Boxing day at the Bullring

Haven't gone out in a while and feeling bored, we decided to drive down to Birmingham. We bundled the kids and drove to the Bullring. Located in Birmingham city centre, it has over 160 shops and more than 25 restaurants.


There are 3,100 car parking spaces at the Bullring (900 in Indoor Market car park, 1,000 in Bullring car park and 1,200 in Moor Street car park) but every single space was taken. Had to go round the place a couple of times before we finally got a parking at the Moor Street car park. The building looks like some kind of alien spaceship.

There were a lot of discounts on branded stuff and as expected, the place was packed with people. I had wanted to look for a new pair of jeans but it was so crowded, I gave up. We had coffee at Starbucks (first time since we arrived here in the UK) and watched people go by. Our friend Amrul was there too (all the way from Nottingham) with his friends.

After spending a few hours in the Bullring, we set on our journey back to Coventry. I would have loved to further explore the place but the crowds were getting to us and you had to remember we had kids.

I don't know why but after we got back home, I had a severe headache and a mild fever (probably caused by my sore throat). A paracetamol tablet and a few hours sleep and I am on my feet again ...... and blogging.

Tags: Birmingham Bullring Shopping

Photography contest

If you love taking photographs as much I do, and fancy yourself as something of a good photographer, I think you might find this piece of news interesting.

PhotographyCorner.com is organising the 2006 Photograph of the Year Contest. With over $14,000 in prizes available to win, anyone who has a camera can join in. Check out the prizes here.

The first prize has an estimated value of $3,639.95. This includes $250 cash, a copy of ImageAlign Pro (including a CD copy) courtesy of ImageAlign (Value: $159) and loads of other stuff.

In case you didn’t know, ImageAlign PRO is the flagship product of Grasshopper (Lead sponsor of the contest). It uses breakthrough technology to correct lens and barrel distortion and covers any natural perspective distortions or special effects distortion, using an intuitive user interface.

View the other sponsors of the contest.

However, before Submitting a Photograph, make sure you read the rules. For example, before you can send in your entry for the competition, You must be a member, in good standing and with at least 5 posts, of the PhotographyCorner.com Forums.

I have never entered a photograph competition. I have to say, I am really tempted to join this one.

The contest began on the 19th of December 2006 and runs until the end of January, 2007. View the Timeline of the contest for more info.

Hurry! The last date for entries is midnight, GMT on Friday, January 12th, 2007.
*Sponsored post*

Tags: Contest Photography photographycorner

Miss Roti Chanai

Sourced from LensaMalaysia.

This morning, we were about to have breakfast and I asked my wife what she wanted. 'Roti Chanai', she replied.

"I love roti chanai," my daughter added.

It used to be on my regular breakfast menu along with a nice glass of 'teh tarik'. Now I don't remember the last time I had one and just thinking about it makes my mouth water.

It seems like we are all having a craving for roti chanai on Christmas day.

Now, where can I get roti chanai in Coventry?

For those who don't know, check out the Wikipedia page.

Tags: Roti chanai

PPP Ich liebe dich

There are a number of reasons I love payperpost (hereafter lovingly referred to as ppp). So given below are some of the reasons...

It is where I see blog marketing in action.
The first time I ever earned money directly from my blog posts was only after I joined ppp. I have been blogging for a long time (more than 3 years now) and never saw a dime come out of it before this. Now everybody can "get paid to blog about the things you love".
If I am not mistaken, they are also the people handing out the big monies. See "Big green" on the dashboard.

Why don't you try it out too (If you haven't)?

This is a sponsored post.

Merry Christmas

I wish all visitors to the ahoklah blog...






Happy Holidays.

Internet marketing firm

Just a few days back I wrote a post on marketing my blog. However, if you own a business and want to market it online, you may have to take more serious steps. You may very well consider hiring a firm specialised in Internet marketing.

Well, I recently came across this Internet marketing firm. USWeb was originally founded in 1995 and is a leading strategic Internet services firm based in the US. It is known for being one of the most experienced, qualified and professional Internet consultants in the world and partners with a diverse and prominent portfolio of clients, from medium-size organizations to Fortune 100 corporations.

As their web site notes, USWeb is not an 'Ordinary Online Marketing Firm'. They offer a multitude of services, which includes designing, developing, and implementing custom web systems and integrated online marketing solutions that focus on brand awareness, audience development and customer retention.

According to a web release on the site, research has confirmed that 70-80% of prospective web customers use search engines or search directories to find relevant content, search engine marketing is the most widely used method of attracting visitors to a website. It’s no wonder that competition to get into the top search results is extremely fierce. USWeb says they can help clients by to target the Internet's major search engines, by using search engine optimisation techniques, ‘PPC Bid Management’, and ‘Trusted Feed services’. I would love to learn more.

Tags: Marketing Search engines USWeb

Visit the PPP blog

Sometime back, I had written a post titled 'Rise of company blogs' and now, most companies have an official blog. These blog play the same function as "Press release" in traditional websites but even better as they are interactive, with customers being able to leave their comments and feedback (aren't they the same, I wonder).

In case you didn't know, Payperpost also has a blog. This is where you can get all their latest news, updates and videos.

On Friday they announced the winners of two of their competitions. First of all, the $1,000 RockStartup Puzzle contest here. It was won by none other than Colleen, the all time biggest earner at Payperpost. They also announced the first winner of the HP Digital Camera (read my post here). She's a Anna-Maria Vu of New York. Lucky girl.

I am hoping for a least one of the photo printers but hope went down when someone pointed out that post was not that creative. Anyway, this is just another sponsored post.

Tags: Blog Digital camera HP Payperpost Photo printer