Category: Personal

Around two months back I got diagnosed with Acid Reflux. The doctor gave me a months supply of some purple pills called Nexium which really helped me out a lot. But, I didn’t want to live on pills for the rest of my life so I decided to eat healthier and not take any pills. I haven’t had McDonalds, Hardees, Burger King or KFC for 2 months now, the longest ever. I’ve had burgers at Slider Station maybe twice in this period and once at Burger Hub (not a good experience at all). I haven’t really experienced any major acid reflux since except for this one occasion when I over ate at Caesers but that was sooo worth it.

Anyway one thing a ton of people online recommended I try for my acid reflux is organic apple cider vinegar. Supposedly a table spoon or two mixed with water can fix my acid reflux and a ton of other health issues. I didn’t believe it but figured I would try it since a bottle of organic apple vinegar at Sultan cost only KD1.800. Well I’ve been using it for a while now and it actually works. Now supposedly you are supposed to take it every morning and every evening but honestly it tastes like crap. I only have it if I feel a bit uncomfortable and then I fill up a table spoon of vinegar with a bit of water and drink it quickly like a shot. I actually tried drinking a shot of vinegar without water but it was a killer.

Surprisingly this does work for me. One drink right after dinner and I don’t have any kind of discomfort when I go to sleep. I figured I would share this easy remedy since it worked for me. I won’t link to any one article regarding this but if you just do a search in google for the phrase acid reflux organic apple cider vinegar you should find a TON of information.

Update: Actually here is one link with some info. [Link]

Back in April I was checking up on my domains and realized I had one domain missing called t20.org. So I checked up on it and it turned out the domain had expired and I had forgotten to renew it. I was really pissed off but now I am even more pissed off because I just realized the domain could have actually been worth some money today.

There is a new version of cricket that’s become super popular recently called Twenty20. Twenty20 cricket is also know as T20 cricket. SUCKS!

When I travel I wear what I call my travel watches. They are cheap digital watches which no one would want to steal in case I get mugged (don’t ask). For the past 2 years I’ve been using my Casio calculator watch but I recently decided I wanted a watch that could at least tell me the temperature. So after a bit of searching I decided to get the Timex Skiathlom. Its a very rare and strange (i.e. ugly) looking watch from the late 80’s. I used to have one back in 1990 and I figured I would get one. I had forgotten the name of the watch but after a bit of help from a Timex forum I managed to find the watch on eBay in excellent condition. It cost me around KD10 which isn’t too bad. Since there is barely any information on this watch online, I decided to scan the manual and take a clear frontal shot so that if anyone searches for this watch in the future they will find at least some info.

So if you’re interested in the Timex Skiathlom owners manual and a high resolution picture click [Here]

Ok this might sound like a strange subject since its about a pen but a few weeks back there was a free pen that was attached to a magazine I received. I don’t remember the name of the magazine but I trashed it and kept the pen. Today I needed a pen and grabbed the free pen randomly from my pen collection on the desk and I was completely surprised with the result.

Although the tip looks like a regular ballpoint pen when writing its super smooth and pretty thick. The result looks like it was written with an ink pen with varied color shading in places where your pen passed through faster or slower. The pen is called the Uni-Ball Gel Impact, I have the blue one but will definitely be getting a black one. And this ends my first and last post about a pen… maybe. [Link]

I ordered a Jason Markk premium sneaker solution set and it just got held by Aramex as unacceptable material. Turns out they won’t ship liquid material I now have to send it back, sucks!

Yeah its a long name but it helps with the geek factor. I’ve been wanting the Oral B Triumph for some time now but the local dealer never got the one I wanted which comes with the Smart Guide.

What is the Smart Guide? The Smart Guide is the little device that’s pictured above. Your toothbrush connects to it wirelessly and transmits various information about your brushing technique to help you brush properly while also making it more fun. First off it tells you how much time to spend on each quadrant of your teeth before shifting to the next one. It also tells you if you’re applying the right amount of pressure onto your teeth or gums by flashing a warning when it thinks you’re being too rough. Finally and most importantly, when you are done brushing correctly you get a smiley face on the Smart Guide as a reward. The live feedback system while brushing made me want the Triumph since I like information even if its coming from a toothbrush.

The price of the regular Triumph is KD42 in Kuwait after discount but it DOESN’T come with the Smart Guide. On Amazon the Triumph WITH the Smart Guide is for only KD34. I picked up the KD50 special edition version which comes with 2 tooth brushes and 2 Smart Guides, one for me and one for Nat which saved me a bundle. Will post a more in depth review once I get to use it for awhile.

Oral B Triumph 9900 Toothbrush with Smart Guide KD34 [Amazon]
Oral-B Triumph 9950 2 handle pack with 2 Smart Guides KD51 [Amazon]

I was supposed to post this once I got back from Amsterdam but totally forgot about it. This is just a follow up to my Archos 7 review which I posted awhile back. I used the Archos extensively on my way to and from Amsterdam on the plane. Its a 6 hour trip and I spent the whole time watching movies and shows on my Archos. The screen is 7inches which is pretty big so with the help of a headphone splitter Nat was able to comfortably watch whatever I was watching on my Archos.

One feature that drove me towards the Archos 7 was the advertised 10 hour battery life. I figured I would get around 8 which is enough for long flights except I managed to get nearly 11 hours worth on a single charge! After watching videos on my Archos for the whole trip back from Amsterdam, once I got to Kuwait I managed to watch a few more episodes of Battlestar Galactica before the low battery warning came on. Thats simply incredible.

I also want to mention that I didn’t face any kind of issues with the Archos on the trip. My flickering back light issue seemed to have fixed itself and I didn’t encounter any crashes or freezes. So I can now confidently recommend this device to anyone who is looking for the perfect travel companion.

160GB Archos 7 is for $272. [Amazon Link]
320GB Archos 7 is for $412. [Amazon Link]

By the way there is also a smaller version called the Archos 5 which sells for $280. Its the same as the Archos 7 in every way except the screen is a 5inch and the battery lasts around 5 hours. [Amazon Link]

I go to Macaroni Grill quite often and mostly because of their garden salad with sweet Italian dressing and the grilled salmon dish.

Although I started going there because of their 2,430 calories spaghetti and meatballs dish, the grilled salmon quickly became my favorite dish. The fillet is covered with a savory honey glaze (which rocks!) and is usually served with orzo pasta but I have them swap it out with mashed potatoes instead.

Macaroni Grill is located at the Avenues, outside near Chili’s.

Update: I recently got food poisoning from Macaroni Grill (from the fish according to them) and so have completely stopped eating there.

I just had my endoscopy procedure. My appointment was at 7PM at the International Clinic. At 7:20 I finally go in and got prepared for the procedure. By 7:45PM the doctor was still not there and I had been waiting on the bed with a needle in my arm and I was getting fed up. I told the nurse if in 5 minutes the doctor doesn’t come remove the needle and other stuff connected to me cuz I wanted to leave. Its not like its an exciting procedure that I really want to get done and I can go do it anywhere else. Finally doctor came in and I don’t remember much after that. I ended up going to sleep and waking up a short while later with Nataly and a friend next to me. I was told the procedure didn’t work because the salad I had for lunch was blocking the way. Now I have to go back tomorrow and do the procedure again.

Now I tweeted the whole process with pictures on my twitter account. I only couldn’t tweet after I fell asleep but the before and after is all there for your viewing pleasure. Check it out on https://www.twitter.com/mark248am

It seems my eating habits have caught up to me because it turns out I’ve been diagnosed with acid reflux. What this basically means is I have to change my eating habits and the biggest change will be no fatty or fried foods which currently makes the big chunk of my diet.

This doesn’t mean I won’t have burgers anymore, it just means I need to cut down on my daily intake of junk food. Now thing is I don’t like a lot of dishes and the dishes I do like aren’t usually healthy and I am sure many of you will relate to that. But, I’ve decided to try my best and work on a new healthier lifestyle and with that I am going to start looking for alternatives that hopefully won’t be breaking my bank. Kei for lunch is healthy but if I am going to have it everyday its going to be one expensive lifestyle.

As a start to this new lifestyle I passed by Salad Creations for lunch. I passed by before and had a chicken wrap but I didn’t like it simply because I find cold chicken gross. Today I had the Turkey BLT wrap and combined with the thousand island dressing it wasn’t that bad. I still would prefer a quarter pounder with cheese over it but that wasn’t really an option. Salad Creations has a bunch of ready to order salads and wraps but you can also create your own. They are located in Baitak Tower which is in the same building as KFH and X-Cite Electronics in Kuwait City.

From now on every time I find a new tasty healthier alternative to my regular junk food lunches and dinners I will post about it here in hopes that other people will benefit from my post. I like flavor and sauces and I am not trying to lose any weight here but just trying not to have the common fast food meals. Recommendations for me to try out are welcomed of course!

I have a confession to make, when I see a KFC ad on the street I feel like having KFC, when I see a Hardees flier in the newspaper I feel like having Hardees, when I read about food I want to have whatever I am reading about and thats what happened to me earlier tonight. Although I had a Smoke House burger for lunch, I was reading my favorite hamburger blog called Hamburger America when I read about how ketchup in burgers is for kids and how mustard is the way to go. I am a big fan of ketchup in my burgers but I wanted to try it with just mustard so I decided to pass by Johnny Rockets and ordered a cheese burger with just mustard. Turned out it was really good and I think I might be having my burgers like this more often. No lettuce, no tomato, no onions, just cheese and mustard. If you’re a burger fan check out Hamburger America, he’s got tons of nice burger shots all over the blog. [Link]

I passed by the Salmiya clinic in the morning to get the H1N1 flu paper I got from the airport signed. It was my first time there and I have to say the place is disgusting. Can’t believe that’s actually a medical center, it looks more like a big kitchen or bathroom. I even found a big dead bug on a dirty and stained floor, gross!

Anyway went to the proper department where this woman with a really large book took down my name and travel information. She asked me if I was sick, I told her no so she told me to come back on Sunday and that was it.

Got this camera for only KD2.5 from Amsterdam. Its a waterproof 35mm camera which I thought would be perfect to take while jet skiing this summer.

I’ve been checking out FREITAG bags since 2006 and I finally got one today. Since every single bag is a unique design I always had a hard time finding one I liked. Today I decided it was now or never and ended up getting one that should match everything I wear. If you don’t know what FREITAG bags are click [Here]

Is it only me or does anyone else also think are there a lot of mosquitoes this year?