Walid Ghazal’s Weblog

From the high desert to the Pacific Ocean, out-of-control wildfires continued to engulf swaths of drought-parched Southern California on Monday, having already claimed one life, destroyed several homes and a church in Malibu and forced an entire community to evacuate.Thousands more homes remained at risk as hot, dry Santa Ana desert winds continued to churn into the region.

Firefighters started the weekend on high alert as forecasters warned of strong winds. But by Sunday night, they had to admit they were overwhelmed.

“You do not expect something to stretch our resources to this magnitude,” said Los Angeles County Fire Insp. Sam Padilla. “To try and staff something this big, you cannot predict it.”

The Malibu fire was among about a dozen blazes that burned more than 14,000 hectares from north of Santa Barbara to San Diego. Late Sunday, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency in seven Southern California counties.

Things weren’t improving Monday: Two new wildfires broke out in San Diego county, bringing to four the number of blazes burning there.

Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher are reportedly “embarrassed and angry” after learning that candid camera phone snapshots are circulating in cyberspace.

A source tells the Enquirer, “In some of the 35 pictures, Demi lies sprawled naked on a bed with a light and dark red-patterned pillow propping her lower back.

Life has returned to downtown Beirut. The former “Pearl of the Middle East” is once again an exquisite experience: a bewildering composition of cultures and faiths, perched on a breathtaking sweep of Mediterranean coastline. The most populous city in Lebanon , Beirut , our capital and home to the first law school in the world, dating back to the Phoenician  Era, Beirut is a  tourist attraction to all  visitors from around the world. . Known to be the commercial and busiest city in Lebanon, Beirut also has several nightclubs, restaurants and other entertaining places Not to mention the famous market at the Martyr’s Place known as Souk el Barghout , where hundreds of tourists pass by and enjoy a delightful meal , or even a cup of coffee at the enjoyable outdoor cafes available, and enjoy the sights of by passers walking and mixing in with the Lebanese public.  In addition to those , our great capital provides the other restaurants and hangouts that people of all ages can go and have a wild time with Oriental, Pop, Blues, and Jazz Music provided by our many fine restaurants. 

Late Night
Going club to club along Rue Monot (Ashrafieh) or Rue Bliss (Hamra). or in Beirut Central District -Downtown Beirut

Walks
A sunset stroll along the Corniche; a walk through the neighborhood of Ashrafieh or Hamra.

Beirut Climate
Beirut is basically hot and humid May-November, when temperatures can reach as high as 105 F/41 C but generally stay around 85-95 F/30-35 C. Winter months (December-April) are characterized by heavy rains and low temperatures, enough to necessitate a sweater and a jacket. It rarely freezes or snows in Beirut. The best times to visit are May-June and November-December, months with clear blue skies and relatively mild temperatures. For winter visitors, February is the best bet. Ski season is in full swing, but the city usually enjoys a peculiarly sunny, if decidedly cool, spell

An ice hotel is a temporary hotel made up entirely of snow and sculpted blocks of ice and therefore an example of novelty architecture. They are promoted by their sponsors and have special features for travelers who are interested in novelties and unusual environments, and thus are in the class of destination hotels. Their lobbies are often filled with ice sculptures, and food and beverages are specially chosen for the circumstances. All of the ice hotels are reconstructed every year.

As you can see in the picture above 3 places…looking like a Triangle…whats more intresting is that these houses are : mine , my gf’s and my best friend’s house…weird isnt it?

The Airbus A380 is a double-deck, four-engined airliner manufactured by European corporation Airbus, an EADS subsidiary. As the largest passenger airliner in the world, the A380 made its maiden flight on 27 April 2005 from Toulouse, France,^[2] and is scheduled to begin commercial flights on 25 October 2007 with Singapore Airlines. The aircraft was known as the Airbus A3XX during much of its development phase, but the nickname Superjumbo has since become associated with it.

The A380’s upper deck extends along the entire length of the fuselage. This allows for a cabin with 50 percent more floor space than the next largest airliner, the Boeing 747-400,^[3] and provides seating for 525 people in standard three-class configuration or up to 853 people in full economy class configuration.^[4][5] Two models of the A380 are available for sale. The A380-800, the passenger model, is the largest passenger airliner in the world, superseding the Boeing 747. The A380-800F, the freighter model, is designed as one of the largest freight aircraft, with a listed payload capacity exceeded only by the Antonov An-225.^[6] The A380-800 has a design range of 15,200 km (8,200 nmi, sufficient to fly from New York to Hong Kong nonstop), and a cruising speed of Mach 0.85 (about 900 km/h or 560 mph at cruise altitude).^[4]

 cName: Homer Jay Simpson.
 Identity: A big oaf of a father.
 Age: 36-54 (was 36 in earlier episodes, but is now 54.
 Weight: 239lbs to 260lbs (heaviest was 315lbs)
 Relations: Marge (wife), Bart, Lisa and Maggie (kids), Abraham Simpson (dad), Herb (half-brother)
 Occupation: Safety Inspector (Sector 7G) at Springfield Nuclear Power Plant.
 Credit card no.: 5784365343410709
 Catchphrases: D’oh!, Mmm…, and Woohoo!
 ”Maybe for once someone will call me ’sir’
 without adding ‘you’re making a scene.’ “
 Best friend: Barney Gumble
 Enemies: Ned Flanders, the water department, God…
 Hero: Steve McQueen
 Hobbies: Watching TV, drinking beer, eating…
 Fave food: Donuts (raspberry cream or double-glaze), pork chops, honey roasted peanuts.
 Fave drink: Duff beer.
 Fave restaurant: Greasy Joe’s Bottomless BBQ Pit.
 Fave cassette to listen to while on a road trip: Rappin’ Ronnie Reagan.
 
 Inventions: Flaming Homer (which Moe stole); ‘Wonder Bat’; an unknown product (in “Homer Vs. Patty and Selma”);
 an electric hammer; a six-legged chair that won’t tip over; a make-up gun; and armchair-toilet thing.
 Past loves: Mindy Simmons (and Maude Flanders most of the time!)
 Fears: Sock puppets.
 ”You tried you best, and you failed miserably.
 The lesson is: never try.”
                                  ”The Sun? That’s the hottest place on Earth!”