Saturday, August 01, 2020
Cadillac CT6-V Blackwing engine
I was reading about the ill fated Blackwing twin turbo V8 last night in my print magazine. GM built less than 1,000 of them. And that's it. Game over. What a shame.
Friday, July 31, 2020
Thursday, July 30, 2020
Ethnic Russians in China
A small number of Russians have been living in China for centuries. It's a trip to see a babushka speak Chinese with the same Northern accent as my grandmother.
Wednesday, July 29, 2020
Monday, July 27, 2020
Walking Yokohama Chinatown
Well, the book I'm reading is pretty good. I have not completed a book since 2019 and I think I will be able to finish this one by the end of this week.
I emailed the author and he was able to get me some information about my dad's side of the family. Immediately after World War II, the U.S. had the Japanese take a census of every Chinese national in Kanagawa Prefecture. It showed my grandfather, who was born in 1896, my grandmother, who was 18 years younger than him, and my dad's three older siblings. It listed my grandfather as a clothing merchant.
Here is a walk though of Chinatown. You won't believe how many restaurants they packed in such a tiny footprint. Our family restaurant is at the 17:34 mark. It's on the left side with the green signs. My cousin's parking space is next to that three-wheeled scooter.
I emailed the author and he was able to get me some information about my dad's side of the family. Immediately after World War II, the U.S. had the Japanese take a census of every Chinese national in Kanagawa Prefecture. It showed my grandfather, who was born in 1896, my grandmother, who was 18 years younger than him, and my dad's three older siblings. It listed my grandfather as a clothing merchant.
Here is a walk though of Chinatown. You won't believe how many restaurants they packed in such a tiny footprint. Our family restaurant is at the 17:34 mark. It's on the left side with the green signs. My cousin's parking space is next to that three-wheeled scooter.
Sunday, July 26, 2020
Friday, July 24, 2020
A one-day vacation
After four months of sheltering in place, we needed a mental health break. So we went to Sutter Creek in the Sierra foothills.
This was a gold mining town with a lot of old (for California) buildings. Virtually everything was closed. There was just one restaurant open. All of the wine tasting rooms were closed. We just walked up and down the main street. When we were walking up the street, I saw this 911. When we were walking down the street, I noticed the first generation Equus across the street.
This is definitely a different place from home. A teenaged girl walked past us with a red MAGA hat. An antique store had this poster on the front window. The poster was created and distributed by Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership. Really. The antique store also had a picture of Bill Clinton wearing a dress and the Obamas wearing Trump shirts. Klassy.
We stayed at the Foxes Bed & Breakfast. We have been going there regularly since the early 2000s. Currently, they rent out four out of the seven rooms at a time and they always keep a room unoccupied for at least 24 hours before renting it out to new guests.
I wanted to buy wine and my only option was a nearby gas station.
I usually ask for this specific room (Fox's Den) because they have a stack of old National Geographic magazines. I ended up reading two newspapers, two Economists, and two Road & Tracks. It's amazing how much I can get done without kids around.
This was a gold mining town with a lot of old (for California) buildings. Virtually everything was closed. There was just one restaurant open. All of the wine tasting rooms were closed. We just walked up and down the main street. When we were walking up the street, I saw this 911. When we were walking down the street, I noticed the first generation Equus across the street.
This is definitely a different place from home. A teenaged girl walked past us with a red MAGA hat. An antique store had this poster on the front window. The poster was created and distributed by Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership. Really. The antique store also had a picture of Bill Clinton wearing a dress and the Obamas wearing Trump shirts. Klassy.
We stayed at the Foxes Bed & Breakfast. We have been going there regularly since the early 2000s. Currently, they rent out four out of the seven rooms at a time and they always keep a room unoccupied for at least 24 hours before renting it out to new guests.
I wanted to buy wine and my only option was a nearby gas station.
I usually ask for this specific room (Fox's Den) because they have a stack of old National Geographic magazines. I ended up reading two newspapers, two Economists, and two Road & Tracks. It's amazing how much I can get done without kids around.
Wednesday, July 22, 2020
Sunday, July 19, 2020
July 19 blog
First up, I bought a book about the history of Yokohama Chinatown. I've been communicating with the author and I hope to learn more about my father's side of the family. Like, why the heck did my grandparents move to Japan in the 1930s?!
Next, I've seen this custom Cadillac Eldorado convertible around town. Yesterday, I was able to finally take a picture of it. It looks good!
And speaking of 25 year old luxury coupes, I really like the Lexus SC300/400. Jalopnik's Raph Orlove has a fun video about it:
And finally, I cannot stop watching Bald and Bankrupt on YouTube. Here, he visited the capital of Moldova and the breakaway republic of Transnistria. They look depressing and fun.
Next, I've seen this custom Cadillac Eldorado convertible around town. Yesterday, I was able to finally take a picture of it. It looks good!
And speaking of 25 year old luxury coupes, I really like the Lexus SC300/400. Jalopnik's Raph Orlove has a fun video about it:
And finally, I cannot stop watching Bald and Bankrupt on YouTube. Here, he visited the capital of Moldova and the breakaway republic of Transnistria. They look depressing and fun.
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