Newsdesk

Steven has another new member of the Thomson family! No, not a daughter this time, or another son. She’s Swedish and HOT! Julie won’t be worried though, because she’s not a great looker and her name rhymes with kebab. Oh, alright then… It’s a car. Yes the idiot has purchased another silver estate car from the now defunct vehicle maker SAAB. It was very cheap to buy and with a wee bit work, should prove to be a fast and reasonably economical second car. These things are relative of course! The Large Doner replaces Trevor, Julies much regretted TVR purchase of 2 years ago. Trevor wasn’t an expensive car to buy either, but in terms of cost per mile he was comparable with the Space Shuttle! At least all of the family can use The Doner too.

Steven recommends the coolest Lego truck ever

I was looking for Christmas presents for Archie (or… myself) when I found this! It’s not an official kit (yet), but it is surely the best use of the pimply plastic blocks since James May’s house.

Radio controlled, working suspension, gearbox, disk brakes, etc… take a look at the video. I would definitely buy this if they made it!

A bit behind the curve on this one, but Homeland turns out to be pretty damn good. Having watched the first half of the first episode earlier this year I had unfairly dismissed it as being a slightly more intelligent rehashing of the abysmal 24 but I’m happy to admit I was wrong. It’s really very compelling, and although the second series seems to have gone on some slightly dubious tangents it’s nonetheless solidly acted with some great edge-of-the-seat stuff. Refreshingly, it’s not afraid to eschew the gloss and tackle some pretty gritty human issues, from obsessive relationships, low self esteem and the psychological ravages of bipolar disorder to middle-eastern politics, US warmongering and Islamic fundamentalism. It’s good to see such honest portrayals in a prime time American television show (and hats off to Clare Danes for a really genuine, and frequently moving, performance, when she could so easily have been cast as a generic Perfect Hot Blonde Lead). Add in some pretty good action and 1984-style CIA sleuthing, a gripping plot (despite the seams which might be starting to show) and you’ve got a cracking thriller.

Emma has recently downsized her Saab 95 to a more economical Honda Jazz — Steven is horrified! Although there are many features of the Jazz — one being the fact that she can actually afford to run it and doesn’t have to set camp in her local BP garage — one of its more endearing qualities is the fact that it has come in a rather funky metallic orange colour not far removed from the steps very own instantly-recognisable toxic salmon. She has no plans as yet to slap the 39steps logo on the side but for a fee she could be persuaded…! On another note she spent a lovely weekend in Melrose with the “outlaws” where she visited the stunning Melrose Abbey, spread her knitting skills and had her photo taken with Elvis… never a dull moment!

Emma recommends The Psychopath Test

39steps have successfully been appointed by the UK arm of Ion Beam Services to design and build a website showcasing their large range of ion implantation products. For those of you who don’t already know(!), ion implantation is an step in the process of fabricating semiconductors that find themselves in everything from MP3 players to your washing machine (at least that’s our understanding!). The studio have donned their technical hats and phase 1 of the project is underway. Watch this space for the finished site going live over the next couple of months!