thirtysomething...

Woo Hoo! Finally some racing going on here to keep my fix going. Well, it actually started yesterday with Formula 1 qualifying in Bahrain at the Bahrain International Circuit near Sakhir. With the new qualifying rules for 2006 it was Much better than qualifying last season. 3 sessions, everyone on track.

Session 1: 15 minutes. The slowest six: Out, back of the Grid.
Session 2: 15 minutes. The slowest six: Out, back of the Grid.
Session 3: 20 minutes. The top 10 Finishers: Pole Positions

If you cannot finish a session due to malfunction, you're done for the day. Back of the grid on race day. Essentially that's it. Anyway, the race today was pretty cool. Close call a few laps in between Massa and Alonso. Oh, and someone blew an engine, which subsequently caught fire.

On either side of the opening race of the 2006 Formula 1 season I was across the street at the Headcorn Rail Station. The car park was the Service area for the Rally of Kent. Over 60 cars, 2 were WRC cars, and I think they won their class. Oh Really. Thanks to the Maidstone and Mid-Kent British Motor Club for putting this on across from my house and having the Staging while the F1 race was going so I could do both!

Click the thumbnail to see pictures from the Rally of Kent Service. 70 Pics over 6 pages.

Thursday Heather had to over to Bristol for a meeting which is about a 3 to 4 hour train ride. I tagged along because right across the street from where she had to be is the Bristol Zoological Garden. They don't have any large animals anymore because the consensus was the pens were too small, and the animals were getting depressed. The last large animal they had was an elephant that had to be euthanized because of extreme arthritis. Now the Zoo's main goal is endangered species protection. From that I found out something that I didn't know. There are _2_ types of pigeons that are extinct. Passenger Pigeons and...wait for it...wait for it... The Dodo. Yes, you read correctly. The Dodo bird is, rather was, a pigeon. Didn't know that. And after reading in Wikipedia, I found out there are more pigeons that are extinct.. but the Zoo made no mention of that...

The lioness either really liked me & the camera, or the opposite. 'Cause she came RIGHT up to the glass and looked me dead in the eye/lens. The Lion was watching this woman standing about 20 feet away. I didn't think she was all that hot, but the Lion couldn't take his eyes off her. The whole time he was staring at her, he didn't move an inch.

Anyways, on with the show. As always click the thumbnail.