By David Byrd
This past weekend I hosted a dinner party, so Friday was a simple affair of brined pork chops and roasted potatoes. However, Saturday was my first grilled or smoked dinner. It was not a BBQ or casual affair. We started with smoked salmon served with an avocado purée, smoked fontina cheese and spicy salami, smoked cheddar cheese and roasted pork shank, and grilled vegetables seasoned with salt, pepper, onion powder and garlic powder that were then tossed with fresh basil, tarragon, oregano and lemon juice. Course two was a grilled Caesar salad or grilled romaine brushed with homemade Caesar dressing finished with double smoked bacon, shaved parmesan reggiano and freshly cracked pepper. Course three was grilled porterhouse steaks and lobster topped with a compound butter (Old Bay seasoning, oregano and paprika). The fourth and final course was grilled lemon pound cake, crowned with homemade vanilla ice cream and a small amount of limoncello. Most of the items have been featured in my blog at some point in the past with the exception of the avocado purée and the limoncello. My wife, Gay, picked the recipe of the week, Limoncello. Limoncello is an Italian lemon liqueur usually served chilled after dinner. I used Cîroc vodka and Meyer lemons which provide for a smoother finish than the more commonly found lemon. However, either will produce a great result. Limoncello, enjoy!
The World is Making Lemonade
While it is all too common for us to look at our current economy and express dissatisfaction, the world is actually experiencing mixed results. Although overall wealth is down, the number of individuals with over $1,000,000 has increased with the largest number now found in Asia. The Asia-Pacific region has 3.37 million millionaires compared to 3.35 million in North America and 3.17 in Europe. Although North America is in second place, when considering quantity it still leads the world in value at $11.4 trillion followed by Asia at $10.7, and Europe at $10.1. Now the reason for discussing the subject of wealth is because it is very important to recognize that the US is not the center of the universe when it comes to consumption. Today China’s middle class exceeds that of the total US population and is expected to grow to 600 million by 2025 followed by India with a projected 583 million according to McKinsey Global Institute.
For IP Communications this means that products, services and systems will need to address an increasingly important and growing international audience. Consider that in the B2B space Cisco, and Juniper face growing competition from Huawei as it works to expand its enterprise offerings beyond Asia into North America and Europe. Moreover, while the iPhone is the talk of the US, the BlackBerry is still doing well in the UK and Europe and Samsung leads in units sold globally. In fact, I just upgraded my cell phone to a smartphone over the weekend selecting the Samsung Galaxy S3.
With 2.4 billion Internet users able to access consumer and business products anywhere and anytime, to thinking globally is strategically important. Times are tough for many, but the world’s economies have not stopped. From the lemons represented by Greece, Spain, Portugal and Italy, some are still making lemonade.
This story is original content from Telecom Reseller.
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