Category: Personal

Back in October I posted about hitting my Red Bull Mobile internet unlimited limit for the first time. Unlimited limit sounds contradictory but somehow an unlimited internet plan is limited.

I’ve been using Red Bull Mobile for my 5G internet connection at home since they first launched. It’s a great deal, KD63 for 6 months unlimited internet so KD10.5 a month. Back in October my internet stopped working and turned out it was because for the first time I hit the limit of the unlimited plan by consuming 3TB of bandwidth. Thats when I discovered that RBM has a 3TB limit on their unlimited plan. Once you hit the limit the only option is to refill it by paying 5KD for just 50GB. 5KD for 500GB I can understand but for just 50? Wasn’t gonna happen.

As you know I built a new PC this month and so had to download Windows, apps, and games on it. I hit my 3TB limit again with 10 days to go in my month. Last time the only option I had was to get a post paid line from Zain for 500GB at 8KD a month and then cancel it before the month was completed. This time I decided to do the same thing except I’m not canceling it.

Yesterday I went and signed up for a post paid unlimited internet plan for KD16 a month (with no contract, cancel at any time). Zain’s unlimited plan is limited to 10TB a month which is a lot more reasonable than Red Bull’s 3TB. I don’t really download a lot of things, most of my bandwidth is used streaming 4K on my Apple TV, but the thought of having to worry about hitting my limit every month with Red Bull was stress I didn’t need in my life.

The weird thing is I couldn’t transfer my Red Bull Mobile number to Zain. I have a premium RBM number since I picked it out myself and Zain don’t allow the transfer of RBM numbers to Zain because RBM is Zain but not really. The only option they gave me was to transfer my number from Red Bull to a competitor like Ooredoo or STC, and then transfer it back to Zain. I wasn’t gonna do that so now I need to keep my RBM number alive every month. 🤦🏼‍♂️

A few days ago I decided since I now have a proper gaming PC, I might as well take advantage of it and not just use it for my racing rig. I figured I’d get a small desk, monitor, keyboard and mouse and set it up right next to my rig. Trying to find these simple things turned out to be a lot more difficult than I expected.

Finding a monitor was probably the hardest mostly due to the costs involved. Keyboard and mouse if you make a mistake you’re not out much, but with a monitor you’re stuck with it. I flip flopped a lot from budget to premium, from IPS to OLED and in the end, after a lot of research I narrowed it down to two options not he opposite end of the spectrum:

Asus ROG Strix OLED XG27UCDMG 27″ 4K QD-OLED, 240 Hz
Price: KD 311

LG 27G810A-B 27″ UltraGear™ 4K UHD IPS 180Hz
Price: KD 135

At one point I was looking at 32″ screens but based on the size of table I was looking to get it would have been too big. Plus they’re more expensive.

In the end I decided to go with the Asus. I figured I spent all this money getting a high end gaming PC it didn’t make sense to cheapen out on the screen now. The fact I only found one piece in the market helped create a sense of urgency to get it as well. The only place that still had one left from all the online stores was Blink, so I ordered it from them and it got delivered a few hours later.

Next step was picking a mouse and keyboard. 25 years ago picking a keyboard and mouse was pretty easy, you just went Microsoft or Logitech. My favorite used to be the ergonomic keyboard pictured above my Microsoft, it was ground breaking when it was released. Now the number of options is crazy. especially if you search for gaming gear. Suddenly new terms started popping up like hall effect, rapid trigger, DPI, polling rate etc.. when back then all I had to pick from was either a trackball or optical mouse and either use a random keyboard I had or get a Microsoft one. The fact that people also care if the mouse weighs 60g or 84g or whatever is also such a new concept to me. But it goes to show how seriously gaming is being taken, it’s fascinating, I love it, but it’s also so overwhelming.

I’m still trying to figure out what keyboard and mouse to go with. I think with the keyboard I’m going to go with looks. I found the Redragon K681 Cyrus PRO locally which looks good, is mechanical and should be good for casual gaming. It’s wireless and costs KD22, plus I might swap out the AWSD keys with some pink ones to give it a 90s vibe. Game Store also have some cute stuff, but most are out of stock.

The last time I passed by Blink they had keyboards on display so might pass by and check them out as well. It needs to be a keyboard with no Arabic, so Keychron or Ducky our out of the question since the ones in Kuwait are bilingual.

For the mouse I’m also thinking of going with the HyperX PulseFire Haste 2 Core because of the color combination that gives it a 90s vibe. It’s KD15 so not expensive and should be ok for casual gaming. Second option is possibly the white colored Razer DeathAdder V3 Pro since it’s a bit larger and so I think better for my wrists. But looks a bit too boring.

Back in the 90s Case Logic used to make these really great mouse pads that had a gel wrist rest and similar one for keyboards. They were life savers. I noticed some brands have similar ones now and mouse/desktops pads are a big thing as well. So might pick up a SteelSeries desk pad with RGB while I’m at it.

If you guys have any recommendations on keyboards and mice you’ve used let me know. Oh and if there is a store you know of that has a large selection also let me know. At the moment I’ve just been searching online but I’m sure there are a few shops that don’t have a website but have a good selection of stuff.

A couple of weeks ago I posted about the fact that I was thinking of building a gaming PC for my sim racing needs. After a lot of flip flopping on the idea because of the high cost involved, I finally pulled the trigger.

I was put off by the idea of spending so much on a PC since it was just going to be used for gaming, and my Mac mini which I use to earn a living cost me way less. But after going back and forth in my head and reading about how prices were just going to go up, I decided if I could build a PC for 1,250 I’d get it. So I headed to Hawally to see what the prices were like since up till that point I was just checking local stores that had websites.

99% of the shops were selling everything for the exact same price as the ones online, so that wasn’t helpful. But then on my way to PCkuwait which up to that point had the best prices, I decided to pass by Limra Computers.

I posted about Limra all the way back in 2012, they’ve always been my go to place mostly for hard drives and other computer accessories. But for some reason I forgot that they carry everything in that tiny shop. So I passed by and gave him the full list of items I wanted and he quoted me a 1,300 KD. I still needed a way to drop it down to 1,250 so I decided to swap the motherboard from the Asus TUF B870E to the TUF B850Plus since it wasn’t going to make a difference for my use. That reduced the price considerably and I left to sleep on it and then came back the next day to buy it.

This was my final build:

CPU
AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D – 180 KD

Motherboard
ASUS TUF Gaming B850-Plus WiFi7 – 82 KD

RAM
Kingston Fury Beast RGB 32GB DDR5 6000MHz CL30 – 145 KD

SSD
Samsung 9100 Pro 2TB PCIe 5.0 – 135 KD

GPU
ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 5080 OC 16GB – 570 KD

Cooler
ASUS TUF Gaming LC III 360 ARGB LCD – 58 KD

PSU
ASUS TUF Gaming 1000W Gold ATX 3.1 – 58 KD

Case
ASUS TUF Gaming GT302 ARGB – 40 KD

Total
1,268 KD including a Windows 11 Pro license

I compared my total price to NewEgg.com and surprisingly it was exactly the same. The different items varied in cost, like some things are cheaper in Kuwait, some cheaper on NewEgg, but the total still came out to be the same thing. That made me feel a bit better. So far though my experience has been a bit of a mess… on the software side.

I built the PC myself which was easy and the fun part. It’s been 25 years since I put a PC together and surprisingly nothing has changed, it’s still the exact same process. I’m glad I stuck to the Asus TUF ecosystem for everything since visually everything just looks good together.

But when it came to software, thats where things got mess.

I ran into issues installing Windows 11 since the installer couldn’t see my hard drive. Online I read that because its a new Gen 5 drive that some motherboards had trouble reading it, and after hours of trying different workarounds in the BIOS to get Windows to read my drive, it turned out the issue was with the Windows 11 boot drive I had made.

The first Windows 11 boot drive I made was using the Mac software called balenaEtcher.
The second one I did I used another software called Win Disk Writer. This worked. Hours wasted for nothing.

After installing Windows I then had to spend a couple of hours downloading and installing all the drivers. I didn’t know you guys still had to do this in 2026. Windows 11 couldn’t even read my built in wifi without installing a driver, wtf?

Currently, my computer looks like a Christmas tree with all these colorful LED’s. I have 8 fans, 7 of which have brights LEDs that are cycling through the rainbow. I have an LCD screen on my cooler for some reason that is playing an animation but can actually play videos as well. Even when the computer is in sleep I have some part of the motherboard glowing rainbow colors from the back. And why RAM sticks need brights LEDs?

This whole obsession with lights and screens INSIDE the PC is really bizarre, but whats weirder is I’m kinda liking it. I wouldn’t be surprised if in a few months I didn’t end up getting more screens and LEDs to put inside the case.

I also have a bunch of technical issues I’m trying to solve at the moment. My TV is 120hz but when I set the PC to 120hz the screen starts to flicker every few seconds, so I’m forced to keep it at 60hz for now. The ASUS software that controls the LED’s also doesn’t recognize the case or the cooler so I can’t control those LEDs yet. My first experience running Assetto Corsa Rally and Dirt Rally 2.0 didn’t result in graphics that much better than my Xbox. But I guess I knew that would be the case already, Dirt Rally 2.0 isn’t a new game and runs in ultra settings on a lot weaker GPUs perfectly fine. But it’s all about the mods, and I think once I get all the technical stuff out of the way I can focus on gaming and downloading ultra realistic graphics mods to really get the GPU working.

So far I’m obviously regretting this purchase. It was 100% stupid and knowing me I’ll end up installing Duke 3D, Red Alert Aftermath or the original Theme Park and end up just playing those. But in the long run, at least I’ll have a good PC to run GTA6 if it comes out this year. Also maybe down the line I can get a second screen and set it up for flight simulation. I don’t know, I’m just trying to convince myself I didn’t make an expensive mistake.

Last October I bought a Ford Ranger Raptor and posted about how great the car was, but how terrible the purchasing experience was. This is my first Ford, and I was worried that the negative sales experience would carry over to the service center, but thankfully, that turned out not to be the case.

I took my car in last week for the first 10K service and my experience was incredibly good, like I was surprised at how good an experience it was.

First thing I did was call Ford and book an appointment. I went the next day and as soon as I drove into the service center, their license plate reader recognized the car and a screen came on welcoming me by name (well, my wife’s name, since the Raptor is registered in her name because I’m an expat). I drove up to the second level where another screen displayed my appointment time and directed me to a bay number. No waiting in line, and the whole floor is just car drop-off with no loud sounds or the usual garage chaos I’ve gotten used to with every other brand I’ve owned.

The whole area was super clean and looked brand new. I parked in front of a desk, got out, handed over my registration, they told me what the first service included and what it would cost, then told me to go wait in the lounge. The whole experience felt very premium.

The lounge was also really nice and big. It overlooked the car drop off and pick up area on one side, and the new cars showroom on the other. There is an elevator that connects you to the showroom if you want to car browse, or you can just chill in the lounge.

When the car was done, I paid and left.

I’m actually really relieved that the service center experience went extremely well since I really love the Raptor and didn’t want the service center to ruin the joy of owning it.My wife also has a Bronco which I’ll have to take in to service eventually, so I’ll be dealing with them often

If you’re thinking of getting a Ford and want to know if their after service is any good, it is.

Most people know Shaab Park from the late 90s, but back in the 80s it looked completely different. I’ve been looking for photos of what Shaab Park used to look like in the early days what seems like forever, but I’ve never been able to find any… other than my own personal family photos.

Since I used to (and still do) live in Salmiya, my mum would take me and my siblings to Shaab Park to meet up with our friends since it was close by. Back then the park wasn’t fenced up, and it was a large green field and looked pretty vast in the photos. There was a sandy area with some slides, swings and toys, and there was also an area with a small rollercoaster, bumper cars and other rides.

Some of the residential buildings in the background I think are still there today. You can also see the Al-Muzaini Mosque in one of the photos and the Abdullah Al-Salem School. The Abdullah Al-Salem School is where the Abdullah Al-Salem Cultural Center is today. When the school was demolished in 2014, it wasn’t operational but Al-Maidan Cultural Centre was located there. Al-Maidan was part of Dar al Athar al Islamiyyah and used to hold various performances and musical events.

Based on how old I look in the photos, the fact that my younger brother isn’t in any of them (he was born in 1985) and the different outfits I’m wearing, my best guess is these photos were taken between 1983 and 1985. Check out all the photos here.

I take my dog out for a walk on the Gulf Road daily and for the past week or so it’s been pretty empty with barely anyone around. Today for the first time though it was super busy with people again. With the sirens stopping it feels like things are starting to get back to normal which is a relief. I don’t want to jinx it so won’t say anymore!

I just published a post on Instagram about how I’m not going to post about the war over there. But, I will be posting about it here, at least for archival purposes.

When I initially launched the instagram account I gave it a different set of guidelines to follow vs the main blog, and one of those was that I wouldn’t post negative content. It’s why you’ll sometimes see a post here complaining or criticizing something, but you wouldn’t find it on my instagram account.

The blog on the other hand serves as a personal diary of a sorts, a memory timeline for myself where I come to and search for places, events, things and whatever else that happened during the past 20+ years of blogging. It would feel weird if in the future I wanted to find articles about this period we’re going through and not find anything. Especially since war blogging was how I first started in 2003.

Yesterday the airport getting damaged was pretty shocking and unexpected. I think the last time our airport got hit or damaged because of a missile was during the Iraq invasion in 2003, but I can’t seem to find any info on that especially now since all the news popping up relates to yesterday.

I’ve been using twitter to find most of my content like videos and stuff relating to different incidents happening around the region, but there is also so much fake stuff to sift through. So much fake content or inaccurate content that even when I come across a real incident it’s hard to tell if it’s actually real. A good example is how there is lots of content about Burj Khalifa being hit in Dubai which isn’t true, but then when I came across content about Burj Al Arab being hit I couldn’t tell if it was also fabricated.

On the other hand there are also a lot of funny memes on twitter which has been lightening up the mood.

Anyway, stay safe everyone, hopefully all this will be over soon.

This is going to be a long post but I wanted to document my process in detail mostly for my reference in the future. But I’ll give each section a headline in case you want to skip to a specific part.

Back in 2022 I bought a Toyota Hilux. It was my first pick up truck experience and although I was hoping to keep the car for at least 10 years, similar to how I had my previous FJ for 12, I couldn’t do it. Nothing was really wrong with the car but I guess as I’m getting older I wanted something more comfortable.

Unlike normal cars, the Hilux has a leaf spring in the rear instead of the more common coil spring suspension found in nearly every car. The leaf spring is better at dealing with heavy loads in the truck bed but it sacrifices comfort. I’d mostly feel it on speed bumps where the rear of the car kinda jolts. So I decided to change the car and started looking at options. It was getting very annoying and sometimes I just wanted to fill the bed with heavy things just to try and make the ride more comfortable.

The Lexus GX550 Overtrail

I think what got me thinking about changing the car was when I spotted the Lexus GX550 Overtrail while I was in LA in the summer. The GX is the Lexus version of the Prado but looks much nicer both on the outside and inside. They were priced around KD22,700 in the US with the specs I wanted which is pretty similar in price to the top end Prados here. The Kuwait Lexus dealer didn’t get this model but I had a relative who’s a car dealer in LA so I started the process with him of finding a car in the specs I wanted and then getting it shipped to Kuwait. Turns out it was more complicated than I had expected to get a brand new car shipped (used cars are much easier). Firstly the listed price at the dealership wasn’t the price you’d pay to get the car out of the door. After taxes, dealer markup and various other fees the car was KD27,000. Then you need to store the car for a month or two somewhere before the title comes out and that was added cost but also you risk getting car stolen or damaged or something you never know. Once the title comes out then you need to start the export process and ship the car over. So the 27,000, after shipping and local customs ends up 30,000 at the very least.

All the Cars I Checked Out

I bailed on the whole idea and started looking for something locally. I didn’t want to get a Prado or Landcruiser since they’re too common on the roads and wanted something different. I love the new LandCruiser LC76 with the automatic gearbox but I’ve driven them before and they have less creature comforts than my Hilux and aren’t as comfortable. But, I really need one in my life eventually.

Ineos Grenadier

One car I love looking at on the roads is the Grenadier. So I headed to the Ineos dealer and test drove the Grenadier. I remember liking the car when they first came out but disliked some quirks about it. But it’s been around 3 years since I last drove one and I wanted to give it another chance since I really love the way it looked. After driving the car for a day I realized I wasn’t really getting a car that was much more comfortable than the Hilux. I actually found the Hilux quieter and easier to drive and even more comfortable (as long as I avoided speed bumps). I also didn’t like the infotainment system of the Ineos which was small and sluggish. What was really cool about Ineos was the dealership. They have a small showroom and the experience of shopping for a car with them felt very personalized. They allow customers to build a car with their own specs and order it. A huge benefit which many other dealers don’t allow. The car I built was going to cost me KD26,900, so less than the GX. In the end I bailed on the Ineos since it wasn’t as comfortable as I was hoping it would be.

Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 392

From Ineos I then headed to Jeep to check out the Wrangler Rubicon 392. The 392 is the souped up Wrangler with a V8 6.4l engine producing 470hp. I think they were priced at KD33,000 but they were all sold out and one car arriving the following month and also sold out. But I sat in the Wrangler and it wasn’t more comfortable than my Hilux and it was too little of a car for 33,000.

Landrover Defender

From there I went to LandRover to check out the Defender. They didn’t have many models in stock and they wouldn’t let me build a car. I would have to buy whatever they decided people in Kuwait wanted so beige or cream color interiors, one tone exteriors and the features that they felt people needed, not what I wanted. The 4 cylinder was also around 27,000 while the 6 was I think 31 or 32,000. While at Ineos I felt I was buying a proper off-roader, at Landrover it felt like I was just buying a normal boring car and I didn’t like that feeling.

Genesis, Mercedes and Denza

Since I was now looking at normal cars I decided to go test drive the Genesis GV80. I forgot what the price was, maybe around 26,000. Very comfy car with a ton of cool features but just wasn’t for me, maybe when I’m a lot older but I just felt like a dad in the car. I then decided to check out the G-Class since I figured if I’m looking at cars around the 30K mark I might as well check out the Merc. I remember years ago you could buy a G500 for around 38K. That’s long gone cuz the cheapest G500 on display was I think around 55K and the G63 was like 65K.

I also went and checked out the Denza B5 and B8 and although both were very tempting (700hp, lots of features, great sound system etc) but there weren’t any non-sponsored reviews online.

Ford Ranger Raptor

Finally, my last stop was at Ford. When the new Ranger came out I thought the Raptor version was ridiculously cool but it was priced at around 21,000 which was too expensive. But, after looking at all those much more expensive cars the Ranger Raptor seemed more affordable (19,500 after discount). The more I read about the Ranger Raptor and the more videos I watched the more it actually seemed like a steal compared to everything else I saw. Online in every review it beat out any other car they put it up with. The only real negative was fuel consumption and the small fuel tank which isn’t really an issue when you’re living in Kuwait. The Raptor had literally everything I wanted, a coil spring suspension in the rear, front and rear diff locks, huge brakes, 405hp, all the comfort features including electric seats, 360 degree cameras, adaptive cruise control, wireless charging and CarPlay, a B&O sound system and various safety features. I was convinced I wanted it so I took it for a test drive. It took one short drive around the block on a few speed bumps to convince me to get it and I did.

Now that I’ve had it for over a month and driven over 2,000KM with it I think it’s one of the best cars I’ve ever driven and I’ve driven a lot. It’s difficult to describe it but it feels like a sports car that has huge wheels. It’s so comfortable on the road over any terrain, it’s also so fast and handles really well, I’ve never driven anything like it. At first I didn’t think I needed 405hp in a pick up truck but now I realize how that can be beneficial, not necessarily for going fast, but for the acceleration aspect. If I was to sell all my other cars and be left with just the Ranger Raptor I’d still be satisfied.

The suspension is incredible, it’s stiff and doesn’t sway much when turning or stopping, but as soon as the road surface is rough or you go over a speed bump the car just floats over them so softly. It’s an incredible suspension system but the interior is so comfortable as well, and it’s such a cozy place to be in. Usually when I buy a new car I want to modify it but in this case there really isn’t anything for me to do. I ordered a cover for the truck bed and I got the windows tinted and that pretty much all I’m going to be doing. There is an official Ford Performance upgrade that adds an additional 50hp to the car which I might end up doing once the warranty runs out. Oh I did take the car to a Ford Programmer (who knew such a thing existed) to activate some cool features though.

Ford Programming

For some reason the Ranger Raptor in Kuwait comes with a few features deactivated, but with the help of a Ford programmer you can get them working. The two features I really wanted to activate were steering assist and the ability for the car to read the speed signs and display it in my dash so I always know what the speed limit is. The car comes with lane assist in Kuwait which is a feature found in most cars. When the car sees that you’re leaving the lane you’re in it nudges the car back into the lane. Steering assist on the other hand is a bit different. It’s used when you have adaptive cruise control active and the car steers itself keeping you in the middle of your lane. It feels like the car is driving by itself since it speeds up and slows down with traffic and steers for you. I guess Ford Middle East doesn’t think we’re responsible enough to use that here? Another feature I got activated which I thought was cool is internet. The car now has free internet anywhere I go in the region. It’s a cool feature that I won’t use much, but I do like that when working out of my car my laptop now just connects to the car’s hotspot.

Dealership Issues

The only negative thing about the car for me really was the buying experience. There was a lot of misinformation shared constantly during the purchase process and I think it was my least favorite car buying experience which is a shame since it involved buying my favorite car yet. A small example is with the colors, I was originally told they had the color Carbonized Gray in stock, so I started doing the research on that color and getting all hyped up about it but then the salesman they told me the grey color they actually have is Meteor Grey. I was also told they had 4 colors in stock, white, blue, black and grey, but then when I showed up to pay the reservation fee I saw a 5th color on display. When I asked why I wasn’t told about that color they told me they only had 1 in stock which didn’t make sense but whatever, I wasn’t interested in that color but I would have been very pissed if it was a color I wanted.

I was then told the car would be ready in 5 business days, that didn’t happen. I actually had to get really upset with them to get it 10 days later. If they had told me from the start it would take 2 weeks to get the car I would have waited but when they said it takes 5 days, but the 6th day I’m going to be like where is my car. They mismanaged my expectations and it only got worse since they did the same with my wife’s car.

Wife got a Bronco

Since I can’t own a pick up because I’m an expat, the Raptor has to be in my wife’s name. When she came to the dealership to sign some papers she fell in love with the Bronco and decided to buy one as well. They told us she would get the Bronco a few days after my car but that didn’t happen.

First issue is that my wife was trading in her car for the Bronco. The salesman said she could keep the car with her till she picked up the Bronco. A week later the Bronco still hadn’t popped up in her Mobile ID so I followed up with the the salesman and he was like oops, we can’t register the Bronco in her name until she hands over her car. I couldn’t believe anything he was saying anymore and that wasn’t all of it yet!

I then kept following up on the delivery date since it was getting close to our Japan trip and we wanted the car before we left. The salesman kept assuring me the car would be done by then and he kept saying they were working on her car and that he is following up with them every day by email.

Well two weeks later he calls me to tell me not only were they not working on the car, but the car wasn’t even with them, it was still at the port. Supposedly there was some mixup and the system was showing the car in their warehouse but in reality it was still at the port. So all the messages about them working on the car’s PID (which really takes a day) wasn’t true. He now didn’t know how long the car needed to leave the port and be sent for PID.

I had sold my Hilux by then as well since we were meant to pick up her car any day now, and since that didn’t happen, my wife didn’t have anything to drive anymore (she had been driving my Hilux after handing her car over for the trade in). I asked the dealer if she could have the test drive Bronco for a few days until we traveled and they agreed, they also gave her a 3 year service for free as a we’re sorry gift.

While we were in Japan we got the call saying her car was ready and we ended up picking it up the day we arrived. You’d think by now the negative experience would be over but there’s more! As part of the purchase they email you a survey form on how your experience went. I filled it up and mentioned all the issues we had. Someone from the dealership then called me and instead of being apologetic which is really all I wanted, the person on the other end was just coming up with excuses. Thankfully, I don’t have to deal with the salespeople ever again.

The Bronco is Also Great

On a side note, the Bronco is also a really great car, surprisingly good. I wasn’t expecting to like it but after spending time in it and driving it around I really like it a lot. The interior is very cool and even though she got the Big Bend which is the entry model the 2025 model comes with a huge center display, a fully digital dash and new for the Bronco sears, rear AC vents. If I didn’t get the Ranger Raptor I think I would have gotten the Bronco Badland. They’re reasonably priced as well.

So yeah, that’s about it. We’re suddenly a Ford household now and both loving it.

Later today I’m heading to Failaka for the first time since 1989 which is when the photo above was taken. I’m pretty excited since it’s been on my todo list for decades now but I kept putting it off mostly because I get sea sick and didn’t want to be on a boat for so long. But, a few months back I got accepted as a resident of season 3 at the Failaka Institute for Knowledge and Arts Research (FIKAR) and so I’m heading there today for my first stay. It’s a short one night stay for now just to get my bearings and then will head back for a longer visit. Already the whole process of getting there with my car was more complicated than I expected.

I was meant to be on the island from November 25 to 27 (Tuesday to Thursday). I initially contacted Ikarus Marine but turns out their car ferry is only available on weekends. I then got in touch with Joan Al Kuwait (KPTC) and they had daily ferries so decided to go with them. I was supposed to leave yesterday but yesterday’s ferry got canceled. So I moved my stay to 26 to 28 (Wednesday to Friday). When I went to book the ticket yesterday turns out they have daily ferries except for Friday. So now I’m just staying a night which is fine but yeah, if you want to head there with your car it’s a bit more complicated then it should be.

One interesting point. Ikarus doesn’t allow pets onboard while Joan do as long as they stay in the car. So if you want to take your dog to Failaka you can with the Joan ferry.

Anyway, if you’re curious about anything to do with Failaka let me know and I’ll try to get the answers for you.

On a side note, the only memory I have of the island involves the Philips Moving Sound walkman I had with me on the trip. The walkman has a speaker so you can listen to music with friends without headphones and I remember I was on small metal watch tower of a sort listening to music with the walkman with a couple of friends who were on the trip with me. I have four of those walkmans (don’t ask) and so gonna have to take one with me and try to find that spot on Failaka if it’s still there.

I woke up this morning to find 48 credit card transaction messages from NBK. It was a bit confusing at first because my iPhone had grouped up all the messages and given me a summary and I thought at first it was one declined transaction. But, I quickly realized it was more than one transaction and that my card had been compromised. The first thing I did was log into my NBK app and block the card until I could wake up and figure out what was going on.

Based on what I could tell, only 1 transaction might have gone through and it was for a small amount of $4.99, but then it was later credited back to my account. Everything else seems to have gotten declined.

I called NBK up to report my card as being compromised and to issue a new one. The employee checked and turns out NBK had already blocked my card before I did because of suspected fraudulent transaction which is why all the transactions had gotten declined. They’re now going to issue me a new card which I should get before I travel next week. He mentioned it takes 3-4 working days so I should be fine.

Last year my brand new debit card was compromised and two transactions had gone through which were returned back to me a week later. I barely use this credit card that got compromised since I have another prepaid one I use for most of my transactions since that one gets me miles. So I was pretty lucky that NBK blocked my card as soon as they detected anything weird or else I might have been out of a good chunk of money just before my trip.

I’m getting a Raptor next week so selling my Hilux. Before I list it on the market I wanted to see if any of my readers wanted it. If you’re interested, get in touch with me. Here are some specs:

Toyota Hilux Adventure
Model: 2022
Mileage: 84,000KM

Upgrades:
Old Man Emu Shocks and Springs
Original BRAID wheels
BFG KO3 Tires (Less than a year old)
Mountain Top EVOm roll cover
Mountain Top Sports Bar
Rival Underbody guard
FOCAL Audio for Hilux Sound System
Front PPF
Ceramic Tint

Asking KD9,000

Can someone recommend a labor lawyer they’ve worked with and had a good experience?

Earlier this year I quit my job because my employer hadn’t paid salaries for three months, and now they aren’t paying my indemnity either (even though they split it into a ridiculous 14 payments!). I found a labor lawyer through google already but I would rather work with one that comes through a recommendation. So if you’ve worked with a good labor lawyer and had a good experience, email me their contacts.

Thanks!

Update: Thank you everyone for your emails (and WhatsApp messages). I wasn’t expecting to get so many recommendations so now I have to organize all the contacts and spend the rest of the week doing a bit of research. I might end up putting together a post with the list of lawyers for anyone in the future who also might be in a similar spot and are looking for recommendations.

Back in June Amazon started offering free delivery to Kuwait which I’ve obviously been taking advantage of. One incident recently happened to me which I thought was worth sharing.

I was looking for a DAC that would take digital audio from my Mac mini and convert it to analogue to send to my KEF LSX speakers. I was using the Apple USB-C to headphone jack dongle but wanted something better. I previously ordered an optical in analogue out converter but it didn’t allow me to control the volume from my Mac mini, I had to do it from the speaker which I didn’t want to do. Anyway, after a lot of research with ChatGPT, and a limited budget of under $100, ChatGPT recommended I get the iFi UNO. According to ChatGPT I’d be able to control the volume from my Mac which was perfect.

ChatGPT was wrong. Last time I’m using it to help me buy electronics. Once plugged in I had to control the volume either from the speakers or the DAC but the volume control on my Mac wouldn’t do anything. I had bought it for around $80 plus I had ordered some high quality cables with it so I was down over $100. I was just going to dump it in my electronics box but decided to see if I could return it. I had thrown the box and manuals out already so wasn’t hopeful. I checked the return policy for Amazon and it turned out that if I returned the item even though it was without the box I might be entitled for possibly a 50% refund. Figured that was better than nothing.

So I applied to return both items. Returning the items was free of charge, I just had to print the DHL labels Amazon gave me and go to the DHL store to drop them off. Process at DHL took like 5 minutes, I didn’t even have to bring any packaging, they just dumped them into the standard DHL bags and shipped them. I mailed them back July 25, on July 31 I got a full refund back from Amazon!

That’s crazy. Forget the fact that they’re shipping the stuff for free to Kuwait, you can actually return the items for free as well, that’s really insane.

Today marks 35 years since Iraq invaded Kuwait, starting the Gulf War. I was in Kuwait and just 11 years old when I woke up that morning to find out what had happened. We had just finished celebrating my younger brother’s birthday the night before, so it took a while for me to grasp how much life was about to change.

My family stayed in Kuwait for six weeks before fleeing by road to Lebanon, where I lived until the war ended and we moved back to Kuwait in the summer of 1991. Although I was young, I have vivid memories from that time, mostly tied to the media, from CNN’s Operation Desert Storm coverage to the “FREE KUWAIT” and later “Free Our POWs” campaigns, and even small things like anti Saddam car bumper stickers.

I remember as a kid desperately wanting a “FREE KUWAIT” badge or t-shirt. It was such a strong and meaningful visual that, 35 years later, it’s still a powerful image.

The “FREE KUWAIT” logo was designed by Michael Lorrigan with the help of the British design firm Bostock & Pollitt (now called Pollitt & Partners). Michael, who was a teacher and deputy headmaster at New English School at the time, was in England on summer break when the invasion happened. After the war broke out, he discovered the newly formed Kuwaiti media committee in London and joined them, eventually becoming one of their most dedicated members. The name “Free Kuwait Campaign” was chosen as a unifying label for various London-based groups supporting Kuwait during the invasion. When Michael shared the sample logos with the campaign group, a member called Ali Al Mulaifi suggested making the word “FREE” larger than “KUWAIT.” That became the final version. source

There is actually a great interview you can watch (it’s in Arabic) that details Michaels role in the Free Kuwait campaign which you can watch here.

The photos in this post were all taken in London by Dr. Adel Al-Yousifi. They are part of his photo-book “A Testimony from London” and are also available online at his website, free-kuwait.net. Dr. Adel also created the website evidence-kw.net, which documents the impact of the war on Kuwait and is based on another photo-book he published in 1994.

After my last post on watching AC/DC live, I ended up watching Nine Inch Nails the following day, they were actually why I ended up in Berlin. This was the second time I booked for NIN in Berlin, first time was back in 2018 but never ended up going (I don’t remember why now), but I’m so glad I went this time.

I knew going to the NIN concert I had good tickets since I got them within the first 15 minutes of the tickets going on sale. They were 3rd row seated and near the stage off to the side, but not too much to the side. When NIN started their tour a couple of weeks ago, they revealed they’d also have a second smaller stage in the middle of the arena. I was hoping we’d get that as well since my seats would turn out to be perfect, and we did. My seats turned out to be between both stages so I couldn’t have asked for better tickets.

The concert itself might be the best one I’ve ever been to. The only reason I’m not sure is because I did Foo Fighters in a stadium and I was like front row middle standing in front of the stage which is hard to beat. Also I had to get to that concert 5 hours before the gates opened to stand in line and then run to the stage to get that done so there was quite a bit of work involved. I also watched Smashing Pumpkins with Marlyn Manson live in LA, and Smashing Pumpkins have always been my #1 band. So I guess this NIN concert is my top 3.

Performance wise, I think they were than Foo Fighters and Smashing Pumpkins and I had such a great time. I was actually so upset when the show finished since it felt too short. I just checked how long it was based on the first and last photo I took and turns out the concert was 2 hours and 35 minutes long. That’s crazy because I was just going to type the concert was 1:30-2 hours long max but figured I’d double check. I can’t believe it was two and half hours long, time flew by so quickly. The crowd was great, the lighting and sound was great, and the band were just incredible.

Anyway, I’m mostly posting this for me, as a personal diary note. But, if you’re a fan of Nine Inch Nails I highly recommend you try and watch one of their shows. This was my second time watching them, first time was at a festival, but it’s so much more personal when it’s the bands tour and in a much smaller arena and everyone there is a super fan and knows all the lyrics.