I just found out an interesting fact. I originally thought that Google was the one that was adding more details to the Kuwait map like new streets and highways but it turns out it’s people around Kuwait who are doing the updates. The video above is a timelapse showing how Kuwait City originally used to be and how it’s become more and more detailed over time. The details are added using Map Maker and basically anyone can add updates but once they are added a moderator has to approve it and then it takes a month or two to show up. Interesting to know. [YouTube]
Ali Taqi, a student at AUK emailed to tell me about their performance in the Microsoft Imagine Cup that was recently held in our region. The Imagine Cup is a student technology competition where the aim is to create technology that will help solve the worlds toughest problems. The AUK students came first in Kuwait and second in the GCC and have now qualified to the next level which is to compete on an international level in New York. Their idea is very simple and according to them was inspired from the blog.
The students saw how when I took a picture of a problem and posted it on the blog the proper authorities would find out about the problem and get it fixed. So the students came up with the idea of creating a software which would be set up with a variety of different authorities (emergency services, garbage collection, health ministry etc..). They then would create a phone application for people so that when they find a problem, they can just snap a picture of it and then have the application send it to the proper authorities along with a geotag so that the location of the problem can be located quickly. They’ve called their idea the Revolutionary Reporting System or RRS for short.
In the video above for example they’re showing you how this software can be used to report an accident. Usually you would waste time trying to get a hold of the emergency call center and then trying to tell them what the problem is and where the problem happened. With this software they created things would be a lot easier.
I wish the guys involved in this project the best of luck (Ali Taqi, Bader Al Mohammed Ali, and Eissa Al Qadeeri). It’s a great idea and I for one would use it all the time. I do think they need to work a bit more on the video presentation before the New York event so maybe a local film maker can volunteer to help them out with this.
You can read more on this project by visiting the AUK website [Here]
A reader posted in the forum asking here he could find Matabbag in Kuwait. I hadn’t heard of it before but it looks and sounds pretty good so now I’m curious to try it. Where can I find Matabbag in Kuwait?
Note: According to the reader, Matabbag is very popular in Saudi Arabia, it’s made using thin bread dough and contains a mix of minced meat, egg and spices inside.
A reader emailed me to tell me that Google sent him a note saying they’ve updated the maps for Kuwait. So I just checked it out now and it turns out its true, the maps did get updated and are now much more sharper than before. Above for example is the latest shot of Kuwait Towers on Google Maps while below is an old shot I had posted on the blog ages ago. As you can see specially from the sea and land edges, the new updated images are very sharp and very clear. But, it looks like their satellite passed over and took pictures in the middle of a dust storm or something since the new shots are all very gloomy and dark. That’s really too bad since on a bright sunny day the shots of Kuwait could have turned out amazing.
If you want to check out Kuwait on Google Maps click [Here]
Last summer a group of students from the Kuwait University went on a trip to the Himalayas. They first arrived to New Delhi in India and then took an 18 hour bus ride to Manali. They stayed there for 3 days prepping and then headed on a 5 day trek of the Himalayas. Whats cool is they actually filmed their trip and uploaded it onto YouTube. They’ve got them divided up into 5 parts and you can check them [Here]
The video above is a quick summary of their trip. Looks like something I would want to do one day.
According to the Freedom of the Press 2011 survey release, Kuwait no longer tops the Arab world in freedom of the press, that position now goes to Lebanon. Previously Kuwait was always on top but this year it dropped from a global position of 115th last year to 124th place in 2011. You can check out the full results and press releases [Here]
Below is the freedom of the press ranking for the Middle East and North Africa:
1- Israel
2- Lebanon
3- Kuwait
4- Algeria
5- Jordan
6- Egypt
7- Qatar
8- Iraq / Morocco
10- Oman / UAE
12- Bahrain
13- Palestine / Saudi Arabia / Yemen
16- Syria
17- Tunisia
18- Iran
19- Libya
There seems to be some kind of miscommunication going around or maybe it’s me that is wrong. All the news sites are reporting the courier that led to the capture of bin Laden was a Kuwaiti.
The guy’s nickname was “al Kuwaiti” but from what I’ve read he wasn’t a Kuwaiti but instead a Pakistani national who was born in Kuwait which doesn’t make him a Kuwaiti.
It took years of work before the CIA identified the courier’s real name: Sheikh Abu Ahmed, a Pakistani man born in Kuwait. [Source]
I wonder if the Kuwait PR department will kick in to correct this bit of information since right now its giving Kuwait a bad image.
The managing director of the AC Milan Soccer School in Kuwait sent me some information regarding their participation last week in the 24th International Youth Tournament in Rovereto, Italy. It turns out it was the first time in the tournament’s history, a team from out of the EU participates in it. Even though the Kuwaiti team did not win the tournament they still had a great performance. For those of you who don’t know, the AC Milan Soccer School in Kuwait is in collaboration with Loyac and is a non-profit program designed to support the youth and improve football in Kuwait. Fore more information visit their website [Here]
I was just checking the blog ArtKuwait when I found out that there was an article on Art in Kuwait yesterday in The Economist. Turns out there is an artist who currently has his work exhibited on four billboards in Hawalli (who would have thought) and they’re going to be up there until the end of the month (check pic above). Here are some excerpts from the article:
ABOVE a busy roundabout in Hawalli, a suburb of Kuwait, loom four giant but subtle photographs about Arab identity and placelessness by Tarek Al-Ghoussein. A Palestinian photographer originally from Kuwait, Mr Al-Ghoussein has exhibited widely, but this is the first time his work has been seen in the country of his birth. Kuwaitis and Palestinians have a chequered past. Decades of relative harmony between the two peoples were soured when Yasser Arafat, as head of the Palestine Liberation Organisation, applauded Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait in 1990. Since then, the Palestinian population in Kuwait has dwindled from nearly half a million to around 40,000.
…
Mr Al-Ghoussein’s billboards will be on view in Kuwait until the end of April. They are the second instalment in a series of four art projects by Palestinians that includes Khalil Rabah, Jack Persekian and Tarek Atoui. Instigated and underwritten by Rana Sadik, a collector and philanthropist of Palestinian descent, the series is arranged to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Kuwait’s independence and the 20th anniversary of its liberation from Iraq.
“The billboards are a way to remind people on both sides of the positive historical relationship between Palestinians and Kuwaitis,” said Abdulaziz Al-Mulla, a board member of the Kuwait Graduates Society, an organisation of some 5,000 members. Interestingly, the artist’s father was Ambassador to America in the 1960s and instrumental in getting Kuwait into the United Nations. So it is apposite that Mr Al-Ghoussein’s photographs have been given such a cordial diplomatic role.
You can read the full article on The Economist [Here]
The Kuwait Heart Foundation (KHF) has mobile stations which they move around from one area to another offering to test your cholesterol and blood glucose for free (maybe other things as well). Currently they’re stationed outside the Khaldiya Co-op if anyone is interested. I tried to get more information regarding these mobile stations from the KHF website which although is fairly well designed compared to other local government websites… majority of the links don’t work. [Link]
Thanks AbdulRahman
Note: Just noticed the irony of the post coming right after the McGangbang
Yesterday I posted a video taken at Flight Experience in 360 Mall, well there is another place that’s officially opening tomorrow (April 20th) that has a wider range of flight simulators available. The place is called Kuwait Flight Simulation Center and they are located in the basement of Discovery Mall in Kuwait City. I originally passed by them yesterday to take pictures but wasn’t allowed to since there was a miscommunication but the owner told me I could pass by today and take pictures which I did except I didn’t have my camera with me today just my iPhone 4 so apologies for the quality of the shots.
The place looks like a large plane fuselage from the outside. Once you walk in you have 7 simulation capsules on the right hand side, 3 combat stations on the left and right next to them you have a large enclosed room which is a proper full scale flight simulator similar in style to the one at 360 Mall. You also have a small coffee shop, a small shop that sells scale models and another shop that sells flight simulator accessories for PCs.
Today the place is open but it’s invite only, starting tomorrow though it should be open to the public. For more information you could visit their website [Here] or Facebook page [Here]
That’s how the inside of the capsule looks like
The 3 machines on the left are the fighter plane simulators
I think the fighter plane simulators actually move and give force feedback
I’ve been meaning to update the Kuwait Blogs app for awhile now but due to the fact I do all the work on my iMac I haven’t been able to do so. My iMac had a problem with the screen and I sent it in to get repaired under warranty which took around a month to get done. I just finally picked up my iMac today so will most probably be working on an update for the app this weekend.
I’m aware that the current build of the app is unstable with iOS4.3 and it’s my priority fix. I already know whats wrong I just need to work on it. What I also want to do if I have time is update the blogs in the app. I can’t add any more apps since I’ve hit the limit, but I can swap out blogs that aren’t active anymore or aren’t as active as they used to be. So if you have any recommendation on what blog I should add to the app leave it as a comment below.
If you want to download the current app here is the [Link]
According to the latest report by CB Richard Ellis “How global is the business of retail?”, Kuwait City ranked 13th in the world the list of most targeted retail destination, up one place from 14th last year. Dubai and London tied for first place followed by New York in second and Paris third. 13th place is actually incredibly good (we tied with Berlin and Istanbul) since the 12 countries ahead of us are big shots like LA, Moscow, Hong Kong, Barcelona, Berlin etc. plus we beat out cities like Milan, Munich, Tokyo and Miami. Below is the top 20 list:
1 – Dubai
1- London
3- New York
4- Paris
5- Madrid
6- Hong Kong
7- Moscow
8- Los Angeles
9- Singapore
10- Barcelona
11- Beijing
12- Shanghai
13- Berlin
13- Kuwait City
13- Istanbul
16- Riyad
17- Milan
18- Munich
19- Tokyo
20- Las Vegas
20- Miami
20- Hamburg
You can download the full report from the CBRE website [Here]
Now slightly off topic, they represented Kuwait with two visuals in the icon above, one is a stretched out version of Kuwait Towers, but what is the other? Looks like our very own Taj Mahal maybe.
