Search: “sti”

Wendy’s, Arbys, A&W and In-N-Out still MIA. [Link]

Sorry for the late notice but I just found out about this. Tomorrow (Friday March 29) at 3PM Extreme Sports is going to be holding a BMX and skateboard competition at Marina Skatepark. If you don’t know where that is, it’s just outside of Marina Waves at the edge of the beach and park. You can still register if you want to compete as well.

Below is a kinda long but interesting write up by a friend of mine currently working in the medical field. It’s related to the “Kuwait to segregate medical care” post from last week:

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Its not a sprint, its a marathon

We need help. Everyone can agree that healthcare in Kuwait should be paramount. We need to have a healthcare system we can be proud of and confident in. I need to feel proud of where I work and the job I do. The recent lobby towards segregated healthcare for none emergent cases is just one more example of a quick fix for many failed and saddening endeavours that we as a profession are at least partly responsible for.

From the outset I doubt that anyone working currently in Kuwaiti healthcare is evil or bad or totally and completely corrupt. In fact, I think many of us started our careers inspired and full of promise but were met by challenges that we cannot possibly overcome. At a healthcare system level, we need to refine our goals and find our way towards something more efficient and dare I say it welcoming to people.

How many people reading this have a family doctor?

I doubt many of you do. This may be because you are perfectly healthy but it’s probably because you show up at the emergency room if you need anything because you have no confidence in your local poly clinic or mustawsif. The fact of the matter is that I wouldn’t either.

We need to re-create the family doctors as the go to guy or girl for all things non emergency and as the primary referring physician (small bruises, vaccines, high blood pressure, diabetes control, breast and colon cancer screening). This will mean two big changes. The first is that one doctor or centre will have all your medical history and that from now on you won’t show up to the emergency room unless it is an actual emergency, otherwise the emergency department will refuse to see you (this is the norm in the US, Canada and the UK NHS, it is becoming the norm in many south east asian countries gradually as well). More importantly we need to equip our poly clinics and family doctors with information and facilities such as x-ray facilities, ultrasound and turn a rundown office into an actual treatment facility. We also need to mandate a minimum amount of courses to be taken by these doctors so that they remain up to date in their fields (this should be true for all doctors in general come to think of it)

Provided you’ve got a referral or are trying to see a specialist, how many of you see them on time?

The way things are now, if you live in Mishref, you go to specialists in Mubarak, if you live near Adan then you are sent there. This means that the areas with the highest population end up with the longest waiting times. We need a structured dynamic referral system. I’m sure that there is some sort of solution I’m just not sure what it is. Perhaps if there was a regular update of which areas had the shortest waiting time were made available to family practitioners on a daily basis (via email). It may mean that patients will get their appointments earlier.

The problem is that I doubt that a person living in Jahra would be happy coming to Amiri for his echocardiogram even if it meant he or she would get it quicker. Having referrals to different hospital for different things would mean that you need to have all the patients data accessible across different hospitals in a sort of a cloud. Lets face it people, I’m more likely to see a giant flying saucer deliver free red velvet cupcakes at 360 than I am to see the ministry of health manage a cloud based patient filing system.

Having exhausted all efforts to get an early appointment you decided to go private, how many of you see a physician in his private practice after trying to get an early appointment in his government funded one?

Many of us have a conflict of interest when we are employed in private and public healthcare. I know colleagues who completely neglect their public healthcare patients and I know others who have no interest in private healthcare. Regardless, clear guidelines have to be set so that a physician working in the private healthcare field does not neglect his or her public healthcare practice. A bill requiring all doctors working in private healthcare to have 50% of their practice as public or pro bono might be the best solution but it’ll also mean that you would be the most hated minister of health in the history of Kuwait. (Maybe if we start with 30%, doctors are less likely to revolt)

[YouTube]

Two years ago by complete randomness I found out who the Tikka “I like it spicy” guy was and posted about him. Now out of nostalgia curiosity I’m hoping to find out who the Pizza Italia guy from the commercial was and what he’s doing right now.

So if you have any information on the guy running in the commercial (pictured above) then let me know. Actually any information on the commercial like who did it, how it came to be etc.. would be interesting as well.

Update: Here is some information according to two readers. The Pizza Italia guy in the commercial is actually a Lebanese actor. The commercial was directed by Nick Cate, who is now living in the UAE. The scene in which is he running in front of shops was filmed in old Salmiya where Alamiah and Waleed Toys were located. The camera was located on the first floor of the building on the opposite side (the one with Xcite and Cinemagic).

Update2: According to Nick the director of the commercial, it was shot on a hand cranked 16mm Bolex camera and the music was composed by an Egyptian composer called Mohammed Al Banna.

Yesterday morning a cargo ship heading into Shuwaikh port veered off path and nearly collided with the KPC building. The cargo ship had to be pulled back out into sea by tugboats and an investigation is currently taking place into the cause of this incident.

The pictures in this post were taken by KPC employees and it kinda looks like their might have been an oil leak as well. [Source]

[YouTube]

There are two really great films I want to see this month at Cinemagic, the first is Samsara and the second is Gomorrah. I’ve been wanting to watch these two movies for sometime now but never got the time. Grave of Fireflies was supposed to show last month but the BluRay got delayed in customs and the movie Once was shown instead which I watched and thought was pretty good considering it was a musical (I hate musicals). Grave of Fireflies is now going to be shown this month instead. Check out the full film schedule below…

Thursday April 4th, 2013 at 7:30PM
SAMSARA
From the award winning director of Baraka, Samsara takes you on an incredible journey, filmed over nearly five years in twenty-five countries on five continents, and shot on seventy-millimetre film, Samsara transports us to the varied worlds of sacred grounds, disaster zones, industrial complexes, and natural wonders.

Saturday April 6th, 2013 at 7:30PM
GRAVE OF FIREFLIES
Called “one of the greatest and most powerful war films ever made” by acclaimed film critic Roger Ebert, and universally considered one of the best animated films ever made, Grave of Fireflies is a tragic film covering a young boy and his little sister’s struggle to survive in Japan during World War II.

Thursday April 11th, 2013 at 7:30PM
GOMORRAH
Winner of the Grand Prix Jury Prize at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival, Gomorrah intertwines 5 separate stories of people whose lives are touched by organised crime. A harrowing look into Italy’s modern-day crime families.

Saturday April 13th, 2013 at 7:30PM
HAROLD AND MAUDE
Chosen by the AFI as one of the top ten classic American comedies of all time, and considered a huge influence on the work of Wes Anderson and Jared Hess. Young, rich, and obsessed with death, Harold finds himself changed forever when he meets lively septuagenarian Maude at a funeral.

Thursday April 18th, 2013 at 7:30PM
EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP
Holding 96% on rottentomatoes.com, the multi-award winning story of how an eccentric French shop keeper and amateur film maker attempted to locate and befriend Banksy, only to have the artist turn the camera back on its owner. The film contains footage of Banksy, Shephard Fairey, Invader and many of the world’s most infamous graffiti artists at work.

Saturday April 20th, 2013 at 7:30PM
FOLLOWING
Before dominating the world with The Dark Knight and Inception, and before his groundbreaking independent mind-bender Memento, Christopher Nolan made a small film about a young writer who follows strangers for material until he meets a thief who takes him under his wing. A rare debut from a fascinating filmmaker.

Thursday April 25th to Saturday April 28th, 2013
THE KUWAIT INTERNATIONAL FILM RETREAT
Join us for a film festival of Kuwaiti, Regional, and International short and feature length films that we will be screening on these dates, alongside workshops, red carpet photo ops, and other film related activities. Don’t miss this one of a kind film event, and keep checking back on the official website for more details: www.kuwaitfilmretreat.com

Cinemagic Kuwait, is organizing these events as part of its efforts to contribute to the development of an internationally competitive Kuwaiti audio-visual production industry, partly by bringing the filmmakers and audiences together and by Increasing the public’s interest in – and appreciation for – the art of film-making. Cinemagic movies are screened in the old Salmiya, on the roof on top of Alghanim Electronics and LG and there is no entrance fee. Here is a link to their Facebook group [Link]

“The Kuwait Green Wall” project, which aims to plant 315,000 trees on a stretch of 420 kilometers on the borders of the country in a call to implement effective solutions to the rising environmental and climate issues.

I would rather they plant 315,000 trees in Salmiya where I can at least see them instead of all the way in the middle of no where but that’s just me. Sorry I’m just pissed off because the middle sidewalk in old Salmiya has still not been planted. [YouTube]

Warning: Documentary may cause drowsiness

Update: Maybe they should first launch a campaign to stop cutting trees in Kuwait?

Photo by @BasilAlsalem

Over the weekend I had a spontaneous trip to Prague and had like 30 minutes to book an airline ticket and hotel and I have to say I lucked out with my hotel. I ended up staying at MOODs Hotel which is a pretty trendy boutique hotel located around 15 minutes walking distance from the old Prague town and markets.

I had booked a superior room for 3 nights but on arrival I found out I had been upgraded to a deluxe room. Most likely it’s because I had booked less than 24 hours before arrival and so my first night stay was costing more than the other two nights combined. When I first got to the hotel I was really impressed with the way the lobby looked. They had some interesting textured walls, modern furniture and a trippy light show going on with their logo. The hotel receptionist were also young and sitting behind shiny iMacs so the hotel felt very stylish right from the get go.

My room was pretty spacious with lots of closet space, dark hardwood floors, a very cool looking bathroom as well as an LED mood light system running behind my bed which I could control the color and intensity of. I also had access to free fast wifi, a pretty good breakfast buffet and best of all they hooked me up with a great driver to take me to and from the ski slopes.

If you’re planning a trip to Prague then I’d recommend this place. If I ever go back I would stay there again without a doubt. They even have duplex suite for not that much more per night. Here is a link to their [Website]

The Range Rover above is covered with coins and from different Gulf states as well as photos of the different rulers. Still needs more bling. [YouTube]

via Autoblog

The Shams Power Company opened their Shams 1 concentrated solar power station this week in Abu Dhabi. The station generates 100 MW and can power 20,000 homes while reducing CO2 emissions by 175,000 tons per year. [Source]

Kuwait is currently in the process of building a solar power station as well and is expected to be completed by the end of this year (2013).

The project took about two years and $600 million to build. [Source]

Now this is what I find interesting. Their solar power station is costing $600 million to build while ours is costing just $16 million. So our power station is either going to be super tiny or they got ripped off pretty badly.

On a similar subject, here is a link to vintage photos of the Shuwaikh Power Station taken back in the 1950s. [Link]

K’S PATH is holding their first fundraising event of the year in a fantastic setting inspired by Alice in Wonderland. You’ll spend the afternoon drinking tea accompanied by music and a host channeling the eccentric Mad Hatter. Seats are limited; email [email protected] to know how to purchase tickets. The event will be hosted at The Kuwait Riding Center.

Date: Friday, 29th March 2013
Time: 11AM to 1PM
Location: The Kuwait Riding Center
Ticket: KD15

Update: Event has sadly been canceled.

Under the change, Kuwaitis will be given priority for medical checkups at public hospitals and clinics during the morning, with foreigners only able to access doctors in the afternoon, unless it is an emergency.

Staff also will be segregated according to their nationality, with Kuwaitis working in the morning and expat doctors in the afternoon. [Source]

Even though this doesn’t apply to emergency treatment it still doesn’t make it less racist.

Wanna know how an alcohol permit used to look like in Kuwait? Check this one out by clicking [Here]

Update: On a related note and from the archives.. Oil, Oil Everywhere, But Not a Drop to Drink

It’s pretty common to hear about expats being discriminated in Kuwait so it was interesting to read a post by yousefq8 who writes about how as a Kuwaiti he was being discriminated the whole time while apartment searching. It seems most of the places he was checking didn’t want to rent out to Kuwaitis and so he resorted to lying and talking in English to make things easier for himself. I have no idea why they would discriminate against a Kuwaiti, maybe expats don’t feel they can live comfortably when there is a Kuwaiti living next door? Not sure but you can read his post [Here]

This weekend there’s going to be a kids challenge fair taking place at Marina Mall in an attempt to break official Guinness World Records “In-A-Minute”. My guess is there will be various stalls with different activities which anyone can take part in trying to break a record in under a minute. The more interesting aspect for me is the fact the shortest woman in the world (pictured above) and the man with the largest feet will be at Marina Mall to take photos with.

Guiness World Records “In-A-Minute”
Location: Marina Mall
Date: March 14, 15 and 16

Update: I passed by Marina Mall and turns out the shortest woman was only there for the first day and won’t be showing up anymore. Sucks.