Why You Should Use SCENE Points Now

Massive Scene Devaluation

If you have piled up lots of SCENE Movie Loyalty points offered by Cineplex and Scotiabank, do yourself a favour and use them by April 17, 2019 because Scene is going through a massive devaluation from April 17.

On the Scene website, they don’t mention the word devaluation anywhere and to even find the news, you have to scroll down all the way to the bottom.

You will still be earning 1 free movie for each 10 movies, but earning and redemption rates will change to earning 125 points for each movie (from 100 points) and 1250 points to redeem (from 1250 SCENE).

This means if you have 5000 SCENE points, you can watch 5 movies before April 17. But you will be only watching 4 movies after April 17 with the same 5000 points.

The 2 most popular movie redemption categories that will take heat from the devaluation are the Regular movie (redemption rate will increase from 1000 to 1250) and Enhanced Movie (from 1500 to 2000) sections.

Another category under the Food & Drink Section that will take heat is the Snacks, food & drink category. The earning rate will go down from 10 points for each dollar to 5 points, but the redemption rate will stay the same at $5 off for every 500 points.

These changes may not affect those who just will be watching movies after April 17 and collect fresh SCENE points, but will affect a lot of those who have lots of accumulated SCENE points.

So to make the most out of your SCENE points, redeem them before April 17 and still get your points’ worth.

Watch on YouTube: Got Scene? Do Yourself A Favour & Watch Free Movies Now

Can’t Afford To Buy Physical Real Estate? Buy Internet Real Estate!

How To Buy Internet Real Estate

First Published: ADawnJournal.com Published Date : May 6, 2009

During a recession, property values tend to decrease, and those who can afford it don’t hesitate to grab the opportunity to acquire some nice properties at unbeatable costs. However, buying physical assets may not be a viable option for everyone due to the heavy upfront expenses you need to go through. But how about buying Internet real estate? Is it still possible to grab opportunities that exist due to economic turmoil and buy assets online with very little money and still flourish in the future?

The answer is:  absolutely yes. You see, domains are like virtual real estate that exists only on the web. There are many similarities between domain names and real estate properties: both of them aren’t increasing in quantity any more, we are dealing with the same quantity today as we were twenty or thirty years ago, and due to limited supply, the price has to go up one day. You just need to buy those that will be in demand in the future.

In order to buy domains, you need to know a few things I discussed in this article – How to Make Money from Domain Names. I believe financial crisis opens up opportunities to buy domains which wouldn’t be available otherwise. In a financial meltdown, businesses close down and people lose jobs. As a result, lots of good domains drop out as businesses don’t need them anymore or people just can’t afford to maintain their domain portfolios.

Opportunistic entrepreneurs grab this opportunity to increase their domain buildups. I purchased most of my high-potential domains in the past few months. Also, I hired many programmers to develop a few new web sites. I can do it now because of low hiring costs available due to the current economic crisis. Entrepreneurs should be always on the lookout to use negative circumstances to their advantage and turn them into positive circumstances.

We all hate economic crises like the one we are going through today. The difference between a successful and a failed entrepreneur can be determined by how well you can use this crisis to build a better future. Yes, opportunities even exist in the midst of a crisis.

Phuket - The Pearl of The Andaman

Phuket – The Paradise Island of Thailand

One of the most beautiful places in Asia, and possibly the Eastern Hemisphere, is Phuket. The Island of Phuket is also one of the southern provinces of Thailand and it occupies the entire island. Roughly the size of Singapore, the island is connected to the mainland of Thailand by a bridge. Phuket, while once known for its tin and rubber, is now one of he most popular tourist areas in all of Thailand, getting most of its income from tourism.

Turbulent History

As with most places that had European contact during the Age of Discovery, Phuket is no different. During the 17th century, the Dutch, English and French all arrived at the island to trade with the island thanks to its rich supply of tin. The island was eventually heavily controlled by the French, who were expelled in the 1688 Siamese Revolution. While they attempted to take the island back in 1689, their efforts failed within a few years. Things returned to relative normality for the island for the next century until the Burmese attacked in 1785. After a siege that lasted an entire month, the Burmese retreated. It was thanks to Than Phu Ying and her sister Mook that the attack failed. They were warned by a British East India Company captain that there was an attack coming. Ying, who was the widow of the recently-deceased governor, mustered what forces she could to defend the island. After the siege, both became local heroes and are still remembered to this day with statues on the island. Eventually, in 1933, the island became a province in Thailand, which it remains as to this day.

Amazing Landscapes

It is not hard to see why so many groups wanted this island; it is beautiful. The island has many mountains on it, with the Phuket mountain range running from the south to the north in the western part of the island. While the island is roughly 570 square kilometers, it has a stunning array of landscapes that will keep you exploring for years to come. Roughly 70 percent of the island is covered with mountains, while the remaining 30 percent of the island in the central and eastern areas is flat. The island has no major rivers, but there are nine brooks that provide water to thousands. Forests, along with oil and rubber plantations, cover 60 percent of the island, and sandy beaches can be found on the western coast of the island. Eastern beaches tend to be muddy, but you can still enjoy yourself there. Now, if you want to see one of the most stunning sunsets in the world, you would need to journey to the southern part of the island to see the sun set over the ocean at Brahma’s Cape.

Great Weather

Since Phuket is just north of the equator, it has amazing weather. The average high temperature of the island during the year falls between 29C/84F and 33C/91F. Average lows are what many in the northern hemisphere call highs, with temperatures ranging from 23C/73F to 26C/79F. Between November and April, you can expect things to be pretty dry. When May comes along, the monsoon season begins and rain can be expected from May until October usually.

Since the tin industry has faded to the background on the island, tourism has taken over as the biggest industry in Phuket. While in Phuket, you can expect to see a lot of tourist attractions and tourist centers. Since the 1980s, beaches have become heavily developed to accommodate tourists. This has not been for the bad though, as Fortune Magazine declared Phuket as one of the World’s Top 5 Retirement Destinations. The vast majority of the westerners who live in Phuket are retirees.

To streamline and minimize blog maintenance, I will be discontinuing maintaining the Travelnowsimply.com website (however, I will still hold the domain). I will gradually move all articles from this site to Ahmed Dawn Dot Com site. This article originally published on the above website on May 8, 2010.

Is Now The Right Time To Buy?

The credit Crisis And You

First Published ADawnJournal.com : May 10, 2009

The fact that the financial markets are currently in a total mess has led many people to question whether getting on the real estate ladder is quite safe. As the news reports continue to resemble some kind of reality TV show by the title of “When Mortgages Go Toxic”, it is only to be expected that people should be reserved in terms of going after that new house – if things go wrong they could end up in poorer financial shape than they ever had imagined. But as with everything, there are two sides to the situation. You need to take into account things other than the turmoil that the market is in, and get an idea of exactly where you stand – because the truth of the matter is that no two situations are exactly the same.

The people who will really lose out in the current market are those who have a poor credit score along with those with a dubious score. As little as one missed or incomplete payment, or any reduced payment agreements with creditors and you could be judged as a credit risk in the current market. If, in addition, you need to sell to buy, then you are looking at getting less for your current house, and the shortfall may be too much to make up. It is not the time to upgrade your living arrangements, nor get into property developing for profit if you are in any of the above situations. Aside from people in these cases, however, there is still some scope. After all, the banks cannot stop lending completely – it is still an important income for them.

The credit crisis has meant that banks need to be more careful about who they lend to. Seeing it from their point of view, it is entirely reasonable that they could look at an individual’s credit file, see black marks against their name and be more than a little bit reticent about lending large sums of money. They need to protect their investments, and it was irresponsible lending on the part of major banks that precipitated the crisis in the first place.

If, however, you have an excellent credit history – the longer the better as it is long-term control of lending and repayment that they are looking for – you still stand a good chance of getting a loan, and the market is depressed at the moment, meaning that the speculator with access to funds is in a very advantageous position.

If you have recently taken out a loan, it may be wise to wait a little while to take out another. If you have the ability to pay off all or most of the loan, it is less important, as the thing that the lenders are really looking out for is overcommitment. Even people in very good jobs are still prone to downsizing – so large monthly repayments are still undesirable. The banks and the borrowers have been given a sobering lesson in the last couple of years, and it would be naïve to think that the rules could stay as they were.

Melbourne Travel Blog: Part 2 | Melbourne Highlights & Impressions

Australia Travel Blog: Melbourne Highlights & Impressions

Melbourne Travel Blog: Part 1

Melbourne Public Transport

My first To Do List item for Melbourne was to see downtown and I decided to take public transport to reach it. I had to take a train from Wyndham Vale station, change at Southern Cross station and then get off at Flinders Street station.

Melbourne has a lot more routes than Toronto and there are a lot more variety of colorful trains. The transit system I found very efficient and functional; I had no problem reaching my destination. Whenever I was in doubt about the transfers or right stations, I asked either passengers or transit employees and they were beyond helpful.

Southern Cross station is a huge, mega transfer hub for various routes and I spent a lot of time at the station making videos and taking pictures. This station has a shopping complex or mini mall inside and I had my coffee and a snack. Small, medium, and large coffees cost $4.00, $4.65, $5.00 AUD and I find coffee is more expensive in Australia than Canada.

Flinders Street, Yarra River, Melbourne Downtown Waterfront

After changing to a different train from Southern Cross station, I got off at Flinders Street station. Flinders Street is an iconic, historic station which happens to be the busiest railway station in Australia. Its dome-shaped arched entrance with tower and clock give it a distinctive look and it is one of the city's most recognisable landmarks. The full station stretches two whole city blocks in the heart of Melbourne downtown.

A few steps from Flinders Street station is downtown waterfront along the Yarra river and there are tons of restaurants, including open-air restaurants and floating restaurants on the river. There is a cute, white pedestrian bridge called Even Walker bridge, which adds a different charm to the downtown waterfront part under the shadow of the skyscrapers.

Melbourne Travel Blog: Part 3