Fun on Two Wheels

I’m hovering on cloud nine these days coz I just bought me very own motorcycle. Yipikayea…

It’s a dream come true coz I’ve been a bike nut since I was a kid. I think it started after watching the TV series "Renegade" with Lorenzo Lamas, if anybody remembers that. Watched it mostly because of the bike I think (and the cute chick of course :D). It gave my first introduction to the world of the Harley’s. Well mine ain’t a Harley, but its as close as I can get :D.

There’s something wild and exiting about riding a two wheeler, unlike four wheelers. I really can’t explain what it is, so don’t ask me to. It could be the added element of danger and risk factor. There are only a few pieces of metal and rubber between you and the hard top of the road. An angry wild beast is under your control and you have to make it do what you want. The power and the speed is enough to get your adrenalin rush. There’s nothing like it. You feel you’re more tuned in with the road and the environment. I guess it’s because you have to have a higher level of concentration and be more alert while riding. Unlike a four wheeler, one false move and you’ll be kissing the tarmac. The worse case would be you’ll be singing with the Devils (or the Angels, depending on which side you root for).

Cities aren’t the best place to get the best out of your beast. Too much bloody traffic. You have to get it to a nice open stretch of road and then you can really fly. Unleash the full force and get the max out of it.

Small confession to make though, I maybe a bike nut, but I know jack shit about the mechanical stuff. It’s the riding part that gets to me. In hopes changing this, I’m slowly doing some research and reading up on the mechanical stuff. Hopefully will become and expert in the (very )distant future :D.

I don’t know how long I will be able to do all this, looking at the way petrol prices are going up. I’d be less than broke pretty soon, but till then I’m going to cruise the badlands, with the wind on my face and not a care in the world…

Cheers!!!



Four wheels move the body. Two wheels move the soul.
-Author Unknown

Most motorcycle problems are caused by the nut that connects the handlebars to the saddle.
-Author Unknown

Only a biker knows why a dog sticks his head out of a car window.
-Author Unknown

It takes more love to share the saddle than it does to share the bed.
-Author Unknown

7 Random Facts about My Self

Well I’ve been tagged by Lady Divine to write up 7 random facts about me self. Hmmm… what to say?

Oh well here goes

1. I am a loner – Well not the psycho type hiding out in a cabin somewhere deep inside a forest, shooting at people (although it does sound appealing…). True, I’m not a people person. They annoy and irritate me. Not that big on socializing, but I don’t actively shun the social life either. Occasional wild mad parties I don’t mind, but not frequently. I don’t have a lot of friends, but a few very good ones. They know who they are. Very bad at having relationships, mainly because I’m a selfish bastard he he…

2. I like to take life easy – Don’t mistake that for laziness, when working on something I give it a 110%, but rest of the time I like to take it easy. No point in worrying about things which are out of your control is there? I have a loose idea of fate. I like to believe that fate is not a strict authoritarian. It gives us a whole bag load of choices and the outcome depends on the decisions we take. When things just don’t go the way you want, you just have to believe that it happened for a good reason. Beats worrying about it and a lot less stressful.

3. I’m a cat person – I like all animals, including dogs, but given the choice between a dog and cat, I’d choose the kitty in a flash. Why do I like them? I guess it’s their independent nature, a lot like me. A free spirit, who doesn’t like to be bound to anything. And there’s definitely something evil about those furry little critters.

4. I like watching cartoons and reading comics – A very big fan of Bugs Bunny and the Looney Toones Gang. Bugsy, Slyvester, Daffy, Porky and of course who could forget Foghorn Leghorn. “Ah say…Now look here son, listen to me when Ah ma talking to you”. Still love them and will keep on watching till my dying day, no matter what people say. Also a very big fan of Garfield. Hmm… must write a separate post about these important individuals.

5. Coffee addict – weeell not that much, but cant function properly in the morning without a cup. Usually have about 5 cups a day. I shouldn’t say this, seeing that Tea is our #1 export and all that, but not a big fan of Tea.

6. I love good food and I love cooking – It’s a hobby and it’s great. I don’t know about other people, but it’s like a stress buster. (the cooking I mean, and no I don’t stuff myself with food)

7. I enjoy the simple things in life – A good book and some good music and I’m more than happy. Add to that a sizzling barbeque and a bottle of Vodka and I’m in Heaven.

Well I guess that’s about it…

Since I’m supposed to tag seven other bloggers, I’d like to call upon Harshadewa, Leisel, Pissu Perera, Mia, The Jester, Darwin & Rhythmic to do the honors.

Cheers people!

The Hills of Nuwaraeliya

Two of my friends and I decided to take a much deserved break from the daily grind, so we took a road trip to Nuwaraeliya over the last weekend. It’s so refreshing to get away Colombo and to at least spend a couple of days without the smog, dust, dirt and the noise.

We started off at around 5.30. The original time of departure was around 3.00 am but no one got up at that time :D. Since we stayed the night at RC’s place in Wattala, we decided to take the Kandy route. Fortunately due to a navigational error we ended up going to Hatton from Gampola and going through that route. I call it fortunate because we were planning to come back through that route, but the return journey was in the nighttime and we would have missed a lot of the scenery and great photo ops. It worked out for the best anyway. So after taking the longer scenic route, we finally made it to Nuwaraeliya around 2.00pm. Spent rest of the day wandering around the town and taking some photos. Sunday went to Horton Plains and did the whole runaround.

One thing I’m proud of is that this is the first fully sober trip I’ve been since leaving school. Thanks to the other two, who are civilized, respectable people, who don’t drink…he he :D. Otherwise would never have managed the whole Horton Plains route.

No matter how many times I go there I always love going to Nuwaraeliya. Not just the town, but the whole route itself. Reminds one how lucky we are to live in such a beautiful country. Truly a paradise island like none other in the world.

Anyway, enjoy the photos. You can see more of them in our officially unofficial photographer Harshadewa’s Flikr page.

More Pics here

Cheers!

St Clair's Falls

© 2007 Harshadewa

Bakers Falls

© 2007 Harshadewa

Brrr... Someone Gimme a Coat

© 2007 Harshadewa

A view of the town

© 2007 Harshadewa

Reading

Lady Divine mentioned in one of her comments that I must be someone who likes to read a lot, and I thank her for reminding me of a topic to write a post about. Reading is my #1 hobby so I thought it should deserve a mentioning.

I’m not sure when I got addicted to it or anything, but it’s something I’ve been doing since I was a little kid. I would read anything that I could get my hands on. In the early days it was the Enid Blyton series, The Famous Five. The Five Find-Outers, Secret Seven and so on. Then came the Hardy Boys and The Three Investigators, and now, anything and everything. From Asteriks, to the works of Stephen King, Terry Pratchett, Agatha Christie, P. D. James… well the list goes on and on and on…

A special mention must be made of Enid Blyton. All of her series are timeless. I still love reading one of those old books, especially the Five Find-Outers series, Fatty and the Gang on one of their adventures, with Mr. Goon the policeman trying to meddle in them. I think I’ll enjoy them even when I’m old and grey.

I guess I can thank my grandfather for my love of reading. He was a big reader too. Most of his stuff is gone now, but I do have his collection of Reader’s Digest magz, dating back to 1940s through to the seventies. And yes, I think I’ve read them all at least twice over. ( Not all at once, but over the span of 20 years or so :D). Guess I’m still continuing his tradition.

So why do I like reading so much? Because it creates a world where you can loose yourself, have adventures, be a hero, a lover or even the bad guy. You can go to the ends of the world, fly through space and time, discover new worlds, fight evil sorcerers and many more. And you can do all these things without leaving home. In my case I prefer to create my own movies when I’m reading, putting my favorite actors in the roles and so on. Makes the whole thing definitely more fun.

The other thing is that while engrossed in reading, you can forget about the real world, at least for a while. Personally I am someone who likes to be alone. I know what you are imagining, a psychotic loner holed up in a room stacked with books, who hasn’t seen sunlight for a long time. Well you can stop right there, coz that’s far from the truth as can be. I like hanging out with my friends and traveling all over. It’s just that I am someone who wouldn’t mind solitary confinement, as long as there’s an infinite supply of reading material.

I do have a small confession to make, which I feel guilty about. I don’t read Sinhala Fiction. Non-fiction, informative stuff I don’t mind but, not fictional stuff. It’s just maybe I haven’t come across any good contemporary Sinhala fictional works. I’m not talking about the old stuff from the likes of Martin Wickremasinghe and others of that genre, but new stuff. Ok maybe I haven’t done a good enough search, but most of the stuff I’ve seen on racks is the usual sob stories about girl meets boy, boy dumps girl, or parents put a stop to affair and both kill themselves, or something similar along these lines. No thank you… I’d rather read a label off a packet of biscuits. I must do a search and see if I can find anything interesting in the Sinhala fiction arena.

I take my leave with a few quotes about books and reading.

Cheers!

Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.
Sir Richard Steele


Books to the ceiling,
Books to the sky,
My pile of books is a mile high.
How I love them! How I need them!
I'll have a long beard by the time I read them.
Arnold Lobel


Resolve to edge in a little reading every day, if it is but a single sentence. If you gain fifteen minutes a day, it will make itself felt at the end of the year.
Horace Mann (1796 - 1859)


Never judge a book by its movie.
J. W. Eagan

Riding the Rails

Ever since I was a little kid I loved trains and riding the rails. I know… I know it’s one of those boys and their toys stories, but what the heck! And no, I’m not a train fanatic either. It’s just that traveling by train is more fun than traveling by roads, especially in a bus. There’s something about those big diesel engines that is cool. The power generated is impressive, more than enough to tow several rail cars full of passengers through all kinds of terrain.

An average diesel engine weighs about 270, 000 pounds or 122, 470 kg. It can generate about 3,200 horsepower and the generator in turn converts this into about 4,700 amps of electricity. This electricity is used by the four drive motors to generate about 64,000 pounds of thrust, which can take a locomotive into speeds of up to 177 kph.

More on how diesels engine work

More on SL Railways

I guess trains are in my blood too. My grandfather was a station master and some of his relatives were engine drivers. So my father and uncle practically grew up on the tracks with the trains. During his career, my grandfather was posted in various stations all over the country and the family too traveled as the job took him. The best thing about that is that they got to experience a lot of wonderful things during these stints, traveling all across the country. My dad still talks about the stuff they used to do in the good old days. That’s probably where I get my love for traveling too.

Anyway I too recently became a member of the Train Gang. No they are not a bunch of train robbers. They are the people who commute to and from work in trains. It happened because we changed houses. We were living closer to Colombo and the new place is bit further, but I love the new place coz I grew up there and it’s a great neighborhood. A lot of people are commenting why we want to move further away from Colombo when all the other people are trying to get closer to Colombo and blah blah blah. That is the EXACT reason I want to get away from Colombo. I HATE COLOMBO!!! It’s crowded, noisy and dirty. Unfortunately all the jobs, especially in the IT sector are concentrated here. The day the whole islands get a high bandwidth, reliable broadband network, I’m going to pack up my things and set up home somewhere in the hill country and find a stay at home job. Ok that’s for another story…

As I was saying, since we moved, the only downside I can see is that I can’t walk to office anymore. I’ve had to join the ranks of the commuters. The problem is traveling on the roads in the morning is an absolute nightmare. Get caught to rush hour traffic and you spend more time idling than moving ahead. Add to that overcrowded buses, without any breathing space and you just feel like quitting your job and staying at home. One solution to all of that is to catch a train.

Now everybody can’t do this coz the rail network is not wide spread. If there’s no train station near to the start of your journey or end, your better off going by bus or private vehicle. Luckily for me, our new place and the office is closer to their respective train stations, so there’s no extra traveling involved, just a bit of walking.

The SL railways has always has a bad reputation as inefficient, always late and so on. However, at least the morning trains come and go on schedule. Whatever said about the state of the railway department, there are some plus points to consider.

• It’s Cheap – Ticket prices are about 40 – 50 % of bus fares
• Fast – Takes about half the time it takes to travel by bus (this is for short journeys. It goes the other way around for long journeys, especially the upcountry routes. )
• More spacious – Even if you have to travel standing, you can at least travel in comfort, without suffering like in busses.
• It’s a smooth ride – You have to stick to the rail tracks, so no need to worry about death defying antics of drivers, no sudden breaks to send you flying, and no high speed chases with other trains
• And the best thing is, as my friend Harshadewa puts it "No Traffic on Rail Road"!!!

Well here’s hoping for the expansion and development of the SL railways, so that we don’t’ have to suffer in the hands of the private bus operators.


"when the pistons keep on turning and go round and round
and the steel reels are cold and hard and the moutain ain t no down"
(Long Train Running – Doobie Brothers)

Carlos the Jackal

The mere mention of the name should send shivers throughout the western world. Their secret service agents hunting for this elusive criminal mastermind, who has caused much havoc in the world. And until recently I thought he was just a fictional character.

The original Jackal was introduced to the world by Frederick Forsythe in his masterpiece “The Day of the Jackal”, published in 1971. In it “The Jackal” is a master assassin whose identity is a mystery, and he is hired by some terrorists to assassinate the then president of France, Charles de Gaulle. While he makes the assassination plans, the secret service agents are trying to stop him from carrying them out. In the end his plan doesn’t exactly go his way and the Jackal dies. That should have been the end of it, but fortunately or unfortunately the Jackal was reborn into reality and became immortalized.

During the seventies there was guy named Vladimir Ilich Ramírez Sánchez, who was starting out in the terrorism business. Born in Caracas, Venezuela in 1942, his father was a devout Marxists, hence the names Vladimir Ilich. During the course of his life he became involved with guerilla warfare which led to the life of terrorism. To make things short, he did the usual terrorists stuff, and made the good guys angry. So the good guys made it their number one priority to catch him. Somewhere along this cat and mouse game, they reportedly found a copy of “The Day of the Jackal” among some of his belongings. That small insignificant find helped to make Ramirez Sanchez the most well know baddie at the time, thanks to the friendly media. They got hold of this information and made him into the larger than life person that he has become.

So now the spy novelists and movie makers have a new bad guy to toy around with. Many novels and movies featured him (or the character) as a lead player in the plot. Two of these (which I have read) is Tom Clancy’s “Rainbow Six” and Robert Ludlum’s “Bourne Ultimatum” the final book of the Bourne Trilogy. (Supposedly Carlos is featured in the first two books as well, but still have to get my hands on them :)...). In both of these books, his real name Ilich Ramírez Sánchez, is used.

Read more about the real life of a terrorist


I seriously didn’t know that this guy was real, and thought all these authors were resurrecting the character created by Frederick Forsythe. For one thing I guess he is old news. He was tried and sentenced to life imprisonment in 1997 and he is still there in a prison somewhere in France. Furthermore these days there are much worst terrorist and nutcases around to keep the news media happy. Same also goes for the authors and film makers. As the times change, new bad guys will take the center stage and the old ones are given the boot. Out with Carlos and the Soviet communist cronies and in with Osama, Saddam and the Jihad Gang. After that? Who knows what new maniac the future will give us. Until that time comes, the “War on terror” should keep the storylines moving forward for a long time.

Glorified in Death…

I’m sure some of you out there would have wondered what your kith and kin will put on your gravestones when you’re dead and gone. Or for that matter whether they’ll even a put up a gravestone for you. Some people really don’t care about these things but for some it’s a very big deal. The ego maniacs want nothing better than to be immortalized in granite or marble. For them the bigger the gravestone the better they rest in peace.

The Russian city of Ekaterinburg is famed as the most mafia ridden city in the country and a visit to the local graveyard will shed some light on how far they take it. This is where all the Mafia men ultimately end up. However they don’t want to leave the world without making sure the rest of the people remember them. So what do they do? They get life sized marble sculptures of themselves as gravestones.

These life-like engravings or sculptures show them in their bad-ass posses, smoking, or showing off their tats or clutching the keys of their favorite ride. Some even go the extra mile to get a memorial for their favorite car they drove around in. One Father and son mob duo has two life size figures standing side by side, while in the middle a smaller engraving of their Volvo is placed. Some are even buried with their mobile phones, so they can keep in touch with their gangs. Talk about highly inflated egos.

No matter how bigger a memorial you put up for yourself after your dead, it doesn’t change the way you lived your life. Something some people will never understand…

Read More




(Pic. Source: The Mail on Sunday)

Azrael

I come from the heavens above
For all mortals young and old
When the time is right
To pass judgment on their lives
It matters not
If you are rich
Or if you are poor
All mortals equally I judge
How pure the lives you have led
The only thing that matter at last
Sinners repent
For my judgment is final
Cast off into the depths of hell
Forever more till the end of time
Who am I, you may wonder
Who speak such arrogant words
And pass judgment on others
I am what I am
I am Azrael
The Angel of Death…

New 7 Wonders Announced

As I mentioned in an earlier post, voting was in progress to select the new 7 wonders of the world. After 90 million votes cast by the citizens of the world, the new official list was announced on 07.07.07.

They are:

Chichén Itzá, Mexico
Christ Redeemer, Brazil
The Great Wall, China
Machu Picchu, Peru
Petra, Jordan
The Roman Colloseum, Italy
The Taj Mahal, India
Some people argue that creating such lists are not fair, because there are many more wonders around. That is a 100% true. The world we live in is a unique wonder in it self. However these are man made structure of a bygone era, when they didn’t have the technology we have today.

Just because there is an official seven wonders list it doesn’t mean that we have to forget about the others. This list should be used sort of like ambassadors for all the wonderful things we have in this world, to remind every one to protect them and preserve them for time to come.

Cell

Imagine leisurely walking down the street when that familiar tune comes to your ears. The latest rock song you downloaded on your mobile coming to life. You check to see that your best bud is calling and you answer. Then bang, everything goes blank, your brain is totally wiped out and you don’t even know what you are. All the sanity in you disappears and the primal urges takes over. A maniac is released. Murder becomes the prime directive.

That is exactly what happens to all the mobile users in the world. That is at least according to the King of Horror, Stephen King, on his book ‘Cell’. Just finished reading it and frankly I’m a bit worried to use me mobile now. I guess that’s what he was aiming for in the first place when he started the book. :D. It seems that he doesn’t use a mo-fo either.

I don’t want to give away the plot and ruin it for those who haven’t read it, so I suggest all to read it. Damn good. Not as scary as some of his other works, but this explores some interesting facets of human nature.

"At the bottom you see, we are not Homo sapiens at all. Our core is madness. The prime directive is murder. What Darwin was too polite to say, my friends, is that we came to rule the earth not because we are the smartest, or even the meanest, but because we have always been the craziest, most murderous mother-fuckers in the jungle. And that is what the pulse exposed five days ago." - Charles Ardai
(Stephen King, CELL)

The Genius that is Terry Pratchett

Great A’Tuin the cosmic turtle swims slowly through the interstellar gulf. On it’s Hydrogen frosted back rides four gigantic elephants and upon their shoulders they carry a great land mass. This is the Discworld. A magical world, where wonderfully weird characters call their home. Humans, dwarves, trolls, wizards, witches, vampires, werewolves, zombies and a host of other exciting characters co-exists, in a world where going over the edge means flying off into space.

The most famous city in the Discworld is Ankh-Morpork where anything and everything will happen. As they say in the Disc “All roads lead to Ankh-Morpork”. Here humans live and work side-by-side with Dwarves and Trolls. Over at the Unseen University, the wizards play merry havoc and the Alchemists blow things up. Ankh-Morpork is a true cosmopolitan city, where (species) from all over the Disc comes to make their fortune. To make their dreams a reality.

This is just a smidgen of what happens in the Discworld. A magical world born out of one man’s wild imagination. That genius mind belongs to none other than Terry Pratchett.

The Discworld series of novels includes 25 books, all revolving around the various characters of the Disc. The Disc is a parody for our real world. All the stories have a theme from our real world, but the players are the people of the Discworld. Terry Pratchett manges to give the readers a whole new view point on a subject while being extremely funny.

The Terry Pratchett portfolio is not limited to the Discworld series. There are many other novels written by him. Most of the Discworld novels have been adapted to plays too.

I’m not going into details but for those who are interested can check out these links
Terry Pratchett Biography

Terry Pratchett Books

As far as storytellers go, Terry Pratchet is one of a kind. That is why he takes (a reluctant) #2 place on my list of favorite authors. (#1 being the grand master, Stephen King, who will reign supreme for ever and ever…)

Mary had a Little Lamb… (The Twisted Version)

Mary had a little lamb
Whose fleece was white as snow
And everywhere that Mary went
The lamb was sure to go

Years went by and Mary grew up
No more the sweet little girl
Her mind filled up with fashion and boys
She became a party girl

The lamb however didn’t give a damn
And stuck by her night and day
This was way un-cool for Mary’s taste
Coz it was cramping her social life

She went to a hip club one night
Got high on smack and booze
The lamb of course went along with her
And learned something cool

Inside this groovy club that night
He met a brand new friend
Who gave the lamb a new kinda grass
That blew his teeny weensy brain

The stoned out lamb saw the light
Knew what the future must be
He packed up his things and moved LA
And started a big grass farm





[All characters appearing in this post are purely fictional. Any resemblance to individuals living or dead is coincidental…and not my problem]

New Seven Wonders of the World

The ancient seven wonders of the world are taking their retirement and the world is voting for the “NEW 7 Wonders of the World”.

There are 21 new contenders competing for a place in history, but only seven will get crowned.

The contenders are:


The Acropolis of Athens (450 - 330 B.C.) Athens, Greece
Alhambra (12th century) Granada, Spain
Angkor (12th century) Cambodia
The Pyramid at Chichén Itzá (before 800 A.D.) Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico
Christ Redeemer (1931) Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
The Roman Colosseum (70 - 82 A.D.) Rome, Italy
Statues of Easter Island (10th - 16th Century) Easter Island, Chile
The Eiffel Tower (1887 - 89) Paris, France
The Hagia Sophia (532 - 537 A.D.) Istanbul, Turkey
The Great Wall of China (220 B.C and 1368 - 1644 A.D.) China
Kiyomizu Temple (749 - 1855) Kyoto, Japan
The Kremlin and Red Square (1156 - 1850) Moscow, Russia
Machu Picchu (1460-1470), Peru
Neuschwanstein Castle (1869 -1884) Schwangau, Germany
Petra (9 B.C. - 40 A.D.), Jordan
The Pyramids of Giza (2600 - 2500 B.C), Egypt
The Statue of Liberty (1886) New York City, U.S.A.
Stonehenge (3000 B.C. - 1600 B.C.) Amesbury, United Kingdom
Sydney Opera House (1954 - 73) Sydney, Australia
The Taj Mahal (1630 A.D.) Agra, India
Timbuktu (12th century) Mali

So go to www.new7wonders.com and vote for your favorites

[People are voting like mad so there’s a lot of traffic. The site might not work sometimes]

The New 7 Wonders of the World will be announced during the Official Declaration ceremony in Lisbon, Portugal on Saturday, July 7, 2007 - 07.07.07.

The Nile Dethroned

The mystic river Nile. The jewel of Egypt. Great civilizations were built on its banks. I’m not sure when it was measured first or by whom, but for a very long time the Nile reigned as the longest river in the world. It’s normal when you have something for a long time you tend to get cocky about it, and don’t work hard to keep it. I guess that’s what happened here. The Amazon, who played second fiddle all these years, has had enough of it finally decided to usurp the throne from the king.

In an expedition by Brazilian scientists, it was established that the source of the Amazon is now further that what was known. They claim it is in the southern regions of Peru, somewhere up in the Andeans. This puts the Amazon at 6800 km, which is about 200km longer than the Nile’s 6695 km length. The Amazon, which already holds the title for the largest river by volume, now has two titles to boast about.

Scientists are still debating about it so nothings yet official, but when it is a lot of text book are going to need re-writing.

Read More



This just goes to show that we humans may think we’re the smartest and knows everything, but Earth still has many secrets up her sleeve, and she’ll only share them with us when she wants to.

[I seriously don’t feel like working these days… Can’t be the weather coz it’s just the way I like it…Gloomy :) . Damn I’m getting laaaaazzzzy!!!]

When the Black Gold Runs Out!

There was an interesting documentary on CNN several days ago, focusing on the worlds dependency on oil and petroleum energy and the consequences of an energy crisis. In this documentary they unfolded a hypothetical scenario set in year 2009, which leads to an energy crisis all over the world.

It all starts with a big hurricane hitting the American Oil country, Houston Texas. It causes severe damages throughout the city, worse than hurricane Katrina. Among the damaged are the big oil refineries which supply oil to America. This results in a total standstill in domestic oil production in USA, causing a shortage of gas.

Meanwhile Al Qaeda is planning the next big attack and knows that the best time to make the most damage is when America is already down. However they do not attack America directly, but hit the next best target that could virtually cripple the entire oil supply. They hijack a plane and crash it into the biggest oil refinery in Saudi Arabia, the worlds #1 supplier. All hell breaks loose from then onwards. It cripples the worlds oil supply, prices sky rocket and the world is plunged in to an energy war, where countries attack each other to get whatever oil they can.

Even though this is all an imaginary situation, it could be real. The world has too much dependency on fossil fuel energy. There may not be natural disasters, or terrorist may not attack, but oil is not a limitless resource. Oil companies are trying to find new untapped oil reservoirs, but it’s getting harder and harder to find. A day will come when it will run out. The problem is, even though the supply is going down the demand for it is increasing day by day.

There are a lot of people and environmental organizations working to change the situation, but what they can do is limited. This is mainly because world governments are lagging behind in giving their backing to these projects. The business of oil is too lucrative for them to give up.

Among the people who have taken up the cause is Sir Richard Branson. Recently he put up a US$ 25 million reward for a solution towards global warming. In addition to investing in ethanol plants and solar power, he has also started a new Venture called Virgin Fuel, to develop a formula for an ultra clean fuel that can power his airlines and vehicles. Other notable people like former US president Bill Clinton and Vice president Al Gore, Celebrities like Bono are trying to make a change in the world.

One of the best success stories about alternative fuel comes from, not the big powerhouses, but from Brazil. They have developed a successful system for developing ethanol fuel from sugar cane, the same stuff that put tingles in our sweet tooth. About half of the vehicles over there are now running on this sugar cane ethanol. They are known as flex-fuel cars, which can run on pure ethanol or an ethanol and gas combination. The best thing is that it’s cheaper than gas. The major automobile manufacturers are also investing more money for R & D into hybrid vehicles now.

So there are a lot of viable alternative fuels available, what’s needed is the imitative and the leadership from the world’s leaders.

The problem becomes more difficult when it comes to developing countries like SL. We just don’t have the resources to spend on research and development on these matters. Of course if we put an end to all corruption, we’d have enough left over, but I don’t see that happening anytime soon. However with the way the oil prices are going up here, we definitely need a new plan if we’re to keep things rolling on, otherwise we’ll probably face an energy crisis before long.

One option I see is to start a partnership with the Brazilians and set up sugar cane ethanol refineries here. This will open up new job opportunities to the people. Another benefit is that it can also help revive the sugar cane industry, which is now in ruins. Along with that we can allow incentives such as tax exemptions for hybrid cars that use ethanol. Maybe even our very own Micro cars can start building hybrids. These in turn can lead to opening up new markets in the South Asian region. All in all, it’s a win-win situation.

Only in the US of A

For the past few days America has been gripped by another tragedy. A tragedy so awful, that the whole world is paying attention on it. Forget about all the other problems in the world like Iraq and Global warming, this is more important, with American media giving it full coverage. People are crying out in anger at the injustice of it all. Experts are debating about the dire consequences of it all.

So what is this great tragedy? No it’s not another mad gunman on a shooting rampage. All the fuss is about a spoilt little rich girl, the (co called) princess of America, Paris Hilton, or as Anderson Cooper calls her, She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, going to jail. That is what all the drama is about.

The whole drama of it is like this. Sometime recently she got busted for violating the probation (yeah she was already on probation for an earlier offence), driving under the influence (of you know what) and driving with a suspended license. So the judge got mad and sentenced her to the slammer for 45 days. She started her jail sentence with a bang by partying the night before. So she’s in jail, and in about 2 or 3 days the sheriff decides to let her go home under house arrest, because jail doesn’t agree with her (Duh…it’s not supposed to agree with you). What a nice man!!! Rumors have it that Grandpa Hilton has been generous in the sheriff’s election campaign. The judge meanwhile gets more pissed by this and orders PH back into court and puts her in the slammer again. So now she’s spending time on the Hospital wing because apparently she’s sick. I think she’s been getting some pointers from our local politicians on “How to get the best of your jail-time”.

She’s then put out some statement saying how sorry she was, and not doing it again, that jail is like being in a cage (Duh…It is a cage), that she found God (Ok I didn’t know that God was lost and what was (S)he doing in jail?), that she was not dumb but acting like that all this time (shocked!!! Who would’ve guessed that it was an act, maybe she has some talent after all) and some other crap to get some sympathy votes.

I still don’t get what she is all about. She has no talent. She did “Simple Life” which I haven’t seen nor have no desire to see either. Put out an album, which died a natural death. She has no job, unless you call parting all night, getting drunk and appearing on self-made porn, a vocation. The only thing working for her is that she’s an heiress with tons of money. Man If I had half of that money I’d buy a big farm somewhere, invest the rest and live off the interest, but that’s just me. If I’d been her grandpa, I’d have cut off her cash flow a long time ago.

Yet this talent less, jobless, drunken, spoilt little rich girl is the sweetheart of America. They keep people like this on a pedestal and encourage them to do more stupid things. Why? I don’t know.

For those who has had enough of her here’s some good news

On other weird news, a judge in Washington is suing a dry cleaners for UD$ 54 million for misplacing his pants. It seems that he has suffered severe emotional damage by the loss of his pants. How emotionally attached can you get to a pair of pants. He was testifying in court and got so emotionally choked up talking about the pants that he had to leave the courtroom to have a cry. I have nothing more to say your honor.

As the great warrior Obelix might say “These Americans are Crazy”.

Just Some Random Thoughts

Life has taken a monotonous turn these days, mainly because of work I guess. Been stuck with a project for awhile and it gets really boring working on the same thing for a long time (at least for me).

Since my office is in the outskirts of Colombo don’t need to go into the city daily. (Thank god for that). The other great thing is that it’s walking distance from home. Yipeee. No overcrowded busses and traffic jams for me. I get an evil kinda pleasure seeing all those people stuck in traffic while I take a leisurely walk to office. I’m so used to it now that I try to avoid going to the city if I can. The only time that I would not mind going is on a Sunday, or a poya day, when everybody else is at home.


World weather is a bit wonky these days. The most recent weather disasters were the Cyclone in Oman and the Storm in eastern Aussie a few days ago. Cyclone Gonu which hit Oman is said to be the worst natural disaster to hit the state since they started keeping records in 1945. It has caused an estimated US$1 billion in damages and 49 people killed. 24 inches of rain has fallen and caused flooding in some areas. Floods in the middle of the desert are not something you hear often. Have some friends over there and the last time I checked they were OK. The storm in Eastern Aussie, billed as the worst in 30 years has left nine people dead.




You think Mother Nature is trying to tell us something with all this weird weather patterns? Or course she is, but the problem is we humans have a habit of not listening to her. Wait till she gets really pissed off one day and decides to kick us all out.

At least the world powers are taking note of global warming and decided to take necessary action during the recently concluded G8 summit, but of course GWB does not want to play fair and wants all the other to play according to his rules, like always. We’ll just have to wait and see if the world leaders are going to stop talking about it and actually do something.

Interesting things that has happened in history today: (courtesy of wikipedia)

1942 – Anne Frank started writing her diary, during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands.
Here’s a really cool site, which is an interactive monument to her.

1964 – Former South African President Nelson Mandela was imprisoned by the Pretoria Supreme Court.

1979 – English channel crossing was done by a human powered aircraft named the Gossamer Albatross.

Where will it all end?

The big news on all media these days is the eviction of some Tamil people living in Colombo, who allegedly have no reason to be in Colombo. According to reports around 260 people have been sent home back to where they came from. Of course the government claims they volunteered, and the Tamil MP’s are saying that they were forced. Who to believe, you decide.

Daily News
Daily Mirror

Since when does a citizen of any country need to have a valid reason to travel to any part of the country and live there. I should have the right to pack up my things, move to Kandy, Anuradhapura or wherever and live the just because I want to. If I can’t live in Kandy just because I was born in Colombo then basically Kandy and Colombo becomes two independent states. The way these evictees are being treated is like they are illegal aliens from another country. So what is the government implying here?

I agree that the security of a country is paramount, but there should be a proper way of getting on about it. If they have suspicions about people, the best would be to detain them and carry out investigations, not pack them all of to where they came from. By carrying out a proper investigation, the security forces can be certain whether the individuals are a threat or not. With the actions carried out what happens is that the people subjected to this treatment gets more dissatisfied with the way things are going. Who is to say that an innocent individual who was sent back will now think twice about supporting the terrorist? What’s stopping him now from fighting for a separate state, since he knows that the government already treats him like a citizen of another country? These sorts of actions are only adding more fuel to the fire. What were the so called decision makers thinking? Now the LTTE has a free excuse to kick out Sinhalese people in the North and East. The government can’t say anything now because they are doing the same thing to the Tamils over here. They are handing the LTTE more excuses and more propaganda material, and digging themselves a deep hole.

I hate all that is politics and usually don’t bother with it. I know no matter what we say, the idiots at the top will go on doing what they do. However the situation now is becoming a bit scary. Some people are calling it ethnic cleansing, but I wont go that far. There are (still) no genocides and mass graves here, but if this keeps on going, that is where we’ll probably end up. That is a scary thought my friends. I just hope the ordinary folks of this country are smarter than those who are running it and will not let themselves get dragged into a situation where the country is racked with racial hatred, and race riots.

How Time Flies…

Is it just me or does anyone else think that time is going a bit too fast? Man it feels like a coupla week ago that I was getting wasted on the New Years Eve celebrations, but in reality 5 months have gone by. Where the hell did it all go? No wonder people are complaining they don’t have enough time to do their work.

The problem is that we have too much of things to do in our lives. So it seems to us that there is never enough time left to do them all. We are always busy busy busy, we don’t even realize that time is passing us by. The question is do we rally need to do all these things we do? I guess it’s the price you pay for living in a global, money driven world. You have to either keep up with the rat race or be left behind, which eventually means that you’re broke and homeless. It’s a dog eat dog world and either we join em or be left out. No wonder people are having nervous breakdowns, committing suicide or dying of stress related illnesses.

How did it all come to this?
I have no idea...Hopefully I'll get wasted tonight and the answers will mysteriously come to me in my drunken stupor.

Oh well enough of this tomfoolery, time to get back to work and join the rat race...

Cheers!

15th May 2007

Been very busy the past few weeks, so didn’t have time for any other thoughts except work. Didn’t even notice what the heck was going on in the world either. Now that most of the difficult parts are over can relax a bit (and the client is out of the country, so he’s off my back ).

Is it just me or is the weather acting a bit funny. I mean just a couple of weeks ago it was raining nonstop day and night, and now it’s scorching hot. It’s like the guy can make up his mind. Wouldn’t it be great if the weather worked according to a schedule? Daytime – Sunny but cool and night time 3 hours of rain. Then we’d know what to expect. Ah… but then again where is the fun in that?
Dear old Mother Nature works according to her own schedule and if you don’t like, then too bad for you.

Well there’s nothing much for me to say so I’ll just put some Interesting facts about the day courtesy of Wikipedia

15th May

1. Independence Day in Paraguay
2. Teachers Day Mexico and South Korea
3. Nakba Day in Palestine Communities
4. In 1602 Bartholomew Gosnold became the first European to discover Cape Cod.
5. in 1928 Cartoon characters Mickey and Minnie Mouse made their movie debut in Plane Crazy.
6. In 1934 Prime Minister Kārlis Ulmanis dissolved the Saeima and established an authoritarian rule in Latvia.
7. In 1990 Vincent van Gogh's Portrait of Dr. Gachet was sold for US$82.5 million, at the time the world's most-expensive painting.

Van Gogh’s picture was the most expensive at the time but today it has slipped down to Number 4. The painting by Jackson Pollock is the unconfirmed winner with a price tag of USD 140million.

No. 5, 1948 by Jackson Pollock ($140,000,000?)


1. Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer by Gustav Klimt ($135,000,000)
2. Garçon à la Pipe by Pablo Picasso ($104,100,000)
3. Dora Maar with Cat by Pablo Picasso ($95,200,000)
4. Portrait of Dr. Gachet by Vincent van Gogh ($82,500,000)
5. Bal Au Moulin de la Galette by Pierre-Auguste Renoir ($78,000,000)
6. Massacre of the Innocents by Peter Paul Rubens ($76,700,000)
7. Portrait de l'Artiste sans Barbe by Vincent van Gogh ($71,500,000)
8. Rideau, Cruchon et Compotier by Paul Cézanne ($60,500,000)
9. Femme aux Bras Croisés by Pablo Picasso ($55,000,000)
10. Irises by Vincent Van Gogh ($53,900,000)



Want to buy a painting?


First of all I’m shocked by the fact that there are people willing to pay 140million Dollars for a painting. The absurdity of it is ghastly. It’s an abstract with lines of paint and looks like shit. Frankly I think a five year old can do a better job. A masterpiece by Leonardo Da Vinci or Michealangelo, I can understand, but this???

Secondly, I’m dropping everything and starting to paint. Damn, I wish I had paid more in art class during school…