We are getting pretty lazy about updating the blog. Is there a way
for Word Press to generate nasty emails automatically if we don’t post
to the blog at least once a week? Things have been pretty crazy here
because of the legislative session, but I’m hoping to post more once
it is over in the beginning of May. Also, A-Yo and I are looking for
a used car for her dad that were can buy for cheap and ship to
Kazakhstan, so I’m thinking of starting a blog series on that
(mis)adventure. (For those that aren’t familiar with the used car
market in KZ, because people drove Soviet cars for most of the 1990’s
and only began buying new and used European and Japanese cars in the
mid-2000’s, quality used cars actually cost a lot higher than they do
in the US. So if you get a good deal on a car in the US, it is
actually cheaper to ship it to KZ and pay the various tariffs than to
buy a used care in KZ….more details in the upcoming blog posts!). I
might have some pictures from Russian Easter next week, so keep an eye
out for those.
Does anyone have any other ideas for interesting topics to post about?
Now that the Obama administration is settled in and Bush is gone, my
urge to write about news and politics is decreasing. And this
recession has gone on so long, I’m also tired of depressing economic
news. But since I’ve been posting so rarely, maybe I can get back
into some of those topics since I’ve had a good break. But in
general, the idea of a self-contained series of posts on one-topic
seems like a good way to generate content and keep motivated.
sneaky
Buying a car and shipping it to KZ sounds, frankly, like far more hassle than it’s worth. Maybe if you lived in Russia or China or possibly Japan this would be efficient, but iirc there’s a huge ocean between us and Central Asia. Surely it would cost a lot to move a hunk of metal across it just to save a few bucks.
It’s not as crazy as it sounds. I’ll show the math later.
Oh, I believe you when you say the math works. I just can’t believe it would be worth wading through post-Soviet bueracracy (in Russian! have fun with that. I doubt I could do it even in French) for a Honda.
People actually do stuff like this in African countries quite a bit. A popular thing for young French hipsters going on vacation was to drive an old Renault or something down through Spain to Senegal and sell it for a profit. They’re slowly changing laws to appease the colonial bosses at the big car companies and only allow the importation of late-model cars, but it’s still occasionally done.
You would win tons of points with your father-in-law, though.