Category: Information

So I was at Virgin earlier and the section in the back where Nissan used to be is now closed off and there is a Ferrari Formula 1 car on display there. If anyone is interested that is.

My Qualitynet DSL account expires next month and so I was just checking their website to see if they have any new offers because last year when I signed up they had a double your bandwidth offer. So I am checking to see how much 512KB will cost me this time around and to my surprise its KD100 cheaper. Last year if you signed up for 1 year of 256KB they would double the bandwidth to 512KB. I paid KD380 then. This time around I don’t see a double your bandwidth offer but a 512KB connection now costs KD280. The sad thing is 1MB is still KD560 a year which is double the price, maybe my sister who lives next door and steals uses my internet will pitch in for a 1MB (hint hint Rampurple). [Link]

I love the smell of burning garbage.. it reminds me of the old days in Lebanon. During the war people burned the garbage because there was no one to come and pick it up so now whenever I smell burning garbage I just remember Lebanon. I am currently sitting on the balcony with Geo and it seems there is a pile of garbage in my neighbourhood that is currently on fire, I can’t see the fire I can just see the smoke rising up behind one of the buildings and I can smell it really well. There is like a really huge pile of garbage near my building which I have been hoping would catch on fire but that hasn’t happened yet. If the baladia doesn’t want to take care of the trash then we should take things into our own hands. Too bad I am too chicken to start a fire myself.

I currently have a reseller account at Fasthosts where I pay around $90 a month to host as many sites as I want with them. That was a good deal 6 years ago when I first signed up but now its really expensive compared to whats available in the market. So I did a lot of research trying to find a replacement and I ended up finding one with a really deal, DreamHost.

For anyone here who is thinking about starting a blog or is looking for a webhost for their domains then you should consider DreamHost. They currently have a really good offer going on where for only $9.95 a month you get 20GB of webspace with 1TB of bandwidth every month and the ability to host an unlimited number of domains with them. Setting up WordPress (the software that runs this blog) is very easy with DreamHost, its just a click of a button, plus if you sign up with them now they give you a free domain name so you can have your blog up and running for only $9.95!.

I used a $50 discount coupon when I signed up but I found a $60 one. The coupon code is: 60DOLLARS. Use it when you sign up to get an instant $60 discount.

It’s really hard to find a better deal so check them out and don’t forget to use the coupon code to get your $60 discount. [Link]

I found some cool info in Kuwait Explorer I didn’t know about, here are some interesting stuff I found:

– Single round of golf at Ahmadi course is KD5, annual membership is KD175
– Horse riding lessons at equestrian club costs KD3 per half hour
– Kuwait Darts & Social Leage [Link]
– If I had time I would do some Kung Fu [Link]

So far I really am liking the book Kuwait Explorer.

Many of you might not know this but the Commercial Bank of Kuwait logo was designed by one of the best design agencies in the world, Pentagram back in 1979. Not only that but the designer who worked on the Commercial Bank identity, Alan Fletcher, is also among the most influential figures in British graphic design history. I decided to share with you what Alan Fletcher said about the Commerical Bank project back in the 1980’s and also the idea behind the logo itself.

The text below was written by Alan Fletcher

Designing in the Middle East requires certain cultural adjustments to one’s normal working pattern and lifestyle. The Gulf States are seven hours’ flying time from London with a time difference of three hours. Travel by Arabic airlines is like arriving in the Gulf before you’ve left. It’s a dry journey – no alcohol. At midday, Muslim passengers are likely to say prayers prostrated in the aisle; one wonders about the flight deck! Normal working hours are 8.00 am to 1.00 pm, and even then a government survey indicated that the oil-rich Kuwaiti only works an average of ten minutes each day. Friday is a holiday but they work Saturday instead. Appointments, are not necessarily appointments, and frequently involve hours (if not days) of waiting.

The Commercial Bank of Kuwait had catered only for institutions and businesses within the Gulf States until it decided to expand into international markets and enter retail banking. The new policy created the need for an appropriate visual identity. Since the bank had neither the experience nor resources, it appointed Tony Vines, via Ogilvy and Mather, New York, to set up a marketing department and create a new identity within eighteen months. Vines flew to London in 1979, interviewed various advertising agencies and designers, and on reaching a rapport with Pentagram commissioned us to work on the program. His fast response to locating a design resource set the pace for the hectic schedule that followed.

In architecture the term ‘fast tracking’ describes the method of designing whereby the architect keeps one jump ahead of the builder. In this case the severe deadlines and cultural differences made it more of a jump in the dark. The brief stipulated that the corporate identity and design style should be Arabic in flavor, but be understood internationally. The symbol, in particular, was required to mean something to both an Arab and a Westerner. Designing within these constraints reduced the normal available options. The two different scripts precluded using the alphabet to form a logotype such as Unisys, or initials such as IBM. An abstract mark would take too long to establish. A pictorial device might have encouraged the client to insist on a heraldic solution such as a scimitar crossed with palms. However the design of the symbol proved to be the least of the problems. Designing from right to left, in a script and language one didn’t understand, and within an unfamiliar culture, required keeping one’s head fast on its feet.

The new Commercial Bank symbol is an amalgamation of calligraphy and image. the words commercial and bank are rendered in kufic, a geometric script, to make a decorative star, recognizable by anyone as a distinctive pattern and, additionally, readable to an Arab. The dual language identity has English type in Paul Renner’s Futura with a compatible Arabic script especially drawn by Ahmed Mustafa.

When I was in Lebanon over Christmas someone who does some work for this famous sandwich place in Lebanon called Malak Al Taouk told me they were going to open up a branch in Kuwait soon. “Malak Al” means king of in Arabic while “Taouk” is a Lebanese word for marinated chicken cubes which are usually grilled on an oven or BBQ. The taouk sandwich at Malak Al Taouk (their specialty) is really really huge and very cheap costing around 650 fils. The ingredients of the sandwich are: lots of taouk, lots of French fries, lots of coleslaw and lots of ketchup. On my last trip to Lebanon I took some pictures of the sandwich to share with everyone and I totally forgot about them until yesterday. The sandwich I took pictures of though is their “super” taouk sandwich which comes with cheese and ham as extra. As you can see from the pictures the sandwich is wider then a 330ml can of Pepsi.

Picture next to Pepsi can
Close up shot of whats inside

Today in Al-Qabas newspaper they had an article on the Al-Rifai car crash which I posted about yesterday. The difference is Al-Qabas is stating that the woman of the car was driving on the road normally when her brakes failed and she veered out of control into the Al-Rifai store. I find that hard to believe for a couple of reasons, first she was driving a new Toyota Prado, not a 10 year old Hyundai. When was the last time you heard the brakes on a new car failing? I doubt it ever happens anymore. Secondly the street is tiny, she would have had to make a 90 degree turn to be able to drive into the store. If she had lost control like the newspaper is stating then she would have veered off the road diagonally, not at a right-angle. This looks like a cover up!

Yesterday while walking around Muthana Complex I found this really cool Golf store called Golf Me. I hadn’t seen it before and I later found out that it had only been open for 2 weeks now. I went inside and spoke to the owner who was a very nice guy. The first thing I asked him was if there was a Golf course in Kuwait. He told me there was one in Ahmadi thats a sand course, I told him I knew about that but if there was a grass one. Surprisingly he told me there was, a place called the Sahara Golf & Country Club. I then started to get some details about the store and how much it would cost to golf in Kuwait and this is what I found out. Firstly they have this cool setup in the store where you can try golf clubs out and watch your swing replayed digitally on a TV screen. I also found out that they teach golf. For KD70 you get 10 courses and this includes the use of their golf clubs and time on the golf course. If later on you want to buy your own golf club set you can get one for as low as KD150. I forgot to ask how much it would cost to play golf in the Ahmadi course but I did ask about the Sahara Golf & Country club. The owner told me you need to be a member at the country club and its not cheap. Originally when they first opened membership was KD1300 a year, the price then went up to KD1500 and now the price is KD2000, KD500 of which is a one time setup fee. The course is managed by PGA and is 18 holes and 6,700 yards so its not your run of a mill golf course.

Anyway here are some links and pictures related to the above.
Sahara Golf & Country Club Website
Details on the country club
The Golf Me website
Golf Me from the outside
Golf Me from the inside
Golf Me from the inside 2

The Golf Me store is located on the Mezzanine floor of the Muthana Complex in Kuwait City. Their phone number is 2634660.

I was sitting having my salad at Pizza Hut in Muthana Complex (Kuwait City) with Nat when I look to my left and see a huge fucking cockroach on the table! I quickly got up surprising Nat who hadn’t yet noticed the intruder yet. I was like look there is a fucking cockroach on the table which quickly made her get up in disgust and shock. So I call the head waitress over and I told her there was a huge cockroach on the table. She calmly asks us if we would like to change to another table. I asked her if there were gonna be any cockroaches there and she laughed and said no. I didn’t find any of this funny. We sat down at the new table but neither Nat nor I felt like finishing our salads so I got up to the counter to pay the bill.

While I was standing there waiting for the cashier to hand me back my change I hear Nat calling a waiter and then telling him that the cockroach is back on our old table, he quickly goes and kills it. I tell the cashier I want to talk to the manger and he tells me OK but then starts tidying up around the register and putting away menus and stuff. So I tell the cashier I wanted to see the manager NOW, he was like why is there a problem? I was like fuck yes now get me the manager. The manager comes out of the kitchen and asks me what the problem was. I told him the problem was there was a huge fucking cockroach on the table while we were eating. I told him I found that disgusting and I would never come back to the place again. The manager who looked like he was confused and didn’t know what to do told me the reason for the cockroach was that they had sprayed the night before. I told him I didn’t fucking care and thats not an excuse since there was a fucking cockroach on my table! Seeing as I wasn’t even going to be able to convince the manager that the cockroach on the table was a problem I picked up my stuff and left.

I am never going back to another Pizza Hut again. Other then the cockroach on the table I found the staff very unprofessional and I found the manager to be incompetent and an idiot. He barely even apologize about the cockroach nor did he offer any kind of compensation! I am now going to make sure the owners, Al Homaizi Food Group know about this incident and I will also send an email to Pizza Hut international so they know what kind of managers work for them. This was really fucking disgusting.

Just a little something to help some readers out.

2) Pornography sexualizes the viewer’s mindset. It warps and perverts their perspective such that sex is unnaturally elevated in their thoughts. Porn’s images are stamped into viewer’s brain with the aid of hormones released during sexual arousal. Even if a person decides to stop looking at porn, the past images can remain for years or even a lifetime.

Reasons Why Porn is Bad
Stories on How Porn Destroys
Lies of porn
Porn Statistics
Mass Murder and Porn

Wow, all the movies on this list are over 5 hours with the longest one being 27 hours long! To think I was complaining about how King Kong was too long.. [Link]

Susan, a regular reader of the site recently went on a sky tour of Kuwait and this is what she had to say about it:

A recent start-up called Kuwait Sky Tours is now operating in Kuwait and taking passengers on 15-minute helicopter rides at a cost of KD25 each. The 15-minute flight takes off from the helipad behind the Sultan Centre restaurant on the Gulf Road, travels up to Green Island and then back down to the Amir’s Palace in Salwa, before returning to land. It is a great way too see Kuwait from a different perspective. The helicopter is a MD 500-E and seats 3 adults. There is space for a child or a very skinny person between the pilot and front passenger. If you want to go, give Steve a call on 705 6666. They also fly from Khiran and Failaka on occasion. Cameras are allowed.

You can also go on a larger helicopter, for an hour-long flight for the princely sum of USD1,500. Or, try the executive jet, which is ready to fly you and 13 of your friends to any destination in the world! Don’t know that price; I was too afraid to ask!

P.S. Don’t talk into the headset during the flight. The pilot told me off!

Here are Susan’s pictures from her trip:
The Helicopter
Looking North West
Marina Mall and Marina Hotel
The Scientific Center
View of Salmiya
The Gulf Road and Kuwait Towers
House in Salwa
Radisson SAS

These lists represent the top camera makes and models used to create photos uploaded to Flickr, the best online photo sharing application in the world. The lists are generated automatically by periodically sampling the EXIF data from the stream of recent uploads. [Link]

(yay my camera is #1)

Did anyone hear the large explosion bang today just before 9AM?