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A couple of months ago the FIA put out a fan survey. It asked all sorts of things, from favourite circuits to television viewing habits to opinions on technology in Formula One. There was also a question about what fans thought about the management in F1, which I gave a 1 out of 5 for “as fucking low as possible.” This was before the US Grand Prix debacle; if the survey had been done after I would have still given a 1 but also would have initiated my patented Punch Max Mosely Through The Internet campaign.

Anyways, the survey results are out, and all in all they’re not too surprising. The favourite circuits are Spa and Monaco, fans think there isn’t enough overtaking, and 99% of fans watch F1 on TV.

There’s something missing though… where are the results from the “what do you think of F1’s management” question? Surely the FIA can’t be hiding these results for fear of shame. I mean, FIA management has got to be one of the most respected groups in the world, what with their masterful handling of crises and introducing rules that make F1 more exciting.

July 4, 2005 (UT, it was July 3 here in Hawaii) saw the impactor of the Deep Impact space probe successfully get run over by Comet Tempel-1, much to the delight of Solar System astronomers around the world. Both of the telescopes I work for, the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope and the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope observed it. In a worldwide scoop, UKIRT was the first major observatory to witness the brightening of the comet post-impact through its fast guider camera. This camera is normally used to keep the telescope pointed at a specific object, and that night it was used to keep the telescope pointed directly at the comet. We even scooped the Jet Propulsion Laboratory who were operating the probe.

Those of us who weren’t lucky enough to be at a major observatory at the time got to try seeing it either with our naked eyes, binoculars, or small telescopes. This was probably the objective of the hordes of people who went up to the Visitor Information Station on Mauna Kea. Unfortunately it was foggy and nobody could see anything. I suppose now these people feel how astronomers feel when they get weathered-out.

A tip for visitors: The VIS, being at 9000 feet, isn’t the place to come while drunk or stoned as the lower amount of oxygen in the air can lead to nasty things happening. Also, if you’re coming up as part of a tour make sure that the tour operators have oxygen tanks or even remedial emergency training, as it takes ambulances a good 45 minutes to get there if there’s an emergency.

Otherwise, you risk being scorned as a dumbass like the dumbasses that were there Sunday night were. Dumbasses.