A Cup of Coffee

I have always been intrigued by the ingredients inside a good cup of coffee.

Like many, my initiation to coffee addiction started in 1999 (I was 26) with the regular instant coffee (Nescafe). The taste was great until Starbucks invaded every corner and I got introduced to brewed Java beans. From there on I never tasted instant coffee again.

Whether an espresso, a filter machine or a French press I have ever since enjoyed 2-3 cups per day. Below is the latest study detailing the ingredients of a good coffee cup. It is quite interesting to say the least! Check it out.

Caffeine
This is why the world produces more than 16 billion pounds of coffee beans per year. It's actually an alkaloid plant toxin (like nicotine and cocaine), a bug killer that stimulates us by blocking neuroreceptors for the sleep chemical adenosine. The result: you, awake.

Water
Hot H₂O is a super solvent, leaching flavors and oils out of the coffee bean. A good cup of joe is 98.75 percent water and 1.25 percent soluble plant matter. Caffeine is a diuretic, so coffee newbies pee out the water quickly; java junkies build up resistance.

2-Ethylphenol
Creates a tarlike, medicinal odor in your morning wake-up. It's also a component of cockroach alarm pheromones, chemical signals that warn the colony of danger.

Quinic acid
Gives coffee its slightly sour flavor. On the plus side, it's one of the starter chemicals in the formulation of Tamiflu.

3,5 Dicaffeoylquinic acid
When scientists pretreat neurons with this acid in the lab, the cells are significantly (though not completely) protected from free-radical damage. Yup: Coffee is a good source of antioxidants.

Dimethyl disulfide
A product of roasting the green coffee bean, this compound is just at the threshold of detectability in brewed java. Good thing, too, as it's one of the compounds that gives human feces its odor.

Acetylmethylcarbinol
That rich, buttery taste in your daily jolt comes in part from this flammable yellow liquid, which helps give real butter its flavor and is a component of artificial flavoring in microwave popcorn.

Putrescine
Ever wonder what makes spoiled meat so poisonous? Here you go. Ptomaines like putrescine are produced when E. coli bacteria in the meat break down amino acids. Naturally present in coffee beans, it smells, as you might guess from the name, like Satan's outhouse.

Trigonelline
Chemically, it's a molecule of niacin with a methyl group attached. It breaks down into pyridines, which give coffee its sweet, earthy taste and also prevent the tooth-eating bacterium Streptococcus mutans from attaching to your teeth. Coffee fights the Cavity Creeps.

Niacin
Trigonelline is unstable above 160 degrees F; the methyl group detaches, unleashing the niacin—vitamin B3—into your cup. Two or three espressos can provide half your recommended daily allowance.

5 Points that Makes Vietnam a Must See Destination!

Vietnam! Forget Apocalypse Now, Rambo or any Hollywood movie, cause in reality Vietnam is (at least in my opinion) a World Top Destination.

Here are 5 points that explains you why:

1- People: The Vietnamese are so nice, happy, smiley and very hospitable people. They are modest and proud at the same time. As a sign of respect, they give you or take from you whatever using both of their hands. They have humor and laugh on every occasion. They are hard workers but you can see Happiness on their faces all day long.

2- Food: Yummiiii .... you cannot escape the extra kilos you put while visiting Vietnam. Food varies from North to Mid, down to South Vietnam, but all is very tasty and rich in flavors; fresh spring rolls, pork barbecue, noodles, rice paper, Pho (traditional soup), lemongrass fish, pineapple chicken, ginger beef etc...

3- Scenery: From the Sapa Mountains, to Halong Bay to the sandy beaches or the wide rivers and lakes. The green-yellow rice fields, the clouds on top of the mountains, the parks in the city, the floating villages or floating markets etc... It all makes Vietnam so rich in all kind of colors, aspects, and tastes.

4- Transportation: All means are available: you can use the bull pulling a kind of "carriage" in the villages (we tried it!), to the bicycles, motorcycles, river boats, sea cruise ships, trains (first class is a must, less "crawling creatures"!), to the bus, mini vans, "cyclos" taking around in the streets of the city ... all means enhance your adventure and experience in this big long country.
You can travel very cheap or very luxuriously, so you are free to choose how much you want to spend and how much you want to endure ;) Same applies to your accommodation, you can choose between a 5 stars luxurious hotel resort or a sharing bed in a street hostel!

5- Activities: To be honest my favorite activity in Vietnam was "Massage" all kind of massages are offered; foot, body, hot stones, etc... for a price varying between $7 to $12/hour!!! Nevertheless many other activities are offered all over Vietnam; one of the most popular one is the water puppet show, very nice and a must see. Other activities involve, diving, fishing, trekking, cycling, museums, religious sites and temples, shopping etc... the various nature of this country can satisfy all kind of hobbies and interests.

Travel consists of meeting and getting to know new or different places, cultures, religions, gastronomy, people ... Vietnam allows you to connect on a broader level to all of that.
So go ahead, you adventurous spirits, satisfy your appetite, indulge your body and relax your mind, just don't forget your way back :)

Adou

Placebo

Back from vacation and wondering what to blog about, I fell on a very interesting article (click here) published in WIRED magazine and I recommend you all to read it. It is quite long so you can scan through it if you want.

In summary it tackles Placebo. No it is not the Alternative Pop British band that we are all familiar with, but it is about the Placebo effect that is causing headaches and bankruptcies throughout the pharmaceutical industry. In few words placebo is the concept of giving sick people a fake pill and monitoring their improvement. Weirdly enough they do get better.

The interesting aspect of the placebo effect is that you can determine the difference between a bunch of sick people taking the REAL drug as compared to another bunch that is taking the FAKE drug. If the difference is marginal then your drug is useless, however if the difference is substantial then it deserves to be out in the market.

It gets more interesting when the article discusses the fact that a lot of drugs that brought fortunes to pharmaceutical companies back in the 80s might be useless drugs after all, especially drugs that deal with depression.

This would be a very interesting read. So go ahead and take a look.

Hamra Pharma!

As I was walking on Hamra street (one of Beirut's main streets), and for the first time I noticed that you can have a freshly squeezed pomegranate juice!
So as I was approaching by curiosity, the man making the juice told me to have a cup since it's a natural killer and preventive of the virus H1N1! He assured me that the Vitamin C and the benefits of this fruit makes it the ultimate fighter of the influenza! :)
He kept going about how pharmaceuticals use the media to sell their products while "Mother Nature" have everything we need to live a long lasting happy life, which actually I totally agree to that.
I had my cup of "red" juice, delicious but a bit acid (it's healthier this way) ;) and asked me to come back in a week for a sweeter taste ... and continue the treatment!
Sometimes all you need is a regular person who offers you a simple way to make a worldwide (over-exaggerated) problem seems as little as a pom seed by adding hope and natural Vitamins to our lives ;)

Adou

Vacation

Other than the new site design there is only a well earned vacation that is keeping me from posting to the blog.
I will be away for the next 2 weeks but I promise to start posting as soon as I come back with plenty of new stuff.

Meanwhile, Adou here will make sure of keeping you entertained.

Cheers.

Close Encounter of a Third Kind!

No matter at what time is my flight, I always sleep as soon as I step foot on the plane and wake up after takeoff.
This last flight, I opened my eyes and I saw the passenger next to me like that!!!! (check pictures)

It took me some seconds just to realize what was this napkin doing on this guy's face, I just couldn't stop laughing along with the passengers who witnessed this new technique of "sleeping" during a flight, that I have to be honest never seen and will probably not see again on any flight.

Wanted to share with you this "encounter" and like "E.T", I just wanted to go back home :)

Adou

Lost but Found Again!

Two Things I Thought were lost in my dear Country Lebanon!

Our national dance: Dabkeh and Our sense of Poetry.

Lucky I was to discover during this past month that both things are still existing and kicking :)

Dabkeh: I was invited to a wedding in the far end of South Lebanon, me and another 699 guests! A real festival with beautiful and happy "ambiance".

After having all kinds of mezze and barbecues, the music started playing; for me it was a simple Arabic music but it was not just Arabic it's the Dabkeh music ... Everybody and I mean everybody, men, women, young and old, joined hands and made a huge circle all around the dance floor and started the traditional Lebanese Dabkeh! Two men with big large swords in their hands were dancing in the middle, controlling the rhythm and making sure that every movement is synchronized: shoulder to shoulder, all with one tap of foot on the floor, etc... Others are making more "advanced" moves or in a more "gaming" language: combo moves! showing off and feeling proud in mastering more complex steps than the ordinary 1,2,3 and 4!
I was so happy to witness this wave of movements and sad that I don't know how to dance our Dabkeh although some taught me in 5 min the simple steps that made me look more ridiculous in the eyes of the town's "homies" ;)

Poetry: A very "cool" (for those who thinks that poetry is boring!) group of people sent an invitation on facebook about a poetry night in

Gemayzeh, so I was curious enough to go with a group of friends (Lebanese and Swiss).
I can assure it was a hell of a night! people reading in Arabic, French and English... some they wrote the poems themselves:: funny, sad, political, environmental ... and concerning all subjects: love, hate, sex, music, God, life etc...

The thing that struck me most is the passion and the dedication of some participants who are really gifted and wrote beautiful things.

Then we got interested ourselves; so my Swiss friend read a text in French, my Lebanese friend recited also a poem in French and me, I read a poem from Rumi in English inspired from the series "Six Feet Under".

It feels so nice to be part of a "small" Lebanese society but very diversified with many interests and cultures. Everyday we meet so many people and go so many places, the most important thing is the "connection" that we keep from all these encounters.

"I am not from the world, not from beyond,
not from heaven and not from hell.
I am not from Adam, not from Eve, not from paradise and not from Ridwan.
My place is placeless, my trace is traceless,
no body, no soul, I am from the soul of souls." Rumi

“TRON: Legacy” – The wait begins……

It was 1982, at the peak of the Science Fiction boom and I was only 9 years old. Every one was talking about TRON, the new Pop-Culture Sci-Fi movie that would be a revolution from the mainstream Star Wars/Star Trek and the dark opposite such as Alien. Something that no one could explain and that is a must see.
The hype was so great but unfortunately that year was a dark era of our Lebanese history (one of many) represented by a full scale Israeli invasion of the country. Obviously it was inconceivable to see TRON in a movie theatre or anywhere else in fact. I waited till 1984 to watch it on a VHS tape and I remember that I gathered friends over for the event. I must admit that I did not understand anything out of the movie and my friends, once again, bitched about another stupid movie that I made them watch.

Years went by and I saw it again in 1987 and i was blown away by the imagery and the revolutionary movie idea of it all. It never crawled on me like Star Wars did, nevertheless it was something out of the ordinary and a pure fantasy movie that is Hi-Tech at the same time. How cool is that!

Since then I must have watched TRON once a year and I enjoyed it every single time.

Last year I heard that they are making a sequel and it was only till a month ago that a trailer got out as well as some concept art such as the 'lightcycle' below.

The sequel is to be called “TRON: Legacy” and scheduled for release in 2011. I also discovered that one of my favorite actresses, Olivia Wilde the gorgeous creature from the TV series House MD., is on board as well. So the wait has begun and 2011 seems so far away right now. I wish I could sleep it through like I used to do on Christmas night so that I could get my gifts without the frustration of the wait.

Anyway, for now I can only console myself by watching the magnificent HD trailer/teaser on youtube. You can enjoy it in glorious HD here (I have seen it 10 times over the last week).

Musical Instruments

I have always enjoyed music and was always fascinated by the diversity of the music genres across different cultures, countries and languages. My music collection contains tracks ranging from Japanese pop to Persian Taqasim, including the regular English, French and Arabic mainstream music.

Two issues however kept me a handicap when it comes to music. First, I can never memorize any lyrics and second, I am convinced that I am musically challenged when it comes to playing a musical instrument of any kind.

I tried to tackle the lyrics issue so many times without any success. I do have a good memory and a wonderful ability to memorize almost anything, but this music lyrics kept me perplexed as to why I can not remember any of the lyrics. May be it is a disease of some kind, I do not know. Anyway, I gave up eventually and accepted the fact that my singing career would never pick up.

As for the second issue, well that is of a different scale. Playing a musical instrument is definitely something I am not gifted to do and undoubtedly a gift that I would not be developing anytime soon. But thanks to my Playstation 3 gaming console I can get closer as ever to playing musical instruments. I was introduced lately by a friend of mine to a new PS3 game called Guitar Hero.

In brief it is a game that displays colored markers on the screen and you would have to follow with corresponding keystrokes on a guitar or a drum set. So no music notes and no musical literature is involved. Which is perfect for someone like me.

Now I will not elaborate more on the game as it would get extremely boring for you. But I highly recommend that you check it out and most importantly TRY it out and you’ll see that you would be running to the closest shop to buy it.

For now I only have the guitar component (which also allows you to play Bass as well) and am planning to get the Drum set in a couple of months. The only missing component would be the microphone as this game also offers the lyrics in a karaoke style presentation (which I will leave for my wife to enjoy).

(Check out some videos on youtube as well)

How cool is that?

World's First Liquid-Cooled LED Lightbulb

I don't know why but I was always fascinated by LEDs. Whether it is in the headlight of a new car, home lighting, or even home made projects. So efficient and green, it amazes me that it did not overtake the lighting industry a long time ago.

Eternaleds announced their new Hydrolux-4 LED light bulb, the very first liquid-cooled bulb in the world. The bulbs are incredibly energy-efficient compared to either incandescent or CFL bulbs, and come with a price tag to match.

The bulbs, which cost $35 each (!), are rated for 35,000 hours of use and only consumes 4W of electricity (compared to a 25W incandescent), which means if you're afraid of the dark and run it 8 hours a day, it will last you for 12 years. It's fully dimmable and, unlike other LED lights, cool to the touch, thanks to the oh-so-hardcore liquid cooling. The bulbs come in "warm white" and "daylight" flavors, and are available now.

Do Not Come!

This post is an ANGRY post dedicated to all the Lebanese visiting back home and nagging about it. To those I say: DO NOT COME!

Let me start by saying that everyone is welcomed here, Lebanese or foreigner. Nevertheless, any visiting Lebanese should be positive and constructive about his visit back home. If you are not a positive person then this post is for you.

Yesterday a friend of mine on Facebook posted a status urging the Lebanese visiting Lebanon this summer to stop nagging about the country. This snowballed a series of comments and reactions arguing with and against it. So below is my take on these Lebanese planning to visit Lebanon this summer.

First of all, Lebanon is a 3rd world country, so live with it. Should you decide to dismiss this fact then DO NOT COME!

Nagging about the pollution, traffic jams, queuing, power cuts, or any other problem you face in this country does not make you ‘special’ UNLESS you plan to do something to make things better. If you plan to bitch about it, then please DO NOT COME!

We (living here) do not need you. You only make the traffic worse, consume more power from the grid , establish longer queues, and congest our pubs and malls. I am sure that you like to convince yourself that wherever you come from is better than here, let it be Dubai, Montreal, Sydney or California. Stay there please, DO NOT COME!

Let the foreign tourists come instead, they at least spend enough money here to help the economy. We’re expecting 2 million tourist this summer. As for you, keep on sending your ‘Flous’ to your families without the need to visit. And please realize that nagging negatively about Lebanon just to convince yourself psychologically that living abroad is better, is the oldest trick in the book. It is a good trick that is fake but will surely make your pathetic soul feel better. So feel free to nag while abroad and DO NOT COME!

The political situation is a mess, war with Israel is imminent, everything is very expensive. If you can not afford these facts, embrace them and make the best out of them then DO NOT COME!

Finally, should you feel an unbearable urge to vent about the problems when you visit and need to have a positive look at the country, then you know where to find me. I would be happy to help. Should this be your case, we can do this over a phone call, no need for you to visit, so please call and DO NOT COME!

Close Encounters

Few years back when I returned back to my home country (Lebanon) after a long residence abroad I thought of going scuba diving in the local waters. That was in the summer of 2001 and it was the most beautiful close encounter of my life. Below is that story.

I had a small ‘XPrience’ while scuba diving. Its a bit funny you might think but it was ‘X3Mly’ scary (for me at least).

Friday, was a day off for me and I was deeply in the mood for a scuba dive. So I checked around to look for the schedule of diving centers in and around Beirut and there was one particular dive schedule that attracted me the most, it said "X3M team diving at 3pm at Shark Point".

So I said to myself that 'X3M' is shitty since we don't have extreme stuff here in Lebanon, furthermore "Shark Point"? what the hell is that, we do not have sharks in the Mediterranean (or so I thought).

So at 1430 I was at the dive center, at 1500 I was all geared up and ready to go. By 1530 the boat reached the dive location and we were getting ready to go IN deep. I was having some second thoughts but the crystal clear water on that day and all this amazing Big Blue around was very tempting. Furthermore, there wasn't a single wave nor wind and the visibility underwater was amazing. You could say that ideal diving conditions were present on that day.

We were 10 divers and had to split into 2 groups of 5, group A and Group B (I was in group A. Theoretically!!). Group A was expected to go North while group B goes South.

We went down into the water and the current was strong that we had to keep our fins stroking all the time. By the time we reached -30m I realized that I was with the wrong group (North, South, who knows!), we were six divers and since I am the only clumsy (non-X3M member) in the team then it became obvious that I was the one in the wrong group. Anyway, my NEW team included the dive master, 2 Swedish guys and 2 Lebanese-Americans and all in X3M physical condition.

They started there swim to the assumed Shark location from -30m and I had to catch up. By the time they reached -50m I was still way behind them bitching about the X3M exhaustion that I was feeling all alone away from them (I am not known for my X3M athletic physique). Anyway, they all froze in the distance in front of me and I was able to catch up, but by the time I reached the guys I realized that none of them was moving, they were dead still. The reason was a 4.5 meter long SHARK which was no more than 2 meters away lying below us on the sea floor at -52m. FUCK! I was directly on top of it!!!!

I am not a marine biologist so I don't know to what species that thing belonged to, but I can tell you that I would not want something 6 times my size swimming next to me ever again. With all the fear building up in me I believe I turned white (fuck, I became all colors combined). I realized that I wasn't breathing anymore and I had to convince myself to start breathing again. It was the scariest moment I ever faced in my life, it was a near death XPrience guys, no kidding here. I was 2 meters away from a hell of a JAW.

The shark which was moving X3Mly slowly briefly opened his X3Mly big mouth and showed us his X3Mly sharp teeth and then made an X3M 180 degree turn toward us. At that time, I became very careful and I immediately put my hand on my diving knife. I was ready to cut my Swedish buddy and run away.

But the shark didn't really care about us, it was just swimming around with an X3Mly firm statement that we understood from the very beginning: "One bite, One man". So at that time we decided to start our ascent. Lucky for us (by ‘us’ I am excluding myself), at -25m of our ascent we met another X3Mly cute shark which measured around 3 meters only. Again, my hand on the knife I was ready to cut any diver next to me.

All went well eventually and we were back on the surface. I was the first one out of the water and on the boat and obviously I realized that never was I able to get on a boat that fast before. X3M team my ass, they will never see me again. Not because I was scared but because I was capable of cutting someone if we ever meet a shark again.

Joking aside, it was a great experience indeed. The shark is a magnificent creature. Furthermore, I would have never discovered my dark ‘murderish’ nature otherwise, no?

From Doha with Love

During my last trip to Doha-Qatar, I came across a very interesting yet "shamful" article and a very "bold" poster.

Knowing that in case I meet a lady who has read or better memorized the article on the left (How to be the Perfect Wife), I may change my mind and cross to the other side known as "married" or for some unfortunate "Akalo el Dareb"!

On the other hand, the poster on the right shows a better and a more open view on the subject. But of course it will never be published in a magazine like the other article!

They say one can chose his friends but not his parents, unfortunately for most Arabs they cannot even choose their Husbands or Wives! For the West it's surely a comic statement but can they hear us laughing over here?!

So shameful that in Lebanon with 17 sects we still don't have a civil marriage. Now you can hear people getting married while their first meeting was on "facebook" or "meetic" or believe it or not on "X-Box Live" ;)
That remind us the movie "Sleepless in Seattle" where the distance between Seattle and New York is far greater than Achrafiyeh to Saida where two persons cannot even have the idea of getting married. Thanks God we have Cyprus nearby :)

As a conclusion, in order to be happy, one should Wear, Eat, Marry, Sing, Dance ... the way it feels best for him or her ;) Live and Let Live ... and in between don't forget to Love!

The X-Files Generation

We all remember the X-files TV series back from the 90s and early 2000s. Personally I was (and still am) a huge fan who never got the chance to really watch all the episodes of the 9 seasons that raided our screens for 9 whole years. Back then I was young and foolish to waste time at work and at chasing girls that I skipped most of the episodes.

Thanks to the internet and to the piracy tools, I was able to get hold of all 201 episodes spanning all 9 seasons and I ended up being the proud owner of 50GB worth of AVI files. Again, I had them on my HDD for the last 2 years and never got the chance to watch any episode. With a wife, kid and a whole new life to adapt to I barely had a chance to watch the X-files. I did however watch every other Sci-fi and thriller movie and series out there.

All that changed a couple of months ago when a blood work result forced me to buy a treadmill and do some serious exercise. I knew that the only way to keep me on a treadmill for more than 10 minutes is to distract myself with something really attractive and that is how I got the chance to watch the X-files episodes.

This post is not about my health problems nor about my historical miss and runs. This post is about an observation that opened my eyes lately to the amazing influence of the X-files on every single movie and series released in the 21st century.

Even though the X-files has an alien/UFO backdrop story for the whole series, the individual episodes plot is based, most of the time, on an intriguing murder that resolves in a non-standard ending. Now that is expected until you realize that everything you have seen over the last 8 years has already been tackled in an X-files episode. Even the most successful movies and intriguing plots are derived or even inherited from an X-files episode. I would even dare to categorize all fictional media of the 21st century so far as the `X-files Generation`.

I am not sure how many of you have access to those episodes but I would highly suggest that you give them another chance and check them out while on a treadmill. Eventually as you get older, your blood work will force you to exercise (sooner or later) and now you have no excuse not to have something to distract you while on a treadmill.

Indeed 'The Truth is out there!'.

Hippodrome Beirut!

Hippodrome Beirut! or "Sabak el Khayl"...

Just to make things clear, in this article I'm not pushing anyone to become a gambler! it's just that since I was little (long time ago!) I hear about horse racing in Beirut, so this Sunday, forget the beach, forget carrot juice, I head down to the Hippodrome with my camera around 14h30.
My main intention was to take pictures, but I discovered that I need to have a permission for that, so no problem since I visited the manager's office, who agreed that I take photos as long as they don't show people's faces (3aib!).

To enter you pay 5000L.L unless your not Lebanese, then it's free! or you can sit in the "primo" area which costs you 15000L.L since you are entitled to plastic chairs and balcony view, or enjoy the "restaurant" while watching the race. All cellulars should remain out!

The Hippodrome is a huge place! you can hear the cheering from the moment you enter, everyone screams the name of the horse that he bets on! (no comment concerning the crowd!)

Like: Ya Hayati, Ibn El Malak, Samourai, Remeh, Al Amira Stephanie, A'ntar, Mistanfer, Sabbah, Jawhar, Robin Hood, Seif El Malak, Mouchwar etc...












The screaming is so intense, that your ears hurt! Screaming for the horse, cursing the Jockey, shouting for their money ...
Usually you have 6 races, plus two from France, oh yes, we are a "francophone" country, so you can even bet on the French races who are shown on TVs there. You have the race "journal" in which all the information needed are printed: Horse owner, horse name, weight, Jockey's name and weight, and the expecting winners (who came all wrong!)

At the end of each race, people go to the back, where the horses for the next race will be walked around, so one can choose the horse that he'll put his money on! You walk back to the "guichet" and the betting goes from 3000L.L to ... let's say a lot!

I can proudly say that I lost my betting of 5000L.L! But the ambiance and the experience were worth it, I can also say that it can be addictive, but it will take me many more years to visit the Hippodrome again.

One thing for sure "the race will go on", and as you all know: "Iza ma eja Sultan, btejeh Jarbou'a"!
People will still bet, money will still be lost, few will be won, but I sincerely hope that this sport will be "elevated" in terms of people, facilities or participation.

5 signs That You're an Adult in Lebanon

In many countries around the world, being an Adult is when you turn up to be 18 years old, or 21 years old, or when you leave your parents house and go to college... but for the Lebanese society I chose 5 signs that defines your an "official single" Adult in Lebanon:

1- You Have to Wake Yourself Up On Time
It's not your mother nor the neighbors invited to the kitchen next to your room for a morning coffee/gossips, it's just You who have to set up the alarm and wake up, make your own breakfast or even choosing your own clothes! ;)



2- Fridge
It's when you open your fridge and there are less than 5 items (not counting the expired ones!) And no matter how many beers you have in your fridge it's still 1 item ...

3- Clothes
It's when the magic disappears! No more throwing dirty clothes in the bathroom to find it the next day clean/ironed in your closets! Laundry is a hell of a job :)
It's when you stop wearing "flanella" and stop worrying about "a hit from the wind"! It's when you start searching for clothes over your treadmill rather than inside your closet ;)

4- Marriage
Men: Maximum age 36!
Women: Maximum age 29!

Don't get me wrong I'm totally against those deadlines!!! But unfortunately most of our society thinks that if you are a "true" Adult then you should be married! and for them that is the only difference than you being a Teenager.
Well I think no matter what age you are, if you are single and away from your mother nagging about marriage, your an Adult ;)

5- Entertainment
It's when you can invite who you want to do whatever you want without worrying about noise, smell or the 10000 questions of the next morning.





In Lebanon they say no matter how old you are, you will always stay a kid in your mother's eye, well, I totally respect that but my problem is when we are still "kids" in the society's, government's or ourselves eyes.

Water

Being an environmentalist is always a difficult task in a third world country like ours (I live in Beirut, Lebanon by the way). Being treated as stingy because you own a 2.0L engine car instead of a 4.4L engine SUV is something you learn to live with without wasting time trying to explain to ‘them’ the reason behind it, the benefits to the environment or the efficiency concepts.

I am not environmentalist by any means, I am just an environment friendly person, and I guess I have always been. The difference you say? well an environmentalist is a crusader toward a cause, be it water, air pollution, recycling, etc… These people are committed to an organization and they do awareness programs and activities (something like Greenpeace). Definitely NOT me!
On the other hand, an ‘environment friendly’ is someone who respects the environment and abides to some basic rules that help make our planet a cleaner place.

This brings us to the topic of this blog post: WATER.

Over the last couple of months I got the chance to view few documentaries that kind of left a certain impression on me. Of course we have all seen the Global Warming documentaries that were hyped few years back, specifically The 11th Hour (narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio) and The Inconvenient Truth (narrated by Al Gore). Well the hype of the recent documentaries has been regarding water. For this I highly recommend that you get your hands on the below 3 gems of Documentary filmmaking.

1. Blue Gold: World Water Wars an amazing release that won several awards. It focuses on the issues of water companies like Suez, Nestle and Vivendi to name just a few. It also tackles the issue of wars that are to arise in the future because of water (this is particularly important for us living here in the Middle East).
2. FLOW (For Love Of Water). A crucially important documentary about technologies and methodologies that are being used to recycle and benefit from water.
3. HOME. This is a major release of aerial photography of the planet with a background narration acting as an awareness message. This film is shot by Yann Arthus-Bertrand and produced by Luc Besson. You’ll be hearing a lot about that movie.

Now I don’t know the detailed reasons behind having countries in the middle east established the way they are today. I was never good in history. But all I can say is that back then, the person who did the border demarcation by defining the 10452 km2 Lebanon that we know today surely caused us plenty of trouble. Not only he gave us neighbours such as Israel and Syria (that alone is enough for having trouble), but he made sure that Lebanon is rich in water surrounded by dead thirsty countries. Hence I suggest to any Lebanese to get hold of the above documentaries.

I truly realize that an organization focusing on water does not exist here. Water is always part of a much broader topic such us pollution or recycling, or environment. I believe it is time for making a water brigade that can act as a Think Tank focusing on water resources and research. For once I feel I can help and be committed to such an organization if it ever sees the light. If someone starts acting now I am sure that we can perform great achievements in the future to benefit not only the population but even to influence the politics that will be made in the region. Now the irony is that I will be long gone by the time the water situation would become that dramatic, but at least the generations to come (our children) could at least have a better chance at survival.

Compromised Win

The parliamentary elections are over and the Lebanese finally showed some decency at the polls by electing the right representatives. (I was truly starting to doubt the sanity of the masses prior to the elections!!!)

The opposition was so certain they were going to win that they even convinced some "March 14" analysts about it. I could never figure out how Hezbollah and its allies supposedly increased their support while starting a war with Israel, attacking Beirut, and lining up with the Syrians and Iranians. It was just too crazy for a sane person to back up and eventually we didn't.

Bottom line is, no matter how good in marketing you can be, if your product sucks then you'll eventually fail.

Proxy Server

I'm sure that many of us have many websites blocked for "Productivity" reasons! Especially Facebook, Youtube, e-messenger etc...
So I came accross a very cool website thought I'll share with you all: www.surf100.com

It's a FREE web based anonymous proxy service which allows you to visit websites through an anonymous proxy so that you can visit sites that are blocked by your company or your ISP. Just type the URL you want to surf in the homepage.It will unblock the access to any website.

Enjoy it! Freedom of "Surfing" ;)

Malak is our King

I don't know if you have noticed, but in Lebanon we don't settle for Prince, Duke or even Highness, we only want the KING aka MALAK!!!

To Eat
We have Malak el Batata the oldest of all Kings, in Hamra you cannot miss it, the "Botatoes" are treated in oil since the invention of car, so we bought the oil but replaced the car with batata!

Then who can miss Malak el Taouk, a double decker of bread layers with an irresistible smell of garlic happily devoured by men and by women! the only missing thing in this place is "No Fire" sign or the whole shop could explode due to the heavy load of "toum" nitrogen.

The followers are Malak el Avocat : ) a dynamite cocktail of Avocado for all the "pumping" gigolos, maameltein addicts and the Fast&Furious BMW drivers.

Malak el Shawarma will keep no doubt in all heads that the best shawarma is here! Can you argue with a King!

Then Last but not Least, Malak el Hamburger or better known as Burger King, but this American brand has been well accepted in the circle of our Local Kings who seem to be still growing.

To Pray
With respects to all Religions, here we have the King of Kings and the whole branding that follows; car stickers, fish or no fish attached, round, tall, shiny etc... so forgive my thinking but this King of Kings was more servant than all, and I wouldn't think that this title will serve Him well!

To Socialize
The top of the top is "Malak el Sex wil Corneflex " cause usually you have sex at night and then our Malak will have Cornflakes for breakfast ;) then follows; rouh ya Malak, mafi Malak addak, inta el Malak ehhh inta! all referred to the male gender, rarely we find a "malakeh" or a Queen, but no one forgets the quote "Behind every Malak there are 6 Lebanese girls" ...

At the end, the way I see it, Life is similar to a chessboard but in Lebanon all players are Kings trying desperately to kill each others.

God Bless the King, whomever that might be!

Bricked HDD

This is a technical post. Be afraid!

Woke up last weekend and realized that one of my Hard Disks (HDD) in my Media Center (home PC) is not visible anymore. A total of 500gb of data lost completely. Quite a shock to realize and accept the loss, but knowing my bad luck it was kind of an expected event.

It is a quite new HDD that I bought 6 months back, so there was a warranty. I researched the cause of the breakdown and below is what I found out (luck can not get worse):

1. Well, it turned out that these HDD had a manufacturing problem and a firmware upgrade was posted on the manufacturer site back in February 2009 for fixing them. However the firmware should have been applied before the disk became 'NOT visible' in you PC. This is a very decent HDD, it is a Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 500GB disk after all.
2. I paid 124$ for this disk that is worth 60$ now (6 months later).
3. It was a brand new generation of HDD back when I bought it over the internet and I had a friend of mine carry it from the US (Thanks Samer). So from a warranty point of view I am screwed as the only way to get a replacement back or a refund is to have it sent back to the US.
4. Luckily enough I found a workaround posted on the internet BUT none of the needed ingredients are found here in Lebanon. And the workaround around this workaround to secure some needed ingredients would cost me more than the HDD itself. Yet I went for it!

So here we go. This link is the solution I found to make my HDD visible again so that I upgrade the firmware. In brief the solution consists of:

• Opening your HDD and removing the Circuit Board, then join them back while keeping the board disconnected from the HDD while connected to the spinning motor (using a paper separation slid in between).
  
• Next step was to use a USB-to-RS232 converter, connected to an RS232-to-TTL converter. Luckily enough these 2 converters can be found in a single cable provided by Nokia. This cable is quite expensive and rare to find as it is a 5 years old technology to connect to very old Nokia Phones.
  
• Now you cut the cable, identify the 5 internal wires (TX, RX, GND, Power GND and +VCC). TX,RX and GND connected to the HDD while the Power GND and +VCC connected to a +3V battery (I used my car keys battery. it was a 3V battery)
  
• Now you connect the USB to your laptop, install some drivers, open up a terminal and start sending few commands to the disk in order to reset its CMOS (some manipulation is also required).

A Messy solution, I know! An expensive one as well and yet I had no choice. Worse case I destroy an already useless HDD.

I worked on it for 2 full days with whatever ingredients I could gather and yet I was not able to recover my data. Nothing worked! Knowing the my bad luck it was kind of an expected thing for sure. I also had taken precautions and have some back up for some critical data.

So all in all, I lost around 480gb while I had a backup of 20gb of critical data that I regularly backed up previously. I ended up buying a new 1TB HDD (from a different manufacturer) and I have been running like crazy trying to gather all the 480gb that I lost and was able to find it at some friends of mine.

I can say I can fully recover all my data by this weekend. However, I am never buying a Seagate HDD ever again

Cheers

Clinical Trials

It is astonishing to realize the amount of clinical trials that are underway currently for the different incurable diseases out there. As someone who has an autoimmune disorder for the last 20 years, it was always exciting to hear about a new drug being tested and a new clinical trial. It kind of gave us hope and reassured us that someone out there, a scientist and a doctor, is doing something to help us.

My perception for Pharmaceutical companies changed however lately (over the last few years) and I started realizing how greedy and manipulative they tend to be. My biggest perception was that these companies are creating drugs to heal you. But unfortunately this is definitely not true. Yes you do feel better on the ultra-expensive drug, but you’ll need to stay on that drug indefinitely AND it is not a cure by any means.

I do understand that autoimmune diseases are hard to cure and YES pharmaceuticals need to develop drugs to manage and control the disease. Nevertheless, over the last 15 years not a single drug nor clinical trial was about curing diseases, but simply controlling it and managing the symptoms.

From a business point of view it makes sense. Why develop an expensive drug to cure a disease while you can develop something to control the symptoms and keep the patient hooked indefinitely. And that is exactly why I started loathing pharmaceuticals. At least tell people that you are working on a cure, even if it is just a lie.

Unfortunately, pharmaceuticals focus on controlling symptoms (and draining you from all your money) while the only research for a cure is being financed but Non Profit Organizations and the like. It is sad to have reached such stage in our humanity but that is the price to pay when you live in a capitalist world.

Try the Buzz

Out of the huge amount of games out there on the market very few impress me much. Not that I am difficult to impress but the criteria for an ‘impressive’ game is a bit different.

While all the industry experts rave about a certain game, I tend to loath it most of the time. As an example of these criteria, my game is a short game and does not require a month to finish. My game has an exquisite online mode that keeps you coming back again and again. My game is of a specific genre game and not a mix of all genres.

One of those games that are easily categorized as a ‘must have’ for your PS3 console is the game Buzz! Quizz TV. Not only it has a great replay value but it also offers an amazing online mode and a second to none entertainment tool whenever you have friends or guests over at your place.

This is not a blog to review games nor does SONY pay me to do game marketing on their behalf. So if any of you reading this blog owns a PS3 console then head off to the nearest game store and get your hands on this gem of a game. Trust me, you will not regret it!

What are the Odds?

Reporting from Bodrum, Turkey with a quick post.

I got this trip on a short notice and I knew I wouldn’t be able to benefit from the sun nor the sea due to a small accident that caused a 2nd degree burn on my leg a few days back. So I didn’t bother getting any swimsuits with me and this trip could not have come at a worse time since I would have to limp through my whole stay as well. I accepted that!

Checking in to the hotel I realize that I got assigned a room in a distant building than the main hotel building due to room availability. This was a long walk with my luggage (lucky me I have a suitcase with wheels and can be trollied). This was fine until I discover that my room is on the 4th floor in a building with no lift.

I Woke up the next day (today) and was shocked that it is raining cats and dogs outside. Obviously no umbrellas and definitely no sprinting to the lobby. Confined to my remote room I decided to vent about it by writing this small post.

Frequent Flyer!!!

As a frequent flyer, a minimum of 4 flights/month (2 trips!) I am amazed by the "new" specific Lebanese habits in Travel.
We can say that the old days of "clapping" at touch down is over! (while the music of "tic tic tic yamme sleimen" is always there at boarding on MEA)
A new era has begun ...
Our "friend" in the picture above is the "Champ" of frequent traveling! We were all surprised (not to say afraid!) by the scratching sound that came at take off while insisting of keeping her high heels boots up on the board in front of her!
(I couldn't resist not to take out my phone and take her pic!)
Other habits are like as soon as the plane lands, we can hear the bip-bip of the sms or people standing already and moving forward to the exit door, or lighting up a cigarette directly after exiting the plane, or running and pushing to be the first to stamp their passport while everybody meets up again at the luggage belt, or the ladies wearing tops with the name of the country that they were visiting (especially coming from Europe) etc...
It's a very interesting phenomenon that I enjoy "looking" at every time, and realize that me ,with my birkenstock and my ipod have still a long way home!

Voir Venise et Mourir!

Venice!

It's such an enchanting place!

But let me tell you some real facts about this place since I was there last week!
Time has stopped in Venice, you can imagine yourself living in the 16th century and nothing can prove you wrong (except the Japanese with their cameras!)
It's not a place just reserved for lovers, on the contrary, families,kids, old, young, artists etc... from all over the world came to share the spirit of this "floating" city.

To enjoy Venice, you have to walk, walk and walk ... get lost in the narrow streets and cross its endless bridges, taste as many food as you can and drink all the wine on your path.

Forget the Lebanese comments: "don't go there, it's full of mosquitoes" or "the smell there is horrible!" ... it's like saying don't eat Pizza in Italy cause they don't serve Ketchup with it!

I definetly advise everyone to go to Venice at least once in his life, save lots of money though and let yourself drift on the city endless canals.

Twittering?

Am I the only one who thinks that Twitter is the most useless creation of all time or does other people share that opinion with me as well?
The hype associated with Twitter and all the marketing that is accompanying it is ridiculous for something as stupid as Twitter.

Who would want to post 'what he is doing' every second of the day and WHO CARES?

I just don't see any appeal in all this Twitter creation. I am sure that MSN and Facebook are more than enough to expose yourselves to others (if that was the purpose).

What do you think?

Smooth Shaving

I hate to shave. I have tried every cream, gel, lotion, and aftershave imaginable. I have tried every conceivable manual razor and I have even overpaid for an electric. For me, the torture of shaving doesn't stem from the amount of time it takes in the morning or the feeling like it's a hassle. It's just that every time I try to shave, no matter the product being used, I walk away needing 20 to 30 minutes before I can touch my face again.

When I started shaving back in the late 80s I realized that I am hairy by nature. Not just hairy, but the ultra thick eyebrows accompanied by a an extremely dense and dark beard made me accept the fact that in the best of cases I would be able to shave once every 48 hours. That was back in the days of the single blade shavers and YES my beard is so tough and rough that I need to change blades after a single use.

20 years into the future, it is the era of the 5-blade razors and an artillery of shaving creams, gels and balms. Still the irritation after each shave forced me to reduce my shaving habits to once every 4 days. Thank god I can come to work casually and not need to shave that often, nevertheless I am sure that there exist people like me who work in banks or other client facing jobs and this requires a daily shave. How do they do it?

So if any of you got any suggestions for providing a smoother shave and easing the cuts and irritation I would highly appreciate it. I don't care whether it is a technique, a product or a prayer. it might help.

Inglourious Basterds

You probably heard about this new Quentin Tarantino movie that has been in the works for few years now. Well the wait is almost over and the movie will hit the screens for the Cannes festival under the name of Inglourious Basterds.

I am not much of a Tarantino fan as I only admired Pulp Fiction out of all his movies. Nevertheless I am a huge fan of Brad Pitt (No, I am not gay) and this movie should give us another extravagant performance from him.

In brief, this movie tells the story of a dozen men handpicked and trained by Pitt to implant mayhem and kill as many Nazis as possible over the back then occupied France.

Check it out once it is out. I hope it lives to my expectations as an extraordinary movie unlike the previous Tarantino exercises that truly sucked lately. The below are some nice marketing posters.