Category: Personal

I was surfing the web on my MacBook in bed when suddenly I heard a loud *POP* sound and I started smelling something strange. So I turn on the lights and realized it was my iPhone charger! I was charging my iPhone 3GS with my 2G iPhone’s power adapter like I did last night except tonight the thing exploded. Luckily nothing caught on fire but this is seriously messed up. My iPhone 3GS is fine and is currently being charged on my PowerMac but I am still pissed.

My iPhone 3GS arrived today from Australia and I’ve been playing with it for over an hour now. I am upgrading from the original (2G) iPhone since I never saw a reason to upgrade to the 3G. The 3GS on the other hand had a decent amount of improvements that was worth upgrading to. Here are my impressions so far:

– It is literally twice as fast compared to my previous iPhone. My favorite game Fast Food boots up much much quicker than before

– Love the new smudge proof screen

– I got internet tethering working which means I can use my iPhone like an eGO

– Can’t get MMS to work (never mind just work, APN, username and pass should be pps)

– Voice command surprisingly easy and fun to use. I just talk to my iphone as if its my secretary and it understands commands like cancel or what band is this? when music is playing

– I don’t like the plastic back of the new iphones, I prefer the older aluminum

– 3G is faster than edge, finally I can browse at decent speeds. The BBC low graphics site now loads instantly and every link I click loads in under a second

So basically the new iPhone 3GS is a great step up from the original one. The OS speed difference, the 3G, GPS and the tethering were all worthy enough reasons for me to upgrade.

I needed some small speakers for my desktop computer which I use every now and then when I want to copy mp3s to my iPod. The computer has a tiny built in speaker but its too weak and you can barely hear anything so I wanted some affordable external speakers I could connect to it so I could hear some of the songs before I move them to my iPod. I looked at some bookshelf stereo speakers but after some research I ended up getting the Logitech X-230.

The X-230 is made up of two small speakers and a sub that fits under the desk. I read a lot of positive feedback on them online and a friend of mine who has the smaller X-210 told me his speakers sounded really good so I imagined the the larger X-230 sounded even better. They did.

I am currently sitting on my desktop computer typing this post while I am listening to some music coming out of the speakers. Its really hard to believe these speakers cost me only KD15. The sound is pretty balanced and there is some proper bass being pumped out by the sub although it gets a bit boomy every now and then but hey, they are KD15 speakers. Everything is sounding pretty good coming out of these speakers and for the price I paid I think they are a steal.

So if you’re looking for speakers I would highly recommend the Logitech X-230. You can get them from the local Logitech website for KD14 with delivery but I ended up getting them from Hawalli for KD15.

I had to go do the yearly car test and renew the papers today and they wouldn’t pass my car. Last year I installed the lift and large tires on my Wrangler and I didn’t know what to expect during the car test since I couldn’t find any proper information regarding the legality of car lifts.

I got to the check up area and the inspector took a look at the car and wrote something down on the paper. He then called a second inspector over and told him that I have a lift and large tires installed. The other inspector told him whats it to you let the guy install whatever he wants and pass him. The first inspector then told the second one that he had already wrote on the paper that I had large tires installed. They discussed it among themselves for a few seconds but since he had already wrote there was a problem there wasn’t much that could be done. I asked them what the problem was and the second inspector replied back in very fluent English that the problem was that my tires were sticking out from the side of the car and that I should go over to the other inspection area on the other side and see what they would have to say there.

So I drove to the second inspection area where a guy came up to my car and told me I wasn’t allowed to install different rims and tires on the car. According to him the only way he would pass me is if I install the original wheels and go back to him. So now I need to see if the garage that installed my lift still has my original tires. If not I guess will have to pass by the scrap yard and see what I can find.

This is a long shot but does anyone have a Lego man they would want to sell me? They are used for display purposes. I took a picture of the oneabove at Fantasy World but its not there anymore. Its around 40cm tall. Does anyone from Fantasy World read my blog by any chance?

Would you like to write ads like these?

Mr. W
Cadbury Gorilla
Halo 3
Schweppes Burst

If you are already a copywriter or you would like to become one email me.

JWT is one of the largest and most awarded agency in the world. For more information visit our website www.jwt.com

I own too many headphones for some reason and yet I always manage to convince myself I need a new pair. I currently own a B&O A8, Shure E2, Sennheiser PX100, AKG K81 DJ and the Ultimate Ears Super.fi 5 Pro. These cover just about every type of headphone from in ear’s, to over head, from open air to closed back, and from tiny to large and bulky. Whats missing are a pair of noise canceling headphones. I originally fell in love with the noise canceling Beats but due to the fact they weren’t very portable made them unpractical for my main reason of wanting noise canceling headphones and that’s traveling.

So after a bit of research I decided to buy a pair of Sennheiser PXC250’s. I had read about them ages ago and remembered them again with the release of the newer updated PXC300. But after some googling I realized the 300’s were just a slight improvement over the 250 but were also double the price. So without hesitation I bought the 250’s from Amazon for just $73.

I’ve been listening to them for over an hour now and the headphones don’t have much bass. I was expecting that based on previous reviews I had read but since I will be primarily using them to watch TV shows on my Archos 7, its not a big deal for me but might be to you. The noise canceling seems to be working right. The dryer is on and when I turn the noise canceling on I don’t hear it, when off I do. The proper test will be using it on the plane which I should be soon.

The little device thats in the picture above is the battery holder. The Sennheisers work with or without battery but the noise cancellation only works with batteries. Once I get back from a trip will post another review on these.

The Sennheiser PXC 250 is for $72 on Amazon [Link]
The Sennheiser PXC 300 is for $128 on Amazon [Link]

Salmiya will never be the same without you.

Can we have normal looking trees in Kuwait? Please.

I passed by 360 today and this is what I thought:

The Good
– The interior of the mall is probably the nicest in Kuwait. Looks very fancy with a mixture of wood, marble and carpet.
– Finally there is a proper Nike and Puma store
– Geant Hypermarket is huge
– Toys R Us!
– A lot of new brands launching at the 360
– Food court looks pretty

The Bad
– I would say only 20-30% of the shops and restaurants are open, everything else is still closed
– I was expecting a larger Toys R Us
– I compared one item at Geant which turned out to be more expensive than Carrefour. The WD HD TV player costs KD35 at Geant and KD31 at Carrefour. This of course isn’t an accurate assessment but it still gave me the impression that Carrefour is cheaper.

The Ugly
– Parking or should I say the complete lack of any parking. I was there during the day, the mall wasn’t packed and I couldn’t find parking. Its bad enough the parking isn’t shaded but the fact that there wasn’t enough parking during the middle of the week at 1PM is just ridiculous. I had to park illegally like a lot of people and I was lucky I even found an illegal spot. A friend passed by last night and told me he had to wait in a car jam for 20 minutes around a kilometer away from the mall and in the end he left because the line into 360 wasn’t moving.
– There were nice looking fountains outside but when I got closer they stank of sewage and were murky green and dirty.

After posting last night asking if anyone had a PowerMac or Mac Pro for sale I got a reply from someone and managed to pick up a Dual G5 2.3ghz PowerMac today for a really good deal (just slightly more expensive than on eBay). I just formatted the Mac and am getting ready to install all my applications. I love it!

I applied for tickets but didn’t get any:

Thank you for your registration.

Sorry, we regret to inform you that your registration to attend the Public Memorial Service for Michael Jackson was not selected.

Hundreds of thousands registered, but only a few can be in attendance.

My 9 year old Graphic PowerMac has started showing its age. Its been shutting down randomly recently and I think its a hardware issue. So I am thinking of upgrading to a second hand Mac Pro, does anyone have one for sale? I am looking for a second hand since I don’t want to pay an arm and a leg for a new one (they cost KD700+ on Amazon for example).

Update: Never mind I found one! [Link]

Around two months back I got diagnosed with Acid Reflux. The doctor gave me a months supply of some purple pills called Nexium which really helped me out a lot. But, I didn’t want to live on pills for the rest of my life so I decided to eat healthier and not take any pills. I haven’t had McDonalds, Hardees, Burger King or KFC for 2 months now, the longest ever. I’ve had burgers at Slider Station maybe twice in this period and once at Burger Hub (not a good experience at all). I haven’t really experienced any major acid reflux since except for this one occasion when I over ate at Caesers but that was sooo worth it.

Anyway one thing a ton of people online recommended I try for my acid reflux is organic apple cider vinegar. Supposedly a table spoon or two mixed with water can fix my acid reflux and a ton of other health issues. I didn’t believe it but figured I would try it since a bottle of organic apple vinegar at Sultan cost only KD1.800. Well I’ve been using it for a while now and it actually works. Now supposedly you are supposed to take it every morning and every evening but honestly it tastes like crap. I only have it if I feel a bit uncomfortable and then I fill up a table spoon of vinegar with a bit of water and drink it quickly like a shot. I actually tried drinking a shot of vinegar without water but it was a killer.

Surprisingly this does work for me. One drink right after dinner and I don’t have any kind of discomfort when I go to sleep. I figured I would share this easy remedy since it worked for me. I won’t link to any one article regarding this but if you just do a search in google for the phrase acid reflux organic apple cider vinegar you should find a TON of information.

Update: Actually here is one link with some info. [Link]

Back in April I was checking up on my domains and realized I had one domain missing called t20.org. So I checked up on it and it turned out the domain had expired and I had forgotten to renew it. I was really pissed off but now I am even more pissed off because I just realized the domain could have actually been worth some money today.

There is a new version of cricket that’s become super popular recently called Twenty20. Twenty20 cricket is also know as T20 cricket. SUCKS!