Vagabond Jim

Stick tap to:  www.youtube.com/@InternationalBigshot  And about the penny to Andrew Sullivan, years ago.  When he was readable. The Offenders.  Not the "accused." They are guilty.  Summary judgement was rendered long ago. A great summary of their crimes. NB, the 5 Sens issue is very real.  It is the worst of the crimes. My solution: https://www.unicef.org/partnerships/change-for-good#:~:text=The%20airlines%20collect%20unused%20currency,vulnerable%20children%20around%20the%20world. I have kept every coin since the 1st week of the trip.  I just collect  them from my pockets everytime I enter the room.  Easy peasy. If there is $2 (RM 8ish) in there, I'd be stunned. Canada has done away with the penny.  The USA should too. Malaysia, if it's gonna have coins, drop the 'nickel' now.  I propose an international coin limits: Four coins total; potential to make 1 unit of paper currency with four coins or less.  For instance {10, 20...

1st the post on 19Sep. Then the many fold lift in volume. From some strange referral source. They're out there. Who cares.  I don't.  I'm really just laughing at this.  Out loud. Autistics are notoriously unfiltered folk.  We speak bluntly frequently.  That's how we are.  The thought of some poor low level SigInt grunt reading through my writing is utterly hilarious.  Especially with my diction/syntax if they're not a native English speaker.  Keep at it Comrades.

Back in Kuching thus able to walk to many more places.  So, what'd I do so far today? Breakfast was a search for Roti Cenai with fried eggs.  I know a place.  In fact so far I have seen exactly one place serving Roti Cenai.  Roti Paratha is similar but not the same. (Duh, they have different names.)  And, I wanted Cenai.  Roti Paratha has been too greasy lately. Alas, for some reason, that place was open...but does not cook Roti Cenai on Wednesdays.  This happens.  Why?  Dunno.  It just is.  Deal with it.  Move along, Jim.  It's OK. Yeah, but, my brain wanted something.  My guts were "expecting" that thing.  So, what to substitute for it? Not cheese naan.  I like cheese, I like naan.  Ceylonese Restoran boasts of "the best cheese naan in town."  Hmmm, which naan.   Let's try cheese naan for the first time.  It's an Indian bread, it's not really like Roti...but. As an Autistic somethi...

Me: What's the occasion? Doorman: It's the Chinese parade. Me: It's not lunar new year. Him: I dunno, they do this every 2 months or so... (Me: Damn, lights, cymbals, gongs, etc. really do suck - I gotta get outta here before my head bursts.) Me: Terima Kasih As I post this, it continues. And, the heavens just opened up - folks are getting absolutely drenched. Do  not mess with the Tiger Moms... I do not know if the road goes on forever, but this party never ends.

DBKU stands for Kuching City Hall in Bahasa. Sorry, wrong post  

Some fun sights: Not everybody does this... ...it's to keep the blades from melting to the glass! Sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don't. Recursive humor or poor grammar? Who cares! Danger, rave dancers nearby! Not everything here is beautiful. I look like a tourist from Milwaukee - even in Milwaukee - no matter what. My only choice is to lean in to it. I lean hard. "Feast and Furious" They do not show live F1 races...BOOOOOO! That's a street food stand.  They love corn here. "I bet you stupid..." It can get sticky here...

And, even the post meal burps taste of it... Char Kuey Teow Broad noodles stir fried with bean sprouts, egg, chicken, pork, and other wonderful stuff.  A mystery brown sauce that is rich and blends with the meat.  Add some chili chop (Thai style sweet vinegared pepper) and you get sweet, umami, wok hei, and a bit of piquant heat.  Ummmmm, yummy. A traditional breakfast started the day Sarawakian Laksa A rich, sour broth of fish and tamarind with noodles, shrimp (meh), chicken (Malaysian chicken, ... how?  I think it involves aliens and fax machines, really), egg, tofu, bean sprouts, lime, coconut milk, and sambal.  Crazy good. Oh, there was a Spicy McChicken Deluxe last night.  Other than the chicken (aliens and fax machines, again) it's the same as at home.  When you're hot, sweaty, tired, and unsure if it's hunger or trouble that your stomach is signaling it's absolutely safe.  My food porn has limits.  You should never be forced to look at...

Santubong. Yeah, it sounds like the name of a sacred water pipe...I think the Italian would be Santobong (a la the Banco di Spirito Santo in Vatican City.  Really.) Here's the mountain with the same name: Here's some nice shots of the place I stayed, The Village House: Sounded like a SantuGong Totems are common in Borneo...and the US' PNW? My room. Those stairs were tricky.  Really tricky.  very very shallow. And, slippery. What did I do?  Nothing. Took a few walks but it was brutally hot and sunny.  On the walk that ended at  the beach, there was no water.  Low tide was waaaaaayyyyyy out.  I did not wish to risk losing my hat, shades, or the shades in the water and took them off before I set out doen the sand to find the water.  I walked past the sand.  To the mud.  Above ankle depth.  Back to sand.  And onward.  10-15 minutes without sunglasses hurts the eyes, scalp, and shoulder.  I turned around.  It was...

I posted tweaking the SigInt folks and calling out a few "I"s, the DPRK, and more.  And... . . . The internet cable to Sarawak was cut.  No, I am not kidding: N.B., it was restored quickly.  Except for me.  The wonderful little place I stayed (The Village House) still had not gotten back online when I left yesterday.  My cellular internet did not work.  The cell company that works with my US provider was up (Max is and Google Fi).  Same provider would not sell me a data only sim. D A M N!  Call me paranoid! But, I'm not.  It's all working again.  Although next time I'll buy a data sim when I land. For giggles.... Thank you IUS SigInt team.  I am assuming you saw my 2 star review of a book that portrays your team as acting illegally on US citizens in the US.  I know that's not allowed and that's why I dinged the book.  (The writing was OK.  The plot was just so flawed.)  You know I know that doesn't happen.

I have more visitors than friends.  Nothing but a numbers statement.  But the make up of them is funny. Most viewers are from the US.  Make sense, I am an American.  But not in the numbers that I see.  I would send some friendly jabs and jibes if I had state level detail.  I don't.  Oh, I hope one of you enjoyed my shout outs today.  Keeping it subtle is fun. Hello, Fort Meade.  That google search about Faraday cages made of aluminum foil was truly harmless.  Peter Ash does it in the book I'm reading.  Look at the book on my Kindle below.  I'm sure you can check my reading progress and search history time stamps...  Burn a few CPU cycles.  That'll make the Chinese and Russians do the same!   Many viewers are Malaysian, a few are Singaporeans.  Welcome friends looking for travelers in your nations.  I love your countries.  An S-MM2H is my future.  Let's keep on doing the "Jalan, jalan" to "maka...

 AC37... USA out. For a number of reasons, including the city of Leeds, we're pulling for Team GB. And, in the actua finals, anybody but the Kiwis.  If they win, the AC dies. Oh, if any of you peaked at the F1 calendar and the map....I'm not very far from Singapore at all.  Probably a 60 minute flight.  No, I am either crazy nor rich enough to attend.  TV is fine.  I will see an F1 race eventually, I hope.  (have been to Indy 500 a few times, NASCAR once.)*  But not in Singapore.  And not this year. _________________________________________________________________________________ * Honestly, auto racing live is far less fun (unless you are driving) than watching it on TV.    Like horse racing.  (Yep, went to the Derby once in the late '80s.  Lost the mint julep glass shortly thereafter.  The year '49er was the favorite.)**  Yes, I have a (small) amount of experience driving fast cars on a race track.  It's a...

Where am I? Kampung Santubong (yeah, all I can think of is "Holy Water Pip" too), North Kuching, Sarawak, Borneo. At the base of the Damai Pennisula and Mount Santubong.   Why?  I was tired of being in Kuching.  I like the place but needed something even slower.  Fewer tourists more locals.  Kuching just had 10,000 visitors last weekend for the Tuak festival*. I wanted out of the city.  It was just getting stressfull.  Noise; yet, not noisy...? Too many choices; not enough variety.  The "tyranny of choice" strikes again.**  (Damn, footnotes kill me.  If I had more energy and intelligence I would be better at this.  (Subjunctive!)) I wanted a change.  To the smaller.  To the "local."  And, yet, I am still bougie - I know I need A/C.  So, I found a place that for $70 includes breakfast and dinner.  And is on the shore.  There should be a breeze here.  And, there is. Hopped out of town.  RM...

From today's racing, can you see the wind? I am not a fan of Red Bull Racing in F1.  I am a fan of Team Mercedes AMG Petronas in F1.  Both teams are actually involved in the AC37 - cost caps in F1 mean the lessons learned from the sailing teams are hugely important.  Today the Merc boys bounced the RBR crew.  YAY! Why? 1) The team have very different core values.   I will support Toto Wolf, James Vowels, and Sir Lewis Hamilton over Christian Horner and Max Verstappen.  Yup, even with Vowels now at Williams and Lewis heading to Ferraaaaaaaahhhhhh - I cannot say the name, yet.   And, Max has matured substantially in the last year or so.  I commend him for that.  Substantially; but, woefully short of the level that would have me drinking Heineken. What I perceive as "sportsmanship" is pretty rigid, but I hold myself to it as well. 2) The love of Merc came before the love of Malaysia and has absolutely nothing with the financial ties to...

Tomato Ketchup? Kecap Manis? Kecap Pedas* Nope....CATCH UP Let's play! Catch Up #1 - Kecap Manis : The Dutch Kecap Manis is sweet and salty... I "remembered" the name of Cornelius' wife.  Sigrid. I would like to say I combined "Secret" and "Cynthia" to create a cognate/homophone.  But, y'all know I cannot lie.  Your choice, please select from {Autism!, Moral Core,  Absurd, Fuckin' Autism!, Weirdo, Proper Upbringing, Just Not Gonna Lie}   Any and all subsets is the only correct answer I can craft.  Now, my guess is that the subset of readers who get that without googling or cussing at math memories is either empty/null or the amazing number one.  Comment away. Oh, I asked the staff at the Kopitam . If my new acquaintances are reading:  HELLO.  I spoke to one of J's associates today.  And, I feel " sehr schrecklich " about being monopolizing our 2nd chat; " Entshuldigung mich, bitte. "  I hope to see you next year. Cat...

 Wok Hei is a concept in Chinese cooking.  Woks are not accidents.  The form and function have been melded perfectly over time. Lots of heat is crucial to wok use. More than anything in most US homes. A lot of fats are used - plant (rapeseed oil usually) and animal (lard).  At heats higher than their flash points. Proteins stick to the pans and are scraped. And, works are rarely washed with soapy water (why bother when you're gonna bomb it with massive BTUs?)  They are never left to air dry - either right back into use on another dish or lightly oiled and put away.  To misquote Neil Young 'Woks never rust, they just burn away.'  "My, My, Hey, Hey!" But, they do not burn away quickly.  In Asia a wok is a family heirloom.  Many works in use in houses and restaurants have been passed down through 5 or more generations.  They are used for multiple meals every day.  They take the heat. Heat + hydrocarbons (aka fats) + carbs + proteins po...

Why did I stop writing the last post?  I was hungry. I wanted Mee Goreng (fried noodles...stir fried).  The front desk pointed the way.  No pics, think spaghetti but a brown spicy sauce.  With a squeeze of lime and some extra sambal.   Yeah, it was good.  It had a surprisingly Thai palate to it.  I washed it down with fresh watermelon juice, my favorite.  Finished the drink; couldn't finish the noodles. Back to Saturday. The place I went for coffee and a snack, if it were local food oriented it would be a "kopitam" (a coffeehouse), but it's British themed.  They are proud of being here and focus on Sarawakian wine (who knew?) and coffee (I should have though of that one...Kopi Civet is from the region.)  They make a damn good espresso. Sarawakian beans are good.  Frankly, they have many of the same attributes as the Equitorial Americas.  Fruity, bright, nice acidity.  Just how I like it.  So when I'm tired and th...