Bit out of touch to be knocking EVs during a fuel crisis, but I guess we should all just suffer for the sake of a few foreign owned companies that have mostly dug their own grave

Meanwhile I would be cheering for either a solar farm or nuclear power station being built, preferably build both!

After a day of pulling max ~1.2g on circuit, I find random bruises all over my body from where I hit myself off the cockpit on track. After Brands Hatch in a KA, I was battered from the doing the compression at the bottom of Paddock Hill over 100 times. And this is still nothing compared to F1.

As the analysis starts of the Gorton and Denton result, I wanted to flag some aspects that my experience yesterday suggests are being over or under-played

(Caveats - I went to Longsight, Gorton and Denton town centres and spoke to as many people as I could, but it was mostly during the working day)

Post a banger that's not in english - Doesn't feel that hard when thanks to introductions through the likes of Kanako Ito, most of any given playlist I have is not in English.

Anyway, here's one I got to see live, which was very fun youtu.be/fwzRR6Bsro4?...

3 Days in... Seoul | The Modern Ancient Capital YouTube video by NCW Travel

And if you missed what I think is the best travel video I've ever done (even if YT doesn't think so), catch up on my vlog of 3 Days in Seoul youtu.be/pUsa38JKdg8

Now that Akiba Miata has your attention, the video of my New Year's trip to Hokkaido is now on YT, to go with the Seoul vid that only the cool people saw. youtu.be/QcJRYtg46DM?...

yep, even if that's true for my two cars (because the manual is the race car 😄), these people show their ignorance with these sort of statements. Come to europe and get served some depressing mid tier SUV as your rental and that will kill that illusion straightaway.

This is immediatly what I thought of, modern american drives reasonable car, fellow americans are somehow impressed, everyone else fails to see what's noteworthy (and inevibly you get the copycats outside the US which are even sillier)

So by some minor miracle the 14.5h flight didn't actually feel that long and on the train home, which is all working very well. Except for the *expletives* who brought a not quiet child into the quiet
coach. I'm pretty sure you would be arrested in Japan for this. Praise noise cancelling headphones

And after a few chill days in Sapporo, back in Seoul, flying home tomorrow to a UK that is somehow nearly as cold as here. Tteokbokki is the cure for cold though, the Koreans have this down to a science.

In catching up yesterday, missed what I was actually up to yesterday, visiting Otaru. The obvious day trip from Sapporo is obvious and is a pretty neat place. 24mm lens working well for both landscape and aquariums!

Unfortunately not, though our special Akihabara correspondent will be returning next week for a few days to scour if there is anything left

But also I just got this for £8.40, so it's definitely not a crisis

It's not much, but I'm finding most meals are closer to 2k than the 1k that I seemed to get away with last year.

While this has proven to be a silly time to travel, as all of Japan are also on holiday this week, at least the Christmas/New Year's decorations are pretty. Also random cat statue in Asahikawa.

Food continues to be excellent, even if I'm sure eating out has gotten more expensive in just a year and a half. It's still cheap thanks to the weak yen, but not the absolute steal it was last time.

We have discovered that snow is one of the few things that can disrupt Japanese trains. Though we're talking "end of days blizzard will delay your train by 2hours". If the UK got the same there would be panic buying and cannibalism, forget train delays.

I enjoyed the Onsen town of Noboribetsu more than I thought. Would definitely visit more Onsen towns, I've been converted.

Anyway, I the last few days have gone from Tokyo (read Akihabara) to do a lap of Hokkaido to now end up in Sapporo for a few days. Akihabara is still cool.

Either I didn't notice as much the first time, or Japan has really gone to town in the last year in personifing things.

(yes three of the examples are in the same city, but I've seen more, even Akiba Softmap has one now, that one is long overdue mind)

So in this and my trip to Japan last year, I saw a lot of temples. Suguksa in the morning when the sun hits the front of the building is the winner, it literally glows in a way that the photos can't convey.

Temple staff seemed happy that a tourist had come early to appreciate their temple!

Also, I have seen KFCs and even a Popeye's here, how the hell do they stay in business? Even that Korean chain I went to had ~8 varieties of fried chicken from crunchy to saucy and anything in between, as well as tteokboki and other Korean essentials. Having KFC here is like Domino's in Italy.

Korea Tip: While food is not as cheap as Japan, if you pay what you think is a normal amount for a meal in the UK, you get enough food and drink for two people. Up shot of this is I have half a bottle of Soju left to help put me back to sleep!

Some may say Namsan is an overrated tourist trap, and they are probably right. But it has its moments. (and getting there really isn't as bad I thought)

First impression of Seoul: Lights are pretty

yeah, for one that is clean or not repaired on a driveway that is what it is. And if you wanted the 1.7 they are not that expensive to drop in, certainly cheaper than welding a chassis. For how good the 1.7 is at top end with the VVT open, I'd say it's worth it, sensible option be damned!

@jmsf32.bsky.social see, inkonbini is a real word! (I got a lot of shit for calling larger grocery stores that in Japan)

US sets out stall for correcting 'Europe's trajectory' Landing Friday with the subtlety of a scud missile, the new National Security Strategy of the United States of America has quite a lot to say about Europe and us Europeans. And it ain't pretty, writes...

Landing with the subtlety of a scud missile, the new National Security Strategy of the US has quite a lot to say about Europe and Europeans, writes Sean Whelan rte.ie/b/1547676

Just over a month for me, this really is becoming an expensive habit...but have just wanted to go back since I came home last time.

As others have said, looking forward to the pics!