Power and Skill, which is better?

Power or Skill?

I go for skill.

Why?

I would come to that later.

This goes back to my school days.

In Kandy there was a casino unit.

It is no more.

It belonged to Mr. xxxxx. 

Mr Balasooriya.

He had body guards protecting the unit.

I was told, if somebody hits a jackpot, he was followed behind and money was retrieved. 

If opposed, he is summarily disposed and dumped to the Kandy lake.

If he gives in he is given a reasonable portion and is told never to come back again.

I can remember many mysterious deaths but could not verify the above claims.

One guy who was drowned was a national swimmer.

He took a bet and ventured and died an unnatural death. 

The water at that time was freezing cold and an instant cramp in that situation is real.

The worse scenario is there is lot of mud in the lake. One gets stuck in the mud and there is no escape at all.

Little bit about the lake. 

During King's time it was actually a paddy field and muddy base has a real paddy field history. The current Boagambara Stadium was the real lake during King Sri Wikramarajadinhge Rajasinghe. 

He was not cruel as portrayed by the British. 

The current prison of course where Nilames had their bangalows. 

There was a deep well there. 

The story prevalent is that all the jewellery and valuables were dumped into this well when British cordoned it. 

Even to this day, gem merchants in Ratnapura had deep wells inside their houses and the most valuable stones are dumped there for security.

The real story was that Rajapaksa guys and the Army airlifted all the valuables escavated from this pit. I heard the story and ran to Kandy and witnessed this SAGA first hand and there were several shuttling of helicopters from the Prison. 

It was allowed for public view after the evacuation of all valubles.

I went in and had a superficial survey and I was much interested in where Maru Sira was incarcerated and there was nobody to guide me through and I abruptly terminated my inspection.

Those days, we had road races around the lake and I had seen several going off the road. They were dressed in floating armour  but It took several hours to recover them.

Eventually road races were stopped.

There must be lot of dead bodies deep in the mud. There was an attempt to dredge (remove mud) and that attempt was abruptly stopped and no wonder they would have recovered a few skeletons from British times.

Coming to British, I believe they used this circuit to train military motorcycle men in preparation of invasion by Japanese. 

It is quite similar to how Russians use motorcycle men in combat surveillance in current war in Ukraine.

I am long way off the mark.

Regarding power.

I used to see those body builders who protected the casino long after "Lake Club" belonging to Mr.Balasooriya was closed.

They had big frames but their muscle mass was no more. 

Without regular excercise they go back to base line mass.

This I checked later as a medical student and I found it true.

I never did body building but I did lot of skill training almost everyday in the Peradeniya University.

The track is build similar to the initial training for British soldiers with many obstacles. 

What a soldier needs is skill not power when in attack and in defense.

I did this skill track every day after one hour of hockey.

The worst part is climbing the tall wall over at the tail end.

Then I go to the Gymnasium and play some Table Tennis.

I was not good in Badminton but was reasonably good. 

I improved my badminton talent during my internship at Ratnapura.

On oncall days, I was always in the badminton court and I used to clerk patients in my sports kit.

Shorts is normal in Australia and New Zealand but never in UK. 

Anyway, it was very cold in UK but I preferred snooker or billiards.

Last of all, I climb the rope in the Gymnasium from bottom floor to the second floor.

We did not have a swimming pool.

I was hopeless in swimming and I could not go even 30 meters.

We collected first Rs.100,000/= in our 5 years, in the University. When I was in UK the contract to build was given to a UNP guy. It was a shoody job and it started leaking within six months.

Then when I rejoined university past 50 years,  I activated this project again and got a reasonably good swimming pool.

I could not have dip and it was working fine when I retired at 65.

In UK when an interview for job is very competitive and I really liked the post, I used to clinch it buy posing the question (when that option is given), have you got a few billiard tables in your sport complex.

Never swimming pool because swimming pool is generally a part of the hospital complex.

I really liked the hydrotherapy unit and a dip in warm water is soothing for one's body and muscles.

President Putin has delivered, what all Russians could be proud of

 
Tuesday, February 25, 2014
 

President Putin has delivered, what all Russians could be proud of

My comments about Mr. Putin and Russian politics are proven wrong.
 

There aren't any credible geo-politicians, left on this planet

We are going from crisis to crisis.

President Putin has delivered, what all Russians could be proud of.
 

I watched “Sochi Olympics” with much more enthusiasm than watching Sir-Lankans playing cricket with Bangladesh and English getting a real drubbing in Test Cricket by Australians.

The C in cricket stands for Crime and Corruption and I have changed it to Wicket and W in Wicket stands for wickedness they handed over to English. 

The mighty South Africans who played well.

Eventuality, caused burnt out for England, and Kevin Peterson (P stands for Pride here), the not so nice guy in the dressing room (because he speaks his heart out unlike, the English who are born with two tongues- one tries to speak the truth, the other is deceptive).

Before taking about Mr. Putin let me dispense the English and Australians.

Like the way they dealt with Kevin, English use the Terrorist Rump (the backside of English politics)  who did sweet nothing to Ceylonese - Sri-Lankan- Image-to their advantage and dump them (like Kevin) off when the going is BAD or Touch,too Bad.

So before they went to Sochi, they were looking for holes (only found ARSxxxxx) in Russian Terrorist Rump and found nothing to find and ended up looking for toilet bowls and were balled out in Medal Table.

The BBC (they have an obsessive group of so called almost Nutty, sometimes Nutzie) group of journalists who were always unhappy even given the best of comforts) never portrayed the true “Russian Spirit”.

Unlike the British, the ordinary Russians are very sweet guys and girls.
 

They can bring the best out, given even the worst of comforts.

They looked after their stray dogs, too.

They proved their mettle without any doubt in Sochi.

The Australians who are also petting terrorist rump (what is left of it) fared worse than English.

What has happened to their “Macho Image” in Cricket and Rugger?

They can say it is a desert and Wild Continent and can wash their hands off.

But I am amazed.

To the Americans, my hat's off to the Olympians who adopted, so many puppies.
 

He is a guy who everyone should admire.

What has happened to “Puppy Sense” of British and Australians?

They must be thinking of quarantining the hypothetical Russian terrorist genes in their “Puppy Blood” before adopting them but they could adopt any terrorist with two legs, left our shores without any hesitation.

That is their wisdom in politics, of course.

Coming to Canada winning the Olympic Hockey (my favorite game being a hockey player of yesteryear (not ICE hockey) is creditable but their political brain is frozen when it comes to terrorists.

It is the breeding ground for the “Next Generation” of terrorists including money laundering and “Yuppie Type” guys and girls involved in “Cyber Cafe Crimes” (money is raised with illegal drugs coming from Mexico through Americas).

Those behind the Iron Curtain dealt a body blow to “Fanatic Muslim Terrorists” with and Iron Fist which Mrs Thatcher now in her grave could be proud of.

Not only that they topped the Medal Table too.

In the mean time all in the European Commission guys were busy splitting the Ukraine into Anarchy.

That is how the Europeans outside, the Greater Russia expanding their Neo-colonialism.

I think Mr. Putin should put an end to this SAGA in Ukraine with real politics, now that the Sochi Olympics is over.

Indians Counterfeiting Drugs

Wednesday, February 12, 2014
 

Indian Counterfeiting Drugs

Below I reproduce an article for the greater good of the poor patients.

Counterfeiting Drugs
Even though, I do not write on medical topics now, this is an issue, I was involved for over 40 years but has not seen any improvement after the demise of late professor Senaka Bibile.

It has got worse over the past 20 years and I never buy Indian Drugs for my consumption.
 

Even if, the tender procedures look OK on paper by the time the drugs are shipped from India over 40 to 50 are dud ones (counterfeiting is not the correct term) so that, 50 of the good stuff is filtered and given to pharmacies in India at cut rate.
 

This happen in Ceylon, too.
 

Almost 50% from the SPC stuff is filtered out and dud ones are introduced.
 

There is a Drug Mafia running parallel with illegal (heroin) stuff and that is where almost 50% of the black currency is originated.

That is how the democracy works here and in India and perpetrators (because they are in the majority anyway) are protected by politicians.
 

Americans have woken up but it is too late for the poor patients in Americas.
 

How India's Drug Biz Can Compromise Your Pills‬‬‬‬

In the cutthroat business of generic drug manufacturing it’s the little things that can bolster a company’s bottom line—like fabricating data about quality instead of fully testing products. 

 

Some major drug plants in India that exported medications to the U.S., it seems, did just that.

Such shoddy practices can lead to medicine that does not perform as it should or, worse, causes harmful side effects. 

In recent years these kinds of incidents have prompted the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to place bans on several prominent drug suppliers in India. 

To follow up, FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg is going to India this week to meet with its health minister and industry officials. India’s drug and food programs will be at the top of the agenda, according to the FDA. 

India is currently the second-biggest drug provider, after Canada, and the eighth-largest exporter of food products to the U.S.

The meeting comes shortly after the U.S. curbed imports at yet another plant belonging to Ranbaxy Laboratories, Ltd., India’s largest drug manufacturer and one of the largest U.S. suppliers. Last month the FDA banned a Ranbaxy plant from producing or distributing drug ingredients for the U.S. market; the firm was caught retesting materials to produce acceptable findings after they had failed the first time around. The company had neither investigated nor reported why the products failed initially, the FDA says.
Since 2008 the FDA has issued four bans against Ranbaxy plants.
At present, no Ranbaxy human drug products are being imported into the U.S.
The company has already pleaded guilty to federal drug safety violations as part of a $500-million settlement with the FDA, after a whistleblower from inside Ranbaxy came forward.

Separately, Ranbaxy has experienced other quality and control lapses, one of which allowed pieces of glass to get into its generic Lipitor tablets in 2012. Ranbaxy is not the only Indian company that has been cited for sending flawed products to the U.S. 

Wockhardt and RPG Life Sciences have also received FDA admonishments.

Some critics have blamed lackluster FDA inspection practices for the mishaps, noting that although the FDA inspects domestic plants every two years, it only inspects foreign plants about once every seven to 13 years. 

In fiscal 2009, for example, the FDA inspected 1,015 domestic establishments but only 424 in all foreign countries combined. FDA data indicates that in 2013 the agency performed 111 inspections at Indian drug facilities.

Simply ramping up the number of FDA inspections overseas would not solve the problem, however, says Roger Bate, a scholar at the American Enterprise Institute who studies the drug market. More unannounced inspections in India, along with testing products these plants send to the U.S. would help, he says, but any watershed changes would need to be fueled by the Indian government. 

The power to inspect and shut down facilities rests with each state in India, and some states are more diligent than others, he says. 

He notes that empowering India’s Central Drugs Standard Control Organization—equivalent to the FDA—to take action would help address the issue.

Commissioner Hamburg’s eight-day trip will apply needed pressure to the Indian government to crack down on the problem, Bate says. Hamburg is slated to take up food and drug safety issues during meetings with the CEOs of major drug and food producers and with India’s ministers for Commerce and Industry, Health and Family Welfare, and the drug controller general as well as state-level regulators.

She will also be meeting with World Health Organization officials and speaking at the World Spice Congress. India supplies nearly one quarter of the spices, oil and food colorings used in the U.S., but an FDA evaluation last fall found that some of the Indian spices were contaminated. 

Just one of many findings: almost 9 percent of the 1,057 spice shipments from India were laced with salmonella.

(For more data on what’s in your spices check out Graphic Science in the March edition of Scientific American.)

Elephant Myths-03

 Friday, February 7, 2014
Elephant Myths-03

Elephant Myths-03
I just made a comment on a story about a seaman who had strayed in sea for one year and survived.
I did not believe a wee bit having cared for malnourished children and adults, 41 years ago.
This is  similar to a story our Ganja Grower (hashish or pot) will give to a policeman who will record it faithfully as a true story (from Monaragala).

I did a survey (hypothetical to begin with but a true fact of evolution in this country) of how a family of 20 elephants would survive a journey (sea is mind-boggling) from Uda Walawe to Wilpattu?
 

With the current rate of conflict of Man an the Beast, the chances are only three (3) will survive and not a single baby elephant.
 

You should do the calculation yourself.

1. 200 hundred are killed every year.

2. Nearly 70 baby elephants captured by illegal trackers (but probably more).

3. The elephant man ratio is one is to hundred thousands (Ratio 1:100,000) for this family of 20.

4. Human movement is in multiples, a single Ganja Grower / Grover can make multiple trips over and over again without getting caught to our vigilant policemen, after mid night, anywhere in this country without batting an eyelid.

5. But the odds are multiples for a herd of 20, with there pace can grind to a halt at anytime, when they encounter a Ganja Grower with automatics (some are ex-serviceman from Late Lalith Athlathmudali's time-a batch 400 went missing and not accounted for).

Let me begin the track record.
1. Uda Walewas to Lunugamwehera should be a cake walk at night.

2. They would bypass the so called narrow strip of Sinharaja forest since it is crowed by human activity on all sides and the stream is small and narrow.

3. Would the the elephants get a good meal on their meal is a moot point.

4. They will also bypass Hambantota due to cricket, especially due to flood lit cricket.

5. Their deadliest route is when they emerged from Yala over the borders of Ganja Cultivation, in Monaragala district.
Please do your own cultivation, since after a sniff they shoot at anything moving sometimes their own dogs.
Elephants hate dogs even if they do not bark.

6. They will somehow make it to Elahara.

7. From GiraduruKotte to Wasgamura is the most treacherous part, if not killed certainly maimed in their ordeal to avoid human habitat (which was their habitat centuries ago).
Thanks to Mahaveli Project our elephants had to devise many ways to avoid humans.
They come out only at night.
They have very poor vision especially, the baby elephants, the traps our Ganja Growers have laid is covered with roses (sorry hashish).

8. Then they are in the flood plains of Mahaweli.
They baby elephant's carcass trapped in a tree that BBC published is the living reminder how treacherous the terrain and flood plains when torrential rains intervene.

9. They cannot cross to Wilpattu since there are so many religious activities in Anuradhapura with captive elephants parading and sending “belly messages” with their empty bellies, signaling the path is not clear for safe passage of wild elephants.

10. The bottom line is, that there are so many obstacles on their way, that if the old matriarch is there with the herd with her wisdom never hurries (or fails) in her journey through.

But many of them were killed or maimed that the younger ones who have not mastered the tricks of our Ganja Grower, end up in conflict.

That is simply unavoidable.

11. The myth that there is an Elephant corridor was cooked up in 1970s when we did not have rice to feed our human babies.

That the link with the seaman's  (lie) story is real.

Our politicians are better than this seaman and will cook up a miracle story to hash/bash/brag, my blog post.

Old Cricketers Except D.S, the undesirable

Old Cricketers Except D.S, the undesirable
Old Cricketers Except D.S, the undesirable

This is a bit of "gossip", I made to a local paper.

I do hesitate to write anything about present cricketers except Mahela (not necessary for Sanga, who has a big wag of his own) for posterity.

They are our Rohan Kanhai and Kallicharan duo.

Of course, there is no look a like for Vivian Richards, on record.

Cricketers (all good cricketers should do that) used to walk away (like Mahela) if they felt they were out without leaving the agony for the umpires to decide.

Our cricket Board is corrupt to the core like our politicians.

Politicians (even after heroin) and board officials (big mess in cricket stadiums and the grass they used to overlay, many corrupt practices, which even our milking cows won't partake ) never resign.


1. T. B. Kehelgamuwa I knew him well in cricket and in police.
 
2. Daya (Sahabandu) used to ball SIX different ways in an over.

He was the worst fielder we ever had.

He has (probably) never scored a caught and balled victory in an international.

Somebody had to be in the Circle or Ring to catch for him.

It was very nice cricket anyway, without the hype.
 
3. We had a guy called Ben Navaratne who whipped the bail by his tongue and the umpire could not catch this trick.

If he became a politician with his wagging tongue (not the tails of present parliamentarians), God only knows where he would have gone. 

May be Sky High!

4. Micheal Tissera was the best we had, he could have achieved more, if not for the fact, his buddy (bestman) eloped to Australia with his wife.

Collection of these writings should be there in the Web (preserved as archives), like in Wikipedia for the young ones to browse.

Elephant Myths-02

Thursday, February 6, 2014
Elephant Myths-02

Elephant Myths-02

Peeps at Many Lands (Ceylon)
By Alfred Clerk.

When Ceylon belonged (only the coastal areas) to Dutch, the capture of the elephants for sale was one of their principal sources of revenue. 

The operations were carried out in the south of the island, where elephants then swarmed, over 200 having been captured in a single drive.
 

The system is still followed not by the Government, and the old Dutch name still applied to it. 

 

Elephant kraals are now got up by the Kandyan chiefs (sick), in honour of newly appointed Governors or of royal visitors (sick) to the Island.
 

The system employed is to construct of tree-trunks (the beginning of environmental degradation, coupled with Tea plantation which the author fails to record) of strong enclosures called kraals into which herds of elephants are driven by hundreds of shouting (sick) men armed with spears, and provided with tom-toms and other noise producing instruments (pathetic).

(Panamura Ath Raja-King Elephant of Panamura was killed by a state member called Mola Mure (he was a heedless and headless, Kandyan chief) who was the speaker, then.
 

He died in the speakers chair/chamber (good on him, god willing).

The curse befell him.
These men are sometimes engaged for weeks in the forest rounding up elephants till all is ready for the final drive.
Stands are erected near the great gate of the kraal and here ladies (probably psychopathic) and gentlemen, invited to be present (I believe they had to pay for the entrance) sit for hours waiting more or less patiently, while the herd is slowly and carefully brought up. 

When the great movement arrives a tremendous uproar of guns, tom-toms and human throats (this is how our ancient politicians learnt how to speak in the parliament) is raised and the terrified elephants come crashing out of the forest, pause for one moment at the sight of the stockade and then rush through the gate (of no return), huddled mass of huge black forms, the gate bars (reminder of the Jurassic Park) are dropped behind them and the pleasant, leisurely life of the jungle is ended for most of them.

As soon as the herd is enclosed, tame elephants, carrying men expert in noosing, enter the kraal and one by one, all the YOUNG and SALABLE animals are secured and dragged out. 

The aged and infirm elephants remaining are then allowed to escape.

There is no victory parade, though.
 

The imprisoned elephants are generally too cowed to give any trouble but occasionally an old bull or more often a cow with the young calf (present day Buddhists shoot the mother dead, in our Pollonnarwa District with the patronage of powerful politicians) will show fight and charge the stockade and has to be shot to prevent it breaking through. 

It is curious fact that the men riding the tame elephants inside the kraal during the noosing operation are never molested by the wild ones, though it would be easy for them to pull the men off and to trample them to death (probably they practice “Metta” to these devil incarnations).
 

The training of the captured elephants is a simple matter.
They are secured by ropes on fore and hind legs (and staved to fatigue) to strong trees and are left to struggle (exhaustion) till they are thoroughly exhausted themselves (equivalent to American water-boarding).
Many animals kill themselves through internal ruptures of the violence of their struggle to capture (note no escape).
They also suffer terribly from leg sores (fested in no time) caused by chafing of the tether ropes.
This is how we capture the elephants to carry the casket (only the casket, mind you) of the Temple of the Tooth and decimated the population from 60,000 or more before the British to barely, 2000, now.
 

200 are killed each year.

The time is running out. 

Historical records indicate from ancient Egypt (5000 years ago, slavery stated in Egypt both for animal and human) to present India and Ceylon they were used for warfare and not for religious (it is mythology) activity.

These poor captive animals (including Pinnawala) have no democratic rights, freedom or choice but only modern day SLAVERY in the name of glorious religion.

My Freedom (Linux) Philosophy

 My Freedom (Linux) Philosophy

My Freedom (Linux) Philosophy

Let me be down to earth.

People do not value if something is given free.

This is true in Africa, in Asia, and in Americas.

This stupid mentality is very well illustrated in Ceylon.

The government to absolve and justify their stance of not improving the education system over 35 odd years (almost the time of the internal war) or so, give free school books and wash their hands off.

Teachers are ill trained or not trained at all, and there is a thriving industry of Tuition Masters, outside the main stream.

Then there is a leadership training program to inculcate inferiority and subjugation of poor undergraduates.

Add to the above insult there is no orientation program and the level of English is hopelessly poor.

So the undergraduates live a vegetative life (this is not so 45 years ago) for few years and pass out with a degree but without the skills for survival (survival of the fittest).

Their skills in IT (except for few) is inadequate.

Almost 97% of the students do not know there is an operating system called Linux and BSD and “Linux Freedom” gives a very good alternative system and choice of high value.

Above all majority DO NOT play games including video games (I was an addict).

The above preamble,

Is to highlight the plight of Microsoft users (XP and Win 7) and I now have a psychopathic elation to watch their misery.

My inner feelings (state), that was not my original intention (over the past 10 to 15 years) when I started educating young ones on the philosophy of free software and free operating system.

Everybody took me as a JOKE then. sometimes even my colleagues.

That is the very reason of my current elation.

I knew this was coming.

I have the last laugh and would continue to laugh at the Microsoft (Microshaft guys) guys and girls.

That is because now I enjoy the Linux Freedom.

That is a Freedom one could boast about, even at a time when we are fast losing our democratic freedom and free speech.

Below are two distributions that worth considering as an alternative for Microsoft and Apple.

Even though, I do not use Ubuntu as my primary work horse (there are over 300 distributions, worth trying), I promote it without reservation because the Ubuntu forum/s are good backup resources.

Warnings

1. There are enough Free Linux (there was practically nothing except Linux Bible and Fedora Bible when I started writing introductory books) books to download now.

I have downloaded them and read a few but nothing like the Linux Bible.

I do not intend to update them since, by the time I finish my book, it goes out of date.

Lately even (this was the oversight of Ubuntu, had they introduced books, I would have been one of the first (very few) to buy them) Ubuntu has produced books.

 
Best option is for me to write blog pieces once in a way.

I used to do that once a week when I started.

 

I used to subscribe to Linux Magazine and stopped in my retirement when the subscription fee went up.

Most of the Linux guys and girls also have gone through this phase of fatigue, but not me.

I still read the Linux Magazine, waiting for it to come by mail is like waiting for a “Love Letter”.

Geeks are doing the magazine and they have the distant vision in their grasp.

When one reads a books the instructions are general and not specific like antibodies to Microsoft.

Microsoft and their viruses will remain for a foreseeable future sometimes deliberately introduced by Microsoft cronies.

2. If one uses a Linux distribution (we call it the default set up) do not try to tinker it.

If the desired outcome is not available please make a forum request.

Unlike Microsoft that take years to find a solution, in three month you will get an update.

That is the beauty.

3. If you like to tinker, go ahead and do it but when you are in trouble ask for help.

There is always few guys/girls who would do the needful.

4. Please be NICE to them; 

They just do it for fun not as a memorial collection or they are not TAX collectors.

They actually save time and TAX for you.

 
To be nice to them is a mandatory requirement.

5. I use light weight distributions, even if they lack some security features.

Even if a hacker come through the back door into one of my computers, I have many computers to fall back.

This happened only twice over the past 15 years.

One

Stupid guy from India whom I traced back.


Two

I used one my computers as a Cloud Server as an experiment and it was used almost as a Zombie.

I could not save any of my working files and a mad guy (mad server probably) was using its resources fully leaving me nothing.

I found a way out but that was not to my satisfaction and ultimately come December, 2013 holidays, saved all my data and withdrew abruptly from “Cloud Serving”.

 

I now keep SSH client door closed.

5. In another five years even Linux will be Dead with cloud computing would be taking a foothold.

I have already stated an undesired outcome of cloud computing, above.

So learn Linux by trial and error (Learning curve may be bit steep) and stick to a base you are comfortable with.


1. Peppermint

I use Peppermint but it is minimal and for light work but has all the resources (software) to download.

One has to tinker a bit.



2. Lubuntu

Lubuntu is good enough and light weight but it has few glitches (understandable only a few guys are with the developer/s).

Change is good but changing everything isn't always great.
Same is true for aging computers and their operating systems. 

Support is sometimes lost too quickly with a 6 month core release cycle. Graphics & Audio cards and chip sets get dropped along with other miscellaneous functions with programs or drivers that just go missing. 

We all like having updated software we certainly don't like down time or loss of features and capabilities.

I believe most aging hardware just needs the right system on it, and lets face it, it helps keep a couple bucks in your pocket, if you can squeeze a few more years out of your current system; without sacrificing, performance, capability, usability and of course aesthetics.

I decided to take a LTS version of Lubuntu, although not official it was close enough. A nice stable seasoned release from which to build from. I loaded it up with some heavy weight programs to ensure covering all the bases while providing ease of use. 

I added and updated the software repositories, and updated all the major programs such as LibreOffice, Gimp, Openshot.

Finally, I made sure it was beautiful, complete with a new theme coupled by gorgeous wallpapers and drop shadows provided by Compton.

I also included a couple unique features like Random Wallpaper, Fast Forecast, Aero Snap and the Conky system monitor layout. 

I then decided to create both a 32 bit & 64 bit versions of LXLE. They are identical with a small exception. The 32bit version has Compton (shadows) disabled by default, it is easily enabled if desired.

The REAL SORT OF IT IS, this is a glorified remastered version of Lubuntu 12.04, with plans for incremental updates until the next LTS release.

Help or support can be achieved through existing (L)Ubuntu Forums, Websites, Channels, Documentation and I'll help by email if I can.

3. Robolinux

Robolinux is pretty impressive but my advice is to use only 64 bit version with at least 4 GB RAM.

My 32 bit, old computer froze in a matter of five minutes.

It did not do any damage, even though Esc, Ctr+Alt, F1 to F7 did not work and I did not have any escape route.

Mind you, short cuts and command line work are the main stay in Basic Linux which this distribution has done away with.

This can be deadly for the RAM (if one is panicky) and the Graphic Card.

I lost one using PCLINUX in last October.

Robolinux is a user-friendly, 100% fully configured, highly intuitive, no-hassle, commercial Linux operating system that installs everything you need in just 10 to 20 minutes.

Robolinux includes dozens of proprietary Wi-Fi and printer drivers, plus it is the only Linux distribution that features an innovative one-click, 10 second Windows 7 and XP virtual machine installer.

For 100% proof watch the video below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=mrB52h1aRLw

See what Real Users are saying here:

http://www.robolinux.org/testimonials.html

Welcome to a virus & malware free life!

Child Safety is a Miracle in Ceylon

 Child Safety is a Miracle in Ceylon
 

It was the other day, I made a blog entry, addressing child, dog and even elephant (both adults and babies) safety.
It is in this country, elephants are poisoned using pumpkins loaded with various poisons.

No wonder they (farmers) get kidney diseases.

 
In actual fact, they grow hashish under cover of vegetable farms.
 

Illegal alcohol is a side industry.
 

I am told, some elephants do love alcohol and can smell alcohol from a distance.
I think police should use trained elephants, not dogs to track these illegal activities.

Coming back to child safety, just for record I did a preliminary survey of a few supermarkets to see if and how they conform to child safety.

Not at all.
 

One supermarket had 36 items within reach of a child which were not child safe.
The cost of an item was Rs.90/=.
 

90/36= Rs 2.50 only.
 

Little over 2 rupees is enough to endanger a child.
 

That is why we call this, “a miracle country”.

Child (Safety), Dog and Baby Elephant Friendly Environment (EFE)

I do not think doctors as good politicians. 

I advise the doctor guys who may get selected toady read this piece before they take oath in the parliament.

 

Child (Safety), Dog and Baby Elephant Friendly Environment (EFE)

Child (Safety), Dog and Baby Elephant Friendly Environment (EFE)
 

There are thousands of modern items that can kill a child, dog or even a baby elephant in this country.

But I would concentrate only on tiny items that can kill a dog or a child and leave the third item, baby elephants in my book that will be out sometime in 2014.
 

Thankfully, there are no toddlers in my house but I have a dog that needs looking after.
 

Soon after the Christmas holidays, I did a survey in my house and I found over two hundred teeny weeny items that were literally, not child safe, let alone my dog.
 

Let me deal with one item to begin with that was bothering me.
 
Year ago, I bought a soft plastic mattress with rubber form inside for our dog since it was too cold and the dog was not eating properly and showing signs of hypoglycemia in the morning.
He refused to sleep on it, in spite of my coaxing and perseverance.
He did not like the idea at all. 

He used to dig on it, until the outer cover was torn apart and the rubber form came out in piece meal.

Luckily he did not gnaw it but fearing suffocation, I had to remove the mattress, clear up the mess of foam rubber.

In fact, I burned it.

So if, I had a toddler at home he or she would have been at a bigger risk of choking and suffocation than the dog.

This is why I say no dogs when you have little kids.

The kids can have a dog only after 16 years of age, when they have finished "O” Level examination and waiting for the results.

It is certain to dawn on them that the real world is much more challenging than the school life.

Mind you, when they start the advanced level examination they do not have time, and you (parents) will have to look after the dog for life.
 

I as a dog lover, I was ready to take the challenge and enjoy it, every minute of it including cleaning its “poos” and using them as manure for the outdoor garden, unlike most of my neighbors who make sure my foot path is clearly marked with them (dog shit), everyday of my adult life.
 
We actually can have a cross country route for the Lamborghini, in our foot path.

They should avoid every bit of the “shit” to become a champion.
 

There are two more diversions before I get to the nuts and bolts about “Child Safety” since that part is boring even to me.

This is copied from elsewhere in the web with little editing.

Dog's digging behaviour
 

1. Digging is used to uncover prey in underground burrows, and is useful to bury food, which is later retrieved and consumed. 

Dogs also dig to create a cavity in the snow or earth for shelter from the wind and to conserve body heat.

2. In warmer weather, an excavation may keep the dog cool.

3. Some dogs dig before urination or defecation.
 

4. Dominant adult dogs kick up soil with the hind legs to disperse its scent and increase territorial marking.
Glands in the foot pads mark the soil with scent during digging.
 

5. Even indoors, many dogs appear to dig in preparing for rest and sleep.
This form of digging behavior is usually not destructive, though over time the carpet may be worn down.
Digging is usually not considered a problem unless it destroys property.
To prevent the dog from digging, one must control opportunities to dig and provide the dog with alternative activities that are equally enjoyable and physically challenging. 

If the dog digs in your backyard, restrict access to that area. Ideally, your dog should not be left unsupervised in your yard, regardless of any misbehavior. 

Your dog will be less likely to expend energy by digging if it is walked at regular intervals every day and has a variety of appropriate physical activities to pursue.
 

Dog's Age or the Human Equivalent
Senior Citizens                                    Senior Dogs
1. They have homes for the elderly       1. Haven is practically hell for the dogs
 

2. Some senior citizens by that age
    become mayors of the holy city        2. There is only extermination decree

3.They never give way to juniors          3. Junior dogs take charge of the brood

I have another plea, if one wants to age with the dog please do the following.
 

1. Take care of a young dog at the age of 43 (when nobody seems to want you including your wife and kids) years.
 

2. When you are 50 your dog is 7 years old and equal to 50 years of human age.

3. In another three (3) when your dog is 10 he is equivalent to 60 human years and you will be 53 years.

You are younger by 7 years.

4. In another two years dog (at 12 years) will be 70 and you will be only 55 years.

You are younger by 15 years.

43=0
50=7=50 (only at 50 one can be at the level of the dog age and enjoy with your contemporary to your heart's content and his company prevents you from getting a heart attack, if you delay the dog will get a heart attack).

53=10=60
 
55=12=70 (This is the time you get a bypass operation and  the dog gets a heart attack).

5. Now that you have become the mayor at 55 after retiring from service would you be kind to this dog who is 70 years human equivalent (12 years  of our time) or sent for the Municipality Exterminator?

6. They are just old senior dogs / citizens they do not have a parliament to go but only the streets but unlike you they look after our streets even at night when young, is it reasonable to put them to death?

7. How come, if I say all the senior citizens who were ex-parliamentarians and drawing a fat pension and to save money for development they should be exterminated!

Will you pass a bill and vote yes in parliament?
Are we reasonable human beings?

Since my dog is senior by age (overtaken my age) like any true Ceylonese, I take care of him faithfully.
 

Who will kick the bucket first “The Good Lord only knows”?

I decided to take stock all items that were risky and might cause choking and suffocation. 

 

The List goes like this.

 

I do not think doctors as good politicians. 

I advise the doctor guys who may get selected toady read this piece before they take oath in the parliament.
 

1. Pieces of Rubber form.

2. Over 30 items from Chinese Racing Track, which I bought 20 years ago, for my son displaced on the pavement, in front of the Fort Railway Station for Rs.100/=.

I was working in Colombo, then. 

There were only a few items there, then but now there are thousands of Chinese cheap quality toys.

3. Over 10 cheap Chinese adoption of Scandinavian Lego

4. Plastic yogurt spoons (25 in total and only two measuring spoons for dispensing correct dose of children medicine or vitamin syrups).

5. Two pairs of plastic Chinese chop sticks with very sharp edges.

6. Metal and plastic clips for securing Ethernet Wires

7. Over 100 message board (English letters were the worse lot, with dots, apostrophe exclamation marks, etc) letters in English, Sinhala and Tamil.
 

I stopped counting after 200 and the things I did not count were

8. Pens, pencils, clips and erasers and the whole lot.

9. Clips for hanging cloths with nasty metal parts.

10. Batteries for torches and calculators.

I can remember a child in UK put a tiny battery inside his nose undetected and a timely X-Ray and intervention saved his life (child who was admitted with breathing difficulty).

I have seen few kids dying as late as 1975 in Colombo Hospital and those incidents were due to a peanut and one child was transferred from Galle to Colombo and he died at the doorstep of the General Hospital, in the ambulance.

Simply my house was not child safe and not at all dog friendly.

The list can go on but I stopped counting them.

The teaching aids of preschool kids are of very poor quality, I feel we should go back to slate and slate pencil.

Literally there are thousands of articles in every house now.

I have dealt with only the items that may cause choking here, others I leave it to the GMOA.

Thing I have not discussed are

1. Fire crackers

2. Box of matches

3. Tooth pricks

4. Candles including party candles

5. Bottles containing alcohol including methyl alcohol

6. Bottles containing detergents

7. Bottles containing solvents

8. Bottles containing adult medicine

7. Plastic garbage bags (there are no safety holes in them) and sandwich bags

 
8. Knives, forks, scissors, and other sharp tools in a drawer without a childproof latch

 
9. Electrical installation within reach of a toddler without safety plastic plugs

The list can go on and easily fill a book which nobody reads.

Nelson Mandela, what it means to be free?

 Sunday, December 8, 2013
Nelson Mandela, what it means to be free?
Nelson Mandela, what it means to be free?
It is fitting to end my book with a real story.
It was as usual a dull Sunday and I finished day's quota of work and decided to have an early supper by seven p.m. and retire early. It was not the usual practice since, I go to bed very late specially on a Sunday. As usual our dog also realized the early break and sneaked under my bed, not yet ready for sleep.
I quickly glanced through the web and news and there was nothing except those world leaders who were clamoring to be at the funeral of our real hero, the freedom fighter, Nelson Mandela. 

It was all strange only after over 48 hours or so, our local papers woke up to the task of posting articles, in his name.
 

I in fact, made a comment under an editorial, querying whether our journalists were actually sleeping on this news item, 24 hours before.

I for some reason went down to the pantry and on my first step saw a little paddy bird stranded on the steps and trying to flee.
 

I quickly close the door of my bed room and made sure the dog is enclosed.
He would pounce on the intruder and even a little beetle is his play mate, knowing he will catch in a flash, not to kill but it's the natural instinct, would be deadly. 

 

Without much a do I caught the bird and quickly put it in a safety pen to be released in the morning. 

It was raining and the bird was wet and my guess was it was just out of the nest and was too little to be released in the night.
 

Yes, the paddy bird used to make nests in our roof top garden (it is no more and I am out of the country).

 

I showed it to all at home and covered the pen with a piece of cloths and switched off all the lights except the diode night light in my bed room and opened a book to read.
The pen was kept at a safe place close by so that I could hear any signs of panic. Surely it did not want to sleep but wanted to get out and was hitting his head on the sides and on the top. 

After half an hour I decided to take the pen to my bed room and took the covering cloth off so that it would not bash its head on the sides or on the top.
I watched it for a while it was relatively dry with all the attempts to escape from the prison it was in.
My gut feeling was fellow will be hypoglycemic by the next morning and won't be strong enough to fly to safety.
I decided to release it.
I took the pen to the balcony and opened the window on top to see whether it was smart enough to escape.
If it could not escape on 10 goes, I decided to call off the release till morning.
I had put lights on the balcony and nowhere else, so that the bird could orientate itself to the escape window.

In the fifth attempt, he found the exit window and in a flash disappeared into the darkness.

He was not a tiny tot.
My original guess was wrong.

We are admiring our hero, Nelson Mandela, right at this moment.
 

I wonder how many “thought moments” he had of thinking of his freedom for over 30 years.
 

My guess it is more than the current human population.
10 billion or more,I guess.

So it is imperative that all the human race should realize it and salute to him this week.
 

This message is especially for those tyrants in the making or those aspiring to be.

Poverty and Pavans

Poverty and Pavans
 

We have a population of over 6 billion.

It is going to be 8 billion by 2020.

25% of the world population, equivalent to 1.5 billion earn less than $1 dollar a day.
50% of the world population, equivalent to 3.0 billion earn less than $2 dollar a day.
Most of them (60% in Asia) are in Asia and Africa.
 

Unfortunately these very same people are subjected lack of sanitation and water which lead to infections.
 

Worldwide 2 to 3 billion will feel the effect of shortage of fresh water (NOT POLLUTED) in 2020.

This will increase the water borne disease by many folds.
 

As at present millions die of water borne diseases.
 

Latest is the contamination of water by industrial effluents which include heavy metals and insecticides.

With all these UNO is only worried about Human Rights of smaller nations.

By their inaction WHO/UNO violates the rights of every child born to this century.

Aids is increasing fast in Africa and Asia.
In Africa AIDS was spread by roaming armies (including in Congo) due to internal conflicts.
In Sri-Lanka when “Pavans” were there administering “Peace” in the North, nearly 1000 Tamils women / a month came to Colombo for abortions.
 

The killing/ assassination of Rajiv Gandhi was directly related to this.
 

Nobody has done any study on how many were infected with AIDS with the help of “Pavans”.

Aging gracefully or is it not?

 Tuesday, October 1, 2013
 

Aging gracefully or is it not?
 

Aging gracefully or is it not?
 

It is interesting to note that we Ceylonese are aging fast and adding to the neglected lot.

With each day of adding to the lifetime, the standard of living goes down not by a fraction but by about 50%.

So it is better to kick the bucket early without being a pest to your family unless of course one is a BIG politician with a big family to maintain.
Global Age Watch has published the figures for over 99 countries.
                                                            Rank         Value
Ceylon
1. Global     Position                        36            57.3%
2. Income Security                           67           44.9%        
3. Health Status                               45           55.1%
4. Employment and Education      37           47.9%
5. Enabling Environment                24          74.6%     
 

It is interesting to note that it is below par in most of the Muslim countries where one believes the family values are the strongest.
Eg.
Afghanistan
Pakistan
Jordan
Bangladesh and India (which has a large population of Muslims).
Russia is as bad as India.
And China no better.
It is an interesting Study.  
Most of the Western countries fare very well.
For me New Zealand is one of the best to get older.
I know it by experience.
I used to care for 80 and 90 odds  (guys/girls who looked very robust).
I am at the moment doing some insightful research on how to become VERY young by almost 50% but when I discover it, I won't give the secrets to any Ceylonese-Sri-Lankan politician, even if they offer me the Post of Presidency.  
 

I am almost there please do not ask me how?
 

No comments under this blog post please.                    

Baby Elephant’s Dream

Baby Elephant’s Dream

I was born free
In the Jungle
To roam about
As any other
Jungle being

Soon it was not to be
My mum was shot at
She was mortally wounded
I was in tears
I wanted my mum
Back again

Not a foster mum?

Yes my aunties
And the rest of the gang
Were of towering help
In my grief
Till it was declared
An “Amnesty” for
My mum’s exterminators

I too was shot at
I felt numb and
I  wished and thought
About my death

But it was a dream!

When I was woken up
I was out of the jungle
In another plane
And another place
With strange people
Around me
Holding something
I had never seen before

There was something
Which looked
White inside
But tasted awful
But I preferred
A little bit of water

Then I was rounded up
Put in a moving object
I felt dizzy
All the same
On this unguided tour
Which I hated

I was taken
To a place where
Many of my kind
Was incarcerated
With very little
Rebellion
To my surprise!
 
Soon I was declared
An orphan
The name of the place
I heard was Pinnawala
 
I wished
And wanted to be dead
Never to be born
Again
In this Paradise Island

Take a very old Elephant in captivity, What are the most likely dreams?

Take a very old Elephant in captivity, What are the most likely dreams?
 

Take a very old Elephant in captivity.
What are the most likely dreams?

The dream would go like this.

I was born free
In the Jungle
I wanted
To be free

I wanted
My friends
To be free
BUT
I could not
The chains were nasty
The work was nasty
That is why I drank
The wrong spirits
With my mahout

Now the time has come
Let me go
Please do not bring
Those nasty guys
Garbed in white coats

They do not realize
That I hate
 
Pain
Even it is
From a tiny syringe

Oh, let me go
Before his arrival!

I wish
I should not be
Born Again
An elephant
With tusks

I have done my part
Why don’t you do your part?
 
Let all those
That are already there
FREE
If not,
I wish
I should not be
Born again
In this
Island Paradise!

Do Elephants Dream?

Saturday, October 26, 2013

 

Do elephants dream?

 

This is a sample of the Elephant Riddles, in my book Elephant talks, that would be out soon at Amazon's.
 

Do elephants dream?

Yes, only baby elephants.
Elephants babies are very naughty and mothers do not have time to sleep.
So no dreams for them.
 

Elephant mum (nursing a baby) gives you a call and say that she is coming to your home for a little nap (break).

What would do?
Empty the bedroom.
Close the front door.
Leave a message on the front door.
You may push the button.
Mum resting.
No babies please.
 

Quickly, exit from the back door.
 

You come back in one hour.

What would you find?
 
Front wall collapsed.
Back wall collapsed.
 

Bedroom intact but baby elephants having a round table conference in the dining room.
 

What happened to the elephant mum?
She has gone to your neighbor’s house.
 

What did you see when you went to your neighbor’s house.
 
Front wall collapsed.
Double bed standing erect in the front with a message hung.
 
I am still resting.
Keep the babies at your house.
 
I will come there soon.
 

Where did you find your friend?

Under the belly of the mum elephant unconscious (fallen flat due to fear but not due to injury).
 

What did you do?

Leave a note on the bedroom.

I am busy babysitting baby elephants.
 

You look after the mum, please.

Elephant Myths-01-The Elephant Corridor

Saturday, November 9, 2013
Elephant Myths-01-The Elephant Corridor
Elephant Myths-01
The Elephant Corridor in Sri-Lanka

It is a myth.
Yala, Wagamuwa, Wilpattu and Uda Walawe are not connected by a corridor for the elephants to move freely, since the rest of the land is densely populated and there is not even a hypothetical corridor.

My calculation is that not even one percent of the land is reserved for the elephants.

If I assume 10% (ten) of the land is allocated in a hypothetical space on this island  as a zoological garden and all the elephants are relocated inside it for the people to see them as exhibits and only 0.1% of the total population come to the zoo, to see them on one go (again hypothetical), there will be one man or woman standing every 10 feet (3.3 meters) of the perimeter and no elephant can move out without touching a human being.

If we get 1% to visit the zoo, one can stand and won’t be able to stretch the hands without pushing and shoving.
 
Elephant will have to trample 10 of them to get out of the perimeter and see the man’s world, which is fully developed.
 
One may wonder, why I used 10% which is high land mass in commercial concepts.

It is very simple.
 

My estimate is that there should be 35% (it is less than 25% and we will be like Dubai in about 50 years of development from now-we might even have to import water then) of total land to be reserved for rain forest, if we are to maintain at least 10% of the perennial rivers.

 

Not we had 101 rivers in Ceylon.
 

So if we roughly have 30% for the rain forest, elephants should take the major share of at least one third of it which will be 10%.

That is why I state that there is not even 1% of land left for our elephants.
 

So the natural selection will let 500 elephants to survive in the this land and in that estimate it is really endangered species.

Stating that we have 5000 elephants in the forest is a mythical figure concocted by our Mega Media Men (M.M.M) to satisfy the politicians.
 

I think each elephant is counted ten (10) times in making that mythical figure, sometimes by reputed NGO's.

Development of the man’s world is also a big myth in the same stretch of imagination, since only a very few with patronage will be able to enjoy it.

I have made the calculation confusing and difficult so that politicians won’t be able to understand my logic of it but the figures are below for one to work out.

Human Population density in Sril-Lanka averaged out but in reality it is much more than that because people congregate on socio-economic reasons.

The population density in Gamphaha is more than Decca and Calcutta.
 

Kandy has 10 times the population density of Gaza Strip.

Beauty is nobody talks about population control.

I have used the total population projected in another 10 to 50 years for my calculation since total square miles is roughly 25,000.

1000 in a square mile
400 in a Square Kilometer
400 x 2.4=1000

Reserve only 10% 2500 Sq Miles(6500 Sq. Meters)
0.1 of population 250,000
 
Every 10 feet or 3.3 meters there is a man/woman standing.

Location   Indian Ocean     Coordinates   7°N 81°E
 
Area       65,610 km2 (25,332 sq miles)
 
Area rank     25th
 
Coastline   1,340 km (833 miles)
 
Highest elevation   2,524.13 m (8,281.27 ft)
 
Highest point    Pidurutalagala
 
Water bodies     870 km² of water = 400 square miles (only about 1%)

(If Water body  is 1.5 % it equals to 1000 Km)

Population density   1000 sq miles
Population density  400 km
 
Hypothetical Elephants   population is 1000 and it is exaggerated to 5000 by local media giants (Biggest lie in this country).

Reserve   2500 Sq miles 50x50=2500;10feet
Reserve   6500 Km 80x80 6400:  3.3 meters

Freedom Revisited

Freedom Revisited
 

I just did a survey of our personal and political freedom from the time of independence and suddenly discovered seven (7) stages.
 

This can be applied to an elephant in captivity but in the case of the elephant the poor animal has few stages and no political freedom at all.

I will list them first and expand on each stage on a future date.
The reader can have his or her own classification.

1. Stage One-Born Free
That is the stage we enjoyed for over a decade.
Then we went in search of the second stage since the freedom did not filter down to everybody.

2.Stage Two- Freedom Struggle
We lacked economic freedom at this stage.

3. Stage Three- Freedom Fighter-Wasted Time
Never got the freedom we were fighting for.
This applies to J.V.P.
 

4. Stage Four-Freedom Left to be Abused
This is he stage were politicians (all shades) in the name of their expansion abused our freedom left right and center (they are the only one who gets a pension in five years for doing sweet nothing)

5. Stage 5-Freedom Lost
This is the stage we lost all freedom in the name of new constitution.
Even the judges lost their freedom to politicians whims and fancies.

6.Stage 6-Freedom to be abused by those who are in Power
This is the most interesting phase where anybody who is somebody with some power (this includes officers)  can become corrupt with impunity with no legal barriers.

7. Last or the 7th stage is Freeing the Freedom from clutches of Power
Unfortunately  we have not reached this stage since there are enough legal barriers  like 2/3 (two third) majority etc;

We have to go behind a Bo Tree and Pray for Divine Intervention.

Unfortunately foreigners including Indians and Westerners can do sweet nothing since we are a Sovereign State and one has to leave sovereign bars (Gold) in front of the altar of Demo=Crazy.