The new 370z, the replacement for the 350z, is coming to North America. Already on sale in Japan, here are a series of commerials from there:

Joanne Kates from the Globe and Mail wrote about her top 10 in 2008. Her list is:

CAPLANSKY’S

GRACE

HARBORD ROOM

LOIRE

MADELINE’S – Susar new restaurant

MENGRAI

NOTA BENE

NYOOD – Roger’s restaurant

OMI – One of my original favorite sushi places, now moved to a new Cabbagetown location

SIMPLE BISTRO

Found this hilarious article on wired today.

Over the weekend I called Rogers because the Cable TV portion of my bill was way higher than I thought it should be. Turns out a “Speciality TV” package was added to my bill at a cost of $40/month. By removing it I only lost a few channels and none of them I really watch anyways because the VIP package already gave me a lot. Basically the two packages overlapped significantly.

What strikes me as odd is that I didn’t ask for that package to be added. It was added when I had some problems on my account and it was put there for “free” because of the headache I went through from Rogers. Little did I know that there was a term limit to how long it was free for and it quickly turned into a fee package.

So, double check your bills – make sure you’re getting only the services that you want. And be careful when Roger’s offers you something for nothing…

Out of icing sugar? Or never had it in the first place? Take 2 cups of regular sugar and put it in the blender and blend until smooth!

It was quite a shame that Audi chose to delay launch one of the best configurations of the new A4. However, they just announced that the New A4 can be configured with the 2.0T, with manual transmission, and quattro all-wheel drive. Also newly available is a front-wheel drive version with a continuously variable transmission – called Multitronic for Audi.

Digital Photography Review (dpreview) rated the high end compact cameras and the Panasonic LX3 came out on top. It doesn’t have the most megapixels or the most zoom, but it has the best features that photographers want: a bright, sharp f2.0 lens, a wide angle lens, and lots of control over manual features of the camera. This gave it an edge to be the leader in all three categories that they used: Outdoors/daylight, Low light/High ISO and performance/Flash.

Two lengthy reviews from the motoring press seem to really like the new changes in the 2009 Cayman. Along with the well known addition of a dual-clutch gearbox and direct injection engine, additional options like a mechanical rear differential and retuned suspension really have these journalists keen on the Cayman:

Driver’s Republic: The Enemy Within

Winding Road: You Really Need a 911?

Audi pulled out of American Le Mans Series while Porsche no longer is running factory RS Spyders either. Honda is out of F1 completely and both Subaru and Suzuki are out of the World Rally Championship – a racing series they made famous here in North America buy a blue Impreza driven by Colin McRae.

With financial pressure on all car manufacturers, not just North American ones, all of them are faced with slashing discretionary spending wherever possible and these racing programs are not only expensive, but have arguable value in the business of selling cars when times are tough.

My friend got this recipe from All Recipes – their description reads: “Chocolate cream cheese cupcakes, rich and gooey. Serve these little gems with a tall glass of ice cold milk.”

INGREDIENTS

• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup water
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line muffin tins with paper cups or lightly spray with non-stick cooking spray.
2. In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese, egg, 1/3 cup sugar and 1/8 teaspoon salt until light and fluffy. Stir in the chocolate chips and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, 1 cup sugar, cocoa, baking soda and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Make a well in the center and add the water, oil, vinegar and vanilla. Stir together until well blended. Fill muffin tins 1/3 full with the batter and top with a dollop of the cream cheese mixture.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes.