The one thing that I loved about GMail from day one is we stopped getting spam, with yahoo it was getting bad and with hotmail it was basically garbage getting dumped on you. With Google they caught 99.99982% of all the spam that came out. But when it comes to text messages we get so many random text from shopping extravaganzas to nut case candidates to the randomest things, this is all on my Zain lines. I don’t use text messages as much as used to but seriously they are a major pain with all these spam texts that we get from 88990, 99077, and so many other random numbers, and you are charged for receiving them even when you are abroad. As we were complaining online and included Zain Kuwait in the Twitter conversation they let us know that we could unsubscribe from the Ads via the above text actions but there is a bit of skepticism, so hopefully we can get out of it but lets see for how long. There is no laws regulating how cell phone companies can use our numbers and no real ways for them to check, we are left uninformed of what we can do to protect ourselves from being spammed but this is a decent step in the right direction and lets see how long it will last without ads.

After Futoor on Wednesday I got text messages stating that another Kuwait Airways Plane had an emergency landing in Jeddah right after take off and Emergency Oxygen Masks were deployed in the plane. This is the second incident in the last month of a plane having a major mechanical failure, the one before this is when the engines went out on the plane but luckily the pilots knew how to handle the planes and themselves in these emergency situations. One thing that is or was good about Kuwait Airways is that they really trained their pilots, they are probably the best in the region if not the world but I don’t know how of those pilots are left because they are picked up by Emirates, Etihad, Qatar Airways, and even GulfAir with better salaries and benefits.

Our national carrier was the pride of the country, landing points in every major airport across the world, in 2012 it isn’t even a shadow of what it used to be. Kuwait Airways have 15 aircrafts in their fleet and of them 5 have been grounded as of the last two to three weeks, the Airbus A310s & A300s. I don’t even know if they have anymore spare parts to fix these planes and get them airborne let alone safe.

In 2006 Kuwait Airways placed an order for 17 to 19 New Aircrafts, a combination of Airbus 320s & Boeing 787 Dreamliners which was approved by the Council of Ministers. The amount totaled $3 Billion and right after that was blocked by Parliament which they stated at the point would privatize Kuwait Airways giving the New Investors the choice of Aircraft, its now 2012 and still no steps have gone forward in the privatization direction. They were supposed to receive a third of their fleet by 2010 and the rest by the beginning of 2014 since they whole fleet had to be replaced because of their age. I think based on recent events their age is showing and its not a good sign.

Lets not even discuss the level of service or rudeness of the staff, that’s a whole different post but sometimes I can’t blame them because the people who are getting on the plane are even ruder. Kuwaitis act very badly on Kuwait Airways and get away with it, but they wouldn’t even think of trying that on any other airline because they know they would get kicked off. The staff feels like they are falling apart as well, even though there are still some good people there, they are the minority these days.

I believe in a National Carrier but in this case the risk of taking Kuwait Airways is not a risk I am willing to take. I wouldn’t even pay for a ticket on Kuwait Airways in the first place, I have flown Kuwait Airways twice in the past 10 years and both times have been a disaster of an experience but now its getting dangerous to fly on them.

Even if they wanted to get new planes there are three possible ways, they would lease it from one of these Plane Dealers at a very high rate to get it as early as possible, and even if they did they would get it before 2014. They can buy it from Boeing or Airbus but that won’t be available except until 2016 and even if someone cancels there order they would have to check if Kuwait Airways have the same plane requirements to see if they match so that they could get it sooner, or they just move up a bit in the que. In any case it doesn’t look like they can even get new planes any time soon.

There has to be less politics in Kuwait Airways and they need to clean it up, I don’t know how much longer it can survive limping from year to year.

Check out the video below: The 787 Dreamliner is a plane took time to come market while Boeing worked out all the kinks in it, but it has been worth it, its a wider plane with a higher ceiling making it more comfortable for people to fly in. It also has a steep take off and is a very dynamic plane which is very maneuverable, check out the video below at an airshow in the UK where Boeing showcases the new Qatar Airways 787 Dreamliner.

It is here at last, probably one of the hottest Ramadans we are going to spend in Kuwait, but still there is something that I love about Ramadan. To everyone مبارك عليكم الشهر & Ramadan Kareem, this is going to be an interesting one, even though last year was from August until September, I’m sure what people have planned, it seems a lot of people are spending their Ramadan outside of Kuwait because of the heat. I for one don’t have an issue with anything except the thirst that we will face from this heat. I’m not hungry yet, but food is on my mind and luckily during ramadan there is a lot of food to choose from during futoor.

We are The National Gaming Union, a group of highly advanced and highly competitve video gamers. We will be organizing a huge event in Ramadan with prominent sponsors like Wataniya Telecom, Al Rai Tv, Fatburger and many others. The event will be held on 3 consecutive Fridays, in the Live Theatre Discovery Mall, with each day holding a different gaming genres. Prizes include mobile fones, gaming consoles, cash and wifi routers! First prize winners get KD100 cash, 1 Xbox, Samsung Nexus Mobile and wataniya internet device!

I consider myself an avid gamer even though I don’t play not even 10% of what I used to play back in the day. But I still love games and wish I had the time, but there are other gamers out there and the National Gaming Union is going to put them against each other for the ultimate tournament in Kuwait during Ramadan.

I’m liking the games! :

• STREET FIGHTER IV
• ULTIMATE MARVEL VS. CAPCOM 3
• CALL OF DUTY MW3 (FREE FOR ALL)
• CALL OF DUTY MW3 (TEAM/4 Players)
• FIFA 2012

Check The Details Below:
Twitter: @N_gamingunion
Instagram: @N_gamingunion
Website: NationalGamingUnion

The first time I had Potbelly’s sandwich was in Chicago about four years ago now, and it was a pretty damn good sandwich, something about it was different. My favorite was always Quiznos and Subway was crap in the US, it was always my last choice. In Kuwait Subway has some decent sandwiches but sometimes they screwed up, the other day I was in Kuwait Airport about to get on my flight but was hungry as hell, so I decided to try out Potbelly in Kuwait and I was happy I did.

I had the Turkey something sandwich, loved the sauce, and how it was cooked, crunchy and light. Ok, now I remember it was called “The Clubby”, I honestly liked that it wasn’t too heavy, but I just had to try their chili cheese fries, if my memory serves me correctly it was damn good, and luckily it was as good as I remember it.

I checked it turns out to be only open in the Avenues and honestly I hate going to the Avenues because of traffic, I just hope they have delivery because I will be ordering from them a lot now. They need to open other branches in other locations, preferably ones that are closer to me.

Kuwait is probably one of the most active country on Social Media out of the whole Arab Region, we are always online posting the new thing or our experiences or whatever pops into our mind. I think Kuwait is one of the main countries that capitalizes on Social Media in terms of businesses. There are some business that sell only through Facebook, and they communicated through twitter as well, and now its Instagram. Its like watching the Migration pattern of a herd, really everyone is online. You know you can tell when Instagram for Android came along every body just migrated to Instagram, you iPhone people had it a while back but only when the Android version came along that everyone started using it so much.

First it was Facebook then Twitter came along, and now after Instagram is the big hit Twitter feels like an empty Wasteland. But since the 24 hour disappearing act that Instagram pulled it seems people were going through withdrawal, phones were being thrown at walls, they had to communicate like normal people again which scared them, some people were even back on Twitter for a bit, they felt cut off, no pictures to help them know what is going on, that burger that was so good, or what your friend is doing just that minute. But still I can’t blame people its a lot of fun, for a while Twitter felt like a huge hall with only a few people in it, you can hear the echo when you shout, people reply to you these days. I for one do enjoy Twitter and Instagram, still not on Facebook and don’t I will be getting on there, I dislike Zuckerberg too much, don’t know why but I just don’t trust him.

It’s really funny seeing people wait, these days you can see there fingers sliding upwards across their screen and I know 1000% that they are looking at Instagram and liking one picture after another. At the end of the day most of this social media is helping things in Kuwait and other areas as well, people finding things out quicker, information passed along more concisely but don’t lose touch of the normal world, pick up the phone and call, go see someone, it isn’t always about being online, disconnecting every once in a while is good.

Thanks to @ZainKuwait for setting up a very fun event, I haven’t been to much of any events because of timing and work, but because a lot of people I knew were going and people called up (Dude from 7ajiDude) I decided that I would pass by for a bit before having to take off. They really tied everyone together on this one, and they held it at a very nice venue, @ Al Hamra on the 55th floor, The Sky Lobby, so you get to meet friends and new people with a beautiful view. Every body from every type of social media was there from Bloggers, Tweeters, YouTubers, and Instagrammers, pretty much anyone and everyone that had to do with Social Media.

The amount of people I saw and wanted to catch up with was insane, I met up with the Android crew and we held up the back corner by Pick Yo while the events started. Literally I think everyone was there, I kept flying between people saying hello and catching up. There was a lot of Apple and Android banter going on but it was relatively friendly, lol. They were giving away prizes to people who were answering questions right and one of them ones who did was Jacqui, she original gadget queen.

The best part for me was catching up with a lot of people I have seen in a while all in one time, but it was a bit too short a time to catch up with everyone. The event setting was great, and I loved the seating, they really did a great job of setting the whole thing up. The catering was nothing short of fantastic, all by local businesses and very well done, there were literally many to list a few: Gelato Italiano, Rice Pudding Factory, Neqsa, Kiwi Bakery, Pick-Yo Frozen Yoghurt, The Pantry, Gathering, Al Foz Kitchen, Chocolateness, and Vinox Chocolatier. Those are just the few that I could remember and I was only there for an hour.

(Pictures Were Supplied By The Great Qortuba)

At last it has opened, Shawarma Shuweikh after such a ridiculously long wait. It was supposed to open a while back but due to politics it took sometime to get all the necessary approvals and it was really worth the wait. We got invited to the soft opening, and a lot of people showed up, even people who lived in Shuweikh were passing by to pick up the sandwiches assuming it was open and selling. The past week was a test run for people and for the staff, and a lot of effort and work went into making the place retro with high quality food. Its located in the second parking lot of the Shuweikh Coop just behind Al Qatami Mosque, you can’t miss it, and if you do then you had better find it.

Just to let people know it is only about 2 meter wide by 3 meters long, just big enough for people to order and leave, there isn’t any seating area. You go in, make your choice and then wait for your order to be called out. Be a bit patient with them since it takes some time to get the Shawarma, and these sandwiches are very rich in taste and worth the wait. The best part is that you have a choice of samoon, lebanese bread, and saj, my preference is to have saj because it doesn’t just fill you with bread and you get to really taste the sandwich. I tried almost all their sandwiches, took a bite from each one and they were all really good. And the best part of the retro look is that it is a very high quality setup.

My Favorite Shawarama By Far:

• Shawarma 1961

A new political song by Mishaal Al Arouj, the overall of the song are the current situation of living in Kuwait and how we could change it the best in future.

I don’t usually talk politics here but I found this video posted up on Q8Path and I have to say that it did move me, very well shot and a simple idea of what we are frustrated with. My hat goes off to the people that put it together, simply visualizing our frustration.

Link Q8Path

Recently some people have been asking about advertising more then before, but I don’t think its for me. There are some very good companies approaching blogs and there are some that don’t have a clue what they want. It’s been on my mind for some time, and even Jacqui wrote a very good article about Ridiculous Ratings & Rankings. Sometimes this is what these companies ask for and the numbers are there target.

For myself I don’t have any idea of what my ranking is realistically. I just think there are a few people who tolerate what I write and I mostly write about the topics I enjoy and what some others might relate too. There are some blogs that have turned into freaking billboards, they are more like those Ad papers in newspapers, almost nothing worth reading and gives you a headache.

I don’t mind blogs with Ads, honestly I think its a very good thing. I think that companies have realized the worth of the blogs and people behind the blogs and I hope social advertising becomes more and more important to companies. A lot of these blogs are very deserving of it and it gives companies a real platform to get instant feedback from their customers and bloggers.

I don’t think I would be advertising anytime soon for one main reason. I don’t want to feel that I have to blog instead that I just want to blog. Then the other aspect of is that I don’t want to be limited on the topics that I talk about. Some times I am rude and at times I attack companies who act the wrong way, be it a company or a government entity. I want to be able to write the truth and voice my opinion without having to worry about offending my advertisers. So I think I’m going to stick to that for now. Some times I do wish I had alternate income from the blog then I would be able to make Amazon purchases more often then once every 3 to 6 months.