The speed camera on the Gulf Road opposite Al-Shaab park is missing. Either it was removed which I doubt or a car probably crashed into it which what probably happened. Whatever the case, there is no camera there now.
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Missing Speed Camera
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LaCie FireWire Speakers
These speakers look cool and they just need to be plugged into the FireWire port of my mac. No other cables, very clean. They come out end of the month. [Link]
This has to be the weirdest action figure ever.. [Link]
I was supposed to ride to work today on my bike but I woke up and the sky was cloudy so I was like its going to rain. I checked three weather websites and they all said it would be cloudy but no rain. I looked outside again and I was like no its going to rain, so I came to work in my car. Now its nearly 12 and it still hasn’t rained. Where is the rain?
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Hello new screen
Today before I left the office I swapped my Lacie 19inch CRT monitor with a brand new Apple 20inch display. It was supposed to be for another employee but he didn’t want it so I took it. Its nothing compared to Nats 30inch display but its still cool and sexy.
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Jazeera Airways going to get hacked?
I just got the following email from someone threatening to bring down the Jazeera Airways IATA system which I am guessing is the ticketing system. Here is the email:
JAZEERA AIRLINES IATA SYSTEM WILL BE UNDER ATTACK BY NEXT MONDAY GET READY FOR THE TAKING OVER !!!
HACKERS FOR REAL WE AIN’T BULLSHITING YOU PEOPLE
WAIT ON MONDAY AND SEE WHAT WILL HAPPENED TO THESE FOOL INDIAN TECHS THEY HAVE IN THERE !
CIAO BUDDIES !
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iPhone Vs P990
I was just discussing the size of the iPhone with Nibaq when he stated it was similer to his Sony Ericsson P990 which I thought was strange because the iPhone looks bigger. Well he was right, here are the dimensions:
Apple iPhone
115 × 61 × 11.6 mm
Sony Ericsson
114 x 57 x 26 mm
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iPhone is out.. yada yada yada
Yeah iPhone is out but..
– No 3G meaning if you decide to surf the web its using the incredibly lame speed of EDGE which makes it outdated before the phone is even released (wifi is cool in the US but in Kuwait not really useful)
– Only works with US Cingular network for now meaning it won’t work in Kuwait
– Cheapest version of iPhone costs $500 and thats with the 2 year Cingular contract. How much will the unlocked version of the phone cost? $800?
– In the pictures it looks as big as an Apple Newton
– Would I end up getting one? Yeah probably
I was at Sultan Center and noticed Aero redesigned their package and logo. It now looks a lot cooler then before. I love the new typeface.
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Do not disturb
I have 4 episodes of 24 season 6 to watch plus Desperate Housewives, Saw III, Apocalypto and Rome episode 1 of season 2. So much stuff so little time. Oh and MacWorld is in 1 hour.
Early last month Nat ordered some Puma Satori Alto boots from Nordstrom for $250. They weren’t available in Kuwait and they were sold out on Amazon who were also selling it for $250. Around a week ago Athletes Foot got the boots and guess how much they are selling them for? KD59 which is $205! Thats $50 cheaper then US prices not including the shipping cost which was also another KD10. If only more places sold stuff cheaper then Amazon…
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Sony PS3 for Sale
I am going to start off by saying I am not a fan of Wataniya. I have been an MTC user since 1995 and I am very loyal to the brand. So, when I was contacted by Wataniya to try out their new W-net internet router I wasn’t very thrilled because I would rather it had been MTC calling me. But I still went ahead and met with the Wataniya guy who turned out to be cool and a Nintendo Wii fan and he explained to me what W-net was and told me that Wataniya had hooked me up with a 6 month prepaid subscription. I was thinking worst case scenario if the connection turned out to be crap I could take the router to work and hook it up over there since my office lacked a wifi connection which annoys the hell out of me whenever I take my Macbook to work. After using the device for over 2 weeks I can say I am impressed.
When I first opened the package I found the Quick Start Guide which involved 11 steps on how to setup the connection. I ignored the guide, turned on the router and connected to it via wifi on my Macbook. Thats it, I was connected to the Internet. Its a lot easier then 11 steps.
The Wataniya router works on the HSDPA network which is a 3G mobile protocol. Currently 3G isn’t covered everywhere in Kuwait so if you don’t have 3G in your area you will end up connecting onto the much slower EDGE network. So if you want to take full advantage of W-net you better hope you live in a 3G zone. I live in Salmiya and I have 3G here.
The most impressive thing about the W-Net connection is the download speed. I have a 512 DSL connection by Qualitynet and I usually download files at around 63 KB/sec. With W-net on the other hand I download at around 107 KB/sec which is nearly twice as fast as my DSL connection. The upload speed is slow though at around 15 KB/sec where as my Qualitynet hits around 35 KB/sec.
Loading websites feels slower on the Wataniya connection. When I type in a URL its always quicker to load on my Qualitynet connection. I thought it was because of the connection latency but I pinged mark248am1.wpenginepowered.com on both my Qualitynet connection and the Wataniya connection and the results were very close so I don’t know why the lack of acceleration.
Qualitynet
PING mark248am1.wpenginepowered.com (66.199.240.42): 56 data bytes
64 bytes from 66.199.240.42: icmp_seq=0 ttl=45 time=321.393 ms
64 bytes from 66.199.240.42: icmp_seq=1 ttl=47 time=305.564 ms
64 bytes from 66.199.240.42: icmp_seq=2 ttl=45 time=325.444 ms
64 bytes from 66.199.240.42: icmp_seq=3 ttl=45 time=356.846 ms
64 bytes from 66.199.240.42: icmp_seq=4 ttl=45 time=376.722 ms
Wataniya W-Net
PING mark248am1.wpenginepowered.com (66.199.240.42): 56 data bytes
64 bytes from 66.199.240.42: icmp_seq=0 ttl=45 time=306.380 ms
64 bytes from 66.199.240.42: icmp_seq=1 ttl=47 time=327.925 ms
64 bytes from 66.199.240.42: icmp_seq=2 ttl=45 time=383.964 ms
64 bytes from 66.199.240.42: icmp_seq=3 ttl=45 time=295.931 ms
64 bytes from 66.199.240.42: icmp_seq=4 ttl=45 time=472.001 ms
For the geek users, you can customize the settings of the router to your liking just as if it was an ordinary router. It originally came set with the IP address 192.168.1.1 but my network runs on 192.168.0.X so I just logged in to the router settings and just changed stuff like turning of DHCP and changing the routers name. The router has an Ethernet port so you can connect it to the regular network or directly to your computer in case you don’t have wifi.
The price of the router plus Wataniya data line is KD135. The monthly charge for the connection is KD28, or KD300 for 1 year and KD565 for 2. I don’t know if you can order a different cheaper router off the web and use it with the Wataniya data line, I guess it could work.
Would I give up my DSL connection for W-Net? No I wouldn’t. I upload a lot of stuff all the time and 35 KB/sec is slow for me yet alone 15. I also browse the web a lot and like it when pages load instantly. The W-Net connection reminds me of my previous Shownet connection (which was Satellite based). It has a high top speed but slow acceleration meaning when browsing websites you don’t really feel the connection is fast only when you start downloading files do you notice it.
Would I recommend the W-Net connection? Yes in certain situations. For example in my old place in Salwa I couldn’t get a DSL line setup because the phone network in my street didn’t support it. My only option was a Satellite/Dialup combo which sucked. If I was still living there then I would definitely get W-net. Also for people who can’t get phone lines for one reason or another or for people who simply want an Internet connection wherever they go (camping, challet, anywhere with a power outlet) then this would also be a good option.
Am I going to take the router to the office? Nope, whenever I have files to download I just switch over to the W-Net connection and download them. Its really convenient having it because its cutting my download time in half. Anyway if you have any questions regarding W-Net just leave a comment below and I will try to answer it.
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I got junk in my trunk
My building has underground parking, 3 floors of it to be exact. The last floor is divided in half, half parking spots and the other half storage areas. Two days ago I noticed that some workers were emptying the storage rooms. I didn’t think of it much until today while snooping around through the boxes the building janitor spotted me and told me I could take whatever I wanted because they were going to throw everything out tomorrow. I was like cool and went upstairs and told Nat about it. A few minutes later we both went back down armed with two Maglite’s, a swiss army knife and camera.
There were a whole bunch of boxes lined up everywhere just filled with books, toys and electronics. We started going through them one by one and as we found stuff we just filled them in the trunk of my Wrangler.
I found a whole collection of National Geographic magazines from 1967 all the way till the early 80s. I found an excellent condition Apple II, a excellent condition NES with the gun and the Super Mario Bros / Duck Hunt cartridge. I also found a clean SNES, a box full of DC comics cards, and a couple of cool books including a copy of Stephen Kings The Shining dated from 1977. My trunk is full of vintage treasures and I need like a shopping cart or something to help me take them upstairs. I even found a pristine condition ALGOL computer programming book dated 1968. I hadn’t heard of the ALGOL programming language up until two hours ago.
Anyway, this weekend I am probably going to pass by IKEA get me some new shelves. For now, I got junk in my trunk. I love this stuff..
Yesterday night I finally got to meet Shark of Kuwait and I have to say, he turned out to be wayyy cooler then I expected him to be. We decided to meet in Starbucks Marina Mall which as you might have guessed is one of Shark’s most seen places. I got there first and he came in a few minutes later, we shook hands, sat down and we started talking. We spoke for around an hour and half to be exact before I had to leave. Here are some things I found out:
His name is Ahmed, he is 43 years old and he works in customs under the anti drugs department. His schedule is pretty cool, he goes to work one day then has two days off, and the cycle repeats, 1 day work, 2 days off, 1 day work, 2 days off etc. When he does have work its from 9PM to 7AM which is also pretty convenient. He used to be in the Kuwait Special Forces back in the day, nowadays though he freelances as a VIP security escort. He has a couple of clients which require his services whenever they travel abroad.
How did he get the nickname Shark?
When he was a kid he saw the movie Jaws and fell in love with it. He kept watching it over and over and got really obsessed with the movie and he even started scribbling the word shark on his jeans. Thats when his friends started calling him Shark and the nickname has stuck with him ever since.
He is a health freak. He doesn’t smoke, drink nor has he ever done drugs. He is on a vegetarian diet five days a week eating mostly his homemade salad creations. On weekends he allows himself to indulge in meat but he never has junk food. He likes anything extreme like parachuting or car/motorbike racing.
His regular day looks something like this:
– Wakes up 12pm
– Goes to Starbucks and has coffee
– He has a small snack at 3PM
– Goes to the gym from 5 to 7:30
– Showers, cleans up and then goes back out to meet friends usually at various Starbucks around Kuwait but mostly either Marina Mall or Souk Sharq
His music style is a split between two different styles. He likes techno and specifically Scooter. I tried to tell him how much Scooter sucked but I wasn’t able to convince him. Now here is the cool part, he also likes Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Ozzy Osborne, and Guns N Roses. I asked him if he also liked Nirvana but he told me he didn’t… he found them “too noisy”.
I asked him about his look and if he likes sticking out. He told me that guys today mostly dress like fags with their spiky hair and wrinkled up jeans. He prefers the more masculine look and thats why he dresses the way he does. He actually designs some of his clothes himself like the jeans he was wearing during the interview and honestly they weren’t half bad. He told me it amuses him how sometimes people freak out when they turn and see him but he also doesn’t like the problems his looks sometimes cause him. When he travels he sometimes isn’t allowed to go into clubs. The bouncers look at him and think he is a trouble maker so they tell him he can’t come in. He told me that although he gives out this aggressive and tough look he is actually a regular joe on the inside.
The Shark also has a passion for cars. He has a Bugatti racer but its a kit car not the original thing. He also just got a hold of an excellent condition 1972 Camaro which he had shipped in from Switzerland. He collects VW Beetles, he has a 1970, 1975 and 1981 model. I think he told me the 81 model was a convertible. He also has 2 Harleys, a Road King and a 1977 Shovel Head. And yeah he loves the show American Chopper. For his everyday car he has an Audi S8. He is also a mechanic. He takes care of his car himself and even does engine swaps and repairs. He just purchased a souped up engine for one of his Beetles and he will be swapping out the engines himself.
His favorite place in the world is Thailand. Every year he spends 3-4 months there chilling with his friends who also come in from various countries around the world most of whom are body builders and Harley riders too.
When March comes he will be traveling to Siberia to get married. He met his fiancee in Thailand while scuba diving. She is Russian, 23 and a really hot model. He showed me pictures of him and her together and they looked like a nice couple. He loves her a lot and he can’t wait to be with her.
Thats basically everything. He showed me a lot of photos of himself all over the world having fun with his friends. He is a really chilled out guy who is having the time of his life. I am really glad I got to meet him. Everyone who knows him says he is an extremely friendly and trustworthy guy and I can easily imagine that. I asked him if he had anything he wanted to say to my readers and he said all he wants from people is to leave him alone and let him be. And I agree, let him be.