Got a rare burst of corpo nicety today as I got to play hooky from work this afternoon for some "mandatory fun" at the #circuitoftheAmericas today for some go-karting, mini-golf, and some Texas BBQ for dinner, all on the company dime. Can't beat that with a stick!

Some of my remote coworkers are in town for an intensive "AI" training for 3 weeks (!) and that cohort got to invite +1's for the fun day and since I'm the only employee (that I know of) that's here in Austin, that meant that I got the golden ticket.

One of the guys brought his young son with him, so I got to share a lot of my F1 knowledge about the track and the sport with the next generation of racing fans. Plus it was really nice to meet some of my colleagues in person whom I had not yet met. Hopefully we'll get another chance to meet up before they all head back next weekend or so. It definitely helps me feel a little bit more connected to them now, and I didn't realize how much I have missed the in-person connection with coworkers.

But man, karting wipes me out. I'm already sore tonight and I guaran-damn-tee you that I'm gonna feel this tomorrow for sure. There's a surprisingly large percentage of upper body that is involved in racing, and I can't imagine what it's like for the drivers that are doing all of that 4X faster than I was for 2 hours straight. Gives me a whole new appreciation for what they do every time I get behind the wheel.

I'm wiped. 

It’s a race to Turn 1

George Russell was left frustrated by the current state of racing in Formula 1 after the United States…
#NewsBeep #News #Headlines #CircuitoftheAmericas #Formula1 #GeorgeRussell #GeorgeRusselllamentswhatF1hasbecome:It'saracetoTurn1 #Mercedes #UK #UnitedKingdom #UnitedStatesGP
https://www.newsbeep.com/197879/

Red Bull rules breach involved tampering with Norris F1 grid marker

Following the United States Grand Prix in Austin, Red Bull was fined €50,000, of which €25,000 was suspended for the…
#NewsBeep #News #Headlines #CircuitoftheAmericas #Formula1 #LandoNorris #McLaren #RedBullRacing #RedBullrulesbreachinvolvedtamperingwithNorrisF1gridmarker #UK #UnitedKingdom #UnitedStatesGP
https://www.newsbeep.com/197138/

Oscar Piastri claims he is still F1 title favourite despite Max Verstappen US GP win

Oscar Piastri is adamant he is still the 2025 Formula 1 world title favourite despite a resurgent Max…
#NewsBeep #News #Headlines #AU #Australia #CircuitoftheAmericas #Formula1 #LandoNorris #maxverstappen #McLaren #OscarPiastri #OscarPiastriclaimsheisstillF1titlefavouritedespiteMaxVerstappenUSGPwin #RedBullRacing #UnitedStatesGP
https://www.newsbeep.com/196404/

McLaren to review Austin F1 sprint crash – but not just yet

When Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri bumped wheels on the opening lap of the Singapore Grand Prix two weeks…
#NewsBeep #News #Headlines #CircuitoftheAmericas #Formula1 #LandoNorris #McLaren #McLarentoreviewAustinF1sprintcrashu2013butnotjustyet #OscarPiastri #UK #UnitedKingdom #UnitedStatesGP
https://www.newsbeep.com/195432/

Going full cyberpunk data broker, sitting here in a twilight-darkened office before the lights come on with the cyber-green desk lighting, watching the #F1 #USGP #Sprint race on my iPad while monitoring multiple data streams and channels on two more desktop monitors.

Also pretty cool to watch a race from a place that I was just physically standing in 2 days ago. Here's another short video that I shot of the Red Bull Racing pit crew doing some practice at Pit Walk day on Thursday. Enjoy!

#CircuitOfTheAmericas

Oh, one other oddity I forgot to report from yesterday's visit to the #CircuitOfTheAmericas for Pit Lane day was that apparently they are renaming Turn 20 as the "Mario Andretti Turn", which is weird because Mario quit racing 30 years ago and has never touched a wheel to the tarmac of COTA (that I know of).

I know he used to race in F1 and won for Lotus and such back in the day, but maybe it's because he's backing the Cadillac team for next year and COTA wants to celebrate the entrance of another American team with an "American" driver? I dunno.

Just thought it was an odd choice. I just would have thought that they would have chosen a driver that has actually raced at the circuit and won some championships as a result, like Lewis Hamilton (who also famously loves the Austin track). Whatevs.

Went to buy a parking pass for Lone Star Le Mans this year and I thought it seemed high. I went back and checked my emails and they raised the price by $10 from last year ($62.50 versus $52.50)! That's on top of the fact that, with early-bird pricing both times, I paid $59 for a ticket + $40 for a paddock pass for last year compared to $69 for a ticket + $70(!!!) for a paddock pass this year.

#WEC #LoneStarLeMans #CircuitOfTheAmericas

Cool way to spend a weekend: race cars and sunshine

#worldenduramcecup #wec #cota #circuitoftheamericas #austin #lamborghini

So, while I was YT spelunking at oh-dark-thirty last night/this morning, I was reminded of the time that the Foo Fighters called up "KISS guy" on stage to play "Monkeywrench" with them.

The show was at the 360 Amphitheater (the main stage at the #CircuitOfTheAmericas #F1 track) in Austin and I was there. It was two days before I tested for my shodan in Kenshinkan #karate.

Yayo Sanchez ("KISS guy") can shred that axe, boy, lemme tell ya.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjVOWOKa-lY

Foo Fighters - Monkey Wrench - Kiss Guy - Austin, TX. 4-18-18 (Yayo Sanchez) Multi-Cameras

YouTube