The last few days on the number 1 after changing teams I've had my HUD display the last team I was on, but the character picture will display the right color. Anyone else have that problem?
I haven't had it happen in a while, but yes I've seen that before. I think it's a clientside glitch though and can happen on any server.
I've seen it before too. New bug introduced after one of the latest patches.
Valve has really been good about introducing bugs for these last few patches.
The bug was reported a few times since the beta, but now it's really common.
yeah, I had this happen to me as well.
Was really strange to see a red team with a blue HUD.
Any ideas on how to manage/fix it?
Edit:I was thinking of spray painting my monitor the appropriate color when it messed up. I'd only need red and blu cans of paint.


Innovative technologies in healthcare software development: what do users expect from your mhealth app?
Healthcare is one of the world's largest markets. It increases by 5.4% annually and is going to exceed $10 trillion by 2022. Two global trends - aging and population growth - are driving the industry forward.
At the same time, the mass adoption of smartphones makes healthcare less conservative in terms of the patient-physician relationship and service availability. Instead of visiting a doctor every time they need advice, people can download a specific app to get online consultations for their issues. And this is only one example of how mobile health technology is transforming the medical sector worldwide.
What is mHealth, eHealth and telehealth?
Mobile health or mHealth is a subdivision of eHealth, also called digital health. While eHealth encompasses all healthcare services provided via the Internet, mHealth refers to medical care supported by smartphones, tablets, and other mobile devices.
Speaking of digital care, we can't omit the older concept of telehealth that embraces health-related services distributed via existing telecommunication channels. The first telehealth systems appeared back in the 1960s, when NASA faced the necessity to monitor astronauts' vital signs. Yet for a long time, the technology remained too expensive and featured too many flaws to enter mainstream healthcare.
77% of patients feel positive about clinicians using mobile devices in their care.
57% of patients currently use wearables to track health metrics.
37% bring health monitoring device data to the hospital when preparing to stay.
95% are willing to share electronic health data with hospital clinicians.
by 2022, 98% of hospitals plan to implement a mobile device policy.
According to Statista, by 2020, the mHealth app market will reach $46 billion, while the total digital health industry is expected to hit $206 billion. Based on other research, mHealth alone will exceed $102 billion by 2023, showing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 29.3%. These figures reveal that mHealth is one of the fastest growing markets, which creates immense business opportunities.
Image credit: Statista.com (EHR/EMR stands for electronic health records / electronic medical records).
How many mHealth apps are there?
There are over 325,000 mHealth applications in the large app stores, yet most of them fall into one of two categories. The largest one includes wellness apps, which support efforts of users to set well-being goals and monitor daily lifestyle changes. Focused on fitness, diets, and good habits, they target people who are striving to lead healthy lives.
No matter the type and purpose, mHealth solutions are becoming more sophisticated and efficient due to exploiting AI, blockchain, IoT, and other new technologies which greatly impact mHealth app development trends.
What improves mHealth intelligence and makes medical apps smarter? Obviously, digital healthcare is fueled by AI systems, which have penetrated all key industries. Using machine learning algorithms, AI-based technologies help doctors to improve diagnostic accuracy and in some cases show better results than human experts.
Deep learning has already proved to be capable of classifying skin cancer and other skin conditions by analyzing clinical images. AI doctors reach the accuracy of 90% to 97% when diagnosing childhood illnesses, they successfully assist pulmonologists with an interpretation of respiratory symptoms, identify pneumonia by the sound of a cough and even diagnose rare genetic disorders applying facial recognition techniques.
Possibilities offered by AI are not limited to a faster and more precise diagnostics. MHealth apps use artificial intelligence for selecting the appropriate treatment, verifying medication compliance, managing electronic health records, and many other tasks. Besides that, 96% of pharma professionals hope that AI will accelerate drug discovery and development.
Internet of things (IoT) implies all computing devices with a wireless connection to a network and the ability to exchange data. Its subdivision, IoMT, contains only medical wearables and equipment which mostly monitor and measure vital signs such as heart rate, blood sugar level, skin temperature, blood pressure, etc.
It is expected that by 2020, the number of IoMT devices can hit 20 or even 30 billion. While these figures may seem fantastic, they fairly reflect the huge demand for available medical services. Intelligent scanners, sensors, lenses, vaporizers, and trackers enable remote diagnostics and care, give doctors valuable insights, and allow patients to take more control over their health. In essence, IoMT combined with appropriate AI software offers a better quality of healthcare for less.
Blockchain is another concept that has a huge impact on digital healthcare in general and on mobile health app development in particular. Though many people associate this technology solely with cryptocurrency, it can resolve a wide range of tasks.
In essence, blockchain is a string of information blocks or records, each containing up to 1 Mb of data. This distributed system doesn't have an administrator - instead, every update must be verified by all computers on the blockchain network. Once vetted and added, a new record becomes available to any user yet nobody can modify or delete it.
ensuring transparency and data reliability in clinical trials.
AI-based chatbots have already become an essential part of e-commerce and currently are actively adapting to healthcare needs. They are performing different routine functions, from answering general questions to sending medication reminders.
Though bots can't replace real doctors, they have some advantages over human specialists, such as 24/7 availability and quick access to useful information. Typically, modern health bots ask patients simple questions, then make a possible diagnosis, give self-care advice and, in the end, help to book an appointment with a doctor. For example, the popular Babylon health chatbot uses deep learning to check symptoms and provide users with tailored personalized recommendations. It also enables talking to a live therapist who can prescribe drugs after a video appointment via your mobile.
A recent survey has found that one in three patients would rather speak than type when looking for health information. 71% of respondents use voice search on their phones at least once a day. Most times, they ask their devices about the nearest urgent care, a doctor's location or a pharmacy selling prescription drugs. The research also shows that people would like to use voice to make an appointment with a therapist and to know the type of insurance a doctor accepts.
In the years to come, voice user interfaces enabling speech communication between patients and mHealth apps will be even more sought-after. Voice-based search guarantees an extra level of convenience and usability to disabled and elderly people. Besides that, it can serve as an additional source of information about the patient's condition.
Are you subject to HIPAA rules?
You can hardly create a successful app without taking technology trends into account. But when it comes to mHealth projects, the most important thing you need to consider is the HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act). The document enacted in 1996 protects private healthcare data including medical records, billing, and health insurance details, or any other information that can be used to establish the identity of a patient.
Does your app receive, store, or transmit protected health information (PHI)?
Do you offer services to covered entities (individuals or organizations who must comply with HIPAA)?
If you are going to launch a fitness or diet application for personal use, you don't need to be HIPAA compliant as PHI doesn't include metrics like weight, pulse, calories burned, or steps taken. This means that the majority of health-related apps on Google Play or App Store don't fall under these regulations. But if you plan to sign an agreement and share information with covered entities such as doctors, clinics, nursing homes, and pharmacies, you must meet mHealth app development HIPAA requirements.
Access control. The HIPAA Privacy Rule gives patients the right to view their personal data whenever they want. No other people can access PHI without authorization.
Authentication. Your system must verify users who try to get access to PHI. The law gives you several options to implement security measures: biometrics, passwords, physical objects (a key or magnetic card), personal identification numbers (PINs).
Encryption. When you store or transmit PHI, it must be encrypted, so that information remains unreadable and unusable in case of a breach or leakage.
Data backup. It's essential to make daily backups of sensitive data and store copies of PHI in secure locations.
Audit controls. To prevent malpractice, your app should monitor who views, updates and modifies PHI, and when.
Automatic logoff. Your app should automatically end a session after a particular period of inactivity.
Even if you are absolutely sure that HIPAA rules in no way apply to your solution, it may be subject to other laws such as the US Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. To clear things up, we recommend using Mobile Health Apps Interactive Tool launched by the Federal Trade Commission.
Among thousands of medical and wellness solutions, we have chosen three projects to illustrate how mHealth changes the way doctors make decisions and people take care of their health.
Launched in 2013, a US-based healthcare service uses both Android and iOS platforms to connect patients with licensed doctors via video calls. After logging into the app, patients enter their symptoms, medical history and information about allergies. Then, the system randomly selects a physician who can address the issue for a video chat. Doctor on Demand focuses on urgent care, emotional support, preventive healthcare and managing chronic conditions.
The app for physicians, nurse practitioners, pharmacists, and medical students gives access to 275+ clinical decision tools such as risk scores, dosing calculators, medical algorithms and formulas, classifications, etc. Android and iOS versions of MDCalc have over a million monthly users from 190+ countries.
Launched in London and Sydney, this on-demand fitness app allows users to find and book available fitness classes and gym sessions nearby. The platform offers you the selection of workouts and ability to pay for them on the same day or any time within the next 30 days. The app is free to download both on iPhone and Android, with no membership fees or monthly contracts.
Health will always remain a primary public concern, but especially among older people. With the number of seniors constantly growing, the demand for medical services is increasing dramatically, entailing higher care costs and heavier workloads for doctors. MHealth as a subdivision of digital healthcare offers a unique and effective solution to this global challenge.
The use cases of smartphones in healthcare are endless, and though the market seems to abound with health-related apps, there will always be empty niches to fill. If you already have a creative idea, just let us know and we will help you build an innovative mobile project meeting both client expectations and legal requirements.


For the North American usage, referring to professors and other academic staff, see Faculty (academic staff).
A faculty is a division within a university or college comprising one subject area, or a number of related subject areas. In American usage such divisions are generally referred to as colleges (e.g., "college of arts and sciences") or schools (e.g., "school of business"), but may also mix terminology (e.g., Harvard University has a "faculty of arts and sciences" but a "law school").
The medieval University of Bologna, which served as a model for most of the later medieval universities in Europe, had four faculties: the Faculties of Theology, Law, Medicine, and finally the Faculty of Arts, from which every student had to graduate in order to continue his training in one of the other three, sometimes known as the higher faculties. The privilege to establish these four faculties was usually part of all medieval charters for universities, but not every university could do so in practice.
The Faculty of Arts took its name from the seven liberal arts: the trivium (grammar, rhetoric, dialectics) and the quadrivium (arithmetic, music, geometry and astronomy). In German, Scandinavian, Slavic and other universities, the name for this faculty would more often literally translate as 'faculty of philosophy'. The degree of Magister Artium (Master of Arts) derives its name from the Faculty of Arts, while the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) originates within German education and derives its name from the German name of the Arts faculty.
The number of faculties has usually multiplied in modern universities, both through subdivisions of the traditional four faculties, and through the absorption of academic disciplines which have developed within originally vocational schools, in areas such as engineering or agriculture.
A Faculty of Arts is a university division specializing in teaching in areas traditionally classified as "arts" for academic purposes, generally including creative arts, writing, philosophy, and humanities. It was one of the four traditional divisions of the teaching bodies of medieval universities, the others being Law, Medicine and Theology. The Faculty of Arts was the lowest in rank, but also the largest as students had to graduate there to be admitted to one of the higher faculties.
University studies took six years for a Master of Arts degree (a Bachelor of Arts degree could be awarded along the way). The studies for this were organized by the faculty of arts, where the Seven Liberal Arts were taught: arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, music, grammar, logic, and rhetoric. These were divided into the Trivium (grammar, rhetoric, dialectics) and the Quadrivium (arithmetic, music, geometry and astronomy). All instruction was given in Latin and students were expected to be able to converse in that language. The trivium comprised the three subjects that were taught first: grammar, logic, and rhetoric. These three subjects were the most important of the seven liberal arts for medieval students. The curriculum came also to include the three Aristotelian philosophies: physics, metaphysics and moral philosophy.
In the universities of continental Europe, this faculty has more often been named the equivalent of "Faculty of Philosophy" (e.g., Norwegian: Det filosofiske fakultet, Slovene: Filozofska fakulteta). Nowadays this is a common name for the faculties teaching humanities.
A Faculty of Humanities is a university faculty teaching humanities.
A Faculty of Information Technology is a university faculty teaching information technology.
A Faculty of Law is a university faculty teaching law, or a law school faculty.
A Faculty of Management Studies is a university division teaching management studies.
In English-speaking academia Faculty of Music normally refers to a university department, especially at Oxford and Cambridge (UK). In the US, the use of 'faculty' often relates to academic and teaching staff.
A Faculty of Philosophy is a university faculty teaching philosophy.
^ Charles William Eliot, Association of American Universities, "Discussion of the Actual and the Proper Line of Distinction Between College and University", Journal of proceedings and Addresses of the First and Second annual conferences, Volumes 1-12 (1901), p. 38.
^ H. Rashdall, The Universities of Europe in the Middle Ages, 3 Volumes, F.M. Powicke, A.B. Emden (Eds. of 2nd Edition), Oxford University Press, 1936.
^ G. Leff and J. North, Chapter 10: The Faculty of Arts, in A History of the University in Europe, Volume I: Universities in the Middle Ages, W. Ruegg (ed.), Cambridge University Press, 1992.
This page was last edited on 14 February 2019, at 03:45 (UTC).


text:
The appointments of 3,778 primary school teachers of the three municipal corporations of Delhi – north, south and east – were summarily cancelled by an order of the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), on October 14, 2019. The order was issued on the basis of a petition challenging the results of the municipal teachers' recruitment exam held by the Delhi Subordinate Services Selection Board (DSSSB) in September-October, 2018, more than a year ago.
The teachers, who had been appointed to teach in over 1,600 schools of the three municipal corporations, spread across the city, were given their appointment letters recently and were expected to join for work on Oct 15.
The South Delhi Municipal Corporation, which is the nodal body for the three municipal corporations for appointment of teachers, issued a public notice late in the evening of October 14, saying, "The recruitment process…is hereby kept in abeyance till further order (from the CAT court). All appointment letters issued…are cancelled." It may be noted that the same examination has been cancelled twice before, on the basis of allegations of "paper leaks".
According to a petition filed in April 2019 by a group of concerned citizens, including lawyers and parents of school-going children of Delhi, the DSSSB had not even issued advertisements or invited applications for the posts of 10,591 teachers' vacancies, as per the requirement stated by the Directorate of Education (DOE) of Delhi government, by April 7, 2019. The new school term begins from the first week of April each year.
On August 7, 2019, the Directorate of Education (DoE) of Delhi government, asked the Delhi High Court to allow guest teachers to continue working on a daily wage basis (on a salary of less than one-third the salary of regular teachers) till the 10,591 teachers' posts lying vacant in Delhi government schools are filled. According to government figures there are nearly 17,000 guest teachers at present, teaching in government schools in different parts of Delhi.
Teachers of the more than 760 schools run by the North Delhi Municipal Corporation issued a press note on October 13, threatening to launch a protest because they have not been paid their salaries for the last two months — August and September. They have demanded the immediate payment of their wages.
Government schools are the main source of education for the vast majority of children of the working people in the cities and rural areas. The Indian state has followed a conscious policy of neglecting and destroying the state-run school education system, in order to promote privatisation of school education. School education is a huge, highly profitable market for the private capitalist groups, who are today widely and deeply entrenched in this sector. While the government schools face acute shortage of teachers as well as other vital resources, the private schools loot the working people by charging exorbitant fees, in the name of "providing quality education" to the children. Politicians of major political parties such as the Congress and the BJP are known to be the owners of many of these private institutions.
The criminal destruction of the state-run school system and the increasing privatisation of school education are mercilessly killing the dreams of millions of working people, of ensuring education and a better life for their children. It is a shameful indictment of the existing political and social system in our country.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


This 3-bedroom/1-bath ranch has been well maintained and shows pride in ownership throughout. It's located within walking distance to schools, shopping and churches. It features newer oak kitchen including all appliances and washer/dryer; new 40-year architectural roof; updated electric and new windows; large dining room with bay window; restoration of Victorian tin ceiling in living and dining rooms; new furnace, hot water tank, wood floors; main floor laundry; master bedroom with walk-in closet; pull down stairs to attic; full dry basement with glass block windows, French drains, new sump pump and freshly painted; Berber carpeting; new window treatments stay. This home is nicely landscaped and move-in ready. Call soon.


09:30:39 Guus jjrh The Realtime Lounge is shared with a number of projects - most if not all of them do work with XMPP.
09:31:35 Guus I don't know how it come to be, to be honest (although I don't dislike the concept either).
09:31:40 Guus ralphm probably knows.
09:34:28 ralphm And was a result of RealtimeConf by &yet.
10:51:41 Kev The dame blanche and the steak at the dinner are the high points of the trip. Well two of them.
10:55:37 Guus I've just posted to the summit mailing list on the usage of language. Sadly, people told me after last years summit, that they couldn't follow some of the discussions, as the level of spoken English was to high for them.
10:56:02 Guus I wasn't aware of that at the time - but now that we are, lets try and avoid that.
10:56:40 Kev I'm not sure that helps, unfortunately.
10:56:45 Guus Also, if it affects you, please speak up - either in public (this is nothing to be ashamed of), or in private.
10:57:05 Guus We can only try.
10:57:28 Kev A concrete thing like "Kev, please try not to use more than 4 negations in a sentence" is workable, but "don't use complex language" isn't something I expect people to be able to filter on the fly.
10:57:58 Guus "Can you repeat that differently please? I don't understand."
10:58:08 Kev I think all we can do is hope people ask other people to repeat themselves phrased differently if they didn't understand.
10:58:26 Guus I'm also thinking that being aware of this problem goes a long way to avoid it.
12:02:13 intosi I'll leave the best words home, and only take the gibberish.
13:01:59 intosi Do we even need an incentive to go there?
13:13:53 Guus no, bu tmore incentives can't hurt.
14:16:38 Guus They accepted my signature on their contract, which I sent before their deadline, so I'm assuming we do have the rooms.


text:
Club Arnage 2020
The Club Arnage website is a 'not for profit' enterprise and is funded through the generosity of race fans. The aim of the club is to make the Le Mans 24 hours experience better for everyone; race fans, competitors, organisers and media.
Club Arnage Blog Home
Club Arnage Forum
Club Arnage Portal
Club Arnage Instagram
Club Arnage Facebook
FIA WEC: 34 cars to race at the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps this weekend
The FIA World Endurance championship returns to the iconic Spa-Francorchamps this weekend for the penultimate round of the 2018/2019 super season ahead of the big finale in Le Mans. While Toyota in LMP1 and Porsche in GTE Pro are miles away from the competition in the championship, LMP2 and LMGTE Am still have all to play for.
The weather forecast for Francorchamps looks very interesting to say the least. While we had sunny weather and warm temperatures in the past years, 2019 might be the one race with some real "Spa-weather". Temperatures in the Ardennes are dropping down as from Thursday on with (heavy) rain predicted, (almost) freezing temps at night and even a hint for snow on Saturday.
Toyota arrives in Spa, one of their home tracks with the factory based in Cologne, leading both the drivers and manufacturers championship with the TS050 Hybrid. The TS050 will be equipped in the team's new low downforce spec, which has been tested recently in a 4.000 km test at Paul Ricard.
With 151 points after 6 races, Toyota can secure the teams championship this weekend in Spa. They have an advantage over Rebellion Racing of 53 points (98) and 80 points over SMP Racing (71). In the driver's championship Sébastien Buemi, Kazuki Nakajima and Fernando Alsono are in the lead with 135 points; 15 points more than Jose Maria Lopez, Kamui Kobayashi and Mike Conway in the #7 Toyota. Gustavo Menezes and Thomas Laurent (Rebellion #3) are in third position with 81 points, followed by Mathias Beche with 73 points and André Lotterer & Neel Jani with 63 points.
For the first time this season, the non-hybrid LMP1 cars will have no restriction in the amount of fuel energy they are allowed to use per lap. This means they will no longer have to lift and coast on the long high speed sections at Spa and finally are allowed to race flat out. Whether this will be the case at Le Mans too is still unclear at this moment. The Rebellion, ByKolles and Dragonspeed however did get a weight increase. Their minimum weight now up to 824 kg instead of 818 kg.
At Rebellion, Andre Lotterer takes his seat back in the #1 R13 after missing out the last race in Sebring due to his Formula E commitments. Both Rebellions are expected to be racing in their new low drag body kit which has been tested in Aragon last week. James Allen will race the #10 Dragonspeed BR1 instead of Renger Van Der Zande. Allen had a strong performance with the team at Le Castellet, winning the opening race of the ELMS 2 weeks ago with Hedman and Hanley in the Dragonspeed LMP2. (Update: The #10 Dragonspeed entry will not race this weekend at Spa. The team have not been able to acquire the electronics that needed fixing after their DNF at Sebring.)
© Erik Junius - http://motorsport.image-ine.net/
A big driver change in the #11 SMP Racing BR1, where Belgian driver Stoffel Vandoorne will make his sportscar debut at Spa this weekend. Even more, it's only the second time the former F1 driver will race a closed cockpit car in his career. Vandoorne, who now races in the Formula E championship, will take Jenson Button's place in Spa and at Le Mans, racing together with Vitaly Petrov and Mikhail Aleshin.
ByKolles will race its Enso CLM P1/01 for the first time with the Gibson engine after sitting out the 1000 miles of Sebring in March. Tom Dillman and Oliver Webb return to the Austrian team, and will be joined by Italian driver Paolo Ruberti. Ruberti will make his debut in the LMP1 class, and returns to the FIA WEC after racing with the Larbre Corvette in 2016.
The race for the title in LMP2 seems to be the one that will go down to the wire. With the top 3 cars only separated by 7 points, all is still to play for between Jackie Chan DC Racing and Signatech Alpine Matmut.
Jackie Chan DC Racing has both of his cars in the top 3, separated by the Signatech Alpine Matmut. The #37 Jackie Chan Oreca 07 leads the championship after rather win in Sebring with a completely new driver line-up. With 130 points after 6 races, the Jota run Oreca has an advantage of just 5 points over the #36 Signatec Alpine. The second Jackie Chan Oreca (#38) follows closely with 123 points. Best of the rest is the #31 Dragonspeed, which has collected 92 points so far.
Andre Negrao, Nicolas Lapierre and Pierre Thiriet are leading the drivers championship with 125 points, 2 points more than the #38 crew of Gabriel Aubry, Ho-Pin Tung and Stéphane Richelmi. The former drivers of the #37 Oreca are still in third place but won't race anymore, so third place in the championship is basically for Pastor Maldonado and Roberto Gonzalez in the #31 Dragonspeed with 92 points.
G-Drive is using the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps as their annual prep for Le Mans by with the recently rebadged Aurus 01 (Oreca) for the first time in the FIA WEC. Roman Rusinov will share the car with Job Van Uitert and Jean-Eric Vergne, the latter one missing out the ELMS Le Castellet race due to a clash with Formula E in Rome. After winning the race in 2017 and 2018, Rusinov & co will certainly be out for a third win in a row.
Norman Nato, who took pole position for G-Drive at Le Castellet earlier this month, will now race with TDS Racing where he will replace Loic Duval. Duval is tied with the DTM race at Hockenheim next weekend, but will be back with the team for the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Nicholas Boulle has been added to the #50 Larbre Competition Ligier JSP217. He will join team regulars Erwin Creed and Romano Ricci in Spa. Boulle is no stranger to LMP2 racing as he raced at Le Mans with Jackie Chan DC Racing last year, finishing 8th in the LMP2 class with David Cheng and Pierre Nicolet. The American driver already ha some experience in Spa after finishing third in last year's Spa 24 hours in the Rinaldi Racing Ferrari.
Contrary to Sebring and Spa last year, all cars in LM GTE Pro will be driven by the team's regular WEC drivers. In other years, Spa was the ideal race for most teams to have their Le Mans line-up in the cars. No driver changes to be noted, but an important change in the sporting regulations. As per decision by the FIA Endurance Committee, all Pro cars must be equipped with a homologated "Fuel Flow Meter", starting at the Le Mans test day. A decision that has been made with unanimous agreement of all LMGTE Pro manufacturers and the approval of the Endurance Commission. So far the Fuel flow meter will only be used to collect data and won't have any effect on the regulations or a restriction of the fuel flow as in LMP1.
After 6 of the 8 races in the Super Season, Porsche has built up a massive lead in the championship over the other manufacturers. With a total of 227 points, Porsche leads Ferrari with 110 points. A lead that big so the team from Stuttgart might be able to clinch the title even before the last race at Le Mans. The battle for second place will be very intense though with just 2 points between Ferrari (127) and Ford (125). Aston Martin isn't far behind with 102 points so far, followed by BMW who have scored 87 points over the first six races of the season.
Porsche also dominates the drivers championship, with Kevin Estre and Michael Christensen leading with 125 points. Sebring winners Gianmaria Bruni and Richard Lietz are in second place, with a total of 100 points. Third place is for Ferrari drivers Alessandro Pier Guidi and James Calado with 80,5 points, followed by Ford drivers Olivier Pla and Stefan Mücke with 69 points so far.
Team Project 1 leads the GTE Am championship with a total of 103 points after 6 races. Egidio Perfetti, Jörg Bergmeister and Patrick Lindsey have an advantage of 25 points over the #55 Spirit of Race Ferrari of Thomas Flohr, Francesco Castellacci and Giancarlo Fisichella who have a total of 78 points so far. 9 points further down is the #98 Aston Martin of Paul Dalla Lana, Pedro Lamy and Mathias Lauda with 69 points, with the #90 TF Sport Aston Martin right in their tail with 68 points. If Project 1 manages to win this race in Spa, they might take a big step to the WEC title in their first season in the championship.
Two notable driver changes in the Am class, in the #77 Dempsey-Proton Porsche and the #90 TF Sport Aston Martin. Julien Andlauer won't be able to make it to Spa due to his commitments in the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland in Hockenheim. He will be replaced in the #77 Dempsey-Proton Competition Porsche 911 RSR by Ricardo Pera who joins team owner Christian Ried and Matt Campbell . Pera who races with Ebimotors in the European Le Mans Series already drove the #88 sister car during the 6 hours of Shanghai with Matteo Cairoli and Khaled Al Qubaisi.
Euan Hankey makes his return to the #90 Aston Martin Vantage of TF Sport alongside Salih Yoluc and Charlie Eastwood. Since Silverstone last year, Jonny Adam raced the blue Vantage, but will now be replaced by Hanley who returns to the team for the first time since Le Mans 2018.
Track action in Belgium starts on Thursday with the first two 90-minute practice sessions. Race start is scheduled for Saturday, March 3rd at 13h30. If you're heading to the track, bring your snowboots and winter jackets, they might come in handy this year.
Kristof Vermeulen.
Pictures: Kristof Vermeulen, Erik Junius & Jellybaby.Media
Gepost door Kristof op 19:16
Labels: 2018/2019, 2019, 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium, FIA WEC, GTE, lmp1, LMP2, preview, Spa-Francorchamps, Super season, World Endurance Championship
MLMC/Le Mans: 50 cars on the grid for the 2019 Road to Le Mans race
Curtain-raiser to the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the third round of the Michelin Le Mans Cup, the 2019 Road to Le Mans boasts an impressive 50-car grid of 17 GT3s and 33 LMP3s, including 34 cars from the Michelin Le Mans Cup, 12 cars from the European Le Mans Series and participants from the Asian Le Mans Series and the FIA World Endurance Championship.
The glittering GT3 cast comprises Mercedes, Ferrari, Bentley, Lamborghini, Aston Martin and Porsche, with Ligier and Norma in LMP3. Managed by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest and its event organisation branch Le Mans Endurance Management, the Michelin Le Mans Cup is a series for both GT3s and LMP3s run alongside the European Le Mans Series at Le Castellet, Monza, Barcelona, Spa and Portimão stages.
Racing often runs in the family and Road to Le Mans welcomes Yann Ehrlacher, son of Cathy Muller and nephew of Yvan Muller, Freddie Hunt, son of 1976 Formula One world champion James Hunt, two drivers that will represent Frédéric Sausset's team and finally Jan Lammers, who celebrated his 24th Le Mans 24 Hours last year and who took part to the first edition of Road To Le Mans in 2016.
Road to Le Mans takes he form of two 55-minute races on the Thursday and Saturday immediately before the 24 Hours of Le Mans, taking advantage of the same 13.626-kilometre circuit as the 62 competitors in the top-of-the-bill race that takes place over the weekend of 15-16 June. The support race lives up to its name, with many would-be 24-hour drivers revelling in the chance to drive on the legendary circuit cheered on by its world-famous crowds. They are right to dream of greater things: French driver Thomas Laurent won Road to Le Mans in 2016 and has taken up residence on the 24 Hours of Le Mans podium ever since.
The Road to Le Mans entry list automatically includes full-season Michelin Le Mans Cup participants and the selection committee extends invitations to other deserving teams with priority given to endurance series competitors such as the European Le Mans Series, the Asian Le Mans Series and the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
Download the provisional entry list here
Labels: 2019, 24 Hours of Le Mans, 24h Le Mans, entry list, LM24, Michelin Le Mans Cup, MLMC, Road to Le Mans
FIAWEC: Stoffel Vandoorne to race with SMP Racing at Spa and Le Mans
SMP Racing has announced Stoffel Vandoorne as their third driver in the #11 BR1 prototype for the upcoming 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Stoffel Vandoorne will replace Brendon Hartley, who was initially announced for Spa, and Jenson Button, who was believed to be back in the BR1 at Le Mans. He will join Mikhail Aleshin and Vitalky Petrov in the #11 BR1. Rumours are going round about Hartley getting a drive at Toyota next year if Alonso leaves the team, at Le Mans he is already tied to RLR Msport in the LMP2 class. Hartley agreed to give way to Vandoorne in order to let him and the team be better prepared for the 24 hours race in June.
The talented Belgian driver won the GP2 title in 2015 before racing with McLaren in Formula for 2 seasons from 2017 to 2018 besides Fernando Alonso. Vandoorne now races in the Formula E championship with HWA Racelab and is one of the simulator drivers for the Mercedes FA team, scoring his and the teams' first pole position in the series in Hong Kong and his first podium in Rome last weekend.
Stoffel Vandoorne said: "I am very pleased to join SMP Racing and drive the BR1 №11 prototype in my home race in Spa-Francorchamps and in the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans. The LMP1 cars are really demanding and their performances are very close to Formula 1. I will have the opportunity to re-join ART Grand Prix and a lot of people that I've been working with during my succesful campaign in GP2. Also, it´s great to work alongside such experienced drivers as Vitaly Petrov and Mikhail Aleshin. My objective is to contribute to the Team's performance and work in collaboration with all drivers to develop the BR1 prototype and to make a good impression."
SMP Racing driver Vitaly Petrov said: "I understand the decision of Jenson and I wish him and his family all the best. Our SMP Racing Team now needs a driver who will be able to successfully drive in the final two rounds of the FIA WEC and I'm happy that Stoffel has joined us. The race in Spa-Francorchamps will help him to get used to the championship and to prepare for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. I hope he will adapt quickly and we will support him along the way"
SMP Racing driver Mikhail Aleshin also commented: "I welcome Stoffel to our team. He is a professional of the highest class and has a good experience, including in Formula 1, where he drove for the McLaren Team. It is great that Stoffel will spend with us several races. We thank Brendon who helped our team to finish on the podium at Sebring. Brendon drove perfectly and his input into the work on the BR1 was very valuable"
There are more changes due in the entry list for the upcoming 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps. More about that in an upcoming article next week.
Labels: 2019, 24 Hours of Le Mans, 24h Le Mans, 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, FIA WEC, LM24, SMP Racing, Stoffel Vandoorne, World Endurance Championship
ELMS: Dragonspeed wins 4 Hours of Le Castellet
The opening race of the 2019 European Le Mans Series gave us 4 hours of uninterrupted racing under sunny French skies and more than a few interesting battles over all three classes. Dragonspeed scored their first overall win since Spa 2016 in the LMP2 class, while Ultimate scored their first ever win in the LMP3 class. In LMGTE it were the series debutants who took the top 2 spots of the podium with the Luzich Racing Ferrari on top, followed by the all female Kessel Racing Ferrari.
Roman Rusinov started from pole in the #26 Aurus G-Drive with Paul Lafargue in the #28 IDEC Sport Oreca and James Allen in the #21 G-Drive close behind him. Allen had a flying start and went on from fifth to third in the first round before taking over the lead from Rusinov in lap 10. It took Allen only 5 laps to ease away from the competition, building his lead already up to 20 seconds in lap 15.
Rusinov dropped back to fifth place in his first stint, while Andrea Pizzitola stormed through the field from P12 to P2 in his #25 Algarve Pro Racing Oreca 07. Behind him, Paul Lafargue held on to third place, followed by another Oreca, the #30 Duqueine Engineering of Pierre Ragues. Ragues moved ahead of Lafargue and Pizzitola and after nearly 20 laps into the race, he got into second place, although 24 seconds behind Allen in the leading Dragonspeed.
Henrik Hedman took over the leading car in the first round of pitstops but saw his lead over Ragues, who stayed in the car, dropping down quickly before Ragues took over the lead. Hedman was up against some of the quickest drivers of the field, dropped back a bit in the order but managed to hold on to sixth place before handing the car back over to James Allen at the second stop. Meanwhile Job Van Uitert was in the G-Drive Aurus, making up lost time caused by a tyre problem Rusinov had in his first stint.
After the third round of pitstops, all was still to play for in the LMP2 class. Nicolas Jamin still lead the pack in the #30 Duqueine but had Ben Hanley now behind him in the Dragonspeed, who was in a different pitstop strategy. When Jamin had to stop for fuel, Hanley got in the lead with a margin of 46 seconds on the #28 IDEC Sport of Paul Loup Chatin with Norma Nato in the G-Drive right on his tail.
Hanley held on to the lead and scored the team's first victory since Spa 2016. Chatin crossed the line in second place 16 seconds later with a comfortable margin over Richard Bradley in the Duqueine Engineering who went past Nato in the closing stages of the race. Behind the leading pack, the #22 United Autosports Ligier was the first non-Oreca at the finish in sixth place, one lap down from Hanley & co.
French team Ultimate scored their first victory in the series with their #17 Norma M30 LMP3 after 4 years thanks to a late race challenge over the #11 Eurointernational. Mikkel Jensen went on from fifth on the grid to first in the opening lap, holding off Lucas Legeret in the #19 M.Racing Norma and Jean-Baptiste Lahaye in the #17 Ultimate. David Droux in the #9 Realteam Norma also had a strong opening stint, moving up to second place tailgating Jensen in the Eurointernational Ligier, but unable to take over the lead.
The top 2 remained the same after the first round of stops with Jensen still in front of Droux. Damiano Fiorivanti who had been quick all week and set Saturday's pole time now was in the #10 Oregon Norma and up to third place right behind Droux. The two battled for several laps until Fiorivanti was cut off by the #39 Oreca who went into pitlane and sent the Italian into a spin. Luckily without any damage, but Fiorivanti lost precious time to the leading 2 cars.
Jens Petersen took over the #11 Eurointernational but was chased by the more experienced Matthieu Lahaye in the #17 Ultimate Norma who quietly got up into the order after the second round of stops. Lahaye quickly caught up with Peterson, passed him and never looked back. By the end of the race the French team had a gap of 1 lap over the rest of the field. Petersen managed to hold on to second place and a well deserved podium finish, despite being under pressure from Nigel Moore in the #13 Inter Europol Ligier who drove an impressive final stint from sixth to second. The #10 Oregon and #7 Nielsen Racing Norma's completed the top 5 of an exciting race in the LMP3 class.
In LMGTE it was ELMS debutants Luzich Racing who took the honours after dominating the race from start to finish. Fabien Lavergne got into the lead in the opening lap, passing the #77 Dempsey-Proton Competition Porsche of Christian Ried. The Frenchman stormed away from the rest of the field giving himself a comfortable lead. Behind him, Egidio Perfetti in the #56 Team Project 1 passed Ried and Felbermayr in the second Proton Porsche up to second place. By the end of the first stint, Wei Lu got up to the front in the #66 JMW Ferrari in third position.
By the end of the second stint, Lavergne had a gap of about a minute when he handed over the #51 Ferrari to Nicklas Nielsen. The second round of pitstop shook up the order quite significantly, with Rahel Frey now in second place in the #83 Kessel Racing Ferrari after passing Christian Ried in the #77 Porsche. Frey had a scare when she clipped the #8 Nielsen LMP3 into a spin but got away with a warning flag before she turned the car over to Michelle Gatting.
© ELMS/ Jakob Ebrey-JEP
Alessandro Pier Guidi ran the final sting in the #51 Luzich Ferrari, bringing the car home with a one lap lead over Michelle Gatting in the #83 Kessel Racing Ferrari. 12 seconds behind her, Matteo Cairoli finished third in the #77 Dempsey-Proton after a late pass over the #66 JMW Ferrari. The #55 Spirit of Race Ferrari completed the top 5.
The second round of the 2019 European Le Mans Series is scheduled for Sunday May 12th at the Italian temple of speed in Monza.
Labels: 2019, 4 Hours of Le Castellet, Circuit Paul Ricard, ELMS, European Le Mans Series, France, Race report
MLMC: Lanan Racing wins incidentful opening race of the season
The Michelin Le Mans Cup season kicked off last Saturday in a grand style, filled with scrappy but great battles, incidents, safety cars, full course yellows and a raft of penalties applied!
In a race that was dominated by the speed of the Norma M30's Duncan Tappy and Mike Benham in the #25 Lanan Racing Norma took the chequered flag for the win winners, the British duo keeping out of trouble after a penalty for the #3 DKR Norma pushed them into the lead late in the race. With the Lanan car on the top step the next seven places all went to the Norma M30 chassis, the first Ligier being the #24 United Autosports car of Boyd and Husain in ninth place.
Second on track was the #9 GRAFF Norma, however a 35 second post-race penalty for not reducing its speed to 80kph under FCY dropped them to fifth overall. The car was in contention throughout and led the race in the second half, before Tappy made a bold move up the inside past Eric Trouillet into Signes corner for second place. The #39 sister car which originally finished fourth received the same penalty dropping it to sixth overall. The two Graff penalties pushed the #3 DKR Engineering Norma of Kirmann and Horr to an eventual second place.
Fifth on the road was the #2 Nielsen Racing Norma of Tony Wells and Colin Noble 12 seconds behind the leader. Despite taking advantage of the two safety car periods Noble was unable claim a podium on a race result only but posthumously got to taste the champagne for third following the Graff penalties.
The first safety car period came after John Schauerman lost control of the #4 Cool Racing Ligier at the final corner, which sent him flying backwards into the inside armco hard. The second SC period came shortly after the race restarted, following contact between the #5 DKR Norma and #12 Eurointernational Ligier of Jean-Marc Littman at the same corner, ending Littman's race and earning the DKR car a penalty. Penalties were handed out across the board for all sorts of infractions, including a 12 cars that had to head to the pits for two-minute stop and go for passing through a red light in pit lane resulting in a massive shake-up of the final positions. Finally, a Full Course Yellow (FCY) was thrown due to the RLR Msport Ligier of Tom Olsen hitting the barriers at the exit of Signes hard ending the team's race.
In the GT3 class the #8 Kessel Racing Ferrari 488 of Sergio Pianezzola and Giacomo Piccini won with an enormous lead after the Luzich Racing Ferrari was one of the cars handed a two-minute penalty for jumping the pitlane red light. However, the #8 were handed a penalty for a drive time infringement in the final minutes but their lead was so big that even after serving it, they finished over a minute ahead.
The #54 SPS Automotive Mercedes crossed the line second, benefitting from the penalties and various dramas in the class, ahead of the Luzich car which salvaged third. Two cars had late-race issues, the #51 Spirit of Race Ferrari, which suffered a puncture and eventually fell to seventh and the #7 Scuderia Villorba Corse Mercedes which lost a wheel in the closing laps and retired from fifth. The Krypton Mercedes also promised a strong result but an early collision with the BHK Ligier damaged its front-end terminally meaning #83 SVC Lamborghini finished fourth and the #99 Beechdean AMR Aston Martin Vantage took fifth.
Sportscarglobal.com
Labels: 2019, Circuit Paul Ricard, Le Castellet, Michelin Le Mans Cup, MLMC, Race report
Record breaking 62 car grid for Le Mans: High Class Racing and United Autosports receive extra invite
The 87th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the finale of the FIA World Endurance Championship will have a record breaking grid of 62 cars on June 15th. The Automobile Club de l'guest announced the expansion of the grid today, and confirmed High Class Racing and United Autosports as the 2 extra invitees for the 24 hour race.
To accommodate the extra cars, the pitlane will be extended with 2 temporary garages. They will be set up next to the first ones, towards the entrance of pit lane, inbetween the module sportif (tower) and the first 2 pitboxes (which were used by Toyota in the past years). Work on extending the pitlane began several weeks ago, in time for the test day on June 2nd.
The 13.626-kilometre track will therefore welcome a record 62 competitors on 15 June. Since 2016, a maximum of 60 garages accommodated the teams.
Pierre Fillion, President of the ACO said: "In February, the selection committee faced a harder task than it has in many years. There were 75 applications – all of a high standard – and it was particularly difficult to choose 60, only 60 of them should I say. We quickly came to the conclusion that we had to find a way of accepting additional competitors, and our crews confirmed the feasibility of adding two garages to pit lane. We knuckled down and are overjoyed to be able to accept 62 entrants for the 2019 24 Hours of Le Mans. It's a record number and a sign that this race is as popular as ever."
For High Class Racing, this will be their first appearance at Le Mans, after missing out an invite in the past 2 years. The Danish team is now in its third year in the European Le Mans Series, and switched from the Dallara P217 to the Oreca 07 this session. Anders Fjordbach and Dennis Andersen will drive the car with the third driver still to be announced.
"It's a huge surprise to be granted an entry to the 2019 running of the Le Mans 24 Hours," said Anders Fjordbach, who was a reserve driver for SMP Racing the past two years at Le Mans. While it was originally disappointing to be turned down for a second year running when the first list came out, we understood the ACO's decision and remained patient, expecting to have a greater chance in 2020."
"However, this new plan by the ACO has given us the chance to make our debut in the race this year, and race as part of a record-breaking 62-car entry at the event with our new ORECA 07 Gibson. Although there isn't much time to plan our trip to France in June, we will be working extremely hard over the coming weeks to ensure we are ready and have the best chance of scoring a strong result in our first attempt. It's been a dream for us, long-term, to race as a Danish team at the Le Mans 24 Hours, and add to our country's ever-growing heritage at the race. We thank the ACO for its support in this process and can't wait to hit the track at Le Mans in two months time."
United Autosports wasn't too happy after the release of the initial entry list for this year's Le Mans. Despite the teams' wlarge involvement in the ELMS, Michelin Le Mans Cup and Asian Le Mans Series, only the auto invite they received by winning the Asian Le Mans Series was granted to the American team. With the addition of two extra entries, United Autosports now gained a second invite in the LMP2 class.
ELMS regulars Ryan Cullen and Alex Brundle will be joined by a third driver who is still to be confirmed. They will join Phil Hanson, Filipe Albuquerque and Paul Di Resta as part of the team's two driver line ups. Alex Brundle has raced at Le Mans five times, finishing on the podium in both 2013 and 2017, while this year marks Ryan Cullen's Le Mans 24 Hours debut.
Zak Brown, Team Owner and Chairman, United Autosports said: "I'm really pleased United have been given a second entry into the Le Mans 24 Hours. It's the greatest race in the world and to have a two-car entry for the second year running is fantastic."
Richard Dean, Team Owner and Managing Director, United Autosports: "The ACO have worked hard to make this happen and we are very pleased for United to have both our Ligier JS P217s in the race. Hopefully we can get another great result like we did last year – or even go two spots better."
5 teams remain on the reserve list for the 24 Hours:
- Eurasia Motorsport - Ligier JSP217 (LMP2)
- Panis Barthez Competition - Ligier JSP217 (LMP2)
- IDEC Sport - Ligier JSP217 (LMP2)
- Team Project 1 - Porsche 911 RSR (LMGTE AM)
- TF Sport - Aston Martin Vantage (LMGTE Am)
The new, updated entry list can be downloaded here
Labels: 2019, 24 Hours of Le Mans, 24h Le Mans, entry list, FIA WEC, High Class Racing, LM24, United Autosports, World Endurance Championship
ELMS: Norman Nato and G-Drive on pole for the first race of the season
Defending Champions G-Drive Racing will start in pole position for tomorrows 4 Horus of Le Castellet after a thrilling end of the 15 minute qualifying session. Last year's race winner Norman Nato put the #26 G-Drive Aurus 01 on pole just ahead of Paul Loup Chatin in the #28 IDEC Sport.
With another lap record for the LMP2 class, the third one this week and the second one today, the Frenchman secured pole position in 1.40.052, just 25 thousands of a second faster than Paul Loup Chatin in the #28 IDEC Sport Oreca. What better way to start the season with a pole position in the first race for the re-badged Aurus 01 ? A top result too for Nato who replaces Jean-Eric Vergne who is racing in Formula E this weekend.
Paul Loup Chatin secured the second spot on the front row of the grid, ahead of Alex Brundle who had a very strong outing in the #32 United Autosports Ligier, splitting up the top 4 Oreca's. His best laptime of 1.40.293 was 0.241 second off Nato's pole time, but a big improvement from the times the Ligiers set earlier this week(end). Rounding out the top 5 were Nico Lapierre in the #37 Cool Racing Oreca and Ben Hanley in the #21 Dragonspeed.
In LMP3, Oregon Team secured their first ever pole position in the championship thanks to Damiani Fioravanti who has been quick all week here at Paul Ricard. After a session which saw several drivers on top of the timetable, the Italian took pole position in his final lap with a 1.49.686. Matthieu Lahaye had been on provisional pole until the dying moments of the session in the #17 Ultimate Norma, but eventually lost out 0.128 seconds to Fioravanti.
In an ultimate effort at the end of the session, Lucas Légeret got up to third position in the #19 M.Racing Norma, despite being briefly held up a bit by another car.
(Dempsey) Proton Competition seemed to be on its way to lock out the front row with Thomas Preining in the #88 ahead of Matteo Cairoli in the #77 Porsche 911 RSR. However, when Alessandro Pier Guidi dived 0.030 seconds under Preining's time in the final minute of the session it seemed like the experienced Italian would snatch the pole away from Porsche and hand it to Luzich Racing in their first race in the series.
Matteo Cairoli did save the best for last though. In his final lap, he went pushed his Porsche round the track in 1.52.499, shaving off an extra 0.273 seconds off Pier Guidi's provisional pole time and giving Proton Competition its first pole of the season.
The 4 Hours of Le Castellet will start at 12h30 tomorrow, and will be broadcasted live on the ELMS website and social media feeds.
Qualifying results LMP2
Qualifying results GTE
Labels: 2019, 4h of Le Castellet, Circuit Paul Ricard, ELMS, European Le Mans Series, France, LMGTE, LMP2, LMP3, Qualifying
ELMS: IDEC Sport and Dragonspeed set the pace in first practice sessions at Le Castellet
For the second time this week, the lap record at Circuit Paul Ricard was broken in the LMP2 class. Monday night Anders Fjordbach set a new record in his #20 High Class Racing Oreca 07, this morning Paul Loup Chatin shaved another 0.068 seconds from his time to set the new record at 1.40.336 in the #28 IDEC Sport Oreca.
Nico Lapierre was second fastest this morning in the #37 Cool Racing, just under half a second behind his fellow Frenchman. Ben Hanley - who set the quickest time yesterday - got himself into third place with a 1.41.227. The Oreca's dominated the LMP2 class again, while Paul Di Resta was the fastest of the Ligier drivers for the second time this weekend, putting his #22 United Autosports Ligier JSP2 on sixth place, 1.6 seconds off Chatin's record lap.
David Droux was the first driver to beat Damiani Fiorivanti in the LMP3 class since Monday evening. Droux' lap of 1.51.449 was just 0.051 seconds quicker than the Italian, but enough to put his #9 Realteam Norma on top of the list this morning. Nigel Moore was third fastest in the #13 Inter Europol Competition Ligier, breaking through yesterday's domination of Norma in the class.
The Proton Competition Porsches continued to set the pace in the GTE Class. Thomas Preining in the #88 took the honours for the fastest lap in 1.53.473, holding off Matteo Cairoli in the #77 Porsche and Michelle Gatting in the #83 Kessel Racing Ferrari.
Ben Hanley was the fastest man on track yesterday morning, the Englishman setting a time of 1.41.227 in the #21 Dragonspeed Oreca 07. Arjun Maini didn't miss his debut in the LMP2 class, immediately putting the #43 RLR Msport Oreca on second place, 0.858 seconds behind Hanley. Job Van Uitert obviously feels right at home in the LMP2 machinery, setting exactly the same time on the board as Maini in the #26 G-Drive Aurus 01.
More Oreca's followed with an impressive Antonin Borga setting the fourth time in the #37 Cool Racing, holding off new lap record holder Anders Fjordbach in the #20 High Class Racing Oreca 07.
United Autosports took command of the Ligiers with Paul Di Resta in seventh position; 1.42.288 his best lap in the #22 Ligier JSP2. Leo Roussel was the second fastest Ligier driver with the #34 Inter Europol Competition in 10th place overall. The sole Dallara on the grid of Jack Manchester, Olivier Pla and Ben Barnicoat only managed three outlaps yesterday morning, leaving the #45 Carlin on last place after the first practice session.
Norma was on top in the LMP3 class, with four Nissan powered M30's quickest overall. Domiani Floravanti continued to impress in the #10 Oregon Team Norma with another fastest time in 1.50.592. For Florivanti the fourth session in a row where he's fastest since setting the lap record in an LMP3 car on Monday evening. The Italian driver was 0.782 seconds faster than David Droux in the new #9 Realteam Norma, followed by Yann Ehrlacher and Lucas Legeret in the #19 M.Racing. Both team mates within 0.16 seconds from each other which might give them a big advantage during the race on Sunday. Jean-Baptiste Lahaye in the #17 Ultimate Norma was fourth fastest on Friday morning.
Best of the rest was Wayne Boyd in the #2 United Autosports Ligier with a best tome of 1.52.068, over 1.3 seconds off the pace of the quickest Norma. He was followed by Ross Kaiser, the only driver to go round in the #6 360 Racing and Colin Noble in another Norma, the #7 of Nielsen Racing.
Contrary to the results of both test days, Porsche took the GTE class in hand yesterday with a clean sweep of the first three places. Proton Competition took the first two spots with Matteo Cairoli quickest in the #77 911 RSR (1.54.473), ahead of Thomas Preiling in the #88 sister car (+0.048). Jörg Bergmeister completed the top 3 for Porsche in the Team Project 1 Porsche (1.54.679).
Aaron Scott in the #55 Spirit of Race Ferrari was the fastest non-Porsche driver, leading a pack of 3 Ferrari's. His best laptime of 1.55.332 was just under a second slower than Cairoli's. The #83 all female Kessel Ferrari and last year's runner up JMW Motorsport 488 GTE rounded out the top six of the GTE Class.
The Bronze driver test on Friday afternoon was run in wet conditions, but still saw 22 cars venturing out on track. John Falb was quickest in the #25 Algarve Pro Oreca 07 in 2.02.588, with John Farano about 0.250 second behind him in the #43 RLR Msport Oreca. Alexandre Coigny made it an Oreca top 3 in the #37 Cool Racing.
Paul Scheusner set the pace in the LMP3 class with the #14 Inter Europol Ligier (2.08.349), followed by the youngster of the field, Gustas Grinbergas in the #10 Oregon Norma. Fastest in GTE was WEC driver Egidio Perfetti in the Project 1 Porsche (2.10.786).
Labels: 2019, 4h of Le Castellet, Circuit Paul Ricard, ELMS, European Le Mans Series, France, Free Practice
ELMS: 4 Hours of Barcelona will race into the night
The third round of the European Le Mans Championship at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona has been rescheduled to Saturday evening on the 20th of July into a night race. The race will now start at 18.30h, with the chequered flag being waved four hours later after sundown.
A new format for the ELMS, and the first time the championship will race after sunset since the 4 Hours of Le Castellet back in 2013 wich finished at dusk.
Gérard Neveu, CEO of the European Le Mans Series, said: "The race in Barcelona is new for 2019 and we wanted to make this event more attractive for the Spanish fans and more comfortable for our teams. The weather in July is hot, so moving the race to Saturday evening will be better for the fans and for the competitors, especially the drivers.
"Having the race finishing after sunset will also make the 4 Hours of Barcelona unique on the ELMS calendar. We are looking forward to come back to Barcelona after so many years."
The 4 Hours of Barcelona event starts on Friday 19 July and now concludes on Saturday 20 July. The event is Round 3 of the 2019 European Le Mans Series and Round 4 of the Michelin Le Mans Cup.
Labels: 2019, 4 Hours of Barcelona, Circuit de Catalunya, ELMS, European Le Mans Series, Spain
ELMS: Nico Lapierre & Cool Racing quickest on day 2 at Le Castellet
The ELMS official test ended Tuesday afternoon after a very busy end of the final session. Where as the final hours of a 2 day test usually seem to be rather quiet, Tuesday was just the opposite. The final hour was a frantic one, with almost all cars venturing out on track.
Nicolas Lapierre was the quickest man of the day, putting his #37 Cool Racing Oreca on top of each session. Unlike on Monday, the differences between the teams in LMP2 were much smaller yesterday. At the end of the morning session, the first 12 cars set their best laptimes within a second from eachother. Lapierre's best effort of 1.41.179 was exactly 0.998 seconds faster than Filipe Albuquerque in the #22 United Autosports Ligier. Job Van Uitert seems to have adopted real fast to the speed of the LMP2 machinery, setting the second quickest time in the morning session, 0.120 seconds behind Lapierre in the #26 G-Drive Aurus.
The afternoon session saw larger gaps between the LMP2 protypes. Ben Hanley (1.40.457) did nearly manage to beat Lapierre (1.40.432) in the #21 Dragonspeed Oreca but was 0.025 seconds short. Laptimes dropped further down in the afternoon, but the fastest of the weekend was Anders Fjordbach in the #20 Highclass Racing Oreca 07. Fjordbach set a new lap record during Monday's night session, going round the 5,842 km track in 1.40.404 with an average speed of 207.6 km/h. The #35 BHK Oreca 07 eventually also made it out for its initiak roll-out, managing 19 laps but well off the pace of all other LMP2 cars.
More lap records were set Monday evening in the LMP3 class when Damiani Fioravanti set a 1.49.400 in the #10 Oregon Norma. Fiorevante kept leading the LMP3 class on Tuesday with his Norma, setting the fastest time in both sessions (1.49.887 and 1.50.184). Colin Noble, who was a vast top 3 runner on Monday continued to perform strongly in another Norma: #7 Nielsen Racing, with a third (morning) and second (afternoon) time. Mikkel Jensen was quickest of the non Norma drivers again, climbing up to second in the final session of the day in his #11 Eurointernational Ligier JSP3.
In LMGTE the Ferrari's topped the timetable again with Claudio Schiavoni in the #60 Kessel Racing fastest in the morning session (1.53.977) and Alessandro Pier Guidi in the afternoon session with the #51 Luzich F488 GTE (1:53.603). The official lap record in GTE was also broken on Monday evening by Andrea Piccini in the Kessel Ferrari with a 1.53.977. The Ebimotors Porsche drove in both sessions on Tuesday Fabio Babini posting a 1.54.870 as best time over both sessions.
Track action for the opening race of the season here in Le Castellet starts tomorrow morning at 11.05h with the first practice session and the Bronze driver collective test at 15.05h.
Results Tuesday morning session
Results Tuesday afternoon session
Labels: 2019, Circuit Paul Ricard, ELMS, European Le Mans Series, Le Castellet, Official test, Report
ELMS: Recap of the first testday at Le Castellet
IDEC Sport, Cool Racing and High Class racing were the fastest cars on track yesterday during the ELMS first day of testing at Paul Ricard. In the LMP3 class, the Norma's outpaced the Ligiers, while Ferrari was quickest in the LMGTE class in all three sessions.
LMP2
Oreca dominated the morning session, with 5 cars fastest after 4 hours running. Paul Loup Chatin set the fastest time in the #28 IDEC Sport with a 1.40.747, beating his qualifying time he set last year for the 4 Hours of Le Castellet (1.41.194). Nicolas Jamin was second fastest in the #30 Duqueine Engineering Oreca, just over a second slower than Chatin. Bruno Senna in the #43 RLR Msport rounded out the top 3. The first non Oreca car was the #22 United Autosports Ligier of Filipe Albuquerque in sixth place.
Nico Lapierre put the #37 Cool Racing Oreca on top of the afternoon session in 1.40.725, slightly faster than Chatin. The #32 United Autosports Ligier now went up to second quickest with Ryan Cullen behind the wheel with Jean Eric Vergne in the G-Drive Aurus behind him in third.
Where Oreca dominated the LMP2 class in the morning session, Norma did so in LMP3 all day long. The #17 Ultimate Norma was as quick as they have been all season last year, Mathieu Lahaye on top of the morning session in 1:51.062, an improvement of almost a second of last year's pole time. Colin Noble in the #7 Nielsen Racing Norma M30 was right on Lahaye's heels, 9 thousands of a second slower than the Frenchman. David Droux in the #9 Realteam Racing was third fastest.
Times dropped further down in the afternoon session, Mathie Lahaye improving down to a 1.50.240. Colin Noble in the #7 was second fastest again, but now just under 0.4 seconds behind the Ultimate. The #10 Oregon Norma of Gustas Grinbergas moved up to third fastest by the end of the session. Mikkel Jensen in the #11 Eurointernational Ligier was the fastest non-Norma driver in both sessions, his best time a 1.51.423 which put him on fourth place in the afternoon session.
LMGTE
The Ferrari's were fastest in both 4 hours sessions yesterday, and it's the new teams in the championship who were in command. Andrea Piccini put the #60 Kessel Racing 488 GTE on top in the first session with a 1:53.288. He was followed by Nicklas Nielsen in the #51 Luzich Racing and Matteo Cressoni in the #66 JMW Ferrari. Just one Porsche made it to the track in the morning session, the #88 "Felbermayr" which ended up in P4.
Luzich Racing claimed the top time in the afternoon session, again with Niclas Nielsen who set a time of 1.53.411. Claudio Schiavone in the #60 Kessel Racing Ferrari was over half a second slower to finish in second place, followed by Manuela Gostner who put the all female #83 Ferrari in third place. The shiny Project1 Porsche drove his first laps of the week and went up to fourth place with a 1.54.531 by Egidio Perfetti.
NIGHT SESSION
The 2 hour "night session" ended yesterday's action on track at 21h. Just 17 out of the 41 cars got out on track for the session into sunset. Anders Fjordbach in the #20 High Class Racing was quickest of the 12 LMP2's who made it out on track Monday evening. His laptime of 1.40.404 was just over a second faster than Arjun Marni in the #43 RLR Msport Oreca. Tristan Gommendy in the #39 Graff made it another top 3 for Oreca.
Only five LMP3 cars came out of their pitbox last night. None of the LMGTE contenders set a laptime in the nightsession. Damiani Fioravanti set the best time in his #10 Oregon Team Norma (1.49.5000), beating 4 Ligiers. None of the contenders in LMGTE made it out of the pitlane in the evening.
Two cars haven't been out on track in any of the three sessions yesterday: the BHK Motorsport Oreca 07 and the Ebimotors Porsche 911 RSR.
Track action resumes today with a four hour session in the morning and a three hour session in the afternoon. Weather forecasts are changing daily around here, but with the track bathing in sunshine at this time, it seems like we'll have another dry day of testing ahead of us.
Results session 1
Results night session
The ELMS races into the night at Barcelona this weekend
FIA WEC: Porsche presents its redesigned 911 RSR at Goodwood
Le Mans: Preview of the 2019 Le Mans 24 Hours - János Wimpffen
ELMS Silverstone : LMP2 Preview
Tweets by ClubArnage Follow @Clubarnage
© 1995 - 2019 Club Arnage - All rights reserved. Powered by Blogger.


Pride introduces their latest addition and the first of a whole new range of scooters -The Colt The Colt is a 6 km/h (4mph) 4-Wheel Scooter designed to combine style and function in a very cost effective package.
The Pride Colt is comfortable and robust, yet very easy to dismantle for car transportation.
Overall Length (in inches) 47"


text:
Scott Walker had his own email controversy
Madeleine Behr
MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton have at least one thing in common: controversy over emails.
While Clinton has been scrutinized for her use of private email for public purposes, Walker's county executive office once faced questions, and even a criminal investigation, over its use of a private email system to do campaign work on public time. Walker, who served as Milwaukee County Executive from 2002 to 2010, was never charged.
Last week, Walker denounced Clinton's use of a private email server during her time as secretary of State.
Jay Heck, executive director for Common Cause Wisconsin, a nonpartisan good government organization, found Walker's statement "highly ironic."
"I was like, 'Hello? Pot calling the kettle black,' " he said.
While he was serving as county executive, two of Walker's staffers, Kelly Rindfleisch and Darlene Wink, were convicted of campaigning on public time because of work they did for Walker's successful 2010 gubernatorial bid and then-state representative Brett Davis' campaign for lieutenant governor.
Four other aides were convicted as well, but on charges of money laundering, embezzlement and violating campaign finance laws. Records show Walker's staff used a separate Wi-Fi system, private email accounts and different laptops in his county office to correspond with campaign aides.
Emails from Rindfleisch showed she used a separate laptop and email "to do things I shouldn't be doing on my county computer," she wrote in a February 2010 email.
Another email showed Walker's former chief of staff, Tom Nardelli, coordinating daily conference calls with Walker's campaign manager, Keith Gilkes.
Gilkes now serves as chairman of the super PAC supporting Walker's 2016 presidential bid, Unintimidated PAC, alongside former campaign aide Stephan Thompson. Records show Thompson also coordinated messaging with county staffers using the secret email system.
Walker's campaign had no comment and referred USA TODAY to a March interview the governor did with TheWeekly Standard before he was a presidential candidate.
In that interview, Walker downplayed the findings from the emails, saying "the craziest news story" to emerge from their release was a letter responding to a request to put up a menorah candle for Hanukkah that ended with "Molotov" instead of "Mazel Tov."
In his statement denouncing Clinton, Walker raised the possibility that the former secretary of State had threatened national security and called for Attorney General Loretta Lynch to determine whether Clinton broke the law.
"The United States cannot afford to have a commander-in-chief who believes it is worth risking the safety and security of the American people in order to avoid personal accountability and scrutiny," Walker said.
Barry Burden, a political science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said Walker probably doesn't find his statement about Clinton hypocritical because compromising national security is far different than campaign activities on public time.
"I think the press release is more about him trying to get attention as a Republican candidate who will be tough on Hillary Clinton," Burden said.
The Walker probe ended in 2013. It was one of two John Doe investigations Walker has taken heat for since his election as governor in 2010 (John Doe probes are mechanisms allowed by Wisconsin statute to independently and secretly determine whether a crime has been committed). The second investigation, which looked into whether his 2012 bid to fend off a recall effort collaborated with a pro-Walker group, ended this month after a Wisconsin Supreme Court ruling.
This wasn't Wisconsin's first scandal involving public officials campaigning on the taxpayers' dime. In the early 2000s, the Wisconsin State Journal revealed state lawmakers and aides were doing campaign work at Capitol offices in addition to directing donations from lobbyists to certain candidates. The "legislative caucus scandal" resulted in seven convictions.
Gordon Myse, a former member of the Government Accountability Board, a nonpartisan agency that oversees Wisconsin elections and campaign finance laws, said the caucus scandal was "a violation of trust" but said the Walker staff email system was also serious.
How significant the violation in the Walker case is will ultimately be determined by voters, Myse added.
Comparing Clinton's situation to the case with Walker's office is like comparing "apples and oranges," former state attorney general Peg Lautenschlager, a Democrat, said.
"The use of private servers to do government work isn't all that unusual in some ways," said Lautenschlager. "Now the technology has changed so you can access your government email on your cellphone or whatever."
Walker's case is just the opposite: private email system to do political work on government time, rather than a private server to do government work using personal resources, she said.
"There is nothing iffy about this," Lautenschlager said. "You can't do political work on government time. Period, end of story."
Behr reports for (Appleton, Wis.) Post-Crescent Media. Follow her on Twitter: @madeleinebehr


text:
package amo

import "time"

// RateLimiter limits requests rate to AmoCRM API endpoint
type RateLimiter interface {
	// WaitForRequest waits while the client can made next request
	WaitForRequest()
}

var defaultRTLimiter = newDefaultRateLimiter()

type empty struct{}

type defaultRateLimiter struct {
	limiter chan empty
}

func newDefaultRateLimiter() *defaultRateLimiter {
	limiter := &defaultRateLimiter{}
	limiter.limiter = make(chan empty)
	go func() {
		for {
			limiter.limiter <- empty{}
			time.Sleep(time.Second)
		}
	}()
	return limiter
}

func (rl *defaultRateLimiter) WaitForRequest() {
	<-rl.limiter
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
How to Get From Izmir to Ephesus for $2 in Four Easy Steps | Transportation Guide
Independent transportation to Ephesus from Izmir wasn't very clear when I first researched my trip. This is likely because many Izmir trains and routes are brand new (so no help from Google maps). And also because many who visit Ephesus, arrive by tour buses or car rentals. So if you're a solo and/or more budget-conscious traveler, you're probably scratching your head wondering exactly how to get to Ephesus by train or bus. Moreover, since English isn't as widely spoken throughout Turkey, it can be difficult to communicate with train attendees or fellow passengers to figure out exactly which train to take and where to take the dolmus (bus) transfer. The good news is that I JUST came back from a successful and easy train + bus solo trip to Ephesus. And since I didn't find anything on Google, I've decided to put together a quick step-by-step guide to help others travel to Ephesus from Izmir.
Oh, and the best part? It costs 11 liras each way! Which is less than $2 USD.
Related Blog Post: 22 Things to Know Before You Travel to Turkey
Step 1: Train to Ephesus / Selcuk
First, head to the Basmane train railway station located in central downtown Izmir. Here, you're going to take the Basmane-Denizili train to the town of Selcuk, which is just 4 km (2.5 miles) from Ephesus. You'll see different trains (including the underground metro) but the one to Selcuk is the railway trains that are above ground. Don't go down any steps and you'll easily find it.
Approach the main wooden booth and ask the representative for "train to Selcuk" (pronounced sell-chook). They likely will not speak much English but will understand "sell-chook" and will tell you next time it departs.
2021 UPDATED Schedule: When I went in 2019, the trains departed from Izmir to Ephesus approximately every hour; and I was not able to find an exact schedule posted anywhere. However, our reader Will Hooton was kind enough to send us an updated 2021 schedule (thank you)! It is now much more limited and could change again due to the pandemic restrictions. So try to get there early to be sure you're getting on the right train and to snag a good seat! If you have to wait a while for the next train, you can always grab some orange juice, baklava, or even a nice plate of food. Prices are very reasonable in the many establishments located just seconds away.
Cost: 7.50 lira – They accept cash and credit cards.
Which Train: Since these trains are new, they are not on Google Maps yet. There is also no sign that says which of the 3-ish trains sitting outside goes where. So what I did was ask about 7 different people beforehand to be certain. I pointed to the train and asked "sell-chook?" to which everyone nodded and repeated "sell-chook!"
Important Turkish words to know: Evet = yes; Yok hayir = no
Step 2: Enjoy the Beautiful & Local Train Ride
The train stops maybe 5 times before arriving at Selcuk. It's relatively express and skips over many train stations. The views are stunning, reminiscent of Tuscany or the wine country in the south of France. You can grab a seat with a table and enjoy the gorgeous sights of olive-green rolling hills and valleys.
Culture: You'll have the opportunity to people watch and take in the local culture. Turkish families and friends hop on and off. People were very friendly and helpful. You'll even get the chance to try a Turkish bagel or yogurt from a local vendor who passes through selling each for less than 20 US cents (1.5 lira each).
Duration: The train took about 80 minutes to arrive. It left at exactly 1:42 PM and arrived close to 2:00 PM.
Bathroom: There is a bathroom on board between carts. It was clean and had TP!
Quality: The train is spotlessly clean, modern, and efficient.
Step 3: Walk to the Selcuk Bus Station
A dolmus in Turkey is a shared minivan or minibus taxi that picks up and drops off people along a certain route. The dolmus/bus station in Selcuk is located about 5 minutes walking from the train station. Download maps.me to have an offline map of Selcuk, so that you can easily walk there. Or ask someone to point you towards the Ephesus (or Efes) dolmus/bus. If they don't speak English ask: "Efes dolmus?" They refer to Ephesus as "Efes" here.
Related Blog Post: Top 9 Istanbul Highlight Experiences & 2 Things to Skip.
Step 4: Take the Bus from Selcuk to Ephesus aka Efes
Once you arrive at the bus station, pay the attendee 3.5 liras and wait for your bus to arrive/fill up to leave. The bus ride is less than 5 minutes long. You'll know it's your stop because the bus driver should yell "EFES". Otherwise, look out for the first stop at a big parking lot full of tourists.
Et voila, just like that you're at the entrance of Ephesus!
Now you know how to get from Izmir to Ephesus! When you arrive at Selcuk train station, ask the train station booth operator for the train times. She wrote down the rest of day's the time schedule on a post-it note for me.
Total time: about 2 hours to arrive. If you want to save about 20-30 minutes, you can always just grab a taxi directly from the train station.
Note: There are two entrances to Ephesus. The one the dolmus/bus drops you off at is the one closest to the two major attractions: the library and the grand theatre.
If you liked this, subscribe to check out my future travel guides. Up next read: Planning the Perfect Turkey Itinerary.
Inspired? Pin for Later!
31 Easy NYC Weekend Getaways for Every Traveler
17 Charming Small Towns on Long Island to Visit + Hidden Gems
9 thoughts on "How to Get From Izmir to Ephesus for $2 in Four Easy Steps | Transportation Guide"
Thank you ! You made my trip actually happen ☺?
Denizhan Pekoz says:
Great information. Due to covid. Tcdd trains are not operating at the moment
Thank you. I saved a lot of kn et because of your advice
William Hooton says:
I'm about to leave on this service in the next hour. Timetables have changed slightly. My service is now the 12.30 train.
Dua says:
Thanks a lot for this! Made this trip so easy and worthwhile👍👍
Alek Zayas-Dorchak says:
On the train to Selçuk right now! This step by step guide was a lifesaver for me. Thank you so much!


text:
Never, ever steam. Or GTFO.
January 30, 2023 January 30, 2023 ~ Howard Freeman ~ Leave a comment
An everything bagel, one of my first batch.
If you don't know what a "schmear" is–where the word comes from and why its etymology makes its application to bagels clear and unarguable–go HERE. And if you want to experience a bagel from the vantage point of an experienced bagel-eater, go HERE and HERE. As you can see, I've given the subject some thought, more thought even that I've given to pizza, which somewhat surprises me since I eat pizza more often. I think it's because Little Caesar's deep dish pepperoni is so greasily satisfying and Comfort Pizza is such a symphony to my palate that I don't worry about not getting pizza that's not like "real New York" pizza. Only Home Slice in Austin offers me that and, even then, they try to Austinize it, and it doesn't always work.
That is not the case with bagels.
San Antonio's Boss Bagels are decent, and these are what is served at PAX Coffee Shop downtown. (As an aside, and only Kerrvillians will get this, I like what appears to be a name alteration: from "PAX Coffee and Goods" to "PAX" or "PAX Coffee Shop." The former made it sound more like a mercantile business, which it has never been. It has been and is a coffeeshop, and new owner Katie has trimmed off any excess nomenclature and made substantive changes to its interior, a couple that I like and a couple that I don't, but all of which show PAX's evolution into a pure coffeeshop. And that, I like.)
There are a couple bagel places in Austin that are good in my opinion — Rockstar Bagels and Wholy [sic] Bagels — but most of us have to rely on the closer Boss Bagels, whose one of two locations is beyond the TSA checkpoint at SAT. That's actually quite smart of them; bad for us.
Rockstar Bagels, center right: "A transcendent bagel experience"?
It was time to make some Freeman bagels.
I decided to use THIS RECIPE, mainly because the writer claimed to be a "real New Yorker." Anytime someone claims that, it is ballsy and requires other "real New Yorkers" to kick the tires. And in the end, it's as arbitrary as finding a recipe for a good meatball written by someone who didn't grow up in Italy or near Arthur Avenue in The Bronx. In the end, it's all about taste and very little to nothing about the cook's street creds. Those are useful only in marketing.
A few observations about the process:
I had never worked with yeast. I was told to use Active Dry Yeast and, after letting it sit in some warm water with sugar, I was told to stir it till it dissolved, which was a chore. My mistake was that the yeast-water-sugar mixture never bubbled. It may not have been ready to be stirred.
Kneading the dough for ten minutes was exercise! Because of the yeast (?), it was rubbery and bounced back, rather than being like biscuit dough, which has no yeast and calls for kneading only so much as necessary. Good grief! Bagel dough, and I assume all dough meant for bread products, gives you Popeye forearms and calls for a good shoulder massage afterward.
Dough didn't rise to "twice its size." It was maybe 125% of its size after resting for an hour. Probably not sitting in a warm enough spot.
Shaping the dough into bagels was both easy and hard. After dividing the dough into 8 separate pieces, getting the dough into round balls was difficult for me. The technique suggested in the recipe was unnecessarily confusing, and even the writer said it sounded more confusing than it was. Let's just say that it wouldn't have been so confusing if I'd watched the accompanying video which, like the men of the 1950s driving across the country with the family and not wanting to stop and ask for directions, I wasn't about to do. Full steam ahead!
And speaking of "steam," if you have ever eaten a steamed bagel, you know it's more like eating a marshmallow with sesame seeds on top.
Just don't.
Writing while naked
The space heater is on the higher of two settings and is about five feet away on the floor and exhaling — exhaling only — toward me under the desk. It is slightly unpleasant.
I stretch my neck and lean forward to look over my computer screen at it. Black, it's shaped like a decapitated pyramid. If it was moving, its vent would be a hypnotic spiral.
It's been raining this morning, so my normal ritual under the stars was abbreviated to a standoffish admiration from the back porch. To the left, watching our black cat consider its next steps. Listening to heavy drops hit something metallic at the house to my right. Not original drops; drops, rather, that had already fallen and were falling again from roof or gutter onto an aluminum surface of some kind.
How many times does a drop drop?
I'm in flannel pajama bottoms as I start to work, which was about an hour or more ago. My t-shirt is one that I wear every morning. I wash it occasionally. It and my other morning t-shirts are perfectly normal shirts — it's not like they have profanity or naked ladies printed on them — but I wouldn't wear them in public. It'd be like wearing underwear to shop for groceries.
And yet, I can work like this, at least for a little while. I can certainly write like this.
I could probably write while naked and maybe one day soon I will.
Why wouldn't I?
I "love my H-E-B"
Gotta be honest with you, I was a bit put out. Now that I think about it, that's a great phrase: being "put out." Random 4-hours-sleep-last-night thought: raise your hand if you saw the Flintstones cartoons and remember how the cats were "put out" of the house at night.
"Some day, maybe Fred will win the fight… Then the cat will stay out for the night…"
Used to be that at night people put out the empty milk bottle and the cat. That's just what you did. You can see for yourselves in this closing to one of my favorite cartoons that they've literally been doing this for 100,000 years. Sadly, the milkman, Bronto Burgers, driving on I-10 using only your feet for propulsion and putting the cat out at night have gone the way of the… (I think it's worth noting that purple dinosaurs were around long before Barney.)
In my case, and to my seemingly irrevocable sorrow, I was put out by H-E-B.
Now, you have to understand something about H-E-B and my fanboy status around this national grocery store of Texas. ("We" Texans love H-E-B so much that there are Texas-shaped stickers printed with the common saying "Love my H-E-B.") My quick rise to fanboy happened in 1996, and I won't recount the story here but rather refer you to it HERE. Whether or not you read that post now or were one of the three who did so then, you should know that this site is inspired by H-E-B. For a New Yorker who grew up on real bagels, real pizza, and had smörgåsbord, sushi/sashimi and Ghanian by the time I could vote, I developed early on a prejudice toward not only food that wasn't Gotham-found but also any grocery story that wasn't called Fairway and didn't require the skill of a Formula-1 driver to maneuver around the end caps and jockey for position at the express checkout line. If you have watched the Netflix series, Formula 1: Drive to Survive, you'll know that cursing out the shopping cart driver who tries to overtake you is not unheard of. In fact, it's encouraged.
You may not know this, but many Fairway shoppers themselves have sponsors ranging from Dave's Killer Bread (this is indeed the Team Red Bull of grocery sponsors) to Post cereal to Le Colombe Coffee Nitro. At H-E-B, however, no sponsors are needed. No jockeying is needed. In fact, people are not even in a rush. Even the red scooter-basket-cart that people sit in go only as fast as a Chevy Suburban idling up Hilltop Drive.
I have veered so far off the subject.
Back to it.
I was put out.
Put out like a cat in the Mesozoic.
In addition to this site's being inspired by H-E-B, I consistently post on my Instagram the items I buy from the store and cook. I also get responses from the store in Instagram DMs about my feed and stories that mention them. I am such a devotee that their coffee brand Cafe Olé is practically the only brand I drink. (We also occasionally drink Aldo's Coffee from Greenport, New York, and Cuvee coffee I got at PAX here in town, but basically it's all Cafe Olé.)
So I thought I'd try to become an "ambassador" for the brand and get free coffee for posting various kinds of H-E-B products. (Let's be real, Red Bull-sponsored F-1 driver Max Verstappen drinks that swill publicly, but he probably eschews it privately. I, on the other hand, would drink Cafe Olé no matter what. Or would I…?)
I DM'ed H-E-B on Instagram, and they gave me the email address to write to in order to ask about becoming a brand ambassador. So I did.
Crickets.
Four times. Crickets. Not even an auto-reply.
So I complained, like a little pissy New Yorker who doesn't get his way grocery shopping:
Gary Gulman with a riff about Trader Joe's, that bastion of yoga-panted and entitled midday-shopping white women.
H-E-B's Instagram monitor(s) have consistently responded to my questions and proactively commented on my posts and stories. It was obvious that if I wanted a response to my selfless ("yeah…no") offer to be an ambassador, I'd have to ping the IG crew rather than wait for responses to my emails.
And like a pissy New Yorker who thinks that grocery stores revolve around me — although they kind of do: me and every other customer. Ok… low blow. But pissy nonetheless, like I said — I even called the lack of a response to my emails, "rude."
I said that. I know: harsh language.
You can imagine what I'd say to a New York City-based grocery store. In fact, you wouldn't have to imagine it. I could show you how I responded to Gristedes one time if only I could find the post from my old blog.
H-E-B wrote back.
They wrote back and promised a follow up. And you know what? They followed up, because later THAT DAY, a woman named Shannyn wrote a very kind email and said that H-E-B didn't have any ambassadors for the Cafe Olé brand. Shame, if you ask me. BUT, she added:
While we don't have an official Café Ole ambassador program, we appreciate the love and really are glad you love brewing Café Ole!
We'd love to send you some Café Ole to say thanks- and if you post anything, wonderful — but if not, just know we appreciate you being such a fan!
Gracious H-E-B response to pissy New York complainant
Yesterday a box arrived. A heavy Box. From H-E-B with, I soon learned, a packing slip with Shannyn's name on it.
In it were eight (8) pounds of flavored ground coffee, a 2lb bag of flavored coffee beans and various swag, including a "Love my H-E-B" sticker, which was quickly affixed to my otherwise pristine MacBook Air. Market value was easily more than $100.
Can you tell I love my H-E-B?
"For a moment of night"
I think I've found a way to spot Mars in the night sky using Orion's belt and then two stars.
We live on the fringe of a golf course, and the 6th tee is about thirty yards from our back door. Twice a day I walk out onto the tee box. At night, I stand there and take in the majesty — and I do mean majesty: a word we rarely use other than referring to Charles or Elizabeth and which we ought never use when speaking about individual humans in a hierarchical way but, instead, use universally about the majesty of our humanity and the Created Order around us — I take in the majesty of creation. When the stars are out, not only is it more pretty of course than on a cloudy night. It also is more humbling to me by far than standing in daylight. In daylight, I often feel massaged by Sun as that star lovingly warms what is around me. It lulls me to think that somehow I'm at the center. Night reminds me I'm not. And a starry night is a fearsome thing indeed.
Then in the morning — before coffee, before writing in my journal, before any sacred text reading, and certainly before social media and email — I walk out onto that same tee box and again I take in the majesty and also face my irrational fear of being alone outside at night.
Finding Mars is relatively easy now compared with remembering some of the star names.
In "Orion's Belt" are, from "east to west" (for lack of a better way to describe their positions), Alnitak Alnilam and Mintaka. I just checked that link and, sure enough, NASA describes their relative position the same way ("east to west"). They are "blue supergiant" suns, more massive and powerful than ours. (That kind of makes one feel almost quaint, yes? To talk about "our sun" when so many other suns out there aren't possessed at all. Most likely.) All three names are derived from Arabic words, and this makes me think of the three wise men and Zoroastrianism, which was an association bandied about when I was growing up in the 1960s and '70s and before anyone speaking Arabic was considered a terrorist. It was also a time when much of popular Christianity could tolerate a non-Jewish "-ism" to be included in the Nativity story.
Alnitak — from an nitaq, "the girdle."
Alnilam — from al Nitham or al Nathm, "the string of pearls."
Mintaka — from al Mintakah, "the belt."
If I follow these stars from east to west I plot a course further to the west and then north until I find Bellatrix. "Bellatrix" means "female warrior," and is likely derived from one of two words, both male nouns. Webster's Dictionary says that "-trix" is a suffix that, when added to words, "forms a feminine noun of agency." One thinks of "executrix" of an estate (vs. an executor). (The reddit generation has taken "dominatrix" and shortened it to "dom." Much of language amongst them is abbreviated or even acronym'ed, made easy for texting. In fact, you can turn this entire post into a 572-letter acronym and text it to a friend. They will thank you. Try it.)
Yet being an "executrix," ladies, is your nom (de guerre…see how I did that?) in only some states. Other states will make the person who executes a Last Will and Testament the "executor" and, effectively, rob women of their agency in such matters. Gender-fluidity — a liquidation of gender from noun to adjective — also robs the identifying person of their definition in the literal sense. I would think their desire would be the opposite. Of course, fluidity does allow one the freedom to sit at the head of the Thanksgiving table one year and at the kids' table the next.
On the contrary, I like to think of words as ice crystals, branching off from a center and forming a pattern that can be traced back when looking exceedingly closely and with care not to melt their ancestral paths.
For more on this increasingly dull (to some) topic, go HERE. I, for one, hold my breath when searching for the root. One never knows what one will find. It is often a root word meaning something not so much male-dominated as true to its actual meaning, one which we shy from today for fear of losing friends or social media followers, which is to say the same thing. "Gentleman" comes to mind. It used to mean an Englishman of noble birth who owned land. Then it meant a man who was not only polite but polite specifically to women who wanted men to be polite. Then it meant a man who was polite to women who wanted men to be polite to women but not let anyone else know that she wanted that. Today, of course, it refers to a man who walks into an building with no windows at lunchtime carrying a hundred dollars in singles.
From Bellatrix, I fly across the north and veer slightly south until I hit Aldebaran. Yet another word that might be derived through Arabic and originally from the Latin. For more: HERE.
Finally, to Mars, I simply float a little northeast (?). At this point I have lost my sense of direction, because we use direction on a horizontal plane that is not easily tilted. Let me describe it this way: if last night I stood on that tee box facing toward Medina, Texas — which is an ironic posture for an Episcopalian to take when working with Arabic names — and look up, I see Orion's Belt in the southwest at about 11 o'clock. (Which means, as you now know, that when I tell you in Kerrville, "let's meet tomorrow at 1 o'clock," what I am really saying is "let's have an early breakfast in San Antonio.")
I follow Bellatrix and Aldebaran by leaning back, and by the time I hit Mars, I'm pretty much looking straight up. Lunchtime in Kerrville. In the end, what we think of as "north" (and south and east and west) is still a self-centered orientation of the universe. It is "around" us. We are not "in it." Copernicus is rolling in his grave.
This, of course, is one of the main reasons I go outside under the stars — quite alone at night and very alone first thing in the morning. I want to feel "in it" rather than it being "around me," as I do in daytime. Lulled. (Included in the many etymologies of "lull" and its offspring "lullaby" is the Dutch word "lullen," which means "to talk nonsense.")
Instead of being lulled to sleep, I want to feel that irrational fear of being in the dark.
Henry Beston (1888-1968) wrote:
Our fantastic civilization has fallen out of touch with many aspects of nature, and with none more completely than night. Primitive folk, gathered at a cave mouth round a fire, do not fear night; they fear, rather, the energies and creatures to whom night gives power; we of the age of the machines, having delivered ourselves of nocturnal enemies, now have a dislike of night itself. With lights and ever more lights, we drive the holiness and beauty of night back to the forests and the sea; the little villages, the crossroads even, will have none of it.
Henry Beston in The Outermost House: A Year of Life on the Great Beach of Cape Cod
Again, he writes:
For a moment of night we have a glimpse of ourselves and of our world islanded in its stream of stars — pilgrims of mortality, voyaging between horizons across eternal seas of space and time.
At night, or in early morning, I have nothing to fear except deer, a skunk, maybe a possum, or a stray cat. Yet the hairs on the back of my neck and on my arms actually do stand up. It is irrational. I am never in any danger. Ever. So I walk out there to the tee box to glory in the majesty of the deep navy blue sky and to face down that irrational fear, which is not a fear of anything external so much as it is a fear of what I might learn if I stand still for that one moment of night.