Food Handling, Food, Quality of Food (Nutritional Value)

Food Handling, Food, Quality of Food (Nutritional Value)

Food Handling

Nobody practices proper food handling in this country.

The number of PHII are not enough to cover the country and most of them takes bribes, especially under Chinthanaya regime. 
When police is involved in murder and crime cover up this has become a done thing and decades of retraining is necessary.

There is no facility for hand washing in most of the eating houses except in five star hotels.

I once treated a guy with GIT problems and he was handling food in a leading market chain.

I new the manager of the local shop and got him out of the food chain for the greater good of the public and the shop itself.

This was many moons ago.

Now in hospitals including private sector doctors do not practice basic hand washing technique.

Food Quality

With the price of food items going up, the quality of junk food has gone down from wade, to patty to bread.

The hopper which was three rupees 1n 2005 is now ten rupees.

The wade has become smaller and more expensive. The type of dhal (not Mysoor) is inferior. The taste is horrible, the oil used is not coconut oil but some substitute.

My discovery of egg patty is relevant here. 
I used to give an egg patty to my young dog.

Then there was a full egg.

It become half an egg.

Then quarter of an egg.

The one I fed my dog today was less than a quarter.

In a dinner bun with fish there was a full ring of onion a week ago and with onion going up in prices it was only a quarter of a ring.

I eat the onion ring before I feed my dog the portion of fish since one should not feed a dog with onions.

He is my food taster par excellence. 
He refuses to eat the bread portion which I throw into the bin.

My dog only eat the fish portion which is 40 rupees a piece.

I eat the quarter of an onion ring.

The rest of the dinner bun lands on the dustbin.

Rupees 20 down the garbage and even the stray dog won't eat.

Food

So the average man (woman especially the pregnant excluded) eat lot of chillies and liberal intake of Kassippu.

That is why the Kassippu Mudalalie or the Pradashiya Sabha member is very plump when seen on TV.

He drinks imported whiskey not Kassupu like some of our national paper editors.

That is why down to earth (except Ravaya) reporting was not seen under Chinthanaya regime (they were eating hoppers for rupees 200 -two hundred at Hilton, probably- for ten years except racial hatred.

1. Personal Experience

Mind you I used to go to Elephant House Fountain Cafe (see the reproduction below) for regular ice cream with jaggary sauce on working days and full board liqueur when off duty with a full bird.

This was the time in Colombo when dogs' and cats' food were substituted for chicken down Dehiwala and Ratmalana after the first drink (when the customer is half drunk).

This practice was going on even in Kandy when we (including late Dr. Godamunne) got activated to save the stray dogs.

I do not eat rice (not rice products like, Hoppers, rice noodles) for the last three years due to putative food allergy to some chemical contamination!

My gut feeling is, it is probably glyphosate.

Suffice is to say my personal suffering over three years immediately stopped when I stopped eating rice.

The added benefit was I eat all the junk food now (except chocolates) and my comment here is related mostly to junk food.

In spite of eating junk food, I have not put on weight.

The corollary is that if you stop eating rice, you start losing weight without any exercise regime.

Chemical Name: Ammonium Salt of Glyphosate 71% S.G.

Glyphos is a broad-spectrum, systemic herbicide, with contact action translocated and non-residual. Absorbed by the foliage, with rapid translocation throughout the plant. Inactivated on contact with soil.
Inhibition of lycopene cyclase.

Glyphos controls a wide range of annual and perennial grasses and broad leaved weeds by application as pre-emergence, post emergence and pre-harvest in cereals, tea and oil seeds.

Also used as industrial weed control and aquatic herbicide.

Dose: 100 gm per spray pump of 15 ltr water
Mode of Action:
"Effective against Annual, Perennial and broad Leaf / Grassy weeds.
"Gyprom is a broad spectrum, Non-Systemic, Post Emergence herbicides.
"Eisily Biodegradeble & non volatile in nature.
"It is used in plantation crop like Tea, Coffee, Coconut, Rubber, Graps, Mango etc crops.
Packing: 100 gm pouch in 8 kg Box.


Reproductions

2. Food Poisoning

At least 20 people fell ill, after a five-star hotel dinner on Friday night to celebrate the 87th birthday of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth, officials said yesterday.

They said the affected invitees were rushed to private hospitals and 15 of them were in intensive care.

The dinner organized by the Sri Lanka United Kingdom Society took place at the Cinnamon Grand Hotel with some 400 guests in attendance.

3. Quality of Food

Fountain Café was famous for short eats - rolls, cutlets and patties – and of course their sauce, which was something else. No sauce today can match it. The Elephant House hot dog served with that sauce was much sought after and a favourite of many.

Their rice and curry was also very reasonable.

There was no proper rice and curry like in the old days. No gravy; no dhal; but some dry chicken, rice and curry were what the young waiter served. I tried. The food was terrible. Then came my next order; iced tea – a tea full of sugar. It was really a sugar tea. I looked around to see if any of those old waiters from Elephant House, Fountain Cafe were looking from some corner. 
There wasn’t even one.

The new waiters were not even dressed like them.

Political Course Correction

Political Course Correction
It is very important that the change that the average citizen envisaged (Good Governance) after the 2015 regime change has not been enacted by three political Underdogs.

Number one is MS.
Number two is MR by pulling the rug under MS.
Number three in RW in deep slumber.

We cannot wait till these three to die naturally of AGE for course correction.

All three should be evicted with Demented Left Alliance of Vasu and Dinesh.

Time is RIGHT for the THIRD FORCE.

Can we do that?

YES, WE CAN. 

Youth has a place to make this change happen.

Be vigilant.

JVP unfortunately is trapped in their own rhetorics and their contribution, if at all, is marginal.

Milk Myths

 Reproduction

Milk Myths
 
There are plenty of ‘milk myths’ doing the rounds. Most of these are not scientifically proven, but let’s have a look at some of the most popular ones:

• ‘Milk contains too much protein, which leaches calcium out of the bones’ - the warning that high protein intake can leach calcium out of bone is expressly directed at high meat protein intakes, not protein derived from milk and dairy products. If you drink two cups of skimmed milk a day, you won’t be burdening your body with excess protein. Just make sure that you are not eating large quantities of meat three times a day. 
  
  
• ‘Milk is responsible for too many allergies, and should be avoided’ - some individuals do suffer from milk allergies (they either react to one of the proteins in milk or to the milk sugar, lactose, which can cause lactose intolerance). If you have been tested by a pathology laboratory and have been scientifically diagnosed with milk allergy or lactose intolerance, then you do need to avoid milk. Try using soymilk substitutes, such as SoFresh which is also supplemented with calcium. If on the other hand, you have not been diagnosed by means of medical tests, and are cutting out milk and dairy products just because you think you may be allergic, you should have the tests done because you may be depriving yourself of a valuable source of readily available, inexpensive calcium and vitamin D. 
  
  
• ‘Milk is only for babies and adults don’t need it!’ This type of illogical reasoning could also apply to all other foods that human beings have been eating for thousands and thousands of years. In fact, if we take this reasoning to its extreme, then adults should not survive on anything but mother’s milk - which is of course an impossibility. The human race has had ample time to adjust to drinking cow’s milk and we have relied on this source of calcium for millennia. So, even if your blood group indicates that you are a ‘primitive’ member of modern humanity, remember that the theory of the Blood Group Diets is not scientifically proven (why every member of the human race with a specific blood group should be allergic to milk, or wheat, or food X, and that by cutting out this food you will lose weight, remains a mystery and smacks of another diet myth). Most adults can use milk with safety to boost their calcium and vitamin D intakes, unless they have a proven milk allergy.
  

The new study reported above shows that there is a simple and inexpensive, low-fat or fat-free solution to preventing osteoporosis. 
By having just two cups of skimmed milk a day you can protect your bones and teeth from deteriorating as you grow older. Simple, but effective. – (Dr Ingrid van Heerden, DietDoc)

Bombshell-03

Bombshell-03
I have distinctly psychopathic elation, whenever, I smash a mosquito.
However, I do not have any problem with their bites.
But, I hate their music.
Mosquitoes are an antithesis to my Metta Meditation.
My Metta Meditation instantly goes into abrupt end or hibernation. 
Now I have devised a method to divert my attention to the task at hand(meditation) and every time I killed a mosquito, I say to myself, "There another Ceylonese politician is gone for good".
This way, I think, I can mentally, stop the URGE to kill any politician in my vicinity like a mosquito who feeds on me.

Castrated Constitution

Castrated Constitution

Consequential Presidency,

Conditioned hellhole assembly,

Confused Constituency,

Country void of scientific philosophers

Wasting the golden opportunity

For the vision of the 21st century

Are the manifestation of

Senile politicians bickering 

For power

That brings nothing 

But Momentary Insanity

To our Body Politics 

Bugger the constitution 

Which buggered us

For 38 years

With a tool called

Two third majority

And another tool called

Referendum which is not worth

The ballot it is printed on

And casting a vote on it

Is a colossal waste

On the common sense

Of not so common voter behaviour

Which is flimsy and fragile

And evaporating by the minute

With very poor and

Lasting memory in store

Bugger the constitution

Bugger the constitution

Bugger the constitution

Which buggered us

For 38 years

With a tool called,

Two third majority

And another tool called

Referendum which is not worth

The ballot it is printed on

And casting a vote on it

Is a colossal waste

On the common sense

Of a not so common voter behaviour

Which is flimsy and fragile

And evaporating by the minute

With very poor memory in store

Bugger the buggers of democracy

Who bugger the parliament,

In broad day light,

Bugger the citizenry

Who buggered

Their vote of confidence

Bugger the buggers of legislature

Who buggered the lawyers

And the lawyers

Who let them be buggered

By the lawyers

Of legislature

In broad day light

Bugger the citizenry

Who let them be

Buggered by

Law makers,

Lawyers

Who take the oath

In the name of protection

Of the constitution

Bugger the constitution

Which buggered us

For 38 years

With a tool called,

Two third majority

And another tool called

Referendum which is not worth

The ballot it is printed on

And casting a vote on it

Is a colossal waste

On the common sense

Of a not so common voter behaviour

Which is flimsy and fragile

And evaporating by the minute

With very poor memory in store

Internet Speed

 Internet Speed
Reproduction
The geostationary communication satellites that are used for satellite Internet service are about 22,230 miles above the Earth. So your actual data path is four times that, or over 89,000 miles. Here's why: A request for a web page is sent from your computer to a satellite out in space. The satellite contacts the provider's Network Operations Center (NOC) which requests the specific web page you have requested. The NOC then sends that data to the satellite, which sends it to your computer. So there are four transmissions from or to the satellite.
Even at the speed of light (186,000 miles per second) each request takes almost half a second (500 ms) to travel along that 89,200 mile path. That's a noticeable span when doing anything in "real time" such as playing a game, or having a voice conversation. This half-second satellite latency is imposed by the speed of light, but additional network latency can add to the problem of slow or stuttering performance.

Other Factors That Affect Satellite Internet

Weather can adversely affect satellite Internet, or knock it out entirely. When it’s raining, the microwave radio signals between ground and satellite are diffused and weakened, in what is called “rain fade.” Snowfall or dust storms can have similar effects. Even trees can affect reception of satellite Internet signals.
The positioning of your satellite dish is critical to good Internet reception. If your dish gets knocked out of alignment, speed will decrease or you may lose Internet access all together. It may take a visit from a service technician to get the dish aligned properly again.
Data caps are another potential drawback of satellite Internet. A satellite transponder’s bandwidth is limited, and it’s shared among many users on the ground. Bandwidth hogs who download excessive gigabytes of data during a billing period may be punished by overage charges, or by having their download speeds drastically reduced. The speed limit remains in effect until the next billing period starts.

Bombshell-02

Bombshell-02
This is in relation to bats (not political).
We have cut down on electric lights and bats have made a habit to live in our open veranda.

This is no problem but the droppings are a menace with potential life threatening respiratory diseases which normal antibiotics cannot cure.

So do not keep your rooms in the dark.

There are other species love darkness.

1. Cockroaches

2. Mice

3. Geckos

4. Ants

They come to scavenge on food litters.

So do not use a sprayer and kill ants.

The ants are the best 24/7 cleaners.

Bombshell-01

Bombshell-01
I need to let go few political bombshells before winding off here.
I was trying to delete items not relevant but found it very difficult.
All of them were written with educational or research value.

The deletion at current rate is one out of 30.
The reason for deletion is to deprive Senile and Demented local politicians of any new ideas to "jib and jab".

Our politicians do only jibbing and jabbing  and they are only relevant to their behaviour and not at all for the voters.
For example think of Premadasa, the Senior and Senile Vasu and compare their political contributions.
Mr. Premadasa's contribution is enormous including upsetting the "Apple Cart of the UNP" and breeding young blood (only exception is his son).

Of course RW is destroying the will of the people with inaction and self defeat.

In the case of Vasu, no contribution but "Bone or Borne Sucker" of the public coffers.
I think without him parliament can function uninterruptedly for at least two hours. 
The saving on electricity alone can make a lifetime pension for him.
I have identified one  and Old Dinesh fall into his fold.
We must get rid of them come next time round and elect "young blood" .
We cannot wait till they "Kick the Bucket".

Handy Linux 2.3
Handy Linux 2.3 that comes from Frace is Fabulous.
It boots fast user friendly.
It can be used by English users.
Thank YOU Guys / Girls at Handy Linux.

Physics at Random

Physics at Random

The angle of dangle of a clock is proportionate to the length of the pendulum.
The corollary is;
The angle of dangle of the cock is proportionate to the length of the cock.

The nub theory is all based around the angle of your baby's nub.
If the nub is pointing upwards, at an angle of more than 30 degrees to the spine, the baby is likely to be a boy. If it's pointing downwards, straight out or upwards at an angle of under 30 degrees, the chances are you're having a girl. 
Some people also say that the length and shape of the nub can give you a clue about your baby's sex, with a forked shape at the end of the genital tubercle suggesting it's a girl and a shadow at the end indicating that it's a boy, but there's no hard evidence to support this.

Failed Taking Over Control of Mosquito Strategy

Failed Taking Over Control of Mosquito Strategy

A smart mosquito called in an important political conference.

His bone of contention was that it a mosquito right violation, getting killed in the middle of a feast.

Only humans kill them and all the other animals simply oblige.

The elder mosquitoes asked to plan a defense strategy.

This is how its went.

1. Start a Research Project.

2. Hijack a human being for study.

3. Find an anesthetic injection just like the anticoagulant that the mosquito injects with its saliva.

4. Make it more potent so that human goes into deep sleep instantaneously.

They could not make it potent enough.

5. The decision was to go in swarms (teams) of ten to twenty.

6. The first batch was send to the parliament.

The reason was most of them sleep while on sessions.

7. None of them returned.

Guess why?

8. All of them got drunk which was made worse by the additive effect of the anesthetic in their system.

The corollary of this is, if YOU have a problem with mosquitoes have a big booze and go to sleep.

Our anesthetic is more powerful than what mosquitoes found.

10. Their research team is still working on anti-doping (alcohol) recipe.

Interestingly Good Governance has already found a doping drug to stop all investigations of corruption!

Kandy Traffic Jams and One Way Traffic

Kandy Traffic Jams and One Way Traffic

Current Governor has gone NUTS.
I hope we keep him until the election is over, when UNP can have a field day without campaigning

I have to dispense this before a life is lost in Kandy due to One Way System.

In the beginning of this year mother and two children were run over by the train, and lost their life even without the ONE WAY SYSTEM.

When we had One Way (which I strongly opposed then) some time back they reverted to the old system after loss of over 8 lives, all run over by the train.

The 5 kilometer railway track from Kandy to Panideniya is not protected by proper level crossings.

I give thanks to the Kandy Police on the Beat (not the higher officers - I have never seen a higher officer on the road any way), if not for them we would have lost a student or teacher by now by accident.

They are doing a yeoman service!

Mind you this change is after 3 P.M. and most students have left the city but still a large number of students are in the city attending various academies.

This decision is unscientific.

When One Way a vehicle takes 15 minutes to cover the 5 kilometers stretch and there after, it is snail space due to “Bottle Neck” at Peradeniya and Gannoruwa (by the way, Gannoruwa by pass is not used for diversion).

There is no saving of time BUT add to congestion near Galaha Junction and Peradeniya.

I can go on but my reason for writing this is to SAVE LIFE.

When one way is on, crossing the road is a death trap for people living on both sides of the road.

The only valuable public place is the Court Complex.

It does not serve people who come to court in the morning from Kandy.

It does serve 50% of the workers after work who proceed towards Peradeniya.

The other 50% who move towards Kandy have to risk their life crossing the road to reach the old road.

There any many more reasons including economic loss to some traders, including three wheeler drivers.

It not scientific but a RANK STUPID IDEA.

Hope before few lives are lost we go back to the old ways and do a proper survey to prevent bottle necks and congestion.

Elephant Protocol

Elephant Protocol

මේ නිසා අප අවධාරණය කරන්නේ හීලෑ අලි – ඇතුන් රැුකබලා ගැනීමේ නිවැරදි ක‍්‍රමවේදයක් හා ප‍්‍රතිපත්තියක් රට තුළ කි‍්‍රයාත්මක කළ යුතු ව ඇති බව ය. එය පසුවිපරම් කිරීමේ නිසි යාන්ත‍්‍රණයක් ද ඇති කළ යුතු ව ඇත. එපමණක් නොව හීලෑ අලි – ඇතුන්ගේ සුරක්ෂිතභාවය ඇති කිරීම සඳහා නීති විරෝධීව රදවා තබාගෙන සිටින සියළුම අලි – ඇතුන් අත් අඩංගුවට ගෙන නීතිය කි‍්‍රයාත්මක කිරීම හා එම සතුන්ව නිසි පරිදි පුනුරුත්තාපනය කිරීම ද කළ යුතු ය. මීට අමතර ව හිංසාකාරී ලෙස අලි – ඇතුන් ව කොටන් ඇදීමේ හා සංචාරක කටයුතු වල යෙදවීම වහාම නතර කිරීමට අවශ්‍ය කි‍්‍රයාමාර්ග ගත යුතු ව ඇත. අලි ගහනයේ සුරක්ෂිතතාව උදෙසා හීලෑ අලි – ඇතුන් බෝ කිරීමේ විධිමත් කි‍්‍රයාවලියක් ඇති කළ යුතු අතර ස්වාභාවික අලි ගහනයේ පැවැත්මට මොනයම් ආකාරයක හෝ බලපෑමක් ඇති වන ආකාරයෙන් අලි – ඇතුන් හීලෑ කිරීමේ කටයුතු සිදු නොකිරීමට කටයුතු සම්පාදනය කළ යුතු ය.

 සජීව චාමිකර
පරිසර සංරක්ෂණ භාරය

Dhamma Sense and Science Misrepresentation

Dhamma Sense and Science Misrepresentation

Writings of Nanavira Thera

Reproduced by Kingsley Heendeniya (He was a teacher of Public Health)

I have not read this piece before but I feel it is appropriate to reproduce it.
It is yet again emerging in local papers.
There is a consistent trend to distort Dhamma. 

I am deleting almost all political pieces except few

My observation is very similar but I would tend to disagree with his analysis of Relativity and Quantum Physics (there is no relevance in Dhamma).

The reason being, (of lately) certain individuals (mostly after retirement) posing as erudite, making his/her own interpretation of Dhamma and rendering meanings out of context.

One of them has published a book locally in English on Suttas and has said there is No Rebirth concept or Kamma in Buddhism.

I just had a peep of this book in a local bookshop. 

I must state that there was a conspiracy in a certain sect of a religion that envisaged that best way to “Kill Dhamma” is to infiltrate (kill within and not from without).

In Secret Service (CIA, KGB terminology) this is called planting a mole. There are many moles planted already.

In another book in English from India one author from India (this was pointed out to me by a Christian friend) has said that Buddha as a young man raped a woman.

This is the level and intent of misinformation, with Internet in its Bubble State, this campaign would expand and intensify.

I need to pen few pieces before my digital hibernation.

I do not want to be a part of this sinister game plan.

I am afraid even Dalai Lama has succumbed to this plot.

Beginning of the Reproduction

It is very common these days to find educated professional indulge themselves in claiming able to forge links with scientific developments in quantum physics, astrophysics, biochemistry neuroscience etc and the Dhamma.

There is for example a pre-occupation with ‘research’ into rebirth through records of anecdotes under hypnosis suggesting that neuroscience should one day reveal the secrets of memory and prove rebirth.

I cannot understand why anyone wants to prove rebirth?

After that What?

Many of these persons having misled themselves in the Dhamma are thus misleading others and additionally by that egregious habit of offering certificates to the Buddha by quoting from scientists and eminent persons and brow beating.

The Dhamma is about 2500 years (Buddha c 563-488 BC). If we agree to begin with Aristotle (c384-322 BC), science may be regarded as about the same age. But whereas one person, the Buddha taught Dhamma for 45 years,thousands of persons have been involved in the discovery and teaching of science, many contradicting each other. Their disputes, assumptions, running into blind alleys and mistakes have not ceased or are likely to ever cease,

Conversely there is nothing to add or take away from the teaching of Buddha. According to him, it will last for 5000 years after his death and disappear.

The bogus scientific discussion is evidence that this process of decay has begun.

Buddha said, ‘I divine (better term is Noble One) makes known the noble world Transcending Teaching as the business of man’.

The business of science is strictly worldly. 

And all worldly endeavours have no value in the Dhamma. 

They are obstructions to the realization of the purpose of the Dhamma. 

When speaking of akusala and kusala action (skillful and unskillful) the Buddha declared; ‘That action leads to arising of action and the action does not lead to cessation of action.

Skillful action not rooted in lust, hate and delusion leads to cessation of of action, not to arsing of action.’

In an advance warning of ‘five fearful things,not arisen at present but which will arise in future leading to the death of Dhamma

Buddha said, “Again monks there will be monk in time to to come who will be undeveloped in body,virtue, mind and understanding. The being undeveloped in body, virtue, mind and understanding when these discourses uttered by the Thathagatha are preached,profound in meaning,beyond the world, concerned with voidness-they will not listen to them.

It is unthinkable that any scientist would make such declaration.

Science is thought to be progressive.

The Buddha taught the Dhamma is to one purpose Orly- for its practice through reflection,to stop birth

he ends many discourses with the words: 

Bhikkus, ‘there are these roots of trees, the empty huts, meditate, do not delay lest you regret later’.

Dhamma is not taught in thousands and more modules for generating doubts,assumptions,debate, theorizing,analyzing, academic discussions, scholarship or speculation.

Also it matters little to to the scientist whether others find any use for his science.

The pompous self satisfaction of the scientist and scholar coincides.

Venerable Nanavira has written thus: “only a vertical view strait down to the abyss of his own personal existence.,is a man capable of apprehending the perilous insecurity of his situation; and only a man who does this is prepared to listen to the Buddha’s teaching.

Why are we cast in this world to die?

Dhamma is the general nature of Things.

All determinations are impermanent (Anitta).

All determinations are suffering (Dukka).

All determinations are not self (Anatma).

Understanding this the Buddha says, is the Seeing.

It is private knowledge unlike science.

The material world is public and common to the sense experience of everyone.

Natural Science writes Nanavira,’in taking this as its starting point and polishing it a little to remove irregularities,has no place for the individual and to sense experience (let alone mind experience or imagination) for the material world of science is by definition utterly a point of of view or reference.

In relativity theory,every point is a point of view,which comes to mean the same thing.

It is uniformly communal.

Science is essentially public.

Consciousness,intention,perception and feelings not being public are not part of the universe of science.

Science is inherently incapable of understanding the nature of material change due to conscious action(Kamma)- which is concisely reflexive exercise of preference for one available mode of behaviour (or set of them) at the expense of others (beings).

Quantum physics he says in hoping to reinstate the-observer- if only as a point of view-is merely locking the stable door after the horse has been stolen.