Raikkonen 4th on the world's sport top earners

According to the business magazine Forbes, the Finn earns less than Tiger Woods, boxer Oscar de la Hoya and golf's Phil Mickelson, but more than any of his Grand Prix competitors.

It came courtesy of his new multiple year Ferrari deal, in which he earns (US) $40m per season - almost as much as his predecessor Michael Schumacher did in the same role last year.

But even in retirement, Schumacher still earns more than any current F1 driver with the exception of Raikkonen. Forbes ranks him fifth on the 2007 sports earnings list, with his $36m attributable to ongoing sponsorship deals.

Both Raikkonen and Schumacher feature ahead of football's David Beckham ($33m) on the Forbes list, with MotoGP's Valentino Rossi trailing in ninth place with $30m.

Source: F1-Live

Alonso's 'idea'

"I know what I want to do, but I do not know if it will be possible," -Alonso-

The latest rumour is that Alonso could be negotiating with Williams about a single-year contract. Renault is pushing for a three year deal.

"I have an idea, a desire, about what I want to do. We will have to find out," -Alonso-

Ron Dennis Favouritism

David Coulthard refused to back McLaren's insistence that the team always treats both its drivers equally. He admitted that he also experienced the same situation as a McLaren driver from 1996 to 2004. He discovered that boss Ron Dennis cared more about team-mate Mika Hakkinen as early as his first race.

"The first sign that there might be specific favouritism towards Mika came in Melbourne 1996,"

"I was with my race engineer and Mika was chatting to his."

"The door opened and Ron walked in. I stood up to shake his hand and Ron ignored me.
Instead he strode over to sit next to Mika and said, 'What's the plan (for the race), guys?' We all listened to Mika's plans and then Ron said, 'Okay, what are they doing?'

"Here was my team principal talking about me as if I was a rival team. 'They' is not a word you use in a team situation, surely?"

Source:F1-Live

So that's the real situation at McLaren. *sigh*

Funnyometer

If you want to know how funny your joke was.. Use this funnyometer. Found this on FFFound

Original location: http://www.drewheffron.com/files/gimgs/13_funnyometer.gif

Today's Comic

Mac OS Leopard hacked to run on Intel PC

Yeah! Buy online! No need to queue.

Before installing a clean copy, backup first! LOL

Think More Effectively; 8 Little-Known Ways

Searching for solution? But can't figure out how? Here are 8 little-known ways to think more effectively i've found on ririanproject.

1. Do two things at once - multitasking
   
2. Become an expert - do some research about your task
   
3. Speed read - it does help
   
4. Grow a big brain by playing - good for training your mental reaction
   
5. Write right
6. Fresh thinking and bright ideas - Go on a holiday and get away from handphone & internet
   
7. Listen up - listen to a complex and highly patterned piece of music
   
8. Sleep to gain greater intelligence

Read full article

F1 update

No British GP after 2009, probably
Ecclestone told the British Racing Drivers' Club that he is not happy with the state of the facilities at Silverstone and may not renew their contract when it expires in two years.

"They know what they've got to do if they want to retain it. But maybe they don't want to."

McLaren's appeal is a waste
FIA President Max Mosley has hinted that McLaren is wasting its time in appealing the decision of the Race Stewards at Interlagos last weekend. "For us, the world championship is over," he said to the Daily Telegraph, "the result is what it is". "A team presented an appeal," he continued, "at the moment, this doesn't change anything, it's up to them to prove they are right,"

The appeal by McLaren on the decision made by Interlagos' stewards will be heard by the Court of Appeal on November 15.

Singapore will develop motorsport industry
The Singapore Government announced on Friday that the will develop their country's motorsport industry by building a permanent race track located in Changi (eastern part of Singapore).

The permanent racetrack, located on a 20-hectare plot with a tenure of 30 years, is expected to go out in May 2008. The racetrack is expected to be completed by the end of 2010 or early 2011.

All source: F1-Live

281007 Photos

Eid 07 photos

Here are some photos from the Eid celebration at my mother's kampung (Kota Bharu, Kelantan). My other kampung is around Kota Bharu too, but they don't take much photos. This year, two families were celebrating 1st of Syawal at their other kampung and will come here later (3rd or 4th day of Eid). My sister and my nephew didn't present here because they're studying overseas (NZ & UK). Also my newly married niece, she was celebrating 1st Syawal with her husband's family at Perlis.

Che dan Ayah dengan cucu

Che dan Ayah dengan anak-anak

Ibu-ibu

Bapa-bapa dan 3 orang anak saudara (kat belakang)

Sony : like.no.other ?

I've read this on Engadget and post it here. Look at the two press photo. Each from Sony and Apple. It's identical right? Sony DSC-T2 and Apple iPod nano.

Find Your Passion for Any & Everything

image from wikipedia

Some people say that passion is spontaneous, and cannot be created. Here I found an article on how to find your passion for any and everything. The article is about 17 ways to find your passion in everything. It include getting curious, focus, connects with talents and more.

SMAPL 9903 Logo : Redesign

Two days before, I’ve scanned some sketch that I’ve done before. One of them is the logo for batch 1999-2003 of SMAPL (Sek Men Agama Persekutuan Labu). Below is the first logo.

It was done on Microsoft Paint and Adobe Photoshop 7 (for the glassy effect). The new logo, not official yet, was done on Adobe Illustrator (tracing the scanned image and 3d effect) and Adobe Photoshop CS3 for arrangement, color and shadow. I’m not done yet with this, maybe a little more modifications. I’m not a design student, so the meaning of the logo was not quite clear. It is a combination of F and V that stand for [F]i[V]e, because the idea of creating the logo was on the fifth year studying at that school.

And this is the scanned image of my sketch of the logo.

2008 FIA Formula One World Championship calendar

16/03: Australia (Melbourne)
23/03: Malaysia (Sepang)
06/04: Bahrain (Sakhir)
27/04: Spain (Barcelona)
11/05: Turkey (Istanbul)
25/05: Monaco
08/06: Canada (Montreal)
22/06: France (Magny-Cours)
06/07: Great Britain (Silverstone)
20/07: Germany (Hockenheim)
03/08: Hungary (Hungaroring)
24/08: Europe (Valencia/Spa)
07/09: Belgium (Spa-Francorchamps)
14/09: Italy (Monza)
28/09: Singapore* (nocturne)
12/10: Japan (Mount Fuji)
19/10: China (Shanghai)
02/11: Brazil (Sao Paulo)

F1 news update

Those are announcement made by World Motor Sport Council (WMSC) after their meeting in Paris yesterday (24 October).

Ferrari to continue dual engine supply deal to 2009
Ferrari have received permission from the World Motor Sport Council to continue to supply two teams (Toro Rosso and Spyker) with its customer engines for the 2008 and 2009 championships. The original regulations for 2008 limited teams to supplying just one other squad.

McLaren fine to establish FIA Development Fund
McLaren will pay a sum ‘in excess of $50 million’ to the FIA in December. McLaren were fined, and excluded from the 2007 constructors’ championship, after it was decided they had exploited confidential technical information obtained from Ferrari. The money will be used to establish the FIA Development Fund, which will assist National Sporting Authorities to promote the development of safer motor sport throughout the world. The new body will pay particular attention to countries where the motor sport infrastructure is in need of support. Representatives from Mercedes and Ferrari have been invited by the World Motor Sport Council to join the board.

Engine development to be frozen for ten years
The FIA has announced that it will tighten current restrictions and freeze engine development for a decade as of next season.

“There will be a total freeze on engine development for a period of 10 years, starting from 2008,” said the statement. “A change can be made after five years but only with the unanimous agreement of all stakeholders and following a further two-year notice period. Total freeze means that there will be no exceptions for development of certain parts of the engine, as is the case under the current regulations.”

Rules restricting engine development were introduced for the 2007 season.

FIA approve Spyker name change
Spyker will be renamed Force India, after the FIA World Motor Sport Council accepted the name change. Indian businessman Vijay Mallya and Dutch entrepreneur Michiel Mol bought out the Silverstone-based team earlier this month. The new title is the first step taken by the squad to reflect Mallya’s previously stated aim of bringing an Indian flavour to the team. It is also understood that the new logo for Force India will include the Indian national flag in its design. Mallya and Mol are the third owners in two years for the former Jordan team. The Midland group took over in 2005, before selling the squad on to Spyker late in 2006.

All news from F1.com

Where will Alonso go?

What team will Alonso drive next year? It has been speculated that McLaren has released Alonso for next year. Ron Dennis will announce the driver's lineup in two weeks time after the Brazilian GP. Renault seems waiting for Alonso to drive for them next season. And the seat at Ferrari was full. Maybe Alonso will be just a test driver, for only next season. Who knows.

And who will fill the empty seat of Alonso at Mclaren?

"Alonso is a real champion, in every sense, an extraordinary driver. I've really appreciated his sportsmanship. He lost the championship by a point and I don't think it was his fault, rather it was a consequence of his team's bad internal management. By congratulating Raikkonen already during the press conference, Alonso demonstrated to be a champion off the track too. It was a gesture we greatly appreciated." di Montezemolo said.

8 Oct 07 photos

Team MIT for Darpa Urban Challenge 2007

The DARPA Urban Challenge is an autonomous vehicle research and development program with the goal of developing technology that will keep warfighters off the battlefield and out of harm’s way. The Urban Challenge features autonomous ground vehicles maneuvering in a mock city environment, executing simulated military supply missions while merging into moving traffic, navigating traffic circles, negotiating busy intersections, and avoiding obstacles.

The challenge is sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the central research organization of the United States Department of Defense. DARPA is responsible for the development of new technology for use by the military.

This challenge will need the teams to apply some technologies to their vehicle such as sensing, planning and control. Just like building a perfect robot. The difficulties lies in the uncertainty throughout the autonomous urban driving.

And of course they use Artificial Intelligence approach for planning etc. The vehicle need to decide itself using Artificial Intelligence.

The event will take place November 3rd at the former George Air Force Base in Victorville, California. The course will involve a 60-mile (96 km) urban area course, to be completed in less than 6 hours. Rules will include obeying all traffic regulations while negotiating with other traffic and obstacles and merging into traffic.

The winner will receive US$2 million. The second place finisher will receive US$1 million and the third place finisher will receive US$500,000.

Team MIT has sponsor from the MIT and companies. From MIT are MIT School of Engineering, MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, MIT Department of Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering, MIT Department of Mechanical Engineering, MIT Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, MIT Lincoln Laboratory, MIT IS&T (Information Services & Technology) and CSAIL TiG (The Infrastructure Group). The companies that sponsor team MIT such as The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Ford-MIT Alliance, Franklin W. Olin College, BAE Systems, Quanta Computer, Nokia Research Center, Mobileye, Delphi, Applanix, Acumentrics, Drew Technologies, Inc and Advanced Circuits.

links:
Self Driving VW Golf GTI vs Human - Topgear Video
MIT DARPA Grand Challenge Team
Behind the Scene Image
Team MIT Flickr
DARPA Grand Challenge - wiki
Official DARPA Urban Challenge Website

Raikkonen and Ferrari celebrates

Here are some pictures from pitpass.com showing Raikkonen and his team crew celebrating their victory for Drivers' and Constructors' Championship for 2008

Spanish Press Quotes on Hamilton's defeat

The Spanish sports daily Marca said: "Hamilton is not the youngest World Champion, but instead the driver who most quickly blew a world title."

El Mundo said: "In a team are two sacred rules: teamwork and the establishment of a hierarchy. McLaren broke both."

France's L'Equipe reckons McLaren is to blame for poor management of its drivers. "In the weeks since losing the constructors' crown because of a spying affair, the drivers' title was also lost because McLaren put all efforts into Hamilton rather than Alonso," it read.

Europe's top news magazine Der Spiegel said: "Kimi showed that he adapts to any car, as long as it is not a McLaren."

Corriere della Sera in Italy noticed that "Alonso cheered Raikkonen's victory more than the Finn himself".

Source: F1-Live

Next fortnight, McLaren's 08 drivers will be announced

Before leaving the Interlagos track, Ron Dennis declared that the future of Fernando Alonso will be decided within the next fortnight. Dennis said: "The issue of drivers is something we've always said will be addressed after the end of the season and it will be addressed over the course of the next two weeks."

Source: F1Technical

Leopard is just amazing

Last night I watch the Apple Mac OS X Leopard guided tour. It was amazing, the Leopard. This is what I need, a OS that make it all easier and faster.

Right now I’m using Windows XP. I’ve tried a lot of software and tweaks to speed it up. I use keyboard shortcuts more often, always hibernating my lappy (used to, but after the hdd failure last September, I decided not to hibernate my lappy again). I also use the Launchy, a program and files launcher. It acts just like quicksilver on Mac. I did doubled the line of my taskbar and it’s on top of the screen.

When I’m doing works, I use lots of windows and application and tabs if possible (for now just on Firefox).

Why I describe this entire situation? I just want to show you how the Mac OS X Leopard will satisfy my needs.

From scratch, I think Mac OS was designed to use all the processing power of the processor. And their programming and coding is designed to work smoothly. Just look at the graphic transitions and reflections and transparencies on the desktop.

I love the easiness of hibernating a Mac computer. For example, on Macbook or Macbook Pro, you just close the lid of your screen and it’s hibernates. When you open the lid, it’s working back. As simple as that.

For my usage of several windows, applications, and tabs all at once, Leopard has the solution by using Spaces. It’s just like virtual desktop. But more useful and it’s work.

If you really want to know about the features of this great new release of Mac OS X, visit Apple.com

Brazilian Grand Prix 2007 - Race Day

FORMULA 1™ Grande Prêmio do Brasil 2007
Sao Paulo

image from F1.com

The Info
Race Date: 21 Oct 2007
Number of Laps: 71
Circuit Length: 4.309 km
Race Distance: 305.909 km
Lap Record: 1:11.473 - JP Montoya (2004)
Time difference: GMT -3
2006 Winner: F Massa, Ferrari

image from pitpass.com

The Results

1. K Raikkonen
2. F Massa
3. F Alonso
4. N Rosberg
5. R Kubica
6. N Heidfeld
7. L Hamilton
8. J Trulli
9. D Coulthard
10. K Nakajima
11. R Schumacher
12. T Sato
13. V Liuzzi
14. A Davidson

Did not finish

• A Sutil
• R Barrichello
• H Kovalainen
• S Vettel
• J Button
• M Webber
• S Yamamoto
• G Fisichella

Drivers' Championship Points

• K Raikkonen 110
• L Hamilton 109
• F Alonso 109
• F Massa 94
• N Heidfeld 61
• R Kubica 39

Constructors' Championship Points

• Scuderia Ferrari 204
• BMW Sauber 101
• ING Renault 51
• AT&T Williams Toyota 33

Tools for Generating Ideas

Do you have problems in generating ideas for your project? This summary of an article by Donald Latumahina, on October 2, 2007 may help you generate ideas.

They're actually tools for helping you create ideas:

1. Ideacontainer - put all your idea-stimulating stuff in a container
2. Stumbleupon - Random webpages and categorized, IMHO: website collections not big enough. I've stumbled it until the end. Hoping for more!
3. TDBSpecialProjects Idea Generator - Give you random three-word phrases
4. Random quotation
5. Wikipedia random page
6. Random photo browser

Read the original article

Leopard is coming

This is a battle of OSes: Microsoft Vista VS Mac OS X Leopard (10.5). Vista was launched earlier this year, but there are lots of bugs and problems, and people can't wait for the SP1 release. The Leopard on the other hand, was overhyped for having the most advanced features like the time machine (just like system restore on XP, but better), iChat (with conference chat, etc) and lots more (300+ new features). You can read it on Apple website.

2007 Brazilian GP – Qualifying Day

Q1

1. F Massa
2. F Alonso
3. K Raikkonen
4. L Hamilton
5. M Webber
6. R Kubica
7. D Coulthard
8. J Trulli
9. N Heidfeld
10. G Fisichella
11. V Liuzzi
12. R Barrichello
13. N Rosberg
14. R Schumacher
15. S Vettel
16. J Button

Q1 Knockout Zone

• H Kovalainen
• T Sato
• K Nakajima
• A Davidson
• A Sutil
• S Yamamoto

Q2

1. K Raikkonen
2. L Hamilton
3. F Massa
4. F Alonso
5. R Kubica
6. M Webber
7. N Rosberg
8. J Trulli
9. D Coulthard
10. N Heidfeld

Q2 Knockout Zone

• R Barrichello
• G Fisichella
• S Vettel
• V Liuzzi
• R Schumacher
• J Button

Q3

1. F Massa
2. L Hamilton
3. K Raikkonen
4. F Alonso
5. M Webber
6. N Heidfeld
7. R Kubica
8. J Trulli
9. D Coulthard
10. N Rosberg

Olympus E-3 launched + new lenses

On 17th October 2007, Olympus launched their flagship digital SLR, the Olympus E-3. Their first professional D-SLR is the E-1 launched in June 2003.

The E-3 main features:

Speed

• World's fastest autofocus* (in combination with Olympus ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 12-60mm, 1:2.8-4.0 SWD)
• Fully-biaxial high-speed 11-point AF system
• 1/8000th sec. high-speed and high-precision shutter control, X: 1/250
• 5fps sequential shooting with 19 image RAW buffer

Image Quality

• High-performance built-in image stabiliser to stabilise all lenses
• (up to 5 EV steps) with two modes
• High Speed 10 Megapixel Live MOS sensor
• Qualified image processing with new TruePic III
• High image quality with a variety of bright dedicated-to-digital ZUIKO DIGITAL lenses

Live View

• 2.5”/6.4cm multi-angle HyperCrystal LCD
• Real-time effect monitoring
• Pre-control over white balance and exposure compensation
• Preview of Shadow Adjustment Technology (SAT)
• 5x/7x/10x magnified view for precise focusing

Reliability

• Large viewfinder with professional-level coverage of 100% and 1.15x magnification
• Spotless photography with most effective dust reduction system (Supersonic Wave Filter)
• Splashproof body and lens system
• Professional quality shutter life of 150K operations

Additional features of the Olympus E-3:

• Based on the Four Thirds Standard
• Ergonomic design of body, control buttons and GUI
• AE/AF lock functionality
• Second display for Super Control Panel
• ISO 100-3200
• Accurate white balance with two sensors
• Built-in flash (GN13) and wireless flash control directly from the camera body.
• Wireless flash control in up to 3 groups (separate press release available for Olympus FL-50R and FL-36R flash units)
• High-speed USB 2.0 interface
• High-speed data writing and lossless RAW compression
• Simultaneous writing of RAW and JPEG
• Dual memory slot for CompactFlash and xD-Picture Cards
• (incl. support for UDMA High-Speed CF cards and Microdrive)

New accessories for the Olympus E-3:

• Power Grip HLD-4 for ideal portrait shooting and long battery life
• Wireless flash units FL-50R and FL-36R
• Soft rubber dioptre-correcting Eye-cups DE-P3 (+3m-1)
• and DE-N3 (+3m-1)
• Focusing Screen FS-3 grid matte screen dividing image area in 4 x 6 sections. (Purchase & installation via Olympus Service Dept. only)

Olympus also had launched 4 new lenses of the Four Thirds Standard and a teleconverter. The lenses are:

ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 12-60mm (24-120mm) 1:2.8-4.0 SWD
ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 50-200mm (100-400mm) 1:2.8-3.5 SWD
ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 14-35mm (28-70mm) 1:2.0 SWD
ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 70-300mm (140-600mm) 1:4.0-5.6
ZUIKO DIGITAL 2.0x Teleconverter EC-20

The features are:

ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 12-60mm

• Supersonic Wave Drive AF system: World’s fastest* AF system when combined with Olympus E-3
• 5x zoom
• 25cm closest focusing distance
• Mechanical manual focusing
• Circular aperture diaphragm
• Extreme wide angle capabilities from 12mm (24mm)
• Splashproof

ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 50-200mm

• Supersonic Wave Drive AF system: Ultra-fast AF speeds
• (2x faster than current 50-200mm lens)
• 4x zoom
• 1.2m closest focusing distance
• Mechanical manual focusing
• Circular aperture diaphragm
• Lens hood with slide-window for PL filter
• Splashproof

ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 14-35mm

• World’s first standard zoom with 1:2.0 aperture across entire focal range
• 2.5x zoom
• Ultra-fast Supersonic Wave Drive AF system
• Mechanical manual focusing
• Circular aperture diaphragm
• Lens hood with window for PL filter
• Splashproof

ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 70-300mm

• 4.3x zoom
• Tremendous telephoto capabilities to 300mm (600mm)
• Extremely compact and lightweight

ZUIKO DIGITAL 2.0x Teleconverter

• Doubles the focal length of the master lens
• Attachable with all ZUIKO DIGITAL lenses: from Fisheye and Macro to Super Telephoto
• Digital-specific converter: thin, compact and high image quality
• Splashproof

Source: DPreview Olympus E-3, New Zuiko Digital Lenses

Leaked New Skyline GT-R Photos

Earlier this month, Mitsubishi Motor Corp had launched their Lancer Evolution X. It was awaited by many. It is a high performance sport car, 4WD sedan and also used in world rally championship. Now Nissan will follow by launching the new generation Skyline GT-R. The current Skyline model which also rebadged as Infiniti G35 is a completely different car with the R34 Skyline. This new generation Skyline GT-R has a completely new exterior and interior. This new Skyline GT-R will be fitted with a twin turbo 3.8 liter V6 engine with 473 horsepower and 588Nm of torque and mated to a GR6 dual-clutch six-speed transmission. Here I include some leaked photos that I got from paultan.org. For more info and photos, follow the read link.

Read

17Oct07 Photos & Images

This whole week I'm on holidays. So, I don't have time to post new entries for this blog. And it's a bit slower on the update rate than usual. Not to forget this weekend's Brazilian GP. The GP that will determine the 2007 Formula 1 World Champion.

Salam Aidilfitri

10 ways to sleep smarter & better

I'm just list out the important points from the original post.

10.Reduce Screen Time Before Bed -
Stop checking your email or watching TV just before bedtime

9. Exercise to Enhance Sleep -
But make sure you exercise in the morning or afternoon, not at night

8. Eat to Enhance Sleep
7. Master the Power Nap - 20-minute power nap
6. Avoid the Soul-Shattering Alarm Buzzer
5. Solve Problems in Your Sleep
4. Beat Insomnia with Visualization
3. Shortcut a Long Nap with the Clattering Spoon

Lie down or sit in comfy seat holding a spoon in your fingertips. you should be holding it in a way that - when you loose consciousness (sleep) you drop it... the Clatter (put a big plate on the floor under your hand) will wake you.... and you get woken JUST as you enter the best "dreamy" bit of your sleep. Alternatively, hold a bunch of keys: same effect.

2. Take a Caffeine Power Nap
1. Teach Yourself to Lucid Dream

Williams post £28 million loss

A report by Christian Sylt in the Daily Telegraph has revealed that Williams made a massive £28 million loss in 2006.

This is the result of BMW's departure and coincided with the loss of its main sponsor HP. Williams spent an estimated £10m on its Cosworth engines and finished eighth in the constructors' standings.

Even its two directors, Frank Williams and Patrick Head, taking an £800,000 pay cut.

Things are looking better in 2007 with major sponsorship deal with AT&T, Lenovo and Air Asia, which are worth an estimated £27m

Hehe.. that's not me

Sometimes I'm feeling like doing that too. But it's really bad.

Renault pushing for Alonso contract

Two weeks ago in Japan, Fernando Alonso was shown details of Renault's plans to return to the world title in 2008 and beyond including detailed information about next year's R28 single seater, according to reports.

Spanish sources including the magazine Autopista says the 26-year-old reigning world champion met with Flavio Briatore and Pat Symonds on the Saturday at Fuji Speedway, where they discussed a possible two or three-year contract starting in 2008.

It is believed that Renault CEO Carlos Ghosn is reluctant to enter a one-year arrangement with Alonso, after which he would be free to switch to Ferrari or another top rival for 2009.

The magazine claimed that Alonso's team-mate would not be Giancarlo Fisichella, as in 2005 and 2006, because the Roman may be moving to Williams to fill the seat vacated by Nico Rosberg, who is first in line to replace Alonso at Woking based McLaren.

In contention to become Alonso's team-mate, then, are incumbent Heikki Kovalainen and current Renault test driver Nelson Piquet Jr.

Source: F1-Live

Nakajima will replace Wurz for Brazilian GP

Williams’ tester Kazuki Nakajima will make his Formula One race debut at the Brazilian Grand Prix next weekend, the British team has confirmed. Nakajima will step into the seat left vacant by Alexander Wurz, who announced his retirement on Monday.

The 22 year-old Japanese driver, who was named GP2 rookie of the year this season, has enjoyed a testing role with Williams since November 2006. He has covered over 7,000 kilometres in the FW29 and has already represented the team at five Grands Prix as a Friday driver.

Nakajima, who is the son of Satoru Nakajima, who raced for Lotus and Tyrrell in the mid 1980’s and early ‘90’s, last drove the FW29 during Friday practice at last weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix.

Source: F1.com
Image from F1-Live.com

Worn out tyre of Hamilton's McLaren

Here are the pictures of Hamilton McLaren's tyre. It was badly worn out. And what a stupid decision McLaren has made for not changing Hamilton's tyre in the first pitstop. Duh!

Warna-warna cinta - Brothers

The Lyric

Mereka berkata
Hidup perlukan cinta
Agar sejahtera aman dan bahagia
Andai tiada atau pudar warnanya
Meranalah jiwa gelaplah dunia

Warna-warna cinta
Yang terlukis di hatimu
Semat pada senyuman dan tangismu
Agar mewarnai
Jiwamu yang tulus
Seperti sang pelangi selepas gerimis

Mereka berkata
Cinta itu merah
Mengalir bersama titisan yang sempurna
Cinta berharga bila sudah tiada
Menjadi sejarah yang mungkin kan di lupa

Apa warna cinta
Bila hidup sengketa
Kabur warnanya

Warna-warna cinta
Yang terlukis di hatimu
Semat pada senyuman dan tangismu
Agar mewarnai jiwamu yang tulus
Seperti sang pelangi selepas gerimis
Ooooo.. selepas gerimis

Colorware: Color Your Gadget

Colorware is a company that will color your existing product to your needs. For now they're offering customized iPhone, SideKick 3, iPod nano, iPod classic, iPod touch, Zune, some Lenovo's Thinkpad, Macbook and Macbook Pro, PS3, XBOX360, Wii, iMac and Mac mini

Other services includes Corporate Branding and Aftermarket Services for Apple Inc, Dell, Thinkpad, SideKick, Zune and gaming consoles products.

PolarClock screensaver

I've been surfing the net and found this page. It's a list of great screensaver that you can download from the net. I just like this one - PolarClock

PolarClock 3.0 is now available as a screen saver for Mac and Windows, and also as a dashboard widget for OSX Tiger. This release is a total rebuild from scratch using Flash CS3, Flex Builder and ActionScript 3.0. There has been a staggering amount of feedback over the past few months, all of which was very useful. There are more things to add, but there are only so many hours in the day! New Features

• Language Selection (28 languages so far)
• Text alignment (outside, centre or inside of arc)
• Font size 12 - 30pt
• 24/12 hour clock modes
• Flipping of text when it’s in the lower half of the arc (to stop it being upside down)
• Guidelines behind arcs
• Arc properties (thickness, padding, radius )
• A spacer Arc for padding between Date and Time ( movable to be between any arc)
• Continuous/Stepped motion (continuous was requested a lot, so that you can see a minute slowly stretching each second to become the next minute etc).
• Ordering of the arcs. You can put the arcs in any order that you want.
• Colours: Luminance, change the lightness of the arcs
• Colours: Saturation, change the strength of the colour
• Colours: Hue offset, change the hue of the arcs to between 0º and 360º.

Who deserves the F1 world champion title?

Next weekend would be an interesting moment. Three drivers will compete for the F1 world champion title. But who really deserve the title?

These are selected quotes about them:

"It would be a joke.

For weeks Alonso has behaved so badly with his team that he has hardly any friends or supporters left." Niki Lauda

"It is painfully obvious to me that the right guy to be world champion is Lewis. In fact my main fear would be if he didn't win it." Bernie Ecclestone

"If Lewis wins the drivers' championship he will act like a real world champion. He will know exactly what is expected of him and what he has to do." Bernie Ecclestone

"barely talks to anyone" Bernie Ecclestone when asked about Kimi Raikkonen

Wurz retire from F1 with immediate effect

We've heard about Wurz leaving F1 after Brazillian GP. But on 8th October, he was announced to retire starting from the moment he made the announcement and will not race at Brazilian GP. Williams will announce their replacement for Brazilian GP today.

Below is the press release:

The AT&T Williams driver, Alex Wurz,today confirmed his retirement from active racing in Formula One.Alex made his Formula One debut in 1997 with Benetton in Canada, since which time he has driven for McLaren and most recently the AT&T Williams team, as test driver in 2006 before taking on a race seat for the 2007 season.In ten seasons, Alex has made 69 Grand Prix starts, with his most recent visit to the podium coming on the track where his Formula One career began in Montréal.

Making his announcement, the 33 year old Austrian, who has recently become a father for the third time, said, “I would today like to announce my retirement from active racing in Formula One. I would like to thank my family and fans,everyone at AT&T Williams and my previous teams, as well as the media, for all of their support during my Formula One racing career.

In such a hard fought environment as Formula One, I have always maintained that if you have a moment’s doubt about what you are doing, then it is time to stop. Privately I began to have these thoughts earlier this year and so have decided that now is the time to make my announcement.

Racing this season has been a real pleasure, especially securing the podium in Canada which was pretty sweet along with a number of other strong races, but now it is time to call it a day. I’d like to thank the team for accepting my decision and I wish them all the best for the last race of the year.”

He concluded, “I look forward to my future and perhaps the opportunity to pass on my knowledge and skills in Formula One and I have some discussions under way. I may also race again, perhaps in Le Mans or other categories and certainly some of my time will now be committed to the very important subject of road safety.”

In response to Alex’s announcement, AT&T Williams’ Team Principal, Frank Williams said, “Alex has made an invaluable contribution to the team for the past two years, first as one of the best test and development drivers the team has ever worked with, and more recently as a race driver.

This season Alex has had some very strong drives in difficult circumstances and we would like to thank him for all he has contributed. Alex is well known,immensely popular and widely regarded as one of Formula One’s gentlemen. I am sure I speak for everyone in the paddock when I wish Alex and his family the very best for the future.”

The AT&T Williams team will confirm its replacement race nomination for the Brazilian Grand Prix in a written statement tomorrow, Tuesday October 9, 2007.

10 Questions when taking digital photograph

This topic was from Digital Photography School. For more explanation, click read at the bottom of this post.

1. What story am I telling?
2. What is the visual focal point of this shot?
3. What competing focal points are there?
4. What is in the background and foreground?
5. Am I close enough?
6. What is the main source of light?
7. Is my Framing Straight?
8. What other perspectives could I capture this subject from?
9. How would holding the camera in the other format change this shot?
10. How will the eye travel through this image?

Read

Wurz will retire from F1 after Brazilian GP

Alexander Wurz, the Williams driver will retire from racing in F1 after Brazilian GP.

Wurz, having returned to the grid this year after six straight years as a tester for McLaren and Williams respectively, has struggled to match the pace of his team-mate Nico Rosberg.

Wurz was asked about the retirement rumours by reporters in Shanghai, but he apologised and pointed to an agreement with Sir Frank Williams to keep quiet for a bit longer.

Source: F1-Live

Chinese Grand Prix 2007 - Race Day

2007 FORMULA 1™ Sinopec Chinese Grand Prix
Shanghai


The Info
Race Date: 07 Oct 2007
Number of Laps: 56
Circuit Length: 5.400 km
Race Distance: 305.066 km
Lap Record: 1:32.238 - M Schumacher (2004)
Time difference: GMT +8

Designed by Hermann Tilke. It is the most expensive Formula One circuit facility, costing $240 million. There is accommodation for up to 200,000 spectators with main grandstand holding 29,500 and overlooking almost 80 per cent of the track.

There are two opposing stands on the north-east part of the circuit holding more than 10,000 each with roofs shaped like lotus leaves and 150,000 people can be housed on the rest of the enclosure in temporary stands or on the surrounding banking.

The team buildings are constructed on a special island on a lake on the infield.

The technical track and seven left-hand and seven right-hand bends and will place enormous emphasis on the car's aerodynamics and the driver's stamina and concentration. 7 left turns, 7 righ turns.

Related links: Chinese GP Wikipedia | F1.com

image from pitpass.com

The Result

1. K Raikkonen
2. F Alonso
3. F Massa
4. S Vettel
5. J Button
6. V Liuzzi
7. N Heidfeld
8. D Coulthard
9. H Kovalainen
10. M Webber
11. G Fisichella
12. A Wurz
13. J Trulli
14. T Sato
15. R Barrichello
16. N Rosberg
17. S Yamamoto

Did not finish

• R Kubica
• L Hamilton
• R Schumacher
• A Sutil
• A Davidson

The Drivers’ Championship Points
L Hamilton 107
F Alonso 103
K Raikkonen 100
F Massa 86
N Heidfeld 58

The Constructors’ Championship Points
Scuderia Ferrari 186
BMW Sauber 96
ING Renault 51

Today's photo

Selected quotes

"Throughout the year, many drivers have been sanctioned for small things, but there is one (driver) who never gets anything," Massa observed.

"It seems that someone wants Hamilton to win," he added.

The highest motor racing official in Spain, meanwhile, agrees that it is strange that Hamilton escaped penalty for what he become known as the 'YouTube' affair.

"What is certain is that in similar circumstances, penalties are applied," FIA Vice President Carlos Gracia said.

My Mum is Amazing - Naadira Alli

A song about an orphaned girl dreaming about an amazing mum.

The lyrics

She wakes early in the morning with a smile
And she holds my head up high:
"Don’t you ever let anybody put you down -
‘Coz you are my little angel"

Then she makes something warm for me to drink -
‘Coz it’s cold out there, she thinks
Then she walks me to school - yes, I ain’t no fool
I just think my mum is amazing

Chorus
She makes me feel -
Like I can do anything
And when she’s with me
There’s nowhere else I’d rather be

After school, she’s waiting by the gate
I’m so happy that I just can’t wait -
To get home to tell her how my day went
Eat the yummy food only my mum makes

Then I wind her up ‘coz I don’t want to bath
And we run around the house with a laugh
No matter what I say, she gets her way
I think my mum is amazing

(Chorus)

In the evening, she tucks me into bed
And I wrap my arms around her head
Then she tells me a tale of a girl far away -
Who one day became a princess

I’m so happy - I don’t want her to leave
So she lies in bed with me
As I close my eyes, how lucky am I -
To have a mum that’s so amazing

(Chorus)

Then I wake up in the morning - she’s not there
And I realise she never was
And I’m still here in this lonely orphanage -
With so many just like me

And as my dreams begin to fade
I try hard to look forward to my day
But there’s a pain in my heart that’s a craving:
How I wish I had a mum that’s amazing
Would be amazing

11 photography tips for beginner

For those who are still new to photography, you should take attention to these 11 tips I’ve found on Digital Photography School. I think I should read this again even I’ve known photography for some years. But I’m still use a point & shoot camera. Not a slr camera. Maybe next year I’ll use a slr camera.

1. Don’t buy the most expensive equipment right away
2. Consider a tripod
3. Bring along the camera with you all the time
4. Make lists of shot you would like to take
5. Don’t overlook mundane subjects for photography
6. Enjoy the learning process
7. Take advantage of free resource
8. Experiments with your camera’s settings
9. Learn basic rules
10. Take photos regularly
11. Don’t afraid to experiment

Read [at DPS]

2007 Chinese GP Qualifying

image from pitpass.com

Q1

1. K Raikkonen
2. F Massa
3. L Hamilton
4. F Alonso
5. R Kubica
6. N Heidfeld
7. D Coulthard
8. S Vettel
9. V Liuzzi
10. J Button
11. R Schumacher
12. N Rosberg
13. M Webber
14. A Davidson
15. J Trulli
16. H Kovalainen

Q1 Knockout Zone

• R Barrichello
• G Fisichella
• A Wurz
• T Sato
• A Sutil
• S Yamamoto

Q2

1. K Raikkonen
2. F Massa
3. F Alonso
4. L Hamilton
5. R Kubica
6. N Heidfeld
7. D Coulthard
8. M Webber
9. R Schumacher
10. J Button

Q2 Knockout Zone

• V Liuzzi
• S Vettel
• J Trulli
• H Kovalainen
• A Davidson
• N Rosberg

Q3

1. L Hamilton
2. K Raikkonen
3. F Massa
4. F Alonso
5. D Coulthard
6. R Schumacher
7. M Webber
8. N Heidfeld
9. R Kubica
10. J Button

Hamilton under investigation over Japan driving

Formula One stewards in Shanghai are examining new evidence concerning Lewis Hamilton’s driving behind the safety car in last weekend’s rain-swept Japanese Grand Prix.

The McLaren star was leading the pack awaiting a restart when the two cars immediately behind him - Mark Webber’s Red Bull and Sebastian Vettel’s Toro Rosso - collided, putting both out of the race.

Webber and Vettel both hinted that erratic driving from Hamilton had played a role in their shunt. Video footage is understood to show the championship leader moving to the right of the track and slowing immediately prior to the accident, in which Vettel ran into the back of Webber's car.

"It definitely contributed to Sebastian hitting me up the back because he (Hamilton) wasn't doing what he was supposed to be doing (behind the safety car), clearly," Webber told Thursday’s FIA press conference in China.

Vettel was also critical of Hamilton. "In the end it was my fault. I am not here to blame anybody but I think it is clear the rhythm was not there. We are all sitting in the same boat."

"At that point (of the crash) I was distracted, looking to the right. I was sure he (Hamilton) was retiring, he seemed to have no power any longer, but by the time I looked back I was already in Mark's rear end."

Vettel was penalised for his part in the accident and is due to drop ten places on the grid for Sunday's Chinese Grand Prix.

Words from F1.com

Alonso has the inability to accept being beaten

Pat Symonds, Renault's engineering chief who worked closely with the 26-year-old Spaniard when he raced to two consecutive world championships in 2005 and 2006 believed that Fernando Alonso has the 'inability to accept being beaten' and this may explain the incurable rift with the McLaren team this year.

Symonds, who worked at Toleman with Ayrton Senna, and also with Michael Schumacher at Benetton, describes Alonso as 'one of the most difficult drivers to understand' that he has personally encountered.

"He's a very complex character"

"He only had one very, very small chink in his armour when he drove for us," Symonds explained, "and that was the inability to accept being beaten.”

"Actually that's a really good quality, but it was the one time he was perhaps slightly irrational - when Giancarlo (Fisichella) beat him, for example.”

"I think that what we've seen this year, with Lewis unexpectedly giving him such a hard time, it's opened up that chink a little bit," Symonds said.

Symonds' boss Flavio Briatore, however, suggests that while Alonso can be difficult to work with, getting the most out of a driver is the responsibility of the team.

Briatore told La Gazzetta dello Sport: "Dennis has often alleged to be very good at managing drivers, especially the Latin ones.

"With the problems he's had with Senna, Montoya and Alonso, he must have lost the instructions manual. Maybe he did not study Latin at school."

Source: F1-Live

Relationship with Apple Inc

News on F1 drivers' market

It's almost end of season for F1 and there are lots of rumours about drivers changing teams for the next season. This is the quick look on the situation:

1. Ralf won't be racing for Toyota next season, also linked to McLaren for next season
2. Kovalainen will stay at Renault and they're (Renault) still waiting for Alonso
3. Nico Rosberg was suggested by Bernie Ecclestone to fill the empty seat at McLaren if Alonso do not stay at McLaren next year.
4. Lewis Hamilton will probably stay at McLaren and waiting for a 5-year contract
5. Timo Glock, the newly crowned GP2 champion in talks for F1 return with Toyota and Williams.

Mini macro studio

Last night I did shoot some macro photos and using a mini DIY studio as you can see in the photos below. I should get a better paper for the background for a better result. Here I include the sample shots. For the lighting, nothing special, light from wall mounted fluorescent lamp. No additional light and I use mirror to direct the lights from the fluorescent lamp to the subject. The lighting was actually not very good, plus I’ve shoot these photos at night. That was why the photos have a lot of noise. But I’m very happy that I’ve done this. More experiments will come later. Maybe for the lighting.

the mini studio

the sample shots

How to breath deeply when you're nervous

image from ftrain.com

Found this one at del.icio.us.

1. Exhale completely, as if you're blowing out the candles on a very big birthday cake.
2. Bend over. This expels the last bits of air from your lungs. When you're totally out of air, don't let any air come into your throat.
3. Stand up. This increases lung volume, so air will want to flow into your lungs, but don't breathe. Wait until your body needs a breath—10 seconds or so.
4. Then, when you can't take much more, breathe. Your body will have moved over from your normal, everyday breathing to unregulated, autonomic “response breathing.”

Read

Eye

Got the idea from my friend paan. Hope you'll be fine.

Nokia unlock anti-Apple campaign

Found this on Engadget. It was said that this photo was shoot in New York city by a MacRumours user. Anyway Apple should unlock the iPhone. So that everybody especially developers can develop more software for iPhone just like how we can customize our phones that uses Windows Mobile Edition or Symbian or Palm.

Toyota drop Ralf for 2008

Ralf Schumacher’s prospects of racing in F1 in 2008 look slim as Toyota have announced he will not race for them next year.

The announcement comes one day after Timo Glock, who has been linked his fellow German’s Toyota drive, won the GP2 championship. The past two GP2 champions, Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton, both went straight into F1. Glock is contracted to BMW, but they have already confirmed Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica for 2008.

Source: F1 Fanatic

BMW will launch F1.08 on January

BMW Sauber will launch its 2008 contender, the F1.08, on 14-15 January next year.

The Swiss based team, having stopped development of its current car to focus exclusively on its successor, is the first to unveil its launch date for 2008.

Alonso's Japanese GP 2007 crash

Sequence of Alonso's crash.

all pictures belong to their respective owners: F1-Live.com

Vettel penalised for running into Webber

image from pitpass.com

Stewards’ at the Japanese Grand Prix handed Sebastian Vettel a penalty that he will have to carry on to next weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix.

Vettel ran into the back of Mark Webber on the 2nd place whist running behind the safety car. As the result, both of them retired from the race because of a huge damage on their car.

Vettel will take a ten position penalty into qualifying next Saturday in Shanghai.

"By the time I looked forward again, I was already in the back of Mark's car and I think he had also reacted to Lewis," the German said. "I apologise now to Mark because I ruined both our races."

Vettel was called a “kid with no experience” by Webber at UK broadcaster ITV.

FIA statement over Ferrari claim

The following is a press release from the FIA.

"A communication from the Stewards requiring all competitors to fit extreme wet-weather tyres for safety reasons was sent to all teams by email at 12:35 hrs local time today. Save for Scuderia Ferrari, all competitors have confirmed that they received the email at 12:37 hrs.

"It is understood that Scuderia Ferrari did not receive the email at the same time as other competitors. As a result, Scuderia Ferrari was the only team which did not start on extreme wet-weather tyres.

"The 2007 Formula One Sporting Regulations (Art. 15.
Cliquez ici...
1) state that in exceptional circumstances Stewards or Race Director may give instructions to Competitors by means of special circulars in accordance with the Code and these circulars will be distributed to all competitors who must acknowledge receipt.

"At a meeting of the Formula One Sporting Working Group held in Monaco on 7th December 2006, all teams agreed to an electronic distribution system to ensure that all competitors received communications simultaneously, with no time advantage for a team by virtue of their location in the pit lane. This system has been used throughout the current championship year.

"To avoid any recurrence of today's problem the agreed method of using electronic communications will continue to be used but in future will be backed up by the traditional method of written communication."

Source: FIA Press Release 30.09.07