Over 4,300 books have been banned so far in Kuwait since 2014 with 700 of them being banned just this year alone. Random books like the Little Mermaid were banned as well as books written by local authors. The book bans were so absurd that New York Times last month published an article about it which you can read [Here]
Over the weekend, local designer Mohammad Sharaf installed a book graveyard next to Kuwait’s Annual Book Fair to protest the banning of the books. The book graveyard got removed by the authorities quickly but the pictures went viral sparking a conversation on the subject again.
Now Alqabas newspaper is reporting that the appeals court have overturned the Ministry of Information’s book ban stating we live in a different time where the world is a much more open place. This is obviously great news so I really hope its true. I’m hoping this ruling could possibly encourage someone to open up a large bookstore in Kuwait. The book fair was incredibly packed when I visited it with people buying books so there definitely is a market.
The Avenues are having a Black Friday weekend except they’re calling it a shopping marathon with over 180 stores and restaurants offering various discounts. It’s taking place from Thursday 22nd till Saturday 24th and you can download the full list of places participating as well as the offers they will have by clicking [Here]
Earlier this week Xcite hooked me up with the brand new iPad Pro 12.9-inch that was recently released by Apple. I hadn’t really considered getting the 12.9-inch iPad Pro until I realized it would be a great way to edit my photos using Adobe Lightroom. I’ve had the iPad now for less than a week and still need to pick up the Apple pencil and keyboard, but I wanted to post my initial impression first until I get the rest of the stuff.
My current Mac setup at home is composed of a 27-inch iMac which I use mostly for my design work, a 13-inch MacBook Pro which I use as my daily computer, and a 9.7-inch iPad Pro I use for random things like watching YouTube videos in bed or when I want to chill and browse the web at a coffee shop. Most of the reviews online have been discussing if the new iPad Pro’s can replace your computer, I wasn’t looking to do that instead, I wanted it as a supplementary device to my current setup. My first impression so far? I’m loving it.
The thing that surprised me the most is the thickness and size of the new 12.9-inch iPad Pro. It’s thinner than my iPhone XS and even though I had read that in the reviews, I didn’t believe it until I put the iPad next to my phone. I compared the size of the iPad to various mac devices and you can see some of those comparisons below with more on my instagram acccount @mark248am. It’s clearly a much more manageable size compared to the older larger 12.9-inch iPad Pro.
So far I’ve mostly been using the iPad to edit the photos I took of the Ferrari Portofino I test drove a few days ago. I’ve been using Adobe Lightroom and the process has been super smooth. Because the new iPad Pro uses USB-C, I was able to connect my Sony A7 III camera to the iPad and copy all the photos easily and I’m loving the experience so far.
Really my only gripe with the new iPad so far is that it’s a fingerprint magnet (more than usual). Both my older 9.7-inch iPad Pro and my iPhone don’t capture as many fingerprints and it really shows on the screen both when turned on and off. I guess things will improve once I get the Apple Pencil but still, this is pretty annoying.
Once I get the pencil and keyboard I’ll post a more thorough review but for now, if you’re interested in picking up a new iPad Pro I think Xcite still have a few left [Link]
Choosing a Point Of Sale (POS) system can seem like a big task and its one of the most important business decisions when starting out. With so many options and different costs for systems, it is hard to choose. Below is a list of 10 features every POS system should have.
1. Inventory Tracking: At a basic level a POS system needs to tell you how much you to have in stock so you know what you have at the store without counting every item. Alongside this feature, it should have a detailed log of what caused the inventory to change (Such as having a sale or receiving a PO).
2. Sales Tax Tracking (if it is compatible in your country): The only things that are certain in life is death and taxes. If your POS system cannot track tax; then it will be hard to pay your taxes each month. It should also be able to handle different types of taxes for items. Depending on the state certain items (such as food in different nations) are taxed differently than others.
3. Advanced Reporting: Reporting should be included to help you make good purchase decisions. The reporting needs to tell you which items are selling well and which aren’t. There should also be reports to see which categories and brands are selling well also.
4. Customer Tracking: Many businesses will find it beneficial to track the customers they get. This is very useful for email marketing, sending receipts, and just knowing who your best customers are.
5. Emailing and printing of receipts: Modern POS systems should be able to email receipts and print them on a receipt printer or even a letter sized printer. The more advanced ones should be able to print from any device such as a phone or tablet. Generating a receipt from a sale should be a fast process when you evaluate POS systems.
6. Credit card processing (including EMV/chip processing): In this day and age many customers prefer to pay by credit card or debit card. If your system cannot accept modern payment; your customers will be frustrated that they can’t pay with credit card.
7. Employee accounts and permissions: If your business takes on employees you will want to give them access to your system, but you will want to limit their ability to change pricing and view reporting. A modern system should provide the ability to set up custom permissions so the employee can only do what is allowed.
8. E-Commerce integration: Many customers love the convenience of shopping online. A good pos system will allow you to sell online. This is a great revenue stream for businesses and selling online should be included.
9. Purchase Orders: Generating purchase orders can save time when it comes to reordering product. A good POS system should make this easy based on stock level and supplier. This can save a business a lot of time to be able to generate these fast.
10. Cash Management: It is important to make sure your cash is correct in the register and the employees aren’t stealing from you. A good cash management system is important when choosing a POS system.
Picking a POS system and starting a business is hard enough. The list above should help you narrow down what you need to focus on when picking a system. Cybersys Point Of Sale has all of these features and is very affordable and easy to set up.
Pearl Assist have a new membership option where for KD110 a year you get unlimited meet and assist services at the airport. I’ve tried them before and they’re really a great way to skip the long passport control queues at the airport. The GCC lines aren’t that bad but the expat lines are usually a disaster.
Pearl Assist charge KD10 for a one time meet and assist so at KD110 a year, it could be worth it if you travel a lot and want to get out of the airport as quickly as possible. If you’re interested in this service you can get more information [Here]
Update: I originally wrote it was KD100 per year but turns out they increased it to KD110 two weeks ago so updated the post accordingly.
I think I’m going to start a new series of what to order posts where I list down my favorite dishes at different restaurants around Kuwait. I’m going to start off with Peko Peko since its a new place and worth checking out. Here are my favorite dishes:
Can an engineer with experience in this field explain to me and my readers why our roads got ruined after the rain last week? In Lebanon and London, for example, it rains a lot but the roads survive, how come they didn’t in Kuwait after just a weekend of rain?
Also, why did some roads survive and some not? You can see that clearly on the Gulf Road where you would be driving and the road is perfectly fine but then get to one area where the whole top surface had disintegrated.
The 43rd International Book Fair launched last week during the big storm and is going to be on until the 24th of this month at the Mishref Fairgrounds. I dropped by on Friday and it was extremely packed, like I’ve never seen the fairgrounds that packed in my life.
This is the largest book fair that takes place in Kuwait and its spread out across three halls. Around three aisles in one of the halls are dedicated to just English books but the rest is all in Arabic. For more information on the fair, click [Here]
If for some reason you need to leave your house during this storm, you can find out about road closures via Google’s Live Traffic feature. Just go to Google Maps and make sure the traffic overlay option is turned on and any closed roads should be highlighted. [Link]
If like me you don’t have satellite (live TV) and rely on streaming for your entertainment, you can still keep up to date with what’s going in Kuwait by watching the news online. Both KTV1 and KTV2 have live online streaming and you can watch them both on the MOI website [Here]
In case you aren’t aware, Spotify has now launched in Kuwait and anybody can sign up to it (no need for an invite). You have two options, either a free account that has limited features and ads, or the premium account. Strangely, the premium account in Kuwait is $4.99 a month which is half the price of the US.
I’m not sure if its because the music library for Kuwait based accounts is a lot smaller, or if its a launch promo to get people to sign up. Whatever the reason, Spotify is here so if you want to sign up, click [Here]
A major storm is expected to hit Kuwait tonight, one that is supposedly stronger than the storm that hit us last week. Schools are off tomorrow (both private and public) while the public sector is also closing down. Stay safe everyone!
On a side note, are we going to have a day off every time it rains? Cuz I’d like that.
Update: Just tried to fill up gas at two different gas stations and both were so backed up they were causing traffic jams. I guess people are panicking.
Not sure why, but it looks like the latest dessert trend in Kuwait is Japanese cheesecakes. I’m a fan of Japanese cheesecakes and if you like them as well, here are my favorite three places to get cheesecakes from:
The Cheezery
I’ve been getting Japanese cheesecakes from them for over a year now and they’re really good and the sizes of the cakes are fairly large so perfect for gatherings. They also have a location in Sharq for pick up across the street from Arraya.
Medium: KD14
Large: KD16
Here is their location on [Google Maps] and they’re on Carriage [Here].
Kotton
This is a new place that opened up recently and other than the fact their cakes are really good, they also come in a variety of sizes including mini ones. Their packaging is great and their cakes are the densest of the three here. They also opened up their physical location last week and you can pass by and have a mini cake with coffee if you don’t want it delivered.
Mini Cake (3pcs): KD4.5
Medium Cake: KD9
Large Cake: KD16
This is their location on [Google Maps] and they’re on Carriage [Here]
Japan Bakery
Finally, Japan Bakery is the most recent place I tried. Their cakes look the cutest and are fluffy but also are less cheesy tasting than the other two. They sell their cheesecakes on Carriage under the brand “Makers” which is a place that carries a bunch of different smaller locally created dessert brands. You can also pick up a cake from Hamra since there is a Makers kiosk there.
