NovaScene

Happy New Year 2008!

Administrator — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 02:48:42 +0000

2008 looks like it’s going to be a very exciting year indeed for new media. Amazon is going from strength to strength as a DRM-free music store. Apple could possibly be launching movie rentals through the iTunes Store. The Writer’s Guild strike continues — what will happen to your favourite TV shows?

Have a good new year … celebrate responsibly!

Happy Deepavali

Administrator — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 22:58:28 +0000

To all Novascene readers of the Hindu faith all over the world, I would like to wish you a safe and peaceful Diwali. Diwali, or Deepavali, is the Hindu festival of lights. Today is a public holiday in Malaysia, enjoy the break!

Diwali, Deepavali

Withdrawing Paypal to AlRajhi Bank

Administrator — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 23:53:01 +0000

Short story. On Eid Mubarak eve, I left office early (thanks, boss!) and went to see my wife whose art centre was still running. While waiting for her students to finish up, I did some browsing and ended up at 5xmom. 5xmom was writing about her experience in opening up an account with AlRajhi, a new bank.

What’s interesting about AlRajhi is their ATM card is also a Visa Debit card. And guess who just allowed withdrawal of funds into Visa? Paypal, of course. Since there was a newly-opened AlRajhi bank just around the corner from my wife’s place, I walked over and opened a savings account. Being a public holiday eve, I was only one of 2 customers. The entire process was painless and quick. I was out of the bank in about 10 minutes.

I waited a few days before doing any Paypal withdrawal, allowing for some funds to accumulate. In the meantime, I used the AlRajhi debit card a couple of times to buy petrol (gas, to Americans). Remember to preset your desired amount at the petrol kiosk before using your debit card. Otherwise, they will deduct RM150 from your account, and return it back only a couple of days later, minus the actual money you spent.

I withdrew US$45 from my Paypal to the AlRajhi card on the 19th October. Paypal deducted $5 , so the amount that transferred was US$40.

I only managed to get the Web PIN last night from an AlRajhi ATM. Unlike other banks, they print a random PIN for you instead of asking you for a temporary PIN. I find that this is a much better solution so you don’t have to remember so many PINs.

Registering for the AlRajhi online service was super-painless. Just enter your customer number and the Web PIN. You can then choose your username and password. I find that the AlRajhi website is quite sluggish on Firefox and Safari.

Anyway, once I checked my online usage statement, I saw that on the 25th, my account was credited with RM132 from Paypal! This was a nice surprise.

Overall, I have had a good experience with AlRajhi. I actually have an ETRADE card, but the annual fees on that is quite hefty (US$140 a year if you don’t do any trading) so I’m thinking of cancelling that before the free 1st year is over.

Talk about romance

Administrator — Sat, 29 Sep 2007 08:19:43 +0000

I am not the world’s most romantic person. If you don’t believe me, just ask my wife It’s a well known fact that the romance factor drops a bit (or a lot, in some cases) after marriage.

There are many things that I no longer do for her. For example it’s been a while since I’ve read a love poem to my wife; and she reminds me of this often. It’s got nothing to do with love, of course. I make it a point to tell my wife I love her, every day.

Whenever we can, we would go out together for a dinner and a movie, just like old times. We still hold hands when we walk together. It’s difficult to do it often, though, now that we have 3 kids and one cat!

* This is a sponsored post. *

Website Review : Park West At Sea

Administrator — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 10:12:58 +0000

How far would you go for art? Would you go to the ends of the world, or cross an entire ocean? Park West at Sea is an interesting service from Plymouth Auctioneering. They run auctions on art pieces on board luxury cruise ships.

They are currently on the lookout for Associate Art Auctioneers. How does spending 9 months a year on a luxury cruise ship sound to you? You get to travel the world, meet new people, learn a new skill, and get paid for it, too! If you have an interest in art, can communicate well, and are up to the challenge, you may just be the sort of person they are looking for.

* This is a sponsored post *