2:48AM - Entertaining Kuwait since 2003
Supposedly 3 passengers on a flight from Mumbai to Kuwait didn’t have any seats to sit in and were made to stand for the whole flight. Kuwait Airways is denying this incident took place. Now I am not sure how reliable this news is since according to the news agency that reported this, Kuwait is located in Africa? Very weird. [Link]
Don’t know how you’re going to impress your friends this National and Liberation Day? How about with back-lit stickers! [YouTube]
Animal Friends and K’S PATH will be hosting its bi-annual Shelter Open Day where everyone is invited to come out, visit with the animals and learn all about their rescue and care. Visitors will be able to walk the dogs, cuddle the cats, play with the puppies, brush the donkeys, watch the baboons and so much more. The weather is beautiful, so come and make a day of it.
When: Friday 29 January, 2010, 11:00am to 3pm
Where: Animal Friends Shelter and K’S PATH sanctuary in Wafra
Cost: Free, although we certainly appreciate donations
Notes: Please leave your own pets at home and refreshments will be available for sale.
Huge Yard Sale — antiques, collectibles, book worm’s treasure trove, gently used infant clothing and toys, gently used adult clothes and shoes, Indonesian teak furniture, home wares, gourmet kitchen gadgets, dishes, pots and pans and so much more. Come on over and rummage through the goods and you might find a treasure. All funds will go to support Animal Friends.
When: Saturday 6 February, 2010, 10:00am to 3pm
Where: Fintas, Block 4, Street 11, House 29
Notes: Refreshments will be available for sale.
I just found an article with pictures of The Avenues Phase III and it looks completely different from Phase I and Phase II… and in a good way. The picture above is one of the shots and the caption talks about how it was designed to look like an outdoor space while the picture below is supposed to be a section that’s modeled on a traditional Kuwaiti souk and would contain an exhibit for the rich cultural heritage of Kuwait. Check out the article for more details and pictures. [Link]
Extremely funny. Watch it quickly before YouTube pulls the video. [YouTube]
I got an email yesterday from someone at Aston Martin and one thing led to another and I was invited to test drive one of their cars. So, after work I passed by the dealership which is located in the same place where Auto City used to be before they closed down. When I walked in I was completely surprised at how big the dealership was. According to them its actually the largest Aston Martin dealership in the world which I thought was pretty cool. The dealership is divided into three floors. On the top floor they have a collection of vintage Aston Martins including a very rare station wagon and an Aston Martin DB5 similar to the one from the James Bond movie Goldfinger. One the ground floor they have a large display of new cars and also a small Aston Martin boutique while the basement contained some pre-owned vehicles. After the tour I was finally led to my test vehicle, the Aston Martin Vantage. Sigh… what a beautiful car.
After a quick tour of how everything works I took off for a drive. The first thing I needed to get used to was the speedometer. With my Wrangler, when the speedometer needle is up in the middle it means I am going 100KM/h. In my Z4 when the speedometer is up in the middle it means I am going around 140KM/h. In the Aston Martin when the needle is pointing straight up you’re going 300KM/h. So I was driving thinking I was going maybe 60 or 80KM/h because the needle was still very low but then I took a look at the number next to the needle and I wish I could say how fast I was going but I don’t think I can without getting into trouble. It was very cool. Another thing I liked about the car is that it’s pretty quiet and comfortable when driving normally but as soon as you hit 4000RPM it turns into a beast like a werewolf under a full moon. Actually I think that’s what I liked most about the car, its a very comfortable day to day car when you want it to be and then step on it and you’re suddenly in a loud and aggressive sports car. I now totally understand why Jeremy Clarkson loves the Aston Martins so much.
Just before I took the car back to the dealership I decided to pass by the Avenues parking lot to take some pictures. I wish I had the car for at least a day or even a weekend but I am not going to be too greedy. They did promise me that I would get to test drive their other cars as well. So maybe the DB9 next and then a DBS after that.
Anyway if you want to check out their cars they will be on display at the Concours d’Elegance which I posted about 2 weeks back. The Concours d’Elegance is going to be held at Marina Mall and Crescent from the 20th to the 23rd. The Aston Martins will be on display near Le Notre. It’s the first time the Concours d’Elegance is being held in Kuwait so don’t miss out.
Update: Forgot to mention but the One-77 was in Kuwait 2 weeks ago!
I love burgers and I’m glad my new nutrition plan includes burgers once a week because I don’t think I could have stuck to a plan that didn’t allow room for burgers. This past weekend I headed to 360 Mall for the Gulf Run 5 car show but first I decided to have lunch at The Meat Co. I had been wanting to try their burgers ever since my first visit but I never got the chance until now. I have to say, this was the hardest burger to review and I’ll explain why below.
I got to The Meat Co. early and decided to sit on the balcony overlooking Life with Cacao and Lorenzo. The friendly waiter gave me the menu and I flipped right away to their burger section. They had 6 burgers to choose from, the Classic Burger, the Cheese Burger, the Gourmet Burger (who the hell puts pineapple on a burger, totally gross), Rib Meat Burger, Lamb Burger and Chicken Burger. I went with the Cheese Burger although next time I will most probably go with their Rib Meat Burger and then maybe their Lamb Burger after that. I ordered my burger medium which is cool because when I first started this burger challenge I used to have my burgers well done but then as I started reading more about burgers and really getting into it I started having it medium well. To move to medium is a step in the right direction although I don’t think I would have a medium burger just anywhere.
The burger arrived and it looked beautiful. The shape, the size, the way everything was very tidy it just looked like the perfect burger. I took my first bite and in under a minute or two max I had finished the burger. It was the healthiest burger I’ve ever had and I’m talking about the actual beef patty here. It just tasted like it was made with really great quality meat. It wasn’t heavy, it didn’t have a bad after taste, it wasn’t fatty and it was very light on the stomach. It had the makings of a perfect burger which is why it was very difficult to review. There was very little flavor. It was lacking oomph which is why maybe next time I would get rid of the vegetables and put some mustard to see if that helps.
If I want to be extra nitpicky I would talk about how I am not a big fan of powdery buns but I in this case it didn’t bother me that much. My burger was very juicy and the bun didn’t have any trouble holding up, it didn’t get soggy which is always great. Speaking of juiciness, my burger arrived medium well instead of medium but that was fine. The final score is going to be a 4 out of 5. I would highly recommend it, it’s a near perfect classic burger. At KD5.500 its actually a steal.
The Meat Co. is located in 360 Mall
The cost of the Cheese Burger was KD5.500
Here are the burger places I’ve reviewed so far:
Applebee’s
Bredz
Burger Boutique
Fuddruckers
Hashi
Gaucho Gril
Gourmet Burger Kitchen
Johnny Rockets
Munch
Napket
Papa John’s Burgers
Prime & Toast
Ruby Tuesday
Slider Station
Sheraton Hotel
Smoke House
The Burger Hub
The Butcher Shop
The Little Oven
Wimpy
Just got back from my first 20 minute session at Core Fitness… it was grueling, really tough and I realized I am more out of shape than Homer Simpson. The scariest part was when it came to my last exercise which was for my abs. My trainer wanted me to do 150 different types of crunches, 150! I couldn’t go through with it, at 60 I was dead or at least wished I was dead. But, on a positive note, I didn’t puke although I was really close at one point. Anyway I got my stats and final diet plan which I will share with everyone below. Once I am done with my 7 weeks we’ll go back to these stats to see how much I changed. The diet plan below was created for me. It might look a bit strange but it was created around my daily routine, the places I usually go eat at and based on what I like to eat. I don’t cook at home so 90% of it is based on restaurant food. Before I share the stats and diet plan, here is a message from the owner of Core Fitness explaining what you will be seeing.
Mark is not fat. This may surprise a lot of you due to his hunger for really greasy food, but he’s actually good in respect to his weight and height. What we’re trying to do is achieve “re-composition”. Simply put, we’re exchanging fat with muscle. For an individual his height (6’1), anything below 80kg is too light. Our goal is to stay within the 80-85kg range, shed some fat and gain some muscle. Since Mark’s been inactive for a while, any short intense activity will suffice in order to reach his goals.
Nutritionally, his eating patterns were [slightly] healthy to begin with:
1) He ate breakfast early, but ditched healthy protein and splurged on McDonald’s pancakes and maple syrup.
2) He didn’t eat frequently, which in turn slowed down his metabolism.
3) He ate dinner early due to the acid reflux he was suffering from.Like I said earlier, Mark isn’t fat; he just needs a metabolic boost. Not much was done in terms of nutrition since he already has been taking care of himself by avoiding heavily greased foods such as french fries. Core Fitness does not have one nutrition program that everyone can use; we sit with each individual and review their daily routines. Many people actually eat right, but fail in terms of nutrition timing which include eating breakfast too late, skimping on metabolism boosting snacks or eating one meal a day. I’ve based the diet on Mark’s preferences, which is what we accomplish with all clients.
Lastly, we’ve enrolled Mark in a Fat-loss program that includes weight-lifting, body-weight training and aerobics; all packaged into 20 minutes of training.
Regards,
Fahad Khalid AlYehya
I should have posted this earlier but completely forgot. Anyway British Airways have a sale until January 19th. Ticket to London is KD157 including taxes and KD254 to New York which is what I am probably going to book for myself. [Link]
I spotted an Alfa Romeo 8C on the Gulf Road today and it looked stunning. Usually some cars look really sexy in pictures but then when you see them in person they’re so so but in this case the 8C looks gorgeous in the pictures and even better in person. I know the Alfa Romeo dealership shutdown in Kuwait so I am guessing the guy imported the car so I wonder where it gets serviced? Then again, if you can afford to import a $230,000 car you probably fly in a mechanic.
Just a reminder, today (Saturday) is the last day of the Gulf Run car show at 360 Mall. All the Gulf Run cars are displayed around 360 Mall on the outside with a few inside. The raffle for the Vespas will also be held tonight at 8PM. It’s a great chance to check out the cars up close plus the weather is great so see you there.
I’ve had the Canon G11 for just over a month now and after using it practically on a daily basis. I did a lot of research before choosing to go with the G11 and I don’t regret my decision. I have mostly great things to say about this camera and will go through the different categories one by one.
Battery Life
I got my Canon G11 on December 11th and I charged it that same day. Its now January 15th and I still haven’t charged the camera since then. Not only that but the battery meter is still showing that the battery is full. This is perfect because it means when I travel I don’t need to pack the charger or buy an extra battery.
Usability and Feel
The camera doesn’t fit in my pocket so I spend most of the time either carrying it in my hand or in my bag if I am carrying one. It comes with a strap but it isn’t long enough to wear across the shoulder just around the neck which isn’t practical for me. The camera feels very solid and it’s also a bit heavy so it gives it a very durable feel. I love the dials on top and I use them a lot. I always keep the camera on “P” (Program Mode) which automatically adjusts the aperture and shutter speed but control the exposure (make the shot brighter or darker) I use the dial on the left to control that. On the right there are two other dials, one for the ISO which I also use a lot and the second to swap between the different programs. Other than the regular programs which you find on most cameras like aperture priority, shutter priority, automatic mode etc.. there are two custom modes called C1 and C2. These two positions contain your custom camera settings. For example I have C1 set the camera to “P”, change the format of the image to JPG, the dimensions to wide shot and the color setting to vivid. That’s the mode I use mostly when taking shots for my blog. C2 on the other hand sets the camera to “P” but then changes the image format to RAW+JPG and at full resolution (not wide). I use that setting in case there is a beautiful shot I want to capture at the highest quality. There are a ton of other settings you could also set for each mode as well but I won’t get into them here. I really wish my Nikon D90 had a custom mode feature and dials on top to control the iso and exposure.
Image Quality
It’s great for a point and shoot camera but no competition next to a good DSLR. The noise at fairly high ISO’s is pretty decent and I find myself often using ISO800 with no worries about the image coming out noisy with ISO1600 also being very usable. The only issue I have is with the white balance. Sometimes when indoors the images come out a bit too cold for my taste and that’s actually the only issue I have with the camera.
Swivel Screen
One of the coolest features in the camera for me is the swivel screen. It allows me to take pictures without having to hold the camera up to my face. I also like the fact that when the camera is not in use I fold the screen to face inwards which protects the screen while in my bag. For people who don’t like the swivel feature they can rotate the screen towards them and fold it in and keep it that way like a regular camera.
So overall I really love this camera. There were a lot of occasions where I wished I had purchased the Panasonic GF1 but in the end I realized the reason I got the Canon G11 is to use for my blog and when I travel and the GF1 although a great camera isn’t as practical (and also twice more expensive). I highly recommend this camera to anyone that is looking for small highly controllable and fully featured camera. I am going to give it a 4.5 out of 5, it looses points for the white balance issue I faced and the fact that it doesn’t fit in my jeans pocket.
If you’re interested in this camera it’s available in Kuwait for KD228 but I purchased mine from Amazon for just KD127.
Here is the link to the Canon G11 on Amazon [Link]
After my session at Core Fitness I passed by the Al Falah car wash in Kuwait City where the Gulf Run cars were getting all nice and shiny and having their sponsors decals stuck. I took a few pictures which you can check out below and a video which I will post later be.
[YouTube]
I was at the Al Falah car wash for the Gulf Run event when I noticed that the Al Tijaria building or what I used to call the monolith now has blinking lights that also change color. It looked like it was ready to party. [YouTube]