Ramblings of an Insane Mind

The Seven Little Demons

2012-01-30T06:14:00.000+05:30

In an era long gone by
there were seven little demons
who broke the bonds of hell
and made their escape
searching for a new home
upon a fledgling earth
they roamed the darkness
seeking nourishment
to grow in strength
and conquer the land
alas, their efforts were in vain
because the creatures of earth
were not easily fooled
by hollow promises
Then one day
they found man
a more than willing host
who welcomed them
with open arms
and willing hearts
Little by little
the demons grew
in strength and in power
worshipped by man
mere puppets in their hands
man turned against the world
all it’s creatures
and even his own kind
he destroyed it all
until none was left
While the demons
danced in joy
Greed
Lust
Envy
Wrath
Sloth
Pride
and Gluttony
seven little demons
who brought a world to it’s end!

Wintertime Niagara

2012-01-24T03:04:00.000+05:30

Winter is not the not greatest time to go see a waterfall, but then again it's not something you get to see in Sri Lanka either. You may wonder what's there to see when everything is covered in snow and the cold winds numbing your body, but there is a different kind of beauty at Niagara Falls during the winter time.

We decided to take little day trip down to Niagara last Saturday. There is a bus service here that offers a limited number of seat for one dollar if you book about a month ahead, which is a pretty good deal. Leaving Toronto at 8 in the morning, it took only 1 hour and 40 minutes to complete the 130km journey on the highway. The day was cold, around -11C with wind chill, but we decided to take a chance anyway. Apparently many had felt the same way, because there were many visitors in town. Maybe less than in summertime, but the place was busy.

The area had enjoyed more snow than Toronto, so it looked what winter should normally look like. The thing about winter is that when everything is covered by snow, it all looks very clean and uniform. The colour scheme is a bit monochromatic compared to the bright colours of summer, but it has it's own allure. Banks of the river were covered in a white sheet like a well made bed. The rocky faces on both sides of the falls were covered in icicles, formed by the mist from the water, and the all the rocks at the bottom had a thick coating of ice, a couple of inches thick. When the water hits the bottom, the spray creates a thick mist rising a couple of hundred feet above the top of the falls. Because of it, even the railings on the viewing area has a coating of ice couple of inches thick. At night the falls are lit up by coloured spotlights focused from the banks, making a rainbow waterfall.

This is a town made for tourists. Most of the houses closer to the falls are converted in to quaint bed and breakfasts', ideal for romantic getaways. Small scale motels compete with large hotel chains and casinos for the attention of the tourists. Downtown is full of attractions to keep visitors happy. There is a Sky Wheel, like the London Eye, but in a smaller scale, and an observation tower similar to the CN Tower, but again less height. There also several wax works museums in town, a Ripley's Believe It or Not museum, several horror houses, an aviary, an indoor water park, an outdoor amusement park, and a souvenir shop around every corner. For some people the biggest attraction are the casinos where you can freely gamble to either win or lose millions.

Niagara is the crossover point to get into the US of A. The border runs along the Niagara river, where one bank belongs to Canada and the other to America. The Rainbow Bridge spans over the river and connects these two countries together. American and Canadian citizens can freely cross into each country, so people make the trip to get the best deals of both worlds.

Outdoor photography during the winter time is a pain, especially for the hands and fingers. I can't manipulate the camera while wearing gloves, so I have to take them off to take pictures. You can only go for so long without gloves before you start to lose feeling in your fingers, and feel like they are about to fall off. So I was unable to take pics to my hearts content, but did manage to take a few.

Below are some of them. Enjoy!

You can also take a look at a live web cam feed of the falls here.

Tourist website

Bloopers from The Big Bang Theory

2012-01-21T00:37:00.000+05:30

I love watching blooper and gag reels of tv shows and movies. They are sometimes more entertaining than the actual show :)

I love The Big Bang Theory and this is a blooper reel from the show. Enjoy :)

Toronto Boat Show 2012

2012-01-17T01:57:00.000+05:30

Man, how time flies. Can you believe that half of January has passed by?

These day the Toronto Boat Show is happening, so I thought I'd check it out. Canadians do enjoy their outdoor activities. Camping, boating, fishing etc. After all, when you have to endure freezing temperatures for 5 months of the year, you want to make the best of the remainder.

Boating is a big hobby over here, and there are more than enough lakes around here to accommodate them all. And it's an expensive hobby too. Even some of the smaller crafts start around 15,000CAD, while the larger ones go into the millions.

Randoms

2012-01-13T03:56:00.001+05:30

It`s kinda been slow when it comes to posts recently. Nothing much exiting has happened, or they have just passed me by.

So, lets get back to the age old conversation starter, the weather.

It`s crazy, to say the least. This is winter time, and usually January means the height of winter, where Toronto should be enjoying temperatures of -15 and every inch of the city is covered in snow. But, it is not so. The lowest temperature up to now has been -12C, but that was for one night. All this time the temp has been ranging from -5 to +5. I think this was the first time Toronto celebrated New Years Eve with a plus temp. There was only few days of snow for the whole of winter. At this moment (Thursday evening) it is 4C and raining. Unfortunately its going downhill after today. The weekend is going to be cold.

I think the weather gods are messing with us just for the fun of it. Sri Lanka has had record temp lows of 18C in Colombo and 6C in Nuwaraeliya. If this trend keeps up and the temp keeps falling, we could expect snow in Colombo, or at least in NuwaraEliya, which would be way cool.

However this mild winter is mainly for Toronto. Other cities are experiencing winter as normal. One of the worst hit is in Alaska. a snow storm on the 10th of January left the small town of Cordova with 18 feet of snow. Try clearing that early in the morning. They have declared it a disaster zone and the national guard are helping to clear the snow. The coastal city of Nome is running out of supplies because the sea is frozen and ships can`t get near. A Russian tanker carrying fuel is stuck 90miles out at sea, and the coast guard ice breakers are clearing a path for it, but apparently it slow going.

Alaska Snowed in
Russian tanker struggles to reach ice-bound Alaska port

Image from here: http://www.ibtimes.com

On a happy note, tomorrow is Friday. TGIF! :)

Have a good weekend. Have fun and enjoy.

A Day at the Museum

2012-01-05T01:20:00.000+05:30

We had a holiday on the 2nd, so I took the opportunity to check out the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM). It has a huge collection of artifacts and you really can't cover it in one day, especially if you want to read all the descriptions. I only managed to cover it by skipping the instructions, and that took me nearly 8 hours. They also having a special exhibition on the Maya these days, which was the only one I read through. Unfortunately they didn't allow to take photos in that section.

There is a great difference between the ROM and the our museum in Colombo. Not in terms of the Quality and the Quantity of artifacts, but in terms of number of visitors. These guys know how to get people to visit it. The place was packed on the holiday, especially since they are offering discounted tickets during the season. Truthfully, I haven't gone to our museum in a long time, and there wasn't many people those days. Maybe things have picked up now. It's just that it doesn't have a very inviting feeling. They should really do some marketing and encourage people to visit it. The museum has a web site, but needs improvement. There are a lot of missing image all over the site. Anyways, I must make a visit once I'm back.

Here are pics of some artifacts. This is just a very small amount of what they have. I think you'll probably need to spend about a week or two to do a thorough examination of all of the items.

Chinese statues

Birds, form the Natural history section. These are models of birds, in a collection of about 100+, with descriptions. The natural history section has a vast collection of models of animals, birds, fish, insects etc.

Dino bones, the one i was looking forward to. They have a big collection of Dino bones. The skeletons seen are not made up entirely of fossils. They use available fossils and create the rest of the skeleton. In the descriptions provided it is clearly shown which parts are real fossils and which parts are reconstructed.

Dino bones

Dino bones.

Dino bones

Dino bones.

Dino bones

Dino bones. Brontosaurus head. The whole skeleton spans the whole room. You can't get it in one frame.

Dino bones. Baby Brontosaurus

Allosaurus

Skulls of prehistoric bad-asses. At the near end are two Crocodile/Alligator skulls, followed by a saber toothed carnivore and Bison skills at the far end.

Mammoth skeleton

Prehistoric Moose-like creature

Prehistoric monkey

Saber toothed Tiger

Another Prehistoric bad-ass

Prehistoric Armadillo like creature

T-Rex skull

Triceratops skull

T-Rex skeleton

A coffin from Ghana shaped like a fish.

Another Ghanaian coffin in the shape of a Mercedes

African masks

South American headdress

Carvings

Armour suite from ancient middle-east

A model of a building

Decorated spoons from Europe

Figurines from Europe

A European dollhouse. The detail on it is amazing.

Collection of paperwieghts

Figurines from Europe

A vase from Europe

Sculptures from Europe

Egyptian fresco

Egyptian pottery

A lid of a sarcophagus

Egyptian fresco

Mummy

Busts from Greek era

Greek pottery

Greek sculptures

Greek or Roman (I forget which) pottery

This is a Sapphire from Sri Lanka, called the "Star of Sri Lanka"

This is another artifact from Sri Lanka. A balustrade from the Kandyan era.

There are some more on my Flickr

Seasons Greeting

2011-12-23T02:56:00.000+05:30

Happy holidays everyone. Hope you have a great Christmas and an even more awesome new year!

This is my all time favorite Christmas song. It's a beautiful song written and performed by a brilliant artist. Hope you enjoy.

Cheers!

The Story of Christmas...

2011-12-20T02:30:00.000+05:30

for the digital age :)

Enjoy!

Santa and I Know It! (LMFAO - Sexy and I Know It PARODY!) Key of Awesome

2011-12-16T00:16:00.001+05:30

Awesome :D :D :D

They've got some other awesome parodies. Check them out.

Santa Clause Diaries

2011-12-15T03:45:00.000+05:30

Well, it’s that time of the year again. Christmas. Bah. There is too much stuff left to do, and it's less than two weeks till the big day. Can you believe that some toys are still on the production line. Those elves are pulling triple shifts but there is still some left. On top of it all Rudolph is sick. Alcohol withdrawal syndrome. I'm keeping him in isolation till Christmas. After that he can drown in a vat 100% proof alcohol for all I care. I'm not going through the same shit as last year. Serves me right for letting a drunkard lead the sleigh. Oh lord, my stress levels are off the chart. I'm fucking too old for this crap.

Now don’t get me wrong. I’m still a big fan of Christmas. There is nothing more rewarding than seeing the smile on a child's face when they see their presents on Christmas morning. It’sjust that Christmas doesn’t have the same meaning anymore for people.

Today, Christmas has been hijacked by commercialism. This is not necessarily a bad thing. After all, consumerism keeps economies running smoothly. Recession is not a fun thing either. However there should be a limit to everything. It's just that people are too focused on the gifts and the parties. Hey, I'm not against those. I am the big daddy of gift giving am I not? And my new year's eve parties are killer. If you are sober at the end of it, then there is something wrong with you. Anyway, my point is that don't be selfish when too many people are suffering around the world. Give up the me, myself and I thinking and think about how you can make the day brighter for someone else.

I admit, you can't change the world by yourself. I've been trying all these years. However, you can start close to home. Come on, do you really need to buy the latest gadget that will be obsolete in a month or two? or that extra pair of shoes that you'll wear only once? That money can help a less fortunate person to spend a week or two without going hungry. Why not give that money to a worthwhile charity so that they can help those truly deserving.

Sometimes the best gifts are not about the highest monetary value. It can be even free. Give the gift of yourself. Spend time with your family, especially your parents and grand parents. They may drive you crazy, but you are here because of them, so go spend sometime with them this Christmas. There are many people, especially seniors who are alone because they don't have anyone. I bet they would love nothing better than to have somebody to spend Christmas with. We get too caught up in the hype and forget about the important things in life.

Don't get me started on the kids these days. They are are too spoiled. No, that's not right. Half the kids in the world are spoiled because they have too much stuff, while the other half doesn't know what the word means because they are more worried about staying alive till the next day. The disparity between these two situations is too painful. The below video is somewhat of an example. OK, may be the parents are a bit mean, but it shows expectations of kids these days. Believe me, the naughty list keeps getting longer while the nice list is getting shorter and shorter each year. I've been tempted to chuck it all out and just leave pieces of coal on all stockings, but the missus was against it. You kids are lucky she talked me out of it, bless her kind heart.

This world is not a fair world, but people can change it. Show your children that Christmas is not about the toys that they get. Teach them to be selfless and to share their good fortune with those less fortunate than them.

The religious aspect aside, Christmas should be about love, caring, and sharing. Those are not just for Christmas, but should be practiced each and everyday. Make the world a better place people. You owe it to your kids and grand kids. If this world ever survives that long.

Hmmm, I must be getting sentimental in my old age, or may be its just the stress. I can't wait for this season to be over and start my vacation. The missus and I are heading for Bora Bora this time. Nice little romantic escape, if you know what I mean (wink, wink) Ho Ho Ho.

I best be getting back to work.

Merry Christmas to all.

Peace! \m/

The Old Painting

2011-12-11T22:11:00.000+05:30

This is another attempt at a short story. :) All characters are are fictional and any resemblance to a person or persons living or dead is purely coincidental.

“Look honey, he looks just like you, but with a littlegrey hair” Jessica called over her husband Tony to look at the portrait thathung in the main hall of “Kaluwella Wallawwa”. As Tony walked into the room, hefelt a bit unnerved seeing the picture. There was a strong resemblance alright,but he felt that there was something more in the face. Sinister was first wordthat came into his mind, but he felt bad thinking like that about his ancestor.After all, who was he to judge a man he had never met based upon a picture.

“It just goes to show that youmarried into a good gene pool of handsome men” Tony joked as he gave his wife ahug. “Come on, let’s explore and see what else we can find”.

Tony still couldn’t believethat this magnificent property bordering the Kalu Ganga, belonged to them. Onthe day he got married, Tony got a nice surprise when his father gave the deedto this property as a wedding present. Tony’s grandfather Frederick was thelast to inhabit the house, where he lived with his two caretakers. There was arift between him and his only child who had left Sri Lanka and taken his familyto Australia nearly thirty years ago. Frederick, who was a staunch patriotdidn’t approve of his son’s abandonment of his motherland. In the end,Frederick decided to leave all of his properties to his first grandson Tony, tobe given to him on the day he got married.

He was glad that they were ableto make it to Sri Lanka on their first wedding anniversary. He had only beenhere once before. His father was never keen on bringing them to Sri Lanka. Tonywas more excited because he had someone to share it with. Although a native ofSydney, Jessica has been enthralled by Sri Lanka and its beauty ever since hehad met her. He was looking forward toexploring the country of his ancestors, and to discover all it has to offerwith his wife by his side.

As an architect, the old houseinspired Tony. He always thought of houses as live entities, not just bricks,mortar and wood. Like fine wine, the more time a house stands the morecharacter it acquires. This house was no exception. A typical manor house ofcolonial architecture, it was a single storey structure built around a bigcentral courtyard. The courtyard itself was beautifully landscaped, with alarge pond in the middle. The rear of the house opened up into a small pierleading into the river. An old wooden raft was still moored to it, waitingsilently for the ferryman.

Tony felt like the luckiest manalive. He had a gorgeous wife who adored him, a great career and a comfortablelife in Sydney, and now, this amazing piece of property in this land of hisancestors. Nothing could make it better. Things were too good to be true, andhe should have never gotten too comfortable with it, because fate is a dirty oldbastard with a sick sense of humour.

Every night was a night ofpassionate love making. Sometimes as he watched Jessica sleeping, Tony wonderedif he could ever live his life without her by his side, and imagined how theywould start a family and grow old together. He would drift into sleep with thesethoughts swimming in his mind.

***

News alert from the local daily newspaper

Tragedy at Kaluwella Wallawwa

People living close to the old mansion were woken that fateful Saturdaymorning to screams of dying woman. What they saw when they went to investigateis bound to give these people nightmares for years to come.

According to the initial coroner’s report, 3 mutilated bodies werefound in the house, two in the kitchen and one in the master bedroom. Thebodies in the kitchen were identified as Wimalasena and Kamla, the caretakersof the house, and the body in the master bedroom was identified as JessicaFernando, newly arrived occupant and the wife of the accused. Though detailsare not still clearly, sometime during the night, the accused, Tony Fernando,had gone on a killing spree, hacking his poor wife to pieces and then turningthe axe on the caretaker couple. Whatprompted him to do this? Nobody knows. Tony Fernando was found sitting calmlyby the dock, holding on to a portrait of his Great-Great-Grandfather, and mumblingincoherently.

Stay tuned for further details as the case unfolds.

Murderer Gets Life Sentence

The trial of the accused axe murderer Tony Fernando, famous for the KalluwelleWallawwa tragedy, was concluded today, with the jury finding himguilty of all charges. Normally this would carry a death sentence, but givingthe extenuating circumstances of the case, and recommendations by the renownedpsychiatrist Dr. Gamage, the prisoner was given a life sentence at thepsychiatric wing of the prison, under solitary confinement. The prisoner willalso be under the care of Dr. Gamage.

***

His head hurt as the bright fluorescent light hit hiseyes. Little by little consciousness took over, clearing his disoriented mind,but the world didn’t make sense to him. He knew he had done some terriblethings, but the man in the painting said that it must be done. You can’t trustanyone, except yourself, and the man in the painting, of course. The world maycall him a monster, but the world doesn’t see itself as he sees it. They wereall going to destroy him, but he got the upper hand and got them first. Heknows the truth now, all thanks to the man in the painting. He will never bealone again.

Man and Violence

2011-12-06T01:39:00.000+05:30

The 16 Days campaign carried out by the Women and Media Collective against gender based violence is a great initiative. Violence against women and children are a problem in Sri Lanka, but not one that is talked about much. Kudos to all the people who are working hard to provide solutions to this problem and help those who are victimized.

To me, violence of any kind is hard to understand. Why do we humans have a need for violence and aggression? The violent acts of some are causing great pain and suffering for rest of the world. I came across this interesting essay called Violence and Aggression, while Googling. Its a simple and easy to understand article for the layman, which explains a lot about violence and anger.

As this article explains it, aggression is intentional, as is done to cause harm and pain to another person. This is not just physical harm, but it includes verbal and mental violence. Aggression stems form anger and the motives for it comes from what a person is feeling. According to a theory by psychologists Roy and Judy Eidelson, these feelings can be categorized into five groups.

Superiority - The belief that one is superior to another.
Injustice - The belief that one has a legitimate reason to be aggressive against another.
Vulnerability - The belief that one is one could be aggressively annihilated at the hands of another.
Distrust - The belief that another will not honor their promises or commitments.
Hopelessness - The belief that one cannot improve their condition.

There are two main ideas about where aggression comes from. One is that we humans are born with it, that it is hard coded into our gene, and that we learn how to control it fro social norms. The other believes that we are born as compassionate and society makes us violent. However, according to Sigmund Freud, we are born with two instincts.

The instinct toward life is called Eros while the instinct toward death is called Thanatos. Freud believed that humans work by way of a 'hydraulic theory', where pressure builds up inside and must be released as aggression. To Freud, aggressive energy could be seen in everything from art to architecture. He theorized that society helps people to sublimate the instinct to be violent by giving them the desire to be creative and work hard. He called this theory sublimation.

My personal theory is that we are born with both violence and compassion, but our violent side is much more stronger than the compassionate side. The compassionate side is mostly suppressed, and we have to be taught to let go of that suppression and to let our compassionate side to come on top. It is part of our animal instinct for survival. The more aggressive you are, more chance of survival you have. I mean, nobody is going to mess with the angry dude now are they?

However, the social environment one is brought up does have a big impact on what kind of a person one turns out to be. If a child grows up in violence then that becomes the norm for that child. When the child grows up, he/she will act according to what they think is the norm. Similarly, if a child is brought up in a kind and compassionate environment where violence is frowned upon, then it can be expected that the when the child becomes and adult, he/she will act the same. It goes on like a cycle. Of course there can be exception to the norm. In a situation with violence, if the cycle can be broken, then the violence can be stopped. Social cultural norms and religion are not enough. Laws and and a strong justice system are an important part of changing these behaviors.

Unfortunately, males are more aggressive and violent. It's statistically proven. My guess it's a hangover from our cave man days. Me brave hunter, me kill animal kinda mentality. In today's "civilized" age, the question we have to ask is, whether it is really necessary? My answer is no, definitely not, but I guess it's very difficult to shake our roots.

The normal perception is that men are stronger and women weaker. But should this be the case? Shouldn't it be that both sexes are equally stronger. With this perception, men tend to be violent towards women and children because there is a less chance of them fighting back. It's better than fighting with another man who will fight back, where chances are that you will not escape unscathed. Nobody wants to get hurt themselves, so naturally people will take their aggression out on someone weaker than them who will take it lying down. For men, women, children, animals, and even men who are less stronger than themselves are the most likely targets. They would never a pick a fight with someone stronger than they are, unless they have weapons and the other person is unarmed. They will go for it if they are certain the outcome is favorable to them.

I feel that in our culture and in Asian culture in general, children are taught to be seen and not heard. I'm not saying that children have to go head to head with adults, but if a child knows that an adult is doing something wrong, then they should be taught to speak up. Children should be encouraged to develop strong personalities who put value in truth and justice. In addition, the laws and the justice system should be upgraded to take swift action and to protect the victims and punish the wrongdoers. But more often than not, we see it working the other way around, where the criminals go unpunished and the victims are further victimized.

Another thing that baffles me is that we tend to put a lot of stock in respecting our elders, our parent and especially our mothers, but then we turn around and harass women in society. How easily we forget that we are born of women, and we will not be alive if not for our mothers. The respect you show to your mother should and must be extended to all women. Why is it such a difficult thing to do. Where does the difference lie? I still haven't figured it out.

This world has turned me into a pessimist, and I believe that the evil in the world outweighs the good. Can you blame me when you take a look around the world we are living in?

Our generation and generations before us are totally fucked, for no better word. There is no hope for us. But there is hope for the younger generation, and generations yet to come. Hopefully we can teach them not to make the same mistakes as we did. To put kindness and compassion before violence. To put selflessness and sharing before greed and selfishness. Do I think that this Utopian society ever be a reality? No of course not. Don't be silly. We are who we are. We will never change.

So, does this mean that I don't have any violent thoughts? Of course I do. It is part of who we are. But I make a conscious effort not to act out according to these. Do I succeed all the time. No, but I try not to fail. If everybody can do that, then we could be in a much better place.

I'm not a student of psychology, so I don't know anything about the subject matter. I might be completely wrong in what I have said, but these are just my own thoughts and ramblings.

Cheers!

Sleepless Night

2011-12-03T04:06:00.001+05:30

Lying on my bed
sleep eludes me
while others engage
in exiting adventures
through lands of fantasy
shaped by the Dreamlord
The world is still
covered in a blanket
of deep solitude
whistling cicadas
echo like sirens
giving a certain ambiance
to the stillness of the night
hear the distant rumble
of a train passing by
on its midnight journey
loud and clear
piercing the silence
the drone of the engine
and the clacking of the wheels
music to my ears
shattering the illusion
that the world is dead
and the cogs of the world
are still turning strong

Improv Everywhere

2011-11-30T22:18:00.001+05:30

This is a group of actors/artists who stage various sketches on public places, and basically entertains people. It's not exactly street theater, but in some ways it is. I guess you could also consider it as social experiments as well.

The group stage it in such a way that it takes people by surprise. Something different to the daily routine people are used to. Something absurd that makes people stop and take a look, and hopefully make them smile. The best part is looking at the reaction of the people.

How would you feel if the guy sitting next to you on a train started belting out Elvis songs and shaking his hips. Either you can enjoy it, or run away from the mad man. Personally, I hope I will be able to enjoy it. However, if I was alone, I would be vary, but if there were other people around, I would definitely enjoy it.

Their site showcases all of their projects. Worth a look.
http://improveverywhere.com/

This is their latest, spontaneous singing at the mall.

The below is a talk given by the founder of the group at TED.

There was a similar thing done in SL by Airtel (that's what I heard or read somewhere, but I'm not sure), group of people dancing in front if the Fort Railway Station.

Cheers!

Cavalcade of Lights 2011

2011-11-28T22:27:00.001+05:30

The city of Toronto officially started the Christmas season last Saturday (26th) night with a bang. It's called the Cavalcade of Lights and is held every year in front of the new city hall at Nathan Philips Square. The ceremonies are started off with the lighting of the Christmas tree. Then there is a musical show for about an hour, and then the show stopper, the fireworks.

Christmas decorations are coming out all over the city. Malls are showcasing their Christmas trees and decorations, along with sales. Yep, Christmas is definitely on the way :)

Robin Williams - Stand Up Routines

2011-11-24T22:08:00.001+05:30

Robin Williams is one of my favorite actors. The man is an entertainment power house. I found some videos of his stand up routines from the early days and watching him is like watching a tornado, without the destruction.

This is an interview he did for the "Inside the Actor's Studio" series. Hilarious :D. The man doesn't have "serious" in his vocabulary.

Enjoy!

Recently Read: Twilight Eyes by Dean Koontz

2011-11-23T00:00:00.000+05:30

Spoiler alert :)

I only recently discovered Dean Koontz. I picked up another book by his called Odd Thomas at the British Council just before I came here, but couldn't finish it before I left. So when I came across this one at a bargain price, I thought I'd have a go at it.

Twilight Eyes revolves around a young man called Slim, who is psychic. In addition to having premonitions, his greatest gift, or curse, depending on how you see it, is that he can see "goblins". Goblins are what he has named animal like creatures who has the ability to transform into human form and live as normal humans, but in reality they live off human misery. Because of Slim's gift, he is able to see through the disguise and see their true nature. There are few other character in the story who can see, or feel the goblins, so with there help Slim goes to battle with the Goblins.

To me it is basically the good vs. evil story. The goblins are the bad guys who create various disasters around the world. They do this because they feed off the misery of the humans caused by their actions. However it also explores the fact that humans are in a constant path of self destruction. our never ending lust for power will eventually bring about our own destruction. In addition, it also deals with the differences of people, and how some people are more accepting of these differences than others. Well, that's how I feel anyway.

I have only read one and half Dean Koontz books, so I really can't comment on his other works, but these two are mellow compared to something by Stephen King.

Anyway, it is a good read, and should give it a chance.

In a non related matter, I found a a graphic novel of Terry Pratchett's Color of Magic and Light Fantastic at the used bookshop, so woo hoo :)

Dean Koontz official site
Twilight Eyes Wiki page
Amazon Link

Toronto Santa Clause Parade 2011

2011-11-22T00:14:00.001+05:30

Sunday the 20th was the day when Santa rode into town.

The Toronto Santa Clause parade has been entertaining kids and adults alike since 1905, which makes this year the 106th time the parade is happening. it has everything, from clowns to cartoon characters, marching bands, floats, and of course the big man himself, Santa.

Luckily the weather was good with a temperature of about 13, but there was a lot of wind, which made it much colder. But that didn't stop the people from coming in the thousands to line the parade route.

Official site
History of the parade
YouTube channel where you can see archive footage

pics below, enjoy

People lining up the parade rout

Here come the clowns

Clowns handing over panda ears to the kids

Police handing over gift bags to the kids

Po from Kung fu Panda

Some Hockey Dude

Mario

Power Rangers are in town

More Clowns

Marching band

police marching bacnd

Ronal McDonald making the rounds. McDonald's was a sponsor, so they were giving out free coffee.

Mother Goose

Mr. Potato Head and Mr.Monopoly

On of the marching bands

Lego Men

Costumed characters

Smurfs

Hand walking monkeys

More costumed characters

Loony Tunes

A surfing Bugsy

Another marching band

Barbie float

Another marching band

Mice

Another marching band

The Muppet's float

Dinosaur floats from the Royal Ontario Museum

Another marching band

Tots on toy cars

Happy Feet

Coca Cola float

Tim Horton's Gingerbread house

Carollers

A marching band from NY, USA

Mrs. Clause

Here's the big man himself

More Random Stuff :)

2011-11-19T21:01:00.001+05:30

The days are getting colder and colder. There was some heavy snowfall in cities north of Toronto, but we only some light flurries for about 5 minutes couple of days back.

Last Sunday I went with the others to the Buddhist temple in the neighboring city of Mississauga. One of the priest at the temple had taught one of my friends at daham pasla back in SL, so he's visited the place a few times. There is an average SL community in the area and they have gotten together to organize a sil and dane to commemorate the Poya. Enjoyed some yummy Sri Lankan food.

The first photo is of the temple. Even though the structure is small there is a big garden at the back. They conduct meditation classes there during the summer. They are also building a new temple and will be moving to it next year. The community is doing various fundraising activities these days to help with the building. There is also a daham pasala for kids held at a separate place.

Below are some random pics

The CN Tower at night has an awesome display of lights. Photos doesn't do justice. Unfortunately I didn't record it so this is a video I got from YouTube.

Cheers and have a great weekend :)

11.11.11

2011-11-12T00:00:00.000+05:30

Image from http://kaynou.files.wordpress.com

A sequence that will come once in every century. It's definite that we won't be here to see the next one. So I thought I'd see what important things happened on this day.

The most important one is that this was the day when the first world war came to an end with the signing of the armistice between Germany an the Allies. It was signed on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. Whoever planned it had style, I must say. Hence, it is know as Armistice Day in Europe. The countries of the commonwealth celebrate it as Remembrance day, or Poppy day, while America celebrates as Veterans day. It's a day to remember all the soldiers past and present who gave their lives for their country.

The following are some other things that happened on 11.11

1500 – Treaty of Granada – Louis XII of France and Ferdinand II of Aragon agree to divide the Kingdom of Naples between them.
1634 – Following pressure from Anglican bishop John Atherton, the Irish House of Commons passes An Act for the Punishment for the Vice of Buggery.
1675 – Gottfried Leibniz demonstrates integral calculus for the first time to find the area under the graph of y = ƒ(x).
1750 – riots break out in Lhasa after the murder of the Tibetan regent.
1778 – Cherry Valley Massacre: Loyalists and Seneca Indian forces attack a fort and village in eastern New York during the American Revolutionary War, killing more than forty civilians and soldiers.
1805 – Napoleonic Wars: Battle of Dürenstein – 8000 French troops attempt to slow the retreat of a vastly superior Russian and Austrian force.
1813 – War of 1812: Battle of Crysler's Farm – British and Canadian forces defeat a larger American force, causing the Americans to abandon their Saint Lawrence campaign.
1865 – Treaty of Sinchula is signed by which Bhutan cedes the areas east of the Teesta River to the British East India Company.
1869 – The Victorian Aboriginal Protection Act is enacted in Australia, giving the government control of indigenous people's wages, their terms of employment, where they could live, and of their children, effectively leading to the Stolen Generations.
1880 – Australian bushranger Ned Kelly is hanged at Melbourne Gaol.
1918 – World War I: Germany signs an armistice agreement with the Allies in a railroad car in the forest of Compiègne, France. The fighting officially ends at 11:00 (The eleventh hour in the eleventh month on the eleventh day) and this is annually honoured with a two-minute silence. The war officially ends on the signing of the Treaty of Versailles on June 28th 1919.
1918 – Józef Piłsudski assumes supreme military power in Poland - symbolic first day of Polish independence.
1918 – Emperor Charles I of Austria relinquishes power.
1942 – World War II: Nazi Germany completes its occupation of France.
1942 – World War II: The Second Battle of El Alamein is won by the British in El Alamein, Egypt.
1966 – NASA launches Gemini 12.
1975 – Independence of Angola.
1981 – Antigua and Barbuda joins the United Nations.
1992 – The General Synod of the Church of England votes to allow women to become priests.
2004 – The Palestine Liberation Organization confirms the death of Yasser Arafat from unidentified causes. Mahmoud Abbas is elected chairman of the PLO minutes later.
2008 – RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 (QE2) sets sail on her final voyage to Dubai.
2011 – This year occur the special date 11/11/11 and the film 11-11-11 was released about it.

Holidays and observances

Pocky Day and Pretz Day (Japan)
Pepero Day (South Korea)
Republic Day (Maldives)
Singles Day (China)
Women's Day (Belgium)

Thanks to Wikipedia. See the full list here

Have a good weekend...

Cheers!

Tips to Fight Rising Food Prices

2011-11-10T02:50:00.002+05:30

Image from http://www.sciencedaily.com/

I found this article on Canoe.ca. While it's targeted for Canadian audience, I think these tips can be adapted to suit your lifestyle no matter where you live.

When we compare only our basic needs, food takes a higher priority than clothing and shelter. Under normal circumstances you are unlikely to die if you don't have clothes or shelter. I have the feeling some people might even really enjoy living naked under some tree or in a cave. Hunger and thirst on the other hand will definitely kill you. There is no getting around that.

The unfortunate fact is that food prices are on the rise across the board, all over the world. These tips are to help you make the best of money when doing your grocery shopping.

These are some of the tips. You can read the full article here: http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Features/2011/11/03/18921376.html

Eat at home
If you are eating all three meals, every day from restaurants and fast food joints, then it's going to break your bank. It may be easy, it will add up in the long run, both financially and more importantly, health-wise. It might not always be possible, but if you live in a home or an apartment with a kitchen, there is no excuse not to cook. I believe everyone should know how to cook. At least how to make a bowl of rice and a coconut sambol, and if you are feeling adventurous, parippu. If you know these 3, it's hard to go hungry. Luckily I know and enjoy cooking so I know that I can make do with something as long as I can get a fire going. Keep dinning out for special occasions. it makes the experience more pleasurable.

Shop with a plan
As with anything, make a plan before going out shopping. Make it simple. First, set a budget of what you can/want to spend for a week. Then, see what are the essentials you need for the week and budget them in first. Afterwards, budget in other things that you like, all keeping within the overall budget. What happens when you don't plan is that you end up buying things off the shelf because you like them, and not because they are essential. Sometimes you might even forget the essential items.

Also try to find out where you can get the best deals when shopping. Which shops, and on which days they offer the best discounts, offers and sales.

Put on blinders
It's hard to not give into temptation when walking through aisle and aisle shelves stocked with goodies. Minimize impulse buying. Stick to the plan. Focus, and find the things on your list, and check out. Don't go wandering the aisles.

Avoid prepared foods
Ready made foods are a great time saver, but they are generally more expensive than getting the ingredients and making it from scratch. The other more important factor is that ready made foods are not always the healthiest choice.

Avoid bottled water
Don't buy bottled water for the home. I wouldn't recommend drinking straight out of the tap, so get a kettle and boil the water, or get a filter.

Buy in bulk, keep your kitchen well stocked, and shop infrequently
Buying in bulk can save you money when it comes to the per unit cost. However one thing to consider is storage facilities in your home. On the other hand, there is no point in buying in large quantities if you can't properly store them and leads to additional waste.

Use store rewards cards, and coupons
If the store you visit frequently offers rewards cards, then sign up for them. These will get you discounts, offers and other rewards, grocery-wise. Supermarket chains like Arpico, and Keels have them, but I don't think Cargils does. The other money savers are coupons, but I don't think we even get coupons in the newspaper in Sri Lanka, but if you do get them, then better to make use of them.

Buy locally
Try to but locally grown or made products. Theoretically they should be much cheaper because of the reduction in transportation cost. It actually offers two benefits. One, it is easy on the buyers pockets, and two, also helps benefits the economy of the local community, and encouraging entrepreneurship and self employment.

Look down
Apparently stores will put the more expensive goods at eye-level, and the less expensive ones along the bottom shelves. So check the bottom shelves.

Avoid the end caps and checkout temptation
Those small items placed near the checkout are there to temp you, and are usually premium items. So don't get caught.

Watch for 'Best Before' and 'Sell By' dates
Stores will give discounts on product when it's close to the best before date because they want to get rid of the stock. Please note that there is a great difference in buying something with a close best before date and past the best before date. Don't buy anything that is past it expiry date no matter how cheap it is.

Substitute recipe items
When cooking according to a recipe, it might call for ingredients that are more expensive than others. There is no need to go broke just because you want to make that dish, or be disappointed that you can't make that dish because of unavailable ingredients. These are the times when you need to be creative and start experimenting and find substitutes for those ingredients hard to find or purchase. Who knows, the substitute ingredients might even make the dish better than the original.

Pay in cash
Unless you pay your credit card bills in full every month, don't pay for groceries in credit, because it will only add to your interest. Always pay in cash when possible. That is why early budgeting is important, at least for the groceries.

Check your bill
Cashiers are people too and can make mistakes. To be on the safe side, check your bill. Why pay for mistakes of others.

Grow your own
This is an additional point I would like to add. Having a home garden is not for everyone. You need to have patience, because plants don't grow instantly. It will take time and caring before you can actually harvest something. You don't need a big garden. The key is to make the maximum of the space available. The program on Rupavahini called 'Rividina Arunalla' offers a lot of good practical tips on home gardening. Even if you don't have a garden or live in an apartment, you can have a window box and grow herbs, or Karapincha, and Rampe, in our case.

I wasn't a big fan of gardening before, but my dad started growing stuff and now it has kinda grown on me. I find myself checking on the plants several times a week. Its cool to see the growth of the plants and their fruits, and finally cook them right of the production line.

It is not feasible to follow all these tips. You have to decides what's best for you and realistic according to you situation.

Recently Read - Lamb by Christopher Moore

2011-11-09T03:46:00.002+05:30

I recently came across this very funny author called Christopher Moore. Well, he's been around for sometimes, but I only discovered him recently. I don't think I ever came across his books in Sri Lanka. His genre is comic fantasy.

I found that there are two used book stores near to our apartment, which is like heaven for me. I was in two minds whether or not to buy novels brand new, since I can't be sure whether I'll have enough room in the luggage to bring them back home, so when i found these two basically right next door I was over the moon. The books are really good quality, can't even say that they are used, and nearly half the retail price. So to make long story short, I was perusing the shelves in one when I came across a book called "Lamb" by Christopher Moore. What grabbed me was the tag line "The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal".

The protagonist of the story is Levi, who is called Biff, who is Jesus's best friend since childhood. He is risen from the dead in modern day to write a gospel of his own, because people need a, I don't know, a friendlier gospel.

Here, the culprit is of course Biff, who likes to get into trouble. It is an imaginative account of what Jesus would have done in his childhood years and before he started his ministry. It explores the idea that he spent his youth travelling the east, with Biff in tow, to learn about human nature and the teachings of other religions and beliefs of the time. Afterwards, after Jesus starts preaching, how Biff is his right hand man and helps with the work, and how he tries hard to save Jesus from the tragic destiny, as any best friend would do.

The story doesn't step on what people believe, and not offensive to Christianity at all. Well, at least i thought so. I don't know about religious extremists though. It's a story about friendship, love, and tolerance of others and the beliefs of others all rolled into one funny package.

It's a great book, so I recommend it if you like comic fantasy.

There are about 13 other novels by Christopher Moore in the same genre, so I'm planning to find them soon.

Christopher Moore's site

Amazon Link

On All Hallows Eve

2011-11-06T20:32:00.002+05:30

Image from here: http://www.123rf.com

On anight shrouded in darkness

chilledby the autumn winds

sinistershadows come alive

crawlingout of their hidden realm

fearsomecreatures of the night

allcome out to play

on allhallows eve

Thecoven of witches’ convene

for anight of grand celebration

atradition as old as time

theycome from near and far

north,south, east, and west

brewingpotions and casting spells

rejoicingthe darkness within

on allhallows eve

gravesunearth the restless dead

burningwith desire

towalk among the living again

searchingfor remnants

oftheir former lives

in anendless pursuit

torevive what is lost

on allhallows eve

Jack-O-Lanternsline the streets

glowingwith their sinister smiles

silentkeepers of dark secrets

wehumans are unaware

beware the restless spirits

roamingthe mortal realm

insearch of wayward souls

on allhallows eve

Funky Junk: A Second Life for Plastic Bags

2011-11-03T02:11:00.000+05:30

Image from the World Challenge 2011 site

Funky Junk is one of the finalists for the 2011 World Challenge which comes from Cambodia, where they trying to minimize the environmental effect of plastic bags while helping the local community.

Although Cambodia is considered as a poor country by world standards, it has been having a steady economic growth over the past 10 years.However the ugly side of development is the waste that it produces. One of the most problematic of these waste products is plastic bags. Because they can't be melted down, plastic bags are very difficult to be recycled, unlike waste like tins and bottles.

This problem was seen by Debbie Watkins and her husband, who were operating an Eco-tourism venture in Cambodia. Their response was to start the Funky Junk project. The aim of this project is to collect the discarded plastic bags and make them into something useful, thereby giving them a second life. The innovative idea they came up with is to make a plastic yarn out of the bags and crotchet them into household items, like bags, cushions, mats etc. The quality of the goods are very high and they are gaining an export market as well.

The process starts by washing and disinfecting the collected bags. Once dried, these are then cut into strip, and these strips a tied together to create the yarn. This yarn is what is used to crotchet whatever designs they come up with.

In Cambodia, the poorest of the poor eke out a living by scouring the garbage dumps and collecting tins, glass and plastic bottle, paper and cardboard, etc. to be sent for recycling. Since there wasn't a demand for the plastic bags, these people wouldn't collect them. With the Funky Junk project, there is now demand for plastic bags, so the collectors have an added income source. For the production process, they are based in a small village in South Cambodia. The people who work are the people from the village. they have identified the poorest among the villages and trained them in the production process. This has given these villagers a vital source of income.

So, this project has many benefits:

It helps to recycle a waste product which wasn't recycled before, thereby reducing environmental damage.
It provides an extra source of income for the garbage collectors, and gives them an incentive to go out and collect more and more plastic bags.
It provides a vital income source for poor villagers, who would have had no or very little income. This helps in the betterment of their lives, and in the long run, the betterment of the whole village.

I think this is a very successful project. A very innovative idea to solve a growing problem, which provides benefits to people while helping to reverse the damage caused to the environment.

Please take some time to visit their site and see what they do.
http://funkyjunkrecycled.com/index.htm

See the profile on the World Challenge site.

Check it out!

2011-11-02T23:58:00.000+05:30

Effing Awesome \m/

14 year old drummer from Japan, Senri Kawaguchi

World Challenge 2011 – Innovative Ideas for the Benefit of the World!

2011-11-02T02:52:00.000+05:30

http://theworldchallenge.co.uk/

WorldChallenge is a competition organized by the BBC and Newsweek. It is aimed atfinding projects or small businesses from around the world which have showninnovation and enterprise, and are helping the local community while preservingthe environment.

Theirbasic criteria are:

· Innovative projects or ideas that demonstrate anentrepreneurial spirit working for the benefit of the community whilst adoptinga responsible approach.

· Projects/small businesses that show initiative, theinnovative use of technology or an invention.

· Projects/small businesses that increase investmentinto the local community.

· Projects/small businesses that take a responsibleapproach to the environment in which they are operating.

Thereare 10 nominations form 10 countries, all of which are worthy candidates. Pleasetake some time to have a look at them, and maybe vote for your favorite. Themore important thing would be to see how some of these innovative ideas can beadapted to tackling similar problems in Sri Lanka.

http://theworldchallenge.co.uk/

Random Thoughts(?)

2011-11-01T01:54:00.000+05:30

First ofall Happy Halloween… Let the dark side rule for evah!!!

Image from here: http://www.123rf.com

There isan exec at the office that brings in his puppy to work. It’s a beautiful GoldenRetriever pup, and spends the day inside the guy’s office room during the day.Basically eats, plays and sleeps, the latter more than anything else. The guytakes him down for walks at intervals to do his business. The office has aglass wall, so everybody can see the little dude’s antics. Everyone who walksby that office stops at some point to gush at the little fellow or to play withhim. He’s spoilt with attention now.

Pic taken by one of the guys at office

***

I’mgetting addicted to coffee again. I stopped it sometime before I came here, buthave started drinking it again. Hey, don’t blame me, there is free coffee atthe office, and it’s cheap outside as well. A plain cuppa joe costs somewherearound $1.50 – $2.00, and the fancy ones are a little more than that. TheCanadian equivalent for Starbucks is the Tim Horton's. There are Starbucksoutlets here, but most natives live by Timmy’s. I believe they have the highermarket share over all other coffee shops. Tim’s was founded by a local hockey legend who is its namesake, so the natives are loyal I guess.

***

Unfortunately,along with the coffee, the ciggies too have come back. I blame the cold. So, I’mweak, (don’t) sue me. Back home I only smoked while in the process of gettingdrunk, which was less frequent than you might imagine. Over here the rate hasgone up to about one ciggie (not a pack mind you) a day, which is far better comparingto others.

***

Potatochips are also addictive, especially the spicy flavored ones.

***

Two important statements that I have read recently, whichI think would make a great difference in the world.

“Happiness comes from within”, and

“You’ll never be happy with more until you’re happy withwhat you have currently”

It’sfrom The Minimalists blog from a post called 30 More Life Lessons from 30 Years.

I have realised that most of my unhappiness is caused by(some) outside people. Left by myself, I can be very happy. I’m generally not apeople person, so I’m comfortable with that, but it’s not good for my sociallife though. For me, happiness is not what possession I have, it's the peace within. Stuff is just stuff.

***

Some people have a lot of trouble grasping the fact thatwe each are unique, and similarly, that cultures of different countries arealso unique and different. Don’t expect everything to be the same as what youare used to everywhere you go. Don’t complain about them, embrace the change.It will be much easier on your life and for others around you as well.

***

Cooking daily meals can be boring.

***

This is just me blabbering… pay no attention.

Have a good week y’all.

China, the new Bailout King

2011-10-29T03:03:00.000+05:30

Image from:http://www.webstockpro.com/

The Eurozone debt crisis has forced leaders to increaseinvestments in the region, and they are all looking towards China. They areapparently now in talks with China as a potential investor, and trying to sell bondsin their bailout fund as a potential commercial investment.

China has foreign reserve around $3 trillion, so they aremore than capable of making investments, but they are not going to make it easyfor Eurozone. They would want some concessions. It would be interesting to seewhat their conditions will be, if they decide to put forward any.

Currently China holds the highest amount of US treasurybonds, around $906 billion as of 2010. If the EU deal goes through, China willhold some clout in that area as well. It’s heartening to see the Asian economies steadilyrallying on.

One small example of China’s move into western businessis the takeover of famous western automakers by Chinese companies. Swedish car giant Volvo, which waslast owned by Ford Motors, sold it to the Chinese company The Zhejiang GeelyHolding Group. The rights for the famous Britishbrand MG is owned by a Chinese company, and the latest models will be allrolled out in China. Even London’s iconic Black Cab parts are now made their. ZhejiangGeely Holding Group have a parts manufacturing joint venture with the Black Cabcompany Manganese Bronze. The latest news is that the Swedish auto maker Saabhas signed a deal with two Chinese firms to take over the company.

Isn’t itfunny how things change? During the 60’s and 70’s, China was part of the axisof evil that was communism. Now the very same people who shunned them have tocome knocking on China’s golden doors for favors.

Moral ofthe story, be nice to the people around you, don’t know when you might needtheir help. My addition to this is, if you can’t be nice to people, don’tpretend to be their friends just so that you can get some benefits.

Boeing 787 Dreamliner

2011-10-28T01:22:00.000+05:30

Imagefrom www.boeing.com

OnOctober 26^th, Boeing’s newest aircraft, the 787 Dreamliner made itsfirst commercial flight from Tokyo to Hong Kong. Mind you this is three yearslate than initially planned.

This newoffering, which is a midsized twinjet, is not designed to be faster than therest, or bigger than the rest, but it is designed to be more fuel efficient.This factor alone can make a huge difference to the troubled airline industry.According to Boeing, the new Dreamliner uses 20% less fuel than any otheraircraft of its size.

Anotherfeature of this design is that it is constructed from a light-weightcarbon-composite. It is 80% composite material by volume. This compositematerial is a carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer or plastic, and this aircraft ismade from 32,000kg of it. This material has a higher strength-to-weight ratiothan traditional materials used in aircraft building and helps to make theaircraft lightweight. Other traditional material like aluminum is used on thewings and tail leading edges, and titanium on engines and fasteners.

Theengines used in this aircraft are designed with several noise reductionfeatures. Among these are a redesigned air inlet containing sound absorbingmaterial and a redesigned exhaust duct with tooth patterned rims, allowing fora quitter mixing of exhaust and outside air. These features are expected tomake it significantly quieter both outside and inside. There are two models ofengines used, one from Rolls Royce and the other from General Electric.

Theinterior also has many upgrades. The cabin pressure will be increased to anequivalent of 6000 feet instead of the 8000 feet equivalent used on otheraircraft. This will significantly improve on passenger comfort. An improvedcabin air-conditioning system provides better air quality: Ozone is removedfrom outside air; HEPA filters remove bacteria, viruses, and fungi; and agaseous filtration system removes odors, irritants, and gaseous contaminants.The windows are larger and have an electronic based auto-dimming, taking outthe window shades. It is also designed to better accommodate persons with mobility,sensory and cognitive disabilities.

Becauseof the increased fuel efficiency, the Dreamliner is able to travel further thanother aircraft of similar capacity. Its range is 7,650 to 8,200 nautical miles(14,200 to 15,200 kilometers). Apparently this is the new focus of the airlineindustry, to have direct flights and reduce the amount of stopovers andtransits. This is known as the point-to-point theory, which is a transportationsystem that offers direct travel to the direction. This is the opposite of thespoke-hub distribution theory, where passengers come to a central location andchange into another craft towards their destination.

Thereare many advantages to this point-to-point system:

Minimizeconnections and travel time
Nointerdependency on other flights means that it can avoid the domino effect ofdelays, where one delay can have a rippling effect throughout the network
Lowerchance of baggage loss and baggage delays

Highcapacity aircraft like the Airbus A380 are ideal for the spoke-hub scenario.With new aircraft like the Dreamliner, airlines can offer long rangepoint-to-point routes that can be profitable for them. If the airlines are profitable,then the benefits can be passed down to the passengers, mainly in the form oflower ticket prices and/or value added services.

Sources:

www.boeing.com

Wikipedia

http://www.reuters.com

Colors of autumn

2011-10-26T02:49:00.000+05:30

Aroundthis time of October, the summer heat replaced by cold winds and the leaves ofnon-evergreen trees start to lose their green color and turn into bright reds,oranges, and yellow. Form what people have told me, the trees turn color andthe leaves start to fall in time for Halloween and the ground is covered with acarpet of red leaves. However this time around, it’s not really going accordingto the timetable.

Most ofthe trees in the downtown area are still green or has turned into a rusty brown,instead of their characteristic red hues. Only about half of High Park hasturned red. Even people who live here are saying that this autumn is not asbeautiful as years before. Some say that spring was late in coming and that iswhy the leaves are still not turning. Moving out from the downtown area andinto the suburbs, you see a little more color. Could it be an effect of thecity like an urban heat island? An effect of global warming? It is apossibility.

Whateverit is, it doesn’t seem to have any effect on falling temperature. These daysthe temp is around 10-15C and gradually getting lower. Soon it will hit zeroand then minus, and the snow and the snowstorms. Oh boy, I can’t wait for thatfun to start.

Anyway,went to High Park last Sunday, which was a beautifully warm day by the way, andtook some pics of the colors of autumn.

Enjoyand cheers.

Google map location of high park

A squirrel, storing up on nuts

There is a small zoo inside the park with couple of animals. This one is called a Mouflon Sheep

Wallaby

Capybara

Mallard ducks. These guys are everywhere

Them Zombies are here… Run for the Hills

2011-10-24T05:50:00.000+05:30

Downtown Toronto was flooded withzombies last Saturday afternoon for the 9^th Annual Toronto ZombieWalk. They rose from their graves and came in full swing in all their gory.

October here is the Halloween month andthe spooks are all in town. The Zombie walk has started way back in 2003, aweek before Halloween, when the living dead decided they are not going to takeit lying down, and decided to hunt the city in search of their favorite foodgroup, brains.

What else can one do when there is azombie plague in town, but take plenty of pictures.

Zombie funeral directors, making your afterlife an easy one

Zombie Bride

Yikes, they want my brain...

Zombie priest

Pregnant zombie with zombie kid

Zombie Gadafi

Children of the korn

Scout zombies

Victorian zombie couple

Zombie princess

Jack Sparrow Zombie. This was actually a girl dressed up as JS. Same mannerisms down to how she spoke and walked.

Another zombie bride

Zombie clown. Now that combination would give nightmares to anyone

One thing about these Canadians, they know how to have a hell of a good time.

Cheers y'all, have a great week.

The Fall is Here

2011-10-22T01:08:00.000+05:30

The longdays of summer

are slowlycoming to an end

minuteby minute

the daysgrow shorter

and thenights longer

thewarmth of the summer sun wanes

replacedby icy winds

sendingchills across everything it touches

verdantleaves are starting to fade

hues ofred and yellow taking its place

transformingthe landscape

into abeauty unsurpassed

creatinga vision of an enchanted land

in theend these leaves will fall

shakenout by the wintery winds

whiletheir trees prepare for a long sleep

naked,and vulnerable

againstthe fury of Jack Frost

Random Pics

2011-10-13T02:34:00.000+05:30

Some random pics from around Toronto. You can see the full set on my flickr.

Toronto: in Pics

2011-10-09T20:56:00.001+05:30

This is the Thanksgiving weekend in Canada, which is one of those rare long weekends. The weather is gorgeous, with temperature in the high twenties. You almost forget it's the Fall.

To make the best of the weather, I went downtown to take some pics. i walked along the harbour front area for a while and deiced to take a ferry to the Toronto islands. These are a group of islands couple of kilometers from the shore. Its only about a 15 ferry ride.

As promised, pictures :D

Above is a Google map view of downtown Toronto and the Toronto Islands

The top three are actually pics of the skyline at night from a are called Broadview. This is looking at downtown from behind.

This is one of the ferry's leaving for the Toronto Islands

Pics of Random boats moored at the harbour front area

A lamp post, a tree, and the CN tower

Roof structure of a stage at the Harbour front. if you look closely you can see a reflection of yours truly :D

Toys of the rich

A pic taken from the ferry. There is a plane coming in for landing at the Island airport

Toronto skyline from the ferry

Below are various pics from the island

This sign shows the direction and the distance from Toronto

Can see hazy outline of building further towards the west, a city called Mississaauga

Gibralta point lighthouse

A plane taxing on the Island airport. It's a small airport for domestic flights.

Royal Ontario Museum, better know and the ROM

Old among the new

ROM facade

Enjoy

Cheers!

Elections: Canada vs. SL

2011-10-08T02:42:00.000+05:30

Image from here

The provincialelections for Ontario were held on Thursday, and unless you were reallyfollowing it, you wouldn’t have even known that there was an election going on.

Noposters

Nocolorful flags

Nobanners, billboards, and cut-outs

Novehicle parades

No goonconvoys

No disturbanceof peace

Noviolence

Nocausing inconvenience to the public

In otherwords, it was very civilized.

It doesn’tmean that they don’t do campaigning. They do, but in a more calm and collectedway. They carry on in a way that it doesn’t cause any problems to the generalpublic, because if they inconvenience the public, then they are more likely tolose votes rather than garner them. Some candidates take it to the personallevels, hanging out with the constituents at the corner deli and such. I evenmet one outside a metro station handing out flyers with only one assistant, atnight time too. Can we really imagine our politicians doing that?

In a rareincident there was some election violence though. Was it murder? Beating? Arson?Nope, some supporters of the Liberal party got their car tires slashed and graffitipainted on their walls. That was it, and the media made a very big deal out ofthat. With the things we are used to, this was like child’s play.

Duringone of the previous times I was here, there was a general election to elect theprime minister, and I only knew it because of the TV ads. I think even theCanadians were more excited about the 2008 US election than their own elections.

I hopesomeday the way politics is done in Sri Lanka will change. I want to seeeducated, capable people running for office, starting from the municipalitylevel up to the parliament. I want people to cast their votes based on the workcarried out by the candidate, rather than the promise of a lunch packet and abottle of arrack. I would like to see our representatives and public officials electedor appointed based on the merit of their work and capabilities, and not on howmuch money they can throw around, who they know, how many goons they can musteretc.

Furthermore,the amount of money spent on political campaigns, not only in Sri Lanka even inother countries, are disgusting. Especially in a country like ours, can youreally justify spending obscene amounts of money for something trivial like amunicipal election when so many people are trying to make ends meet. This moneycould have helped keep several deserving families fed, clothed and shelteredfor many months. I understand that you need to advertise and campaign to getyou image and message across to the populace, but there is a line between whatis acceptable and not.

Let’shope that the next generation will be better than the current one at this gameof politics.

One ofthe reasons people hate politics is that truth is rarely a politician'sobjective. Election and power are.

CalThomas

World Teacher’s Day

2011-10-05T18:48:00.000+05:30

Image from here

October 5^th is world teacher’s day. It’scelebrated since 1994 to recognize the essential role of teachers in providingquality education at all levels. It is also an opportunity to promoteinternational standards for the teaching profession. The theme for this year isTeachers for gender equality.

I wrote a post long time back for teacher’s day where I saidthat the profession of teaching should be held at a higher esteem than it iscurrently held at. My feelings haven’t changed since then. I personallyconsider teaching to be a very important vocation, because next to parents,teachers are the people who mould a child during its informative years.

Then again respect is something earned. We have heard ofinstances where the trust placed on teachers has been abused by them. Itdoesn’t necessarily have to be something criminal, but handling something as simpleas a misbehaving child. Some teachers are not able to handle these situationsand might end up doing something that has an adverse effect on the child. Theydo it most of the time because they do not have the proper training on thepsychological aspects of education and child behaviour. Some on the hand do itbecause they just don’t care, and those are the worst kind.

Sadly, modern society has little respect for knowledge andintelligence. The center of gravity for respect has shifted from knowledge tomoney, power and influence. Knowledge maybe power, but money is the ultimatepower.

A lot of people blame teachers for going into the tuition“business. However with the situation as it is today, is it wrong? Teachers arepeople too and they also need to survive. They are not paid high salaries, butthe cost of living is high. So is it wrong for them to supplement their incometo make ends meet? I don’t think so. People say that teachers don’t do theirjobs properly during the school time so that they can get children into theirtuition classes. I say if you want to change that, increase their salaries sothat they don’t have to find other means to cover the balance of the cost ofliving. I believe that a true teacher would always prefer to give their verybest during school time, without getting into the tuition “business”.

Another thing we must do is give all teachers some kind oftraining in child psychology. I’m not familiar with the teacher training systemalready in place here and whether they already do it or not. If it is alreadyhappening then it is good.

My message to all teachers out there is that you are doingimportant work. It may not always feel like that, but it matters for the futuregenerations.

Furthermore, a big thank you to all who have taught me.Respect!

Canada Eh!

2011-10-02T19:49:00.000+05:30

Well, I’m back in Canada for anotherstint at client site. Said good bye to good old SL last Thursday, the 29^th,and will not be seeing her for some months.

Thanks to the time difference, you getto land in North America on the same day as you left Sri Lanka. So, I leftearly morning of the 29^th SL time and landed in Toronto in theevening of the 29^th. The flight was long and tiring. Spent 20 hoursin total, including a 3 hour transit at Abu Dhabi. This time around flew on Etihad Airlines, andthe service was quite good.

I’m a bit upset about the timing of thetrip because I missed Hon. Pusswedilla’s third campaign. I was so lookingforward to this for a long time. Oh well, maybe he’ll have a 4^th campaign.

The weather is quite cold, hovering between10-16 C, and it’s still the beginning of fall. Even the trees are still green. Ihave a feeling I’m in for a very cold winter. The last winter that I was herewas pretty hard, but both the previous one and the preceding one were mild. JackFrost isn’t a fan of mine. To add to the cold, it’s raining too.

My internal clock is whacked out. Nomatter what time I go to bed and night, I wake up around 2 in the morning. Lastnight I actually went to bed around 2am, but woke up around 4. Sometimes I fallback into sleep around 6am again and wake up around 9. Unfortunately the resultis a heavy drowsiness around 3 in the afternoon. You are knocked out foranother 3-4 hours. Hopefully this sorts itself out soon. I have to get back towork tomorrow.

Went to downtown last night, and theplace was crowded. There was a city wide, all night art show in town, so thestreets were jam packed. It’s called Nuit Blanche, where various contemporary artprojects are installed in public building and spaces throughout the downtownarea, and it’s a night event. It went from sunset to sunrise the next day.

Well, here’s to Jack Frost not freezingme!

Cheers!

Poverty is Global

2011-09-19T16:02:00.000+05:30

Going through western media, it is easy to think that thewest is bubbling over with milk and honey, and its roads paved with gold. Itseems like that the people in the west don’t even know the meaning of the wordpoverty. It is a word only for us who are categorized as developing nations.However, the reality is that poverty is a common situation throughout theworld. The trick is that the developed countries have enough money to hide itso that we on the outside can’t see it.

According to the new report released by the US CensusBureau, 46.2 million Americans, i.e. one in six people, lived in poverty lastyear. The poverty rate rose to 15.1% in 2010, from 14.3% in 2009. This is thehighest number since poverty details were first published in 1959.

The data presented here are from the CurrentPopulation Survey (CPS), 2011 Annual Social and Economic Supplement (ASEC), thesource of official poverty estimates. The CPS ASEC is a sample survey ofapproximately 100,000 household nationwide. These data reflect conditions incalendar year 2010.

· The official poverty rate in 2010 was 15.1 percent —up from 14.3 percent in 2009. This was the third consecutive annual increase inthe poverty rate. Since 2007, the poverty rate has increased by 2.6 percentagepoints, from 12.5 percent to 15.1 percent.

· In 2010, 46.2 million people were in poverty, up from43.6 million in 2009—the fourth consecutive annual increase in the number ofpeople in poverty.

· Between 2009 and 2010, the poverty rate increased fornon-Hispanic Whites (from 9.4 percent to 9.9 percent), for Blacks (from 25.8percent to 27.4 percent), and for Hispanics (from 25.3 percent to 26.6percent). For Asians, the 2010 poverty rate (12.1 percent) was notstatistically different from the 2009 poverty rate.¹

· The poverty rate in 2010 (15.1 percent) was thehighest poverty rate since 1993 but was 7.3 percentage points lower than thepoverty rate in 1959, the first year for which poverty estimates are available.

· The number of people in poverty in 2010 (46.2 million)is the largest number in the 52 years for which poverty estimates have beenpublished.

· Between 2009 and 2010, the poverty rate increased forchildren under age 18 (from 20.7 percent to 22.0 percent) and people aged 18 to64 (from 12.9 percent to 13.7 percent), but was not statistically different forpeople aged 65 and older (9.0 percent).²

Footnotes:

1 The poverty rate for Blacks was not statisticallydifferent from that of Hispanics in 2010.

2 Since unrelated individuals under 15 are excludedfrom the poverty universe, there are 422,000 fewer children in the povertyuniverse than in the total civilian non-institutionalized population.

What irks me is that even with all these problems, the USstill insists on poking its nose where it doesn’t belong. They shouldconcentrate on cleaning up their houses before trying to mow the grass in the neighbor’slawn. If the so called “developed countries” are true utopian states, then theywould have the right to correct the rest of the world.

I don’t blame the ordinary people of America. I blame thepolicy makers. Ordinary folk just want to get on with their lives in peace. Ihaven’t dealt with Americans, but I have dealt with Canadians. They arehardworking people with the same problems that we have. Paying their mortgages,leases, healthy lives, good education for their children, etc. I believe thatthere is a common dream for any society, which is to provide a situation betterthan what exist today for future generations.

There is an interesting documentary by Michael Moorecalled Capitalism: A Love Story, which looks into the fall of the US economy.They showed it on one of the HBO channels sometime back. According to that, theeconomy is run by powerful businesses, and even the congress is sometimepowerless to stand in their way.

The disparity in wealth exists everywhere and will existuntil the end of time. Equal wealth distribution is a fairytale. What we should work towards is toreduce poverty, so that everyone is able to satisfy their basic needs, and isable to live comfortable lives in peace.

This is just the trailer, you can find other clips on YouTube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JeROnVUADj0&feature=relmfu

US Census Bureau reports on poverty

http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/data/incpovhlth/2010/highlights.html

Peace!

The Fisherman’s Plea

2011-09-16T16:59:00.000+05:30

Before the new dawn breaks

I set sail on the great ocean

rowing my old wooden boat

drifting further from land

riding upon the waves

I cast my net into the water

praying for bounty

my fate eternally bound

to the kindness of Poseidon

what my net brings forth

keeps the hunger at bay

from me and my family

so, please forgive me

noble creatures of the sea

if I seem heartless

I honor you deeply

for you are our salvation

Pasikuda and Maalu Maalu

2011-09-14T07:32:00.001+05:30

Too much work is not good, so me and the folks at theoffice packed our bags and headed for Pasikuda last weekend for a well-deservedbreak. The journey itself was a bit tiring because it took nearly 10 hours.This was mainly because we went in one of those big tourist coaches, comfy, butnot good if you want speed. There was also a huge traffic jam along theDambulla Habarana road due to road-works, which also added to the delay.

CJ had post last week about the pros and cons of Maalu Maalu. While I have to agree on some con points, for me, the overall experiencewas good. The overall response of the folks at office is also positive.

What won me over was the food. It was excellent. I’m afoodie, so for me, good food will triumph over everything else. I left my diet inColombo and stuffed myself, consequences be damned. Their soups and salads weretop notch. I think I ate more of the salads than the main courses. Event hekola kanda they had for breakfast was good. I’m not a big fan of kola kanda,but this one I gave a try. The same goes for the deserts too.

The place is built as close knit cottages, with 2 roomson some and 4 on others. There are also two family suit cottages with fourrooms (I think), with its own private pool, a Jacuzzi and a steam room. Therooms themselves were quite comfy. The bathroom was huge. I think it was abouta third of the whole room. You could have easily put in another bedroom inthere if you wanted.

The land on which the hotel is built is not that large,hence the cramped feeling. They have had to bring the front of the hotel rightup to the front boundary. Because of this, the area left for parking islimited, unless they have some external location. The main building whichhouses the reception and dining areas is small compared to somewhere likeCinnamon Lodge. But the design of the chalets gives a sense of space. I thinkthis is what the architects might have envisioned. To accentuate the sense ofspace for the chalets they have built them on a V-shape, extending outwardsfrom the entrance. The infinity pool also adds to the sense of space. As alayman, I think it is a great piece of architecture which enhances the sense ofspace on a relatively small land extent. Even though the main building area issmall, it does have two upper floors. The top one has a Karaoke Lounge and anight club with a superb sound and lighting system. The DJ on the other handhas lot of room to improve.

Now, for the important part; the beach. Awesomeness!

The area is part of a huge bay. When you stand in themiddle looking out at seas, the white sandy beaches curve out on both sides. Thesea isn’t rough and stays shallow for some distance, ideal for a dip. If youwalk north along the beach you come across a coral reef. The water is soshallow that you can wade in for quite a distance and see the corals and themarine life using a snorkel. There is also the option of taking a glassbottomed boat and going a bit further into the sea. This area is also shallow,so you can jump in with a lifejacket on and do some snorkeling. Unfortunatelyother than the beach, sightseeing option are limited in the area, unless you goto Batticaloa, which about 40Km away.

The only side effect of the place is the sun burn youget. I have a dark complexion and even I’ve gotten a tan. However, because ofthe constant cool breeze coming in from the sea, you don’t feel the heat, butit does burn. A hat and sunglasses are a must.

In my opinion the best way to enjoy the place is tobecome a night owl. Sleep during the day and party all night. Ideally startaround 4pm with a dip in the ocean, a game of beach volleyball or cricket, andfinish off with a long soak in the pool till the sun goes down. At night, agood barbecue on the beach accompanied by alcohol of your choice and you canhave an excellent time. End the party while watching the sunrise and go tobed afterwards. The sunrise is definitely not something you want to miss. It’s a beautifulsite. Both times when I went to Trinco, I missed it thanks to my laziness so I made it a specialpoint to catch it this time.

Passikuda is not crowded at the moment and very peacefulat the moment, but there are hotels coming up all along the beach, which isgood for the economy of the area. These new enterprises offer direct jobopportunities and indirect tourism related income opportunities for the peoplein the area. If the people have enough money to satisfy not only their needs,but their wants as well, they tend to be happier. When the people are happythen it will be difficult for external factors to influence them into unrest.Once these hotels come up, it would be ideal to make Passikuda also an air taxidestination. It already goes to Arugam Bay, so it can be part of the same trip.This will drastically reduce the travel time and leave more time to enjoy theplace. This is especially good option for foreign tourists.

We are all too familiar with the environmental destructioncaused by ad hoc development. The challenge here is to accommodate developmentwhile preserving the environment and the beauty of the area. For this tohappen, proper planning and management is a must. Hopefully, the relatedauthorities will take this into heart and have an environmentally friendlydevelopment plan so that the natural beauty of the place is not destroyed forthe sake of progress.

International Literacy Day

2011-09-08T15:32:00.001+05:30

On the 17^th of November 1965, UNESCOproclaimed September 8^th as International Literacy Day. The ideabehind it is to highlight the importance of literacy to individuals,communities and societies.

Literacy is a very important factor when it comes tohuman development and economic growth. However, according to data from 2009,there are about 793 million adults around the world who lack even the basicreading and writing skills. From this, two thirds are women.

Knowledge is empowering, more so than money. Sadly, thesedays it feels like it’s the other way around. However, as long as you haveknowledge you can make something out of yourself.

Knowledge rules!!! :)

Literacy Factsheet

List of countries by literacy rate

Skyscraper Day

2011-09-03T10:31:00.000+05:30

Image source: http://www.burjdubaiskyscraper.com

I heard about this in the radio this morning. Apparently the 3rd of September is the day when all those tall buildings are celebrated.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t find much literature about its origins on the net, Except this

I’m somewhat of a fan of architecture, and do admire a good design, whether it is a house or a skyscraper. They are testaments of human ingenuity and imagination. These structures may not live and breathe like organism, but I think they do have a personality.

Skyscrapers can are the concrete equivalent of the tallest and widest trees in a jungle. They rise above the rest and provide shelter to millions of organisms. When you consider it, they provide food too, because we work inside them to make money. The houses are the shrubs and we are the lowly insects.

Facts about the Burj Khalifa, the tallest structure in the world

Wikipedia list of tallest building and structures

A celebration on the day you were born

2011-09-01T15:07:00.001+05:30

Image from here http://funnybirthdaypoetry.blogspot.com/

Another year has come to pass
but the world at large is unaware
this is for you, your personal year
to celebrate that special day
when the world was blessed with another child
rest of the world may not rejoice
but the people to whom you matter the most
will shower you with their love
embrace it, share it
take stock of the life you have led
remember the good times
the laughter and the love
forget the bad times
the hurt and the tears
mistakes are a part of life
learn from them, and mature
what is done is done
move on soldier, move on
when one year ends another one begins
what the future holds no one knows
trials and tribulations are part of life
be strong and defeat them all
greet each day with a smile on your face
go forth and conquer the world!

Jealousy and Envy

2011-08-29T15:39:00.003+05:30

Image from http://jennymatlock.blogspot.com

My lesson for today: these two are not the same. All this time I was under the impression that jealousy and envy very similar, and even interchangeable with each other. Turns out it’s not, and they have separate meanings. Just goes to show you that sometimes what you believe to be right is not always the case.

These are the definitions from Wikipedia:

Jealousy is a secondary emotion and typically refers to the negative thoughts and feelings of insecurity, fear, and anxiety over an anticipated loss of something that the person values, particularly in reference to a human connection. Jealousy often consists of a combination of presenting emotions such as anger, sadness, resentment and disgust. It is not to be confused with envy.

Envy (also called invidiousness) is best defined as an emotion that "occurs when a person lacks another's (perceived) superior quality, achievement, or possession and either desires it or wishes that the other lacked it."

The common experience of jealousy for many people may involve:

Fear of loss
Suspicion of or anger about a perceived betrayal
Low self-esteem and sadness over perceived loss
Uncertainty and loneliness
Fear of losing an important person to another
Distrust

The experience of envy involves:

Feelings of inferiority
Longing
Resentment of circumstances
Ill will towards envied person often accompanied by guilt about these feelings
Motivation to improve
Desire to possess the attractive rival's qualities
Disapproval of feelings

Source: Wikipedia

Ok, the reason I looked up the definition was that I came across a cool article called “Jealousy Is a Wasted Emotion” on the “The Minimalist” blog.

According to them we can turn off our jealous feelings:

There is good news though. Like our televisions, we can chose to turn it off. We can choose to remove jealousy from our emotional arsenal. And like TV, it’s not always easy to turn off (it sure seems interesting sometimes, doesn’t it?) But turning off jealousy can significantly improve one’s emotional health. Because, at the end of the day, jealousy is never useful. Many negative emotions can be useful—pain tells us something is wrong, fear tells us to look before we leap, etc.—but jealousy, no matter how jealous we get, will never help.

Worth a read. If we can control these negative emotions we'll be much better people and much happier.

Cheers!

The Never Ending Battle

2011-08-19T15:05:00.002+05:30

Every morn it begins anew
a battle for survival for our daily bread
we leave our houses like scurrying ants
heading towards our daily toil
suburban homes are standing empty
while city streets are clogged shut
cold building that stood empty at night
comes alive with returning drones
their blood and sweat oil the cogs
on which the city runs
thus the endless struggle continues
to keep us fed, clothed and, sheltered

Alone

2011-08-12T15:49:00.001+05:30

The ticking of the old Grandfather clock
echoes throughout the old house
while shadows come alive
taking over darkened corners
droplets of water escape
one by one from a leaky kitchen faucet
ignored and forgotten
never to be fixed
from the rotting roof above the great hall
a great chandelier hangs in gloom
where once it sparkled like diamonds
radiating warmth and happiness
now spiders have spun their webs
ghosts of the past still wanders about
along dusty hallways
where sunshine rarely peeks
laughter of children
and the warmth of love
are memories of a time long lost
she spends a her days in that dying house
alone and unloved
forgotten by all
until she too is just another ghost

Some Random Pics

2011-08-10T15:41:00.003+05:30

Sailing at sunset

An evening at the beach. Apparently everybody had the same idea.

Fighting for supremacy

Kiss

Taking the flag down

Amber alert

Signal

Bana-na-na

Famine in Africa

2011-08-08T16:14:00.002+05:30

Image from http://antti.vilpponen.net/2011/07/29/famine-in-africa/

It seems to me that the continent of Africa has been in the receiving end of bad luck throughout history. Draught, famines and never ending conflicts, both international and internal, has plagued African countries for centuries.

The latest in these series of disasters is the ongoing famine in the Horn of Africa, which comprising of Eritrea, Djibouti, Ethiopia and Somalia. The worst hit at the moment is Somalia, but it is also affecting some parts of Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan and Uganda, with the potential to spread even further. The UN estimates 12 million people are in the brink of starvation in Somalia, while tens and thousand have already perished, mostly children. This is considered as the worst famine to hit in 20 years. Severe drought of the past two years and many conflicts in the area has destroyed food production, infrastructure and impeded aid, have been the major factors contributing for this situation.

To make things worse, militant groups are taking the people already suffering hostage by refusing them access to aid. This has been going on for some time, but fortunately, these militants have changed their stance and left the affected areas. This will allow the aid agencies to carry out their relief work. It fails understanding how one group of people can condemn another group of their own people, especially children, to a slow and painful death like starvation. At least a bullet to the head is quick, and merciful. Has humanity become so depraved?

The north-east part of Africa has had more than its share of misery in the past years. Between 1984 -1985, the largest famine to hit Ethiopia killed nearly 1 million people. This is what inspired Bob Geldof’s Band Aid concert, which raised over $100 million.
In 1988 nearly 6 million Ethiopians faced the risk of starvation due to famine.
In 1992 nearly 2 million people faced starvation in Somalia.
In 1994, the civil war in Sudan left 2.5 million Sudanese needing emergency food aids. In the same year, almost 7 million people face food shortage in Ethiopia.
According to the UN, about 22 million people were facing starvation in Sub Saharan Africa in 1996.
In 1997, Kenya declared a state of national disaster after severe drought threatened the livelihoods of nearly 2 million people.
Add to these the various never ending conflicts in the area and you have a lifetime of misery and suffering for the people.
Between 1998 and 2004 3.8 million people died of starvation and disease during the Second Congo War.
In 2003, famine in Sudan’s Darfur region
In 2005 food crisis in Malawi
In 2006 food crisis in the horn of Africa affecting Somalia, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Kenya
In 2009 Kenyan food crisis affecting nearly 10 million
In 2010 food crisis in the Sahel region, a belt 1000 km wide spanning across middle of the African continent form the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea

With this amount of suffering going on in the rest of the world, our petty problems that we squabble over seem quite irrelevant, and our greed sickening. It doesn’t matter what your beliefs are, but these people deserve our prayers and blessings.

More details: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Horn_of_Africa_drought

More Pics: http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2011/07/famine-in-east-africa/100115/

7-Billion Hits and Counting

2011-08-03T13:47:00.004+05:30

How I wish my blog would get that much hits.

We humans have been very busy procreating and ensuring that our species will continue forever. We’ve been so successful at it that our population is set to reach the 7 billion mark later this year. Quite an achievement wouldn’t you say? Well, that remains to be seen.

We hit the 6 billion mark back in 1999, and it took only 12 years for another billion people to be added. This high rate of growth is seen only in the past 5 decades or so. It was recent as 1960 that the population was 3 billion. In a narrow span of 50+ years it has jumped its way to 7 billion. According to UN projections, the populations will reach 10.1 billion by 2100.

Sadly, research by David Bloom, a professor of economics and demographics at the Harvard School of Public Health, shows that most of this growth will be seen in the developing nations, not the developed ones. A lot of challenges will be faced by these nations to sustain their people. Poverty is sure to increase along with the competition for limited resources.

The research also shows that the growth rate of developed nations are likely to remain flat, but it has the challenge that there will be less working age adults to support the retired community.

“In the next 40 years, virtually all (97%) of the world's 2.3 billion projected increase will be in the underdeveloped regions, with nearly half (49%) in Africa.”

However, according to Mr. Bloom these challenges can be overcome if we are willing to take some serious action.

"Those challenges are not insurmountable, but we cannot deal with them by sticking our heads in the sand. We have to tackle some tough issues ranging from the unmet need for contraception among hundreds of millions of women and the huge knowledge-action gaps we see in the area of child survival, to the reform of retirement policy and the development of global immigration policy. It's just plain irresponsible to sit by idly while humankind experiences full force the perils of demographic change,"

Call me a pessimist, but I believe the world is already straining its resources to sustain the current population. Almost half the population, around 3.5 billion, lives on less than $2.50 a day. I’m doubtful that it will improve anytime soon. I’ll be very happy if I’m proven wrong. Ok, if by some miracle people start to care for each other and alleviate poverty, the more important question to ask is whether our planet can continue to support us.

I believe one way to tackle things is to improve on what is categorized as sustainable technologies. These include Renewable energy, sustainable living, organic agriculture, environmental economics, and environmental technology. With these, we could probably reduce the stress we place on the planet’s resources.

“In the last 200 years the population of our planet has grown exponentially, at a rate of 1.9% per year. If it continued at this rate, with the population doubling every 40 years, by 2600 we would all be standing literally shoulder to shoulder.”
Stephen Hawking

“Short of nuclear war itself, population growth is the gravest issue the world faces. If we do not act, the problem will be solved by famine, riots, insurrection and war.”
Robert McNamara, Former World Bank President

Some interesting reads:

http://articles.cnn.com/2011-07-27/us/world.population.growth_1_global-population-perils-demographic-challenges?_s=PM:US
http://www.unfpa.org/public/cache/offonce/home/news/pid/7971;jsessionid=08F2A1B1FC64FA4CB80383C571061E42.jahia01
http://www.globalissues.org/article/26/poverty-facts-and-stats
http://7billionactions.org/
http://www.worldometers.info/population/

RedBull X Fighters

2011-08-01T14:14:00.005+05:30

Some pics from the RedBull XFighters show held at the Galle Face Green.

Frugal Living

2011-07-29T14:50:00.003+05:30

Money, Money, Money
Image and Graphics by Me :)

The modern world is driven by consumerism. Every minute of every day we are bombarded with messages buy goods and services, whether we need them or not, and more importantly, whether we can afford it or not. This type of impulsive consumerism causes people to live outside of their means, which will ultimately lead to debt.

Frugality on the other hand can be considered as the opposite of consumerism. It is defined by modern behavioural scientists as the tendency of acquiring good and services in a restrained manner, and resourcefully using already owned economic goods and services to achieve a longer term goal. It isn’t about living a life of sacrifice and deprivation. It’s about living smarter, so that you can afford to live the life you want to live.
Being frugal is a personal lifestyle choice. It helps you to live within your means and to avoid impulsive spending habits. This will in the long run let your enjoy the things you have without being in debt.

Frugal living means:

Smarter money management.

Smarter spending

Harnessing your creativity

Make a budget. Know what you have in the bank and how much you need to cover the monthly bill so that it will allow you make better decision about how your money is spent. It will also help you to know where you stand in you debt repayments, saving goals and investments. These are key steps to taking charge of your money and making it work for you.

Smarter spending habits go hand in hand with smarter money management. Identify the price that you can afford and try to find the best deals until your expectations are met. Likewise, know when not to shop. Try to stick to the budget you made and not make any unnecessary purchases that doesn’t fit to it.
When you are dealing with limited resources, and you will have to be more creative to make the best of it. A frugal person can increase savings by reusing, repurposing and creating.

The following tips are from an article in the Reader’s Digest, written by Julie Rains, titled “8 Tips on how to stay frugal”. Unfortunately there is no online version of it available.

Don’t Let Frugality Inhibit your Ambition
You don’t have to earn less just because you want to live a frugal lifestyle. Have worthy goals in life and strive to achieve them. The key is not to make money the key factor that drives all you decision making, be it career of life.

Take Excellent Care of Yourself
Being frugal should improve your health and mental outlook and not be hazardous to your well beign. Eating healthily and regular exercises are key to healthy living.

Take Excellent Care of the Things You Own
When you take care and have proper maintenance of the things that you do own, they will last longer.

Stay on Top of Technology
Technology isn’t a bad thing. Used properly it can actually help you. These days, the newest technology is not a luxury, and many items are functional and helpful.

Go on Adventures
Frugality is spending what you have wisely and doesn’t mean never allowing yourself to splurge on trips you can afford.

Become an Expert in Something
Finding a hobby that interest you and devoting your time to it can distract you from the bombardment of marketing messages that push you to consume impulsively.

Be Nice to the Wealthy
Make friends and don’t worry about your differences in spending habits. Frugality is more about pursuing your dreams and not letting someone else define your successes. Saving a few Rupees and being debt free is just an added bonus.

Forgive Yourself for Frugal Lapses
Don’t be hard on yourself if dare to splurge once in a while.

A frugal lifestyle is identifying what you want in life and finding ways to achieve them through limited resources. A few rupees saved and invested don’t mean a life of depravation, but of possibilities. It’s a matter of conditioning your mind. Eventually, a frugal lifestyle will let you live a simple life.

Sources: Reader’s Digest, Wikipedia, About.com

Orchids

2011-07-27T10:47:00.004+05:30

Some more Orchids from the Orchid House at the Peradeniya Botanical Gardens.

A Simple Life

2011-07-21T15:28:00.003+05:30

Misty Mountains

Our lives run through the world like white water rapids, fast and furious. Focused solely on the end goal, and never noticing the calm and serenity of the shores on either side. If ever you decide to step on to the shore and observe, then you will realize that this world is bat shit crazy.

There is nothing wrong with having goals and living a fast paced life. Having goals and striving to achieve them gives a purpose to life, leading to happiness. However, the path to achieving these goals should not be at the expense of others. By others, it doesn’t mean just your fellow human beings, but the entire eco system that surrounds us. If the price of your success is the destructions of your fellow man, then that is not real success at all.

Sadly the situation is such in the world that success at any cost has become a necessity. Resources available for our consumption are limited and dwindling day by day. Competition to acquire these limited resources is fierce. There are many people out there who are unable even to satisfy their basic needs of food, shelter and clothing. On the other hand, our levels of satisfaction have also increased. Now it is not just about satisfying our need, but pursuing our wants as well. Our materialistic possessions have become the standards to which our lives are measured. So it is natural that people will want to have more of these materialistic possessions, sometimes by any means necessary.

The idea of simple living covers several different voluntary practices to simplify one’s lifestyle. It is characterized by the fact that individuals are satisfied by their needs, rather than their wants. This doesn’t mean that one has to be an ascetic. An ascetic life is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from various form of worldly pleasure, often with the aim of pursuing religious and spiritual goals. This can be considered as an extreme form of simple living. It is also not forced poverty, because it’s a voluntary life style. The basic idea of simple living is to control oneself so that satisfying your needs and wants doesn’t lead to a harmful existence to yourself and others.

The following are some common reasons why people opt for a simple living lifestyle.

Spirituality

Health

Increase in “quality time” with family and friends

Reducing their personal ecological footprint

Stress reduction

Personal taste

Frugality

Socio-political goals aligned with the anti-consumerist movement

Conservation

De-growth

Social justice

Ethnic diversity

Sustainable development

There are several ways to achieve a state of simple living. The following can be considered as the main ones.

Reducing expenditure, income and possessions
Reduce expenditure on goods and services, in doing so it is possible to live on less income, to reduce income and the time spent on earning money. This time saved can be used in other ways, like spending with family and friends.

Unfortunately the present prices of even the basic commodities are high, and to people need higher incomes to survive.

Increasing self-sufficiency
Simply put, grow your own food. Self-sufficiency will reduce dependency on money and the economy. Although a large plot of land will produce more crops, pot gardens and miniature indoor greenhouses can also provide fresh home grown fruit and vegetables for city dwellers.

Not everybody can do this. To make it successful, you have to love gardening in the first place. Otherwise you won’t have the patience or the interest to grow your own food.

Reconsidering technology
Some technology can help you to live simply. Some people see the Internet as a key component of simple living in the future, including the reduction of an individual's carbon footprint through telecommuting and less reliance on paper.

Simplifying diet
Eat food with nutrition value, and give up junk food. If you want to take it further, become a vegan.

You don’t have to do all of these, or go to extreme forms of simple living. First, take an analytical look into you lifestyle see what are the unimportant things that you can give up. Then you can start to reduce them and finally eliminate them. This will ultimately help you lead a stress free and happy life.

Peace.

Source: Wikipedia

New Food Rules

2011-07-12T13:13:00.003+05:30

I have been neglecting the old blog lately. Life and its problems tend to throw a wrench into cogs and disrupt the normalcy. However, there is no point in wallowing in them. Dust it off and move on.

For one thing, years of bad eating habits and junk food finally caught up with me. So I’ve turned into a bit of a health nut now. Well, more of a “forcibly turned into” one. That is why I thought I’d share this article from the Reader’s Digest. It’s written by Michael Pollan, and offers a few simple rules to eating healthy without losing your appetite. I’ve put down a summary of it below, and you can read the full article here: http://www.rdasia.com/2011-the-new-food-rules

Rule #1: Eat Food
Eat real food and try to avoid processed foods.

Rule #2: Eat food that will eventually rot
Real food is alive and it should eventually rot. Rotting happens when bacteria and fungi start feed on it. In processed food, some of these nutrients are taken out to extend their shelf life. The more processed a food is, the longer the shelf life, and the less nutritious it typically is.

Rule #3: Eat your colors
The colors of fruits and vegetables reflect the different antioxidant phytochemicals they contain, which helps protect against chronic diseases, but each in a slightly different way. So the best protection comes from a diet that contains many different phytochemicals as possible. The more colorful (naturally, not with artificial coloring) the food is, the healthier it is.

Rule #4: “The whiter the bread, the sooner you’d be dead”
As far as the body is concerned, white flour is not much different from sugar. It offers non of the good things in wholegrain and is little more than a shot of glucose.

Rule #5: Eat mostly plants, especially leaves
By eating a diet that is primarily plant based, you’ll be consuming fewer calories, since plant food are usually less “energy dense” than other things you eat.

Rule #6: Stop eating before you are full
Various cultures have different sayings on this. The Japanese counsel people to stop eating when they are 80% full, and Indian Ayurvedic tradition advises eating till you are 75% full.

Rule #7: Eat sweet food as you find them in nature
In nature, sugar almost always comes packaged with fiber which slows their absorption levels.

Rule #8: Break the rules once in a while
You don’t have to be a stickler for the rule. Break them once in a while and enjoy the food. My idea is stick to the rules at home and then you can break the rules when you are out, unless you always eat from out.

Rul3 #9: Pay more, Eat less
If you spend more on better quality food, then you are more likely to eat less of it and treat it with more care. Choose quality over quantity.

Rule #10: Avoid food products that contain more than five ingredients
The higher the number of ingredients, more likely they are to be highly processed.

Today, our lifestyles have changed from that of our grandparents, even our parents, times. For lives always on the go, junk food has become the dietary norm. I remember my grandparents always had balanced diets for all their meals. Even my mother is like that. I, on the other hand, am quite the opposite. Believe me; it will eventually catch up with you. Once you are on a healthier diet, you will actually feel the difference.

Pic from here: http://dreamzs.net

Singapore

2011-05-31T16:04:00.002+05:30

Some random pics of the city. :)

Daybreak

2011-04-28T15:13:00.000+05:30

The stillness of the night
fades away,
slowly and steadily.
Songs of the birds
shatters the silence,
fighting away
the spell of the Sandman.
The golden disk of Ra
breaks the horizon
sending out rays of hope;
rejoice! a new day has begun.

The Little Green Frog

2011-04-20T16:05:00.005+05:30

Ribik! Ribik! Ribik!
Sings the little green frog
Down in the Lily pond
By the old castle gates

Powerful Kings and lowly peasants
All pass through this royal passage
But none pays the slightest heed
To the sad song of the little green frog

It is written in the tales of yore
A princess will come to set him free
Patiently he waits for that elusive kiss
So that he too can become a man

Original image here: http://www.4to40.com/images/poems/frog_and_the_bird/little_green_frog.jpg

Sri Lanka in Hollywood

2011-04-15T15:20:00.001+05:30

You know you’ve arrived when Hollywood starts to name drop. As much as I wish it’s my name, I’m talking about good old Sri Lanka as a country.

I recently came across two instances, where Sri Lanka was mentioned in Hollywood TV shows. Nothing major, just a mention as another country in the world, but still…

I know there were several films that were shot on location here, but the storyline is set in a different country altogether. The oldest movie reference that I know of is a film called “Elephant Walk” way back in 1954 starring Elizabeth Taylor. The storyline is set in a Tea plantation in times of British Ceylon.

A modern day reference was in an episode of Judging Amy, a long time back. The only reason it stuck was because it was the first time I’ve heard it mention in an American TV show.

More recently it was mentioned in an episode of Covert Affairs and a cartoon named Generator Rex.

OK, contrary to what is mentioned above, I DO NOT watch a lot of TV. It’s just I need to watch something while having meals at home. It’s merely a case of watching the right show at the right time.

Anyway, if anyone out there knows of any movies or TV shows that mentions Sri Lanka, please drop a comment.

සුභ අලුත් අවුරුදක් වෙවා

2011-04-12T18:18:00.001+05:30

ඔබ සියලු දෙන හට ජයෙන් ජයම සපිරි කලක් උදා වෙවා කියා ප්‍රාර්තනා කරමි.

Spring Cleaning

2011-04-08T14:37:00.003+05:30

I thought I'd spruce up the bloggie with a new look. The bugger deserves something at least once in a blue moon.

Cheers!

Nature and Man

2011-04-07T16:42:00.002+05:30

Image from here: http://www.screensaverbase.com

There was this ad on Discovery or National Geographic (I can’t remember which) that asked why we humans were put on this earth. If I remember correctly, it goes through some animals and what benefits they give to the planet, and questions our role in it. The answer they give is that we are the only ones capable of protecting it.

In my opinion, the only thing that this planet needs protection from is us. The ad is a contradiction in itself. If there weren’t any humans, the planet would not need any saving, because most of the damage is done by us, specifically the artificial world that we have created.

Nature on the other hand can take care of itself. It doesn’t need protection from itself. It knows what is best for it and if there is a problem, it will take the necessary steps to rectify itself. There is equilibrium to everything.

Then along comes Man, who basically throws in a spanner to the cogs and shatters the balance with his artificial world. His advances in the field of medicine allow him to fight diseases and give him longevity in life. This ultimately leads to exponential increase in population, not sustainable by the planet. As the population increases, more resources are needed to up keep them. More forests are cut down to make room for agriculture, the mines are dug deeper and deeper for more minerals, waste material increases, and so the list goes on forever.

As Agent Smith memorably said, humans are a virus. We spread all over, sucking the life out of our host, mutating to overcome the defense mechanisms thrown out by the host.

Or, is it the other way round?

If the planet is anyway heading for a natural catastrophe, then humans are the only species capable of doing something about it. We are the architects of technology. This technology must be used to ensure that life will be able survive whatever disaster that is going to happen, and carry on for evermore. We humans are its guardians. For all we know, there is only one planet that has complex life forms in the whole vast universe.

It begs the question, is there an unknown master plan, which was aware of a future peril so great that it choose one animal out of millions to develop the intellectual capacity to one day ensure that the flame of life does not extinguish forever from the universe? If it is so, I only hope that we can live up to that expectation.

Untitled

2011-04-04T07:51:00.001+05:30

I’m not a die-hard cricket fan, or of any sport for that matter. My interest is usually limited to knowing who won and who lost, and even that is only when SL is playing. Surprisingly I found myself taking an interest in this World Cup.

Unfortunately the final result was not in our favor. So now we have India as the world champions and we are the runners up. A worthwhile achievement nonetheless.
What stuck with me the most is the aftermath. It was good to see the team being warmly welcomed back to the country amidst cheers, still treated as champions even though they weren’t.

As a nation we should be proud of the fact that we stand behind our team whether they win or lose.

I wonder if the Indian players would have been treated the same if they had lost.

Best of luck to the SL cricket team in their future endeavors.