Search: “about the blog”

For those of you who didn’t know this already but there are a ton of other Kuwait based blogs out there. One way you can check them out is by using 248PM.com. Its based on Safat except its got a cleaner and simpler layout. Using 248PM you can stay up to date on the latest posts by other bloggers in Kuwait who cover a lot of interesting topics. So check it out. [Link]

I don’t eat at home since I don’t know how to cook nor do I want to learn how to cook. I know how to make the basics which are sandwiches, omelets, burgers and cookies and I don’t see a need to learn how to make other dishes.

Since its ramadan all restaurants are closed till like 5:30PM, this means when I am done with work at 3 I have over 2 hours before I eat. The thing is I can’t go out to eat at 5:30 because my riding lessons are from like 5 to 6:30. Thats why I have to eat at home.

Yesterday while shopping at Sultan Center in Salmiya I decided to pick up 2 packs of Kobe Burger, I have been wanting to try it for a long time now but since I don’t eat at home I found no need to get it. After picking up the burgers I picked up a packet of sliced American white cheese loaves, 1 white onion, a bottle of Heinz Ketchup and some burger buns. Nat didn’t want Kobe Burgers since she doesn’t like thick burgers so I picked up a packet of regular frozen burgers for her.

I have a Kenwood grill at home and I use it mainly to grill my burgers on and this is how I do it:

– I grill the burger for 5 minutes, flip it, let it grill for another 5 minutes, flip it, let it grill for another 5 minutes and finally I flip it one last time for a final 5 minutes.

– Once I am done I put a slice of cheese on the burger, leave it on the grill for another minute then I take the burger with cheese and place it on the bottom half of my bun.

– I then place it in the microwave for 10 seconds so the cheese can melt.

– I then put some ketchup on the burger and top it off with diced white onions

– I cover my burger with the top half of the bun and my burger is ready to eat.

I am sure Gastronomica is better at making burgers then me since if you check out his website you will notice all his meals are very gourmet like. Hopefully he will be nice enough to share a tip or two in the comments below but until he does this is how I make my burgers.

How did the burgers come out? Fanfrigintastic! I like my burgers well done and I was expecting this burger to come out dry but it didn’t. It was soft, juicy and tasted like something you would find at a posh restaurant or hotel room service. It was surprisingly very good and it turned out to be the best burger I ever made.

Now the biggest problem with the Kobe Burger is the price. Each patty costs KD1.250 which isn’t cheap if you compare it to other frozen burgers. BUT without getting into the taste or quality of meat please look at the picture above of the burgers on the grill. Do you notice the 2 large patties on the left? Do you notice the tiny patty on the top right? Guess which patty is your average everyday frozen one? These kobe burgers are big and thick. Kobe beef also comes from Wagyu cattle which are “renowned for its flavor, tenderness, and fatty well-marbled texture”. So yes KD1.250 is worth it specially if you have a passion for burgers.

From now on if I ever need to make burgers at home this is the only burger I will get. I can no longer have those crappy frozen burgers that come 8 in a pack. I have been spoilt. Final score is a 4.5 out of 5. I would have given it a 5 but they are a lot messier to cook then the regular burgers because these are bigger and juicier so they spray more grease. This means more cleaning for me which always sucks.

Found this video via Leilouta’s blog. Creative people having a lot of fun. [Video]

Today I got set up with an old 650cc Kawasaki bike. Since I was doing so well on the smaller 180cc bike I got moved up to the bigger one. I don’t like this new bike though, its too tall and feels weird. I had two “special” moments with the bike one of which was really scary and strange.

I was turning a curb with the bike going a bit quickly when for some reason instead of pressing the brakes to slow down I pulled on the clutch, then when I realized my mistake I panicked and turned the throttle for more power.. I don’t know why I did that instead of pressing the brakes but my next move was even worse… I let go of the clutch. After that everything went really quick and blurry, I just remember I put my two feet on the ground, then front wheel of the bike lifted up and I did a wheelie and then somehow I managed to control the bike like a wild horse, I pulled it back under me and continued riding. I was in like total shock cuz I should have been thrown to the floor.

The second moment I had with the bike was when I was coming to a stand still and I don’t know what happened but I lost balance and the bike fell down on its side. The problem is this bike was big and heavy so to put it back up was really difficult, but I managed without any help.

Today was Nat’s first lesson, I can’t say anything about it because she threatened to shutdown the blog if I do.. so you can imagine how her lesson went.

Another reason to choose Qualitynet over Fasttelco.

Update: Here are some more sites that were just blocked:
MySpace.com
SomethingAwful.com
TheSuperficial.com
SocialiteLife.com
Jewaira.wordpress.com Local blogger, other wordpress.com sites not blocked

Fuzz a blogger posted in the forum about how the 777 emergency service failed his uncle. According to Fuzz his uncle had a heart attack on Thursday and his cousin was the only person with hus uncle at the time and so his first reaction was to call for help by dialing 777. Problem is no one ever picked up. He tried calling them over and over and over but no one picked up the line.

How could no one be there to pick up an emergency phone call? A quick search online shows this has happened atleast one other time. CyberRowdy another blogger tried calling 777 to inform them of a safety problem when a traffic light at a major intersection stopped working. He called them 8 times and no one picked up. Another member in the forum posted that his Aunt passed away last year even though 777 did respond. According to the writer when the response team arrived they refused to touch his aunt because she was a woman and so did not perform CPR on her. They didn’t even help get his aunt into the Ambulance!

I am sure there are more examples where 777 failed to answer and the thing is, even if they don’t answer only one time that is still a MAJOR problem. Personally we used 777 once here at the office and the response time was fast so I myself never had a problem with 777. But, if there comes a time where I need them I would probably want someone to drive me to the hospital instead of waiting for 777.

Fuzz’s uncle passed away on Thursday because no one at 777 picked up the phone. Wouldn’t it have been better if the KD200 given out to every citizen was instead used to improve something as important as the medical service in Kuwait? Instead of donating money to rebuild Lebanon wouldn’t it have been better to first fix an important problem like the 777 emergency department?

Spy shots atleast.. [Link]

I complain too much, anyone who visits this site often will know that. I complain so much that its actually become part of my sites identity and thats not a good thing because I don’t want to be known as Mark, the guy who complains a lot. Not only that but my blog is also starting to get me in trouble.

So far in the past year my boss at work for example has been contacted four times by different companies I had complained about complaining to him about how I have been complaining about them. Luckily, my boss has been very understanding plus these issues just keep getting him more intrigued by this blog thing. But, I have also been pushing my luck.

For me, my blog world is a complete separate entity from my work world. But in reality they are not separate entities because I am not anonymous. I am the same person that goes to work every morning and also posts here at night. I chose not to be anonymous.

This is why I have decided I will no longer be complaining about large multimillion dollar corporations. You can call me a sell out, you can call me a chicken but in the end of the day you are not in my shoes. The blog is only a hobby and its not worth me losing my job, getting sued or getting arrested over. I just went through my blog and deleted a lot of posts which I believe at one point in the future can get me in trouble with the lawyers. So if anything is missing, now you know why.

Say hello to the new nicer me…

A drag race between a souped up Smart car and a Ferrari F430. [Video] #

More info and pictures after the jump. [Link]

Funny commercial for SportsCenter featuring Steve Irwin. [Video] #

Two years ago I read somewhere that Ewan McGregor was going to ride a bike around the world. I didn’t think much of it then and totally forgot about it until a few weeks ago Marzouq mentioned Long Way Round on his blog. Turns out Ewan McGregor took cameras with him on the trip and he turned his adventure into a documentary. So right after I read Marzouqs post I download the series from the Internet and I watched it none stop for 2 days.

Long Way Round is a documentary that is 7 episodes long and it takes you on an adventure with Ewan McGregor and his best friend Charley Boorman on a 151 day journey from London all the way to New York. They headed East from London through a couple of countries in Europe, then they headed into Russia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia then Russia again followed by Siberia where they then took a plane to Alaska. From Alaska they then rode down to Calgary and then down into the US until they reached New York. It was a really incredible and extremely exhausting journey. Mongolia for example has only 80 miles of tarmac so the majority of their ride was on gravel and offroad.

It was really fun to watch the documentary and by the end of it you just want to quit your job, go out and buy a bike and then travel the world on it. I was really disappointed when it finished and I really wished it was longer because it felt like I was with them on their adventure. My final rating is easily a 5 out of 5. The only other series I have given a full 5 stars to is Band of Brothers so its not a score I give out easily unless its really worth it.

You can buy Long Way Round on DVD from Amazon

I just read on Kuwaitism’s blog that the English version of BBC World is now available in Kuwait on 100.1 FM. I used to listen to the station the whole time while I was in Lebanon on the frequency AM 1323. It was the coolest station filled with news, documentaries and interviews. Here in Kuwait I listen to VOA news on FM 96.9 but early in the year they changed their programming to focus more on educating people on the English language and its just really crap now. Can’t wait till I get into my car and try tuning to BBC World.

I was just checking the blog story from KUWAIT and he has a Kuwait Airways advert which says they won Best Airlines in the Middle East and South Africa. That didn’t sound right, I figured maybe since the headline of the ad says “Our last victory” it could be a victory from the 80’s or something. So, I went and checked the Kuwait Airways website and guess what, I found a press release from late May stating they won Best Airlines in the Middle East and North Africa! How did that happen? They must have been the only airline that participated. Also notice their ad says South Africa but their website says North Africa.

Kuwait Airways ad on story from Kuwait [Link]
Press release on Kuwait Airways website [Link]

This is a cool advert for the board game Risk. Would be cool if there were other executions to this idea. [Larger Picture] #

update: thanks to Forzaq8, here are other executions [Link]