Formula One and Race Locations
Formula One's traditional home is in Europe and that is where it has the most fan support. Not only that, all of the teams, for the most part, are based there. As are the great, historic race tracks, that are so awe inspiring. Despite this, the higher ups in F1 are and have been keen to take the racing out and away from Europe. There are less European circuits on the calendar. And there are more, new races in Asia. And more are proposed all the time. But now it appears it is beginning to backfire. Bernie Ecclestone has stated that Australia's race in Melbourne may be chopped. Why, you may ask? Because the time zone differences between Australia and Europe are so drastic, the TV ratings are suffering. The US Grand Prix has terrific ratings because its time slot lines up with prime time TV in Europe. So Ecclestone wants the Melbourne race to become a night race. This would make it so that the race would be on in Europe during a more attractive part of the day.
Instead of trying to force the Melbourne race to become a night race, F1 should ditch the new, Asian races. The new tracks in Asia are among the worst on the schedule. It is fine for F1 to expand to new locations but they need to be smart and reasonable about it. They should not be cutting so many traditional races. Just because some country has a pile of oil money and is willing to spend it on F1, should not mean that they get a race. F1 needs look at the facts and plan the races accordingly.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Monday, May 21, 2007
America's Cup!
America's Cup!
It will only be a short time before the Louis Vuitton Cup will have been won and the challenger will have been decided for the 32 America's Cup in Valencia, Spain. In the meantime, the defender, Alinghi (Switzerland), are busy practicing and working the kinks out in preparation for their defense of the Cup.
The Louis Vuitton Cup semifinals have held some surprizes. To begin with, the American team (BMW Oracle) was eliminated in 6 races by the Italians. They were utterly annihilated, never leading around a mark. The only reason they won one race is because they managed to take the lead on a down wind leg in race two. The Spanish team has also faired fairly well against Emirates Team New Zealand, with that serious headed for a seventh match. Eventually, I expect the Kiwis to win the Louis Vuitton Cup and challenge the Swiss for the America's Cup. But provided they get past the hometown favorites, the Italians could yet give them a run for their money.
It will be interesting to see what the sailing conditions are like for the America's Cup. The wind conditions are expected to be stronger then they have been during the Louis Vuitton Cup. But it will be something new for both the challenger and the defender.
Enjoy the rest of the Louis Vuitton Cup and 32 America's Cup.
It will only be a short time before the Louis Vuitton Cup will have been won and the challenger will have been decided for the 32 America's Cup in Valencia, Spain. In the meantime, the defender, Alinghi (Switzerland), are busy practicing and working the kinks out in preparation for their defense of the Cup.
The Louis Vuitton Cup semifinals have held some surprizes. To begin with, the American team (BMW Oracle) was eliminated in 6 races by the Italians. They were utterly annihilated, never leading around a mark. The only reason they won one race is because they managed to take the lead on a down wind leg in race two. The Spanish team has also faired fairly well against Emirates Team New Zealand, with that serious headed for a seventh match. Eventually, I expect the Kiwis to win the Louis Vuitton Cup and challenge the Swiss for the America's Cup. But provided they get past the hometown favorites, the Italians could yet give them a run for their money.
It will be interesting to see what the sailing conditions are like for the America's Cup. The wind conditions are expected to be stronger then they have been during the Louis Vuitton Cup. But it will be something new for both the challenger and the defender.
Enjoy the rest of the Louis Vuitton Cup and 32 America's Cup.
Friday, May 18, 2007
Free Speech Banned
Free Speech Banned
The Turtle Mountain Reservation, in North Dakota, has banned a man from coming on Tribal lands. The reason? The man's political opinion. Here is a Minot Daily News story. Here is the man's blog. The whole, weird (perhaps it is more common than we think?) incident is well covered in his blog. Any way you cut it, what the Turtle Mountain Reservation did was political censorship. There is no way around it. A person of differing opinion has been banned from coming into the Tribal community for writing his opinion on his website.
On to his blog post that got him banned (original post). His views are very accurate. Indian Reservations are terrible places. Any one who has even just driven through one, knows this. And why are they this way? For the exact reasons he outlined. There is way too much government support. Basically, Indian Reservations need to be done away with and Indians need to live like regular Americans, under the same laws.
The Turtle Mountain Reservation, in North Dakota, has banned a man from coming on Tribal lands. The reason? The man's political opinion. Here is a Minot Daily News story. Here is the man's blog. The whole, weird (perhaps it is more common than we think?) incident is well covered in his blog. Any way you cut it, what the Turtle Mountain Reservation did was political censorship. There is no way around it. A person of differing opinion has been banned from coming into the Tribal community for writing his opinion on his website.
On to his blog post that got him banned (original post). His views are very accurate. Indian Reservations are terrible places. Any one who has even just driven through one, knows this. And why are they this way? For the exact reasons he outlined. There is way too much government support. Basically, Indian Reservations need to be done away with and Indians need to live like regular Americans, under the same laws.
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
"Petition of the Candlemakers"
Here is a link to excellent write up on economics policy. The "Petition of the Candlemakers," was written by French economist Frederic Bastiat. LINK It explains very clearly why the government should stay out of private industry. Enjoy.
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