Well who can boast of 10 flowers on the rooftop garden

 Wednesday, September 25, 2019
Well who can boast of 10 flowers on the rooftop garden? 

Five and more in the tiny outdoor garden?

Well who can boast of 10 flowers on the rooftop and five and more in the tiny outdoor garden?
Well who can boast of 10 or more butterflies on the rooftop garden and five and more in the tiny outdoor garden?
Well who can boast of 3 pairs of Nectar or Honey birds on the rooftop and five and more pairs of Munia or Battihchas and Suticchas in the tiny outdoor garden?
The Suttichas with a needle like beaks are ferocious if interfered with (tiny but ferocious) and pair of them chased me out of the rooftop garden.
One was feeding on tiny spiders and tiny insects.
The other was searching for a plants (taller than me) with branches spreading under the asbestos roofing for place for nest.
I frightened them since cats are always there to prey on them.
I have a beautiful photo of a tiny nest with our dogs hair as a padding they made when I was away for  six weeks (rooftop garden gone to wilderness).
Our dog is no more but every time when I see these tiny birds they remind me of the good times and bad times.
Well we can have all these even on a rainy day.
That is only if you care for them tenderly.
Not with the idea of selling it to a guy/girl who does not understand plant biology.
It is just like giving a scholarly political book published in academic cycles in the West to a Ceylonese politician?
The ideas won’t filter into actions but only to rhetoric.
Where is liberty, equality and fraternity?
It is only books published after Carl Marx, the greatest critic of capitalism not socialism.

A cooperative society is an antithesis to corporate organizations big or small.
Avant Garden is a good local example.

Singing Birds
I wake up to the sound of singing birds.
I have now faced with a problem.
I try to identify them by their chirpy, chippy, churns but cannot.
Let me list the ones I can identify.
Crows caw, quacks of duck, cock-a-doodle-doo of cocks and few more.
But I hate the whine of mosquitoes.
They keep me up all night.
So, when I am up early with a nasty bite of a mosquito, with raging anger, to calm me and get to Metta Mode, I listen to the early birds.

Probably our domesticated fowl is the first to crack and wake up.
Then the jungle fowl and little later and afterward, there are many more birds whistling which I cannot identify but worth recording on a sonogram.
I can identify the Polkhicha that come and gobble my guppies.
Then the babblers, bul bul and last the Ceylon Oriole and the parrots and musical coucal.
 

I cannot count ten (ducks are not in my neighbourhood but are in frozen state in a deep freezer) and I give up.

Birds in Paradise Lost and the Juvenile Delinquent
This piece was long overdue.
Ceylon used to be a paradise for birds.
Not anymore.
It has many reason as I see them as a bird lover and a bird watcher but I have to highlight some recent developments ornithologist has not studied adequately.
I wrote a piece 2 years ago about a an Indian Oriole pair who did not migrate back for long period of time.
This coincided with the full operation of the Coal Power Plants.
I was obsessed to point out that the wind currents were effected by the commission of the Coal Power Plant and the it probably affected their detection of thermal range and the decision to migrate back to beyond Afghanistan.
They did remain for a prolong period and finally disappeared for good and never returned for the subsequent two years.
I was predicting that they would breed here but that prediction has no credible evidence to support by way of young ones.
Instead more of the local Oriole who prefers jungle habitat started vising our small garden.
Their was an unusual increase of local bird visiting our neighborhood for two reason.
1. Water.
2. The fruit tree they love to visit and partake its fruits (Ambul Pera and Mulberry).
During this period the remaining Bread fruit tree and another jack tree was consumed but they still have limited tree cover.
The other reason was that in the name of development and Eco-tours two remaining Kurulu Kales are being vandalized driving them to move out looking for safer places. (Kurulu Kale-Jungle reserved for local habitat both fauna and flora, in fact what is left of, in and around Kandy city.)
This development is going at full pace and they are even removing an overhead pass probably to make room for the Night Races which I will never watch.
Today story is more to do with the Buttichacha, the tiny bird that has made a point to take over our fruit tree for his delinquent acts.
For his size he is a hero of mine.
One day I was watching he was pecking a young bat who had lost his way and resting on another tree upside down on broad day light, like our politicians.
Their view about nature, coal power and anything scientific to me looks like upside down anyway.
Politics is not a science but a way of life and those guys/girls will never understand science in correct perspective anyway.
Those who cannot understand the value of live and let live and reconciliation won’t understand, science in their day to day life.
The next episode was this little guy has such a macho that he dare attack like a live bullet on the Ceylon Oriole whom I have now an special attraction after the episode with Indian Oriole.
Moment a Oriole comes he is airborne like a bullet and hit the big guy on the tummy with his long beak and the big guy won’t attack in return but shy away like a timid little boy and fly away without partaking any fruits.
When this happened, I went into my investigating gear to see whether he was protecting the young ones or the nest.
My investigation were negative.
He was a loner.
He has not found a bride but his instinct is to wait their for a good match and when he finds one to built a nest for his lover.
He is neurotic without a lover.
His pitch is belligerent and delinquent.
Now the Oriole expects the attack and cleverly avoid and direct hit and he was a peaceful guy and never retaliate.
The Butichcha now goes into pitch of defense (as if protecting the young ones) and as long as the big one is their makes a racketty noise in alarm mode. 
The big guy picks a fruits from the tree and quickly flies away.
The little one goes behind chasing the big guy but unfortunately it cannot catch up the flight of the Airbus body of the Oriole in comparison to the pocket size bird.
It reminds me of the rhetoric of our guys blasting the American.
I can remember in years gone by China used to have rhetoric against USA when its air space is violated by American spy planes.
They go to thousands of warning but the big guy the USA won’t stop the surveillance.
In the world of bird when paradise is lost and a partner is not available for mating what else a little bird can do?
Yelling in high pitch (like our politicians).
This one I am going to send to Maha Brahma asking him to intervene and produce one more (extra) female for this delinquent and boisterous BOY to pair with,
It just need one more egg.
Let him not make it a Buddhist Egg and unfertilized.
When I asked a favor Maha Brahma promptly addressed my call for the lonely cuckoos and I have many pairs visiting the garden now.
THANK YOU.
If you oblige this time, the rackety noise will disappear in no time and his delinquency will be gone for good.
I am not sure our Butchittas come under Swifts or Cuckoos.
Either way he is a personality good enough to enter our parliament and make a big noise without substance like the Hela Urumaya or Hela Karumaya.

Birds birds and birds, where the hell they come from?
This is my comment below a paper article about unusual bird activity
There is something radically wrong for them to come out.
I have been observing this for a while.
I have not nailed it down but In Kandy it is due to clearing of their habitat on the Hantana foothills by guys with political patronage.
They move from East to West which is not normal.
They are now nesting in few trees near our house.
Never seen before except Blue Kobeeyahs (Ash Parrots).
Second reason is they need lot of water (not food) due to unusually warm weather.
Global warming to be precise.
In our case we have a water purification plant and they come there to bathe and drink water.
Leave lot of water for them to drink if not bathe.
They die without water.
Mind you we had two full moons without rain in Kandy.
Third reason is our mulberry tree is full of fruits due to warm weather.
I am trying to make few sapling (very difficult in this warm weather) of mulberry and give it to my friends to encourage their visits.
If not Jam Trees would do.
My guess is without visiting the hinterland, a baaaaaxxxxD with political backing and in the name of development must be destroying the last vestige of their natural habitat.
Pass this message and this news by email to all bird lovers and start investigating without delay.
I have few sketches devoted in my blog-post-Linux 100 and parafox to alert bird lovers of this country.
Try your email in the meantime.
Thanks for highlighting 

Bits & Bytes' of a Journey along the Digital Highway

 Wednesday, September 25, 2019
Bits & Bytes' of a Journey along the Digital Highway

I come from a much older age and I was in UK and the UK government was considering use of the American made Cellphones and was thinking of changing from wired connections to wireless with a higher pay.
I resisted violently for User Pays Strategy and the Caller Pays Strategy should be introduced and we were using bleeper for hospital communication which I hated.
I still use the land phone (read my piece on algorithm) and use cellphone for playing games when I am bored.
Reproduction
Bits & Bytes' of a Journey along the Digital Highway
March 28, 2018, 10:16 pm 
I went through the same but in UK and in New Zealand. 
 

New Zealand had a primitive system and American bought it outright. 
 

The bottom line is those days it was cheap and now it is very costly.
I am in Australia and I have not given a call for over 18 months.
Nobody use emails nowadays.
 
By Nalaka Devendra
I ask: "Alexa, What's my Flash Briefing?"
Alexa - is not human. Rather, it is a small disc-shaped, talking computer, connected to the Internet, wirelessly.
I am not hallucinating; I am not under the influence of any mind-altering drug. I am not even watching a re-run of Arthur C. Clarke’s "2001: Space Odyssey", imagining that I am talking to HAL 9000. 
It is 2018 and I am sitting in my home/office.
Never in my wildest dreams did I foresee myself communicating with a talking computer!
The disc-shaped gizmo is the Echo-Dot 2, and Alexa is the voice activated service. Together, it can search the Internet and read to me, today's weather, headline news, play the BBC World Service radio, solve maths questions and a whole lot more, which I am yet to explore. 
It is a gift from a friend in the US.
In the beginning
Born in 1964, I lived the first five-years of my life, in Trincomalee. I also completed my Montessori education and started proper school, there. 
It was there that I was taught the most basic of communication skills - to talk, read and write.
My father made me a small, shallow box or tray, with dark-blue varnish paper at the bottom covered with a thin layer of sea sand. It became the first writing surface I used. My parents guided my small fingers to form letters, both English and Sinhala. Later, when I started school proper in Grade 1, I wrote on a slate (gal-laella) with a stylus made of slate (gal-koora) to write letters and form words. Writing on paper and books, came later. Little did I realise that I would be using those fingers and stylus half-a-century later, on my Smartphone and Digital Tablet!
A luxury called a telephone
When we lived in the Naval Dockyard (Trincomalee), we had a telephone in each of the houses where we lived. But they were connected to a private exchange (PABX) which belonged to the Sri Lanka Navy. When we needed to call someone within the Dockyard, you lifted the receiver and asked the operator to connect us with the other party. It was the same, when we wanted to call an outside party, in Colombo. Long distance calls were commonly known as 'trunk-calls'. Direct dialing was non-existent. 
The phone instruments themselves were large, heavy and made of Bakelite, an early form of plastic.
We moved back to Colombo, during the latter part of 1970. None of the houses that we lived in, had a telephone. Owning a telephone was a great luxury. Perhaps the owners didn't quite think so, as the entire neighbourhood did not think twice about knocking on the door, asking permission to make a call! 
Whenever we moved into a new neighbourhood, the first thing we did was find out which house owned a telephone and get friendly with them. We need a point of contact, in case of an emergency. We finally got our own telephone in 1978/79, after we moved to Dehiwela. It was then that we experienced the full impact of owning a phone. We had the entire neighbourhood knocking on our door, irrespective of the time of day, wanting to make a call!
After all these years, we no longer need the 'operator at the exchange' to connect us to anyone. Our phones are no longer bulky. So it is ironic that no one even asks me for my home phone number anymore! 
Instead, they want my mobile number, my Skype ID and my Email Address. The new phones are slim and aesthetically pleasing. They fit into your pocket. There are 'hands-free' gizmos which means you don't even have to take out the phone from your pocket to answer it. The next time you see a person seemingly talking to himself, the chances are he is using his hands-free gizmo. Some people have more than one mobile phone - why, I do not know..
International Direct Dialing (IDD) is a basic feature today. It was not so, back then. Not even in the early '90s. I used to go to a 'communication centre' in Liberty Plaza to call my sister (studying in India) and my parents (living in Sharjah). I used to call them at night as charges were low. Even then, I paid Rs. 300 per minute and my wallet was much lighter, at the end of the exercise.
Technology blurred the lines
Thanks to the advancement of telecommunication technology, we don't even have to use conventional methods of talking to one another. We can talk (voice), video chat (live video) with people both within and outside the country, through the Internet. The cost is negligible when compared to the 300/- per minute I used to pay. In fact, you don't even need a telephone to talk to one another - just use your computer. 
My Smartphone, is in fact, a computer!
Today, the line between a computer and a phone is so blurred that it’s mind boggling. In fact, your average Smartphone is both. It's 'computer' component is a thousand times more powerful than the first general purpose computers I cut my teeth on, way back in the mid-1980s.
 My first (proper) job was working at a Government Corporation, where I was the sole employee of the Information Technology (IT) Department. Back then, it was simply called the 'computer department'. This was in 1985. The first computer there did not have a hard disk. All it had was a bank of 8-inch floppy disks. The computer itself, had a random access memory (RAM) of 64KB! The printer I had was a dot-matrix, 132-column printer. But we got a lot of productive work done with the limited resources at our disposal: on reflection, we probably used those computers to its full potential. I seriously doubt, if people use their present computers (including the ones inside smart-phones) for more than 30% of its potential.
Back then, when we wrote computer programmes (lines of instructions to get a computer to do our biding), we did not simply sit in front of a terminal and type away. We had to first plan and draw up a "flow-chart". Then, we had to plan our programme by writing a pseudo-code. It was only then, that we got down to the bare-knuckle typing of the actual code. But that was not the end: then came the programme compilation - a process of converting our typed instructions into a form which the computer could comprehend. All of this took time and planning. There were no short cuts or magic solutions. There were no 'apps and applets' to make life easy. Each and every mundane task had to be clearly spelt out.
My second job was at a company where we designed, developed and implemented turn-key (mostly bespoke) computer solutions for our customers. Although we had a large team of programmers, we had a limited number of computer terminals. As a result, we got very limited 'terminal time'. There was a time-table posted on the door, giving 30-minute slots for terminal-time. No one was allowed to book more than two slots consecutively. Each morning, there was a rush to book time-slots and much begging and horse trading among us to get as much terminal time as possible. For the balance of the day, it was back to paper, writing our code and checking and re-checking the same. Never did I visualize an era when we would have a computer on our tables, at homes or carry it around with you.
Pre 'Internet' days
My third job (also in the '80s) was with an IBM Business Partner. 
By this time, Personal Computers (PCs) were making its presence felt in the corporate world in Sri Lanka: not the sleek and ergonomic ones seen today but large, solidly built and heavy. It was also the era when we came face-to-face with graphical user interface (GUI) and the wonderful mouse! 
We, more or less, kissed goodbye to the 'command prompt' and text-commands.
Some of our customers needed specific and specialised licensed software, for their work. These specialised applications such as CAD/CAM, Statistical Analysis, GIS, Communication Software, etc. None of these were readily available in the local market. We had to place orders with overseas suppliers and wait (often quite a while) for the goods to arrive. 
As always, our customers expected the goods to be delivered, yesterday!
 
As the customer is 'always right', we had to find ways and means of getting the software to them, in the shortest possible time. Our office was located on the top-floor of a three-story building. The Internet was yet to come to our part of the world. The only practical way to obtain these applications was to connect to the supplier's system and 'download' it. Our office did not have an IDD facility. However, luckily for us, there was a 'communication centre' located on the ground-floor of our building. We rigged up a long (very long) telephone cable from our office to the communication centre and connected their telephone (with IDD) to our office and to one computer in our office. The IDD connection to our overseas supplier was not great and the line got disconnected several times. But we always managed to download the software and satisfy the customer. 
All this took place late at night. 
Needless to say we never got much sleep. Today, thanks to the Internet, all what we did, could be done in a matter of minutes. But back then, we had limited resources. But we were more innovative and found solutions in the most unexpected ways. Necessity is, indeed the mother of inventions.
And then, the 'Internet' came
I was there, at the official launch of the Internet in Sri Lanka. Yes, now I sound like a dinosaur. 
There were no dedicated lines (ADSL or Fibre) back then. 
We used a Modem to connect to our ISP. 
It made a god-awful racket while establishing the connection and the speeds were slow. But, we had access to a whole new world! At that time, my wife and I lived in a small flat. We shared a telephone line with our landlord. Before I went on-line', I would inform them, so that my Internet connection would not be interrupted.
Gradually Internet speeds increased and so did the technology. Today, you get high speed connections to your door-step. 
The latest is fibre-optic lines to your home. 
The all important MODEM is now a museum piece.
Soon we also had email and what a wonderful tool it was! We were able to communicate (and share pictures) with our friends and families all over the world. We thought that we had finally arrived. That we were now in par with the rest of the developed world. Boy, were we wrong ! 
Little did we know that a juggernaut called Social Media was barrelling its way towards us.
To my generation I say "We have come a long way baby !"
(The writer can be contacted at nalakadevendra@gmail.com)

Counterfeiting Drugs

 

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

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 by Indian Drugs for my consumption.

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

This happen in Sri-Lanka too.

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

There is a Drug Mafia running parallel with illegal (heroin) and that is how 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.

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.)

This is the Month of Wesak

This is the month of Wesak

Buddha was Born, attained Enlightenment and Passed away (Parinibbhana) on the full moon day of Wesak.

Coming to the Moon, the roation of it does not align with the Solar Calander of 364 plus few hours.

12 Solar months.

13 Lunar months is around 354 days, roughly 10 to12 days short. 

One has to add an Adhipoya to accommodate the missing dates of the Solar calander once every several years.

Even though, moon rises exactly at the same moment, the observation or perspective is very different depending on what one's location is.

In other words individual orientation is different.

In the Northern Hemisphere it rotated grom right to left.

In the Southern Hemisphere it rotates from left to right.

At the equator its rotation is almost 180 degrees within a single day.

Time is a Concept but not something Real.

For us on Earth, It is determined by our Sun. In effect the time the Earth takes to  Rotate around its own eclipse.

Moon was traditionally used by those around the equator and in CEYLON to determine the dates before print material as a calander was available.

Moon calander or Lunar calander has gone out of fashion.

This is just to state that the perspective is different from where one observes the moon.

Moon face is almost vertical to an observer in the Northern Hemisphere.

It is boat shaped to an observer in CEYLON but me now in Australia it is an upside down perspective.

Left to right almost  vertical moon face.

The location of the observer determines the perspective.

Full moon, crescent or no moon at all.

Do not let perspective cloud the mind of the observer.

That is the Buddhist Outlook.

Uncertainty is the guiding principle of Dhamma.

Moon in fact, is an epitome of Uncertainty Principle.

Without the moon we won't have tides and weather pattern on Earth.

Without moon Earth is a bland and blank place.

On that ground alone we should revere moon as an embodiment of life on Earth.

That is worth reflecting.

This is not the point I want to expand but the important Number 13.

Numbers are named Cardinal, Ordinal amd Nominal.

13 is a cardinal number which every mathematician wants to avoid. 

It is outside the 12 which we were made to remeber 12x12= 144 by heart.

13x13 is 169 it remains an odd number.

Mulberry Tree -මල්බෙරි -ඇඹිල්ල

 

Mulberry Tree

මල්බෙරි

 ඇඹිල්ල is a better Sinhala term.

I have a special relationship the mulberry tree but let me deal with the scientific facts.

The botanical name for the mulberry tree belongs to the genus Morus, in the family Moraceae. While there are many species, the three most common are the White Mulberry (Morus alba), Black Mulberry (Morus nigra) and Red Mulberry (Morus rubra).   These deciduous trees are cultivated worldwide for their fruit and in the case of white mulberry, for silkworm feed. Native to China, often used for silkworms and considered an invasive species in some areas.

Black Mulberry (Morus nigra):

Known for its intense-flavored, dark purple fruit and commonly cultivated in Europe and Asia.

Red Mulberry (Morus rubra):

Red Mulberry is native to North America, known for its cold hardiness and dark purple to black fruit.

Mulberry trees, belonging to the genus Morus in the family Moraceae, are deciduous, fast-growing trees known for their edible fruits and leaves that feed silkworms. The three primary species are white (M. alba), red(M. rubra), and black (M. nigra) mulberry, with mature heights ranging from 10–20 meters. The fruit is a compound cluster of small drupes (resembling blackberries) ranging from white, pink, red, to dark purple-black when ripe. The leaves are often polymorphic (lobed, mitten, or unlobed) with serrated margins. The fruit is eaten fresh or used in jams and leaves are the primary food source for silkworms. The timber is used for furniture. White Mulberry native to China, widely used in silk production is often considered an invasive weed in parts of Australia and the US.

Mulberries are highly nutritious fruits packed with iron, Vitamin C, potassium and calcium. 

They support heart health, regulate blood sugar and improve digestive health due to their high fiber content. Rich in antioxidants like anthocyanins and resveratrol, they reduce oxidative stress and aid in skin and eye health. Mulberries are rich in vitamin C, which helps strengthen immunity. Some compounds in the fruit aid in managing glucose metabolism, which is beneficial for managing diabetes. They contain high levels of anthocyanins, which reduce inflammation and protect against free radicals. With a significant amount of dietary fiber, they aid digestion and help manage weight. They are a source of Vitamin A, lutein, and zeaxanthin, which help protect eyes from oxidative stress.

Nutrient Profile (per 1 cup, raw):

Calories: Low

Vitamin C: High

Iron: Good

Fiber: High

I am a down to earth medical man and won’t listen to American FDA, or for that matter British advice after the Independence. The British had drained off everything and the Tea Plantation had done enormous damage to our biodiversity while driving our elephants in wilderness to the Dry Zone. Our children were malnourished and below par in comparison to Western counterparts. 

We developed our own standards and immunization schedule and they were adopted by the W.H.O in 1970s. My contribution was adding M.M.R. (Mumps,Measles and Rubella) vaccine during Senior Premadasa time in the Private Sector and an astute man Mr. Ranasinghe Premadsa adopted the same in the Public Sector.

Coming back to Vitamin C in mulberry, adding a 50mg tablet daily is much cheaper than obtaining from fruits. 

Vitamin C is sour and got the private sector guys to introduce flavoured Vitamin C, called Chuvette in Negamboo. 

Every waiting child to see me or his or her siblings were given only one tablet chew free of charge.

By the way, 500mg tablets has to be cut to 10 peaces before chewing.

Suffice, is to say, I had a big clientele. 

Coming back to the mulberry tree, it was my wife who planted it with another local Ambul Pera (Guava) tree in our backbitten. It grew up to a considerable size in spite of pruning. Without a long stick with a fork we could not reach the fruits while all the birds and squirrels had a gala time. 

The variety of butterflies that attracted it was enormous with that the birds. Local Myna was my favourite but I never saw a Sala Lihiniya all my life in Kandy and in Panideniya.

Additionally, we cared for three palm trees. 

When seeds ripe on the palm trees various birds including crows come on daily basis taste the outer rind. I never tasted any and they ought to be tasty. 

Incidentally, the local chameleon who visits our garden to lay eggs has the habit of eating the tiny black bees who feed on the pollen of palm tree flower. 

No wonder  the tiny black bees are very sweet. 

Like the magpies, they may be eating my stupid guppy fish, too. 

The ground lizard, skinks are also rare to find now at Panideniya.

Gobo Linux UPDATE

This is a distribution that probably came from New Zealand.

I lived in New Zealand 30 odd years ago.

Then I was into Linux.

Windows were non existent and Atari console was the top range.

By the way, I did not like any Linux derivative that came from New Zealand.

Antix and MX Linux repository was a pain.

I tried Gobo Linux in 32 bit Era and as an average Linux User did not like anybody fiddling with the file system. 

It is sacred.

Attempt to look like Window's Folder was a big failure.

I am not sure what the Developers are yeying to achieve.

Is is trying to reinvent the Wheel?

I opened it up in Box Utlity and it is totally blank except for Firefox, Audacious and anothe Utility.

I won't recommend it to a newbie.

VOID Linux with XFCE ( with or without XFCE ) is a better option.

Just compare it with CachyOS it does not stand a Chance.

This is somewhat like but  the TextStar story of PCLinuxOS.

PCLINUX has come of age but still had rough edges. I used it briefly this year.

I am finishing testing any new Linux Distribution and  finalzing my book "Linux Essentials".

I was busy writing a book on Exotic fruits vegetation....of CEYLON... which went up to 550 pages.

It took a toll on me but now it is almost finished and ready for publication.

I am revising the botanical Genera and Families which is not my field at all.

I am trying to put them into familiar Plant Families.

Biofuel Feedback

This piece is based on Linux Freedom.

Anybody can improve it.

I am not going to send by email to my contacts.

Only an occasional visitor to this blog site may benefit.

Since my Linux adventure is finishing with CachyOS there will be less and on less on LINUX.

Less on Dhamma, too.

This idea came while I was finishing with my book on Ceylonese plants vegetables and fruits.

Foreign invaders who came for spices ended up destroying our dependable and sustainable.

Like in the Andes we had a crop for every weather.

We had over 2000 types of paddy seed varieties. Only about 50 is left. I have stopped discussing about rice.

In fact, I do not fancy rice now.

No Copyright on this piece.

I am against Petrodollar.

I am against Nuclear Energy, too.

Both are not environmentally friendly or sustainable.

This piece is related to Renewable Energy.

It is related to a brief dream.

Something like Deja vu.

Recollection of one of my past birth's Bioenergy Work which I could not finish due to old age.

Name was something like Zodiac.

It is not Zorin.

Something like Zindac Project.

It was unicellular.

It was reproducible.

No genomics involved.

Naturally extracted Biofuel both consumable, energy dense and converted into food item not perishable.

I was good in my Biochemistry but I lost interest soon probably due to my past Rebirth work.

I am not going to work on this Zindac Project now or in my next birth.

It is time for young ones to explorer.

It is sun and chlorophyll based but more elegant.

It is somewhat of a symbiosis.

I would stop at that.

CachyOS is compatible with Other Distributions

Cachy OS 

Cachy OS is now compatible with Other Distributions 

Beauty is it has blender but it takes whopping 3GB.

I am going to install CachyOS new edition.

It says it is compatible with other distributions and its new GRUB sort out old problems.

It is going to remain on Top of www.distrowatch.com ranking for ever.

By the way, I installed Endeavour OS but could not install AbiWord.

It is suppose to use only Terminal for Installation which I do not prefer in my old age.

CachyOS OS is now testing the USB image before installation.

Almost finished.

Booting is brisk.

Desktop is KDE but I would install GNOME.

WiFi is smooth.

It is usual Calamara Installer.

It has Gparted.

Octapi I love is depreciated.

Running Python briskly.

I gave only 1 partition of 30GB.

GRUB took over 5 minutes due to 7 other distributions residing in my NUC.

Installation started at 17.09PM.

Installation finished at 17.27PM.

Total 18 minutes out of which 5 minutes for my Long GRUB.

Mind you installation time is taken mainly for downloads. One need to have fast Internet Connection.

1159MB Download Size.

2859MB Installed Size.

Added another 300MB for hardware 

Another 3312MB of 126 extra packages.

All done and time to test.

CachyOS Package System is neat.

Already installed.

AbiWord 

Audacity 

VLC 

Deluge but no GNOME Transmission.

THANK YOU CachyOS and the Large Fonts in the Plymouth boot up is easy on my old age eye.

No upset with my Debian. I have 2 instances.

However, I saved all my latest book editions saved on a USB.

I have now 8 distributions in 320-SATA disk.

That is a record.

It used to be 5, the most.

 

 CachyOS

The CachyOS project has published a new snapshot of its Arch-based distribution. The new release puts a lot of work into iproving the initial install and configuration process: "First, the installer now ships Shelly as the GUI package manager, replacing Octopi. A clean snapshot is now created immediately after the installation has finished and is retained permanently, providing users with a reliable baseline restore point. GRUB os-prober is now enabled by default to detect other operating systems on the same machine. The UKUI desktop has been dropped from the selection, and the GNOME package selection has been cleaned up and modernised. For AMD GPUs, a different Plymouth theme is now used, as the amdgpu driver was unable to render the previous theme reliably on laptops with a secondary monitor attached. Last but not least, a new option was introduced in the installer that sets up MangoWM with DMS shell. CachyOS-Welcome supports DNS over HTTPS for better privacy. The redesigned DNS page lets you test connection speeds, auto-select the fastest server, or add custom ones. We also added a VRAM Management toggle to optimize graphics memory on AMD and Intel GPUs, full keyboard navigation, and sharper, dark-mode-friendly icons."

TrixiePup64 is fantastic

 Puppy Linux has come of age.

Its image is only 1OG.

WiFi configuration was smooth. It had problem with WiFi in the past.

Choice was between AntiX full or Puppy.

Since AntiX has problems with INIT  I went for Puppy Linux.

I am installing Puppy Linux on a 16GB USB stick now. 

It has3 options I used UEFI enabled image

Thank YOU Puppy Linux Team.

It has AbiWord already installed. 

It has Synaptic, and what else one needs.

Thank you again.

PS.

Legacy package manger is still there. 

Cardamon - කරදමුංගු

 Cardamon

 කරදමුංගු 

Botanical names include Elettaria cardamomum (Green/True Cardamom) and Amomum subulatum(Black cardamom).

The family is Zingiberaceae.

Cardamom, known as the "queen of spices,"      is a herbaceous, perennial plant in the Zingiberaceae (ginger) family, commercially grown for its aromatic, pungent seed pods. The primary botanical name for true/green cardamom is Elettaria cardamomum, which is native to Ceylon. It is widely used in culinary, medicinal and flavouring agent. The plant grows over 6 feet tall, featuring leafy shoots and greenish-white flowers. It thrives in tropical climates and requires high humidity. The dried fruits (capsules) are harvested just before maturity, containing 15-20 small, dark, aromatic seeds. It has a warm, camphor-like aroma, containing compounds like terpinyl acetate and 1,8-cineole.           

It is used in traditional medicine for digestive health, and it possesses antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Cardamom is a small seed pod with black seeds inside that extrude its sweet fragrance.                  

It is widely used in various meat curries and yellow rice dishes and is further utilised in making desserts or even added to our evening tea for a bit of spice.

As one of the most valued spices in the world alongside saffron and vanilla, Cardamom truly lives up to its title of 'The Queen of Spice' with its broad culinary and medicinal uses.

Calories18

Fat: 0.4 g

CHO4.0 g

Fiber1.6 g

Protein0.6 g

Potassium64.9 mg

Calcium22.2 mg

iron0.81 mg

magnesium13.3 mg

phosphorus10.3

Antimicrobial ability

Anticancer properties

Anti-inflammatory

Mitigates metabolic syndrome

Antioxidant and diuretic properties help lower blood pressure

Heart Health

Cardamom may help fight bacteria in the mouth, a common cause of bad breath, cavities and gum disease.

Liver Health

Ulcer prevention

Helps to increase airflow to your lungs and improve breathing

Nutmeg and Mace - සාදික්කා සහ වසාවාසි

Nutmeg and Mace

සාදික්කා සහ වසාවාසි

 

The botanical name is Myristica fragrans.

The family is Myristicaceae.

Nutmeg is a valuable, aromatic spice derived from the seed of a tropical evergreen tree native to Indonesia's spice islands. Used in culinary (baking, savoury dishes) and traditional medicine, it is known for its warm taste, containing active compounds like myristicin andeugenol. It is native to the Banda Islands in the Moluccas, Indonesia. Dioecious (separate male and female trees) evergreen, reaching up to 20 meters, yielding fruit for over 60 years. The fruit provides two distinct spices: the seed itself (Nutmeg) and the red, lacy, fleshy covering (Mace), It is rich in essential oils with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties. The fruit, which resembles a yellow pear or apricot, splits open when ripe. The mace is removed, dried and sold separately, while the nut is dried for several weeks until the kernel rattles within the shell, which is then broken to extract the nutmeg seed. Originating from the same tree Nutmeg and Mace are siblings in the spice world, nutmeg is the oval-shaped fruit while the mace is the reddish webbing that wraps around the pit. Nutmeg and mace are perhaps most famous for their applications in desserts such as cakes and pies but also find themselves in quite a few savoury applications such as sausages or stews and are notably an essential ingredient for some seasonal Christmas beverages like eggnog.

Nutmeg (Myristica fragrans) is the seed or ground spice derived from the seed of the tree species Myristica. Nutmeg contains variety of psychoactive chemicals including myristicin, elemicin, eugenol and safrole which are thought to be responsible for its psychoactive properties.

It contains;

Vitamin A

Vitamin C

Vitamin E

Manganese

Magnesium

Copper

Phosphorous

Zinc

Iron

A Powerful antioxidant

Has anti-inflammatory properties

Antimicrobial properties

Boosts mood

Tamarind - සියබලා

Tamarind

සියබලා

The botanical name is Tamarindus indica. 

Indica does not mean it is native to India. 

The family is Fabaceae.

Tamarind is a long lived, slow growing, evergreen tree belonging to the Fabaceae family, native to tropical Africa and cultivated across tropics. It is known for its sweet and sour fruit pulp used in foods, beverages and traditional medicines. It reaches 15–30m in height with a dense, canopy forming, pinnate leaf structure.It is a large, spreading tree with a broad, dense crown and grey bark. It thrives in warm climates, is drought resistant and grows in various soils.The leaves are pinnately compound, meaning many small leaflets are arranged in pairs along a central stem. The flowers are small, yellow often with red or orange streaks and are produced in clusters. The fruit is a long, curved, brown, sausage shaped pod (7.5–24 cm) that does not split open. It contains 1 to 12 hard, shiny brown seeds enveloped by a fibrous, acidic edible pulp.The pulp is the key ingredient in curries, sauces, chutneys and beverages. It is used in traditional medicine for its reported laxative, antimicrobial, and antioxidant properties. The wood is useful in carpentry, and the tree is grown for shade and there a few of them around the Kandy lake. As kids we used to pick these pod from low lying branches but my favourite was Mee Amba.

Tamarind originated in Africa but has been cultivated in Ceylon. It is not a native plant of India. Dialium cochinchinense, the velvet tamarind, is a different species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae. It is native to Borneo and Indochina but may have been introduced to Ceylon from West African countries. In the wild, it is threatened by habitat loss.

Its properties include;

Vitamin C

Anti-inflammatory

A rich source of antioxidants

May have anticancer properties

May improve heart health

Protect the liver

Provides natural antimicrobial benefits

May offer anti-diabetic effects.

Cinnamon - කුරුදු

Cinnamon

කුරුදු

The botanical name for "true" cinnamon is Cinnamomum verum, which belongs to the family Lauraceae. It is widely known as Ceylon Cinnamon or Sri Lankan cinnamon, distinguished from common commercial "Cassia" cinnamon (Cinnamomum aromaticum).

If there is a spice that Sri Lanka is particularly famous for, it is undoubtedly be Cinnamon.                    

“Ceylon Cinnamon” is world renowned for its notable qualities such as unique flavour, colour and aroma in comparison to Cassia. It has been a major spice in Ceylonese culture thousands of years.

These thin brown pieces of bark emanate a sweet fragrance and are commonly found in bakery products and flavoured teas. Additionally, it is in meat preservation. It is not only an excellent mood elevator but also an acknowledged health promoting product.     It is believed to possesses medical properties to heal chronic diseases such as diabetes and cancer.

It has anti-inflammatory properties.

As a notable Ceylonese export product, Ceylon Cinnamon it is exported in its natural form and as a processed product. It is converted into value added tablet, a powder and as an oil to the global market.               

Sri Lanka ranks in the top, as the source of 90% of theCeylon Cinnamon exported.

Cinnamon is rich in antioxidants and other beneficial compounds. Some research suggests that it may help you manage blood sugar, protect against heart disease and reduce inflammation. Cinnamon is a spice that has been ranked top among the plants with medicinal properties for thousands of years. Cinnamon contains almost no protein or fat and won’t play a big role in your overall nutrition, but a teaspoon of ground cinnamon does include lot of trace elements, many vitamins and phytochemicals.

Energy             6 Kcal

Protein            0.1 g

Fat                     0.03 g

CHO                 2 g

Fiber                 1 g

Calcium            26 mg

Potassium         11 mg

Beta-carotene    3 mcg

Vitamin A         8 IU

Cinnamon doesn't just spice up the flavour of our food and drinks it has many health benefits. Some research shows cinnamon may be good for people with diabetes. A review of 18 studies suggests that cinnamon might lower blood sugar. Many of the studies do not say what type of cinnamon was used or have other problems that make their findings uncertain.              

One review suggests the benefits of cinnamon for weight loss. It is sometimes used for irritable bowel syndrome or other stomach or intestinal problems.         It is not clear that it works.

Cinnamon contains potassium, magnesium and calcium. Potassium helps to counteract sodium’s effect on blood pressure and controls the heart rate. Potassium is also involved in nerve function. Magnesium and calcium work together to maintain a healthy heartbeat. These two minerals are essential for skeletal health, preventing the weakening of bones, a condition called osteoporosis.

In addition, cinnamon can provide other health benefits like:

Cinnamon is an effective anti-inflammatory agent. Researchers tested the phytochemicals found in cinnamon and discovered antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. In one study, certain cinnamon compounds also targeted free radicals with promising results.

Angiogenesis is the formation of new blood vessels to feed tumours. One of the keys to treating cancer is to stop angiogenesis. A study showed that cinnamon can slow down or hold off angiogenesis,    cell growth and retard cellular signaling involved in carcinogenesis. This suggests that cinnamon could be a tool in preventing or treating cancer.

The compound cinnamaldehyde is responsible for cinnamon’s distinct odour and flavour.                 

This phytochemical also has proven widespread antibiotic effects. Cinnamaldehyde was tested against several bacteria and viruses, including staphylococcus, E. coli, salmonella, and candida. Researchers found that it was able to prevent these bacteria from growing.

Cinnamon has a ton of antioxidants, like polyphenols. These can help your body avoid oxidative damage. The antioxidants in cinnamon are so strong that it can sometimes be used as a natural food preservative.

Experts have seen that taking cinnamon supplements can boost antioxidant levels in our blood as well as lower inflammation markers.

Cinnamon could lower your triglycerides and your total cholesterol levels, which could help prevent heart disease. If you take supplements with at least 1.5 grams of cinnamon a day, it may lower your total cholesterol, LDL (or bad) cholesterol, triglycerides, and blood sugar if one is having major metabolic disease.    It lowers blood pressure if it is consistently take for 7 weeks.

Cinnamon also might help with, Alzheimer’s disease, HIV, tooth decay and some allergies.

Why I believe in Rebirth?

I have met lot of good guys and only a few nasty guys. 

The bad guys made me to remember the quality of good guys. 

It is like one who throw away the pebbles and collect only the gem stones in a gem pit. 

The REBIRTH even if it is a Theory make one to forgive and forget. 

 

If my past life make me feel like a commoner, so be it. 

This life's professional capacity was only a coincidence and in the past 25 years I live without the M.B.B.S. tag and that made my current life Very Simple by not having to solve difficult medical problems day on end.

Some of my short dreams related to these few bad guys temper my acid relationships, I may have had. 

My current theory is we have night and day to discard the bad memories of this life including the old past birth memories. 

The dreams are a way to Forget and Forgive. 

I have no inclination to investigate past births but keep them as a viable link to DHAMMA. 

 

The extended childhood is also the default methodology to suppress past memory.

One should live in this life without rumination of past lives.

It is an antithesis to good living in this life.

I hope nobody takes ideas from this Blog Piece and create one grand old theory that REBIRTH is absolute in to One Grand SOUL.

Currently, I do not live with those Bad Guys not by choice but by circumstances in this life that bear some relationship to my past Kamma.

 

I met some of those nasty guys in United Kingdom and New Zealand. 

 

I believe I would never meet nasty guys in AUSTRALIA. 

Judging by the frequent visits to Singapore, I may have been stationed there during Second World War, that hate so much.

Theoretically the NASTY guys I met abroad were related to my past births in those countries. I think I was never born in CEYLON but had to work in CEYLON as a British civil servants. 

Except for KANDY and Anuradhapura I have no affinity to any place in CEYLON. 

 

I hate COLOMBO by default but I love all the fruits of CEYLON and hate almost all Western fruit varieties probably due to commonality of the past lives outside of CEYLON.

All these are tenable but not real in scientific sense but Rebirth Concept brings sanity to my this life.

At least we can think of a better life next time by being good in this life.

Do not be like an Americans, Israelite or Iranians. 

They all live in HATE and all are born again in Hell next time round.

Double Murder and Double Coffin

This was an old Case.

This happened in Panideniya.

 

I was a first hand witness.

Strangely, three of us came by the same bus. 

Suffice is to say the other 2 were our neighbours and my relationship with them was less than ideal. 

I walked up to our house briskly avoiding neighbour couple by default and because of the steep incline, I decided to take a rest at an advantage point. 

What I witnessed was coincidental.

The husband and wife had an argument on the middle of the road. 

Wife pushed the husband to the well below. 

He was drowning. 

Then the jeep belonging to the house belonging to the top most house on this road came in. 

He was a confirmed alcoholic. 

He knocked the wife to the adjoining muddy well. 

She got stuck in the mud. 

The bystanders were trying to pull her up but little by little she got stuck deeper up to her neck. 

No sooner her the face also disappeared. 

The people gave up the rescue operation. 

The ambulance came late and took the husband to nearest Peradeniya Hospital. 

Police came last and gave the contract to a known builder guy to lift the body of the wife from mud. 

I quietly went to the house of the said to be "the double murder victim house" and solicited my condolences. 

The idea was to convey the message that I did not witness at least part of the episode. 

While we were talking a telephone message came in confirming the death of the husband. 

Soon the conversation changed to what sort of coffin to be ordered. 

I said make it a double coffin like a double bed. One can save on the middle plank of the coffin. Then the suggestion came double coffin one on top of the other. 

The presumption was they would not fight after death. 

The middle plank could be made of Glass, for clear vision to the demons. 

 

Who is on top or bottom of the chamber is immaterial after death for the demons. 

 

Suffice is to day both ended up in. Hell.

In a Worst Case Scenario a Buddhist monk with meditation skills can decide on the past Kammas of the two individuals. 

 

One with better Kamma on top portion of Niraya or Hell realm.

Police actually charged double murder on the guy who ran down the wife.

My dear Nada.

This case is for you to solve without involving me as a witness. 

I do not want to attend Courts of Law in CEYLON in my retirement.

 

First of all you have to say:

This is not a dream but this actually happened. 

 

Location is true.

All individual are true but one of them died long time before this incident. 

He is in Niraya realm. 

He can participate by bringing bad luck to living people by default.