Irish Republican Army sign

Remember when the world just worried about the IRA, Basque separatists, and the PLO?

I visited three counties today

I had yet to visit seven counties in California. Yesterday, I decided to visit the three closest counties today with my son. This was my route.

I got gas at a tiny town called Knight's Landing. That Bank of America logo was from 1980-98. I was also trying to change my son's diaper at the gas station, but a bunch of sketchy people were milling about so I got out of town ASAP. I was going to have to change him somewhere else.

Just across the border of Knight's Landing was Sutter County. I was on my way to the Sikh Temple in Yuba City. 20% of the population there is Sikh. Along the way, I spotted this Nissan Axxess! It was only sold as a 1990 model (18,000+ were sold). When I took auto shop in high school, Nissan corporate donated a new Axxess and a new Sentra for us to tear apart.

We finally ended up at the Sikh Temple. Once I entered the gate, I felt safe again. It was like a refuge. Whenever I am in the rural American backcountry and afraid for my safety, I always have a sense of relief when I see other minorities. There was a playground adjacent to the temple, where children played. The parents there welcomed us. The park was donated by a Sikh-owned trucking company. There are over 150,000 Sikh truck drivers in America now.

We stopped by at a Mexican restaurant for a late lunch. The homemade salsa was perfect.

Next stop, Marysville. Confusingly, Yuba City is in Sutter County and Marysville (across the river from Yuba City) is in Yuba County. There used to be a large Chinese population there and there is still a Chinatown.

The building to the left is a synagogue.

Next stop, Oroville in Butte County. Oroville is famous for its dam, which is the tallest in America. During recent rainstorms, the dam was badly damaged and the town was temporarily evacuated. You can see the giant cranes in the background repairing the dam.

Like Marysville, there was a Chinese community in Oroville as well.

The trip was a success. The boy and I had a blast. Now, we have to visit Trinity, Modoc, Lassen, and Alpine Counties. B said if I visit Alpine, I can grab a Basque meal with him across the border in Nevada.

Eating the Globe: Kenya

I'm running out of local restaurants and I am getting desperate. I ordered some Kenyan potato chips online. It cost over $10 and tasted like spicy tree bark. I threw it away after a few bites.

Countries tried so far:
Africa: Algeria, Congo, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Nigeria, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Tunisia, Zimbabwe
Asia: Afghanistan, Armenia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burma, Cambodia, China, Georgia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Nepal, North Korea, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Syria, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Yemen
Europe: Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine
North America: Belize, Canada, Cuba, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Trinidad & Tobago, USA
South America: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Venezuela
Oceania: Australia, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga

Red Bull F1 in Colorado and Miami

@F1O: You have lived in both places. Which is better?

Mercator versus true size

Animating the Mercator projection to the true size of each country in relation to all the others. [OC] from r/dataisbeautiful

Hot Wheels Boom Car

My mother bought this for my son and I still don't understand what it is.

211mph in a Jetta

Traveling hair stylist in rural Russia

If I'm not researching the Darien Gap, I'm researching the Russian Far East.

Visiting the last seven counties of California

California is a large state with 58 counties. Through the decades of living here, I have visited 51 counties. I have seven to go. I used Route XL to figure out the shortest route.

The counties left are Sutter, Yuba, Butte, Trinity, Modoc, Lassen, and Alpine.

If I was really ambitious, I can do it in two days.

Saving the planet with rotor sails

Cargo ships pollute a lot. Here is a simple (partial) solution.