15 Feb2008 Sunrise
I bet you were sound asleep!
This is what it looked like:
The high expected for today is 68°F/20°C – Beautiful! Wish I could send some of this sunshine to the Pacific Northwest!
Parking Hall of Shame
Just four spots away was a legitimate spot, but no! This guy has to leave his rear end half out into the driving lane so that he could be right by the door. I am guessing he only parked there because all the handicapped spots were already taken (by able bodied people.)
The other day I heard a woman say that it is OK to park in a handicapped spot if no one else has taken it because it means that no handicapped person needs it.
What ignorance!
What happens when someone with a leg injury comes looking for that spot? Someone with asthma? Someone old, with joint problems? People who park in a handicapped spot have NO HEART!
Diet Soda and Metabolic Syndrome
Bad news about a recent study on Diet Soda from The New York Times. You can read more up-to-date health news by clicking on the blue type.
By NICHOLAS BAKALAR
Published: February 5, 2008
Researchers have found a correlation between drinking diet soda and metabolic syndrome — the collection of risk factors for cardiovascular disease and diabetes that include abdominal obesity, high cholesterol and blood glucose levels, and elevated blood pressure.
The scientists gathered dietary information on more than 9,500 men and women ages 45 to 64 and tracked their health for nine years.
Over all, a Western dietary pattern — high intakes of refined grains, fried foods and red meat — was associated with an 18 percent increased risk for metabolic syndrome, while a “prudent” diet dominated by fruits, vegetables, fish and poultry correlated with neither an increased nor a decreased risk.
But the one-third who ate the most fried food increased their risk by 25 percent compared with the one-third who ate the least, and surprisingly, the risk of developing metabolic syndrome was 34 percent higher among those who drank one can of diet soda a day compared with those who drank none.
“This is interesting,” said Lyn M. Steffen, an associate professor of epidemiology at the University of Minnesota and a co-author of the paper, which was posted online in the journal Circulation on Jan. 22. “Why is it happening? Is it some kind of chemical in the diet soda, or something about the behavior of diet soda drinkers?”
Valentine Day Sunrise
Psalm 50
1The mighty one, God the Lord,
speaks and summons the earth
from the rising of the sun to its setting.
Bulletin: New Kuwait Traffic Laws
From today’s Arab Times:
New traffic law enacted: e-mails
KUWAIT : Several people on Monday received e-mails and SMS messages on the new traffic fines allegedly imposed by the Interior Ministry. Sources at the Ministry refused to deny or confirm the messages but said a new traffic law will be implemented soon.
(Comment: Holy Smokes! Did the bloggers and e-mailers get it right???)
New Kuwait Traffic Fines
A new e-mail flying around Kuwait gives the new traffic fines. At first, I thought this was a joke, but it looks pretty serious. Will someone please explain why a Jordanian car would get such a stiff fine?
And I remember a lot of discussion about penalties for talking on a mobile phone while driving, but when did the law pass? Was there any announcement? And babies in the front seat, not allowed, when did that change? All of this is amazing to me, I am still wondering if it is a hoax?
Do you think the police will really enforce these laws?
Kuwait Weirdness
This is such a small thing, but just TOO WEIRD! In the tiny little weather forecast in today’s Kuwait Times, it says that today’s weather will reach a high of 48°C and tonight will reach a low of 32°C. Like Weather Underground says 24°C/14° – that’s very different. It was hot today, but much more like 24° than a summery 48°C (118.4°F.)
More weirdness – isn’t there any warning when a major road is going to close, you know, like GULF ROAD??? I was caught in the quagmire today, trying to get home and not able to get on Gulf Road and seeing all the north-south major roads in total gridlock. What is this??? I never saw a word, not in Arab Times, not in Kuwait Times, not in the blogs – did anyone know this was coming?
One Day, Two Sunrises 11 Feb 2008
I didn’t think we were going to have any kind of photographable sunrise today, and, to my surprise, I got two. It almost looks like two totally different days, but it is just the way the light changed within minutes:
Here is how warm it has become in Kuwait – the Qatteri Cat is not snuggled up next to me at night to absorb every possible ray of emitted heat. 😦
I think the local schools are back from their winter breaks – traffic has once again become frantic and hostile some parts of the day.
Scattered Clouds
At seven this morning, it was already 50°F/10°C – BIG change from last week. At seven in Kuwait, it is 8 PM in Seattle, where the temperature is 49°F/9°C – almost exactly the same, just a little warmer in Kuwait as the day gets started.
Weather Underground Kuwait tells us today we will see scattered clouds, and that right now we have “mist.” I am seeing a while lot of mist. I am a little shocked, because my balcony was all misted this morning; that doesn’t happen often. But “scattered” clouds? Right now, there is a thick cloud cover, but it may dissipate as the day warms up.
This is what the scattered clouds did to the sunrise this morning:
You might wonder why I do this every morning. It all started because I really love sunrises, and every sunrise has something that makes it special from the others. (Well, not every single one; you will see some mornings I miss sunrise or skip it.) Also, my friends and family like being able to see through my eyes, to see a little of the world I live in. As an additional bonus, there are Kuwaitis all over the world who miss home, and who like to see a glimpse of what today looks like in Kuwait. I get e-mails in the background from expats who lived here as children, and are shocked by the changes.
Now you know all the reasons for the morning report.
The clouds are for my blogging buddy Fonzy who photographs clouds the way I photograph sunrises.
Is This News?
Today in the Arab Times I see this announcement:
Ministry monitoring Internet networks to block porn sites
KUWAIT : The Ministry of Communications is monitoring Internet networks to block porn websites and clamp down illegal Internet telephony, Al Seyassah daily quoted the Director of Telephones Monitoring Department at the Ministry of Communications Eng Nasser Al Khandari as saying. The department is also monitoring various areas for such illegal telephone service providers.
Is this news? One time, I was looking for tablecloths, and the site was blocked for inappropriate content. It seems to me that the Ministry of Communication has an ongoing battle, trying to block content providers. As for illegal telephony . . . it appears they are cracking down mostly on large scale telephone service providers, not on the individual VOIP phones. VOIP users complain from time to time about “listeners” and about echos, but I think this is more a result of poor connections than any local actions. Am I wrong?
Which ministry is it that will be/is monitoring bloggers?
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