Super GT 2016: Thailand

Of course, with the best of Formula One racers having their day in Japan for their F1 2016 season, the Super GT's finest drivers went to the Chang International Circuit in Thailand for their seventh leg of the 2016 Super GT season but Thailand's the penultimate part of the season because by next month, an epic two-part finale will take place in Twin Ring Motegi. Why a two-parter? Glad you asked because the third round, which was supposed to held at the Autopolis, was cancelled due to the Kumamoto quakes last April and hence made the final round, which will take place at the Twin Ring Motegi next month, a two-parter.

Anyway, onto Thailand, and with all that twists, suspense, and the inevitable crash, even on ASEAN soil, it seems that no one can stop the thrill from those brave Super GT racers vying for the top spot at the rankings and at the end of this 66-lap battle, the #19 WedsSport ADVAN RC F, driven by Yuji Sekiguchi and Yuji Kunimoto, wins the GT500 class while the #25 VivaC 86 MC, driven by Takeshi Tsuchiya and Takamitsu Matsui, wins the GT300 class.

As mentioned, the two-part Super GT 2016 finale will be at the Twin Ring Motegi. Part One will be on the 12th of November while Part Two will be on the 13th of November.

Highlights:

Jubilee of Mercy: Marian Jubilee

Jubilee of Mercy logo

Last weekend at the St. Peter's Square, groups of pilgrims and individual participants took part at the Marian Jubilee, which is part of the ongoing Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy celebration. There are solemn celebration of the Eucharist in honor of Our Lady at the Basilica of Saint Mary Major as well as the Recitation of the Holy rosary, the Sacrament of Reconciliation, and more,

 

In the final day of the Marian Jubilee, Pope Francis believes that "it's often strangers and even people from other religions who remind us of the Christina virtues of humility and thanksgiving, of which Mary is a prime model". He states that Mary didn't just listen, she acted, based on the different angles of religious perspectives.

Further reading: http://www.catholicworldreport.com/NewsBriefs/Default.aspx?rssGuid=pope-francis-the-most-godlike-people-might-not-be-who-you-expect-10429/

Next month, there will be Jubilee for prisoners, and then the Closing of the Holy Doors that will signal the end of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy celebration.

THREATS OF NORTH KOREA: 10 years since the first nuclear test

The first nuclear test in North Korea, since Kim Jong-Il's dictatorship, began on the 9th of October, 2006, and Sunday marked the 10th anniversary of North Korea's first nuclear test, and the first month since the recent and the most powerful nuclear test to date.

There were a total of five nuclear tests occurred in North Korea. The second was in May 2009, the third was in February 2013, and the recent two tests; one by January of this year and the latest last month. The previous two were under Kim Jong-Il's rule while the other were under the rule of his son, the current leader of the DPRK Kim Jong-Un. Concern is rising that the North may start another as it aims to establish itself as a "nuclear power".

Experts believed that the Korean Peninsula is honing its nuclear technology with each test. The first test said to have had an explosive yield equivalent to less than one kiloton of TNT. The recent test is estimated at 10 to 12 kilotons.

North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong HO told the UN General Assembly last month that the nuclear program is a self-defensive measure against the United States, stressing that his country will continue to strengthen its nuclear arsenal.

The South Korean government is on high alert for possible threats from North Korea.

Source: NHK World

Forza Horizon 3: The Grand National

See this little bad boy from the 80's? This is just one of the cars you can win at the Midnight Battle. It's the second out of the four midnight battle cars to win in Forza Horizon 3 and this is the Buick Regal GNX, a cult classic that remains one of the baddest examples of an American muscle revival in the 80's. Anyway, no time to talk more about this car, see what happens when I pit against that kind of car...

After my second Midnight Battle win that earned myself the keys to the car, I had a little quiet digging about this car and as far as I concerned, it's just one of the expert-level cars for tuners who wanted to get the most out of this bad boy and because this is classified as one of the muscle cars on the road, some power-hungry drivers wouldn't bother to give a big hood and a thousand horses on this Buick. In fact, no one bothers why...

So you may asking why would you want to give this Buick GNX a thousand horses and there's a main perspective for this kind of conundrum; you wanted this car to go fast in Bugatti Veyron levels. However, there's a major catch to this one; it's a nightmare to drive because if you're going to give this car the power equivalent of a Bugatti Veyron, be very careful about the torque it delivers because when the race starts, that wheelspin start is a technical act to follow and when you get off; be very careful on driving this thing because a slight mistake could be a major disaster but still, it's an adventure that has some perspective to it.

Call it a disaster or an adventure but hey, at least I still have the best day ever in this classic Buick Regal GNX though. With two more Midnight Battles to go, nothing's like taking a break than burning the midnight oil. That's perspective to you.

Google's Panoramio services to end this November

Google's photo geotagging service, Panoramio, will cease its services after the 4th of November, 2016. Users who linked their Panoramio profile with their Google accounts can access their photos on an Google Album archive and will be added on the Contributions at Google Maps.

About two years ago, Google announced that they will be retiring Panoramio in order to focus on photo-sharing experiences directly inside Google Maps but user feedback prompted to postpone such plans and worked to add features to Maps that better support the level of engagement users enjoyed with Panoramio.

Now, Google will terminate the Panoramio services this November 4, 2016 and Panoramio users, which are linked to their Google accounts, can enjoy Google Maps with its new photo upload tools and Local Guides program. If Panoramio users linked with their Google account, most of the Panoramio photos will be copied to the Google Album Archive and appear in the Maps Contributions panel.

STATEMENT:

Back in 2014, we announced our intention to retire Panoramio in order to invest our efforts into improving photo-sharing experiences directly inside Google Maps. In response to your feedback, we postponed these plans and worked to add features to Maps that better support the level of engagement that you have enjoyed with Panoramio. Today, with photo upload tools in Google Maps and our Local Guides program, we are providing easy ways for you to share your photos with an active and growing community. As such, we’ve decided to move forward with closing down Panoramio. To make this transition easier, we’ll provide several options to continue sharing photos through other services. If you choose, you can also export all your data and take it somewhere else.

If you have linked your Panoramio profile with a Google account, all your Panoramio photos will be copied to the Google Album Archive at full resolution after Panoramio goes away. These copied photos will not use any of your Google storage quota. Your Panoramio photos that appear in Google Maps will continue to appear in Maps, unless you delete them later from the Maps Contributions panel. Note: You must link your Panoramio profile with a Google+ account for your photos to be automatically copied.

After November 4, 2016, you’ll continue to have access to your photos in Panoramio for a year, but you will no longer be able to add new photos, likes, or comments. Below, we’ve included resources to help you manage or export your data.

URL: http://www.panoramio.com/maps-faq

This is the last Australian Ford ever made

Photo: Ford Australia

It's a sad moment in the history of Australian motoring as after over nine decades of producing cars for the Australian motorists, including homegrown favorites such as the Falcon, the Territory, and the high-performance FPV range, Ford signalled the end of producing cars in Australia as the last car they ever made, a blue Ford Falcon XR6 saloon, was rolled off the assembly line at its Broadmeadows plant on Friday. Last July, the last ute they ever made, a Falcon Ute, rolled off the line.

The decision for Ford to cease their Australian production will result to a loss of 600 jobs at the very plant where the Falcon was made for 56 years and 3.5 million units. Ford will continue to import vehicles in Australia while local engineers will contribute to development of the models sold there.

On a similar note, GM's Holden ended production of their Cruze Hatchback as well. Of course, Toyota and General Motors will end their production in the Land Down Under next year and when it does, it will officially be the end of Australian car production as they knew it.

Are there any Australian-made Fords will you miss?

Report: http://www.autoblog.com/2016/10/07/final-ford-falcon-australia/

Forza Horizon 3: The Devil Z...sorta

As stoic JDM speedo boys believed, a first-generation Datsun Fairlady Z remains one of the most important forefathers of the JDM sportscar realm apart from the 2000GT from Toyota and the Cosmo from Mazda but apart from being one of the founding fathers of every speedo boys' favorite, it remains one of the unsung heroes of the seinen manga/anime genre when it became the star of the Wangan Midnight franchise as the Devil Z, the demon of the Wangan expressway that main character Akio Asakura braved enough to master this powerful machine. We always wanted the S30 Fairlady Z to look like the mythical demon of the Wangan Expressway, until now...

You have to thank this game's new "bodykit" feature because if you equip this car with the Rocket Bunny kit, you now have a Z that has a closer resemblance to the Devil Z. A dream come true, huh? But not quite yet because in order to become the Devil Z, apart from its looks, it has to behave like one, and that means giving it lots and lots of power but do it at your own risk because if you give it too much power, it's going to be very undrivable due to the nightmarish torque that plunge you through to an unavoidable wheelspin nightmare so you might want to balance on how fast it goes and how good to handle. I know, I tried making this one with a thousand horsepower output but that wheelspin's killing me badly so I tone it down a little.

My recreation of the Devil Z isn't much of a Devil Z I hoped for but it's one heck of an enjoyable ride if I had to take a little time off from my Festival duties, like, you know, street races. Let's see how much I can work on this recreation of a mythical Wangan legend. My Devil Z isn't ready yet.