Categories
Geek Reviews Video Games

Game Review: No Man’s Sky

No-Man's-Sky_20160817171917

No Man’s Sky is a exploration and survival game that takes place in a procedurally generated universe that features 18 quintillion planets. You have your own space ship that allows you to fly from planet to planet, galaxy to galaxy, discovering new planets, animals and plants, while trading with various different races.

No-Man's-Sky_20160808182018

The game starts off by placing you on a random planet with a broken spaceship. Your first task is to look for resources to help you repair your ship and take off from the planet. This first area serves as a light tutorial that should help you get a grip on the games loop. After you successfully take off from the first planet, the universe opens up to you and you can either choose to follow on the games set path to the center of the universe or you can choose travel to any galaxy and any planet you like as long as you have the fuel.

The problem with having procedurally generated content though is that a players experience is based off luck and chance. I’ve seen people complain that planets look the same, feel the same and there is truth in that, but my personal experience has differed. I’ve been lucky enough to discover a wide variety of planets, ranging from planets that have nearly zero life on them with intense weather to planets teeming with life. So even though I’ve seen planets that look similar, I’ve also been lucky enough to see enough variety that I’m still interested in exploring and taking screenshots of planets I like.




Categories
Travel

In and Out of Al Maktoum International Airport

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Whenever I fly to Dubai I tend to take FlyDubai and land at the main Dubai International Airport (DXB) like most people. But on my last trip I decided to fly out to the less popular Al Maktoum International Airport (DWC) instead. The timings worked better for me compared to the DXB route and since I was staying in Dubai Marina, the distance from DWC to Dubai Marina was practically the same as DXB to Marina so that worked out in my favor.

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The Al Maktoum International Airport isn’t anything close in size and amenities when compared to DXB Terminal 3 where Emirates flies in and out from, but compared to Terminal 2 which FlyDubai uses, Al Maktoum is pretty much the same. The biggest difference between the two is the amount of traffic inside and outside the airport since Al Maktoum doesn’t have anywhere near as much crowds as Terminal 2 does, or at least when I was there. On arrival we were the only plane that had landed and on departure I think there was one or two other planes leaving besides mine. The airport was pretty much empty the whole time and even once I walked out of the airport it was the same story there, no need to wait in line for a taxi and the highway to Dubai Marina was barren with barely any other cars on the road. On departure there was plenty of seating surrounding a pretty large sized duty free area and you also had your usual suspects like Starbucks, Costa and McDonalds in the food court.

Depending on where you’re staying in Dubai though it might or might not make sense to fly out to Al Maktoum International Airport. In my case staying in Dubai Marina allowed me to choose between the DXB or DWC airports since both were similar distance apart. But if you’re staying in downtown, the distance from DWC to downtown by car would be considerably longer than DXB to downtown (40 mins vs 15 mins). Personally, I’ll be using Al Maktoum again the next time I’m staying in Dubai Marina, it was just a chill experience without all the hustle and bustle of the overcrowded terminal 2.




Categories
Movies

Behind the Uniform

It was probably inappropriate to do so, but I couldn’t stop laughing while watching this short film. It’s meant to be based on a true story but because of the amount of inaccuracies relating to Kuwait I just couldn’t take it seriously.

kuwaiti

The funniest part had to be the Kuwaiti male stalker in the film pictured above. I just loved the gold necklace and open button look, kinda like how I’d imagine an Armenian Kuwaiti to look like. But, the all time Arab lookalike fail though will forever be Hussain from Bloodsport (pictured below), you can’t really beat that.

hussain




Categories
Funny

How to Recognize a Suicidal Bomber?

suicidebomber

Someone posted this on Reddit yesterday, supposedly taken at Holiday Inn. Some important things to look out for?

– Inappropriate clothing
– Shaved and clean beard
– Strong perfume smell
– Tension anxiety severe sweating

Is it me or does that sound like the average guy on a first date?

Thanks asad_ayaz




Categories
Food & Drinks

Minus 11 Ice Cafe

icecafe

Yesterday an ice cafe opened up in Kuwait called Minus 11. If you’ve never been to one its basically a cafe that is basically a freezer and everything inside is made of ice from the seats, to the sculptures to the cups. According to Minus 11 they’re the largest ice cafe in the world and also the coldest with the temperature reaching a freezing -11 degrees.

I’ve been to an ice pub before which is similar except involves alcohol and I got bored so don’t think I’ll be visiting this cafe anytime soon. But if you’re interested in checking it out they’re located in Al Tijaria Tower in Kuwait City. The entry price is KD10 for children under 12 and KD15 for everybody else. Included in the price is 1 drink with free refill, the winter outfit they lend you and the ability to spend up to 45 minutes inside the cafe. For more details check out their instagram [Here]




Categories
Food & Drinks

Mexican Coke

cocacola

Until last week I didn’t know there was anything called Mexican Coca Cola but then I got a crate of it delivered to my office. According to wikipedia, the biggest difference between Mexican Coke and regular coke is that Mexican Coke is sweetened using cane sugar as opposed to high-fructose corn syrup.

Mexican Coke is supposed to taste better or at least have a more “natural” taste to it but after trying it out I couldn’t tell any difference between it and regular Coke. On the plus side the bottle is pretty cool and since Narcos is starting 12 days, Colombian Mexican Coke might be a good pairing.

If you’re interested in trying Mexican Coke they’re being sold for a limited time at Eighty Six Burger for KD1 a pop.

Update: A reader shared an interesting NYT article of when the ban on Coca Cola was lifted in Kuwait back in 1988. You could check that article out [Here]




Categories
Movies

Movies Now Showing in Kuwait

freestate

The movies below are now showing at Cinescape and Grand Cinemas:

New This Week:
Free State of Jones (6.7) ★ ♦
Rabid Dogs (5.6)
Skiptrace (6.5)
The Secret Life of Pets (6.8)

Other Movies Showing:
Alice Through The Looking Glass (6.4)
Cell (4.4) ♦
Finding Dory (7.8)
Jason Bourne (8.3)
Manhattan Night (6.2) ♦
Nerve (7.2)
Riot (5.2)
Suicide Squad (8.2) ♦
The BFG (6.8)
The Conjuring 2 (7.8)
The Fall of the Krays (4.1)
The Legend Of Tarzan (6.7) ♦
The Neon Demon (7.0) ♦

Numbers in brackets refer to the IMDB rating at time of publishing.
★ is for movies I’m interested in. ♦ implies movie might contain censorship.




Categories
Sports

Kuwaiti Bronze Medallist Chose to Compete in an Arsenal Top

arsenal

Skeet shooter Abdullah Al-Rashidi raised eyebrows at Rio 2016 on Sunday after opting to wear an Arsenal shirt while competing for gold.

At the Olympic Games this summer, each country has its own uniform, but the 53-year-old is instead registered as an ‘Independent Olympic Athlete’ in Brazil.

With his native Kuwait suspended from competing, he was still allowed to appear in his event, but without the restriction of a specific uniform. [Source]

Like a boss.

Thanks ManU4Life




Categories
Sneakers

Order NMD’s from the Adidas Kuwait Online Store

nmd

Adidas is releasing new NMD’s tomorrow (August 18th) at their Adidas Originals stores worldwide. We don’t have an Adidas Original store in Kuwait so we’re not getting an in-store release. But, we do have an alternative option.

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The NMD’s will be getting released on the Adidas Kuwait online store. They currently have countdown clocks on all the pairs that will be available and once the clocks hit zero they’ll be available to purchase. So if you’re hoping to cop a pair before they sell out, head to the Adidas website and search for NMD or just click this [Link]

Update: They went on sale and all got sold out right away.




Categories
Food & Drinks

Jumo Coffee Roasters

jumo

Last night after dinner I passed by the Sadu House for coffee with a couple of friends. Jumo Coffee Roasters are currently based at the Sadu House and they’ve got such a beautiful setup at the moment. They’re located inside one of the air conditioned courtyards in the Sadu House and the atmosphere was so chill. Sadly this setup is temporary and only until the end of the month. So if you’re interested in checking it out you better hurry up. They’re open daily from 7AM to 10PM except on Fridays where they open from 3PM to 10PM. Here is their location on [Google Maps] and their instagram is @jumocoffee.

On a similar subject, I heard there are around 14 new independent coffee shops that are going to be opening up in Kuwait over the next few months.




Categories
Sports

The Kuwait Harps Gaelic Football Team (2016/2017 Season)

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The Kuwait Harps are starting a new season of Gaelic Football and are looking for new faces to join the club. Gaelic Football is a form of football derived from the Irish ball games. There are some major differences between regular football and Gaelic football like the fact Gaelic football is played with 15 players per team and you can also hold the ball with your hands.

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The Kuwait Harps hold weekly training sessions for both men and women on Wednesdays and Fridays at the American International School. They compete primarily in tournaments based in the Gulf region and new players are always welcome and immediately feel at home within the club. The majority of the current squad were actually new to Gaelic Games when they first arrived in Kuwait. While many clubs in the Gulf region can depend on a strong pool of Irish players, this is not the case in Kuwait. While a core of the club may be Irish, it relies heavily on the support of players from the international expat community. Kuwait Harps Players have come from Ireland, Scotland, England, Wales, Canada, USA, Australia and even Sudan to name but a few countries. So if you’re interested in joining the club, here are some details:

When: Wednesday 6PM to 8PM – Friday 10AM to 12PM (Women) and 12PM to 2PM (Men)

Where: American International School [Map]

For more information email [email protected] or visit their [Facebook Page]




Categories
Movies

#7FavFilms

crash
Scene from the cult classic, Crash

Earlier tonight I saw the hashtag #7FavFilms floating around on twitter and decided to participate naming my seven favorite movies of all time. But after sharing seven I realized I had missed so many movies and there was no way I could choose just seven. So I started putting together a list for myself, just to kinda see what I would come up with. I ended up with the list below and since it took a lot of effort to put together, I figured I might as well share them on my blog.

Below are various film genres and each contains just seven films. I figured I’d set myself some sort of limit and seven would fit with the original hashtag. So check it out, some of the choices are predictable, some won’t make sense to anyone and I’m sure I’ve also missed a ton of great films. But this is my list right now:

Action
First Blood
Rambo: First Blood Part II
Rambo III
Cobra
Bloodsport
Tango & Cash
Commando

Adventure
The Goonies
Stand By Me
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Planet of the Apes
Lord of the Flies
The NeverEnding Story
Jurassic Park


Scene from the funniest movie of all time, Monty Python The Holy Grail

Comedy
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Groundhog Day
The Big Lebowski
Office Space
Airplane!
Hot Shots!
The Naked Gun

Drugs
Trainspotting
Carlito’s Way
Dazed & Confused
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Requiem for a Dream
Up in Smoke
Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle

Foreign
City of God
Oldboy
The Triplets of Belleville
Fucking Åmål
Waltz with Bashir
Downfall
Shutter

Mob
The Godfather
The Godfather: Part II
The Godfather: Part III
Goodfellas
Casino
Scarface
Heat

Other
Kids
Vertigo
Sneakers
Menace II Society
The Darjeeling Limited
Magnolia
Natural Born Killers

closeencounters
Scene from Close Encounters of the Third Kind

SciFi
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Alien
2001: A Space Odyssey
Blade Runner
The Thirteenth Floor
Akira
Waterworld

War Films
Apocalypse Now
Platoon
The Deer Hunter
Full Metal Jacket
Das Boot
Hamburger Hill
Empire of the Sun

Weird
Inception
The Lost Highway
Memento
Donnie Darko
Birdman
Pi
Crash (1996)




Categories
Food & Drinks Reviews

Grilled Lobster at IKEA

lobster

When I first heard that IKEA was serving grilled lobster alongside their usual meatballs and chicken nuggets, I thought it was funny, but then I became curious. Was it any good? So yesterday I decided to pass by and try it out.

It was a bit crowded when I dropped by for lunch since they had a buy one get one free offer on their meatballs dishes. When my turn finally came up I asked for the grilled lobster and noticed the woman next to me look at me and smile as if I had just told a lame joke. But, the look on her face when I got handed my lobster dish was priceless. IKEA is the last place you’d expect to find lobster on the menu which is why I was so curious to try it.

The grilled lobster costs KD4.750 and comes with a side of steamed vegetables or french fries. And unsurprisingly, you get what you pay for. The lobster was super dry, tough and bland, it didn’t even taste like lobster. Definitely not something I’d want to have again. My recommendation? Order the meatballs instead.

Thanks Grant




Categories
Shopping

Cheapest Way to Ship Lightweight Packages from the US to Kuwait *UPDATED*

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UPDATE: There have been major changes to the service since this post. Edfa3ly are no longer the cheapest option to ship, they no longer charge by the 100grams and they are now more expensive than PostaPlus.

A couple of weeks back a US mail forwarding company called Edfa3ly contacted me to let me know about their service. Since I had already reviewed countless of similar shipping services, I really wasn’t interested in reviewing another. But, turns out this shipping company had one feature that caught my attention. While services like Aramex’s Shop & Ship and PostaPlus’s MyBox charge per 1/2kg, Edfa3ly charges per 100grams, so I decided to try them out.

If you haven’t used a service like Shop & Ship before, they usually have a minimum weight they charge which is 1/2kg. So if your package weighed 50 grams you would still be charged 1/2kg. The charge varies from company to company, I use PostaPlus currently and they charge KD2.5 for the first 1/2kg while Aramex charges KD3.250. Both PostaPlus and Aramex also charge KD1 on top of that as a customs clearance fee so the cheapest you could ever pay with PostaPlus is KD3.5 and KD4.250 with Aramex. So if your item doesn’t cost much and doesn’t weigh much, it’s not feasible to order it all the way from the States.

I have a bunch of stuff on my Amazon wish list that I need but don’t bother ordering because of this very fact. For example there is a rubber eyecup for my camera, it’s a tiny rubber piece that costs around KD3 so it wouldn’t make sense to order it and then pay at least KD3.5 on top of that for shipping. But since Edfa3ly charge by the 100grams I decided to order it. Unlike other forwarding services, you don’t need to sign up to Edfa3ly. You just go to the website, enter the URL of the item you want to buy, fill out some information and then pay for the item and they will order it for you and ship it to Kuwait. So I did that and this is what the total came out to be for my order:

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Item Price: $10.7
Customs Fee: $0.54
Edfa3ly Fees: $0.54
Shipping Fees (1.33 dollar(s) per 100gm): $1.33 (0.05 kg)

Total Price: $13.11

So shipping from Amazon to Kuwait cost me just $2.41! You don’t pay US tax, you don’t pay US shipping and you don’t pay a local custom clearance fee. Instead you just pay the cost of shipping from the US to Kuwait plus an Edfa3ly fee which is 5% of the item cost. I had a package shipped to me and delivered to me in Kuwait within 10 days and just paid around 750 fils for shipping. Thats insane! I’ve got so many tiny cheap stuff I need to buy now like a new Dremel wrench since I lost mine or these tiny plastic rivets for my Datsun. Suddenly so many more things seem accessible.

So if you’re looking to order items that don’t cost much and weigh under 1/2kg, I can’t think of any better alternative. Here is a link to the Edfa3ly website [Link]




Categories
Videos

Kuwait Police Drone

Due to the fact the video is filmed on somebodies couch and the drone uses the old police insignia, it’s fair to assume this is someones personal project and not a new police surveillance tool. [YouTube]

policedrone