October 22, 2007

The Everything2 Podcast, Season 2, Episode 11

Dedicated to The Debutante, who had to do this six times for me (and my hardware, and my software) to finally get my act together.

Nodes:

• Hatless, by Webster 1913, read by Sam512
• The Poet and The Worm, by Simulacron3
• What do moths do during the day?, by Speedo, read by his excellency Lord_Brawl
• Interview with The Debutante (no, really!)
• I dedicate all my love to your hot inner beauty, by ToasterLeavings, read by Creases.

Whoever identifies the three movies featured in this show first, gets a cool ItaloDisco CD sent from Kiwiana. How's that for incentive?

These things just get better and better. Direct download at http://e2podcast.spunkotronic.com/e2Podcast211.mp3. Itunes subscriber will get it automatically.

H.

STOP THE PRESS!!!!!

Perhaps the most exciting season of Formula One finally came to an end last night when Kimi Raikkonen against all odds took home both the race and the driver's championship beating both Fernando Alonso and the erstwhile leader - Lewis Hamilton.

17 points ahead of the rest of the pack - Lewis Hamilton, had just about sealed the championship race after a washed out Japanese Grand Prix and most racing pundits had written off everyone else's chances what with only two races to go in the 2007 season. But with Hamilton suffering a blown tire at the Chinese Grand Prix and consequently failing to finish the race, leave along a podium position, the title race went down to the wire at the ultimate race of the season - the Brazilian Grand Prix. Regarded as one of the most challenging and exciting circuits in the racing calendar, the fact that the race would also decide which way the championship swung only helped up the tension in the stands.

Pre-race driver standings were:

1) Lewis Hamilton - 107 points
2) Fernando Alonso - 103 points
3) Kimi Raikkonen - 100 points

For those not in the know-how, in Formula One points are awarded to the first 8 drivers to complete the race. The winner of the race is awarded 10 points, 2nd and 3rd place results in 8 and 6 points respectively with the rest of the pack getting 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 point(s) based on race rankings.

A statistical nightmare for some, a delicious ending for many.

Saturday qualifying was the usual paranoia-filled affair with most drivers making last minute efforts in order to get a decent starting grid position for the race on Sunday. Most of it passed uneventfully except for a mix up in the dying moments of the qualifying session when the "Flying Finn" was bottled behind Lewis Hamilton on his flying lap while making a final attempt for pole position on the starting grid. Apologies were offered later and the matter laid to rest.

Based on Saturday's qualifying session the starting grid for Sunday was as follows:

(1) Felipe Massa
    (Ferrari)                 (2) Lewis Hamilton
                                  (McLaren Mercedes)
(3) Kimi Raikkonen
    (Ferrari)                 (4) Fernando Alonso
                                  (McLaren Mercedes)

     . . . . the rest of the pack

What happened from thereon has to be seen to be fully appreciated. No words can describe the next 90 minutes filled with frequent strategy changes, outrageous overtaking maneuvers and failed electrical systems which resulted in the final collapse of the rookie's dream run and the championship for one of the most underrated drivers in the history of Formula One.

Post-race driver standings were:

1) Kimi Raikkonen - 110 points
2) Fernando Alonso - 109 points **
3) Lewis Hamilton - 109 points 

** - Alonso was awarded second position by virtue of having more second place podium finishes.

Needless to say, I was late for work this morning .

Geek, in most people's minds, is a bad thing. Some people, such as myself, like being labeled as such. I am a computer geek, and I won't deny it. At one point I had five functioning computers in my old apartment, and this was when I was living by myself after going through my divorce. For as long as I can remember, I've loved computers, and loved to mess with them.

My first run-in with a computer was a Commodore VIC-20. Basically, the computer looked like a really big keyboard that connected to a TV. I also had the state-of-the-art tape drive for storage. The computer itself started right up in BASIC, and did not have any operating system. If you wanted to run a program, you either typed one in by hand, loaded one from a tape, or put a cartridge into the computer. Most of the time I ended up playing games. In school, I was exposed to the popular Apple 2 line of computers, which is what teachers and students ended up using for things such as report writing, grades, and of course Oregon Trail.

I progressed my computer skills through the years, doing more programming type things. In those years, I had used a Macintosh, a Commodore 64, a Tandy 1000, and then finally an IBM. I taught myself how to piece together a computer, and I also ended up running a BBS for a number of years before discovering the internet. Eventually, I worked my way to where I am today, working in a UNIX / Linux environment, coding, troubleshooting, and installing things. At home, I still have a network, but now I have just three machines plus my game consoles to deal with. Most people think I'm a little odd, because I work with computers all day, then turn around and come home at night to use my own. I, however, think this is just a symptom of my geeky nature.