That’s a bit of a narrow view. It can be argued that the Mac and iPhone/iPad ease of use and excellent reviews, coupled with increased sales, forced other companies to up their UI design game. Their overall design simplicity also has driven tech design trends for a long, long time. So, maybe ‘everyone’ doesn’t own a…

I saw “Escape Velocity” and thought maybe someone was making a film for the Christopher Stasheff book of the same title (which was prequel to his ‘Warlock’ series, a pretty good sci-fi/fantasy crossover), then I actually read the title (and article). Bummer. But this looks interesting...always intrigued to see how a…

Mise en place - Lay out every tool (plus extras that may come in handy, like pliers or vise-grips), every part, instructions, cleaners/solvents/lubes, everything in a logical, neat, fashion and know where each piece is. It sucks to have to go digging for a tool when in the middle of something and losing your place or…

Not just videos and forum posts...manuals as well. I have THREE for my Honda VFR, and they each leave something out (as SlickS30r mentioned). Want to adjust the clutch correctly? Haynes manual. Want to find where the voltage rectifier/regulator is? Chilton manual. Want to find the correct fluid capacities (and specs)?…

“Both the pleasures and problems of zero-gravity sex have been greatly exaggerated.” Arthur C. Clarke, ‘2010'

Honda in 88-91...yes, absolutely a great era for their cars. BUT, it was also an amazing era for their motorcycles! The VFR, the Hawk GT (with its single-sided swingarm and twin-spar aluminum frame on a fairly inexpensive standard!), the CB-1, the GB500, and one of the prettiest cruisers ever made, the Super Magna.…

The one that got it totally right was when Warner released the Looney Tunes boxed sets...Gold, Platinum, etc. They did intros to each of the cartoons that had...issues. They talked about the context and made it clear they were ‘of the era’ and were wrong then, as well. A very balanced approach.

Oh...also, prior to Pole Position there was one game that used a perspective other than overhead...Night Driver. The ‘graphics’ were quite simplistic, but you did get the feel of driving, and it was a revelation at the time (came out in 1976, hit the east coast around ‘78). It didn’t have a brake pedal, just the…

Hard Drivin’ wasn’t a great ‘racing game’, and the graphics weren’t all that great (but considering everything else the game was doing, understandable)...it was the CONTROLS and PHYSICS that made this an amazing creation. There was even an editorial in Road & Track where Dennis Simonaitis went to Atari and talked…

Should have been #1, no doubt.

I could wax lyrical about the horrors done to that RS4, but we are all aware that it is truly a tragedy. BUT, the thing bugging me the most? Why would you cut 4 round holes in the front of an Audi and not have them slightly overlap? I mean, seriously, the logo is RIGHT THERE above it on the grille! Use that as a…

Wow, that’s a tough one...there are several really excellent cars that fit the spirit of the question, and even the ‘letter’ of it. The Mazda 787 was pretty cool, you can’t go wrong with a Silk-Cut Jag (well, THEY ‘went wrong’ often enough, but the sound they made!), my very favorite racecar of all time (as in, if I…

Thanks, I was going to point this out and further discuss ‘active’ vs ‘passive’ for the uses of ‘on’ and ‘by’ with this one (for those in the cheap seats (oh, that’s the other article!), ‘on’ is reinforcing that it is active, there was intent, whereas the ‘by’ reinforces the lack of the intent of the participant. You…

The most ‘exciting’ winter drive I ever had was back in ‘91 when I was at work and it had snowed about 6 inches of wet snow, after it had rained a bit. Had to make it home in my ‘87 IROC with 380 ft-lbs of torque and Goodyear Gatorbacks. It was, as mentioned, exciting. I did make it, though, somehow. The next day I…

Came to post the Miller, so will support that, as well as the Duesie...but will also add in: Bugatti straight-8 GP engine, as in the Type 35. All were astounding engines, with a similar philosophy beyond basic engineering... aesthetics. They are gorgeous engines that can be appreciated by those who don’t understand…

So, all the goodness of the Civic Type R in a package that does NOT look like it was drawn by a bored 12 year old in Social Studies class? That is worth checking out.

They are pretty great live...at least they were back during the “And Justice For All...” tour. Yes, I am dating myself (but who else will?). A friend dragged me to the show and it made me a bit of a metal fan (they are really very good musicians). 

You missed ‘self-indulgent’.

Seriously...even if all you appreciate is their astounding production quality, Steely Dan is not a nobody band. “Hey Nineteen” is one of the catchiest tunes ever written...and the single best audio quality testing track I know of.

Well, look at some of the notes and you’ll see why...not sure this writer is aware that Metallica recorded anything prior to “Enter Sandman”. I mean, I get that “OK, Computer” is an amazing album, but to call “Time Out of Mind” ‘forgettable’ is clearly misguided...it’s considered one of Dylan’s top 10 (which is…