So the least accident prone driver in recent history had an accident on the last corner of qualifying in Monaco, guaranteeing pole position for tomorrow. What's the fuss about? He was unlucky to run wide, lucky not to hit the barrier, unlucky to stall the car. Couldn't have done better if it was on purpose.
I'd be seriously pissed off in Alonso's place. Somebody should think about bumping MS off tomorrow - he deserves it.
Technorati Tags : Formula1
Just to prove there is life outside work, the internet and video games, we sat down to watch a DVD last night. The kids chose "Pirates of the Caribbean", which by now must be our most watched DVD.
It's a great film: funny, clever, spectacular costumes, stunts and special effects. Johnny Depp is weird but very entertaining and delivers his comic lines with a great sense of timing. Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley make a wonderful couple.
But what holds it together is the script with great lines like: "Will Turner: This is either madness... or brilliance. Jack Sparrow: It's remarkable how often those two traits coincide. ", and with Jack Sparrow's bluffs and double-bluffs to give plenty of twists to the plot.
This family trend may mean less blogging, but it's worth it, especially if that coincides with less work brought home and less stress in general.
Wasted 20 minutes today trying to reply to a National Statistics Institute (INE) on-line survey about the use of information technology.
The bureaucratic overload in this country is amazing (don't know what it's like in the UK, never had to do it) and INE has to be the worst. Apart from the sheer volume, there is the awful site and their complete inability to communicate, a total contrast to the Tax Authorities' site which anybody can cope with.
Anyway, I battled on, finding that INE's users are "aderentes" not "utentes" and that signing up is a multi-step process where the individual registers, receives a password by email, then registers the Company and has to wait for another password by post... yawn. But the most amazing part came when I hit the help button on the "aderentes" page. It gives a FAQ section which helpfully defines all sorts of unintelligible terms, in a totally unintelligible fashion! The author should be shot.
So we can now register a new company "on the spot", only to spend hours groping around in the dark when we try to run it. Maybe the Government should wave its anti-bureaucracy broom in INE's direction.
Oh, and don't forget that you can be fined for not replying to INE surveys!
When I finally uploaded some photos into Flickr yesterday, Bev said "You're into football". I was surprised by my own negative reaction to that suggestion.
In the old days, I watched rugby and Formula 1. As I am too far from quality rugby and too bored with Formula 1, I join in with the Portuguese national obsession - football - but not obsessively so.
There's very little hooliganism in Portugal, but even so I wouldn't risk most league games. I stick to the big events, when tickets come my way, like yesterday's cup final, which was a good show and won by my adopted club, F.C. Porto. Even so, there was a dismaying number of obsessed fans at the game - apparently normal people who use a football match as an excuse to behave like they are retarded.
Many words have been written about the appeal of football to mankind's basic tribal instincts, which were so much on display yesterday, with chanting aimed to offend the national coach and against Benfica, who weren't even playing. For me, it's enough to be considered a "fan" with a lower-case "f", and I'll keep on following Liverpool (which won the F.A. Cup this weekend too!) and Porto in my own quiet way.
Manuel Maria Carrilho is the living proof that there is no such thing as bad publicity.
As a politician with a long CV of non-achievement, he survives thanks to the Caras and Lux gravy train. The problem arises when the gravy starts to run dry. That's when self-esteem goes out of the window - anything goes.
So here we have a book, written for a nobody, about nothing: "How I lost the election". He complains about unfair press coverage, targeting precisely those he needs to stay in the public eye. But it works. He is back in the news again. People will buy the book, to read and throw away.
It's better for him than sitting at home and living off Barbara's income, especially as she has passed her prime as the most elegant auto-cue reader on Portuguese TV.
Haven't we been through this before?
The woefully ineffective Hans Blix failed to find any weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, so the US invented "intelligence" to justify an invasion. There were no such weapons, but the Iraqi regime objected to the heavy-handed approach and refused to give full access to inspectors, as a matter of national pride.
Now the Iranians are refusing to co-operate with the IAEA inspectors, for the same reason. Just as in Iraq, they deny having any weapons but nobody will believe them.
How long will it be before the US invades this time? George W. has nothing to lose - his ratings are rock bottom already. Another invasion would, at least, help ensure his pension payments from sundry Pentagon contractors...
At dinner last night, a friend was bemoaning the successive increases in fuel prices.
While sympathising with him, I questioned how that increase affects driving habits. He agreed that the increase does not seem to affect demand for fuel. The queue for Lisbon this morning was no shorter than usual at the beginning of a month and most cars still carry only the driver. So either all these drivers have no alternative but to use their cars, or they are unaffected by the fuel price increases.
Empirical evidence also shows no shortage of shoppers for food, clothes or DIY products and new car sales are picking up well. So where is the recession?
Strangely, it appears to be easier to book doctors' appointments - how can healthcare be considered discretionary expenditure? The housing market also remains flat, a clear sign of lack of consumer confidence.
Maybe Victor Constancio, recently reappointed (for services rendered to his current masters) could explain where the recession lies. Maybe not...
