Search: “sti”

To view the websites statistics, go to https://248am.com/stats

I noticed many bloggers are moving around lately either from blogger to WordPress or from Blogspot to a hosted blog. Well I found a link that can help you find free web hosting with no ads. There are a whole variety of hosts, some offering more web space, some offering more bandwidth but they nearly all allow you to setup your own domain. So if you are interested in moving to WordPress or off blogspot and need hosting, this link will help you find a free host. [Link]

Now in case you’re interested, here is a coupon for a $50 discount at my favorite web host DreamHost. Just use the code FIVEZEROOFF when checking out.

With iTunes 4.9 you can now browse, find, sample and subscribe to thousands of free podcasts — radio shows delivered over the Internet to your computer — then sync them to your iPod and listen anytime, anywhere. [Link]

Just found this via waxy, its very scary, you won’t believe it… [Link]

I was googling “Kuwait Blog” and to my surprise our (Rampurple, nibaq and mine) old blog qHate came out as a first result. So I decided to google a variety of words and checked how qHate ranks, below are the results:

Kuwait Blog (Rank 1)
Kuwait Blogs (Rank 10)
Kuwaiti Blogs (Rank 15)
Kuwaiti Bloggers (Rank 3)
Blogs from Kuwait (Rank 12)
Kuwait war blog (Rank 2)
Rampurple Blog (Rank 2)
Nibaq Blog (Rank 5)
Mark Blog (Rank not in top 500)
Wolf Blitzer suspicious of six foot one Arab males (Rank 1)

Someone in the office just told me that they recently have been busting in on pirates in Hawalli and they are broadcasting the busts live on TV. COPS style. Anyone know anything about this or seen it?

I decided to share with everyone the statistics of 2:48AM from the day 1 which was February 19th till the end of April. The list is displayed as Date followed by amount of unique visitors.

Feb 2005 557
Mar 2005 1961
Apr 2005 3144

To see how many visiters have been coming in day by day detail click on more below.

Question: What tips can you give mark regarding domain registration? in terms of url name, company, pricing, and so on..

Answer: I am gonna divide my answer into two parts, Domain Registration and Web Hosting.

Domain Registration
I get my domains from Directnic.com. I have been using them for a couple of years now since they first opened up. They offer domains for 15$ a year. There are other registrars like Joker.com who provide you with domains for $7 a year. I haven’t tried those registrars and I wouldn’t risk it also. There are some unspoken services which are offered and I don’t know if these other registrars offer it. For example with Directnic, incase you forget to renew your domain they will still hold the domain for you for up to 40 days. Then after the 40 days pass they will still hold the domain for you for another 30 days but you will have to pay an extra fee to get it back. Then after that they will let the domain go into public domain. With other registrars they might not hold the domain for you at all, some might even charge you an extra fee if you forget to renew it by 1 day.

Webhosting
There are thousands and thousands of providers to choose from but I will make it easy for you. If you register with Directnic, they provide you with free hosting for your domain but you will have their banner on your site. For a small yearly fee they can provide you with simple bannerless hosting. Now if you need something better then there are two ways you can go. Windows or Linux hosting. For Windows hosting I would recommend Fasthosts. I have a reseller account with them and have been using them for over 5 years now. They are VERY reliable with maybe only 1 down time in 5 years. They have excellent service, and their servers are very fast. I would also recommend Interland as a second option here. They also provide reliable Windows hosting for a decent price. For linux hosting you have a lot more cheaper options. If bandwidth isn’t an issue then I would recommend Interland here again. They are a good hosting provider for newbies. They have a very good “Help & Advice” section with lots of information for beginners. If bandwidth is something you need, then I would recommend Powweb. PowWeb offers 5GB of bandwidth a day for as little as 7$ a month. But the downside to Powweb is that their backdoor where you set your web settings and emails isn’t very easy to use at all. Other providers you might be interested in are: Addr, Dreamhost, Pair, iPowerWeb and LunarPages.

Today morning on my way to work I saw a funny bumper sticker on the car infront of me. Click here to see it.

I keep passing by this sign on my way to the office and I seem to be the only one who gets it. Fist for Security & Safety. Get it? Fist… like in fisting? Urgh.. nevermind…

Si is a new Mediterranean restaurant opening on the first day of Eid, and it’s one of those places where once you’re there you kind of forget where you are.

Chef Marco of Vigonovo is behind the concept, and if you’ve ever met him you’ll know how charismatic and hard working he is. I first met Marco back in 2016 when he opened Vigonovo as a small spot in Salmiya. He started off with very limited resources, to the point that if I remember correctly, he had brought his small 4 burner stove from home to use in the restaurant. Since then Marco has had a pretty long journey, and Si is the result of all that hard work.

The first thing that caught my attention was the location. Si is located at C Club in Al Bida’a, with its own private entrance from the side. The first thing you notice once you walk in is the beautiful sea and garden area, surrounded by tall palm trees. It’s such a fantastic spot.

The restaurant itself is divided into three main areas, each with its own look but all with the same goal of creating a bright and energetic space that makes you feel like you’re somewhere along the Mediterranean coast. The food matches the setting, with a menu built around Mediterranean classics using fresh ingredients and simple flavors that Marco is known for.

I might be a bit biased since Marco is a friend, but the space really is beautiful and the food is really good. Si is opening on the first day of Eid (so tomorrow), and as part of their soft launch they’ll start with breakfast and lunch. They’ll eventually open for dinner as well. Opening hours are 8AM to 4PM, with the last order at 4PM.

Here is the location on Google Maps. If you want to book a table, they have a booking link on their instagram @sikuwait

The Cobogo House is a private villa in Funaitees that was completed a few years ago, but last month it got featured on the Natuzzi website which is how I came to find out about it.

The name of the project comes from the cobogó bricks used across the villa’s façade. These are decorative perforated concrete blocks, similar in concept to Islamic mashrabiya screens, that let air and light through while still giving you shade and privacy. The bricks also cast interesting light and shadow inside the house which you will notice in some of the interior photos.

Cobogo House was designed by the local architecture firm Babnimnim, who are probably most known for the beautiful contemporary mosque in Al Massayel, the Mamluki Lancet Mosque.

To check out all the photos of the space, the photographer Mohammad Ashkanani has the photos here.

Phet Phet, my favorite Thai restaurant, are opening their new and much larger location tomorrow (Monday, March 16) in Al Andalus. I passed by a while ago to check the place out and I’m really excited about it.

The new space has A LOT more seating and a new color scheme (lots of pink!). I loved the interior and as a regular at their Salmiya location I’m really happy they’re opening this bigger space. The location is also easier to get to, and parking won’t be an issue since Al Andalus has plenty.

If you’ve never been to Phet Phet, I’d recommend their Pad Thai, Panang Curry, Spicy Potato Noodles and Mango Sticky Rice. Those are my favorites.

Phet Phet is located on the top floor of Al Andalus (Google Maps). During Ramadan they’ll be open from 5:30PM to 2AM. After Ramadan the hours will switch to 1PM to 11PM, and with the new location they’ll now be open 7 days a week. @phetphetkw

Yesterday Shop & Ship sent out an email stating that due to the current situation in the region and the impact it has on their costs, they will be temporarily increasing their prices. A few moments ago those prices went into effect and below is a comparison between the old rates and the new rates. I’ve included both the basic price and the discounted price if you’re a Flex member.

0.5 KG

Old Price: 3.75 KWD
New Price: 4.70 KWD (+25.3% increase)

Old Flex Price: 3.65 KWD
New Flex Price: 4.60 KWD (+26% increase)

1 KG

Old Price: 6.90 KWD
New Price: 8.25 KWD (+19.65% increase)

Old Flex Price: 5.90 KWD
New Flex Price: 7.35 KWD (+24.6% increase)

5 KG

Old Price: 32.10 KWD
New Price: 36.65 KWD (+14.2% increase)

Old Flex Price: 22.30 KWD
New Flex Price: 27.75 KWD (+24.4% increase)

10 KG

Old Price: 63.60 KWD
New Price: 72.15 KWD (+13.4% increase)

Old Flex Price: 40.80 KWD
New Flex Price: 51.25 KWD (+25.6% increase)

20 KG

Old Price: 107.60 KWD
New Price: 143.15 KWD (+25.3% increase)

Old Flex Price: 77.80 KWD
New Flex Price: 98.25 KWD (+26.3% increase)

The cost increase for regular members is on average 21% while the increase for Flex members is around 25%. They probably tried to keep the prices as low as possible and so aren’t able to give Flex members the bigger discounts they used to offer.

They seemed to also have resumed shipping to Kuwait. Although I still have a package stuck in my US mailbox, a friend had his item ship on March 3 and arrive to Kuwait by March 10 (via Riyadh instead of Dubai).

I also noticed a lot of items on Amazon I had on my Wishlist that previously had free shipping no longer have it. Amazon is still offering free shipping on some items, though I’m not sure why it no longer applies to a large chunk of my wishlist. I did place an order for some items on March 8 that were eligible for free shipping but the order hasn’t processed yet and seems to be on hold.

I know a lot of people with pets have been wondering what the requirements are if they want to travel abroad with their pets. So to clarify things, I decided to head to the International Veterinary Hospital (IVH) and meet with their import/export department, who’ve also been getting tons of questions about this lately.

If you’re planning to travel with your pet by plane or drive across the border into Saudi Arabia, you’re going to need an export permit. That was a bit of a surprise to me since I assumed crossing into Saudi with my dog would be a casual thing since it’s a GCC country to GCC country trip, but it isn’t. According to IVH, before you leave Kuwait with your pet you need to apply for an export permit. The process takes around 10 days to get done and you can do it yourself or pay someone like IVH to handle it for you. I think the most important requirement you should check for right now is that your pet’s rabies shot is valid. If it’s not valid, you’ll need to wait 30 days after getting a new shot before your pet can travel. So if you’re thinking of traveling anytime soon, get this sorted beforehand.

Once the exit permit is issued for your pet, it’s valid for 2 weeks.

Another thing to consider is that you can only travel with a maximum of two pets. If you have more than two, you’ll need someone else traveling with you to register the additional pets under their name.

At the moment, direct flights out of Kuwait are not available, but you can drive to Saudi Arabia. If you’re considering driving, be aware that Saudi Arabia requires a pet import permit to enter. They have their own set of requirements, all listed on their NAAMA portal, and the good news is you can apply online.

Once the Saudi pet import permit is issued, it’s valid for 4 weeks.

Finally, when you’re ready to return to Kuwait, you’ll need to obtain an import permit. Unlike Saudi, this can’t be done online and needs to be done in person here in Kuwait.

This isn’t a complete list of everything you’ll need, but it should give you a rough idea of what to expect when traveling with your pet dog or cat.