Mumbai Chaos

It's 12:42am and I still can't sleep ... Am watching CNN and I feel so bad about what's happening in Mumbai ... After 2 days, this should have been over already ... But it seems it still won't end tonight ... I feel like this is not real, that I'm just watching a movie ...

In the news, they said that a lot of foreigners fell victim to this Mumbai attack ... Can't help but think if some of them are also working for the same firm as I am ... We have an office there where a lot of our employees from all over the world frequent for business trips ... India is being build-up as a "Hub" where we have Center of Competence, Service Headquarters, etc ... Hearing that there might be Germans and Finns among the victims really made my heart stop ... I immediately start searching the net for more details but couldn't find any ... I do hope & pray that they are not part of our "family" ...

A Filipino was also mentioned as injured ... Hope he'll be okay ...

This is a nightmare! ... Tonight, I will fervently pray that the Mumbai Chaos will be over soon ...

Amazing Race Asia 3 - The Finale

Just finished watching the Amazing Race Asia Season 3 - Finale ... Was quite disappointed that the Philippine Team of Geoff and Tisha was only 2nd place ... The Hongkong Team was 1st ... and the Malaysian Team was 3rd ...

The last task wasn't that exciting ... It looked like an ordinary task ... it wasn't worthy of a finale ... I thought it wouldn't be the pit stop yet and that there will be something more ... but alas, that was it! It ended so simply, without any fanfare! ... Guess I've gotten used to the more exciting finales of the past Amazing Race ...

Hopefully, Team Philippines will be the 1st place in the Season 4 ... Rovi & Marc were 3rd in the Season 2 ... Tish & Geoff were 2nd in the Season 3 ... It might be the Philippine Team's turn next year ... Keep your fingers crossed!!! :)

How to Save YouTube, Megavideo ...

How to Save/Nab/Grab YouTube and Megavideo?

This is a most oft question ... We'd seen a video we like in YouTube and Megavideo but we don't know to save it ... There is no "download" or "save" button --- can it be done? ... How to do it without installing additional software in your PC? ... It's so simple as A-B-C if you follow these steps :

1) Go to YouTube or Megavideo (wherever the video you want to save is)
2) Play the video til the end
3) After the video had reached its end, go to Tools -> Internet Options -> Settings -> View Files
4) Search for the biggest file in the "Temporary Internet File" folder as normally this is the video that we had just played
5) Copy the file in your Personal Folder
6) Rename the file with extension *.flv
7) Voila! ... Play the file with an application which can read flv. I use VLC which is a freeware and can easily be downloaded from the Internet.



Alternatively, if you find the above procedures too complicated, there are also online video "grabber". Just check-out these sites :

• ClipNabber.com
• KeepVid.com

Corkage Fees & Pepato (GB2)

My Aussie boss and Singaporean colleagues were in town for the week. They've brought with them 2 bottles of wine to welcome our newly-hired colleague.

Unfortunately, the function room in my condo is booked. Only option for us is to find a restaurant in Makati which do not charge Corkage Fee. I was surprised that some restos would charge as high as Php 750 per bottle! ... I persevered and finally found Pepato in Greenbelt 2!


Why you should try Pepato (GB2)?

• they waived the Corkage Fee for 2 bottles of wine
• the staff were friendly
• the waiters didn't rush us when we were taking a long time to decide what to order
• prices of the food are reasonable (they have "tasting" size and regular size) ... we only paid around Php 550 per head
• the food is great - i especially love the pastas and salads
• ambiance is perfect for business dinner

Just to give an idea, here is a list of how much is the Corkage Fee on other Restaurants :

• Elbert's Steak Room (Sagittarius Bldg HV dela Costa) : free up to 3 bottles
• Mezzaluna (the fort) : Php 450 per bottle (normally can be waived for 1 bottle)
• L'opera (the fort) : Php 600 per bottle
• Chateau 1771 (GB5) : Php 300 per bottle
• Carpaccio (Yakal St) : Php 700 per bottle
• L'Incontro (Reposo) : Php 300 per bottle
• Aubergine (the fort) : Php 750 per bottle

... Elbert's Steak Room and Mezzaluna would have also been good choices except that their food are quite pricey ... unfortunately, due to the cost cutting measures, we would have a difficult time if we'd reimburse an exorbitant amount for a Team Dinner :)