Category: Information

Check out the video. [YouTube]

via

The biggest surprise is at spot number two which is Chili’s Awesome Blossom. One of my favorite starters but I had no idea it had over 2,700 calories! [Link]

Note: The pasta dish at number four looks pretty good and luckily for us Macaroni Grill just recently opened at the Avenues.

Note2: I think I just discovered how Kuwait is the 8th fattest country in the world. 3 out of the 20 most fattening dishes are available at Chili’s and Kuwait has the largest Chili’s in the world. Everything makes sense now!

via

This sounds pretty cool, looks like Cartoon Network is opening a theme park in Kuwait.

Cartoon Network Enterprises has entered into an agreement with Future Kid & Real Estate Co. to develop a fully branded Cartoon Network theme park in Kuwait City. The 3,500 square meter venue is scheduled to open at the end of 2008.

“This is a timely and exciting deal which puts Turner at the heart of a thriving entertainment industry in the Middle East,” says Jeff Kupsky, president of Turner Broadcasting System Europe, owner of

Cartoon Network. “The Kuwait City indoor theme park will enable visitors to sample the Cartoon Network experience on a grand scale, and truly interact with our characters and brands.”

[Source]

Thanks MFS!

I don’t know how accurate this information is since it was posted as a comment by a reader of the blog but according to him the IKEA owners are in dispute with the Avenues management due to the new outlet of Alghanim at the Avenues. Alghanim launched a new concept store right across from IKEA where they are selling electronics AND furniture. The agreement between IKEA and the Avenues is that they should be the only furniture outlet in the mall.

According to the same reader a fight has also started between Carrefour and IKEA against the Avenues management. Neither Carrefour nor IKEA are willing to accept the fact that their customers now have to pay for parking.

Finally just some more info. Carrefour paid KD3.5 per square meter, IKEA paid KD4.5 while Alghanim paid KD10 per square meter for their store.

Again, I don’t know how accurate the information above is but it sounds plausible.

If you check the tiny holograms of the Kuwait emblem on the new license plates you will notice they are all upside down. (not shown in picture above)

This is the list of torrent sites sent out by the MOC to the ISP’s to block (here is a link to yesterdays post in case you missed it). On my offices FastTelco connection most of them are already non accessible.

www.demonoid.com
www.extratorrent.com
www.fulldls.com
www.meganova.org
www.seedpeer.com
www.nfo.co.il
www.piratic.org
www.worldnova.org
www.power-portal.to
www.smartorrent.com
www.thepiratebay.org
www.torrentazos.com
www.torrent-base.dl.am
www.torrentlounge.com
www.torrentplaza.be
www.tvtorrents.com
www.xphilez.com
www.zakatron.com
www.zonaemule.com
www.zoozle.de

Thanks MX5

Starting today The Avenues parking will no longer be free. I think thats a good thing because I know a lot of people would rather park outside and not pay which means more parking space inside for me. If only Marina Mall started charging for parking also. Its got to suck for the employees though.

update: Parking turns out is 200fils an hour which is expensive! The mall is big and walking around takes over an hour so expect to pay at the very least 400fils if you are just walking around or going there for lunch.

The Ministry of Communications has sent a letter to all the Internet providers in Kuwait to block all the torrent sites. They sent out a list of sites today to be blocked which I am trying to get a hold of. Hopefully my favorite torrent site (I won’t mention the name) is not on that list.

I was expecting more cables. [Link]

Talk about cheap, Jazeera Airways has an offer where you can buy tickets from Kuwait to either Beirut, Dubai or Bahrain for just KD1. Even when you add the taxes thats still really cheap. [Link]

Update: For the non believers, here is proof you can find tickets for KD1

Marzouq and I had a chance to check out InfoConnect before the doors open to public tomorrow:

The good:
Qualitynet is offering huge price cuts in addition to ‘extras’ that will only be offered when you subscribe/renew at InfoConnect. In addition to a ‘Sky DSL’ service which possibly means two way satellite service (as UCC). They also are offering a raffle for a Mini (might be one of the ‘extras’) with Al-Ghanim.

TechSys has a ton of new products from Planet and Silverstone, from HTPC/High-End cases, quiet/ultra-powerful power supplies to affordable networking products like smart switches and ip-cameras.

Lastly, E-Government is in full effect this year; Bahrain and Oman’s governments showing off their e-capabilities alongside Kuwait’s MOI, MOC and PACI. There are Several Kiosks, payment devices and even a decked out BMW Police Car on display.

The bad:
No Zain (they have their own event in April?), No Zajil, No Fasttelco, and not even Wasel (new Internet Company). For those looking to get a new deal on their EGO or DSL lines… You might be out of luck with the big players sitting it out. However, Zajil has already slashed prices with 3mb going for less than 850kd for a year’s subscription.

The ugly:
Aside from the cheaper yet still over-inflated pricing on the same old items… There is not much that InfoConnect has to offer. Without the Internet companies using February as a time to introduce their new offerings… you might as well take a stroll down any Ibn Khaldoun for the same experience.

The reality is that InfoConnect is a second rate bazaar with local stores trying to unload the remaining stock from their warehouse. Everyone from ElectroZan, Yousifi, Al-Ghanim Electronics and Sony are busy selling Televisions and DVD players than showing off new technology.

On the bright side, this might be a good chance to pick up that TV you have been thinking about. In addition to the electronics… there is an endless supply of Phone stores, two bit computer shops and Chinese stands selling items which can probably be found for cheaper in Hawalli.

I put up some pictures on my Flickr page [here].

-Posted by K

I will be posting tomorrow the ISP cost comparison.

Info & Connect 2008 will start from tomorrow the 3rd of February and last until the 9th. If you are planning on renewing or getting a new Internet connection this would be the best type time since all the ISP’s usually have offers at this exhibit. I tried checking the Info & Connect website for more details but its currently not working which is ironic. Location for the exhibit is Mishref Fairground Hall 4. [Link]

I woke up at 9AM today morning so I could start work on the installation of my Alpine sound system in the Wrangler. First thing I did was pass by Sultan Center and pick up a cutter and extra batteries for my MagLite. From 10 in the morning until 5 in the evening I was working on the installation non stop without lunch just 2 small bottles of water and gum. I got a lot of surprises, most of the stuff I was expecting to be difficult turned out easy and what I was expecting to be easy turned out to be difficult. My fingers are killing me now and I have a ton of tiny scratches all over my hands from all the work I did under the dashboard trying to get all the cables neatly through.

I am not done yet, I still have around an hour of work work which I will do tomorrow. I still need to fasten the amp and the sub to the car, I already drilled the holes just need to screw them in. I also need to fine tune the sound, currently I got a lot of highs and a lot of lows with no midrange. Also the front speakers are slightly louder then the rear so I can still tell which direction the sound is coming from but thats also an easy fix. I think I did a pretty good job of the install, there were a few moments where I thought I was fucked but those quickly got worked out. Only thing I need to improve on is my soldering technique.

A friend of mine emailed me these two photos of what looks to be new Audi police cars for the local enforcement. My speeding fines were probably a down payment.

Update: Here is the picture of the Dodge Charger which was sent in by Khalid. Also I just found out these are test cars and the deal with the government still hasn’t been signed.

They must have upgraded the car-cams that park on the Gulf Road every morning because they now flash. Paid for by my speeding fines.