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The Altcoin Rises

O n May 11 2020, the crypto world experienced the phenomena knows as Bitcoin halving . For those who are still a little looney-toons regarding this phenomena, here's the lowdown . Moral of the story is that, as the Bitcoin supply decreased and it's 21 million market cap slowly approached, it was widely accepted that the low supply and high demand will increase the price of the cryptocurrency back to its previous highs. Basic business right? Wrong! Source: Equity Trust Company BTC prices actually fell and after briefly holding steady, are only just rising above the 10000 USD range. Surprise eh? Well, we are not done yet. Because while the most valuable crypto coin wasn't showing it's expected gains, some other cryptocurrencies shot to outer space. There was no SpaceX rocket nor a Tesla Roadster involved. These "altcoins" bumped up in their market value thanks to the entire underlying system of cryptocurrency: investor speculation.  But what exactly are these ...

Why F1 is still a bloody enjoyable sport

We live in a funny world today. A significant proportion of us cheer, scream, pull hairs and do an intensive face-palming therapy when we see 22 men mindlessly chasing a ball, seemingly controlled by managers who are experts at shouting. Clearly if there was a degree in shouting , they would probably have received it from the Ivy League. However , a much smaller, comparatively paltry number of us watch men with balls of carbon fibre ( steel is too heavy for cars) race a bajillion laps around smoking tarmacs, experiencing unfathomable g-forces while struggling to control their out of control rockets on wheels. And they say F1 isn't fun. What a load of...

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I love football but the first ever Brazilian name I knew was Ayrton Senna. I only knew Ferrari because of Michael Schumacher. There are several other references I can give but these two should suffice for you underlings to know about the importance of F1. Some say it has become boring. Others are quick to point the futility of spending your entire evening watching a pair of souped up go-karts race on glorified roads, while the others just prefer football over F1. And that's okay. I also have a tiny preference fo football cuz buying a football is probably going to be a lot cheaper than buying even a screw used in the bona-fide racers.

But that doesn't mean it's not a bloody good sport. Have you seen the number of fans gathered at a Nascar race. And that's just going around a track in a loopity-loop. Compare it to F1 race where a driver has to take properly-sweating turns, where even a clip of an aerodynamic paraphenalia could mean the difference between first and well..uh..not first. I have a huge respect for Nascar drivers and this is no attempt to degrade them, but everything is a matter of perspective.

Sure, for the last couple of years it has been Mercedes, Mercedes and Mercedes. Very few not-so-well-funded racing teams have barely made it to the top 6 of every race, let alone the podium. But last season saw an exciting battle between Ferrari and Mercedes, although Ferrari's challenge petered out very quickly in the end. The season before saw a nail-biting match between both the Mercedes drivers , Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton. And this season has seen more plot twists than a Jeffrey Archer book.


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And that's good. Hamilton's stunning drive from 14th to 1st poked a heavy jab at the critics wildly elucidating about how cars are failing to overtake one other. Vettel's crash and subsequent cussing was a nice piece of drama. One can only look forward to this yo-yo of a season

The owners, Liberty Media, haven't done a shabby job either. They have placed a huge emphasis on social media platforms, especially YouTube . The highlights provide an opportunity for viewers ,who are interested in F1 but don't have the time to watch every lap, to be on top of every battle, every blunder and every significant team strategy. The 'Best Onboards' feature a lot of 'Ahhs' 'OOhs' and 'F*****ks'., setting a very informal tone with the viewers.... I mean everyone loves exquisite cussing don't they.

And with rivals sure to hot up, like Red Bull sticking their noses into a Red and Silver battle,and it gets a lot more interesting when we see young drivers beating the crap out of some oldies.

It might have lost some have its sparkle, it have lost the growling and shrieking to a more controlled whining, it might have lost the great underdog spirits. But  it hasn't lost that sheer passion, that sheer , stupidly beautiful overtaking, and with war lines now drawn deeply in the sand, F1 isn't a goner yet.


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