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October, 2009

  1. Cafe World and a real tonkatsu recipe to try

    October 13, 2009 by ajay

    It’s easy to immerse oneself in Cafe World. Today, I reached Level 15 which means I can already whip up Tony’s Classic Pizza to add to the usual menu repertoire. These include bacon cheeseburger (the most basic), Super Chunky Fruit Salad, French Onion Soup, Triple Berry Cheesecake, Spitfire Roasted Chicken, Home-style pot roast, tikka masala kabobs (or kebabs), jumbo shrimp cocktail, & spaghetti and meatballs.

    My online kitchen is ever-busy! Good thing there’s the husband on vacation (gulp) to keep watch over what’s simmering in my stoves. What I like about Cafe World is that I also have the option of preparing dishes that will be ready when I come back from the office. One example is the cheesecake which takes all of 12 hours, or the roast chicken – ready in one day!

    I noticed that some of my friends are now in Level 23. Do they still sleep? LOL. I’ve also read about a software you can download for Cafe World cheats to make life easier, such as acquiring more stoves. However, am not keen to take this, as I prefer to do things the honest, old-fashioned way.

    As I said, it’s easy to immerse oneself in Cafe World but the husband will surely complain if we do nothing all day but watch what’s cooking in our online kitchen (he’s now engrossed in the game too) :D So yes, the highlight of my week has been my new-found proficiency at cooking this lovely tonkatsu dish. Deep-fried pork cutlet with its own home-made sauce, and topped with savory egg. Yummy.

    tonkatsu

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    Category Munchin' | Tags: ,,,,,,,,, | 4 Comments

  2. Cafe World: my new favorite Facebook game

    October 11, 2009 by ajay

    Cafe World

    Cafe World, my new favorite Facebook game, is actually the first Facebook game I played. Sure I got friend requests for Restaurant City and Farm Town before, but never really got around to it. I never thought these FB games can be so addicting!

    Now my life is not the same again because I always have to think of the cooking in my cafe when I wake up and before I sleep at night :D There is risk of food spoilage, you know. And the competitive spirit in me will always want to go to the next level. Which is bad since I can’t play the game for the most part when am in the office.

    Cafe World basically empowers you to run your own cafe or restaurant. You can customize the design, hire employees, even have a say in the staff uniforms. You earn points with every dish you cook and every neighbor you visit. You have to think of a strategy because some dishes cook longer than others, like the homestyle pot roast which takes all of two days!
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    Category Facebook games | Tags: ,,, | 5 Comments

  3. Tips on handling cars and vehicles submerged in floods

    October 11, 2009 by ajay

    Ondoy Aftermath

    Okay, with the floods having subsided in most parts, these tips may come too late now, but better to keep it handy for next time. Tips courtesy of Mapfre Insurance

    1. For safety reasons, it is not advisable to approach a vehicle that is completely submerged in water. It is best that the vehicle owner wait for the flood water to subside before approaching the vehicle.

    2. Under no circumstances must the vehicle owner attempt to start or run the engine of a submerged vehicle. There is high possibility of contamination of fluids/lubricants in the engine, transmission and axles. Restarting may result to serious damage to the engine and other important parts.

    3. Once the flood waters have subsided, immediately remove the positive and negative energy clamps attached to the car batteries. To prevent electric shock, remove first the battery clamp attached to the negative terminal of the car battery, followed by the battery clamp attached to the positive terminal.
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    Category Insurance | Tags: ,,,, | No Comments

  4. Typhoons Ondoy & Pepeng show the importance of buying insurance, especially for Acts of God

    October 9, 2009 by ajay

    Correct me if am wrong, but paying either life or non-life insurance isn’t a concept most, if not some, Filipinos take to. Perhaps, it’s our sense of fatalism, or feeling invincible, or simply not having the budget to pay extra when it’s more urgently needed for school fees and other necessities.

    Some only take on insurance because purchase of their house or their car is funded by the company they work for. I had this belief myself, until approaching old age led me to think about the future of my children and other ponderable “what if’s…….” A little savings, even a few million pesos, certainly isn’t enough to assure my school-age children of support in the event of my death. More so now that pre-need companies have shown their inefficiency and have gone bankrupt.

    Now it has taken the destruction wrought by Typhoons Ondoy & Pepeng in the Philippines for most people to rethink their stand on buying insurance to protect their life’s most precious assets. How many were actually caught red-handed when calamity struck because they didn’t read the fine print clearly enough? Most people only procured fire insurance for their houses, and not against floods. Those with cars got comprehensive insurance, but didn’t care enough to include the all-important “Acts of God” provision. The “Acts of God” clause protects your assets against accidents, disasters and other occurrences which are not man-made such as earthquakes, floods, and tsunamis. In short, calamities which are caused by nature.

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    Category Insurance | Tags: ,,,,,,,,,,,, | 3 Comments

  5. PAGASA weather forecast : six to nine tropical cyclones still expected from October to December

    October 6, 2009 by ajay

    Hopefully, Typhoon Ondoy is the worst to pass the country this year. But since the monsoon season isn’t over yet, Philippine weather bureau PAGASA said six to seven tropical cyclones are still expected to strike the country for the remainder of the year, from October to December 2009.

    Aside from the onset of more storms, other factors likely to influence weather in the country are the tail end of the cold front, intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ), ridge of high pressure area (HPA), and easterlies. There will also be a seasonal shift from Habagat to Amihan monsoon winds.

    Areas expected to be affected by forthcoming storms are central and southern parts of Luzon and Visayas, with secondary tracks over Northern Mindanao.

    “Rainfall distribution during October is likely to be below normal in most parts of Northern and Central Luzon, Western Visayas, Palawan, and some portions of Southern Mindanao . Southern Luzon , Bicol region including Metro Manila will likely have near normal to above normal rainfall conditions. The rest of the country is expected to experience near normal rainfall conditions,” PAGASA said.

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    Category Weather forecast | Tags: ,,,,,,,,,, | No Comments

  6. This Cebu Pacific Wandering Juan went to …… Coron, Palawan

    October 4, 2009 by ajay

    Coron

    Our trip to Coron, Palawan last September would prove to be one of the most memorable ever, especially for this blogger who is Little Miss Afraid of Plane Rides :D I really should know better than ride a propeller plane on bad weather, but there was simply the inescapable lure of Coron beckoning me and the hubby on our planned second honeymoon.

    Our plane wasn’t even half-full when we left NAIA Terminal 2 that morning. I felt comforted by a group of giggling college students who were having the time of their lives taking group pictures before the flight. Like us, they were excited because this was their first trip to Coron too. I would see the same college students holding the motion discomfort bags 30 minutes later, when it became evident that the plane ride was far from being pleasant.

    On the other hand, Mr. Z – who’s used to riding helicopters- considered it normal, even though at one point he commented: “I don’t know why they’re flying into the clouds, when they should be over the clouds.”

    I distract myself by talking to the stewardess:

    Me: Miss, have you been in a flight this,ehrmm, turbulent?
    FA: Yes ma’am.
    Me: Oh well, what flight was it?
    FA: In an Airbus.
    Me: Oh. So why hasn’t the pilot spoken since the flight started?
    (and before Miss FA can answer me, the pilot is finally overheard on the PA system)

    Pilot: Ladies and gentlemen, we are now approaching Busuanga Airport. Please expect light to moderate turbulence before we land…..

    WAAAHHH!
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    Category Road Adventures | Tags: ,,,,,,, | 1 Comment

  7. State of calamity and Typhoon Pepeng weather update

    October 2, 2009 by ajay

    Note: as of 5 p.m. PAGASA said Pepeng has slowed down, but could still threaten Central Luzon.

    Work in our government office was suspended before 4 p.m. today to be able to give us ample time to return home, in preparation for the coming of supertyphoon Pepeng (international code name: Parma). The same was true in other offices, except perhaps call centers and BPOs which deal with clients abroad. Elsewhere, evacuation has started in areas believed to be targeted by the typhoon , with maximum sutained winds of 195kph.The entire country has been placed under a state of calamity.

    At 1 p.m. today (October 2), Pepeng continued to move west northwest and increased its threat to the Isabela-Aurora area.

    As of 10 a.m., the eye of typhoon Pepeng was located at 180 km. east northeast of Virac, Catanduanes, with maximum sutained winds of 195 kph near the center and gustiness of up to 230 kph

    It is forecast to move west northwest at 19 kph and expected to be 60 km east of Casiguran, Aurora by tomorrow morning (October 3). It is expected to make a landfall in Isabela, Aurora by mid Saturday, 80 km west of Laoag City by Saturday morning and 400 km west southwest of Basco, Batanes.

    Storm signal no. 3 is up in Catanduanes

    Storm signal No. 2 is now hoisted over Cagayan, Isabela, Aurora, Quirino, Northern Quezon, Polilio Islands, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur

    Storm Signal No. 1 has been placed over Metro Manila, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Abra, Apayao, Kalinga, Cagayan including Babuyan Islands, Mt. Province, Ifugao, Benguet, La Union, Nueva Vizcaya, Quirino, Pangasinan, Nueva Ecija, tarlac, zambales, Pampanga, Bulacan, Rizal, Southern Quezon, Camarines Sur, Albay, Sorsogon, Burias island and Northern Samar.

    (via NDCC and PAGASA)

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    Category Weather forecast | Tags: ,,,,,,, | 1 Comment

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