Chris Bevan

° end of the boom

Wed, 12 Nov 2008 07:15:59 +1100

The End of Wall Street’s Boom. Get yourself a coffee and have a good read of this one. Michael Lewis, author of Liar’s Poker, one of my favourite books, gives his account of an end of an era on Wall St.

° loeb five times wrc champion

Fri, 07 Nov 2008 06:07:09 +1100

Sebastien Loeb has won 2008 World Rally Championship with a sturdy third place in the Rally Japan held last weekend. Main Championship rival Mikko Hirvonen took the round after dominating from the outset with team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala finishing second. It could have easily been a Ford 1-2-3 had Francois Duval not had a savage high-speed off in SS6.

LEWIS HAMILTON, WORLD CHAMPION

Tue, 04 Nov 2008 06:53:26 +1100

So Lewis Hamilton has won the Formula 1 World Championship at only his second attempt. The final race in Brazil was one of the most exciting Grand Prix in recent history, the last ten or so laps brilliant as the threat then reality of rain loomed and all the front runners had to make a last minute dash into the pits to change onto suitable tyres.

With Hamilton only needing a fifth place or better to secure the Championship, he was overtaken in pretty dramatic circumstances by a hard-charging Sebastian Vettel. For a moment all seemed to have been lost for Hamilton until, in the last couple of corners and at the last possible moment, he managed to sneak past Timo Glock’s struggling Toyota to take back fifth place and win the Championship. Incredible stuff. The scenes of both Ferrari and McLaren teams celebrating at the end of the race were absolutely priceless.

Massa did everything right all weekend, qualifying on pole and dominating the race from the outset. Hamilton seemed to drive a measured race, not pushing too hard and saving himself from taking any unnecessary risks, though in the end - that’s all that was required and he did the job. Well done Lewis!

° mclaren f1 sold at auction

Sun, 02 Nov 2008 18:53:53 +1100

A McLaren F1 has sold at auction for £2.3m That’s a whopping AU$5.5m! This was the car (#65) that sat in the London Park Lane McLaren showroom for years, reportedly the last road version produced and with only 484km on the clock. But still - financial crisis, what financial crisis?

VINGT MILLE LIEUES SOUS LES MERS

Fri, 31 Oct 2008 06:59:08 +1100

Last Friday I picked up a copy of the classic “20,000 Leagues under the Sea” by Jules Verne and last night I finished reading it. That would have to be some kind of record for me, I usually sit on a book for weeks or months. I’d say it’s a direct reflection on just how much I enjoyed reading it.

The most interesting thing about this book is just how advanced it was for its day, I mean it was first published way back in 1870. Whilst there had been some basic prototype / proof-of-concept submarines at or around this time in history, the fact remains that Verne just about invented the modern submarine within the context of this book, an incredible thought. The descriptions of travelling underwater, amongst subterranean mountain ranges; of divers using self-contained breathing apparatus and the submarine travelling underneath ice - all pure fantasy back in the day, all have been fulfilled in more recent history.

° mcdonalds frees wifi

Fri, 31 Oct 2008 06:24:55 +1100

McDonald’s Australia are to offer free, censored wifi from March ‘09. Access provided and filtered by a product called ‘Clean Pipes’ by Earthwave.

° canon 50d review

Fri, 31 Oct 2008 06:18:34 +1100

DPReview review the Canon EOS 50D. As much as I’d like to upgrade to a 5D mkII, this one is looking like a strong upgrade path prospect.

° google earth for iphone

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 06:27:20 +1100

Google Earth for iPhone. I can’t get enough of Google Earth.

WITH THE WORKS

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 20:40:50 +1100

With our MINI in for a service, I was extremely lucky to snag a brand-spanking MINI John Cooper Works for the day as a loaner.

The John Cooper Works is not a regular Cooper S. It’s drivetrain is thoroughly reengineered with a larger, stronger turbo, running higher boost pressure; different pistons, valves; larger air intake and exhaust; strengthened gearbox; some clever electronics to keep the added power & torque in check and much larger brakes to slow it down.

Compared to our ‘regular’ Cooper S, this thing is an absolute animal.

It pops and crackles between shifts and on downshifts, the turbo whistles as it spools up and the wastegate whistles and chatters on over run. What an incredible engine! Very tempted to take a look at getting one when the time comes to trade up. I cannot begin to imagine how good this thing would be around a track. Out on the road, it’s perhaps a little compromised, if only because I’d probably lose my licence within a week of taking delivery! The rate at which it gains speed through each gear is simply incredible, mountains of torque available to keep things moving with minimal fuss through the heavy commute that was my test route. Seriously tempted.

Thanks to the guys at Col Crawford for allowing me the opportunity to experience this fantastic little car.

° longer line, shorter wait

Mon, 20 Oct 2008 06:52:25 +1100

A Long Line for a Shorter Wait at the Supermarket. Great NYT article about how a supermarket reduced the wait for a register by using one, fast moving line (like a Bank) rather than multiple, slow moving lines behind each register.

° new macbooks

Wed, 15 Oct 2008 06:47:06 +1100

Apple announces new MacBook, MacBook Pro designs, revised MacBook Air and a new 24in LED Cinema Display. Especially love the milled alumunium case for the MB/MBPs; the integrated power brick for the Cinema Display is pure genius.

° mail goggles

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 06:42:00 +1100

Mail Goggles for Gmail Google introduces a new feature for Gmail which forces the user to perform a sobriety test prior to sending emails out late on weekends. Aims to help prevent drink & email sessions you may later regret.

MORE TRAINING

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 20:09:49 +1100

I went back to Eastern Creek for more Driver Training last week. Many more cars this time around which made things interesting in the earlier sessions, especially when we had an errant F360 Challenge in the group having all kinds of issues getting around corners (I think the nut holding the steering wheel must have been a little loose) but was tearing past everything any time the track resembled anything like a straight.

Felt that I improved over last time, concentrating more on getting the lines right, keeping it smooth and keeping the speed through the corners up. Turn 1 is an absolute cracker in the MINI, a short brake at the end of the straight and then float it through the long fast left-hander.

° google turns ten

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 07:53:56 +1100

Google’s 10th birthday timeline A look back at the first ten years of Google.

NZ SOUTH ISLAND

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 20:49:37 +1100

We went to NZ last week, our first time to the South Island. Far more beautiful than you could ever imagine. Basing ourselves in Christchurch and Waipara, we made a couple of brilliant drives out to the mountains and up north as far as Kaikoura.

Click photo above to a selection of shots from our trip.