AlsyBlog

Facebook thoughts

I've been hanging out on Facebook for a while now. hooking up with friends and family, playing silly games, joining groups both silly and productive, and it's all good. I've been able to catch up with old friends, find common interests with contacts I've met through work and generally get a whole lot more out of it than I ever did with Linked In.

Just lately Facebook has been under threat of a court case that could lead to its closure and that would be a pretty dismal thing. Another rumour that's doing the rounds is that Microsoft are thinking of buying it, and that would be much more positive. I know there are a lot of Microsoft people using Facebook, and friends in the Windows Mobile team are all using the mobile version on their handhelds (I'm posting this from my WM smartphone). If Facebook is going to change hands, I really hope it's a positive move forward. It would be a shame to lose it!

Typepad offline

The more observant of you will have noticed that this blog disappeared for a while last night. No, I wasn't fiddling with the settings, Typepad, in fact all of the Six Apart sites, were affected by a major power outage in the San Francisco area. It all seems to be back up now, so fingers crossed that's all sorted.

British Grand Prix

I'm both ecstatically happy and a little sad. Sad because Jenson Button has qualified so far down the field (thanks Anthony Davidson), but happy because Lewis Hamilton is on pole. Watching qually yesterday I really regretted not going. To stand in that huge crowd cheering as Lewis took pole in the dying seconds of the session would have been an amazing experience.

Oulton Park racing

Anyone who knows me knows I'm a bit obsessive about motorsport. I'm also very keen on photography. I don't think I'm particularly accomplished but over the last few years I've upgraded my equipment and I've been trying to capture better photos. I have a Canon 350D digital camera and for motorsport I use a Sigma 135-400mm zoom lens. It allows me to get closer shots of the cars even at circuits where it's not so easy to get up to the edge of the track.

This is a shot of Mat Jackson - one of my favourite independent drivers in this year's British Touring Car Championship. I've been following Mat for a couple of seasons in Seat Cupras and after winning the Cupra Championship last year, he stepped up to British Touring Cars this year. Last weekend at Oulton Park he won his first Touring Car race. The crowds were really behind him. Everyone likes to see the independent drivers do well. They're usually on a tiny budget and in Mat's case even have to work on their own cars - no big teams of engineers here!

This shot is of Mat in his BMW coming down from the Island Hairpin into Knickerbrook.