INTERNET DISRUPTIONS ACROSS ASIA

The internet and telecommunications between Asia and Europe was reportedly cut down (by most probably trawler nets) between Italy and Egypt in the Mediterranean Sea causing a major outcry for many internet users especially those who rely heavily on the website traffics. Businesses, especially those online ones, call centers, BPOs and others are likely to be badly hit by this outage, which were already undergoing severe economic downfall these days.

At this moment, most of the Asian countries are still experiencing slow browsing, poor throughput and high latency problems as the submarine cables known as SE-ME-WE3, SE-ME-WE4 and FLAG got damaged as early as 19 December 2008 and there were no time frame set for the restoration of all the three damaged cables. It was unclear how long the repairs would be back to normal as the cables might have been trawled many kilometers away from their normal positions and relocating them could be hard tasks. Once located, the cables would be brought to the surface and repair fiber by fiber and it could take days due to their huge sizes.

Bloomberg reported that priority will be to recover the SEA-ME-WE 4 cable, then the SEA-ME-WE 3 cable. There was information from France Telecom that SMW4 could be operating by Dec. 25 and that the situation for SMW3 should be back to normal by Dec. 31. The SMW4 cable, also known as SEA-ME-WE 4 or South East Asia- Middle East-Western Europe 4 cable network, connects 12 countries: Pakistan, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Italy and France. A third line, operated by FLAG Telecom, was also cut and will be repaired by another ship. No date was stated for its restoration.

BOLT – THE SUPER DOG

Bolt is a all-white German Shepherd who had lived all his life on the set of a TV show in which he portrayed a superhero dog. As a result he thought that his superpowers were for real. Accidentally, he got separated from the studio and was left stranded in the Nevada desert. He then met Mittens, a female alley cat who bullies pigeons out of their food and a hamster named Rhino, a huge Bolt fan. Along the way, he learns that he doesn't have superpowers and that the show was not realistic.

What will happen next? Is life outside the stage easy for Bolt, knowing that he’s not a superhero dog after all? Does Penny, Bolt’s owner really love him? How did Mittens and Rhino help Bolt in getting back to the studio? Don’t forget to bring your family over to the cinema to watch another rated-PG Walt Disney Animation Studios' computer-animated film this coming season.

THE MIRACLES OF MY KITCHEN PRODUCTS

Whipping up something delicious and presentable will not be easy if you do not have the necessary kitchen utensils to assist you. Just look at the example of the Ms Orange Tomato Head I did for the 3rd Penang Floggers Potluck Gathering last weekend. I would not have carved out such a creative composition without my favorite carving knives set. Moreover those tiny little cherry tomatoes needed a small slit to stuff in some nutmeg strips.

If you study carefully at one of the dishes served which is the Spicy Chicken & Abalone Salad, you would see that there has been a lot of fine slicing of ingredients such as kaffir lime leaves, shallots, wood ear fungus, ginger flower and more. Thanks to my Japan made Kyocera Slicing knife that made my life easier. Without its sleek and ultra sharp blade, it would take me hours just to get those ingredients sliced to my preferred size.

Many people would think that by getting a daily use knife can make wonders in all type of situations. You are wrong. Each knife has its own usage when it comes to cutting, slicing, chopping or even carving. I bought mine through one of the online shops and those knives have been serving me for years without any disappointment at all. I guessed it pays to get the best amongst the rest.