Category: Personal

As you already know by now I am currently being sued by the Las Palmas Restaurant Company who own Benihana and Subway in Kuwait. They’re suing me over my review which you can read [Here] in case you missed it. Today was the second hearing and this is just an update of what happened.

During the first hearing Benihana submitted documents to back up their claim and my lawyer had requested time to review the printouts and the judge gave us one month. The documents submitted by Benihana were basically print outs of my Benihana review, my Benihana media round up post and a print out of my Facebook page.. actually not my page but what you see when you search for my name.

Today my lawyer presented documents to prove that when I had posted my review I didn’t have any ill intent towards Benihana or Las Palmas Restaurant Company and that my post was based on my experience which happened to be a negative one. The documents my lawyer submitted were print outs of previous posts in which I had spoken positive things about Benihana as well as posts in which I had spoken positive things about two other brands owned by Las Palmas which are Subway and Charley’s Grilled Subs. Their lawyers then requested from the judge time to review the documents but the judge refused and instead set a third court date for April 26th in which a decision will be made on this case.

I’m crossing my fingers…

Back in January I signed up to the Orbit ShowTime service and I although the signup process was very smooth I was worried their customer service would be problematic since when I had Showtime back in 2005 any issue I had they would tell me to pass by their main branch in Dajeej which was unpractical and annoying.

Well I ran into a problem recently with my Showbox receiver, it kept rebooting randomly every 5 minutes or so which was very annoying. I reset all the settings, upgraded to the latest software did whatever I could to try to get it fixed myself and nothing worked. I finally gave up and decided to give OSN a call, I was expecting them to tell me to take the receiver to their workshop in Dajeej which is why I tried to fix things myself but instead I was told a technician would come over on Monday (that was on Saturday). Sunday (the following day) I get a call from the technician telling me if I was free that day he could pass by. I was like no problem but did they tell you what my problem was? He was like you aren’t getting a signal. I was like no my Showbox keeps rebooting. He told me no problem he would replace it for me and a few hours later he did come over and swap my receiver with a new one.

Everything is working perfectly now and I didn’t even have to drive out to Dajeej to get my problem solved!

I’m still working out three times a week at Core Fitness, it’s been over a year now and since summer is around the corner the only way to look ripped at the beach and showoff my abs is to shed some body fat. At my best my body fat percentage was 14% but that was before the Benihana lawsuit and since then I think I’ve gone back up to 15 or 16%. My abs are currently hidden behind a layer of fat and to get them to show I need to be under 12% so I’ve put that as a target to hit by the end of this month. I don’t know if that’s possible or not but I asked Fahad for help and he’s updated my diet to help me reach my goal.

I’ve actually been on a diet for over a year now and for the past 6 months and I’ve only been eating grilled food for lunch and dinner with Friday being an eat whatever I want day. It was hard enough but this month it’s going to be even harder. I am no longer allowed to eat taouk for example or have tabbouleh or even munch down on olives. Instead for lunch and dinner it’s now the following:

Pick 1 Carb Source:
– 1-cup of White Rice
– 1 Baked Sweet Potato (no white potatoes)

Pick 1 Protein Source:
– 10 oz Chicken Breasts (not Shish Tawook)
– 10 oz Lean grilled or raw fish (hammour, white fish, tuna, squid, shrimp, calamari)

Salad
Bowl of greens (no tabbouleh, or any dressing… just raw greens!)

Sauces Allowed
Tabasco, Red Rooster or Yellow Mustard

This month is going to be horrible. I don’t think I’m even going to cheat on Fridays since after suffering the whole week I don’t think I want to ruin it with a big fat juicy burger or a mouth watering chocolate dessert! Will see if I can hit my target or not and post another update at the end of the month.

Update: Found a lunch meal that fit into my new diet, it’s the “Only Salmon” platter from Sakura Express. According to Fahad “The meal’s loaded with omega-3 and fish oil (which are both great).”

If you’re a long time reader you probably know that there is cookie flavor at Choowy Goowy called Mark&Nat. We had been invited by Choowy Goowy back in 2006 to create our own cookie and after experimenting with a bunch of different variations and trying them all out we ended up with Oreo cookies which got labeled Mark&Nat.

So last night I was browsing the web when I suddenly spot the most amazing thing ever… an oreo stuffed chocolate chip cookie. It was simply a full oreo shoved inside a chocolate chip cookie, I quickly posted it on 248PM and then sent a BBM to my buddy Essa of Choowy Goowy and I was like dude you got to take an oreo cookie and shove it inside a regular chocolate chip cookie and send me some. I then made sure I didn’t eat any carbs all day today and once I got back home from my gym I found a bunch of oreo stuffed cookies waiting for me. I had 3 cookies and I think they were REALLY good. I am now trying to convince him to actually produce them and sell them as the new and improved Mark&Nat oreo cookies. So if you’re reading this Essa, please sell these cookies!

I think I’ve said this before but in case I didn’t here it is… I hate 3D movies. I think 3D is just a gimmick, it doesn’t add anything to a movie and I find it ridiculous that we need to wear glasses to watch a movie. With that said when I heard Nintendo were releasing a 3D portable I thought that was just stupid. Now that I’ve actually spent time with the 3DS I can back that statement up.

Nintendo have managed to get 3D on the DS without the need for 3D glasses. The screen manages to display a 3D image but it only works at a certain distance and at a certain angle. Any position other than the perfect one will result in a blurry image. It’s also very difficult to get a perfect position since it’s a handheld and you’re going to be pressing buttons which moves the DS in your hands and out of the perfect viewing position. I was playing Rayman 3D which is a crappy game but since it has a 3D environment it was a good game to test out the 3D effect. Sadly, even when the 3DS is in the perfect position the 3D effect isn’t really that 3D. Nothing jumps out of the screen and it really wasn’t comfortable playing since I was seeing doubles the whole time. I kept fidgeting with the 3DS to get it into the perfect position and after awhile I realized I spent more time focusing on trying to get the 3DS in a perfect viewing position then I spent focusing on the game. It also messes up your sight, I am seeing double right now as I am typing this post because I was playing with the 3DS before I started typing here.

I personally think the 3DS’s 3D is going to flop in the same way the Nintendo Virtual Boy did. I can’t imagine anyone playing on the 3DS without getting a headache or double vision. Now I’m looking forward for Sony’s followup to the PSP, hopefully they won’t mess things up as well.

My Nintendo 3DS was a loaner from X-cite Electronics and if you’re interested in one they’re selling them for KD110. They have them in two colors, Aqua which is the one pictured above and regular black. They also have a few games now for sale as well with more coming in at the end of the week.

The past few days since I’ve been in Lebanon I’ve been watching a lot of movies at the cinema. Here is a quick summary of what I thought of them:

Unknown – Not bad, you think you know whats going to happen but then you get a nice surprise. I like Liam Neeson although the past 3 movies I watched he’s played a similar styled character which is becoming as annoying as Johnny Depp.

Battle: Los Angeles – This might have been a good movie if no one spoke in it. The cheesy cliche dialogue just ruined it for me and nearly put me to sleep a few times. The movie is like Transformers but without the Autobots, just the evil Decepticons.

The Adjustment Bureau – Watch The 13th Floor or Dark City instead.

[YouTube]

As most of you probably already heard, Wataniya Airways is shutting down their operations. I know a lot of you are fans of the airline and will be sad to see it go but I’ve got an even greater attachment to it. I was a part of the team that helped launch the airline and I’ve been working on the brand ever since. The first thing we did was launch the airline with a teaser campaign followed by the revealer and the TV commercial (above). That was back in December 2008 and you can find out the story behind the commercial and check out some behind the scene shots over [Here]

[YouTube]

The following year we released the second commercial (above) which I thought turned out very cool as well. It was just a really great experience working with the brand and they truly wanted to offer the people of Kuwait the best airline experience. Their terminal kicked ass, it was a lot cooler than the main airport terminal, it was cozy, the seating area was very tastefully done, they had free wifi everywhere, it was peaceful, no long cues and just very pleasurable. Their planes were also cool and the fact I could use my phone to check email, make a call or chat with my friends on the Blackberry was also amazing.

But, all good things must come to an end I guess. To me Wataniya Airways will end up being a great Kuwaiti brand that I will always remember just like Hungry Bunny and Pizza Italia.

I managed to get a hold of the new iPad 2 today courtesy of X-cite Electronics and I’m glad I did since there were a lot of questions I had which I managed to get answered after spending some time with the iPad 2.

The iPad 2 I got is the 3G version so the first thing I wanted to check is to see if the iPad was locked to AT&T or not. This time around there are two versions of the iPad 2 3G, there is the AT&T version and there is the Verizon version. The one I got was the AT&T version and it runs perfectly fine in Kuwait. I took out my micro sim from my iPhone 4 and placed it inside the iPad 2 and it worked right away and I was able to browse webpages and stream music from my favorite stations without a problem.

Now physically I was expecting there to be a lot more difference between the old and the new iPad but honestly I felt they were pretty similar. Sure the new iPad is 33% slimmer but it doesn’t feel that different to me (I’ve got big hands maybe?). I never felt the old iPad was actually thick so the fact that the new one is slightly slimmer is a bonus but not really worth upgrading from the old iPad. One thing I want to point out is the fact that I found it difficult to connect the iPad 2 to the keyboard dock due to the way the dock connecter at the bottom of the iPad 2 is on a curve. It took me a few tries the first time and I am guessing I would get better at it after a bit of practice.

The smart cover is pretty cool since it’s very minimal and easy to take off and put on. I didn’t like holding the iPad with the cover on but what’s great about the smart cover is you just pull it off to remove it so it’s very practical to put on and take off and when on it doesn’t add to the thickness by much.

Now I left what I think is probably the most important upgrade till the end and no it’s not the camera which I find useless but the new faster A5 processor. The new iPad 2 is a lot faster than the older iPad and games like Sim City and Red Alert for example run a lot smoother on the iPad 2 compared to the original iPad. Even when launching the apps the difference is very obvious as you can since in the video I recorded above (The iPad 2 is on the bottom).

If you still don’t have a tablet and are looking to get one I wouldn’t recommend anything other than the iPad (both original and 2). If you already own an iPad and are wondering if you should get the iPad 2, well personally I don’t think there is enough change to justify the upgrade. For me the only reason I might get an iPad 2 is if they come out with cool games that take advantage of the new faster iPad 2 processor but other than that I don’t think I would get one. Some people might need the camera or want the smart cover but I use my iPad to read magazines and play games and the original iPad will do both those nearly as good as the iPad 2. But a few months from now I will probably eat my words and end up getting the iPad 2 just because I’m an Apple fanboy.

You can check out the iPad 2 yourself since they are on display at the X-cite Avenues and Al-Rai branch. They are also taking orders and will be delivering them in a week or two. Here are the prices:

Ipad2-16GB-WiFi Black/White KD199
Ipad2-32GB-WiFi Black/White KD249
Ipad2-64GB-WiFi Black/White KD289
Ipad2-16GB-WiFi 3G Black/White KD259
Ipad2-32GB-WiFi 3G Black/White KD309
Ipad2-64GB-WiFi 3G Black/White KD349

As you already know by now I am currently being sued by the Las Palmas Restaurant Company who own Benihana and Subway in Kuwait. They’re suing me over my review which you can read [Here] in case you missed it. Anyway today was the first hearing and this is just an update of what happened.

My lawyer went to the court but I didn’t since it turned out I didn’t have to. At the court the Benihana lawyer basically stated their accusation which is the same one as the court order which is that I conspired with the company I work for against Benihana to benefit my company and their competitors which I mentioned in my post; Chocolate Bar, Maki, Wasabi and Pinkberry. They also submitted documents related to the case and now my lawyer has a month to study the documents and prepare our defense for the next session which is April 12th.

So there currently isn’t much to share other than that. Thank you everyone again for your support.

Note: I created a new category on the right which will contain all my posts related to the lawsuit.

On my trip to Dubai I decided to stay at EasyHotel. I had a good experience with them on my last trip to London so was interested to see how the hotel was in Dubai. What attracted me to the hotel was the fact rooms start at just KD7.5 a day (99dhms). Yes KD7.5 a day! I thought that was ridiculously cheap and specially for a hotel in Dubai. I looked for reviews online but couldn’t find anything and the only pictures I found were the PR shots. I was a bit worried to book a room but figured what the hell its only for 3 days so worse comes to worse it would be over quickly.

The hotel is located in the Jabel Ali free zone which is around 40 minutes from the airport and 30 minutes from Dubai Mall. I rented a car from the airport and headed with my GPS towards Easy Hotel. Even though the software on my GPS is the 2010 map it seems since the map got released the roads in Dubai changed because the GPS made me take the wrong exit and I spent 40 minutes trying to get back to the main Sheikh Zayed road. Once you find the hotel though its pretty easy to get there.

My first impression with the hotel was positive. The building was very clean and simple on the outside with ample parking underneath. The reception was also very clean with a few vending machines on one side and some computers connected to the internet on the other. I should mention this in case you didn’t know already but Easy Hotel is a no frills hotel in the same way how Jazeera and Fly Dubai are budget airlines. The rooms are cheap but that’s because you get just the basics and you pay for extra stuff. The Easy Hotel I previously tried in London was also extremely tiny (see review here) but if all you care about is a place to sleep at night then you really won’t mind it all.

The rooms at Easy Hotel Dubai are pretty big compared to the London branch. There was ample space around the bed , a flat screen tv (with just 4 channels), a small open closet with shelves and hangers. There was even a little desk next to the window and a small safe to put your items in. The bathroom wasn’t that bad as well, the sink was kinda small but the shower area was pretty big.

As I mentioned with Easy Hotel you pay for extras. For example the fact I wanted a room with a window.. thats an extra cost. If you don’t care about a window then you pay less for the room. TV remote? You pay for that as well (although we were given one for free), extra towels? you pay, Internet? you pay, you want your room cleaned? you pay, water? you pay, room service? its a vending machine in the lobby. Surprisingly I didn’t have to pay to park my car at the hotel!

But with all that I loved staying there and in the end my room with extras came out to just KD10 a night which is still incredibly cheap and this is DUBAI!!. The hotel was super clean, the Internet was fast and the staff were very friendly. From now on that’s the hotel I will be staying in when I fly there.

Things to keep in mind though, you need to rent a car since the hotel is 30 minutes away from places like Dubai Mall. There are no cabs outside or near the hotel so you would have to order one and I don’t know how long that would take. There is a metro nearby but not walking distance. There is also nothing around the hotel, nothing you can walk to. But, because the hotel is so cheap you can splurge on a rental, my Toyota Yaris from Budget cost me just KD15 a day with all the insurance, gas and crossing 4 electronic toll systems a day. Would I recommend EasyHotel? Yes I would.

Just an FYI, I’m going to be talking tonight at GeekFest about blogging in Kuwait and my Benihana lawsuit. I sadly won’t be there for the event but I will be presenting via Skype video. If you’re in the UAE and want to find out more about this event you can visit their website [Here]

I think they’ve arranged for a bus from Dubai to the venue twofour54 (hmmm) and there is more info on that in their Facebook page [Here]

I tried FlyDubai for the first time on my recent trip to Dubai. I booked everything the last minute and FlyDubai had the cheapest prices so I decided to try them out.

My experience with FlyDubai itself didn’t turn out bad. We started off on the wrong foot since when I tried to check in at the airport I had to wait around 20 minutes because the ticket staff lost the list that contains all the job occupations that can get a visa on entry to Dubai. That was extremely annoying and frustrating. Then once we boarded the plane I thought the interior was gloomy. I think its the color of the seats (brownish orange with a dark blue) made the interior look old. But I thought the uniforms of the flight attendants were cool and trendy plus they were also very friendly and polite. On my way there the seats didn’t have a TV screen but on the return flight there was a screen with a credit card slit. You could use your card to purchase movies or tv shows to watch (movie is 25dhm tv show is 5dhm). You could also order duty free and food items using the screen including alcohol.

Actually my only issue with FlyDubai is the airport they fly in and out from in Dubai. FlyDubai uses Terminal 2 which is one of the saddest airports I’ve been to (and I’ve been to quite a few). After falling in love with Dubai on this trip (mostly because of Dubai Mall and Burj Khalifa) I found the airport a step in the opposite direction. It was old, small, dark and had no source of entertainment whatever. The Duty Free looked very poor and the only restaurants available were McDonalds, a Kebab place and Costa. On the bright side there was free wifi at the terminal but after spending time in a very futuristic and modern city to end the trip in that depressing airport was an extreme let down. The airport sadly is a deal breaker for me which is a shame since everything else wasn’t bad at all.

I’m going to be in Dubai for the next couple of days and I won’t be taking my laptop so posting will be slow. Lets call it a small break. Will be back to Kuwait on the 2nd.

I know I haven’t mentioned anything about the Benihana case recently and thats not because they’ve dropped the case against me but because I’m trying to keep a bit of normality on the blog. Today though blogs around the world have taken my original Benihana review and reposted it on their blogs while twitter also lit up with supporters tweeting against Benihana’s actions. So, I decided to post a status update on the situation so far.

Yes, Benihana are still suing me

If you don’t know what all this is about here is a quick summary. Last December I passed by Benihana for dinner and then the same night I posted about my experience which wasn’t that great. The next day a person claiming to be the GM of Benihana commented on my post threatening to sue me for my review. A month later I got served with a court order, Benihana was suing me for posting a not so positive review.

After getting the court order and talking to my lawyer, I decided to share with everyone what was happening to me. Originally I had thought this lawsuit was just going to affect me but I quickly realized this lawsuit was bigger than me since the outcome of this case would affect all the bloggers in the region. The amount of support I started receiving from people was unimaginable. Bloggers and tweeters all around the world posted what they thought about this lawsuit and the media quickly picked up on it.

As of today the case still hasn’t been dropped by Benihana and I am still being sued by them. According to the court order they’re suing me for a yet undisclosed amount that will be over $18,000. I am not sure why they want my money and I really think this lawsuit is unfair. Being sued for a review that wasn’t even that negative is just ridiculous.

My court date is still scheduled for March 8th. Below are links to my previous Benihana posts. Thank you once again everyone for your support.

My Benihana Experience
I’m being sued by Benihana
Media coverage on Benihana post

Have you gotten your loved one a Shani today?