24 hours in a race, 24 beers in a case. Spooky

France's Team DERT (Ducati Endurance Racing Team) will be contesting the Le Mans 24hrs this year on a 1098. And what better livery to compete at Le Mans than the classic Gulf Oil colours?

Not smart

What do we know for sure about manufacturing in China? Well, they have a pool of labour so cheap, willing to work in conditions so appalling that it makes Maggie's gusset fizzy just thinking about it. Combine that with China's rampant human rights abuses and rubbing one out thinking about them is probably the only thing that's keeping the old bag hanging in there.

Oh and they also have a neat little habit of knocking out cars that, shall we say, pay homage to well known brands *cough* rip off! *cough*. Previously I've seen these knock-off Mercs, Sunday Market Jeeps etc and chortled at the clumsy styling (clearly done from pictures - and not good pictures at that) and ferociously dangerous construction.

But this slide show of pictures published on the Italian site Repubblica chronicling the process of building a Smart FourTwo rip off are an eye opener. And not in a good way. It's all rather pitiful. Oh and horrifically dangerous too - this is after all China.

Don't believe the type

I have an on/off relationship with picking up on typos, especially when it's on the interweb. As a graphic designer I'm hyper-aware of typos and to a lesser extent grammatical errors, they stick out like the proverbial 'dog turd on a bowling green' and every designer will know the icy feeling of dread running down their spine when looking at a printed item and spotting a mistake. Oh, I'm also an insufferable pedant - so I'm kinda inclined to point out people's faux pas given half a chance.

But on the flipside - if a piece of writing is pretty much clear and readable then pointing out a keystroke error in the middle is, let's face it, a cunt's game. Internet forums, blogs and the like are a much more informal fast-paced arena where words fly about at a helluva rate.

The trick is to decide which bits of copy will benefit from a robust and thorough checking process. That stage may have been missed here.


More details here: 9news.com

RIP Barry

Five years ago yesterday, doesn't time fly? I made a wallpaper shaped tribute.

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widescreen

Stick or fold?

Note to WhiteboyBob: Please do routinely check the chassis of your truck for corrosion.


More pics here - it's a 70 foot drop to the river at the bottom. It's hard to say whether the fact that the frame appears to have all the torsional rigidity of a piece of overcooked spaghetti caused the accident or prevented the driver plunging riverwards.

Fiat load of good

You would have to be a heartless and cruel individual to derive amusement from the plight of young Sam Hamilton. It turns out I'm a cold-hearted bastard, what are the chances?

Sam, 18, who has only just passed his test, took his new car for a spin with four friends on a beach, as one does. I don't know if Sam's friends are as keen on pies as he seems to be, but his prized Punto sank into the sand and the tide was on it's way.

Student Sam, from Bolton, rang tow firms but they wanted £60 to save his beloved £400 motor and he and his mates only had £25 between them.

The Punto cost Sam £1,600 to insure but is only covered for third party, fire and theft.

When news of the story broke photographers were dispatched instantly - when a Fiat has been immersed in salt water you've only got a matter of hours to record things.