2:48AM - Entertaining Kuwait since 2003

The update for the Kuwait Blogs App is now available in the store. If it isn’t there yet give it a few hours while all the App stores world wide sync. Anyway it fixes the incompatibility issues with iOS4 and I’ve also added the Some Contrast blog back. Now someone this morning made me aware of the fact that the Some Contrast blog was actually loading the feeds of Tidbit Du Jour in the updated App. That’s my mistake, I was in such a rush to get out the update I didn’t test the App and this mix up slipped by. So, I just submitted update 1.21 which fixes their feed. That should be available sometime end of this week. [Link to App Store]

I take it back, there IS a big difference. When I first started using the iPhone 4 I didn’t notice much difference in the screen until I put it side by side next to my old iPhone and I loaded up a website. The text on my iPhone 3Gs screen looked blurry and gray compared to the very sharp and black text on the iPhone 4 screen. I was very surprised and just like that my iPhone 3Gs screen started looking out dated.

One downside to this sharp high resolution screen is that it makes icons and apps seem low res. That should go away once everyone starts making their apps iOS4 compatible.

The screen on the iPhone I got doesn’t have the yellow spots that have been talked about in the media recently but even if it did it’s not really a big deal. Both Gizmodo and Endgadet have reported that the yellow spots are just screen adhesive that disappears after a few days.

Just had the new iPhone 4 delivered to me to try out by X-Cite. First thing I noticed is how bulky and ugly my “old” iPhone 3Gs looks next to the new iPhone 4. Second thing I noticed is how the new screen doesn’t look too different from the older screen. From the way everyone has been talking about it online I was expecting a much bigger difference but my first impression is they look the same. I will play with the phone all day until I have to give it back to X-Cite and then later in the day post a more detailed impression on it.

If you want to check out the iPhone 4 yourself you can pass by X-Cite at the Avenues this afternoon. They will be taking pre-orders as well starting at 5PM. The price of the 16GB iPhone4 is KD299 while the 32GB is for KD359. These are officially unlocked iPhones. First shipment of iPhones will arrive to Kuwait in 1 to 2 weeks.

Update: I am guessing I currently have one of the first iPhone 4’s in the Middle East (and probably Asia) since I couldn’t find a post by anyone else about this. That’s pretty cool.

Thats the list of most read news on the Arab Times website. Can anyone spot the subject that’s in common? [Link]

Thanks Anmol

Although the project sounds cool there is no way I think I could switch my phone off or ignore it while I am out having a meal. During lunch and dinner I actually enjoy catching up on emails on my iPhone and the messages and pictures from our diwaniya BBM group on my Blackberry. [Link]

That’s a lot of trains… with all the security measures that were enforced after 9/11 I am surprised train locations are made public. [Link]

I need a freelance illustrator to draw up a storyboard.
If you’re interested [Contact Me]

I found this local website by mistake and I’m actually impressed. Not at the design or anything like that but on the items that are listed… luxury watches! There seems to be a good range but I am struggling to find out whats used, whats new, whats from the local dealers and what’s gray market. I am guessing the Rolex Deep Sea for example is used since it’s listed for KD2,250 while it retails for KD3,250 locally before discount. They have the Audemars Piguet Offshore Diver listed for KD4,250 but it retails for KD4,500 at the dealer although they’re out of stock. The Panerai section is beautiful, they’ve got my favorite which is the very limited PAM 26. The Hublot section… lets not even go there. Basically I would have to agree with their tag line, it has to be Kuwait’s premier luxury site since I am not aware of any other one. [Link]

Back in 2006 I posted about the Philips BodyGroom that had just been released. It became super popular and every guy I know ended up getting one. I personally bought two of them, a 110v first followed by a 220v version. Five years later Philip have gone and completely redesigned the shaver which I ended up ordering from Amazon while I was in New York last month.

The new shaver looks better, comes with a prettier stand and most importantly works better. First of all you no longer need to attach various sized comb attachments to the trimmer since with the new design the trimmer is adjustable. Secondly the shaving head now pivots in 3D which results in a more “comfortable” shave. I am not going to go into a lot of details since you can get all the info from the Philips shaveeverywhere.com website. I will say this though, the new BodyGroom performs a lot better than the older one.

You can order it from Amazon since I haven’t found it locally yet. The price is around KD20 and this new BodyGroom is multi-voltage which means its 110-240v. Here is the link to the shaver on Amazon [Link]

For those of you who’ve updated to iOS4 and noticed problems with the Kuwait Blogs App like the back button missing I am working on the fix right now. I should have checked and seen if there were any issues with the app and iOS4 earlier but I’ve been really busy. The update should be available in the app store in the next few days.

Update: Here is a quick temporary fix until the update is available in the App store. To see the back button again just click on Leave a comment at the end of the posts. Thanks Aziz for the tip.

Seems someone is bringing the concept of fried oreo cookies to Kuwait. I tried it while in New York and although they are extremely unhealthy they tasted pretty good. There is some kind of talent expo being held at Movenpick Free Zone from the 24th to the 26th of June 5 to 11PM and the fried oreos will be available to try at the O Station booth. Not much else info but you can check out their Facebook group [Here]

Remember my post on the Embassy of Sound party? Well I found another video of another one of their parties. A DJ that came to Kuwait filmed his stay here and then posted the video on YouTube for all of us to enjoy. He stayed at the Hilton, had a fridge full of booze, ate some shawerma and then partied. Enjoy it before they take the video down. [YouTube]

I can’t believe this is real! [Link]

Since I can have burgers as part of my diet, the burger challenge is back on. My diet says no cheese but once a week I will break it and order my burger with cheese since I am already sacrificing. This weekend I was at Slider Station and I didn’t have the chocolate pudding. Anyone who has had the chocolate pudding there would know how difficult it is to resist but I did it. That was on Saturday, Friday I passed by Nino. I wasn’t planning on trying their burger out but since everything else they had including the grilled stuff had butter in them I decided to go with the burger (salad on the side instead of fries).

I went with the Con Formaggio Burger which is their cheese burger. There is no egg in it even though it looks like it in the picture above, that’s just white and yellow cheese. No one asked me how I wanted my burger done.

I got my burger a short while later and noticed 3 slices of tomatoes under the meat patty which I quickly proceeded to remove since tomatoes sog up the bun. That’s when I also realized they had chopped cabbage lettuce underneath the tomato mixed with mayonnaise dressing. I quickly proceeded to remove those as well since they shouldn’t be in a gourmet burger. I don’t mind them in a cheap Lebanese style burger that also contains french fries over the thin frozen patty, but on a burger like this, it just feels out of place.

I put my ketchup and took my first bite. The bun is pretty good, soft and tasty. The patty on the other hand was dry. The burger was slightly messy to eat since even though I removed the tomato and mayo lettuce right away it wasn’t fast enough since the bottom bun got soggy. I struggled to come up with a score for it but in the end decided on a 3. I was going to go with a 2.5 but the bun was really good. I guess they’re lucky I’m on a low carb diet and crave bread more than burgers right now (I have dreams of the chocolate bread at The Meat Co.). The price of the burger was reasonable costing KD2.950 but even though I don’t think I would have it again.

Nino is located on the Gulf Road and Avenues.
The cost of the Con Formaggio Burger was KD2.950

Here are the burger places I’ve reviewed so far:
Applebee’s
Bredz
Burger Boutique
Eighty 6 Bistro
Fauchon
Fuddruckers
Hashi
Gaucho Gril
Gourmet Burger Kitchen
Johnny Rockets
Munch
Napket
Nino
Papa John’s Burgers
Prime & Toast
Ruby Tuesday
Slider Station
Sheraton Hotel
Smoke House
The Burger Hub
The Butcher Shop
The Little Oven
The Meat Co.
Wimpy

One of the employees at my agency lives in an area close to Jleeb. Everyday for the past few days they’ve been getting automated power cuts. They have 2 hours of electricity and then 2 hours without, 2 hours with, 2 hours without non stop. Thursday they didn’t have electricity from 11 in the morning till 5 in the evening even. He called up the ministry and they told him there isn’t anything they can do about it and that the cuts are automated by the computer.

I think that is absolutely terrible. No electricity in this weather is just horrible. I’ve heard there are power cuts happening all over Kuwait although not to this extent. How bad is it for everyone?