Ozi Space

Danica Patrick struggles mightily in first Darlington Sprint Cup practice session

Written By Ozi on Saturday, May 12, 2012 | 5:22 AM

Danica Patrick pretty much held her own, running 17th, in Friday's two-hour Nationwide Series practice session at treacherous ol' Darlington (S.C.) Raceway. But the track seriously cuffed her around when she got in her Sprint Cup car for that two-hour practice session.

Patrick, in the No. 10 Chevrolet for Tommy Baldwin/Stewart Hass Racing, was dead-last in the Cup session, more than 9 miles per hour slower than Kevin Harvick. She was among six drivers--a mixture of veterans and newcomers--who spun or slapped the wall for a “Darlington Stripe” that's been part of the 1.366-mile, egg-shaped track since 1950. Despite her poor performance so far, she has an owner-points provisional that ensures she'll make the 43-car field. This weekend marks the second of her 12 Cup races that will prepare her for next year's full 36-race grind.

Harvick, in a Chevy for Richard Childress Racing, led the session at 177.090 mph. Greg Biffle, in a Roush Fenway Ford, was second-fastest at 176.290 mph. Kurt Busch (175.993 mph) in a Chevy for Phoenix Racing, Carl Edwards (175.760 mph) in a Ford for Roush Fenway and Tony Stewart (175.647 mph) in a Chevy for Stewart-Haas Racing rounded out the top-10.

The rest of the top-10: Martin Truex in a Toyota at 175.403 mph and Jimmie Johnson in Chevys at identical 175.353 mph laps, Joey Logano in a Toyota at 175.322 mph and AJ Allmendinger in a Dodge at 175.141 mph. Patrick, Johnson, Stephen Leicht, David Gilliland and Martin Truex Jr. hit the wall, and Aric Almirola avoided any contact when he spun early in the session.

Patrick's best lap was 167.997 mph, a time of 29.272 seconds. That's 9.093 mph and 1.503 seconds per-lap slower than Harvick's best circuit. The only other driver not in the 170 mph range was Mike Skinner, whose best lap was 169.438 mph, a time of 29.023 seconds.

Cup teams have another practice session at 2:15 p.m, then qualify at 5:10 p.m. Their 367-lap, 500-mile race is Saturday at 7:15 p.m.

5:22 AM | 0 comments | Read More

2012 Honda Accord Coupe EX-L Navi

A new generation of the Accord will debut this fall, packing a new family of engines and transmissions (including a CVT, which saddens me), but the 2012 Honda Accord is still selling well and stands up well to competition. In particular, the Accord coupe equipped with the 3.5-liter V6 and six-speed manual remains a very strong player. When you think about it, there aren't many cars playing in this midsize front-wheel-drive-coupe space anymore. It's just the Accord and the Nissan Altima coupe. Between the two, I've always tipped my hat toward the Accord.

This V6 is one of the smoothest powerplants out there, with good thrust and throttle response. Then pair that with an ultraslick six-speed shift-it-yourself gearbox, and you have quite the entertaining drivetrain combo. The clutch is easy to work, and going up or down gears is a cinch.

Toss the Accord coupe around and it will push into corners, which is to be expected from a front-wheel driver tipping the scales at more than 3,400 pounds. The all-season Michelin tires don't help matters, either. But most people looking for a large coupe such as this won't be taking it out to an autocross or track day. This is a daily driver that has enough power and ability to make the commute home a little fun to attack a few curves and blast off from stoplights. Breaking the front tires loose is easy.

5:16 AM | 0 comments | Read More

Samsung Galaxy S3

Written By Ozi on Thursday, May 10, 2012 | 11:32 PM

Now this is the kind of news we like to hear – a thread just popped on Reddit, with what seems to be a press photo of the Samsung Galaxy S3. The image contains a lot of juicy details, including a supposed Galaxy S3 release date: May 22, at the Samsung Unpacked event in London. The May 22 date fits perfectly with earlier bits of news, including Samsung’s statement that the Galaxy S3 will debut sometimes in the first part of the year, closer to the actual availability of the product.

Now, we’ve seen mockups and renderings of the Galaxy S3 before, including some really bad ones. But to us, this latest supposed leak definitely looks legit. First, you can notice the logo of Weber Shandwick Worldwide, a PR company that collaborated with Samsung in the past. Of course, anyone could have looked up Samsung’s public relation partners and slap a logo over a picture. But there is more. The image seems professional; if someone made this up in Photoshop, he or she spent many hours to make it look so legit. Everything, from the quality of the rendered screen, to the small details on the phone, such as the lower (and upper!) front speakers, seems to indicate that we are looking at the real deal.

As AndroidAndMe’s Taylor Wimberley notes, Samsung Unpacked will fall right between CTIA Wireless show at the beginning of May and Google’s I/O event at the end of the month. Could Samsung be trying to hog the spotlight (light it needs to) by launching their new flagship right between two major events? It’s definitely possible.

11:32 PM | 0 comments | Read More

Julia Orayen

Mexico's electoral authority apologized to voters on Monday after a presidential debate was upstaged by former Playboy model Julia Orayen and her revealing outfit (left).

Wearing a white dress that showed much of her cleavage, Orayen was working as an assistant on the televised debate. She walked in front of the camera to hand out cards to the four candidates and created an immediate stir on online social media.

Her appearance, lasting a few seconds, quickly began trending on Twitter, generating thousands of mentions. The Mexican newspaper Excelsior even declared her the winner of the debate.

Orayen posed nude for the Mexican edition of Playboy in 2008.

The Federal Electoral Institute (IFE) later issued a statement apologizing to the citizens of Mexico and the candidates for the "production error associated with the dress of an assistant."

11:16 PM | 0 comments | Read More