Monday, July 31, 2017
In Living Color intro
Actor/comedian David Alan Grier was on the WTF podcast recently. The man is smart and funny. And he was on In Living Color! It was the hippest sketch comedy show of the early 1990s.
Congolese dandies and Venezuelan skyscraper squatters
I find that RT, CCTV, and Al Jazeera run fascinating pieces, so long as they are not about a topic in which their respective state sponsors (Russia, China, Qatar) have a vested interest. For example, I am not going to watch an RT documentary about the "real story" behind the shooting down of MH17.
But these two stories... The first is about impoverished Congolese men who spend all of their money on fancy clothes. I can't help but wonder if some of them are closeted. The Venezuelan story is about a bunch of squatters who took over a half-finished skyscraper. If you are wondering why the residents are in such great shape, it's because they have to climb all those stairs!
But these two stories... The first is about impoverished Congolese men who spend all of their money on fancy clothes. I can't help but wonder if some of them are closeted. The Venezuelan story is about a bunch of squatters who took over a half-finished skyscraper. If you are wondering why the residents are in such great shape, it's because they have to climb all those stairs!
Eating the Globe: Zimbabwe
I tried cooking Zimbabwean beef stew last weekend. It was rather unremarkable. The recipe called for virtually no spices. I cut the meat portion in half and doubled the curry powder, and it was still bland. It was straight out of a 1950s American cookbook-- tasteless. I added the spinach and rice, which were not called for in the recipe.
Countries tried so far:
Africa: Algeria, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Liberia, Madagascar, Morocco, Nigeria, Somalia, South Africa, 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, Vietnam, Yemen
Europe: Albania, Belgium, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Czechia, Denmark,
North America: Belize, Canada, Cuba, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Trinidad & Tobago, USA
South America: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Venezuela
Oceania: Australia, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga
Sunday, July 30, 2017
Saturday, July 29, 2017
Xi Jinping military parade
These soldiers are reminiscent of the Terra Cotta warriors.
Xi appears to be riding in a Chinese Gelandewagen, aka the BJ80J. Note they don't all have the same rims. Strange.
Xi appears to be riding in a Chinese Gelandewagen, aka the BJ80J. Note they don't all have the same rims. Strange.
Hand paint lettering on windshields
I know a guy in his 70s who did this for a living his entire life. When his employer introduced him to a computer, he said: I'm out.
Upstate New York Puerto Rican parade cars
My non-car nut friend Natalie took these photos. Surprising.
Thursday, July 27, 2017
Wednesday, July 26, 2017
COPA 201 crash (1992)
I bought my tickets! I'll be flying COPA, a Panamanian airline. I will fly to Lima and return from Bogota, stopping at Panama City both ways. Here is a video of the flight from Panama City to Lima. Even though I've been to the Panama City airport once, I have absolutely no recollection of any of its details.
This will be my first time flying COPA. My habit is to look up any and all air disasters related to any new foreign airline I am flying. That's how I discovered COPA 201. It was a 1992 flight from Panama City to Cali, Colombia. It mysteriously crashed into the Darien Gap(!). Here is an excellent Nova documentary about the crash investigation. Just the theme music from this PBS show brings back memories of my high school days.
DISCLAIMER: GRAPHIC CRASH SITE IMAGES
DISCLAIMER: GRAPHIC CRASH SITE IMAGES
The documentary is worth watching for a number of reasons. First, it's a professional journalistic piece. There is no hype. Just the facts. The camera crew followed the NTSB team from beginning to end, and had incredible access. It's also neat to just see what people were wearing in the early 1990s.
For those that don't want to watch it, the 737 crashed because the wire for the gyroscope was loose.
Hunting down the autonomous Buick LeSabre
I had to find out if any of these Buicks are in storage at the Richmond Field Station.
The reply: No. We tried to give one to the Smithsonian but they wanted a substantial donation. All are scrapped, except maybe one that's at the Blackhawk museum or the San Diego car museum.
I emailed Blackhawk's executive director. Stay tuned...
Here are some technical papers about these cars.
Tuesday, July 25, 2017
1990s autonomous cars
I was not hallucinating.
In the 1990s, while I worked for the campus police, I was once assigned to work at the Richmond Field Station. It's a large facility that Berkeley operates for its engineers who need a lot of room to conduct their experiments. Well, during that shift, I saw a bunch of Buicks drive autonomously on the tarmac, with magnets guiding them.
I've never been able to find any evidence that this program existed. Until today. It wasn't just my imagination.
This evening, I went to a focus group of BMW i3 owners run by a Berkeley transportation researcher. After the session ended, I went up to him and asked him about Buicks, magnets, and the Richmond Field Station. He knew what I was talking about. The man in charge of the project was Steven Shladover.
And here is a very comprehensive video!
In the 1990s, while I worked for the campus police, I was once assigned to work at the Richmond Field Station. It's a large facility that Berkeley operates for its engineers who need a lot of room to conduct their experiments. Well, during that shift, I saw a bunch of Buicks drive autonomously on the tarmac, with magnets guiding them.
I've never been able to find any evidence that this program existed. Until today. It wasn't just my imagination.
This evening, I went to a focus group of BMW i3 owners run by a Berkeley transportation researcher. After the session ended, I went up to him and asked him about Buicks, magnets, and the Richmond Field Station. He knew what I was talking about. The man in charge of the project was Steven Shladover.
And here is a very comprehensive video!
Monday, July 24, 2017
A message from my 5th cousin (predicted)
23andMe thinks an Azeri man is my 5th cousin. We share 0.11% of our DNA together.
I reached out to him and asked if he had any Chinese ancestors. His response:
I reached out to him and asked if he had any Chinese ancestors. His response:
Hello, Jim,
I am Azeri and my grandmother is Russian, so I don't think I have any direct ancestors from China but we could be DNA relatives from some Far East ancestors, like Mongolians, I suppose. Historically, Turks came from Enisey river region.
Saturday, July 22, 2017
Eating the Globe: Estonia
Chicken from Tallinn. I got the recipe from The Globe and Mail. It was delicious. Just go easy on the red pepper flakes. We are a bit suspicious of its authenticity, as the ingredients are more Mediterranean than Baltic. But if you can't trust the Canadian media, who can you trust?
ETA: The dish is not Estonian. Try again!
Countries tried so far:
Africa: Algeria, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Liberia, Madagascar, Morocco, Nigeria, Somalia, South Africa, Tunisia
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, Vietnam, Yemen
Europe: Albania, Belgium, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Czechia, Denmark,Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden
North America: Belize, Canada, Cuba, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Trinidad & Tobago, USA
South America: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Venezuela
Oceania: Australia, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga
ETA: The dish is not Estonian. Try again!
Countries tried so far:
Africa: Algeria, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Liberia, Madagascar, Morocco, Nigeria, Somalia, South Africa, Tunisia
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, Vietnam, Yemen
Europe: Albania, Belgium, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Czechia, Denmark,
North America: Belize, Canada, Cuba, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Trinidad & Tobago, USA
South America: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Venezuela
Oceania: Australia, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga
Friday, July 21, 2017
Thursday, July 20, 2017
Lotus Evora: Rejected
That I have only purchased three Hot Wheels/Matchbox cars in the last three months is either evidence that I have great self-control or evidence that the available inventory is crap. I considered buying this Evora the other day, but just couldn't accept the matte black paint job.
Wednesday, July 19, 2017
F1 race day in Baku
Thank you again, Tarlan, for these wonderful behind-the-scenes shots. I just have a question about the last photo. Who is that man with the cigar? He looks important.
