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According to the Arab Times, 7,543 citations were issued by the surprise General Traffic Department campaign this past week. I was super close to getting a violation myself the other day because of my car tint but I guess my tint wasn’t as bad as others since I was allowed to pass through the checkpoint.

I really think car tints should be legalized or at least light tints where you could still see who’s inside the car. Something dramatic must have happened recently for cops to crackdown down this hard on car tints and I’m curious to know what.

Anyway, these campaigns do benefit everyone and they do make the roads safer but because the campaigns last a week or two it’s a temporary fix and not long term. I’ve recently noticed a lot more people are running red lights and to me those drivers are a lot more dangerous than car tints. But, on the bright side I heard they’re going to be installing a lot more red light cameras so that’s a good thing.

There are a bunch of new shows starting this season and so far from the ones I’ve watched I found Pan Am to be the most interesting. The show is about the airline Pan Am during it’s prime back in the 60’s and it’s starring Christina Ricci as one of the airlines glamorous flight attendants.

To me the show is very similar to Mad Men but instead of it dealing with advertising its about the airline industry and like Mad Men, watching it makes me want to go back in time and live in the 60s.

The other new shows I’ve watched so far and haven’t liked are Person of Interest and Up All Night. If you want to watch Pan Am you can do so directly on the ABC website and for free. Just make sure you’re using a VPN so it thinks you’re living in the US. [Link]

I was in Dajeej the other day when I passed by Negochi whom I briefly posted about last year. The store is known for their rifles but I left the place more impressed with the other stuff they carried like their huge collection of flashlights, binoculars and even their large collection of glow sticks (ravers rejoice!). The place isn’t that big but it’s packed to the brim with a lot of random cool items that I don’t have any use for but wish I did. For those interested they also carry Leatherman tools although their collection is a bit limited.

I took some pictures with my phone cam hence the low quality shots but you can check out more photos on their Facebook page although their pictures seem old since the shop has a lot more items on display now.

Negochi is located off the 6th Ring Road in Dajeej right behind where the new OSN office is located (down the street from their previous location). You could also call them up if you get lost on 97238543 or 24336426.

I finally got to pass by Payless over the weekend. Payless is the X-Cite Electronics outlet and they’ve been open for a couple of years now (I think) but never really had a reason to pass by until now. I was looking for some Alpine components for my car sound system and I was told I would find some models at Payless. I didn’t end up finding what I was looking for but I still found the place interesting. They had a lot of random stuff all over this large warehouse and some looked like great deals while others didn’t seem discounted at all. They had a lot of laptops, phone accessories and I even spotted a bunch of Sonos devices. They’re located in Shuwaikh near the main Alghanim head quarters opposite City Center. It should be easy to spot since the warehouse has a large yellow sign on top.

Since we’re on the subject of good deals I managed to get my hands on an Alpine PDX-4.150 car stereo amp for just KD21! The retail price for this Amp was $399 in the US before it was discontinued and that’s without tax or shipping cost to Kuwait so KD21 is ridiculously cheap. For some reason X-Cite is getting rid of all their Alpine stock so you can find some really good deals.

If you’re interested in the PDX-4.150 I took a snapshot from their point of sale system showing all the available locations where they might still have them. I passed by the Hawalli and Marina branch but they both didn’t have them even though the computer says they did so I marked them both out. The Rai branch is where I got mine (it was the last piece) and the Baitak Tower branch has one on display but missing some accessories. That leaves 3 other branches which I didn’t pass by but they should have a piece each left so good luck finding one.

A new Apple store is opening up at Tilal Complex. Hopefully the extra competition will help bring the prices down. I’m still hoping we get an official Apple store one day.

Here are some of my favorite posts on 2:48PM from last week:

– Face Subsitution
– The McGurk Effect
– ‘The Office’ Skit from the Emmys
– Chinese Bike Couriers
– Bakery that sells gruesome human body parts

I was surprised to find out that Lita’s the small Mexican food joint in Mahboula had closed down. They literally served the best Mexican food in Kuwait but even their website was down so I figured something really weird/bad had happened. Turns out they closed down because they’re moving to a larger location on the Gulf Road and they should open in a few months time. But, I still think that’s weird. If it was me I wouldn’t have closed down the Mahboula branch since it was very popular with the expats over there so I’m wondering if there is another side to this story. On the bright side, if they do open up on the Gulf Road then that’s better for me since they’d be a lot closer to my home.

A reader emailed to tell me there is a window cleaning crew trapped on top of a cleaning lift which stopped working because of a mechanical breakdown. The workers have been up there since noon and they still haven’t been able to get the truck to bring them down. The building is the Global Tower which is located in Sharq opposite United Towers. You can see some pictures below.

Picture 1
Picture 2
Picture 3

Thanks Fahed

Note: I’m guessing the workers were rescued right after the pictures were taken

Nawaf al Gheraibah, is a half Kuwaiti, half Indian/Portuguese musician with a pretty weird music style like nothing I’ve heard locally. It’s not mainstream stuff so not sure how many people here will like his music but even if it’s not your style it’s still worth appreciating. My biggest criticism though is the fact that I think his music lacks a local identity. When I listen to the music it sounds like a lot of different things but none of which sound like the songs originated from Kuwait by a Kuwaiti.

Anyway his songs are all available for free to download on his [Website] and Facebook page. I found it a lot easier to listen to the songs on the Facebook page so check it out [Here]

There is a local website called Photo Lenders which rents out photography equipment like lenses and cameras for reasonable prices. This concept isn’t new since it already exists in the States but it’s still great that someone decided to set up something similar in Kuwait. I’m sure all the local photographers are going to appreciate this and I’m personally waiting for them to start renting out cameras as well. Check out the website [Here]

So I was at the popular Al Remal Al Dahabi garage the other day with a friend of mine sitting in the waiting room when someone lit up a cigarette. Right away to my surprise someone comes in over the PA system and announces that there is no smoking allowed in the waiting room and they should go smoke outside.

I was like completely taken aback by this. If a garage in Al Rai has started enforcing a no smoking policy then there’s still hope that malls and restaurants will also stop indoor smoking as well. At least I hope so.

A company in the US called ICON asked themselves a question, if they were to revisit the classic FJ40 how would they improve on it? They kept the same classic styling but gave it modern performance and the result is the ICON FJ Series. Someone needs to import these cars to Kuwait like right now! [Link]

Back in 2009 right after 360 Mall had opened I posted about how they needed to install plaques to tell people about the vertical gardens and the Dale Chihuly structures. That was back in September 2009 and nearly two years later 360 Mall started installing these plaques. I shot the one above in front of Ladurée while heading towards OFK. Good move.

[YouTube]

Yesterday I posted about the NewAir recycling program but a reader emailed about another organization which he is part of that also provide recycling solutions (but only for companies). The organization is called Istidamah and the video above is one of their projects which they worked on with Al Diwan Al Amiri.

A couple of you were also asking about electronic waste in the comments. According to Istidamah they are currently developing a campaign with the Kuwait Municipality regarding electronic waste recycling. Currently in Kuwait e-waste (which consist of hazardous chemicals) is mixed with other types of waste and dumped in poorly designed municipal landfills. At this current time Istidamah is the only company in Kuwait that works with UN certified electronic waste recyclers. What they do basically is segregate and dismantle e-waste in Kuwait but then ship the items to the certified recyclers abroad. They’re hoping to one day develop their own local facility for e-waste recycling but for now that isn’t an option.

You can find out more about Istidamah by visiting their website [Here]

Spotted this closed up area at 360 Mall but don’t have any idea on what kind of record they’re trying to break. All I know is that I’m fed up with these record attempts. It’s not nearly as bad as it is in Lebanon where we’ve broken every stupid food record there is (world’s largest hummus plate, largest fattoush plate, largest wine glass, longest shish kebab, longest taouk sandwich etc..) but it still feels like companies have run out of good ideas.