Success with Custom templates

Finally today in the afternoon I managed to make this template I found work !.. I fixed it up for my test blog and during the week hope to have it up on this blog.. Ok too any ardent bloggers who will shrug and call me a loser.. it might be easy for You but it was tough for me. with blogger going and changing some stuff about template formats.
I felt a great sense of jubilation when the template finally looked like it should today.. Here is the link where I found the template.. http://www.jackbook.com
check it out there are plenty of templates out there and a guide to get you started on setting up and running with the new ones.. I will post a guide of some tips I found while trying to get my template to work.. :) this is my test blog check out the template and let me know what you think..
test blog

Stage craft.

The reason for 2 week absence was due to the myriad of assignments I had to complete. Sad to say I still have not finished them.. It all comes back down to my being distracted easily..:P.. The IIT talent show Stage Craft 2008 was a blast. With B'n'S on stage and with our brand of comedy on stage it was a roller coaster of fun from start to finish. I was backstage working with the lights and stage managing , it was like being back in school.. had loads of fun.. I want to thank all the back stage crew for being there and helping out.. except for the part where we were swearing over the intercom..

Right now I'm trying to edit this new template and get it too work. So far have'nt been successful with it :(.. will update with new development..

Trawling For templates

Tired of the same old look of my blog I decided to look around for new templates. Doing a simple google Search just netted me more of the same sort of templates I'm used to seeing. Feeling rather dejected I went to check my Entrecard account and was browsing the categories of blog available and lo and behold I came upon a category on blogging resources. after visiting a few of the blogs there I found some intersting templates that I likes.. I will first test them out and see how it goes :d.. http://blogger-aid.blogspot.com
http://www.jackbook.com
were two of the gold mine of resources that I came across.

The Red Dog : from Kandyg

Had an interesting lunch date today with a rather special friend of mine . who I was meeting for the first time. So wanting to do something out of the ordinary two of my friends and I went looking for soft toys on Galle road.. As expected this proved easier said than done. But after about half an hour of walking around We found this place called "Kandyg" just past ACBT on the land side. It sells batik stuff but it also has hand made soft toys in the window. I went in expecting that I would walk out with a much lighter wallet :D(hey I know thats a bit lame but hey times are hard :P),.. luck was on my side though. The toy which was a red stuffed dog was only Rs 150/= quite affordable in my thoughts. Well with that in hand I met up with my friend and needless to say she was thrilled with it :).

so next time your in a hurry and need a gift fast I suggest you look this place up.. Its just past ACBT on the land side on the corner of a turn off to duplication road

A corner Food shop at Liberty Plaza

In my wondering around kollpity I came across this quaint little food place in Liberty Plaza. it was during the lunch after completing my regular tour of my the mobile phone shops , I found my self wanting for a bite to eat but short on cash as usual. I cant remember the name exactly I was actually attracted by the smells that came wafting out of the place. When I walked in the first thing that caught my eye was their specials were all under Rs 200.00 and normal curry and rice was less than Rs 150.00 . in a day and age where the price of items goes up day by day its nice to find a place that u can eat at without loosing half the green thats in your wallet. Eating there is possible but You wouldn't take your better half there. Odering take out is definitely the better option
This joint is on the first floor right near one of the entrances I think opposite natstars. Check it out and let me know..

The circus and the clowns: A look at politics in Sri Lanka

A circus is nothing without its clowns . Chaps clad in bright and horribly clashing colors running around squirting water and squabbling animatedly using antic that would be considered rude in any other social context, all this is done for the amusement of the audience , so that they can laugh uproariously. This was the image that came into my head recently when I heard to of my friends having a heated argument about the political machinations of the currents regime in our country. Except in this case the audience is 225 dunderheads and their assorted cronies and relations. An earlier post touched on the rot that has set in so I will not get into that again
To expand on my story about my two friends, Both of them are university undergraduates who are analytically minded and well read , they hold opposing views on the current war in the country and what is being done about it, they both believe wholeheartedly in their view point so obviously they are at loggerheads when this topic comes up, the situation is quite tense and in certain cases in it is reminiscent of a nuclear reactor operating in controlled overload state. I do not wish too bring my friends down and in no way do I wish to belittle them so If you read this do not take offense.
My point is both of them get worked up about these issues and might go on to debate the subject into the wee hours of the morning and this same act in all probability will take place all over the country between many different people co workers , family or even the guy You happen to be sitting next to in the bus. So many people talking and getting upset and yet nothing comes of it except that the general public is fractured along these beliefs, and all the while our so called public servants look on with mild amusement at these proceedings. I mean if a majority of our citizens are concerned enough to start an argument about the political situation or the governance of our country why cant they voice they're concerns to those in power, why does it seem like the power brokers who cling to their offices like leeches on a foot do nothing but watch, is it that the clowns are only allowed to perform in the ring and that when they step out of bounds the audience no longer wants to see or listen to them.
20 million souls and counting excluding leeches and company contemplate how we can get by in out lives and spend time debating politics in this country and yet nothing changes in the greater political picture. Office bearers care pretend to care and fill our ears with promises much like the audience egging the clowns on to perform more. If we are more than clowns to them why is it that people must live in fear of expressing ideas, why is it people must fear where their next meal come from, I'm not asking for some utopia where no one has problems . If we are not mere circus performers to them a majority of us would feel that we were part of a productive governance process. We go about our lives being held ransom to the will of a few very much like a clown who must please the audience even if it means that he must rub his face in the mud. Is this what we must accept , is this the meaning of freedom and democracy ???
This clown for one had had enough No longer will I just sit by with my mouth shut No longer will I accept an audience of 225 and their cronies whose collective IQ would not even get one of them into technical college.

Opening My eyes to the world of blogging:

When I started My blog it was just a whim that kept growing with time.. I never really thought about the world of opportunities that Open up too you when you join the ranks of bloggers out there. I do not profess to be a guru of blogging I have a long way to go before I get there.. But after joining www.slblogs.org . The sheer size and complexity (I use that term loosely blogging is actually very easy but there are a lot of options about what you use it to do) truly started to sink in.
I'm still looking at the tip of the iceburg and already I've learned so much, thats after just 3 days of going through sites and blog I found on slblogs.
Some might think that I'm just excited about making money, I will not say that I'm not enamored by that :P that would be plain untruthful, But the root cause for my excitement is more to do with being able to share my ideas and being able to meet more people who are as expressive if not more expressive than me. If you do read this I would like to hear what you think about this and other posts..

Emerald Isle in peril : 60 years on

A retreat to simplicity and idyllic island paradise , a place where wonders abound and where kicking back and relaxing is an way of life. This was what our country was and should have been , as we sit at the eve of the dawning of our 60th year of independence and look back can any of us say that we have fulfilled the expectation of our founding fathers who sacrificed so much so that we can could fly our lankan lion high in the sky ?
There was a time when other nations looked to us an example of development and forward thinking , now the heralded shepherd of Asia has become one of the very misguided sheep . A sheep that is so far from the fold that it is slowly and certainly wondering towards the precipice of doom. Some would call me over dramatic and say no there is plenty too be proud off and that everything is not that bad and we should think of the whole context and all that drivel .. to those naysayer i have just one word "NUTZ".
Ok fine the world economy is declining and most nations are growing through bad patch. I'm not going to talk about economics today instead consider the social context we live in.
Thuggery , extortion , corruption and blatant greed runs rampant and unchecked through out the land, in fact one of the great pillars of our country that our fore father gave their lives to form , the parliment is a perfect example of this. Our great and glorious ministers stand and bow before a flag at a parade and then act like common street hooligans in parliament the highest institution in the country, do they think that our country's freedom fighters who wet the earth with their blood would want cretin like them paying homage to them???. From their behavior both within and outside parliament the honorable ministers should are not fit to run let alone stand in on the stage erected by those who really believed in the betterment of sri lanka all those years ago. ranting on about the misguided nature of governance in our island would probably mean I would never finish the is post before I die(more on that later). The governing body aside what off the people who live here have they honored the memory of our forefathers properly and by honour I do not mean hang a flag outside your house every 4th of Feb. DO we value the independence we have do we even understand the cost off it, I think not. If any of the those heroes who thought of independence were walk in to our time, I would put my money on them being disappointed, they risked life and limb to fight for this freedom and now the common folk do not even life one finger to protect it or honor it, how many of the masses who claim to "proud to be sri lankan" try to put a stop to the corruption that has taken hold , How many have stood up and said if 60 years ago a handful of scholars and warriors could stand up to the British raj I too will stand up to those who would usurp and destroy my sovereign nation which I hold dear.
The rot that has set in is affecting everything . society and large is corrupt not only in a monetary sense but also in terms of social values and common decencies. Celebrating 60 years of independence marked by a downward turn in everything our forefathers tried to protect is ironic to say the least.
The Emerald isle is not only about the natural beauty that abounds here. the people of the country have it within each of them the ability to turn it back into its former glory, They can turn it around and make our island home meet the dreams our fore fathers had for it. If we lose the people to the rot then this Emerald will forever lose the brilliance within it.

A blissful escape..

All of us sooner or later wish that during the course of our day that we could have just one moment of peace , or one moment where there aren't a thousand pressing matters that need your attention , basically were time stands still. I know that may sound a little cliche and unrealistic but it does happen. I for one have experienced moments like these sparingly and lately they been very hard to come by , but today after a long and arduous lecture one phone call made me believe in such moments again. I'm not being mushy here in fact mushiness has nothing to do with it what so ever.
It was more a feeling of pure freedom. The conversation was lively and full of comic relief and maybe something deeper to god knows.. All I know is that no amount of laughing and joking around with my friends has lead to a moments of bliss like this (no offense guys) . It is possible that I might be reading too much into all of this for other reasons :d.

All the ranting above has a point .. irrespective of how you find these small moments of solace and grace the important thing is that you do, all of us can do with more of them. In fact maybe we should set aside time to pursue things that might lead us to these moments. Like a treasure hunt maybe by getting more people involved in the search we can all share in them and live happier more fulfilled lives... Man was made curious to develop , but development should not mean an end to curiosity .

Sun Certified..! Thank the lord

I think in a previous post I might have discussed the fact that I was planning on doing the SCJP exam last year.. Well I finally sat for it today... And I passed !.. The relief I felt at that Particular moment was so intense its some thing one can understand only through experience . I should admit that the only reason I got around to doing it was because of my moms constant prodding to finish it, I owe her a lot for that .. but she doesn't need to know that :D..

The exam was not extremely tough and with proper and simple preparation you can probably pass with more than 75% but still after I submitted it I felt this tremendous sense of dread that I had flunked but thankfully I got through.. :). My advice for some one doing it is that like all exams a little bit of confidence can take you a long way.. and also you need not be totally into programming or software development to actually do the exam.

The afterglow off passing is fading as I type this and it is quite obvious that I cant sit on my laurels and wait. Even with my degree goiing on simply having Bsc after your name is not enough in todays highly competitive job market, I'm faced with a quandary do I continue java certifications or do I go into some other field of professional certification. Or do I wait for more free time.. each approach has its merits and demerits , figuring them out will not be easy(ahhhh the joy of growing up).
Before signing off if anyone is reading this happens to be thinking of widening their skill set .. go for it dont hold back if you have the chance the time is Now!!..

Starting over

Life is beautiful but not easy. And nothing is as hard as starting down a new path. I stand now at the beginning of a new semester and wonder what shall I do ?.The last semester was less than stellar and I will need to work harder this year and that means no distractions, easier said than done. people will say that it should not be so. But hey nothing in life is easy :). So this semester a little less hanging around friends and mucking about. If they take it the wrong way well.. NUTs to them. I want this to work so .. it will. I've been a wondered too long i think it is time that I settled down and stuck it out it the dough out.