Johnny Simmons

Jorge Lorenzo and Marco Simoncelli will line up alongside one another on the starting grid for the bwin Grande Prémio de Portugal on Sunday after taking the top two positions in Saturday’s qualifying session at Estoril, and following the hour-long session the pair were involved in a heated debate during the post-QP press conference.

The disagreement stemmed from comments made by Lorenzo about Simoncelli’s riding style, and with the media fanning the flames the duo were drawn into an open discussion which can be viewed in the attached video. Below is a transcription of what was said between the two…

Marco Simoncelli: “Yes, I read something he said about my riding style but I don’t know, for me he said some wrong things because he said that last year in Valencia I touched him and he almost crashed, but it was not true because I was in front and he tried to pass me and made a mistake. He touched me and his tyre was on my leathers, from the leg to the shoulder, so for me it’s not a correct example. Another thing is that some years ago he was disqualified by Race Direction for his aggressive riding style, so for me he said a wrong thing.”

Jorge Lorenzo: “For my part I think that yesterday I said the right words. For me it’s not a problem if it doesn’t happen, we’ll see what happens in the future.”

MS: “Yes, but you gave a wrong example, for me, from Valencia.”

JL: “I think you have touched with a lot of riders, no?”

MS: “Yes, but your example was wrong, for me.”

JL: “How many races have I not crashed in? I didn’t touch anybody.”

MS: “I said that your example was wrong, sorry!”

JL: “This is your opinion! But I think a lot of people here in the paddock, a lot of riders, have the same opinion as me.”

MS: “Try to ask.”

JL: “Ask (Andrea) Dovizioso, for example. Ask (Hiroshi) Aoyama, for example.”

MS: “Ask Dovizioso in 2005!!”

JL: “It doesn’t matter. If nothing happens in the future, it’s not a problem for me. But if something happens with you in the future, it will be a problem.”

MS: “Okay. I will be arrested!”

JL: “This question, everybody is laughing, but it’s not funny because we are playing with our lives. We are riding at 300km/h and we are on bikes which are very powerful and very heavy. It’s not minibikes. It’s a dangerous sport and you have to think about what you are doing. It’s okay, I am ready to fight with all the riders, but I don’t like to fight not clean. It’s the way. I injured myself a lot of times, I made De Angelis crash in Japan which was my fault, my mistake, so from that moment I’ve always tried to ride clean. I can make a mistake because I am human but normally when I am riding I think twice about things. I am not impulsive because it’s one thing to play with your health, and another thing to play with the other riders’ health.”

Stoked Big Air Edition-RELOADED

RELEASE.DATE: 20/03/2011
PROTECTION: Solidshield
DISC(S): 1
GAME.TYPE: Sport

Developed in conjunction with world-renowned snowboarding movie creator Absinthe Films, Stoked captures the pioneering spirit of professional back country riders. Exhilarating snowboarding experiences are born from dynamic backcountry conditions. The riders who brave and master these conditions are the stuff of legend in Absinthe videos and on the pages of snowboarding magazines. The look and style of these riders are emulated across the world. In Stoked, it’s your turn to become a legendary rider and wow the world on the Xbox Live online entertainment network by becoming an absolute snowboarding phenomenon.

Upgraded with enhanced graphics and features, the Big Air Edition of Stoked features marked trails that make it easy to find great runs, lots of park objects to use for tricks, two new mountains, better visuals, and faster and smoother riding.

Minimum Specifications:

* OS: Windows: /Vista - Service Pack 1 / XP - Service Pack 3/ Seven
* Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo 1.8Ghz, AMD Athlon X2 64 2.4Ghz
* Memory: 1.5GB,
* 8GB Free Hard Drive Space
* Video Card: 256MB NVIDIA 7900 / 256MB ATI X1900 (Direct X 9c compatible) [not compatible with ATI 2400 Series]
* Keyboard or X360 wired controller.
* One time Internet connexion needed for the first launch.

Recommended System Requirements:

* OS: Windows Vista - Service Pack 1 / XP - Service Pack 3
* Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad 2.4Ghz, AMD Phenom X3 2.1Ghz
* Memory: 2 GB (Windows XP) 2.5 GB (Windows Vista)
* 8 GB Free Hard Drive Space
* Video Card: 512MB NVIDIA 8600 / 512MB ATI 3870 (Direct X 10 compatible)

Install Notes

1. Unrar.
2. Burn or mount the image.
3. Install the game.
4. Copy the content from the /Crack dir on the DVD to your \bin dir.
5. Play the game.
6. Support the software developers. If you like this game, BUY IT!

Watch Trailer

Screnshot

STCC The Game 2-SKIDROW

Release Date -; 18-04-2011
Protection: Steam
Game Type – Racing
Disk(s).. 1 DVD

Game info:
“STCC The Game 2″ is the official game of the STCC – Swedish Touring Car Championship 2010 season. The most intense and prestigious motorsport championship in Scandinavia.

Drive 18 Unique cars in two classes with over 45 unique car liveries. “STCC The Game 2″ refines the thrill of racing elite touring cars and brawly Camaro’s. There is a car type for every taste and level of skill.

Enjoy 6 high detail tracks. From the Danish tarmac at Jyllandsringen over Swedish classics like Falkenberg and to the tight rollercoaster ride at Knutstorp; STCC 2 has it all, closely modeled after the real-life tracks.

Features:

* Combined with the included game RACE 07, the content features:
* 29 unique car models in 11 different classes and 25 racing tracks.
* Multiplayer, up to 25 players online or using AI.
* Ghost racing against own or others lap times.
* Real regulations from STCC and WTCC; as real as you want it to be.
* Contains the best of STCC 2010 and other known classes such as Camaro
* Cup, WTCC, Formula 3000 and much much more…

Minimum System Requirements

* OS: Windows XP/Vista
* Processor: Intel Pentium 4 @ 1.7 GHz / AMD Athlon XP 1800+
* Memory: 512 Mb
* Hard Drive: 2.5 Gb free
* Video Memory: 128 Mb
* Video Card: nVidia GeForce FX 5600 / ATI Radeon 9600
* Sound Card: DirectX Compatible
* Network: Broadband Internet Connection for Online Multiplayer
* DirectX: 9.0c
* Keyboard
* Mouse

INSTALL NOTES

1. Unpack the release
2. Mount or burn image
3. Install
4. Copy all files from the SKIDROW folder to the game installation
5. Play the game
6. Support the companies, which software you actually enjoy!

ADDITIONAL NOTES
STCC The Game 2 is an expansion to the game Race’07. SimBin have since updated the main game a lot, and since nobody never released any scene updates for this cool racer, we decided to make it standalone.

SBK Superbike World Championship 2011-RELOADED
Release Date: 04/2011 | Publisher: Black Bean Games | Developer: Milestone S.r.l
Genre: Motorcycle Racing | Platform: PC | Size: 2.03 GB

SBK 2011 will feature a brand new artistic direction, an up-to-datedriving model to meet the gamers expectations following the most accuratefeedback collected so far on the web, as well as a more appealing presentationand side effects, due to an overall enhancement of the whole visual impact(menus, environments, 3D objects, lighting effects and much, much more)A simple side-by-side comparison with SBK X will allow the majorimprovements to stand out

Install Notes:

1. Unrar
2. Burn or mount the image
3. Install the game
4. Play the game
5. Support the software developers. If you like this game, BUY IT!

The 'Spit It Out' group will return to performing for the first time since bassist Paul Grey died of a drugs overdose last May, and although they admit it will be hard without him, they will put their all into their shows.

Percussionist Shawn Crahan said:"I'll be in tears before I even hit the first stair. And I need it very much - and we need it. So I'm looking forward to it, but it's gonna be very hard."

Drummer Joey Jordison added: "I've been in rehearsal over the last few weeks with our new bass player, Donnie Steele, and my feeling is that these will probably be the biggest and most emotional shows that we've ever had.

"I'm just speaking for myself and the rest of the band that we can't wait. Everything's on fire right now."

The pair also confirmed they are hoping the group will continue, write more material and release a fifth album after the tour is done.

Shawn said: "Do I want another Slipknot record? Absolutely. I'm not a fortune teller. Do I know if that will happen? I don't know."
Joey added: "As far as I'm concerned, yeah. I personally have, now- I don't know, probably over 17 songs."

Slipknot will headline the Sonisphere festival, which takes place in various countries across Europe, this summer.

Before long a number of these shows are going to be airing their finales, so they’re all doing their best to go out with a bang which means a generally good week of television.

Last week this show turned out a good episode, which was like a long drink of water after a drought. The show has been a downward spiral this season, and this week it manages to top last week’s good instalment with another episode featuring that excellent juxtaposition of humour and drama which once made this one of the best comedies on television. I’m all for character development, so the arcs all worked for me. Lynette’s was the poorest, but it was the source of much humour. The character herself seems to be learning things she should learned ages ago but it works in a great way, even if Vanessa Williams doesn’t get as much to do as I like. And although it starts out with some gruesome images, Susan and Paul’s affiance works much better than any arc she’s given this season. But neither matches the two great arcs surrounding Felicia and Karen and Gaby and Bree. On one side, Felicia reveals that she is still freakishly diabolical and poor Karen is the sap and on the flipside watching Bree and Gaby bond was such a nice touch and even though I understand Carlos’ decision I was cheering when Gaby went moved in – temporarily, I presume – with Bree definitely putting her marriage in jeopardy. If only the entire season had developed in such an admirable way.

[B+]

The episode itself is probably the weakest of the season, thus far – but it’s hardly an unrewarding episode. Tara signs on to be her professor’s “lab-rat” which is something that I’m interested in, guest star Eddi Izzard in turning in some good work. Max is facing troubles at work, and though it’s a generally trite arc Corbett turns in some good work this episode. Larson doesn’t get as much to do as I’d hope, but her shenanigans on the plane were hilarious – I’m looking forward to what becomes of that. Charmaine and Tara finally reconcile in what ended up being a sweet closing. And, Marshall and Lionel call it quits which felt a bit odd – but I’m not sure why. I’m not sure if it’s because the relationship felt bogus, or because its end seems so flippant. I suspect that a tornado could brew from his latest liaison, but we’ll see, I suppose...

[B/B+]

I love Facinelli’s work on Nurse Jackie so – naturally – I was glad that he got a major this episode and I was even more overjoyed when that arc ended up being opposite Soozie Kurtz (as one of his moms). Facinelli is the only character who seems to be playing to a comedic audience (I still think Nurse Jackie is a drama in disguise) but his scenes manage to work on the comedic and dramatic level. In other news, rats infesting the hospital and happened upon Jackie’s pills. Will Jackie ever quit? Who knows? Eve Best too turned in fairly good work on this episode. As usual, Nurse Jackie never really overdoes it with the plot – but the episodes are almost always enjoyable.

[B+]

I feel a bit badly for Glee, it’s as if it can’t win and I don’t know if perhaps audiences were expecting a “revolutionary episode”, a notion I find hilarious – this is Glee,people. Kurt’s back at McKinley and though he comes via a turgid rendition of “As If We Never Said Goodbye” (which happens to be one of the few Andrew Lloyd Webber songs I actually like) it’s all good. Sort of. For me, the episode is saved less by the overreaching arc of self-love and more by a trio of fine performances from Jayma Mays, Lea Michele and Dianna Agron. Emma’s rant about being a “ginger” was a nice moment of silly humour that I’ve been missing. Jayma has been given so little to work with this season. Quinn and Rachel have the best number of the episode – it’s easily one of best mash-ups the show has done, which makes the episode lopsided because it comes so early in it. The revelation of Quinn’s ugly past is an awful plot-point which subverts the entire self-love theme by implicitly saying that being conventionally good-looking is bad and by being too heavy-handed with high-school clichés. The Santana/Karofsky madness was humorous, mostly. Issues abound, as per usual, but for me it’s a strong episode. And I love randomness like the band geeks having their instruments with them on the patio. During lunch hour. Complete with a piano. Madness.

[B+]

True, it’s not an excellent episode but it’s solid comedic goodness, and Cougar Town is a fine show. Bobby hits the wrong ball at the golf tournament which leads to a hilarious bit of random humour courtesy of Van Holt. This arc was buttressed by Jules hilarious mistakes with the “Pledge of Allegiance” (the strongest plot-point) and Travis and Laurie teaming up to hoodwink Ellie and Grayson. The relationship between Travis and Laurie is a winner, but even more I love how Ellie and Grayson don’t care for each other but still manage to foster a weird rapport between them. There are some classic Cougar Town moments, most of them courtesy of Laurie and her twitter fansite and it’s all in all a nice half an hour of good times.

[B]

...and so Shirley’s baby is born. The episode feels a bit flat, and yet I think it’s a solid one. It’s probably because it’s missing on the most outrageous of things making for a softer, and oddly poignant episode. Fans will be pleased to know that Chang is NOT the father (said as Murray Povich). Jeong does a fair job this episode, but even when he’s good I still find him to be an exasperating performer. Troy and Abed’s handshake gaffe was hilarious, and I just love seeing Donald Glover get chances to show random bits of emotion. Britta and Jeff have a number of “moments” this episode, most of which end up working much better than I anticipated. I’m so glad to see that Community has managed to maintain my interest.

[B+]

Well, Michael Scott has left the building and like the usual serious things that occur at Dunder Mifflin it all occurs with a level of poignancy that’s become a bit underestimated in the modern sitcom. It’s wonderful watching Carell interact with the entire cast as he gives each of them a goodbye present. Yet, even as the episode is marked with all this sadness it never loses site of those random moments that will always make this office the best one. The very sight of Pam walking into The King’s Speech while on a work assignment was just one of those brilliant little moments that worked much better than you’d think it would on paper. Or Dwight telling Michael that he doesn’t deserve to be “buttled”. It was such a nice touch having Jim figure out the ruse without breaking it, although I can’t say Deangelo Vickers is interesting, I’m a bit worried...

[B+/A-]

And, as per usual, Parks & Recreation delivers another solid episode this week – and it’s a few minutes longer than usual, which I’m all for. Jerry’s controversial painting of a centaur with a striking resemblance to Leslie leads to controversy in the department. The painting acts as a nice impetus for a number of things. Ron doesn’t play a significant role this episode, but he does have an excellent speech about his interest in arc. Leslie’s a little down because she can’t date Ben (the sexual tension is killing me, hee) so she makes it her mission to save the painting. Meanwhile, Ben moves in to the married home of April and Andy which leads to some exceptional moments between the trio. April and Andy’s marriage is somehow leading to even more great moments on this show, which I didn’t even think was possible. And to think this is one of the season’s weaker episodes and it’s still head and shoulders above almost anything on television. As Andy would say, “Awesome-sauce”.

[A-]

Well, cheers to all in involved – this was a piece of brilliant. I’m not sure (I’m a bit partial to “Christmas Attack Zone”) but this might have been the best episode of the season and what’s so odd is that Jenna’s role was significantly muffled – although she delivered on that opening gag in Liz’s apartment with “The Secret”. It’s a trio of arcs. Tracy returns and is annoyed that the gang survived without him, leading to a ridiculous situation of trying to create the moment of a specific joke. The concept succeeds much better than I expected. Meanwhile Liz tries to take control of her life and Avery gets kidnapped in North Korea leading to a guest appearance from Condoleezza Rice which gives Alec Baldwin a chance to be brilliant.

[A/A-]

It’s as if all that singing was a sort of therapeutic measure for Sara Ramirez to turn out a great performance. Perhaps not excellent, but it’s a season’s best for her as she deals with recovering herself and it’s an arc which functions as a fine backbone for a fine episode. It’s good watching the trio deal with the baby measured against some other interesting arc. Don’t we all wish Teddy and her non-husband would just bang and get over it? Yet, it’s not an annoying storyline. Things get even more interesting watching Meredith and Alex being unethichal. That scene with Devine and Pompeo where Adele thought she was Ellis was well delivered and it’s interesting watching Meredith break the rules to ensure she gets the best treatment. In the same way watching Alex almost blackmail a patient (excellent guest turn from Doris Roberts) for money to help some children in need. It toes the right line of ambiguous because it’s all in his race for chief resident and yet you get the feeling that Alex is truly just happy helping those children. I’m actually glad to have Grey’s back, it’s going well...

[B/B+]

I sound like a broken record, but I’m really missing this show with Audra McDonald. It’s a fair delivery, but it continues a trend of well constructed, but trite episodes which the show has been riding on for some time now. Violet confronts, for the final time one can assume, her past with Kathy and moves forward with “allowing” Marshall to date the reviewer who hated her book. For some reason, Violet has lost that cadence that she first had and she’s become a bit of annoying character. Speaking of annoying, as much as I understand Addison’s dilemma the drama between her and Sam seems ridiculous. For now, Charlotte and Coop are the only sane ones. Strickland continues as MVP in Audra’s absence and they have some nice moments together moving towards their impending marriage.

[B-]

30 Rock A/A-

Parks & Recreation A-

The Office A-

    

Adam Scott in Parks & Recreation: A-

Alec Baldwin in 30 Rock: A-

Amy Poehler in Parks & Recreation: B+/A-

Peter Facinelli in Nurse Jackie: B+/A-

     

Sara Ramirez in Grey’s Anatomy: B+

Chris Pratt in Parks & Recreation: B+

Jayma Mays in Glee: B+

Tina Fey in 30 Rock: B+

Busy Philipps in Cougar Town: B+

Eva Longoria in Desperate Housewives: B+

Lea Michele in Glee: B+

John Corbett in United States of Tara: B+

Dianna Agron in Glee: B+

         

It's easy to mock the little guy when he takes a handful of giant corporations to court. Such litigious overzealousness usually gets tangled up or tossed out altogether -- Klausner Technologies, however, is laughing all the way to the bank, with a stellar track record taking on some of tech's biggest names over the past few years. To date, the company has scored wins in visual voicemail patent battles with Apple, Google, Verizon, LG, and Vonage -- the company also struck a deal with Sprint, though presumably with less teeth-pulling. This week, Klausner added four more big wins to the list, inking deals with Panasonic, Yahoo, Qwest Communications, and Avaya in the wake of suits against the tech firms. The company still has ongoing battles with RIM and Cisco that will hopefully stay civil. We'd hate to see someone send a visual voicemail they'd regret later.

HBO Go has been live on the iTunes App Store and Android Market for just a few short hours, but we've already put it through the paces, poking and prodding on our iPad and iPhone, to see what all the hubbub's about. We're pleased with the hefty amount of video that HBO's offering up here, and the interface is pretty intuitive as well. Still, browsing through the myriad content on the iPad's larger screen is definitely a bit more leisurely than on the iPhone's 3.5-inch counterpart. Both apps sport the same feature set, so searching for content, saving things to watch later, and blasting updates to Facebook and Twitter will work well on whichever device you choose. To make the deal even sweeter, it's free for current subscribers, so there's really no reason to not check it out for yourself -- unless you don't have HBO, in which case we have a video walkthrough embedded after the break.

Update: Sorry Android users, but it looks like the only supported versions for the Android app are 2.1 - 2.3.3. However, we're getting reports that it does function in the browser -- so long as you've got Flash installed, of course. We're also told that the HBO Go site works just fine on the PlayBook as well.

Ah, the all too familiar WiFi troubleshooting dance: the network goes down, you dig through the closet for an Ethernet cable, saunter over to the router, jack yourself in, type in the IP address, and start poking around at your settings. Cisco's REN301 Residential Gateway (a fancy way of saying "router"), which just passed through the FCC, could make things at least a little bit easier thanks to its built-in LCD screen and capacitive touch controls. Wave your hand over the display to bring it to life and you can check the status of your connections, modify some basic settings, and peruse a log of calls that have come in over the SIP VoIP phone jacks. The REN301, which has a single band 802.11b/g/n radio, can also turn USB drives and SD cards into NAS storage -- the company even throws in a 32GB card to get you started. We don't have a price or release date, but since it's been splayed open for federal regulators we probably won't have to wait long. There's a couple of pics of the router's UI after the break.

With every passing day, more people are ditching their landlines in favor of using their cellular phones as a combination device. Smartphones are no doubt excellent means of contacting other humans and managing our lives, but some of us miss the simpler days -- when a phone was just a phone. If you're a proud owner of an iPhone but looking to head down the retro road, Kee Utility would like to point you in the right direction. When we first saw the Desk Phone Dock, we were pretty intrigued by its looks but had questions about its practicality. What you see here is the $150 answer. Keep reading to see how well we got on with it.

Design / overall look

As you may have have been able to discern from the multitude of leaks that have surfaced over the past few months, RIM is apparently getting set to debut a new touchscreen-equipped BlackBerry Bold at BlackBerry World next week. While still not completely official, that's now been all but confirmed by RIM itself, which briefly featured the teaser pictured above on its website before pulling it for reasons unknown. As you can see, RIM apparently couldn't help itself and promised that it will be a "bold step ahead," and it appears that the phone is unsurprisingly running BlackBerry 7, which until recently was better known as OS 6.1. Of course, that's hardly the only news we're expecting to hear at BlackBerry World, and you can be sure we'll be there to brave the puns and bring it all to you.

Sure, we'll never see dreams of a 3D Cisco Flip realized, but Sony's offering the next best thing: the Bloggie 3D. The latest addition to the company's line of pocket camcorders was quietly made available this week for $249.99 a pop -- $80 more than the recently released Bloggie Duo HD, because extra dimensions ain't cheap. The camera takes a cue from Nintendo's latest portable, with a 2.4 inch 3D display that eschews the need for glasses. Or, if you're not in the mood to squint and don't mind the eyewear, you can output the video to a 3D-enabled HDTV.

If you've never heard the words "form over function" used to describe a computer case, you must've missed Thermaltake's Level 10 last year. Sure, it made us do a double take with its BMW-designed, super modular chassis, but its 50-pound weight and $750 price made it an impractical choice for a sizable chunk of the enthusiast crowd. Almost a year later, The Tech Report has gotten its hands on its successor, the $270 Level 10 GT, and deemed it much more fit for real-world use. This time, the company decompartmentalized the 3.5-inch hard drive bays -- all while adding an extra 5.25-inch bay and making room for an external 2.5-incher. Nonetheless, the GT isn't without imperfections -- the reviewer found a few spots where the build quality was lacking. If you've had your eye on one of these, we highly recommend perusing the extremely thorough review at the source link.

That non-standard charge port on your Tesla Roadster isn't proprietary, it's just outmoded -- but don't worry, a four foot adapter is here to save the day. This new J1772 to Roadster connector bridges the Roadster's 2008 designed charge port to the industry standard J1772, adopted by automakers and energy firms over a full year after the Roadster's debut. The new coupling cable will juice up your wheels in just four hours at EV stations outputting 70 amps, or in seven and a half hours for the average 32 amp level 2 charger. Native plug access to those thousands of ChargePoint stations will set you back $750, but if you've already bought a Tesla Roadster, that's just another drop in the ($100,000) bucket.

Transformers: Dark of the Moon was written by Ehren Kruger and stars Shia LaBeouf and newcomer Rosie Huntington-Whiteley along with John Malkovich, Josh Duhamel, Patrick Dempsey, John Turturro, and Frances McDormand, who is revealed in the trailer.

2008 world champion Lewis Hamilton has won his first Grand Prix in the 2011 season, the eighth edition of the Chinese Grand Prix, ahead of Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel in a race where tyre degradation proved once again to be a key factor this year.

Mark Webber drove an outstanding race to come from 18th on the grid to third in the second Red Bull, ahead of McLaren’s Jenson Button, Mercedes GP’S Nico Rosberg, Ferrari’s Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso, Mercedes GP’s Michael Schumacher, Lotus Renault GP’s Vitaly Petrov and Sauber’s Kamui Kobayashi.
2011 Chinese Grand Prix, lap by lap highlights:

The third race of the 2011 season is about to start in China’s Shanghai International circuit.

Reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel starts from pole position for the third consecutive time in the season after beating by 0.700 seconds McLaren’s Jenson Button during the qualifying session. Lewis Hamilton starts from the third spot of the grid in the other McLaren ahead of Nico Rosberg, Fernando Alonso, Felipe Massa, Jaime Alguersuari, Paul Di Resta and Sebastien Buemi.

Mark Webber faces a difficult race today as he starts from the 18th place after a disastrous qualifying on Saturday.

Formation lap: the grid clears ahead of the formation lap.

Race start: Race start at Shanghai! Into turn 1, Vettel down to third. Button P1, Hamilton P2. Massa P5, Alonso P6. Great start from Button.

Lap 2/56: Di Resta P7, Sutil P8, Schumacher P9. Webber passes Perez for P16.

Lap 3/56: DRS has been enabled. Kobayashi overtakes Alguersuari for P10.

Lap 5/56: Fastest lap for Button: 1:44.013. Webber is now up to 15th.

Lap 6/56: Di Resta reports over the team radio problems with the rear of his Force India.

Lap 7/56: Button P1, Hamilton P2, Vettel P3, Rosberg P4, Massa P5, Alonso P6. Petrov up to 11th after passing Alguersuari.

Lap 8/56: Drive through penalty for Liuzzi for jumping the start.

Lap 9/56: Perez passes Webber for P15.

Lap 10/56: Alguersuari pits. The Spaniard rejoins but his right rear wheel falls out at Turn 2. He’s out.

Lap 11/56: Schumacher pits from 11th. Webber pits. Maldonado pits.

Lap 12/56: Di Resta pits from P10. Massa P5 and Alonso P6 now pressuring Rosberg. Rosberg pits from P4. Perez overtakes Buemi for P11.

Lap 13/56: Buemi has pitted.

Lap 14/56: Vettel pressuring Hamilton for P2. Vettel overtakes Hamilton.

Lap 15/56: Button and Vettel pit together. Vettel resumes ahead of Button, but replays show Button pitting in the wrong garage! Meanwhile Massa has passed Hamilton.

Lap 16/56: Massa and Hamilton pit. Sutil pits.

Lap 17/56: Alonso pits. Perez and Barrichello pit. Replays show Massa and Hamilton overtaking Heidfeld. Buemi pits again. Glock pits.

Lap 18/56: Petrov pits.

Lap 19/56: After the first pit stop, Rosberg is now leading the race ahead of Vettel, Button, Massa, Hamilton, Schumacher and Alonso. Pit stop for Heidfeld.

Lap 20/56: Kovalainen pits from P16.

Lap 21/56: Webber is up to 11th. Trulli pits.

Lap 22/56: Kobayashi has a slightly damaged front nose. Liuzzi pits.

Lap 23/56: Alonso is struggling to pass Schumacher for P6.

Lap 24/56: Rosberg P1, Vettel P2, Button P3, Massa P4, Hamilton P5.

Lap 25/56: Button pits from P3. He rejoins in P8.

Lap 26/56: Rosberg pits from the lead. Hamilton pits. Alonso has finally passed Schumacher. Webber pits. Maldonado pits.

Lap 27/56: Schumacher pits from P5.

Lap 28/56: Fastest lap for Button: 1:41.536. Fastest lap for Webber: 1:41.200. Rosberg passes Alonso for P3.

Lap 29/56: Button passes Alonso for P4. Glock pits.

Lap 30/56: Hamilton overtakes Alonso for P5. The Spaniard is clearly struggling with the degradation on his tyres.

Lap 31/56: Sutil, Kobayashi, Heidfeld pit. Massa closing in on Vettel.

Lap 32/56: Vettel pits for the second time.

Lap 33/56: Alonso finally pits for a new set of hard tyres. Di Resta pits. Alonso resumes in 10th. Schumacher made it past Petrov for P7.

Lap 34/56: Massa pits from the lead. He resumes in P5. Replays show Massa crossing the pitlane exit line. Buemi has pitted.

Lap 35/56: Rosberg P1, Button P2, Hamilton P3, Vettel P4, Massa P5, Schumacher P6, Webber P7, Petrov P8, Alonso P9.

Lap 36/56: Hamilton overtakes Button for P2.

Lap 37/56: Perez pits from 10th. Alonso makes it past Petrov for P8. Webber closing in on Schumacher for P6.

Lap 38/56: Button makes his third pit stop and rejoins in fifth. Petrov pits. Webber overtakes Schumacher for P6.

Lap 39/56: Hamilton pits for the third time and resumes in fourth.

Lap 40/56: Third pit stop for Rosberg. Schumacher pits.

Lap 41/56: Vettel P1, Massa P2, Rosberg P3. Webber pits from 6th. Hamilton P4, Button P5. Kovalainen and Glock pit.

Lap 42/56: Hamilton passes Rosberg for P3.

Lap 43/56: Fastest lap for Webber: 1:38.993. Trulli pits from P18.

Lap 44/56: Hamilton closing in on Massa (P2).

Lap 45/56: Hamilton passes Massa for P2. Rosberg and Button getting ready to pass Massa. Webber has passed Alonso for P6.

Lap 47/56: Vettel P1, Hamilotn P2, Massa P3, Button P4, Rosberg P5, Webber P6, Alonso P7. Replays show Sutil and Perez making contact at Turn 2.

Lap 48/56: Sutil pits. Hamilton is being told to lookout at his tyres.

Lap 49/56: Race control: drive through penalty for Perez for causing a collision.

Lap 50/56: Button passes Massa for P3.

Lap 51/56: Hamilton pressuring race leader Vettel. Replays show Rosberg passing Massa for P4.

Lap 52/56: Webber up to P5. Hamilton takes the lead of the Chinese Grand Prix.

Lap 53/56: Webber pressuring Rosberg for P4. Hamilton P1, Vettel P2, Button P3, Rosberg P4, Webber P5, Massa, P6, Alonso P7. Webber overtakes Rosberg for P4.

Lap 55/56: Webber now pressuring Button for P3. Webber overtakes Button for P3.

Last lap: Lewis Hamilton takes for first the chequered flag and wins the 2011 Chinese Grand Prix. Championship leader Sebastian Vettel finishes second ahead of team-mate Mark Webber. Fourth place for Jenson Button, fifth for Nico Rosberg, sixth for Felipe Massa, seventh for Fernando Alonso, eighth for Michael Schumacher, ninth for Vitaly Petrov and tenth for Kamui Kobayashi.

Michael Schumacher insists he is not ready to throw in the towel following another difficult start to the season.

A lot was expected of the seven-time World Champion when he came out of retirement in 2010 to sign a deal with Mercedes GP. However, he failed to live up to expectations last year and finished a disappointing ninth in the Drivers' Champions - 70 points behind team-mate Nico Rosberg.

Although there has been a marked improvement this year, he is still finding it difficult to match the performances of Rosberg.

There have been suggestions that Schumacher could pack it in before his contract expires in 2012, but he is having none of it.

"I will fulfil my three-year contract with Mercedes after which I will work as a representative of the team's brand," he told Germany's Bunte.

He added: "I am on a mission to take Mercedes GP to the top step of the podium. Fighting for 10th place is not always pleasant. I expect to be in a better position soon."

Although he is confident of improving, Schumacher also admits that being 42-years-old "is not the same as 25".

The rain that was forecast for the first day of practice at the Estoril Grand Prix arrived, but fortunately for the MotoGP riders, both sessions took place in dry conditions. After a nighttime shower, the weather granted a respite until shortly after the finish of the premier class’ 45 minute second free-practice session of the top class.

The rain that was forecast for the first day of practice at the Estoril Grand Prix arrived, but fortunately for the MotoGP riders, both sessions took place in dry conditions. After a nighttime shower, the weather granted a respite until shortly after the finish of the premier class’ 45 minute second free-practice session of the top class.

It was a good day for both Ducati Team riders, with Valentino Rossi fourth and Nicky Hayden ninth, making progressive improvement from the morning to the afternoon. The Italian rider improved his time by approximately five tenths, while the American actually dropped a second and a half from his earlier time.

Valentino Rossi:
“I’m pretty satisfied with how the day went. Let’s start with my physical condition, which I’m very happy with: I was obviously aware of being a little better when I arrived here, but I wanted to wait until I tested my shoulder on the track, which confirmed that I’m able to ride well and have fun. It still hurts a little, and I’m missing a little strength, but the difference compared to my left shoulder is less. I can concentrate on riding the bike, and when watching myself on television, I can see that my style is starting to be a little more normal. Naturally, we’re also working on the bike. Today we used a different weight distribution and some changes to the electronics that worked well. For the first time, we went faster in the afternoon session than in the morning. We dropped almost half a second, getting us closer to the top. I still have some problems with rear grip, so tomorrow we have to do better, but I’m happy for now.”

Nicky Hayden:
“This morning was not a good session at all, but the afternoon was a lot better. We had a problem with one bike in FP1. I’m not sure what happened, but we’ll send the engine back to Bologna to check it out. I went back out at the end, but we used hard tyres because I didn’t want to waste another soft tyre, since it looks like it will be a soft-tyre race this weekend. Also, I had just gone out with a new setting, and since I only did about four corners, we got no information on that. We lost some valuable time, but this afternoon went better—not spectacular, but pretty steady. I was in the top ten for most of the session, and I had a decent feeling with the bike—I would say better than what the lap time shows. I’m sure everybody thinks they can do better tomorrow, but I feel like we can do a good job and try to get in a good lap in qualifying, which is going to be really important.”

I don’t know if I’m over thinking the equation, but I find it interesting how action blockbusters have become almost synonymous with science-fiction blockbusters. Source Code belongs to that specific class of cinema geared – ostensibly at least – at the prototypical 18- 45 male audience but with enough sincerity to appeal to a wider demographic.

The eponymous source code of the title is a computer generated component controlled by the Air Force, it seems. A soldier caught in that limbo between life and death becomes their key to stopping a serial bomber when he returns to the past in the form of a deceased passenger on the train. It sounds a bit confusing, no? The specificities of how the actual source works belongs to the class of cinematic creations which is just the right amounts of potentially confounding scientific data mixed with a certain amount of improbabilities that the audience is disinterested in and which Ripley delivers with enough sensibility that the fact that its very existence is confounding doesn’t act as a potentially exasperating element. It’s not that Source Code is a “character study” – in the strictest of senses, but it’s focus is less on the source code and more on its protagonist Colter Stevens, and in its confident (yet oddly self-effacing way) Source Code exists as a perfect vehicle for Gyllenhaal’s talents. (Can anyone else pull the name Colter, in the first place?)

When I reviewed Love & Other Drugs at the beginning the year I noted that despite its issues it was a perfect chance for Hathaway and Gyllenhaal to use their natural talents – even if the vehicle was less than solid. Source Code is a different genre, but Jake gets the opportunity to play that special type of hero who’s marked by a sort of stand-offish charm. He’s an everyman, but not a common man and I find I oddly humorous that when his Colter must go back to save the world, he returns in the form of a man who’s about as generic as they come. It’s sort of the paradox that is Jake as an actor. He’s not exceptional, but he has that intangible it factor that makes him much more watchable than a number of his peers, and he easily outshines the cast here.

Farmiga gives a puzzling performance, the first half of which she spends seeming a bit uncomfortable either with the character (or the horrific hair-stylist) but it’s a performance that becomes much more nuanced as the film draws to it close. Wright is as bombastic as needs be, but ends up being a little hollow in the end – even if the performance is hardly affects the film either way. It’s the same with Monaghan’s potential romantic interest, she – as with all the of the supporting cast – is serviceable in that they hardly prevent the film from being enjoyable, but they’re a bit ineffectual in terms of creating indelible characters, not that’s a terrible thing. It’s Jake’s films.

The most significant thing that occurred to me after Source Code was the manner in which contemporary cinema has developed. When our generation was young we were savouring Disney films where that vague concept of magic would give away to a host of impossibilities which were urged to “believe in”. Now that we’re older Disney has been replaced by any random studio, the films are animated no longer and magic has been replaced with science-fiction. Underneath the cantankerousness, I suppose I’m a sentimentalist at heart so I find the development satisfactory.

They say that retrospection gives way to perspective which gives way to the most effective view of things. I’m not sure that always applies to the cinematic world, though. If retrospection doesn’t precipitate nostalgic remembrances, it gives way to unnecessarily harsh points of view on certain films and Gangs of a New York is a fine example of that. Perhaps, it’s because a retrospective view at its ten Oscar nominations and zero wins suggests a less than impressive awards’ tally but by now you’d think that we’d stop using Oscar wins as a barometer for quality. All of Scorsese’s films this side of GoodFellas are befallen with the misfortune of being compared, unattractively, to his early work and next to The Age of Innocence, Gangs of a New York is the one accused most often of gratuitous style over substance. (Incidentally, both star Daniel Day Lewis, whose birthday is today.) I’m neither here nor there on whether that commendation holds up, but now is as good a time as any for a retrospective look at the 2001 “epic”.

I don’t know what is about Scorsese, he’s almost always regarded for his meticulous attention to detail but even in the consistency of his films – thematically – I’m always impressed with the scope of his imagination. In more ways than one Gangs of a New York is an ideal predecessor to The Aviator. It’s not just the presence of DiCaprio, Scorsese’s interest in history is potent as is the expansive epic style which he puts to more careful use in The Aviator. Scorsese’s films are always notable for their technical prowess and Gangs of New York makes extensive use of that – Michael Ballhaus photography in particular belongs to that specific school of lush which is so often mistaken for gratuitousness. Of course, that’s probably why it’s often cited as one of the leading examples of style over substance.

I won’t deny that I have massive nepotism when it comes to Martin Scorsese, and I’d be the first to admit that Gangs of New York has a story which has its issues with structures but I can’t criticise it for its actual story which I’m impressed with. Zaillian is a bit of a hit and miss with his screenplay credits, but Gangs of New York for me falls in the realm of the hit. The film is defined by its grittiness and it’s easy to give that credit to Scorsese because it’s a coarseness that a number of his films are marked with. But, Zaillian deserves a significant amount of credit for what exists as an impetus for the entire film. The important word there is impetus, though, because like so many of his films Scorsese’s scope overshadows the written word.

I mentioned Daniel Day Lewis in my opening paragraph, and his Bill the Butcher defines the entire film. I hate that memory of the supporting cast is eviscerated because they do turn in good work. But, it is Lewis’ film and he turns in what’s arguably the greatest performance of 2002 – which is significant considering the great work turned in by actors that year. This isn’t my favourite performance of his, but on his birthday today I can’t help but turn to Gangs of New York to remember him by. Lewis is an masterpiece, Gangs of New York is bit too flawed to be one. But, where they can shake hands is in their scopes. Love it or hate it, it’s difficult to deny the majesty of Scorsese’s intentions here, same goes for Daniel Day Lewis. The film, like it's main actor demands your attention at first glance and then it surprises with you with some distressing moments of poignancy.

       

The problem with Sirius Satellite Radio? You can listen to hundreds of stations, but only if you tune in live. As it stands, licensing restrictions make it impossible to record Howard Stern asking intrusive questions about people's sex lives. But that could change with version 2.0 of the platform, which is rumored to be on track for a fall release. According to a CNET report citing the good ole' "source close to the company," select programs will
be available for on-demand listening for a limited period after their original airing. And, this source says, the new platform could take a cue from Pandora and Slacker with personalized stations that let you skip songs, flag your favorites, and ban the ones that drive you insane. If true, listeners would get a whole lot more value out of that $13 monthly subscription -- and SiriusXM might have a greater chance of beating Pandora in the battle for your in-car attention. Until then, you'll just have to keep listening to Tiger Blood Radio live.

For every gadget you can use on land, there has to be one you can use at sea, right? Just in time for yachting season, Amped Wireless released the weatherproof UA600EX High Power Wireless-N 600mW Pro USB Adapter, which promises to extend your notebook's WiFi range in areas where there are no hotspots to be mooched. That sounds ideal for boating, but thanks to some flexible mounting options and one heavy-duty 26.5-foot cable, it should also come in handy everywhere from offices to RVs. The single-band UA600EX runs on the 2.4GHz spectrum, and although the company stops short of saying just how many feet of leeway you can expect, it does claim to quadruple your computer's range -- whatever that happens to be. If you have a hankering to watch Deadliest Catch on your next fishing trip, you can nab one of these bad boys at the source link for a cool $110.