The things I take for granted...

In this modern age of wireless communication and satellite technology, I just assumed that transoceanic telecommunication cables stretching across the great expanses between countries and continents was obsolete. Then came this earthquake a couple of days ago off the southern coast of Taiwan that reminded me this seemingly simple system is still hugely important. I was even more surprised that such a natural event, which wasn't too catastrophic to land-based structures, could cripple the telephone systems of such a technologically advanced country.

It still amazes me that a trip to Taiwan that took me almost two days to complete takes my voice over a simple telephone wire less time than a snap of the fingers to reach the other side of the world.

And looking at the map above, its pretty astounding that such networks exist. It's times like these that I envy Scratch a bit for his close proximity to the museums in D.C.--apparently, there's a whole exhibit at the Smithsonian devoted to the underwater cable system. That's just cool that one could have some fleeting interest in a historical achievement such as this, and be able to walk over to the Smithsonian to learn about it instead of having to resort to Wikipedia or some other online information source. I need to move...

P.S. I assume my wife's family in Kaohsiung on the southern coast of Taiwan are OK--she hasn't been able to complete a call to them for obvious reasons.