Category: Information

I don’t usually have postive things to say about Mac & More but today I passed by them and turned out they had 2 Black MacBooks. They were already sold to clients and they were busy installing software on them but atleast Nat was able to see in person how the black MacBook looked like. She told her PowerBook and was considering either the 2ghz white MacBook, the 2ghz black Macbook or the 1.8ghz MacBook Pro. The prices between the three were very close, $1300, $1500 and $1800.

Well the blackbook turned out to be pretty boring. It just looks like an ordinary computer which wasn’t very exciting. This instantly took the black book out of the picture and Nats options were either the 2ghz $1300 white MacBook or the $1800 1.8ghz MacBook Pro. $500 difference for a larger screen… not worth it. So I just placed an order for the white book.

Something funny happened while at the Mac store. One employee saw me taking a picture of the black book and he asked me if I had a problem. I thought that was weird cuz the correct question would have been why are you taking a picture? Anyway I replied back asking him if he had a problem. He was like no he was wondering if I had a problem because I was taking pictures. I asked him why is that a problem? He was like no. I was like o..k.. weird.

The cheapest Big Mac is in China, where it costs $1.30, compared with $4.93 in Switzerland which is the most expensive. Kuwait is not on the chart but a Big Mac here costs $2.76. [Link]

The past week I have been driving to work using the Gulf Road. On my way I kept spotting this group of American looking people on the side of the road (on the side going towards Salmiya) with their GMC’s parked up on the side walk and a little shade setup. I thought maybe they were shooting a TV commercial but then I noticed that everyday they would move a bit. First time I saw them they were in front of Burj al Hamam restaurant, then I saw them near Fridays and just now on my way back from the beach I saw them near Marina Mall. So, I decided to u-turn and stop and ask them what they were doing.

I park the car and open my window and a guy comes towards me, I ask him if he minds telling me what they are doing since I keep seeing them in a different spot every day. The guy replies back to me with an Australian accent that they are installing fiber optic cables. I thank him and drive off.

So mystery solved, now if you see the SUVs parked on the side of the road you know why they are there.

update: a reader mentioned the following article related to fiber optics in Kuwait. Looks like we might be getting some good stuff. [Link]

There seems to be a large fire at the Shuwaikh port. According to Stallion, a storage warehouse inside the port compound between the ugly blue building and the free trade zone caught fire.

Click here to view the picture above in big

Note: Picture taken by Stallion

You open your fridge, you find a slice of cheese, half a cucumber, some ketchup and what looks like chicken.. what do you do? You enter the ingredients in Snacksby and it will tell you what you can make with those ingredients. Very practical and adventurous.. its like MacGyver but for food. [Link]

update: “like MacGyver but for food” has now become their new tagline.

Sometimes I can’t purchase stuff online because they require a US based Visa card or a Paypal account. My usual action then is to ask a friend who lived in the States before and has an American Visa card to purchase the item for me and then I pay him back.

Now there seems to be a way around this.. epassporte.com. Basically you get a “virtual” visa card from them which has a US billing address. You can then fill up your virtual card using your regular visa card here in Kuwait. By virtual they mean digital as in you won’t get a physical credit card you can hold in your hand, you just get the numbers.

Anyone tried this service? I am thinking of trying it out myself. [Link]

update: OK seems they are not very trustworthy.. [Link]

One of the best customer service in Kuwait can be found at International Optics. The employees there are always extremely friendly and professional.

The other day we passed by them because Geo had chewed up Nats glasses after she accidentally left them on the table and they were completely destroyed. The frames plastic was bent, the metal thing on the side was scratched like crazy and he had chewed one of the glasses. She was about to throw them away when I told her they might be saved. So we went to the International Optics branch in Central Plaza and showed it to this one guy. He asked what had happened to it and I told him my dog chewed it. He of course found that funny and shared it with his fellow employees. He told me to come back the next day at the same time and we left.

Next day we went back and I realized I should have taken a before and after shot because what they did was incredible. They actually bent the frame (plastic and all) back to the right shape, they polished the front to remove all the scratches and the side metal was repainted. It was hard to believe this was the same glasses. If they had come and told me we threw your glasses away because they were unfixable I would have said ok but instead they fixed the glasses and they only charged us KD10 to replace the one scratched glass.

This is not the first time they were this helpful, I have had problems with my other shades and they always took care it. Anyway I figured I would talk about a company would good service since I mentioned Showtime’s bad service in the previous post.

This is some guys list of things he’s figured out over time. Some interesting and informative stuff and it comes in 2 parts. [Part 1] and [Part 2]

I just heard today at 5AM a car crashed into Johnny Rockets opposite Zahra Complex (under McDonalds) in Salmiya. Anyone got any pics??

update: Here are the pictures: [Toomz] and [2by4]

One plant has over 200,000 workers who get paid only KD14 a month! [Link]

Have you guys tried mPay? It only works with MTC but its really a time saver. Nat has a prepaid eeZee line and I used to recharge it for her using the MTC website which although easier then passing by the bakala and getting a refill card, it was still not easy enough for my lazy ass. mPay on the other hand makes life really easy. You sign up with them for free and you then get a menu on your phone allowing you refill other peoples phones (or yours) with just a few clicks on the phone. The amount then gets deducted from your bank account.

So for example I just went into my mPay menu on the phone, and then clicked on reload and then clicked on KD5 and then chose Nat and I then clicked on confirm. Right away I got an SMS telling me that I had transferred money onto Nats prepaid card and she also instantly got her phone recharged. Its that easy.

You can check out their website by going to mpay.com.kw but to sign up just pass by any Fono branch (like the one at Marina Mall) and they would set it up for you right away. I like stuff that makes me lazier.

The World Cup is coming up and Chevrolet in Kuwait are presenting their Winning 11 Chevrolet team. They have exactly 11 Chevrolet models and its everything you need to make a winning football team. Everyone is cashing in on the World Cup fever and they cannot ignore the frenzy. Thats why they are equipping all 5 of their showrooms with plasma screens and ART subscriptions to display the games live. They also have an offer where if you buy any car at Alghanim Automotive you can win a trip to the winning country of the World Cup. They will send you there in business class and even give you KD1000 to spend as you wish.

In addition, all their showrooms are branded ‘football style’ with flags, TV screens, salesmen wearing jerseys etc.. Even if people aren’t buying a car they want them to visit the showrooms and enjoy the games with them. So if you have the time pass by and check them out.

I just got my Body Groom today from U Shop We Ship. It arrived to my mailbox in the States on the 2nd and it got delivered to me today in Kuwait which is the 6th. Thats 4 days to get from the US to Kuwait but it also included a Sunday which is a day off, so its usually should take 3 days.

I am very satisfied so far. The most impressive part is the fact that I paid for my package using Knet while the package was in the US. This also got me a 2% discount which is not much but better then no discount. My MacBook still hasn’t shipped from Amazon since they still don’t have it in stock but I just changed the shipping address to U Shop We Ship. The reason for that is USWS can clear my laptop from customs AND I can pay them the customs fee online with my Knet card. Thats very convenient and I love it. I am now going to start using USWS as my primary US mailbox and keep Aramex as secondary for my magazines. [Link]

FYI: Package arrived today morning at 10AM to Kuwait according to the tracking info. Delivery guy dropped it at my office around 12:30PM.. 2 and a half hours later. Thats something not possible with Aramex.

If you are looking for a pet dog or cat check out the Animal Friends League of Kuwait website. They have a huge list of dogs including a Great Dane which I am very tempted to adopt. [Link]

There is also a company in Ahmadi closing down and they have pedigree German and Belgian Shepherds, a Labrador and 2 Ridgebacks all under 1 years old and are looking for homes urgently. Call Karen at AFL 7001622 or Samir Eltom on 7704654.

Mein Gott, zwei kilogram! [Link]