I have rarely called the 777 emergency number, only during an accident or a real emergency and they reply but never like this experience. I was on the fifth ring road taking Gazali Bridge to Shuweikh, if you continued straight on the same exit it would take you to the Avenues entrance after going under the bridge. Traffic was backed up all the way to Yarmook, I got around the cars and noticed that they were all piled up at the entrance, when I got closer there was a VW V6 which crashed into a four door Honda or Toyota, and it looked like a hard hit since the front left tire of the VW was crushed all the way into the engine. I pulled over on top the left side walk and got out, saw a woman in the VW on the phone, asked her if she was ok when I knocked on her window, she was crying and on the phone with someone from her family it seems and waved me off, the other Indian driver was standing outside his car which was spun around and on top of the side walk on the right side.
I called 112 and within two rings a woman answered, I told her I’m calling from an accident scene and she asked if I was in it, I told her I was just a passer by. She asked for the location and my name, I gave her the details, she said to hold and she will call Police Central Station and transfer me to the Ambulance Office. I spoke to the Ambulance Dispatcher who took the details and direction, the woman seemed ok but I told them she didn’t get out of her car and was crying, but nothing seemed wrong. So they were now on their way, and then he shut the phone which then transferred me back to the 112 operator and she told me the traffic police are on the way and will be calling you. I shut the phone and within a minute a police officer called asking for the exact location, and I told him where it was, he asked a couple of questions and said thank you. I shut the phone then another call came from another police officer who gave me his name and rank and said that he was coming from another direction and I gave him the location. After 5 minutes I could see police lights, and so I got in my car and was about to leave since there wasn’t anything else for me to do, and then I got a call from a 1800 number and it was the 112 dispatcher checking on the progress and the police. Told her I spoke to both of them and they are on the way and the ambulance as well, thanked her very much for everything she did and left.
I was honestly very very proud of how efficient they were, and how much they followed up. This is a drastic change from what the 777 reaction and procedure was, this felt professional and concerned and helpful. My hat goes off to the people who put this new system together and those are keeping this operation going.
Got a call from BikeWorld that they have a surprise waiting in their showroom, I had an inkling but wasn’t sure. I headed straight over only to find the beast sitting on the showroom floor, the infamous KTM X-Bow right in front of me. I was impressed when I first saw this machine on the track during GulfRun 5, but seeing it again made my heart skip a beat. Luckily this machine is also fully street legal, so you can drive on it on the streets but I would prefer to drive it on the track. Words can only describe the ferocity of the machine, powered by Audi 2.0 liter turbo FSI four it can fly down the road since its frame is made out of carbon fiber. The engine is mated to an Audi six-speed manual with military precision design. I like how it looks and the best part about it is the minimalistic design. One of the key features that I like about this machine is that its serviceable by Audi and you can tune the engine from any manufacturer who modifies Audi engines.
I knew this is an expensive piece of machinery, I have been asking about it for over a year now and it I kept getting pricing between 41’000 to 45’000 KD from the Emirates or Qatar. There was no budging on the price and it was too much, and this wasn’t even for the Superlight version, with upgraded brakes, modified suspension and lighter body. This KTM X-Bow at BikeWorld is selling for 34’995 KD which is barely above cost, its insanely cheap for an X-Bow, cheaper then the used ones online. I know this isn’t a machine for everyone but who ever gets it is someone who will love it dearly.
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After a recent paint job at the dealership my car needed protection on the front of the beemer. A large part of the car was repainted and looking very nice, I loved the clean look and I repainted the rims to gun metal grey. A week after the polish I decided to take my car to Huper Optik to get my car protection done, they said it would take about 4-5 hours to get my car done. They asked if I want halfway up the hood or the whole hood covered, and I just wanted halfway up.
They were working on a few other cars while I was there and said I can pick up my car by 6 pm. I dropped my car at 12 pm and they were working on a few other cars, I told them I wasn’t in any hurry to take the car and didn’t mind picking it up later. I wanted to pay my bill now so I can just pick up my car later, it was 185 KD which was discounted from the original 220 KD, side view mirrorss, A pillars, and about 15 cm on the roof of the car. I loved the work once they were done, the curves fit perfectly, no bubbles, no stretching in some areas, perfectly rounded around all the corners as well as around the lights it curved like the body of the car, and the best part is that you can’t see it when your looking at the car. They called me up at 5 pm telling me the car is done and ready to be picked up, I have to not wash it for two days to let the protection take hold before cleaning it again. They did an amazing job and faster then I expected, picked up the car and took off home to take a good look during daytime the next day just to double check.
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The Protégés is a unique program designed to influence the youth of Kuwait and push them towards reaching out to their better selves. It is an all-inclusive program that combines activities, challenges, games, and fun guided by the most talented people in different fields of interest. The Protégés is a non-profit program intended to help the youth experience and build themselves away from the typical norms of society. The program teaches students in an innovative ‘hands on’ technique where they will be mastering certain skills that will further enhance their future careers. Through The Protégés, we want to build a future generation inspired by the successful past and the people who built it, whether they are still recognized or deeply forgotten.
We are currently circulating universities and schools to spread the word and encourage students to register.
Applicants can register on our website or at our booths.
Mentors: (order according to attached picture left to right)
- Meshari Al Mufareh
- Yarub Burhama
- Rana Al Khaled
- Shamlan Al Bahar
- Bedour Al Shebli
- Reem Al Hunaidi
- Aziz Al Adwani
- Hamda Al Yousef
- Hamad Al Sayer
- Abdulla Al Essa
- Abdulaziz Al Loghani
Links:
Website: The Proteges
Facebook page: Proteges Facebook
Twitter: Proteges Twitter
After watching the last movie, Repo Man, at cinescape I wanted to check the online runtime compared to the KNCC runtime and they were identical. It looks like KNCC caught on to people comparing times and telling if the movie is butchered or not. People walked out of Date Time with Steve Carrel and Tina Fey saying that 50% of the movie was missing, it was probably an hour and five minutes no more then that.
Again I go back to my simple rule, if there is a movie you want to see try watching it else where, except if its an animated movie there would be little to cut then you can watch it in Kuwait. These movies were butchered to the point one lost you and the other was a jump between images with 50% of it gone.
This is turning into a weekly ritual, a bite to eat at the French restaurant then a walk across the large hall over to Pinkberry. There was a small line as usual, they just aren’t effecient about the process of putting orders together and the toppings. They introduced chocolate as the new flavor at Pinkberry this week, we tried a sample and it tasted off, not as good as Pomegranate and Original.
I had my usual small original on Friday as the treat of the week and it was perfect. Nice and cold, a fresh taste for the day, just the right amount of sweetness. Both the pomegranate and original yoghurt ice cream tastes good, the perfect start to the afternoon then I headed out to the barder for the perfect shave.
While in Dubai for two days we walked nonstop back and forth between places, their isn’t too many places which are designed for walking. There are lots of entrances and exits into the Mall but their are a lot of areas around it to walk and also other places in Dubai that you can walk a lot indoor or outdoors. The first day my calves were straining but the second day it was a bit better, I don’t walk around as much in Kuwait. The only place to walk as much is inside Avenues Mall and by the Scientific Center. There needs to be more development of our areas for people to walk, I see people walking every day in the Mishref walkway but there has to be other areas which can be nicer and more fun to walk, they can develop those areas and make more interesting. The area in front of Blajat which has been under construction for a long time now. The Showbiz which was under construction then Parliament took it away and did nothing with for three years now and counting. There are open spaces in Kuwait but they do need some work to look good and attract people to them. The Scientific Center was a fantastic idea and lots of people love it, it needs some improvement these days but we want more ideas such as those. Marina Waves and Marina Crescent are also areas that people enjoy walking, we need more waterside developments, and there are a long list of developers who are willing to do build them.
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Watching movies is one of my favorite past times, all kinds of movies, there is no question that I like going to the movie theaters to see some amazing movies. At times I want to go watch those movies at the VIP section which might have more comfortable seats or better sound or more secluded then other theaters. I have tried a few theaters in the Middle East and Europe, but for Middle East I wanted to do a ranking and the reasons why each one is good or could be improved
Cinema VIP Theater Ranking(Out of 10):
- Reel Cinemas (9)
- Cinestar Dubai (8)
- Cinescape KNCC (6)
Reel Cinemas
- Best Service
- Comfortable Large Lazy Boy Chairs
- Electronic Chair Controls
- The Chair Extends All The Way To Be Flat
- Button To Call For Service (Actually Works)
- Chairs Vibrate With The Effects which is fantastic
- Very Large Screen and State of the Art Theater Sound System
Cinestar Dubai
- More food selection
- Comfortable Large Lazy Boy Chairs
- Manual Chair Controls
- The Chair Extends all the way to be flat, but requires an extra push
- Button to Call for Service but its always broken
- Very Large Screen with Decent Sound
Cinescape KNCC
- Stiff Leather Seats, comfortable but after a while feels uncomfortable
- Doesn’t lean back all the way so you don’t feel as comfortable
- Electronic Seats which are good
- The Screen for the VIP is very small
- The sound is only good for the people sitting in the middle row, the edge seats don’t have good sound at all
- The food is stale and usually pretty bad, sad excuse for popcorn
Overall between all the cinemas Reel Cinemas is fantastic and I still enjoy Cinestar Dubai, but with Cinestar KNCC I prefer to go to the regular cinema because of the much larger screen and better screen, the VIP I go to if I don’t want to be bother by the crowd.
The Kuwait Architectural Students Association is proud to invite you to attend “Module 7”, the 7th Annual KASA Exhibition. The exhibition compiles and displays the last year’s worth of work conducted, designed and constructed by the students of Kuwait University’s Department of Architecture.
The opening ceremony will be held under the patronage of his excellency Sheikh Talal Al-Fahad Al-Ahmad Al-Subah at 7pm, on April 4th 2010 at the Avenues Mall, Phase II
The exhibition will run from April 4th to April 8th.
Follow KASA on twitter to get live updates of the event: KASA Twitter
Facebook event page: KASA Facebook
The one thing I think we are lacking in Kuwait is architectural creativity and in this case our students are not given the chance to exercise these newly gained skills. I like seeing works of young architects because they may be free of the conventional bounds, and in this case the KASA exhibit in Avenues. I’m going to check it out when I have the chance next and I think every else should as well.
Wednesday was the elections of the Chambers of Commerce and what a long day it was, up at 6 am and at the location by 7:30 am. I wasn’t thinking about food but about getting people to vote, those who can vote to make sure their permits were in order. The best part about this whole event is the support of family and friends, staying with you from morning until night. There were a swarm of people, lots of product support from Petra to KDD, from Cola to RC Cola, and then all the shawarma and saj stands throughout the day, food seems to be a prime attraction for a lot of people. I preferred not to eat most of the day and remained on my feet, my mistake was running around in sandals, but at around 3:00pm I went home showered and changed, then headed back but this time in sneakers.
Lots of people were coming and going, once they vote they head out, but you tend to see a lot of people which is great. This time the Chamber of Commerce did an amazing job organizing, the police did a fantastic job organizing as well. A lot of the police who were involved were high ranking officers who were very supportive and respectful which was fantastic. The whole day was exhausting but fantastic, the best part is that this is the first time a female candidate runs for the Chamber of Commerce in any Arab Country and she won, I was happy that she made it to the Chamber of Commerce, we were also lucky that this year is the toughest year in comparison to the others. The one thing which made the night shorter was that the vote count was an automated system which they used unlike last time, they counted over 6200 votes in less then 50 minutes when last time it lasted over 10 hours.
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