The Kentucky Kid

MotoGP is the premier class of motorcycle racing; the best of the best competing, racing, crashing, and winning to be crowned the best of the best. So this makes from some very exciting racing and action to watch. Unfortunately, there have been no Motorcycle Grand Prix races since November, but that all changes this weekend with the opening race of the 2009 season in Qatar happening. In the mix are rookies and seasoned veterans all looking to become the 2009 MotoGP champion. Some riders have changed teams, while others have new mechanics. But all the riders have new and updated bikes.

My favorite rider is the Australian, number 27, Casey Stoner. He is the 2007 champion and a rider for the factory Ducati team. I don’t really know how I picked him as my favorite; it just sort of happened. In the same way that I picked my second favorite rider, number 69, American Nicky Hayden. This year he joins Stoner at the Ducati team (now I can just root for one team) and I really, really want him to do well. He doesn’t have to win the championship –although that would be pretty sweet –I just want him to get in the top couple of riders. He deserves to be there. He is such a humble and down-to-earth guy –always thankful and grateful for the opportunities he has received and for all his fans.

Although, he does have a mountain to climb. The Ducati Desmosedici GP9 is a new bike for him and it is on different tires than what he is use to. And that Ducati is no easy bike to handle –only Stoner has really managed to tame it. After his first ride on the Duc, Hayden came off saying, “Whatever it is they are paying Casey it’s not enough.” However, things are going well for “The Kentucky Kid”, as Hayden is called. He continues to improve on riding and getting a hang of the seeming untameable Ducati beast. Optimism surrounds Hayden, as the new season looms overheard, and he is feeling confident. I feel confident in him. I know he can do well –he did win the 2006 championship after all.

Best of luck Nicky!

The NeverEnding Carmex

As with most people, my lips occasionally get dried and chapped. So to help stop that, I carry a tube of Carmex in my pocket. As I put some on daily, I noticed the other day that the tube wasn’t running out. How? It seems like that it is never ending. The tube supposedly only has .35 ounces in it, but I think they definitely lied as I have this one for months. And every time I go to apply some, there is quantity left to still apply. Sometimes it seems that more Carmex is in the tube than there was before. This baffles me beyond belief. How can there continue to be Carmex in such a small tube whenever I need it? All the writing on the tube has worn off from being carried around so much. [I thought that stuff stayed on there forever.]

From the heat it endures since being in my pocket, to the cold that it receives from sitting out at night, this little tube with a worn-away label, continues to provide treatment for my chapped lips in their time of need. I may be mystified and perplexed as to how it happens, but as long as there is some Carmex when I need it, then it is all fine by me.

This is the magical tube of Carmex.

Rubik's Cube Battles

So I was staying at a friend's house recently and they wanted to Skype with my parents. When I opened up the program on their computer, it was all different and new. I wasn't use to it. I figured that Skype must have released an update, so later I went to investigate it. Sure enough they did and to help promote it they made this video:

http://www.skype.com/videos/windows/

It shows a father on a business trip in some other country having a video call with his son and they end up having a Rubik's cube battle. Is that all they did while the father was gone? If that was my father I would actually want to talk with my dad.

I just found this a very strange way to market the program.

Three Blokes in Australia

Top Gear is an Emmy award winning British television show that mainly deals with cars. Right now it is the biggest and most popular show that the British Broadcasting Company has produced. With an estimated 350 million viewers worldwide, it is the most watched show on television nowadays. That number is more than the population of the United States. For reference, the popular show 24 only reached 14 million at its highest.

Top Gear’s presenters (that is Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, James May and their tame racing driver –The Stig) are adorned by fans for their wittiness, humor, and some would say looks too. It is a very delightful and entertaining show to watch, especially because you wonder what those boys will come up with and do next. This show is the talk of offices around the globe on Monday morning, after it airs on Sunday evening.

For this reason of massive success, the BBC has decided that it would start local versions of the show. One for the United States was planned, but as of right now is canceled, and there is another one planned for Russia. The only one that has gotten off the ground currently is Top Gear Australia. And as an enormous fan of the British one, I decided to watch it.

I watched the first episode awhile back, not thinking too much of it. Then for some reason, I starting picking the show back up and watching episodes again. And I got really into it. As soon as the end credits were rolling after they showed what they were going to do next week, I really wanted to watch the next episode. Maybe it was just filling the void of the British Top Gear, which I like so very much. Or because that is the job that I want to have, so I wanted to get ideas.

There were definitely plenty of reasons for me to stop watching. For instance, it was a rough production. (Granted, this was there first time at doing the show.) But there was an awkwardness about it that may work out and go away. And I didn’t know what they were saying at certain points. The Australian phrases went over my head and the specifications for the cars –which were done in Kilowatts and Kilometers per hour – left me clueless. Plus, I’m not a big fan of the “What were they thinking?” Board. I miss the Cool Wall. Although, it was pretty funny when they did put Clarkson, Hammond, and May up there.

But I didn’t stop. I soldiered on through the whole first season. There was a multitude of entertaining segments, like the presenter’s road trips across Northeastern Australia and then Tasmania; the challenges of assembling a car from junkyard scraps, a helicopter versus a car, a man versus a GPS, and the car into a yacht challenge; and finally, the reviews of cars were enjoyable in their own right.

The Australian version of Top Gear still has some things that need to be worked out. The groove of the show still needs to be found. Although I have faith that it will, because looking back at some of the older British Top Gear episodes are not as well crafted as the ones currently airing. They too had to find their groove.

Top Gear Australia is not the original, but it still makes for some good television.

[If interested, the episodes of TG Australia can be watched here: http://hessmo.com/Hessmo/TG_Australia_Season_1.html]