Team Preview: Vodafone McLaren-Mercedes
Drivers: Lewis Hamilton (GBR) and Heikki Kovaleinen (FIN)

Pictured above is the McLaren-Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton. Not surprisingly to some, the craft is doing what it normally does when piloted by Lewis: balls-out and pushed to the absolute limit. The acrid smoke rolling off the tires? Oh, that’s nothing. It just means Lewis is on a hot lap, scorching already pained tires as he enters a sharp corner faster than he, or anyone with a will to live, should. The intensely hot and undoubtedly fatigued brake system has locked up causing the two front wheels to stop turning altogether, resulting in smoking rubber as it burns against the asphalt. Lewis doesn’t need this. Not at almost 200 mph (322 kph). But he has no choice. He has only one more day of testing, and then…

On to Australia for the season-opener at beautiful Albert Park in Melbourne.

You might say that Lewis has a little something to prove. In 2007 the rookie had the most successful debut season in Formula 1 history, coming to within two points of the world championship. Kimi Raikkonen’s perfect race had to have burned two-fold. On one hand, it could be said that Raikkonen’s team, Ferrari, were the catalyst for the witch hunt that ensued after it was found that McLaren-Mercedes was in possession of confidential Ferrari data. In the end, it cost McLaren-Mercedes their entire bank of Constructers Championship points and any ensuing points thereafter. On the other hand, Kimi Raikkonen had been slighted more than a few times from the championship by his pre-Ferrari team due to reliability issues, which was none other than McLaren-Mercedes. To get so far, to come so close, to fight so hard… and ultimately fail… must have hurt a little. Judging by the pre-season timesheets, however, it looks as though he’s turned any frustration to the external as he’s blistered his way to the top on more than a few occasions.

Despite Lewis’s stunning season last year, he also had to deal with an absurd amount of internal strife within the team, namely from his own teammate. Fernando Alonso signed on with McLaren-Mercedes with the impression that he was their messiah, the savior of a struggling middle-team. When he found that he was not given special preference over the rookie, he took offense and retaliated multiple times, despite the fact that FIA rules regulate the exclusion and prohibition of team orders (i.e. telling one driver to back off so another driver can win). In the post-season, Fernando and McMerc parted ways. Fernando went back to France-based Renault and McMerc picked up…

Heikki Kovaleinen, the blonde-haired Finnish ex-Renault driver who always seems to have a smile on his face. His was a rookie season largely overshadowed by Lewis Hamilton’s, but all the same he shares much in common with Lewis. Both young, spirited and happy to even be in the sport, the two were always favored to be excellent teammates. When Renault fired both Heikki and Giancarlo Fisichella to make way for Fernando Alonso and rookie Nelson Piquet, Jr., Heikki was always considered the favorite to partner up with Lewis at McMerc. So what does Heikki bring to the team? A willingness to learn, win and drive. He lacks the selfishness of Fernando but enjoys the thrill of the hunt, like Lewis. All in all, he seems to be the best man for the job, bar the return of Mika Hakkinen of course.

But what does this season hold for an obvious front-running team like McLaren-Mercedes? There’ve been lots of rule changes from last year, including the restriction of driving aids. If you’ve never witnessed Formula 1 action, 2008 may just be the season to start.

I have a feeling we’ll be seeing quite a bit of tire-smoking.

There are those out there I’m sure would rather forget that I ever had any involvement in music or public performance, but whether you’re a fan or not, I was a musician long before I was an aspiring racecar driver. Depending on the version of the story you hear, I was a musical rockstar long before I was a rockstar in the Information Technology industry. Although I feel that the usage of the word “rockstar” could probably be toned down, it is true that music was very important to me at one point in time.

Up to that point I had been a bassist of varying proficiency for the better part of a decade. Music is definitely a lot of fun for me. Most people think I’m naturally on crack or something anyways, so strapping an instrument to my chest and putting me in front of a few hundred people is a recipe for success no matter which way you look at it. I had always thought that music might be a fun hobby to pick back up again, but it’s not much fun by yourself unless you’re tearing shit up a la Slash with a face-melting solo of some sort. Yeah, bassists don’t solo. Additionally, the old trusty bass that I’ve had for almost fifteen years has definitely seen better days. Definitely.

I’d like to take a moment to pin this squarely on Larz. It was all his idea. He had to go and buy a big, fancy electronic drum set in which to learn on. Me being the kind of guy that I am couldn’t leave a buddy to fend for himself on any adventure, so I plunked down the cash on a new bass. While it’s true that he’s just starting out on the drums (and thus is not as advanced in his craft as I), it’s been more than a few years since I’ve played anything even semi-regularly. In short, I’ll be a bit rusty to say the least.

Either way, I’m definitely looking forward to it. The new beast arrives on my doorstep tomorrow, and I can already feel the anticipation. Some of my best memories were had with my old bass, so I’m hoping I can have some even better ones with my new one. Oh, and for those who care (or know me enough to understand the significance), I bought an Ibanez 5-string bass.

Happy times.

I got absolutely nothing accomplished with regards to this site over the weekend. Instead, I lounged around with my son, played video games, and watched cartoons. All. Fucking. Weekend.

Do I feel happy about that? I don’t feel entirely unhappy, but then hanging out with the kiddo takes precedence over everything else. I know that as we get closer to spring time, his interests will be much less about things indoors as they will outdoors. Which means that my interests will have to change, as well.

So I guess one weekend of video games, cartoons and hugs can’t be all bad.

As you can probably tell, this site is even more broke than fucking usual. It’s slow going, and hopefully by weekend’s end it’ll be complete. Or at least to a point where I can be happy with not dicking around with it.

Welcome to the suck.

After a rather enlightening conversation with a friend, I figured the topic would make a pretty decent blog entry considering the day. Yes, today is Valentine’s Day. For those with significant others, it’s a rather bittersweet holiday. Most use this day as an excuse to show a little more love than usual, and it’s generally accepted that it will be reciprocated in kind. That’s the sweet part. The bitter part is the draining of the wallet, as most people feel a great desire to use this day, above all others, to express feelings of love and happiness… and it has been commercialized thusly. Hence, roses are no longer $12 for a dozen. Add a zero, kids.

The striking thing about Valentine’s Day is that these feelings or expressions of love aren’t done spontaneously every day. If you really dig someone, why wait until February 14th to hire a sky writer, buy a life-size teddy bear, send a dozen roses to their workplace, or surprise them with a dinner at that nice, fancy restaurant across town? Why hide all that stuff throughout the year? For something to be truly amazing, it must have amazing qualities. Waiting until the day of expected surprises (and thus not really a surprise, right?) is ordinary, and far from amazing. Relationships are what you put into them. It’s par for the course. The standard. Expected. Additionally, if everyone did these things randomly… on a whim… throughout the year… would not the world be a much happier place? Wouldn’t it be reasonable to assume that everyone’s quality of life would be much higher if all the stress and everyday monotony of that life were interrupted with random acts of love and kindness? Perhaps I’m simply too much of an idealist about love and relationships. A hopeless romantic, if I may be so bold as to suggest.

That, in itself, is rather interesting considering the number of times I’ve been burned, stabbed, gouged, stomped or crushed… in the heart. Given my ordinarily realistic view about all other facets of life, I’d say that’s downright miraculous. Idealist? Only about love, it seems.

After discussing this at length with my friend (who brought a unique view from the the other gender’s side of the table), it seems that it’s much easier to remain optimistic and upbeat about love and relationships if a “burn victim” learns what started and how to prevent the fire in the first place. In short, as long as you learn a realistic and objective lesson from a break-up, and apply it to your next relationship, it’s fair to assume that relationships and love will get progressively better with each one. So single people… don’t lose heart. Instead, look forward to the next opportunity. Apply what you know and the next relationship will be your best yet.

Alright… </sappyBullshitRant>

I guess, in closing, Happy Valentine’s Day to all of you… even if it is disgustingly commercialized.