Fire Hazard Registry and Phoenix

 Posted on May 12, 2011

Fire Hazard Registry and Phoenix

Phoenix born out of ashes?

Is it real?
Posted on May 12, 2011 
 

When Linuxtracker Organization was attacked by the hackers and was emerging from the catastrophe they used this expression from rising from the ashes of Phoenix “to say they are reborn again” with vigor.

I have pasted the mythological story from Wikipedia below but to me fire was not a major concern till I started recording indoor temperatures.

In that period I have seen guppy fish die due to high temperature and saw flowering of some plants never seen in Kandy and its suburbs.

I have not been to the Botanical garden for some time and I am sure some plants there are dying due to warm weather.

The Kandy City was known for mild weather for centuries and it was where many come to escape from warm weather of Colombo.

Not any more.
 

My discovery is that we cannot even make wine in Kandy city now since the yeast the major ingredient in wine and alcohol die above the temperature of 38 Centigrade. And we hit this temperature regularly for the last five years of my recording. I decided to take a stock of fire hazard in our living rooms, especially because there is a guy who live below our house who habitually set fire to whatever he gets hold of, almost on daily basis and I see ashes in my room and bed room, if I keep them open for ventilation.

Besides, I fear sometimes my dog’s fur would catch fire if he is let out of the house.

My fire hazard registry goes like this.

1. Cloths
2. Bedding
3. Books
4. CD/ DVD and their cases
5. Plastic containers (to avoid dust and ashes) buckets
6. Furniture including the bed and tables
7. All the wires that are connected to Internet
8. My shoes
9. Computer utilities, keyboard, mouse and wires connected
10. Empty Cardboard boxes and 

11. Last year’s (remaining) Wesak lanterns.

In actual fact, I have nothing except three items that would stand a minor fire.
 

My inventory was compiled when I was half asleep and the moment I got up,          I decided to collected all the items not useful and would catch fire to their final destiny, the fire itself.

So, I took a leaf out of the guy who does it as a habit.

Set fire to them one by one and it took three hours to finish the lot and I stayed close to the fire till it was safe for the dog. It was simmering even at midnight and I am pretty sure no Phoenix will emerge from the ashes.

Our electric switch board caught fire three times during the last six months once due to lightening and twice due to sudden surge of Electricity from the Board.

The guys come and say the supply is OK and do nothing inside as far as the checking is concerned and leave us to our own devices even at night.

Thank god we do not have little ones in our house except the dog who does not understand electricity, thunder and fire crackers.

So my obsession to fire is well founded.
Not only that I was very happy we lost the Cricket World Cup and I wish we will never win another world Cup till the Global Warming is taken care by our Buddhist Monks seriously. Had we won it our guys would have burnt down the remaining forest in no time by accident or by design to have free entry into CROWN Land and now the President’s Land.

I have made a resolution not to light a lantern for Wesak this time round and I am sure nobody with sane mind would join me in my effort to highlight the global warming and its toll this small country is experiencing now. This does not mean one cannot light electric bulbs instead (with less hazard) but without overloading the system with many bulbs. I hope if their are Buddhists out there who love this land should think of joining me as a gesture worth portraying without causing any harm to the principles laid down in Buddhism and its spirit of universal brotherhood.

Just think of the wastage I.P.L is making during the 20/20 games when some Indians are not having a square meal.
Make it a point to switch off the TV set during Wesak and think of the poor Indians who are struggling to make ends meet.
After all they are our neighbors (poor Indians) in need of spiritual guidance if rich Indians are neglecting them for a song and cricket.
 

We owe India the rich heritage of Buddhism (I have doubts about this claim) and giving them something to ponder about is value added contribution on our part to the poor Indians who need not be poor in wisdom by default.

Fire Risk is there in this country but we do not have a proper fire brigade to cover the entire country and they come many hours after the fire without water and we have to provide them the water.

Fire wins and we lose everything and that is the name of the game.
 

Mythology
A phoenix is a mythical bird that is a fire spirit with a colorful plumage and a tail of gold and scarlet.

It has a 500 to 1000 year life-cycle, near the end of which it builds itself a nest of twigs that then ignites; both nest and bird burn fiercely and are reduced to ashes, from which a new, young phoenix or phoenix egg arises, reborn anew to live again.

The new phoenix is destined to live as long as its old self.

In some stories, the new phoenix embalms the ashes of its old self in an egg made of myrrh and deposits it in the Egyptian city of Heliopolis (literally “sun-city” in Greek). It is said that the bird’s cry is that of a beautiful song.

The Phoenix’s ability to be reborn from its own ashes implies that it is immortal, though in some stories the new Phoenix is merely the offspring of the older one.

In very few stories they are able to change into people (who set fire to the entire world).

  

Nuclear Accidents,Fire Hazards, Electrical Supply and Global Warming
Posted on April 4, 2011 
 

Now that the Cricket World Cup is over, it is time for me to concentrate on more important issues relevant to safety at home and on the road. It is with deep sadness I edit this page that one of my students died and other seriously injured, a motor bike accident. 

I always say more people die on the road than a death toll in a tsunami.
 
Before that I would like to make some passing reference to why we lost.

I should pen it down here since our journalist are the worst stooges of the politicians and won’t make the comments I make below as points of reference in their daily chores. 

I may become very unpopular but I am not a politicians vying for votes rigged or otherwise.
 

First reason is that in Ceylon, we never were united after the war whereas Indians were all behind the Indian Team and Sachin.

Indian papers were critical but were not destructive.

1. In our case one of the government channels run by political stooges raised a claim that Mahela played to the hands of Pakistan deliberately. 

What I understand now is that this was done by players rejected or not selected to the team with political intent.

Of course, Mahela answered the critics with his bat like Ponting and that was the very best of Mahela after his 167 odd runs in his first appearance against India in home soil.

What is important this time is, it is on Indian soil with nobody behind him except his team mates.

2. We were not ready for the world cup and we did not have a regular team up for the finals and poor Sanaga had to fiddle round and use his gut feelings. While playing on the round robin stage he had to select the players in best form from the makeshift team given to him by the selectors. 

There were only  five or six who were worth the mettle and naming them here is not appropriate and others were filling the numbers from 6 or 15.

3. Then come the crunch game and politicians get activated and like after the war they want to reap benefit at the expense of cricketers and bloat their image while failing in their duties at ground and grass root level.

4. Now come the big political maneuver and Randive catapults into World Cup stage and comes home wicketless.

5. I have my praise for Gary Kirsten, graceful South African opener who did all the ground work for the victory after 2008 debacle. There were no politicos influencing him. Similarly the praise should go to Alan Donald the South African fast baller lifting the New Zealand team up to the Semifinals.

The difference here is everything form ground construction to ground preparation to celebrations have to be sanctioned by politicos or their stooges.

Everything is politicized and corrupt.

6. I feel sorry for army man Ajantha and poor but Big Ball Boy Dilhara who was worse than a political stooge. He was the one who could have taken the wicket of Tandukar in a crunch game. Yes, he might give some extras and few no balls but we did not want him to ball full quota of 10 overs. Three overs form him would have been better than full quota of Randive.

This whole episode destroyed both the big boys Dilhara and new find Randive.

Who is to blame I leave it open.
Lesson from Dhoni is that he took the full responsibility of Srisanth’s selection and he managed him accordingly but did not break his backbone like what we Ceylonese do.

We win the war and then break the backbone of soldiers.

That is the way we go up the ladder.

It is cut throat politics, even in sports.

This one for the Indians.

In the built up to the semifinals there is a little consensus among few of the intellectuals that if we win the World Cup, the government will increase the price of petrol and with it all the other commodities and Ceylon should not win.

I also subscribe to this especially as a teaser, something that I enjoy when spirits are high and I was the only one in Ceylon who supported New Zealand on the day. I went on to say to irritate my close friends if we played on a neutral ground we would lose knowing very well New Zealand would not make it through.

This is like a Ceylonese government official who votes for the opposition on the day of the election and goes to work on the next day attired in a blue dress and a red tie.

In my case if somebody volunteered money I would have put a bet for Ceylon to win and support New Zealand in front of the TV.

Here money and win matters but usually it is the Santhosum or political bribes that do the job. In India the commodity prices may not go up but cricket corruption and betting will surge with this win.
Even though, I subscribed to the view that petrol will go up in price after New Year and before New year if we win the World Cup as a teaser for my friends, I was of the strong opinion that our politicians are only sensitive to the voter only before and during election, that they are so insensitive they will increase the prices whether we win or lose.

In that context it is better to support our team irrespective of political realities and that is what we should do come finals.

I am of the strong opinion politicians and religious dignitaries should not get involved in sports. Leave them to sports specialists and the coach and pay them well and on the basis of results like top CEOs and not to political bum suckers.

And come win or lose be prepared to tighten our belts for another 5 or 10 years and the promised land may never come true with global realities and food prices going up by the minute and production not keeping up with the demand from banis, bananas to political bana.

Safety First
That is almost like a lecture in point form but we never correct our mistakes but the one I am going to write below if you do not take notice one might lose everything including life.

It is the fire hazard that we go through in March to May.
There are two factors one is external and other is internal.

External one is global warming and Ceylon included and exaggerated by our Coal Power Plant going into operation soon.

The other is lightening and fire crackers.

I was happy that we lost the Cricket and if we won the fire crackers would have ignited few fires burning even our precious forest reserve, too.

I am the one for banning fire crackers in entirety.

It serves no purpose and many of our dogs die of fear during New year festivals when owners go out on holidays leaving vulnerable dogs to fire crackers and thieves (they poison dogs).

Other one is internal.

That is our Electricity Supply which fluctuate in voltage. 

This risk is increased with thunder that accompany rain.
One computer and two voltage stabilizers busted from the month of January to now.

This not the first time and some time ago I lost almost everything (electrical equipment that included a TV, a tumbler dryer and a washing machine) including 20 odd bulbs in one night and morning due to power surge going above 400.

The has become a perennial problem now.

 If not fire one can get electrocuted.
The only way I have saved few equipment is by using UPS not voltage stabilizers (two of the Ceylonese voltage stabilizers caught fire and there is no alarm. system). 

At least the UPS has the alarm that goes up and we cannot buy any imported voltage stabilizers in Ceylon now.

This New Year I decided to work on reducing fire hazard.

1. I have three or four digital thermometers.
One is on top of the computer, I am working now. 

The other is on top of the switched off computer. 

The temperature difference is 7 degree F and time is mid night.

2. I do not switch on any equipment if the outside temperature is above 88 degree F except the fridge.

3. I use the computer in the night and who is going to go for air conditioning with electricity bill above Rs.6000/=

4. I use UPS. 

Recent ones have better quality internal circuits and integrators.

5. Check all the connectors and replace them with sturdy not cheap ones.

6. Be vigilant and safety first from kitchen to to bed room to living room.

7. No fire crackers.

8. Switch off all the equipment not in use.

9. Emergency lamps with all diodes and keep them charged for an emergency.

10. Keep an eye on the meter and the monthly bill which is going up by the minute.