Broadband Robbery

We live in a time where we constantly hear about the never ending war on the infringement of intellectual property rights. The media  , the public, and the powers that be are so focused on this that a new  kind of piracy that is sweeping the country goes unnoticed. Perhaps its the innocent guise (name) of this new high seas hold up, that misleads people. The term "Fair Use Policy" does in an essence seem quite "Fair" does it not. Yet the design of it actually puts a crimp our right to access information (getting the information today , which is not possible when your connection is capped to a measly 64kbps , if you are lucky enough to get that speed)
Before I begin I will admit I am a layman in the world of telecommunication regulation, however I am without a doubt a consissuer of the fine knowledge that the internet has to offer.In fact the internet is one of the key engines that helps churn out " knowledge workers" of today. Not only is the internet is an important medium that allows us to stay in touch with family and friends scattered around the world, it also and I cannot stress this enough, in the rat race that is our daily life the streaming entertainment that it provides is unsurpassed ( considering the at best the lukewarm programming available in the main stream media of our day).
Another interesting point is the "visionaries" speak about the benefits of the internet and it being the key underpinning of our entry into the global economy based around the world wide web.
So why in the name of Tim Bernes-Lee would a regulatory body introduce  a policy that allows users to enjoy a small slice of the pie at  a premium price and then ask them to go back to either a snail paced speed ( which could be likened to something slightly better than prehistoric dial up connections) or cough up extra money to enjoy the benefits of the internet at speeds which are now the norm. This state of affairs is no better than blatant highway robbery, and robbery supported by regulation nonetheless

The second coming

It has been quite awhile since, I last posted. Like a true procrastinator I have a list of perfectly good reasons for not posting :D.

1. The hectic preparations for my final year
2. Working on my final year project
3. Studying for exams etc....

the list goes on and on, the simple truth I was just too lazy and completely devoid of the drive to write blog posts (Most of my drive went into fleshing out my lengthy long winding project report with the C*** necessary to impress my markers and garner marks necessary to pass).

To deviate slightly lets all be honest with ourselves most undergraduate reports being full of C*** is the rule not the exception. Although those of us who write the reports, like to pretend that we have made a great contribution to the human knowledge pool and made a bold difference like Archimedes or Plato. The truth is most of the reports end up gathering dust on a shelf in a library , only to be opened by other final year students looking to rip off the words (paraphrase XD) written by you (which you also in all probability ripped off from some one else) to make up for time lost fooling around instead of writing their own thesis. I like to call this "Paraphrasingtitis" or better known as the " Circle of report cribbing".

Enough with my ramblings about report writing. I have missed blogging, my experiences over the past year the late nights at college, the antics of lecturers , and last minute rushing to finish assignment etc... would have made quite interesting posts. In the end with all the anxiety of my final year, I can safely say I walk away with some funny and good memories with my best friends from college . Alas all good things must come to an end, all of us graduated I actually did much better than I expected. Sad as I was about not seeing my friends, I looked forward to starting my career and my climb to the top as it were. I have learned that plans are good for the 5 seconds before reality sets in, so your best option is to roll with it.

I am happy to say that I found employment , still getting a bead on what I need to do. I will make it work though. I really hope to spend more time blogging, lots to talk about, job , politics, reminiscing etc....

A Year gone by

Its quite clear that I cant stick to a routine , its been nearly a year since I posted anything. I would love to say that I was so busy with worldly affairs that I did not have even a single nano second to devote to this. That would be a bold faced lie. It was more a case of being to lazy and distracted and suffering from writers block . Alot has happened over the last 12 months.

I've been interning for 6 months ( an honset to god working man :D) , I've also been in a meaningful relationship for nearly a year ( it suprises me to see myself write that) , life has been pretty good.

The novelty of coming to work has not worn off, it has dimmed but not gone out all together. The experiances I have had are priceless and most of them are the kind that will make lovely stories at dinner parties :)

I know not how long my return to the blogosphere will last, hopefully it'll work out this time , but u never know life is full of suprises

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.

Sick Day

Its official I despise tropical fevers.. They are annoying and serve no purpose except to bring you down. It is simply amazing the myriad of forms of this ailment which can be found.. and the fact that all of them can hit you at the same time is something that amazes me no end.. I mean get in line and take a number.. and give a poor guy a break.. As i write this the aches pains my fever left behind serve as a constant reminder of my bout with what ever viral element which entered my system. Ok ok this may sound like a lunatics ravings.. But its been a long 2days. and being in bed was never fun when ur sick..

So my advice next time u think tropical paradise pack enough antibiotics to sink a battleshi

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"Thank you for voting" - food for thought

I was at the lionel wendt on Saturday to witness the newest stage creation by StageFrightandPanic Ltd.. "Thank you for voting". a humorous play about the rise and political career of the politician Chandima PussWeddilla.. It was clear that the play had drawn heavily on the current political circus in our country.. but i shall elaborate further on that later.

the play did'nt really live up too my expectations when considering previous productions by the same theater company. It did have lots of funny lines but the humor was not creative at all. most of the punch lines where painfully obvious and where reused quite often. In a play that went on for a bit too long.. They could have ended it on some high notes earlier on but in dragging the play on lost a bit of the interest and humorous atmosphere they created earlier on. Most of the group I went with did laugh alot but admitted that the humor was not off the standard they expected.
Enough of the negatives .. some positives where definitely the many english phrases and sayings that were warped and presented by Honorable minister Pussweddilla
In truth the play for did effectively capture the political farce that exists in this country I shall not name the factions the play may have portrayed on stage.. But it is safe to say that they left no stoned unturned WINK.
Aside from its shortcomings.. what I liked the most was the message it sends.. to me having such a play shows that the people in this country at least a few of them do believe that whats going in our supposed "paradise isle" is not right and that they will no longer sit back and stay quiet. Even though it was humorously depicted the corruption which is rampant in our state was clearly shown.. If nothing else I think the theater company deserves an award for being brave enough to put this play on the boards..
For me personally it left me happy because it showed me that there are people amongst us who still believe in the freedoms that i too hold dear. So in closing i think it was a worthwhile to watch this play.. and i hope that StageFrightandPanic will come up with a better production along the same lines soon..

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The hatching pen

A wise man once said "You cannot blame the tree of the seed from which it sprung was rotten". this is something people seem to forget. Everyone of us in this country complain about corrupt and power hungry politicians and their seemingly inability too unite, some among us look at this predicament in wonder and try to theorize the reason behind such behavior. After witnessing the farce of an election process which was undertaken to appoint a student governing body for a particular educational institute I think we should cease our armchair reasoning and wake up to the facts. which are that

Our very nexuses of education are the points where this bloodthirsty and seemingly boorish political behavior comes to the fore. I mean if a group of 20 year old students have problems trying 2 elect a governing body , should we expect any better from the nation at large, If the future generation themselves cant handle the concept of power how can we expect any better of those we elect to parliament. Let me make it perfectly clear there is no single wrong doer amongst the above student body, what ever that occured was due to a failure off the collective nothing more nothing less.

If as students our generation can not understand the true importance of power and simply clamour for itso that they might wield it to their advantage without understanding the responsiblities and niceties that go with it. how can we as a nation hope for a better tomorrow. Truthfully I was made part of the proceedings , but I do not think the actions of most involved where correct. Not only did this situation throw in to light the sheer ineptitude of my generation when it comes to power, it also showed how little our generation has progressed in terms of being able to enter into a dialog to sort our the problems that arise between various factions. this inability to have open discussion is dangerous when coupled with the our lack of understanding of power. any hope for lasting peace goes out the window when such a situation arises.

There is no point in laying the blame. But a several questions nag at my consciousness
where did society go wrong?
can we change the future?.... what can we do? .. who do we look towards for guidance?..

The problem is obviously in the hatching pen of society. we must cleanse it or watch our country slide into ruin...
I think I know what I will do.. what will you do ?

The blogger returns

this marks my third return after a long absence , this time though I will not make promises of being more committed or anything like that .. what can I say .. staying the course and seeing some thing through is something I need to work at . .
BUt I can safely say this though.. I have plenty of material to blog about everything from the happenings at college , the state of the country and most importantly the weirdness of my life.

I cannot say that I was really busy these past few months. I guess I just did'nt have the urge to blog .. in fact I can say that the drive within me to do anything at all for tht matter.


well ryt now I;m off 2 take a long shower and unwind.. traffic on da way home was horrible and well the day was just tiring (it may be just in my mind but that does'nt change the fact that its there :D)

Friends.. or just acquaintances

Growing up in society you constantly told that making friends is important and you must pick them carefully. So as you go through life you pick up alot of friends and some of them stick with you through your long journey but most fall by the way side. going on to follow their own paths.
Is friendship that important. do they not harm your individual existence. I mean in this country especially after you get into a click of friends they expect you too conform to the group standard. True you became part of the group because you did conform , but times change and so do people right. I say this because I noticed my friends doing the same thing. they want you to do this and that and they have fun but too you its just a lame exercise ..
I understand doing things as a group but it thought groups of friends were suppose to understand each other and relate to each other. So it seems to me that people who call themselves friends but take away from your individuality are not friends but acquaintances.
Maybe in life we never really have friends or maybe we just have a few true friends who we truly relate too. or maybe i'm just anti-social and dysfunctional and have got it all wrong.
What do you think.

island heat

I dont think the recent weather in my Island home qualifies has a heat wave.. but man it has gotten quite hot.. and with the heat the an assortment of skin irritant and boils seem 2 erupt out of no where. The strange thing is the places these things come up in are so weird and random. i think it maybe payback for all the times I laughed at my friends when they suffered from boils and so on. Anyway itchy scratchy aside. I did enjoy the weekend . spent some time with some of my bro's friends playing board games and noting down some strange behavior in 25 - 26 year olds.
You know how when your small it was always about fighting to stay up late as much as you can .. Well growing does'nt seem to change that except instead of just staying up its about staying up and staying out of the house as long as you can. Over the weekend I came home at around 3 am and felt all aglow inside, I swear I even had a lil spring in my step.. maybe the novelty of this will wear of in time or maybe It was the island getting to me ..