Author: Mark

Had it over the weekend, it was meh. The Nutella was fine, the banana was fine but the actually crepe was too moist. At KD1.250 it’s a good price but it soo wasn’t worth breaking my diet over. If you want to try it out its only available at Coffee Republic at 360 Mall.

I was on my way to lunch when I spotted a bunch of Macs in the trash. If I had extra space at home I would have taken them all home with me but alas, they’re destined to the trash.

Last week I ordered a lift kit for my FJ from Toytec Lifts. I’m planning to install a 3″ lift along with larger tires. So yesterday I went to get a set of tires but I couldn’t find any mud-terrain ones in the size I wanted. I checked Hankook, BF Goodrich, Maxxis and Goodyear. BFG actually were the most helpful, they told me they were getting some All-Terrain KO’s soon in the size I wanted but no plans on getting the mud-terrain KM2’s which I want. So now I am stuck with no idea what to do. I contacted Tirerack.com and they quoted me KD110 to ship 5 tires to Kuwait which isn’t too bad considering how heavy they are. But still, thats around KD22 extra per tire which I would rather not pay.

I’m now thinking maybe there is some small off-road shop in Kuwait that might carry BF Goodrich tires, does anyone know of any? Also does anyone by any chance know who the dealer in Bahrain is? I tried googling but didn’t find anything. Maybe I could drive to Bahrain to pick up the tires myself…

I saw this picture on my friends facebook page and I thought it was worth sharing with everyone. It’s an amazing shot taken I’m guessing in the early 70s when they were still constructing the Kuwait Towers. Can anyone tell me what car that is?

Thanks Farah!

Update: Turns out its a 1977 Nissan Skyline. Beautiful car.

Update2: Turns out the photo was originally taken from KuwaitStar on [Flickr]

For those of you considering getting an iPad here in Kuwait here is a helpful tip. The App Store, one of the most crucial parts of the iPad experience doesn’t work with your Kuwaiti credit card. There isn’t a Kuwait iPad store yet just a US one and you won’t be able to access the US one from your iPad unless you have a US account.

If you’re like me and don’t have a US based credit card then you need to do the following:

Open iTunes on your computer. By default it should load the Kuwait store. Scroll down to the bottom of the store and click the Kuwait flag on the right. Then choose the US flag on the next screen, that will take you to the US store. Now you need to create a new US iTunes account. For your address enter a US mailing address like your Shop&Ship address. When they ask you for credit card choose none. This will allow you to download free apps from the US app store without a problem. If you want to purchase apps from the US app store then you need to purchase an iTunes gift card from [Here]. They will mail you the code instantly. Once you get the code go to the US iTunes store and choose to redeem your gift card. Again for credit card choose none. You will now end up creating a US iTunes account with some cash in it. (Check step by step instructions below)

On your iPad when you launch the App Store it will automatically take you to the Kuwait store and then quit giving you an error that the Kuwait store doesn’t exist. What you need to do is log in to your US iTunes account which you just created above. To do that go to Settings and then Store and log in from there. Once logged in you will get a message saying you can only use this account to purchase apps from the US store. Click ok, then exit to the main screen and click on App Store and it should launch now without any issue and log you in directly to the US store.

With the above trick I was able to purchase and download apps and books from the App Store including for example the My Blackboard app pictured above.

The only thing I wasn’t able to do was stream TV shows from the ABC App but that can easily be solved with a VPN (completely different story). If you have any questions post it below and I’ll try my best to answer it.

Update: Here is a step by step walk-through…

1) Go to maximuscards.com and purchase an iTunes card
2) Open up iTunes and go to the iTunes store
3) Make sure you’re not signed in to your Kuwait account
4) Scroll to the bottom of the store and make sure the US flag is showing on the bottom right. If its not click the flag and choose US.
5) On the bottom of the iTunes store you will find a bunch of text links
6) Click on “Redeem”
7) Copy and paste the code Maximus Cards emailed you
8) Then choose create new account and follow the instructions (enter a US address)
9) When it comes to payment options there should now be an option called “none”, click that
10) Continue till the end and you should end up with a US account without having to use a credit card

When you run out of credits in your account you need to follow steps 1 to 7 and then for step 8 sign in the account you previously created. Below are screenshots showing the steps above.

Now if you aren’t interested in purchasing anything from the US app store but instead just want to download free apps that aren’t available in the Kuwait store (like CNN, Amazon and eBay) you can follow the steps below:

1) Make sure you’re not signed in to your Kuwait account
2) Scroll to the bottom of the store and make sure the US flag is showing on the bottom right. If its not click the flag and choose US.
3) Buy any free iPhone or iPad app from the US store
4) When you are asked to login create a new account
5) Enter a US address and choose “None” for payment method

Just got hold of an iPad from X-Cite to review and check out. It just arrived from the States and it’s one of the first iPads in Kuwait. So far my first impression is that the iPad looks even cooler than the pictures, it’s really an incredible device I love it, the screen is amazing, better than the screen of my MacBook which I’m currently typing on. X-Cite just got a small batch of iPads today and they’re on display at their Avenues X-Cite branch so you can go and try them out.

I’m going to play around with my review unit for a bit more and post some more details later today. I’m curious to see if I’ll be able to buy books from the iTunes store.

X-Cite are getting the 16GB iPad with WiFi and the price is KD299. If you want to pre-order an iPad you need to leave a KD50 deposit and you can only book one unit since quantities are limited. It’s first come first served. You can only pre-order the iPad from the Avenues X-Cite branch starting at 7PM today. The earlier you book, the higher the chance you get your iPad in one of their next shipments. As an added bonus, if you mention my blog when booking you will get a free flash drive. If you want to play with an iPad pass by the Avenues X-Cite branch after 7PM today since that’s when they will go on display.

Yo! Sushi has reopened in Kuwait again but this time at the 360 Mall. I passed by for lunch today and although I found the sushi below average I will be going back again.

The place was pretty packed when we got there but we managed to find a table in the back. Wherever you sit in the restaurant you have a conveyor belt in front of you. The idea is that you sit down and watch the different types of sushi pass in front of you on the conveyor belt, when you see something you like you just pick it up. There are 5 different colored plates, each representing a certain price. So for example a green plate is 700fils while a blue one is 900fils. When you’re done with your meal, you call the waiter over and he calculates how much you’ve eaten based on the colored plates in front of you.

I actually found an app for the iPhone that allows you to keep track of how much you’re spending but it was in British Pounds so I’m probably going to make one thats in Kuwaiti Dinar since its a simple thing to do.

Anyway the sushi isn’t really that great. I had a bunch of stuff and they were below average BUT this is like a fast food sushi place so you can’t expect Kei quality sushi specially when they’re really cheap. Me and Nat had around 6 different dishes plus a drink and our bill came out around KD8. As I said, although the sushi wasn’t that great, my experience was and they’ve still got a ton of stuff I haven’t tried so I’m bound to find something I like sooner or later.

Update: I contacted the creator of the Yo! Sushi iPhone app (SumSushi) and asked him if he could include Kuwaiti currency, turns out he was planning on adding more countries/currencies to the app but didn’t have access to the prices. Since I had emailed him the prices in Kuwait he is now going to add it in the next update which should be by the end of the month. He even sent me a screen shot of his app with KD. Should make the Yo! Sushi experience even better.

A reader emailed me to tell me that he spotted the Kuwait Blogs app ranked as #1 today in the top free app list in the Kuwait iTunes store. So I checked it from my iPhone and there it was right at the top. I thought that was pretty cool specially with strong competition like the newly released Marina FM app.

Some of you have also emailed me regarding a bug in the app when checking the Some Contrast blog, it crashes the app. It seems there is a post on the Some Contrast blog that is causing the crash so its just a temporary issue that should get solved once his post leaves his RSS feed. Other than that a few of you mentioned that fact that some images aren’t loading. The reason for that I am guessing is that you’re on a 3G or Edge connection and the blog you’re checking hasn’t resized or compressed their picture properly so the app is taking time downloading the image to display it. Again there is very little I can do about that since the app will just load whatever image the blogger has on his blog no matter the size.

Finally, I should be updating the app sometime next week with a couple of new blogs and a few minor graphical glitches which I will be fixing. Will post another update once I do. If you haven’t already downloaded the app here is the [Link]

Update: The SomeContrast bug is now fixed since the post causing the crash has left his RSS feed.

The video above is of a Lebanese rock band called Meen that played the intro song to the cartoon Jongar at their last concert. Amazing! [YouTube]

via plus961

A friend of mine was having lunch at TGIF at the Avenues when he spotted Sopranos star, James Gandolfini. When he asked him what he was doing in Kuwait James replied that he was just visiting and that he loves Kuwait. According to the Washington Post it seems he’s in the Gulf as part of the USO to support the American troops. Damn I would have loved to have met him…

Thanks Jerry!

Note: This is not an April Fools post.

Update: This photo was taken yesterday at a US Army camp in Kuwait [Link]

Tony Sirico and James Gandolfini from HBO’s “The Sopranos” pose for photos with service members stationed in Kuwait on March 31, 2010. Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is accompanying a USO tour in the region with New Orleans Saint Jon Stinchcomb and actress Rose McGowen. (DoD photo by Mass Communication Specialist Chad J. McNeeley/Released)

This is the second app that I’m releasing for the iPhone and one that should be very useful to many, its the Kuwait Blogs app. I’ve taken all of my favorite blogs and placed them in one app which is very convenient and practical. I will still be adding more blogs in the next update but for now these are the blogs that are included in the app:

2:48AM
360 Dewan
4th Ring Road
Ansam
Blushberry
Buzberry
Confashions
Frankom
iLSul6ana
P0ach
Some Contrast
Tidbit du Jour
zDistrict

I would have added more blogs but it was very time consuming trying to create an icon, header, footer and color scheme for every blog so that it matches their actual blog theme. So if you’re not in this first release I’m sorry but you might be in the next update.

For the Kuwait Blogs icon and launch screen I wanted to use a picture that represented Kuwait but didn’t want anything cliche like the Kuwait Towers or flag so I ended up going with an abstract shot of the Ice Skating Rink which I had taken a few years ago for Miskan. I love the design of the Ice Skating Rink and thought it would represent Kuwait very nicely.

To install the app search for Kuwait Blogs in the App Store on your iPhone or install it into iTunes by click this [Link]

The only reason I am posting about this is because I no longer can eat Count Chocula because of my diet. I love Count Chocula and I wouldn’t want Sultan Center to stop getting it but since I can’t have it now no one will (insert evil laugh here). A reader called Zack sent me an email saying that he asked General Mills (the company behind Count Chocula) if it contained any pork products and they told him it did. Of course I had to check myself so I emailed General Mills and this is what they replied:

Hello Mark :

Thank you for contacting General Mills with your inquiry. In answer to your question, the gelatin that is used in the marshmallows of the cereal is derived from pork.

We hope you find this information helpful. Please let us know if we can help you again.

Thank you,

Paula
Customer Care Specialist

So there you have it. Count Chocula contains pork. I wonder if other cereals that contain marshmallows like Lucky Charms also contains pork gelatin?

This morning I noticed 4 tow trucks and a police car near my office. I went to check what all the commotion was about and noticed some men hard at work trying to unlock a parked car to get it ready to get towed. I asked the cop what was going on and he said they were towing illegally parked cars. I thought that was cool and about time since the area gets major traffic sometimes due to the fact the illegally parked cars turn the two way road into one.

Sadly, I went back during lunch and noticed the tow trucks were gone, the cop was gone and all the cars parked illegally again. At least they tried…

I picked up a second hand Nikon 85mm F1.8D AF prime lens from World Photo last night for KD35. It’s a very cheap price for one considering a new one costs over KD150. The reason its so cheap is because neither the autofocus or the electronics work so I have to manually set everything which isn’t too bad. On my way to work I tried the lens out on some workers near the office and you can check the pictures out below. Will try to get some better ones tomorrow.

In the future, there will be no more shawerma guys, there will be shawerma robots. [YouTube]