Eating the Globe: Jordan

This is my 70th country!

I drove 40 miles to have lunch here today. One more exit, and I would have been on my way to Los Angeles.

What made this place uniquely Jordanian was their muagannats. They're little pies made with cheese or meat. Problem was, they're only served on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.

Dilemma. Do I just get a shawarma? What would make it stand out from any other anonymous Middle Eastern restaurant?

The waitress (and probably co-owner) was very accomodating and assured me every dish, even the hummus, was made the Jordanian way. So my friend and I both ordered the chicken shish.

We started with what I think was complimentary chickpea soup. It was smooth and creamy.

The falafels were overcooked and nothing to write home about.

The chicken shish, on the other hand, was fantastic. The chicken was juicy and tender. The spices-- paprika? sumac?-- were perfect.

And I love free shit. We got a cup of tea with cardamom at the end of the meal.

Countries tried so far:
Africa: Algeria, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Morocco, Nigeria, Somalia, South Africa
Asia: Afghanistan, Armenia, Burma, Cambodia, China, Georgia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Vietnam, Yemen
Europe: Bosnia, Bulgaria, Czechia, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Norway, Portugal, Russia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden
North America: Canada, El Salvador, Guatemala, Jamaica, Mexico, Trinidad & Tobago, USA
South America: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela
Oceania: Australia, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga

Homer Simpson penny

Paul Hogan, Australian

RIP Alan Thicke

One of the top TV dads of the 80s.

Silicon Valley pizza startup

A van with dozens of ovens, baking pizzas while being delivered.

I correctly guessed that the CEO was a Stanford business school grad.

2016 F1 season as an 8-bit game

If 2016 in F1 had been an 8-bit video game 😀

Anyone wish they had a controller? 🎮 #F1 pic.twitter.com/GN6k02nnPK

— Formula 1 (@F1) December 12, 2016

Most isolate points on Earth

Turkmenistan bans cigarettes

This is so awesome. Check out this BBC news video. It not only shows citizens burning cigarettes en masse, but it shows the Dear Leader hooning a BMW and riding a green bicycle while wearing a green parka. And his generals take notes just like the North Koreans!

H/t Ramon.

That Estima I didn't win

Recently, a JDM right-hand drive 1989 Toyota Estima with 19,000 miles came up for auction on Bring A Trailer. I got excited. It was in great condition and was the exact color scheme of what my wife's family had in the 1990s. Without really thinking it through, I bid $3500 on it. Then, I stopped.

The minivan was imported here by Pacific Coast Auto. Here is a detailed video they made at the dock.

Then, in July 2016, it was sold by a Las Vegan for $7300. It ended up in Washington state and was sold at the last auction for $6000.

Why did I stop at $3500? The biggest issue was registration. Although the van was more than 25 years old, I could not register it in California. Under state smog rules, the van had to be a make and model sold here at the time it was new. Though it is essentially a Previa, it is still nevertheless an Estima. The Estima was never sold here. I could not register it legitimately.

A minor issue that may have become a bigger issue is the placement of the steering wheel and sliding door. If this was going to be a family hauler, a steering wheel on the other side would have made passing unsafe. In addition, loading and unloading the Golden Boy(tm) on the opposite side of the van-- where he would be exposed to traffic if we parked it on the street-- would also be inconvenient/hazardous.

Hence, no Estima.

Postscript: It looks more and more likely that we're getting the i3. I just have not had the time to sign up for an extended two-day test drive.

Next French president (maybe) is a car nut

Francois Fillon is an amateur racer, was on French Top Gear, and even has a Matra parts in his office!

And here he is piloting a Peugeot 908!