Search: “cop”

So I was reviewing the McLaren today and decided to head to the junkyards to take some photos of the car. On the way, there was a small cloud of smoke in the distance and I figured it was the tire fires again. Turns out it was a lot closer than the tire dump… it was in the exact same location where I wanted to shoot the car! Talk about a weird coincidence. There were no fire trucks or cops at the scene but not wanting to get stuck there once they did arrive we decided to leave. As we were heading back to the highway the firetrucks and cops had started arriving but the fire looked HUGE so not sure if they were able to put it out yet.

Zaydoun hadn’t posted on his blog for over a year but he came back today with a simple and legitimate question aimed towards the expat community… Why are you still here? It’s an honest and curious question and he doesn’t mean it in the if you don’t like it get the hell out kinda way. With all the problems in Kuwait what keeps you here? Here is why I’m still here:

I’m an expat but I grew up here so I don’t see myself as an expat although Kuwaitis do. This is my home. I’ve lived here all my life so even if there are a lot of problems I stay and deal with it. I adapt and I get used to it. Sometimes things really piss me off which is when I come here on the blog and rant but most of the time I just take it all in and try to ignore the problems. There’s always the “hope” that things will get better (although with the way things are going I’m finding it harder to believe that).

I’m not Kuwaiti but I do feel frustrated in the same way many Kuwaitis do. When I see all the trash scattered all around my area in Salmiya its really depressing and frustrating because with all the money available why isn’t Salmiya cleaner? When I see people running red lights in front of the cops I find it frustrating because again with all the money available why don’t we have better law enforcement. I guess it’s unfair to connect everything with money but I believe everything can be solved with money and since we have a lot of it here we shouldn’t have any of these issues.

But, with all these problems, as an expat I have to say one of the most frustrating things is the fact I can’t get a permanent residency. I’ve lived here for over 30 years and my visa still gets renewed year by year. If I want to quit my job and take a break I can’t. No job means no visa and I’m out just like that. I think that’s extremely unfair.

Anyway check out Zaydoun’s post on his blog and tell him why you are still here. I’m curious to read all the answers as well. [Link]

Since I’m planning to get the Nikon D800 when it gets released this month I decided to get rid of some things that I haven’t used in years. So below are all the things I’m current selling in the forum, kinda like a digital garage sale.

Nikon D90 with 18-105mm Lens SOLD
NeoGeo with 20 Games SOLD
11 Xbox360 and 1 PS3 Game SOLD
Muji CD Player SOLD
Ethernet over power adapters + routers bundle SOLD
Sakhr MSX2 with 20 Games SOLD
12 Game Gear Games SOLD
Panasonic 3DO with 20 Games SOLD
Game Cube with 2 Games SOLD
Coleco Vision with 17 Games and Racing Wheel SOLD
Sega Dreamcast + 4 joypads + fishing rod + keyboard + mouse SOLD
Apple TV 40GB SOLD
Wifi Extenders and Routers bundle SOLD
Holga Medium Format camera + 35mm waterpoof camera SOLD
Nine Eagles Solo Helicopter SOLD

If you’re interested in any of the items and don’t want to sign up to the forum then [Email Me]

Update: A lot of the items have now been sold so I’ve updated the list above.

Update2: All the items have now been sold!

So the old Salmiya building which housed some of our childhood memories like Family Bookshop and Alamiah got demolished recently and according to the developer Saud Sahoud, the picture above is what they’re building in it’s place. I honestly don’t have an idea what it is. I’ve actually named the picture above “something.jpg” since I’m not sure if it’s a mall, an entertainment park or some futuristic arena from TRON. Since I will be living down the block from this structure if someone can enlighten me to what it is that would be helpful. You can see a larger picture [Here]

I hope it’s going to be something cool because the area does need a big boost.

Update: I managed to find a better picture, the small one is above but the larger version of it is [Here]. Turns out it’s a mall which will contain 8 cinemas, a snow city, ice skating rink, thrilling rides, family entertainment and “things that will be the first in the world” [Source]

So I’m going to have a snow park and movie theaters in a building that wouldn’t like out of place on Blade Runner all just down the street from my house. That’s cool.

I was wondering how Salmiya would cope with this sudden influx of traffic but looks like a company has already been awarded a contract to sort it out. [Source]

Completion date for this mall is set for 2014.

Thanks Ahmad

The cops have started putting up barricades on the Gulf Road in preparation for the National and Liberation Day celebrations this weekend. Like last year, foam sprays are banned again this year but traffic will still be chaotic on the Gulf Road so avoid it this weekend if you can.

Thanks Roy

It seems some young Kuwaiti boys made a Kuwaiti version of Monopoly Deal and are selling it. If you’re interested you should hurry and buy a copy now before they get slapped with a lawsuit. Check the following link for more information [Link]

Update: The blog SIX TWO has better pictures [Here]

Just a tip. If you’re traveling to London and are planning on getting VAT refunds at the airport on your way out then make sure you get to the airport 5 or 6 hours early. Seriously. It seems Travelex, the company that handles the VAT refunds at the airport actually deliberately try to be very slow so that you give up waiting and leave without collecting your refund. I arrived to the airport 3 hours ahead of my flight and first thing I did was stand in a super long line before check in to get my refund but the line wasn’t moving. I spent around an hour and moved only 2 or 3 spots and I estimated I had at least another 2 to 3 hours just get to the front of the line. In the end I gave up and decided to get the refund as credit on my credit card, a simpler process which involved passing the forms to the manager stationed there but not receiving any kind of delivery proof or even a carbon copy of my forms. According to other people who were waiting in line they tried the credit route before and never got the refund. I didn’t really have another option.

I had a new laptop with me as well so to get a VAT refund for that you need to do it after passing immigration. Once inside I got my laptop VAT Refund document stamped but then had to wait another hour and half in line to get the cash refund for that. It’s the same line you need to stand in by the way once you get your forms stamped in the first super long line before immigration. I ended up collecting my refund just as they were announcing the final call for my flight. So make sure you get to the airport a lot earlier then you think you need.

Happened right across from a network cafe so there were at least 50 kids laughing and poking fun of the sad situation. This was the first time I was actually glad the cops came. They quickly broke up the crowd of juveniles by threatening to haul their asses away if they didn’t disappear.[YouTube]

The luxurious car show Concours d’Elegance is going to be held for the third time in Kuwait next month. Like the previous years, it going to be an important and prestigious event that will attract people from both inside and outside Kuwait.

What is the Concours d’Elegance?
Concours is a French word meaning competition. The concept of Concours originates in 17th C. France when aristocrats used to choose their best horse carriages to parade around parks of Paris during the summer week ends and holidays. Later these traditions changed to automobiles from the 20th C. Concours today have strict regulations and cars are inspected by qualified judges. Trophy winners are carefully chosen. Each year there are numerous events which take place across the world, many of which are world famous, including Villa d’Este in Italy, Goodwood in UK, and Pebble Beach in USA. The Kuwait Concours d’Elegance is rapidly becoming a fixture in this international program, able to attract some of the world’s rarest and exotic motorcars.

Date: February 15th to the 18th
Time: 10:00AM – 10:00PM
Location: Marina Mall interior, Marina Crescent and Marina Lawn

Tidbits
There are going to be some very interesting cars this year at the show including the Zagato, Jaguar F-Type, the McLaren and other surprises which they wouldn’t tell me about except that they’re “Concours Special Editions”. Valentino Balboni the former chief test driver for Lamborghini is going to back this year. Bruce Meyers the inventor of the Dune Buggy will also be at the event.

The new Supercar De Macross GT1 is going to be officially launched at our Concours. The GT1 has an 800hp Rouch engine and incoporates technologies currently used in F1… including some that are banned.

The Concours categories
Vintage: Class-A 1900 – 1930
Classic: Class-B 1931 – 1945
Post war Classic: Class-C 1946 – 1965
Modern Classic: Class-D 1966 – 1975

Muscle Cars Section
69 Dodge Daytona
70 Plymouth Superbird
71 Plymouth ‘Cuda 340 Convertible
67 Mustang Shelby GT500
74 Trans-Am SD
69 Shelby GT500 owned by Carroll Shelby him self!
and many many more.

Hollywood Cars
This year they’re bringing real life sized Pixar/Disney cars including Lighting McQueen, Finn and Mater.

Daily Events
15th – Muscle & Classic
16th – Supercars
17th – Kuwait Bike Show
18th – Enzo Ferrari Birthday

Once I find out more information I’ll add it to this post.
Here are some related links:
kuwaitconcours.com.kw
@KuwaitConcours
Facebook.com/Kuwait.Concours

I was invited by X-Cite and Sony to attend a preview of the Playstation Vita in Dubai. The even would give us an intro on their new portable gaming console as well as preview some games and more importantly allows to play with the device.

Introduction
The GM of Sony MENA, Robert Fisser stated that the Vita will have the strongest line up of launch games for a Sony console which is possible since the first party and third party games lined up for the Vita’s February 22nd launch is fairly strong.

When you purchase a Vita among the included items will be 56 WAAR (Wide-Area Augmented Reality) cards that you’ll be able to use with AR (augmented reality) games which you’ll be able to download for free from the PSN store. What differentiates these AR games from others is that these games will be a lot more advanced, sophisticated and use a big area for game play. There are also two social services that Sony are pushing in Vita called Party and Near. Party lets you voice chat with friends on the Vita at anytime, even if you’re playing different games while near lets you see all your Playstation Network friends status’s and what they’re playing (or have played). You will also be able to see if their are other Vita gamers in your proximity and invite them to play a game. Finally you can also unlock gifts, or give gifts to your PSN friends.

Another big feature Sony talked about was sharing save files between your Vita and the PS3 and cross-platform play which basically mean you’ll be able to play head-to-head between the Vita and PS3. They showed us a demonstration when one of their Wipeout 2048 game designer who was using a Vita raced against a producer who used a PS3.

So student pays someone to cheat for him, and when he gets cheated himself he goes to the cops?

Thanks Pat

Dec 5: Kuwaiti-Lebanese relations are “deep-seated and historic,” Kuwait’s Interior Ministry Assistant Undersecretary for Borders Security Affairs Major General Sheikh Mohammad Al-Youssef said Thursday. [Source]

But…

It actually gets funnier because:

Dec 15: The Lebanese Minister of Social Affairs Wael Abou Faour hailed the Kuwaiti support offered to his country over decades in various fields. [Source]

I’m never gonna understand politics.

Post shamelessly copied from Lebanon News: Under Rug Swept

I’ve seen a ton of this videos but never one where the cops actually show up and chase the drifters. [YouTube]

Thanks Tuan

[YouTube]

So last night I was trying to go to sleep at around 1:30am when I heard a loud commotion outside. I’m used to fights taking place underneath my building since there is a billiard place next door but this didn’t sound like an ordinary fight since it was pretty loud. So I put on my pants and hoodie and headed downstairs to see what all the commotion was about.

Turns out there were around 30 guys pushing, shoving, shouting and punching over I don’t know what. I thought about taking my phone out and shooting some pictures or video but since no one else was doing it I figured it would probably not be a good idea to do so. I ended up going back up to try and go back to sleep but around 15 minutes later 5 police cars arrive filled with cops.

Now that’s the first time I’ve ever seen cops come to a fight in my block. I’ve actually tried calling the cops myself before when there were guys running around the mall in my building with razor blades trying to cut each other and the cops never came. So my theory is this. I think the cops are starting to take these street fights seriously after the incident that took place at Marina Crescent. Are they waiting for a major incident to take place on the Gulf Road before they start patrolling it?

What more can I do? I’ve already complained about the issues that take place on the Gulf Road a million times already on the blog and I haven’t seen any improvement. If anything there are less cops on the Gulf Road now then there have ever been.

Note: Yes I took this picture on the Gulf Road