Search: “ace”

Back in February I posted about the upgrades I am planning to do for my Wrangler. In case you missed that post I am planning to give the Wrangler a 3.75 inch lift so I can fit 33 inch tires. Soon after that post I purchased the 5 tires from Hankook and ordered my black steel rims from the US. Then after that things kinda slowed down since I ended up traveling a lot and I decided to order the lift once I was back in Kuwait for a while.

Last month after coming back from Munich I placed an order for my full lift kit from DPG Offroad (pictured above) but since they didn’t have all the parts in stock I hate to wait a month for them to get the parts. Today I got an email informing me that all the parts are in and my kit is ready to ship. Tomorrow I will be contacting DHL here in Kuwait since they will be picking up my lift kit from DPG in the US and ship it to Kuwait. They offered me the best rate plus they would pick up the package from DPG themselves which is really practical. Hopefully I will have my lift by the middle of next month and then have AutoTech install it for me. I can’t wait!

This is the worst news ever and I can’t believe I just found out about it. A long time ago (like 6 years) before I started this blog I used to MoBlog. Basically I used to take pictures with my PDA, a Sony Clie UX-50 back then and upload them onto this site called TextAmerica. I had hundreds of pictures there ranging from my random lunches to interesting places around Kuwait. I actually preferred the pictures I had taken for my TextAmerica blog more than the ones I did later for my Miskan.com project because I felt they were more natural and random.

Just a few moments ago I went to my old Moblog usurp.textamerica.com and realized the whole site is gone. Turns out TextAmerica shutdown in December and I just found out now so i wasn’t able to back up my images and posts! This is depressing, soo many memories and moments which I had captured are now all gone.

LoFat now have a dine-in branch open and its located in Kuwait City. I didn’t pass by the place but its supposedly near Holiday Inn next to Burger Bar. I wonder if Burger Bar is still open, I haven’t heard about them in a while and I don’t know anyone who goes to the place. Last time I went I didn’t have a good experience. My burger challenge should hopefully continue this weekend, I think I have like 6 more burgers I need to try!

Thanks Ansam!

After a very difficult decision I went ahead and purchased the Sony DSC-W300 digital camera. It was a difficult decision to make because the other camera options I was considering were all exceptionally good. I really wanted the Canon G9 for its SLR like features, the Ricoh GX100 for its strange look and the fact it took beautiful film like shots while the Sigma’s image quality alone was enough to tempt me to buy it. In the end though I REALLY needed a camera that I could carry around in my front pocket and I wouldn’t be able to do that with the three cameras I just mentioned. That brought down my choices to the Fuji F100fd, Nikon S600 and the Sony W300. The Fuji’s interface and usability I read would be a problem, the Nikon S600 lacked in certain features and I tried the S700 version at a Nikon dealer and didn’t like the feel of it so my final decision was to go with the Sony. I own two other Sony cameras at the moment, the Sony N1 and the Sony cult favorite the F717. Both cameras really exceeded my expectations and I never had problems with them so it only seemed fair I go with another Sony.

I purchased the camera from a store in Muthana Complex. The Sony dealer didn’t have the camera in stock and they were selling it for KD124.900, Carrefour also ran out of stock on the camera but they were selling it for KD123.900. But, I found a Sony reseller in Muthana who had the camera in stock and I managed to haggle my way and get the camera for KD118 with a 1GB Sony memory stick. The store if you are interested is located on the Mezzanine floor of Muthana between Andalus and the official Sony store.

First impressions so far is great. I’ve only taken shots in my office under the neon lights but the white balance did a good job. I also don’t need to turn on macro mode for macro shots, the camera automatically turns it on for me which is a nice little feature. I also shot inside at 1/30 with fairly shaky hands and the steady shot feature automatically came on to help keep my pictures sharp. The camera turns on and is ready to shoot in like under 2 seconds. Powering down takes around 3 which I actually find annoying since with my older Sony N1 I would hit the power off and then straight away put it into my pocket. Now I need to wait a second or two longer which means I have to change my habit. Other than that the only problem I can see at the moment is with the rear screen. With my Sony N1 the rear screen had a raised border around it which helped protect it from scratches, with the W300 the screen doesn’t have this border which makes it scratch friendly. This will only be an issue for me for the next week or two while the camera still has its “new smell” after that I won’t care much about it.

I will try to take a bunch of shots today in various conditions and post my second impressions. For now though I think I made the right decision. The camera has a ton of features and most importantly it fits into my pocket easily.

FYI: The reason I didn’t purchase the camera from Amazon was because after taxes it would cost me around KD100 then if you include shipping it would be around KD105 which isn’t a major saving. I would rather pay KD118 here, get the free memory stick, have a 1 year warranty and support a local store.

Update: This is a random shot I took outside on my way back from lunch. You can download the full untouched straight from the camera image by clicking [Here]. I shot this at the 8MP setting and not 13MP.

Update 2: Here is a shot of Nats MacBook Pro’s keyboard. It was shot at 13.6MP in macro mode using iso 1600. I am really impressed, keep in mind this is a P&S camera not a DSLR. The JPG is 4.38MB so its better if you right click and save as. [Picture 4.38MB]

I enjoy photography a lot and I have a whole range of cameras each serving a different purpose. The problem with most of my cameras is that they are just too big to carry around all the time. While in Munich although I had a lot of fun shooting with my old Nikon FE the fact remains it weighed a ton and I had to carry it around in a shoulder bag.

I currently have two small point & shoot cameras but they’re pretty outdated. I have a cheap Canon A530 camera which I keep in the car and then I have a Sony N1 which I am currently taking when I’m traveling. Problem with the two is that A530 doesn’t fit into my pocket and the Sony N1 doesn’t do well in dim lit situations. Thats why I’ve decided to search for a replacement. What I would like to have in my perfect camera is the following:

– Small size
– 6MP and up
– Bright lens
– RAW capabilities
– Great battery life
– Great image quality
– Great high iso performance
– Camera controls on top (like SLR’s)
– Character
– Metal body
– Needs to look good
– No budget (ok not Leica M8 budget)

If I was going to get a large DSLR camera I would get the Nikon D300 in a heart beat. Its a very easy decision since there aren’t that many high end DSLR’s to choose from. With a point & shoot camera its a different story, there are like a hundred different cameras to decide from and each has a different advantage. I’ve been doing a lot of research the past few days and so far the following are the cameras I am deciding between:

Canon G9
Great camera, shoots RAW, solid build but has decent high iso performance and I don’t think the camera fits into my pocket so it kinda kills the point.

Ricoh GX100
Its got a retro look, very solid build, shoots RAW, bright lens and great image quality. Problem is RAW shots take 5 seconds to save and has poor high iso performance which is a killer for me.

Sigma DP-1
This camera also has a retro look and also has a solid build. It uses the same image sensor as larger DSLR’s which means the image quality is fantastic. It has great high iso performance but the camera costs more than double the price of all the other cameras I am checking out and it only has a fixed 28mm lens which although I am a fan of isn’t really practical for my purpose.

Fuji Finepix F100fd
Not really a Fuji fan but this camera has excellent low light capabilities. Iso goes up to 3200 and the 1600 iso is pretty usable judging by the pictures online. But, I think this camera is really ugly, lacks character and many people have complained about its interface.

Sony W300
This camera and the next one below are fairly conservative choices. The W300 is a great size, looks good and has a durable black titanium body. It also has a pretty decent high iso performance and was the camera I was going to get except for the fact many users have complained about poor image quality.

Nikon S600
The cheapest camera from the bunch. Has excellent image quality, great size and looks plus a very fast start up time. Main problem with this camera is the shutter lag and no manual option.

Which camera am I going to go with? I have no clue at the moment. Its a tough choice and each camera has its advantage, I will probably do a bit more research and then decide what to get but so far I think I am leaning towards the Ricoh GX100. Once I decide I will post again here.

Update: Ok, the Ricoh GX100 which I had my mind set on will NOT fit into a jeans pocket [Picture]. I thought it was smaller than that. So now the G9, GX100 and Sigma DP1 are out of the picture. The Ricoh though looks like a great camera made for photographers. I was flipping through pictures taken by the GX100 on Flickr and all the pictures feel very film like. [Flickr Pictures]

Back in May I posted about the new digital signs that are popping up all over the place and a local blogger now has a picture of whats looks like a sign undergoing testing. The question still remains what are they going to be used for?

When I was in Munich traveling on the highway they had similar signs with the speed limit on it. The speed limit changed depending on the amount of traffic, when the sign was off I think it meant you had no limit but when the sign was on it meant follow whatever speed limit is displayed until the next sign. I doubt its going to be used like this here but to just display the speed limit like in the picture above which everyone already knows anyway is a waste. Anyone know what these signs are going to be used for or anyone have a theory?

Thanks DLC

Update: I replaced the original picture I posted with a better one I took myself on the Gulf Road.

Matt Harding became famous by accident awhile back when a video of him dancing in front of landmarks in different countries became an overnight success. Now Matt is back with a new video thats been in the making for over a year. This time around he visited and danced in 42 different countries and one them was Kuwait. Its a really cool video thats sure to give you goosebumps. [YouTube]

Thanks Shab!

Update: Here is a link to Matt’s journal when he was in Kuwait. I honestly thought he was a nice guy but after reading his journal I now think he’s a jerk. Watching the video above you get a feeling of world unity and peace but then when you find out the kind of person Matt really is it suddenly makes sense why the world is at war. [Link]

Animal Care is a local online pet shop that sells pet stuff including toys, food and accessories. They even deliver items to your doorstep. I think its a great idea specially since the only place that sells decent stuff is Sultan Center and they always seem to run out of stuff. [Link]

Thanks Rayboy

Two days ago the most beautiful goat in the world contest was held in Saudi Arabia. The goat pictured above won first place in what has to be the strangest beauty contest I’ve ever heard of. If you follow the link you can see more pictures from this event, doesn’t anyone else think these are some of the weirdest looking goats? [Link]

I am not a big fan of diet drinks but I have them every now and then to help ease the guilt, like when I am having the 2,400 calorie spaghetti and meatballs at Macaroni Grill, I feel more comfortable eating it when I am drinking a diet coke. The problem with Diet Coke or Diet Pepsi is that they taste like crap. I tried Pepsi Max when that came out and I also really hated it since it tasted worse than the diet versions. A week ago though I decided to try Coca Cola Zero since it looked cool and now its the only Coke I’ve been drinking. I don’t know what the advantages are, I don’t know how many callories it has or whatever, I just know it has no sugar and that has to be better than the regular coke. Now best part is that it tastes like the regular coke if not better. They might as well have replaced the regular coke with zero and I doubt anyone would have noticed.

Awhile back I wanted to sell my car and decided I would do a little experiment by listing my car on Q8car and also on Q8showroom and see which site ends up getting me a buyer. Well I just sold my car today but I didn’t get to try my Q8car vs Q8showroom experiment.

Thursday my car went up on Q8car and by Friday I had two people call me and pass by to check it out. By Saturday I got two more people call and one more person passed by. Sunday I got a call and the guy told me to meet up with him at Al Reemal Al Dahabi in Shuwaikh which is this huge ass place that checks cars. I think all the tests took around two hours and in the end the potential buyer got a printout with all the positives and negatives in the car. After that it was a done deal and we shook on it.

So as you can see I didn’t even have time to list my car on Q8showroom. Even today while doing the car paperwork with the guy I had a guy call me asking me about the car. Before I placed the car on their website I had read somewhere that if the car isn’t anything too weird it usually sells within three days and I guess thats true.

I paid KD10 to list my car on Q8car and that includes four pictures and the duration is “until its sold”. For KD5 you can list the car for one month and you get to post just one picture.

I’ve been using my Eee heavily for 5 days now and I figured I would post a second impression. As I mentioned in my previous post, the Eee is tiny and thats why I am loving it so much. Its very light weighing around 900grams which makes it very easy to lug around and pick up with just one hand. I really can’t wait till my next business trip so I could carry this with me.

The Eee version I got was the Linux version which comes with a 20GB hard drive. The system OS is very easy to use because Asus have a very simple and basic interface setup by default. When you first turn on the computer it takes less than 30 seconds, maybe around 20 to boot up. You are then greeted with a colorful and simple icon based interface with tabs on top. If you want Internet apps you click on Internet, if you want work apps you click on work, very easy. Since I wanted a bit more control I installed the advanced interface which is similar to most Linux and Windows based systems.

Here are some quick tidbits: I’ve gotten used to the keyboard but the problem is I can’t type properly on other keyboards now! The battery life is around 4 hours with normal use while the speaker volume is surprisingly louder than my Macbook which is cool and the screen is really sharp and very viewable from a lot of angles. Its also as bright as any other laptop screen. Overall I can’t find much to complain about. Although its a 900mhz celeron the Eee is very snappy with most programs launching nearly instantly.

My only issue with the Eee I guess is that when its running on batteries the CPU speed drops to 630mhz to save power and I haven’t found a way to turn this off. Other than that I have no regrets whatsoever with this Eee, I would definitely recommend it.

Update: Just an FYI, I haven’t seen the Eee 900 in Kuwait. All the ones I’ve seen here are the 7inch screen version, this one is 8.9inch. I ordered mine from Amazon for around KD140 and paid around KD8 for shipping to Kuwait with USWS. It didn’t get held in customs, probably cuz the box is really small. Here are links to the Eee 900 on Amazon:
Asus Eee 900 with Windows [Link]
Asus Eee 900 with Linux [Link]

My Wrangler’s battery died today while trying to leave the Avenues. Its not the first time this has happened, the first time was two years ago when I was trying to leave Souk Sharq. That same day I posted about it on my blog on how Jeep’s Road Assist was amazing, that was on June 4, 2006. Thats nearly exactly two years later (off by just two days) except this time Jeep’s Road Assist wasn’t there to save me. The Road Assist number wouldn’t connect me to anyone, I would call and it would ring twice then I would get a beep and the line would die. I tried over and over and it wouldn’t work.

I didn’t even have jumper cables so I just walked back into Avenues and headed to Carrefour and bought some cheap ass cables for like KD1.300 (they sucked, need to get a better pair). When I got back to the car I asked the parking security if they had a plan for a situation like this, I figured they might have a tow truck number or maybe an emergency jump starter kit but turned out they didn’t have anything of that sort. Instead the security guard was kind enough to help me find a car that was willing to help me jump start my Jeep.

After jump starting the car it turned out if I removed my foot from the gas pedal the car would die on me instantly so after restarting the car again I had to drive with two feet, one on the brakes and the other constantly holding down the throttle. Luckily I didn’t have to drive too far, I was planning on taking my Jeep to service it at the dealer tomorrow so I just drove the car to the garage which was just 5 minutes away. Once I parked the Jeep outside and removed my foot of the gas pedal the car died again, perfect timing. I found a cab passing by and just took it back home. Tomorrow will pass by the dealer and have them replaced my battery. I am kinda glad I purchased the extended warranty back then. What I now regret is not actually going ahead and purchasing the Emergency Jumper Starter which I posted about in March!

Read at Work is a website full of stories ranging from short ones to classic which you can read while at work. Now the cool part is that the interface of the site is designed to look like you are working so when you enter the site it launches in full screen and resembles Windows XP. Then when you find a story you like it will open up in what looks like a powerpoint presentation. That way you could read your story while pretending you are flipping through a presentation. Its brilliant! [Link]

One thing I haven’t mentioned yet about Munich is the weather. It’s FREEZING, the temperature during the day is like 9 degrees and ever since I came its been raining a lot. Thats why when I passed by Puma in the evening and found their official Volvo Ocean Race gear I had to get a jacket. Pictured above is the official PUMA Race Team jacket which has a Gortex shell, a high collar and a packable hood. I wore it on the way back home in the rain and it was just fantastic.

I also managed to find Adidas Jeans by Diesel. Diesel and Adidas teamed up for this new line of jeans and the Adidas Originals store next to my hotel had some in stock. I ended up getting the pair pictured above. I am having a hard time shopping in Munich since everything closes early (8PM). By the time I finish with work and decide to do some shopping I don’t have time. Even supermarkets close at 8!