Data Mining

Reproduction
Data Mining
But she added that the need for more concerted action was becoming pressing.
"Over these 12 months our relationship with tech has both been darker and more muddy because it becomes increasingly clear that all the bright and shiny positive potentials of tech are at the risk of being darkened by forced misuse of data, manipulation, supervision, no respect of the citizen, no respect of individual rights," she told Martha Lane Fox who carried out the interview.

Privacy laws

The past year's scandals have included:

• Facebook having to apologise for letting 87 million users' details be harvested, many of which were obtained by the political consultancy Cambridge Analytica
• Twitter, Facebook and YouTube facing up to evidence that their platforms had been used by Russia and others to manipulate voters in the West
• the EU fining Google a record €4.3bn ($5bn; £3.9bn) for using Android to illegally defend its dominance in search

Way Forward in Social Dimensions

When I use dimensions, I won"t go up to the 13 possible(mathematical) dimensions in science.
 

I mean ONLY three in political dimensions.
 
A large majority is passive and indifferent. 

I want them to come down drastically and embrace participatory democracy.
Then there are participants.
Largely politicians and their stooges. 

I mean the large majority of political writers.
If you look at critically, the large number of the anti-democratic elements belong to SLFP starting from SWRD who defected from UNP.
The list Somarama, Budha-Rakkita, Vimala Wijewardana and CP De Silva were the scourge of politics.
 
Don't not forget the Ku Du Ra Ja of SLFP, Tennison from South.

Whereas T.B.Ilangaratna from Kandy was a colossal.
 

Peoples Bank, CWE, Ceylon Petroleum and large segment of Co-Operative movement were his brain child.
One should not forget T.B.Subasinghe.

The rest of the SLFP and UNP destroyed these institutions.
 

That is entirely a different ball game.
 
Participant political writers never exposed the shoddy deals of SLFP and UNP.
 
Coming to the third category outside the above two are the Civil Society Activists not belonging to political wings including JVP (utter failure in my opinion).
 
This was the category, I was very supportive of but never increased their numbers above 20%.

They were opportunists.
 

Many of them are double dealers (Ratana heads the lot).
 
Nothing will come out of them, they are being bought up by the big guns.
 
The Civil Society Activists are not living up to their nonpartisan strategy.

A big Stale Mate is in the offing.
 

I hate to see a putrid strategy of Ma Ra, such like, getting the public (Samurdhi in Particular) servants to wear party colours.
 

The people who are not political party officers wearing party colours is a rotten ploy.
 

In the same way I hate people showing their  allegiance to religion or any other rotten association in public.
 
I see in no time sexual deviations maybe made public other than gang raping in this country.
 

This country is rotten to the core and even the foreigners who visit us are coming here to escape from legal arms in their respective countries who peddle drugs in famous hotels in Ceylon.
 

Do not blame only the politicians.
 

Passivity is the invitation to corruption.
 

Try to be an active participant under trying conditions.

That is the only way forward.

Bird's logic

Bird's logic
My recent observation over 15 varieties of birds have its own logic.
In my view, they are better indicators of cyclonic activity than our local weather reporters.
Unlike human with BIG Brain who waits for catastrophe to hit (recently in the north of the country), they leave the ZONE of ACTIVITY at least 24 hours before the impending danger.
They have over 360 degree vision and more weather sense than humans.
Unfortunately out dogs do not have that capability.
During the last tsunami elephants,deers,jackals and birds left the zone well in advance and only dogs succumbed with humans.
The birds who came are no more only the 4 to 6 frequent local visitors were present today.
Significantly normally cheerful singing Mynahs, my favorite have not recovered from the shock.
No musical tone in this festive season of Christmas after the change (direction of wind) of weather.
They visited but no music and fun in the air!
I trust them and there is ample fruit trees and flowers for the honey birds.
Paddy birds are having a whale of a time.

Priesthood without Politics

Vulgar Deeds of Monks-Reproduction

Posted on January 5, 2016 by asokaplus

Vulgar Deeds of Monks

One should read this in tandem with “Vulgar Talks for Monks”.
I never thought that I might have to use this phrase to describe some of the deeds of Monks with political power.
This has nothing to do with Vinaya (Set of rules passed down by oral tradition) which outlines 300 odd major and 1000 odd minor strictures.
I will list a few below.
1. Possession of more than two robes.
2. Possession of money more than what is required of travel (this was a concession when public transport came into existence).
They are meant to be walking spreading Dhamma and no two monks should take the same path having come to a four way intersection.
3. Possession of vehicle for transport.
4. Possession of land.
5. Possession of books other than Thripitaka, which is colossal.
6. Possession of Televisions.
7. Possession of Elephants.
The sole purpose of this is to highlight the number 7.
I think very soon our monks will ascend to Nibbana on the back of a poor elephant.
I am sure once they ascend there the poor animal is dispensed for good to rot probably in hell.
I am not sure how the modern articles like mobiles, laptops, digital texts and multimedia applications would apply in the context of Vinaya.
A modern Sangayana is necessary to validate them in posterity as essential items ‘On the road to Nibbana’.
I am also not sure of Television Displays in the trend of TV stars.
I sometime incline to think when the Thripitaka is fully digitalized and translated to many languages as possible (this is not happening now) the existence of Monks may become redundant except for the SOLE practice of meditation for ultimate goal SEEKING of TRUE salvation or Nibbana.
The way the things are developing there may be monasteries dishing out Nibbana certificates at four levels, 
Sovan, 
Sukrudhagami, 
Anagami, and
Arhath.
 
I hope, I should kick the bucket before that eventuality of having to register for salvation and is open for all, in the World Wide Web.

I am ambivalent about the right of the monks to become politicians and a member of the parliament.

As a true democrat, I say YES for an individual’s right to exercise political right, if not the Wisdom or the better judgment.

 Having said that I am uneasy if they continue to done the robe after being duly elected.

 The point is conflict of interest, priesthood or the legislative functions (law of the land).

Suppose the legislature agrees for capital punishment would they vote YES or NO.

I feel very uneasy to see any person (whatever the religion that does not matter) in official capacity especially in the parliament (sometimes in civil capacity, too) display their identity in dress code, hair style, facial hair decoration or by any other mean.

It is a hindrance in the name of fair judgment and a Universal dress code for the assembly is mandatory.

I hope this fact is taken into consideration when drafting the new constitution.

I have no problem with any form of national dress (in the form of kilt in Scotland) however ugly and cumbersome for it to be worn.

I prefer the loin cloth for those without any educational qualifications and the dress should indicate their educational level but not their professional status (Army, Navy, Air Force, Doctor, Lawyer, Accountant, Professor or University cloak).

The NEW dress, with neutral colour (not the party colour) should be very simple and no civilian should be permitted to wear this dress for any civilian function.

It should be smart and should not look like a school UNIFORM or Police, Army or Navy. 

The idea is, the moment they wear this dress they are in a different mold and feel proud (whether in power or in opposition).

This stricture like VINAYA for monks is only inside the assembly to discipline the present unruly Guys / Girls trained by Ma Ra and the CLAN in our legislature.

In other words if a monk wears a particular robe they are expected to behave as such upholding the VINAYA and not like The BBS THUGS.

Under Ma Ra their status was steamrolled like RATS and this new TREND would harbinger good behavior in parliament and uplift their status in the legislature as TRUE DEMOCRATS (listen to the alternative views). 

Equally, the politician should not wear this dress for civilian functions other than the official duties in the assembly. 

They are free to wear any other dress including PARTY dress and colour in public so that they can freely mix with their electorate or supporters.

If the speaker wears a particular dress why not MPs?

I never EXPECT this proposal could see the day light.

It is only a wishful thinking.

Vulgar talk to Monks

So I delve into Dhamma in that sense to Samutta Nikaya (56:10) to repeat a verse told to monks would suffice to convince myself why I should not be a journalist. 

This can be rephrased why a Buddhist monk should be a conveyor of Dhamma message sans journalistic endeavour.

Buddha states 28 of his qualifications of vulgar talk to monks.
Numerically in order as was said by the Lord Buddha are as follows.  
Manifold vulgar talks are

1. Talk about Kings (Presidents, Prime Ministers and Tyrants)

2. Talk about Robbers (Robber barons, the multinational businessmen)

3. Talk about Ministers

4. Talk about armies

5. Talk about dangers

6. Talk about wars

7. Talk about food

8. Talk about drink

9. Talk about cloths

10. Talk about dwellings 

11. Talk about garlands  

12. Talk about perfumes

13. Talk about relations

14. Talk about conveyances (transfer of property)

15. Talk about villages

16. Talk about hamlets

17. Talk about towns

18. Talk about countries

19. Talk about women

20. Talk about heroes

21. Talk about street talk

22. Talk about ghosts

23. Talk about ancestors

24. Talk about gossip

25. Talk about land

26. Talk about sea

27. Talk about gain (credit market)

28. Talk about loss (stock exchange)

To this another four are added in another verse

1. Eternity (unending)

2. Annihilation (reduced to nothing)

3. Sensual gratification

4. Self mortification
What a Buddhist monk as a journalist should talk about are about greedlessness,  (opposite of Lobha)
hatelessness (opposite of Dhosha) and  
undeludedness (opposite of Moha)(wisdom) and any other talk is senseless and does not lead to liberation or salvation.

Thank You and Merry Christmas,Twitter

Lot of things can be accomplished with Twitter.
Short
Sharp
Simple
Witty
Fast in execution
Video Clips add value
That is the best option for bulky Facebook.
I hope Facebook take a leaf out of Twitter and produce Light Weight Edition.
I was one who emphasized the need for silky browser.
Amazon embraced it and rule the world.
Internet is meant not for information overload but for critical exchange and know how.
Life Hacker International, my book, has a totally different view, out of Information Overload.

What to do when one starts forgetting passwords?

What to do when one starts forgetting passwords?
Practically nothing. 
Unless of course one is proactive with the first signs of senility..
Some time ago, when I was busy (university on long term strike) and working all night downloading and testing Linux Distributions, temporarily, I forgot all the passwords for my bank accounts and emails.  
With some soul searching I developed a kind of reference and more importantly put them down in writing.
Now I forget where the little note book is kept.
Mind you I have been using www.wordpress.com to Google to every possible web outlets including wikipedia and Dropbox.
So many different passwords.
Finally, I decided to take a very long break and only used my cellphone.
That has its own disadvantages Yahoo thinks I exist in one incarnation and one phone and every time I try to log in with the PC (unfortunately automated) I need damn verification of my PC.

Internet has become a pain in the neck (or ARxx may be).

I have stopped using Facebook (many reasons) and use Twitter for my photo sessions (cannot log in with the computer or my tablet).
The Twitter also thinks I am of one incarnation not many like Aliens who are with us.

In fact, they treat me like an Alien. 

So my decision to wind off with Internet keep my sanity intact.
Today, I plugged in an external hard disk (Suse installed) and could not boot it or read its contents.
With trial and error I managed to boot with Linux tricks and it went in, in one stroke into Google Blog Spot and asked for my gmail password 19 characters long in Sinhala characters.
I hit the ceiling but using my reference code I blog my universal irritation here.
Good Bye to Internet and Happy Christmas and New Year, 2019!

Pipal or Bhodhi trees or Bo trees

Every year when I clean (risky job) the gutters, I find one or two Bo or pipal trees growing there.
I uproot them and plant them in a suitable large pot.
Currently, I have several in the rooftop garden.
 
They are my weather indicators.
 
I pick the dry leaves that fall from the pipal trees in the rooftop garden and put them in a plastic box with silica.
 

This year of Yahapalanaya, I had none.
 

This season even the crows were hungry without pipal seeds.
I went and looked at near "Nagara Sabha Kunu Bakkies" or refuse dumps  where the crows come for roosting and did not find any pipal saplings.
 
There were few in between cement structures.

How the pipal seeds germinate in unfathomable places is a mystery.

All of the young plants were at least one year old.
The inclement weather had nasty effect on birds including crows.

Their purge or dropping did not have any pipal seeds to germinate, I believe.

How to avoid portfolios

How to avoid portfolios

I have very a simple method.
If somebody treats me lower or higher I avoid them by birth right.
The people that treat you higher including politicians near an election are basically greedy and part with your time, vote and the money.
Once the objectives are realized they disappear into thin air.
 
The people who treat you lower are the priests.
 
They are more dangerous than the above category.
They treat you like slaves.
You have to remove your shoes and hats for no valid reason.
At Gatambe one has to raise the backside, which I never do and pretend to have a serious back problem.
 
Raising the sarong falls onto the opposite spectrum.
 
There are some, including my relatives and friends, especially in Colombo who want, the same religious and slavish treatment and I have 1000 and odd reasons including global warming to fend them.

If I am asked to remove shoes (my comfort), I say I got a sore infectious heal or foot and remain in the vehicle and won't get down even for a chat.

I get my jobs (rarely now) and come home quietly late at night.

Staying overnight in Colombo is pain in the Arxx.

What I hate the most is the air-conditioning (serious air pollution including CO poisoning) of vehicles.
If they offer me a ride I refuse, saying, I prefer a quiet walk (never in this blessed city even on a Poya Day).
In fact, I had three hour walk (could have finished in half an our without the traffic).
But climbing Dharmaraja Climb on the new road was more arduous.
The road is meant for vehicles only and I could not find a water tap to moisten my dry lips.

Banking in Ceylon

If not for the money coming from overseas banks, I would be a pauper.
But I get a notice from Income Tax Department.
I filled it up and stated my local worth is less than 5000 a month, A liTtle over 150 for a DAY.
It is not worth the paper that carried the intimation OF TAX REGISTRATION.
In this country Deal Dasas and Mara Palas who are taking us round the mulberry bush.
Big guns are not caught in the small net.
We need a net wider than the Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean.
That is where the money is hidden.
Not in the Central Bank of  Ceylon.
 
This country is a heaven for Kudu Mudhalalis from time immemorial, from SLFPs Tennison Edirisooriya to Mara Pala's Regime.

Cloud Watching

A decade ago, I could look at the sky, of cloud pattern and the direction and I could decide to carry an umbrella or not.
Not any more with global warming taking its effects.
The recent cyclone epitomizes the scenario.
Today, within 24 hours clouds are moving in opposition direction.
I cannot say, is it the North East or South West monsoon?
Old days it was the beginning of the South West monsoon.
I would not predict the weather for the guys/ girls taking a pilgrimage to Adam's Peak.

Dragon fly mimicry

A fly similar to a dragon fly but much slender visited my rooftop garden yesterday.
Rare visitor was attracted by the cherry tomato leaves.
It stayed there for hours.
Is it for laying eggs?
I do not know.
As far as I know dragon flies lay eggs on clear water.
But not this guy or girl in my vicinity!

Aliens

We average citizens feel like aliens in the political saga Maru Sira created!

Birds of Feather (flock together)

Birds of Feather (flock together) 
It was strange coincidence that I manged to see over ten varieties of birds in one hour in our neighbourhood.

This happens with impending bad weather and rain elsewhere.

1. The first visitor was a babbler what shade (at least two varieties) I cannot say with my poor vision. Followed by five and few more to make four pairs.

2. Ceylon Oriole pair

3. Black headed (not red headed) bul bul

4. Amother set of babblers

5. Single parrot (probably missed its clan)
Usually three pairs 

6. Sixth was an blue green bird I have never seen in my neighbourhood.
This is the third occasion I saw two of them and hid in no time with my eye contact.

7. Pani Kurrula or the honey bird

8. Big noise twitter or the Munia 

9. The wide bodied Karala

10. Two sets of Mynah.

11. Ash coloured wood pigeon

12. Pair of house sparrows

13. Koha or Koel

14. An Eagle

15. A Kingfisher

I love the Mynahs.
He/She is always in high mood and his/her musical tone when alone is soothing. The chatterbox are the Munias. 
The early warning comes from squirrels.
The babblers do the chorus.
The cry of eagles and wood pigeon is not so nice and bit painful (hunger pain).

Are there Aliens amongst us?

Are there Aliens amongst us?
This question is spurious.
I have dealt it adequately elsewhere.

In fact, one has to be surprised, if there aren't any already amongst us.

They have been visiting us for eons.
Only religions (written) based on 7000 year human evolution does not want the truth to be out in human domain (violation of human rights).

They visit us in 5000 to 10,000 year cycles, the time it takes to travel from their domain to our domain.
This is different from shape-change that is a ploy by them to live amongst us.
They are generally nocturnal to avoid detection.

It is my belief that there are many basic kinds.

1. Visitors who come for replenishment of Free Energy (not fuel energy).

Basically taps electromagnetic energy and avoid Van Allen belt.

2. Shape changers who study human genome and hijack part of our biodiversity on experimental basis.
They are the ones who came in after Nuclear Bomb explosion.

They donated us the cellphones (minor device but they have intergalactic communication skills), computers, lasers, night vision and currently AI.

3. The third are the benevolent ones who destroy all our nuclear war heads.
Any attempt of deploying war heads in space are nullified by default.
They won't let us build a colony in moon, mars or space.

The fear of sparking a galactic war. 

4.The fourth are the predators who would like to spark internal conflict to decimate human race and then claim ownership of this planet.

5. All the above are Zero Civilizations slightly above us but improving their skills leaps and bounds.

6. The level one civilizations are non-interfering and always benevolent.
They do not have warheads but peace is their means of existence.
They live for eons (in our terminology Devas) and seen galactic wars in their time.
This entry is to nullify a rabid monk who only describes a "Peretha Level of Existence" in YouTube currently.
These existences are far below the zero level of existence and are not humans or humanoids but real "Devil Incarnation".
I call them "Peretha Haththattuwa" to describe our politicians of different shades!

My dear old chap

This is my last pilgrimage.

Not a single water tap

I was bit angry after an altercation with a pickpocket in this blessed city.
Then climbed the peak till my anger subsided.
There are no footpaths or shortcuts in this city now.
Five minutes walk took three hours but I enjoyed, all the same.
New roads are built and meant only for vehicles and not for one who enjoys a quiet walk round the lake.
Mahanayakas and Diyawanna have encroached upon every available space and no benches for rest.
The main exit road is blocked and I say these "Peretha Haththatuwa" should be cursed in hell after not finding a water tap for a sip.
Please bring water bottles and litter them on the wayside.
The worse scenario is not a single water tap to wet the dry lips and mouth.

The rest of the available space is occupied by government offices.
None of the offices shows the name boards prominently, so the visitor will go from pillar to post all day.
We ask a guy for a particular office, a lecturer in the university, he gave us the wrong information.
Then I finally found the shortcut and it was littered with rubbish.
I saw a guy doing his repair work of an old car on this main access/exit road completely blocked by iron gates.
To my amazement I knew the guy from childhood and had a little chat and he had exhausted all his water bottles for the "majang work".
Finally ended in a city hotel and ordered two lime juices.
Then from out of the blue came an old friend mine with his sister (from UK) for a cuppa!
I said this is not the right place for cup of tea.
This is Ma Ra type of tea for the average for 50 but right good teas are served at 200 to 300 at the right place for foreign (but tastes the same) visitors.
Finally, they decided to have some lime juice, after tasting my glass of lime juice done nicely by a local waitress ( better than five star hotel).
Of course, I prefer the strong stuff but only allowed for foreigners in this city and not for the locals.
I have stopped precious commodity after the increase in tax as s protest.
Of course, if I get a free bottle, I will polish it in no time.
So cursing all the relevant peoples, is my pastime now but not fit for Christmas cheer.
So bypass this city, if you enjoy your holiday.