top

September 11, 2001, gave many people pause for thought. But how many can say that such a dark day made them want to cook?

That was the interesting claim made by Preeti Mistry, the 33-year-old executive chef with Google's Bon Appetit management company. She made her declaration on the latest episode of Bravo TV's "Top Chef," in which she was a contestant.

Was.

For Mistry was removed by the judges after serving a paltry pasta salad to the brave and hungry airmen and women at Nellis Air Force Base.

You see, the judges, led by the … Read more

As we've seen this week, some automobiles generally referred to as "lemons" or "clunkers" find new life as modified street racing cars or as nostalgia novelty acts. But some cars are so lame and unattractive that they're forever known as a joke vehicle. Probably the best example is presented here for you today in the form of the Yugo 45.

The Yugo is a crappy little compact that was foisted upon the American market from Europe, and was belittled so much in the States that in 1991 the Yugo couldn't even break 4,… Read more

Ask any car historian or enthusiast about the biggest clunkers in American automotive history, and the AMC Pacer will more than likely be on that list. Made by the now defunct American Motors Corporation (AMC) from 1975-80, the Pacer was more or less a gimmick car that had all sorts of unusual features (sitting low to the ground but being wide in girth, the passenger side door being bigger than the driver's door, etc) and its body style has often been said to resemble an upside down bathtub on wheels. And while other so-called clunkers from the 70s like … Read more

James May, co-host of U.K. car show "Top Gear," has a new gig for entertaining engineers and toy lovers alike.

The show, "James May's Toy Stories," engages the public in extreme building with favorite childhood toys and films the communal construction in progress.

While the show won't air until spring on BBC Two, photos and videos of the projects are already showing up online.

May's show includes the construction of the first house made almost entirely out of Legos. It's located on the Denbies Wine Estate in Dorking, Surrey, England.

The … Read more

When the Nintendo DSi was first announced, flaunting, among other things, an ability to download games directly from Nintendo to system memory or an SD card, our minds leaped to visions of a portable Virtual Console on the Nintendo handheld.

It would be a museum of Game Boy and Game Boy Color games, to be chosen from the hundreds of thousands of titles dating back to 1989. Much like the Wii's Virtual Console, it would be a mix of greatest hits and the obscure. Best of all, it could be affordable.

Unfortunately and quizzically, Nintendo still hasn't launched … Read more

I normally leave "Top Chef" recordings for a Friday night. Somehow it helps the soul and the indigestion.

This fine piece of television gives competent, but not yet infamous, chefs the chance to gain some fame by having the flames of their talent fanned by celebrated chefs and the power of television.

This season, which opened Thursday, features a contestant from Google. No, not a programmer or a digitally dextrous designer.

May I introduce you to Preeti Mistry, the 33-year-old executive chef with Google's Bon Appetit management company.

Mistry is Cordon Bleu trained. Unfortunately, her appearance on … Read more

I own a 24-inch Dell UltraSharp 2408WFP LCD computer monitor. Over the last year or so, I've yet to have a performance issue. I do a heavy amount of gaming on it including World of Warcraft and first-person shooters, and I've never once had a problem with input lag. Input lag is a delay measured by the difference between the time a signal is input into a display and the time it is shown by the display.

Input lag is one of the major criticisms of this monitor from its users. Just to be clear, I'm not claiming that input lag on this monitor doesn't exist, I'm only saying that I've not seen evidence of it on either our evaluation unit of my own. Dell has purportedly addressed the issue in the A02 revision of the 2408WFP.

That being said, I still feel the Dell Ultrasharp 2408WFP is the best 24-incher money can buy and quite easily earned the top spot on CNET's top-rated 24-inch LCD computer monitors (that we've reviewed).… Read more

As much as we like cars, we like being able to get out of them alive even more. From tech that helps you avoid a crash (like Bluetooth hands-free and rearview cameras) to tech that helps you survive one (crumple zones and airbags), automakers cram modern day vehicles to the gills with safety features that we often take for granted.

With that thought in mind, we've lined up our Top 10 automotive-safety features for your consideration. Check them out and then check back with your comments.

Longtime fans of Top Gear will find the above image of a Toyota pickup truck converted into a boat to be quite familiar.

However, it looks as if these enterprising Russians seem to have improved on Clarkson and company's amphibious truck design with a less ambitious outboard motor and the addition of inflatable pontoons, which allows the truck to float a bit more stably than the Top Gear prototype. An intake snorkel and vertical stack exhaust keep the Toyota's engine from being flooded when entering and exiting the waterway.

Check out the full photo set over on English Russia.… Read more