extremely low but with the positive feeling deep under that the next race is a new beginning. Right now the low is such a deep hole that it feels really difficult to gain any comfort from the tiniest positive things that happened during this weekend.

I bet anyone knows what I’m talking about. Even though I haven’t been following F2 or any other motorsport series closely, it still is devastating to know that Anthoine Hubert has passed away. It’s difficult to digest, really - a boy around my age, who still had so much to dream about and reach for. So much more coming for him.

And it’s also devastating to think about the fact that if this makes me feel bad, how devastated are those who lost more than a member of the community? Those who personally knew him? Those who lost a son, a brother, a friend, a colleague? It’s so wrong. So, so wrong.

It rarely crosses your mind how dangerous motorsport is. It’s weird to think that only about a month ago I was one of those cheering for a proper wet race at Hockenheimring and being so entertained by all the chaos going on. Thankfully no one got hurt back then. No one should have gotten hurt this time either, but well, apparently this was the grim reminder of the dangers that we had to receive, no matter how sad or oh, how wrong it is.

Now, this weekend, all there was to hope was for everyone to come home unscathed. No more scary accidents, no more injuries, especially no more fatalities. It was scary to hear about the bad-looking crash in F3 and see the first turn mayhem and Giovinazzi’s crash in F1. Thank god no one got hurt in those. It would have been like bathing in a tub full of salt while being covered in paper cuts.

But, not to be fully submerged with only the negatives... Every cloud passes a couple of rays of sunshine through. These are the tiny rays I also want to acknowledge: 

Happy to hear that Correa’s condition is stable. Hoping for a fast and successful recovery for him.

As mentioned earlier, I’m glad that no one else got seriously hurt in this weekend’s races.

Well done Charles for his first victory in F1, even though it happened under these circumstances. I have so much appreciation how maturely he can handle bad and devastating situations - and this time was no different.

And for the whole motorsport community - god I love you so much. I’d say that 99% of the comments and posts I saw all over the internet were so heartwarming, respectful and genuine. Being there for each other, offering a listening ear, mourning together, shutting down disrespectful behaviour. And don’t let me get started with the standing ovation and the social media “takeover” (since I cannot think about a better word rn) during lap 19 of the F1 race - something that was 100% done and spread around by fans. I was sobbing so hard during that. Even though I am mostly a lurker around all social media platforms, I am really proud that I feel connected to a community like this.

But yeah. Life goes on, no matter if we want it to or not. Thankfully it’s already Monday over here so I can say that the weekend is officially over. I bet there was so much more I wanted to say, but now is the time to try and refocus and get some sleep.

Lastly but most definitely leastly: Repose en paix, Anthoine. Sincerest condolences to his family, friends and other people who had a close relationship with him. You won’t be forgotten. Race on wherever you are right now.

[dailytechnologynews]

Is there really not a perfect 11.5-13.5" Windows tablet choice?!

Hello guys. For the past week i've been researching to find the perfect windows tablet choice for my specific application need. However it seems there isn't even one device that doesn't have some type of throwback. I'm not asking for everything, but it seems it is either hit or miss, even if you take into account overpriced products. Please hear me out and let me know your thoughts.

I am essentially looking for a WINDOWS TABLET which its primary purpose is to be fitted to my car as a secondary "dash" per say so i can use it to interact with my aftermarket motorsports ecu. It will function as a monitoring dash for the most of the time, but can be used to datalog (aka record data) or for direct tuning (so i don't have to bring my laptop everytime i need to make changes to my engine calibration). I wouldn't mind using it at home as well since i will have it, but mostly will work as a travel/trip companion since i have a PC at home. It has to be a WINDOWS tablet as the software that interfaces with the ecu is only windows based.

After thinking and revising my requirements several times after getting disappointed by what is available here is the break down:

Dimensions: Height needs to be around ~205mm +10mm max so the tablet can be secured in the glove box when not in use. Ideally height should be maximized so that the display area is maximized as well. Length larger than 300mm is not a problem but would get annoying to fit to the car since it will extend more towards the passenger side. This effectively limits me to ~11.8-13.3" tablets, so Microsoft Surface Pro can be used as a reference design (since i haven't seen bezel-less windows tablets yet) Display: This is the most important attribute of the tablet. 1080p absolute minimum resolution, 2K ideally, 3K is probably not gonna be noticeable at the usage distance. Here is a screenshot from my 1080p laptop so you can see the ECU software in datalog mode (slightly cropped but so you can get an idea: http://content.invisioncic.com/r260425/monthly_2017_09/fuel_pressure_link.png.bc827c0a96fe120632f1d7c168e66a64.png However let's not forget brightness and contrast. Brightness should be ~400nits or better for a glossy display, and contrast should be considered over color accuracy. Viewing angle in the length span should be at least 150deg but i think it is hard nowadays to find such a bad display panel. Finally a fully laminated panel is recommended. Physical interfaces: I essentially need a single full size USB port so i can connect my ECU to the tablet. After my research i decided to allow for USB-C assuming that i can get a dongle that will allow me to interface without any issues; but it's best not to allow for that route due to possible incompatibility issues (like what happened when usb3.0 was released). Extra USB ports, USB-C that allows charging and data, video output port, headphone jack, m.2 expansion slot, sd card slot are all pluses. Wireless interfaces: Min wifi and bluetooth. 802.11AC and bluetooth v4.2 or better all pluses. CPU/GPU performance: Generally something better than N3450 (tested my brother's CHUWI surbook mini) and more recent will help, GPU performance is irrelevant for the task so the majority of intergrated GPU's will do fine. RAM: 4GB absolute minimum, 8gb ideal Cooling: I prefer passive cooling, but usually the cooling solution used is sh*t. At least in some cases it can be modded (i'm experienced and willing to do) Battery: 4 hours light use with full display brightness as minimum. If charging is performed over USB-C i hope it is not the stupid kind of power->battery->device like in phones and can work like in laptops where the battery is not used when power is supplied to the laptop. This way you don't wear out the battery since the device will be connected to power most of the time it is operated. Storage: 64gb absolute min, ideal min should be 128gb, speed is relative but i think at least m.2 sata interface ssd; NVME huge + Others: Pen support and attachable keyboard are pluses, but i plan on using a good bluetooth keyboard with backlight (required) so it makes them irrelevant if the tablet is good, Thunderbolt 3 is a +, unlocked bios +, kickstand should work on a lap without cutting your pants off and stay in one place, sd card reader + Reliability: From what i read most chinese tablets are pretty bad with both hardware and software issues out of the box. Backcover should be metal to act as heatsink and be stiff enough, weight and thickness is not that important Condition: New or used. I believe some products offer better value when bought used and others because have been discontinued Pricing: My budget is flexible but depending on the features lots of them are overpriced especially bought new. I would say ~500eur for a new tablet with min features required and 1000eur for one with better hardware. Considering i'm building a 7nm PC in a couple of months the market pricing is really unacceptable for most windows tablets. Blame Apple for it, but i'm not a rich consumer neither i am a sheep. Performance to value is what i always look for.

I literally checked every windows tablet and 2-in-1 i believe. Here some potential picks and what i didn't like.

Microsoft Surface Pro (4 - 5 - 6): At first glance it is a good base candidate..but..really Microsoft? It's 2019 and no USB-C? Proprietary connector and overpriced hardware? Questionable reliability? Get the f*ck out of here. Unless you find a good used deal i don't think it would be worth it. Another Apple wannabe. Eve-tech EVE V: This is one tablet that hits all the boxes, kinda, since by now it is almost obsolete in terms of CPU performance..sadly while i'm greek-cypriot i would go with the stereotypical view for greeks because the CEO is a "malakas" and i'm really sorry to all the people that were scammed. On the other hand i believe there is some truth to the Paypal issues he had since my friend had similar issues (because of not much experience) and even I couldn't help him get them fixed as Paypal is run by assholes as well which need a punch to the face (their excuse it is the system and they can't do anything about it - like wtf). I still use it but the time a different payment system reaches similar adoption i would gladly switch. Chuwi Surbook: Slow CPU, screen is not fully laminated, mediocre specs but was good price at some time ago. Maybe the announced "surbook pro" would fair better? Voyo Vbook i5/i7 Plus: Nice screen, fair pricing? Not the most quality build, shitty battery, i7 model throttles? Teclast X6 Pro: A slightly better vbook i5? No full detailed reviews yet, and i wasn't that impressed from the previous X5 review Alldocube Knote 8: Seems good on paper, but no type-A usb ports Jumper EZpad 6: Possibly the only windows tablet in stock with a good value, however i need something with a better and larger display Acer Switch 3/5: Mediocre screens, single type-A port on the right side (since my car is RHD and the ecu is on the left side i would prefer it on the left side), shitty battery performance, a little overpriced Dell XPS 12 9290/Latitude 5290/Latitude 7285: Great displays, powerful, only 5290 has type-A port, mediocre battery life, overpriced but there are good used deals Asus Transformer 3 Pro T303UA/T304UA: Premium specs but discontinued, expensive, only 1 type-A port and it is on the right side (again), T304 is a huge step backwards even though newer (what the heck Asus, are you drunk?) Lenovo ThinkPad X1: Overpriced, no type-A ports, Gen3 is too big and has display coating issues, Gen2 is more suitable due to size and type-a interface but older and screen brightness not that good - all too tall Lenovo MIIX series: new 630 uses an ARM processor so no go (since i can't force the software developpers to re-compile), 720 rates very high in the features i need, 2 usb type-A ports, nice display, etc. 520 is a little newer with weaker hardware but still good for its price HP Pro X2/Envy X2/Elite X2 1012: HP's other offerings like the Elite X2 1013 are too tall for my needs, and while they have good displays and good build quality i am not font of their design decisions. I have a Zbook 17 G5 workstation at work we bought new and not even 6 months passed and the CPU fan now rattles like crazy..here's my 1st day rant about it: https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Notebook-Hardware-and-Upgrade-Questions/Note-to-HP-Zbook-17-G5-design-engineers-Please-read-and/td-p/6914797 Also they are overpriced like crazy. I wouldn't ever think of buying again from them. Also the power supply is proprietary as some of the internal hardware. F*ck HP Huawei MateBook E: Aside the lack of ports it is a pretty good designed device, display is perfect but slightly smaller than the biggest i can fit - depending on price it might be a good consideration assuming i can run a USB-C dock i can charge within the car Samsung Galaxy Book 12: Similar to the Huawei above, just a little faster but with a worse display, extra usb-C port. Older and more expensive than the Huawei Toshiba Portege X30T and others: Ports are on the keyboard and not on the tablet, won't work for me.

I think i've covered 99% of the options but i may could have missed 1 or 2. To be honest i won't need this tablet for another 3-6months i would guess but at least i've done my research so i will be prepared when the time comes to buy one. What do you think? I know i went a little crazy but i'm that type of person that never regrets his purchasing choices because i don't buy blindly.

[mo-torious-mo-blog]

Twitter.com/motorious_cafe

[CHANGING MY NAME TO: Mo (first name) Torious (last name)] i asked my parents if I could come up to westchester to have dinner with them, or to briefly stay while I looked for an apartment. They said no. It’s funny, Dr Tabar at Belkvue Hospital (Dr Mounir, intake), told me that I should cut off my relationship with my mother. The only reason my father asked me to attend her 80th birthday party, was to keep up appearances. Before the night was over, and after my speech (unmmmzm....I got you a car), he told me in no uncertain terms that I am no longer welcome in his house. I dove get it. His brother Ladipo Fayemi is a caseworker at HRA HASA, who never once intervened for me, and who nobody in that agency thought to refer my case to. Mr. McCoy, used to make fun of the name. No matter, I no longer want to be called that. I told them that since my father still continues to lie about not having received a copy of the doctored IRS Filings which Lucy Ostrofsky (acting in house counsel) had filed, directly ignoring my instructions, before I was forced out of the company and off the corporate bank account (it takes 3 members of management: myself, Richard McGinnis (Kurt Salmon Associates), President of Motorious Retail Stores (m&m/Mars Family: sponsor of Kyle Bush’s Toyota at NASXAR), patent holder, casino slot machine algorithms) and Philip Munger (who once, unbeknownst to me, withdrew $5,000 in cash from his personal Citibank account, and deposited it into my (the corporate) account, triggering FBI Money Laundering Red Flag: I have never even seen $5,000.00 in cash in one place in my entire life. I spent $500 to $10,000/month on my AMEX PLATINUM: and repaid it within 30 days. Beginning in 1992. Until I didn’t and went bankrupt for $60,000. Bottom line: I don’t trust the man, and he and I no longer have a relationship. All he and my mother have done is agree with the psychiatrists who keep diagnosing me with paranoid delusions that I run a company. All this, I believe, because the only company he ever ran, ended up in trouble with the IRS. I’m beginning to be really suspect about his book selling and his AIDS Charity for orphans in Africa. Before he kicked me out of the house, he asked me if I wanted to help him with his Foundation, and I said « no » I want German citizenship. A look at my brief work history shows I never stay in 1 place very long. What’s wrong with having wanted a change and to seek opportunities abroad? Science Advisers, led by Norman Heyman, Jean Robert Le Shufy, and Kevin DeVito (New Capital Horizons, the US arm of New Capital AG in Switzerland: COPE Holdings (XTERA DAX | NASDAQ) Zuggero, CEO | lent ICV, llc (Integrated Concepts Vehicles, llc, Flipboard.com/@ICV_llc, the first $137,000 after I had lent the corporation $60,000. MOTORIOUS MONEY GRID: says $100,000.00 loan am was made by Phil Munger on November 1, 1999. If that had been the case, why were none of the vendors at the show paid, and why did I receive a phone message on December 31, 1999 from Philip Munger: joe@planetvida.com.br, the DAY AFTER I received a message from Wayne Irving of Spin Records that he had secured $25 Million from ING Barings? My only Full Time Employee: John Goodwin, who I met at Pump No 8 at the Mobil Gas Station in Rancho Palos Verdea, took a salary of $80,000.00 + benefits + expense reimbursement, where on July 2, 1999 he secured an LOI with the Make A Wish charity for a proposed October 31, 2000 Charity Rade at Texas Motor Speedway. He had 9 months to secure a deal with Ford to provide NASCAR vehicles for the event, which was supposed to commemorate 100 Years of Motorsports in America, and also commemorate both Ford and Harley Davidson’s 100th Anniversary. Moose returned saying that the sponsors (especially the protected sponsor, Coke, will not let the drivers out of their contests to drive the event) Autoweek Magazine, the same issue it quoted several drivers as wanting to participate, reported that My Apple Laptop « had ears ». Motor Trend Magazine wrote an article entitled « The Automotive Analyst », a « fictitious story about a Wall Street analyst having problems with his wife, while talking to his shrink. The concluding sentence: « Build The Car » My only contribution to Ford would have been when I called the $3 million monstrosity (Focus) built by John Colletti and Motor Trend: Ian Cartabiano has penned a sick Mis-Engined Ford Focus Rally Car, which was to have shared a platform with the Renault R5 (Nissan: where Doi had previously worked after NCIS). That, and the referral from Mark Stehrenberger to Scott Sharpe Racing, to [Ford Tuner: I ferget] , who wrote a proposal for tuning the 4.0 liter Jaguar V8 for the Motorious Show Stand, as a potential BMW M5 competitor. Of the $137,000.00 loan, $50,000 went to Mark Stehrenberger Design, who was to generate 3 proposals for the Deusenberg PHAETON: Mercedes Benz Ocean 4 door convertible concept...to. E build at the DRESDEN Factory in Germany), the other $50,000 went to Robert Marianich in Huntington Beach, who was to have converted his studio, and built a « clay resurfaced » proposal of the RIVOLUZIONW: 1999 LA Auto Show, next to Shelby Series One (I met Carroll at Jay Leno’s, where he asked me to contact his assistant, Pearlita Shelby, about helping him with production of the OLDSMOBILE AURORA Engined SERIES ONE: autopsia.wordpress.com, slated to return to INDYCAR, to replace the Honda unit, now that they created Touring Car. I wanted to get the rights to MG ROVER (BBC: BMW’s English Patient), known as Rover Sterling 825 in America (Acura Legend): ARCONA | After the misérable failure of Phoenix Holdings, which paid Queen Elizabeth the nominal sum of £10, and then before becoming the four most overpaid executives in the UK Auto Industry. I even went so far as to ask Lakshmi Mittal (Arcelor Mittal and Harris’s) if he would help me to purchase Land Rover from TATA. CAR AND DRIVER MAGAZINE (Hearst Publications: Vladimir Putin) April Fool’s | Toyota buys Oldsmobile Trademark for $5,000. FIAT acquire the right to the Oldsmobile Aurora Engine through my partnership with Carroll Shelby, Gets the Oldsmobile Dealerships (10 year warrante on the engine), Change the nage to Alfa Romeo, and modify the engine for use in US Alfa’s, like the GT-V8, Spider Véloce (Duetto V8: BMWfilms.com Béat the Devil). Unfortunately, John Goodwin went bankrupt, my ex-wife had a hidden camera in our bedroom vent (Waiting to Exhale, Bernadine’s Rage: 6624 Oceancrest Drive, RPV, CA, 90275). And all of our personal and my corporate accounts were closed on August 14, 2001, due to malfeasance on her part: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6vwNcNOTVzY [The Private Bank: Union Bank of California (Mitsubishi Sumitomo: KIRETSU): Peggy Fahnestock, Gloria Marquez: who refinanced my BMW Financial Loan from JP Morgan Chase, because it was higher interest rate than a similarly situated white nan, all other things being equal. The VENDETTA (redesigned Rivoluzione: 200 LA Auto Show, was in an accident THE FIRST DAY I DROVE IT. I didn’t even make it to the highway. There was at least $100,000? In customization (hand hammered and rolled Aluminum body parts riveted and bonded to the steel: Robin Officer, Captain Metal, Magic Mountain, CA (A Kiwi). who I believe, was interviewed on the Jay Leno show dresses in drag. By keeping all the receipts to every modification, the insurance company: GEICO, had to first restore the vehicle to its original condition, THEN, cover all the replacement customization which they did, before canceling my policy the sane day the lease on my 328i was repossed, with $5,000.00 worth of renderings and sketches by Ian Cartabiano, which actually appeared in Bimmer Magazine in 1998. My mother refuses to give me my birth certificate. Whats wrong with this picture? mo torious On Oct 14, 30 Heisei, at 2:25 AM, mo torious wrote: David Ebersman, Will you be the part time CFO on my private placement? except for the fact that Angel List is formerly Google, and I found it impossible to do due diligence on who people claimed to be. since I came from Wall Street, and have helped raise over $500 Million for companies during my career, even though it is many years later, I still know many of the same people. The first person who made a referral for me, was Paul Howard of HQH: Hambrecht & Quist Healthcare, in NYC, when he introduced me to his MIT Sloan School Claasmate, Douglas A Doi (founder of Doi Golf). I see his name on many research publication footnotes, such as the NEW ENGLAND JOURNAL OF MEDICINE ARTICLE: The Beginning is the End of AIDS. The second referral came from Barney Hallibgby, who introduced me to Doug Casey at Gates Capital at 200 Park Avenue, New York, NY, who floats Government Bonds and Municipal Bonds for manufacturing, such as at the March Global Port, which was a former military base turned into a commercial port. As part of the 3Q/2001 earnings report, as quoted in the Wall Street Journal, William Clay Ford, III made two announcements: 1. We are no longer pursuing our aftermarket strategy. (usurped and mismanaged by Jacques Naaser) 2 We can no longer afford to spend 11.1% of sales, on Marketing/Advertising. Bad news for Ogilvy/Mather. Possible 11.1% increase in margins. William Clay Ford: Uber is losing hundreds of millions to billions every year. If All the risks are borne by the driver, why can’t they turn a profit? The following article on the same page of the WSJ, was that The Blackstone Group « was looking for its next big deal ». Instinct tells me to defer from inviting them, or Goldman Sachs or any of its clients (like Facebook and Twitter) to participate in this private placement. http://fortune.com/2012/02/01/meet-the-man-behind-the-facebook-ipo/ https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=B5gQoZEZn04 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=O8PM_EybRdo https://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/07/01/facebook-not-feeling-friendly-with-nasdaq/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/ericsavitz/2012/09/04/facebook-sets-another-new-low-nyt-rips-cfo-ebersman/ mo torious On Oct 13, 30 Heisei, at 10:56 PM, mo torious wrote: M_DriversLicense (@onyx_project) 2/6/28 H, 12:51 PM i-am-motorious.tumblr.com/post/129742049… ⁦‪@AngelList‬⁩ ⁦‪@UBSf1‬⁩ ⁦‪@UBS‬⁩ frontinalispartners.com ⁦‪@Ford‬⁩ @LapoElkann_LE ⁦‪@Zurich‬⁩ ⁦‪@CreditSuisse‬⁩ pic.twitter.com/2pZqP9LAin

[cirrus-lily]

papa, come home - JEV

author : @cirrus-lily

pairing : jean-eric vergne + daughter (+ means a platonic pairing!)

other character(s) : the briefest mention of andré lotterer

genre : fluff ; one-shot ; father!jev

fandom : formula e - motorsport

warning(s) : none

word count : 1.57k

summary : all she wanted was to be with the most important man in her life a little more.

a/n : i was given the prompt “a man drives his car, a girl in the backseat” and when i got this prompt, i was talking to another friend about jeandre and somehow came up with this oneshot-type thing revolving around jev and his daughter. it’s a mess lmao enjoy i guess,,

“Are you excited to visit Uncle André today?” the man, who has stopped at a stoplight, turns around to ask the girl who is sat in the backseat.

“Yes! I haven’t seen him in so long,” the girl sighs.

André, one of the man’s colleagues and close friends, was in Paris - the place she called home – for some business matters, among other things. Not that it bothered her – she didn’t know why he was in Paris, she was just happy to see him.

In fact, she’s just happy to be with her papa today.

The electric car trundled along the Parisian streets, past the famous landmarks which gave her comfort. Sat in her booster seat, she leaned her head against the window, allowing the French murmurs on the radio to lull her into a light sleep.

Suddenly, the car jerks to a halt, jolting her awake as she is shoved forward by an invisible force. He mumbles some French under his breath, making the girl giggle as she knows he’s cursing about the car that had jam-braked in front of him.

“Ma petite fille, are you okay?” he looks through the rearview mirror, wanting to make sure the most important girl in the world to him was okay.

“Yes papa, I am okay,” she replies, a smile resting on her features, her eyes lighted up.

He spoke to her in English instead of French often, wanting her to be able to communicate with the outside world well when she grew up, strongly believing that it was an important skill to learn – but she would always be sa petite fille, his little girl.

The girl knew just how important she was to her papa – it showed in moments like this, where he would fuss over her when the smallest things happened. However, he was never home, and he always left when she told him to stay. She always wanted to travel with him, but papa asked her to stay for school. She would see him on the televison – mama would show her – driving fast cars, sometimes winning, sometimes losing.

Did he not want her around? Couldn’t he just stay at home and get someone else to drive that stupid car for him? All her classmates at school had their mama and papa around all the time, and her papa was never around. She just wanted to be with her papa, was it too much to ask?

Switching his vision from the wing mirrors, to the road in front of him, to the rearview mirrors, he peered at his daughter, who looked deep in thought. He always wondered what went on in that little brain of hers, how she felt, how she saw the world. It was something he would never understand, but would long to know.

And when you want to know, you ask.

“Ma petite fille, what are you thinking about?”

She paused. It was as if papa read her mind, that he knew she was thinking about him. Should she tell him? It would hurt him, she knew – but she wanted her papa to know what she felt, because he always told her how he felt, and she was taught to do the same.

“I was thinking how you are always travelling, driving the funny-looking cars around and around. How I always want to go with you, but you tell me no. I just want to spend more time with you. I just want papa to come home.”

She closes her eyes, waiting for the wrath of papa’s hurt, papa’s anger. She knew her papa was sometimes an impulsive and emotional man.

He sighs. He knew this conversation was going to take place sooner or later, but he didn’t realise it would be this soon. He knew as he had this conversation, his little girl would grow up, because he would need to tell her why he had to leave his heart behind in Paris week after week.

His whole life, his papa raised him to be truthful, to tell the truth. He knew hard truths had to be told, he knew that someday, he would have to tell her. All those years ago, he had promised himself when the time for this conversation came, he would tell her by himself, the truth from a father to his daughter. Maybe there was a reason it was today – staged so nicely in a car, on the way to meet a friend from work.

Maybe the time had come to tell her.

He pulled into the parking lot of the hotel where they were arranged to meet, unbuckling the seatbelt of his daughter and carrying her over, placing her into his lap.

“Ma petite fille, I’m going to tell you a story.”

She didn’t know what to expect. A story? She had expected a scolding, a talking-to. Then she saw something in papa’s eyes, and she knew it was an important story. She would listen to all the stories in the world he told her – but something told her this story was special.

“When papa was young, just like you, he fell in love with driving a little go-kart. It was fast, and whenever papa drove, he felt happy. He decided that he wanted to race cars for the rest of his life, because it would make him happy.”

She looked at him intently, because she knew it was just the beginning – this was the part of the story she knew.

“As papa kept racing, as papa grew up, he met people, and many of them became friends. One day, papa met mama. That was the day papa realised that racing could only make him happy – but the people he loved would make him the happiest man on earth.”

His smile was now so wide his eyes smiled along with him – the people he loved truly made him the happiest man alive.

“We talked about having kids – all the time. We wanted to have a little kid so badly, but only after papa stopped racing, so that I could spend all the time in the world with them.”

He paused, sighing. It was time to deliver the hardest truth he had ever needed to deliver, while his daughter looked at him with expectant eyes.

“One day, mama told papa she was pregnant. Papa was shocked – he didn’t know what to do. He couldn’t stop racing, because he needed the money to pay for everything, but he wanted to be there for the kid.”

“Was the little kid me?” she asks, looking up at him with a passive face. He was afraid to answer, afraid that the way she saw her papa would change forever.

“It was you, ma petite fille. Papa was afraid, he knew nothing about children, and he would be away all the time, but papa promised to be there as much as he could. When you were born, ma petite fille, I fell in love with you, and nothing else in the world makes me happier than spending time with you. Every time I leave, I feel like I am missing something inside me, just because I am not with you, but I force myself to go because I know I am doing it to make sure you can grow up with the best life possible. Every time I get in the car and drive, I think about you, ma petite fille. You are so important to me and papa loves you very much, okay?”

He pauses, trying to collect himself so that his daughter wouldn’t see him cry.

“Always remember that when I am away, you carry a part of me inside your heart, right there,” he points to her chest, “and papa always carries a small part of you inside of me. Every time I do well, it is because of you, always remember, ma petite fille.”

He sighs, having gotten the biggest secret off his chest, feeling the weight and lift off his back. The smile returning to his face, as he looked at the person that had stolen his heart when she left her mother’s womb all those years ago. No matter what she thought about him now, he would still love her with entire being, because that was his blood, the “thing” that he was the proudest of – above everything he had ever won driving a race car.

“Papa?”

“Hmm?”

“Je t'aime tellement, merci,” she beamed back at him, making him smile even wider in relief.

It took her this conversation to realise how much her papa loved her, so much, and he had sacrificed so much for her. She realised not just how much papa meant to her, but also how much she meant to him. She didn’t want to say it English because of the fear of messing it up, so the first thing that slipped through her lips was her native French.

“Ma petite fille, one day when papa is done driving race cars, when papa has done all he can, I’ll spend all my time in Paris with you, and you can show me everything about you, and everything I missed, and I’ll be with you forever, deal?”

“Only if you let me drive all your silly cars, deal?” she giggled.

He laughed his loud, bellowing laugh – it was these moments he cherished the most.

“Deal.”

translations:

- ma petite fille: my little girl

- sa petite fille: his little girl

- je t’aime tellement, merci: i love you so much, thank you

[mozillogames]

Microsoft Held You Softly At E3 2017

Microsoft’s Press Conference was arguably a lot more eagerly awaited than EA’s, which kicked off proceedings of E3 yesterday with their rather lack luster show, and it turned out to be a fairly strong showing from Microsoft. Phil Spencer proudly announced that they’d be showing 42 games at their show while constantly maintaining the smug grin that I now think might just be his normal face. However, the games weren’t exactly the big actor on the stage in this show.

Project Scorpio was finally going to be revealed with all the juicy details one might expect. Big numbers like 1172MHz and even bigger words like teraflops. All in all, Microsoft could have made up the numbers and figures as 90% of people will end up turning to the nearest person who actually knows what any of it means and look for a thumbs up or a thumbs down. Apparently with Project Scorpio it’s a thumbs up. But wait, do I mean Project Scorpio or do I mean Xbox One X, I think the X is for Xtreme. I hope the X is for Xtreme. I’m already calling an issue that only I will have to deal with, Xbox One X sounds a lot like Xbox One S, as someone who works in game retail this will confuse about 90% of mums and dads. Pray for me.

It’s odd to think that the big “reveal” of the Xbox One X can be glossed over so easily, but we’ve known all the information about it already, outside of the X, which is definitely for Xtreme. It’s just that everyone outside of the name and what it looked like was mostly known already. It looks like a grey Xbox One S.  Now the question on everyone’s teraflopped lips was how does it make games look? What better way to show how a game can look good than with a car game, things which traditionally always look unnaturally good.

It also wouldn’t be a car game reveal without an actual car. Hidden away in the weird space church that was the Microsoft Stage was an actual car. Someone somewhere looked on with more than a spooky building from an actual car being in the room. Phwoar. Kiss your dad for me, there’s an actual car in the room. Outside of that Forza Motorsport 7 is a game that exists with fake actual cars now with more weather effects than ever before, still, it’s not exactly Mario Kart.

In a more impressive display of the Xbox One X’s graphics we saw what could possibly be gameplay for Metro Exodus. It looked really quite nice, in a million shades of brown kind of way, although the lack of UI of any form begins to raise questions about whether or not it’s representative or not. I’ve never played a Metro game but the big mutant bear looked cool, so that’s always a plus.

This was when Phil Spencer strutted out to proudly announce they were taking the wind out of Ubisoft as the big space god voice made one of its many announcements. Assassin’s Creed Origins flew onto our screens and its set in Egypt! This was a massive reveal because no one knew it was set in Egypt, and haven’t known about it for literally months. By the way it’s been known for literally months. Gameplay to be shown, and sadly revealing that it still looks a lot like every other Assassin’s Creed game, except that it’s gone back to Black Flag, which is at least a step in the right direction. Where would we also be with a Ubisoft game without it including every game mechanic from every game they’ve ever released, now with eagle/drone.  Also the gameplay showed a lot of aspects that really began to turn me off. The combat still looks clunky and awkward and now there’s an equipment loot system and RPG leveling elements, because damage numbers were always a big part of Assassin’s Creed games.

One of the biggest announcements, while possibly reactionary, was that Player Unknown: Battleground will be coming to Xbox One, although let’s be honest, that bubble will have burst by the time it hits Xbox One in September or November, whichever one it was. Microsoft began to pick the pace up a little bit as they started showing a plethora of games. The quickest turn off to a game was with Black Desert, a game that looked interesting and cool at first, and hints of a Japanese/Korean Dragon’s Dogma, only to have it ruined by turning out to be an MMORPG. There were some really interesting indie games like The Last Night which had one of the best art directions of the entire show (EDIT: but is also made by GamerGate supporting developers who continue to say awful and outlandish things, I’ll give it a miss). There was CodeVein as well which looked like a Dark Souls-esque JRPG that could be silly fun as well as many MANY others that had my interest piqued, the main issue with a lot of them is that they will all be released on PC or even released on PS4 as well.

Cut to Sea of Thieves. Still looking oddly interesting but we’re still not entirely sure how the multiplayer actually works. Would I need to get the same 10 friends together each time I wanted to go to the seas like some complex D&D group or will it end up being more of an MMO experience in which who decides who is captain, are we all the captain. I’m the captain now?

Following on from pirates with their raping and pillaging, except not that, was an odd insert with Super Lucky Tales. It’s a cute platformer taken straight from the 90s, which parents won’t buy their kids because they look at the design and think “Well, my child can play 18 rated games really well, so this is probably too easy”, you think it outrageous, it’s an actual statement I’ve had said to me by a parent about Shovel Knight while I was at work. Either way, a pleasant surprise in the sea of 18 rated murder sprees. However this did then lead straight into Terry Crews shouting at you and confirming that Crackdown 3 does still exist, hooray. Also Cuphead finally has a release date, after several years of existing only in the ether.

The barrage of fun looking indie games continued as Microsoft burst into a full sprint to reveal their 42 games in a montage that gave enough time to each game that you might have read the title or even comprehended what was going on. Some notable games in the barrage of titles included Ooblets, which looks incredibly adorable and is some weird Harvest Moon Pokemon game, from what I can tell, as well as Tacoma which just looks kinda cool.

If it seems like I’m rushing through things here, blame Microsoft, they had 42 games in their show and sped through them with little time to spare. Phil Spencer finally revealed the secrets behind his trip to Japan, other than to get all the figurines he ever wanted, Dragonball FighterZ, because Zs are cool. It’s a fighting game by Arc System Works, so it looks astonishingly good and visually impressive, but you know, Dragonball was all Spencer could walk away with? Maybe he really likes Bulma, understandable really.

In an odd tripling for a paragraph, we also saw some more information about Shadow of War, or Shadow of Wardor as it should be called, which revealed that it is in fact a sequel to the last game, so expect more of that. Not something I’m really into, except the accents were 10/10 and there was a decent level of humour to be had with some characters, although this is countered by a man calling himself “The Machine” and shouting about revenge. Life is Strange, not just a follow up to my prior line, has a sequel coming out. Again, something that I’m fairly sure everyone knew about already, but you know, cool! Also Ori and the Blind Forest is going to have a sequel with Ori and the Will of the Wisp which looks set to continue having really depressing images of dead animals and parental figures that tragically die in front of your eyes like it’s Bambi.

Some of the final things in the show included a price for the Xbox One X, which will set you back $499 or £449, as well as backwards compatibility for Original Xbox games which is great, if your mum probably hasn’t sold them all in a car boot sale. Why release new games when people can just replay the ones they already own and feel like they’re getting a service. Xbox One X, it’s still a dumb name, I just hope the X is for Xtreme.

The show essentially wrapped up with more information on Bioware’s Anthem. This time they revealed more of the setting, the graphics and vague gameplay with a definitely scripted segment of gameplay that somehow made me less interested in the game, EA taking a page out of Ubisoft’s book. Giant creatures that look like they were ripped straight out of Horizon Zero Dawn, the setting of Anthem is still not entirely clear other than you jump down from the city and fly threw tubes and tunnels like you’re The Thunderbirds. It also turns out that it is probably just Destiny by Bioware, bit of a disappointment really on that one. Shotgunning aliens in the face can be fun and all, but a shotgun is also a little unimaginative.

Showing off a rather stunning design, however, the game did look visually impressive, filled with little bits and pieces with the suits of armour the play uses to kill the local wild life, such as multiple rockets launching from one’s shoulder. It’s a game to keep an eye on, for sure, but even with a “gameplay” trailer, I still feel like I know very little about the game or even how online it is, just like the pirate game I’ve already forgotten the name of. The awfully scripted conversations that didn’t at least once involve one friend saying to another “alright fuck face” suggests drop in and out multiplayer, but is it more like everyone’s just running around fucking pigs and sometimes you’ll meet up to do a quest? Who knows?

Overall the Microsoft press conference was alright, I am forgetting more and more of it as time passes though, which doesn’t exactly speak for any of the big announcements that were in the conference. In terms of games there was nothing ground breaking and new in announcement when it comes to AAA releases, a lot of it has already been leaked or spoken of before leaving the show feeling more like the show of follow ups than the show of industry breaking announcements. For the most part the 30 or more indie games that Microsoft blitzed through held my interest a lot more than most of the other titles shown and that’s because I’d not seen a lot, or anything, on most of them.

Microsoft may have put a lot of its eggs in one basket, that basket having a giant X on it for Xtreme, which appeals to a VERY small percentage of the market. There wasn’t a lot driving anyone to go out and buy an Xbox One X in November, or an Xbox One for that matter, it was a lot of assurances for those who already own one, but little attempts to win anyone over with new IPs or long missed titles, like Fable, making a return. Also, what the fuck is Mixer and why was it mentioned so often?  

[formulatrash]

I am a woman who is trying to find an In into motorsport - PR and comms, which everyone seems to want but we deal. Would you recommend staying away from it? Because I've read so many stories the last few weeks about how unsafe motorsport actually is for women. I don't want to stir anything up so feel free to delete or just answer very generically, but I've been wondering the last couple weeks and you seem like you'd have some thoughts there.Hope you'll have a nice Easter and people learn manners

I definitely wouldn’t warn anyone away from it, if you want to do it. The women in the industry do it because we love it and there is not job like it - every woman I know is willing to throw her entire effort, life, everything into working in motorsport and we do. And it’s rewarding, it’s brilliant, you meet amazing people - you go to amazing places, you do things you’d never believe.

Are there risks? Yes. Motorsport is dangerous; for everyone. The places you go, the amount of travel you do, the stresses you are under are all dangerous, they are all always going to be more risky than staying at home. Being in a sport where people risk they will get hurt, again, accepts that you may have to deal with that one day so it’s not all press conferences and planes, of course.

For people who experience the threat of sexual harassment or even violence; yes, there are unfortunately additional risks. Which should not be the case. We have come so far with safety in the vehicles but no distance at all has been travelled, in some ways, in terms of safety in the sport more broadly.

However, please don’t let that discourage you. It is changing. It is more accepted to see women in international roles, leadership roles, to see women travelling with the sport and as part of teams that oversee events. 

Motorsport is a long way behind and you will hear people say things that are so outdated it’s gobsmacking. I can’t pretend that it is a progressive environment or that those ideas are always welcome but there is much more acceptance of the idea that things not only should but need to change. Motorsport is slowly getting better about LGBT issues, moving away from a seamless boys’ club to something more accepting and 

I think what is happening this time is that the change is coming publicly and en masse. So you can’t say ‘ah well, motorsport is fine because one black person or woman or gay person made it so that’s our obligation over’ - the scrutiny is now on the fact that there is only ever one, compared to the number of posh, white, european men. 

If you come into the industry, you have to accept that right now, that change has not happened. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t come in, that you shouldn’t join people in pushing for it and in this moment when the sport is more open than it has been. I can’t pretend that it is fixed - or that you won’t face moments where you think “for fuck’s sake, what the hell am I doing this for” or that it will never be discouraging because to be honest, those will happen - whether that’s gender-based or just because good god it’s a frustrating world, sometimes.

But it is getting better. It’s easy to feel hopeless about it (and I spiralled a bit into that last night, sorry) but it’s improving and there are loads of good people in motorsport. Even the posh, white, european men. It is a weird, fucked up family - including the uncles you wish people would stop inviting to weddings or whatever - and people look out for each other. 

So please don’t be discouraged. It’s an industry like no other and yeah, it’s honestly pretty ludicrous at times, unfair at others and frequently makes you want to scream. But then when you get to actually work on what you love, it kind of makes all that go away.

Part profession, part addiction is probably a good description and we are all pathological about working in it. So long as you can reconcile yourself to that, you’ll be fine. 

[wristwatchjournal]

Watch Review: Casio Edifice Honda Racing Limited Edition

When considering purchasing a Japanese quartz watch under $500 many enthusiasts can quickly think of brands and sub-brands like Casio, G-shock, Seiko, Seiko 5, Prospex, Citizen, and maybe any fashion brand with a Japanese quartz movement, to broaden the landscape. But while reading my previous sentence, did you happen to think about Edifice and it’s collection of watches? If you did, bravo (silent golf clap), but if you didn’t I wouldn’t blame you as it’s always taken a back seat to G-Shock and it’s multi-platform marketing monster.

A lot like Liam Hemsworth. “Who?” you say.” Exactly. Liam’s a lot like Edifice, and his well-known brother, Chris Hemsworth (aka Thor, aka Tag Heuer Ambassador driving a Formula E race car) is akin to G-Shock. Sure, they come from the same pedigree, same DNA, have a similar appearance, and both are accomplished actors, but one’s just beefier and more relevant than the other.

If we’re keeping track, aBlogtoWatch hasn’t done an Edifice hands-on since the EQWT720DC-1A back in 2012, which was almost a decade ago and about how long it took for me to write out that model name. The G-shock regularly gets hands-on coverage and, based on our track record, we’ll probably have another article by the time this one goes live.

So without further ado, I present to you the Edifice Honda Racing Limited Edition. Casio’s third collaboration piece between Edifice and Honda Racing. While being a Type-R enthusiast (which I am) warrants reason for owning this watch, there are other reasons you should consider this “Liam Hemsworth” of Casios, even if it has a polarizing red, ridged strap.

The limited-edition model piggybacks off Casio’s newest ECB lineup, which is a great thing, as it has Bluetooth capability and shares the strong faceted case design elements. The ECB models’ Bluetooth functionality gets an upgrade with iOS/Android calendar sync, but the Honda Racing version has a clever trick up its sleeve with wrist detection Auto LED illumination. These two additional functions contained within the 5618 quartz module are under-marketed, as they have real-life applications versus many redundant and often ancillary functions inside the dials of other Edifice and G-shock models.

Exterior design characteristics remind me of the G-shock Aka Zonae with the red and gold accents. The gold accents are used to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Edifice brand, and Honda Racing’s red is used to highlight the number 20 on the bezel, as well as the logo and other dial elements. The strap is made from leather and has a double-ridge design with color-matched stitching reminiscent of the Bulgari Octo Maserati Mono-Retro straps, and is finished with a metal keeper etched with the Edifice and Honda logos.

The case is forged from steel and finished with a black ion coating, which is par for course based on recent trends for sport models, but I find it doesn’t do the case justice. Specifically, the black ion coating hides a lot of the interesting facets on the case and renders the watch a little too flat in real life. The design attributes incorporate some of our favorite watch shapes, such as an octagon bezel with understated bezel bolts at 9 and 3 o’clock, a long trapezoidal button guard on the left side, and multi-faceted guards flanking the pseudo-crown. A couple dimensions that make this watch extremely wearable is the overall height at 13mm and the stubby lugs, which protrude a total of 4.2mm from the case, allowing the straps to lay closer to your wrist without having to excessively curve the lugs downward.

A woven carbon-fiber dial is glossy with flat-brushed metal hour indices married to an analog/digital display. The slightly oblong and cut subdial at 7:30 displays the different modes, as well as doing triple-duty as a stopwatch minutes/hour hand, countdown timer, and calendar appointment start/end indicator. The digital LCD readout for all the functions is gold-hued to match the rest of the color scheme.

While the dial isn’t cluttered with multiple function hands, subdials, or sub-digital displays, it can at times seem busy due to visual elements that actually make it hard to read the time. This is in contrast to the marketing photos depicting a crisp, almost 3D like dial appearance. My observations were that the glossy reflective woven carbon fiber dial had a tendency to camouflage the brushed hour markers, making them disappear into the dial, and the reflective gold elements have a “black mirror polish” effect that also makes them blend in with the dial at certain angles. The watch is topped with a sapphire crystal with non-reflective coating, but I found the flat surface was a glare magnet and contributed to the washing out of contrast under the dial.

Fortunately, the legibility of the white accents are at their best when the dual LEDs illuminate the broad white hands, the highly reflective white printed hour markers on the chapter ring, and the backlit digital display. This watch’s execution of illumination is, by far, one of my favorites of all the Casios I have had a chance to try on, and the auto-illumination is reliable.

The auto-illumination time duration can be changed from 1.5 seconds or 3 seconds, which is activated and configured either through the watch directly or through the connected app. It’s activated when the wrist is turned past 15 degrees from the horizon. When making changes, I preferred using the app because trying to change this setting through the phone required over 15 presses of the mode button after you had gotten it into adjustment mode. The downside of this fantastic dual LED illumination is that it may blind you at night when checking the time mid-sleep; yes, I wear my watches to bed…I know, “weirdo.”

Bluetooth syncing allows for all the regular time adjustments but also syncs to your phone’s calendar appointments making forgotten meetings almost impossible. With the hourly signal “beep” turned on and my calendar synced, it would give me a modulating beep whenever I had an appointment coming up and start the countdown till meeting start, after which the watch will countdown the time allotted for the meeting and then reset automatically to the next calendar event, starting the countdown process again. After using it a few times, especially days with multiple appointments, it started to look like a digital calendar-event retrograde complication, if ever there was a thing,

I might be inclined to go for the stainless steel version with the rubber strap, as it makes more sense for a sports watch and because a high-contrast black watch with a Honda Racing red strap isn’t for everyone. That said, compared to a G-Shock, it’s way more subdued, has a much more svelte footprint, and is more daily-wear appropriate with proper EDC functions.

While we’re on the subject of svelte and comfortable, I want to emphasize the finish of the buckle, as it’s one of the nicest-feeling on the wrist and the leather strap should last longer due to Casio’s detail in giving the buckle an angled bend and for rounding off the inside of the buckle where the strap usually folds over itself to release the horn. In fact, I liked the feel of the leather strap so much I decided to take a quick look at the Edifice website and found another model with the same lug design with a brown leather strap, which could look nice accented against the gold and black, for $84.00! This basically screams, “Buy the strap, get a free watch head.”

This watch has a lot of technology built into it, yet the dial is one of the more subdued within the Edifice brand. Nonetheless, it packs digital functions that can be used daily and keeps you connected to larger events within your day. I personally ended up using the calendar sync, auto-illumination, hand shift, timer, and hour signal the most. I would have used the alarm function more often had it allowed me to set alarms on separate days versus a global setting for every day.

While the G-shock brand may have Supreme-like inflated prices due to its street-cred hype (which isn’t to say it’s not warranted, at times), the Edifice line comes in at a reasonable value for having as much, if not more, technology and features, much like Vans. So, when you’re over the A-lister hype and sick of Chris in all his G-Shock, Shock Resistant Thor bravado, slap on a nice everyday Liam for a well-balanced, Gale Hawthorne digital watch experience that only comes with “Intelligence and Speed,” topped with a dollop of Hunger Games.

The Casio Edifice Honda Racing Limited Edition is priced at $330. You can learn more about this watch and other Edifice models at edifice.casio.com.

Necessary Data: >Brand: Casio >Model: Edifice Honda Racing Limited Edition >Price: $330USD >Size: 51mm tall lug-to-lug, 48.8mm-wide case-to-crown, 13mm-thick >When reviewer would personally wear it: Motoring events and everyday wear. No high-board diving and scuba diving, as its only good for 10 bar. >Friend we’d recommend it to first: Value-conscious friend interested in the functions and pragmatism of a G-Shock but turned off by the looks. Also an enthusiast of the following in any combination: Honda (Mugen, Type-R, HRC), motorsports, stealthy sports watches, and someone with a lot of calendar appointments. >Best characteristic of watch: Comfortable and stylish case. Straight forward app with a nice user interface and experience. >Worst characteristic of watch: “16mm” proprietary strap and the fact that there’s a Tom’s Racing LE version we can’t get in the states.

The post Watch Review: Casio Edifice Honda Racing Limited Edition appeared first on Wristwatch Journal.

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[westplainsspeedway]

What Makes the Perfect Sports Car?

When Grassroots Motorsports arrived the scene back when it was known as magazine–occasions were being faced by that the sports car world. Brands such as Triumph MG and Austin-Healey had left our beaches, although Alfa Romeo’s Spider was a carryover from years before. Even the Corvette was new, yet bloated. The Porsche 911 faced an uncertain future.

Subsequently came the Mazda Miata. This tiny roadster revived the flat-lining sports car market, and it had been the real deal, also: rear-drive chassis, ready engine, five-speed gearbox, wonderful looks along with also a fold-down top. It did not cost a mint. Twenty-five years following its launch, the Miata is a cornerstone of the scene.

Here is what we’ve heard about the Miata within its life: This item is anvil-tough and will happily deliver years of support –which support may fluctuate wildly. You use it to bring or just are able to race you.

Individuals will start to reestablish those cases, Should they have not already. The Miata is the creation’s MGB.

The Miata is known by norman Garrett outside and indoors. He functioned as the design engineer — that the man responsible of that project for positioning of the bits, in order to speak.

A life of sports automobile ownership, also that engineering level that was, aided Norman turn sports automobile concept. And, yes, a Miata is owned by him. –David S. Wallens

1. Road Course Skills We all know that the Miata ushered in the golden era of sport cars of today. However, what is a sports car?

That query is a method to begin a dialogue. Passions will dash, expletives will be exchanged, and friendships might be taxed as remarks come to bear with this matter.

The word itself suggests that these cars will take part in some type of sport. A sports car might be described as a car, since sports incorporate a part.

No arguments up to now.

As part of this club, muscle vehicle owners feel now. Drag racing is contest? Not too fast.

Here is our initial stumbling block: Subjectively, rivalry as it pertains to sports cars ought to incorporate left- and right-hand turns, with a couple straights thrown into allow the brakes cool.

Europeans invented the expression in the context of Grand Prix racing on circuits that were expansive — street racing. Sports automobiles were cars that may compete against one another, at a certain degree, on street courses much like those utilized by the best racing cars of their day throughout post-WWI Europe.

An enthusiast marketplace was created, and automobiles started to emerge which were quicker lighter, occasionally fundamental, and accessible to the everyman. Following WWII ended soldiers brought together with the own scalp of Hitler with them. The insect caught on in America.

All this was some Detroit ad guys had a three-martini lunch and maintained the first Thunderbird as a “sports car” Dilution of this idea started allow it to be mentioned.

A sports car started in stock form — as a sort of automobile acceptable for street racing — with or without alteration. This definition works well for its 1949 MG TC that, in comparison with the hefty sedans of this afternoon, was a comparatively athletic automobile that out-cornered virtually everything else in the street. Additionally, it works nicely to get a 2015 Porsche 911, that may, in stock form, operate warm laps daily with no race track in the entire world without turning itself into a molten heap of expensive steel and rubber.

2. Charisma Competition breeds enthusiasm, and that is where sports automobiles have in arrangement to us. No 12-year-old child sets a picture of a Prius because her or his notebook background; it is likely to be a Ferrari, a Lamborghini, a Audi R8 or any other attractive, high performance, worthy-of-passion automobile metering proudly through the monitor.

Something stirs. My son explained it another night when we had been cruising about in his ’95 Miata–well lowered to autocross spec. “Dad,” he stated, “it fails. Because it moves by each time I pass a child inside this vehicle, he stares. It fails to prevent them in their tracks” I responded the exact identical way for a boy, drooling over new Austin-Healey 3000s or even Jaguar XKEs pushed by joyful, smiling guys in our area on hot days.

A sports car has to be appropriate for contest and evoke fire. We are having a discussion up to now. Today allow me to roll my sleeves up and get started getting blunt.

3. Rear-Wheel Drive Sports cars need to be push. There, I said it.

I push and am able to talk with some authority as an automobile packaging engineer who drive isn’t picked for operation — unless you reside in the Alps. Front-wheel-drive packs are preferred because a) they are less costly to fabricate, and b) since they maximize interior room for passengers.

Even though front-wheel-drive automobiles felt precisely the same as rear wheel- drive cars at a 0.90gram turn, this could be accurate. Obviously, front-wheel-drive automobiles surely do not induce or sense or handle exactly the exact same as rear-wheel-drive automobiles, along with also the physics of why would not alter.

I must request the all-wheel- force proponents stay quiet. You drive mutants — enviously and quite quickly mutants that are fast, however, mutants a different day and you’ll be discussed by us. This is all about sports cars that are conventional.

4. Two Seats Sports cars need to be two-seaters. Three is a crowd: You can have a navigator/cop-spotter along with a driver / friend/skilled mechanic. No fat is permitted.

The purpose here would be to be nimble and fast. Four chairs signify and sports automobiles have functionality as their aim.

I maintain this an integer-based debate, and I rounded down: ” A Porsche 911 of every year has 2.7 chairs in the top, therefore it qualifies as a two-seat sports car to me personally. No adult state it has seats that are back and could sit at the row of a 911.

I’ve been packed into those pockets for heaps of hours that were accumulative in my personal own life for the pleasure of having to ride in these cars that were wonderful. I had to consider the annoyance of this position contrary to the delight of being at a 911 speed. Passion won out, plus I have not been defeated. Therefore that the 911 has a bye in this circumstance.

Even the Porsche 944 and 928 possess 2.9 chairs in their best days, but they are also sports automobiles that almost fall in the GT class. Porsche uses chairs to evade taxation legislation that are German therefore that their heart is in the ideal location.

We are becoming a grey area, but this is the Mazda RX-7 that is third generation never arrived with. Seats in sports automobiles are similar to the apples women of Adam: confusion is caused by them.

5. A Stick Shift Sports cars should have manual transmissions. Be aware that lots of the brand newest “shiftable automatics” actually serve as automatic clutches, therefore there might be an argument for their addition. (They do change faster.) Nonetheless, in my thoughts, automatics (and auto-clutches) are unnecessary and costly complications.

I would like to rev-match myself, and heel-and-toe, thank you very much better. ECU-controlled transmission switching to get a motorist is similar to Auto-Tune to get a singer: For those who do not have the ability, you should not possess the mic (or steering wheel) on your hand at the first location.

The debate: they will, and Automatic transmissions cannot forecast the future. Case in point: I do not need the automatic altering me whenever I am barrelling to knock against the rev limiter for 3 cycles until I lift and then hit the brakes. Plus it will, since it’s idiotic and does not read my thoughts.

They do not belong into a sports car, although I have noticed automatics come a very long way by the slush boxes of the’60s. Sports cars need to have a stick by which to row those gears.

6. Less Weight Sports cars have to be lightweight. Weight taxes the motor, but more significantly a car’s ability. It is pure physics: It requires considerably more lively ability to get a chassis–by the tires into the construction –to withstand the centrifugal power of 1.5 plenty of mass vs 1.0 ton of mass.

Lotus founder Colin Chapman understood that better than anybody. His renowned recipe for pace had been “Simplify, then add lightness.”

The Miata endeavor, in the start, was called our moderate Weight Sports job. Lighter and simpler makes for much improved handling and cornering–attributes that are amazingly distinct.

Along such lines, sports automobiles should have weight reduction. With managing in mind they need to be equipped. Weight reduction along with Even a 50/50 front-to-rear is just one of those holy grails of sport car design, along with also the choices which impact this result at the beginning of any job are made by the packing engineer.

The powertrain, gas tank and passengers — and a bunch of additional components of a sports car –should be set out. Place at the wrong areas, and you will not ever earn a car work. You cannot tune out weight reduction that is bad. The Porsche 911 is the exclusion –decades of development and back tires also have trumped its equilibrium that is inadequate.

The Lotus Elan is not the same stoy. Among the most memorable quotations in Road & Track magazine has been composed in their own inspection of the automobile, also a nose-heavy, front-wheel-drive misfit in the very early’90s:”Lotus might have instructed this pig to dancing, however in the conclusion of the afternoon, they have abandoned you dance with a pig” Since there’s just so much that you can do as soon as you place parts it managed. Balance is still now king.

7. Stunning Looks Sports cars must be appealing –even the more amazing. People find it simpler to have enthusiasm for something and also are shallow.

Italy has ever known that. Others. There is a beauty even into the simplest such as MG Midget and the Lotus 7.

Some machines also have played wrong way. Most of us understand well-styled “sports” cars which don’t actually fulfil their promises. But I place Corvettes, the dearly departed Solstice that the Saturn Sky, along with its own cousin.

Beauty strains fire at some amounts that are very basic, however it does not offset core flaws. Remembering my house nation’s motto: “Esse quam videri.” Look this up.

8. A View of the Sky Sports cars need to have a top. Notice the term “should.” The Lotus Exige, the Corvette Z06, the Ferrari 308–they are all amazing sports automobiles, but a convertible (or even targa) top consistently makes them chassis rigidity notwithstanding.

When the Miata were available Picture. Imagine if the Jaguar or even TR6 XKE had roofs that are stiff? Less fire.

It is not a fatal flaw when the shirt is scraped on, but let us face it that Roadsters are more fun, and also sports cars should be about entertaining. Debate: Convertibles allow you to seem cool.

9. Enough Power In addition to handling, a sports vehicle ought to have an engine using a book of electricity. Observe that I didn’t state a great deal of electricity.

The ancestors of the sports cars were so slow with some standard: a MG isn’t violate. The same is true for any Triumph.

What’s necessary is that a “good enough” power-to-weight ratio so that the car can escape its way. The Porsche 911 had so or just 18 lbs per horsepower. All time, the MGB’s sports car, had a ratio of 24:1. (We have to live in good times, since now low-dollar econoboxes could conquer a 24:1 ratio) In reviewing sports automobiles, we came up to the best with the dining table.

10. Enough Torque More significant than the horsepower–that covers top rate –can be more. Back when we began the Miata job, we needed to specify precisely exactly what a sports vehicle had been first before the line was drawn by us. 1 question which came up was, “What automobiles are being revived by fans?”

Was full. They felt fantastic to push, although these cars were the fastest or strongest. I really like floors the gas pedal onto a ’67 Pontiac GTO. Forcing one round is a small chore, although it is a terrific way to recharge your testosterone.

There is in almost any equipment about any corner A Sprite really a hoot, irrespective of position, and that’s what a sports car is about. There’s a saying that individuals will not remember half of everything you can do, of what you state none, however, 100 percent of the way you make them feel. Sports cars make you feel something after they are driven by you. And making them more memorable.

Can we agree that there is a sports car a lightweight two-seat convertible having fantastic handling, great looks and possible for street racing? Make mine red.

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