If i find something i like, I'll share it here. if i find something i hate, I'll share it here. If i find something
- you get the idea

Friday 20 August 2010

MiG U1

No, it's not a fighter plane, similar though. The real clash of the (automotive) Titans. When the Germans meet the Italians. Italian cars are known to be beautiful, and elegant, and occasionally very fast. German cars are known to be precise, not so flashy, technical, serious. The result? A car that knows no limits. A car that cannot be driven by anyone. A car so dangerous only 1 has been made.

The MiG U1.

First off, the name. Reminiscence of the classic Soviet fighter planes. You're thinking some propeller 1 seater, with all the controls in Russian. I'm afraid you're very mistaken. 

MiG pilots were among the most feared people on this planet during the war. The technical superiority, Speed, everything about their aircrafts was terrifying. Only the most frightening of vehicles could be worthy of succeeding such a menacing aircraft. This Enzo-based, Aircraft-styled wonder from Gemballa is more than worthy.
With all the usual Gemballa-ness all over the car. 
Widebody kit (essential), GTR racing wheels (which according to it's website save 16KG all-round. Geeky...) The massive spoiler providing 85KG of downforce (Epic-looking spoiler may I add).
That front end is visual interpretation of an orgasm. An orgasm that provides 35KG of downforce. It's just an awe-inspiring sight to look at. It's one of the few things that had me in shock upon seeing them. If one of these drove by (highly unlikely, they're only making 25, doubt any of them will be randomly cruise by my house..), I wouldn't know whether to run, or take a picture.. either way, wow..
The rear diffuser looks damn big, not to mention those big-ass Jet-thusters they're calling exhaust ports. Bigger wow. The side looks even scarier. That air outlet behind the front wheel, the intake right under the door. How exactly is this rocket-car street legal?
When you want to scare away nosy bystanders when you have this Street legal rocket parked, don't hesitate to expose the thing in the back. It's too goddamn big to be called a normal V12.
This is what happens when you lend those crazy German engineers your Enzo. Those Genius crazy Germans. The original Enzo was scary enough. You handed them a scary enough German Shepherd, they returned an even scarier fire breathing dragon. 700HP Fire breathing dragon, thanks to some ECU wizardry and some exhaust upgrades (Guaranteed to make your drive to the store much louder and more exciting. Much more exciting). Curious pedestrians will see this nuclear plant in the back of your U1 and keep away.
How German tuners prove that they have a sense of humor. A baggage compartment on a MiG U1? What use could an owner of a U1 make of a baggage compartment that big? Shopping? seriously? Would someone with a car like this even go shopping?
Black Leather and quilted Red Alcantra i can understand. Seven-inch touchscreen infotainment system with an iPod jack however, i cannot. What kind of man buys a car like this, to listen to music through a 950 Watt stereo system? I admit it's probably pretty loud, but who the hell needs a stereo knowing they've got such a monstrous engine?
Probably the only luxury in the entire car, leather racing seats. There is 1 problem however. They look too flat, nowhere near enough to hold you in place while cornering at 250KM/H. I doubt that 4 point harness is any better either. This car needs F-18 seats, enough to hold 9G's of cornering. But hey, it'll have to do.

Talking of lacks, they're only making 25, and each one probably costs 3 legs & an arm, not enough in my opinion. but IF you do see one of these street legal demons, I can guarantee you, this is the only sight you'll see before it disappears into hyperspace. 
I wonder how much scarier it would look in black?
Thats one car you wouldn't want to race at the traffic lights. If you care for your life.

Sunday 8 August 2010

Good morning Switzerland

I've been in Switzerland for 4 days now, and i love it.

First stop was Geneve, it was amazing! the airs cold and clean, lake's beautiful, everything's just amazing. Then i took a 2 hour bus to Mont Blanc, and that was the highlight of the holiday so far:
The most gorgeous mountain range/view I have ever seen. I would've stayed much much longer, but it was -7 Celsius, and I was wearing shorts and a t-shirt.. 

I'm in Lucerne now, and I love it. For some odd reason, with no explanation, I prefer it over Geneve, it's cleaner, less crowded, more awesome, pretty cool overall. I just had to post that picture, so managed to get some time to blog. Bose headphones have actually been rather amazing 'till now, i'll post everything properly once i'm back in Kuwait.

Goodnight (sort-of, it's 8:30PM and the suns still up..) and peace out Kuwait!

Wednesday 4 August 2010

Bose® around-ear headphones Review

I've spent the last 3 months on researching (yes i'm that lifeless..) the ultimate (budget) headphones. I was on the hunt for the best, and I had narrowed it down to 3 pairs.

1) Bose® around-ear headphones (KD 39)
2) Beats by Dr. Dre Studio headphones (KD 99)
3) Skullcandy T.I. Black/Green (KD 23)

The Skullcandy

I haven't personally tried these, but I've tried the on ear ones, and they were pretty cool. At first, I was convinced this was the pair for me, it looked good, sounded good (i assumed?) and wasn't too expensive. Why I didn't buy them? They seemed a bit too plasticy, and i didn't think they had the best build quality, so they weren't so high on my list any longer.


The Beats By Dr.Dre

These though, I HAVE tried, and to be honest, now that I've bought the Bose, i regret not spending (or begging to spend) more money on the Beats. They sounded amazing, felt really solid, and were definatly the best looking ones. Professional, glossy, just pure awesome. Their only letdown? the price. A tiny bit overpriced, but as far as value is concerned? better value for money than the Bose (i guess?) But since I've bought the Bose ones, the Beats are next on my headphones list!
Thats them with my favourite toy, Numark NS7

The Bose

I've had them for just over 24 hours, and my first impression is, overpriced. I was majorly excited to go buy them, but they didn't turn out to be as good as i expected. Oh well. They sound alright, just slightly lacking in the bass department, and not as crisp as expected. 39KD, money better spent on the Beats. My full on review will be in a month or so, when they've broken in.

First obvious thing, is the comfortable fit. It fits right around your ears, but even then, it doesn't isolate sound as well as other headphones. I'm not being super-critical, but the 2.150KD  A4Tech in ear headphones do a better job isolating outside noise, and have better and clearer bass for gods sake, 20 times the price for a fancy box? 
No actually, you get a bit more for that. The only brilliant feature on the Bose headphones, is something I've only seen once before. As you crank up the volume, it gets louder and louder. Your natural reaction is to listen carefully to find its volume limit (so you don't overwork the unit). You get to about 75%, but you can't hear the classic distortion. Strange? very. I turn it up to 11, and put them on. All I hear is a concert/orgasm in my ear. The only thing lacking? Deep lovely bass. I miss it. BUT Since these are 'TriPort' headphones, and they have three ports (duh..), there's one last option: 


The middle picture, is the lower port. This is the only one that doesn't feed directly the speaker assembly. If you block the other two, your bass completely disappears, symptoms of a speaker operating without air. But what about this third port? it's practically the only port that allows sound/air to escape from the cup. Block it with your fingers? Tremendous bass. Glorious Bass. This is the only work-around i've found, and it's so effective i'm actually thinking of taping that port, but i'll wait for it to break in, before making my move. 


The leather ear cup cushions are pretty damn comfortable. Feeling them with your fingers, they feel incredibly soft, and they rest comfortably around your ears. I'm still to have the duration test, see how long I can wear them before they get uncomfortable. 6 hour Frankfurt flight tomorrow sounds like a good duration test, don't you think?

Pretty lightweight headphones, the cups swivel about 10° in either direction, limited, but enough to fit comfortably on anyones head, and they swivel on the Y connector nicely, for a perfect fit. I've actually changed my opinion while writing this review, and they didn't turn out to be too bad. I say a 3.5/5 for now?

I'm leaving for Switzerland tomorrow evening, so I may blog if I have internet access there, and I may not, either way, I'll see you in 12 days!

Goodnight and peace out K-Town