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Massa

2013 Grid

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That wasn't my point, sarcastic bollocks! :lol:

It wasn't aimed at you. :unsure:

Well, not specifically at you. :lol:

Actually, there is no written contract between Alonso and Ferrari. It was more of a ritual in which Domenicalli, Massa and LdM gave their souls. It involved rubber chickens and the chant: "One Brow To Rule Them All".

Then, Alonso took their souls.

There wasn't much to be taken, to be honest.

:lol:

I think Alonso should give Massa back his soul for the last 6 races of the season.

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So, what we have now, and the subsequent gaps left to fill.

Red Bull

Sebastian Vettel

Mark Webber

Ferrari

Fernando Alonso

Felipe Massa (reportedly close to re-signing, no other strong alternatives whilst keeping an eye on '14)

McLaren

Jenson Button

Sergio Perez

Mercedes

Lewis Hamilton

Nico Rosberg

Lotus

Kimi Raikkonen

Romain Grosjean

(Both likely to be retained)

Sauber

Jaime Alguersuari?

Michael Schumacher?

(Kobayashi likely to be shown the door)

Toro Rosso

Daniel Ricciardo

Jean-Eric Vergne

(Both likely to be retained)

Force India

Paul di Resta

Nico Hulkenberg

(Likely to remain unchanged now Perez has snapped up the McLaren drive)

Williams

Pastor Maldonado

Valtteri Bottas

(Senna likely to lose out)

Caterham

Heikki Kovalainen (reportedly close to re-signing)

Charles Pic? Bruno Senna?

(Petrov likely to go - Russian funding has dried up)

Marussia

Timo Glock

Luis Razia? Max Chilton? Someone else with money?

HRT

Pedro de la Rosa

Narain Karthikeyan? Dani Clos? Who cares?

:P

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Two questions for you:

Is Schumacher at Sauber an actual rumor, or just something you are speculating? I haven't seen anything about it, but I also don't check many sites outside of what's linked on this forum. :P

What's the latest on Bottas? The last I saw, two weeks ago or so, was saying Bottas didn't have enough money to displace Senna, and unless funding was found, they would either retain Senna or replace Senna with someone else who could bring that money. Has that situation changed?

Thanks.

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The Sauber rumour is credible. Schumi's manager met with Sauber very visibly in the paddock in Singapore (I think), although that may have just been a tactic for Mercedes' benefit. Anyway, Peter Sauber also said he would sign Schumi immediately if he became available. So that could happen. I think the bigger question is whether Schumi actually wants to continue at all. Apparently he could have signed with Mercedes earlier this year but chose not to.

The latest on Bottas is that Williams and apparently lots of other people seem to rate him as the next flying Finn, and desperately want him in that Williams seat. I have no idea about his financial situation but I expect him to replace Senna one way or another, since the team has hinted at that quite a bit and Bruno seems to be driving like a man under pressure.

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Autosport reports exactly that - Bottas doesn't come with much funding, but does come with a lot of talent, so there's a push there to get him into a race seat.

And, as far as I understood in relation to the Schumi thing George mentioned, Michael did want to continue. Apparently he was offered a contract for '13 but held out signing because he was pushing for a deal to keep him on to '14.

Personally, as somehow who (as I've mentioned many times before) grew up watching Schumacher dominate, I'll find it sad if he's forced to scrabble around to find a drive, like Barrichello did last year. These guys have served the sport well and deserve to leave with their dignity intact. It'd be nice to see Schumacher be at Sauber next year on the basis that you'd have to say that other than that freak victory in China, Sauber has been stronger than Mercedes this year, and there's no major regulation changes for next year. But if it comes down to negotiating for a drive against someone who is heavily funded - he shouldn't bother.

I could say a lot more today, but at the risk of shooting my mouth off, I won't. But I will say this:

I'll die laughing if Perez finishes ahead of Hamilton in the championship next year.

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NYT, for what it's worth, makes it sound like Schumacher's more likely to be in a management role than a race seat. I honestly have no idea if they are reliable for F1 coverage; they certainly aren't for political coverage given their biases in my personal opinion.

http://www.nytimes.c...rix29.html?_r=0

I wanted to see one more race where Schumacher was Schumacher again because while I'm not a fan, he's someone you can't ignore. 2006 was a treat, and while the cynic in me laughs that his unretirement was such a flop, there's an overriding and vaguely nostalgic part of me sympathizing with the fact little got accomplished. I'd love for him to win another race, head-to-head with Alonso, just to see it one more time...

...but let's be realistic. He's 43. He's done little in the last three years. Excuses can accumulate but quantity doesn't help their cause. Schumacher risked sacrificing the brilliant end to his career, that one last title fight and that great race in Brazil, to do this. Now he has to come to terms with that (and I think he has, truly, he seems so at peace in his interviews this year; I don't think he thinks negatively about his comeback), and so do his fans. Risks can have consequences. There is a lot of value in retiring on top. There's also a lot of value in trying and trying and trying until you have nothing left. Either way is a great way to go out because you keep your 7 championships and your millions regardless.

We've gone through post-Schumacher sadness before, we'll go through it again. Don't try to postpone it. My favorite driver in the entire world and in the history of all auto racing was at a point in his career, around the age of 43 as Schumacher is, when he hadn't been competitive in a few years and I was right here encouraging him on to do a few more years...oh, he just needs a better opportunity, oh there's still some magic left...another five years later and I can confirm there wasn't anything left. Just five more years of being frustrated. There are rumors that particular driver may retire at the end of 2012. I never thought I'd hope he would but I have been hoping for the last few years.

Which isn't to say you guys should all bail on your guy, or hope he leaves, but the world will move on. Last time, he left things on the table, this time he didn't. There are no wins left in the tank...

...but I'm totally open-minded to him going to Sauber and trying to prove me wrong. :)

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By the way, for those who like things that go full circle (no, not NASCAR)...

Sergio Pérez' father managed Adrían Fernández.

Now Adrián Fernández (noted CART/IndyCar driver who also dabbled in NASCAR and sports cars) is managing Sergio Pérez (though I think he may have managed him pre-Ferrari as well).

http://espndeportes.espn.go.com/news/story?id=1621050&s=mot&type=story

I like Fernández a lot so I guess by extension I will root for success for Pérez such that Fernández can make more money and get his LMP2 sports car team started up again. :P

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It is my understanding that Caterham reserve driver Alexander Rossi has signed a five-year deal with GE (Caterham sponsor) that will have him in a Caterham race seat in 2014.

Currently, Rossi is behind Giedo van der Garde on the Caterham depth chart for third driver, so that's kind of odd. I wonder if that means van der Garde is getting promoted to a race seat for 2013, or switching teams? Can't say I think Rossi is good enough, personally.

It could also mean that Kovalainen, having not found work at Ferrari or elsewhere, is just renewing for one more year at Caterham to then be replaced.

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If i were Schumi I would be horrible angry right now. Not because Merc kicked me out but about even signing with them in the first place.

How must he feel, Three years ago he signs with a team that just won the WDC and the WCC. They are then bought by a massive car maker who wants to resurect the brand in racing. Brawn, who he has worked with for years and years in the guy in charge. And what happens? The cars are crap. And not only that, they get worse every year not better. And then, half the time his car breakes down because of mechanical problems.

Then, his old rival the Kimster shows up after spending some time off doing rallying and lands in a team that was only as good worse than the junk car Schumi is driving, only for that team to take a giant leap forward the exact year Kimi joins them. Kimi has been fighting for podiums and wins and the championship in his first year back and Schumi sees how he is sitting in a team that counld not give him anything, no matter how good or bad he drives.

I think Schumi would have probuably called it quites after this season anyway. Now, he might just be trying to have one last drive in a better team, which Sauber can be counted as, to show up Brawn, Hamilton and the Merc board.

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If i were Schumi I would be horrible angry right now. Not because Merc kicked me out but about even signing with them in the first place.

How must he feel, Three years ago he signs with a team that just won the WDC and the WCC. They are then bought by a massive car maker who wants to resurect the brand in racing. Brawn, who he has worked with for years and years in the guy in charge. And what happens? The cars are crap. And not only that, they get worse every year not better. And then, half the time his car breakes down because of mechanical problems.

Then, his old rival the Kimster shows up after spending some time off doing rallying and lands in a team that was only as good worse than the junk car Schumi is driving, only for that team to take a giant leap forward the exact year Kimi joins them. Kimi has been fighting for podiums and wins and the championship in his first year back and Schumi sees how he is sitting in a team that counld not give him anything, no matter how good or bad he drives.

I think Schumi would have probuably called it quites after this season anyway. Now, he might just be trying to have one last drive in a better team, which Sauber can be counted as, to show up Brawn, Hamilton and the Merc board.

To add pain to disease Nico outperformed him every year.

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Realistically, lets assume that Kimi is not to blame for Merc's poor form or for his own (an Team Poochie's) good form (I am saying too many nice things about Kimi. It is time for ME to retire!) :P

Also, even if plagued by mechanical gremlins which might explaiin half of his bad results, probably the other half is mainly composed by Shumi's attempts on impersonating his own younger, racecraft-challenged brother.

If its glory Schumi came back for, then he was a fool since the beginning. Personally, I though he only came back for kicks. And kicks he got.

If the thirst remains unquenched, then Sauber, Ferrari or HRT would be as good. He had nothing to prove to begin with, so if he just want the thrills I find that admirable and I'd like him to stay as long as he can find a suitable drive as much as I would like to see Rubinho back, because it's admirable that these two guys, after so many years still crave so much the feeling of an F1 car under their vintage arses.

If he was actually expecting to become an 8 times WDC and what we have seen was his attempt at it then good riddance, you haven't been kicked out soon enough. Your tombstone will read "He made Britney look like a competent racer".

There's not enough fire and brimstone in hell for that crime.

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I don't think the guy has much to complain about (and I don't think he would). Mercedes paid him good money to come back and have some fun, basically.

The comeback wasn't a failure. He took a podium, he got a pole position. He outperformed Nico some of the time. It was as much as anybody could really expect. Maybe he still has something to offer, but it probably isn't as much as he thinks and certainly not as much as his most die hard fans think.

In a way, I think it's a good job that the car wasn't a serious threat for race wins because Rosberg would be taking them all and that would be kind of awkward, considering everybody knows Rosberg is nowhere near as good as a Schumi in his prime. I say, be thankful the car was crap. As for mechanical failures, he had a good run at Ferrari once upon a time, where I think he managed to win a few races. In terms of mechanical failures and bad cars, I'd say he was definitely still doing pretty good statistically.

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Apparently Ferrari's choices next year are between Massa (needs to keep up reasonable performances), Di Resta and Hulkenberg (one source says this deal is already done, however).

http://www.bbc.co.uk...rmula1/19789183

Either of those two would be more interesting for us viewers than Massa.

I don't find any of those exciting. I'd rather had a Webber (not the sullen version we have now, but a fired-up-upon-a-Ferrari-move version), a Perez (shame Macca got him first), Maldonado, if he first had passed through McLaren for some grooming up and on track behavior, Alguersuari (actually, nothing to tell him apart from a Di Resta, but in Spanish and probably the only one of the Spanish speaking drivers capable to say anything interesting in an interview, bar Alonso :D), Perez and Maldonado are irritatingly boring with their ultra corporate default replies no matter what was being ask.

Other options before the Force India duo: Schumi, Kubica (please, please Georgo who art in the skies...make that hand heal! That would be epic!), Heikki/Glock (both have been pushing their trailer carts much more competently that the guys in front with their super cool shiny top tier cars), Kimi (I just learned that the and Alonso are good friends which means I will keep saying good things about him!) and finally...Grosjean just to see how much a## whopping from Alonso would take to erase that smiling face of his :D

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Realistically, lets assume that Kimi is not to blame for Merc's poor form or for his own (an Team Poochie's) good form (I am saying too many nice things about Kimi. It is time for ME to retire!) tongue.png

Also, even if plagued by mechanical gremlins which might explaiin half of his bad results, probably the other half is mainly composed by Shumi's attempts on impersonating his own younger, racecraft-challenged brother.

If its glory Schumi came back for, then he was a fool since the beginning. Personally, I though he only came back for kicks. And kicks he got.

If the thirst remains unquenched, then Sauber, Ferrari or HRT would be as good. He had nothing to prove to begin with, so if he just want the thrills I find that admirable and I'd like him to stay as long as he can find a suitable drive as much as I would like to see Rubinho back, because it's admirable that these two guys, after so many years still crave so much the feeling of an F1 car under their vintage arses.

If he was actually expecting to become an 8 times WDC and what we have seen was his attempt at it then good riddance, you haven't been kicked out soon enough. Your tombstone will read "He made Britney look like a competent racer".

There's not enough fire and brimstone in hell for that crime.

I personally don't think Schumi ever thought he would win #8. And as you said he probuably just came back for kicks and he has had fun. But I think he was expecting more from the team in general. I think when he came back he probuably thought he would be able to at least fight for some wins, make it an even 100 maybe. He would only need 7 in 3 years to do that, not really a tall order for a driver in a good team. I don't even think he himself thought he would dominate Rosberg. The first year rosberg beat him by a large margin, which really should have been expected. In 2011, they were less than 10 points apart at the end of the season, but rosberg had slightly more than half of the points he did in 2010, this shows both Schumi getting better in relation and the car getting worse. This year, almost half his races have ended in a DNF because of mechanical failure, really not a sign of team improovement. And yes, he has had some questionable incidents this year and he certainly is not 100% of the driver he was in 1995, but even so a 90% or even 75% schumi is better than 90-75% of drivers. So all in all I can see a large part of a lackluster comeback be the result of a bad team. And I think any rational person can see that. And I also think any rational person can see just how lucky Kimi was to have Lotus perform as well this year as it has. And with these two facts I can see Schumi just not being happy about the way things have gone the last couple of years.

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I personally don't think Schumi ever thought he would win #8. And as you said he probuably just came back for kicks and he has had fun. But I think he was expecting more from the team in general. I think when he came back he probuably thought he would be able to at least fight for some wins, make it an even 100 maybe. He would only need 7 in 3 years to do that, not really a tall order for a driver in a good team. I don't even think he himself thought he would dominate Rosberg. The first year rosberg beat him by a large margin, which really should have been expected. In 2011, they were less than 10 points apart at the end of the season, but rosberg had slightly more than half of the points he did in 2010, this shows both Schumi getting better in relation and the car getting worse. This year, almost half his races have ended in a DNF because of mechanical failure, really not a sign of team improovement. And yes, he has had some questionable incidents this year and he certainly is not 100% of the driver he was in 1995, but even so a 90% or even 75% schumi is better than 90-75% of drivers. So all in all I can see a large part of a lackluster comeback be the result of a bad team. And I think any rational person can see that. And I also think any rational person can see just how lucky Kimi was to have Lotus perform as well this year as it has. And with these two facts I can see Schumi just not being happy about the way things have gone the last couple of years.

F1 FANatic <------------------- sour Schumie fan

eekout.gif

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I don't find any of those exciting. I'd rather had a Webber (not the sullen version we have now, but a fired-up-upon-a-Ferrari-move version), a Perez (shame Macca got him first), Maldonado, if he first had passed through McLaren for some grooming up and on track behavior, Alguersuari (actually, nothing to tell him apart from a Di Resta, but in Spanish and probably the only one of the Spanish speaking drivers capable to say anything interesting in an interview, bar Alonso biggrin.png), Perez and Maldonado are irritatingly boring with their ultra corporate default replies no matter what was being ask.

Other options before the Force India duo: Schumi, Kubica (please, please Georgo who art in the skies...make that hand heal! That would be epic!), Heikki/Glock (both have been pushing their trailer carts much more competently that the guys in front with their super cool shiny top tier cars), Kimi (I just learned that the and Alonso are good friends which means I will keep saying good things about him!) and finally...Grosjean just to see how much a## whopping from Alonso would take to erase that smiling face of his biggrin.png

I don't find them exciting either, but nevertheless more exciting than Massa. The problem they clearly have is that they want someone for just the one year, otherwise you can guarantee Webber would be in that seat next year. Actually, the one year part is probably what makes Di Resta and Hulk their main options! Maybe Schumi can be added to that list but somehow seems unlikely because of the history (both with Ferrari and Alonso).

Something interesting I just read is that Vettel's reported pre-contract with Ferrari for 2014 may be a way of protecting himself if, as his good friend Bernie keeps saying, the engine regulations are not adopted. If that happens, then apparently Renault have threatened to leave the sport (Renault really pushed for these engines, right?). So, a 2014 Ferrari agreement of sorts is a very smart insurance policy to ensure you have a decent engine in your car, rather than relying on a customer supply if all of that happened. That might also explain why Alonso didn't veto the deal, as it all seems very unlikely to happen anyway. Well, I found it interesting, as I have always wondered why on earth Vettel would want to go to Ferrari (so early in his career) and finally we have something resembling an explanation.

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F1 FANatic <------------------- sour Schumie fan

eekout.gif

Dunno if you're joking, and maybe there's truth in that, but if I was in Schumi's shoes, no matter how unreasonable F1 FANatic's line of thinking might be (and half of it isn't all that unreasonable) I would probably feel like that too. Men are weak and their emotions play tricks on them.

On the other hand, Schumi is experienced and not dumb at all, he might really appreciate the fun and money, and I read that he hasn't been horribly frustrated this year even with all the failures... so yeah, any interpretation can work but it depends on the actual person, not our speculation!

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Hulkenberg or di Resta? And how on earth do they judge them "ready" and Perez not? Hulkenberg and di Resta have not shown anything like the speed Perez has - heck - neither have either finished on the podium, but they'd rather go for one of those?

Mind officially blown.

Just sign Schumacher already. Perfect way to end - one last year at the team he enjoyed so much success at, before moving over for Vettel in '14 if that deal happens.

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Dunno if you're joking, and maybe there's truth in that, but if I was in Schumi's shoes, no matter how unreasonable F1 FANatic's line of thinking might be (and half of it isn't all that unreasonable) I would probably feel like that too. Men are weak and their emotions play tricks on them.

On the other hand, Schumi is experienced and not dumb at all, he might really appreciate the fun and money, and I read that he hasn't been horribly frustrated this year even with all the failures... so yeah, any interpretation can work but it depends on the actual person, not our speculation!

Ban her Eric, ban her now!!! angry.png

As for Di Resta or Hulk over Perez, they clearly think Perez is worth waiting for or know he wouldn't accept a one year deal. Replacing Massa for Schumi would be about as useful, ambitious and inspiring as changing your preferred brand of toothpaste. Sure, it has a romantic element for his fans (not that kind of romance you pervert) but if we're talking results, an absolutely meaningless gesture. I mean seriously if you think Schumi has not done that great against Rosberg, I cannot understand why any fan of his would want to see him tortured in every single session by Alonso. I mean absolutely destroyed, which is what it would be.

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And what, signing Hulkenberg or di Resta, who will be out of there after a year anyway, would be?

Both will know what everyone else knows. It is the worst kept secret since...Fernando signed for Ferrari (always seems to be Ferrari tongue.png). Why didn't Ferrari push and try and get a big name signing, or someone like Perez? Because Vettel's there for '14.

You say it'd be pointless - but would it? Sure, Schumacher's made some errors this year - but more often than not he's been very close to Rosberg's pace and has been out qualifying him in the last few races. It is also fair to say he has had his fair share of bad luck this year in terms of reliability.

Ferrari don't want anyone who will change Fernando, not for next year anyway. Schumacher over Massa seems a better trade off.

Plus Hulk and di Resta would be incredibly stupid to sign anyway. They'll know better than anyone that there will be no place there in '14, no matter how well the drive. Take a Ferrari seat for one year, get dropped, and then possibly struggle to find anything again? Don't be ridiculous. They're young and at the start of their careers - that's why it makes sense to either keep Massa, or get someone else who is towards the end of their career, like Schumacher, rather than getting someone young and chucking them on the scrap heap after a year.

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Nah, Schumi/Ferrari makes little sense for either party, other than his fans (actually doesn't make much sense for them either) tongue.png

For Ferrari, it's a matter of having a driver better and cheaper than Massa, who won't bring complications to the team and is reasonably happy to sit behind Alonso. Schumi does not meet these criteria, one way or another. Consider that Alonso, when faced with the prospect of Di Resta and Hulk joining, said he wanted to keep Massa because he respects the "Ferrari tradition" (i.e. he's a willing number 2 driver). If we assume Schumi is better than those two and Alonso thinks so too (very large assumptions), that means he'll be even more unhappy about him joining (unwanted tension in the team). If Alonso would be happy for Schu to join, then that means he considers him to not be at all a threat (even worse from Schumi's pov as he is just making up the numbers).

For Schumi, it's mostly about if he wants to continue and in what environment. If he wants to have fun, not being allowed to beat Alonso and not getting anywhere near him regardless of team orders (he's not going to get any better next year and in a completely new team geared towards a great team mate), doesn't sound like fun and is an unnecessary indignation for a great champion (more on this later). If he wants to succeed, it's not going to happen at Ferrari; Alonso will get the results and even if you're on the verge of getting a result, Alonso will be given the result if he's remotely in the title hunt because Schumi won't be.

Why it makes sense for Hulk or Di Resta? Well, I don't think Vettel is definitely there in 2014 but I think he has the option, and it's obvious that Ferrari are keeping 2014 open by offering one year deals otherwise Webber or Perez would undoubtedly have been signed for multi year deals a long time ago. I don't think it would be that stupid for either of them to sign. I don't think Di Resta or Hulk's stock is that high in the paddock, with drivers like Grosjean, Maldonado and Perez all being seen as more impressive. If they are even remotely aware of that (and they must be because they must have considered: why didn't Mclaren sign me?) then they might see a year in a top team as a good opportunity worth taking. You get a few podiums, you finish behind Alonso and everybody knows that you weren't supposed to beat him anyway, and all of a sudden you're relatively highly rated, and hey, maybe you land Vettel's Red Bull seat. And maybe Vettel doesn't move? Maybe you impress enough to stay on for another few years as Alonso's solid number two driver, taking over as number 1 in 2017 (or whenever). Doesn't sound so bad now, right?

And, it doesn't make sense for you, one of his fans James, because you are no longer watching the once great driver you appreciated years ago. You are watching a shadow of his former self drive around in circles at nowhere near his limits getting humiliated by the driver who beat him to a world title, in a team which didn't respect and appreciate him enough to hold fire on signing somebody new. You are selfishly clinging to the nostalgia of your youth, encouraging his mid-life crisis, and you're a terrible person tongue.png

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All of which is not to say that both parties won't come to an agreement for 2013. Ferrari are sufficiently incompetent and Schumi sufficiently self-confident to believe it would work tongue.png I will admit, it would be more "exciting" than either of the FI drivers (more column inches, more of us forum experts talking, etc). Obviously, this would be one of those situations where exciting would not equal better for either party, or, after the initial buzz, even us.

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Lotsa blah

More blah

Ok, I got lost past the second line of your meandering reasoning (and that, coming from an old babbler, incoherent poster as myself).

So I will just reply with this:

Source? :unsure:

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