F1 Australian GP

I stayed up early this morning and watched the F1 Australian GP and I'm glad I did. It was an exciting race and provided my only racing fix today; both NASCAR and IndyCar have been rained out until tomorrow. For much of the race Massa, Alonso, Hamilton, and Webber had a great fight (up until Hamilton tried to pass Alonso and Webber slammed into the back of him). Vettel went out due to brake failure and left the race in the hands of Button, who had stopped first for slicks after the track began to dry. Button ran a tire management race and did a great job of it; he went close to 3/4 distance on soft tires while some of the other cars stopped for new softs halfway through and used up the new tires trying to get back toward the front. Kubica did an outstanding job in a lesser car, finishing second in the Renault with Massa coming in third.

Here's some of my observations and commentary from Twitter (end of race at top, beginning of race at bottom):

• Good race by Button and Kubica, Massa follows in P3. Thinking McLarens are being built by Audi after seeing Hamilton's car survive! #F1 (Hamilton's car survived several instances of contact; it reminded me of how well the Audi R-8 and R-10 stood up to crashes)
  
• Webber and Hamilton crash as Hamilton tries to pass Alonso! #F1
  
• Heck of a race for P4-P6 now. Great Stuff!! #F1
  
• Hamilton and Webber almost to rear wing of Alonso and Massa. Business is about to pick up. #F1
  
• Kubica doing great job holding off the Ferraris, surprised that Ferrari hasn't pulled a shennanigan to get Alonso in front of Massa. #F1
• Can't see these tires lasting the whole #F1 race, already blistering on rears. (Boy was I wrong!)
  
• Vettel Off!!!! Brand New Race in #F1. Bad luck...
  
• Good action for P5-P8 in #F1
• Massa holding up Hamilton and Alonso is stalking them both. Still the Vettel show at the front though. #F1
• What a series of passes and errors: Webber, Hamilton, and Massa #F1
• Button is the guinea pig for slicks, let's see what happens #F1
  
• At least 4 cars off to start the race and the Safety Car is out due to massive crash. Good start by Massa though.
  
• I NEVER get tired of Sam Posey's intros to the #F1 races on #SpeedTV.
• Rain starting to fall in Melborne! #F1 race could get interesting

Mac McCormick III

ALMS Timing and Scoring For Smartphones

I got a tweet from the American LeMans Series this afternoon introducing their live timing and scoring for Smartphones. I tried it out during the afternoon test and session and it was pretty cool; it updates every few seconds with positions, times, driver in car, etc. To keep up with the ALMS test sessions, practice sessions, and races, try it at: scoring.americanlemans.com/m

Mac McCormick III

B&J's Seafood and Steaks

Thanks to a suggestion from some Co-Workers, I tried out B&J's Seafood and Steaks in Darien to satisfy another hungering for seafood. B&J's is on the west side of US 17 in Darien; it is a rather small building, so don't go too fast or you might miss it (or get stopped by the Darien PD or McIntosh SO!). B&J's isn't much to look at and it is not fancy, but the food is great and the service is friendly. I ordered the fried shrimp basket for $10.95 and sweet tea. The shrimp basket is 1/2 lb of wild Georgia shrimp, texas toast and fries. You can also get a full pound shrimp dinner for $15.95 but unless you're going to share it with someone get the basket. A bonus is that the fried food wasn't greasy at all. It's definitely a good place to stop and grab dinner if you're near Darien while traveling I-95 or US-17 and it is not too far to go from here in Brunswick to satisfy a hungering for Seafood.

Mac McCormick III

Lil Wayne Going to Jail = Elvis Serving in the Army?

Yesterday an interesting news story made it's way across the Google News website. I wouldn't know Lil Wayne if he was standing in front of me nor have I ever listened to any of him music, but the headline of the article drew me to it: "Lil Wayne Going To Jail Is Like Elvis Being Drafted."

With all due respect, I can't see a comparison between Lil Wayne going to prison over a firearms charge and Elvis doing his military service. This article compares the effect on pop music between the two events and a friend of Lil Wayne states that the effect will be similar. Perhaps so, but Lil Wayne is going to prison. Elvis was drafted, did his service without complaining and by all reports was a good soldier while he was in.

I am not an Elvis fan, but in the end, there is just no comparison. It really is disrespectful to Elvis Presley to make that comparison.

Mac McCormick III

Another "Culinary" Adventure in Brunswick

I tried a new place for lunch in Brunswick today: Salvador's Delicatessen. It is in downtown Brunswick at 205 Gloucester St. Finding a spot to park at some times of the day may be problematic (I got there before noon, I suspect more downtown parking spots will be filled after the noon hour) but it is like downtown Savannah, the walk really isn't all that bad. I ordered the Philly Cheese-steak, which came with chips and a pickle spear with a Jumbo sweet tea. The chips were regular "Lay's" type chips but the sandwich was great; it had sauteed onions and bell pepper but I wish there would have been an option for mushrooms. My only complaint was the size; my total order came to around $7.95 so I wish the sandwich would have been a little bigger. That said, I will be a repeat customer.

Mac McCormick III

Possible Slave Gravesite Found in Dowtown Savannah

From the WTOC Story:
http://www.wtoc.com/Global/story.asp?S=12032853

A possible Slave grave site was found while construction crews were doing demolition work at some property on East Waldburg St. in Savannah. The demolition has been stopped until archaeologists and historians can look at the site and determine exactly what was found. It should be interesting to follow this in the news; hopefully WTOC will continue to cover the story as it develops.

Mac McCormick III

Danica Mania for the Second Week in a Row

Before anyone thinks I've got something against Danica Patrick, let me assure you that I don't. I really wish her well in both NASCAR and the IRL. Once again, this week, my problem is with the media. Just as they did at Daytona, they completely over covered Danica Patrick to the detriment of everyone else at the track. Never before have I seen a backmarker, and let's be honest - that is what she was at California, get so much TV time.

To be honest, I feel sorry for Danica and the microscope she's been under. It's really unfair to have such attention and expectations placed upon you when NASCAR's rules don't allow for a lot of testing. She has not had the chance to test in these cars and learn about them before coming to the race tracks. It really puts her behind the eight ball because most of the other rookies come from a stock car background rather than the open wheel background she comes from.

Mac McCormick III