Champions Of The European Champions League Final - M. United

I'm standing on top of the world right now as my all time favorite team, Premier League Champions (for a second straight year) - Manchester United have triumphed yet again for the third time, as (Europe's elite club competition) European Champions League winners! Manchester United had their previous winnings back in 1968 and 1999 respectively.

At the end of their ninety minute play at Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium, Chelsea and Manchester United were still tied 1-1, in the first ever all-English final of soccer's Champions League history.

Manchester United striked first through Cristiano Ronaldo in the 26th minute of the first half, bringing his goal tally to 42 goals in the season. Chelsea equalized this right before the stroke of half time (45th minute) through their midfielder Frank Lampard.

This eventually brought this years European Champions League finals well into extra time play after having a goalless second half. Players from both sides were noted to be extremely lethargic as extra time progressed, and Chelsea well deserving of a win, missing a couple of good goal scoring opportunities. Unfortunately, tempers were running high as both teams were eager to find the winning goal in the match at this point, causing Drogba and Tevez to end up with a slight scuffle which saw Drogba being shown the Red Card in the final moments of the ninety minute schedule.

Now, the Champions League finals in Moscow would be decided through penalties between the two English sides. After seeing a suspense filled penalty shootout, where Cristiano Ronaldo took United's third penalty kick and missed finding the net, and for that moment, I thought that Chelsea had their greatest chance of capturing their first ever Champions League title, but luck was not on their side in the Luzhniki Stadium, as John Terry hit the post wide. Manchester United's keeper Edwin van der Sar became the hero of the match when he dived to bat away Nicolas Anelka's drive and sealed United's Champions League title for the third time in many years.

Final results - The rain-soaked penalty shootout saw Manchester United beat Chelsea 6-5 to win the European Champions League title in Moscow on May 22nd, 2008.

United will surely be celebrating this victory for a long time to come as its yet another prestigious trophy in their hands for this year alone, and not to mention the £85m in prize-money and commercial spin-offs that would follow-suit.

Today's Champions League final between Manchester United and Chelsea (which sadly hasn't won a trophy this season) will surely go down in books as being the richest match in the history of football.

Do You Believe In Luck Transfer - Part II

So let's begin from where we left off from part I - "I'm going to share with you an unusual story that was related by a friend of mine, who knew an acupuncturist who lived in a remote village. It's a story about an old man who goes to see this acupuncturist, well known for his vast knowledge of the human body."

This acupuncturist was also a good conversationist, engaging his patients in chatter to distract them from the many needles poking their body.

The old man, who was his patient, meanwhile, answered his questions like a dreamer in a hazy, semi-conscious state. The acupuncturist was in complete control of the entire conversation. Towards the end of the treatment, the acupuncturist declared that because of an act by the old man's father long ago, his family was now suffering a spell of bad luck.

The old man was at once surprised, because his father had actually done what the acupuncturist described - and in so doing, had sealed the fate of his descendants.

The old man's father, who had owned a fleet of lorries, had in the past, ordered his workers to remove a boulder from an abandoned quarry which faced his home. The father ordered that the rock be placed beside a large pillar at the main entrance to his home. By doing this, he hoped to force the lorry-drivers to slow down their vehicles when they entered the compound of his home. In that way, he thought, he would be minimising the danger of a careless or impatient driver damaging his house.

Not long after carrying out this seemingly trivial deed, the old man's father passed away peacefully in his sleep. However, the cause of the death, whether due to his old age or illness, could not be determined.

Now the responsibility of running the entire business fell into the hands of his sons but, somehow, things didn't go as what they had planned. Their business began to suffer and the company's debts escalated.

The son's tried to look for solutions for their many problems but eventually, the majority decided to throw in the towel and winding up the company was their only way out.

The now abandoned quarry across the road, was later reopened when another firm took over its operations under a new management team.

Surprisingly, the business picked up, after a short time for the new firm, and buyers for their rocks seemed to appear out of nowhere. The now-booming business, made the new owner a millionaire not long after that.

In conclusion to this story, we feel that the old man should have left the quarry alone. By him moving the rock to the front of his house, he had brought about a surge of negative energy from that vicinity into his own house. But in reverse, the removal of the rock brought about good fortune to the new quarry owner.

There are so many rags-to-riches stories out there for us to learn from. One such story - Where a poor man who makes good refuses to throw away or let-go with certain of his items, which he had been using for a long time or which had been of some use to him during his lean periods.

We even hear stories of self-made millionaires who hold on to their old cars jealously, although they now even own expensive new cars in their huge garages, simply because all these so-called old cars were at one time their only means of transport.

Of course, it could very well be for some sentimental reason as well, but, then again, many of them believe that the old "junks" may have brought them some good luck and success, thus will not part with them at any given price - for it would mean giving away their precious believe, they all call ... Luck!

So now, "Do you believe in luck transfer?"

Do You Believe In Luck Transfer - Part I

My million dollar question for the weekend - "Can luck be transferred from one object to another?" Scientifically though, it may sound totally absurd and completely illogical. It is no doubt a difficult subject for an individual to grasp and while there is some truth to it, it is often stranger than fiction to many.

But before we dwell further into this, could there be such a thing called Luck? Because I'm pretty sure there are still many who would like to say that there is no such thing as luck.

Strangely though, when you ask many of today's successful people about this subject, in turn they would make it very clear to you that they personally never really expected to achieve the level of success that they have achieved right now. So, in reality, what that goes to say is that it wasn't all due to their big picture intention-filled plan after all.

Take these examples for instance;

• Bill Gates did, at one time, admit that his biggest part of his initial success was due to luck.
  

• In an interview not too long ago, Donald Trump admitted to believing in the thing called luck.
  

• America's first black woman billionaire, Oprah Winfrey, had said that she once figured that if she could make a million dollars in her entire life, she would then consider herself a huge success.

• Keith Richards from the band - Rolling Stones, said that when they first started out, their ultimate ambition was to be the biggest band in ... London!
  

From all these examples available out there in the world, it becomes clear to us that sometimes the most extraordinary successes known overtakes the very individuals experiencing them.

Now back to our initial question at hand. I'm going to share with you an unusual story that was related by a friend of mine, who knew an acupuncturist who lived in a remote village. It's a story about an old man who goes to see this acupuncturist, well known for his vast knowledge of the human body.

So, do remember to check back tomorrow for "Do you Believe in Luck Transfer -Part II"

Farewell Amma

To be honest, this post ... would be the most hardest to complete, and might even be the most longest in my entire life. For it comes straight from my heart ... for someone very special, and she meant the whole world to me ... my dearest Amma (mother).

It has taken me a while to think over these last couple of months that has come to pass, with the recent loss of my Amma to cancer.

She was indeed the most loving mother any child could ask for - compassionate, sincere, kind hearted, forgiving, etc. Singled handedly my mom, Shirley, as all her close friends and acquaintances called her, brought up six children with pride and dignity. Never once, have I heard her complain or belittle her children to her friends. To her, we were her pride and joy ... children who would one day appreciate her for who we are today.

It was just about a year ago that I dedicated a post to honor my dearest mom on this very special day we all celebrate as "Mother's Day". Reading it once again, breaks me down to the point I wonder : "Did I do everything right, did I make her proud?"

I ask this same question over and over again, how long will this ripped out part of my heart last? I reckon, only God will have the actual answer to that. I've lost my Amma. She was cremated some two weeks ago, but I still can't get over of the fact of losing her, and cry every night silently in my room. I think about her all the time. In this life, she is gone, she is no more. I will never hear her voice again, or ever see her smile.

What I've learnt from this situation is that when a loved one dies, we experience various stages of grief. Basically there are four key stages : Shock, Denial/Anger, Sadness/Depression, and Acceptance. And trust me, there is no pre-set time limit on how long it might take a person to move through this stages, and the stages can recycle over and over again, throughout one's living life.

I found that spending every chance my family and I get to be with my dad (if there's an award for the most understanding and loving husband/father, my dad, will surely top that list, anytime!) over the weekends is important during this trying times. Friends tell me : "Nihal, you need time to adjust to a life without your mother, and this takes time. Allow yourself the time to experience the pain of losing your mom, and after awhile, you should be able to return to the things you enjoy doing." But believe you me, this is so damn hard to practice in real life.

I have learned a lot about the grieving process and have come to realize that eventually I will never get over the loss of my mom. I do not feel I will ever truly accept her loss, but have learned to acknowledge the loss of my Amma, and will try to move on with my life, and will make sure of keeping her a very part of it all.

I used to think that Mother's Day was just another simple holiday? The day where all the children were especially nice to one another so that our Mom could enjoy some "peace and quiet," and it's definitely a commodity which is in short supply in most of our mothers' lives nowadays. But I know that we treated our Mom as a "Queen for the Day" in those less-harried times.

Children — even when we've become adults — we need a way to express our love for our Mom. It was easy back then, when we were young and could easily fashion a statement out of some paper and glue. But sadly to some, It gets harder when their lives become filled with new duties and obligations. Being the youngest in the family like me, we're showered with all the examples and reasoning's the eldest always give. When we grow up, we need to find a new way to say "I love you", once you do this ... it is everlasting! Believe me ... I saw this in my Mom's face, every time I told her this.

Maybe it's just me, but Mother's Day will never be the same again. To me, this has to be THE day, if you're too busy chasing your financial freedom that other 364 days, a child needs to reflect on the sacrifices a Mom had put in raising them up, never once ever complaining, making sure there's food always on the table, and ultimately cherishing sweet memories and for that one day in your life ... if you could ... just say out loud, and raise your arm and give her that big warm hug that a Mom truly deserves, and you tell her with all your heart ... "Mom, I love you so much, you're the greatest. You have brought me up well!" This will surely send them a message that "I still remember all you did for me."

What I will miss though from my Mom's absence is : Her frequent calls to me, her regular stays at my house, her visiting my daughter at the hospital (take note, this is a lady who practically can't see anything beyond five feet away from her very clearly, and yet she's there after catching a cab, at the hospital ward, showing her support for her youngest grand-daughter), her charitable deeds (all her grand-children calls her 'Mother Mary' for this), her positive attitude towards life, and her missing the sight of seeing my daughter walk on her own, but mostly, ... I will miss her smile, her touch and seeing her enjoying her holidays, more so when she's always around her daughter, my only sister (she is indeed another Angel sent from heaven above).

Amma, thank you for who I am

Thank you for all the things I'm not



Forgive me for the words unsaid along the way
And for the times I forgot

Amma, remember all my life
You have showed me love, You sacrificed
How I've changed along the way

And I know you believed
And I know you had dreams
And I'm sorry it took all this time for me to see
That I am where I am, because of your truth
I miss you

Amma, forgive me for the times you've cried

Amma, forgive me for not making right
All of the storms I may have caused you
And I've been wrong

Amma, I hope this makes you smile
I hope you're happy with my life
At peace with every choice I've made
And I know you've believed in all of my dreams
And I owe it all to you ... Amma

And I will forever be your son (in this life and the next) ... this I promise!

Ideas For Kitchen Cabinets

How does one get the best ideas in creating their dream kitchen cabinet or countertop?

Most designers will tell you, you can never look at too many photos of kitchen cabinets and countertops. Create a file of features you like; it's OK to make judgments based on appearance in this case. Select colors, styles, details, and configurations you love. Then, think about function. Imagine you're preparing a holiday dinner : What storage systems would make it easy for you to find your baster, roasting pan, and muffin tins? Picture your dinner guests perched on stools at your island bar : what type of countertop would be the most comfortable under their elbows - and the easiest to clean once they've gone home?

Of all the products you'll consider for your new kitchen or bath, cabinetry offers you the greatest chance to customize. You'll be amazed by your options : raised-panel doors for traditional settings; slab (unadorned) doors for a sleek, streamlined approach; glossy lacquered finishes that convey a contemporary European look. Choose from woods as familiar as maple, oak, and cherry or as exotic as wenge and anigre.

Discover a seemingly limitless array of colors created by stain, paint, and glaze. Add decorative hardware, glass inserts (available in a variety of textures and patterns), and embellishments such as corbels and legs. And remember, you'll want to outfit cabinet interiors with storage systems suited to your stuff and style.

New cabinets are an investment you probably will live with for some time. They will likely also require the largest portion of your budget - often as much as half - for kitchen products. Your first step when shopping for cabinetry is to weigh your budget against your desire for customization. Door styles, wood species, and storage options combine to create a one-of-a-kind kitchen, but also ramp up the cost. A professional designer can help you make choices that balance your budget with your vision of your future kitchen.

Here's some buying tips when shopping for cabinetry :

• Collect pictures of kitchens that appeal to you to establish the overall flavor you're interested in before you start comparing specific products. Such a portfolio is an ideal starting point for working with a designer, who will ask questions about the pictures and plan a design based on your answers.

• Study cabinets at home centers and showrooms. With displays that often mimic full-size kitchens, you can compare finishes, get a feel for what it's like to bend and reach when opening doors and drawers, and investigate the many accessories that boost storage and convenience.
  

• If you're interested in glass-front cabinets, first decide what you'll store in them. Clear glass is best when you wish to put items such as a dinnerware collection on display and you want visual "open space". Ribbed and other types of patterned glass add a textural element. You'll still see what's behind these glass doors, but the effect is somewhat abstract. Frosted-glass doors are the best choice when you want to break up the monotony of wood doors while obscuring contents.

Shopping for cabinetry and countertops will likely be the most daunting - and priciest - aspect of creating your new space. But if you see things my way, you'll no doubt discover that it's also the most rewarding. Let the matchmaking begin!

History of Wharfedale

One of my greatest passions in life is to find time to sit down in my room, with a warm cup of coffee in my hand, and listening to a CD from my favorite all-time 80's band; a-ha. And thanks to a great pair of Wharfedale loudspeakers, these guys seem to be performing "live concerts in my room" on a daily basis, if you know what I mean. These loudspeakers communicate not just the music as it was recorded, but also the very essence of the performance! This inspired me to finally sit down and write a post on the History of Wharfedale.

Wharfedale was in fact founded in 1932, by Gilbert Briggs who built his first loudspeakers in the cellar of his home in Ilkley in Yorkshire, England. This quiet market town was located in the valley of the river 'Wharfe', hence 'Wharfedale', the unlikely setting for the birth of a brand that was to become synonymous with quality and technology wherever hi-fi was used throughout the world.

In 1933, a small factory was established in nearby Bradford in order to build the increasingly popular loudspeaker drive units. In the same year the Wharfedale Wireless Works won both first and second prizes in a national competition organized by the Bradford Radio Society. These were but the first of many awards that the company has since received. From this time, Wharfedale went from strength to strength, and, following a move to a larger factory, production reached 9,000 speakers in the year 1939.

During the war years the company concentrated on the production of transformers for military equipment, but in 1945 a new factory was found and loudspeaker production restarted with a staff of over 20. Production levels grew dramatically with loudspeakers being shipped across the world and in 1956 Wharfedale formed its own subsidiary company in the USA and the following year opened a massive new automated cabinet factory in Bradford.

Gilbert has built quite a reputation for himself for pioneering a hifi industry. His popularity extends to the books he has written which led him to stage an audacious series of concerts to compare live vs. recorded music. These concert demonstrations became very famous, using Wharfedale loudspeakers with either Quad or Leak electronics. It also led to the very close working relationship between Gilbert and Peter Walker of Quad that led to the next major development for Wharfedale.

In 1958 Gilbert Briggs, by then over 68 years old, sold the company to the Rank Organization; a major UK industrial group which also owned the audio electronics company Leak and also Heco; a German loudspeaker company. Rank made major investments in R&D and in marketing and distribution. Wharfedale continued to lead the loudspeaker world in technological developments with the introduction in 1960 of roll-surround suspensions and in 1961 the first use of ceramic magnets.

By 1988 Wharfedale Loudspeakers plc was listed on the London Stock Exchange and in 1992 the company changed its name to the Verity Group plc and purchased a number of other companies including Mission; Cyrus; Quad (all British hi-fi companies) and Premier Musical Instruments. The then managing director of Wharfedale led a management buyout and formed a new company; the International Audio Group which incorporated Wharfedale loudspeakers; Quad audio electronics; Leak high-end audio electronics and Airedale loudspeakers.

As for the man who started it all, Gilbert Briggs died in 1978 but his legacy and enthusiasm lives on in his products. Today Wharfedale is a truly international company with its Marketing and Design departments headquarters in Huntingdon, England.

So the next time you have a look at a Wharfedale loudspeaker, remember, you're getting a product which has a 75 year experience, one of the most advanced research and development programmes, and high quality control processes in the industry.

Build Superior Landing Pages

Imagine running a huge online marketing campaign for your site, complete with all the blog buzz, advertisements and search engine placements. You're expecting tons of traffic to hit your site, you think the job's done, well sadly, not quite. One very important factor many fail to spend time working on - Build superior landing pages. Definitely a very important tool when it comes down to any marketing campaign, if you ask me.

Landing Pages are basically the web page where the visitor reaches, after clicking on a link or promotional ad. Its a page where detailed information about a specific product or service that was mentioned in that link is displayed. At the end of the day, no amount of hardwork put into your marketing campaign will be worth much if there's no conversion! So, create that superior landing page and you're on your way to a very successful site.

Imagine this, your site now gets around 10,000 page views a month and you think, wow, that's a lot of traffic. But remember, that does not promise success, because you could lose all that traffic in matter of weeks if you don't have an equal balance of conversion ratio at your landing page. What do we mean by conversion - Once these visitors reach your landing page, naturally you need them to do something or rather, (like maybe, buy your product, subscribing to your weekly newsletter etc). Once the visitors carry out the desired action similar to this, you've then had, what we call, a conversion. And this ladies and gentlemen, is the sole purpose of having a good landing page. Learning how to optimize the page, is another trick in itself.

Before you begin developing your landing page, consider its real purpose. What do you hope your visitors would do when they reach there? Here are 11 pointers which should help you improve your landing pages :

1. Consider it's main purpose.
   
2. What is your goal? Do you want to sell a product, help people learn about a particular service, do want them to provide you feedback?
3. Content is a vital part of a landing page. Know what to include in, and what not to.
4. Provide detailed information about the said product or service, something which is relevant and focused.
5. Avoid linking to other areas of your site, as you want them to convert on that one page, and not wandering off to other parts off your site whilst being entertained by your fancy colorful animations.
6. Keep in mind who your audience are, make sure the information you provide meets their requirements.
7. Make sure the look and feel of your landing page is consistent with your other marketing materials.
8. Include the keywords or phrases which were used in your advertisement, and add them into your page title and headline.
9. Keep the load times of your landing page under 5 seconds.
10. Routinely update your landing page. If you decide to change your campaign, change your landing page as well.
11. Make sure that none of the links in that page are broken or outdated for that matter.

Find A Professional Designer

Find a professional kitchen and bath designer to help you navigate the ins and outs of this big undertaking. Doing so doesn't mean you have to hand over the reins. You're still in charge.

The Money
Using a designer does not have to be a costly endeavor. Many showrooms and home centers offer free design services if you purchase from them, and some designers will do an initial in-home consultation and budget estimate at no or minimal cost.

Free estimates and consultations are a good place to start, but don't automatically avoid a designer because of the fee. Consider how minor a kitchen designer's consulting fee is to your overall budget. Doing it right the first time is essential - and priceless. Kitchen and bath designers, are definitely important in my books and any renovation tip given by them is surely useful!

One major benefit : Designers often have access to resources and products that may not be known or available to you on your own. They can save you hours of legwork.

Going it alone is risky. DIY design, labor, installation, and products and materials from unproven sources invite problems that outweigh any cost saving.

The Hunt
Most designers tend to gain new clients through referrals, so seek those out too. Ask friends if they have worked with a designer or know someone who has. If you see a project you like that is similar to yours, contact that designer. You'll be one step further along in the process knowing the designer has done projects like yours.

If you're starting your search from scratch, check out designers with retail showrooms. When evaluating the showroom, ask yourself if it's well-designed or offers something innovative. The space will likely be indicative of what the designer can do in your home.

The Review
Be sure to interview potential designers. Look through portfolios, call references, clarify fees, and be sure the designer clearly comprehends your project goals.

Above all, find someone you're comfortable enough with to voice your opinion, even if it means rejecting some ideas.

Meaning Of Chinese New Year

"Happy Chinese New Year!", to all my Chinese friends and readers.

Since I have been on a long, long vacation (I somehow would like to think of it as such...) from my usual blogging behaviour. I figured since today marks the beginning of a new calender for the Chinese - the first lunar month in the Chinese calender, it would be a great day indeed to begin a new chapter towards my personal blog - Nihal's Anything n Everything. So, let's look at what this special celebration is all about and what's the meaning of Chinese New Year.

If we understand the Chinese culture, we would realize that the Spring Festival is the oldest and notebly the most important, if one compares it to other Chinese holidays. It's also a time for families to reunite, feast together and to wish good fortune to everyone. Preparations for the celebrations as I am aware, can take place a month before the actual day of the celebrations. This is done to ensure that it would be a auspicious and smooth transition from the current year to the new. That explains why my Chinese neighbour threw out half his house out to the garbage ... nah, I'm just kidding. But seriously, this is what they do - houses are swept and cleaned, from top-to-bottom to ensure that they do not carry bad luck over to the new year.

And we're quite lucky here in Malaysia as we have a strong influence of their culture present in our country, feasting with family and friends a like, at open houses have become a norm. And to be frank sometimes their meals can be very elaborate at times, not that I'm complaining, but this is definitely something I look forward to, every year!

Traditionally the ancient Chinese believed that the years would be in a cyclical form - Twelve Animal Signs, each representing a specific year in their calender, that would repeat itself over and over again according to a pattern.

A popular Chinese folk methodolgy has it that all these 12 animals had a quarrel one day as they were deciding who would be the leader to head the calender, since they could not find a solution to this, God decided to hold a contest to see who would be the first to reach the opposite bank of the river.

As soon as the signal was given, all the twelve animals jumped in and dashed across. Just as the Ox was reaching the shore, unknowingly the Rat had cleverly jumped on his back and quickly hopped off to come out first in the race. And as usual knowing the Pig, he being a lazy creature, to say the least, ended up being last. So now you know why the Rat is named as the first in the animal cycle, followed by the Ox and lastly the Pig, representing the last year in that cycle. With the start of this years Chinese New Year celebrations, we will be entering the year of the Rat.

Since you already know that I fancy the mystic's behind Feng Shui and all, Chinese New Year is no different. Even meals that are prepared during their family eve dinner has to mean something, take for example - nian gao, a kind of pudding cake made out of sticky rice, eat this and its said to help people advance towards higher positions and better prosperity for that year, step at a time. That's not all - jiao zi dumplings, looks like the gold ingots that were used during the Ming Dynasty as money, so a bite of this, is said to bring you the promise of wealth and prosperity. Noodles, yes, this is a must, the longer the better. The long noodles represents long life for everyone at the table. Not bad for eating a couple of cakes, dumplings and noodles huh ... Eat and you will have everything!

Gong Xi Fa Chai to the entire Chinese community and to the rest, happy holidays!

Steps To Optimize Your Site

Every other person that I've recently met has got a blog of some sort, but far too many of them seem to skip a very important part in the process. Understand here that it's highly important to take relevant steps in-order for you to optimize your site for your readers as well as search engines, without alienating either one. While some blogger's try very hard in focusing on how to monetize their site, there are still those that use these platforms to simply relay their personal feelings where they discuss daily issues, such as : what they had for breakfast today, or how they experienced some bad service at a fancy restaurant the night before, and so forth.

So it doesn't really matter what your ultimate goal is for your blog, the important keyword you have to remember here is - Optimizing! For some, the ideology of blogging is that it's a 'walk-in-the-park', you basically need to write a couple of lines, paste a great photo alongside it, post it up and you're done! In reality, I know you could simply carry on doing it in this manner, but sadly it's not gonna go very far if you want it to withstand the test-of-time.

But what I'm discussing here today is not your usual Search Engine Optimization (in short - SEO), because the majority of blogger's out there run off standard blog platforms or even run as a hosted blog with someone else's domain name, which makes optimizing for a blog a bit different, not to mention design issues which are unique to blogs that may have an impact in your rankings.

Step 1
Let us evaluate the many times we have changed our templates? I know a friend who has changed their template three times in the last six months. All because he didn't get the right background color! Yes, I reiterate that design is important and it counts, BUT, unfortunately not many of those so-called 'blog designers' that offer free templates, are also SEO's by trade. So, without you knowing, these designs could actually be effecting your rankings in a way. My best bet - get a designer to help you on this, or at the very least, try to customize your default template by changing the colors or even adding a uniquely brand new header.

Step 2
In order for you to optimize your blog for user experience, always make sure that their visits are hassle free - easy to access, interactive and most importantly - make them return. Blogs need repeat visitors, that's for sure. There are few methods in achieving this, take for example the commonly orange colored RSS button, every blog needs this, as it would allow yours readers to subscribe to your blog. Automatically many hosted blogging solutions do not have this feature, so it's highly recommended that you add one. FeedBurner is one good source for this feature. Another option you could offer would be to allow your readers to get your posts via email - FeedBlitz does this automatically for me. Finally, make certain that these buttons are well visible, rather than tucked far away at the bottom of the page or placed at another page all together.

Step 3
I remember reading a blog which did not even have a single paragraph break in any of its posts and boy were the posts lengthy. I was automatically off their site in just seconds. What does this tell you, it's always safer to break your posts into parts if you're planning to write a lengthy story, because how you write would eventually keep your readers coming back for more. And always remember to do a spell check prior to posting the article up at your page, this can help you save a lot of embarrassment and ultimately need not affect your image as an author.

Step 4
For some strange reason, I'm not sure why, but I've seen certain sites that display four to five different colored text in a single post or even better still, numerous different sized fonts placed all over. Yes, they may call it a unique talent or an artistic gift that they have, but ironically it simply doesn't work in the real world. Blogs such as these will eventually give their readers a painful experience, forcing them to leave, never to return. So, try not to kill the look of your blog by doing this. Choose a font that best suits your site and add color, only to certain crucial text.

Step 5
We tend to add anything and everything onto our blogs these days, one very common item has to be what we call - widgets. Every time you join something online there's always a possibility of them requiring you to place their widget at your blog. And no doubt there also some widgets that are so useful that you can't do without. But then again its always a wise choice to never overload your site with too many widgets as well. Adding a large number of javascript into your site will surely slow it down. Ya, I know some widgets have nice colors and all, but why sacrifice timely loading up time for something not all that necessary.

Google AdSense New Payment Method For All Malaysians

Looks like its a month filled with good news for all Malaysian bloggers in particular, and this time it is Google AdSense coming to our rescue. Apparently, yesterday Google AdSense had announced a great new payment method for all Malaysian (Individual Payee Names only) publishers, as well as several other countries. The new payment method we're all excited about is called Western Union Quick Cash, a much quicker and easier way to receive payment from Google AdSense.

Previously, Malaysian Google AdSense publishers were only given two options in receiving their payments, namely the Standard Delivery Checks method or the Secured Express Delivery Check method.

Standard Delivery Check Method

• Receive checks within 2 - 3 weeks from their mailing date.

• Incur much higher bank fees.

• Long clearing time for foreign country checks
  

Secured Express Delivery Check Method

• Receive checks within 5 - 10 working days after they've been sent.

• Incur a USD24.00 processing fee.

• Incur high bank fees.
  

• Long clearing time for foreign country checks.
  

Western Union Quick Cash Method

• Receive cash payments via worldwide Western Union money transfer service.

• Payments are ready for withdrawal at our local Western Union Agents (any CIMB branch) office the very next day after Google AdSense payment schedule.

• Cut down bank fees.

• Payments can be withdrawn in local currency over the counter.

• Have your conversion rates calculated based on the rate used by the Western Union Agent on the day you collect the payment at the counter.

Mom Song

This is one great video! Incidentally it's called "the mom song", and it's perfectly sung by this comedian to the background of William Tell's masterpiece - Overture. I know it's not my regular kind of post but I simply had to share this with everyone as I found it so hilarious, entertaining and yet, so true to life.

Personally, it somehow reminded me of some of the things my mom would definitely say. Trust me on this one, there's surely something here that would remind you of your mom as well. Get ready to laugh and enjoy the show!

Things You Should Know About Weight Loss Surgery

Weight loss programs have become so popular today, that there is a huge increase on those wanting to undergo weight loss surgery, simply to look good. Have you really considered to analyze the facts behind the medical term called, weight loss surgery? I have, after living with my father-in-law who went through a weight loss surgery himself quite recently.

Many may see it as the easiest solution for all their appearance issues, while there are those who still find it a difficult and tough decision to make on whether the weight loss surgery is actually necessary after all.

Deciding on a weight loss surgery is definitely like everyone says, a life changing one, and at the same time it requires the patient to have a strong commitment towards the whole program by following a strict diet and exercise plan. Get the right facts on the pros and cons of such a surgery procedure, because eventually the facts will surface and this would in-turn be a highly essential tool in helping one decide.

I believe that one has to always consider what their expectations are going to be from the said weight loss surgery, and whether the relevant results of that actual surgical procedure will be justifiable in their opinion.

If you ask me, patients should definitely not take this as their ultimate answer to all their problems when there are other options still available out there, take for instance, adhering to healthy eating habits, followed-through with a couple of good exercise plans helps one maintain their health and figure well into the future. Being the sceptical person I am, the sound of a fast weight loss program, always tends to worry me.

Nevertheless with the current technologies available throughout the world it is without a doubt that having a weight loss surgery done these days, is rapidly gaining more acceptance by making them more safer and more efficient in its process.

The most popular questions in the minds of all patients considering weight loss surgery would be questions similar to these :

How much can I lose from doing this surgery? Well, the amount of weight you tend to lose would fall into several factors, but basically its got to do with the type of weight loss surgery in itself, it definitely determines the overall outcome. If you were to analyze the Lap-Band procedure noted to be the safest amongst many, sadly this particular surgery type has a reputation in showing signs of an overall slower weight loss.

We all agree that a regular exercise routine and the food we consume on a daily basis plays an important part in our weight loss program. If followed strictly, then there is a 36% potential of losing ones excess body weight within that very same year.

Is there any qualifications in doing a weight loss surgery? Well even this can depend on several factors, namely your current body weight. An ideal candidate for a type of surgery like this would surely weight 100 pounds over and above their ideal body weight, in order for them to qualify. Your body mass index is yet another factor they would need to analyze.

Usually those who have a BMI in the ranges of 35 - 40 and suffer from obesity connected problems like diabetes, sleep apnea, obesity related heart disease, have found to be regular candidates for weight loss surgeries.

I want to know how safe is weight loss surgery? Thankfully, it's usually a relatively safe procedure to go through. But just like any other surgical procedure, certain risks should be carefully considered prior to the procedure. After researching further I've come to understand that surgeries done in a laparoscopical manner are much safer to do and patients find it much easier to recover when compared to other methods such as open surgeries.

Can I get involved in activities after a surgery? Of course yes, but naturally after allowing a time frame of four to six weeks, the body should be completely healed by then. And at this juncture I am pretty sure that your doctor would be encouraging you to continue with the exercise regime as it always helps the body achieve rapid weight loss.

What should I eat after a weight loss surgery? A liquid diet is definitely in store for you for the first couple of weeks after the surgery, and this should gradually change around the sixth week, when you begin to add in other food stuff such as fresh fruits, vegetables, low fat dairy products and lean meats into your menu.

Normally you wont have much of an appetite in the beginning, so eat several small portions at a time throughout the day. Another thing to also remember would be to avoid food that are fibrous, sweet foods, greasy, doughy or sticky, which if continued to consume, may lead to obstacle the stomach and intestines, and then you might end up needing a totally brand new surgery just to correct that.

In most cases, weight loss surgery can be a life saving procedure for many people, while for others it's just another cosmetic procedure they carry out in order to look good. But, overall it has its many other advantages, where primarily patients being very pleased with the amount of weight they managed to lose.

Having said all that, I still feel that it is highly significant that anyone seriously considering a weight loss surgery to discuss this fully with their doctors first, and get the best medical advice to date. This will eventually eradicate any misconceptions that you may have relating to weight loss surgery.

Malaysians Can Now Withdraw Money From PayPal

This news can to me in an e-mail and I couldn't believe my eyes. I just had to immediately share it with all my Malaysian readers as well. That's right, Malaysians can now withdraw money from their PayPal accounts into our local Credit Card or Debit Card. This is indeed great news as we were previously unable to enjoy this very important feature. For many years now Malaysians were only allowed to sign up for an account and do the normal transactions like sending money and making online purchases, using their PayPal accounts but unfortunately the funds accumulated there were not allowed to be withdrawn for local usage.

The usual means of actually getting to enjoy the money from our PayPal accounts in the past was to purchase products online or in some fortunate cases (people who had relatives or close friends living abroad) to transfer the said funds to another persons PayPal account who resides in a foreign country and they then transfer it back to us through cheques, telegraphic transfer, money order and so forth. And there were those who also began to use E-Trade accounts as well to access these funds which they had in their accounts.

But all these were considered to be time consuming and not to mention risky at the same time due to the fact that they could get their PayPal accounts possibly frozen in the process if they were not careful. Now all this is in the past as PayPal has graciously lifted the ban and opened their doors to all Malaysians to have direct access to their funds. So, as long as you have a Credit Card, Debit Card (in some cases they're called Check Cards, ATM Cards, or Banking Cards) that shows a Visa logo, you'll be verified and only then be granted to have this access.

As with all foreign currency transfers, there are certain charges incurred for all this. PayPal is currently imposing a USD5 fee on each of those transactions and expect 5 - 7 days for them to process your withdrawals.

I am sure that PayPal's lifting of the ban on Malaysians will spur us all to do well as we are now in the same leagues with other top influential countries. My only hope is that this feature will be a long standing one and hopefully no Malaysian out there should jeopardize the facility provided by PayPal. So what are you guy's waiting for, sign up for a PayPal Business or Premier account and start accepting credit card payments instantly.

Updates (October 1st, 2007) :

Apparently it seems that Malaysia was not the only country allowed to withdraw money through local bank cards, but this same access has been granted to an additional 26 other countries as well. Countries such as Philippines, India, Thailand, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Israel, Turkey, Slovakia, Slovenia, Malta and so many more have also been given the big go ahead. To get a full picture on this, I highly recommend you make a trip over to the official PayPal site to see if your country is also listed into this same list.

How To Buy A Digital Camera ?

Buying a digital camera can be a real hard thing to do these days ... why is that so, you ask? Well for starters, there's just too many choices out there and deciding on a particular model can turn out to be a challenging task in itself. I really don't know about you guy's, but seriously, I've asked myself this question on a number of occasions, "How to buy a digital camera?" Learning the key elements to consider when buying that perfect digital camera can be tons of help.

Once you've decided that having a digital camera is the way to go, then you're on your way to the next phase ... choosing one! This is the part where you get all confused and for most parts of the time, you end up buying something simply because it suited your budget very nicely or either, got something just because you saw it in a TV ad. In my case, it was kind of both, "A match made in Heaven" so to speak, but after owning it for over a year, I soon begun to realize that its not really what I wanted actually.

Since there is an endless selection these days, make sure the final decision rests purely on your needs rather than buying on an impulse. List out the features you're looking for in a digital camera, and work along those lines. Because, if you look at it practically, there's no real need for you to spend thousands of dollars if you're just out there taking some simple 4X6 prints, or buying that branded one just so that you're "in", features proclaiming to have capabilities to print great looking large 8X10 prints but sadly find out later, that even your usual smaller prints turn out horrible, quality wise.

My best take on this, would be to buy at least a 3.0 megapixel digital camera (these are quite common in many of today's inexpensive camera's) if you're going to just use them for some regular shots or just to upload a couple of pictures to your blog. And for those who would want something more advanced and something more professional, you have start looking into camera's that have at least 4 - 10 megapixel capabilities. Now, this is where you get to enjoy photo-lab quality, large quality prints and great looking pictures all year round.

But with all that said, having a camera just based on its number of megapixel solely, can sometimes have a downside to it as well, due to its larger image size, a need to have a more expensive memory card, and as the image size are larger it's bound to take up more space in your computer's hard-drive, not to mention their sky high prices as well.

So here's a perfect video that I found that shares some pointers on "How to buy a Digital Camera" and hopefully after you have watched it, many of your questions can be answered and eventually help you decide better.

How To Make Your Own Home Cleaning Solution ?

Have you ever wondered what are the inexpensive ways to get things cleaned around your home? Well look no further, as I have just short listed a number of items that can be transformed into your best helping hand, which ultimately doesn't end up burning a big hole in your wallet. This post will in a way, show you how to make your own home cleaning solution. Many of us might overlook these easy-to-use natural alternatives which are commonly available in many of our homes today.

These non-toxic home cleaning solutions are effective and inexpensive to incorporate into your home maintenance regime. Besides that, it's an avenue for us to cut down on chemical-based products which can have high long term health concerns for any family, and possibly even environmental pollution caused by their manufacture, usage and in some cases, indiscriminate disposal of these harmful substances.

Baking Soda
This is basically sodium bicarbonate. It has a number of useful properties. It can neutralize acid, scrub shiny materials without scratching, deodorize, and extinguish grease fires. It can be used as a deodorizer in the refrigerator, on smelly carpets, on upholstery and on vinyl too. It can help deodorize drains as well. It can clean and polish aluminium, chrome, jewellery, plastic, porcelain, silver, stainless steel, and tin. It also tends to soften fabrics and removes certain stains. Baking soda can be used as an underarm deodorant and as a toothpaste too. Now, that one, I'm sure you didn't know??

Cornstarch
This is something that can be used to clean windows, polish furniture, shampoo carpets and rugs, and starch clothes.

Lemon Juice
Can be used to clean glass and remove stains from aluminium, clothes, and porcelain. It is a mild lightener or bleach if used with sunlight.

Mineral Oils
It is derived from seeds which is an ingredient in several furniture polish and floor wax recipes.

Soap
An all-purpose liquid soap can be made by simply dissolving the old ends of bar soap (or grated slivers of bar soap) in warm water.

Vinegar
It can dissolve mineral deposits, grease, remove traces of soap, remove mildew or wax build-up, polish some metals, and deodorize. Vinegar can clean brick or stone, and is an ingredient in some natural carpet cleaning recipes. Alternatively, you can also use vinegar to clean out the metallic taste in coffeepots and to shine windows without streaking. Vinegar is normally used in a solution with water, but it can be used straight too in certain situations.

Take note that in some cases the results may vary, given the type of products that you might be using or it's concentration levels and so forth. So, always try to test them first in a small hidden area and see if it works.

And if you ever decide to do this at home, when you're due for your next weekly/monthly clean-up session, always remember to "clean from the top down". Which means, save the carpets and the floors to be tackled last, as this will allow time for the dust to settle down before you begin your vacuuming regime.

What Is An Award ?

Have you ever asked yourself this question before, "What is an Award?" and "What does it mean to you?".

To be frank, blogging has taught me the value of friendship. Life has never been so fulfilling as now. Ever since the day I started my journey with Nihal's Anything n Everything, I have met so many beautiful people that come from all parts of the world. Though we come from different social backgrounds/religion, or our ideas or views may differ slightly in certain aspects, but non of this really matters much, as we're constantly united in friendship and that's the best part about blogging!! We tend to share so many good things together. Who said that blogging was all about money and nothing else???

One such wonderful thing is in the sharing and awarding of wonderful awards that goes around the blogging community. Each individual award having it's own unique characteristic and value. And as we know, there are thousands of bloggers out there who have so much of talent and with awards created by bloggers themselves, it's always wonderful to see them supporting another site with such recognition. To me it's more of a way of saying : "Hey, thanks for being my friend, I really value your friendship and I hope we will remain friends forever." Anyway, that's my personal opinion on an award and what it means to me ... I value friendship and that's me!

But for the last two months things have not been so systematic for my blog and a lot of stuff were not posted as scheduled. Friends awarded me stuff and I didn't post them up, and there are friends who even tagged me to do stuff and I'm still due on them and so forth. I feel really bad about this everyday, as I feel I've let all my friends down. So today, I decided to list down a couple of things that had passed by, as I have not mentioned about it earlier on at my blog. To my dear friends, I am forever grateful for all the support and encouragement all of you have shown.

July 12, 2007

My dear friend Eve, over at My Life is Murphy's Law awarded me with this wonderful award which was created by Christy from WritersReview. No doubt we live world's apart but that doesn't stop us from being best friends. I will never forget her support and encouragement from day one. Thank you once again Eve, and Christy for creating such a cool award for the bloggers. Christy has created numerous awards that recognizes each individual blogger for who they are and that's truly fantastic!


August 3rd, 2007

Jean Chia of A Great Pleasure is another great friend whom I got to know from Marzie. She is such a lovely girl for she really went out of her way to create this unique and very creative badge for all her close friends. I am really honored to have received this from you Jean, thank you so very much.


Then there are these three other beautiful lady friends of mine that awarded me with this great badge for my site : Marzie (September 2nd, 2007), Jesse (September 12th, 2007) and Erina Hart (September 13th, 2007) . I am deeply grateful to all three of them as they have been such great friends to me.

Marzie has always been there for me, and she never fails to add me into her list of activities. I sometimes wonder how lucky I am to have found such a wonderful person as her.

Jesse on the other hand, is a gem of a person. She is constantly progressing in her blogging career and I must say, this is one blogger that we can learn from.

Erina is such a Darling. She has become my most recent friend and I am so lucky to know her. She has recently changed her layout at her site and moved to a new domain which looks pretty cool. If you're looking for good read, this is the blog you should visit.


And Marzie, added yet another "nice one" (August 20th, 2007). How will I every repay her generosity and continuous support? Anyone who has a suggestion, feel free to let me know what I could do in return, to all this lovely people, I call friends. And as the creators of this beautiful badge suggests, the Award represents people who fall into this category - "All those who are nice people, good blog friends, and those that inspire good feelings and inspiration! Those that care about others, that are there to lend support, or those that are just a positive influence in our blogging world!"


And, to all of my friends who have taken the time to put me into their lists, there are no words that could express the gratitude I have for you and I must also say sorry if I have left anyone out in this list, as I mentioned earlier, a lot of these were done some time back, therefore I would have missed one or two of you. Please let me know if I accidentally missed out anyone.

So to end this, I say, Awards to me, is in it's own way, "an expression of our friendship and the understanding we have for each other" and trust me, I will never forget any of you :)

How Do I Earn Money From AuctionAds/ShoppingAds ?

Everyone knows that online auctions are kind of a hot trend these days. It's really an opportunity for everyone to earn a reasonable income. Think of it as an avenue where you get to grasp that extra couple of bucks in a week that would come in handy, maybe to pay for your babysitter perhaps or even to have a nice dinner out with the family, once in a while. So, how do I earn money from AuctionAds? Simply by leveraging on their very lucrative eBay affiliate system added with bits and pieces on keyword targeting!

As I emphasized in an earlier article of mine related to money making opportunities, Google AdSense is still my top earner, but then again, there are other affiliate programs which I'm involved in, that throws in that extra cash when you least expect, AuctionAds is one such program. AuctionAds is definitely not a contextual ad product, so running it alongside Google AdSense is perfectly alright.

But then again, not everyone would agree totally on this, as each individual blog out there behaves differently, there might be a program that works very well at one site, but doesn't do quite well at another. I on the other hand evaluate things differently, basically I don't give up so easily and my plan is to constantly evaluate the traffic that comes to my site and analyze the keywords that drives them here through the search engines. These information is then transferred onto my articles and thus allowing this site to have an average 80% of it's traffic generated through search engine queries alone.

Eventually this is the same thing you would need to do in order for you to sell a product at your site whether it's Google AdSense, AuctionAds/ShoppingAds, Photographs, Hyperlinks or even Meta tags (you're still considered selling it) where we use "keyword targeting" - How many times have you seen an ad that doesn't coincide with your article? Many a times I guess. This is because not many of us tend to address the importance of keywords. We normally copy and paste, and that's it, job done! Adding target keywords ultimately will give you the right ads that you want your readers to see complimented with it's location at your site, and perhaps when they see this they'll eventually end up making a purchase.

What is AuctionAds and how will it benefit me?

AuctionAds is basically an avenue where you get to open up an account as a Publisher which allows you to paste their ad code into your blog or blogs (with no limit to the number of ads placed on a single page or even at your multiple other sites). Relevant eBay products will then appear for auction at those given sites. Prices can be so low at times, it makes chances that much easier, to get a click through. Not only that, you get paid 1st of every month through PayPal, once you've reached their minimum $50 mark. On August 27 this year, they optimized their ad images so that it no longer looks stretched or even distorted. And then, on September 4th, 2007 they announced an increase in their affiliate payouts, from 2% initially to 5% on all revenue produced by publishers you refer, for the first 6 months of the new publisher's earning's. This is what we call smart leveraging!

Another good part about AuctionAds is that every time someone clicks the link from your site, AuctionAds will then place a 30-day cookie on those users and if they end up winning the bid (there are times, even if they don't win the bid, you still get paid) or converts into a signup (referral program) within that 30 day period, you will get paid! Just so that you know, they eventually will pay you a minimum 100% of the eBay commission revenue.

And I wanted to save the best information for last, effective September 5, 2007 all new publishers who signs up with AuctionAds, you will instantly receive $25.00 cash balance into your account! That's it, just sign up and receive $25.00... Wow, this is great news, and this is why I'm strongly encouraging my readers to see the bigger picture by being part of the AuctionAds affiliate program, which can eventually be a nice additional income stream for you.

Besides it's international targeting and large inventory of eBay products it is without a doubt yet safe to say, AuctionAds is one flexible advertising program!

AuctionAds : Join Now!

Pavarotti Has Passed Away

Today marks a day filled with sorrow, as the greatest celebrated opera singer to have lived - Luciano Pavarotti, has passed away in his home at 5am, local Italian time. This is indeed a huge loss for the music world.

Pavarotti was born in the outskirts of Modena, Italy on October 12th, 1935, and had captivated the opera world till his dying age of 71. Mention Pavarotti, and I imagine, charcoal black beard and seeing him in his famous tuxedo suit. To me, I shall remember him as a entertainer for his charismatic performances and ebullient showmanship.

The great Italian tenor, Pavarotti was indeed a talented singer renown for his vocal capabilities and humanitarian efforts along the way, when he received a medal (UN High Commission for Refugees) relating to works surrounding issues related to refugees. It is said that Pavarotti began showing his singing capabilities at a tender age of nine, when he used to sing alongside his father in their small local church choir. Pavarotti made his initial opera debut back in 1961 in his home front and it was not until February 1965, that he made his presence felt in the American shores through the Greater Miami Opera. Throughout his career, Luciano Pavarotti has released numerous musical DVD's that were outsold in weeks of their availability.

It was not till late last year when the Maestro was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer - said to be one of the most dangerous forms of the disease, which he fought all along. Pavarotti had supposedly undergone further treatments to suppress the effects of the cancer, but to no avail and finally succumbing to his illness early this morning.

The thought of losing someone special is hard to comprehend, and I am thankful to God, as HE has allowed my parents to share their love with me thus far, for I can't imagine the day, when I will face this same situation as Pavarotti's children; Lorenza, Giuliana, Cristina (from his first wife) and Alice (from his second wife), who would be feeling so much sorrow moaning the loss of their beloved father.

For the millions of his fans, the natural beauty and the vibrantly high C's of Pavarotti's voice will be greatly missed, for I have never seen another opera singer who reached out to 1.5 billion people.

May his soul rest in peace and may the heavens enjoy the beauty of his great voice.

Uploading And Removing Borders From Picture

It is quite common that we usually upload an image or a diagram or even an illustration of some sort into our post. I usually try to add a picture or two into my post just to add some color into it but there are times when these pictures have some rather weird looking borders surrounding them. In this post I will share with you the simple steps in uploading as well as removing borders from picture, in which you intend to embed onto your Blogger post page. For this example we will use the image uploading tool found in Blogger.

Firstly, once you have logged into your Blogger account, click on this icon and it will generally bring you into your Blogger's post editor page. Once here, you would want to begin the process of uploading a selected image from your PC or even from a particular web page - this is something you should try not to do (taking pictures from other web pages) besides the worry of copyright laws and the simple reasoning that if you post a picture which is taken off from another web page, what's going to happen is that every time you load your blog, that particular picture is going to be loaded by their server, so if their server is down or slow for any given reason, this will ultimately effect your blog as well, besides the owner of that site likely incuring an expense at the same time, thanks to you.

Anyway, assuming you have now decided to upload a particular picture, look for this icon and click on it.

This would immediately open up a new window to help you make the necessary selection of image or images.


Next you would want to decide on the placement of the picture, whether it should go on the left, right or even at the center of your post. Customizing the appearance is also another way of showing your creativity in your post. It will also help you wrap your text around these pictures. Another benefit is that you're able to choose the right size deemed fit for that post. Do this by checking on the relevant "Choose a Layout" box and then finally, click "Upload Image" followed by "Done".

Once you have succesfully uploaded the image, click on the Edit Html tab, to make the necessary modifications to remove the said borders from appearing in your post page.

Normally when you upload a image in Blogger it is displayed as a hyperlink. If you would like to disable the hyperlink, remove the section marked in red.

This is an example markup of the inserted image, appearing on your post editor page.

<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/deleted/AMD+690.GIF"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/deleted/AMD+690.GIF" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5105259291560015234" border="0" /></a>

Note the closing </a> tag at the end of the example, remember to remove this.

Now, if you want to maintain the hyperlink and prefer not to have the borders surrounding the image, edit the img (tag) style attribute by inserting : border-style : none;

<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/deleted/AMD+690.GIF"><img style="border-style: none; margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/deleted/AMD+690.GIF" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5105259291560015234" border="0" /></a>

This would ultimately remove the border surrounding your image as well as remove the hyperlink pointer that would normally appear if you align the cursor on top of the picture.