2:48AM - Entertaining Kuwait since 2003
A.A.B International Photographic Company (they really need to get a smaller name) is having a one day sale this Thursday 15th of March where they will be dropping the prices of their Sigma items to try and compete with Amazon’s pricing. I was able to obtain their discounted prices and I’ve listed them all comparing them to Amazon’s prices. If you’re interested check out their Facebook page for more information [Here]
The prices are listed below after the jump.
Ever since I was a kid I always called this place Salmiya Plaza. Back in the 80s that’s where My Toy was located and that’s where the pastry shop we used to pass by to pick up finger food for birthdays and other events was located.
Today the place is still there but clearly looks like it isn’t being taken care of. I think that’s a shame since I believe this place has a lot of potential.
The plaza has a small parking right in front of it. You park your car and then walk up a few steps up onto a long shaded open corridor that separates the parking from the courtyard. It’s pretty nice since once you sit in the court yard you can’t see the cars. Around the courtyard in an L shaped layout lies all the shops. Each and every one of those shops overlook the spacious courtyard. Other than the parking spots in front of the plaza there is a huge lot behind the plaza where there is a wedding hall.
Imagine if this plaza was refurbished and trendy restaurants opened up over there. Imagine if Slider Station, Burger Hub, Zero, Pink Moon and Prime & Toast where actually all open there instead of their current location in the very tight Seef strip. I think it would have been a pretty cool place which is why I think this little plaza located off of Baghdad Street in Salmiya is a hidden gem.
Update: Here is a link to the location on Google Maps [Link]
Yesterday the first steps to creating a Kuwait Preparatory Youth Council which will be made up of young Kuwaiti youth and be part of the local government was announced. In preparation for the creation of this council, NGO’s from around Kuwait were asked to put forward a list of names of their best people who could help out on this project. In total 40 people were chosen from a variety of background and ages and they have now been given the task to find out what the Kuwaiti youth need and expect from their country. They will be spending the next few months meeting people and surveying them and based on the answers they get they will have to come up with ideas and projects.
In November a conference is going to be held where these ideas and projects are going to be shared with the Emir who will then give a go ahead on them. Following the conference a Kuwaiti Permanent Youth Council will be created to monitor and make sure the projects are being worked on and executed properly. If for some reason an approved project is not being executed, the permanent Youth Council will have direct contact with the Emir to inform him of the problems so that he could intervene and get things moving again.
I don’t think there has ever been a Kuwait Youth project so I’m actually pretty excited to see what comes out of this. The youth generally have a lot more energy and ideas than the adults which is why I’m interested to see what they will be proposing. You can read about this more in English [Here] and in Arabic [Here]
The Kuwait International Motocross Challenge 2012 is taking place this weekend. It’s an international event organized by the Kuwait Quarter Mile Auto & Motorcycle Club. Riders from Kuwait, UAE, Bahrain, USA, South Africa, France and Belgium will be taking part in the event. Photography enthusiasts will be allowed around the track and there are also some activities for the crowd. GoPro will be giving away 5 GoPro cameras to the attendees via a raffle draw while Dunkin Donuts will be offering donuts and hot coffee as well. For more information on the event click [Here]
Not sure why it took them so long but Jazeera Airways now has online check-in. What this means is you could now choose your seats and check-in to your flight before arriving to the airport and then just drop off your luggage at their fast baggage-drop counter instead of waiting in the long line with everyone else. [Link]
CABLiTV is a local business that recently launched with the aim of bringing American television channels to the Gulf. A couple of weeks ago they contacted me asking if I would be interested in trying out their service and I agreed. I’ve now been using their service on and off since then and here’s my thoughts on it.
First just a bit of simplified information on how their service works. CABLiTV get a cable and internet subscription in the States, they connect a Slingbox to their cable box and then stream the video feed online. You can then access the video stream in Kuwait and anywhere else in the world via a Slingbox player. It’s not a new service but they’re the first one’s I know of that are based in the GCC.
The amount of American channels CABLiTV provides is bewildering. Their smallest package consists of around 210 American channels while their most premium package consists of over 285. There are a whole range of standard channels to choose from like Fox, NBC, ABC, SyFy, etc.. and depending on the package you choose you could also have access to premium channels like HBO and Showtime.
So you’ve got all these channels but how do you view them? Well you can access your channels using your web browser which is probably the easiest but also my least favorite way. You can also access the channels via the Slingbox Player on mobile devices like the iPhone, iPad, Kindle Fire, BlackBerry, Android phones and tablets, Windows Mobile etc.. which is more interesting than the browser but still doesn’t feel natural to me. The best way to access your CABLiTV account is using either a Boxee (pictured below) or a Logitech Revue since both these devices connect directly to your television. That way it feels like you’re watching proper television instead of feeling like you’re streaming a video off of YouTube.
Unlike OSN and ART, you don’t need to install a satellite dish on the roof to get these channels. All you need is an internet connection albeit a pretty fast one depending on the resolution you’re trying to stream. With my 10Mbps WiMD connection at home I sometimes managed to stream in full HD but majority of the times I would watch using the setting “Best” which is the second best setting and provides a pretty sharp picture. The slower the connection the lower the resolution but once you get past the middle setting of “Good” the picture becomes good enough for small screens like the iPhone or Blackberry while looking pretty pixelated on larger screens.
The idea of getting all these American channels to your home here in Kuwait is great but there are two downsides for me. The first which can easily be solved is you need a decent internet connection. The faster the connection the better the video quality you get and the more chance the video will stay stable while you’re downloading other things over the internet. The second issue I have is with the subscription price. Their most affordable package is KD578 a year which comes out to around KD48 a month while their most expensive package goes for KD770 a year which is KD64 a month. I’m sure there are a lot of costs involved in providing this service but it still comes out a lot to the end user and although I would love to have this service it wouldn’t replace my iTunes AppleTV account, nor would it replace my OSN subscription. So in the end I’m still going to pay for those services and then at least another KD48 on top of that for these channels.
Cost aside I do love the idea of this service. If you’re interested to find out more about what they have to offer you can visit the CABLiTV website where they also offer a free trial account. Check them out [Here]
I was just informed that according to the Kuwait Customs Labor Union, all the customs staff will go on strike starting from this Tuesday the 13th. Only emergency medicine and passengers on-board baggage will be processed during the strike. All other items will be placed on hold with no indication to how long the strike will last.
This seriously sucks.
According to the Aramex Shop & Ship FAQ the maximum value allowed per package to be shipped from the US should not exceed $2,500. Packages that are over $2,500 must come with an Export Declaration Form from the shipper or the merchant. Sounds complicated but turns out it’s not.
If you send an item that’s worth over $2,500 to your Shop&Ship account it will get marked as a high value shipment and be placed on hold. You will then receive an email from Aramex telling you that they’ve placed your item on hold and that you would need to visit their US Export Regulations page on the Shop&Ship website. You will then have to do the following:
– Download and open the “Written Authorization Sample” word document that’s linked at the bottom of that page.
– Fill your name in the field “Principal Party in Interest”. It should be the same name as the Shop & Ship account holder.
– Fill your physical address. By this they mean your Kuwait address and NOT your US forwarding mailbox.
– Place your signature in the signature field.
– Leave rest of the fields blank to be filled by Aramex.
– Finally send the word document along with the package tracking number to [email protected]
And that’s it. A pretty simple process that would delay your shipment a couple of days but nothing drastic.
Animal Control Early March 2012 from john peaveler on Vimeo.
Some short clips from the field in early March 2012. It’s rough, it’s raw. It’s heartwarming and heartbreaking. This is what our team confronts every day as K’S PATH struggles to bring compassion to where it’s needed most.
And this is only early March!
Cinemagics recently got their hands on a CineFlex camera and proceeded to shoot Kuwait from the sky. It’s the second time they bring the camera to Kuwait and the video above is a collection of shots from the two. It’s Kuwait like you’ve never seen it before so check it out. [YouTube]
Last month I posted about a group of local Cosplayers and they emailed me a few days back to tell me they participated in the Proud to be Kuwaiti event last week. They look pretty organized this time around with a lot of different characters. Loads of pictures after the jump [Link]
A mini-documentary about a secluded area in Kuwait “Jileeb Alsheyookh” and a guy’s dream to develop a project that would benefit people living around this area.
I can’t tell if this is the actual mini-documentary or the trailer for it. [YouTube]
One of the cool things about Marina Mall is the fact the glass roofs all open up so it feels like you’re walking outdoor. Problem is I haven’t seen the roofs open in years and I’m not sure if they stopped working or they just don’t bother opening them anymore. I think the last time I saw the roof open was in 2005.