St Landrew

I've been listening for the last 15 minutes and no surprises - Jan was as straight down the line as I expected, and Michael was his usual modest self. One thing we did learn was that Jan picks the team, and he says Saints WILL be looking at much better times soon. I think his soon is probably building towards next season, as the squad matures.

So have I. It's one of my favourite places in the world.

Seeing as Portsmouth's 2007 population averaged 197,700, that's 247.. Blimey..! And Southampton's is 231,200, so that's 145. That's too many as well. Nought would be a nice total.

Well OK, I'll accept that much.

lol :grin:

Well I've never seen The Godfather either, but I know Marlon Brando was in it, playing a character called Don Corleone, and Al Pacino was in it too, along with a few other actor stars I could name. These films and books are so big, it's difficult to avoid information about them. Btw, it's Grease.

OK, I suppose there was always going to be one person... HAL or his proper name is HAL9000 series, is a fictional computer that appears in the Book and Film, 2001 - A Space Odyssey, written by the late Brtish author Arthur C. Clarke. The book is memorable for its accuracy, scope and superb writing. The film is memorable for the superb realisation of the book. Plus, it was the first, and some still say, the best film that has captured the essence of the reality of futuristic space travel. Read this link and get up to speed: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2001:_A_Space_Odyssey

Come on now, you're actually kidding, aren't you..? If you haven't heard of HAL, you certainly won't have heard of SAL.

Oh for Pete's sake, Jillyanne. It's not as if you have to be a nerd or geek to know about HAL. HAL is an institution. A global fictional treasure. EDIT: Take Pancake's crash course link in HAL awareness. There's loads of Youtube clips.

WHO..? Just wanted to be the first..!

That's Clarke's proper answer. Perhaps that was just a coincidence though. You getting all this Jillyanne..?

Yes, but according to Arthur C. Clarke, a complete coincidence. Of course, now we'll never really know.

WHAT..? You mean you've never heard of probably the most famous computer in the world..? :smt119 Even if it is fictional.

Daisy, daisy. Give me your answer do. I'm half crazy, all for the love of you... Got it now..?

I might consider that. As long as the competition winner is the next week's logo holder/wearer/whatever. Hey, that's not a bad idea. Until I've thought about it, HAL can make a return, as I miss him too.

What, you'd rather HAL was back..?

Apparently, I'm a mongchops, so I have special status.

Bring On The Trumpets..! Love these Natural Confectionery Company adverts. The best one so far is: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=QkODzCFdkbM

Missed by a mile being first to the homemade tuna comment. Got to admit though, thick Tuna and Mayonaise [Helmanns preferably], between slices of mixed seed bread, with fresh cracked black pepper, is absolutely bloody wonderful. As is a homemade BLT, with the same care taken over the ingredients. Shop bought sandwiches are wishy-washy affairs generally, or with far too much relative salt and fat in them to give them flavour.

OK CF, you get the last word.

See if you can watch the first few seconds of Thrust SSC from 1997. Oh look, a steering wheel..! http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=vHnNxMJLfvA

Charming. Btw, this record breaking train you're on about will have to turn itself around after each run and go back the way it came. All without rails and additional steering from external forces.

But a train has no steering wheel, CF. Don't dig yourself in a bigger hole than you're already in. The car will have a steering wheel or joystick. It will have to, so that it can be driven with stability and control. It's one of the things which define a car. A train locomotive runs on rails to get to its destination because it doesn't steer itself. It's one of the things which define a train locomotive.

Things to tack onto the present format that would improve Top Gear: One proper serious road test of one car per programme, including apparently trivial things like looking under the bonnet and checking where the oil dipstick and water bottle are. Hey, they could even include the mpg/mpl fuel efficiency of the vehicle, as well as the performance. Include some smaller affordable cars that are within the reach of Mr & Mrs Average Petrolhead, and not talk so much about, if it was my money I'd buy the £45,000 Merc over the £43,000 Beemer, type twaddle. I would imagine about 2% of Top Gear's viewers engage in that conversation seriously. Most of them are in the ...is it a Mondeo, Toyota or Honda for me..? bracket. They should reflect that. It's an hour long programme - there's room for the more down to earth stuff. Have to admit though, I'd love to see a Mark II version of the Reliant Robin rocket car again. That was superb, and tbh, it so nearly worked properly. http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=_b4WzWFKQ20 As an added bonus, we'd have a certain volunteer in our very own MB.

Got any new ones Pancake..?