Meeting

I met with a fellow blogger today. It was my first meeting with another individual from the blogosphere and hope to meet the others in my blog roll in the near future.

That's me in the sneakers. :)

Find a wife

I get a lot of spam emails daily and they are deleted almost immediately from my inbox. But this one deserves a post in my blog. It seems to be a legitimate email from a guy in Kuwait. I didn't call on the number provided in the mail to verify authenticity coz I don't want to get involved with this matter. But its really funny, how desperate is this guy to send out spam emails in search of a wife ? Email ID, mobile number and photograph has been blacked out to protect his identity.

Click on the picture to see the larger size

lol @ "can you help me to find this wife please ?"

Have a nice weekend guys

Junk food

Its hard not to avoid junk food in Kuwait, everywhere you go you see hoardings of big giant burgers dripping with sauces and big buckets of crispy chicken. By the time you travel 10 kilometers you would have seen at least a dozen roadside ads and you slowly get brainwashed and your brain takes control over the steering wheel to drive you to the very nearest fast food outlet. It can be any time of day coz they're open 24 hours a day and you dont have to even move your fat ass out of the car coz they have drive-in service ! No wonder people say you get fat when you live in the Middle East !

I'm not the kind of person who craves or has an addiction to fast food but sometimes when you're in a hurry or too busy with work the only option is to order from a burger joint. Lately I've switched from my sandwich lunches to fruit. Just fruit, sometimes just an apple or a banana. Its hard to chomp on an apple for lunch and be satisfied but when I think of my long term goal it gives me some consolation.

But I'm not saying I'm giving up fast food, I love a good burger like a Big Mac or a Quarter Pounder and not to mention a couple of pieces of fried chicken with that cole slaw and fresh crispy salad and salty fries... oh oh I think I'm being brainwashed again...

NOOOOO!!!!

USB Voip Phone

For the past few years I've been using headphones and microphone for my Voip calls and voice chats. I preferred it over a dedicated phone coz;
1. I was too lazy to buy a phone
2. the same headset was used to listen to music as well.
Lately my family has started using Voip and I felt they were not too comfortable having to speak into a mic while wearing a heavy headset. I found this little product during my search for a cheap, no frills device and decided to buy it. This device is very simple and inexpensive and being a typical "Made in China" product it doesnt even have a brand name ! [link]



How it works;

1. Setup is pretty simple, you just plug it into the USB port and wait for the OS to detect it and install necessary drivers. It works fine on both Vista and XP.
2. Go to the Audio settings option in your messenger client (like Yahoo or Skype)
3. Select "USB Audio Device" for microphone and speakers and apply changes.


Now you're all set to make and receive calls !


After a month of use I've found that voice quality is really good and comparable to a regular telephone. The only problem now is that I've lost the driver CD that came along with and cannot use the hot keys if I'm using it on a new computer. Since it doesn't have a brand name I'm not able to search for drivers.

Another thing is that you need a computer to make calls. Since my whole apartment is covered by Wifi I'm thinking of buying a Wifi Voip phone in the near future. You can click the links below to see similar devices.

USB phones [link]
Wifi phones [link]

Busy weekend

Spent my whole weekend helping my folks move to a new apartment. Now they live a stone's throw from my place. :D

In case of fire...

Saw this on a wall near my home.

From what I've heard about the response time of 777, this could be a better option. :P

Sausage and mushrooms

This is one of my favorite dishes, I love it for its flavor and simplicity. This goes best with pasta or you can serve with your choice of fresh breads like Khubus, Roti or French loaf.

Here's what you need

1. a can of beef franks

2. a couple of boxes of fresh champignons (fancy word for mushrooms :P )

3. few cloves of garlic and half inch piece of ginger

4. extra virgin olive oil

5. shallots and green chillies

6. some of my secret spices ;)

Heat the olive oil in a wok and fry the crushed garlic and chopped ginger, when they release their aroma add the shallots and green chillies. When the shallots are soft and translucent add the mushrooms and frankfurters and toss them all together. The mushrooms will start to lose water and reduce drastically in size. Now I add my spices and toss them again to mix the spices. Keep the wok on a medium flame and toss them till the water evaporates and leaves the dish slightly moist but not too dry.

Serve hot and enjoy !

Have a nice weekend !

Aquarium update

These are the guys in my aquarium. This month I lost a couple of fish, a Catfish (also called a shark in most pet stores) and a dwarf Gaurami. I'm not sure what happened coz I'm very careful in taking care of things in my aquarium. One morning I noticed the catfish had some kind of growth on its side and then died the next day. The Gaurami's death was kind of unexpected, I came home from work and found it lying dead on the floor of the aquarium. Both of them were flushed down the toilet after I payed my er... respects :D

Forgive me for my ignorance about the scientific names of these fish.

Gold fish

Catfish

Silver shark

Platti

Gaurami

Suckermouth catfish

Twilight - Movie Review

I just got back from the theaters after watching 'Twilight' the movie with my wife and sister-in-law. I usually don't go to the movies on weekdays, I went for two reasons;
1. Monday night is 1/2 rate night, so I just pay 1.5 KD per ticket :)
2. It was 'supposed' to be a Vampire flick

From a guy's point of view this movie didn't live up to my expectations but my wife and sister-in-law liked it a lot. I'm a big fan of Gothic style Vampire movies with a heavy metal soundtrack and lots of fight sequences, but I guess this movie is intended for the teenage set or the ladies. I did like some of the scenes and a very clever camera angle in the class lab scene which made me think if it was a deliberate move from the director or it happened by mistake. ( the dude looked like he sprouted wings, but it was actually a stuffed owl in the background)

All in all I'd say it was worth a watch, and as I came out of the theater my wife mentioned something about a sequel and then I came to know that the next movie would have Werewolves in it ! I would watch the sequel but only on a Monday ! ;)

ps. stopped for a Filet-o-fish sandwich on the way back.

Reality bites

We've started to feel the effects of recession in Kuwait now. A lot of people have been put out of work by the current economic slowdown and financial crisis. A few of my close friends lost their jobs today, both Kuwaiti and expats. This really sucks.

Back in 2001 I was just getting out of college looking forward to a bright future in computers and then the Dotcom crash hit us. Now in 2008 the financial mess in the US and other countries have screwed me again. I'm less than 30 years old and I've already seen two major stock market crashes and global recessions. We're living in fucked up times now.

:(

New books

I've been falling back in my reading and haven't had much time (and patience) to complete reading the books in my list. Now here are two more books to add to my ever growing list. The first one is "Six Suspects" by Vikas Swarup, this was ordered by my wife and I got "One night @ a call center" by Chetan Bhagat for myself.

There were a lot of rave reviews for this book when it first came out and was later even made into a feature length movie ! I guess now is a good time to read the book :)

More info on Chetan Bhagat [link]

One night @ the call center [link]

Racism in Kuwait

I'm not a newcomer to racist comments or slurs. I'm an Indian with dark skin and that's the way I was born and I have no issues with that. What really bugs me is people of Asian countries acting like white Americans.

Last night I was out taking some photographs at the Hard Rock Cafe and there was a bunch of young kids playing the guitar and singing some songs. I was minding my own business, setting up my tripod and carefully taking some long exposure pictures of the sea and lights on the seashore. All of a sudden I hear someone shouting out "hey boy" "hey blackie" "yo black ass" and some more stuff in Arabic which I could not comprehend. I usually turn a deaf ear to stuff like this , "Sticks and stones...".

I dont understand why a Middle Eastern person would put on a fake American accent and then shout out racial slurs to another Asian (Yes most Arabs are Asian, deal with it) But let me tell you, if I were a person of African heritage I would have "whooped" his ass.

:)

Have a nice weekend "7abibis"

Indian Rock

I was visiting Grey's blog on Indian Rock music last night and I must say that hes complied the most impressive set of Indian rock bands I have ever seen. Over a decade ago Indian Rock was almost unheard of in the Indian subcontinent and existed mostly as underground concerts or private jam sessions at local gatherings. It was difficult to get sponsorship, support or even permission to stage a concert back in those days.

One of the first Indian bands I heard was Rock Machine back in 1992 and can you imagine, the record shop that I bought it from had ordered only 50 copies since they didnt expect anyone to buy them ! Rock Machine went thru some changes later on and became "Indus Creed" and now two of the original band members have formed a new group called Alms for Shanthi.
Another popular band from the 90's was 13AD.

The important thing is that these dedicated rockers survived and many of them have achieved star status now. For instance, in my hometown of Trivandrum there was a band called Charizma that played covers and had a few successful concerts in their resume. Now one of the guys (who also happens to be my friend) is in the very successful band Avial ! I wish him all the best.

And to all Indian rockers I say " ROCK ON !!!"

Mix with WHAT ???

My wife received a package from India recently, it was a new Herbal facepack thats being advertised in all the major cable channels. I was sitting near her having my evening tea as she was unpacking it and reading the instructions when I heard her surprised sound. When I asked her what it was she handed over the instruction leaflet and asked me to see what they recommend mixing it with.

I just took one look at it and burst out laughing, then I asked her if shes actually gonna do it and when I saw the look on her face I laughed my guts out ! Both of us were like "EWWW!!!!" I laughed so hard I was crying !

Needless to say shes sticking with milk and honey as mixing mediums. :)

African Beaches

Yup, they're selling African Beaches in CityCenter @ 1.25 KD/Kg

Ace Hardware

I'm not too fond of shopping but there are some exceptions; Electronics, Toys and Hardware. This weekend I had to pick up a few things from Ace hardware and spent quite a bit of time going thru all the new stuff there.

Toys and Hardware ! my kinda shop :)

Theres something about brand new shiny tools and building equipment that gets me all worked up. I used to watch the TV series Home Improvement as a kid and loved the show and used to imagine what it would be like to be Tim "the tool man" Taylor. :)

New Indian School Jabriya

On Thursday my mom and I attended the Grand Reunion of New Indian School Alumni at the Crowne Plaza in Farwaniya. It was great to see many old faces and once again interact with my teachers. I was amazed to see guys from the 1976 batch, I didn't even know our school was that old ! The school operated from 1976 to 1990 and didn't resume after Liberation. :(

Unveiling the school flag

The whole event was masterminded by DJ Mario and a dedicated team of ex-NIS students. Overall the event was managed superbly and everyone had a great time. There was a projector showing pictures from the good old days and we even sang the School Anthem together after almost two decades ! I hope to see more from this group in the years to come.

The Team

Our dear teachers

If there are any ex NIS students reading this you can join the Facebook group here [link]
The NIS website [link] where you can keep yourself updated on the latest happenings

Party time !

What happened to all the Traffic ?

There's something fishy going on here in the State of Kuwait... very light morning traffic for the past couple of weeks. Normally this would be a good thing but today morning it took me just 12 minutes to get to the office !! I heard barely 3 songs on the radio and "BANG" I'm pulling into the parking area in our office building.

On a usual work day with the school and office rush at (7am) it takes me about 45 minutes to get to Mirqab and you can imagine my surprise when I did the same route in 12, and plus no crazy ladies have been trying to run me over in their big SUVs ! :D

Photos taken at 7:30 AM today

My theories are;

1. Schools are closed for some reason,
2. Universities are on a break,
3. Many people have taken off on holiday,
4. Work timings may have changed for some private companies,
and my most disturbing theory is;
5. Massive lay offs due the global economic crisis and its effects in the Middle East. :(