Tamerlane's Thoughts: September 2011

Friday, September 30, 2011

Le Cheval comparo

The Walnut Creek branch's offerings are blander and sloppier than Oakland's. End of review.

Beef cube steak. Source.

Reagan and the Afghan mujahideen freedom fighters

Well, there is that elephant in the room.

It would be entertaining if it weren't so sad for all the parties involved.

Synopsis: Jeff Glucker was a writer for Autoblog and had a side gig for a PR firm with Nissan as a client. Glucker posted a piece on Autoblog about Nissan without disclosing his relationship with Nissan. Jalopnik, Autoblog's competitor, dramatically and very publicly outed Glucker's conflict of interest. Autoblog, in damage control mode, quickly fired Glucker.

At least one writer for The Truth About Cars, a much smaller car blog with a very devoted following, has been aggressively injecting himself into the fracas, calling both Autoblog and Jalopnik out as shills for the auto industry.

Hooniverse, which Glucker had a large role in creating and developing, has been, so far, silent on the issue.

We can all agree that Glucker's lapse in judgment was significant. That he was fired may have been an overreaction.

The dust has not settled yet. Just remember to duck.

Thursday, September 29, 2011

The Loneliest Road In America, next month

Photo credit.

In May, I created a summer travel To Do list. Since then, I have visited a tremendous Maserati museum, a comprehensive Shelby collection, and witnessed Vettel's sole brain fart of the season in a wet Montreal. Wow, I am a lucky son of a gun.

Well, there remains one item on the list. A drive on Nevada's Highway 50. This will happen in October. The plan is to drive from California to Ely via 50. A quick tour of Great Basin National Park. And returning via Interstate 80, with a meal stop at a Basque eatery in Winnemucca. The highlight? I will be driving one of these cars!

Volvo 140 series ad compendium (142, 144, 145)

Does anyone have any first hand experience with them?

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Phaeton v. Polo

Lamborghini Aventador review

Am not a modern Lamborghini fan, but this new model is definitely lust-worthy.

Elderly parents of Syrian protester beat up

Prepare to have your blood boiled.

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Warehouse (10,000 barrels) full of yellowcake found in Libya

Holy moly.

Little Prague, Davis

This Czech restaurant is by far the best eatery along the I-80 corridor between Sacramento and the Bay Area.

For $8.95, you can have this work of Bohemian art for lunch. The pork is roasted with a sausage inside. It comes with dumplings and sauerkraut on the side. A ladle of brown gravy covers (but does not drown) everything.

Photo credit.

Security worsens in Kabul

Here's a lesson we should have learned from The Princess Bride:

Monday, September 26, 2011

Medvedev scolds finance minister on TV

Somebody has been listening to Putin's confidence-building books-on-tape.

Hamura's Saimin, Kauai

Hungry. Want eat. Now.

Photo credit.

Sunday, September 25, 2011

2011 Orinda Car Show pictures

This year's show was bigger than ever. In fact, the organizers ran out of room on the street and so the Orinda Country Club opened up its golf course to give more room.

This Jaguar XJS was the first to catch my eye. Did those wire wheels come stock? Because they're a perfect melding of old and new-ish.

This Cadillac Eldorado convertible was the highlight. At first, I thought it was an Allante, but the proportions weren't right for an Allante. Upon closer inspection, and a chat with the proud owner, it was indeed an Eldorado ESC with the top carefully lopped off by Coach Builders Limited.