And why should it? As arguably the most successful cellular network in a country that has only 4 service providers, Vodacom's competition is about as stiff as the 100m sprint was for Usain Bolt.

Vodacom Big Knob and Vodacom Lesser Knobs - I have a few suggestions:

1. The Great Wait - I don't care if your systems are down, you have more trainees than a government hospital, and it's month end. If I wanted to go to Home Affairs, I would have wasted my evening there...
2. Repeat Visits - great when you're running a whorehouse, not so great when it requires 5 visits to sign a contract.
3. Plush Interiors - thanks for the reminder that you are clearly the most profitable cellular network in the country. It's all about creating a comfortable environment for your salespeople customers.
4. Infrastructure Circa 1995 - when your systems are down, your scanners don't work, and your customers have to go to a neighbouring store to receive a fax, try not to look up at the neon "3G" sign outside your store. It's embarrassing.
5. Customer Blame - when you mysteriously "lose" documents and then find them 3 hours later, don't blame the customer for your incompetence.
6. Salesmen Blinded by Their Own Knob - I would love it if my boyfriend was bankrolling me, but try and at least pretend to think that women can afford mobile phone contracts.
7. Extortion with a Smile - generally when customers ask, "What are the penalties for canceling my contract?", try to not use phrases such as "it depends", and "we'll see how much you spend and how we can recuperate our losses".

If it cost threepence that'd be threepence more than I'd have estimated.

We are allowed to have some light relief you know.

If you are one of those moaning minnies...go on...get a life.

Then I read this: No 10's Clarkson video a 'joke' - BBC News Website

The video in question on YouTube (until the next U-turn when it will be rapidly removed or modified)

The link to the video on the number10.gov.uk website, showing the "official" response.

This appears on the number 10 website as well as the official No 10 YouTube channel, it is an official response from the British Government, and this time there is no mistaking the dismissive and insulting tone of their response.  Then they defend the action by stating:

No 10 said the clip had been created by a member of staff who had a "spare half hour" and had not cost any extra cash.

No 10's Clarkson video a 'joke' - BBC News Website

Well may I suggest that if the employee had a spare half hour they should have used it to polish their resume as they should be rapidly, and publicly, sacked!  That spare half hour was paid for by the British tax payer.  The public servant in question has insulted the British public, degraded the public image of the government (not that easy to do in the current climate), in addition to misusing official equipment and communication channels.  If I were to do this in the private sector I would be fired, no question.  The No 10's defence of this action is even more farcical!

Unbelievable!

The Telegraph - Downing Street 'wastes money' on anti-Clarkson video

Guardian - Critics fail to see funny side of No 10's Jeremy Clarkson video

politics.co.uk - No 10 'wasted public money' on Clarkson attack

YouTube - 'Clarkson for PM' petition response.

Ah well we all gave it our best, maybe next time. However at least Downing Street has a little humor, not sure its the appropriate time. I'm sure Clarkson will comment on this in the next series and if you miss the next series it'll be on Dave a trillion times anyway.

However, someone asked me the other day if the Atom was the MOST fun you could have without getting naked and I had to say:

"It absolutely is"!

Now I'm not lucky enough (yet) to have flown in a fast jet, driven a dragster or indeed scored the winning goal for Leeds United in an FA Cup final, but the Ariel Atom is street legal, banshee wailing, raucous, automotive pornography.

It's all of these things and available in a truly, realistically achievable way.

I've got 3,000 miles on her now. Just did a service and finally got around to replacing the clutch master cylinder. This simple act (albeit one which gave me a refreshing face full of DOT 4 fluid) has transformed her.

It's weird how with time, you kind of put up with flaws, even though they can be a real pain. The clutch was certainly "challenging". I never knew where it would bite, for a start. This led to some fabulously ego-smashing lurches off at some of (of course) the busiest intersections in LA.

The more serious issue was that sometimes it wouldn't disengage. Coming up on an intersection unable to stop her driving by any other means than shutting her off is an issue that I'm sure you'll read and say "what the hell were you thinking"? Well as I said in the last post, I had been suffering from serious tinkering burnout after having had to continuously mend countless ratty motorcycles.

I decided last Friday that the time for procrastinating would be later. As the oil was draining for an oil change I thought "let's have at it". In spite of the clutch fluid facial, it took about 10 minutes, bleeding was a breeze and I now have clutcho perfecto!

It's been like driving a brand new car. Perfect bite on the clutch every time and no foibles to deal with. Needless to say, my wife is hearing a daily "I'll just take her out for an hour or so to make sure it's working" :)

Now I'm not devoting some brain cells to worrying about missed gear shifts or lurches, I've been much more focused on the real road craft she's capable of. I may have mentioned before that she's living lunacy, but the Atom truly is something that continually makes you swear, roar, sweat and adore.

I took her out today around one of the canyons in the Angeles Forest. As mine has the Wilwood upgrade brakes, they do take a while to get effective. That shouldn't have surprised me but it did. Once they're heated properly and the tyres too, the cornering limits just get extraordinarily impressive. Mine hasn't been on the track yet, but according to a fellow Atom owner, once you bed tyres and brakes in under track conditions, what you thought was impressive on the street is mediocre to what her true capabilities are. Can't wait! I've booked a day at a track nearby.

There is no doubt that you have to be continuously on top of an Atom. Like a fast bike, the acceleration is something that you grow accustomed to. As I found out today, complacency with that is playing with fire. A left turn at an intersection, a one-handed "Mr Casual" turn on the steering wheel as I was nailing the throttle and somehow I managed to catch her before she span. An out and out driver's car that MUST be driven and not toyed with. That's why I get a buzz every time I climb in and generally why I'm sweaty when I climb out.

So as I was sweeping an Ariel Atom around beautiful California Canyons at sunset, not only was I thinking that I'm a long way from a rainy day in Gloucestershire, but also that the only time I've had that much buzz and sweat combined, I wasn't wearing clothes.

5x5life.com Natural Pet Supplements

Po "krótkim" 3-dniowym pobycie w szpitalu, który przerodził się w pobyt 6-dniowy (już nie tak krótki, a na pewno nie najprzyjemniejszy pod słońcem) jestem z powrotem wśród ludzi ... zdrowych, tzn. takich, którzy jeszcze nie wiedzą na co są chorzy. Pobyt w szpitalu na całe szczęście nie był taki tragiczny, a to za sprawą nowo zawartych znajomości w postaci współlokatorów. Jeśli kiedykolwiek to przeczytają to pozdrawiam serdecznie :)

Jestem wśród żywych, więc dzieje się znacznie więcej i znacznie szybciej. Przez te kilka dni w szpitalu miałem sporo czasu, aby poczytać. Skończyłem więc przygodę z Clarksonem i jego trzema książkami (zostały już tylko dwie), a mianowicie: "Wiem, że masz duszę", "Świat według Clarksona" oraz "Motoświat" poszły na półkę i zaczną zbierać kurz i okoliczne roztocza, których wszędzie pełno. Co do książek to na tapecie nadal "Przywództwo dla bystrzaków" i dużymi krokami wchodzi "PMP Exam Prep" Rity Mulcahy. Książka ściągnięta i zakupiona przez jedną z uniwersyteckich bibliotek (tu chciałem podziękować Maćkowi: "Maćku, dziękuję Ci" :)). No ale przyjemność wydania $100 na książkę, którą czyta się w zasadzie raz, jest porównywalna do kupna drogiego kosza na śmieci. Wygląda ładnie, ale po pewnym czasie nie wnosi żadnej wartości :)

Jak to bywa w życiu, zazwyczaj dzieje się dużo za jednym razem. Tak więc w tzw. międzyczasie pomogłem rodzicom zanabyć laptopa i jak to określił mój tata, "teraz może buszować po Internecie". Cokolwiek miałoby to znaczyć :) Ale fajnie widzieć rodziców na gg, choć szczerze mówiąc ich nie widziałem już kawałek czasu, bo sam dawno nie używałem gg :P

Co więcej planuję rozpocząć nowe studia. I tym razem będą to drogie (jakby te na SGHu były tanie ;)), więc jeśli ktoś chciałby mnie sponsorować, wszelkie pieniądze mile widziane.

Co do pracy, to nadal jestem tym kim jestem. Nadal prowadzę dwa programy z działki Information Technology, czy jak kto woli IT (w zasadzie moja firma jest tak świetna, że mówi na to ICT). A co, nowocześni jesteśmy ;))). W chwili obecnej jestem tak głęboko zakopany, że ledwo znalazłem czas, żeby napisać tego posta.

To chyba tyle. Aha, wybieram się do Wrocławia na długi weekend i ... urodziny teściowej. Szef mnie zapytał, czy aby nie chcę dostać urlopu... Bo jeśli szukam wymówki żeby nie jechać to chętnie mi go nie podpisze. A ja myślałem, że nie ma solidarności plemników, a jedynie jajników :). Cóż, mam przyjemność mieć fajnego szefa.

Następny post będzie już z kategorii zarządzania, rozwoju kariery czy innego przywództwa. W końcu ten blog był w ten sposób pomyślany.

Uciekam posmyrać żonę za uchem. Lubi to... :)

When AMG Decided that they werent quite pushing the standard mercedes lumps hard enough, they went one better and introduced a hardcore range of uber-mercs carrying the 'Black Series' legend...

So when the Black Series tag is introduced to the CLK what exactly does this comprise of? Well...let us enlighten you... For a start, this is the very same car used in the current season of F1...No, not Hamilton's MP4-23 McLaren Racer, but this is the official Road going version of the safety car used to shepherd the guys round the track when things get a bit 'lairy'...

Against the clock this CLK delivers, demolishing the 0-62mph sprint in just 4.3 seconds, while charging on to an limited 186mph, this time aided by 500bhp that AMG have squeezed out of the 6.2-litre V8. Let's face it, this is a sensational-looking beast with a performance to match! Jeremy Clarkson of Top Gear fame very recently declared this as 'one of the best cars in the world'.

The best news is we know of one that's available right now...for £104,995 you can have a BRAND NEW unregistered, Obsidian Black version all for yourself. This is one of the ultimate Road-going Track cars which can easily be mentioned in the same breath as the 911 GT3's of this world. If you are genuinely interested in purchasing this superb piece of automotive history, please call us on -01474 854490 or drop us a line to sales@TheCarSpy.Net

Ostatnio mając dość ogłupiającej telewizji, która zacząłem oglądać po zakupie na początku czerwca (tak: mistrzostwa europy w piłce nożnej), oraz PS3 (choć F1 championship rządzi), zacząłem czytać książki.

Na wakacjach przeczytałem Moto-Świat Jeremy'ego Clarksona. Wrażenia ogólnie ok. Czasem cięty humor i ironiczne (całkiem podobne do mojego) podejście do świata sprawia, że utożsamiam się z autorem. W tym celu postanowiłem zanabyć wszystkie książki Jeremy'ego, jakie zostały wydane w Polsce. A co, zaczynam tworzyć sobie biblioteczkę :)

W ostatni weekend połknąłem Mort'a by Terry Pratchett.

Obecnie po zakupach na tapecie są trzy pozycje:

1. Wiem, że masz duszę - Jeremy Clarkson (dla fanów motoryzacji)
2. Kosiarz (ang. Reaper man) - Terry Pratchett (dla fanów... hmmm trudno to określić... w zasadzie fantasy, sci-fi, ale nie do końca)
3. Przywództwo dla bystrzaków (lub dla opornych - jak kto woli) - Marshall Loeb, Stephen Kindel (dla fanów ... bystrzaków ;) oraz ogólnie dla managerów)

Czytane równolegle zależnie od sytuacji i wolnej chwili. W zasadzie cały czas mam przy sobie 2 do 3 z tych książek.

To tyle. Idę czytać, tzn. pracować :) Czytanie wieczorem.

Links:

http://www.myspace.com/lostonlanding

----------Check ADPONTES-STAINES.COM-------------

Uriah Heep

Electric Six

Jeremy Clarkson: “But off course as we were discussing with the audience before you came out here what you are, are you Patsy or are you Purdey? But you see what you’re not going to realize we’ve got a photograph here okay. Look at that, in ‘The New Avengers’ as Purdey."

Joanna Lumley: “That’s right.”

Jeremy Clarkson: “That is quite a look, isn’t it?”

Joanna Lumley: “It was quite something, look at that person.”

Jeremy Clarkson: “Just fantastic. You know our producer told me that he sent-off for this photograph when you were in ‘The New Avengers’.”

Joanna Lumley: “Did he?”

Jeremy Clarkson: “You know what he got back?”

Joanna Lumley: “What?”

Jeremy Clarkson: “A picture of Gareth Hunt. Now in this off course you had a…”

Joanna Lumley: “I had a TR7. Purdey, I wanted a Stag because that was … the Triumph Stag was a very pretty little car. Just come out, looked beautiful good lines. But they had a deal with British Leyland, is TR7 British Leyland?”

Jeremy Clarkson: “Yeah, certainly.”

Joanna Lumley: “TR7 and so they got a little yellow car for me because they thought that looked a little bit cute and girly but still it was a truck to drive. It was a really hard little car but I had to do handbrake turns and sort of skid the bump into the camera and things occasionally which I learned again, you have to learn how to I have forgotten now I’m ashamed to say. But then I did learn how to do a good handbrake turn and drive up to the camera and just slam on the jam.”

Jeremy Clarkson: “And the other thing off course with working with British Leyland, because Brian Clemens who produced ‘The New Avengers’ and then went on and did ‘The Professionals’, always used to say that British Leyland never got continuity. They would take the cars away at the end of a shoot and then just sent a completely different...”

Joanna Lumley: “Completely different car.”

Jeremy Clarkson: “Yeah, completely different. You know, you see Purdey has got a yellow TR7 and you sent a blue Dolomite Sprint, I’m sorry but that’s all we’ve got in the garage at the moment.”

Top Gear - The Great Adventures (Polar Special & US Special)

"Top Gear, frankly, is one of those things that has made me feel excited about television again. For a long time, I only really used my TV to watch a DVD/play a game. There was little to nothing for me to watch in terms of original broadcasting. Then my cousin recommended watching Top Gear...and everything changed for me.

The whole premise of the show is just genius. Three big kids, Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May, loving cars and getting into all kinds of adventures and mishaps is just brilliant. In their own special way, they're all intelligent, entertaining, quick-witted and produce some hilarious, hair-raising and truly unforgettable viewing together. For me, Top Gear is the best thing on television today, hands-down.

Having developed a love for Top Gear (and subsequent DVD releases) in virtually no time at all, The Great Adventures is doubtless something to be really pleased to own. The reason why this box set is such a mandatory purchase is because it features the two most memorable specials ever in the programme's history.

Scratch that. BEST EPISODES EVER in the programme's history.

Starting with the Polar Special, you have Jeremy Clarkson and James May driving an extensively modified Toyota Hilux pick-up truck, competing against Richard Hammond and a dog team...in a 450 mile race to the North Pole. Those who watched this when it was first broadcast will remember it being not only an epic race, but also a tremendous test of survival, very real danger, incredible discovery and a true sense of accomplishment.

For the TV version of that amazing challenge to finally be released on DVD is special in itself, but the thing here is that this version of the Polar Special is actually the Director's Cut. And this is not a cheap plug with only a few measly seconds of insignificant footage included. This is the real deal. The Director's Cut is ten minutes longer than the hour-long version that was originally broadcast. The extra footage is absolutely amazing and enlightens the viewer more on what the lads went through in preparation for the adventure, the stress and dangers they endured, and what other astonishing discoveries they made.

The other special included is the U.S. one. This was the first ever episode of Top Gear I watched, so naturally it has such a special place in my heart. Here Jezza, Hamster and Captain Slow have purchased $1000 wrecks to embark on the ultimate American road trip over 700 miles to their destination of New Orleans, encountering all kinds of memorable challenges along the way. These consist of lap races, breaking before alligator-infested waters, preparing a road-kill feast and baiting the people of Alabama and surviving.

The U.S. special is just as excellent as I remember it. The lads' quest for purchasing American cars on such a low budget, the hilarity of the lads' road-kill feast, the frightening realism of their dangerous antagonising trek through Alabama are the highlights. And the charitable acts of the presenters to the people of New Orleans merits such respect and admiration, making it the perfect ending to a fantastic adventure.

However, I was very surprised that the lads' frightening drive through a fierce storm on the highway was cut from this home release of U.S. special. It didn't deter me from it anyway, but it is a tad on the disappointing side. What's really disappointing, though, is the music edits that had to be made due to contractual reasons. This is very noticeable during the Polar Special Director's Cut. A lot of the soundtrack music used here instead of that on the original broadcast really doesn't have the same quality impact on the presentation. In fact, the substitute soundtrack feels somewhat out of place and like it doesn`t really belong here.

There's no extras either, which is a shame. Some outtakes and deleted scenes would've been really nice. Along with audio commentaries from Clarkson, Hammond and May regarding their own personal reflections of their amazing adventures.

But at such a bargain price, and with such a beautiful DVD transfer, I shouldn't complain, really. Top Gear: The Great Adventures is a box set that every fan has been waiting for. These two expeditions are events that best showcase why these three guys have every right to be proud of what they do, what an amazing life they lead and why Top Gear is the best thing on television right now. The best DVD release of the show so far? I'd definitely say so".

Top Gear: The Challenges 2

"Well, here we are again. Another Top Gear DVD, and one that should be considered essential on subject matter alone. Let's face it, the Challenges are the BEST part of the show as they test Jezza, Hamster and Captain Slow to their limits and beyond, in tasks that are extreme, barmy, exciting, surprising, hilarious and (more often than not) end in disaster.

Top Gear: The Challenges was a brilliant DVD, I thought. It had the best challenges ever in the show's history, which for that reason alone, made it worth buying and cherishing. However, the DVD was criticised by many regarding the editing and the presentation. The menus were awkward and difficult to operate, the sequence of challenges were broken up and scattered so it was hard to follow them properly, and the scene selection wasn't as well conceived as it should've been. Personally, none of this bothered me, though I could understand why it annoyed others.

But first things first, what exactly can you expect from Top Gear: The Challenges 2? All the best challenges from the tenth series, which is the only logical thing to do, seeing as how all the best challenges from the show's HISTORY have been released previously.

The Challenges here are Amphibious Cars: The Sequel (where they cross the Channel), The Bugatti Veyron vs. The Eurofighter, Motorhome Racing, Fiat 500 vs. BMX, the lads' search for The Greatest Driving Road, The 24 Hour Race (at Silverstone) and the epic Race Across London (featuring James in a Mercedes, Richard on a bicycle, The Stig on public transport and Jeremy in a racing speedboat). These challenges are all fresh, and while perhaps not as classic as the last batch, there're nonetheless excellent, featuring all the essential stuff that makes Top Gear the cracking entertainment that it is.

But...HAVE the BBC listened to all the criticisms that were directed at the last Challenges DVD? YES, THEY HAVE. The structure of the compilation is MUCH better than it was previously. No skipping over to another challenge halfway through the one you're currently watching THIS time around. Each portion of the Challenges from the shows have been grouped together to form a much better, more structured presentation. You're watching one Challenge all the way through before moving onto the next one, allowing you to just sit back and enjoy a much-more smoother and better-flowing compilation.

The scene-selection has also been better designed, meaning the chapter-breaks are at much more convenient points. And all the menus operate like they SHOULD. Cursors are where they should be, you have the cool Top Gear theme playing on almost every menu, and there's a really nice Stig animation that accompanies the transitions between the different menus.

And the icing on the cake? EXTRAS. There's some really great ones here. First up, are clips from celebrity stars of the last series, Lewis Hamilton and Simon Cowell. Both of their amazing Lap Times round the Top Gear test track are shown here, along with extended interviews. The new cuts are noticeable and thus make these extras even more special.

There's also a ride with The Stig in the No. 1 Lap Car, complete with an interactive option that allows you to change the camera angle via your remote. Even though there's only two angles to choose from, it's still a great addition to the disc. There's also another interactive multi-angle option featuring the Eurofighter from the Bugatti Veyron race, and although it's quite brief, it is absolutely breathtaking and seriously worth partaking in. And finally, there's a nice little video of the Lamborghini Gallardo (from The Greatest Driving Road) driving on the Col De Turini. This is made special by the camera that's mounted on the front of the car, making you understand why the Col De Turini is SUCH a fantastic road, as the lads have said.

And because this is a BBC DVD, you can naturally expect high-quality presentation. The DVD transfer is as clean and as crisp as always. Sound cannot be faulted, and there's useful subtitles (as usual) just in case.

Now, if it's Top Gear, I buy it on DVD for pure entertainment, regardless of how it's released, because I know I'm getting my money's worth seeing my favourite moments again and again. But the presentation of this particular release has really impressed me. Perhaps more than any other previous DVD that the BBC have released. Top Gear: The Challenges 2 has everything here. The outstanding highlights, better menu selections and cracking extras. Those who were disappointed with the last Challenges DVD won't be disappointed here. It's a fantastic release and like all Top Gear DVDs, should be part of your collection".

I on the other hand cannot has iPhone until next week :(

I love Bungie...... Hopefully we'll see something out of them at E3 this Monday.
/

Having just been linked to it again [you think I would look for myself, eh? :p], it seems that the Bungie employee(s) who wanted an iPhone couldn't have one, just like me :(

5 Things you might or might not know about
my education:

1. I started out in pre-school at a private school called the Otter Creek School. It was run by two couples: Stan and Priscilla, who were the pre-school/kindergarten teachers. And Anne and Marty who were the grade school teachers. When I finished 2nd grade, the school closed because one of the couples divorced (coincidentally, the same year my parents divorced AND they stopped the Easter Egg hunt at my church - my world was collapsing! ...the things you remember...) Since it closed, that lead to...
2. Starting 3rd grade in public school: The Vergennes Elementary School. Since Vergennes isn't very big, I already knew a bunch of people who went there, so it wasn't too traumatic. Elementary school went through 6th grade, so that lead to...
3. Going to Vergennes Union High School. The high school was for grades 7 - 12. No middle school since, again, Vergennes isn't that big. The average class size is around 100 kids - so you pretty much knew everyone in the whole school. (plus, my step-mom is the band teacher, so you get to know about more than you really ever want to ;) Okay - I wanted to know. LOL)
4. College was at Clarkson University. A small engineering school where the ratio (at the time) was 1 girl to every 7 guys. I started out as an engineer, but *hated* it. I really liked the school so I looked around to find something else and kind of fell into Technical Communication.
5. After college, I'd have enough of school ... for about a semester. When I was at Clarkson, my department chair had been asked if anyone would be interested in attending grad school. At the time I said no way, but then realized that I would be stupid to pass up an almost all expeses paid degree. So off I went to the New Jersey Institute of Technology and got my master's degree in Professional and Technical Communication.

 The BBC have just been made to apologise for showing an episode of Top Gear in which Jeremy Clarkson sips a gin and tonic while driving a fuck-off truck in the north pole. This in a excerpt from the telegraph

".....the Trust ruled that the scenes in question "could be seen to glamorise the misuse of alcohol" given that some younger viewers "might regard the presenters as role models...."

 Since when were 'younger viewers' permitted to drive pick-up trucks or even want to drink gin and fucking tonic...

 So, the BBC aint allowed to show Clarkson, a semi decent guy, sipping an alcoholic beverage whilst driving in an icy wilderness and clearly sober yet on the other hand they are permitted to glamorise the lifestyles of those spotty little cunts of junkies like Amy Crackhouse and Pete Dope-erty.
 Have a fucking word!

Hypermiling is the new fad sweeping the nation's roads as drivers try and get more miles for their gallon of chosen fuel.

The Top Gear host has been extolling the virtues of hypermiling, presumably that is not whilst he's sipping G&T's behind the wheel.

It means drivers are slowing down, easing forward slowly from rest rather than putting their foot down hard to prove the size of their 0-60 time.

In other words, they're sticking to the speed limits and driving more considerately.

Wonders will never cease. But I can't help thinking this is one trend that doesn't have too much mileage as old, bad driving habits die hard.

Once the price of fuel stabilises again, or popular opinion moves on to the next big issue, then eco-friendly motoring will start to lose its appeal.

Because of you
Because of you ]]> http://szankocom.wordpress.com/?p=26 Tue, 24 Jun 2008 21:19:18 +0000 szankocom http://szankocom.wordpress.com/?p=26 Wie gestern angekündigt, hat sich die Bande um Jeremy Clarkson zur elften Staffel von TopGear zurückgemeldet.
Erleichterung hat sich nach dem Ende der Folge breitgemacht, da den Buben in der doch recht langen Pause anscheinend doch nicht der Humor und ansatzweise die guten Ideen ausgegangen sind.

Aber James sollte schön langsam wirklich zum Friseur gehen. Das schreit schon fast nach einer Leserpost an Captain Slow (http://www.bbc.co.uk/feedback/)

MfG,
szanko.com

If you're American, it's an automobile show from the UK. "Blah, another candy-ass car show for rich people. Who cares?" Because it's funny, that's why. The presenters are hilarious. In between the car whoring, they do stunts, and some of these stunts are so ridiculous it boggles the mind. You could get Howard Hughs, Evel Knievel, and the Marquis de Sade in the same room, hand them a blank cheque, and the results wouldn't be as hilariously high-concept as the average Top Gear episode.

I remember the episode where a 4WD (driven by Clarkson and Hammond) raced against a team of sled dogs (led by May) to get to the north pole. The 4WD was a huge distance ahead, but they encountered a field full of icy boulders that they had to chip through by hand. You had to savor the moment, when, after 10 hours of chipping ice, they finally break through...and see a second field of icy boulders just up ahead.

Or how about the one where they took a second-hand bomb, strapped it to a rocket, and ACTUALLY TRIED TO LAUNCH IT INTO SPACE. They failed, but it was still impressive to see so many studio dollars get wasted like that.

And who could forget the episode where they drove all the way through Alabama with slogans such as "Hillary for President" and "Man Love Rules OK" painted on their cars, and ended up being attacked by a gang of rednecks?

Bottom line: it's a great, great show. I can't wait for the new series.

One of the reasons I love the show is because they don't test drive Camrys or F-150 pickups.  If you watch the show with the intent of learning anything about everyday cars you will be sadly disappointed.  Instead, they do 210 MPH in a Bugatti Veyron, a car that costs a cool million-and-a-half dollars.  The drive Ferraris and Aston Martins sideways. They drive the fucking shit out of a one-of-a-kind Volkswagen GTI prototype with a 12-cylinder engine, and then stand around and bitch about what a terrible car it is.  They are given access to machinery that mere mortals can only see in glossy magazines, and after abusing it mightily, often come away totally unimpressed.

The three co-hosts are often presented with challenges by the producers.  Go to Miami, buy a car for $1000, and try to drive to New Orleans.  Convert a car to a boat, and try to cross the English Channel.  Are they ridiculous?  Sometimes they are, sure, but they are also strangely compelling, although I'm never quite sure what's real and what's staged.  Did Clarkson's Toyota pickup/motorboat really make it all the way to a beach in France?

Did I mention that there are also interviews?  Oh sure, sometimes with obscure British television actors, but usually with someone recognizable, like Ron Wood or Simon Cowell (first question to Ron Wood: "How are you still alive?").  Each guest also has to do a timed lap around the Top Gear racetrack in a generic Suzuki.  It's inane and childish, but there's something entertaining about watching Dame Helen Mirren drive around a track while wearing a crash helmet.

A promo for the new season shows the hosts sitting around thinking up outrageous new segments.  Clarkson suggests, "A Ferrari, no, two Ferraris powersliding around a Bentley that is also powersliding."  That's so fucking brilliant that I'm gonna be disappointed if they don't really do it.

8 PM on BBC America.

(ed. note: Boy, am I a fucking idiot.  The new season started in Britain, not in the US.  Sorry.  I might just have to download the goddamn episodes and watch them on my computer.)

Seems none of the series last that long at all...can't wait for Sunday evening! :)