I don’t know since when did we start calling storms that hit Lebanon by names, but the storm that’s currently hitting Lebanon is called “The Bride“!
Anyway, here are some photos I found on Lebanon Weather Forecast page on Facebook showing what this storm has brought to both the mountains and coastal areas.
Ajaltoun
Kfardebian
Laklouk
Shouf
The road between Tarchich and Zahle
Zouk
Antelias
Dbayeh (via MTV Lebanon)
Stay safe and warm!!
Telecom Minister Nicolas Sehnaoui posted on new year’s eve a list of goals he’s looking to accomplish in 2013 in the form of predictions (à la Michael Hayek).
Prediction 2013 #1- Improve the 3G quality with the Deep Indoor Expansion
Prediction 2013 #2- Deploy 4G in the main cities
Prediction 2013 #3- Start the Fiber To The Homes (FTTH) tender process and start connecting users to the Fiber Optic network
Prediction 2013 #4- Equip the remaining 130 co’s with DSL capability
Prediction 2013 #5- Allow and tariff VDSL technology to allow higher speeds for the 75% living under 2km from the CO
Prediction 2013 #6- Launch an International Tender on the management of the 2 mobile operators
Prediction 2013 #7- Finalize with Cyprus the purchase of 700Gb on the Alexandros cable
Prediction 2013 #8- Double the caps on 3G for the same price
Prediction 2013 #9- Start connecting the Heavy Users to Fiber Optic network
Prediction 2013 #10- Deploy the active cabinets that will allow 25% of people living further than 2km from the CO to get normal DSL
Let’s hope they all come true!
Habib Battah has some nice photos over at his blog Beirut Report showing the interior of Amin Maalouf’s house in Badaro which is currently being demolished by Kettaneh Group after getting the necessary approval from minster Gaby Layoun.
I personally have mixed over this whole thing. As much as I hate to see such old houses going, I also feel for their owners who probably can no longer maintain them and could really make use of the money after selling them to some real estate development company, regardless of how ugly the resulting tower will be, and how affordable the apartments will be to the average Lebanese.
This guy is hilarious! Make sure to check his blog HumourKind.
Meanwhile, douchebags in Lebanon were shooting their guns in the air at midnight. Happy new year everyone!
French onion soup is one of the upsides of winter for me. Most restaurants here serve it in regular soup bowls along with croutons, while few other serve it in bread bowl after scooping out the inside of it, and one of these restaurants is Duo (Downtown, Verdun, ABC Ashrafieh, and ABC Dbayeh).
I recently had Duo’s onion soup and found it pretty good. It was thick enough to my taste with the right amount of cheese on top of it, and the portion is relatively big and completely fulfilling. Totally recommended even though it’s a bit overpriced at 15,500L.L but worth the money.
Duo by the way is also quite famous for their rich salad bar priced at 22,000L.L.
If you missed TEDx Beirut’s event last November you can still watch the recorded talks as the organizers are currently gradually uploading them to the TEDx Talks channel on Youtube. Just make sure to follow this playlist that includes all the talks from Beirut. There are currently 7 videos by Suzanne Talhouk, Christopher Littlefield, Farid Chehab, Zeina Saab, Walkabout Drum Circle, Sareen Akarjalian, and Hani Asfour.
