Current Hot Wheels / Matchbox / Tomica inventory

I went back to the Toys R Us I visited yesterday to buy a baby gate. I found more cars on the other side of the store!

Rotary powered Mazda pickup truck:

My dream car in high school, the 1967 Camaro:

The greatest car ever, the McLaren F1:

I need to do an inventory of cars because I should stop at 50. Also, I want to avoid buying duplicates. So far, I have:

1.  2017 Acura NSX (HW) 
2.  Aston Martin One-77
3.  1975 BMW 3.0 CSL (HW)
4.  2015 BMW i3 (M)
5.  BMW M5 police car (M)
6.  Cadillac Elmiraj (HW) 
7.  1967 Chevy Camaro (HW)
8.  1985 Chevy Camaro (HW)
9.  1984 Chevy Corvette (HW)
10.  Chevy Corvette C7 Z06 (HW)
11.  Dodge Viper RT/10 (HW)
12.  The Embosser (HW)
13.  F1 Racer (HW)
14.  1970 Ford Escort RS1600 (HW)
15.  2012 Ford Fiesta (HW)
16.  2017 Ford GT (HW)
17.  2017 Ford Raptor (HW)
18.  1990 Honda Civic EF (HW)
19.  1985 Honda CRX (HW) orange
20.  1985 Honda CRX (HW) white
21.  Hongqi (T)
22.  2017 Jeep Gladiator (M)
23.  Lamborghini Huracan LP 620-2 Super Trofeo (HW)
24.  Lamborghini LM002 (M)
25.  Lotus Europa (T)
26.  Mazda Miata (M)
27.  Mazda rotary truck (HW)
28.  1995 Mazda RX-7 (HW)
29.  Mercedes 190E 2.5-16 Evo II (HW)
30.  NYPD Meter Maid Cart (M)
31.  NYPD Chevy Suburban (M)
32.  NYPD Random SUV (M)
33.  NYPD Dodge Charger (M)
34.  NYPD Tow Truck (M)
35.  Mobile Tune-Up Van (HW)
36.  Nissan Leaf (T)
37.  McLaren F1 GTR (HW)
38.  Porsche 934.5 (HW)
39.  Porsche Carrera GT (HW)
40.  Swift Shuttle (M)
41.  Tesla Model S (M)
42.  1990 VW Golf Country (M)
43.  VW SP2 (HW)
44.  VW Transporter (M)

Okay. Six more, and that's it!

Six ways to divide England

Brits! Is this accurate?

I bought ten more Matchbox cars

Even though Toys R Us recently filed for bankruptcy, they opened up a new store near my office. It's clean, bright, and huge. And its selection of Matchbox cars is impressive.

If you have a suggestion for a car carrier, I would appreciate it. When I was a kid, I had a blue plastic briefcase with blue plastic trays inside to carry my cars. I'd like to get a carrier for Junior when he is old enough to play with these cars.

First up, a set of NYPD police vehicles. This is the first set I've purchased. I prefer buying cars one-by-one. I don't like sets because I usually don't like every single car in the set. I bought this set because I really liked the Suburban. I also bought the set because the collection I am amassing is missing "work vehicles".

An Austrian-built 4x4 Golf.

My kid will have an i3, just like his old man.

I'm pretty sure I haven't bought this Miata before.

This Tesla Model S is very realistic looking.

And finally, an M5 police car!

We are going to Oak Creek Canyon, Arizona!

My sister-in-law is getting married! She and her fiancee are extreme outdoor types-- they are both wilderness survival instructors. We are going to this place:

Hot Wheels Modern Classics Mercedes 190E 2.5-16 Evo II

Chris D brought this gift for Junior when I saw him today. It is significantly heavier and more detailed than regular Hot Wheels cars.

This kid does an unintentionally funny review of the toy car. The knife! The cat!

Eating the Globe: Dominican Republic

This was an extraordinary meal. 

In the United States, Dominican and Caribbean immigrants typically live on the East Coast. I was shocked to find a Dominican restaurant in California. But here it is.

I dragged Chris D to lunch with me. Sadly, we were the only customers there. The owner and her two kids worked there. The space is a nightclub/dance club with a kitchen. The restaurant owner rents the kitchen from the nightclub owner. The bar is owned by the nightclub owner so it was off limits to us during lunch. We settled for water.

I had the fried pork. There was a lot of it. It came with yucca fries and a salad. Everything was great, including the spicy dipping sauces.

Countries tried so far:
Africa: Algeria, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Liberia, Madagascar, Mauritius, 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, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Yemen
Europe: Albania, Belgium, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine
North America: Belize, Canada, Cuba, Dominican Republic, 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

Waymo minivan spotted

I saw a self-driving Waymo minivan in Mountain View today.

Fujimori-- free

Lima is certainly an exciting place right now.

Alberto Fujimori defeated the Shining Path guerrillas, saved the Peruvian economy, and committed human rights abuses along the way. He was put away in prison for a long time.

An elderly technocrat was elected president. He defeated Fujimori's daughter, Keiko, even though Keiko's party controlled the legislature. Keiko was probably going to pardon her father had she won.

The elderly technocrat president was caught up in a scandal involving a Brazilian construction firm. He was going to be impeached last week by the legislature. But to everyone's surprise, he wasn't impeached.

The elderly technocrat president subsequently freed Fujimori. Apparently, to save his own skin, he made a deal with Kenji, Fujimori's legislator-son. In exchange for no impeachment, the president would free the elder Fujimori.

I can't make this stuff up. Truth is truly stranger than fiction.

The Pope is going to ruin my bus trip

I couldn't figure out why I couldn't buy a bus ticket out of Lima for Sunday, January 21. Until last night. I found out that Pope Francis is going to be giving (is that the right term?) a mass on Sunday, January 21, in Lima. The mass will be held at an air force base in town and they expect 1.5 to 5 million people to attend. I am at a loss as to what to do. I am considering starting the trip in Colombia and finishing the trip by traveling south to Lima.

The Pope!

Pit crew engulfed by invisible flames

I had no idea this was an issue.

Eating the Globe: Mauritius

I was watching Andrew Zimmern's Delicious Destinations episode on Mauritius. The swordfish curry dish looked good so I tried it. Here is the recipe. The most interesting part was soaking the onions in vinegar before cooking. I got off to a late start so I didn't mash the spices into a paste like I was supposed to, so the dish was a bit bland. In retrospect, this was very much like the Maldives swordfish curry I made. It's all because of the Indian influence. 70% of the population in Mauritius is Indian.

Countries tried so far:
Africa: Algeria, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Liberia, Madagascar, Mauritius, 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, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Yemen
Europe: Albania, Belgium, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine
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

Radwood video

Rchen is easy to spot. But Ed K is also in the video for a millisecond.

Millennium Falcon on the roof

A family one town over built a Millennium Falcon, hoisted it onto the roof of their home with a 70-foot crane, and became the envy of all their neighbors. The full story is here.

BTW, I saw the new Star Wars movie yesterday. It was mediocre.

Jeff Bezos' Amazon office, 1999

Two more Hot Wheels

I'm getting to the point now where I've lost track of cars I have already purchased.

Turf machine

North Korea, by the New York Times

Mercedes GLA250-derived Infiniti QX30

Who knew that the QX30 was based off of the Mercedes GLA? To save costs, the QX has the Mercedes' platform, engine, transmission, door handles, gauge cluster, etc.

Pop Goes the Weasel by 3rd Bass

Who remembers this song?

I was reading a book to the kid that mentioned the children's song Pop Goes the Weasel, and I was reminded of this 1991 song.

Ferrari F12

Three car sub-genres I'm not into:

• hot rods
• pre-war cars
• late model exotics

I spotted an F12 for the first time yesterday. My first one. In blue. I had no idea it exists and I had no idea it had been around since 2012.

What kinds of cars are you not interested in?

Kuril Islands documentaries

We are staying home for Christmas this year so there will be plenty of blogging!

First up, the Kuril Islands. The Ainu were there first. Then, the Japanese settled there. At the end of World War II, the Soviets took over the island chain and kicked out the Japanese. Russia and Japan have not formally ended World War II with each other because of their dispute over these islands.

I remember as a kid in Japan, riding by the Soviet embassy in Tokyo, there would always be a heavy police presence. Right-wing Japanese nationalists driving vans with huge speakers would protest outside everyday, demanding the Kurils back.

This is the recent Economist article that got me hooked on the topic.

The Russian perspective:

The Japanese perspective:

Koch heir designs loud shirts

This is the funniest and saddest thing I've seen in a long time. His father is one of the Koch brothers. Poor guy.

Eating the Globe: Ukraine

There is a sizable Soviet population in San Francisco. Most of the restaurants that cater to the immigrants are Russian. I couldn't find any Ukrainian restaurants per se. So I went to this Russian place and ordered a Chicken Kiev, which they called "Chicken a la Kiev". I've never had it before and it was delicious. Once I cut open the breaded chicken, a small stream of melted butter flowed out.

Here is my favorite mention of Ukraine on TV.

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, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Yemen
Europe: Albania, Belgium, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine
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

North Korean beer festival

Doug DeMuro reviews a Phaeton

He does a fairly thorough job of showing many of the car's features. He pronounces it funny though.

Putin reviewing troops at base in Syria

I really thought that mofo Assad would be dead or in exile by now. Lucky prick.

Eating the Globe: Update

Progress has been slow, but I hope to cross off Haiti and the Dominican Republic next week.

Countries I've eaten are in blue.

Future stops:

Austrian https://www.yelp.com/biz/leopolds-san-francisco-2

Cameroonian https://www.yelp.com/biz/a-taste-of-africa-oakland

Senegalese https://www.yelp.com/biz/bissap-baobab-oakland-oakland

Romanian https://www.yelp.com/biz/sauls-restaurant-and-delicatessen-berkeley

United Arab Emirates https://www.yelp.com/biz/just-falafel-fremont-2

Swiss https://www.yelp.com/biz/matterhorn-restaurant-san-francisco

Haitian https://www.yelp.com/biz/pilon-oakland-2

Dominican https://www.yelp.com/biz/sabor-dominicano-san-rafael

Ukrainian (Somewhere in San Francisco)

Eating the Globe: The Netherlands

Stroopwafel! There's a local food stand that just sells these sweets, but it's never open. Now, it appears that it's shut down forever.

I had kind of given up on stroopwafels but my wife bought a tin of them from Trader Joe's today, not knowing that they were on my list.

It's sweet and dense. End of review.

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, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Yemen
Europe: Albania, Belgium, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Netherlands, 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

T minus one month to South America!

I'll be taking COPA Airlines from SFO to Lima via Panama City.

The shot of the Panamanian beer reminded me of the night before I took the bus to the Darien Gap in 2013. I went to the bar next to my hotel and drank every brand of Panamanian beer (3) and rum (2) they had.

Lexus LS600hL review

I've been thinking about buying a used 600 today. But Brian Cooley at CNET was not impressed.

BMW i3 carbon fiber body

How drunken Australians and Korean housewives changed a Laos town

H/t to Ramon.

Wheeltug for commercial airplanes

What a great idea. It will save time and money.

Miniature AI killer drones

Well, this is the scariest thing I've seen all year. I read about this cautionary Slaughter Bot video in The Economist.

These miniature drones are cyclocopters.

Got a Jeep truck at the drug store today

Northern California Chinese Supercar Club meet

This took place in Atherton, one of the toniest towns in all of the San Francisco Bay Area/Silicon Valley. I had thought this ostentatious show of wealth was relegated to Southern California. I was mistaken.

Bus trip: Good news and bad news

First, the good news. Colombia's biggest criminal gang, the Gulf Clan, has just declared a unilateral ceasefire. This is the gang that was busted recently for the biggest haul of cocaine ever seized in the universe. The leader is turning himself in and his lieutenants have all been neutralized.

Now, the bad news. My plan had been to take a Cruz del Sur bus on a Sunday from Lima, ride non-stop for 2.5 days, cross two borders, and arrive in Cali, Colombia. For some reason, the Sunday bus service has been canceled. And I cannot take the other Cruz del Sur service, which leaves on a Wednesday. I think I can take an Ormeno Sunday bus, but I cannot buy or reserve a ticket online. I have to show up in person. Let's hope it's not sold out when I get to Lima on a Saturday.

Cost of grocery items in Barrow, Alaska

H/t to Peter S.

Barrow is not accessible by road. Everything is shipped by sea or air. Hence the high prices.

2017 highlights

Best year ever. Thanks for following along!

January: Tried Nicaraguan food.

February: Babymoon in Laguna Beach.

March: Got an i3.

April: Got a baby boy.

May: Checked out a Lexus Land Cruiser.

June: The first Radwood.

July: Reconnected with autonomous cars I saw in the 1990s.

August: Baby sees Pacific in Mendocino.

September: Trip to Lake Superior.

October: Drove a Century in Virginia.

November (technically December 2): Met up with friends at Radwood 2 in SoCal.

December: Baby meets Santa on Maui.

Alabama in 2016 (left) versus 2017 (right)

What a difference a year makes. And a creepy gun-toting candidate.

Gone whale watching

I will be blogging again on December 12. In the meantime, I'll be tweeting and posting on Instagram.

Radwood 2 debrief

Radwood is more than a car show. It is a social phenomenon.

Yesterday's show in Southern California was Radwood's second. It was exponentially larger than the first. There were more cars, more people, more of everything. It was at an expansive German beer garden, so there were plenty of picnic tables for people to enjoy beers and brats throughout the day. There was a DJ playing 80s music and there was even a BMX bike demonstration. It's not yet commercialized, as the only corporate presence consisted of Bring A Trailer and a car restoration company that brought a couple of very 80s modified Benzes.

When luxury was fueled by coke. #radwood #mercedesbenz #c126 #500sec #coke #cocaine #carsofinstagram #instacar #radwood #radwood2017

A post shared by Ed Kim (@edkimseesthat) on Dec 2, 2017 at 12:13pm PST

So let's start from the beginning. This was going to be a day trip, so I woke up at 4:30am, picked up rchen, and headed to the airport. Rchen dressed up for the show and brought old cell phones and other props. Going through airport security with him was "exciting", shall we say.

TSA thought this was not very funny. #Radwood #Radwood2 #SmugglersBlues

A post shared by Rich Chen (@rchen) on Dec 2, 2017 at 8:13am PST

Because we didn't have a rental car, slirt was kind enough to pick us up at LAX in his beautiful and peppy cabriolet. The weather was in the mid-70s so it was perfect as we crisscrossed the concrete jungle.

Here comes @og_slirt with the finest airport pickup ride. I love LA. #VWcabriolet #Radwood2 #Radwood

A post shared by Rich Chen (@rchen) on Dec 2, 2017 at 9:15am PST

Once there, we saw quite a few amazing cars. But as we nerdishly went over all the 80s and 90s cars that were missing-- Merkurs, Dustbuster minivans, etc.-- I realized that just hanging with obsessively knowledgable car freaks on a sunny Southern California day in a relaxed atmosphere full of kitsch was what made Radwood so nostalgically perfect.

The Tamerlane’s Thoughts brain trust was there for #Radwood2.

A post shared by @tamerlaneblog on Dec 2, 2017 at 5:01pm PST

A lot of people I have connected with over the years online were there, and they got to meet each other. People in the "industry", like the new Wheeler Dealer team, Matt Farah aka The Smoking Tire (with all four of his cars, including the Million Mile Lexus), and the Hooniverse duo of Jeff Glucker and Blake Z. Rong, were all in attendance. The show had everything. The owner of three MotoCompos were even letting random people ride them.

I RODE A DAMN MOTOCOMPO #😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎 #Radwood2

A post shared by Blake Z. Rong (@bzrong) on Dec 2, 2017 at 4:57pm PST

If Radwood comes to your state or even time zone, make sure you go.

Mullet not included. #pontiac #firebird #firebirdformula #radwood #radwood2017 #radwood2 #instacar #carsofinstagram

A post shared by Ed Kim (@edkimseesthat) on Dec 2, 2017 at 8:07pm PST

I traveled to 1991-ish today! #radwood #radwood2017 #radwood2 #peugeot #taurussho #allante #carsofinstagram #instacar

A post shared by Ed Kim (@edkimseesthat) on Dec 2, 2017 at 8:00pm PST

Mk2 Jetta 2-door👌🏻 . . . #radwood #radwood2 #vwjetta #mk2jetta #mk2vw

A post shared by RadWood (@radwoodofficial) on Dec 3, 2017 at 6:42am PST

Gifts from Radwood trip

First up, a couple of gifts from rchen from his trip to the Tokyo Auto Show.

A Tomica Lotus Europa! I'm going to open it with Junior when he's old enough.

If I remember correctly, this is a CD of Isuzu truck music. I'll have to find a computer that will play this.

I got this Honda CRX from slirt. A great find from an LA-area Target.

Thanks for the loot, gentlemen!

Fireplace sweater with phone fire

This Christian book store does not get it

Via Reddit.