Coventry city centre and other updates

It has been a week since I last posted something on this blog. Makes it among the longest. So here's an update. We went to Coventry city centre thrice last week. The weather wasn't that good but we decided the kids needed some exposure and they were getting pretty restless at home during the Easter break.

The first time we went was on a Monday. We took the bus and I guess it was quite an experience for the kids as it was their first time going to the city centre using public transport. We took a family ticket (£6) but later discovered that the kids could go for free and we only had to pay our own (£2.60 each for a day saver).

It was a bank holiday and most of the shops were closed by the time we got to the city centre. It was kind of weird walking through the city with hardly anyone around - that's Coventry for you.





Got to see some parts in the city centre that I have never been to before even though we have been here for more than a year.

We went again by bus again the next day to eat lunch at this Chinese restaurant we had heard about called My China at Priory Place. We were quite surprised to find that we were the only customers - probably due to the fact it was around 2 pm. So we had the restaurant all to ourselves. We later learned that the owner is from Malaysia. The food was great. We would definitely be going there again.

The day after that we went to the city centre - again. This time we drove there and parked at the West Orchard Shopping Centre. After a bit of shopping we went to grab a bite at Nando's. You may not believe it but I have never visited a Nondo's anywhere - not even in Malaysia. It was not quite what I expected. I had imagined it to be just link any another fast food outlet - something like KFC and was not really enthusiastic

Glad to say that I was proven wrong. They have great music - Reggae, Portuguese and a few other languages I couldn't identify. They are child friendly and unlike other fast food outlets, they have a good choice of VEGETARIAN food. The chicken served at Nando's here are Halal. My kids loved their bottomless yogurt icecream and they probably ate a little more than they should have.

Had some friends over yesterday for freshly brewed coffee and pudding. Then later went for a birthday party in the evening to our friend Lisa and Zur's house.

Today had lunch at our friend Nana and Mozard's house. Great food again.

Writing all this has made me hungry and I think I will go and grab myself some supper.

Weeds or useful plants

Woke up this morning to find the backyard covered by a layer of snow. I know it's crazy. It almost the end of March. It is supposed to be Spring - warm weather, flowers and greenery everywhere.

Anyway, noticed that a lot of weeds had come up in the garden. Among the most prominent are the 'Dandelions', with their bright yellow petals. As I was digging them out, I recalled reading about their medicinal properties in a book. Apparently the leaves can be eaten as well. However, I won't be trying that out any time soon.



Here is what Wikipedia has to say about their uses. Reading about their various medicinal properties makes me wonder whether they can still be termed as "weeds".

Has anyone tried eating Dandelion leaves?

This is my Green Thumb Sunday post for this week.
Join

Gardeners, Plant and Nature lovers can join in every Sunday, visit As the Garden Grows for more information.

I am Adam

Talented artist Emila Yusof created this stylised graphic of my name just for commenting on her blog.



What do you think?

TalkTalk the worst broadband provider in the UK

It's been nearly 3 months since got reconnected to the Internet via internet service provider, TalkTalk after my AOL broadband connect got cut off without any warning.

I was quite happy initially until I realised that our connections speeds were really slow. I complained a few times but the TalkTalk customer service people kept making excuses.

Really regret signing up with this broadband service provider (or should I say Narrowband service provider). I ignored the warning signals - low ratings on various consumer forums, delay in sending me the broadband router, etc. A guy who came to fix our gas even told me "they are crap mate".

I ignored all of them because I was blinded by their amazing offer of "Free Broadband with our Talk2 International Call Plan". Should have remembered the old saying "pay peanuts and you get monkeys".

Really ashamed that I promoted this "free broadband" thing to a few other friends as well as I thought it was a wonderful deal in the beginning. I just hope that they didn't sign up. And I simply don't want to ask lest they blame me.

Just proves my earlier observation that a lot of companies here in the UK are really bad when it comes to customer retention even though they are really good in attracting first time users.

Here are the results of two different broadband speed tests I carried out a few minutes ago:

1.
- Speedtest.net


2.
- Broadbandspeedchecker.co.uk

A little difference there but the fact remains that our broadband speed is not even half of the promised "Up to 8 Meg download speeds".

Really annoyed that I am stuck on a 18 months contract. Wonder whether there is any way I can move to another service provider without getting penalised in any way?

Update 8 Oct 2008 : They have improved their service. Read "Faster broadband speed"

Nicos Nicolaou - toy vending in Cyprus

Entrepreneurs have always fascinated me and I am intrigued with the reasons and factors that made them become "the big Boss" rather than work under other people. What is it that makes them tick?

This is the first of my "Entrepreneur Series" where I will interview entrepreneurs from different countries around the World. My interviews are quite short but they should give us a glimpse at the lives of these entrepreneurs.

Nicos Nicolaou is involved in the toy vending business (amongst other ventures) in Cyprus. Read on ...

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Q1. Can you tell us a bit about your personal background? Where you grew up and live now, education, jobs, etc.

A: I was born in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe (Africa) and stayed in Bulawayo with my family until the age of 7. However, due to political problems in the country we had to move to Maun, Botswana (Africa). We later moved permanently to Pafos, Cyprus where I presently reside.

I went to an English speaking high school where I studied for 6 O'levels and 1 A'level. Afterwards, I went to college in the capital of Cyprus (Nicosia) where I successfully obtained my Bachelors degree in Hospitality management (in collaboration with Bournemouth University, UK). This is also where I met my wife. From 1998 to 1999, we both studied for our Masters degrees at the University of Warwick (MA in Organisation studies). I later obtained my MBA from the University of Cardiff, Wales in 2000, After graduation, I returned to Cyprus and got a job as a lecturer in a local college.

I later decided to open up my own small business of collectable capsule toys through special vending machines located in playgrounds, luna parks, cinemas and restaurants and started my business in May 2007.

Q2. Why did you decide to open your own business?

Since I was a kid, I liked to use my initiative to create things. For example, I liked to build toy cars or helicopters. I would save up money in order to buy things I really liked. So I guess I was always business oriented.

I decided to open up a toy vending machine business because I felt that there was a great opportunity for success. I believed I had the unique selling proposition of selling "collectable toys". This includes different toy figures (including action figures like Spiderman, Batman, etc). Also, I liked the fact that this business does not take up a lot of time and leaves me free to carry out other ventures. I have to drive around Cyprus only twice a month to refill the machines with toys as well as count the monthly earnings.

Q3. Can you tell us a bit about your company and your future plans?

My company's name is NSN Intelligence. NSN stands for Nicos Spyrou Nicolaou (my initials). The word intelligence was used in order to emphasize the element of "knowledge" behind the company. I am a person who strongly believes in the concept of know-how and how you can use it to maximize your potential. My other business ventures include real estate, educational and gardening services. For more information do visit my website: www.nsnintelligence.com.

My future goals are to futher expand my business by placing more vending machines in ideal locations and also to differentiate by moving into the kiddie ride business. My vision is to see the company grow and develop financially in order to build a company where my children can take over when I retire.
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Thanks a lot for your time Nicos.

Malaysian election results - my comments

Quite a number of people have asked me why I haven't blogged about the recently concluded general elections in Malaysia. This may not be entirely true as I did blog about Jeff Ooi getting elected. Even though I blog about issues I am not happy with from time to time, I prefer to keep politics out of my blog.

That is also the reason I am among the few Malaysian bloggers who you will not see jumping around with joy with the recent results. As I mentioned before, I am really interested to see how it will all work out.

Will the DAP and PAS, two parties with almost totally opposite agendas, get along within the opposition coalition?

How will UMNO and other BN component parties respond to this?

What role is Anwar Ibrahim going to play in this whole drama?

I would definitely like to see the opposition parties fulfilling the promises they made - namely that of eliminating corruption, nepotism and cronysm in the states they control. They have to. Everyone is looking up to them now.

However, I am not sure they can actually do anything about the inflation and rising prices of goods, one of the reasons why a number of people voted for the opposition. This is a Worldwide phenomenon and people here in the UK are complaining about it as well. The already high fuel prices are set to increase even further.

So, I am adopting the "wait and see" policy.

Lets join the Earth Hour Movement

Just wanted to inform my readers about the Earth Hour movement. Join me and millions of other people around the World who will turn off their lights for an hour from 8 to 9 p.m. on March 29.

The movement was initated by WWF to highlight the need for action on global warming.