The weather here in the US has been erratic to say the least. Here in Kansas the last week has brought us almost 80°F temperatures, freezing rain, several inches of snow and a blizzard warning . It was so cold this morning we couldn’t even see out the window because of the layer of ice on the windows. Walking from the apartment to the office was fun, just a huge expanse of white, I didn’t know what was path, grass or drainage channels, it was a case of walk and hope. The steps leading down from the apartment was almost like a ramp because of the freezing rain, I wish that I had ski’s, I could have skied to the office to meet my wife. Some huge branches (I’m talking about branches that are 1ft – 1.5ft in diameter) have snapped off trees and fallen on the cars below because of the weight of the ice on the branches. In other parts of the country there are multiple flood alerts and in other states there are tornado warnings in effect and volcanoes erupting in Alaska. I think that Mother Nature is seriously pissed at America and getting her own back in the only way she can. I can’t help but think that this is a big warning sign that something bigger is coming if the human race doesn’t change their ways very soon.
The new Formula 1 season has kicked off in Melbourne and Brawn F1 have delivered on their pre-season testing form to qualify both cars on the front row. Virgin Brawn GP are the first team to qualify in pole position in their first race since 1970. Jenson Button beat team mate Rubens Barrichello to pole position by almost 3/10ths of a second ahead of Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel and BMW’s Robert Kubica. The other Brit on the grid, current world champion Lewis Hamilton didn’t even make it through qualifying 2 due to gear box issues and will start from 18th position on the grid. The Ferrari’s are down in 6th and 7th with Felipe Massa having the advantage over Kimi Raikkonen. The new regulations have certainly shaken things up with teams that were mid table last season suddenly fighting for the top spots while McLaren and Ferrari are well behind right now, but that doesn’t mean that things won’t change. I fully expect Ferrari and McLaren being at the sharp end by the time the Formula One circus arrives back in Europe.