Wednesday, September 28, 2016
Malaysian Cub Prix crash compilation
I was looking for Malaysian F1 footage on YouTube and came upon this crazy "motorcycle" series.
Tuesday, September 27, 2016
Sunday, September 25, 2016
Saturday, September 24, 2016
Eating the Globe: Australia
Well, Australian readers, how authentic does this look? I understand that this is not the height of Antipodean cuisine. The sausage roll was basically a thick frozen American breakfast sausage rolled into a dry crust. The meat pie was a lot of air and had tiny flecks of beef smeared with a salty Worcestershire sauce-like gravy.
The best part of the experience was what I overheard. The food was served in a donut shop in a gritty town. A loud man in a wife beater shirt was chatting it up with a waitress. He proudly declared that in high school, in the early 1990s, his good friend stomped on his foot and he lost a toenail. That toe was never able to grow a nail again. "For a fat guy, I have beautiful feet."
Indeed.
The Serbian church in town is having a food festival next week but I will not be in town. Off the top of my head, I can realistically eat at Uzbek, Mongolian, Honduran, Barbadian, Jamaican, Austrian, Swiss, Cambodian, Cameroonian, Bangladeshi, Jordanian, Iraqi, Syrian, Turkish,....
Countries tried so far:
Africa: Algeria, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Morocco, Nigeria, Somalia, South Africa
Asia: Afghanistan, Burma, China, India, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Japan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, Yemen
Europe: Bosnia, Czechia, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Norway, Russia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden
North America: Canada, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Trinidad & Tobago, USA
South America: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Venezuela
Oceania: Australia, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga
Finally, a real life, comprehensive, contemporary Darien Gap documentary
It's finally here! Great story. And the weird connection. His home at the 2:55 mark of Part 1 is where I work out twice a week.
What owning a ramen restaurant is like
So many questions and thoughts.
1. You don't see that many young people putting in all those grueling hours.
2. He really needs to delegate some of his tasks.
3. Would a low-wage immigrant be able to fit in? Mexican and Central American workers are an integral part of every American restaurant, but would a Chinese or Southeast Asian employee fit in culturally in such a cramped environment?
4. What is that orange device he hits the tops of the eggs with?
5. That's a very clean kitchen.
1. You don't see that many young people putting in all those grueling hours.
2. He really needs to delegate some of his tasks.
3. Would a low-wage immigrant be able to fit in? Mexican and Central American workers are an integral part of every American restaurant, but would a Chinese or Southeast Asian employee fit in culturally in such a cramped environment?
4. What is that orange device he hits the tops of the eggs with?
5. That's a very clean kitchen.
Friday, September 23, 2016
A day in Marin
Yesterday, I took my mother-in-law to see Marin.
We started off with an easy stroll through Muir Woods to see the tall redwood trees. In the parking lot, there was this Austrian-plated Defender. I also saw three old Frenchmen pull up in perfectly restored Indian motorcycles.
On the Pacific Coast Highway, I spotted a small convoy of long wheel based Range Rovers with those swirly paint jobs to mess with spy photographers. They were right-hand drive!
On the way to lunch, I spotted not one, but two Jaguar X-Type wagons.
We dined at Avatar's in Sausalito. It's a small chain of Punjabi-inspired Mexican food. I had the ground lamb enchiladas.
On the way home, we decided to take a detour (that ended up being two hours long) through the Marin Headlands. It was unusually clear and temperate.
We walked to the Point Bonita lighthouse, which is what every ship sees upon entering the San Francisco Bay and the Golden Gate Bridge.
We started off with an easy stroll through Muir Woods to see the tall redwood trees. In the parking lot, there was this Austrian-plated Defender. I also saw three old Frenchmen pull up in perfectly restored Indian motorcycles.
On the Pacific Coast Highway, I spotted a small convoy of long wheel based Range Rovers with those swirly paint jobs to mess with spy photographers. They were right-hand drive!
On the way to lunch, I spotted not one, but two Jaguar X-Type wagons.
We dined at Avatar's in Sausalito. It's a small chain of Punjabi-inspired Mexican food. I had the ground lamb enchiladas.
On the way home, we decided to take a detour (that ended up being two hours long) through the Marin Headlands. It was unusually clear and temperate.
We walked to the Point Bonita lighthouse, which is what every ship sees upon entering the San Francisco Bay and the Golden Gate Bridge.
Stock photo of Yahoo! has Porsche 914
Hat tip to HouseOfCadillacs, who spotted this 914 in an article about the Yahoo! security breach.
Tuesday, September 20, 2016
Monday, September 19, 2016
Sunday, September 18, 2016
Eating the Globe: Somalia
This was an awesome meal.
What I've come to realize during my Eating the Globe(tm) journey is that food knows no borders. Everyone is influenced by everyone else. In this case, Somalia is influenced by...India and Italy.
We went to the only Somali eatery in the Bay Area. It's in a tiny strip mall next to a train station in San Jose. We started off with two sambusas (samosas). They, and the green hot sauce, tasted very Indian.
We also ordered two mandasis. These are essentially African fry breads. They were a little sweet, but mostly bland.
The main event was the "sports plate". It's an entree for two. You get to choose two meats (we got roasted goat cutlet and chicken suqaar (like a stir fry). We also got two starches (spaghetti and Indian chapatti bread).
Here's something funny that one of you brought to my attention. SFGate has a piece on dining at international restaurants in San Francisco. Apparently there's a place that sells Australian meat pies!
Countries tried so far:
Africa: Algeria, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Morocco, Nigeria, Somalia, South Africa
Asia: Afghanistan, Burma, China, India, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Japan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, Yemen
Europe: Bosnia, Czechia, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Norway, Russia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden
North America: Canada, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Trinidad & Tobago, USA
South America: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Venezuela
Oceania: Fiji, Samoa, Tonga
Saturday, September 17, 2016
10 year anniversary of this blog
Thank you for everything. For visiting. For reading. For commenting. For the tips. For your encouragement. For your friendship.
Ten years ago, I started this blog because I wanted a creative outlet. I also wanted to learn more about cars and I wanted to travel more. A friend had a successful blog that catered to Philadelphia Eagles fans(?!) and suggested that I set up a Blogspot account. So I began blogging.
Great things, bad things, and mundane things happened along the way in life, and I kept posting. Although this blog never gained a large following, I am proud of two results. One, it gathered a tight knit group of well-read, well-rounded, like-minded car/geopolitics nuts from around the world.* Two, it had a positive, outsized influence on the automotive blogosphere.
My grand plan for today was to go over every one of the thousands of posts on this blog and give you the highlights. But instead, I will go over some of my life's mile markers over the past decade. You can see how those events have tracked with this blog.
2006: My grandmother, who raised me, passed away.
2006: Started this blog. (I just realized I started this blog right after my grandmother's passing.)
2007: Made partner at the firm.
2007: My first bus trip, from Oakland to Alaska.
2009: Loss of a great friend to gun violence.
2010: Drove a Citroen XM from Oregon to California. (Thank you!)
2010: Discovered Chile, the most wonderful country in the world.
2011: Got a Phaeton.
2012: Started writing for Hooniverse.
2013: Took a bus trip from Guatemala to Panama, and decided to start my own law practice.
2013: Started my own law practice.
2013: Adopted Cooper the Dog.
2015: 10th wedding anniversary/40th birthday in Paris.
2017: A life-changing addition to my world.
I cannot guarantee that I will post for another ten years. But it has become such an integral part of me and my routine. I will do my best to share what interests me with you. And I hope that you find it interesting as well.
*I'm still looking for visitors from Chad, Comoros, North Korea, Sao Tome and Principe, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Vatican City, and Western Sahara.
Ten years ago, I started this blog because I wanted a creative outlet. I also wanted to learn more about cars and I wanted to travel more. A friend had a successful blog that catered to Philadelphia Eagles fans(?!) and suggested that I set up a Blogspot account. So I began blogging.
Great things, bad things, and mundane things happened along the way in life, and I kept posting. Although this blog never gained a large following, I am proud of two results. One, it gathered a tight knit group of well-read, well-rounded, like-minded car/geopolitics nuts from around the world.* Two, it had a positive, outsized influence on the automotive blogosphere.
My grand plan for today was to go over every one of the thousands of posts on this blog and give you the highlights. But instead, I will go over some of my life's mile markers over the past decade. You can see how those events have tracked with this blog.
2006: My grandmother, who raised me, passed away.
2006: Started this blog. (I just realized I started this blog right after my grandmother's passing.)
2007: Made partner at the firm.
2007: My first bus trip, from Oakland to Alaska.
2009: Loss of a great friend to gun violence.
2010: Drove a Citroen XM from Oregon to California. (Thank you!)
2010: Discovered Chile, the most wonderful country in the world.
2011: Got a Phaeton.
2012: Started writing for Hooniverse.
2013: Took a bus trip from Guatemala to Panama, and decided to start my own law practice.
2013: Started my own law practice.
2013: Adopted Cooper the Dog.
2015: 10th wedding anniversary/40th birthday in Paris.
2017: A life-changing addition to my world.
I cannot guarantee that I will post for another ten years. But it has become such an integral part of me and my routine. I will do my best to share what interests me with you. And I hope that you find it interesting as well.
*I'm still looking for visitors from Chad, Comoros, North Korea, Sao Tome and Principe, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Vatican City, and Western Sahara.
Thursday, September 15, 2016
Wednesday, September 14, 2016
1962 Rambler American 400 convertible
I picked up Cooper at his dog walker's yesterday and he showed me his pride and joy. The car was in decent shape for its age when he bought it last year, and he found an enthusiast who spruced up the engine/engine bay. The enthusiast applied the exact shades of paint and even period correct stickers.
Monday, September 12, 2016
1988 Nissan Pulsar NX Sporbak
Spotted this beauty this morning. I jogged a block out of the way to take these pics.
Sunday, September 11, 2016
Is the search for the Land Cruiser finally over?
2000 model. 130,000 miles. $11,995.
I text the dealer to ask for a Carfax report. He responds: "Sorry I sold the car this afternoon."
F.
Clinton is toast
All hail Emperor Trump!
Hillary Clinton 9/11 NYC pic.twitter.com/q9YnsjTxss— Zdenek Gazda (@zgazda66) September 11, 2016
NASA starshade
Another novel idea. It's impossible to directly see planets circling other stars because of the glare from the stars. So this starshade would be deployed to block the star's glare for the orbiting telescope.
Details here.
Saturday, September 10, 2016
Eating the Globe: Czechia
Yesterday, I had Czechian for lunch. I had Staropramen beer for the first time. It's Czech sized, which supposedly means half a liter. The lentil soup was watery.
For the main, I got the pork loin. The only flaw was the pork itself. It was tough.
Countries tried so far:
Africa: Algeria, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa
Asia: Afghanistan, Burma, China, India, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Japan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, Yemen
Europe: Bosnia, Czechia, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Norway, Russia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden
North America: Canada, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Trinidad & Tobago, USA
South America: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Venezuela
Oceania: Fiji, Samoa, Tonga
The Civic gets its eyes done
Even after we get the Land Cruiser, we are keeping the Civic. With a Blue Book value of just $2,363(!), it is "worth" a lot more to us. It doesn't have a single flaw, has been meticulously maintained since new, and has just 130,000 miles.
The only issue is the foggy headlamps. I was just going to buy new assemblies on Amazon and replace the originals. But the local mechanic said she has a guy who can polish them. These are the before and after pictures.
Much better. Now, I want to flatten that license plate. Rubber mallet?
The only issue is the foggy headlamps. I was just going to buy new assemblies on Amazon and replace the originals. But the local mechanic said she has a guy who can polish them. These are the before and after pictures.
Much better. Now, I want to flatten that license plate. Rubber mallet?
Thursday, September 08, 2016
Two Land Cruisers
Yesterday, Chris found this LX470 in Colorado. It's mighty nice.
But, we don't want white and we don't want a Lexus.
Today, this older Land Cruiser was posted on BAT. I'm going to bid on it and see what happens.
But, we don't want white and we don't want a Lexus.
Today, this older Land Cruiser was posted on BAT. I'm going to bid on it and see what happens.
