Schumacher is back!

Schumacher has signed a three year contract with Mercedes, a little surprised by the length of the contract, but not that he signed. It is a nice full circle for Michael, Mercedes got him into the Jordan at Spa in ’91 for his first race after Bert Gachot was jailed in London for pepper-spraying a taxi driver. The three year contract allows Michael to stay…

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Virgin GP

Sir Richard Branson is a man who understands value for money. What started as a market stall and some Mike Oldfield vinyl has grown into a vast empire that has touched everything from air travel to board games. In the past the brand invested heavily in stunts like crossing the Atlantic in a record time, a balloon trip around the world and so on. Clearly…

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The view from 36,000 feet

I fly a lot; it comes with my job, along with living 6000 miles away from aging parents, and wanting to occasionally see the sun while living in Seattle during the winter. I don’t particularly enjoy 10 hours sitting in a 26 foot wide aluminium tube, but it’s a necessary part of my life. Even though I’ve worked in aero for more than 20 years,…

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Where the money comes from is changing

Despite the withdrawal of Toyota, Honda, BMW and Renault limiting their exposure within the sport, the cost of competing in Formula One remains very high. Other than Mercedes, Ferrari and perhaps Renault teams are wholly reliant on sponsorship. And competition for sponsors is fierce. Lotus is partially owned by the Malaysian Government, who have stated that no public money will be going to the team…

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A planning dilema…

It’s that time of year when I need to buy my planner refill for next year, for the last couple of years I’ve been using Franklin Covey to help organize my work-flow. Generally I like the system, but the lists can become a little difficult to manage. In short it’s a top-down/pull planning system that does its initial sort by importance and is weak when…

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Schumacher and Mercedes?

Will he, won’t he… Bernie told the London Times that it would be “magic” if Michael Schumacher decided F1 with Mercedes was his future. And if Mr. Ecclestone says that it’s a good idea then, clearly discussions have progressed beyond Ross Brawn making a quick phone call asking “what do you think about coming out of retirement and driving for us?” This rumour has been…

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British GP is back on

The British GP saga finally seems to be done with; yesterday Silverstone’s owners signed a long term contract for the race. For the last 20 years I think the British GP has always been under some kind of threat, but it’s also been assumed that somehow everything will come together and there will be a race in Britain. Countries like China, Bahrain and Abu Dhabi…

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Glasvegas

Glasvegas, Glasvegas Scottish band Glasvegas was discovered by the same man who propelled Oasis to the crest of the Britpop wave. Their self titled album is full of big sounds and was recommended to me by my brother. I got the same feeling listening to this than I did when “Sean the storeman” lent me “Definitely maybe”. Both albums came very heavily hyped, and both live…

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