Search: “sti”

I was emailed photos of the Teshkeel Comics theme park thats currently being created out in Jahra. The official opening date is March 19 but judging by the pictures the park looks disappointing. From what I can see (which isn’t much really) it looks like they took a regular theme park with regular rides and just stuck Teshkeel Comic stickers everywhere. Click continue to see the rest of the pictures.

I’ve started experimenting with Twitter, trying to figure out why people use it. I already set myself up with an account and I’ve started posting there. I even installed a twitter application on my iPhone so now I am posting to my twitter account through out the day. If you want you can check it out by going to twitter.com/mark248am

When I first started this blog over 4 years ago I was getting only a handful of visitors a day. Since then the site hasn’t stopped growing and I’m now averaging over 10,000 visitors a day. From day 1 the blog was being hosted by a good friend but now it’s time for me to move the blog to its own dedicated server.

I just signed up with Rackspace, a leading web hosting provider hosting sites like Threadless, 37signals, Liquid Web Laughing Squid, ESPN, Disney Online, Motorola, Canon USA and more. They gave me a really good deal and promised to have my server up and running by Tuesday. This means I would probably start moving my blog to the new server sometime late next week.

If you’re interested my new server will have the following specs:

Dell 2850
Dual socket = 2 Xeon 3.2 GHz performance CPU’s
Two 146GB 10,000 rpm Hard drives (Raid 1)
4GB RAM
1 x Cisco 506 Firewall
24x7x365 Unlimited live person support
Guaranteed 1 hour hardware replacement
100% network uptime (Backbone = 65GB throughput)
1000 GB High Performance, Tier 1 Redundant Bandwidth
Constant network monitoring for latencies and intrusion

During the move there should be some downtime but I will post about it ahead of time.

I thought this project was canceled but I guess its still on. Kuwait is planning to build the tallest skyscraper in the world, one thats around 30% taller than the current tallest skyscraper, Burj Dubai. [Link]

Thanks DJ

I am extremely tempted to buy the RC plane pictured above and get into the hobby. It looks fantastic and comes ready to fly meaning I don’t need much to get it up and running. Price wise its also very affordable costing KD124 on Amazon. I’m just worried summer is already here and outdoor activities season is over. [Amazon]

Note: The plane is 1.28m long and 1.48m wide. Its gas powered and comes with a flight simulator software which will help you learn how to fly the plane on the computer first. Also comes with an adapter that will connect your radio controller (pictured above) to the computer to use with the flight sim. More details on this plane can be found here. [Link]

I haven’t been to Johnny Rockets since they introduced the new menu so I was looking forward to see whats new. Since I never really paid attention to anything on their menu except for the burgers I couldn’t really tell what new items they added but I did spot one new burger and the Philly Cheese Steak which is what I decided to try. It wasn’t that bad (tastes much better than it looks) and its definitely a good substitute for the burger although I did find it a bit dry. The price of the Philly Cheese Steak is KD2.650.

Géant hypermarket will be opening in Kuwait at the 360 degrees mall in June 2009. Although Sultan Center purchased and took over the Géant franchise in Lebanon, Tamdeen Group will own the Géant chain in Kuwait.

Thanks YBhatti!

Just got back from watching The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. It was toooo long and verrrrrry boring. Maybe if it was an hour shorter, MAYBE it would have been interesting but it just dragged and dragged. On my way out I overheard a group of girls talk about how much they loved the movie and I guess thats how it got an 8.3 out of 10 on IMDB, its a chick flick!

On a positive note before the movie started I watched the trailer for Watchmen, now THATS going to be one helluva movie! [Link]

Was at a semi-abandoned park today and managed to capture a lot of interesting shots with my Sony W300 which you can check below. I regret not having my D90 with me…

A friend recommended I try The Butcher Shop burger for my Burger Challenge so I passed by a few nights ago to give it a shot. I’ve been to the Dubai branch before but haven’t been to the Kuwait branch one since they launched so I was looking forward to it especially since my friend told me their burger was “amazing”.

I passed by The Butcher Shop the night there was the big dust storm so they only had two tables occupied. All of Avenues was empty which I actually found pretty cool. I quickly flipped through their menu looking for the burger section and then told the waitress I would have the cheese burger medium well and a coke to go with it. It was around 8pm and I hadn’t eaten a single thing all day since I was busy with work so I was really looking forward to the burger.

The burger arrived shortly thereafter and to my disappointment it didn’t look very appetizing. The presentation was pretty dull and I actually had a hard time taking a good shot to use with this post. Looks aren’t everything of course and I was hoping the taste would make up for the presentation. It didn’t surprisingly. The bottom of the bun was very soggy while the top bun was dry. The patty although thick and tender didn’t have any flavor. It was a really boring burger even though it was the only thing I had eaten that day.

The cost of the burger is KD2.950 which is fairly decent for a place like The Butcher Shop but I wouldn’t have it again. I was thinking of giving it a 3 out of 5 but the fact that I was extremely hungry without food all day and still managed to find the burger unsatisfying and flavorless dropped it down another half point to 2.5 out of 5. If you’re at the Avenues and are looking for a good burger have Johnny Rockets or Ruby Tuesday instead.

The Butcher Shop is located at The Avenues
The cost of the Cheese Burger is KD2.950

Here are the burger places I’ve reviewed so far:
Applebee’s
Bredz
Burger Boutique
Fuddruckers
Hashi
Gaucho Gril
Gourmet Burger Kitchen
Johnny Rockets
Munch
Papa John’s Burgers
Prime & Toast
Ruby Tuesday
Slider Station
Sheraton Hotel
The Burger Hub
The Little Oven
Wimpy

I was in Bnaider Mina Abdullah today with some friends when we decided to pass by the radio controlled planes runway. Its a small runway in Bnaider Mina Abdullah built by some hobbyist who use it to fly their radio controlled jets. You need to see and hear the planes in action because they’re just amazing. They’re extremely realistic and the flybys are incredible. [YouTube]

Update: Here is another video of a flyby [YouTube]

And here is another video of a landing. [YouTube]

Has anyone purchased the tiny Vaio P netbook yet? They’re selling on Amazon for around KD260. Its more expensive than the regular netbooks costing around twice as much but it’s also less than half the size.

I got an email the other day from Alghanim Electronics asking me if there was anything they had I would be interested in trying out and reviewing. I thought about it for a bit and decided to ask for the Beats by Dr.Dre headphones. I’ve been thinking about getting them but really wanted to try them out first before spending the big bucks. I already have a lot of head/ear phones: Bang & Olufsen A8, Shure E2, Sennheiser PX100, AKG K81 DJ and the Ultimate Ears Super.fi 5 Pro. So I really needed a good reason to get another and I think I just found it.

THE BASS!

Damn, I was just listening to random stuff from my itunes list, Nine Inch Nails, Paul Oakenfold, Warren G, Pet Shop Boys, Chemical Brothers.. just anything I clicked on and everything was sounding really great. Then I put Touch It by Busta Rhymes and my jaw hit the floor. I am still in shock on how something so small (ok they aren’t really small but they are smaller than my full sized speakers) could put out this much bass. It just sounded incredible, makes me want to keep listening to music all day.

The headphones cost KD99 at Alghanim Electronics which surprisingly makes it cheaper than Amazon. On Amazon.com they cost KD95 (with tax) plus factor in KD5.5 for shipping and you end up paying at least KD100. Will post more about these headphones once I get to properly test them out.

Update: Amazon is currently offering a $50 discount on the Beats by Dre. Click here to check it out. [Amazon Link]

Al Sadu Society cordially invites you to an exhibition of Kuwaiti fashion:

ZAY
Traditions & Innovation

6:00 pm Sunday 15 Feb. to 22 Feb.
Al Sadu House – Arabian Gulf Road
Contact 22432395
www.alsadu.org.kw

Here is a personal note on how the exhibition came to be:

ZAY
A showcase of various interpretations of the traditional dress, to invigorate and revive its wear.

Nafnouf and Zeboun
In my book Traditions, I had researched and passionately documented aspects of the traditional arts and textiles of Kuwait. I recognized and focused on some beautiful and significant examples of the traditional dress. Today I carry this interest and fascination a step further, into the realm of actual design. I take the zeboun, the robe worn by women and men in the past and the nafnouf dress, and try to revitalize their wear. To give both a modern line with a traditional essence.

I appreciate cooperation of Kaveri Agarwal, a young designer from India who I met through the Textile Art Association meetings. Kaveri has worked for some time in manufacturing and reviving the traditional Indian dress and textiles in her country, India, and thus understood my enthusiasm and vision and could execute it well.

ZAY is also an interesting attempt at cultural exchange. In the past the Kuwaiti merchants sailed to India in search of fine silks and gold thread for their dress and embroidery. It may be that again we follow that ancient cultural route.

I hope this artistic and cultural endeavor will give you the joy and pleasure it did for me.

Celebrating traditions…
Altaf Salem A. Al Sabah
Kuwait 2009

Proceeds of the sales go to the HAYAT Charity, caring for cancer patients in Kuwait.

Abdullah, a reader of the blog sent me a picture of the giant wall sticker above which he took while he was in the States. The reason he sent it to me is because it looked very similar to Kuwait’s national logo (also pictured above). I wonder if a Kuwaiti living in the States remixed the logo or if Shepard Fairey (the guy behind OBEY) did it himself. He already admitted that his famous Obama Hope poster was based on a copyrighted photograph so it wouldn’t be to far fetched to think that he based this design on the Kuwaiti national logo. For those of you who don’t know anything about OBEY or Shepard Fairey, check this [Link]