nudge

Still doesn't beat Kimi and him going on a 16 day drinking bender with his mates

He also sent a handwritten letter to Nikki Lauda when he was recovering from his lung transplant surgery. https://www.motorsport-total.com/formel-1/news/niki-lauda-habe-handgeschriebenen-brief-von-sebastian-vettel-erhalten-18122002

Good decision.

I'm just working my way through the whole Star Wars Expanded Universe (now known as Legends) collection. 270 books in total; I've only read 14 so far... So it will surely keep me entertained for a long time As for "proper" sci-fi series, have you read The Expanse Series by James S. A. Corey? The TV show adaptation of it is great and I don't want to spoil it to myself so I've only read the first three books in the series but there are currently 9 altogether and even more if you count related novelas and short stories. Easily the best modern sci-fi for me.

Finished both the Obi-Wan Kenobi audiobook and the 1491 history of the pre-Columbus Americas one. Now moving to the next ones. for entertainment: for serious reading:

Yeah give it a go if you get a chance; it's good as it's not too technical but still explores the future mission to Mars from various standpoints and has an actual fictional storyline + the bits of interviews with experts in the field... I'm enjoying it.

Has anyone seen MARS, a series by the National Geographic Channel? It tells the story of the settlement of Mars from the vantage point of a fictional mission to Mars in 2033 and combines scripted drama paired with documentary sequences featuring actual scientists and innovators who are leading the research and development of space technology that will make such future mission to settle Mars possible. It's already in Season 2; I only started watching it yesterday after being somewhat reluctant due to the docu-drama aspect. Surprisingly enjoyed the pilot episode; it's visually stunning and quite educational and informative.

Not many changes in livery but it's a nice looking car...

Especially because of Honda engine! I think at the end of last season their PU was already Renault's equal and had less issues with reliability. Considering they'll have two teams this time it should also advance their development. Predicting Max to be WDC is certainly beyond bold haha but I really think Honda engine will be one of the biggest surprises of 2019.

Alfa Romeo/Sauber will be the "best of the rest". Hülkenberg will outscore Ricciardo. Verstappen will win WDC. Kimi and Lando Norris will get at least one podium.

Have you canceled your subscription haha? Good news I guess. RTL is just horrible and the reviews of F1TV haven't been great so far so having Sky coverage back is good.

Haha Let's make it 10 Euros as I want some fancy property...

Both?... I'm happy to see that you're also still on the old reddit; I can't stand the new interface!

I'm in.

Yes, it was Kimi + Hartley + Max last season and will be Kimi + Max + Alex Albon in the new season... I'm eager to see what they came up with... Not sure it's going to be as radical as that speculation claims but it's intriguing nevertheless!

I'm only really excited for Sauber/Alfa Romeo... Apparently that name change doubled Alfa's sponsorship money and brought them to 250 million € overall budget per season so in terms of finances they should be up there with Renault and McLaren... I'm still sad about the name disappearing but I'm so excited for what the new season brings... My favourite current driver in my favourite ever team with enough money to compete for the "best of the rest"; exciting times!

I knew you've missed Lance Stroll...

Yeah the livery is the same and the car is quite similar to STR13 as well. Craig Scarborough did a nice initial analysis highlighting some changes; lower mounted front suspension, slotted floor, high inlet sidepods to name a few.

It's a bit as if someone applied the blue on the white background with the airbrush in MS Paint. Looks like a tube of toothpaste.

Red Bull's 'special edition' livery when they unveiled the car last year was amazing, they should have kept it instead of their usual one...

That's cool; even if I'm not a big fan of the Dalai Lama in general. Kalama Sutta (https://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/soma/wheel008.html) is probably the best example in the original ancient texts of how relatively similar their suggested way of seeking for truth and knowledge is to the modern scientific method. I think the fact that Buddhism understands that is not the only source of objective and empirical truth in the world, encourages everyone to think for themselves and also welcomes dissent is one of the key reasons why it survives and easily adapts to changes while still keeping its most important principles intact. Well theoretically at least.

Not a fan of those undefined blue edges on the livery...

The book is pretty much an author's interpretation of Taoism (which in this case seems to be a simplified claim that mindlesness=wisdom) through the parable of Winnie the Pooh and what particularly struck me is his condescending tone and full-blown attacks on anything related to science and reason. I think it could still be a decent introduction to the basics of Taoism for someone who's completely new to it; that's why I asked if you read Tao Te Ching as it seems as quite a downgrade. Anyway - that's just my impression and I'd be interested to hear what you think! I know of Matthieu Ricard but I haven't read any of his stuff although I think I still have The Quantum and The Lotus e-book (which is pretty much a discourse of Buddhism and science) somewhere on my laptop... Neuroscience research on the effects of meditation in effort to better understand how brain networks function is a very interesting field and I always found it fascinating how Buddhist tradition and science in general seem to be very compatible. Evolution, the concept of self, neuroplasticity, consciousness, quantum physics, etc.

Can't beat that second argument

I'm curious then, why The Tao of Pooh? I couldn't stand it; the author is so smug and the message of the book was just weird in my opinion... Let me know your thoughts once you read it!