New Democrat beats Old Democrat

A 28 year old Latina, who was bartending less than a year ago, beat the Democratic incumbent who was expected to be the next Speaker of the House.

New American "embassy" opens in Taiwan

And it's less than a kilometer from my childhood home. Too bad Bolton didn't show up at the grand opening to piss off you-know-who.

NorCal Radwood 2018 photos

I was only able to stay for 20 minutes so I did a quick lap and snapped photos of my favorite cars. I left before the event officially started so some cars had not even arrived yet.

Man walks entire length of Pan-American Highway

Incredible journey. I can't imagine the demons he was trying to run away from/confront.

Here is a short Outside magazine article about the walk.

Eating the Globe: Bolivia

This was a tough one to cross off of my list. There is a "Bolivian" restaurant in San Francisco, but it's all-vegan. I never went there because I doubted its authenticity. But then, I happened to find on Yelp a donut shop in Redwood City that sold saltenas (with a tilde over the n). 

I went this morning and the owner said they just sold out and the next batch wouldn't be ready for another 30 minutes. Since I drove an hour to get there, I patiently waited with my son at the pet store next door.

The saltenas were delicious. In fact, this is definitely one of the top ten meals of this series. The inside is filled with meat (I bought one chicken and one beef), potatoes, peas, onions, and olives. They were savory, sweet, and spicy all at once. The pastry was perfect and not too greasy.

I'm not counting again, but I believe this is my 104th country!

Countries tried so far:
Africa: Algeria, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Liberia, Madagascar, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, 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, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, 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, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Venezuela
Oceania: Australia, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga

Order of Malta?!

Yesterday, my family was caught in a traffic jam so we decided to stop at the Claremont Hotel for a cocktail. While there, I noticed the ballroom was holding an event for the Order of Malta!

This video provides an excellent primer on the group.

So, it looks like the group is akin to the Red Cross. The members I saw milling around all looked old, white, and rich. I also spotted this cool bus outside in valet parking.

Turning fog into water in the Chilean desert

These artificial harvesters remind me of the candleholder cacti I saw in Chile. They grow just five millimeters a year and get their water from fog.

North Korean documentary on Kim-Trump summit

H/t to rchen. Cool Volvo police escort. And a bonus Kim-Bolton handshake!

Eating the Globe: Austria

With so many countries crossed off my list, it is getting very difficult to find an eligible restaurant. I've always wanted to go to an Austrian place in San Francisco called Leopold's, but it is only open for dinner. I usually go to San Francisco for work, and rarely stick around for dinner. But an old friend was in town for a conference, so we went to Leopold's!

I got the Jagerschnitzel, which an Austrian friend confirmed was authentic. It was better than the half dozen German meals I've had elsewhere in the Bay Area. The ingredients were top notch and the preparation was perfect.

Countries tried so far:
Africa: Algeria, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Liberia, Madagascar, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, 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, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, 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, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Venezuela
Oceania: Australia, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga

Grocery shopping in Japan

Al Bundy Barack Obama ad

I was reading up on actor Ed O'Neill on Wikipedia when I found out about this ad.

And then I found these...

What a dud

Average flag color by latitude

Demolishing a 747

Nearest American cities to Eastern Hemisphere

Trump salutes North Korean general

North Korean TV has aired its first footage of the #TrumpKimSummit. Look out for the handshake/salute confusion 55 seconds in. pic.twitter.com/JS5yEUprgz

— BBC Monitoring (@BBCMonitoring) June 14, 2018

The movie trailer Trump showed Kim in Singapore

As soon as they met, Trump showed this to Kim on his iPad. Is life real?

Easter Island at night

RIP Anthony Bourdain

This is a hard one to accept. At 61, Bourdain hung himself in a hotel room in France. He was there shooting his CNN show Parts Unknown. His good friend Eric Ripert found his body.

Back in 2002, his first TV show, A Cook's Tour, stoked my desire to travel to exotic yet mundane places, to meet people who didn't look like me, and to try every morsel of food, at least once. His ability to transform overnight from a working stiff to celebrity writer played a part in influencing me to start this blog. He has without a doubt been a net positive in the lives of millions.

But in the end, he was haunted by demons. We all have demons, but some are much more menacing than others. My wife went to one of his book signings and reported back that Bourdain was painfully shy and thoroughly uncomfortable with his fame.

I started watching his latest episode earlier this week. It was set in Hong Kong and was directed by his girlfriend, Asia Argento. She is also haunted by demons. In the beginning of the show, Bourdain, during a montage of jarring shots of frenetic cityscapes, espoused his love for Asia. Of his love of being IN Asia. I got really uncomfortable and felt sympathy for his ex-wife and young daughter. I was even a bit disgusted. The gut feeling was so visceral, I felt like I may not be able to watch another episode of his show again. So I deleted the episode at the 14 minute mark. I didn't tell anybody because I thought I was overreacting and misreading the whole situation.

In the end, it did not matter what I thought or how I judged. Bourdain was an extraordinarily talented and genuine human being who made our lives better. He will be missed.

Volvo XC60 ad

I can't decide if this is a touching ad or permission to drive while distracted.

Frozen Montreal streets

Bolivian bus train

I saw this on a recent episode of Globe Trekker. The diesel bus train has a steering wheel, a shifter, and a clutch, just like a regular bus. It transports up to 40 people at a time between Sucre and Potosi.

Guinea race cars

Monica Lewinsky on SNL

1999. A different universe.

Traveling by container ship between Oakland and Los Angeles

I have a history of terrible seasickness. So I should really check to see if I get seasick on a container ship before I commit to a long journey. That's why I just put an inquiry in to see if I can take a short, 4-day trip between Oakland and Los Angeles along the California coast.

Does the open sea get much choppier than a route hugging the coast?

The boat I would take is the APL New York. It's a Singapore-flagged container ship. It's currently on its way to the UAE.

Monaco F1 helmet cam

HELMET CAM 🎥

Feel the bumps. Hear the revs. See things from a new perspective.

Jump aboard @PierreGASLY's @ToroRosso for a very special #MonacoGP lap 👀 pic.twitter.com/Ic2xsIYOQv

— Formula 1 (@F1) June 1, 2018