Search: “kuwait”

I just added a link on the top menu called Proxy. This will take you to a page where you can type a url of a blocked site and it will open it for you. For example the blog I don’t like you in that way is blocked for some stupid reason in Kuwait but if you go to the proxy page and type the website address it will open the page for you. Try it out. [Link]

Sometimes I can’t purchase stuff online because they require a US based Visa card or a Paypal account. My usual action then is to ask a friend who lived in the States before and has an American Visa card to purchase the item for me and then I pay him back.

Now there seems to be a way around this.. epassporte.com. Basically you get a “virtual” visa card from them which has a US billing address. You can then fill up your virtual card using your regular visa card here in Kuwait. By virtual they mean digital as in you won’t get a physical credit card you can hold in your hand, you just get the numbers.

Anyone tried this service? I am thinking of trying it out myself. [Link]

update: OK seems they are not very trustworthy.. [Link]

As I mentioned in my previous post, I have a habit of naming my devices after Transformer characters. I took a screenshot of my home wifi access points and my hard drives on my main Mac to better show what I mean. Whats cool about naming them after Transformers is that it would be hard to run out of names because there are so many. Its very practical to do this and consistent.

One of the best customer service in Kuwait can be found at International Optics. The employees there are always extremely friendly and professional.

The other day we passed by them because Geo had chewed up Nats glasses after she accidentally left them on the table and they were completely destroyed. The frames plastic was bent, the metal thing on the side was scratched like crazy and he had chewed one of the glasses. She was about to throw them away when I told her they might be saved. So we went to the International Optics branch in Central Plaza and showed it to this one guy. He asked what had happened to it and I told him my dog chewed it. He of course found that funny and shared it with his fellow employees. He told me to come back the next day at the same time and we left.

Next day we went back and I realized I should have taken a before and after shot because what they did was incredible. They actually bent the frame (plastic and all) back to the right shape, they polished the front to remove all the scratches and the side metal was repainted. It was hard to believe this was the same glasses. If they had come and told me we threw your glasses away because they were unfixable I would have said ok but instead they fixed the glasses and they only charged us KD10 to replace the one scratched glass.

This is not the first time they were this helpful, I have had problems with my other shades and they always took care it. Anyway I figured I would talk about a company would good service since I mentioned Showtime’s bad service in the previous post.

The Kuwait Cinemagic & The Royal Film Commission invite everyone to attend a Jordanian Short Film Screening event which will take place at Al Sha’ab Theatre on the evening of June 22nd, at 7:30 p.m.

They will be screening around 10 short films made by young Jordanian filmmakers, some of whom will be attending the event and discussing their work.

It promises to be a fun evening, and you can bring as many people as you like just as long as you come early, as the seating is free and will be on a first come first served basis. Here is the flyer for the event.

I know I keep picking on Mac&More but I can’t help it. So today I walk in and a salesgirl comes up to me and asks if she can help, this is how the conversation went:

Me: Yeah Hi, do you have the MacBooks?
Her: The laptop?
Me: Ummm yeah…
Her: Yes we do
Me: Oh cool how much are they?
Her: well we have the 15″ and the large 17″..
Me: Hold on, the MacBook is only 13″
Her: ?
Me: ?
Her: ??
Me: I am not asking about the MacBook Pro, I was asking about the MacBook
Her: ?
Me: The regular MacBook.. the white and black ones
Her: Ah, yes we get them in 2 days
Me: Thank you bye

Yeah so that didn’t go very well. On the bright though they have some Crumpler Bags although they have the ugliest colored models. Don’t know why they didn’t get any of the cooler colored ones. On another note my MacBook is in my U Shop We Ship mailbox in the States and is going to ship today and arrive hopefully on Sunday.

Fuzz a fellow blogger is selling his car. Its a 1970 Mercury Cougar, here are some details:

Engine- 7.2 Litre V8
Automatic Transmission
Air Conditioning
AM/FM Radio
Cassette
Automatic Convertible Top
Original Hub Caps
Power Brakes
Power Steering
Radial Tires
Seatbelts
Vinyl Interior
Numbers are Matching

The engine and transmission have been rebuilt by Edelbrock himself in Illinois, USA. Very nice original car with lots of options, has front power disc brakes, have copy of bill of sale, new exhaust, power top & headlight covers work properly.

The only 1970 Cougar in Kuwait. Interior needs minor work, some stiching. This sort of interior job is available in Kuwait and the cost is minimal.

Price – KD8,000
A test drive is possible and can be scheduled.
For further inquiries call 9185054 or send an email to
[email protected].

Fore more pictures click [Here]

The World Cup is coming up and Chevrolet in Kuwait are presenting their Winning 11 Chevrolet team. They have exactly 11 Chevrolet models and its everything you need to make a winning football team. Everyone is cashing in on the World Cup fever and they cannot ignore the frenzy. Thats why they are equipping all 5 of their showrooms with plasma screens and ART subscriptions to display the games live. They also have an offer where if you buy any car at Alghanim Automotive you can win a trip to the winning country of the World Cup. They will send you there in business class and even give you KD1000 to spend as you wish.

In addition, all their showrooms are branded ‘football style’ with flags, TV screens, salesmen wearing jerseys etc.. Even if people aren’t buying a car they want them to visit the showrooms and enjoy the games with them. So if you have the time pass by and check them out.

Well maybe not famous but my picture is in like two newspapers today. The pictures are from the KREA event and show me accepting one of the awards. So far I am in Kuwait Times and Al-Anbaa newspapers don’t know if I am in any other ones. I will be signing autographs at Virgin Megastore tonight from 6-7PM and you can also have your picture taken with me for a small fee 😀

My agency is looking for freelance and full time designers. If you are a graphic designer and are looking for a job or thinking of moving from your current place then send me your CV. We are looking for freelance designers and full time designers. If you are in Kuwait it makes things a lot easier. If you are not in Kuwait but interested in moving here you can also apply.
Send your CV to EMAIL REMOVED

I just got my Body Groom today from U Shop We Ship. It arrived to my mailbox in the States on the 2nd and it got delivered to me today in Kuwait which is the 6th. Thats 4 days to get from the US to Kuwait but it also included a Sunday which is a day off, so its usually should take 3 days.

I am very satisfied so far. The most impressive part is the fact that I paid for my package using Knet while the package was in the US. This also got me a 2% discount which is not much but better then no discount. My MacBook still hasn’t shipped from Amazon since they still don’t have it in stock but I just changed the shipping address to U Shop We Ship. The reason for that is USWS can clear my laptop from customs AND I can pay them the customs fee online with my Knet card. Thats very convenient and I love it. I am now going to start using USWS as my primary US mailbox and keep Aramex as secondary for my magazines. [Link]

FYI: Package arrived today morning at 10AM to Kuwait according to the tracking info. Delivery guy dropped it at my office around 12:30PM.. 2 and a half hours later. Thats something not possible with Aramex.

I was filling out an inquiry form on alsayer.org trying to find out when they will be getting the Toyota FJ and there is a mandatory question asking me which nationality I was. What kind of question is that in this day of age? Why do they want to know where I am from? Will I get better or worse service if I answer I am from Uganda? What would the best answer be, USA or Kuwait? I am betting USA and thats what I put. [Link]

update: Alsayer have replied back:

Dear Mark,

This question is purely for analysis reasons, and we apologise if was misunderstood. Alsayer group is a privately owned business and we have genuine respect for all nationalities. However, ethnic studies in marketing is anywhere in the world including the USA. And we believe this is normal in multi ethnic societies. Asking the question doesn’t mean a racist. It is a pure and simple marketing question taken out of context.

Thank You

Maak

I always complain about crappy service in Kuwait but this time I am going to talk about amazing service in Kuwait.

I was leaving Souk Sharq today after lunch when my Jeep Wrangler wouldn’t start… my battery was dead. So I called up the Jeep Road Assist which I got for free when I purchased the car last year. The woman on the line took my info and told me she would call me back right away. I hang-up and she calls back from a +974 number. She told me to hold and then put me on a conference call with a tow truck guy here in Kuwait. I told him where I was located and he told me he would be there in 20 minutes. 15 minutes later he arrives and starts my car for me. I then drive to the Jeep quick service garage on the Gulf Road with my AC off and the windows open because Road Assist guy told me to do this so I don’t risk shutting down the car. The drive to the garage felt like driving through hell as you can imagine.

With the burning wind cooking my ears I was thinking on my way how I was going to cause a large scene at the garage cuz the battery wasn’t just dead it was like all oxidized and shit like it was 100 years old. That shouldn’t happen to a 1 year old car and I wasn’t going to pay for it. Anyway I get to the garage and I explain to the service manager my Jeep battery was dead and that I also wanted to do the 20K service, he quickly calls another guy over and tells him to get someone from the Jeep parts so he could see the battery and then replace it under warranty. I stood there shocked, I didn’t even mention to the guy that I was pissed about the battery and that I wasn’t going to pay for it. I was all ready to argue, fight and send emails out to every Jeep board member complaining about how I got stiffed but the manager didn’t give me a chance to get pissed. He told me not to worry they would take care of everything and service my car and have it ready for me to pick up tomorrow. I thanked the manager a lot and told him their excellent service never stops to amaze met.

On my way back to work in the cab I get a phone call from a +973 number, some guy in a weird accent tells me he is with Jeep and was wondering if everything is ok and if someone came to help me out. I told him yeah everything is great and I dropped my car off at the garage. He asked me what time the tow truck came, I told him he came 15 minutes after I spoke to him. He thanked me and I thanked him and hung up the phone.

This is not the first time the Jeep dealers have been great to me. Since the day I purchased the car I had the salesman call me to make sure I had no problems, I had the showroom manager call to check up on my car and every 6 months I get a call from a +974 number asking me if I have had any kind of problem. Its hard to believe there is a company that provides service this good here in Kuwait or anywhere else for that matter. They are just superb.

If you are looking for a pet dog or cat check out the Animal Friends League of Kuwait website. They have a huge list of dogs including a Great Dane which I am very tempted to adopt. [Link]

There is also a company in Ahmadi closing down and they have pedigree German and Belgian Shepherds, a Labrador and 2 Ridgebacks all under 1 years old and are looking for homes urgently. Call Karen at AFL 7001622 or Samir Eltom on 7704654.

Back in January I posted about this experiment you could try out (I did at work and posted a video of it) where you take a bottle of Diet Coke and empty Mentos into it to cause the Coke to rush out like a fountain. That experiment involved 1 Coke bottle and 1 packet of Mentos. Now imagine 200 liters of Diet Coke and 500 Mentos and you get an idea of how massive this experiment is. Check out the video. [Link]