h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Project Title: Grand Prix Circuits
A-number of Project Title Page: A19868377
Proposed Completion Date: December 2007

Description of Project:
This project is intended to give a corner-by-corner detail of the Grand Prix circuits currently on the Formula 1 championship calendar. It may well also extend to circuits no longer in use in F1.

I'm well aware that there is a balancing act to be done with this, which could result in boredom at the drop of a hat: I'm not wanting this to be a boring analysis which is only interesting to F1 fanatics. Having said that, I'm not wanting this to be so simple that it becomes a boring description of bits of tarmac that either bend to the left, or the right, or go straight on. I'll endeavour to write in a punchy, accessible 'hootoo style'. You know what I mean. Tell me you know what I mean.

I've just blatted this one out in an evening. I hope it gives a taster of what I'm wanting to achieve:

Grand Prix Circuits - Interlagos, Brazil A19868089

Don't all rush at once to say how good it is!

Seriously, I've just re-read my own first entry (Brazil - A19868089 ) and although I'm happy with the first 3 paras, the rest is a bit pants. I'll get this one up to scratch before I start on any more.

*Paff goes off wondering (a) whether he's bitten off more than he can comfortably chew, and (b) whether anyone gives a monkeys*

Paff

I am not altogether au fait with the way the uni works here on hootoo, Paff, but I imagine that you kind of announce your project then go away and write it, then at some point hunt down a sub-ed to work with you - when you're kind of done, they submit it to PR for you, it gets worked over in PR. When it's done the editors pull it out, check it inhouse and bingo! FP!

It has been known to take a while. broelan's route 66 has been in the system one way or another about 3 years...

and keep up the good work

That's it exactly, Wilma. I'll stay subscribed to this thread, and if I'm in a position to help out when I've finished working on the two I'm helping with at the moment, I will.

Very odd, Paff. Everyone else left the Devon Meet wanting to write Devon Entries, but you...

Sounds like you've got it right thus far, Wilma Trog. The nice part is the flexibility of deadlines. I've managed to miss mine twice so far, and I'm looking forward to the luxury again soon.

Of course, you can always write the project first, then announce it. That way you meet the deadlines. That's what I did with the Byzantium project.

Things worth noting 1: it's really worth getting the project polished before it gets submit to Peer Review, as when it gets to PR, the author (you) won't be able to edit the entries. This results in three-way conversations between a reviewer, the author and the sub-ed. It's ok for nit-picking, but content changes would be a real pain in this case. I got my friends to look over the project informally before it got to sub-editing, made it a lot easier.

Things worth noting 2: the Entries you create become the Edited Entries, so any conversations attached to them carry on to the Edited Entries. So you should discourage people from posting comments on the entries themselves, keeping all natter to the Project Page or the Peer Review conversation.

A word of advice: don't feel that just because a project must have at least five entries, you should write five and leave it at that. If the subject requires more, make sure and write more. If it can't be stretched as far as five, then write less and put them through Peer Review in the normal way.

Interlagos, Brazil A19868089


Hi, Paff *waves*


VV can't get online just now. She phoned to say she has been reading this Entry and would like to advise something:

"A couple of years back one of the corners at Inerlagos was called the 'Car Park', due to lack of drainage which caused a number of cars to slide off. Maybe you could find out what corner it was?"

She will be watching your project with interest


lil xx

Thanks folks. I wasn't expecting PR type comments at this stage, but was at least expecting someone to pop in and say "hello, and good luck with that".

Re deadlines and nbr of entries. In Feb I set myself a target of end of the year, which seemed a long way off. Then I realised that 20+ entries in 10 months is 2 per month! there's no way I'll be managing that at this rate.

Wilma, I've just read the opening para of broelan's route 66 and see that the standards are high!

Rich, as for Devon vs F1, well, I decided to start on this 'little' project when the madness of F1 pre-season hype was happening, and Devon was still a bit grey and wet (and the Devon meet idea had seemingly died down). I notice the meet report is over on The Post, so I must get reading...

Paff

Dontcha just luuuurve hootoo?

You don't have to solo-write the whole series, Paff. You could always try to convince other Researchers to have a go at a couple each

I only just saw the FP - broelan's project is on for the whole of Easter weekend - but of course you all know that already Pretty darned inspirational, and no wonder it took so long to write, I think she travelled most of it before writing it!

Don't count entries. It doesn't work. My project was supposed to be a simple, 6-entry deal, and when it passed 9 I closed my eyes and stopped counting. It's the like the sneaker says: Just do it.

Now I'm confused!

[And now I'm about to ramble on.]

I popped over here (after I managed to find the place again!) to announce that I was going to call it all off. Either that or I was going to change the purpose of the project. Or something.

In my mind, the one entry I've written so far for this project was absolutely dire. But I've just re-read it now, and actually I think it's not that bad. It just needs a bit more urgency.


However. Hmmmm. The thing is this. There's a bunch of F1 stuff already on hootoo, and it's, erm, a bit hard going. It doesn't really tell you anything you couldn't get from - say - W*kipedia. It doesn't give you much, you know, 'feeling'.

So, I'm wondering if I should do an update of some of that stuff. And I'm also having some ideas about coming at F1 from a different angle. Like a bunch of 'How To' entries:

- How To Run an F1 Team
- How Not To Run an F1 Team
- How To Beat Your Team Mate (I've started writing this one)
- How To Design a Winning F1 Car
- How To Be The World's Most Successful Racing Driver But Still Be Disliked By Most Racing Fans - Michael Schumacher, a case study

Anyway, the thing is, I'm confused. I'll probably do nothing for a bit, and then see what happens next.

Paff

Project Page: A19868377 Grand Prix Circuits
A19868089 Grand Prix Circuits - Interlagos, Brazil

This didn't make it into the Edited Guide but is in the Flea Market here: F74125?thread=8312580

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