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wood

Certifiably Surly
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Posts posted by wood

  1. As usual, Fernando knows exactly what's happening out there. The tactical awareness is off the charts ...

    Quote

    “I never wanted to pass Liam at any point,” Alonso said. “I did a race as if it were a time trial on a bicycle. I just had to stay tucked in behind, take advantage of the three DRS straights, and then in the four corners in between push like it was qualifying to get back into the DRS.

    “I think I was about half a second behind Lawson and by staying close to him I was gaining half a second per lap.

    “In fact, they asked me: ‘When do we stop?’ and I replied: ‘When he stops!’ because I didn’t have that kind of pace.“I was basically an extension of Lawson and thanks to that, I finished in the points. We didn’t have the pace or strength to go ahead and overtake him.”

    ... and we all saw what happened as soon as he lost DRS with Lawson. 

    https://www.planetf1.com/news/fernando-alonso-avoided-an-incident-in-untelevised-lewis-hamilton-battle-austria

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  2. 20 minutes ago, utee94 said:

    That was some fun racing.  I have a feeling Bortoleto woulda had him if they hadn't had to maneuver around Lando and Oscar at just the wrong time.

    Probably. Alonso's tires were absolutely gone. A lot of people are saying that was one of Alonso's best drives ...  ever.

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  3. 3 hours ago, PGFrog said:

    Agree on Bernie,  wish she would have gotten some of that air time Karun filled with his rambling nonsense.  

    Yeah, one Bernie is worth about eleventy-bazillion Karuns. And once Martin is gone, Bernie should be on every single pit walk, with Ted, Naomi, or Simon, etc. I said a long time ago that the best grid walk would be Bernie & Ted. That went pretty well yesterday.

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  4. JFC, someone please, please, please put a muzzle on Karun, FFS.

    I'm diggin' Bernie's makeover.

    Helluva nice race for Alonso. Much better outcome than I expected after FP. For once, strategy and the race worked in his favor.

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  5. Hell hath frozen over ...

    www.motorsport.com/f1/news/former-ferrari-f1-boss-luca-di-montezemolo-joins-mclaren-automotive-board/10736901/

    Quote

     

    Former Ferrari chief Luca Di Montezemolo has been appointed as a director of the McLaren Group Holdings Limited, which controls the McLaren Automotive business and has a minority stake in the F1 team.

    On Friday, McLaren Group Holdings Ltd made a Companies House filing in the UK to appoint Di Montezemelo to its board of directors, which will see the Italian become the ninth director of the company.

    Di Montezemolo was a key figure behind Ferrari's F1 resurgence in the late '90s and served as chairman at the Italian powerhouse until 2014.

    He has now joined the McLaren Group Holdings Limited, which controls the automotive side of the business and has a minority stake in McLaren Group, which its racing teams fall under.

    The appointment comes after Abu Dhabi-based investment firm CYVN Holdings finalised its takeover of McLaren Automotive under the UK-based McLaren Group Holdings Limited umbrella in April

     

     

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  6. 6 hours ago, 4th&Five said:

    I was thoroughly entertained. Great sound and score. It definitely felt like Top Gun on a race track. 

    And obtw the EVO in Kyle is showing the original Top Gun on its IMAX screen soon.

    In.

  7. Saw it yesterday at the IMAX in Kyle. It's not the Bullock, but it's the best IMAX screen I've seen outside of the Bullock. And you still get to pick your seats, unlike the Bullock. 

    Better movie than I was expecting. Better than Rush and Ford v Ferrari imho. Not on the level of LeMans or Grand Prix for me, but I doubt anything ever will be. Funny at times, decent story, fantastic action scenes. Good entertainment. Lots of familiar faces, even some I've met. Some silly Hollywood-ized moments that avid F1 fans will catch, but they aren't big enough to ruin anything. Overall, good flick that didn't make me feel like I wasted my time or money, like so many other movies do these days. F1 is still a stupid movie title though.

  8. I finally got the chance to watch Q. Yuki can drive a car. We've all seen it. Just like Perez etc can drive. This RBR is just a shitbox and Max is a freak. Differences in driver performance/ability will always be more apparent when the car is struggling. In Q2 you could see the car sliding all over the place and Max still put it in the top 5. That car is a disaster and looks scary af to drive on the limit - if you can even figure out where the limit is. Seems like a constantly moving target. 

    I kinda like this Harry Benjamin guy. Seems like they may be grooming him to take over for Crofty. I sure hope they aren't grooming Karun for Martin's spot though. The horror.

    eta: grooming. gromming. whatever it takes.

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  9. 5 hours ago, Dutch said:

    The HALO did its job again in the F2 sprint race. 

     

    Love me some halo (& IndyCar's aeroscreen). I remember people crying about the way it looked, calling it an abomination, etc. Now that the design is more integrated with the overall design of the car, we hardly notice it. And obtw the list of probable lives saved just keeps growing.

    No more loose wheels killing people a la Henry Surtees, etc, etc. 

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  10. On 6/27/2025 at 5:36 PM, Mittens said:

    Fired up to see the movie.  Think I'm going to see it at Bob Bullock in IMAX.

    Saw it yesterday at the IMAX in Kyle. It's not the Bullock, but it's the best IMAX screen I've seen outside of the Bullock. And you still get to pick your seats, unlike the Bullock. 

    Better movie than I was expecting. Better than Rush and Ford v Ferrari imho. Not on the level of LeMans or Grand Prix for me, but I doubt anything ever will be. Funny at times, decent story, fantastic action scenes. Good entertainment. Lots of familiar faces, even some I've met. Some silly Hollywood-ized moments that avid F1 fans will catch, but they aren't big enough to ruin anything. Overall, good flick that didn't make me feel like I wasted my time or money, like so many other movies do these days. F1 is still a stupid movie title though.

     

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  11. If the AVP continues in this vein, I'll probably be pretty much done with 'em. But the Hermosa Beach Open ain't dead yet ...

    caddyshack-bill-murray.gif

    Remember former AVP pro Mark Paaluhi, who played in the 90s? When the AVP stupidly dropped Hermosa from the calendar, Mark stepped in to keep the event alive, with a homegrown effort funded by donations. I met Mark back then. He was a helluva nice guy and an amazing player in the heyday of the sport. When I found out he was responsible for reviving the Hermosa Beach Open, I wasn't surprised in the least.

    Mark Paaluhi, the Hermosa Open, And A Revival of Beach Volleyball’s Purity  https://sandcastvolleyball.com/mark-paaluhi-the-hermosa-open-and-a-revival-of-beach-volleyballs-purity/#:~:text=View Larger Image-,Mark Paaluhi%2C the Hermosa Open%2C And A,Revival of Beach Volleyball's Purity&text=The 2025 Hermosa Open will,to raise it to %24200%2C000.

    Quote

    The 2025 Hermosa Open will be held on September 4-7, with a 32-team main draw. Eight teams will come from a single-elimination qualifier. Currently, prize money stands at $130,000 minimum, and Mark Paaluhi is seeking to raise it to $200,000. 

    ...

    “A lot of people love our sport, and a lot of people want to support it,” Paaluhi said. “Everybody loves our sport and it’s very simple. It’s not complicated. Unfortunately for us as fans and spectators, people overcomplicate it. They want a return, and I get it, but it’s not how this sport works.”

    Paaluhi competed as a professional mostly from 1994-2000, sprinkling in more events up through 2009. He witnessed, first-hand, the halcyon days of the sport, when the format and rules were simple, the sport devoid of what he sees as unnecessary complications that have plagued the game for decades. That’s what he brought back in Hermosa: a double-elimination format, a pure open concept that didn’t limit the field, a set-up that remained within the means of what he had raised and promised to sponsors.

    “I just don’t understand what is wrong with our sport that we have so much change in the past 20 or 30 years and there was nothing wrong with our sport in my opinion,” he said. “Some changes to the rules, little ones here and there, yeah they benefitted the sport. Let’s do it. Let’s move on. But the massive part of the format, the scoring, I don’t understand it – pool play? Modified pool play? It’s all a joke to me. Lucky loser? I just don’t understand it. It just doesn’t make any sense to me. Once you start a competition, you let the competition go and let the dominoes go where they fall. You let them play. That’s what the competition’s for. You let them play. You seed it prior to results, today’s a new tournament, let’s fire it off. That’s why we got the Hermosa Open.”

    And that is perhaps why it was universally loved by both the players and the city. Dutch wild cards Leon Luini and Ruben Penninga lost both of their matches in Hermosa. From a sporting sense, sure, they were disappointed. They had just come off an impressive showing at an Elite16 in Hamburg, Germany, and they couldn’t even beat a few lower-seeded American teams who don’t even play internationally?

    It was their favorite event of the year.

    A city councilman had come down to the tournament and spoke with the first players he saw. Those players were Penninga and Luini, who told him that it was their first time in the United States.

    “And you came to Hermosa Beach?” the councilman responded, a bit bewildered.

    “Yeah!” they both replied in a manner that was not difficult to hear their enthusiasm.

    “That was one of the first things they brought up at the City Council,” Paaluhi said.

    There will be more of the same in 2025. Paaluhi is bringing back the elements that worked so well a year ago: the double-elim, the open format, the player parties at Tower 12, the grassroots marketing, all of it.

    “Our whole sport has lost the lifestyle, and that’s the biggest selling point we have,” he said. “We have the lifestyle.”

    And, whether Paaluhi intended it or not, Hermosa Beach will have it for another three years.

    By all accounts, the 2024 event - with a field full of AVP pros - was an incredible weekend. 

    Hermosa Open Recap: The Vibes, The Partnerships, The Play — The Purest Beach Volleyball Tournament https://sandcastvolleyball.com/hermosa-open-recap-the-vibes-the-partnerships-the-play-the-purest-beach-volleyball-tournament/

    This year, there will be a full traditional 4-day TRUE double elimination tourney (yes, complete with the potential for a double final), with a 32 team draw, 8 of which will come from a Thursday single-elimination qualifier.

    Now all I need is a reservation at the Sea Sprite ...

     

  12. 6 hours ago, Dutch said:

    Waaaay too many sides, not enough meats. Rookie move. 

    One thing is for sure ... if they were at Terry Black's, they paid too much.

  13. 30 minutes ago, Biff Tannen said:

    Do we have any context for the Washington Monument shot?  When that occurred?  It's not super helpful to put two photos next to each other that aren't the same area.

    They're both Washington Monument shots. Same area. Different angles.

  14. NSIAP ...  This KVUE shot is the first aerial shot I've been able to find. The crowd was actually even bigger than I thought. And what you can't see is that there were thousands of people under the huge old oak trees due to the heat. Several people suffered heat-related medical emergencies. Kudos to the volunteer medics and the DPS officers who helped them out.

    Crazy about the threats from the ahole in the little shack outside La Grange.

     

     

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