Record Traffic Violations Recorded
Cameras capture record traffic violations
Staff Writer – From today’s Al Watan
Wooo HOOOO! Cameras are impartial; they catch the violators, no matter who. I love it.
KUWAIT: The relocation of radar cameras on major roads has led to a sharp increase in the number of violations registered during an entire month. According to security sources; they reported that around 2,000 cars have been photographed by the relocated cameras during last January as compared to 900 cars prior to the relocation.
Earlier on, the Assistant Undersecretary for Traffic Affairs Major General Mahmoud AlـDousari had recommended the relocation of the radar cameras, particularly since motorists had become too familiar with the previous locations. Drivers who have been involved in violations have been contacted through official channels to either pay their fines or get referred to the concerned authorities. It has been gathered that fines have been already collected from 400 errant motorists.
Last updated on Friday 27/3/2009
Here is an extra one for you, General Al-Dousari, one of those special kind of people who travel in the emergency lane while the rest of us obey the rules and crawl along the freeway. I could not resist this particular photo – with the sign right there.
PS – We were not moving. I wasn’t driving when I took the photo. 🙂
Kuwait imposes fee on public toilets?
LOL – there are public toilets in Kuwait? Where? Women always memorize which buildings have public restrooms, but aren’t those owned by the buildings? And holy smokes, what do we do if we don’t have small change left after all our shopping??? Men are more . . . umm. . . err. . . flexible, but women need privacy, i.e. restrooms!
TRAIN your cleaners! Give them proper supplies! Hold their supervisors responsible for their inspection and maintenance of standards! This is called ACCOUNTABILITY.
Charging for use of public restrooms will impose, at the very least, inconvenience for women, and most likely, embarrassment for those who don’t have the money, at the very worst times, like when you have seven children with you and three of them need to use the toilets. Charging fees for usage? Bad idea.
Municipality to impose fees on public toilets
Staff Writer From this morning’s Al Watan
KUWAIT: Kuwait is seriously mulling over the notion of imposing nominal fees for using public toilets.
Mohammad AlـAmri, the Convener of the Cleansing Committee at Kuwait Municipality, stated that the fee is aimed at providing better sanitary services along the lines that are implemented in certain neighboring countries. The official also noted that the current cleaning contracts are scheduled to expire in November 2010.
In a related development, the outgoing Minister of State for Municipal Affairs and Minister of Public Works Dr Fadhil Safar disclosed that Kuwait Municipality is currently working on a proposal to implement a new mechanism in keeping track with the performance of cleaning companies to ensure that the garbage is disposed off at the assigned dumpsites. He added that the system has been already implemented in the Kuwait City Governorate and is expected to be applied in all other governorates soon.
Last updated on Thursday 26/3/2009
First Kuwaiti Policewomen Graduate
Wooo HOOO on you, Kuwaiti policewomen! It is always hard to be in the vanguard, you take the criticisms, you take the disbelieving stares, and you handle questions, even from your own families. It’s always tough to be out front – to be a leader.
First group of policewomen graduate
From today’s Al Watan
KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces Sheikh Sabah AlـAhmad AlـSabah has attended on Wednesday the graduation ceremony of the 35th batch of military cadets, the 20th batch of specialized officers and the first batch of female cadets at the Support Authority Institute of the Saad AlـAbdullah Academy for Security Sciences.
The ceremony witnessed the graduation of the first batch of policewomen in the country. His Highness the Amir who arrived at the academy at 10:30 a.m. was warmly received by the Minister of Interior Lieutenant General Sheikh Jaber AlـKhalid AlـSabah, as well as other senior police officers.
The ceremony was also attended by His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf AlـAhmad AlـSabah, Vice President of the National Guards Corps Sheikh Mishaal
AlـAhmad AlـSabah, His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser AlـMohammed AlـSabah, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Defense Sheikh Jaber AlـMubarak AlـSabah, as well as other members of the ruling family, senior statesmen and members of the families of the graduating cadets.
Representatives of the 35th batch of military cadets then handed over the national flag to the representatives of the 36th batch. The Assistant Director General of the Academy for Education and Training Affairs Brigadier Dr. Waleed Khalaf BinـSalama read the ministerial decrees before inducting the new male and female police officers into the police force.
His Highness the Amir handed the graduates awards and certificates in appreciation for their efforts and then received the shield of the academy, that is dedicated to him, from Major General Yousef Mubarak AlـMedhahka. ـKUNA
Last updated on Thursday 26/3/2009
Sunrise March 26, 2009
It is a glorious sunrise. There are just enough clouds to radiate and reflect the glory of the rising sun, the haze has retreated, at least temporarily. Looking closer, however, you can see a totally separate layer of brownish yellow, and in this photo, it is even higher, above the rising sun. As I watched the layer, it morphed from a whale’s tale, to an elephant spouting water, to a scorpion tale, rising out of the rising sun.
It looks like we can breathe more safely today, Kuwait, as we get ready for the weekend. Yesterday, I couldn’t keep my eye make up on – I didn’t even know it but I was rubbing it off as I rubbed my irritated eyes. Let’s hope today is a better day.
We’re having a little cold spell – temperatures will be a little lower today. For all my friends in Germany, in Seattle, New York and other assorted – and cold – places, that was a little joke. We have had temperatures up in the 80’s and 90’s.
Perfect weather for fishing. I want this boat:
Al Kout Festival
Wooo HOOOO! An event we know about BEFORE it happens!
March 31 and April 1, 11am -7pm. American University of Kuwait, Salmiya Campus
The Arabian Heritage Project is proud to present “Al-Kout Festival”
(Old Kuwait Festival) an event being held to celebrate the grand opening of the
Arabian Heritage Project, a research, archival, and outreach center dedicated to
promoting and fostering the heritage of the Peninsula and related cultures.
Two days of celebration from 11 am till 7 pm at the American University Of
Kuwait campus in Salmiya. The event will include National Museum Exhibits, live
performances by Kuwaiti traditional bands (Bin Hussein and Mayouf), Sawt
musicians, Bedouin poetry, Kuwaiti History Game Show, distinguished live
Craftsmen, a Bazaar, old Kuwaiti cars, refreshments; basically a chance to
experience authentic Kuwaiti Tradition and Culture at its best.
The Festival opens at 11am, performances (Kuwaiti Sawt musicians, poetry,
Kuwaiti music piano recital, etc.) begin at noon. Sea bands begin at 5pm each
day.
Please note, parking is limited. Carpooling is advised.
Light Haze My Foot!
The sun is a mere light dot in the sky, small, impotent, far away and struggling to break through the “light haze.” The “light haze” is so think that I can only see a couple hundred meters off the shore, and my head is thick and it is harder to breathe this morning. I have a very bad feeling about this “light haze.”
Blush Pink Dawn 24 Mar 09
It was one of those hushed, still mornings; once again the water is smooth as glass and the sky is just preparing to receive the sun, all glow-y and blushing, but without the presence of the awaited guest:
This morning’s temperature at 0630 was the expected high temperature back in January. It is still fresh, but it won’t be for long.
Have a great day, Kuwait!
Furminator and the Qatteri Cat
The poor Qatteri Cat with his luxurious thick furry coat starts getting a little uncomfortable around this time of the year, when the temperatures rise, and by May or June, he starts getting lumps in his fur – no matter how often I comb him. Sometimes he even gets nasty and takes a nip at me while I am trying to comb.
Friends with long haired cats have the same complaints. Some recommend the lion cut, which makes the cats look like furry poodles, all shaved on their main bodies, with furry heads and feet and tails. I was even thinking that might be the solution for QC. I’ve been chasing him around with little manicure scissors and carefully cutting off knobs of fur when they appear – and then I saw the Furminator.
Someone had mentioned it once, or mentioned finding a tool that somehow cut out part of the cats fur and the cats loved the feeling. Maybe Vixen? But she couldn’t remember the name.
The Furminator has metal teeth in two sizes, and the smaller ones, I think, are razor sharp. The longer teeth are not, so you brush, nothing gets snagged, but as you brush, rolls and rolls of excess fur come rolling out. It’s kind of a miracle and it’s kind of gross, but if you keep a garbage can nearby while you brush, you can just put it directly in the trash. I Find QC napping, I talk softly and brush softly. He doesn’t mind a bit. You wouldn’t believe how much hair you can brush out of a cat with this tool.
They have their own website The Furminator and they have different sizes, from cat to dog to horse.
You can order them, I discovered, through amazon.com.
Qatteri Cat is happy not to have the lion cut. 🙂
The REAL French Aioli Sauce
My beautiful French friend looked at me sadly, considering how to deliver the bad news in the most gracious way possible.
“Yes, Intlxpatr, it is a very delicious garlic mayonnaise, but . . . it is NOT aioli,” she said, regretfully honoring France and all of French tradition. “The real aioli uses potato, and has a totally different texture from this mayonnaise.”
Back a long time ago, I published instructions for making your own mayonnaise, aioli and rouille and it has been one of my all time high statistics grabbers. How embarrasing to be so wrong!
But I am not alone. This morning as I went looking for “real” French aioli, it wasn’t until page 3 I found this recipe, which sounds very close to what I remember eating down in Les Leques, as we stayed in a family hotel on the beach and ate breakfast and dinner with all the French families. Aioli is both the name of a dish – a white fish, usually cod, served with vegetables and a huge bowl of garlic sauce – and also the name of the sauce itself. We adore both.
Here is the recipe I found for REAL French aioli found in a recipe site called Big Oven:
INGREDIENTS
6 Cloves garlic; peeled
1/2 c Pine nuts
3 Potatoes-boiled; peeled
1 Juice of a lemon
1/4 c Olive oil
1 Egg; lightly beaten
INSTRUCTIONS
Combine the garlic and the nuts in a blender or food processor and puree.
Add the potatoes, and puree.
Pour potato mixture into a bowl and, using a wisk, beat in the lemon juice, a bit at a time.
Gradually add the olive oil in a thin stream while continuing to beat so oil combines with potato mixture. When oil has been absorbed, add the egg and beat well.
Giovanni de Bourbon
Most of the other recipes that sound the most authentic start with garlic crushed in a mortar and pestle, ground together with salt, then the oil added drop by drop until a thick mixture is obtained. Those are the basics – where to go from there seems to be evolving away from the original Provencal recipes.
Sunrise March 21, 2009
For all your Kuwaiti students back in the USA who check in daily to see what Kuwait looks like – I am sorry to tell you, you are missing one of the most beautiful days of the year. The sun rose over a sea so still it is like glass; it looks so solid you could walk on it:
You wonder how I know you are Kuwaiti students? I use this wonderful software called StatCounter which I love.
What is STATCOUNTER?
A free yet reliable invisible web tracker, highly configurable hit counter and real-time detailed web stats. Insert a simple piece of our code on your web page or blog and you will be able to analyse and monitor all the visitors to your website in real-time!
It allows me to see where people who check my blog are checking in from – like if you are at University of Arizona, for example, it might show me that. People who have commented are identified from previous comments. It is a great little utility, and a lot of fun when you have a little time to spare.
For those of you in Kuwait – look at this week to come:
It doesn’t get any more beautiful in Kuwait. Get outside today! It is gorgeous out there!
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