And so it starts........

[jb44]

Greetings and Salutations Sniffers

Ferrari has released photos of their 2008 F1 lethal weapon. Pretty innit? Can't remember when last Ferrari actually unveiled an ugly F1 car, how about you? Sky News informs me that little Lewis has been given a rather generous contract for 2008, which is nice. Alonso is back with Renault, and both Ecclestone and Mosley are still alive and in charge. I do not know whether their union has been legalised or not, but I do know it that it is unwholesome. So no change there then.

It is the same with me every year; at the end of every season I decry Formula 1 for turning themselves into a big bunch of whores, swear blind I will never, ever watch another race, and then ending my tirade with ever since Ayerton died, F1 has lost its mojo. Conveniently forgetting the Ferrari/Schumacher period, of course. Raikkonen is a worthy champion, I am sure. Wish he did not have a voice like a dripping tap, but what can you do, eh?

Everyone is now blaming Alonso, so I won't anymore. I mean, what's the fun in following the crowd? So for 2008, I may just cheer for the little Spaniard, unless he wins; in which case I shall anoint him as the living Anti-Christ. And then there's Lewis. At the end of 2007 he was the absolute favourite; to win he had to do less than either Alonso or Raikkonen, and then the little bastard choked. Kids of today etc. And can anyone please explain to me why my good self, as unhinged a Ferrari fan as you can hope to find, remains unmoved by another Ferrari triumph?

To end on a more positive note, something that has nothing to do with racing. This weekend a pilot, by name of John Coward, glided an engineless Boeing 777 into Heathrow Airport. Tore the wheels of the things and everyone survived. All Hail the Hero of Heathrow. A modest man, but with very little to be modest about, Capt. Coward has helped to restore my faith in mankind no end. Respek Sir! Wish F1 could do that.

I am looking forward to irritating the bejesus out of all of you for the entire 2008 season. I expect your replies to be commensurately brutal.

Kind Regards
Johan Buchner

[motormouth23]

Just a thought with regards to Captain Coward. He did indeed do a good job and saved many lives- thus he has been elevated to the status of national hero. But that's just it. He did his JOB. Pilots are generously paid to keep planes in the air and when not in the air safely on the ground. Coward will have gone through hours and hours of training for such an event. Granted there was a great amount of skill and talent involved in bringing the plane to a safe stop but i do think, at the end of the day, they were only doing their job.

With regards to F1- most probably just another year of vile politcal one-up-manship and corporate profiteering. So far as I'm concerned it can rot in hell. That doesn't mean to say I won't be sat on my sofa come 4am on morning in March.

[garcon]

'tis true he was 'merely' doing his job. But not many of us ever find ourselves in the position that getting our job just slightly wrong ends in the deaths of over 150 people.

johan, it will be my pleasure to respond with suitable brutality once the real fun begins. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/169144-ok.gif[/img]

As a parting note, something a very funny lady said on the News Quiz the other week came to mind. She was talking about Jeremy Clarkson, but it could just as easily have been your very good self:

[ QUOTE ]
He is a man whose opinions are unencumbered by the truth.

[/ QUOTE ]

[Jamiekip]

RE: Captain Coward: Thing is, I have a pilot friend, and he was saying you get all the training in the world to deal with engine failure, systems crashes etc, at anything above 10,000 feet where you can glide from full cruising speed, but there is nothing in the traning manual about dealing with sudden power failure on final approach.
Think about it, at the point the pilot has trimmed the aircraft to approach speed and is decreasing speed with flaps, airbrakes and the gear extended - making the plane twitchy and reponsive, but it's nearing stall speed - then what, 1km or so out, all power is lost.
I take my hat off to that guy, as he nursed what was basically a rock falling out of the sky, over populated areas, a very busy piece of road and in to the perimeter of the actual airport where the emergency services could get to them easily.

Impressive, very impressive!

A bit or a serious reply that one!
Sorry