Singles (Movie): VW Scirocco Mk I With Blown Out Windows

I dropped by Rasputins today and bought some used CDs for 50 cents a piece: Toad the Wet Sprocket, Depeche Mode, Tears for Fears,... I also got the Singles movie soundtrack for a princely sum of $2.95. The movie is one of my all time favorites. The best scene involves Matt Dillon, Bridget Fonda, a cameo by Chris Cornell, and a Mk I VW Scirocco with monoblade wipers.

CKY

Nick Heidfeld Record Builds

BMW had another abysmal race at Monaco today. But, at least Heidfeld finished. In Spain, he broke Schumacher's record of 24 consecutive finishes without retirement. Today, "Not So" Quick Nick made it 26 races. Congratulations.

CKY

Taxis From Around the World (Part 9)

143. Uzbekistan (IZH)

144. Namibia (Toyota)

145. Mongolia (Hyundai)

146. Haiti (Toyota)

147. Ghana (Renault)

148. Gabon (Toyota)

149. Eritrea (Toyota)

150. Democratic Republic of Congo (VW)

151. Bangladesh (Toyota)

152. Bahamas (Mitsubishi)

Tally:
Buick: 1
Chevy: 3
BYD: 1
Dacia: 1
Fiat: 4
Ford: 2
GAZ: 1
Hindustan: 1
Honda: 3
Hyundai: 4
IZH: 2
Lada: 5
London cab: 2
Mazda: 1
Mercedes: 30
Mitsubishi: 1
Nissan: 4
Opel: 2
Paykan: 1
Peugeot: 14
Proton: 1
Renault: 4
Skoda: 1
Suzuki: 1
Toyota: 42
Volga: 5
VW: 11
Volvo: 1
ZAZ: 1

CKY

James Bond's Martini

I had a great Vesper Martini yesterday at Knoxx in Lafayette. Here is the recipe:

Three measures of Gordon's, one of vodka, half a measure of Kina Lillet. Shake it very well until it's ice cold, then add a large thin slice of lemon peel.

CKY

Cars of Supreme Court Justices

Obama will probably nominate Sonia Sotomayor next week. With all this buzz about the Supremes, why not look at what our honorable justices drive?

1. Scalia drives a blue/silver E39 BMW.


2. Chief Justice Roberts drives a Honda Odyssey. He also has a Volvo and a PT Cruiser.

3. Justice Souter drives to and from his home in New Hampshire in this VW Passat. I'm quite proud to say I stirred up quite a minor storm in the blogosphere earlier this month when I raised the issue of Souter's car.


4. Clarence Thomas owns a black 1990 Corvette ZR-1. He raised a few eyebrows when his financial disclosures showed "extravagant" gifts to him like a performance chip and a set of tires. He also drives around the country in his Class A 40' RV. Here is Justice Thomas with Trump and his lovely wife. I believe the Daytona 500 jacket was a gift too.


5. Alito and his Dodge Grand Caravan. Exciting.


Bonus: Retired justice Sandra Day O'Connor drives a silver Buick.

I'm searching the rides of Breyer, Kennedy, Stevens, and Ginsburg. Rumor has it that Breyer drives a jalopy.

CKY

Fusing Formula One With the Indy 500

This weekend, the Monaco GP and the Indy 500 are both taking place. What happens when these two very different worlds collide? See below.

Sir Jackie Stewart driving the 1979 Indy 500 Mustang pace car.

CKY

Jeep Wrangler YJ: Truth In Advertising

I had a lot of fun in my Wrangler YJ, even though it had square headlights and an anemic four banger, rather than the "4.0 liter High Output" six. But seeing this fellow YJ this evening with this proud decal made my day.


Photo credits: flickr

747/Space Shuttle Versus An-225/Buran

(In Russian accent): Look at this weak "Space Shuttle" on top of a puny bourgeois aeroplane.


(Russian accent, continued): Look at what Mother Russia has built with the noble sweat of her children-- glorious Buran spaceship atop largest and mightiest airplane in the world.

CKY

Landing the Space Shuttle On Easter Island

I thought I was the only person who would ask this question.

NASA has designated a number of places around the world as possible landing sites for the space shuttle, in case of emergency. They include varied airports from Diego Garcia to Riyadh to Easter Island.

If the shuttle lands on Easter Island, how do you get it back to America? Can the airport handle a 747 on which to piggyback the shuttle? Can its tiny, almost non-existent, port handle a ferry boat that can hold the shuttle?

Apparently, Lee Correy answered all of these questions, and more, in his techno-thriller Shuttle Down. It's about a fictional emergency landing involving Atlantis. The book even covers minutiae like the lack of passports for the astronauts. Apparently, after the book came out, shuttle crews began carrying passports and traveler's checks for just such an emergency.

It's on my Amazon queue now.

CKY

Pepsi Natural Is Nasty

I saw the fancy, understated, organic bottle today and bought it. The front label says "natural" and there are just three simple ingredients listed below it: sparking water, sugar, and kola nut extract. Wow, no HFCS! Nothing artificial!

Wrong, sort of. I turned the bottle around and read the official ingredients list: Sparkling water, sugar, natural apple extract (color), caramel color, citric acid, caffeine, acacia gum, tartaric acid, lactic acid, natural flavor, kola nut extract.

The drink was not as fizzy as regular carbonated Pepsi. It tasted okay in the mouth, but it has that bitter aftertaste associated with diet soft drinks. I guess that's from the kola nut.

Here's a more in-depth look at Pepsi Natural.

CKY