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Just a quick update, yesterday when Nat came back I played with her phone which is a K750i and I realized that the V3x interface is a lot faster. Going into the main menu and leaving it plus flipping through the options is a lot more responsive on the Motorola V3x.

How come there is no seating? In the old airport there were tons of places to sit down and wait but in the new airport the only places to sit are next to the restaurants. The problem is there isn’t enough seating there either. Since there is no seating elsewhere in the airport people flock to the tiny food court and order a coffee and hog the seats. So if you want to eat (like I usually do) you can never find a place to sit.

They should either add more seating all around the arrival area or expand the tiny food court by adding more chairs and tables.

Ok since I had a lot of free time yesterday I was able to discover the Motorola V3x inside out. I had a lot of time to play with it, customize it, change it etc.. and I am happy that I got it just still stunned by the operating system. The V3x operating system is weird, sometimes I feel that it is too basic while other times I marvel at its customizability. There are some things I don’t understand why Motorola didn’t simplify or make easier to use, its just weird but over all it reminds me more of the Sony Ericsson OS more then the Nokia which is a good thing for me.

A really cool feature in the phone which helped make my move over smooth is the fact that you can reorder the menu system. Since I am used to my Sony Ericsson K700 I was able to reorder my Motorola menu to match my K700. Meaning on my K700 when you first came into the menu the Messages option was in position number 5 which is the second row middle icon. On the Motorola it was by default in position number 7 which is third row left side. Using the Main Menu personalizing option under settings I was able to place the Messages icon in position number 5, Settings in position 12, Internet in position 2 etc.. This made my move to the V3x much smoother, I felt right at home quickly. Even under the Messages menu I was able to move the SMS Inbox up to position number 2 and move my Voicemail inbox down to position 3. I really love this feature.

The worst feature in the operating system has to be when changing the ringer volume. Even if my phone is on silent, even if the keypad sound is turned off, no matter what I do, everytime you try to increase or decrease the ringer volume from the system menu you get loud ear piercing beeps which in a quiet office (or even a loud one) is very fucking annoying. Its very embarrassing and rude.

So far everything seems cool. The operating system is way faster then my K700 (aren’t all) and its probably the same speed as the K750 or a tiny bit faster which is really good. It doesn’t have any major features, the camera is 2MP which is the norm and it has 3G and video conferencing which i doubt I will ever use. But, I think thats what I like about the phone… that its a phone. All I really need to do with a phone is make and receive phone calls, send and receive SMS, synchronize my numbers with iSync (you need this plugin) and take pictures whenever I need to (usually of product model numbers in stores or price tags). This phone allows me to do all that with great ease and speed. The fact that I can charge my phone using any standard USB cable and the fact that I can mount the phone on my computer like an external hard drive are extra bonuses.

This phone is just a phone and so far it seems like it does everything right. Will use it for a week or two before writing a review on it.

I was at Marina Crescent yesterday with Geo when I noticed a guy setting up a large telescope. I then remembered Astronaut Girl’s post on Astronomy Day at Marina Crescent. They had two large telescopes located at Marina Crescent and passerby’s were encouraged to look through it. I wasn’t able to since I was with Geo and I didn’t want to bother the crowd but most of the reactions from people who tried it was of amazement. I would have posted about the event before it happened but it had totally slipped my mind…

Update: Tonight at Ujeri Observatory, Science Club there will be some presentations by Ujri himself, amateur astronomers, and Astronaut Girl. Astronaut Girl will be giving a presentation about Space Science and the opening of the new branch of Space at the Science Club. Visitors will also be able to observe the sky with the big telescope. Time: 7:00PM to 10:00PM

Google will launch a new feature Wednesday: Google Health, that will help you find treatments, symptoms or alternative medicine treatments. You can try it today (be sure to set your Google interface to English). [Link]

Taken from digg

So I was at Hardees yesterday getting cookies when I noticed that they had replaced all the pictures of the burgers on their display menus with new ones that used the Thick Burger patty. Someone commented the other day in one of my posts that Hardees no longer had “normal” burgers only the Thick Burgers so I asked the guy if this was true and to my surprise it was! You can no longer have a normal Mushroom & Swiss for example, you can only have the Thick Burger version which honestly tastes terrible.

I hate the flavor of the Thick Burger and I don’t understand how they can phase out their regular beef patty. Now the cheapest combo is KD1.400 and its the Roast Beef & Chedder, everything else is KD1.500 and up. They are now officially the most expensive fast food joint compared to Burger King (the previous record holder), McDonalds, KFC and Texas Chicken.

Tool – 10,000 Days
I really like it, reminds me of their album Ænima

Pearl Jam – Pearl Jam
I have every Pearl Jam album and have been listening to them since the early 90s. This album is my least favorite so far. My favorite song is Severed Hand.

Placebo – Meds
Urgh, its not that the album is bad but I am just so over their sound.

Sonic Youth – Rather Ripped
This album isn’t out but I am looking forward to it. I really liked their last album Sonic Nurse so I am hoping this is going to follow in the same style.

On Friday I picked up my friend and we went and had lunch at IKEA before heading off to the H3 Ride & Drive event. When we got to the location it was like arriving in the middle of no where, we couldn’t see anything it was all desert and hills. Then we noticed some dust coming up from behind one of the hills and we decided to go and investigate. Luckily I was in my Wrangler because there was no paved road, its like you needed an H3 to get to the H3 event. I didn’t mind that since it felt like a true off road event even before I got to the place. When we reached the top we found the H3 camp, it was located at the bottom of the hill surrounded by a ton of Hummers and random visitor cars. We drove down to the camp and parked the Jeep… first impression was very positive so far.

We walked into the tent where we were greeted by some cute girls who took our names and made us sign a disclaimer stating if we got hurt they wouldn’t be responsible. I found that odd since its supposed to be just a test drive.. how bad could things go you know? Once we signed the papers they gave us a goodie bag and pointed us to another person who would put us into a Hummer.

This is where the fun starts. We get into the Hummer and drive off a hundred meters down the road where the Hummer driver tells me to swap seats so I could drive. I get into the drivers seat, adjust everything to my liking and then drive off towards a Hummer flag further down the road. When I first was told about the event, they told me that there were two tracks, a soft one and a hard one. I would be allowed to drive on the soft one while a professional driver would drive on the hard one. So automatically I assumed the soft track would be a stupid flat circle where I would safely drive around looking like an idiot. Well that turned out to be a completely wrong assumption. When I got to the Hummer flag I saw a deep fucking ditch in the ground filled with water. I figured that was the end of the test drive and I probably need to swap seats with the Pro driver so he could take me around the hard track. To my surprise the driver was like ok go in. I was like where, in that ditch? He was like yeah so I was like fucking cool. At first I thought this was a privilege I got because I knew the organizers but it turns out it wasn’t a privilege but in fact this was actually the start of the soft course! I got down the ditch and drove through the water till the end where I reached to a wall. I am not exaggerating here it was a nearly vertical sand wall that was soo high up I couldn’t see out of the ditch. The driver told me to step on the gas and not to press the brakes. I thought for sure the front end of the car would hit the wall before the tires but it didn’t. Up the wall I went and out of the ditch I drove. It was very cool and kinda unreal. I drove down to the next check point and this time the road ahead turned into holes. Each hole was maybe around 40cm deep and they were placed on both the left and right sides of the track. We drove through the track without any problems and very smoothly. Sure the car was moving up and down like a fishing boat in a perfect storm but we were driving through a track filled with 40cm deep pot holes! The whole time I was thinking shit my Wrangler can’t do this…

When we were done from the soft track which involved numerous impossible to climb looking obstacles, it was time to give the control back to the pro. He drove us to the hard track and put the H3 on 4x4low and told us to fasten our seat-belts. The first obstacle involved the H3 driving across two small dunes where half way through the driver stops and explains to us how the H3 at this point has only 2 wheels touching the ground. We then continue off to what I can only describe as a roller-coaster ride. We went up and down so many obstacles that were so high up and so steep it was just unbelievable. I tried to take pictures out of the window but all I could capture was either the sky or the ground. It was seriously jaw dropping. Once the drive was over I called up Nat and told her to get ready because I was going to come and pick her up. I drove all the way to Salmiya and back just so she could experience the drive. That ofcourse was a big mistake because now she can’t stopped nagging me about how she wants an H3 and when I could take her to the showroom.

I took a lot of pictures that day but something happened to the memorystick and all my pictures got erased. But, Alghanim sent me pictures yesterday that were taken by a photographer who came in from Dubai and they are way better pictures then the ones I had taken. Check them out, they are all from the Ride & Drive event here in Kuwait. The H3’s have Dubai numbers because they were brought in from Dubai. [Pictures]

I had a lot of fun.

I posted about the “My Puppy” store back in November and I talked about how the store was animal cruel locking the dogs and cats up in tiny stinky cages with very little room to move. Well TwaiF a regular reader of the blog had an experience with the place he she would like to share with everyone:

Last week I got a cute white kitten for my freinds birthday from the “My Puppy” shop. The shop smells like shit and there was no electricity or air conditioning. I saw this little cute kitten in a dirty cage and I couldn’t leave her there in that stinky shop so I took her with me for KD70. Guess what? Today she passed away!! She hadn’t been eating and when we took her to the vet the Dr said that she was too small to be taken away from her mother. She was 2 months old according to the My Puppy shop keeper although we now think she was a lot smaller. I called the guy who owns “My Puppy” and told him what had happened and he replied telling me that it was my fault becouse of the weather she passed away! I hope Mark you write about this stupid shop and how dirty it is and how cruel the owner is to the animals. -TwaiF

I think local organizations like PAWS or local vets should do something about this place. Its sickening.

Update: extinct.dodo another reader had a similar experience which makes you wonder how many people have purchased puppies and kittens from that store only to have them die on them??

I bought a puppy from that place last year for KD250, and it died less than 2 weeks later..

What I did was that I took my pup to the vet, got papers to prove that the dog was terminally ill (distemper) and went back to the shop. Although they wouldn’t give me my money back, they did however get me another dog, although by that time I was emotionally devastated over my sweet baby pup that I’d gotten so attached to in the days that it had been with me.

Update 2: I emailed PAWS today morning about the above and this is what they just replied:

Hi Mark, I don’t know if you’ve seen today’s press coverage (Arab Times and Daily Star) on WSPA’s visit to Kuwait. Coincidentally the reps from World Society for the Protection of Animals visited My Puppy just yesterday with officials from PAAF and our PAWS Chairperson. Though meeting no international humane pet shop regulations whatsoever, they did not actually witness the worst of what WE (PAWS and you) know goes on at this place.

Please be assured that WSPA and PAWS are working with the ministry of animal health to enforce current legislation and bring in new laws regarding pet shop regulations and standards. Sadly, these won’t happen overnight. We will report your findings to both WSPA and PAAF and ask them to send regular inspection teams.

Please keep the reports coming in….they are very useful and will be acted upon in due course if not immediately.

We also took the WSPA officials to Little Jungle…..words fail me, but please, please use the power of your blog to report on the horrendous conditions which exist at this so called ‘fun family’ spot…..It’s off the 207 from the Fahaheel Express way and if you haven’t visited….do so, at least once…it might make My Puppy look like an ok sort of place,

Best regards, and use that Blog to keep animal welfare issues front and centre, PLEASE!

Barbara
for PAWS

Seems like I need to pass by Little Jungle and check out how bad it is. If its worse then My Puppy then thats some scary stuff…

A friend of mine just emailed me a 2006 World Cup schedule. It has all the dates and times of all the matches which is cool BUT its also an excel file with some cool features. Once a match finishes you can enter the scores of the two teams in the excel file and it will then calculate how many points each team is awarded and mark it down on the group chart.

Its very nifty especially if you want to see what would happen if a team loses or wins a match before the game actually takes place. You can download the file and enter random scores now to see how it works. [Link]

How can a Muslim astronaut pray five times a day when a “day” in orbit lasts just 90 minutes? Worship in space presents some unique challenges. [Link]

[source digg]

The other morning I was looking for my PSP which was on the charger and I couldn’t find it so I figured Nataly might have taken it to work or something. Then while I was about to leave for work I found my PSP with Geo my dog! It seems he found my PSP tucked into its soft cushion case on the table and mistook it for one of his toys and took it down to his play area where he was busy chewing the case. Luckily the PSP was fine and after wiping Geo’s drool from the case it was also unharmed.

Today morning I had my ipod sitting on my foof pod on my Mac which sits on the floor and I was busy copying songs onto it when all of a sudden I hear a bang and Geo running off. Turns out he was playing with my iPod and it fell onto the floor. No harm done and I continue to copy songs. Finally I was about leave and I took my ipod and I was looking for my foof case and I couldn’t find it. At first I again figured Nat took it because she sometimes uses it for her digital camera but I noticed her camera was still on the table. Then it hit me, it was with Geo, thats why he ran away! So I went downstairs and I was right, Geo was sitting there chewing my foof pod.

Its hard to get angry at Geo because he can be really cute. In the mornings for example he usually wakes me up before my alarm by climbing onto my bed and licking my face so that I could take him down for his morning walk. Its cute but if the last time I took him down at night was 10PM that means he comes and wakes me up at 6:30AM which isn’t cute anymore. It seems he can only hold his bladder for around 8 hours so if I am too lazy to take him down right before I sleep at 12 I usually pay for it by having him wake me up super early in the morning.

Yesterday night I finally realized how much he had grown. When you live with the dog 24 hours a day its hard to notice how much he has developed but yesterday I finally noticed. I was playing with him in his play area when I noticed this small hole in one of the large boxes he has. I had cut out that hole back when I first got Geo so he could pass through it while playing but looking at the hole now I can’t imagine how he fit in it. He can barely fit his head in it now and that made me realize that Geo really has grown since we got him back in February and I can’t wait till he grows even more..

Two days ago I watched the movie Waiting… which stars a few of my favorite actors including Ryan Reynolds (Two Guys and a Girl), Anna Faris (Scary Movie) and Luis Guzmán (Pachanga in Carlito’s Way). The movie talks about a group of friends working at a restaurant who are all bored and want something better in their lives, may it be a girl, a promotion or a better career. Its one of those movies thats very entertaining to watch but just doesn’t really have a beginning or an end. It reminded me a lot of the movie Empire Records except those guys were working at a music store and these guys at a restaurant.

This movie in a way is also educational, you learn for example never to piss off your waiter. Seriously, once you see this movie you might never eat at a restaurant again so be warned. Its a funny movie with a lot of silly moments but with a pace that is calm and peaceful like The Station Agent. It was fun to watch and thats why I am giving it a 4 out of 5.

Kuwaits rank increased this year from 141st to 134th place. Zurich scored the highest for quality of living while Baghdad ranked the lowest. Lebanon is in 155th place, Saudi Arabia 162, Dubai 85, and Bahrain 125. For the full list and more details click the [Link]

OK, with all this cookie talk I have decided to do a cookie showdown where I will get cookies from a bunch of places and then try them all to see which is the best cookie. That way we can get this cookie business over with and move on to another addiction. These are the places I know of that have cookies, if you know of any more leave a comment below.

Fuddruckers
Choowy Goowy
KFC
Hardees
Starbucks
Subway
Costa
Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf
Breadz
McDonalds McCafe