Search: “ace”

I posted a video of the Aston Martin Rapide in Kuwait before but here is better footage. I can imagine they would have a hard time explaining to hotel security what the box with all the wires in the trunk is for. [YouTube]

Update: Here is an article to go with the video above that talks about the testing that went on in Kuwait. [Link]

With the hottest part of the day approaching and temperatures now exceeding 50 deg C, the next test involved leaving the car parked outside in the intense midday sun for an hour – typical of an everyday lunch stop.

Sixty minutes later, the team measured what’s called the solar load placed on the car during the break using a device on the roof. To give an idea of how hot the sun in the Middle East can get, a typical solar test in a factory is usually limited to 1,000kW/h, as values higher than this rarely occur in habitable climates.

But after returning from lunch, the laptop was reading a peak value of 1,100kW/h! [Source]

Thanks AndyQ8

Office Depot has finally opened at the Avenues and I am kind of disappointed. I expected the place to be much bigger and have more stuff but at the moment they have a little of everything which I guess is ok for a shopping mall branch. They really need to have a much bigger place if they want to compete with the likes of Mogahwi. On the bright side at least we have a new franchise in Kuwait.

Update: I got the following response from the Office Depot marketing team:

In the future, we will have stand alone stores that will be much bigger in size having a bigger range as well as smaller stores that will have a limited selection focusing on stationery and small office supplies. Our focus is on offering the customers all they need in one shop at competitive prices, good customer service & an excellent shopping experience. We started with the Avenues store mainly for individual consumers however we will service business clients for that store as well. Our future plan is to open business targeted stores as well & in 2010, we will also launch our catalogue that will have the full range of products from all categories.

For more information, you can email us at [email protected] or check www.alshaya.com
If you want to receive a sms or email whenever we do offers, you can fill your info here https://www.alshaya.com/OfficeDepot/

It doesn’t exist simply put. Actually maybe at some hotels like Gefinor Rotana who always seem to improve their service every time I stay with them but in the majority of places just forget about customer service. I was at a large local supermarket chain for example tonight which closes at 10PM. At 9:45PM a woman announcer came on to tell everyone they close at 10PM and everyone should proceed to the cashiers. They then proceeded to shut off all the lights leaving just a few on. Then the employees started all leaving. I was at the cold cuts section waiting for the guy to finish my order when another employee came over and told me to proceed to the cashiers. Like WTF?

I took these today with my Nikon D90 and 50mm 1.8/f lens. I was freelensing with the lens held the wrong way round to get the macro ability. No retouching, just some minor color color grading. The yellow flowers were growing from a white plant which I hadn’t seen before.

Update: Added some more. Also I’ve placed some typography (NIN lyrics) on some of the shots to help bring out the picture.

Marzouq sent me a link to this today and I can’t believe its true. It seems some places like Kempinski Hotel in the Mall of Emirates are asking people to sign waivers which say that if you get food poisoned they are not responsible. Freaky. [Link]

Desert Kings 2 Jokers are back with a new video which now includes water activities. Personally I prefer the faster paced original video. [YouTube]

If I want to learn how to fly is there a place in Kuwait where one can take lessons? A flight school?

I got an email from the owner of a new boutique called Twist telling me about these BlackBerry covers they have which I found interesting. The covers are hand made using a technique called decopatch. This makes every cover unique with no two a like. I am not sure if they make them in Kuwait themselves or they’re made outside but I like the idea. She didn’t mention how much they cost but hopefully its something reasonable. If you’re interested they have a Facebook page with pictures of some of their covers and contact information [Link]

I’ve been eating healthy for nearly 3 months now and so far I’ve lost 5KG dropping my weight down from 89KG to 84KG. As my height is 186cm that puts my BMI at 24.3 which is where it should be. Keep in mind I wasn’t planning on losing weight with my diet, I just had to stop eating some types of food due to my acid reflux problem and the weight loss was just a bonus. I am still eating whatever I want I just have stayed away from two things, fried food and fast food. It was difficult in the beginning because I used to have fast food for lunch every day but once I found a replacement things became much easier. I no longer feel like eating junk food, I actually can’t stand it now.

I’ve already posted about two places which I’ve started eating at, Salad Creations and Macaroni Grill. Another place I’ve started going to is Nando’s. I passed by the first time after they started advertising on my blog and since then I’ve started popping in once a week for lunch. I haven’t tried many dishes there because I’m hooked on their Chicken Burger. They have 4 types of marinated chicken, I tried mild the first time but it wasn’t too spicy for me so I took it hot the second time and now thats how I always have it. The chicken is grilled which fits in my diet and the dish comes with a side order of your choice. I tried the corn kernels (pictured above) but I didn’t like it, my favorite side order is their coleslaw which is really good. The dish is KD2.250 which fits nicely in my daily lunch budget. Sometimes I have the Perri-Perri Hommous which is hommous with their spicy sauce, also very good. I think thats for KD1.500. Anyway they’re located at the Avenues in the back near Macroni Grill and Chili’s.

There is another place I have lunch at often and want to post about but I am worried if I do the place will start getting more packed and they might increase their prices so I am still thinking about it.

Kuwait for Kenya is a LoYAC initiative made up of young Kuwaiti volunteers focusing on the overall youth development in Kenya. This year, Genan Dashti, Amna Hussein, Dala AlFuwaires, Sara AlDirbas, Faisal AlShawa, Willy Mathew, and Dari AlHuwail traveled to Mombasa and were able to achieve the following:

Child Development Center (CDC):
Installing and fitting a new kitchen and dining hall

Mombasa Youth Counseling Center (MYCC):
Upgrading the HIV laboratory and VCT center

Goodwill Academy:
Providing student’s desks and chairs

The above video is a summary of this years trip to Kenya. Their website which is still under construction is located [Here]. You can also find them on Facebook by clicking [Here]

I think its really great what they did and I hope they get all the support they need for future trips.

My home network is just a total mess. Everything could be working perfectly and then suddenly in a blink of an eye the whole network would crawl to a halt and crash. Just like that for no reason. I just spent the afternoon shifting from a wireless network to a wired one and what a headache that was. The hardest part was trying to find a 22 meter long black ethernet cable. I looked all over Hawalli walking from shop to shop and only found one place that had a black 20 meter long one and it was his last piece. Also picked up two Linksys 8-port switches and everything seems to be working fine for now.

The 20 meter cable cost me KD3 while the Linksys 8-port switches cost me KD6.750 each.

The Kuwait Bookshop has been around for a pretty long time and although its not a Barnes & Noble it does have a pretty decent collection of books and magazines. If I am not mistaken I think it actually has the largest collection of books and magazines in Kuwait. Because its an old bookshop they have a lot of older books that sometimes can be pretty interesting. The bookshop is located in the basement of Muthana Complex and its a very quiet and cozy place with friendly and informed staff. There is a lot of parking which is a plus. Their phone number is 22423876 in case you need to ask about a book.

According to a reader Saied, the whale shark thats been stranded at Marina Crescent for a week now was saved. They were able to place the whale shark onto a marine parachute bed like device and then pull the whale shark out to sea where it was then set free. Around 15 divers took park in this rescue which lasted around 9 hours. Saied will be sending me pictures and once I get them will post them here.

Update: Got the pictures, check them out below. Thanks Saied!

Henry Surtees, 18, the son of motorsport legend John Surtees was killed in a “freak” accident during a Formula Two (F2) race. You can see the accident in the video above, a car crashes into a side barrier and one of the tires flies off and bounces towards the track and hits Henry in the head while he was racing. If he was just a bit faster or just a bit slower the tire would have missed his head and hit the car. Extremely unlucky and very very sad. [YouTube]

I wasn’t planning on getting the new iPhone 3GS anytime soon since the prices in Kuwait are currently astronomical, but I was just checking Safat and noticed a Kuwaiti blogger thats living in Australia is selling the officially unlocked iPhone’s for a pretty decent price:

Unlocked iPhone 3GS 16GB
KD275 (shipping to Kuwait included)

Unlocked iPhone 3GS 32GB
KD325 (shipping to Kuwait included)

I ordered the 16GB version since I don’t really store ANY music or videos on my iPhone and the price between it and the 32GB is pretty big. I actually have the original 8GB iPhone and I have like 6.5GB free so 16GB is more than enough for me. I already sent the money to the blogger and she placed the order for my iPhone and passed me the tracking number. I should get it in around 2 weeks, can’t wait!

If you’re interested in the new iPhone here is the link to her blog. [Link]