Peppermint 5-Update

Peppermint Linux 5-Update
It is long time since Peppermint Linux 5 was out but I did not Install it.
I was lazy to download my utilities that I used with Peppermint Linux 4.
With very slow download speed it take ages.
Anyway I use Firefox instead of Chrome and it started giving problems.
I unintalled it but could not install Firefox back.
What is available in the repositories was not compatible with the old version of Peppermint.
I had no alternative but to Install Peppermint Linux 5.
Anyway that gave me a chance to try Chrome, which is default of Peppermintt.
It is good idea to have two browsers.
One light weight and one heavy weight.
Firefox comes under heavy weight category.
I thinks I should use IceWeasle for a change.

One does not need to format the home partition when reinstalling Linux.
That is the biggest advantage of Linux and that way the data is safe.
The Firefox download is just 99%.
See you later

Emmabuntus-12 Plus

Emmabuntus-12 plus

Emmabuntus 12 Plus is out in both 32 bits and 64 bits

Its user name is emmabuntus and password is avenir.

It is not there with the documentation but fetched it from the web site.

It is mainly in French but there is adequate English documentation.

It is very attractive and developed for the "Children of the World" FREE.

It is a good Christmas present

Thanks Guys and Girls.

I am currently downloading the 64 bit version which is now available.

Story of Three Sri-Lankan Dogs

Story of Three Sri-Lankan Dogs

This is a story I heard from a pedigree dog (not my dog).

The dogs were having a conference at late night.

The subject matter was current political campaign at night.

Pasting of campaign posters and removing of the common candidate's posters were their theme topic.

None of the dogs were involved in plastering or removing the posters.

Their duties were to give guard and protection to stooges of their masters who were doing the dirty work at night.

They were very much disturbed.

1. One dog's master was a supporter of the ruling party.

2. The other dog's master was a supporter was the common candidate.

3. The third dog was the master dog of an election monitor.

4. The fourth dog belongs to the Election Commissioner.

The problem was with the dog of the ruling party (let me take away the master part since he is inebriated to the spinal cord and was never seen on the street but in the bar from morning to night).

It had killed three dogs in a week while guarding the poster blasters.

One was a Muslim dog.

The other was a Catholic and the third was the Buddhist dog of New Pivithuru Hela Urumaya (pronounced Karumaya) killed by accident by his own master.

The discussion was related to what happened to them after death.

The consensus was that all of them were in heaven.

Unfortunately, in a matter of few days the three masters were also killed under mysterious circumstances.

Police are still investigating.

But according to the latest news all of them are at the gate of Apaya (hell) awaiting their sentences while their dogs are enjoying a welcome respite in heaven.

So now I will brief you with the final unofficial report of the dog conference.

1. The Muslim dog's merits that served him in heaven.

He used to go to the mosque with his master five times a day without failing.

His masters demerit that warranted him summons at Apaya Gate was as follows.

He was very very religious and went to the mosque sometime more than five times.

But he volunteered for the ISIS.

His quota was killing 100 infidels in 100 days.

He actually accomplished 99 but had only one to go.

His final task was to either kill himself or to kill another (making 101) with him and remain here for little while for a prayer.

But being religious he went to the mosque for a very long final prayer.

Unfortunately he was killed by a American Bomb.

2. The Catholic dog's merits that served him in heaven.

Just like the Muslim dog he too went to the Church every Sunday without any arrears.

What was his masters demerit that warranted him summons at Apaya Gate?

He missed and absconded few visits to the Church on Sundays to meet his extramarital flame.

3. The Buddhist dog's merits that served him in heaven.

He used to go with his master with a till (Pin Kate) to collect money for the tallest Buddha Statue in the world.

What was his masters demerit that warranted him summons at Apaya Gate?

He forget to put the last 7 to 10 zeros in his final treasurer's report.

Now the story does not end here.

It was a total mismatch, 3 dogs in heaven and 3 masters in hell.

The three gods in heaven (previously Sri-Lankan Paraya dogs) finally made up their mind to rescue their masters.

Could you guess how they accomplished this task without the help of “America Drones”?

You have to wait till the Election results are declared.

The Election commissioner has given me a warning that even a small yarn or a little spin by a spin doctor that might effect the final result is a punishable offence in this world.

The caveat is that candidates can yarn any length of fibs and fabrications, till cows come home, like Lanka Cyber News.

Can Dogs Go to Heaven?

Can Dogs Go to Heaven?

The answer to that question is very simple.

But there is a caveat.

If the dog is Hindu or Buddhist by descent there is no problem.

Most of them go to heaven (if the master is not a Sri--Lanka politicians with ministerial posts who deal with heroin, Kassipu or other major vices, they go to hell with them) by default, especially if it is a Paraya (stray) dog.

But if the dog is Catholic, it has to wait till the present pontiff re-defines humanely the plight of dogs according to the scriptures and interpretations made by predecessors.

But, I have a suggestion for the pontiff who visits us next year.
There is an easy solution without going into scriptures.

Please make all Catholic dogs of Sri-Lanka blessed and converted to Buddhist or Hindu at the time of their demise.

There is no harm they remain as Catholic, in their active life.

After all Catholics in Sri-Lanka need them for their security with B.B.B (until Bodu Bala Sena is proscribed) in action like a pack of rabid dogs.

What remains to be done for the dogs of Muslim descent of Sri-Lanka is a difficult preposition.
They cannot be converted to any other religion at the time of their demise.

It is sacrilegious!

I have a plausible strategy.

These dogs must be made a permanent member of one of the many branches (not Shia or Sunni sectors) of their political parties before their death.

Then at the time of the demise, there should be an affidavit to the effect that they switched allegiance to the ruling party.

By this subtle method blasphemy can be politically avoided and the religion can be safely bypassed (after all they are animals they need not have a religion).

After all, dead dogs are only valid to the ruling party for propaganda.

They are mortally scared of the living dogs, anyway.

That is why they unleash violence while preaching Avihinsa (non violence).

But if the dog belongs to an atheist, the owner should go to a psychologist and get his advice before writing his Will.

The question is why does an atheist needs a dog, if he or she is not fearing hell or heaven?

Perhaps, she / he may be fearing another atheist from another planet.

Or is he or she fearing all the religious guys and girls on this planet.

Sir, Bertram Russell had to flee from England to China in 1930s.

He feared England more than Hell and Heaven.

When he was in coma (down with double pneumonia) an obituary was published but he recovered to the displeasure of the saints.

He lived to 97 or 99 with no help from any religion.

That is amazing!

This is the debate they are having at present.

Can animals go to heaven?

Some people all over the world have been excited in recent days about reports by news agencies worldwide -- including one from CNN -- declaring that Pope Francis apparently believes they can.

It turns out it's unclear what he believes about this.

A previous pope, Paul VI, had no doubts. "One day we will again see our animals in the eternity of Christ," Paul once told a boy grieving the loss of his pet.

 

That quote, from the pontiff who reigned from 1963 until his death in 1978, was inaccurately attributed to Francis.

The confusion may have begun when Italian daily newspaper Corriere della Sera referred to Paul's quote in a story that carried the headline, "The pope and animals: 'Heaven is open to all creatures.'"

The story itself does not indicate Francis said that. Instead, it refers back to Paul VI.

The writer for the newspaper pointed to something Francis actually did say: "Sacred Scripture teaches us that the fulfillment of this marvelous plan cannot but involve everything that surrounds us and came from the heart and mind of God."

That remark, the writer suggested, "widened the hope of salvation" to animals and all of creation.

The headline on the article quoted Francis as saying, "Heaven is open to all creatures." But there's no sign Francis said that.

A search through the current Pope's writings and remarks showed no immediate sign that he has taken a clear position on the question.

Alastair Cook's Ordeal

Alastair Cook's Ordeal

I do not write or talk about cricket NOW, especially One Day (ODI) Cricket.

Not because, that I do not like cricket.

One think I do now is watch re=telecast of Cricket Oldies.

There is something in every (Seventies) cricketer before money bug hit them.

I look at them from Botham to Ilingworth, to Stratham, to Trumean to Ravi Sasthri to our own Ranatunge.

They were different.

They loved the game.

Now cricketers love money.

Glamor is OK but money was a spoiler.

Even, CEOs and administrators are gold diggers now.

Number one is Indian IPL and it was the last straw on a camel's back.

I gave up.

But when I see a young talent like, Alastair Cook (test cricket especially) it is a new discovery.

I think the whole England team that toured Sri-Lanka should take the blame.

Isolating the captain as the scape goat was easy for selectors (for poor selection and above all poor preparation).

They were not up to one day cricket.

England selectors are experimenting with young blood and at the same time ruining them.

Unlike the players in Asian continent, these players have to think of their careers outside cricket.

Young players looking at these dealing will throw the towel at the first opportunity.

I must tell you that I do not like cricketers like Kevin Pietersen.

He is a raw talent but a game spoiler and sometimes “talent spoiler”.

Let me say few things about Mavan Attapattu and our Dilshan.

Mavan had golden ducks and many failures in the beginning.

He was the most stylish opener we had.

Alastair is stylish just like Mavan.

I would say a young replica.

He should have a private talk with our Mavan.

How he recovered from his own ordeal.

We were behind him all the time except our armchair critics.

He is our chief selector NOW.

What Alastair needs is one ton behind his belt.

The story about Dilshan is different.

Few of our selectors wanted to destroy him.

He was given a shoddy deal in spite of his grits and talent.

He was promoted as an opener to destroy him.

Then, I was fully engrossed in Sri-Lankan cricket and saw this ploy (we use grandam's type of approach here, in this country- gossip just like our gutter politicians' use) and alerted Dilshan.

He has become the most dependable opener and aggregator, not stylish, though, and went on to develop the Dilscoop.

He is still working on his technique, even now.

His only mistake I found then was carrying a heavy bat.

He changed the weight of the bat at that time when he was a dasher and that did the trick.

My advice for Alastair is not to change the style of play but to try a number of bats (for one day cricket) to suit his style.

Better still he works on his own bat and give the specification to the manufacturers and make a name in cricket industry (if rules permit you to do so).

I think you can bounce back and destroy few of the selectors.

That should be your motto.

Destroy few of the selectors by your own talent and believe in YOU.

I will be watching you (in spite of my self imposed retirement).

Unlike you, I won't be watching World Cup in 2015 even if Sri-Lanka make a headway (unlikely, I won't give my reasons).

Our Dilshan did that in style.

He proved his selectors were wrong.

That is the pastime of Sri-Lankans.

We have sent few of the selectors to the gallows.

They never came back.

We make sure that stays put in spite of political interventions.

Cricket is politics in Sri-Lanka.

But our Politics is stinking gutter trade!

In Memory of Lasantha Wickramatunge

Reproduction

This is true of Lalith and Gaminie and many more.

සන්ඩේ ලීඩර් කර්තෘ ලසන්ත වික්‍රමතුංග මහතා ඝාතනය කර අදට වසර 5ක් ගත වේ.

ඒ 2009 ජනවාරි 8 වනදාය.

නමුත් මේ වසර පහක කාලය තුළ බළධාරීන්ට නිශ්චිතවම ලසන්ත වික්‍රමතුංග මහතා ඝාතනය කල ඝාතකයින් හෙළි කිරීමට තවමත් නොහැකි වී තිබේ.

කොළඹ අධිආරක්ෂක කලාපයකදී මහදවල් ලසන්ත වික්‍රමතුංග මහතාට නාදුනන තුවක්කු කරුවෙකු වෙඩි තබා පලා ගියේ එවකට තිබූ හමුදා මුරකපොලු කිහිපයක් පසු කර ගෙන බව කවුරැත් දන්නා සත්‍යයකි.

නමුත් එවකට එම මුරකපොලුවලින් එසේ බේරී පළා යාමට හැක්කේ කාටද යන්න?
අදද කවුරැත් දන්නා රහසක් ව පවතී.

කෙසේ නමුත් වෙඩි වැදීමෙන් පසුව කලුබෝවිල රෝහලට ඇතුලගත් කල ලසන්ත වික්‍රමතුංග මහතා සදහටම මෙලොවින් සමු ගත්තේය.

ඒ 2009 ජනවාරි 8 වනදාය.

ලංකාවේ ප්‍රධාන ධාරාවේ පුවත් පතක කතුවරයෙකු මහ දවල් අධිආරක්ෂක කලාපයක ඝාතනය කර ඝාතකයින්ට රිසි සේ පළා යා හැකිද යන්න විමසීමත් සමග ඝාතනය කරන ලද සිවරාම්, නිමලරාජන් මෙන්ම ප්‍රගීත් වැනි අතුරැදහන් කරන ලද, පෝද්දල වැනි බරපතල ප්‍රහාරයන්ට ලක් වූ සියලු මාධ්‍යවේදීන්ට මෙම තත්ත්වය අත්කර දුන් ඝාතකයින් සහ ප්‍රහාරකයින් මෙන්ම එයට අනුබල දුන් මර්දකයින්, වහාම රටට හෙළි කරන ලෙස, බළධාරීන්ට බල කල යුතුව ඇති සේම, ඒ වෙනුවෙන් සියලු පුරවැසියන් පෙළගැසිය යුතු කාලය කල් දැමීම යනු මෙම පවතින මර්දනකාරී දේශපාලන පරිසරයට තව දුරටත් සහය වීමක් බව අපගේ හැගීමයි.

එබැවින් මර්දනයට එරෙහිව පෙළ ගැසීමත් ඒ මර්දනයට එරෙහිව වන අරගලයට සහය වීමත්, යහපත් හෙට දවසක් ප්‍රාර්ථනා කරන සියලු පුරවැසියන්ගේ වගකීමක් බව අද දවසේත් මෙසේ සටහන් තබමු.

DATAMATION is a professional web site

DATAMATION is a professional web site with information on Linux, Apple, Windows and even Mobile architecture.

I am reproducing his article to SHOW how inadequate my blog site (NOW) is.

Few years ago, I used to write almost every day on Linux.

Still visitors are mainly for Linux (not for my bizarre satire on Sri-Lankan affairs, including pathetic politics.

No.1.

I use Linux exclusively now and my current workhorse is Peppermint.

Reason

Light weight.

Sleek.

Web (Google enhanced).

Small foot print.

I download only the packages I use, nothing more.

It has its own weaknesses with which I can live with it.

No 2.

When they started fiddling with the desktop, I was really annoyed and I voiced my (gut out) concerns.

No Linux developer has tried less hard to (I am convinced now) keep abreast with the individual and community concerns.

They are great guys and girls there.

They need accolade if not “Nobel Prize”.

No 3.

I have no worries now with Linux.

I am 99% satisfied with the work output.

No breakdowns for over 10 years.

Only the hardware failures over 10 years (only due to electricity surges).

No 4.

I have Debian, Ubuntu, SuSe, PCLinux, KiWi and few other flavours for an emergency.

Multi-booting is the way out, if you miss something in a particular distribution.

No. 5.

I am currently testing Fedora 21 and it is FAB.

I am downloading the Fedora Games DVD and currently interested on Linux Games ONLY.

That was the only weakness and STEAM Machine will fulfil the needs.

Having said that if I find something fresh, I will post a brief account.

If you are happy with a distribution “Do Not Change!”

No.6.

Subscribe to Linux Magazine (I do) and you'll get a lovely update and a 12 DVDs (12x2) over 12 months (two distributions on both sides.).

That saves my electricity bill downloading images.

If the DVD is defective for some reason, they send you another FREE.

It happened only twice over three years.

No. 7.

Please, please if you find something amiss, do not start a “flame war” but report it immediately and in three months you get a solution free of charge (unlike Microsoft or Apple)

Recently, famous Linux Guru has suggested to Charge (do not do it FREE) a healthy Fee for service provided. I agree, Linux guys and girls also need bread and butter or rice and curry to Live not to Survive.

November 24, 2014

Debian vs Ubuntu:

Which is Best for You?

By Bruce Byfield

Debian and Ubuntu are the most influential Linux distributions ever. Of the 285 active distributions listed on Distrowatch, 132 are derived from Debian, including Ubuntu, and another 67 are derived directly from Ubuntu -- just under 70%. Yet the experience of using them differs in just about every aspect. Consequently, choosing between them is no easy matter.
Asked to explain the difference between the two distributions, most users would describe Debian as an expert's distribution, and Ubuntu as a beginner's. These characterizations are partly true, but exaggerated. Debian's reputation rests on its state over a decade ago, and today allows as much hands-on control as each user chooses.
Similarly, Ubuntu is really its design team's conception of easy. Should your work habits not be compatible with that concept, you may disagree strongly that it is easy to use.
However, although Ubuntu is derived from Debian, their differences are marked. From installation and desktop to package management and community, what everybody thinks they know about the two may be wrong, or at least in need of heavy qualification -- all of which makes choosing which is right for you a difficult process.

Installation

Right away, the distribution for you may depend on your hardware. Debian currently develops for 13 hardware architectures, ranging from standard 32 and 64 bit Intel to Arm and PowerPC, with support for two more in progress. By contrast, Ubuntu supports 32 and 64 bit versions as computer desktop environments, and is developing Ubuntu ARM for mobile devices.
Another consideration is the installers for each distribution. Ubuntu's standard installer is designed to require a minimum of user input to keep installation simple and as fast as possible. Should you encounter problems, you can try the expert mode installer -- a lightly re-branded version of the Debian Installer.
The Debian Installer clearly has other priorities. Its graphic version is a GUI that differs from the text-based installer mainly in toolkit, offering no advantage except comfort for those nervous about the command line.
Contrary to Debian's former reputation, it can usually be installed by following the online instructions and accepting the default settings for each stage. However, if you choose, you can make individual choices at every step of the installation process, substantially increasing the required time. Instead of catering to inexperienced users, the Debian installer accommodates all levels of users. It may not be pretty, but, short of compiling your own packages, you are unlikely to find a more flexible installer.

Desktop

Debian and Ubuntu default to different desktop environments. Ubuntu defaults to Unity, the desktop that Canonical, Ubuntu's corporate sponsor, has been developing for the last five years. Should Canonical succeed in marketing its mobile devices, in the future you may be able to have the same desktop on all your hardware.
Debian, though, seems in no hurry to support Unity. Instead, its standard disk images default to GNOME 3.
However, these defaults mean little more than convenience. Both Ubuntu and Debian support multiple desktops. In Ubuntu, other desktops are semi- independent distributions, such as Kubuntu for KDE and Xubuntu for Xfce. These variations share the underlying GNOME technologies with the standard-issue Ubuntu, and may or may not sync with official releases, give or take a few weeks.
In Debian, the choice of desktops is roughly the same, but the teams developing them are less separate from standard Debian. The timeliness of these releases varies, so expect to take some time in online searches to find what is happening with any team whose results may interest you.
Except for Unity, most software written for Ubuntu is also available for Debian. Software written for Debian is almost always available for Ubuntu, because Ubuntu draws its packages from Debian's repositories. Depending on where Debian is in its ponderously slow release cycle, Ubuntu's software is usually more current than Debian's, but as a tradeoff, Debian's tends to be more thoroughly tested and stable.
A warning, though: do not assume that a common origin makes packages cross-compatible. While many packages can be installed on both Debian and Ubuntu, about twenty percent of Ubuntu's packages stand a large chance of being incompatible with Debian due to differences in name and file locations.

Administration and Package Management

Unsurprisingly, both Debian and Ubuntu encourage the use of a root account for administrative purposes, and restricted accounts for everyday computing. However, the chosen security models are different.
In Debian, users do administrative wprl by logging directly into the root account, then -- ideally -- logging out again as quickly as possible to reduce the period of vulnerability. Ubuntu, though, obscures the root password, instead using sudo, and allowing at least one user to enter their own password to issue administrative commands.
Which of these security models is preferable is frequently debated, so you should search for a discussion on the subject so that you can decide which you prefer.
Debian's packages are divided into three main categories: Unstable, Testing, and Stable. A new package enters stable, and transfers into Testing when it has been debugged. When an official release is prepared, the current packages in Testing under further examination, and are eventually become the new Stable.
In recent years, other repositories have been officially or unofficially added, such as Experimental, Old Stable, Security, Backports ,and Update. However, users should pay most attention to the three main repositories.
The advantage of Debian's system is that you can choose a position anywhere between two extremes: rock-solid stability, at the cost of older versions of software, or cutting edge, at the cost of less robust software and, at times, drastic changes in technology that can cripple an unwary user's system. The choice can depend on whether you upgrade a core component, such as the Linux kernel, or a self-contained utility with its own libraries that affects nothing else when disaster strikes.
By contrast, Ubuntu derives its packages from Debian Unstable or Testing. Instead of being organized by testing status, Ubuntu's repositories are organized by other criteria. Main contains software supported by Canonical, Universe software supported by the Ubuntu Community. Restricted contains proprietary drivers, while Multiverse holds software with copyright or legal limitations.
Another major difference is that Debian is much more dedicated to software freedom. By default, it installs only free software, and its installer even goes so far as to offer a kernel free of proprietary firmware. If you want nonfree software, you have add the Contrib and Nonfree sections to each repository.
By contrast, the distinction between free and proprietary is much less clear in Ubuntu. While Debian discourages the use of proprietary software (although allowing users to make their own choice), Ubuntu encourages users to install proprietary software in order to have a computing experience comparable to that on any commercial operating system. You can get the same experience on Debian if you are willing to work, but Debian makes clearer that you do so at the expensive of software freedom.

Communities

For users who may become involved with developing, Debian's and Ubuntu's communities may also be a factor in their choice.
Debian is famous -- even infamous -- for discussing everything in great detail. Especially contentious issues can even go to a general vote.
In recent years, Debian appeared to mellow, but the discussion can still sometimes become a free-for-all. In the past, Debian has been described as a hostile environment for women, and, just recently, the debate on replacing init with systemd became so intense that a couple of veteran developers resigned rather endure abuse.
At the same time, Debian is a meritocratic democracy, with all official maintainers voting on the Debian Leader and other issues. Although appointed positions can sometimes be a source of power, in general Debian officials lead more by suggestion and diplomacy than direct command.
Ubuntu contrasts with Debian in that it has a Code of Conduct for community interaction. Until recently, Ubuntu's community manager was Jono Bacon, who literally wrote the book on The Art of Community, and made considerable effort at conflict resolution. In addition, a Community Council and Technical Board is partly elected every year.
However, this democratic appearance is not quite what it appears. Ubuntu's founder, Mark Shuttleworth, sits on both governing boards permanently, and casts the deciding vote. Shuttleworth -- and, at times, his Canonical representatives -- also have veto power over the community, which in the past has caused several user revolts.

Making a Choice

Beginner or expert? Platform support? Ease of use or control? Unity or GNOME? Cutting edge or stability? Free or proprietary? Outspoken but democratic, or polite or controlled? As you can see, choosing between Debian and Ubuntu comes down to what is important to you.
Before you choose one distribution over the other, I suggest that you decide where you stand on all these dichotomies. Or perhaps some of these divisions is more important to you than the others.
However, no matter how you decide, you can hardly go too far wrong. For all their differences, Debian and Ubuntu did not become the leading distributions in free software by chance. Their joint dominance suggests that either is a valid choice, so long as you understand your priorities.

Fedora 21- Top Hat Award

Fedora 21- Top Hat Award

Red Hat, Fedora and all the old hats of Linux Lineage are there for you to Enjoy this Christmas.
I downloaded In design by torrent and it is superb.
It has as usual both 32 bit and 64 bit versions.

I am currently downloading Games Version. 

Please use the torrent if your connection is slow / breaks down in Sri-Lanka due to political interference, of course.

Internet breaks down, just like your prized ceramic ornamental.

Thank YOU guys and girls of Fedora.
Happy Christmas and New Year 2015

Beautiful Lanka - Lassana Lankave

Beautiful Lanka - Lassana Lankave

අපි උක්කොම  බුරු වරු
 
අපි උක්කොම හොර  බොරු
අපි උක්කොම  බුරු වරු
බුරු වරිගෙන්
පැව තෙන්නා  සේ !

මේ ලස්සණ ලංකාවේ!

අපි උක්කොම  බුරු වරු
අපි උක්කොම  බුරු බුරු  

බල්ලන් බුරන්නා සේ!

චන්දේ ට  සැර සෙන් නේ!

මේ ලස්සණ ලංකාවේ!
මේ ලස්සණ ලංකාවේ!
Translation
Come Elections
We are all cheaters and liars!
We all descent from Jack Ass Lineage,
Of course!

Jack Ass Lineage - Upi Okkoma Buru Varu

Ukkoma Boru Waru

Upi Okkoma Hora Boru

Ukkoma Buru Waru

Buru Warrigen

Peva Thenna Se!

Me Lassana Lankave!

Upi Okkoma Buru Varu

Upi Okkoma Buru Buru

Ballan Buranna Se

Chandeta Sara Senna Se

Me Lassana Lankave

No copyright Attached

Translation

Come Elections,

We are all cheaters and liars!

We all descent from Jack Ass Lineage,

Of course!

This is Why I Hate Facebook?

 This is Why I Hate Facebook

This a reproduction from Dr, Rankin
Why You Should Never Login With Facebook
 
Category: Social-Networking
Mari Sherkin has been happily married for over 25 years, so she was more than a little surprised to learn she had a dating profile on matchmaking service Zoosk.com that she never created. Find out how it happened, and how it could easily happen to you...

What is OAuth, and Why Should You Care?

According to Mary, a popup ad on Facebook invited her to take a look at Zoosk. She says she didn’t want to, so she clicked the X in one corner of the ad to close it. But suddenly she was whisked to Zoosk.com’s home page; she wanted none of that, so she closed the browser window. Mere minutes later, she says, emails from Zoosk members began flooding her inbox, expressing interest in her Zoosk profile -- which Mary says she never created.
That profile included her name, Facebook profile picture, and postal code. Mary lives in a small town 2.5 hours from Toronto, and she is understandably concerned about the damage that could be done to her reputation by this apparent evidence of infidelity.
How did Zoosk get the data it needed to create this bogus profile of Mary? The CBC News reporter who chronicled Mary’s plight found a “technology expert (who) points to what is known as an ‘open authentication protocol’ — or OAuth — where people often unwittingly share personal information with third-party websites.”

OAuth (Open Authentication protocol) is what enables you to “sign in with Facebook” or Google or Twitter login credentials on other sites, eliminating the bother of creating and keeping track of new login credentials for multiple sites. Depending on how OAuth is configured, a site may request access to your personal data and the ability to act as if it was you on Facebook, Google, or whatever service you use to save yourself some time and hassle.

Ebola From NEJM

Ebola From NEJM
In resource-limited areas, isolation of the sick from the population at large has been the cornerstone of control of Ebola virus disease (EVD) since the virus was discovered in 1976.1 Although this strategy by itself may be effective in controlling small outbreaks in remote settings, it has offered little hope to infected people and their families in the absence of medical care. In the current West African outbreak, infection control and clinical management efforts are necessarily being implemented on a larger scale than in any previous outbreak, and it is therefore appropriate to reassess traditional efforts at disease management.
Having cared for more than 700 patients with EVD between August 23 and October 4, 2014, in the largest Ebola treatment unit in Monrovia, Liberia, we believe that our cumulative clinical observations support a rational approach to EVD management in resource-limited settings.
Early symptoms of EVD include high fever (temperature of up to 40°C), malaise, fatigue, and body aches.
Clinical Features of Ebola Virus Disease.
The fever persists, and by day 3 to 5 of illness, gastrointestinal symptoms typically begin, with epigastric pain, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Patients routinely presented to our facility after 2 or 3 days of severe vomiting or diarrhea, during which they posed a substantial risk to their communities and had a high probability of testing positive for Ebola virus in blood by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Although some patients tested positive on PCR within 24 hours after symptom onset, we found that a negative test result could not be relied on to rule out disease until 72 hours after symptoms began. Of the patients who tested positive for Ebola, none that we were aware of had contracted disease from an infected contact during the early febrile phase of illness. No ancillary testing was available in our facility.
We observed that recurrent episodes of emesis resulted in an inability to tolerate oral intake. Large volumes of watery diarrhea estimated at 5 or more liters per day (a manifestation not unlike that of cholera) presented suddenly, persisted for up to 7 days or (rarely) longer, and gradually tapered off. Associated signs and symptoms included asthenia, headache, conjunctival injection, chest pain, abdominal pain, arthralgias, myalgias, and hiccups. Respiratory symptoms, such as cough, were rare. Commonly observed neurologic symptoms included delirium, both hypoactive and hyperactive, manifested by confusion, slowed cognition, or agitation, and less frequently, seizures. In the absence of adequate fluid and electrolyte replacement, severe lethargy and prostration developed.
In approximately 60% of the patients we cared for, the development of shock was manifested by diminished level of consciousness or coma, rapid thready pulses, oliguria or anuria, and tachypnea. The distal extremities were cold despite high ambient temperature, and peripheral vasoconstriction was apparent. In aggregate, these clinical findings suggested metabolic acidosis due to severe hypovolemic shock. Evidence of hyperdynamic or distributive shock was infrequently observed and if present was a late finding. Clinically significant hemorrhage from the upper or lower gastrointestinal tract or both occurred in less than 5% of patients before death. Sudden death occurred in a small fraction of patients who were in the recovery phase of their illness, possibly as the result of fatal arrhythmias. Most deaths occurred between days 7 and 12 of illness.
Symptoms began to improve in approximately 40% of patients around day 10 of illness. We observed the development of oral ulcers and thrush around this time, associated with throat pain and dysphagia. Nearly all patients who survived to day 13 ultimately lived. Our discharge criteria included 3 days without gastrointestinal symptoms and a negative PCR test for Ebola virus in blood. We noted that some patients with initial evidence of clinical improvement developed neck rigidity and diminished levels of consciousness. These symptoms were associated with a slight increase in late mortality. The role of central nervous system involvement by EVD, secondary infection, or aseptic processes could not be assessed.
Particularly vulnerable patient populations included children less than 5 years of age, the elderly, and pregnant women. Of the four women who presented with late second- or third-trimester pregnancies, three died shortly after miscarrying, and none successfully carried a fetus to term. Four Liberian staff members became infected with Ebola virus, and three of them died. According to individual investigations, these infections were not attributable to any known breaches in infection-control procedures in the Ebola treatment unit; instead they are thought to be possibly related to transmission in the community where the outbreak was active.
Health care workers in West Africa remain overwhelmed and challenged by the scarcity of resources that would be available in developed countries for improving the care of patients with EVD.4 When patients arrived at our facility, they were moderately to severely ill, and each physician was responsible for the care of 30 to 50 patients. Direct patient contact in the Ebola treatment center was typically limited to intervals of 45 to 60 minutes two to three times a day, owing to substantial heat exposure and fluid losses that providers experienced while wearing full personal protective equipment (PPE). Under these conditions, physicians had 1 to 2 minutes per patient to evaluate needs and establish a care plan.
Rapid clinical assessment required triage of patients into one of three categories: those who were clinically hypovolemic, not in shock, and able to provide self-care; those who were hypovolemic, not in shock, but unable to provide self-care; and those in shock with evidence of organ failure whose outcome would not be altered by any available medical intervention. The majority of patients we cared for were in the first category. We believe that this group had the highest likelihood of having a response to our limited available interventions.
We observed that patients who were hypovolemic, not in shock, and able to care for themselves had potential for recovery with oral antiemetics, antidiarrheal therapy, and adequate rehydration with oral electrolyte solutions. Given the massive fluid losses observed with EVD, oral antiemetics and antidiarrheal therapy appear to be important early interventions that may limit life-threatening dehydration and shock. In our experience, these regimens were successful at controlling symptoms, facilitated oral intake, reduced gastrointestinal fluid losses, and helped to reduce environmental contamination by body fluids. Health care workers with limited time in PPE were then able to direct their efforts toward encouraging and facilitating oral intake.
It was our impression that the cohort of patients who were hypovolemic and not in shock but unable to provide self-care would benefit the most from short-term intravenous fluid therapy and electrolyte replacement. Establishing intravenous access, delivering an adequate volume of fluid, and ensuring safe management of needles and devices required intensive individual-level patient care. Routine use of intravenous fluid therapy in our facility was prohibited by massive caseloads, limited number of health care workers, and limited time in PPE.
The central purpose of Ebola treatment units has historically been to isolate infected persons early in the course of disease — often soon after fever onset — in order to break the chain of disease transmission in the community. However, all efforts must be made to optimize the level of medical care provided within these facilities. Resistance by infected people to voluntary admission will persist unless the treatment facilities are seen as a place to go for treatment and recovery and not as a place to die isolated from loved ones and the community. Our observations support aggressive use of antiemetics, antidiarrheal medications, and rehydration solution to reduce massive gastrointestinal losses and the consequences of hypovolemic shock. Selective use of intravenous fluid therapy in the population that is most likely to benefit is a rational approach under the current circumstances. When possible, broader use of intravenous fluid therapy and electrolyte replacement, guided by point-of-service laboratory testing, is likely to significantly improve outcomes.

Pearl Linux User Name and Password

Here, I have reproduced a read me file of Pearl Linux since I could not find the user name and password.

It is an Ubuntu Derivative which has a Mac Os appearance and is 1.5 GB.

At the login screen please type "custom" as the user name hit enter then for password lease that field blank and hit enter.

Found a small issue with the fonts not looking correct and I thought I deleted the Iso but I guess not.
All you have to do if you already downloaded Pearl is go into system settings and change the font from Veranda 9 (?) to Ubuntu 10 and this is important,

On Rendering check the box to left, Hinting change to slight and Sub-pixel order change to RGB. 

That is the only change that was made.

Their will be more of a README file coming soon. 

Garbage Characters for Sinhala Font

Garbage Characters for Sinhala Font

Certain elements affiliated with ruling coalition is distorting Sinhala Font in a enews page.

I do not use this site anyway but lot of my friends do.

Below is a email note I posted them.

It is not a big issue.
Kindergarten stuff.

Please go to UTUBE and watch “Rosa Natuwa” Song and Dance.
You see the same issue but song is played well in Sinhala

If the web browser does not have the Sinhala Font it reverts (assumes) Chinese characters.

Report it to Google, FireFox or Chrome Browser, what ever it is applicable.

I am trying Amazon to work on it for my writings (translate few of my books to Sinhala).

They do not understand that our alphabet has more than 50 characters.
If lot of people request (in millions) they would act on it.
In the mean time, they should drop the Sinhala Font and use English letters and use Google's Transliterate Format.
Or else they could use images with Sinhala Writings.

There was a time (I hated it) lot of dirty Sinhala words were circulated in emails and government knew it and took appropriate action.
Then the used images and that dirty habit died a natural death.

But this is more political and robust political action is mandatory.

Preparation for Concentration / Focus for Moment Meditation

Preparation for Concentration / Focus for Moment Meditation

1. Do not Think of the Past ( I have not finished my work)

2. Do not Think of the Future ( I have lot of things to do)

3. Do not let the mind drift ( a mosquito hovering)

4. Do not say it is warm (dress appropriately but do not look for a fan)

5. Do not say it is cold ( dress appropriately but do not look for a heater)

6. Do not be lazy

7. Avoid company (If one cannot avoid not more than five for a group)

8. Do not look for solitude

9. Be aware of the current setting (if you are in a bus find a corner and pretend you read a book/note)

10. Be aware of the current physical need (voiding, hunger, physical disability)

If there is a hindrance (as you may perceive it), do not react to it but accept it as a fickle and passing episode like quicksilver.

Then any place is good for moment meditation.

If you are not meditating, just focus and do what you have to do in the present moment to the best of your capability.

In a sense your mind is in a Moment Mediation Mode (3M).

If one practices these few principles with diligence and awareness, getting into moment meditation becomes just a habit not a “result seeking work” endeavor.

One's productivity in what ever one does goes up by the minute.

It is not easy but one has to practice and become adept at it.

Then you do not need a guru and become a master and not a slave of a rigid protocol dispensed by an unprepared master.

Update on Mahela and Sanga.

Update on Mahela and Sanga.

I pity these two players now having decided to play till the world cup is over in 2015.

They will have a bad taste in their mouth at the end of their cricketing saga.

My wishful thinking was that they could have retired before the tournament but I still respect their enthusiasm and sacrifice to cricket.

My gut feeling is that they will burn out even (if that has not happened already) before the tournament commences.

It is already seen in Dilshan.

Then we can see the real Sri-Lankan cricket talent without the old guard worst than Zimbabwe and Bangladesh.

Sri-Lankan cricket management run by politicians, wheeler dealers in business and old cricketing cronies (I think they wet their pants when a female Indian Cricket Board secretary gives them  an order to play in India by their own command; it is given by either by a telephone call or by an email) are ruining our old talents, while young ones who represent Sri-Lankan cricket is a collection of "rag tag of players".

In any are case I do not watch cricket now and won't revise my predictions already made.

I hope either South Africa or West Indies could lift the cup, this time round (unless of course, they do a silly mistake in a vital match).

 

Below is a reproduction.

I hope above blog post done in only ten minutes before I went to sleep needed, another 25 minutes of editing and looking for typos.

I was I was listening to BBC radio and listening to cricket and I had to give up editing and went down to my son's room and peo TV was blocked for (cricket from UK) cricket and then I had to make my wife to move out to answer a call to get to the digital TV (Capture card) and tune into Eye Channel and was able see to Mahela's mastery.

Take my word, they are the modern version of Rohan Kanhaie and Kallicherran of yesteryear West Indies. 
This I said long time ago when they were young.

I will not miss a match when Mahela is on song.

Sanga should learn a lesson or two from Mahela.

West Indies cricketers who are young and never seen the two classy players mentioned above should watch Mahela and Sanga play limited over games and believe that they can produce high class players (their problem is batting once Lara was gone).


The differences in the above two players as opposed to Sri-Lankan players were they always played like that every time they came to the crease, limited or not.

I never missed them when they came to Colombo on short visits (including great Westly Hall, Greenich and Griffith and I think Lance Gibbs the spinner).

Sorbers I have not seen playing live.

Vivian Richard is a class of his own and there is nobody currently to match him.
 
Brian Lara is the epitome of style.
 
There is a documentary on West Indian cricket of yesteryear produced by a cricket loving Englishman. 
 

Everybody who is a cricket lover should see that documentary including West Indians.

Without them cricket will be dead the way Indians cronies (not players) not West Indian who are marketing cricket like tooth paste and soap opera (Bollywood style).

I hope west Indies stop fighting and play gentleman cricket and beat India who has become too big for comfort for any cricket (IPL included.)

They actually gave Indian a wake up call and scare.

If not for Dravid, the Wall (a real mature cricketer of class, whom I like very much) I would be rubbing salt on their wounds.

Dravid was one player who was very badly treated by Indian Cricket Selectors, who thinks that any Indian who can play soft ball cricket can represent India.

Now that Kersten is gone like in Sri-lanka (political involvement) all the cronies will get in to ruin Indian Cricket Board and ICC.

On a finer note my daughter, my wife and the Gon Bass (work supervisor) did not let me sleep even three hours at a stretch and woke me up three times on three different occasions in spite of the fact it was a Saturday.

My dog was the only considerate soul who did not disturb my sleep but left a big poo in the living room to state emphatically, industrial action all right I need to go out and I am not a prisoner on hold, like an American prisoner in the Guatemala Bay.

 I had to do the cleaning.