2:48AM - Entertaining Kuwait since 2003

During the Gulf War I had to leave the majority of my toys behind here in Kuwait because we had to flee the country. That incident scarred me for life I think because I seemed to have developed some kind of psychological issue where I am trying to buy back every toy I had. I spend most of my days flipping through pages of vintages toys and eBay looking for stuff I used to have and then hopefully buying them. So now I have decided to share the toys with you whenever I find any. Today I am gonna start with this “Le Chalet Suisse” toy. It was amazing, its like a classy version of Lego. Its using pieces of real wood and you can build various types of wooden chalets with them. There is no sticking or clicking, the pieces of the wood are shaped in a way that they would fit together and you just stack them up.

I was able to find it online brandnew for only $78. [Link]

Flickr Fireworks Fun

Today I was able to check out a TANDBERG video conferencing setup. Its such a cool system, we had 2 huge ass plasmas built into the wall and a videocamera built in between them. The system video conferences at various connection speeds but we were using 384kb/sec. The TANDBERG system is also a very secure system I was told (the US defence department uses it!), so its perfect for talking business no matter how confidential the matter might be. The guy who was showing me the video conferencing system used a Marantz RC9500 remote control (drool!!) to control the whole thing including rotating the camera and zooming in and out. With a click of a button we connected to an office in Oslo which was closed but we were able to pan the camera around over there and check out the office. While checking out the Oslo office he also connected to a roof top cam on their companies head office in Japan and then connected to the conference room located in the same building we were in. So in total we were connected to 3 places on the same screen, very cool. The guy also told me that you could connect a laptop to the system and do a power point presentation or play Quake and they could all watch you. I don’t know how much a system like this costs, I should have asked him but I know I can’t afford the Marantz remote yet alone the two plasma screens and the TANDBERG system.. sucks!!

In 1976 the government established the Reserve Fund for Future Generations, into which it placed an initial US$7 billion. It resolved to invest 10 percent of its revenues annually in the reserve fund. Money from the fund, along with other government revenues, was invested in overseas property and industry. In the 1970s, most of these funds were invested in the United States and in Western Europe: in German firms (such as Hoechst and DaimlerBenz , in each of which Kuwait owned 25 percent), in property, and in most of the United States Fortune Five Hundred firms. In the 1980s, Kuwait began diversifying its overseas investments, placing more investments in Japanese firms. By the late 1980s, Kuwait was earning more from these overseas investments than it was from the direct sale of oil: in 1987 foreign investments generated US$6.3 billion, oil US$5.4 billion. The Financial Times of London estimated Kuwait’s overseas investments in early 1990 at more than US$100 billion, most of it in the Reserve Fund for Future Generations.

The Iraqi invasion proved the importance of these investment revenues. With oil revenues suspended, the government and population in exile relied exclusively on investment revenues, including sales of investments for sustenance, for their share of ongoing coalition expenses and for postwar reconstruction and repair of the vital oil industry. While these funds were depleted to $40-$50 billion after the war, they currently are estimated around $80 billion.

Landor – Dubai
Senior Designer – Branded Environments
Will initiate and develop design concepts and solutions. Will work with design team in fulfilling client needs under the direction of Design Director. Candidates must have a BFA or equivalent education and 5-7 years experience. Good communication and presentation skills. Ability to travel, prioritize and meet deadlines. Proficient in Mac and numerous graphics and design software.

Apply Here [Link]

—————-

Fitch – Doha
Client Manager
A new Client Manager is urgently required in Doha, Qatar. Fitch’s studio in Qatar is growing rapidly and seeks a Client Manager with 2-3 years experience in project management and a desire for a new challenge. Not only is the work exciting and varied but the role comes with the added bonus of a tax-free salary and a generous living allowance.

Please reply with your cv to: Lucy Salter, Fitch, 121 – 141 Westbourne Terrace, London, W2 6JR or by e-mail: [email protected]

Apply Here [Link]

This is one concert I would love to go to, maybe they will come out with a DVD for it. Starting July 6th at the Hollywood Bowl, the first major U.S. concert tour featuring music from a variety of the most popular video games will begin.

The announced game titles for the 2005 tour are:
Mario, Zelda, Halo, Metal Gear Solid, Warcraft, Myst, Castlevania, Medal of Honor, God of War, Kingdom Hearts, Sonic, Tron, Tomb Raider, Advent Rising, Headhunter, Beyond Good & Evil, Splinter Cell, Ghost Recon, Rainbow Six, EverQuest II and a special retro arcade segment that goes from Pong to Donkey Kong!

For more information visit the official website. [Link]

Music Torrents

5876 unique visitors in June (4036 in May)
2.61 GB worth of bandwidth consumed (1.73 GB in May)
Most visits was on June 28th with 610 unique visitors

Finally, there are currently 665 posts and 1,907 comments, contained within 48 categories.

Greenlighters are an emerging underground movement of sexually promiscuous teenagers, including bisexual, homosexual, and heterosexual members. Members of this movement wear a green polo shirt with the collar up, indicating that they are open to pretty much any sexual adventure. When someone comes up to them and puts the collar down, they are “collared” and will go with that person and do whatever sexual act they ask. Transfer of money is not usually involved. Some parent groups are starting to get involved – urging parents to go through their kids clothes and confiscate green shirts and polos. [Link]

You can watch and listen to the Live 8 concerts online from the AOL music website. I am currently waiting for Audioslave to come on stage in Berlin. [Link]

Update: Other shows to look out for, Pet Shop Boys in Moscow, Pink Floyd and Velvet Revolver in London and Placebo in Paris.

Update 2: WOW, Audioslave are playing acoustic version of Sound Gardens “Black Hole Sun”. I hope they play some Rage Against the Machine songs!!

Update 3: They just started playing a Rage Against the Machine song!!!!!!

I hate them.

First time I noticed this. Was browsing images.google when I noticed this logo on top. I don’t know whats up with google and me. Last time it was showing me everything in piglatin!

Update: Tivo-Guy gave me this link to Google Arabic

Just passed by the Apple Store in Muthana Complex called Solize. I got some Mac prices which surprisingly turned out to be pretty good. Not cheaper then the States but pretty close specially if you consider shipping and customs. Here are the prices:

Power Mac G5 1.8ghz = KD555
Power Mac G5 Dual 1.8ghz = KD654
Power Mac G5 Dual 2.0ghz = KD731
Power Mac G5 Dual 2.3ghz = KD930
Power Mac G5 Dual 2.5ghz = KD1040
Power Mac G5 Dual 2.7ghz = KD1117

Mac mini 1.2ghz = KD190
Mac mini 1.4ghz = KD228

iMac 17inch G5 1.6ghz = KD600
iMac 17inch G5 1.8ghz = KD690
Both come with a free HP printer and scanner

Powerbook 15inch G4 1.67ghz (SuperDrive) = KD768

Apple Display 20inch = KD258
Apple Display 30inch = KD1175 (FUCKING HUGE BTW!)

iPod mini 4GB = KD72
iPod mini 6GB = KD90

For more information call Mohammed the salesman on 7923875 or on the shop number 2493196.

Remember I posted about the new large TV screen outside the Kuwait Stock Exchange and how there was a large palm tree blocking the view. Rampurple just messaged me that “KSE have removed the trees”.

Just yesterday I was watching the Rides episode where they built a car for drifting and I was telling Nat how cool drifting is when today I read that the new Fast and the Furious will be based on drifting. Neither Vin Diesel (who co-starred in the first film, but not the second) nor Paul Walker (who co-starred in both) will appear in the new movie which is scheduled to begin filming this fall. [Link]

On a side note, the show Top Gear is currently showing on the Discovery Channel in the States. Hope they come to Showtime also. At the moment you can watch Top Gear every Sunday at 1PM on BBC.