Category: Information

Just an FYI to anyone planning to order the iPad Arcade Cabinet from Think Geek. Mine shipped a few days ago and according to UPS it weighs over 10lb’s, that means it’s going to cost around KD30 to ship from New York using Aramex! So just a warning to anyone planning on getting it, the thing is really heavy. [Link]

A reader emailed me saying that all ISP’s have started applying a fair access policy meaning they will now be placing limits on our bandwidth. I checked the Qualitynet website since they’re my provider and noticed that at the bottom of their DSL page it states “Terms and Condition & Fair Usage Policy Apply.” I figured that was something that was always there but I checked the google cache version of the page and noticed it wasn’t there before.

Of course I freaked out and quickly called Qualitynet, the support guy I spoke to didn’t know what fair usage policy was but after explaining it to him he said there is a temporary limit imposed at the moment due to a technical problem but once it’s solved everything will be back to normal and we won’t have any limits. Hopefully that turned out to be true because I would hate to have a limit.

Here are the links to all the ISP’s where fair usage policy is mentioned:

Gulfnet: https://gulfnet.com.kw/web/FAP.html
Qualitynet: https://www.qualitynet.net/?page_id=269
KEMS: https://www.kems.net/price_list_new.aspx?id=1
Fast Telco: https://www.fasttelco.net/AxCMSTemplates/FAP_1471.pdf

Thanks Ebrahim

[YouTube]

I’ve posted about MILSIM before [Here] and [Here] but in case you missed it MILSIM is short for military simulation. It’s an outdoor activity where unlike paintball you use very realistic weapons and the game focuses more on strategy than running around shooting randomly. Anyway they’re now open in Shaab Park, I haven’t been there yet but you can see a bit of the place in the video above in which they demonstrate some of the weapons you get to use. If you need more information you can visit their website [Here]

I just heard awhile ago from a source that Tesco and Sultan Center have just worked out a deal where Tesco will supply Sultan Center with an extensive range of British lines. This will include Tesco products and British brands that are not yet available in the region. I don’t know how reliable this source is so count this information as a rumor for now but if it is true it contradicts my previous post in which I said that Alshaya was bringing Tesco to Kuwait. Or maybe both things can happen?

Back in October I posted about a reader who’s neighbor installed telecom transceivers on his roof and covered them up to look like decorations. After complaining to the baladiya they came and removed the telecom towers a few weeks ago. So a happy ending right? Well a few days ago another neighbor suddenly had what looks like a water tower popup on his roof. After careful inspection turns out there were telcom transceivers hidden inside them.

So now he’s going to go back to the baladiya to complain again. This time he knows the correct department to talk to so the towers should get removed pretty quickly. It is illegal to place telecom transceivers on the roof tops of residential buildings. So know your rights and know how to spot them.

I found out the other day that you can actually order items from Amazon.co.jp and have them shipped to you via a mail forwarding company called Tenso to your Aramex mail forwarding mailbox in New York. This opens a whole new door on gadgets we can buy and price wise it seems pretty reasonable.

Basically you need to open an account with tenso.com who are a company that specialize in forwarding products from Japan to other parts of the world. Their prices are ok, I checked how much it would cost for 1KG and it turned out to be approximately KD10 including their service fee and shipping fee. Once you have an account with them (free to setup) you can order items from Amazon Japan and pay with your Kuwaiti card or order from other Japanese websites or even the Japanese eBay Yahoo auctions. When you place your order you give them your Tenso address in the same way you give US sites your Aramex address. Once the package arrives to your Japanese mailbox they will ship the item to your US mailbox. They sadly don’t ship directly to Kuwait. They also don’t ship batteries so if you order say a camera, they will remove the battery before they ship it to you. You also might have to pay US customs depending on the items you order.

I know there are quite a few negatives but it’s still good to have this option. Check out tenso.com by clicking [Here]

Update: I was just told another option for buying from Japan is using the site From Japan. From what I understood they ship to Kuwait directly as well. Check them [Here]

I got a nasty chip in my windshield the other day from a flying pebble and if that wasn’t bad enough the chip happened right up in the middle of my line of sight. It was extremely annoying and I wanted to fix it right away so I ended up taking it to our friends at Al Falah Car Wash since they recently started repairing windshields.

It took them around half and hour to repair two chips in my windshield (the new one and an older tiny one) and now my windshield looks new again. It cost me around KD5 plus I tipped the repair guy. They did a great job so I highly recommend them plus you can get your car washed when you’re done.

They’ve activated the new clock road sign near McDonalds on the Gulf Road and it turns out they’re using a new screen for it. Unlike the first generation signs in which they used two smaller screens, the new sign uses one larger higher resolution screen which is much better. No more squinting trying to read the messages, they should be much larger and clearer from now on.

According to the Freedom of the Press 2011 survey release, Kuwait no longer tops the Arab world in freedom of the press, that position now goes to Lebanon. Previously Kuwait was always on top but this year it dropped from a global position of 115th last year to 124th place in 2011. You can check out the full results and press releases [Here]

Below is the freedom of the press ranking for the Middle East and North Africa:

1- Israel
2- Lebanon
3- Kuwait
4- Algeria
5- Jordan
6- Egypt
7- Qatar
8- Iraq / Morocco
10- Oman / UAE
12- Bahrain
13- Palestine / Saudi Arabia / Yemen
16- Syria
17- Tunisia
18- Iran
19- Libya

I just found out we have a KitchenAid dealer in Kuwait. I never knew there was one locally since I never saw their products in any store but it seems that’s because in Kuwait they cater mostly to businesses. KitchenAid is an extremely popular brand for kitchen mixers which are used a lot in cooking shows. According to the dealer the mixer costs KD130 after discount which when compared to the KD75 selling price on Amazon… it’s nearly double. But ordering from Amazon isn’t an option since it’s pretty heavy and you have the voltage difference.

The KitchenAid dealer turned out to be the Blendtec dealer as well. Blendtec is a very popular blender and they’re the same ones used on the website Will It Blend? in which they try to blend random everyday objects.The prices of the Blendtec blenders start at KD370 which is more than double the prices on Amazon. Ouch!

In any case if you’re interested to know, the dealer is called Mabrook and their phone number is 24818242

[YouTube]

The managing director of the AC Milan Soccer School in Kuwait sent me some information regarding their participation last week in the 24th International Youth Tournament in Rovereto, Italy. It turns out it was the first time in the tournament’s history, a team from out of the EU participates in it. Even though the Kuwaiti team did not win the tournament they still had a great performance. For those of you who don’t know, the AC Milan Soccer School in Kuwait is in collaboration with Loyac and is a non-profit program designed to support the youth and improve football in Kuwait. Fore more information visit their website [Here]

Way to go guys!

I’m really not a good writer neither am I great in speeches which is what I believe this verdict deserves. I was extremely nervous today waiting to find out the outcome as you can imagine and it was such an incredible relief to find out I won.

I’m really not sure what to say other than the fact this ruling goes to show how much freedom of speech is highly respected in Kuwait. I love living here and I love having the right to state my personal opinion on this blog. I really want to thank EVERYONE for all the support that you gave me. Seriously what you guys did was just incredible and really gave me the courage to fight this out till the end. I also want to thank my lawyer Khaled Al Shamali from The Group Law Firm for taking this case and doing an amazing job. And most importantly I want to thank the judge and the court for their ruling.

I hope no other blogger will have to go through what I did and I hope the result of this case will serve as an example that you can’t stop people from stating their personal opinions.

Thanks again everyone!

PS: If you have no idea what lawsuit I am talking about click [Here]

I’m not a big Harley fan since I prefer sports bikes and Vespas but I know a lot of you might be interested in this. According to a reader it seems you can rent Harleys from the Harley Davidson dealer. This is the email I received with minor editing:

I am sure you might be knowing about this, but just wanted to add in your activities, renting a Harley Davidson. The 2011 models are out and I rented a Fatboy this weekend for only KD72 (KD36 a day for a KD6,895 bike is really good). There are three other bikes available for rent as well: The Sportster Nightster for KD54, Street Glide and Road King Classic for KD81.

Please note these prices are for 2 day rental since they are closed on Fridays. You need to rent the bikes on Thursday and return them on Saturday and you get these special rates. Or you can rent on a daily bases and the rates are: Nightster – KD30, Fatboy – KD40, Street Glide and Road King Classic – KD45.

It was the best experience with friends having different bikes like Ducati, MV Agusta, Kawasaki, Honda, however the Harley stood out and was an amazing and comfortable ride throughout the day. Looking forward to rent another one again and try out all their models.

The staff at Harley Davidson is also very friendly and helped me select the best ride. You can contact Mr. Marlon, he will help you in the best way possible – 24823041 /2 / 3.

To rent a bike all you need to have is a valid bike license, your civil ID, the rental amount and KD250 on your credit card (or cash) as a deposit. All bikes are fully insured and they also provide you with a helmet (6 different helmets to choose from).

That’s actually not a bad activity especially with this great weather. So I’ve gone ahead and added this post on renting Harleys to the activities page.

Thanks Fahad

GulfRun, along with HuperOptik Kuwait and Abdulmohsen Abdulaziz Al-Babtain Co., have sponsored Mubarak Al-Rumaidhi’s Nissan 350Z to participate in the Red Bull Car Park drift tomorrow. The car has been fixed, modded and tuned to burn some serious rubber. Make sure to be there tomorrow at 3:30pm at the Kuwait International Fair in Meshrif to watch the event. We hope the best of luck for Mubarak and all of the contestants. See you there.

I know the guy and he’s basically going to kick everyone’s ass tomorrow. [Link]

There is a huge blaze right now in the Shuwaikh industrial area, I can actually see it from my office window in Kuwait City. A friend of mine sent me the two pictures attached to this post.

If you have better pictures [send it in]