The IRON MAN Suit!

Owning the Iron Man suit is something on every man’s mind, well its always on my mind. In this case you can have it, but it isn’t the indestructible armor that Tony Stark built for Billions. Sideshow Collectibles have built a 7 foot tall lift size stunning high-gloss automotive painted replica of the armor worn by Tony Stark in Iron Man 3. The Iron Man Mark 42, you definitely get to enjoy LED light-up eyes, arc reactor, palm repulser, and display base. The real thing must cost Billions to build but you can have this one for only $8’500.

Link: SideShowCollectibles

Continue Reading…

Red Bull Drifting In New Zealand

750 bhp Mazda RZ7 in an open road, yeah this guy is going to have fun. I can’t get enough of drifting these days its getting more mainstream which is good, and Mad Mike flying 140 mph into some crazy corners looks ridiculous, wish I could pull that off.

Gmail For iOS – Update 5/13

Apple wanted to remove all trace of Google from their iOS operating system, it took them 6 to 9 months after the sudden change for them to start releasing their own Apps and everyone was so happy with Google Maps, what Apple did was an initial disaster with their Maps App and with the release of Gmail it’s so much better then the native iOS mail App, and I like it so much more after the last update.

The update released by Google circumvents Apple’s default apps, opting for its own apps already available on iOS. Now, the Gmail app has the ability to open YouTube, Google Maps, and Chrome links directly into the respective app if installed, instead of Safari. I think its a smart move by Google, to be able to keep people in the Google environment within the iOS platform, very smart and smooth move.

Car Chargers Are Not Created Equal – TYLT Charger

There are lots of times you go into stores looking for car chargers and grab the first thing in front of you. When your phone is about to die and you plug-in the car charger hope to bring it back to life, only to realize after the 20 minute drive that you have an extra 10% which will probably give you another 30 mins to an hour of use.Chargers range from 0.750A to 1.750A, and most of them are on the lower range, be sure to check the car charger output so you know the power you will charge with. Simply put the higher the better.

The TYLT car charger is one of the best I have one as how fast it can charge, at 2.1Amps it really charges your phone quickly. I have found that they are consistent with the power output and this applies to both MicroUSB and Apple products. There products are cleanly made and in it almost chargers a percent a minute, so in a 25 minute ride you would charge up to 20% which is amazing. There are other products who advertise the high Amp output, but only TYLT and Griffin seem to be legitimate, and in this case I highly recommend TYLT chargers, all their chargers are dual chargers, the long flexible one and the v-split charger. I first found them in Virgin in Dubai Mall, but you can also find them on Amazon.

Zain 4G – Home Router – Saturation

As I expected, since iPhone 5′s have gotten on the 4G network and now other Android phones it seems that its taking a toll on the data bandwidth available. The first tests were insanely fast but now these days there is a bit of a lag and the ping isn’t as fast, its 4G and you get between 10 MB to 15 MB, not the 40+ MB that we were expecting and were excited about. Overall I think that Zain has done a decent job handling the large influx of people, people will pay for service and overall the service is consistent for our use and its portable which is the important part, they are increasing coverage all over Kuwait. After getting the coverage I want them to bring back the bandwidth to what it used to be, but honestly I think its a solid product and I enjoy using it.

My Experience With Windows Phone 8 – The Last Mobile Platform From Microsoft

My experience with Microsoft dates back to the original CE phones back in 2003, I wanted something different and that phone was different and to configure it you needed a doctorates degree in physics. But I like the bubbles game on it, then i tried Windows 3.0 for work and that had decent integration with Microsoft exchange. But nobody did integration like Apple & Google did, so I switch to Android the moment it came out and before that I was on the SonyEricsson platform.

With the introduction of the Windows Phone 8 they are finally trying to make a decent competitor to the Apple & Android platform and right now its a few steps behind but still impressive. With Windows Phone 8 has some decent integration with Windows 8 such as auto photo updates, and the Microsoft Office Suite integrates nicely with the Windows Phone 8, especially OneNote which is probably the best note taking tool I have ever used, even better then Evernote. As well as SkyDrive integration which can sync your photos as well as your documents, trying to be a better DropBox for Windows which isn’t too bad.

The operating system itself gets a little getting used to, its like visiting somewhere for the first time, you know enough to get around but need some time to get really familiar with it. There is smooth feeling to the operating system that I like, and after 6 months of abuse the phone has not hung on me once which is great for a smart phone of this caliber.

What I Like:

• Easy to sync Google Contacts and emails with the WP8 interface, even after Google extended
• The App store is pretty decent, has some junk in it but they all started off that way, they have about 80% of the Apps that iOS & Android have.
• Music integration has been fantastic, you can load up all your iTunes playlist as well spotify which is exactly what I’m doing.
• Has some fun XBox integration so the games you play are displayed.
• It sort of between the strict Apple platform and the loose Android platform, its formed but flexible and I really like the tiles and options of the live tiles.

What I Don’t Like:

• The email display feels wrong, it just doesn’t do a good job of displaying emails no matter what email I use. I think they can do a better job with that.
• They don’t have instagram, I won’t kid myself I’m addicted to it.
• Slow to get the necessary Apps into the App Store, App Store needs some more Apps, not everyone is developing for it yet
• Better integration with Windows 8, I want it seemless, just as Android is integrated with everything Android.

Hardware:

I’m using the HTC 8X and I’m honestly loving it, its a light phone with an excellent camera. And the battery lasts over a 30 hours with a lot of abuse. Even when I was riding over 5 hours in San Diego while listening to Spotify the whole time it only lost 25% of the battery which is insane, if i did it with the Nexus 4 it would have lost 50% and with the iPhone 5 only 20% battery would be left.

My Top Apps

• TVShow – Best TV Show App I have seen, better then anything on iOS or Android
• Weather Flow – Great Weather App
• SkyDrive
• Spotify
• WhatsApp
• NextGen Reader – Fantastic RSS Reader – Displays Images and information perfectly without having to visit the site
• Flixster – For the movie fanatic
• Battery Status – Updated information on your battery
• MyTrips – For the TripIt Addicts, I use it all the time when I travel

Conclusion

Overall I’m honestly loving the windows platform. This phone got a high rating for stability and the long lasting battery and a great selection of Apps. Microsoft have a good thing, they just need to clean up their App store and integarte it with Windows 8. They really are in need of Youtube and Google Maps, there are replacements but they don’t beat out the originals. They built an excellent product I just hope they keep on improving it, and I love that when other phones run out of battery this one is still going. The success of this platform depends on the Apps available and Microsoft knows this, Blackberry failed because of this, thats why they are throwing everything they can at it and hopefully it will keep growing. They have substitute Apps for most of the major ones, but hopefully the major App developers will develop for Windows.

Rating:

Artists & Comic Art – My Love For This Art Form

I have been addicted to comics since I was able to get my hands on them, I remember keeping my allowance to go buy as many comics as possible from Al Manara Book Shop in Salmiya in the early 90s. Every XMen or Spiderman comic that I could find or whatever they had, I would even read the comics from Dark Horse comics back in the day, I just loved comics and couldn’t get enough of them. Now 20 years later things have change, but my love for comics has only grown, and who can’t love these blockbuster movies based on these comics, but I still love the comics. Thanks to the iPad we can easily get our hands on comics as they are released through DC, Marvel, Comixology, and Transformers. Instantly in your hands and reading everything as it happens, it just doesn’t get better then this. Then there is the aspect of meeting and getting in touch with these amazing artists who work on these comics. After roaming DeviantArt, twitter, and instagram the past few years I have managed to talk to a lot of these amazing artists and purchase artwork directly from them as well as commission work from them when they are available. Some of these artists work for IDW, Disney, Marvel, or DC in their animated studios or comic studios, and some of them are independent. All the images here are artwork I commissioned from these amazingly talented people. I am thankful for all these online resources that I am able to get in touch with these amazing people and get my hands on the art work of things that I love.

These are some of the Artist that I have purchased from and some that I have asked for Commissions.

Chad Townsed
Joey Vasquez
Alberto Gonzalez
KWEStone
Steven Sanchez
J Scott Campbell

Honestly they are all amazing people and very easy to talk to, you can get your work from them into their busy schedules. Sometimes their work is done quick and you get it in a week and sometimes you have to wait a few months but the wait is always worth it. Be sure to check out there work.

Review: IRON MAN 3

When Tony Stark’s world is torn apart by a formidable terrorist called the Mandarin, he starts an odyssey of rebuilding and retribution.

People weren’t sure what to expect with this movie, the trailers looked good, but I was very excited, they took a different route then what I expected. As usual Robert Downey Jr. played the role perfectly, even better this time around, you feel like Tony Stark isn’t just the man in the suit, he is Iron Man and this time he has a formidable enemy. Ben Kingsley played his character fantastically with a huge surprise honestly, something I was expecting that I loved, it just made the twist even more, lets say interesting, and this added to the flavor of the movie. I don’t want to mention any spoilers so just watch it, but know the last fight scene got me so excited that I was jumping out of my seat, it was insane and over the top and I loved it. Honestly this movie was better then the original Iron Man that everyone loved. I watched it uncut and some scenes will be cut and it would ruin it a bit since there is a part with the bad guys that involves that twist I mentioned that spices things up.

Link: IMDB
Rating:

Movies For The Weekend

If Schwarzenegger is in a movie I’m going to watch it, he doesn’t do too many and any fan of the 80s & 90s action films will enjoy this movie, I haven’t seen it yet but I know I will. There are a lot on the list to watch and enjoy, and The Grandmaster is a must for the Martial Arts Genre, then there is Iron Man Rise Of The Technoverse. Each movie will have their moment and this weekend I will enjoy them all.

• The Last Stand
• 21 & Over
• Jack Reacher
• Superman Unbound
• The Guilt Trip
• Gangster Squad
• Broken City
• The Grandmaster
• A Haunted House
• Iron Man Rise Of The Technoverse

Illegal Visa Trader in Kuwait

Recently there have been some changes in Kuwait’s Visa process and they want to clamp down on the number of Expats in the country. I don’t think thats a good policy since most of the Expats are here because of a need, most government jobs are completed by Expats and in most private companies the Expats range from 60% to 99%, its just the truth of the matter and there is no going around it.

There is a reason that is the case, a majority of Kuwaitis want a high paying job and very little amount of work. I have met some amazing people in the private sector and entrepreneurs, but these people are not even 3% of the Kuwaiti population, the majority are in government the ones with brains face obstacles and the ones that don’t want to work are happy not going to work and getting a pay check.

Now they want to get rid of the expats so they are applying any law they see fit and they want to get to the Visa Traders (Tijaar Iqaamaat). After all these years this is what they want to do to solve the Visa trading business. You can’t report them, you can do anything with them, and the victims who are the people trying to work end up getting deported when nothing happens to the Visa Traders.

As of this week they have started picking up random expats from around Kuwait City and taking them to Jail if they have Visa Type 20 which is the house staff Visa. With the new Wakeel in the Ministry of Interior he wants to prove that he is the big man in town and so he picked on the weakest in this aspect. They take the Expat to jail and if nobody trys looking for him then they deport them within two weeks, and they contact the sponsor to pay for the ticket.

So instead of putting the Visa traders in jail and giving these guys an opportunity to make a living, they deporting the expats no matter what the circumstance is. Also be careful during this period regarding the traffic laws, it seems he wants to apply those as well, any major traffic violation and it will result in a deportation. Right now I think that these rules are basically bonkers, and extremely unfair.