Sunday, April 07, 2024

Sunday Musing, Recommendations and Japanese GP


Happy Sunday!  It's a great Sunday when there is Formula 1, Liverpool on the TV, and a great coffee to drink.  Today I decided to make a pot of French Press, using a classical Bodum press.  There is no crazy technique, just time.  Seems perfect for a semi lazy Sunday.  Today's coffee comes from Dallas roaster Ascension Coffee Roasters.  I've been going to their original spot in the Dallas Design District for close to 15 years, every time I go back home to visit family.  They are probably my favorite Dallas area roaster, and one of my favorite in Texas. Which makes me think that at some point I need to do my list of top Texas Coffee Roasters.  Maybe in a few weeks I'll put that together, whether it's a separate post or part of a Sunday musings will be TBD.  

Anyways back to this particular coffee.  Is a light roasted Ethiopian that went through a natural processing.  The cup is incredibly fruity. Honestly the first taste brought back Saturday morning memories of eating a bowl of Fruity Pebbles.  There is a juiciness to it as well, but it's the fruitiness that is the focal point here.  Well rounded, not a lot of acidity here, coats the tongue (that may be an effect of using a French Press).  Overall I really enjoy this, it has a tone of character here but nothing is overpowering or hitting you in the face.  

Before I get into sports talk, I do have another weekly recommendation.  This time from a show on Apple TV+.  A little over a week ago they released a two part documentary on the great comedian Steve Martin and I must say it is tremendous.  Part 1 really focuses on his early days growing up and doing stand up, discussing the struggles he went through as he was really ahead of his time with what he was doing on stage.  The second part focuses mostly on where he is now with being a dad late in life and doing stand up with Martin Short.  While it touches on his movie career and talks about some of the highs and lows over the course of his films, that is definitely not the focus.  It's very much about his life now.  Overall I thoroughly enjoyed the doc, and really love the insight it gives into his long friendship with Short.  I do wish they had talked about some of his films more, but I would still recommend this to anyone that is a Martin fan, or standup comedy.

F1

Before I get into Liverpool, I figured I'd discuss the latest GP race first.  Full disclosure, I did not stay up this time to catch the race live.  The start time for me was after midnight and I just couldn't make it that late this weekend.  But watched the replay this morning and I must say it was a great race.  To recap things that happened during qualifying and leading up to the race, Williams Driver and American Racer Sargent has been given Albon's old chassis for the rest of the year (or at least until Miami when Williams could get a 3rd chassis).  You may remember that Alton wrecked his chassis a few weeks back during a practice session.  McLaren did very well during qualifying with Landon starting in P3.  Unsurprisingly Red Bull finished P1 and P2 in qualifying to start the race at the front of the grid. 

The Race started with a bang, shortly after lights out, Albon and Ricciardo touched going through the turns and crashed out of the race.  Ricciardo's no good very bad season continues and it kicked off a Red Flag not even a lap into the race.  No shenanigans at the restart occurred and we were off to the races so to speak.  Overall the race was fun.  The track has a ton of turns and is quite narrow in certain places, but that didn't stop passing from occurring.  Some drivers like McLaren driver Land Norris, and the Ferrari drivers just went for it, making their move in the middle of turns and narrow tracks.  It was fun to watch.  Unfortunately the streak of Red Bull not winning only lasted one race as they were back on top in P1 and P2.  Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz continues to prove to everyone that Ferrari is making a HUGE mistake letting him go for the struggling Hamilton.  Sainz finished third, Hamilton finished 9th (for comparison his Mercedes team mate finished 7th).  McLaren drivers finished P5 (Norris) and P8 (Pastry) and Sainz teammate Charles LeClerc finished P4.  The finish of this race continues to provide some separation for Red Bull and Ferrari from the rest of the pack.  With McLaren increasing the gap between 3rd and 4th where Mercedes sits followed immediately by Aston Martin.

Other quick thoughts from the race:

  • RB Driver Yuki Tsunoda finished in the points recieving the hometown cheers.  Which, as much as I love the honey badger Yuki is showing that Ricciardo just may not have it anymore.  Yuki has pretty much beat him in qualifying every race and finished ahead in all but one race.  
  • Lance Stroll continues to show that the only reason he in the Aston Martin car is his daddy.  While Alonso continues to carry the British team on his back, Lance doesn't finish in the top 10.  Where would Aston Martin be without the spaniard? They would be Haas if they were depending on Stroll.  That's how bad it is.
  • I truly feel bad for Williams.  They have made so many bad decisions in the past decade and now the whole team is paying the price.  They have had some back luck this season for sure with bad wrecks that could damage both the chassis of both their cars.  The fact that they don't have a spare is just absurd and shows how poorly they have been mismanaged.  I think team principal Vowles can bring them out of where they are, if they are given the time they need, but with where the money is at in F1, I am not sure they will given the time they need.
  • The rest of the F1 drivers better hope that the Red Bull car has more mechanical issues like they did in Australia or this season is going to look a lot like last season did.  The only positive thing is that the next 5 spots are up for grabs and the racing from McLaren and Ferrari is outstanding.
  • Prediction time:  In the next 3 weeks it will be announced that Sainz is going to Mercedes which will mean that if he races next season Alonso will do so for Aston Martin.  With all the open spots, we may not see as much shuffling as we anticipated, at least from the top clubs.  Assuming of course that Checo stays at Red Bull (anyone that thinks Verstappen is leaving is not being serious).
Liverpool
Liverpool had a mid week Premiere League match against Sheffield United that they won keeping them safely atop the table.  However today, as I am writing they are facing the hated Manchester United.  While ManU is not any good this season, at least not up to their standards, this isn't a gimme match.  ManU showed that a couple of weeks ago when they knocked the Reds out of the FA Cup competition.  So far as we hit half time the Reds look good.  It's a dreary rainy day in Manchester but Liverpool is up 1-0.  If that lead holds they win and stay atop the table ahead of Arsenal and Man City.  Liverpool hold the championship in their hands.  They are the masters of their destiny at this point with 6 more matches to play. Can they pull out another premiere league title for Klopp before he leaves?  I say yes!

No comments: