top gear returns!

top gear returns! the venerable series (series 23, to be exact) is back on bbc (or bbc america, for those of us in the usa) starting may 29 (or may 30 for those of us in the usa) ... i loved the previous series and the previous hosts (jeremy clarkson, richard hammond, james may) and while i still mourn that they have moved on to a new series (more detail in the future), i am still very, very excited about the new cast and crew of the original series.

it will be interesting to see how well the new hosts (chis evans, matt leblanc, sabine schmitz, chris harris, eddie jordan, rory reid, and the stig) get along, and how well they can carry forward the show. i am looking forward to this!

top gear | new hosts

if the show can and the upcoming series can maintain it's reputation for high-quality, tongue-in-cheek auto journalism then it has a chance to succeed. the trailers that have been released thus far sure look promising.

space fireball zips across the sky

space fireball in the sky over new england. this scene from the burlington, vermont airport shows several really good views of a fireball zipping across the sky in the early morning darkness. although the cause is unknown it is most likely a small meteor or space debris of some kind. these kinds of things really happen "all of the time" but it's still not something you see (or, at least not something i see) very often in person. i am fascinated with this kind of thing and love watching the videos of these events. i have not read any reports of damage or other problems from this specific incident (good!).

gopro rides a rocket ...

gopro rides a rocket! i love this kind of video ... so freakin' cool! there doesn't seem to be much of a limit to using a gopro just about anywhere these days, but the point-of-view type videos like this are especially fun. 

star wars day!

happy star wars day! may the fourth be with you!

triumph speed triple r

a brand-new triumph speed triple r has joined the garage family! i am very excited about this new bike, and have posted a quick promo video and a few promo images from triumph to give a sense of the new bike. the bottom line is that the speed triple r is a super fun motorcycle, not at all uncomfortable (especially compared to hard-core sport bikes like the bmw s1000rr that i was riding previously ... ), and is a very unique bike on the street. i've been out riding a little with some friends and cannot wait to get out some more! look for some personal gopro footage in the future ... woohoo!

so, what's so special about this bike? well, here's a short list of why i love this bike:

• 1050cc inline 3-cylinder engine with ~140bhp (~103kw) and ~82ft-lbs (~112nm) of torque
• ohlins nix30 upside-down forks with rebound + compression damping
• ohlins ttx36 twin-tube mono shock with rebound + compression damping
• brembo 4-piston monobloc radial calipers (front), nissin 2-piston sliding caliper (rear)
• user-selectable rbw (ride-by-wire) riding modes (rain, road, sport, track, custom) with selectable abs and traction-control
• just look at it! it's looks downright sexy! seriously ... check out the dual exhaust, bar-end mirrors, and aggressive front headlights! this is awesome!

ps ... i bought mine in crystal white, not matte graphite.