Sunday, July 31, 2016
Saturday, July 30, 2016
Pakistan honor killing documentary
This won an Oscar. It's about a young woman who married a man she loved. Her family didn't approve, shot her in the face, put her in a bag, and threw her in the river. She survived.
The next king of Siam
Leaked 2007 video shows the prince's birthday party. Warning: His wife is topless in this video. Also at the party, his poodle Fufu, who was named chief air marshal. Apparently, the prince is a bit looney tunes. This is a great summary of the situation from The Economist.
Here is the video.
Here is the video.
Friday, July 29, 2016
Cooper's walking route in local Honda ad
This nice and tidy neighborhood is on Cooper's walking route. In fact, my wife really likes the blue house.
Thursday, July 28, 2016
Wednesday, July 27, 2016
Orange flames
Monterey, where they have the car shows, yesterday. All of California is hot, dry, and windy right now.
Donald Trump's later mother.
Tuesday, July 26, 2016
F1 pit stop deconstructed
1. Front jack
2. Front wing adjuster
3. Tyre off
4. Tyre gunner
5. Tyre on
6. Stabilizer
7. Tyre off
8. Tyre gunner
9. Tyre on
10. Ignition
11. Rear jack
12. Tyre on
13. Stand by gun
14. Tyre gunner
15. Tyre off
16. Tyre warmer
17. Stabilizer
18. Tyre on
19. Tyre gunner
20. Tyre off
21. Lollipop man
22. Front wing adjuster
Eating the Globe: Nigeria
This was an experience. Chris and I went to a Nigerian restaurant in Oakland for lunch. Actually, it's half regular American diner, half Nigerian restaurant. When I entered, I was handed the diner menu and had to ask for the other menu.
Curiously, Chris and I were the only noontime customers during the hour and a half that we were there.
We each ordered stew. The waitress was a bit shocked, told us the stew was too peppery, and tried to dissuade us from ordering it.
I got the edikanikon. It's a combination of stockfish, goat, beef, tripe, chicken with vegetables and spices. Chris got the egusi (a seed) with bitter leaf, which was much more pungent and peppery than mine.
We got a quick lesson in eating Nigerian food. We cleaned our right hand with the water dish. We then grabbed a piece off of the white yam dough and picked up the stew with the yam. If our hands got too starchy from the yam or messy from the stew, we washed our right hands again with the water.
While we ate, the owner gave us the stew in the middle of the picture below. It's the mildest stew they serve, for neophytes. It tasted bland compared to what we had.
There's no way to describe the taste, it is so foreign. The closest approximation is fermented fish sauce from Southeast Asia, plus deep peppery flavor (not hot), and gamey goat. It's not bad, but I wouldn't eat it again.
Thanks, Chris, for being such a good sport!
Countries tried so far:
Africa: Algeria, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa
Asia: Afghanistan, Burma, China, India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, Yemen
Europe: Bosnia, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Norway, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden
North America: Canada, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Trinidad & Tobago, USA
South America: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Venezuela
Oceania: Samoa, Tonga
Bernie's brother votes for Bernie
Not a dry eye in the house.
Video: @BernieSanders tears up as his brother mentions their parents while casting vote for him during roll call https://t.co/PZ63LADada— Bradd Jaffy (@BraddJaffy) July 26, 2016
Monday, July 25, 2016
Bristol Fighter review
American politics and global terrorism have me depressed. So here is a review of the rare Bristol Fighter, which apparently has the Viper's 8 liter V10!
Sunday, July 24, 2016
A couple more Land Cruiser reviews
The first one is pretty straightforward:
The second one, the British reviewer criticizes the Land Cruiser and chooses the fire-prone Range Rover.
The second one, the British reviewer criticizes the Land Cruiser and chooses the fire-prone Range Rover.
Suwalki Gap
With Trump saying he may not defend NATO members in the Baltic, the Suwalki Gap is becoming more relevant. It's the space between Kaliningrad (to Russia) and Belarus (a Russian satellite). If the Russians control the Gap, then they will have cut off the Baltic nations from the rest of Europe. Supplies and reinforcements would have to go by air or sea.
Saturday, July 23, 2016
Citroen DS in Mazzy Star's Fade Into You video
A few days ago, I met the owner of a Berkeley recording studio. I went on their website and saw that the '90s alt rock band Mazzy Star once recorded there. I remember having their CD in the mid-'90s but don't remember ever watching the video of Fade Into You, their most popular song. Here's the video, and it's got a DS in it!
Friday, July 22, 2016
Uneventful Friday
I went to my 53rd global restaurant today for lunch-- an Indian-Fijian place in Hayward. Unfortunately, it was closed. Apparently, the one-woman team went on vacation, probably to Fiji.
And on the way back, I spotted this Mark 1 Integra 5-door and Porsche 911.
And on the way back, I spotted this Mark 1 Integra 5-door and Porsche 911.
Tuesday, July 19, 2016
Sunday, July 17, 2016
Gibraltar documentary
This is worth watching on a lazy Sunday afternoon.
I had always assumed that people from Gibraltar were all Englishmen who despised Spain. I had no idea they have their own language that is a mix of Spanish, English, ancient Jewish, Genoese, Moroccan, etc.
The first third of the doc is about the language, then it discusses the history of the territory, and the end talks about its people's desire to be autonomous.
I had always assumed that people from Gibraltar were all Englishmen who despised Spain. I had no idea they have their own language that is a mix of Spanish, English, ancient Jewish, Genoese, Moroccan, etc.
The first third of the doc is about the language, then it discusses the history of the territory, and the end talks about its people's desire to be autonomous.
Finally, the documentary had me looking up a list of the world's remaining colonies and free associations. Neat!
Need help with Belgium GP tickets
Curses.
I just got the nod to go to Belgium, but all the good seats have been sold out. Only General Admission tickets are left. My options:
1. Buy tickets from a reseller, but from where?
2. Buy GA tickets for now, and hope that I'll bump into a scalper once I get to Belgium.
3. Wait until 2017 and plan better.
If I do go, I'll be flying into Dusseldorf and taking the train or bus to Spa. Any suggestions for hotels?
I just got the nod to go to Belgium, but all the good seats have been sold out. Only General Admission tickets are left. My options:
1. Buy tickets from a reseller, but from where?
2. Buy GA tickets for now, and hope that I'll bump into a scalper once I get to Belgium.
3. Wait until 2017 and plan better.
If I do go, I'll be flying into Dusseldorf and taking the train or bus to Spa. Any suggestions for hotels?
Chaos at CNN Turk
1. What the hell happened Friday night in Turkey? I still can't believe there was an attempted coup.
2. I feel really bad for the low-level soldiers who were just taking orders from above.
3. I'm definitely not a fan of military coups, but I was kind of rooting for them to succeed. I don't pretend to be an expert on Turkish politics or history, but Erdogan was becoming more and more autocratic.
2. I feel really bad for the low-level soldiers who were just taking orders from above.
3. I'm definitely not a fan of military coups, but I was kind of rooting for them to succeed. I don't pretend to be an expert on Turkish politics or history, but Erdogan was becoming more and more autocratic.
VIDEO: Footage from CNN Turk HQ where coup soldiers are being arrested by police #Turkey - @BNONews pic.twitter.com/rQh83VuA1W— Conflict News (@Conflicts) July 16, 2016
Eating the Globe: Samoa
Awful. Just awful.
My friend Ali and I were looking forward to this place, which had ten 5-star reviews on Yelp. Promising, right?
As soon as we walked in, we knew we were in trouble. The lights were off and the restaurant looked like an unfinished residential kitchen. There were two tables for customers. One was un-useable because it was stacked with 25 pound sacks of flour. The other one was taken up by a big man playing with his phone. I assumed he was a friend of the owner's and just hanging out.
Up front, from left to right, there's a steam table, a postage scale, a cash register that didn't work, and a giant rice cooker. The steam table was half empty. Most of the items on the chalkboard menu were not available. Ali, being a vegetarian, took one glance at the options and told me he's going to the burrito shop next door.
I chose the pork ribs and the corned beef. The owner put it on the scale and charged me $4.00. It's 12:20pm, but the rice was not ready. I'd have to wait.
It was during this 25 minute wait for my rice that I realized the big man sitting at the table was a customer and had been waiting even longer than me. After he left, and after I got my rice, I sat down to try the food. The corned beef might have been the saltiest thing I have ever tasted in my life. And yet the cabbage was mysteriously bland. The ribs were all bone. The sauce was sweet and spicy, but couldn't make up for the overall awful experience. Just awful.
In retrospect, this was a great experience. Eating food from around the world doesn't just mean eating the food, it's absorbing the culture and observing the people. If this experience was representative of how Samoans work and conduct business, then I've definitely learned something valuable.
Next week, I'm going to try Fijian food! Better luck next time.
Countries tried so far:
Africa: Algeria, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Morocco, South Africa
Asia: Afghanistan, Burma, China, India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, Yemen
Europe: Bosnia, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Norway, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden
North America: Canada, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Trinidad & Tobago, USA
South America: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Venezuela
Oceania: Samoa, Tonga
The moment Saddam came to power, captured on video
It's extraordinary. Who knew that this petty dictator was the glue that held EVERYTHING in the region together?
Skip to the 1:00 mark.
Skip to the 1:00 mark.
Germans in Paraguay
For more about the odd (and tragic) history of Paraguay, I highly recommend At the Tomb of the Inflatable Pig.
Saturday, July 16, 2016
Infiniti QX4 ad
Tarlan, you had one of these, right?
My wife walked by one yesterday and asked me if they're okay. I think ultimately, she just wants a tallish car with good rearward visibility. Being rear-ended in our little Volvo has really affected her.
Permanently living in a Japanese cyber cafe
Lots and lots of stuff going on in the world to talk about. First, let's look at this phenomenon. The two people featured are literally lost souls.
More about cyber cafes here.
More about cyber cafes here.
Friday, July 15, 2016
Turkish helicopter firing on protestors
Helicopter involved in the coup attempt opens fire on protesters. Unbelievable. pic.twitter.com/urcJmogRo7— Mahir Zeynalov (@MahirZeynalov) July 15, 2016
Wednesday, July 13, 2016
2016 is not 1968
2016 has not been a good year for the United States. A lot of people are comparing this year with the tumultuous year of 1968. I was listening to FiveThirtyEight's podcast and they argued that 1968 was far worse. To wit, in 1968,:
- 16,592 American soldiers were killed in Vietnam
- January: North Korea captured USS Pueblo, Tet Offensive
- March: My Lai Massacre, LBJ not seeking re-election
- April: MLK killed, 46 killed in riots across the country
- June: RFK killed
- August: Nixon nominated, Czechoslovakia invaded, Democratic Convention in Chicago
- October: Black Power salute at Mexico Olympics
- November: Nixon became president
See?
Tuesday, July 12, 2016
Another gift from Chiang Kai-Shek
Another find. My mom sent me this picture. On the right is my grandfather's name. On the left is Chiang's name, his stamp, and the date March 1954. A quick Google search revealed that in March 1954, a presidential election took place. The National Assembly re-elected the Generalissimo, beating his feeble opponent 96.9% to 3.09%!
I did not get a gift from Obama as a "thank you" for voting for him.
Monday, July 11, 2016
Sunday, July 10, 2016
Magadan to Lisbon in 6 1/2 days
Amazing feat in a Touareg. Here is the full story.
The first leg, the Road of Bones from Magadan to Yakutsk, looks very do-able. It is near the top of my bucket list. I would do it by van with this guy, but it appears he went out of business.
Eating the Globe: Future restaurants
With 51 countries down, I continue my march. I'm going to eat Samoan next Saturday with A. If you'd like to join me for any of the following, let me know!
Mongolian http://www.yelp.com/biz/eurasia-richmond
Somali http://www.yelp.com/biz/jubba-restaurant-san-jose
Portuguese http://www.yelp.com/biz/grubstake-san-francisco
Honduran http://www.yelp.com/biz/restaurante-el-paisa-san-francisco
Russian https://www.yelp.com/biz/babushka-russian-restaurant-and-deli-walnut-creek
Georgian https://www.yelp.com/biz/babushka-russian-restaurant-and-deli-walnut-creek
Nigerian https://www.yelp.com/biz/miliki-oakland
Fijian https://www.yelp.com/biz/curry-corner-takeaway-hayward
Eating the Globe: Norway
For country 51, I used some Norwegian canned food. If I could sum it up in word, it would be SALTY.
The contents did not look good.
I first fried up the fish cakes in brown sauce (not gravy). It had the consistency of a much looser Thai fish cake appetizer. The sauce was essentially gelatinous salt with brown food coloring.
Here's the cod roe. The can's instructions told me to open the can on both ends, push the content out, and cut in 1 cm slices.
I don't think this is 1 cm, but I'm not a metric guy. It was dense like a brick. And dry. There are thousands, if not millions, of tiny fish eggs. The flavor reminded me of Japan. The quality of the food reminded me of a very cheap salmon filet.
Countries tried so far:
Africa: Algeria, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Morocco, South Africa
Asia: Afghanistan, Burma, China, India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, Yemen
Europe: Bosnia, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Norway, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden
North America: Canada, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Trinidad & Tobago, USA
South America: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Venezuela
Oceania: Tonga
Saturday, July 09, 2016
Eating the Globe: Algeria
The company was great, but the food...not so much. There's only one Algerian restaurant in the Bay Area. Its menu consisted of variations of sandwiches, skewers, couscous, and tajines. I got the lamb tajine. It was bland and wet.
After lunch, we went down the street to Nordic House and I bought these to make for dinner. Norwegian review soon!
Countries tried so far:
Africa: Algeria, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Morocco, South Africa
Asia: Afghanistan, Burma, China, India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, Yemen
Europe: Bosnia, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Lithuainia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden
North America: Canada, El Savador, Guatemala, Mexico, Trinidad & Tobago, USA
South America: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Venezuela
Oceania: Tonga
Thursday, July 07, 2016
Wednesday, July 06, 2016
Land Rover Discovery Sport review
What do you guys think of this for a three-year lease? More visibility than the Evoque, but duller looking.
Eating the Globe: Slovakia
I'm almost at 50 countries. I think an Algerian lunch with HouseOfCadillacs this Saturday will be my 50th.
But let's go over No. 49 first. If there is one thing I've learned from this experience, it's that food does not have clear, 21st century borders. Japanese, Chinese, and Korean are similar. Same with Southeast Asian. And Middle Eastern. And Central/Eastern European.
I got this pork brochette dish today at a Czech restaurant. Everything on the menu, however, looked German. I was only able to order this dish because it was described as "Slovak".
What we have here is a lot of pork in a pond of mushroom-flavored grease, spaetzle egg noodle, sauerkraut, and picked cabbage. One of the reasons I'm not a huge fan of German cuisine is sauerkraut-- I do not like sour food.
The food was okay. For a quick lunch, it was actually great. I didn't appreciate the pond of grease, but everything tasted fresh and flavorful. I didn't have a beer because I had to work this afternoon.
The restaurant, by the way, was packed. All the Central Europeans within our area code were either watching football on TV inside or smoking/trading in homemade moonshine outside in the parking lot.
Countries tried so far:
Africa: Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Morocco, South Africa
Asia: Afghanistan, Burma, China, India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, Yemen
Europe: Bosnia, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Lithuainia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden
North America: Canada, El Savador, Guatemala, Mexico, Trinidad & Tobago, USA
South America: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Venezuela
Oceania: Tonga
Tuesday, July 05, 2016
Philippine Air Force celebrates 69th anniversary
EARLIER: Air Force planes form "69" to mark 69th PAF anniversary. (Photo by Trisha Mostoles) pic.twitter.com/6B1NXuRfpF | via @stanleypalisada— ABS-CBN News (@ABSCBNNews) July 5, 2016
Here is their aircraft inventory.
Monday, July 04, 2016
Audi V8
I am obsessed with this car this morning.
In the October 1989 issue of Car & Driver, there is a review of the new Audi V8. After the unintended acceleration debacle of the 1980s, I thought Audi was out of the U.S. market in the 1990s. Like Robert Downey, Jr. with his drug addiction, I thought it was game over.
I vaguely knew about the existence of this car. Here are some highlights from the article:
In the October 1989 issue of Car & Driver, there is a review of the new Audi V8. After the unintended acceleration debacle of the 1980s, I thought Audi was out of the U.S. market in the 1990s. Like Robert Downey, Jr. with his drug addiction, I thought it was game over.
I vaguely knew about the existence of this car. Here are some highlights from the article:
- At 240 horsepower, just 5 short of base Corvette
- But because of weight, 0 to 60 was achieved in 9.3 seconds
- First luxury sedan with all-wheel drive
- "Astonishing" stability at limits on race track
- Entire engine in front of front axle meant understeer
- Same ZF 4-speed automatic as that in BMW 735i
- 3 transmission settings: Sport, Manual, Efficient (not "Economy" because that sounds cheap)
- Poor ergonomics
- Steering wheel on car tested was offset to the right and canted to the left ("unpardonable in a $48,500 car")
From Wikipedia:
- Assembled in Germany and Japan(!)
- Won DTM back-to-back in 1990 and 1991
- Piech's wife had a one-off wagon version of the car
I really feel like this was the inspiration for the Phaeton. Understated luxury.
Here are two videos. The first one is in Dutch with English subtitles. It's a modern review of the V8 and the long wheel based V8. The second one is in German (I think), but you don't have to understand a word to appreciate it. Paul Frere, in his classy suit, puts the V8 through some grueling tests.
China is paving the world
China's new development bank, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), has approved its first four projects. They are:
- Infrastructure upgrade in the slums of 154 Indonesian cities (co-financed with World Bank)
- Expand and improve electricity access to Bangladeshis
- Rehabilitate roadway from Dushanbe in Tajikistan to Uzbek border 5 km away (co-financed with European Bank for Reconstruction and Development)
- 64km 4-lane motorway between two cities in Pakistani Punjab (co-financed with Asian Development Bank(Japan))
There's also been a lot of talk about the One Belt, One Road initiative, whereby China is trying to revive the Silk Road, connecting Europe (and Africa) with Asia by land and sea. The number and scope of proposed projects are staggering.
Tracking the eyes of an F1 driver
I don't think I have what it takes to be an F1 driver. Bummer.
Via Flavio Gomes.
Via Flavio Gomes.
Sunday, July 03, 2016
Mela Alaris = Ford Probe + body kit
I bought around 140 back issues of Car & Driver and Automobile magazines from the late 80s and early 90s this morning. Among the many gems, I found this!
Just imagine the looks I'll get from the guys at the country club.
Just imagine the looks I'll get from the guys at the country club.
Travelogue travel journal
I got one of these yesterday as a gift.
I spent half a morning reminiscing about old road trips.
Haitian migrants at US-Mexico border
This is fascinating. Haitians fled to Brazil after huge earthquake for work. Brazil has recession. Haitians then cross South America to Darien Gap, overcome it by boat and foot and then up Central America. They end up at the foot of the United States in Tijuana, waiting for Obama to let them in.