Around the web today; November 7th, 2013.

Here's some very cool slow-motion footage, showing the amazing tire deformation of various drag cars while launching their way down the quarter mile. Much of it is shot at 300 frames per second, but about halfway through there's a Corvette Stingray launching shot at 600 frames per second, or 5% of normal speed. You can even see the firing order of the engine from the side pipes.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfJejgODr3E



A huge gallery of photos from SEMA 2013: http://www.gtspirit.com/2013/11/07/sema-2013-day-one-and-two-highlights/



Pirelli is currently negotiating with Formula 1 officials in regards to extending their contract to supply teams with tyres for the next few years: http://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/new-pirelli-deal-to-be-for-three-years-only/

In related news, F1 head honcho Bernie Ecclestone had an awkward moment due to a revolving door and lots of cameras outside the High Court in London: http://jalopnik.com/bernie-ecclestone-is-so-rich-he-doesnt-know-how-to-ope-1459536635




A photographer's attempt to sue Australian newspaper 'The Age' for psychological damage, post-traumatic stress disorder and major depression, claimed to be a result of working on stories about the terrorist bombings in Bali just over a decade ago, has been declined. However, the court did declare that it was almost certain the claimant would never be able to work as a photographer again:  http://www.theaustralian.com.au/media/age-trauma-leads-to-calls-for-industry-to-act-on-risks-of-reporting/story-e6frg996-1226733834070

In my line of work, which has mostly been focused around shooting trucks and cars for magazines, I've not witnessed even a small fraction of what a news photographer would over years of service. The difficult situations I've been presented with are minimal, generally traffic or racing accidents, but even those have had an impact on me, despite being fairly removed from the situation. Constantly working on the subject of terrorism, seeing and photographing terribly injured victims would have to be very difficult to deal with.



Some interesting runs between a ridiculously LSX V8 powered Willys Jeep and several others cars, including a ZO6 Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1, 996 Porsche 911 GT3 and CBR 600 motorbike; but doing it the dumb way on the street:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAoeyAJ6XXk



A brief teaser clip for American stunt driving master Ken Block's 'Gymkhana 6' video:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dxgzt6S_Qxo



The Atherton Police Department in Silicon Valley would like some Tesla police cars. Pretty please.
http://jalopnik.com/ludicrously-wealthy-silicon-valley-town-wants-tesla-pol-1459679199


Strong crosswinds and a semi-detachable home on a trailer aren't a good combination:  http://www.thecourier.com.au/story/1892582/semi-detached-half-a-home-falls-off-truck/?cs=2452

Around the web today; November 3rd, 2013.

This is a very cool and unique version of one of the most popular hot rod bases out there, an early 1930s Ford roadster. While looking fairly 'normal' from outside sitting on the salt flats at Bonneville, a closer inspection under the hood reveals a very unusual power-plant for an old hot rod; a 600hp turbocharged Nissan RB20 motor, the same as my Cefiro. Bonus points to the owner for thinking outside the box, although some traditional hot rodders might not be huge fans of sticking a newer Japanese engine into an old American hot rod:
http://www.speedhunters.com/2013/10/hot-robbing-rb20-motor-174mph/



Recovering a rolled vehicle with a tow truck and winch cables isn't as easy as it looks, as this unfortunate operator discovered when putting this Mazda hatch back onto four wheels. The car would have almost certainly been a write-off anyway, but still: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBxSntGGm8U



Some great ideas for Halloween costumes for special needs kids in wheelchairs here; I think my favourite is the ice-cream van. http://www.pinterest.com/woodbinehouse/cool-halloween-costume-ideas-for-kids-with-special/

There's also a video of the ice cream van in action being wheeled along by young Carter, who  is confined to a wheelchair due to suffering from spina bifida.. The costume was constructed by his Dad, who should win some sort of parent of the year award for making such an epically awesome costume:  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/01/best-halloween-costume-wheelchair-special-needs-buster-ice-cream-truck_n_1928714.html




Some drool-worthy photos of homemade donuts, including a recipe for making them yourself:  http://sincerelykinsey.blogspot.com.au/2013/09/homemade-doughnuts.html




A very cool old Japanese cruiser in immaculate condition up for sale; a 1988 V8 Toyota Century: http://www.ironchefimports.com/site/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=522&Itemid=1




Well this is a bit crazy, a Dodge Ram becoming a battering ram with what was likely a drug-affected driver behind the wheel:  http://www.carthrottle.com/witness-an-acid-tripping-truck-driver-do-a-savage-hit-and-run/

Around the web today; October 24th, 2013

This 911 driver probably needed some fresh underwear after this close call. I had a couple of interesting moments yesterday on the roads, with a van and AMG C63 pulling out in front of me, but nowhere near as scary as this: http://www.carthrottle.com/witness-this-porsche-911-driver-avoid-a-huge-smash-on-a-french-autoroute/



An inspirational post from Jon Acuff, offering some food for thought about pursuing your dreams: http://acuff.me/2013/10/youll-never-make-money-doing-that/

I struggle a lot with the issue of work and income, having been sick for so many years and not physically capable, but having hopes, aspirations and dreams are important for your mental health, whether or not they're going to make you piles of money.



If you like seeing new Camaros in one piece, you probably shouldn't watch this video: http://www.motorauthority.com/news/1087300_hey-russian-camaro-guy-youre-doing-it-wrong-video



A tasty new Ferrari F12 shreds some rubber around Anglesey Race Circuit, piloted by Chris Harris, whose job is envied by roughly 99.5% of males who have a pulse. Skip the first 5 minutes if you're not interested in hearing about the car and just want to see a Ferrari being thrashed, the sideways shenanigans start at 7:50:  http://jalopnik.com/how-to-kill-five-sets-of-tires-step-one-get-a-ferrari-1450894562



This is a pretty cool wagon/boat trailer/caravan combo: http://bringatrailer.com/2013/10/20/two-tone-trailer-1952-ford-ranch-wagon-with-kom-pak-camper/

Around the web today; October 21st, 2013.

A blog post by Nigel Petrie of Engineered to Slide fame, detailing his drifting experiences at World Time Attack over the weekend in his insanely awesome Hilux ute: http://engineeredtoslide.com/2013/10/wtac-weekend-wrap-up/



A video from WTAC, showing why it's not a good idea to rip a massive burnout on a high-speed corner with cars drifting behind you. Trashed a couple of awesome cars, including Anthony Cece's tough Cefiro.

A police officer in a Commodore paddy wagon makes a surprise house call, by driving through someone's brick fence and parking in their front yard, after being clipped by a turning car:  http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/law-order/police-car-crashes-into-fence-in-prahran/story-fni0fee2-1226743412064


A father of three gets busted driving at 191 km/h down the highway with his family: http://www.bordermail.com.au/story/1853609/road-to-disaster-police-fear-deaths-after-father-clocked-at-191kmh/?cs=53



Street racing isn't the best idea, especially if there's a police car behind you at the lights, but this guy got off pretty easy: http://blog.powerblocktv.com/cop-goes-easy-on-driver-caught-street-racing/

An interesting analysis of how cereal was created and subsequently advertised and marketed; in the early days one manufacturer claimed outlandish health benefits from eating his cereal, Grape-Nuts, saying it could cure appendicitis, raise your IQ, and make your blood redder: http://mentalfloss.com/article/20320/how-cereal-transformed-american-culture


A rare all-wheel drive Cefiro wreck up for sale that looks a little worse for wear: http://m.gumtree.com.au/1991-nissan-cefiro-awd-rare-wrecking-or-repair-whole-car-only/v?adId=1027926912#nissan

Around the web today; October 18th, 2013

A feature by Speedhunters on a tough looking 1970s Datsun 260Z owned by photographer and journalist Larry Chen, with an accompanying garage chock-full of cool automotive memorabilia, toys and scale model cars:  http://www.speedhunters.com/2013/10/70s-street-fighter-imai-works-datsun-260z/


A lengthy picture thread from the HAMB, with lots of images of junkyards and wrecks from the 1920s through to the 1970s:  http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=390611


Some examples of well-known automotive logos taken back to basics: http://oppositelock.jalopnik.com/automotive-logos-simplified-1446395923


Skids in a new Bentley worth more than some people's houses. The video also features some cool team drifts in various Japanese imports:  http://jalopnik.com/how-to-get-a-410-000-bentley-to-do-a-burnout-633209494


A pair of thrill-seeking Canadian motorcyclists get hammered with massive fines after police view footage of their antics recorded on helmet-mounted video cameras: http://oppositelock.jalopnik.com/the-most-expensive-joy-ride-ever-recorded-in-quebecs-h-1445902758/1446288857/@pgeorge


An awkward test drive of a new Chevrolet Impala: http://jalopnik.com/someone-crashed-a-new-2014-impala-into-three-new-corvet-1446832965


Snapshots of people all over the world going about their day from The Big Picture blog: http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2013/10/daily_life_august_2013_1.html



Several big name US wedding photographers get themselves into trouble by plagiarising some content for  tweets and blog posts:

http://blog.photoshelter.com/2013/10/sad-tale-jasmine-star-doug-gordon/

https://www.behindtheshutter.com/what-we-can-all-learn-from-the-recent-events-of-jb-sallee-jasmine-star-and-doug-gordon/

http://stopstealingphotos.tumblr.com/post/55742970716/doug-gordon

http://mockstarphotog.tumblr.com/post/58264161952/im-sure-it-was-just-her-web-designer