Off the Beaten Path
Numb-ers
by Burak Altunay on Feb.08, 2011, under General, Off the Beaten Path
2010
was the first number, when it was 00:00 – counting down…
250 a session said the shrink in no time,
TD5 vs LR4
300 was the GSM bill monthly,
29,000 some songs on iTunes,
10 for a cup of coffee, 40 for a bottle of Rakı,
70 for the Black Label, cheaper on Duty Free,
Vi4, Vi6, Si2 and Si3 were spring joys
10 days stuck due to volcano
240 minutes of flight home
200 some minutes of traffic jam,
Version 10.6.6 on the Mac, god knows what it is up to on the Blackberry,
18% VAT
37 Years of age, and Luigi turns 2
4887 on stage then 4888
Version 4
How about some 4889s?
VRX932? Active or passive?
XL8 was Musica Es this summer,
40 Volts measurement ground to neutral,
0.002 afterwards,
Version 5 due out soon,
30 songs a night on the average, in a given wedding,
300 complaining souls,
2 happy wanna be couples…
4/4 basics on music,
All else you miss the beat…
8 counts in a dance routine,
30-45 minutes of sex per shot on a good day, less when selfish…
1980-86 almost most of us wanna go back to, given the experience…
5 year turning point in a wedding,
4 years of college,
4 years of Presidency,
4 mere years of residency in D.C. – more if you are lucky,
65 requires Viagra or alike,
25 requires the ‘score’ – you’d learn soon dear…
70 CL in a bottle
M5 decides on the tickets you get within an hour,
X3 is comfy,
520d warrants an expensive oil change,
7 passports you have to carry around,
3.14 and then some defines your circle…
400 channels of BS
0.99 per song – Legally that is
1.5 exchage rate
18 or so blood pressure thingy
Vi1 does more than most
M7CL required by unconfident idiots on stage
100 degrees for the water to boil,
more than that if you have a pressure cooker…
XXX inches vs XXX minutes ![]()
XXXX XXXX XXXX XXX on plastic
XX/XX exp date
XXX security code
25 meters or more for FOH
1 meters or less for feedback J
8 Strings on a guitar
4 on a bass
7:30 am on the snooze button,
6 numbers or less for the password to start the day…
4 Paws or 2 Legs?
2 nostrills for her smell,
1 hole for the baby,
1 button click to surf them channels
2 cars in the garage
1 phone to let it all go
2 People in love
1 or more to screw it up
1 set of parents and 2 seperate graves… when the day comes
1 more cup of coffee for the road,
34 is the city for most
Others still claim 35.5
80 in all
3 gidit IQ vs EQ
….
At the end of the day;
GS 1200 to let it all go away
May your mirrors never touch the ground…
U.A.E. Desert Challenge 2008
by Burak Altunay on Oct.25, 2008, under Events, Friends, Kemal Merkit, Off the Beaten Path
Dear friend Kemal merkit was in town again, for the annual U.A.E. Desert Challenge 2008 as part of the Jim Beam Turkish Dakar team.
The only difference from last year was, Kemal was on 530cc KTM and was part of the KTM Factory Team.
Though he could not finish this year’s race….We wish himm all the best for Dakar 2009 to take place in Latin America.
And here are some pics:
Kemal Merkit – KTM – U.A.E. Desert Challenge 2007 Day 4 (Final)
by Burak Altunay on Oct.31, 2007, under Events, Friends, Kemal Merkit, Kiti - The Planet Touring American Cocker Spaniel, Off the Beaten Path
It’s been a wonderful four days in the wilderness and out with friends and the Land Rover. As it is the case with events as such, words are not enough what it was like and how it had been for us, for the competitors and for the machines.
Kemal finished 18th overall, 5th on 450cc Bikes and 1st on N-Class. Soo
Leave your computer and Facebook at home, and go out and play. Takes all the daemons out for sure. I’d also would like to thank Mr.Okan Cam, a fellow off-roader, Camel Trophy Veteran and a great friend, who spent the last 18 hours of the race with me.
I hope the pictures will tell the story better than me. If you’d like to see the official results:
www.uaedesertchallenge.com
Kemal on his way to the finish line
Kemal, Okan and the LR3
Dear friend Okan Cam

Carlos Sainz & Kemal Merkit
Kemal Merkit – KTM – U.A.E. Desert Challenge 2007 Special Stage, Day 1 & Day 2
by Burak Altunay on Oct.30, 2007, under Events, Friends, Kemal Merkit, Off the Beaten Path
Below you’d find some random pictures from the 2007 UAE Desert Challenge. The pictures are from the Special Stage and Days 1 & 2. It’s been demanding couple days fro Kemal Merkit & myself really, but we are hanging in there and Kemal is getting there stage by stage effortlessly and without any major problems. The weather had been wonderul the past couple days, and the terrain demanding but bearable.
This race for most is the practice for the Dakar Rallye, which will be held January 2008. All competitors claim that the conditions in UAE Desert Challenge match those they have to conquer in Dakar.
If anybody wants higher resolution versions of any pictures of Kemal for whatever purpose, I do not mind sharing them Free-of-Charge. So drop me an e-mail, if you require any of them pics ; baltunay@gmail.com
Yalla Habibi !!!!
Wow, I look huge. I guess I need to shed some lbs off me waist & face
In honor of the October 29th, the Turkish Independence Day
Kemal & his support vehicle
On my way…I ran into an older sibling of my LR3
Kemal Merkit – KTM – U.A.E. Desert Challenge 2007
by Burak Altunay on Oct.27, 2007, under Events, Friends, Kemal Merkit, Off the Beaten Path
Dear Friend Kemal is back for the the UAE Desert Challenge after a couple years of absence with his new toy. He’d be rallying through the deserts of the UAE for the next five days, and I’ll try to post pictures as they are available.
Pictures below were taken at the technical recce day at the Marin Club in Dubai. Enjoy…
Kemal & I onsite, prior to inspection
Since his gear did not arrive in Dubai for today, he’d have to do with a hard-hat to ride from home to the inspection site. Looks good nope?
Kemal during inspection.
These are Civil Defense Vehicles, Dubai style..Nice, eh?
Da Prowler
Burak, Kiti & Halit Desert Driving – Dubai
by Burak Altunay on Aug.01, 2007, under Friends, Kiti - The Planet Touring American Cocker Spaniel, Off the Beaten Path
This is an earlier video of Halit, Kiti & I in the deserts of Dubai with the now-gone-no-more TD5 Discovery. I am experimenting on the Mac on this video thing, so let’s see how it ends up with the progress.



