I’m slightly ahead of schedule for this weeks PhotoFriday challenge. Of course you could argue that I’m a day behind the Friday in the title, but it’s still a day ahead of my usual entry… This week the theme is “Suburbia” and the above image is looking over the part of the world where I was brought up. It’s Ossett in Yorkshire.

Please also vote for my entry in last weeks challenge, “Best of 2010.” I’m entry number 120.

A few people asked me what I wanted for Christmas. As ever I couldn’t think of anything and facetiously suggested a Ferrari. Apparently even toy models are more expensive than you’d think but a red Lego car is within range for a joke gift, and that’s absolutely fine by me! I loved Lego as a kid, and I still do!

But if one toy is good then two are better. So I had to play with my new Lego and my new flash together.

• Republicans: good at theatre, dreadful at governing – as we’ll see tomorrow – “In that time Republicans have been screaming about the budget deficit. So what did they actually do to fix it? … On the whole, Reagan lost America $81bn. Think that’s a lot? George HW Bush cost the country $135bn. Think that’s a lot? His son cost us – get ready – $632bn. Bill Clinton, meanwhile, made us $526bn.”
• The inhumane conditions of Bradley Manning’s detention – Glenn Greenwald – Salon.com – “But ultimately, what one thinks of Manning’s alleged acts is irrelevant to the issue here. The U.S. ought at least to abide by minimal standards of humane treatment in how it detains him.”

• BT Content Connect service faces ‘two-tier net’ claims – “BT supports the concept of net neutrality, but believes that service providers should also be free to strike commercial deals, should content owners want a higher quality or assured service delivery.” I’m not sure I can parse this. BT both supports net neutrality… and also doesn’t?
• Demolition of the Paris Metro – Great images of the Paris Metro.

I first saw this on Seth Godin’s blog and thought it was a good idea in principle:

This might be a useful exercise. Doesn’t matter whether it was a hit or not, it just matters that you shipped it. Shipping something that scares you (and a lot of what follows did) is the entire point.

It is, however, quite hard for people who don’t live life in public in the same way that Seth does. I’ve spent a lot of the year doing pre-sales work either with clients that don’t like being named or for deals that we lost (and therefore not something a lot of people would want publicised). And now, in my new job, one reading of my contract means that I can’t even send out press releases.

How to interpret the PhotoFriday theme this week, “Best of 2010“? Something that signifies 2010 in some way? “Just” the best image of 2010? If so, by what definition of “best”? This is hard.

But in the end I went for the above shot, which was taken in the Tokyo International Forum.

Why? It’s no great shakes technically — the glare in the top left is even a little distracting — but there’s something about the muted colours, the neatness. And it says something about Japan that this guy, clearly not homeless, not a drunk, had no qualms just lying down and sleeping in a public place.

I didn’t think that I had blogged very much this year, but now that I look back over it seems that I’ve done quite well. There have only been a few PhotoFriday challenges that I’ve missed and I’ve managed a fair few travel and even the odd technical blog.

None of this years blogs have done especially well in terms of page impressions but here are a few that I liked for various reasons.

• 10 cheap and cheerful city breaks – Some ideas for next years November trip…
• Schneier on WikiLeaks – “Just as the music and movie industries are going to have to change their business models for the Internet era, governments are going to have to change their secrecy models. I don’t know what those new models will be, but they will be different.”
• Publishers take note: the iPad is altering the very concept of a ‘book’ – The future of publishing?
• eclipse of 2010 – Great images of the recent eclipse.

I’m starting to think that they should call it PhotoSunday… but here is my entry for this weeks PhotoFriday, “Tranquil.” It was taken in Kyoto and is of a sand garden.

If you’re quick, you might also be able to vote for my entry in last weeks challenge, “Chill.” I’m entry number 182.

• This case must not obscure what WikiLeaks has told us – Another good piece about WikiLeaks. The news about Assange is starting to obscure the real news.
• Live with the WikiLeakable world or shut down the net. It’s your choice. – “What WikiLeaks is really exposing is the extent to which the western democratic system has been hollowed out. In the last decade its political elites have been shown to be incompetent; corrupt; or recklessly militaristic. And yet nowhere have they been called to account in any effective way. Instead they have obfuscated, lied or blustered their way through. And when, finally, the veil of secrecy is lifted, their reflex reaction is to kill the messenger.”