2:48AM - Entertaining Kuwait since 2003

I was at Sultan Center here in Beirut when I spotted these huge ass mangoes. They are the largest mangoes I’ve ever seen and I held my Blackberry next to them just so you can get an idea of the size. They’re from Cote d’ivoire by the way.

It took a lot of my time but I finally finished my very own iPhone app. I actually launched it last week on my twitter page but I didn’t officially announce it since I wanted to get some feedback and fix any bugs that I might have missed first. Good thing I did since I spotted a silly bug the first day it got released and quickly released a version 1.1 update a couple of days later. Now the version has gone up to 1.2 and I’ve been able to introduce a few nifty features which I felt helped round off the app and make it launch worthy.

Originally when I went about creating the app I didn’t know what the use would be. Already the blog was very viewable on the iPhone because of a plug-in I had installed that formatted the site to work perfectly on the iPhone so if my app did the same thing it would be useless. I kept thinking about what else I could do and bit by bit I started adding stuff to it that made it more useful. Here are the things you can currently do with my iPhone app:

– Check my latest posts
– Check the latest comments on my blog
– Check the latest posts in the forum
– Check my twitter
– Check my YouTube channel
– Check latest posts on Safat
– Check latest Kuwait news from Arab Times
– Check the weather via the Kuwait Meteorological Center (contains more details than the default iPhone weather app)
and my favorite…
– Get the latest traffic updates via #q8traffic on Twitter

These are just the features I have currently but hopefully will be adding more stuff down the line. If you want to download the iPhone app search for 248AM in the app store or click the following [Link]

Spotted my first twister ever today. I was on a photo shoot when we spotted the twister (pictured above) forming over the sea. The weather here in Lebanon has been extremely chilly and wet which sucks since I came with only t-shirts.

I am leaving to Beirut for a few days and will be back early next week. While there I will be carelessly indulging in an unlimited supply of Cadbury Chocolate Milk while having some of the best Nutella and banana crepes. Posting will continue as normal while I am there.

In the post below I was just testing to see if I could broadcast live footage and it worked! For the people who were able to catch my live act I was just broadcasting video of my dog sleeping on the floor so you didn’t miss out on much. I got this idea for live broadcasting from P0ach and wanted to see if there was an easy way to do it and it turned out there was. I signed up for a free account on ustream.tv and downloaded the iPhone app for Ustream called Ustream Live Broadcaster and thats it. All you need is your iPhone’s 3G connection or WiFi and you can broadcast live video from anywhere to the blog. So next time I witness a fire or fight I can just broadcast the video live for everyone to watch. Pretty cool!

Update: This was just a test, [see here]

Two weeks back I posted that I ordered the Alpine iXA-W407 car stereo from Amazon along with all the parts I needed to get it installed in my FJ Cruiser. Originally I was planning to do all the install myself but I found a sound install place where the people who run it actually know what they’re doing. The place is called Zaharat Al Naseem and they’re located right across from Al Raya. I originally went there to have them solder some wires together but I was pretty surprised when the person I was talking to knew was an SWI-JACK was and what a TR7 did. Not only that but the guy actually spoke proper English and they were in the middle of installing a rear view camera on another black FJ. I decided to give them the whole install project and so I left and went back after I was done with work so they could install everything.

They didn’t have any issues soldering all the right wires together (check out the picture above) and they got it all right from the first try. I had ordered an adapter from Amazon that would allow me to install the Alpine in the FJ but the adapter I bought turned out to be really crap. Turns out they had the right adapter I needed and the price was just a KD1 more than Amazon after shipping. After installing the stereo I had them install my extra 12v socket by the fuse box and run my Garmin GPS charger up inside the dashboard. I had a whole weekend of installation planned and they were able to do it all in under 2 hours. I didn’t have the rear view camera the first day but once Aramex delivered it the next day I went back and they installed it for me in under 30 minutes.

If you want to get your sound system installed I highly recommend them. There are a bunch of places in front of Al Raya so make sure you go to the right store.

Update: They’ve moved, here is their new location [Google Maps]

Here is a quick review of the Alpine iXA-W407.

It works great with the iPod as expected. I previously had the Alpine iDA-X001 installed in my Wrangler and one annoying thing in the X001 was searching for an artist. It doesn’t get much better in the W407. You can’t search using an onscreen keyboard to type an artist name for some reason instead you need to scroll down to the artist u want. You can scroll down by letter as in if you are looking for Smashing Pumpkins you can press “page down” when u r at A and it will take u to B and u keep pressing till u get to S. A painfully long process which I do not recommend while driving. Once you get to S you then have to scroll down regularly by pressing “down” untill u get to Smashing Pumpkins. Takes forever and not practical at all.

On the bright side, that’s the only negative thing I found. The multi display screen is very cool (see picture above) which basically allows you to display up to 4 different kinds of information on the same screen. I Just wish there were more widgets to add out of the current 6 including calculator and sound adjustment which are not pictured above. What I would have liked to have seen is a weather widget (could use my iPhone’s internet connection for the date) or an RSS reader.

The W407 has Bluetooth built in. Once I get into the car my iPhone connects to the Alpine automatically and whenever I want to call someone I bring up the phone number on the Alpine screen and call it. When I get a phone call I can either answer it on the Alpine or if I want privacy I can talk directly on my iPhone. Now all thats pretty normal but my favorite thing is the fact that I can stream music from my iPhone to the Alpine using Bluetooth. Like my iPod and the Radio I have Bluetooth as an audio source. When I select Bluetooth as a source whatever sound my iPhone makes I hear it on the cars sound system. Other than listening to your iPod’s music wirelessly or playing games and have the sound blast out of the cars sound system, another cool feature is the fact I stream music from the web over 3G and onto my car stereo using bluetooth. I’ve got the iPhone app WunderRadio (which I’ve posted about before) and I use it to tune into radio stations in Lebanon and stream them into my car. I don’t have any problems streaming the Lebanese radio stations since they broadcast in EDGE but Ministry of Sound UK for example streams as 3G and after a minute or so the music cuts off and I have to buffer for like 10 seconds which is very annoying. But, I am going to be upgrading my iPhones internet connection from 600kb to 14.4MB at the end of the month which should solve my problem.

I really like the iXA-W407 and if I had to do the purchase all over again I would in a heartbeat. The final score is a 4 out of 5. The lack of a decent search feature and the fact there aren’t any extra widgets I can download and install are the reasons it’s not perfect. If anyone has any specific questions regarding that Alpine unit or the install just ask it below and I will try to answer it. Regarding the PAC TR7, it worked perfectly with the W407. With the TR7 install I can watch videos and change the stereo system settings while I am driving. Without the TR7 I would have to put the car in PARK and raise the handbrake. I also had the PAC SWI-Jack installed which allows the Alpine to be controlled with the FJ’s steering wheel buttons. The PAC SWI-Jack works on a number of cars and with a number of sound systems.

I ordered all my items from Amazon, here is the list with links:

Alpine iXA-W407 Digital Media Station $554.48
Alpine HCE-C107D Rear View Camera $176.99
Scosche TA2076B 2007 Toyota FJ ISO/Double DIN With Pocket Kit $19.58
Scosche Stereo Wire Harness Toyota FJ Cruiser $12.31
PAC TR7 Multi control interface bypass module $23.26
PAC SWI-JACK $42.90
Total: $829.52

There is a underpass in Paris that’s only 2.4m in height and a lot of truck drivers ignore the warnings and try to drive through only to have their trucks ram into the ceiling. Someone with a lot of free time set up a blog for this underpass where they postpictures of trucks after trying to go through. [Link]

Not sure when this video was taken, looks like sometime during the winter. [YouTube]

Today I heard a really freaky story but one that ended with a happy ending. A receptionist I know nearly got kidnapped by a taxi driver. She took a cab to go home but instead the taxi cab driver started driving in a different direction. He then closed all the windows and locked the doors and started shouting at the receptionist whenever she said anything.

So she decided to SMS for help since she didn’t know how the driver would react if he saw her on the phone. She sent an SMS to the emergency number 112 with the taxi driver details which she got off the back of the seat. She told them she was being kidnapped and she needed help. 112 then called her up and straight away told her to pretend she’s talking to a friend so the driver doesn’t suspect anything. They told her to stay calm and that they would send help. They asked her to SMS them her location and to keep them posted by SMS on which road they were on. She did that and 112 were able to set up a police check point and catch the taxi driver.

It’s really scary the stories you hear about taxi drivers in Kuwait. Awhile back I read in the paper where a bunch of taxi drivers were capturing woman and taking them to this building where they would be locked up and forced into prostitution. Luckily for the receptionist she managed to escape. I was really surprised that 112 actually receive and react to SMS’s. I think that’s incredible and the speed and the way they reacted to this situation was spot on.

Great job!

Posted by Fahad AlYehya | Core Fitness – Kuwait

Core Fitness has been in business for close to 2 years. We’ve jumped into the market with very high risk, doubtful but hopeful. We originally started out with a much larger area (1,000mtr2) and slowly trimmed it down to roughly 300mtr2. Our risk was high as it is, so might as well shrink a few things or two.

In order to sell the service being sold, we needed believers, people who can witness results and talk about it to other people.  And so, we brought in 10 clients with different goals, interviewing them one by one before and after our prescribed 7 week cycles. The amount of questions had no answers. With all my knowledge, I could not convince any of them that our 20 minute workouts achieved anything. I even pulled in science to explain that it’s more than possible to benefit from 10 minutes of what we were doing. I don’t blame anybody since common sense tells us that the more time we put in the better results will be.

Finally realizing that no amount of words can explain what we’re trying to sell, I simply gave up and said “Guys, go try it out. If you don’t like it you’ll get your money back.”

“That was intense!” Client #1

“HARDCORE!” Client #2

“…….”Client #3. His blood-sugar level crashed. A diabetic who didn’t eat a single calorie since breakfast.

“Huuuuh, huuuh, huuuuh…man…gi..give me a few minutes to catch my breath!” Client #4. He puked 10 minutes later.

The comments above were what our clients said after their first 20 minute workouts. Thankfully, they’ve all signed up and witnessed great results. However, this proves nothing to the people who have yet to enroll at Core Fitness. After interviewing numerous clients throughout Core’s tenure, I’d like to think that I can finally explain why our 20 minute workouts work.

Short and Sweet

The first obvious question that pops to mind is the 20 minutes. What can we possibly do in such a short time? If you think about it, that’s exactly it. We realize that 20 minutes is a short duration and we also realize that in order for a client to achieve results is by pushing him beyond his physical potential, which involves a lot of boot-camp style training and attitude. Secondly, pushing someone to the brink of insanity in 20 minutes involves some sort of motivation, hence the personal trainers responsible for pushing you towards your limits.

A reader sent me the footage above which he captured on his way to work. A shop on Canada Dry street that stocked tires went up in flames. Hopefully no one was injured. [YouTube]

Thanks Atif!

Update: Here is some more info and pictures [Link]

Update2: In addition to the pictures, Q8Geeks.org just uploaded a better video of the fire which you can check out below.

[YouTube]

I recently purchased a Garmin GPS device from Amazon, it was a really good deal costing me under KD40 with shipping to Kuwait via Aramex. I know most of the roads in Kuwait but every now and then I need to go somewhere I haven’t been to before and a GPS device would come in handy. Turns out its actually a lot more handy then I was expecting since a forum user (Burhan) made me realize I could use the device as a radar detector.

All you need is a Garmin GPS unit and the following file which you need to download and copy onto it [POI File]

What this file does is tell the GPS unit where all the speeding and red light cameras are located. When you get near a radar camera the device alerts you with a beep. If you’re driving below the speed limit you get a gray box alerting you of the camera ahead and just a single beep. If you’re driving over the speed limit you get a red box alerting you that you’re speeding and the device beeps frequently until you either pass the camera or drop your speed below that roads speed limit.

It’s very cool and practical and it cost me under KD40. If you’re interested in the same device I have which is pictured above, its called the Garmin Nuvi 255 and it’s available on Amazon for around KD30. [Amazon Link]

I heard rumors ages ago that they would be introducing wide license plates and it seems the rumors came true because Mrs F over at Tidbit Du Jour spotted one and took a picture. It’s about time! [Link]