I'm back!

Just back from a little R and R in Palm Desert. Unbeknownst to me, the trip coincided with the Coachella music festival.

While there, we visited Sunnylands, also known as the Camp David of the West. It's a beautiful estate with lots of Cold War history.

Now that I'm back, I will also share the story of a short train trip I took with rchen.

Thank you for your patience and stay tuned.

American fast food in Kuwait

I am fascinated by the Arab Peninsula and would love to visit Kuwait, the UAE, and Oman.

Evil Japanese ramen ad

わたしはコレで、アクマになりました。#アクマのチキラー #チキンラーメン #3分召喚 pic.twitter.com/KcKItROeLw

— チキンラーメン　ひよこちゃん (@nissin_hiyoko) April 6, 2018

Cadillac Super Cruise

GM arguably has a better driver assistance product than Tesla's Auto Pilot with its Super Cruise. Here is an ad I saw on TV of a Cadillac passing a Tesla.

And here it is in action. The thing about this technology is that in two, three, or ten years, it will be so dated.

Former Guatemalan dictator, dead

It's always fascinating to learn that colleagues from the 70s and 80s and early 90s majored in Soviet Studies or Oriental Studies in college. I majored in Latin American Studies and focused on Cold War Guatemala. My advisor was Beatriz Manz and she was interviewed this week about the death of Efrain Rios Montt.

Bored in an F1 garage

Ukrainian soldier

Curiosity's wheels after 1,988 Sols on Mars

New Subaru ad features my final resting place

Imagine my surprise when I saw this TV ad. At the 15 second mark, it shows the spot where I want my ashes spread.

Rulers of tiny countries

I can't tell if this is cool or sad.