Enjoying the gym...

About 6 weeks ago I joined a gym - one of those 30 minute circuit ones. Well miracle of miracles - I'm still going, still enjoying it and best of all I'm actually seeing results too! Bonus!

iPod touch software update

There are loads of great apps available for the iPhone and iPod touch once you do the software update including Typepad so you can blog direct from your device. Brilliant!

S.O.P.H.I.E.

It's been a while since I've posted here. Real life gets busy and all that. This week I heard from a friend about S.O.P.H.I.E. a memorial campaign set up by the family of Sophie Lancaster, a young goth girl who was brutally beaten to death by a gang simply because she dressed in 'alternative clothes'. Her boyfriend was brutally beaten at the same time. The case came to court earlier this year and the young men responsible were sentenced to life in prison. It was a case that really disturbed me. I know I'm middle-aged now, but I dressed in a similar way, and I'm still a goth at heart.

Sophie's mother has set up a campaign fund to Stamp Out Prejudice Hatred and Intolerance Everywhere and I will be showing my support by wearing the SO.P.H.I.E. wristband. If you're also disturbed and horrified that someone could be literally beaten to death just for the way they look, then please pay a visit to the Sophie Lancaster campaign page here.

You can also show your support - visit this page for more details.

Finally here's a video tribute made by one of Sophie's friends:

No racing this weekend

None of my usual suspects are out this weekend. NASCAR has a weekend off ahead of Talladega next week, F1 are gearing up for Barcelona next weekend and whilst Super Aguri have sent one of their transporters already, there's still a great deal of doubt as to whether they'll be able to race unless a rapid injection of funds is found.

BTCC have a few weeks to the next round at fantastic Donington. It's an amazing track with longer straights, a range of exciting corners and ups and downs around the circuit which all contribute to close fought racing every time. I don't think I've ever seen a dull event there! Almost makes you wish they'd move the British Grand Prix there!

Just returning to NASCAR for a second, I was on the edge of my seat for those last laps at Phoenix, not knowing if Jimmie had enough fuel on board to get him to the line. Once again, an awesome bit of strategy from Chad Knauss. I loved hearing that telling Jimmie to slow down, no, slow down more! You've got 20 seconds on the next guy. It was a real nail-biting finish. Can't wait for Talladega next weekend. Such a huge legendary track!

Blowing a gale...

It's quite literally blowing a gale here. The wind is howling around the house, and buffeting against the walls. It's been raining most of the day and it's pretty wintery.

The howling of the wind reminds me of the film Twister!

Back in the motorsport groove...

It's always hard over the Winter to keep busy when the motor racing is off. We have A1GP, but the first few races of the season are usually a few weeks apart and in countries that mean they're on the telly in the middle of the night here.

Today I watched both races from Durban, South Africa and it really reminded me what I've been missing - some very close racing, in fact so close that they ran into each other, over and over again! I thought Oli jarvis did a great job considering he was run into on the first race and drove to second with a damaged car, and in the second race got taken out by Team Canada trying to spin themselves back on to the track. DOH! Either way, it was plenty entertaining. Shame it's another 3 weeks til the next race in Mexico City.

My salvation when it comes to the off season is that the NASCAR off season is very short - they finish in November and we're already on the third race of the season. Well, we would be if it hadn't been raining since yesterday in Fontana California. I'm sat here watching Sky and waiting for the race to start. These two blokes in the UK studio are so dull I think I'd rather be watching them drying the track!!!

Last week's Daytona 500 wasn't a good race for my driver of choice, Jimmie Johnson, after he crashed out with a loose car. Here's hoping for a better time in his home race at Fontana, if they ever get started!

New Frontier is gone

Following on from my sad post at the end of August mourning the closure of the New Frontier it's time for Las Vegas to give the ole joint a send off in the only way they know how - BLOWING IT UP!!!

See below for a You Tube video of the implosion courtesy of the Las Vegas Sun...

My first live NASCAR event

Part of our recent vacation included a trip to watch NASCAR at California Speedway, Fontana. I've been following NASCAR for a couple of years now, but only on TV. Up until last week, I'd never witnessed the sight and sound of these cars up close. It's loud and quite breathtaking.

I've been supporting Jimmie Johnson for the last couple of years, so I was really excited to see him win at Fontana. I was on my feet for the last few laps as he was being caught by Carl Edwards, but he finished well. It was brilliant to see him collect the checkered flag and then do a couple of doughnuts for good measure.

If you get a chance to see once of these races, don't pass it up just because everyone says it's full of beer swilling rednecks. That wasn't my experience at all, and the NASCAR organisation put on an awesome event!

Goodbye to the Frontier

We're in Vegas for a vacation. Regular readers will know that we love the place and try to get here once a year for a vacation. For many of our stays, we've chosen the Atrium Suites at the New Frontier for our base, and even though it was tatty and worn we'd grown to love it.

Unfortunately the Frontier was recently sold and then closed for good in mid July. By all reports this classic casino had a really lacklustre last few days with slots being shipped out early and a poor final night party.

When Rich and I booked our trip to Vegas this time we opted to stay at the Excalibur. The prices were good and the Frontier wasn't offering any advanced bookings (now we know why).

We really wanted to go down and check out what had happened to the place we called our Vegas home for our last half dozen vacations and the site that greeted us was truly sad indeed.

The big marquee out front that used to sport the 'Cold Beer Dirty Girls' tagline is now stripped of all its lettering, and the hotel itself is being cleared. Whilst we were there, we saw a load of workmen dumping the contents of the rooms out of the windows on to a big heap below.

It made me feel very sad.

Goodbye old friend. We'll miss you!

Anthony Wilson R.I.P.

For anyone who is a fan of the fantastic Manchester music scene that revolved around Factory Records and the Hacienda, today is a very sad day. We lost the genius that is Anthony Wilson - the great man behind awesome bands such Happy Mondays and New Order. He was a brilliant vibrant character and more recently an expert social commentator. He had been battling cancer since the beginning of the year and lost his fight earlier today. We'll miss him lots.