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I ordered the Pocket Retro Game Emulator from ThinkGeek 10 days ago after reading about it on a few websites. Its a small portable game system that comes with built in emulators that would play games from the Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis, NeoGeo and a few other systems. Since I am a huge fan of retro gaming and since it would be a great addition to my collection, I ordered the device for $99.

The device has a built in 4GB drive so I quickly copied all my favorite games onto it and realized I still had nearly 4GB free so I copied ALL my Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo games onto it which amount to around 2000 games. I also copied a few NeoGeo games including SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos.

The device played everything I threw at it even SVC Chaos which was a huge shock. Not only that but the device also came with the appropriate cables to connect it to my TV so I could play the games there if I wanted to. Some SNES games weren’t running that perfectly for example NBA Jam was running slightly faster than it should and the sound in Donkey Kong Country was a bit strange but the device plays NHL ’94 perfectly which alone would make the game system worth $99. The build quality isn’t that great, it feels cheap and its pretty light. I am not sure how much abuse it would take but I doubt its as durable as a Nintendo DS or PSP.

Now one thing that kinda pissed me off is the fact that ThinkGeek is marketing this device with the name “Pocket Retro Game Emulator”. In reality the system turned out to be called the Dingoo Digital A320. A quick search on eBay for the Dingoo would result in a ton of results with the device priced at around $75. So if you want to buy one that’s where I would look. Will post a more thorough review at a later date.

Note: The device also plays movies and music. Also has a built in FM tuner and an eBook reader. The battery is built in and lasts over 5 hours. In case 4GB isn’t enough the device takes SD cards.

This mesmerizing digital sculpture is located at Heathrow Airport Terminal 5. I think it looks super futuristic and its even cooler than the Kinetic sculpture at the BMW Museum. [YouTube]

I’ve posted a ton of times about Animal Friends and how they’re doing a fantastic job rescuing all these animals in Kuwait. The last time I posted about them was when they rescued the bear and it seems with that rescue they’ve gone and restructured and created a new organization. Animal Friends is now a subsidiary of Kuwait Society for the Protection of Animals and Their Habitat or in short, K’S PATH.

Animal Friends have been doing a lot more than they had originally set out to do which was rescuing dogs and cats so they’ve decided to clarify their programs and goals. Animal Friends League of Kuwait will continue as normal, rescuing animals, providing shelter, and making adoptions. All other issues, like farm animals, exotic animals, marine life and more will be handled by K’S PATH.

The video above is their introductory video of their previous activities. They’ve also set up a new website at kspath.org. They are still a non-profit organization that runs on donations so please help them out by clicking [Here]

Beautiful picture from 1964 of a young Indian couple in Kuwait. I wonder if the houses in the back are still standing. [Flickr]

via 2by4.org

Last year I posted about a casting call for the first locally produced musical short film and I just got an email telling me that the project has been completed and the film will be premiering this weekend. Here is the email I got:

Attention all film lovers!

Shashati.TV, in association with Cinemagic Kuwait, are proud to present “The Shashati Show” – Kuwait’s biggest Audio-Visual variety performance!

Hosted by ShowTime’s very own comedy superstar, Wonho Chung, the evening will include the Kuwait premier of the highly anticipated, all-singing, all-dancing musical short film “Wonderful World”.

The show will also include a selection of the latest and greatest shorts from across the region, including Emirates Film Competition Winner “The Beggar and Moustafa’s Brain”, as well as Jordanian Filmmaker Fadi Haddad’s critically acclaimed film “Once upon a Piano”. The show will also feature a selection of the most recent prize-winning Kuwaiti short films presented by the filmmakers themselves.

But that’s not all! Screening for the very first time to a public audience in Kuwait will be ikbis.com’s hilarious “Doublage” comedy skits, as well as some innovative Kuwaiti audio-visual comedy clips & sketches!

Join us for a fun-filled evening full of laughs, tears, and above all films!

The event will take place at 7:30 p.m., on Thursday, June 11th at Cinemagic’s Rooftop Venue in Old Salmiya. Tickets will be available at the location for the price of 2 K.D – but advance booking is advised, as seating is limited. Send an e-mail to [email protected], or call 97996100 to reserve your ticket today!

I know this topic might sound strange but bear with me since I did find something interesting about balsamic vinegar that made it post worthy.

I became a fan of balsamic vinegar last year when I tried one that was aged 30 years at an Italian restaurant in Munich. So today while at Dean & Deluca I thought I would “splurge” 8 or 12 dinars on some decent balsamic vinegar. While checking out the bottles a salesman came over and told me about a 100 year old aged Acetaia Leonardi balsamic vinegar. I thought that was very interesting so he showed me the bottle and told me they produced only 200 of those bottles and 4 (actually 3 since one got sold already) bottles were available in Kuwait. Now I figured the bottle would be expensive but not THIS expensive. Turns out the bottle was “slightly” out of my budget costing KD190! The salesman told me they could order a bottle that was 300 years old at a cost of get this… KD2,500!

Although I wouldn’t pay KD2,500 or KD190 for balsamic vinegar (or any other consumable product (ok maybe for a burger)) I do appreciate having the choice and that’s what I like about Dean & Deluca and the over priced imported stuff at Sultan Center. I would rather have the choice and choose not to than not have the choice at all.

Here is a link to an interesting review of Acetaia Leonardi balsamic vinegars. [Link]

Early last month I posted about a bear that was for sale here in Kuwait. People started calling Animal Friends who launched an extensive investigation aimed at locating the bear and helping the government to seize the animal.

The investigation discovered the bear living in a small cage in Kebd, exposed to the sun, chained by the neck, living on a diet of rice, and only offered water twice per day. After reviewing the evidence presented by K’S PATH, the MOI Police force, along with representatives from the Kuwait Environment Protection Agency and the Kuwait Zoo began the process of confiscating the bear and several other illegal animals being housed at the same location. The bear is now being housed in the Kuwait Zoo, and K’S PATH is attempting to find a suitable sanctuary in the natural range of the Eurasian Brown Bear. [Source]

I think that’s really great news and the group effort that went into this rescue was amazing. Thanks a lot to the MOI Police force, Kuwait Environment Protection Agency, Kuwait Zoo and of course Animal Friends. Animal Friends are a non-profit organization that run on donations so please help them out by clicking [Here]

Found this at Sultan Center, its a copy of the Nintendo Wii called except its called swii. It costs around KD9 ($30) and comes with a wireless controller which looks like the wii controller except with a plastic tennis racket at the end. I think the device also plays only one game which is a tennis game with Super Nintendo like graphics. They had a working model on display so I tried the tennis game and it pretty much sucked as you can imagine.

The new Sony PSP Go looks pretty sweet. [Link]

I’ve seen a lot of accidents on the Gulf Road but I think this morning was the first time in which I saw two cars actually end up on the Gulf Road median. Luckily none of the cars hit a lamppost but I still believe that the Gulf Road would be much safer if they installed collapsible lampposts (Video below).

Although in most places around the world the BlackBerry is used as a business tool in Kuwait its become a social one. With all my friends practically owning one the built in BlackBerry Messenger is a perfect way to stay in contact with all of them through out the day and a much more efficient way to communicate quick messages. Google Latitude is another application that also helps in being more social by showing you where your friends are around the world at that moment. Basically how Latitude works is you need to install the application on your BlackBerry and then sign in using your gmail account and add other friends who also have Latitude installed. You will then be able to see them on the map like in the picture above.

Latitude has many useful uses, I personally use it to find friends nearby like if I am at the Avenues I check and see which one of my friends is there or like last week I was at Kinkos in Salmiya waiting for something to get printed and then I noticed on Latitude Marzouq was just down the street. Latitude also helped a friend get to a BBQ I was at. He didn’t have the address but since I was already at the BBQ he just looked for me on Latitude and then drove towards me.

But the software isn’t perfect, when you’re indoors the GPS usually doesn’t work so the software uses cell towers to estimate where you are. Sometimes for some odd reason Latitude thinks I am in London or a friend is randomly in Belgium or Pakistan. It doesn’t happen frequently but when it does it can be funny or annoying depending on the situation.

Latitude works on the following phones:
– Android-powered devices, such as the T-Mobile G1
– most color BlackBerry devices
– most Windows Mobile 5.0+ devices
– most Symbian S60 devices (Nokia smartphones)

Its free and you can get it from [Here]

I don’t know how many of you remember Mogahwi or even know what it is so I figured I would post about them. Mogahwi I believe is one of the best if not the best stationary and art supply store in Kuwait. They’ve been around in Kuwait since 1940 but the Salmiya branch which I’ve been visiting since I was a kid I think has been around for 30 years but not really sure. The place hasn’t changed much since they first opened, I think they still even use the same bags. They’ve got everything there from the regular stuff like pens and papers to the more interesting stuff located in the basement which is the art supplies. I’ve taken a few shots of the place which you can see below. I don’t think they get as many customers as they used to back in the 80s and 90s so I hope they don’t close down. They’re located in the old Salmiya near Alghanim Electronics.

I went jet skiing today and took my new cheap ass water proof camera (pictured above) to try out. The result? Astonishing! Because the camera is so cheap and poorly built I think while winding the film or rewinding, the internal plastics rubbed against the film scratching it. The end result were photos that look like they were taken decades old! The heavy vignetting (the darkening near the corners) also came out pretty cool. Overall I love the effect and it came as a complete surprise.

I just had my endoscopy procedure. My appointment was at 7PM at the International Clinic. At 7:20 I finally go in and got prepared for the procedure. By 7:45PM the doctor was still not there and I had been waiting on the bed with a needle in my arm and I was getting fed up. I told the nurse if in 5 minutes the doctor doesn’t come remove the needle and other stuff connected to me cuz I wanted to leave. Its not like its an exciting procedure that I really want to get done and I can go do it anywhere else. Finally doctor came in and I don’t remember much after that. I ended up going to sleep and waking up a short while later with Nataly and a friend next to me. I was told the procedure didn’t work because the salad I had for lunch was blocking the way. Now I have to go back tomorrow and do the procedure again.

Now I tweeted the whole process with pictures on my twitter account. I only couldn’t tweet after I fell asleep but the before and after is all there for your viewing pleasure. Check it out on https://www.twitter.com/mark248am

It seems my eating habits have caught up to me because it turns out I’ve been diagnosed with acid reflux. What this basically means is I have to change my eating habits and the biggest change will be no fatty or fried foods which currently makes the big chunk of my diet.

This doesn’t mean I won’t have burgers anymore, it just means I need to cut down on my daily intake of junk food. Now thing is I don’t like a lot of dishes and the dishes I do like aren’t usually healthy and I am sure many of you will relate to that. But, I’ve decided to try my best and work on a new healthier lifestyle and with that I am going to start looking for alternatives that hopefully won’t be breaking my bank. Kei for lunch is healthy but if I am going to have it everyday its going to be one expensive lifestyle.

As a start to this new lifestyle I passed by Salad Creations for lunch. I passed by before and had a chicken wrap but I didn’t like it simply because I find cold chicken gross. Today I had the Turkey BLT wrap and combined with the thousand island dressing it wasn’t that bad. I still would prefer a quarter pounder with cheese over it but that wasn’t really an option. Salad Creations has a bunch of ready to order salads and wraps but you can also create your own. They are located in Baitak Tower which is in the same building as KFH and X-Cite Electronics in Kuwait City.

From now on every time I find a new tasty healthier alternative to my regular junk food lunches and dinners I will post about it here in hopes that other people will benefit from my post. I like flavor and sauces and I am not trying to lose any weight here but just trying not to have the common fast food meals. Recommendations for me to try out are welcomed of course!