F1 drivers do come from another planet

It's been over ten years since I first wiggled my distinctly non-F1 frame into the tight confines of the carbon fibre tub of a Formula 1 car. Making the experience even more unforgettable was the date. I flew out from India on September 11, 2001, the day the Twin Towers were bombed. Since 9/11,

the world has changed, but a Formula 1 car still continues to be the ultimate machine on four wheels.

I can't remember when I've shouted a more emphatic "YES!" to what was undoubtedly the best offer I had ever received in my motoring life. It all happened so fast - Lucy Lervis circuit, three hours south of Paris, 8:30am, two Larrouse LH 94s powered by 700bhp, 3.5-litre Cosworth V8s waiting in the small pit area. Our very French instructor threw some stats at us - 100kph in 2.4sec, 200kph in five, a 320 kph top speed. And this is in 2001.

I remember slipping into the Larrouse and finding the cockpit not as claustrophobic as I'd feared. Mechanics strapped me in with a six-point harness and clicked the 'half' steering wheel into place. Back then, paddle shifters weren't as common as they are now, and I had to remind myself that 'right' was to shift up gears and 'left' was to go down.

In my first 10 laps, it was difficult not to get overwhelmed by the situation. I was nudging 280 kph and it was difficult to keep my head straight. After 20 laps, pummelled by the g-forces, I was panting so hard that my visor misted up. By the end of the day I don't thing must have gone beyond 50 percent of the car's capability. Part of the reason I couldn't push further is because I just wasn't fit enough.

In 2008, I was back in France to drive the quickest breed of cars on the planet. I was at Magny Cours for my second tryst with a ground-bound ballistic missile and had at my disposal a Williams FW21 and a Benetton B198 once piloted by champions like Ralf Schumacher and Giancarlo Fisichella. And this time, there's an H Sorabjee behind the wheel. I relived the ritual of donning race gear and remembered to choose boots one size small; it's a good way to shrink your feet to slip them into the tiny pedal box.

Ignition on, foot off the throttle, starter pressed, the FW21's V10 bursts into life. Revs raised to 6,000rpm, I pull the right paddle to engage second gear (first is blanked off in this case). My foot is beginning to ache against the incredibly hard clutch which I slowly ease out. I feel it bite and let the last millimetre out a bit too quickly. When I leave the pit lane, I flex my right foot and the acceleration is so violent I feel like I've been shot out of a cannon.

Corners that could be taken absolutely flat out, I was braking and downshifting for. And though I thought I was going at an insane pace, the on-board video footage made me look like I was driving with the speed-limiter on. True, you acclimatise quickly to the sheer speed these cars are capable of, but only up to a point. To put it in perspective, if a genie granted me a wish and put me on the grid (on pole, please) the whole field would pass me in just four laps!

Yes, F1 drivers do come from another planet. Narain Karthikeyan, I salute you!

Source http://www.hindustantimes.com/sports-news/sportcolumns/F1-drivers-do-come-from-another-planet/Article1-757833.aspx

Force Open Day On Saturday

Northamptonshire Police is preparing to dispel the myths and mysteries around its work by holding an open day.

The open day will take place on Saturday 30 July, from 11am to 4pm, at Wootton Hall Park. The free event is an opportunity to find out more about the work of Northamptonshire Police and will include live demonstrations from the police dogs, firearms and petrol bombing teams.

There will also be several stands and displays offering free bicycle security marking, crime prevention information, help with internet security, an insight into a day in the life of the force control room, Taser demonstrations and much more.

Visitors will also be able to meet their local officers and see the police helicopter in action. For the aspiring young detective, special mission packs will be handed out to complete. There will also be face painting, a bouncy castle, live music and refreshments available to buy.

The time-table for the day is:

11am: Official opening

11.30am: Petrol bombing demo on public order site

12.00pm: Armed response vehicle and dogs demo in central arena

12.30pm: Petrol bombing demo

1pm: Armed response vehicle and dogs demo

1.30pm: Petrol bombing demo

2pm: Armed response vehicle and dogs demo

3pm: Angels Share performance (local band)

4pm: Close

Superintendent Richard James said: “The open day is the perfect opportunity to come along and see the work of Northamptonshire Police in action. We have planned the day to include something for all ages so would encourage people to bring along their family and friends. To see all the stands and displays we would recommend a two-hour visit time, arriving for 11am, 12pm or 1pm as the live demonstrations will be repeated throughout the day.”

For more information visit www.northants.police.uk or www.facebook.com/northantspolice

Source http://www.aboutmyarea.co.uk/Northamptonshire/Towcester/NN12/News/Whats-On/202291-Force-Open-Day-On-Saturday

Taser used on man after community service lunch break

A man doing court-ordered community service at the county government building last week was arrested after something he smoked while on lunch break allegedly made him belligerent.

According to reports, Thaddeus Alfred Henderson, 24, of Decatur, reported to the Walton County Government Building on April 1 to do court-ordered community service as part of his sentencing for a possession of marijuana charge. When he returned from a lunch break, Henderson allegedly appeared to be on drugs, with slurred speech, and he allegedly became combative with the program supervisor. Deputies at the government building were called to assist in removing Henderson from the facility.

“He was asked to leave and became combative with the deputies,” Walton County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Bruce Wright said. “A struggle ensued and a Taser was deployed to get him into custody to prevent him from hurting others or himself. He continued to be combative as deputies placed him in a patrol car and later a Taser was again used on him during the booking process.”

According to reports, another person doing community service the same day went to lunch with Henderson and appeared to be under the influence. When asked if he was on drugs, the man told deputies it was store-bought herbs and plants legally purchased at a gas station. According to reports, the product described was the new synthetic marijuana recently outlawed.

Henderson has been charged with disorderly conduct, obstruction of an officer and with a probation violation. No other charges were filed in the incident.

Source http://waltontribune.com/news/article_7a0c7d3a-6205-11e0-b452-001cc4c03286.html

Gang member sentenced for string of violent video game store robberies

A judge Friday sentenced the last of three gang members convicted of carrying out a violent string of robberies targeting video game stores - including ones in West Covina and Baldwin Park - to state prison.

Gregory Todd, 23, of Los Angeles received a sentence of 20 years and eight months, having pleaded no contest to three counts of robbery, along with special gang and gun allegations, Los Angeles County District Attorney's officials said in a written statement.

Guns, stun guns, zip-ties and duct tape were the tools of this robbery crew, who are all members of the Family Swan Bloods street gang, Los Angeles County District Attorney's officials said in a written statement.

"More than a dozen victims were bound, stunned with a taser and terrorized at gunpoint," according to the D.A.'s statement.

Pomona Superior Court Judge Mike Camacho sentenced co-defendants Thomas Stringer Jr., 24, of Los Angeles and Jimmy McCallum, 20, of Carson, on March 15, officials said. They each received seven consecutive life terms in prison, and will not be eligible for parole for more than 150 years, after being convicted of charges including robbery and kidnapping, as well as special gang and gun allegations.

The spree of robberies, which targeted Gamestop video game stores, were, "very well organized crimes," Deputy District Attorney Lalit Kundani said.

The Gamestop robberies took place in Baldwin Park and West Covina on Sept. 16, 2009, in Los Angeles on Sept. 11,

2009, in Lynwood on Sept. 8, 2009 and in Tarzana on July 25, 2009, he said.

In each case, employees were forced into a back room and bound with tape or zip-ties, the prosecutor said. The robbers then removed the surveillance camera systems from the businesses before leaving.

In the Lynwood robbery, officias added, two employees were shocked with a stun gun before being bound and robbed.

Todd, Stringer and McCallum were arrested by West Covina police officers shortly after the heist in their city, Kundani said

A witness reported seeing a suspicious van parked at an apartment complex shortly after the West Covina robbery, he said, with several men transferring large bags from the van to another vehicle.

The van was abandoned and the second vehicle was gone by the time officers arrived, but they found and arrested Todd, Stringer and McCallum on foot in the area, Kundani said.

Continued investigation into the robberies led investigators and prosecutors to build a case against five other members of various Los Angeles-based street gangs in connection with the Gamestop robberies, as well as at least eight additional robberies in Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties, Kundani said.

A 37-count felony indictment was filed against the five new defendants in May, officials said, and they're due in Pomona Superior Court April 8 for a pretrial conference.

Source http://www.sgvtribune.com/news/ci_17700618

Phaser Control's Weird Geometry

“Build a quality studio, fill the place with outstanding musicians, and the market will come to you.” This formula, hopes Jim Austin, will spell success for a new business venture he owns with Buckfast Superbee guitarist Timothy Joseph. The two entrepreneurs have put the finishing touches on a Mission Gorge–area recording studio they call Phaser Control.

Phaser Control is part of Studio 350, a complex of 17 band practice rooms that opened last year. Able to comfortably house a five- or six-piece band, the main studio is an exercise in weird geometry. The ceiling curves up, and the walls meet at funhouse angles. It smells like new wood. The heavy studio doors feel like airlocks on a space craft. Inside, the very atmosphere is different. The studio cost a small fortune to build, but Austin, who owns a guest ranch in Pioneertown and plays upright bass in Big Blue Tractor and Brawley, won’t say how much.

“The numbers didn’t scare me,” he says, “as long as it was gonna be done right.”

To that end, he and Joseph hired Rod Gervais, a Connecticut-based audio designer and the author of Home Recording Studio: Build it Like the Pros. Gervais, says Austin, was a hard-ass about details. But, how the room would actually sound at the end of the six-month build was anybody’s guess. “Gervais said you can’t really tell if the room is going to work until you hear the first recording,” says Joseph. So, does it work? Roland Ware thinks yes.

“I’m amped at the tones we were able to find in there.” Ware is a veteran record producer, owns Rdub Recordings, and was the first to record a complete project at Phaser Control.

For now Phaser Control is direct to digital. But first, vintage microphones funnel tones through the 1974 electronics of a Soundcraft 8000 mixing console that spent a decade at the Belly Up Tavern before it was brought out of storage and refurbished. The ancient electronics in the console, says Joseph, enhance the raw sound.

For now, most of the paid recording business is filtering into the studio via the musicians who rent the practice rooms. Joseph says they get half off when they book recording time. Although he doesn’t want to drop names, he says major music-business players who have seen Phaser Control have also shown interest in booking. But is it profitable? No, not yet. Joseph calls it a labor of love for now.

“We don’t have to have the studio pumping all the time as a part of our business model,” says Jim Austin. “The rentals pay the bills.”

Source http://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2011/mar/16/blurt-phaser-control/

NASCAR changing rules to slow field

Defending Daytona 500 winner Jamie McMurray needed just one word to describe the latest style of NASCAR Sprint Cup racing at the site of his biggest victory:

Weird.

"I don't think the racing in the Shootout was bad by any means," McMurray said Wednesday, referring to the Budweiser Shootout on Saturday night at Daytona International Speedway.

"It was weird because it wasn't the same racing that we have had at Daytona and Talladega for the last 10 years. I think that if we had had that kind of racing for the last 10 years and then we had a 43-car pack - like what we are used to - then everybody would have said that was weird."

Drivers, for the most part, would cautiously agree with McMurray's assessment of the racing. Fans differ, however, judging from many complaints on radio call-in shows and online posts.

In recent years, the field would stick together, two abreast and 20 rows deep, as air rushing over the cars increased the speed of them all on NASCAR's longest and fastest tracks, Daytona and Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama.

But when this SpeedWeeks arrived, they paired up.

New asphalt with plenty of grip allowed competitors to drive all the way around the track without ever lifting off the throttle. Cars would stick together in nose-to-tail tandems - "almost like a pressure-locked seal," Denny Hamlin said - running some 20 mph faster than a single car or those in larger groups.

"Is it good or bad? I don't know," said Jimmie Johnson, the five-time defending Cup champion and 2006 Daytona 500 winner.

"I can say it was fun and interesting because there was something new. It was fun for the guys in the Shootout to try and find something before your competitors did."

But it wasn't so much fun Wednesday for pole-winner Dale Earnhardt Jr., whose crash in practice provided a textbook example of what can go wrong.

Earnhardt was pushing Johnson when Johnson had to slow to avoid a pack of significantly slower cars in his path. Martin Truex Jr. ran into Earnhardt and spun him into the inside wall.

Since the Shootout, NASCAR has implemented changes to its regulations in an attempt to make it more difficult to pair up and also to cut top speeds, which have surpassed 206 mph in the Shootout and practice beforehand.

The sanctioning body announced Sunday it would reduce the maximum size of radiator openings and it mandated a valve that will open at a predetermined level to release pressure from the radiators. Essentially, NASCAR made it harder for one car to push another without overheating.

"Kevin Harvick pushed me for 25 laps the other night and did not have a problem with heating," Jeff Burton said. "We knew he could do that but I don't think (NASCAR) knew he could do that. Now they know."

A typical push Wednesday lasted two or three laps. Driver pairs spent much of the two hourlong sessions working on swapping positions while losing as little speed as possible.

What you aren't likely to see are many three-car packs.

"For one, the guy in the middle would be scared out of his mind," Hamlin said. "He can't see in front of him and he's getting pushed from behind."

Before practice, NASCAR also reduced the size of the holes in the restrictor plates used to control speeds. The change of 1/64th of an inch was worth about 10 horsepower, which dropped the speeds to 200 mph.

"These cars go airborne," Johnson said. "Even if we are bashed for being a boring race, we cannot have cars in the grandstands or injuring people or up in the fence."

The change also resulted in a drop of about 100 rpm, which should reduce the likelihood of engine failures, Sprint Cup competition director John Darby said.

But it also may have had unintended consequences because of all the jockeying.

"It's probably made it more dangerous," said Matt Kenseth, the 2009 Daytona 500 winner from Cambridge, Wis. "Now when you switch, you lose about 2 seconds (over a lap); now you both slow down and the train of two catching you is catching two cars side by side instead of two cars nose to tail.

"You're getting shoved from behind so hard you can't stop. Well, two guys were trying to switch (in practice), and I had to split them and go right up the middle of them."

Some of the drivers have experience with the new conditions from the Shootout, but others didn't get their first taste until Wednesday.

"I don't think even Thursday in the Duels will tell us a good theory on what's going to happen," said Travis Kvapil, a native of Janesville, Wis., who was among the interested spectators Saturday. "It's only 20 guys out there (in each race). So it's really going to take to Sunday to figure it out."

Source http://www.jsonline.com/sports/autoracing/116371104.html

Astrology: Your week ahead

FIND out what the stars have mapped out for your week ahead.

ARIES Mar 21 - Apr 20

Your Stars are looking fabulous this week as your ruler Mars aligns with Saturn in your Love Zone and abundant Venus meets Pluto in your Work Zone. Put all that together and you have all that it takes for an excellent week both in your personal and professional life. Personally, the hard work you've put in should start to pay off. At work, there could be a cash bonus. Find out more. Call Yasmin on 1900 ZODIAC (1900 963 422).

TAURUS Apr 21 - May 21

Your ruler Venus meets the Dark Lord of the Underworld this week. And if you think that sounds exciting and a little bit mysterious, you're right. All your relationships can have a bit of an edge now. Whether you're committed or just fooling around, all your relationships can go that little bit deeper. An overseas person or job opportunity will be headline news for some Taureans. Call 1900 ZODIAC (1900 963 422) for more info.

GEMINI May 22 - June 22

You should start the week in a positive frame of mind as Mercury, meets Jupiter, the planet of good luck and positive thinking. This is fab news because we attract better things into our lives when we focus on the positive. It's all about the Law of Attraction. What are you attracting? Meanwhile your sex life is also looking good too, thanks to a Venus/Pluto connection. For more info on that, call 1900 ZODIAC (1900 963 422).

CANCER Jun 23 - Jul 23

Having Pluto in your Love Zone is a mixed blessing. It's a powerful energy – your love life can be passionate to the point of being overwhelming! Single? Pluto can mean you come across as so intense that potential partners take fright! But overall, it's an incredible cycle to be enjoying and Venus in your Love Zone now too makes it even more of a potentially very loving time for Cancerians. Call 1900 ZODIAC (1900 963 422) for more info.

LEO Jul 24 - Aug 23

Hard work you've put into communicating better with the people should start pay off now. Notice where you seem to be getting on better with someone and pat yourself on the back for the efforts you've made. Leos who've had problems keeping their thoughts positive should try harder. Positive thinking will change your life because what you expect is generally what you get. Strange but true. Call 1900 ZODIAC (1900 963 422) for Venus news.

VIRGO Aug 24 - Sep 23

Even Virgos who feel like they've had no luck when it comes to money over the past few months should start to see the light at the end of the tunnel now. If you were to look on the bright side where your finances are concerned, what would you see? Count your blessing! Mercury in your House of Work is linking harmoniously to Jupiter in your Money Zone. It all adds up to good new re cash. For some love news, call 1900 ZODIAC (1900 963 422).

LIBRA Sep 24 - Oct 23

Venus is about to link to the planet of passion and power, Pluto, which is massive news for you. If your life is already super-intense, you can expect even more fireworks. Librans involved in an already-passionate relationship can expect to see stars! And singles could meet someone new. Hint: take care you don't get entangled with someone who's bossy to the point of being controlling! Call 1900 ZODIAC (1900 963 422) for home-related news.

SCORPIO Oct 24 - Nov 22

Your planet Pluto is getting ravished by the planet of love, Venus, this week, so there's a good chance you could be ravished too. Or at least feel strongly in the mood to ravish someone! (If that's the case, careful who you lavish with your affections!) Scorps wanting to send a love letter or sexy SMS have amazing stars. Careful not to get yourself arrested! Your words are on fire! Call 1900 ZODIAC (1900 963 422) for more info.

SAGITTARIUS Nov 23 - Dec 21

How's your financial situation? With Pluto stationed in your money box right now, you need to purge your outgoings of all non-essentials. You also need to set a little something aside for charity (which you give out comes back) and you need to believe that you can be financially blessed! This is a very good week to start to work on your financial life. What do you want, financially? Call Yasmin on 1900 ZODIAC (1900 963 422) for more info.

CAPRICORN Dec 22 - Jan 20

This is one of those potentially amazing weeks, thanks to Pluto in your sign. You could find that you can feel the love around you, for some, the heavens are going to be raining cash and for others, one relationship is going to be so powerful that it somehow transforms your life. No kidding. At the very least, you need to stop working so hard for five minutes and tune into your feelings. Call 1900 ZODIAC (1900 963 422) for more info.

AQUARIUS Jan 21 - Feb 19

You should start to feel like you're really getting somewhere this week. And if you're working hard on something and feeling like a mouse on a treadmill, don't give up. It could be now that you start to really get some traction, so to speak. This applies in your whole life but in particular re study, publishing, travel and the Great Cosmic Quest. Lovewise, you may feel you've met your soulmate. Call 1900 ZODIAC (1900 963 422) for more info.

PISCES Feb 20 - Mar 20

Listen to your inner voice this week. This is different from listening to your fears! It's all about taking some time out to hear what your Inner Self is saying to you – it definitely knows best. How? Try meditating, or walking somewhere in nature – and letting your thoughts unfold. You're definitely in a position to learn something amazing if you listen to your intuition. Want to turn a friend into a lover? Call 1900 ZODIAC (1900 963 422).

Source http://www.heraldsun.com.au/ipad/astrology-your-week-ahead/story-fn6bfkm6-1226000785688